Tilt Shift Photography

I was doing a bit of browsing around the net last night and came across the websites of a bunch of different type of artists...some photographers, a lot of installation artists, and some performance artists. As I was hopping around, I came across this photo from the exhibit Smallplanet. The photographer is Naoki Honjo.

I had never seen a photograph like this before - the tiny objects made the the photograph look as if it were straight out of a storybook! After doing a bit of research, I found out that Naoki Honjo (the photographer) uses a photography technique called Tilt-Shift Photography. This may be a technique very familiar to most photographers, but it was definitely new to me! If you're curious, here is how it works:

"A tilt-shift lens allows the photographer very exacting control over the
depth-of-field in an image, much more than any regular lens could provide.
Focus can be restricted to a single, narrow band, with everything else
rapidly blurring away. This distorts the appearance and makes the eye think
that distances are a lot smaller than they typically are. When applied to a
large scene like a city or a museum, everything appears miniature. " (Cheapshooter.com)

The picture that results from this technique is truly incredible. You must look below and check out some of the links to examples of this work. I promise that you won't be disappointed!

Vincent LaForet Slideshow
Olivo Barbieri ModelWorld
It's A Small World After All

Gamercising

For those of you who have ever played Dance Dance Revolution, you know that it can make you work up quite a sweat. I played DDR for the first time a few summers ago and thoroughly enjoyed it. It was fun to interact with a game that forced you to get up and move around! After playing it a few times, the thought crossed my mind that it might be possible to use DDR as exercise. What was the point in going to the gym for an hour when I could stay at home and do the same thing with a video game? Plus, I would become a totally advanced DDR player (like this guy!)...and that would be totally awesome. Of course, this plan fell through when I came to the realization that I do not own DDR or any type of gaming system in which I could play DDR. Bummer.

However...a few days ago I came across a post entitled "Gamercising" on BuzzFeed and I was super excited! Turns out that there is a whole community out there who is devoted to getting fit and losing weight through the use of video games. They use games such as DDR, the EyeToy, and Wii Sports to create an exercise plan. Some people have even lost up to 50 pounds! Nintendo's Wii is even coming out with a series entitled Wii Fit, which is specifically designed to help people get in shape.

I thought the whole idea of Gamercising was pretty cool. I have included a bunch of links and videos below that correspond to this subject. Please enjoy!!

The Better Way to Get In Shape
Wii Fitness: Electronic Yoga
Gamercising FAQ

Wii Fit Trailer