Twenty-five image bokeh panorama shot at the office today. I’m learning a lot about the process of creating these. The 90mm lens I’m using seems to be a bit long and a bit slow. It’s not easy to get good coverage without taking a lot of shots. The depth of field is not shallow enough…
Author: thedude
Be Smart – Try Again
I noticed that my photo stitching software was a couple versions behind, so I downloaded the most recent version and rendered the Smart pano again. Forty image bokeh panorama shot in the garage at work on a Sunday morning. Right-click here to download a 5K version.
The Brenizer Method
This weekend I learned of the Brenizer Method This photographic technique creates images of very high resolution and very shallow depth of field. The resulting “bokeh panorama” simulates the look of a very large (8 x 10) format camera with your basic digital camera. Excellent! I could not wait to try this for myself, but…
Kelly’s Perfect Birthday
What could be more relaxing than scooping poop with her best four-legged friends at the barn?
Happy New Year!
A little more fun with V-Ray and PhotoShop. Let’s toast to a wonderful 2017!
Merry Christmas
In case you’re wondering, I created thedude & Kelly action figures in Cinema4D and composited them into a photograph of our fake tree with PhotoShop.
Belize
Our first visit to Belize was a good one. We spent the first half at Blanacaneaux Lodge. (It was so wonderful, we’re already planning another visit.) For the second half, we chose a beach setting at another Coppola resort – Turtle Inn. Both were amazing in their own way, and provided excellent backdrops for the…
Cell Phone Street Photography
I walked to the local Ace Hardware this morning and took a few shots along the way. I noticed some attempts to thwart graffiti. I love all the color and the bold designs. I hope these works of art remain unspoiled for a long time. I also discovered that my Nexus 5X is almost perfect…
Step One in My Recovery
To deactivate your account: Click the account menu at the top right of any Facebook page. Select Settings. Click Security in the left column. Choose Deactivate your account then follow the steps to confirm.
Halloween Photo Booth
I’m getting better and better results from the booth. Not just because of tweaks to the hardware, but also due to the fact that my audience at work knows how to get better pictures out of it. (Get closer! Lean in a bit!) And although I can fit 10 or 12 people in the booth,…
Nova in the Booth
Kelly’s birds definitely do not want anything to do with this shiny contraption, but I was able to get this cool shot of Nova just as she began her escape.
Interns!
I decided not to these in a more casual setting than my more formal headshots. These were taken handheld with my Fuji X100 and a Nikon SB 800 flash. I wanted a bit of variety, so I shot them in different locations around he office.
This is My Brain on kubrick
My mind is still reeling from this weekend’s viewing of the Kubrick classic accompanied by the San Francisco Symphony. The orchestra was flanked by two choirs. Their performance of Lux Aeterna was positively spine-tingling. I believe I shed a tear or two. In case you forgot, filming for this ground-breaking film was begun in 1965,…
Thermofisher Ad
Well, we gave up on the Lombard Street idea. I thought it was an impossible shot, and it turned out I was right about that. So, we opted for another iconic Bay Area view. What I like most is that this piece will be printed 6 x 4 FEET in size, and hung around Thermofisher…
Seeing the Unseeable
Here’s an interesting view of one of the six rows of gear I maintain in the datacenter. Looks kinda cool, eh? You might wonder how I created an image like this, given that the rows of servers have less than three feet between them. This means I have to make the shot from about two…
John and Michael
I love it when this happens. While walking on the course today, I asked Tom’s sons John and Michael to pose for a quick shot. And I do mean quick. This shot was done in maybe five seconds. I knew instantly that I wanted to give it a retro treatment like this. It’s no surprise…
Walking in the ‘hood
Shot with my Nexus 5X, which, as you can see, makes a pretty decent camera.
Fabulous Fresno Fourth
Maybe it was the 100-degree heat, or maybe it was the super-cute Ava or the massive amounts of food and drink. All I know is that something made us all a little bit crazy this weekend. More holiday photos.
This is not your mama’s photo booth
It’s difficult to pick favorites from yesterday’s party at work.
Happy Birthdays!
Jack and Tres are two of my favorite subjects, and their colorful, wildly-decorated loft is certainly one of the most interesting locations I know of. Happy Birthdays to a couple of wonderful people!! The rest of the evening’s images can be viewed here.
Let’s Be Perfectly Clear
I guess the word “focus” is too confusing? A few more shots from Oakland Zoo’s annual Walk in the Wild.
Lombard Street
Last night I went on a scouting mission. I’m looking for a location for an upcoming project. The Creative Director floated this top-of-Lombard-Street idea. I’m certainly not the first to make this shot, but I was surprised at how easy it was to grab this 30-second time exposure on a cold and windy summer night…
What Just Happened?
We went into it prepared for the worst, but as the energy and the volume level in the arena swelled into a raging torrent, we were swept into the madness. When it was over, we were utterly drained. Stunned. WTF? Of course, none of this diminishes the fact that our beloved team got more than…
A new typeface!
Now, THIS is exciting! Monotype has created a brilliant update to the gorgeous Johnston typeface on the occasion of its 100th birthday. This is very serious business. Watch the video to get a sense for just how exciting this is! Just to tease me, it appears that they released the bold version only. Of…
V-Ray deliciousness
I had experimented with V-Ray a bit a few months ago, but at the time it only ran on an earlier version of Cinema4D, and when it did, it felt a bit flaky. Well, I’m happy to say that it runs flawlessly on on Cinema4D R17! My product renderings never looked better. I wear a…
S5 mosaic Installation
So I created this mosaic of pretty much every picture I ever took at work using a program called Mazaika. The image was constructed from more than 4,500 pictures of all the people and products that came together to enable us to create the amazing Ion Torrent S5. The image turned out to be quite…
Ocean View Drive
I like this hand-help time exposure from our recent Pacific Grove trip.
Happy Anniversary
We celebrated a pair of anniversaries last weekend at one of our favorite places – the spectacular restaurant at Post Ranch Inn. After a delicious lunch, I handed my camera to the waiter who took today’s featured shot. I might have framed it differently, but I love it.
Headshots-III
More coworkers got brave enough to step into my amazing hallway studio for a head shot.
Happy Easter
I took a short hike today hoping to see fields of wildflowers, but I think I was about a week too early, so not a lot of flower shots today. Instead, I shot some man-made objects, including a freshly-installed Mag Spike and a bushel of unidentified metal thingies, evidently used in the construction of new…