4 May 2024

May the Forced Perspective Be With You

Forced perspective photography can be great fun.  The technique uses optical illusion to make something appear larger, smaller, further away or closer than it really is.  If you have seen only one example then it will probably have been someone making it appear as it they are pushing or holding up the Leaning Tower of Pisa (or perhaps the Eiffel Tower, which always comes a close second). So here are twenty examples of forced perspective to give you some amusement before you go back to what you should really be doing (studying, working or shopping but perhaps you could just grab your camera and try a few of these out).

Image Credit bark
There are numerous naughty examples of forced perspective, but this is the cheekiest you'll get here today.
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22 May 2011

Long Exposure – Amazing Inspirational Photography

Sometimes you want to take a picture of something, somewhere or someone where some of what you want to capture is still yet other parts are moving.  When this happens then long exposure should be considered.  It makes the capture of the stationary parts of your picture sharper still and blurs the parts which are moving.

Long exposure involves using a long duration shutter speed – effectively slowing it down (almost to a standstill, figuratively speaking).  One of the more interesting effects of slowing down the speed of your shutter is the light trails that can be captured moving from one part of the picture to another.

Of course, capturing these trails of luminosity mean that long exposures are much easier to achieve when the light is low – particularly at night. Yet the effect can be successfully achieved in the day time if neutral density filters are applied or your camera is designed with the facility to capture long exposure in brighter lights.

Long exposure does not necessarily have to be that long.  The right effect can be achieved in seconds rather than minutes or hours – when you have fireworks going off or cars speeding down roads then the long exposure time may not need to be a deal of time.

Sometimes the night can become almost like day when it comes to long exposure.  When the shutter is open for an extended period of time then more light is absorbed which makes the final photograph appear much brighter, often almost day like in quality.  By leaving your camera perfectly still (obviously, perhaps) the vibrancy and clarity of a photograph can be enhanced many times over.

The effect can be stunning.  Enjoy this selection of some of the best long exposure photography that we could find.  A final note too – often people say that it is hard to source good copyright free pictures on the internet and so use that as an excuse to effectively steal the work of others.  Each and every one of the astounding pictures you find here has a Creative Commons license which enables its reproduction on Kuriositas for your pleasure, with a link back to the original photograph and photographer.

20 March 2011

What is Neocolonialism?


There is a war of words going on at the moment – between the supporters of General Gaddafi and (it seems) the rest of the world and one word is being bandied about a great deal – colonialism. Gaddafi and his cronies are accusing those countries now involved in the no fly zone of just that.

Yet they are not the only critics. Many people are suggesting that the only reason there is a no fly zone is because the nation has oil – a point which is difficult to disprove because, well, it has. One can only make the point that the humanitarian suffering is so great in Libya at the moment that something is needed. Yet is it colonialism, whichever side you are on?

Perhaps the best word Gaddafi could have used should have been neo-colonialism – a term which was traditionally used to describe the involvement of former colonial powers to keep control of their former colonies after independence. Whether you agree with his opinion is up to you but there is a new threat of neo-colonialism hanging over the African continent.  The term has now been extended somewhat to include nations which previously had no control over a country gaining influence over it: indeed it often gains that control with the collusion of the government of that very nation. The real danger for the African nations is quite possibly being sold down the river by their own governments.

Take the example of Ethiopia – and this is happening all over the continent. Vast swathes of land are being acquired for use by various Asian nations. You can argue what came first – the chicken or the egg – what coerced the African governments to agree to the leasing out of their land to foreign powers with little benefit to their own people? On the other hand the action of these countries (such as China and India) seems to fall short of what might be described as ethical. Africa is in danger of being leased out of existence.

23 February 2011

20 Amazing Examples of High Speed Photography

High speed photography is almost one hundred years old – the first recorded attempts were made in Germany in 1916. Almost a century later the technology available to us has changed dramatically, allowing us to see moments in time captured in a way that we could never have experienced before. Here are twenty amazing example of high speed photography. You will guess what some are in an instant – others may leave you rubbing your chin a little!