Tilt Shift by Photoshop

Found a neat tutorial on how to create a tilt shift lens effect in Photoshop, and tried it on some pictures from the Columbo archives (admittedly with questionable success):


Sydney City Hall



Parramatta Ferry Wharf



Sydney Opera House


For taking photos with the explicit intent to tilt-shift them in post processing, I'd recommend

• Use a wide angle lens so you'll have plenty of "unimportant" stuff to blur (My Opera House example consists mainly of the one big object, being partly blurred itself, leading to a not-so-impressing result)


• Make sure the stuff you want to have in focus is at least close to the center of your shot (The Town Hall picture looks quite unbalanced due to the street scene (in focus) being squeezed into the lower left corner)


• Nothing emphasizes the "Looking at a miniature model impression like an elevated view point (The Ferry wharf turned out all right, but a view "from above" would definitely improve that picture)

Bargain Bin Masterpieces

Sales at the local video store. A "selected range of DVDs" reduced to $ 12.98 apiece, in conjunction with a "buy 2, get 1 free" offer! As expected, it turned out to be a very selected range, consisting mostly of truly crappy flicks I wouldn't waste my shelf space on if they were thrown at me for free.

Still, a bit of digging revealed a couple of movie history milestones that were still missing from my – admittedly humble – collection. So, with Dark City, Holy Grail, and Pulp Fiction for only $ 8.65 each, I'm now fully prepared for the next rainy weekend.

Happy Anniversary

So I'm a bit late; but hey, what's a day in 40 years? On October 5, 1969, the first episode of Monty Python's Flying Circus went to air, bringing to life a comedy troupe that would redefine the definition of "funny" and that is still entertaining the world long after disbanding.

Go the Eels

No more sleeps; this is the day! After a dismal start to the 2009 season, the Eels turned around just in time to scrape across the finish line. And by continuing their extraordinary run that would see them win 9 of their last 10 games, they went on to be the first team ever to make it to the Grand Final from 8th position on the ladder.

So, in just a couple of hours, the Parra Eels will take on the Melbourne Storm to win their first Grand Final since 1986.

Go The Eels!

Disclaimer: The above picture is for illustration purposes only and does not depict today's actual decoration of Parramatta Town Hall. While I would love to post some images of a town that is well and truly engulfed in blue and gold; I am at the moment photographically impaired and must resort to a photo from the Columbo archives, taken a couple of years ago.