I never saw a purple cow;
I never hope to see one;
but I can tell you anyhow;
I’d rather see than be one!
I modified a webcam to allow IR photography, but didn’t think to take a picture like the one Matt has displayed, in which a stove’s heating element glows purple (when viewed with his camera), just as it starts becoming incandescent. I have a gas stove.
I was browsing the web and ran across this Gigapixel image of downtown Vancouver. I used to live there — not downtown, since my postdoc salary wouldn’t support that — but I opened it to see if I recognized the area. And I did, but not from when I lived there. I went to a conference there a few years ago, and went geocaching in the mornings as my internal clock ensured that I was always awake by 5 AM. Went out and about and got back by 7, in time to get ready for the morning sessions. There’s a geocache hidden in that gazebo-like structure. The picture was taken from a bridge, and from the photographer’s perspective, the hockey/basketball venue is to the right and a little behind.
Here it is on Google maps
Using geotags on Flickr photos to create maps and identify popular tourist areas.
On Saturday after the Open House, I stopped off at the Marine Corps memorial (depicting the flag-raising at Iwo Jima) to take some long-exposure photos. (“Long” in this case is ~5 seconds) I pass by it every day going to and from work, but had never actually stopped. Lots of tourists there, even at 10 PM on a Saturday.
From that area there’s a view of the Capitol almost lined up with the Lincoln memorial and Washington monument.
Can’t remember where I first ran across this: the inauguration Gigapan photo
The artist’s blog entry, How I Made a 1,474-Megapixel Photo During President Obama’s Inaugural Address explains
I made a panoramic image showing the nearly two million people who watched President Obama’s inaugural address. To do so, I clamped a Gigapan Imager to the railing on the north media platform about six feet from my photo position. The Gigapan is a robotic camera mount that allows me to take multiple images and stitch them together, creating a massive image file.
Long Exposure Photography: 15 Stunning Examples
Something to try out. I just ordered a locking shutter-release for my digital SLR
Life’s the same, except for my shoes
Stereograms! Make Your Own 3D Camera for $15 or Less
If you happen to have two digital cameras, you can skip some of the steps, like getting the film developed and scanning the pictures. I was able to get my hands on a second camera; I found that butt-end joining got the lenses close together. I also tried side-by-side, using some optics posts and attaching to the camera tripod mounts. Unfortunately I did not have a third camera, so I can’t show the full rig.
Here is a laser table stereogram. I tested this on a few people, and not all could get it to work. But I can, and that’s good enough, for I am the benchmark for many things.
Also, you can see that the two pictures appear to diverge from each other, an example of the leaning tower illusion