How to Make a Tilt-Shift Lens for $10 (Plus Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Tilt-Shift!)


And now for a non-dictionary of photo terms:

Tilt-shift: not the spazzy-legged move we bust on the dance floor.

Selective focus: not the clever strategy used against parents.

Maybe we’re better off referencing our pal Bhautik’s incredible guide to tilt-shift and DIY lenses! It’ll teach you all sorts about tilt-shift, like -

What the heck is a tilt-shift lens anyway? (A lens that can tilt and shift its planes to focus selectively and make the subjects in your photos look miniature, too!)

Isn’t tilt-shift only for 19th Century men with pointy mustaches, cloaks, and large, fancy cameras? (No! Anyone with an SLR can do it!)

Can’t I just fuzzy out parts of my photos using Photoshop? (Yes, but the real thing is so much more fun. PLUS, you can make videos, like this miniaturized San Francisco vid!)

Where do I get one? (Make your own, it’s easy! 3 tutorials teach you how to make your own plunger- and bendy-cams for about $10!)

Now, select your focus and tilt n’ shift til the cows (photos) come home!

Selective Focus: An Illustrated Guide to DIY Tilt-Shift
[Bhautik's Selective Focus Gallery]

p.s. Bhautik is a Research Engineer at Industrial Light & Magic (Lucasfilm!!) and the guy who wrote those amazingly popular plunger-cam tutorials!

p.p.s. The Selective-Focus guide is also available in print via Magcloud.

Photo credits: Bhautik Joshi

 

 

 

Art, Glamour, Rock and Roll »
The 1970s golden age of Max's Kansas City

In Max's Kansas City: Art, Glamour, Rock and Roll — Steven Kasher's tribute to the titular '70s New York artist haunt and music venue — we see David Bowie snuggling up to David Johansen, Andy Warhol and Janis Joplin chatting over dinner, and Willem de Kooning clutching a cigarette and staring solemnly into the middle distance.
View images »








 

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PDN & NGT Present: World in Focus




Grand Prize: 10-day expedition to the Galápagos Islands aboard National Geographic Endeavour or National Geographic Islander. Prize contributed by National Geographic Expeditions. Additional prize: a $250 certificate for Canson Infinity media.
First Prize: 7-day/6-night stay for 2 people in Waikiki, Hawaii, in your choice of any hotel in the Aqua Boutique Collection. Prize contributed by Aqua Hotels & Resorts.
Second Prize: Intensive 2½-day photo workshop at Santa Fe Workshops.
Seven Merit Prizes: Nikon L100 Coolpix Camera or equivalent and a $100 B&H Gift Card. Winners will also receive a $100 certificate for Canson Infinity media.
Bonus: Award-winning images will be featured in the January/February 2011 edition of National Geographic Traveler and displayed at the World in Focus Gallery Exhibit at the PDN PhotoPlus Expo in New York October 28-30, 2010. All winning images will also be featured on the World in Focus Contest and Traveler websites. Additionally, winners will receive a one-year subscription to National Geographic Traveler magazine.




Grand Prize: 8-day/7-night hotel and train journey for two through the Canadian Rockies with Rocky Mountaineer. Prize contributed by Rocky Mountaineer. Additional prizes: One Nikon D-90 Digital SLR Kit with lens (or equivalent), a PDN PhotoServeportfolio for one year, and a $250 certificate for Canson Infinity media.
First Prize: : 6 day/5 night vacation for 2 people to experience Honduras where you will explore the Maya ruins and charming cobblestone streets of Copán Ruinas. Provided by letsgohonduras.com and Mesoamerica Travel.
Second Prize: A two-day lighting clinic with Photo Quest Adventures taught by Tom Bol in the city of your choice.
Each Category Winner: One Nikon D5000 DSLR kit (with lens), a PDN PhotoPlus Expo Gold Pass, and a $100 certificate for Canson Infinity media.
All Winners will receive: A $100 B&H Gift Card.
Bonus Award: Winning images will be featured in a special winner's gallery in PDN's February 2011 issue and online at www.pdnonline.com. Select winners will be displayed at the World in Focus Gallery exhibit at the PDN PhotoPlus Expo in New York October 28-30, 2010. Additionally, winners will receive a one-year subscription to
Photo District News magazine (PDN).


Travel Portraits Photos of local residents at work, at play, and celebrating.
Outdoor Scenes Landscapes, aerials, wildlife, waterscapes.
Sense of Place Scenes in cities, towns, and villages that convey a strong feeling of place.
Spontaneous Moments Photos that capture fun, quirky, surprising, and unrehearsed moments.
Photo Essay Up to six images that suggest a story around a particular travel theme.


August 23, 2010   September 7, 2010.

 

Here are some of the World in Focus Photo Contest recent entries: http://www.worldinfocuscontest.com/entries.shtml


Enter the contest


For more info: www.worldinfocuscontest.com

 

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SF Camerawork Event: Monday, October 18 - Thursday, October 21, 9:30 am - 5 pm

Care & Identification of Photographs Workshop


Ideal for collectors, curators and archivists!


This 4-day workshop is an introduction to the history, identification, and preservation of photographic materials. Participants will acquire hands-on identification skills and learn practical preservation techniques. Using handheld 60x microscopes and a large set of photographic and photomechanical samples, they will learn how a variety of processes were created, why they look the way they do, and how they deteriorate.

Preservation topics include enclosures, handling guidelines, environmental monitoring, the effects of temperature and relative humidity on collections, and the importance of cold storage for certain photographic materials.

For more details, including registration information, visit our website.

                                                                                More Information >>

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