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Greater Basilisk wrote:
Keep giving tips, Sunhawk. I really like Gimp, even though I’ve just barely begun to figure it out.
Oh I’m glad that program is working out for you Basilisk ^_^ I’m not terribly familiar with it myself since I use Photoshop, but i know that About.com has a couple of user-created tutorials that may or may not be useful to you ^_^
http://graphicssoft.about.com/od/gimptutorials/GIMP_Tutorials_Learning_The_GIMP.htm
I have a simple Canon Powershot a75 but even it has some manual features and i’ve found it to be a very useful and versatile camera ^_^
Plus Canon has a good reputation for lens quality and clarity 😀
LOL sorry Ski, i didn’t meant to single you out, btw. I’d been meaning to write these little tips out for a while now ^_^
Spark, I’m sorry your friend would rather believe a fictional TV show (Yes it’s not a real life television show, i’m aware) than you, and that she can’t understand that every convention has it’s weirder extreme elements that have nothing to do with the majority of the con goers. CSI is sensational but it definitely doesn’t pretend to be the ten o’clock news so for someone to think of CSI as an expert on furry is silly.
I’m sorry if my trying to explain CSI’s side of things upset you, it’s just that I’ve met some of the people involved in the show and they are good people. If you don’t watch or like the show, that’s your perogative entirely. CSI is responsible (to a point) for what they create, that I agree, but also people watching have a responsibility to verify the information they get from television, especially if it’s a dramatic show like CSI or ER or whatever. I hope your friend figures that out and stops being so unfair to you.
I was thinking about how we take pictures of our PYOs and Windstones fairly often and how it can be difficult to photograph something close up even when using a digital camera. So i thought maybe it would be a good idea to share some tips on how to get some nice clear photos of your PYOs and Windstones, feel free to add points to mine!
First is about focusing – i know for a fact this is true of Canon cameras but i am pretty sure that all digital cameras have a “trick” to adjusting the focus to specific points rather than letting the camera decide where to focus (and it’s usually wrong). One way to pick where the camera will focus is to hold the shutter button down halfway and the camera screen should have a little square pop up near the center of the screen that shows you what part of the image the camera is focusing on. A good way to use this function is to pick a spot on your object that is good “middleground” to focus on, like the front of a dragon or gryphon. Move your camera so this part is exactly centered in the shot because that’s where the camera will pick it up better. Once you have pressed the shutter halfway and the little square appears on the body, keep the shutter button half-pressed and THEN you can move the camera sideways (not closer or farther) as needed to include what you want to include. For example, if you focused on the shoulder and you want to make sure you include the feet – the camera will “remember” what your chosen focus point will look like.
Also, another way to help the camera focus is to look for a symbol that represents the “macro” setting of the camera – it’s a setting that gives the camera greater scope of focus in terms of being closer to the camera (on normal settings, the camera has a limit to how close you can get your camera to the object). On my camera, this symbol is a little flower and it may be something similiar on your camera. Once you turn that function on, it will be easier to get closer to the smaller Windstones or PYOs using the above-mentioned focusing method.
And a brief thought about lighting – your eyes are SO MUCH BETTER at seeing light than a camera, so if you think a room is bright enough, you’ll probably get much better results if you drag another lap in there to make it a bit brighter. Whether you prefer the stark one-direction lighting of the flash or more even lighting of turning off the flash and just using the room’s lighting is up to you 🙂 Room lighting tends to be better for showing off sparkles or iridescence.
I hope some of that made sense ^_^
SPark wrote:Heee, “furpiling” Here’s a SHOCKING video that shows what “furpiling” actually is! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1YpYswGtg5s
(I’ve NEVER actually heard any real confirmed stories about the other kind of furpiling. Maybe it happens, maybe it doesn’t.)
And as far as I can tell, CSI has a “sensationalist” agenda. They’re not anti crime, they just want to seem shocking and strange. I hate that kind of thing, it’s shallow, and stupid. And whether CSI has meant to be anit-furry or not, it has REALLY hurt the reputation of the furry fandom.
Look Spark, all I know is that the writers of CSI actually consulted a number of people involved in the furry fandom and got their feedback and approval about the script for the episode. That kind of dedication to research speaks to an intention to be as accurate as possible within the constrains of the show.
And the heightened sexuality displayed in the episode can be found in anime/comic conventions as well as furry conventions, it’s not the norm obviously but every year I work at a few different conventions and some people get carried away. There’s a joke that anime/comic cons are like “prom for nerds” and some people DO see it that way. They are given this opportunity to be surrounded by hundreds of other people who understand and share their obsession and for some it’s a heady experience. Add to that the cosplay aspect, which is very similar to wearing a furry costume and we do even get a few mascot costumes at the comic/anime cons, and people do really feel like they are wearing the mental equivalent of a prom dress. And i don’t think there is anything wrong with acting out of all that adrenaline and hormones, as long as they are safe about it and are adults!
I’m sure some people watch CSI for the brief moments of graphic violence it portays when describing crimes, it took me a while to get used to it or anticipate when to turn my head, but i myself watch it for the logic and the science (not literally but the idea of using chemistry and biology and other methods to solve a complicated puzzle) as well as their exploration of different elements of human psychology and sociology. They are most definitely anti-crime since the entire point of the show is watching criminalists solve crimes and capture criminals.
SPark wrote:A furry convention is full of people running around in costumes, having fun. But it is NOT full of people having sex in the costumes. I just have to say this. It drives me crazy because people think I make my living making perverted sex suits. My suits do not have strategically placed holes! I don’t do that! 99% of furries don’t do that! And why did they have to make the show all about the 1% that do?
This is a really sore spot with me, because stuff like CSI and that MTV show have people who don’t even know me thinking that I’m some kind of nasty person that like bestiality, and I’m not!
The episode didn’t say that it was full of people “furpiling” or what not, it just mentioned that as a seperate private event. And 99% of people don’t murder but CSI is the kind of show that’s going to focus on the extremes and since it’s set in Las Vegas, they always highlight kinks and sinful behavior. The aim of the show is to display and solve different crimes, they don’t have an anti-furry agenda, they have an anti-crime agenda.
ryliecat wrote:spongebob and patrick are afraid of butterflies too. this one time 😯 an evil butterfly terrorized the town of bikini bottom!! (can you tell i have children? im refering to childrens tv as if everyone else knows what im talking about)
But to make things even MORE confusing, they chase around jellyfish AS IF they were butterflies!! LOL
Awwww i love CSI, i thought they did OK considering that a furry convention *does* look pretty weird if you aren’t into that, it’s the same for any kind of convention from a fishing show to anime cons heh heh ^_^ Passion and obsession do make for weird bedfellows 😉
Can’t resist an opportunity to say that I’m a SUPERPROUD owner of one of Nam’s original artworks and the scans/photos do NOT do them justice since they are even more lovely in person ^_____^
I’ll have to count my pennies and see if i can afford more! 😀
lamortefille wrote:Your griff is beautiful, sunhawk! Is he for your own pleasure or will he be put up for “adoption”? 😀
Thank you deary! ^_^ Actually he is going to be for me because i rarely do art for myself these days! LOL But i wouldn’t mind painting another one that way if people wanted one of their own ^_^ Well you might want to wait until you see how iridscent i’m making him to decide! LOL
