sloth v2.5
13Mar2004 | 18:43Back | Forth
Mood: thoughtful
Sounds: cliff martinez - wear your seatbelt (solaris soundtrack)

adding a dimension (with pictures!)

for awhile now i've been fooling around with shooting stereo paired photos. basically, you take two photos simultaneously with two cameras spaced a few inches apart. or, you cheat, and use one camera by taking one shot and then moving the camera a few inches perpendicular to the focal plane to take the second. essentially, what is being emulated (in a very primitive manner), is our own stereoscopic vision which allows us to perceive relative distances and depth. without this marvelous bit of evolution (or creation, if that's your bag, sillygoose), we would not be able to drive cars, or ride bicycles without breaking something. even walking and eating are rendered difficult without use of both eyes.

to simulate the slightly different viewpoints each eye would see in a real scene, i've paired identical photos in such a way that if you cross your eyes slowly to bring the two images together, you should see some three-dimensionality, or at least the illusion of three dimensions. i find it extremely easy to cross my eyes to any extent from not-crossed, to fully-crossed, but some people may find difficulty in making these stereo pairs work right. if you are having trouble, try holding your finger about halfway from your nose to the screen, and focusing on that in front of the images, sometimes this helps for some people... but if it hurts to do this, then stop. your eyes most likely won't freeze that way (despite what my mom always told me as a child), but i don't want anyone complaining that their eyes hurt after this....

$copy 2004 | my brand new Osprey Crescent 90 backpack

i recently got a new pack, an Osprey Crescent 90, and i've been carrying it around, getting used to it, while trying to break it in and soften it up a bit before the hiking season gets well underway. it's an awesome pack, from what i've seen and felt so far, so if you're in the market, i suggest checking Osprey Packs out. they make good stuff.

$copy 2004 | what suffices for a chair on Crawford Hill when you don't have the luxury of a cushy sleeping pad, which i do

while hiking around, i stopped at the top of Crawford Hill to take a rest, and made some tea. the small clearing is the intersection of three paths that are often used by locals walking their dogs, people staying in shape, and people testing their new hiking gear (that would be me). the clearing shows evidence of fires, plainly illustrating that it is also occasionally enjoyed at night. there's the metal skeleton of a chair that has been used by dozens of people not lucky enough to have a chair/pad of their own to rest on.

$copy 2004 | my tea making kit, backpacking style

i dropped my pack, unrolled my pad, and got to making some gunpowder green tea. my trusty Dragonfly stove worked like a champ (as always), and about 10 minutes after i first sat down, i was pouring pungent amber-colored tea from my kettle into my insulated mug. i sipped away for close to a half an hour, without seeing anyone else at this usually busy crossroads. i was surprised that no one else was enjoying the beautiful day... that's okay, i was enjoying it for everyone.

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tell me what you think! - 2 comments so far