Hybrid Image Optical Illusion (Photoshop Tutorial)
Hybrid Images / Visuospatial Resonance. If you Overlay two images on top of one another inside of Photoshop -- one with a lower the spatial frequency (Gaussian Blur Filter) and one with a higher spatial frequency (High-Pass Filter) -- you can then view the two images independently, each image at a different distance. The high-pass image can be viewed (in detail) up close, and the blurry image can be viewed by one of the following methods:
- walking a few meters away from your computer screen
- defocusing your eyes
- making the picture smaller on the computer screen (doesn't work as good as the other methods)
- taking your glasses off (if you have them)
Black and white images work better if the color is too different between each image.
For instance, Monroe is showing her teeth and lips (white and red), but Einstein is showing lips and a mustache (red + gray).
In order to fix any obvious mis-match in color, you can make each image black and white.
In order to fix any alignment mis-matches of facial features, you could theoretically use the Liquify Tool.
If you look at this picture from far away (or with your eyes defocused), my lips appear to be smiling.
If you view this picture close-up (as you would normally), I have a dead-pan face.
Also (when viewing normally), if you focus your attention to the eyes, the lips seen with your peripheral vision may appear to be smiling, but as soon as your eyes look /directly/ at the lips, the smile vanishes.
Emotionally ambiguous face! Spooky mysterious.
There are many potential different uses for this technique - including subliminal messages, etc.
There are not many hybrid images on the net at the moment - lets change that!
Submit your images to Flickr and tag them with "Hybrid Image" and maybe "Visuospatial Resonance", and post them inside the PhotoExtremist Flickr Group, and maybe even on the PhotoExtremist Facebook timeline.
Snow Photography and Special Effects (DSLR Tutorial)
Equipment used in video:
- LED Lenser X21 Flashlight - This thing is a beast. Extremely reliable and bright. I use it all the time for all sorts of reasons. Definitely worth the investment. The X21 is that it is a continuous lighting solution, not a short burst of light like flashes are. Continuous lighting lengthens motion, flashes freeze motion.
- Nikon D300s DSLR - This is just the camera I use. ANY DSLR can produce the results you see in the video.
- Sigma 17-50mm f2.8 Lens - I use this lens for pretty much all of my work.
- Manfrotto 055XPROB Tripod with Manfrotto 496RC2 BallHead - Mounting your camera to a tripod is absolutely essential in order to eliminate camera-shake.
- Optional: You can mount the X21 to a tripod by using an X21 tripod mount. When I was outside, I didn't want to lug around two big tripods for both my flashlight and camera, so I conveniently mounted the X21 to the Joby GP8-BHEN Gorillapod Focus with Ballhead X.
Here are the results:
Another idea I got only after it was done snowing would be to take a ~1 second exposure of the on-camera flash in burst mode, where it flashes rapidly multiple times. I'd love to try it at different speeds and show the results, I'm definitely thinking the faster speeds would look best. If you have a camera that has a burst flash mode feature - remember to try this idea and post your image in the PhotoExtremist Flickr Group or on Facebook.
And of course, if you are wondering how the photographs of those flying sparks were created, take a look at my Steel Wool Photography Tutorial and I'll show you how to do it!
Have fun!
Are you tired of taking boring photos of the same mundane subject matter? Wouldn't you rather take your photography to the next level and photograph things that catch people's attention? If you would like to get the complete scoop and learn how to take more creative and unique shots with your DSLR, pick up my Trick Photography and Special Effects e-book and video course today!
DSLR Basics: Stops and Metering
In this photography video tutorial you will learn how your DSLR camera references light as "stops", how it meters light to give you the aperture, shutter speed, ISO values, and how adjusting any of those settings to your liking in certain situations can give you a better image than relying on luck (Full AUTO mode with no further adjustments) 100% of the time.
I also talk a little bit about a new online course I'll be creating that gives beginner photographers a huge jumpstart on learning how they can use their DSLR to capture strong, well composed images that contain all the right elements. If you want to get notified when that e-book/video series will be available, sign up on the early bird list to get notified before anyone else!
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- Hybrid Image Optical Illusion (Photoshop Tutorial)
- Snow Photography and Special Effects (DSLR Tutorial)
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