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Photo A Day – August

Posted on 31 August 2010 by Rantz

One photo every day in August, as noted in the PAD 2010 post:

Done – One photograph per day will be put into the Plurk People Photo-A-Day group as well as the 365 Community;

Done – At least one photo taken with my mobile per month- preferably involving the sky and clouds (at least during the Wet);

Done -At least one photograph per month is to be a self-portrait;

Done - At least one photograph per month is to be a texture, similar in kind and quality to that of GrungeTextures;

Done - Seven photographs per week will be put into The Magnificent Seven group;

Done - At least one photograph per month is to be a panorama; and

Done – A least one panorama per month is to be made into a panosphere., though the panorama itself may be from the archives.

Posted in Stuff | Tagged Art, PAD2010, Panoramas, Photographs, Photography | 2 Comments

The above equirectangular panorama was stitched this evening from images (74 – hand held) shot today: it’s been an oddish Dry Season this year – quite a bit of rain (for the Dry) and more humid than what I’ve experienced previously for a Dry Season so it’s taken a while for this area to get the dried-out, brown look and feel that I wanted so as to be able to compare the previous panoramas I’ve shot in this same area.

The interactive version (2.62Mb, requires flash) does not auto-rotate – you’ll need to move around the image by yourself.

You can either use the navigation bar at the bottom of the screen, your mouse or the up, down, left and right arrow keys to move about the panorama. You can also use the + and – keys to zoom in and out. As this is an equrictangular, you can scrolll up to the zenith and down to the nadir for a complete environment – enjoy.

Tagged Art, Autostich, Interactive, Panoramas, Photographs | 1 Comment

Panorama (in the) Round Up

Posted on 1 August 2010 by Rantz

It’s been 23 months since I started making interactive panorams and I find that I enjoy each one as it comes out and am continually impressed by the technology which allows them to be created and viewed and shared around the world. !w00t Whilst looking through my web stats, I noticed that quite a a few of the older panoramas are still getting 200 and 300 visit per month. Just like with my other (ie non-paorama) photography, what other people like (or not) and view most often is not neccesarily the choices I would make – and that’s a grand thing. Yahoo for diversity in taste.

Enough words – time for the (in the) Round Up
The most visited this year, May 2009 - Trippy Troppy Pano

Interactive Version (5.02 Mb, .swf)

And the second most visited – also an abstract – Universoid:

Interactive panorama. 1.62 Mb, requires flash – this interactive is different to the others that I’ve put together thus far as it starts aimed at the nadir. To see the rest of the universe, you will need to pan upward.

And another abstract at third – Universal Planets:

Interactive version. 11.5Mb, requires flash.

Stokes Hills Wharf – this was made from photos taken when I went to Stokes Hill Wharf to shoot boats – didn’t get much that I liked of boats but shot lots of other images that I liked:

Interactive version (435 Kb, requires flash).

And two made at the Casuarina Coastal Reserve earlier this year Knocked em Down and Drying (I’ve been waiting for the area to dry out more so I can get shots for the “Middle of the Dry Season” look – but it’s been an odd Dry – lots of rain, high humidity – still not ‘Dry Season’ enough for me to get the image I want):

Interactive version (2.54 Mb, requires flash)

Whilst the image above is stitched properly, the interactive version (3.6Mb, requires flash) is put together as if it is an equirectangular, resulting in the trees going to a point at the top and the tracks going to a point at the bottom. Not realistic, obviously, but I like the way the horisontal viewpoint looks with these angles.

And the most recent of the 360 panos, taken and stitched in July – Fogg Dam Spinning:

I’ve now finished processing the last of the photos from the Fogg Dam Walkabout and the above 360 pano is now available in an interactive version – 1.62Mb, requires flash. Please note that unlike most other interactive panos I upload, this one *does not* auto rotate – you’ll need to do that yourself. To navigate the interactive pano, use either your mouse to click and drag or the arrow keys to move let and right and the + and – keys to zoom.

The above are about half of the interactive panoramas I’ve created to-date – you can find the others here.

Thanks for visiting.

Tagged Interactive, Panoramas, Photography | Leave a comment

Photo A Day – July

Posted on 31 July 2010 by Rantz

One photo every day in July, as noted in the PAD 2010 post:

Done – One photograph per day will be put into the Plurk People Photo-A-Day group as well as the 365 Community;

Done – At least one photo taken with my mobile per month- preferably involving the sky and clouds (at least during the Wet);

Done -At least one photograph per month is to be a self-portrait;

Done - At least one photograph per month is to be a texture, similar in kind and quality to that of GrungeTextures;

Done - Seven photographs per week will be put into The Magnificent Seven group;

Done - At least one photograph per month is to be a panorama; and

Done – A least one panorama per month is to be made into a panosphere., though the panorama itself may be from the archives.

Posted in Stuff | Tagged Art, PAD2010, Panoramas, Photographs, Photography | Leave a comment

Aust Sex Party: Government Says No!

Posted on 28 July 2010 by Rantz

Tagged Videos | Leave a comment

Hipstamatic

Posted on 27 July 2010 by Rantz

The Hipstamatic is my favourite camera. It is a beautiful piece of work and it is almost impossible (for me, at least) to shoot an image I don’t like. If you’re an iPhone addict (or an iPhone addict in the making), this is the camera you must have.

The Hipstamatic application is based on the Hipstamatic camera – a camera that I would love to have in my kit.

I liked the application before I even had an iPhone and now that I’ve had the iPhone for over three months, I’m definitely glad that I choose to get a new phone based on a photography application that looked grand at first glance.

And if you’d like to expand your iPhoneography once you’ve become addicted to the Hipstamatic, I also highly recommend SwankoLab – by the makers of the Hipsta.

Tagged iPhone, Photographs, Photography | Leave a comment

Fogg Dam Spinning

Posted on 17 July 2010 by Rantz

I’ve now finished processing the last of the photos from the Fogg Dam Walkabout and the above 360 pano is now available in an interactive version – 1.62Mb, requires flash. Please note that unlike most other interactive panos I upload, this one *does not* auto rotate – you’ll need to do that yourself. To navigate the interactive pano, use either your mouse to click and drag or the arrow keys to move let and right and the + and – keys to zoom.

Careful of the crocs.

The slidshow above is now complete.

Tagged Commentary, Panoramas, Photographs, Photography | 1 Comment

Fogg Dam Walkabout

Posted on 12 July 2010 by Rantz

The above pano is just before the sun showed itself.

The above SOOC is just after the sun showed its entire self.

Another grand walkabout with austr07, this time out at Fogg Dam.

The above slideshow is those that I’ve processed and uploaded at time of posting.

There are more to come but for now, it’s time for a wee snack and a bit of reading.

Tagged Panoramas, Photographs, Photography | 1 Comment

Quarry Walkabout

Posted on 6 July 2010 by Rantz

I went for on a walkabout with austr07 yesterday, on the outskirts of Darwin. Having known each other for a while on Flickr, we finally manged to meet up in-the-flesh and had a grand morning of exploring quarries and, for me, discovering what they have to offer. Austr07 lives closer to the area we visited than I do and he’s explored them quite grandly – taking me to share the treasures he’s found.

Thanks mate, most appreciated – I look forward to a repeat.

Tagged Commentary, Photographs | 2 Comments

Red Onion and Tomato Chutney*

Posted on 3 July 2010 by Rantz

Ingredients:
* 1kg red onions , finely sliced
* 1kg tomatoes , roughly chopped
* 2 bulbs garlic , chopped (vary amount to taste)
* 8 chilis red , chopped (vary amount to taste)
* (big) chunk of ginger , peeled and chopped (vary amount to taste)
* 500g brown sugar
* 300ml vinegar (I used a combination of white and balsamic)
* 1 Tbsp cardamom
* 1 tsp allspice
* vegetable oil (I used olive)

‘structions:
* put onions in large pan, sprinkle with oil, mix
* turn heat on to large pan, sweat onions until much reduced in volume
* add garlic, chilis, ginger, sugar, allspice – mix thorughly
* add tomatoes vinegar(s)
* bring to the boil, mix
* lower heat and simmer for an hour or so, stirring regularly
* when cooked, store in sterililsed jars
* consume
* make again

Notes:
* I first made a small batch of this and it went quickly so have decided on the amounts above for today’s batch
* I’ve doubled the onions and kept the tomotoes at 1kg – you can experiment with the amounts as well as the rest of the flavours
* The original recipe called for paprika instead of allspice – I had no paprika and thought allspice could be a good flavour
* I intend on having this with my dinner of Spinach Pancakes this evening.
* My flat smells fantastic – I’d like these aromas more often.

*based on a recipe by Purple Cactus

Tagged Photographs, Recipes | 1 Comment

Photo A Day – June

Posted on 30 June 2010 by Rantz

One photo every day in June, as noted in the PAD 2010 post:

Done – One photograph per day will be put into the Plurk People Photo-A-Day group as well as the 365 Community;

Done – At least one photo taken with my mobile per month- preferably involving the sky and clouds (at least during the Wet);

FAIL -At least one photograph per month is to be a self-portrait;

Done - At least one photograph per month is to be a texture, similar in kind and quality to that of GrungeTextures;

Done - Seven photographs per week will be put into The Magnificent Seven group;

Done - At least one photograph per month is to be a panorama; and

FAIL – A least one panorama per month is to be made into a panosphere., though the panorama itself may be from the archives.

FAILed two of the categories… hmmm… better fix that next month.

Yeah, yeah – 30 days 31 fotiez – it was another one of those months where I couldn’t decide between two one day so I didn’t.

Tagged Art, PAD2010, Panoramas, Photographs, Photography | 2 Comments

Partial Eclipse

Posted on 27 June 2010 by Rantz

This is the last image I’ll be uploading from the lunar eclipse of 26 Jun 2010 – quite a wonderful, clear sky to view and shoot the lunar eclipse, partial though it was, beautiful it is.

The above is the first image that I shot last night – set up the tripod and camera just near the passionfruit vines – I like this abstract. Could be any number of things.

The above is the last image that I shot last night but the first image uploaded of the event – last evening, just before the bed. This shot was taken at 21.41. By comparison, the last shot (top right) of the first image in this post was taken at 21.23.

The above slideshow are those that I shot on Saturday evening, 26 Jun 2010 in my backyard. The first 12 or so are all ‘Straight Out of Camera’ – there will be more added to the tag once I’ve finished making a few images out of the SOOCs. I’d suggest enlarging the slideshow to full-screen.

All of these images were shot with a Nikon D90 with a 300mm lens with a 1.4 teleconverter – camera mounted on tripod, various exposure settings in each photo – check the flickr page of each for further information.

Enjoy.

Tagged Commentary, Photographs, Photography, SOOC | 1 Comment

WP for iOS

Posted on 27 June 2010 by Rantz

I now have the WordPress for iPhone application* installed on my phone and can now edit my various blogs via same.

How grand is that?
*yeah, yeah, I know – the folksonomy is iPhone app – but I dont’ like it.

Tagged Commentary, iPhone, WordPress | Leave a comment

Chocolate, Banana, Cherry Muffins

Posted on 26 June 2010 by Rantz

This recipe is for Clayton’s kid. When I made them there were six in the tray , this is a QuadCamera (yes, I know – there are eight trays – more for nomming) result:

Recipe:

2 cups self-raising flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 handfuls chocolate chips
1 banana, smished (I’d use 2, next time)
23 cherries
2 eggs
1 cup milk (I used soya)
1/3 vegetable oil (I used olive)

Instructions

preheat oven to 180C
grease muffin tray
mix flour, sugar, cocoa powder in bowl – I used a wooden spoon
add 1 handful chocolate chips, banana, milk, eggs – mix but not tooooo much – thick and lumpy – this is not a sponge…
spoon into muffin tin
add 3 pitted cherries to the top of each muffin
bake for 23 to 30 minutes
eat other handful of chocolate chips and 5 cherries
remove from oven at 23 minutes – when skewer comes out clean, muffins are cooked
if not cooked at 23 minutes, cook for another 5, re-skewer
when cooked, remove from muffin tin
let cool for a wee bit
eat one or two whilst as hot as possible without burning your mouth
save the rest for later

Tagged iPhone, Photographs, Recipes | Leave a comment

EYE’EM Shorlist

Posted on 20 June 2010 by Rantz

The above image has made it into the EYE’EM shortlist.

The winner will be announced on 22nd June, 7pm (CET) at the Berlin based gallery Schlechtriem Brothers.

I’ll be sleeping so will know the result when I awake on the 23rd.

Tagged Art, GIMP, Photographs | Leave a comment

Drying…

Posted on 16 June 2010 by Rantz

Whilst the image above is stitched properly, the interactive version (3.6Mb, requires flash) is put together as if it is an equirectangular, resulting in the trees going to a point at the top and the tracks going to a point at the bottom. Not realistic, obviously, but I like the way the horisontal viewpoint looks with these angles.

This interactive version requires shockwave – and it is a more realistic view, not pinched into an equirectangular.

Tagged Art, Autostich, Commentary, Interactive, Panoramas, Photographs | Leave a comment

Photo A Day – May

Posted on 31 May 2010 by Rantz

One photo every day in May, as noted in the PAD 2010 post:

Done – One photograph per day will be put into the Plurk People Photo-A-Day group as well as the 365 Community;

Done – At least one photo taken with my mobile per month- preferably involving the sky and clouds (at least during the Wet);

Done – At least one photograph per month is to be a self-portrait;

Done - At least one photograph per month is to be a texture, similar in kind and quality to that of GrungeTextures;

Done - Seven photographs per week will be put into The Magnificent Seven group;

Done - At least one photograph per month is to be a panorama; and

Done- A least one panorama per month is to be made into a panosphere., though the panorama itself may be from the archives.

Tagged Art, PAD2010, Panoramas, Photographs, Photography | Leave a comment

Stokes Hill Wharf

Posted on 16 May 2010 by Rantz

Interactive version (435 Kb, requires flash).

Tagged Autostich, Darwin Harbour, Interactive, Panoramas | 1 Comment

iPhone Home – re-imaged

Posted on 6 May 2010 by Rantz

I used the iPhone Home image I shot a the Crusty Demons show on 24 Apr 2010 to create this:

I cloned out the the advertising – which you could see too well – and cropped out the crowd – which you could barely see properly – and added a 23 – of course. Then duplicated layer, set at Overlay 100%, did the same again, flattened image. Done.

This, I reckon, highlights the grand bits (the sky, the cloud, the performers and their bikes) and leaves out the advertising.

The original photo peaked at number 152 on Flickr Explore on Friday, 30 April 2010.

I’m chuffed – again.

Tagged Art, GIMP, Photographs, Photography | Leave a comment

iPhone Home

Posted on 5 May 2010 by Rantz

Image shot during the last hurrah of the Crusty Demons show on 24 April 2010 – taken using my iPhone which was one day old at the time.

This photo peaked at number 152 on Flickr Explore on Friday, 30 April 2010.

Chuffed, I am.

Tagged Commentary, Photographs, Photography | 1 Comment

Cat5 ribbon campaign

Posted on 5 May 2010 by Rantz

Posted in Stuff | Tagged Stuff | Leave a comment

Photo A Day – April

Posted on 30 April 2010 by Rantz

One photo every day in April, as noted in the PAD 2010 post:

Done – One photograph per day will be put into the Plurk People Photo-A-Day group as well as the 365 Community;

Done – At least one photo taken with my mobile per month- preferably involving the sky and clouds (at least during the Wet);

Done – At least one photograph per month is to be a self-portrait;

Done - At least one photograph per month is to be a texture, similar in kind and quality to that of GrungeTextures;

Done - Seven photographs per week will be put into The Magnificent Seven group;

Done - At least one photograph per month is to be a panorama; and

Done- A least one panorama per month is to be made into a panosphere., though the panorama itself may be from the archives.

Tagged Art, PAD2010, Panoramas, Photographs, Photography | Leave a comment

Rally for Concerned Photographers

Posted on 26 April 2010 by Rantz

Arts Freedom Australia is holding a Rally for Concerned Photographers near Campbells Cove on Sydney Harbour on Sunday, August 29th between 10am and 12 noon to raise awareness about the eroding rights of photographers in Australia.

As a photographer, I find the erosion of rights a major concern – as a nerd, I like that the organisation has announced this event four months in advance – given me more than enough time to organise to get to Sydney for the conference. With a bit of luck, I’ll be there – maybe even with my “I have a sign” sign (it’s still being made…).

Tagged Art, Commentary, Photography | Leave a comment