I usually have up to half a dozen Goldfinches visiting but this morning there was just one enjoying some sunlight and a free meal:
No sound on this video:
Have a nice weekend observing the wildlife around you.
Friday, 8 November 2013
Thursday, 7 November 2013
Twist in Action
A quick video this morning showing how the iPhone app Twist produces its results. Looking straight down on top of a rotating pitcher plant. First with a decreasing circle slit and then a linear slit. The iPhone was clamped on a tripod. It's the hand held Nikon which is wobbling about!
Among other effects there is one where several random shapes expand while slicing the photo giving a more surreal effect:
Among other effects there is one where several random shapes expand while slicing the photo giving a more surreal effect:
Wednesday, 6 November 2013
Slit Photography
While I was researching something else I came across the topic of slit photography. This is where a set of stills of a moving object are reprocessed into one photo with a one pixel wide row or column being taken from each of the originals. Or a moving object is photographed live but with one pixel wide rows or columns being processed at set time intervals until the whole frame has been covered.
Some examples can be found at Slit-Cam, The Time Machine and Discover Digital Photography.
Some of the sample results I saw got me to investigate further hoping to find a free program for the PC which would produce similar results. Ages searching and reading brought up two but I couldn't get on with either. The first was very simple to use but didn't seem to be ale to make a full size photo, only producing a small section. The other used java scripts which needed modifying every time the photos used were changed.
Then I decided to look to see what free apps for the iPhone were available. Found two and a quick trial of each did produce results. Both are used live, that is while shooting a moving object. Those tried were 'Twist' and 'Slit-Cam' Not the sort of photo apps which can be used hand held so the iPhone was tripod mounted.
I set up a potted plant on my arduino driven stepper rotating platform and tried them out.
Results:
I like some of the effects. 'Twist' gives several possible ways of streaking the photos but the resultant resolution is poor. OK on a phone but not much use any larger. Also it is heavily advert driven which can be a real pain. If there were a higher quality ad free paid for version then it would be worth experimenting further.
The free version of 'Slit-Cam' has ads but not so intrusive. There is a paid for ad free version with higher resolution.
'Twist' seems to have a fixed frame rate but 'Slit-Cam' can be adjusted from 1 frame per second to 30fps..
Some examples can be found at Slit-Cam, The Time Machine and Discover Digital Photography.
Some of the sample results I saw got me to investigate further hoping to find a free program for the PC which would produce similar results. Ages searching and reading brought up two but I couldn't get on with either. The first was very simple to use but didn't seem to be ale to make a full size photo, only producing a small section. The other used java scripts which needed modifying every time the photos used were changed.
Then I decided to look to see what free apps for the iPhone were available. Found two and a quick trial of each did produce results. Both are used live, that is while shooting a moving object. Those tried were 'Twist' and 'Slit-Cam' Not the sort of photo apps which can be used hand held so the iPhone was tripod mounted.
I set up a potted plant on my arduino driven stepper rotating platform and tried them out.
Results:
I like some of the effects. 'Twist' gives several possible ways of streaking the photos but the resultant resolution is poor. OK on a phone but not much use any larger. Also it is heavily advert driven which can be a real pain. If there were a higher quality ad free paid for version then it would be worth experimenting further.
The free version of 'Slit-Cam' has ads but not so intrusive. There is a paid for ad free version with higher resolution.
'Twist' seems to have a fixed frame rate but 'Slit-Cam' can be adjusted from 1 frame per second to 30fps..
Monday, 4 November 2013
Macro on Monday - Guess What
An excellent set of guesses for last week's mystery photo with eight out of eight correct so congratulations and the virtual Gold Star to Adrian, TexWisGirl, Sue Garrett, Wilma, ImaBurdie, Glo and Ragged Robin who identified the fat ball and to Bonnie for thinking it was a suet cake, which it could well have been.
Nearly didn't get a new one for this week. Firstly I just couldn't find anything until the last minute (nothing new there) and then the 50D threw a wobbly. Switching it on it came up 'can't make a folder' and then refused to start up! Long search on the net for possible causes. Turned out to be a fault with the memory card so I re-formatted that but the camera had to be left powered down for quite a while before it would start up again. All appears to be working OK now, but without Magic Lantern.
Anyway This is the challenge for this week.
Guess What:
In case you need it -
Clue: featherless but could be connected with an eagle and an albatross.
No prizes, just for fun.
Answer, along with any guesses left in the comments will be revealed next Monday.
Sunday, 3 November 2013
Latest Toy
It's a while since I built an electronic rain gauge using an Arduino and a four line LCD to show the readings. This seems to be working well and the readings tally with the commercial one which suddenly started working again! For October the totals were 3 inches on the commercial one and 75mm on my home made version.
What I want is a more sophisticated display and to add more readings (temperature, barometric pressure and humidity) with a graphical display. To this end I have been researching which colour graphical LCD displays might be used with an Arduino.
Recently I bought a small colour display (128 x 128 pixels, 1.25 inches square) which plugs straight in to an Arduino Uno or Seeeduino to try out and see how well it would work:
Don't go thinking this is all my own work. I am experimenting with some example files I downloaded. Tinkering with those is a good way to learn how to program it. On the whole I am pleased but wish, of course, I had bought a larger display so I now have a 2.4 inch (240x320 pixels) one on order from China. If all works out as I tentatively plan I could end up using both displays.
What I want is a more sophisticated display and to add more readings (temperature, barometric pressure and humidity) with a graphical display. To this end I have been researching which colour graphical LCD displays might be used with an Arduino.
Recently I bought a small colour display (128 x 128 pixels, 1.25 inches square) which plugs straight in to an Arduino Uno or Seeeduino to try out and see how well it would work:
Don't go thinking this is all my own work. I am experimenting with some example files I downloaded. Tinkering with those is a good way to learn how to program it. On the whole I am pleased but wish, of course, I had bought a larger display so I now have a 2.4 inch (240x320 pixels) one on order from China. If all works out as I tentatively plan I could end up using both displays.
Saturday, 2 November 2013
Sunrise
Nice Sunrise this morning. Normally I aim to take photos as we return from our early morning walkies but often end up missing it as the Sun has appeared above the horizon and the sky is washed out. Today I took a few shots with the iPhone4 using Camera+ as we set off.
The best one:
The same shot tweaked using Photomatrix Pro v4.1 ....
.... which is much nearer to what I could actually see.
The clouds were not the only orange objects in the sky. I was taken by surprise when I heard what I thought was a group of geese approaching while I was getting ready. Once they were near enough to make out what was making the loud honking noises I could see a group of five white swans whose bodies were glowing orange in the low Sunlight. Needless to say the camera wasn't at hand!
The best one:
The same shot tweaked using Photomatrix Pro v4.1 ....
.... which is much nearer to what I could actually see.
The clouds were not the only orange objects in the sky. I was taken by surprise when I heard what I thought was a group of geese approaching while I was getting ready. Once they were near enough to make out what was making the loud honking noises I could see a group of five white swans whose bodies were glowing orange in the low Sunlight. Needless to say the camera wasn't at hand!
Friday, 1 November 2013
Friday at the Flicks - A Mouse and a Hedgehog
The mouse which lives under the Summerhouse makes many visits day and night to the Hedgehog House. As we approach Winter the Hedgehog visits are less frequent. Some nights with no activity so there are usually plenty of crushed unsalted peanut pieces left in the House.
In the first part of the video the mouse is eating when it obviously hears something, stops, listens, wiggles its ears a bit and sniffs the air before making a rapid dash for home.
Much later a Hedgehog makes a visit to get its share of the food:
Missed Photo Opportunity.
Out walkies about 7 a.m. this morning. As we approached one bungalow which backs on to a field I spotted what at first I thought was a dull brown cat with a bushy tail in the front garden. When it moved I could see was it was a fox. The first time I have seen one in the village for years. Unfortunately it spotted us and beat a hasty retreat. At the same time a couple of Wood Pigeons flew up from the garden so I guess the fox was looking for breakfast. As it moved Penny saw it and was straining at the leash to give chase. Once we drew level with the garden she stopped and spent ages just sniffing the air, probably working out what it was. I have no idea whether she had seen a fox before but as far as she was concerned it was smaller than her, furry and ideal for a bit of hunting activity.
In the first part of the video the mouse is eating when it obviously hears something, stops, listens, wiggles its ears a bit and sniffs the air before making a rapid dash for home.
Much later a Hedgehog makes a visit to get its share of the food:
Missed Photo Opportunity.
Out walkies about 7 a.m. this morning. As we approached one bungalow which backs on to a field I spotted what at first I thought was a dull brown cat with a bushy tail in the front garden. When it moved I could see was it was a fox. The first time I have seen one in the village for years. Unfortunately it spotted us and beat a hasty retreat. At the same time a couple of Wood Pigeons flew up from the garden so I guess the fox was looking for breakfast. As it moved Penny saw it and was straining at the leash to give chase. Once we drew level with the garden she stopped and spent ages just sniffing the air, probably working out what it was. I have no idea whether she had seen a fox before but as far as she was concerned it was smaller than her, furry and ideal for a bit of hunting activity.
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