From Andyman's Universe...stuff & whatnots. (more pics)

Printable View

April 19th, 2005, 12:38 PM
Andyman

My bigass hulking bloated boat anchor of a CRT monitor died last week. So I jumped at the chance to get a flat panel LCD monitor. Great taste, less filling! I actually have someplace to set my beers now.
http://images.snapfish.com/3436%3B47...C342%3B7ot1lsi

My metamorphisis into a total robot collector is almost complete. Spawn is dead to me. I haven't picked up a comic in over a year now. Dragons and music figs are the only things keeping me in anything McFarlane anymore.

Exhibit A: B-Day hauls.
http://images.snapfish.com/3436%3B47...96%3A%3Aot1lsi

Every once in a while I might make something. It's never something I'm suppose to make, but make it I do.
http://images.snapfish.com/3436%3B47...35878778ot1lsi

And finally, I'm back on a new photography kick now...fun with time lapse. This is an idea I've been playing with in my head for sometime. I call it "painting with a laser pointer". This is all done with the camera, no Photoshop. Can you guess who it is? [img]wink.gif[/img]
http://images.snapfish.com/3436%3B47...87%3C738ot1lsi

[ April 19, 2005 10:55 PM: Message edited by: Andyman ]
April 19th, 2005, 12:44 PM
baimun

JIMMI!!!! [img]smile.gif[/img]
April 19th, 2005, 12:51 PM
Street Worm

more!
more!
more!
April 19th, 2005, 12:58 PM
madadman

That laser painting effect is cool. Have you ever done any light painting with a mag lite? I've tried with mixed results. I got an attachment for my mag for doing some detailed light painting effects but really haven't used it yet...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...ingMaglite.jpg

(My first thought when I put this together was an Andyman techno bug. [img]wink.gif[/img] )

[ April 19, 2005 10:00 AM: Message edited by: madadman ]
April 19th, 2005, 01:31 PM
Andyman

Quote:

Originally posted by madadman:
That laser painting effect is cool. Have you ever done any light painting with a mag lite? I've tried with mixed results. I got an attachment for my mag for doing some detailed light painting effects but really haven't used it yet...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...ingMaglite.jpg

(My first thought when I put this together was an Andyman techno bug. [img]wink.gif[/img] )

[ April 19, 2005 10:00 AM: Message edited by: madadman ]

Nice electro bug there Maddy! [img]wink.gif[/img] I can't wait to see what you do with it.

I have other lighting experiments that I haven't uploaded yet. I'll tell you what, this is the way to photograph objects such as figures, sculptures and such. I got a perfect picture of my Electroman by using a 15 second shutter speed on my digital camera and tracing it with my white LED mini flashlight. To hell with setting up multiple lights anymore! I'll be playing around with them tonight so I'll post more pics to show you what I'm talking about.

Oh yeah, I do have some more laser art photos. I was still experimenting when I made these two.

http://images.snapfish.com/3436%3B4%...%3C73%3Aot1lsi
http://images.snapfish.com/3436%3B4%...%3C73%3Bot1lsi
April 19th, 2005, 01:54 PM
madadman

Cool! I'm anxious to see the new pics. I used to use a photographer back in Vegas who was a master at light painting. Here's an example of something they shot for me:

http://www.mandcpenn.com/images/baskow.jpg

I think some of McFarlane's stuff is shot using this technique. It's hard to do but the results are really dramatic.
April 19th, 2005, 02:04 PM
Peter Peeker

cool stuff! [img]graemlins/thumbs_up.gif[/img]
April 19th, 2005, 02:43 PM
Joranthalus

Spawn? i HAVE no Spawn...
April 19th, 2005, 02:47 PM
grail25

Quote:

Originally posted by AcroPeek:
cool stuff! [img]graemlins/thumbs_up.gif[/img]
April 19th, 2005, 04:36 PM
Andyman

Quote:

Originally posted by Mr. KK:
<blockquote>quote:<hr />Originally posted by Nostromer:
The stuff is ok, but the whatnots are to die for!

I was kinda hoping to see whatchamacallits in the background, but nothing.
[img]graemlins/cry.gif[/img] <hr /></blockquote>The FCC has been cracking down on whatchamacallits showing up in backgrounds, sorry. Blame Janet Jackson for that. [img]wink.gif[/img]
April 19th, 2005, 09:24 PM
Biomechanoid

Hey, just for grits and shiggles have you tried the laser pointer technique with translucent figs? Water Dragon? Alien Spawn 2, Sub-Zero Monev, Stealth Predator?

I've done it just to see the effect, but I never took a time-capture of it.
April 20th, 2005, 01:36 AM
Andyman

More fun with slow speed photography!

Electroman:

Here I scanned one side with the LED mini flashlight and the other with a single green LED. I accidently got the green LED into the shot but it made a pretty cool effect.
http://images.snapfish.com/3436%3B94...535%3A47nu0mrj

Laser pointer scan on one side. I think a green or blue light back light would help but my camera batteries died before I could adjust it.
http://images.snapfish.com/3436%3B94...62696%3Bot1lsi

Blue & green LED flashers on one side, red & green on the other. (Thanks to Chet for those!) I tried to back light with LED mini flashlight and came up with kind of a cool look.
http://images.snapfish.com/3436%3B94...62698%3Bot1lsi

This one I really like! I just kept swinging the mini flashlight up and down behind Electroman.
http://images.snapfish.com/3436%3B94...36629858ot1lsi
April 20th, 2005, 01:46 AM
Andyman

LED flashers either side and low mini flashlight for backlight. All exposures here are 15 seconds long.
http://images.snapfish.com/3436%3B94...6269%3A6ot1lsi

This one a swung a blue flashing wand type LED flasher behind the subject.
http://images.snapfish.com/3436%3B94...535%3A87nu0mrj

Space Dog gets a new look.
http://images.snapfish.com/3436%3B94...6269%3B7ot1lsi

On this one I tried to backlight by scanning a red/green LED flasher back & forth. It made a really weird design.
http://images.snapfish.com/3436%3B94...6297%3C6ot1lsi
April 20th, 2005, 01:53 AM
Andyman

Shooting my metallic colored robots has been a real challenge for me. The metallic colors need something to reflect, preferably something white. The problem is that white tends to over expose the robot. This pic still needs work (more backlight) but I think it shows off the bot really well.
http://images.snapfish.com/3436%3B94...36626983ot1lsi
April 20th, 2005, 01:59 AM
Peter Peeker

damn, Andy...these are friggin' SWEET!
I mean, I've always like the Bots, but these pics are over the top.

maybe you could do the cover for our record... [img]graemlins/idea.gif[/img]
April 20th, 2005, 02:14 AM
madadman

Cool stuff Andy!! Very interesting effects. You've got a lot more patience than I do. [img]wink.gif[/img] What kind of camera are you using?
April 20th, 2005, 02:35 AM
Peter Peeker

I t'inks it's a Polaroid, eh...
April 20th, 2005, 03:20 AM
Biomechanoid

The stuff is ok, but the whatnots are to die for!
April 20th, 2005, 03:30 AM
KillerKanuck

Quote:

Originally posted by Nostromer:
The stuff is ok, but the whatnots are to die for!

I was kinda hoping to see whatchamacallits in the background, but nothing.
[img]graemlins/cry.gif[/img]
April 20th, 2005, 11:47 AM
Andyman

Quote:

Originally posted by madadman:
Cool stuff Andy!! Very interesting effects. You've got a lot more patience than I do. [img]wink.gif[/img] What kind of camera are you using?

It's a Canon PowerShot S-70 with 7.1 megapixel res. I would consider it to be a "prosumer" camera if you're familiar with that term. I got it as a Xmas gift from my business "landlord".

The beauty of a digital camera is that you can take pics like mad and get instant results. Great for experimenting! The only thing limiting me is my battery pack. I need to get an AC adapter.

[ April 20, 2005 08:47 AM: Message edited by: Andyman ]
April 20th, 2005, 12:15 PM
Slytherin Snape

Schweeet! They all kick butt, however this one is my favorite.
http://images.snapfish.com/3436%3B94...535%3A87nu0mrj
April 20th, 2005, 12:44 PM
madadman

"Prosumer"? Yeah, I invented that word a couple of weeks ago. Never thought it would catch on. [img]wink.gif[/img]

Nice camera you got there. It has a pretty small lens but takes pics you'd expect from something larger. We got this bad boy at work a couple of months ago but I have yet to get a decent shot with it...

http://tendm.typepad.com/photos/unca.../nikon_d70.jpg

It's a Nikon D70, 6.1 mp. Not sure, but I think I just need a different lens. [img]confused.gif[/img] Whatever, I just went back to my little Nikon coolpix. It's easier to operate and takes pretty good pics. Perfect for an ADD afflicted photographer like me. [img]wink.gif[/img]
April 20th, 2005, 12:59 PM
Andyman

Actually I would prefer a SLR type digital camera but that's just not in the budget. In fact, I wouldn't have the S-70 if it wasn't a gift. Back in the days when I study photography I used a Canon AE-1 35mm. I still have it and it takes great pictures! It would be nice if I could convert it to digital.
April 20th, 2005, 04:05 PM
Andyman

Quote:

Originally posted by Nostromer:
Thou art the man. The search continues...

The reason I ask is because it was the major selling point for me on one of the video cameras I've been watching drop in price over the past year. The zoom is decent, but there was a substantial price difference in the 1.0MP model to the next one down. Seems like every time I get my heart set on one it's grotesquely obsolete by the time I can afford it.

Thanks for the advice.

Now hold on. A video camera is a totally different animal when it comes to resolution. It doesn't need the higher res because the picture is moving. If I take a frame grab from any video project I'm working on it will only come out as 72 dpi at best. I'm not sure what the current benchmark is for consumer video camera megapixel rating is but I do know that they are closing the gap with digital cameras. In fact, my digital camera will take video with sound, but it won't be a 7.1 mps.

In the end it doesn't matter what you're looking at...it was obsolete yesterday. [img]wink.gif[/img]
April 20th, 2005, 08:41 PM
Biomechanoid

I'm feeling obsolete myself... [img]confused.gif[/img]

See, the video camera also takes digital stills at 1.0MP. I was hoping to buy a single device to record video and/or take shots with, but most of them start at way out of my price range. This one got closer, but now the quality doesn't seem as glamorous. I may end up with a low end video cam and a mid-range digital camera for shots. ...but I've grown accustomed to this fence under my rump...
April 21st, 2005, 03:05 AM
Peter Peeker

I don't know a lot aboot photo-stuff...but I used to have a Minolta X7-A...

and I did a bunch of pic classes when I was in school for the 17th time.
April 21st, 2005, 03:20 AM
Biomechanoid

Quote:

Originally posted by Andyman:
This one I really like! I just kept swinging the mini flashlight up and down behind Electroman.
http://images.snapfish.com/3436%3B94...36629858ot1lsi

That's really cool! Makes him look like a walking Tesla Coil!

Camera question since I'm still milling around about affordability (remember I set out to buy digital about 3 years ago and I still haven't made up my mind): Not really comparing to what's hot on the market right now, but roughly how good is 1.0 MP? Yes, I understand that it's 6.whatever less than what you took these fantastic shots with, but really, how does it stack up to a $100 35mm from Walmart, for example? Will it take decent closeups of subjects that are about 2" as well as panoramic outdoor shots?

Thanks
April 21st, 2005, 03:47 AM
Andyman

Nost, for a decent point and shoot camera I would recommend no less than 3 megapixels. Here's a rule of thumb I've heard: 3 mps for good pics up to 5x7. 6-8 mps for pics up to 8x7. Anything above is getting into pro territory. I've also heard that 12 mps is where true photo quality begins.

I think a 1 mp camera is equal to a fax machine. [img]wink.gif[/img]

[ April 20, 2005 12:56 PM: Message edited by: Andyman ]
April 21st, 2005, 03:51 AM
Peter Peeker

I got a 1.2 for my Ma...found it at Value Village for a few bucks, thought "what the hell, why not"...

can't recharge the battery though, gotta buy new ones...which means I gotta buy them, since Ma's on a fixed income.

and it actually takes decent pics.
like one of those disposables...good for b-days and shit.
which is what she uses it for.

would have been almost worthless for me though.

on an unrelated note, I need a new keyboard.
April 21st, 2005, 03:55 AM
Biomechanoid

Thou art the man. The search continues...

The reason I ask is because it was the major selling point for me on one of the video cameras I've been watching drop in price over the past year. The zoom is decent, but there was a substantial price difference in the 1.0MP model to the next one down. Seems like every time I get my heart set on one it's grotesquely obsolete by the time I can afford it.

Thanks for the advice.