Modified Finn Bounce

(Words by Christina. Graphics by Justin.)

I used to avoid flash at all costs, but the FinnBounce piqued my interest in flash photography. This simple homemade device, designed by Petteri Sulonen, allows the built in pop-up flash on digital SLRs to be bounced, effectively deflecting light from the lens. This eliminates the harsh shadows characteristic of most built-in flashes and instead results in a more natural looking, evenly lit subject.

But does it work? Short answer: Yes!

Impressed by the before/after shots posted by the creator, Justin and I wanted to test the FinnBounce out for ourselves.

We gathered the household materials (cardstock and foil) and followed the 9-step directions to construct our very own FinnBounce. Preliminary tests revealed impressive results. However, it was apparent that the design was not meant to fit our particular camera, the Canon Rebel XSi. We decided to tweak the design to allow for a more consistently secure use of the FinnBounce. Ultimately, we found the following model to be most successful for the XSi:

Compared to the original FinnBounce, our modified FinnBounce incorporates a flap that runs over the hot shoe and slides behind the rubber viewfinder cover.

We made two versions of our modified FinnBounce: 1) white (without foil) and 2) foil. The former acts as a diffuser-bounce combo, while the latter is better-suited for bounce only. Both significantly reduce dark shadows and overexposure compared to shots taken without the FinnBounce.

Check out some test photos (click to enlarge):



Try it out for yourself! Download a free template of our modified FinnBounce here.


Bottom line: The FinnBounce is a simple, cost efficient (read: free) way to explore flash photography.

Enjoy!

Vacation Photos

The past few weeks I've been out visiting my relatives in Arizona and hosting other relatives here in San Francisco - the best part/worst part about visiting/hosting guests is that you get/have to go tourist traps. I was lucky enough to go to Sedona, AZ for my first time and I was blown away by how beautiful and quiet a place it could be even though it was filled with tourists.

Shortly after my AZ trip, I took my cousins to the Golden Gate Bridge on the best possible day - a day without a cloud in the sky! My cousin asked me "Is SF always this nice?" to which I replied: "I wish."

Above are the two panoramic pictures I took with my Canon A630. I was very pleased by how CS4 photo-stitched them together so well - I only had to tweak the clipping masks and levels slightly to make it look continuous. I edited the Sedona picture first and wanted to capture the vibrance of the area so I had fun with the saturation and levels. For the SF picture I went for the more "historic" look... Yeah, I know sepia-style can be a little cheesy, but at least I didn't fade it and make it look like an old photo... Enjoy!

~Crisostomo

Powergirl T-Shirt

For those of you who don't know powergirl:



I was inspired to design a simple t-shirt for all those Powergirl fans who never had the means to express their love for their favorite superheroine after seeing a deviation by my comic hero Adam Hughes. Enjoy!



~justin

Oh, and if you're going to the con, you'll wanna buy it here ASAP:
http://www.cafepress.com/jsosdesign

Other Hidden Logos

Check out THIS article to see awesome subliminal "gifts" in popular logos today. My favorite logo as a kid was the "Sun Microsystems" logo and I'm glad it made the cut. After reading this article, I have a new respect for the Goodwill logo.

Do it Yourself: Mario Coin Box

Here's something I whipped up for fun this week, a little Mario Coin Box Piggybank.

Click HERE to download the PDF.

Basically you just need to cut around the colors, and the dotted lines are places you will want to fold down. The orange lines on the right side are where you should cut from right to left until the first question mark box (that's to preserve the color bleed.)

If you actually want to use it as a piggy bank, consider printing on heavier stock, and actually cutting the hole out in the top to put your coins in.

Until next time,
Crisostomo

Book Review: 1000 Type Treatments

"1000 Type Treatments: From script to serif, letterforms used to perfection" distributed by Rockport is my most recent addition to my inspiration library. This is one of the rare occasions where quality and quantity are both very high. Just thumbing through this book in the store I got more than a few "I wish I had come up with that" moments - which means it's strong design (and also means I wish I had come up with that). The reason I bought it, however, was not to make me feel sorry for myself - but to ask myself the question: "Why is this a strong design?"

The strength of this book is in its focus. This isn't "1000 good designs" or "1000 cool things" this is "1000 Type Treatments"? There is no confusion as to what Rockport thought was the strongest aspect of these designs. This focus helps me answer my question "Why is this a strong design?" with more than just "good typography." Reading this book we know that this is good typography, but what is it about the typography that makes this strong? For me, I tend to look at the relation of the type with other elements of the design as well as other type and copy. I find that color is something that I tend to underestimate in my own design, but one of the top things I notice in strong design. Hand rendered type is another element that automatically adds personality. A good design book makes you say "I wish I had come up with that" - a great design book helps you come up with a good idea.

Until next time,
Crisostomo

Star Trek: Attack of the Lens Flare

After watching the newest Star Trek (Which was hugely entertaining) there was only one major flaw about the movie that stood out: The Lens Flare

When taking image manipulation at the Art Institute, one of the biggest "no-no's" was using the Lens Flare. Sure, it looks pretty cool, but if used poorly it looks ridiculous - too much is distracting, and from the wrong angle is just... well, wrong.

I understand that the future is "bright" but when you fill a screen with reflected light, it can get a little distracting. Like effective design, a film should have a clear message - when you opt for pure aesthetics or style, you risk losing the message. The lens flare in the movie was not too terrible, and actually made some of the scenes work better (especially the shots of the ships in space). Overall, the movie was great and would've been even better had there not been people shining flashlights into the camera for the whole movie.

Live long and prosper,
Crisostomo

PS - kudos to the star trek crew for using all natural lens flare rather than CG.