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zombiesbecrazy · 5 years

Text

flipped and backwards

Summary: Oh, goody. It was opposite day.

AO3

It was still early as far as vigilante hours went, sun still pouring in through the face of the Clocktower and while Barbara was at her computer, she was more focused on the online shopping that she was doing for the holidays than on anything running through her screens. There was only one operative currently in the field and he was just doing some standard covert recon in on of the warehouses and didn’t need active monitoring because it was pretty boring stuff. Hide in vent. Watch from vent. Crawl back out of vent. File report.

She was weighing the difference between two difference white noise machines that her dad had said he was interested in when a voice chirped up over the comms, distracting her from her Amazon cart. "Uhh, Oracle?"

"Go ahead." Dick was supposed to be radio silent, hiding out while overlooking an abandoned warehouse factory floor, a suspected hub for some arms dealers that had been beginning to pop up through the city but it was still watch and observe only. Barbara wasn’t overly concerned about him breaking the protocol, waiting in silence was never the strongest of his skills, but he didn’t usually take unnecessary risks like that.

"How many goons did you say were in this building?" His voice was a little tinny, like it was bouncing off the walls of the shaft he was tucked away in.

"Eight."

There was a moment of shifting on Dick’s end of the line and then a pause. "And how sure are you of that number?"

Barbara frowned at the question but pulled up the cameras on the screen and looked it over quickly and double checked her previous work. "One hundred percent. I’m counting the signatures on the infrared filter as we speak. Nine warm bodies and that includes you."

"Thought so." There was a sigh and then some more shifting that made more noise than she liked to hear over the comms when someone was trying to be stealthy and she was about to comment on the amount of noise that he was making before he said, "In that case, we have a different problem because I seem to be extremely compromised."

"How so?" Barbara was pulling up the schematics of the warehouse of the building so that she could get a better look at the path that Dick had taken. Everything looked normal.

"Because I see about 50 goons."

That certainly caught her attention and made her fingers pause on the keys and turned to a different view on her screen, to the camera on the opposite side of the building. “Maybe there is something wrong with my cameras? Or robots? Let me flip to…” Barbara trailed off as she processed the image on the screen in front of her. “Nightwing, why the hell are you not in the air vent?”

She watched Dick on her screen, hanging by his fingertips from the vent and dangling towards the ground, somehow freeze and stop in mid swing. “I am?”

“You aren’t, because I can see you on my screen, clinging to the outside of it.” Barbara sat up straighter and pulled her headset on so it was easier to direct him. He was behind some shelves but it was only a matter of time before he was noticed. “Get back in before they see you.”

“But I am in the vent!?” Dick sounded genuinely confused and there was a slip of panic entering into his voice which was understandable because while she didn’t know what had happened and with what but Dick was clearly on some sort of hallucinogenic drug or magic or something if he was completely unaware of his actual surroundings like that.

“I’m switching to your mask lens cam.” She clicked one of the views on her screen and what showed up was similar to what she had seen on her surveillance screen, just from a different and more upside down angle which meshed with the position that Dick’s head seemed to be in. “I can confirm that you are absolutely not in the vent, that there are only eight guys in the room and whatever is happening to you is absolutely in your own head.” There was movement on the far screen, one of the men pushing a cart in Dick’s general direction. He wasn’t close, but the line of sight was going to be perfectly clear and there was no way that he wouldn’t be seen. “Get in the vent, Dick. Now.”

“How do you suggest I get back in the vent when I think I’m already in there?” snapped Dick, clearly frustrated. He was quickly running out of time, even for if he was at full cognitive ability.

“Maybe close your eyes and go by fee… crap.” She could see the people in the warehouse turn running towards where Dick was hanging. The cart guy must have called out when he had seen him.. “You’ve been spotted.”

“Suggestions? Because I’m seeing at least six times the amount of people compared to what you say is real and I’m not trusting my lay of the land.”

“Remember when we were kids and B would have one of us be blindfolded and the other would give directions while we sparred against him? To practice fighting in the dark?” Dick’s POV camera nodded up and down, just a fraction, but enough to notice that he agreed. “It’s just like that. Lucky for you, I am amazing at that. Now drop down.”

“I am down!”

“Then trying jumping up?” she suggested and Dick made a rather Damian sounding tongue click, but Barbara could see him land on the floor on the monitors. Oh, goody. It was opposite day.

“Okay, this is weird," he muttered. "I felt myself land but it looks like I’m walking on the ceiling.” Dick was on his feet, and while he wasn’t swaying or anything, it looked like he was slightly off in his own body which was an unnatural thing for him. “It’s like I’m in a really crappy House of Mirrors. These aren’t Joker’s men, right?”

“No connection.” This appeared to be Copplepot operation so far, possibly Falcone, but nothing Joker related. “Alright, incoming at two o’clock, left jab and the right knee to the groin in three, two, one.”

And then Dick did exactly what she said but with the directions reversed and got clocked in the face as a result. Barbara winced sympathetically as his head snapped back from being caught unaware, but he recovered fast, instinctively he grabbing the guy, flipping him over his shoulder and stomping on his nose, just hard enough to break the joint. He rubbed his jaw carefully, opening and closing it a couple times. “You and I have very different ideas of what two o’clock is, O.”

“Sorry. You are fully backwards, not just up and down. I’ll adjust to how you would be seeing it.” It would be easier for her to translate behind the scenes than to try and have him to it while is both in a fight and compromised, because even if he was just aware of seeing things wrong, the fact that he had climbed out of the vent without knowing it in the first place suggested that there were other complications. They were both just lucky that he was still able to fight with a little guidance. “Three o’clock, jump and kick” She watched as Dick crouched and leg swept the incoming goon on his left. “There you go,” she chuckled. It was like using VR goggles and she was playing Mortal Kombat and it was sort of fun now that she had figured out the combo moves. “Alright. Left stick, swing upwards fast at mid speed.” Crack. “Perfect. Right roundhouse kick, now!” Whump. Barbara caught the look on Dick’s face on one of the other screens and he was grinning, big and bright, and she was glad to see that they were both having fun even if it was under strange circumstances.

Far too quickly the last guy was down, leaving Dick as the only one standing in the warehouse, breathing heavily with a bruise forming on his chin, but otherwise unharmed and Barbara laughing, trying to figure out how to score their fight XP.

“Good job, Boy Wonder. How are you holding up?”

“Pretty good. Thirsty. A little disoriented. I still see more dudes and think I’m on the roof, so yeah. Do you have a plan for me now?”

“Do I have a plan for you?” They both laughed because of course she, the planniest of planners, had a plan. “I have Red Robin waiting for you outside with the bike. He’s going to drive you back to the Cave for drug testing because something is clearly up.” She directed him towards the door of the warehouse, where Tim was waiting patiently on the other side. Dick carefully climbs behind Tim and wrapped his arms around him tight.

“Maybe you can swing by later once they have you all fixed up? I can give you all sorts of other kinds of direction that I’m good at.” Barbara whispered over the comm and then winked as if he could see her, and giggled because she saw him wink back right after. Still in sync.

“Only if you are willing to kiss my boo boo better. This bruise is at least 60% your fault.”

“See you soon, sweetie.”

#whumptober2019 #no.22 #barbara gordon #dick grayson #dickbabs #but only a little #whumptober is kicking my ass

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rkongwu · 4 years

Photo

“hey guys!” a rather chipper greeting accentuated by a cheeky smile and a wave to the camera opened the first few frames. earnest brown eyes were fixated on the lens beneath a slight scruff of dark hair as the gym equipment passed by in the background, his footsteps inaudible. “my luck must be really good today. i thought about coming to the gym just to work out for a little and would you look at that?” he turned the camera round to show the bodiless space, the workout equipment all void of bodies. the evening sky cast an orange glow through the windows beneath the fluorescent lights and gave the atmosphere a nice warmth that he commented on. “totally empty! and the lighting is no joke.”

the camera approached a treadmill and began to slightly shakily turn around until it was settled with him in frame standing atop the running belt. “i thought this would be the perfect opportunity to film how i both work out and train my stamina for when i sing. i always show the finished products but this is like... a work in progress?” his head canted lightly to the side, the towel dangling from his shoulder dragged down slowly to rest over the handrail. “i seriously get some of the best workouts like this and i’ve been practicing like this for a few years now. if you want to increase your lung capacity as a singer, give this a try. you’ll find out just how much work you really need to do.”

as he spoke he emptied his pockets, the casual t-shirt / sweatpants combo a complimentary accent to his build and height. he cradled his phone in his hand and scrolled on the screen, a hand coming up through his hair to mess it a touch. “the song... that i will be singing to today... isss....” his words dragged as he searched diligently through his playlist, the first few notes chiming and flickering his eyes back to the camera with a cheeky smile. “did you guess it? it’s a song with some intense choreography. so i have to exercise a bit intensely to match it, right?” he set the phone before him in the cradle on the treadmill and powered the machine on to start his settings. he placed his hands on the sides and beamed at the camera. “let’s get into it then, yeah?”

as he pressed play on the song, a small banner appeared on the bottom of the screen to alert his viewers that he had received permission from the gym owner to film this video beforehand. he walked as the treadmill began his warmup, his head already beginning to bob a bit to the song. the first few counts passed and with his back straight, his voice carried clear and stable from years of this exact kind of training. there was a fullness to his voice that rounded out in clear register, the mid-timbre of his voice complementing the deeper notes of the song and giving a weight to the higher ones that burst wide open when he belted into them.

as the song continued, the treadmill began to pick up pace and soon his comfortable walk turned into a light jog which paced into a quick jog. he never went into a full-out run but this type of exercise forced him to control his breathing and push himself to his limits with the expansion and projection of his voice. beads of sweat rolled at his temples and a hand came to rest at his sternum, a silent determination to not shy away and lose his control. he was very stable and he could reach the notes within the song as they existed within his range but to maintain a vibrato while running was tough and the concentration could be seen in his features as he tried to achieve it. sometimes he managed it but he mostly smoothed them out for the sake of ease.

the cover was not a full cover as the part following dropped into rapping which was not his forte and to practice something like that on camera seemed to be more detrimental to him than anything. so as he reached the end of his part, he slowed the treadmill to a walk and lifted the camera up to check himself in the lens. his forehead had several beads of sweat on it as he pushed his hair back but his eager honeyed eyes hadn’t lost their spark nor did his smile. he was winded but he was still bright. there was still an entire reserve of energy within him.

“did i do okay?” the question came with a cheeky grin, the three moles on the top of his left cheek lifting. looking to the background, his eyes flickered off camera and he laughed. the camera turned round to show the gym owner holding two thumbs up who then quickly shied away. the camera came back to his features which held a brighter smile than before. “i must’ve really done well then. but there’s always room for improvement. i’m going to really work out now and take advantage of this golden hour.” the camera turned to show the view from his treadmill, the golden sunset clearly visible behind the city skyline through the window before him as well as his reflection. he waved in the glass of the window.

“see you all again soon. don’t forget to subscribe and like, please. and also hit the notification button if you’d like to stay updated! bye-bye!”

#🍊; a slice #🍊; ongsw.br #rkvlog

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siyeonrk · 5 years

Photo

PSIYE00N UPLOADED !

[ MBC DANCE CONTEST ] + WJSN - SECRET PUBLISHED DECEMBER 16TH, 2019.

an upload on psiye00n without jeno??? it’s a christmas miracle! should I do more dance covers? is my outfit cute? asking all the important questions... anyway, enjoy x

truthfully, she doesn’t know why she’s doing this. to prove a point? to say she’s tried, at the very least? she doesn’t quite know why she’s doing this outside either — it’s fucking cold even if also a lot more spacious than the interior of her and her grandmother’s home. perhaps it wouldn’t be so bad if she didn’t wear shorts, but that would just ruin the aesthetic, you know?

the video itself starts by fading in from black like all her others. this time, instead of her face ridiculously close to the lens or her voice cutting through the silence, she’s as far back as she can be without disappearing into the background. the music starts gently, building up until she begins to dance.

she starts just before the first chorus at the start of seola’s line, giving herself a chance to adjust rather than jumping straight into the heat of the choreography and risking missing the first beat. of course, if she did, she could just restart, but it barely seems worth the hassle to cut out a few seconds of strutting towards the camera before her real entry for the competition starts. to get the most out of her limited time frame, she follows whoever is moving most in the choreography at any given moment, using any spare time to move about as if in a formation, making sure she’s still properly framed in the shot and doesn’t appear idle for too long.

'secret’ is a choreography she’s known for a while but hadn’t practised in almost equally as long. she’s rusty at first, forgets bits here and there. she doesn’t dance as much as she sings ( it’s a little difficult to do more than wiggle your hips as you bake, but your voice is fair game, even in her work’s kitchen with the other staff around ), but she works hard at it when she does. perhaps it’s a little too fiercely sometimes that siyeon dedicates herself to short term goals, to hobbies and interests. a perfectionist in the kitchen, long nights rehearsing for this cover to the point of exhaustion— even in many of her friendships she tends to be easily overwhelming. she doesn’t realise it, but it’s likely that regardless, she’d argue the point of half arsing anything anyway. why even bother if you aren’t going to put your all into it! she’d excuse, to justify the bags under her eyes the camera doesn’t catch from such a distance ( to put her full body on view; wouldn’t want to miss that footwork! ). when she stays up all night baking, she’s sluggish the next day, but today, she’s sharp, smooth, determined — at least for the ninety seconds she needs to be.

recording videos in public doesn’t usually faze siyeon. she’s gotten enough strange looks from the older generation whilst vlogging to last her a lifetime but the few eyes glancing at her in the cold of the morning on their ways to, what she assumes to be, work makes her already pink cheeks burn a little brighter. between the bitter air biting at them and the embarrassment of being watched so unashamedly, her fingers are trembling a little as she curls them into a fist just before the chorus. there’s so much focus in this choreography on her hands that she hopes it doesn’t show in the video — she hadn’t noticed it in any of her previous recordings and tests, though her phone screen obviously isn’t as generous a size as the laptop at home she’ll edit on later.

through the following verse, she keeps a smile on her face the best she can; one that’s not too enthusiastic, as if she’s performing the happiest and bubbliest of summer anthems, but enough that she’s at least not dancing to an angst-filled ballad either. it’s a little smug, as if she knows she’s good and she does. she’s good, not the best, but strong. she wouldn’t hold up against anyone who dances more frequently, and she certainly couldn’t choreograph anything herself, but given some music and a reference video ( and couple weeks; dance isn’t her priority and she isn’t the fastest learner by herself ), she could hold herself up against other trainees, she thinks.

( or maybe it’s just her inflated ego. )

the song is fun to her despite her usual taste being a lot less energetic in beat. acoustic versions of songs were usually more her scene, but every so often, she’d vibe with a song like this — smooth, fun, vibrant in a way that isn’t obnoxious or overdone. besides, how could she not get behind the pretty special effects in the music video? and the cute white t-shirts and denim shorts combos in the dance practice?

she finishes just before the chorus starts again; the one right before the bridge. she’s pushing it to the very last second of the ninety she’s given but she doesn’t care. she isn’t in this to win it, she doesn’t expect to. maybe all along it had been to motivate her. she’d been meaning to film more covers, vocal and dance, for a while, but until now, until the morning of the competition’s deadline, she hadn’t found herself sitting down ( or going out ) to do so. who is she proving a point to, then? the ceos she’s still a little bitter towards or herself? that despite everything, she could do this? she can dance, sing, rap, like she believes herself to? or the world? that park siyeon is a force to be reckoned with?

even as the video fades back to black and recommendations pop up over the player, she doesn’t know.

#rkmbcdc #* yt!#( just pretend yaebin isn't in the back of the photo hAHA )#( wc; 945 )#( choreo from 1:08 to 2:36 )

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sirfrogsworth · 6 years

Photo

The above pictures need a bit of an explanation. The top is from a photographer named Amy and the bottom is an example photo I took of Otis.

I am a member of a photography group where people post their work and ask for critique and advice.

Amy had a question that I think a lot of new photographers are curious about. I ended up giving a pretty detailed answer and I thought if there are any people following me that are interested in photography, it might help them as well.

If you don’t give a hoot about how to take photos, feel free to skip this post.

Here are Amy’s comments on the post...

Something I really struggle with is indoor lifestyle photos. Its something I never thought I would get into so I am just starting to practice. How the heck do people get sharp/ crisp indoor photos?? No matter how hard I try, I always have tons of noise. I know full frame cameras handle the higher ISOs better, but is it just that or is it proper settings, skillful editing, or a combo?? Any constructive criticism?

Settings: Canon 80D, 35mm, ISO 1000, f/2.0, 1/123

I feel like so many people don't use any artificial lighting though. Unless I am really bad at spotting the signs that it was used...

I understand the depth of field in this photo. Maybe I am just unable to articulate what I mean....also yes. I used lightroom for noise reduction. I think my question would have been better worded like this: When not using artificial lighting setups indoors and the end result is a great photo that appears sharp, is it because those people 1. Have a full frame camera 2. Nailed their in camera settings 3. Are just bosses at using LR/PS. Does that make sense? Im just aiming for a certain look in my photos that I am not getting and I would like to know if I need practice in camera settings and proper exposure, if I need to learn sharpening skills in LR/PS or if I just wont achieve said look until I upgrade and get better gear? Does that make sense?

I guess I should also note that I have a 27in iMac. Even my best photos look grainy. Perhaps my computer is just big and I see everything up close?

And here is my response...

There are a lot of variables to consider. Yes, a full frame camera with a fast lens and a modern sensor with low noise is going to make it easier to get indoor shots. If you don't have all that, you can even the odds a bit.

If there is an area in your house that you know you will be taking a lot of photos in... add more lights. Those lights that shine straight into the ceiling work well. Add a few of those and you can lower your ISO a bit.

Personally, I use a flash and bounce it into the ceiling or wall. As long as it is a white-ish surface, it works extremely well. It gives you a giant diffused light source. It freezes action perfectly. Even running kids. And you can stop down your lens if you need more depth of field. I get pretty decent results and it looks fairly natural. The downward shadows on people's faces are the only real giveaway.

You can do off-camera flash as well. A cheap Yongnuo receiver can fire multiple flashes even. You can put them on small light stands in the back of a room, fire them at the ceiling, and it will fill the room with tons of natural looking light.

If you want to do more portrait-like stuff, you can buy little softbox accessories to control your light. It sounds like a hassle, but once you get used to the workflow, speedlights are not that difficult to manage. You can keep them mostly set up in a closet and bring them out when you need them.

As far as viewing the images on your monitor. It's not the size of the monitor, it's viewing the image at 100%. Every photo is going to have issues at that magnification. Unless you are printing the photo at a huge size, no one is going to notice many of those issues. Your image above looks fine on Facebook and the noise is totally acceptable.

Being able to edit at 100% is great. It allows us to do very detailed work on our images. But you have to keep in mind how the photo will be viewed. What is the intended audience? Facebook? Instagram? Most of the places people will see your photo will show the image at around 2000 pixels wide max. Try viewing your image at the resolution of the platform it will be published on and judge the noise accordingly.

You can look into advanced noise removal and sharpening techniques. Some of them work okay. But none are magic. As long as you nail focus and there is not any camera shake, I wouldn't worry too much.

Also keep in mind... we can all be our own worst critic. Looking at other people's work can help inspire and educate you. But remember it isn't a competition.

I'm attaching a photo of my corgi as an example. Just a single speedlight fired into the wall. I'm not saying it is a wonderful photo or anything. But I do think the lighting looks fairly natural for what it is. If you cannot tell immediately that a flash was used, then there is a chance some of the photos you thought had natural lighting actually had some help from a speedlight.

A flash might be worth looking into. You can get generic ETTL flashes that are not insanely expensive. They are easy to use after a few tutorials. I like Yongnuo, but make sure to read reviews and do research.

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canyousevmyheavydirtysoul · 6 years

Text

You’re My Bodyguard, Not My Owner. (Chapter 28) (Brendon Urie x Reader)

Twenty-two years earlier. (Y/L/N) family home, whereabouts unknown.

Your father carefully placed your delicate body back into your cradle, placing his index finger in your tiny open palm; your fingers instinctively wrapped around his bigger one and gripped it tight.

“Isn’t she a beauty?” he fussed, gazing adoringly at your sleeping frame.

“Very much so,” The Director concurred, stepping up to take a stand next to your father and clamp a hand on his shoulder. He knew precisely what was running through his friend’s mind, and he needed to reassure him. “You’re doing the right thing, Erik.”

“Am I?” your father wondered, frowning a bit as he took in your infant features and how peaceful and innocent you looked. “Because I’m starting to think that I’m about to make the biggest mistake of my life.”

“That can be argued.”

“She’s just a baby, Nick.”

The Director’s lips pursed slightly and his eyes narrowed infinitesimally as he looked at you. He understood where your father’s hesitation was coming from; if it were up to him, Fury would personally escort you and your parents to the most untraceable, safest corner of the Earth to ensure that nothing would ever happen to any of you. Sadly, that was not an option.

Both men were not at all pleased with the logistics of what was about to happen, but they both knew what the future held, and they recognized that this was perhaps the only way to guarantee that they would have at least some form of un upper hand.

“There’s no other way?” Fury spoke a moment later, voice uncharacteristically soft, “No other person?”

Your father gave a sad shake of his head as he sighed. “Not in this universe or the next,” he answered, “It’s her…”

“Destiny?”

“I was going to say ‘birthright’,” your father chuckled, looking to his friend before turning to you and gently touching your cheek, “but I suppose ‘destiny’ isn’t incorrect.”

Fury observed the act of unconditional love being exchanged before him, allowing it to run its course before he too leaned down to touch your face.

“Nothing bad will ever happen to her, Erik,” he said lowly, “I promise you that.”

“I don’t doubt that you will protect her when I’m unable to do so,” your father replied, a crease forming along his forehead, “but as much as I need you to protect her, I need you to guide her still more. Can you do that for me?”

“Hey, I’m no Norse god,” Fury scoffed before nodding, “but you can bet your ass that I’ll do the best that I can.”

“That’s all I ask of you,” your father whispered, giving The Director a tight-lipped smile before turning to face you.

“My beautiful snowflake,” he muttered. A sad smile graced his youthful features as he looked down at you – the epitome of innocence and ignorance – and his smile quickly turned into a frown as his thoughts drifted to what he was about to do.

“I’m so sorry,” he whispered, kissing your head softly before straightening up, “this is never what I wanted for you.” He shook his head as he touched his right index and middle finger to his forehead, and then pressed it to yours. “But in time,” he closed his eyes and when he reopened them a moment later, they were a glowing-grey in colour, “I hope you will understand the reasoning behind my actions.”

With that, seemingly in a trance, he drew in a deep breath and as he exhaled – slowly and carefully – the grey gradually drained from his eyes. After the colour had completely diminished, your father broke out of his trance with a light shake of his head.

The Director, who had been looking on in silence the entire time, was the first to speak. “Is it done?” he questioned, forehead creasing as he took a cautious step forward, joining your father in looking down at you.

“Yes,” your father spoke quietly.

You looked up at your father and godfather with lips curved into a smile and eyes the colour of glowing-grey.

“It’s done.”

Present day. A diner somewhere on the outskirts of North Carolina.

Roughly seven hours had passed since you fled from S.H.I.E.L.D HQ, and much to your amazement, there had been no pouty-lipped, emotionless bodyguards pursuing you in a car chase, or dropping out of a helicopter, or chasing you on foot the entire way like you expected there to be. Not a single one. It was a tad disappointing, to be honest.

Sweat looked good on Brendon.

You could envision your recapture right now; a bunch of agents busting through the door and rushing over to you, weapons drawn, faces creased with a bitter mixture of anger and irritation, beckoning for you to get up, saying how could you do something like this when you know the risks involved and that Fury was irate and that you better never try something like this ever again. Then comes the rough gripping of the arm, and the guiding towards whatever vehicle they chose to accompany them on this particular mission, then the opening of the door for you (as if you were royalty, a queen being tended to by her servants and not an escaped asset; but you knew better than to think of it as any more than a guileless gallantry) and after you climbed in, the door would shut again, and they would drive you back to where ‘you would be safest’.

Oh, and Brendon would be there, too. He’d be the one doing the arm gripping and tedious lecturing.

He would be – if they had shown up.

You were 99% sure that there would be no S.H.I.E.L.D agents finding you anytime soon – even your bodyguard. You had taken all the precautions necessary to ensure that you would be off S.H.I.E.L.D’s radar for a significant amount of time; about forty-five minutes away from HQ, you pulled over at a convenience store to stock up on supplies and to use the ATM to withdraw some cash from the credit card you had taken. You withdrew as much money as you could but made sure not to max it out and once you pocketed the cash, you bent the card in half and tossed it in a nearby trashcan before hurrying back to your vehicle and driving off; you took the back route out of state, opposite to the route you were originally driving on so as to throw S.H.I.E.L.D off.

The SUV wasn’t a problem, either; you had specifically targeted the only off-limits one – that was due in for a repair to its tracking system. It would suffice as a reliable form of transport until you could get to somewhere you could find something more practical – it wasn’t the most inconspicuous of vehicles, after all. So as far as practical things go, you had done everything to make sure that you were a ghost.

Yet, you still couldn’t shake the uncertainty of that 1%.

“Hey, pretty eyes,” the busboy’s voice broke you out of your trance, and you shook your head a little before turning to him with raised brows. He slung a tattered dishrag over his right shoulder and cocked his head up at you. “You alright?”

“Perfect. Why do you ask?”

He made little effort to hide his amusement when he replied, making vague hand gestures at the crockery on the table in front of you; the food on which lied entirely untouched.

“Rez brought your food over a solid fifteen minutes ago, and you haven’t taken a single bite. Haven’t even nicked a fry.”

Your gaze fell upon the burger and fries combo in front of you. The sight made you nauseous all of a sudden. The sun had only risen about an hour ago; you should’ve ordered something more breakfast-friendly instead.

“Oh. Yeah,” you mumbled, voice completely monotonous; you didn’t care to be wasting precious moments on useless talk with a busboy when your time could be better spent gazing out of the diner window and thinking about how much of a disaster your life is.

For goodness sake, busboy, let a girl be depressed in peace.

An uncomfortable quiet was what followed, as you took it upon yourself to study the top bun of your burger in detail while your newfound acquaintance rocked back and forth on his heels, occasionally letting out a low whistle. You counted eighteen sesame seeds before he broke the silence.

“So do you want me to heat it up for you or…?”

“Actually, if you don’t mind,” you lifted the plate from the table and handed it to him, “Make it a take-out, please.”

He thinned his lips and gave a two-fingered salute. “Sure thing.”

“And,” you stopped him before he could walk away, “could I pay in the meantime? I’m kinda on a… tight schedule.”

“Yeah, ‘course. You can come right up front; Bets will ring you up.”

“Thank you,” you gave him a small smile as you gathered your jacket and car keys and slid out of the booth.

Bets was a pudgy, ginger-haired woman, dressed in a classic diner uniform – white skirt draped with a splotched red-apron and a white shirt with her name embroidered across the breast pocket. She wore glasses that despite her efforts to keep them in place, kept sliding down the ridge of her nose; her eyelids were overly caked with blue eye shadow, and you could see the stains her red lipstick left on her teeth when she grinned at you as you approached the till.

“Cheeseburger and shake, righ’?”

You confirmed with a nod, only offering Bets a sliver of your attention, since most of it had now been drawn towards the TV bracketed to the wall on your right. The volume was turned down rather soft, so you couldn’t quite make out what was being said, but there was no mistaking the blue-eyed man whose picture took up the majority of the screen; the background was of some or other hotel or conference center – you weren’t too sure. Even through a picture being broadcasted on a TV screen, his allure radiated through, drawing you in instantly. It was ridiculous that someone had that kind of magnetism, but even in the way he was posed in the picture, eyes sparkling and a coy smirk on his lips, it was clear that he had the ability to charm everyone and everything he came across – even the lens of a camera.

“That’ll be $9.28, hun,” Bets spoke, and you fished through your pockets before pulling out a ten and a five and handing it over.

“Keep the change. And, uh, could you turn that up, please?” you waved a hand at the TV and Bets obliged, picking up the remote and turning the volume up.

“…Doctor Aaron Ross, world-renowned agnoiologist, physiologist and expert on Norse mythology, will be concluding his five-day seminar with an exclusive panel hosted at The Ritz hotel in Chicago, Illinois this evening. The event will begin at 6pm and…”

“Chicago,” you muttered, catching the attention of the busboy, who’d just set your food down in front of you; he arched his brows as you turned to address him, “that’s a, what, ten hour drive from here?”

“Twelve, actually.”

“Twelve,” you repeated with a nod as you turned to look at the clock hanging on the wall above the exit.

7:30 am.

Extending your thanks to the diner employees, you grabbed your food and dashed for the SUV, starting up and heading for Chicago. If you kept up a steady pace, you’d arrive at around 8pm. And maybe, just maybe, you’d be able to score a dinner date with a certain acquaintance.

_______________________________

Thank you for reading x

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conordanielphotography-hnd2c · 4 years

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Seeing the Light Evalutation

The project theme was “light” and I thought that this was a great opportutnity to explore an area of photography I hadn’t tried before, Portraiture. It also gave me the opportunity to use a new peice of grear, the 5-in-1-reflector. This allowed me to utilise light in a variety of different ways. This project was an excellent way of letting me explore new skills and apply advanced post-processing techniques.

I really enjoyed shooting the portraits. It was fun experimenting with light and seeing how it affected the image. It was always really fun to photograph someone, instead of just photographing something on your own.

I learned a variety of new techniques through this project. I learned how location scout/plan a portrait shoot, how to manipulate light using a 5-in-1 reflector, how to pose a model, and how to post process images. I also learned how important these techniques actually are in getting a great final image.

A technique I would like to develop further is posing a model, and post processing. Before this project, I never realised how important it is to pose a model in an interesting way, as this makes up half of the photo in my opinion. Also, post-processing is a big part of photography nowadays. Photoshop has been very rewarding to learn over the past few weeks and it’s something I want to learn even more about in the future.

For someone that had only ever photographed Nature and Cities before this project, I follow and adore a lot of portrait photographers. One in particularly I think has really inspired me when it comes to portraits, and that’s Damon Baker. He has taught me how important emotion is to portraits, how how it’s always great to know your subject well. Although his style is very different to mine, a lot of the fundamentals of what makes his photography special e.g emotion, drama, posing, has carried over to my own thinking when it comes to shooting a portrait. Also, something I have taken from another photographer, is being influenced by the model themselves, is Helen Barlett. Her main source of inspiration stems from who the model is as a person, what they like to do, how they feel etc. This is similar to how I approach taking portraits. I have been developing all of these things I’ve learned from other photographers through this project.

I enjoyed experimenting with the 5-in-1 reflector. It has completely changed the game for me in terms of lighting. Lighting is no longer a hurdle I have to cross, rather, something for me to manipulate in order for my photographs to come out looking awesome!

I feel that the most succesful part of my project is the variedness. I chose to use models in a variety of age ranges, four completely different locations and lighting, and four unique edits. I think that this all together packaged into a collection, shows my range and what I can do when it comes to shooting and post-processing.

Through this project, I have discovered a variety of “limitations” to my camera and lens combo. I use a Canon 4000D and a EF 50mm F1.8 Lens. I still really like this camera and lens, but I noticed that a lot of my images shot at F1.8 were not sharp, my autofocus isn’t the best, and noise is present even at lower ISOs.

To battle these limitations, I rarely shot at F1.8, I used manual focus, and I rarely went pass ISO 800. These shouldn’t really be things I have to do if I had a newer camera, but I’m happy to find workarounds instead of buying new gear I don’t need at this moment. The biggest difference I must say was using manual focus. I can zoom in on the screen to make sure it is 100% in focus. This was a lot better than autofocus and actually allowed me to use F1.8 in certain cases.

If I was given the chance to do this project again, I would want to improve on my posing for portraits. This is something I’ve already improved on from projects after seeing the light, but I think because posing is key to good portrature, I would like to experiment more with this and make it more unique.

In a lot of my images, I found a lot of noise which I was able to fix with post processing in most cases, but in the second photo especially, sometimes I couldn’t fix it. I’ve also came to the conclusion that I pixel peep a little too much, which can also be a good thing. But for this project I found myself obsessing over really small details that you can’t even really see. Noise is also something that I obsess over, even when it isn’t that bad. I strive for perfection to the point that it makes me hate my work. I have to get better at not overthinking my work.

As for feedback, the models were very pleased with the outcome of the final images, two of which were also photographers. My tutors influenced my decision to re-edit everything with adobe software because of resolution issues, and my decision to re-shoot my second photoshoot as they felt the photos were a little soft and out of focus. I completely agree with them! I believe that the final photo for shoot 2 is a lot better than what I had originally, and it adds variation to the age range. My tutors also felt like my third and fourth were the strongest.

If I were to do this project again, I would like to shoot a little more creativily. For this project, I was new to portrait photography. Now that I’ve had a lot of practice, I’d like to make my images more creative by utilizing lighting situtations like direct lighting and back lighting. These examples by Julia Trotti is what I strive for when it comes to portrait photography.

#archive

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jeneyrecosplay · 4 years

Photo

I’m fortunate to be social distancing with a good friend who I think you’ll agree is also extremely photogenic! Thank you @indigofactory for letting me interrupt your video game when I realized that the light through the sliding glass door was just perfect. Canon EOS Rebel T6 with Sigma DC 18-50mm1:2.8 EX 50mm 1/160 sec F/2.8 ISO 400 Edited in Lightroom and Photoshop And if you’re interested in photography, know that you don’t need to spend a ton of money on gear to get gorgeous shots. Fancier cameras and better lenses will make a difference when you reach a certain skill level and/or start shooting under more demanding conditions, but hand my little Rebel T6 with my ten year old Sigma DC 18-50mm 1:2.8 EX lens to one of my professional photographer friends and they will get amazing shot after amazing shot, while I would need to take dozens or even hundreds of shots on one of their camera and lens combos worth (likely worth more than my car) before I got one image I was pretty satisfied with. I need to spend a lot more time practicing and learning so I know I’ve truly pushed my current kit to the limit… Does that mean I haven’t started to drool over upgrades? Absolutely not! I’m starting to bump up against the limitations of my Rebel T6. The nine autofocus points are frustrating when I’m trying to compose my shot, especially with the close up portraits I’m enjoying shooting. (Mostly when I’m trying to shoot remotely at a low aperture to get my eye in focus but blur out the rest of my face…) I’d also love better autofocus options when shooting my dog or the bunny living in our backyard. The low light performance is not ideal…but I do need to play around with my flashes and remote flash and other lenses. There’s no external microphone jack on the Rebel T6 so when I get around to filming sewing tutorials those would likely be done on my iPhone 11 Pro for better sound quality. And then at some point I’ll need to make a decision about upgrades…some paths would let me continue using my current lenses for now and others would involve starting from scratch and setting piles of money on fire…if you were me, what would you do? #portraitphotography #portrait #photography https://www.instagram.com/p/CDerV8ljZfQ/?igshid=10c9ojr5pi8z0

#portraitphotography #portrait #photography

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cucitureesterne-blog · 7 years

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Line Play Free Gems - 2017 Cheats

The 9 Obstacles That Keep You From Achieving Your Goals Line Play Hack Technology has helped shape the ways in which we connect with others. VITTEL, France (Reuters) - World champion Peter Sagan was kicked out of the Tour de France on Tuesday after sending Mark Cavendish crashing to the ground in a hectic finale to the fourth stage, sending shockwaves through the three-week cycling extravaganza. Putting the battery door aside, what you see underneath is a compartment for the phone's 1500mAh battery (interchangeable with the X10), which can provide a full day's worth of relatively active 3G connection and plenty of snapshots. Further up you get the slots for your SIM card and line play cheats microSD card, meaning you can change them without taking out the battery. You'll also notice that the camera lens pokes out of the battery door to avoid an overlay that could potentially distort images, as we've seen on the Dell Venue recently - we'll come back to the camera later. Some people see criticism of video game violence as the work of prudish killjoys who want to trample their First Amendment rights and censor the work of video game artists. But I approach the subject as a scientific researcher who has studied these games for 25 years. From that perspective, I have real concerns about letting teens play games like GTA. One team quick to take advantage of Spotify's Libspotify API was the folks behind playlist finder Tunigo If syncing your tracks via the desktop seems a bit of a hassle, Tunigo is the answer. Although Tunigo lacks the playlist generating powers of , the app brings pre-made playlist discovery to the iPhone. You do need an Internet line play hack tool connection to search, subscribe and download the playlists, but once you've synced the playlists you're all set for offline listening. What I particularly like about Tunigo, and what sets it apart from competitors like Share My Playlists for iOS, is the ability to find, play and sync playlists right from within the app.

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tdrcharmschool4 · 7 years

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TDR Charm School 4 Final Exam - It's the Final Countdown

For the final exam, our students had to produce a mock audition filled with everything they’ve learned from the beginning of their time in Tumblr’s Drag Race Charm School 4, decked out in their fabulous Personalized Prom and Why You Gotta Be So Extra-curricular looks. Let’s see how they did!

Kushboo

Personalized Prom

Extracurricular Activity: Student Government

Letha: Hey Girl! So starting with the Prom look, I quite like it! The combo of the black/gold really goes well together, and the brown hair works with it as well. I will say the dress is a bit short and it should either be lengthened or shortened to have a silhouette that makes a bit more sense. The white heels throw off the outfit a bit as well. The styling of the hair could be neater but the height/volume is definitely there! I think if there was a little headpiece or gold crown or something it might add more interest to that area and tie it in with the outfit. On to the extra curricular look, I do very much get that feel from the top half of the outfit, including the hair (very Michelle Obama), and the skirt is a bit more out there which helps to make it less pedestrian in that regard. I think having maybe some signs or other props might have helped sell it more as well, as the journal is okay but not the most effective. For the lipsync, I think you had good presence and sold the song, but I wish you had connected more with the audience throughout through the lens. Performing on camera is a bit different than real life, in that looking into the lens is how you connect with people. You can deviate from that and emote/focus on other areas for a little bit, but you should always try to return to the lens. But the overlay and emoting is great! For the monologue I must admit I was a bit lost. I wasn't too familiar with Tennyson if I'm honest, but after reading up a bit on Ulysses this was a very interesting choice indeed. I think you could have sold it a bit more? Emoting frustration and discontent might have made it a bit more clear, in my opinion. Finally, the makeup! I think you really have improved throughout this cycle and it does show, but there are things that I think you could work on. One would be to make your lips more dimensional, with either outlining in a darker color, highlighting the center with a lighter color, or both. Same for the brows, the shape on the prom look is fun but a bit static, and the shape on the government look is very flat and not a shape that would be easy to emote through. I like the colors your picked on their own, but I'm not sure if they coordinate with your outfit choices, so keep that in mind for next time. Your lashes are looking better placed, now would be a good time to start practicing doing liner, either a really sharp wing of or a smoked out pencil. It really adds dimension and helps to restructure things. I think that just about wraps it up for me, so I'll leave you with saying how proud I am of your progress and can't wait to see what your Drag will evolve to after charm school!

Laveau: KUSH. This prom look is AMAZING. You look amazing! I love the entire package. The only thing I would have liked to see is more jewelry. May be a bracelet or a bigger necklace to give it a more elegant touch. I am enjoying this beehive on your head. It’s a bit messy, so going forward, be careful and pay attention to the little details as far as that is concerned. While your makeup has improved, you still have work to do, but don’t let that stop you from being proud of your progress so far. As for your student government look, I feel like you were going for the right idea but then you lost me with the skirt. It just feels like you either didn’t have a pencil skirt or just wanted to add an unconventional element to the look and it kind of takes away from the look as a whole. A better way to sell this concept would have been to incorporate more school supplies in the rest of the outfit. A fascinator made out of pencils or paper balls would have tied the look together a bit more. I really enjoyed your lip-sync! I appreciate the attitude and range of emotion throughout your performance. It was definitely fun to watch! Your monologue was well done. It was a bit hard to follow, but I do appreciate the concept. You have grown leaps and bounds in this competition. I am so proud of you and I can’t wait to see what you do in the future! <3

Sally: Hi Kushboo! I’m gonna talk about your outfits first, and then your audition reel. There are really intelligent attempts at work here, and I’m impressed with most elements, however there are some things to look out for next time. Both outfits seem to have flair about them that works super well, but technical issues seem to produce problems for me. Your prom look is stellar – the black and gold colour clash is really appealing, I get prom from this clearly and your character to me defines elegance so it wouldn’t be wrong to see Kushboo rock up to prom in eleganza like this. Remember to give us head to toe camera angles – these are close to head to toe, but I can’t see you feet until I watch your audition reel so I don’t know if you’re not wearing heels or not and if they correspond to your dress too – I don’t think they do correspond, but we’ll let it slide. Your exposure on the first picture with the light makes you look really heavenly but the second one diminishes details that I can see with the exposure. Your student government look is super cute; you look like you’re running for like Junior Councillor for the Head of a school, but the flair of having an unconventional skirt with resist propaganda on is a really smart touch. I wouldn’t have mind if your entire jacket had it too, or if the colours matched up better, i.e. writing with bright red / grey on black paper perhaps. Again, careful of your angles, I wanna see your shoes in your pictures next time and I don’t care if you’re wearing little biscuit heels or jelly flip flops!In your audition, it was quite long and I can see room for small technical touches here and there. For example, I’ve noticed you use fillers (um and erm) – with that you could cut out those and any pauses you too, that way your point comes across quicker and your train of thought is clearer through the edit. Remember to nail your runway in 15 seconds – it’s better to edit out your walk to your starting point rather than have it within your audition, and try to have your full body in the frame so that we can see the entirety of your costume move too. All in all, you’ve excelled really well in your knowledge of yourself and progressing your drag character throughout charm school. I’m really proud to see your journey continue to this point. Great job!

Toni: KUSHHHHHHHHHHHHHIm going to be doing this by segments so lets start with your outfits! I really love your prom look because I think based on what you've shown us it really does reflect your personal style. It's giving me Cinderllas stepsisters from into the woods and I really enjoy that. I think if there were a lot of stones added to the outfit as well as having the hair cleaned up a bit more and look more sleek it would be a perfect look In my opinion. The student government look I am really conflicted about. I get what you're trying to go for but I think if you wanted to do that you should have done all NONCON or all cloth just because theres a huge disconnect between the top and the bottom. I also think if you had done a suit or a jacket as well that would have been fierce. Your lipsync was SO GOOD I really enjoyed watching it and I think you kept it interesting through the whole thing so props on that. I would love to see you push the energy up thought to make it AMAZING. For your monologue the background noise was a large distraction but I do really enjoy what you produced, I think there were a few awkward pauses and I can't tell if you meant them to be there or if you were trying to remember lines but they need to be not there. I am so proud of everything you have done and how much you have grown <3

Dotte: I am absolutely LIVING for your prom look! I wish the other concept you had was better realized. A lot of the focal point is on the skirt and it doesn't really match the rest of the outfit. Ahhhhhh your lipsync was so cute though I feel like you've shown massive amounts of improvement there. Like we talked about, it's important to know what to do when there isn't any music playing and I'm glad to see you've figured that out. And I like this camera setting you have! It really allows for us to see your face really well! I'm so proud of you! Cycle 10 will be here sooner than you think and I can't wait to see what you do in the time between then and now!

Marcella: Ok Kushboo, this was a colossally long video, and it didn’t have to be. It’s important to plan your answers, and use things like jump cuts if you’re stalling a lot. That said, I think your responses were spot on for you and you have a good sense of self-perspective. I loved your prom look, and I felt your make-up for it was your best yet. Now for the lipsync – good choice, great job of articulating the unusual sounds in the song, and decent job of occupying the space and keeping it interesting. Between now and c10, I want you to work on your finesse. Your ideas and the aesthetic you’re going for are solid, but I want you to really focus in on details, and executing things as flawlessly as you possibly can, because honestly I think that is your biggest weakness as of now. I know you have it in you to polish up! Good luck for c10!

Harper: Whew, this was a long video! I think something that works for you is that you are very authentic and earnest, and that really comes through when you are speaking. I'd agree with some of the other judges that you could stand to edit out some of this (and film in horizontal next time, please), because while I think you did a fine job answering questions, it was a little dry in some spots. Try to be concise, personable, and minimize the sniffing! I liked your prom outfit, and I think it's very true to your aesthetic. I would like to see you wear a corset with a bit more structure to give you a smooth silhouette, and I will pass on to you the same critique that I'm sending to everyone tonight: LASHES. BIG ONES. I think you have a tendency to have really good ideas that just fall a little short on execution, and that's something you can really work towards in the future. I thought you did a nice job with the monologue and the lip sync, and this was overall a good final submission for you. Can't wait to see how you continue to progress, best of luck!

Luna

Personalized Prom

Extracurricular Activity: Athletics

Letha: Hey Luna! First off, well edited video. Everything is clear and labeled which certainly helps. On to the actual content, starting with the prom look. I love it from head to toe. The hair is very effortless but it works for me, the crown adds a nice touch of shine, and the black and red color scheme is gorgeous. I wish there were some nails though. For the makeup on the prom look, overall it's really good, love the red lip, my main critique would be to try for a harsher cheek contour, as the one you have now is very light and gets washed out easily when seen from a distance. For the sports look I really enjoy the boxing idea, and you really committed to it! The outfit and hair choices make sense. That being said, the end result is maybe a bit too totally masculine for me. I think if the shape was a bit more feminine with boobs/pads it might come across better. Also the flats make SENSE but I just think doing a black pump with a red leg warmer would be a bit more drag than a sneaker, ya know? The makeup here isn't bad either, a bit subtle though. The blood works but I think some more Sfx makeup would have sold it a bit more. On to the performances! The monologue. Girl. Gretchen's Crack has a long and infamous tdr history for being quite overdone, so I was surprised to see it done again. That being said, it was okay, there have certainly been worse renditions of it. Now the lipsync is where you really shone, in my opinion. I was thoroughly entertained and you really pulled every stunt/trick out of the bag. The song was a classic and you had your words down, so props to you! I'm so proud of the work you've put into this cycle and can't wait to see where your drag takes you next!

Laveau: Luna! I see you are here to knock out the competition! One of the things I appreciate most about you and your drag is the attention to detail and how you package your content. I love the cohesive color scheme and how you tied everything together. I absolutely love your after school look. The oversized robe, the realistic blood, the attitude, but I feel like it lacks a certain drag flare. If you are to continue on to TDR C10, one thing that will set your submissions apart from the competition is adding a little bit of razzle dazzle (see: glitter/rhinestones/sparkles). I feel the same way about your personalized prom look. While it’s absolutely gorgeous and screams Luna, it leaves me wanting more. I feel like jewelry and/or rhinestones could have amplified this look to its full potential. Your monologue was HILARIOUS. Idk if you were going for an even more crazed/deranged version of Gretchen Weiners, but you nailed it. But girl…this lip-sync… IS HOW YOU LIPSYNC FOR THE CROWN! That is how you fill an instrumental break!!! There was never a dull moment and for that, I thank you. Overall, I think you have shown fantastic growth as a queen throughout charm school and I can’t wait to see what you do in the future! <3 Win, lose, or draw, you’re already a winner in my heart. <3

Sally: Hello Luna! I am gonna start off by critiquing your outfits and then your audition. Your outfits overall were not what I was expecting coming from your amazing turnout for costuming week with these themes, I was a tad let down by some choices, but others brought it back up. You look adorable in your prom look, albeit looking a tad costume-y. Your styling is super cute and from head to toe the concept works well with your aesthetic. While your nose is looking pinched and proper, I’m losing definition around the cheeks – it’s probably just a personal thing for me, but if you could practice adding a flush of colour to the cheeks – a blush or a darker contour tone might bring out some definition there too. For your athletic wear, I like some elements, and others just throw this off. Those shorts are hurting my soul so much, because of the cut of them, and I would’ve preferred you in an actual bra than compression bra, because I am losing proportions. When you get a concept like Athletics, it is hard to get out of the idea that you have to pertain to the standard – wearing tennis skirts for tennis, going for a realness factor. When you get an assignment, you should always question how you can make it draggier. Rhinestone your gloves, make your robe have a crazy train, little things like that can amplify your concepts, and surpass your progression from past weeks.Your audition was really well constructed, and I enjoyed watching it. Your runways were concise, quick and simple, You had your flow down to a T and you moved really elegantly. You have such a strong camera presence and I was really surprised that I could still hear you over your music in the monologue section (be mindful if your overlay music is loud, turn it down if you can!) All in all, you’ve really defined yourself as a strong competitor consistently, and even when you had your lows, you managed to improve on yourself for a comeback each week. Great job!!

Toni: I plan on doing this by segments so lets start with your outfits! I really love your boxing out fit! When you first suggested it to me I was worried ti wouldn't come off as drag but it really does. i think the hair choice was really smart and I love the look head to toe. Looking in on the makeup its clear how much you've grown in charm school, I think a few minor things could be adjusted like the placement/angle of your brows could be changed to look a bit lower and I really would have loved to seen the same red lipstick you used in your prom look but a bit smeared to add the "i've been fighting" feel to it. Onto the prom look I really love this on you!! It reads as fun and girly but still lowkey badasss. I think the only thing I would change at all about this look is adding a few black stones onto the bodice just to add a little something extra. YOUR LIPSYNC WAS AMAZING! I really enjoyed what you did because there wasn't really a moment where I was bored or distracted away from it because you kept every bit fresh and new. I think the air guitar into a slipt was honestly amazing, and I love that you paired your lipsync up with a look because it really helped to sell the performance. Now onto your monologue.... I hate this monologue (not because you did it but like as a piece) and every cycle someone does it and thinks it's a good piece but there are better pieces you could have picked IMO. That being said I think it was a really good rendition of the piece but I did find the music very distracting to the point where I was unable to focus on you so in the future please make sure the music sin't too loud. My favorite thing to come form your Q&A was how you talked about not wanting to win jsut for yourself but so that you can fight on cycle 10 for the chance to lead and help build the community because thats a huge factor in what judges look for on cycles when planning to crown someone is "how will they do in the leadership role". You did an amazing job and I am so proud of everything you have done over the past few weeks <3

Marcella: Your video felt like a real tdr audition to me. Sectioning each part off, having slides for your questions, these sorts of things might seem insignificant but, to me, they show that you’ve acquired a degree of polish during charm school that I appreciate very much. I enjoyed your monologue, and your lipsync was thoroughly entertaining! I loved the splits and the leg guitar, and the energy was just so right. Look-wise, your sports drag was very unexpected, but I do feel it could have been dragged up some more. It felt a bit ‘boy’, especially when you were moving around for the performance. I know the shoes were fitting, but girl don’t let me see flats again, k? Between now and c10, I want you to experiment. Especially make-up wise: try lighter make-up, try different eye shapes, polish up that nose contour. See what happens when you twist and turn the basic silhouette of Luna and adapt her to different ideas and scenarios. Best of luck for c10!

Harper: Overall, I think you had the strongest submission this week. I thought both of your looks were distinctly you and well put together, my only critiques were that the prom dress was a bit Halloween Store and the extracurricular could have been a bit more femme. I really recommend getting some fake chicken cutlet titties! It wouldn't have been much, but just a little bit of curve and some Rachel-Green-From-Friends-Nipples could really make it read just a bit more feminine. Overall, I think your makeup is strong, but I'd like to see you in big lashes and with a bit more contrast. There's nothing wrong with using stark black, it's just learning how to incorporate that black with appropriate shades and highlights for the full effect. I would like to see you choose a different monologue for the real audition because, in my opinion, this one was a bit played out, but you did a nice job with it. Overall, though, I think your lip sync was the highlight of your submission. The song and the look worked together, and the routine was perfect for your tough-girl character. I lived for it! I know there's a lot of pressure coming into a competition where you might be held to a higher standard because you are starting at a more advanced place, but I think you did a great job of trying new things and refining your skills. Looking forward to seeing what you pull out for your actual audition because if this is any indication it will be great!

Marina

Personalized Prom

Extracurricular Activity: Drama Club

Letha: Hey girl! So starting with the outfits, I think the theater one is very cute, and it being shorter helps you get away with the shape not being the most flattering. That being said, I do like it. The prom dress is okay, a bit pedestrian/run of the mill, but the hair and flower crown help to make it a bit less conventional. My makeup notes for both looks are similar. Lashes are a must, work on blending the shadow on the eyes so there isn't a stark line, clean up contour lines on the cheeks, and better overdraw/define on the lips. I really enjoy the liner shape on both though! For the monologue, I had to google what it was about and having done that, I would say that the lines don't quite match up to the monologue, but it's not bad, you were just quiet and not really emoting as much as I think you could have. For the lipsync, you had some definite choreography and I quite liked the performance. It was a bit hard to see your sync at some points, as the lighting wasn't the best, so watch out for that in the future. Overall you should be very proud of the work you've done here in Charm School, and I can't wait to see where your drag goes from here!

Laveau: Marina: Your prom look is stunning but it looks like you grabbed a wig and a dress, pout them on and called it a day. Your makeup has improved for sure, but still lacks a certain element of refinement for drag. I love your after school look. It’s giving me Columbia from Rocky and I liiiiive. Would have liked to see some jewelry, but the outfit itself is cute. Your lipsync was very entertaining. I loved the emotion and dancing throughout the performance. I just wish you would have filmed in landscape so we could have seen the full frame. Your mologue was good as well, It was just pretty hard to hear you throughout it. You come so close to nailing it, but I feel like attention to detail is holding you back. You say that procrastination is holding you back, so now that you know that about yourself you’ve got to work hard to overcome that in order to succeed if you continue on with TDR. Make a list of things from head to toe/start to finish that you need to prepare for your submissions and systematically check them off the list in a timely manner. I see the potential in your drag, but it feels like you keep missing the mark. Congratulations on all of your growth this semester, and I can’t wait to see what you do in the future <3

Sally: Hey, Marina! I will talk about your outfits, then your audition reel second. Both of your outfit choices really reflect you as a person, and I applaud you for that, however some elements can be added to produce a full effect. Your prom look teeters on being a bog standard dress - I can kind of see this at a prom, but not really. I see this being more of a forest nymph than personalised prom. I would’ve preferred a longer cut on your dress, so maybe you could’ve added more length to it with an underskirt perhaps and added a few embellishments to really drag up the dress. The colour story is great - remember to take pictures of your feet within the shots too because I can’t see your heels in either of your shots in your submission and your audition with this concept, therefore I don’t even know if you’re wearing heels. Your drama club look is so fun and I love it honestly - really cute, playful, I get drama from it instantly. The colours pop and it’s exciting. I would’ve loved to see some sort of prop with this to sell it more, maybe one of those drama masks on a stick and you just throw it on your runway, might’ve excelled this more. Your audition is a kind of toss up. Remember to find your light, use a flashlight on a phone from far aback if need be, because some of your shots are really, really dark. You come across as quite shy, remember that you’re only talking to a camera and whoever’s on the other side wants to see you to the fullest, so when you film, remind yourself to be true to you to the fullest. Your runways are quite quick, take your time and make sure to film in an area that you can see your entire body clearly, your second runway seems to be a bit darker and a bit off-centre. All in all, you have improved a hell of a lot since the start of this competition, you’ve really proved to yourself that you can achieve a lot when you’re against all odds and I applaud your hard work. Great work!

Harper: I was getting serious Joan Cusack vibes from you this week and I can't put my finger on exactly what it is. You are so young and have so much potential, but I'm going to be real with you for a second: you've had excuses every single week and they are going to cost you opportunities. point blank. I know that's hard to hear, but it's something that I've had to learn as well as someone who also struggles with time management issues. Moving on, I thought both costumes suited you and the wigs you paired them with, but I would have liked to have seen more pizzazz with your prom look! It just came off a little flat when your extra curricular look was was so fun. Your makeup has definitely come a long way, and I think you have really gotten the hang of what shapes suit your face. I think the next steps moving forward for you are going to be to clean up your lines and add a lash. Please. Lashes will be what takes your look to the next level! As female drag queens, we have to work twice as hard to be taken seriously, and that means really owning the transformation: padding, contouring, cinching, wigs, and lashes because if any part of the "real girl" underneath peaks through people WILL call you out for it. It's not fair, it's frustrating, but it is what it is. I think the lip sync and monologue were both good choices for you aesthetically, but PLEASE film in landscape mode! It really does make a big difference. I think you have grown a tremendous amount through charm school, and I really hope you stick with it. Good luck!

Ophelia

Personalized Prom

Extracurricular Activity: Science Club

Letha: Girllll you know I love me some flowers so you had me with your prom look. I love the contrast of the stark (yet also muted) colors with the white. I think there could have been a bit more shape in the waist considering this length, but it's still very striking. I'm also not totally sure about the black shoes (I know shoes can be a bitch to find though, so forgiven). The makeup is great as an idea and I can see the direction it was taking, just work on cleaning up your lines to get that graphic style. I really do love this look though, the head piece is great. For the science look, it's honestly so fun. The shape is very much The Jetsons, and I love the transition of the appliqués from the outfit to the skin. I think a trim along the bottom of the dress would have helped clean up the lines, and I think maybe another color besides the white and purple would have added more interest, maybe a green? The hair is a bit of a nest but I think that was the intent so I can get behind that. The shapes on the makeup are interesting, but they just need to be defined/shaded/highlighted more to be believable and trick the eye. Also lashes are a must. For the monologue I was a bit lost, it seemed you were a bit stiff maybe? I'm not the most familiar with the material you pulled from, but it wasn't my favorite. The lipsync was great, as I expected, but check the overlay because it was off by quite a bit when you uploaded it. Still really good though! Overall, you have really outdone yourself, and looking back on week one you can see how far you've come. I'm so proud of you for that, and I hope you're proud of yourself as well!

Laveau: Miss Waters….I was so in love with your prom look until I got to the shoes. That being said, it’s obvious how much work went into making this look and you did a fantastic job. I wish the dress gave you more of a shape but that could be fixed with either larger padding or by cinching the garment a bit more at the waist. Your science look is KILLER. I love the concept and how you sold it. You look like a science experiment gone RIGHT. The hair and makeup could use a bit of refinement, but I absolutely love your concepts and style of drag. Your monologue was a bit monotone, so I would, in the future, work on changing inflection so that you can show a bigger range of emotion in acting challenges. On to the lip-sync. I love that I could feel the passion in your lipsync. This is the range of emotion I’m talking about. Bring that to your acting. Congratulations on a wonderful semester and I can’t wait to see what you do in the future! <3

Sally: Hey Ophelia! As per usual, I’m gonna give you my thoughts on the outfits and then your audition. Overall, your outfits are bold choices, but are a little rough around the edges. I’ll start by talking about your personalised prom, because it is extremely eye-catching. This is clearly Ophelia to the fullest and I’m seeing a strong aesthetic with what you enjoy in drag and how you produce your concepts in execution. It’s exciting, the colours you’ve chosen pop off the whites you’ve used in your scheme, and the clash of materials is exciting to look at. I would only say that the length of your gown doesn’t hit the floor, therefore exposes your black shoes. You could’ve added more fabric and flowers to the bottom, or even used socks and hot glued flowers onto the socks, putting them over your heels to make them correspond to your concept. For your science look, this is feeling a little bit rougher around the edges. I love that your silhouette is the shape of a science beaker and that your hair is frazzled like that of an experiment gone wrong, your purple scheme pops from the white again, and your choices in costume creation are so smart, but be careful with your makeup. I think a good example to look at for creative makeups like this for science is the partial face cover. Adrena Lin did this in Cycle 8 for the Pokepaint challenge using Muk, I think your normal face could’ve worked more than the scary-sludge lip you’ve done too.Your audition is super cute! Your camera presence is clearly strong, I feel like you know it’s a camera and not several people watching you on the other end which is a great attribute to have. You came across as quite awkward in your runway, make sure to just go with the flow when you walk, present yourself however you feel suited, and remember, take several takes if you have to! All in all, you’ve excelled into dragdom through this entire process and I’m really proud to see how well you’ve done throughout all of the weeks. Excellent work!

Toni: I'm going to be doing this by segments so lets start with your outfits! I think out fo the two the science one is my favorite. It has appliques and I am a slut for that, i love how the hair is styled and I think it's really fun but in a new way for you. I also want to point out the gloves because those are super cute. The makeup for that is really nice!! I would have just liked to see the eyes blended out so it was fading into the skin tone or if you had done like full black soot smokey eye to kinda match your hair. The prom look i really love too! the flowers are beautiful. I think it does lack a little shape but if you added a belt to it that could help the shape a lot. I also think if you had added a few stones among the flowers that just slightly catch the light that would have been cute too. The makeup for this one is the same as on the science one for me, just blend it a bit more so it doesn't look as harsh! onto your monologue it made almost no sense to me and I have literally no idea whats going on for it? I wish there was a bit of explanation in the video for it because I feel like it was kinda like a joke...that I just wasn't in on and for an audition or a show thats just...not good for the audience to not know whats going on. The lipsync was sadly off which i'm shocked to get from you because I know you know how to do that. Its hard to really judge the sync bc of that but I know you knew your words. I do wish there was an extra PUNCH of energy in this song. I think that would have really driven it home. I love that because of charm school you were able to find out more about your drag character and it's been so amazing to watch you grow these past few weeks!!! <3

Dotte: I wasn't expecting these looks from you at all! I love the ideas that you have going on here, but, as you said, attention to detail would be key here. One of my pet peeves is when someone's face is painted a color and their arms are bare. I'm not going to get into the lipsync missing it's sync but I'm really happy with the emotion you put into it. I hope you continue to experiment with different ways to lipsync and add complexity to your move-sets so it doesn't seem so "one-lineish." Hope you had fun on Charm School and thanks for playing!

Marcella: Ophelia, I was impressed with you this week. I felt you really pushed your costuming in particular, and both of your looks were super creative and pretty fierce. Your lipsync overlay was off :’[ but I could tell it was solid in spite of this. Great emotions as always, and good connection. I would love to have seen you inject a bit more drag flourish into your performance. You virtually HAVE to twirl when the beat kicks in, and I wish I’d seen you stomp and dance around a bit more. Your answers were very insightful and I definitely understand your drag character more from hearing you discuss your journey. To work on in the run-up to c10, I want you to think about exactly how Ophelia does everything. How does she sit, how does she dance, how does she interpret things? You’re onto a character, and I would love to see that character blossom and for you to fully embody her in every single aspect from head to toe. I wish you all the luck for c10!

Harper: I really liked the concept behind your looks, and I think both fit your character well. Something you touched on in your interview was the attention to detail, though, and I think that is definitely true for this week. I did not care for the fact that the body paint on your head and face didn't extend to your arms, and I feel as though you are relying on it again. It's fine to use the paint as a base, but the drag makeup should be good enough to stand on its own, and I feel that without the white it would not hold up. Take it a few steps further than what you are doing now, I know you are capable of it! I think that's also my critique for your lip sync. I'm going to hold you to a higher standard of the other girls because we share the lsfyl background, and mama... this overlay was very off. Don't be afraid to play with concepts for lip syncs in TDR like you did for LSFYL... most of the other girls are going into it doing really super basic lip syncs in dirty rooms and having a lsfyl background gives you a real opportunity to help yourself stand out in a positive way. I'm going to challenge you to think outside the box next time. I think the best part of this video is seeing how much more comfortable you are in front of the camera than you were when we met a few years ago. You seem so much more relaxed and personable and I'm really proud of you for that growth. Keep it up!

#tdr #tdrcs4 #charm school #finale #exam #luna #kushboo #nikita nox #marina lumiere #ophelia waters

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jeaniinesmith · 4 years

Text

Furbo Dog Camera Review – A Detailed Look At Its Features

Pet cameras have been one of the best new pieces of tech dog owners could enjoy in the last decade. With the advancement of cameras and wireless technologies, these devices truly became convenient and useful. One of the most famous ones is the Furbo Dog Camera and in this review, I will walk you through some of its most important features, advantages, and potential disadvantages.

If you want to learn more about pet cameras in general, head over to my fully detailed buyer’s guide in which I’ve listed my favorite models for this year along with a few extra tips and curiosities!

Overview & Features

The thing that will define this camera though our discussion will be how well-rounded it is. Of course, its Achilles heel will always be the price tag but hopefully some of the features we will talk about will make your mind on whether or not this is worth it. Spoiler alert – it really is.

Furbo Pet Camera

Excellent camera quality

Good wide-angle view

Two-way audio capabilities

Treat tossing function

Sound quality is great

Barking detection and alerts

Smart activity alerts

Good-looking design aesthetics

Shop Now On Amazon!

Design & Build Quality

The aesthetics of this device are a good selling point since it will complement almost any type of surface you put it on. Similar to modern smart speakers and assistants, it tries to look like a modern addition to your home, and, to be honest, it succeeds. The white-gloss body has a bamboo wood cover at the top which does make it blend with furniture better. At the bottom, there is a status indicator light that glows blue when the camera is on and yellow when it is put into sleep mode. The same goes for the treat tosser hole which also indicates that the camera is operational. Above it, you have the camera cutout which also houses the single mic and speaker combo. At the back, you have a single micro-USB used for charging. The whole pet camera is almost 9 inches tall and 4.7 inches wide.

You have a 3M adhesive tape at the bottom which will keep the Furbo literally glued to whichever surface you put it on. It is also spill-proof thanks to its bamboo cover, so your dog will have a hard time defeating it.

Functions

The number of functions this pet camera has truly made it shine compared to its competitors. Here is a list of everything it can do:

Two-way audio

Adjustable barking alerts

Smart activity alerts

Dog selfie alert

Person Alert

Treat tossing

Live streaming and recording

Night vision

Now, let’s dwell on those a little bit further, shall we?

The two-way audio is one of the standout features here thanks to its crisp quality. While it isn’t always very responsive and lag-free, it still provides decent back and forth communication options for you and your pup.

Next, there are various alert features on this pet camera. You have activity alerts when your pup gets too playful and starts jumping around. You also have selfie alerts when your dog comes close to the camera. Then you will be asked whether you want to take a picture. On top of all these, there is also a person alert in case someone enters (a pet trainer, someone to walk the dog, intruder, etc). The adjustable barking alerts give you the option for Furbo to notify you whenever things get noisy in there. That is good in case you want to know if someone’s at the door or your dog is acting up. You can then calm him down through the speaker and throw a treat once he’s calm and collected.

Camera & Microphone

The camera is a Full HD one, meaning it can record at 1080p (30fps) both during the day and the night. The 4x zoom is also applicable during both times of the day. The night mode works fairly well in dark conditions but is practically useless in pitch-black rooms, so if you’re leaving your dog alone overnight, make sure you leave some form of lighting on. The camera uses a wide-angle lens that captures a 160-degree picture. What this means is that the Furbo pet camera can easily cover a whole room if you put it in a corner.

Treat Tossing

The treat tossing is by far the best feature here. Not only will it help your pup cope with your absence during the day but it will allow you to give hi ma tasty reward from time to time until you come back. The fact that the camera doesn’t just drop the treat but tosses it in the air even gives the whole thing an extra layer of playfulness.

Furbo says that round-shaped treats with a diameter of around 0.4-0.5 inches work the best. Some of the recommended treats by the brand are Nutro Mini, Zuke’s Mini, Natural Balance Mini-rewards, and more.

Another thing that I absolutely love about the treat tossing feature is the clicker implemented in it. You can use it to train your dog or positively reinforce good behavior such as remaining calm during a storm or when the delivery man arrives.

Smart Alerts

Shop Now On Amazon!

Even though we already touched on the alert features, it is important to note that the Furbo pet camera uses an AI-powered recognition software that can distinguish between your dog and a person. That way, it can tell whether your dog is acting up or there is someone inside when it gives you an activity alert.

Alexa Integration

The Amazon Alexa integration is also quite a revolutionary feature that does require wireless connectivity. It will allow you to use voice commands on your pet camera such as “Alexa, ask Furbo to throw a treat”.

Regrettably, all those features that we went through have one very major downside – they make the model expensive. That is practically Furbo’s biggest weakness and makes a lot of pet owners look elsewhere at models that are sold for less than half the price… Either way, quality always comes at a price, and there are more than enough features here to make up for that, especially the next thing we will talk about…

It Can Save Your Dog’s Life

One of the most important features of this pet camera is that it can really protect your pet from bad scenarios. There are countless owners that still have their pups thanks to the automatic barking alert function which will keep notifying you if your dog is being abnormally loud. Furthermore, there are notifications if the camera detects an intruder or sudden movements. All these can help you act accordingly if something bad happens and that is one of the main reasons behind pet cameras in general. Now, let’s take a quick look at all of the pros and cons of this pet camera.

Advantages & Disadvantages

Pros

Excellent camera quality

Good wide-angle view

Two-way audio capabilities

Treat tossing function

Sound quality is great

Barking detection and alerts

Smart activity alerts

Good-looking design aesthetics

Cons

Very expensive

The treat tossing might jam occasionally depending on the treats that you’re using

There are freezing and connectivity issues with Furbo’s mobile app

If you’re wondering what type of treats to put into the Furbo and what dog treats to avoid in general, I suggest checking out my detailed article on the topic!

Conclusion

Our Rating: (5/5)

Few are the pet cameras out there that can deliver a good overall performance and have well-thought-out design and functionality. Despite the connectivity issues and the steep price tag, this particular camera is one of the safest bets if you want to get something long-lasting, durable, and fairly reliable. I hope this Furbo Dog Camera review has been helpful and, once again, if you need my advice on more of these cameras, hit me up and I will try to find the exact match for your home and pet needs!

Shop Now On Amazon!

source https://fourpawideas.com/furbo-dog-camera-review/ source https://fourpawideas.blogspot.com/2020/05/furbo-dog-camera-review-detailed-look.html

0 notes

fourpawideas1 · 4 years

Text

Furbo Dog Camera Review – A Detailed Look At Its Features

Overview & Features

Furbo Pet Camera

Excellent camera quality

Good wide-angle view

Two-way audio capabilities

Treat tossing function

Sound quality is great

Barking detection and alerts

Smart activity alerts

Good-looking design aesthetics

Shop Now On Amazon!

Design & Build Quality

Functions

The number of functions this pet camera has truly made it shine compared to its competitors. Here is a list of everything it can do:

Two-way audio

Adjustable barking alerts

Smart activity alerts

Dog selfie alert

Person Alert

Treat tossing

Live streaming and recording

Night vision

Now, let’s dwell on those a little bit further, shall we?

Camera & Microphone

Treat Tossing

Smart Alerts

Shop Now On Amazon!

Alexa Integration

It Can Save Your Dog’s Life

Advantages & Disadvantages

Pros

Excellent camera quality

Good wide-angle view

Two-way audio capabilities

Treat tossing function

Sound quality is great

Barking detection and alerts

Smart activity alerts

Good-looking design aesthetics

Cons

Very expensive

The treat tossing might jam occasionally depending on the treats that you’re using

There are freezing and connectivity issues with Furbo’s mobile app

If you’re wondering what type of treats to put into the Furbo and what dog treats to avoid in general, I suggest checking out my detailed article on the topic!

Conclusion

Our Rating: (5/5)

Shop Now On Amazon!

source https://fourpawideas.com/furbo-dog-camera-review/

0 notes

chaj · 5 years

Link

via www.pyimagesearch.com

Earlier this week I shared a tutorial on using OpenCV to stream live video over a network via ImageZMQ — and today I’m pleased to share an interview with Jeff Bass, the creator of ImageZMQ!

Jeff has over 40 years experience hacking with computers and electronics — and now he’s applying computer vision + Raspberry Pis to his permaculture farm for:

Data collection

Wildlife monitoring

Water meter and temperature reading

Jeff is truly one of my favorite people that I’ve ever had the honor to meet. Over his 40 year career he’s amassed an incredible amount of knowledge over computer science, electronics, statistics, and more.

He also spent 20 years doing statistics and data analysis at a large biotech company. The advice he gives is practical, to the point, and always very well said. It’s a privilege to have him here today.

On a personal note, Jeff was also one of the original PyImageSearch Gurus course members. He’s been a long-time reader and supporter — and he’s truly helped make this blog possible.

It’s a wonderful pleasure to have Jeff here today, and whether you’re looking for unique, practical applications of computer vision and OpenCV, or simply looking for advice on how to build your portfolio for a career in computer science, look no further than this interview!

An interview with Jeff Bass, creator of ImageZMQ

Adrian: Hey Jeff! Thank you for being here today. It’s wonderful to have you here on the PyImageSearch blog. For people who do not know you, who are you and what do you do?

Jeff: I’m a lifelong learner who’s been playing with electronics and computers for over 40 years. I studied econometrics, statistics and computer science in grad school. I developed a statistical software package for PCs back when PCs were a new thing. I spent 20 years doing statistics and data analysis at a big biotech company.

Now I’m retired from income producing endeavors and building a small permaculture farm in Southern California. I’m using computer vision, sensors and Raspberry Pis as tools to observe and manage the farm. I speak at garden clubs and conferences occasionally. I really enjoyed being a speaker at PyImageConf 2018.

Adrian: How did you first become interested in computer vision and deep learning?

Jeff: I got a Raspberry Pi and a Pi Camera module in 2013 when they first became available. I wanted to use them to observe and catalog wildlife activity as I got started with the farm. I was already very familiar with Linux and C, but the best Pi Camera interface was the “Picamera” module in Python. I started “web wandering” to learn more about Python programming and computer vision. I ran across your tutorial blogs and bought your Practical Python and OpenCV book. Once I’d worked through the examples in your book, I was hooked.

Figure 1: Jeff Bass runs Ying Yang Ranch, a permaculture farm designed to grow food with long term sustainability.

Adrian: Can you tell us a bit more about your farm? What is permaculture farming? Why is it important and how is it different than “traditional” farming?

Jeff: I call the farm Yin Yang Ranch. It is a small 2 acre “science project” in a suburban area. I started learning about permaculture at the same time I started learning about Raspberry Pis.

Permaculture is a collection of practices and design principles to grow food with long term sustainability as the primary goal. It starts with creating deep living soil with diverse microbiology, emulating an old growth forest. Permaculture design choices prioritize sustainability over efficiency. It is science based, emphasizing a cycle of careful observation, repeatable experiments and open sharing of best practices.

Permaculture farms are generally small and include many different kinds of plants growing together rather than rows of similar crops. Food plants are grown in the same space with native plants. I am growing figs, pears, pomegranates, plums, grapes, avocados, oranges, mulberries, blackberries and other edibles. But they are interplanted with native California Coast Live Oaks and Sycamore Trees. It doesn’t look much like a traditional farm. Traditional agriculture is efficient, but degrades soil and water resources. Permaculture is trying to change that.

Figure 2: Jeff uses Raspberry Pis + computer vision around his farm. An example of such is automatic water meter reading using OpenCV.

Adrian: How can Raspberry Pis and computer vision be helpful on your farm?

Jeff: We are in Southern California about 10 miles from the Malibu coast. Drought and limited rainfall are the toughest climate issues. Monitoring and observation are important, so I built a Raspberry Pi Camera system to read the water meter and monitor temperatures to optimize irrigation.

That led more questions and lots of fun ways to gather and analyze data:

How many gallons did it take to water the mulberries today?

When did the coyotes last run behind the barn?

What is the temperature and soil moisture under the avocado trees?

What is the temperature and moisture content of the 5 compost piles?

How is it changing over time?

How much solar electricity did we generate today?

How full are the rain barrels?

How do the birds, butterflies and other critter movements change with the seasons and with whatever is blooming or putting on fruit?

The Raspberry Pis are also keeping track of stuff like the opening and closing of garage and barn doors. And they can let me know when a package is delivered.

Adrian: You created a library called imagezmq. What is it and what does it do?

Jeff: The imagezmq library implements a simple and fast network of Raspberry Pis (clients) and servers.

Early on, I decided on a distributed design using Raspberry Pis for capturing images and using Macs for analyzing the images. The goal was to have Raspberry Pis do image capture and motion detection (is the water meter spinning?) and programmatically decide on a small subset of images to pass along to the Mac.

I spent a year trying different ways of sending images from multiple Raspberry Pis to a Mac. I settled on the open source ZMQ library and its PyZMQ python wrappers. My imagezmq library uses ZMQ to send images and event messages from a dozen Raspberry Pis to a Mac hub. ZMQ is fast, small, simple to use and doesn’t need a message broker.

Here are a pair of code snippets showing how to use imagezmq to continuously send images from a Raspberry Pi to a Mac. First the code running on each Raspberry Pi:

# run this program on each RPi to send a labelled image stream import socket import time from imutils.video import VideoStream import imagezmq sender = imagezmq.ImageSender(connect_to='tcp://jeff-macbook:5555') rpi_name = socket.gethostname() # send RPi hostname with each image picam = VideoStream(usePiCamera=True).start() time.sleep(2.0) # allow camera sensor to warm up while True: # send images as stream until Ctrl-C image = picam.read() sender.send_image(rpi_name, image)

Then the code running on the Mac (server):

# run this program on the Mac to display image streams from multiple RPis import cv2 import imagezmq image_hub = imagezmq.ImageHub() while True: # show streamed images until Ctrl-C rpi_name, image = image_hub.recv_image() cv2.imshow(rpi_name, image) # 1 window for each RPi cv2.waitKey(1) image_hub.send_reply(b'OK')

The hostname of each Raspberry Pi allows the Mac to put the image stream from that Raspberry Pi in a separate, labelled

cv2.imshow()

window. I have a photo in my imagezmq github repository showing 8 Raspberry Pi camera feeds being displayed simultaneously on a single Mac:

Figure 3: Live streaming video from 8 Raspberry Pis to a central hub using Python, OpenCV, and ImageZMQ.

It uses 12 lines of Python code on each Raspberry Pi and 8 lines of Python on the Mac. One Mac can keep up with 8 to 10 Raspberry Pis at 10 FPS. ZMQ is fast.

imagezmq enables a computer vision pipeline to be easily distributed over multiple Raspberry Pis and Macs. The Raspberry Pi captures images at 16 FPS. It detects motion caused by the spinning of the water meter needle. It sends only the images where the needle starts moving or stops moving, which is only a small fraction of the images it captures. Then, the Mac uses more advanced computer vision techniques to read the “digital digits” portion of the water meter images and determine how much water is being used. Each computer is able to do the portion of the computer vision pipeline for which it is best suited. imagezmq enables that.

Adrian: What is your favorite computer vision + Raspberry Pi project that you’ve deployed on Yin Yang Ranch?

Jeff: I’ve mounted a Raspberry Pi on the back wall of my barn with an infrared floodlight. It tracks motion and sends images when the motion is “critter like”. I’ve captured images of coyotes, raccoons, possums, bats, hawks, squirrels and rabbits. I’m still working on the deep learning models to classify them correctly. It’s been a lot of fun for me and my neighbors to learn more about the wildlife around us.

Figure 4: A selection of Raspberry Pi components and cameras, including (left to right) Waveshare Combo IR lens and dual IR floodlights, PiNoir IR Camera with IR “Ring Light” floodlight, RPi Zero with PiCamera in white light “Ring Light” with DS18B20 temperature probe, RPi Zero with “Spy Cam” and longer range WiFi, and RPi Zero with older model (and half price) PiCamera.

Adrian: Raspberry Pis, while cheap, are by no means as powerful as a standard laptop/desktop. What are some of the lessons learned while using Raspberry Pis around the farm?

Jeff: Raspberry Pis are great at image capture. The Pi Camera module is very controllable in Python for changing things like exposure mode. A USB or laptop webcam is usually not controllable at all. Controlling exposure and other camera settings can be very helpful in wildlife tracking and even reading a water meter.

The Raspberry Pi GPIO pins can gather readings from temperature sensors, moisture sensors and others. The GPIO pins can be used to control lights like the lights that illuminate my water meter and my barn area. Laptops and desktops don’t do those things easily.

On the other hand, Raspberry Pis lack a high speed disk drive — the SD card is not suitable for writing lots of binary image files. In my system, the Raspberry Pis send the image files over the network rather than storing them locally. Laptops and desktops have fast disk storage and lots of RAM memory allowing more elaborate image processing. I try to have my Raspberry Pis do what they excel at and have the Macs do what they are good at.

Most of my Raspberry Pis are Raspberry Pi 3’s, but I also use the cheaper, smaller Raspberry Pi Zero for Pi Cameras that only need to do simple motion detection, like my driveway cam. When there is no need for additional image processing, even the smaller memory and less powerful processor of the Pi Zero is adequate.

Adrian: What types of hardware, cameras, and Raspberry Pi accessories do you use around the farm? How do you keep your Pis safe from getting wet and destroyed?

Jeff: I use Raspberry Pis with Pi Cameras at many places around the farm. They often have temperature, moisture and other sensors. I build multiple kinds of enclosures to protect the Raspberry Pis.

One of my favorites is to convert a existing outdoor light fixture into a waterproof Raspberry Pi container. You remove the light bulb, screw in a simple AC socket adapter and you have an easy rainproof enclosure that holds the Raspberry Pi and the Pi Camera module. A GPIO temperature probe fits as well. It is easy to add a Raspberry Pi controlled LED light so that the light fixture still provides light like it did before:

Figure 5: Converting an outdoor light fixture into a waterproof Raspberry Pi container.

Another enclosure is a simple glass mason jar with a plastic lid. It fits a Raspberry Pi and is waterproof. Power and camera cables can be routed through holes in the plastic lid. That’s how my water meter Pi Camera is built and it has been working well through all kinds of weather for over 2 years:

Figure 6: A simple Raspberry Pi enclosure using a simple mason jar.

For infrared applications like the night time critter camera behind my barn, I put the Raspberry Pi inside the barn. The camera and temperature sensor cables run through small holes in the barn wall. The Pi NoIR camera module is protected under a simple overhang of old shingles. Infrared light doesn’t pass through glass, so the Pi NoIR camera module cannot be in a glass enclosure. The shingle overhang over an otherwise unprotected PiNoIR module has been very effective:

Figure 7: A simple wooden overhang to protect the Raspberry Pi.

A closer view can be seen below:

Figure 8: A closer up view of the overhang (you can see the red light from the Raspberry Pi camera if you look closely).

I have also found that inexpensive (about $5) “Fake Security Cam” enclosures work really well as waterproof Raspberry Pi and Pi Camera enclosures. They easily hold a Raspberry Pi and they have a tripod-like angle adjuster:

Figure 9: The shell of a fake security security camera can easily house a Raspberry Pi + camera module.

Once put together the “fake” security camera becomes a real security camera:

Figure 10: Adding the Raspberry Pi + camera components to the security camera shell.

For power, I tend to run longer power lines (over 20 feet long) at 12 volts, then convert to 5 volts at the Raspberry Pi. I use 12 volt power adapters like those that are used to charge cell phones in cars. Cheap and effective. Most of my Raspberry Pis are networked with WiFi, but I have ethernet in my barn and at various places around the house, so some of my Raspberry Pis are using ethernet to send images.

Adrian: During your PyImageConf 2018 talk you discussed how projects like these can actually help people build their computer vision and deep learning resumes. Can you elaborate on what you mean there?

Jeff: During my 30 years of managing programming and data analysis teams, I found it very helpful when job candidates came to the interview with a specific project in their portfolio that showed their strengths. A computer vision project — even a hobby project like my Raspberry Pi water meter cam — can really help demonstrate practical skills and ability.

A well documented project demonstrates practical experience and problem solving. It shows the ability to complete large projects fully (80% solutions are good but 100% solutions demonstrate an ability to finish). A portfolio project can demonstrate other specific skills, such as using multiple computer vision libraries, the ability to write effective documentation, facility with Git / GitHub as a collaboration tool and technical communication skills. It is important to be able to tell a short, compelling project story — the “elevator speech” about your portfolio project.

Adrian: How as the PyImageSearch blog, the PyImageSearch Gurus course, and the books/courses helped you make this project a success?

Jeff: When I started learning about computer vision, I found that a lot of the material on the web was either too theoretical or gave simplistic code snippets without any fleshed out examples or complete code.

When I found your PyImageSearch blog, I found your tutorial projects to be very complete and helpful. You provided an understandable story line for each problem being solved. Your explanations were clear and complete with fully functioning code. Running some of the programs in your blog led me to buy your Practical Python and OpenCV book.

I took your PyImageSearch Gurus course and learned to code many specific computer vision techniques. I had previously read about many of these techniques, but your specific code examples provided the “how-to” I needed to write computer vision code for my own projects.

The license plate number reading section of your Gurus course was the basis for the first draft of my water meter digits reading program. Your deep learning book is helping me to write the next version of my object recognition software for tagging critters around the farm (racoon or possum?).

Adrian: Would you recommend PyImageSearch and the books/courses to other developers, researchers, and students trying to learn computer vision + deep learning?

Jeff: I would definitely recommend your PyImageSearch blog, books and courses to those trying to learn about this rapidly evolving field. You are very good at explaining complex techniques with a helpful mix of code and narrative discussion. Your books and courses provided a jump start to my understanding of the theory and practice of modern computer vision algorithms.

I had not programmed in Python before, and some of its idioms felt a bit odd to my C conditioned brain. Your practical examples helped me use the best features of Python in “Pythonic” ways. Your Gurus course is well structured with a good flow that builds on simple examples that are expanded lesson by lesson into fully developed programs that solve complex problems. Your coverage of the many different computer vision and deep learning techniques is broad and comprehensive. Your books and courses are a good value for what you charge for them. Highly recommended.

Adrian: What are your next steps for Yin Yang Ranch and your current computer vision/deep learning projects?

Jeff: I would like to do more wildlife identification and counting. The farm is next to an open space that is a wildlife corridor through a suburban area. I’m going to use more advanced deep learning techniques to identify different animals by species. When do specific animals come and go? What birds and butterflies show up in which part of the season? How are their numbers related to seasonal rainfall? I would like to use deep learning to identify specific individuals in a coyote pack. How long is a specific coyote staying in our area? I can recognize specific individuals when I look at captured images. I’d like to use deep learning to do that with software.

Adrian: Is there anything else you would like to share?

Jeff: Building stuff with software and hardware can be a lot of fun. If someone is reading this and wondering how to get started, I would suggest they start with something they are passionate about. There is likely to be some way that computer vision and deep learning can help with a project in their area of interest. I wanted to do some permaculture farm science and my computer vision projects are helping me do that. I’m learning a lot, giving some talks and farm tours to help others learn…and I’m having a lot of fun.

Adrian: If a PyImageSearch reader wants to chat, what is the best place to connect with you?

Jeff: Folks can read more and see more project pictures at my Yin Yang Ranch repository on GitHub:

https://github.com/jeffbass/yin-yang-ranch

Or they can send me an email at jeff [at] yin-yang-ranch.com.

Summary

In this blog post, we interviewed Jeff Bass, the creator of the ImageZMQ library (which we used in last weeks’s tutorial), used to facilitate live video streaming from a Raspberry Pi to a central server/hub using Python + OpenCV.

Jeff was motivated to create the ImageZMQ library to help around his permaculture farm. Using ImageZMQ and a set of Raspberry Pis, Jeff can apply computer vision and data science techniques to gather and analyze temperature readings, water meter flow, electricity usage, and more!

Please take a second to thank Jeff for taking the time to do the interview.

To be notified when future blog posts and interviews are published here on PyImageSearch, just be sure to enter your email address in the form below, and I’ll be sure to keep you in the loop.

The post An interview with Jeff Bass, creator of ImageZMQ appeared first on PyImageSearch.

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slrlounge1 · 6 years

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2018 Holiday Gift Guide for Photographers | $100 & Under (Stocking Stuffers)

It’s that time of the year when we’re on the hunt for the best deals and savings on gear for the creatives on our holiday shopping lists. The team at SLR Lounge has had a look at, tested, played with, and researched a LOT of the best (and worst) photography products out there, and we’ve filtered them down to make your search a little easier.

Be sure to bookmark this page and keep checking back as we’ll be continually updating these lists as more and better products and deals surface for the season.

B&H Gift Card – $25 aND UP

There are few things more practical for a photographer than a B&H Gift Card. With a huge selection, friendly return policies, and free shipping with orders over $100, this is an easy stocking stuffer.

Get It Here

Peak Design Camera Strap $50

Having been a Peak Design user for years now, I can confirm just how useful and handy their camera straps and accessories are! The SlideLITE Camera Strap can be worn as a sling, shoulder, or full neck strap and comes with removable anchors to connect to your equipment which can support up to 200lbs. I can’t imagine anyone ever actually having 200lbs of camera gear strapped to them but the fact that these can support it is VERY reassuring.

Get It Here

Datacolor SPyderCHECKR 24 Color Chart $44

If you’re getting into photography or any sort of digital visual arts, we can’t stress enough how important it is to ensure your colors are accurate. This was listed in last years gift guide, and we’re adding it again just because it’s that good. Pair this with the SpyderCUBE Raw Calibration tool for under $100 and get the most out of your images.

Get the Datacolor SpyderCHECKR 24 Here

Get the Datacolor SpyderCUBE RAW Here

Amazon Alexa – $69.99

Any photographer with a studio, whether it’s in the garage, warehouse, or office space could use handsfree control of the lights, music, temperature and other “Alexa skills.”

Get It Here

SD Memory Cards $15-$99+

Lets face it, we can never have enough memory cards. It’s better to have them and not need, than to need them and not have. Most cameras have dual write slots in them these days and i’ve always been an advocate of shooting to both slots to ensure you never lose or miss a shot! Currently B&H has a veritable boat-load of these, (and other memory cards styles), on sale so it’s worth it for you to have a look and pick up a few for some stocking stuffers!

Get It Here

JPEGmini Photo Optimization Software $89

Get the smallest image file size without compromising quality or changing your workflow. Having used this software myself now for the last 2 years, I can personally attest to just how powerful and incredible this tool is to your digital workflow. Upload images faster, save tons of space on your hard drives, and improve the load times for your website. This software can operate as a standalone or as a plugin connected directly to Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom.

Get It Here

Wyze Cam – $25

Anyone with thousands of dollars in gear should have a security camera. This is one of our favorites because of its simplicity, robust features, and cheap price point.

Get it Here

Moment Lenses for Mobile Phone $89-$99

We’ve spoke about these in the past and they deserve to be on the list once again. Moment Phone lenses are a great addition to enhance your iPhone’s image capabilities, especially with their latest 58mm Tele lens. They’ve optimized the optics in this lens for the new devices with larger sensors such as the iPhone XS, Samsung Note 9, and Google Pixel 3. They also have a variety of Macro, Wide, Fisheye and Tele lenses and accessories available.

Get It Here

Camera Lens Coffee Mugs $18

No camera bag is complete without at least one coffee mug made to look like a lens. Shown here is a Canon, but you can find these in nearly any brand/manufacturer out there usually for under $20 and they always make an appreciated gift for your photographer friends out there. You only get one shot at the first coffee of the day, make it a “photo-finish.”

Get It Here

Atmosphere Aerosol $12

Every creative I’ve met that’s used this “portable smoke machine” has done nothing but sing it’s praise. Adding a touch of smoke or fog to your setting can be just the thing your image needs for that dramatic flare and finishing touch. While smoke machines are ideal, they are big, bulky, (sometimes) messy, and expensive. Whereas the Atmosphere Aerosol runs a price tag of under $12 per can. You can even find these in bulk for a better deal.

Get It Here

Moleskin Planner $22

Keep your appointments, ideas, designs, and diagrams handy and organized with this classic Moleskin Planner / Workbook. They are available in a variety of hardcover or softcover & colors to suit your preferences and are great for keeping yourself on track with your daily / weekly / monthly appointments and goals! You can find these in hardcover from $18-$22

Get It Here

Lumecube with Smartphone Mount $99

Lumecube is another item that’s made it into this years holiday gift guide because it packs a ton of light into a small and durable package. Completely controlled by Bluetooth, it can be used as a continuous light for video or a strobe for your flash photography needs. Waterproof, mountable, and a long battery life; this devices is an outdoor and adventure photographers must have.

Get It Here

Anker PowerCore 2-Port Power Pack $49

Battery life is the beauty and bane of today’s photographer. Whether we’re on location on a mountain, working from a coffee shop, or hours deep into a wedding, we’ll have a plethora of devices that need power to get you through the end of the day. As the technology and gear changes, so do our power needs. That’s why the Anker 20,000mAH power pack deserves to be in all of our gear bags.

Get It Here

Disposable Film Cameras $10

Film is a fun way to spark extra creativity back into your photographic life, and what better way than with a cheap single use camera that’s also weather proof?! Disposable cameras like this can be a lot of fun for the creative on your shopping list as not only is it ideal for scenarios where you’d like to shoot film, but don’t want to risk your expensive, (and possibly rare), cameras like on a boat or in new/unfamiliar territory. Not to mention the fun you can have with these in a party environment like a wedding.

Get It Here

Fujifilm Instax Wide 300 $92

We’ve mentioned the Fujifilm Instax Mini cameras in the past but this year we felt it’s time to show the Wide format cameras some attention. With this combo you can get the Fujifilm Wide 300 camera with 2 packs of instant film for just $92 dollars. This, (and the mini 9 versions), are a guaranteed hit at any social gathering and even corporate environments. These cameras are great for the professional photographer, OR just a fun gift for anyone on your list this year.

Get It Here

Don’t forget the extra film

JBL Flip 4 Wireless Portable Speaker $80

Not every gift has to be a camera or camera related for the creatives you’re shopping for. As most photographers will tell you, no studio session is complete without some tunes playing to get both you and your subjects in the “zone” to create something special. These bluetooth enabled speakers can produce 16W of audio power and provide the much needed mood enhancement for your photoshoot session. Pair this with a Spotify Premium Subscription for an extra surprise and unlock unlimited hours of entertainment.

Get It Here

Deals Under $50 from B&H

Need more gift ideas? B&H has a full list of holiday recommendations under $50!

See more Info Here

Again, be sure to bookmark this page and keep checking back as we’ll be continually updating these lists as more and better products and deals surface for the season.

from SLR Lounge https://www.slrlounge.com/2018-holiday-gift-guide-for-photographers-100-under-stocking-stuffers/ via IFTTT

#IFTTT #SLR Lounge

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updatedc-blog · 6 years

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New Post has been published on http://www.updatedc.com/2018/10/21/nikon-z7-field-review/

Nikon Z7 field review

Nikon Z7 field review by Stuart Palley (stuartpalley.com, terraflamma.org | @stuartpalley):

TLDR: Mirrorless is the future of working pros in the documentary/journalism/travel realm. It may take another generation or two to fully compete with DSLRs, but it’s coming. The Z7 will not replace my D850 but rather complement it for the many situations where weight and size trump ease of use and AF speed/reliability in the near term. As the Z mount lens system grows I can start divesting myself of F mount glass when a Z mount equivalent comes into production. This is written from the perspective of someone who makes the majority of their income as a photographer and creative professional.

For years many great companies have manufactured excellent mirrorless cameras already in use by working pros and enthusiasts alike. Fuji, Olympus, Sony, etc, all make awesome cameras (I’ve used many, the X100, X Pro 1, GFX, OM-D series, etc). The big news here is the FTZ adapter with solid AF/VR compatibility with my existing dozen Nikon lenses, similar button layout for fast workflow adoption, and smaller and lighter baggage.*

That means I can integrate the Z7 into my workflow with minimal fuss and rock the Z mount 24-70 f4 or 35mm 1.8 when I want to go fast and light. A metadata analysis of my images from wildfires shows 60-80% of my images shot in the 24-70mm focal length.

The other two lenses I use the most are the 70-200mm 2.8 VRII, 200-400 VRI, and Sigma 14mm 1.8, which all work great with the FTZ adapter.

Sigma 14mm 1.8 with FTZ adapter

With the Z mount 24-70 f4 I lose a stop of speed and the durability of the 24-70 f2.8 VR AF-S, (which is the best/most versatile Nikon midrange zoom I’ve used) but the lens is about 1/3 the overall mass and a fraction of the weight of the F mount big brother.

The FTZ adapter is well designed and does what it’s supposed to do, allowing me to use F mount lenses, now with the built in VR of the Z7. My chief criticism is that AF is not so great, in the case of using my 200-400 AF-S VR I for photographing Lenticular clouds over the Cleveland National Forest, it hunted for AF at sunset. I initially thought this an issue with the F4 aperture or lack of contrast in the tones of dusk, but even on contrasty and clear points on the horizon that my D850 and same lens combo would’ve likely focused on without issue, the FTZ adapter left me wanting a little more accuracy with it’s hunting and focus racking. I’m going off my own real-world experience here, lab tests and more technical analysis from might yield different results.

FTZ Adapter and 200-400 VR I, panorama stitched from two images

On the Z7 body itself, the buttons are laid out similar to other Nikon DSLRs and as a result I found the camera easy to pick up and start shooting with. The viewfinder is incredible, sharp, bright, and clear. Coming from using an original Fuji X100 or an earlier micro 4/3 camera you see the progress that electronic viewfinders have made in the last 5 years.

Another advantage of the Z7 is the reduced size and weight. Size wise, it’s mainly the bulk that is reduced in all dimensions. After using the Z7 for an afternoon and placing it on the counter next to my battle worn D810 with a vertical grip, the D810 looked like a pig and felt like a lead weight. This is a little hyperbolic but it’s liberating to not have a boat anchor hanging off your neck. Heavy cameras are terrible for your back ligaments, muscles, and spinal column, so any reduced size and weight is a welcome improvement when these are tools you use to make a living with day in and day out.

This past weekend I did a 4-mile hike and brought the Z7 along with my trusty 105mm f2.8 AF-D Macro lens. It manual focus only with the FTZ adapter, but having stabilization on a macro lens was great and I had a good time playing around with the forms of cactus spines along the trail. I wouldn’t have brought my D850 with a grip, that’s for sure.

FTZ adapter and 105mm 2.8 AF-D Macro (manual focus)

Virtually a 100% crop from the Z7, FTZ adapter and 105mm 2.8 AF-D Macro

FTZ adapter and 105mm 2.8 AF-D Macro (manual focus)

The lenses still retain a similar size to DSLR lenses, but with the shorter flange to sensor distance, optical designs can be optimized to make lenses slightly more compact. Additionally, the wider diameter of the Z mount will allow lens designers to take more engineering liberties when designing new lenses, meaning better performance, even more extreme focal lengths, and apertures too. Case in point, the 50mm-ish f0.95 lens Nikon has announced is a show lens to demonstrate the Z mount flexibility. Personally, the lens is useless to me since it lacks autofocus, and the sway of your body while breathing will put your subject out of focus at f0.95 handheld with manual focus. Try focusing an f1.4 lens in the dark and tell me it’s easy!

Every camera is only as good as the system around it and the company making it, so I look forward to Nikon fleshing out the Z lineup of lenses. The 35mm 1.8 is sharp from corner to corner, and the 24-70mm f4 is a versatile lens, but needs to be “unlocked” and expanded from its compact stowage position. As an NPS member I received priority delivery on the camera, and despite my concerns about Nikon’s repair logistics and inability to keep important parts in stock (Ask about my months long parts hold repair on a 70-200 VRII in 2015) rest assured Nikon will fix the camera should anything happen under warranty, and afterwards for a fixed fee. Cameras have always come back fixed right and with firmware upgrades, a sensor cleaning, etc from the repair center in Los Angeles.

A Storm is Coming

Randy’s Donuts, Los Angeles. Z7 and 24-70mm AF-S, ISO 140, 1/25 sec, Auto ISO. In body stabilization allowed me to shoot from the passenger seat of a car, at a stoplight, with a much lower shutter speed than I would usually select. Accordingly I was able to shoot at a lower ISO.

Another advantage of a smaller system is that everything gets smaller. The bags, tripods, tripod heads, filters, etc. needed to support the Z7 all shrink. Things get smaller and lighter, requiring less energy to cart around, which equates to more focus on shooting and creating pictures and telling a story, the whole reason I’m here in the first place. Everything about the equipment is in the service of creating the image. Instead of a Think Tank Retrospective 30 for my fast and light kit, I can get the Z7, 24-70 f4, 35 f1.8, and my ancient Nikon 70-210 AF push pull zoom (which I got for $60 :-p) with the FTZ adapter into a smaller Retrospective 7. I have space for spare cards, batteries, filters, and the charger.

Think Tank Retrospective in Pinestone with Z7, 24-70mm f4, 35mm 1.8, 70-210 (works in MF only with FTZ adapter, replacing with a 70-200mm f4 AF-SVR). GoPro Hero 4, spare batteries.

A Z7 and two lenses will now fit into the pack I carry around at wildfires that includes mandatory safety gear like a fire shelter and radio. That weight quickly adds up and adding a camera swinging off your neck with a strap isn’t ideal. Being able to stow the camera and it’s accompanying weight into my actual pack where the load bearing harnesses can support the load is a godsend for longer hikes. Sometimes I have to go hunt down fire crews in the bush and having a camera swinging off your body isn’t ideal. I was hiking at the Ferguson Fire in Yosemite National Park on assignment for the US Forest Service when my 24-70 decided to detach itself from my D850, and a lucky fall onto dirt with the lens hood saved it from damage.

This issue illustrates the two ways I usually shoot in the field. The first is up close, where the heaviest fire activity is present and I’m hiking around and moving a lot, getting in and out of a pickup truck, going up hills in smoke and ash. The smaller Z7 in good to decent lighting conditions is ideal for this. The jury is still out on how much I can push it in low light with the contrast detect AF. In darkness or low light, I would still be partial to a D850 and 24-70.

On a tripod with more relaxed conditions, perhaps photographing the fire from afar or just general nightscape photography, the Z7 perfect. I have three tripods, a large and medium Really Right Stuff carbon fiber tripod that is perfect for DSLRs and long lenses, and a tiny travel tripod. The medium tripod is perfect for a Z7 and a wide lens with FTZ adapter, and I could probably get away with one of their compact tripods in the future or my tiny travel tripod.

I disagree with Nikon’s decision to fit just one XQD slot in the camera. While memory cards are much more reliable than they were a decade ago, I still don’t fully trust them. My D850 is still coming out for when I need extra peace of mind. I hope that Nikon puts in a second SD slot, double XQD, or double SD in future versions. I would prefer a slightly larger camera with dual slot security. For me it’s just an extra short-term backup during shoots. Everything immediately goes onto a solid state RAID array when images are uploaded to my laptop, but once I click the shutter on the Z7, a potential card failing means it’s 2005 all over again. As I use the Z7 more I suppose I’ll grow to trust single slot XQD, but the jury is still out along with low light AF (which I’m finding is wholly satisfactory the more I use it). Buy good cards and format early and often.

Watch and Wallet: Z7 at ISO 11,400, 1/125 sec, f5: Nikon 105mm f2.8 AF-D with FTZ adapter in manual focus. This shot would not be possible without VR, at least handheld.

In conclusion this trend toward smaller and lighter with similar image quality to pro DSLR’s has long been in practice. Sony did it with the A7 series, their compact cameras with full frame sensors, etc. Now that the big two, Nikon and Canon have jumped on board, we have a real integration of mirrorless into pro workflows, We still have ground to cover when it comes to AF and lens selection, but the future is here, and the same way that the 4×5 Speed Graphic gave way to the 35mm SLR slowly over the years, so will the DSLR give way to mirrorless. Onward.

Stuart Palley is a Southern California based photographer who recently published his first photography book, Terra Flamma: Wildfires at Night, (Schiffer Publishers, 2018) photographing wildfires in California via long exposure over the last five years.

His work on climate change and the environment has been featured in National Geographic Magazine and has been recognized in Pictures of the Year International. He is a contractor for the US Forest Service and works commercially with various Fortune 500 clients in addition to select editorial publications internationally.

www.stuartpalley.com

www.terraflamma.org

Instagram @stuartpalley

*** Every camera on the market makes great images, it’s all about ease of use, ergonomics, lens options, price, etc. There are no bad cameras in 2018, just photographers that should focus on the art of making pictures rather than the gear. No camera manufacturer sponsors me or gives me anything for free, these views here are entirely my own and based off my experience as a working professional.

If you have an interesting idea for a guest post, you can contact me here.

For additional Nikon Z coverage like the Nikon Z Facebook page and join the Nikon Z Facebook group

Source from nikonrumors

#camera #Canon #dslr #Fuji #lens #mirrorless #news #Nikon #Olympus #om #rumors #sensor #Sigma #Sony

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