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2013-05-17 16:02:20 (2 comments, 2 reshares, 22 +1s)

::: Photography | Animation

Such a beautiful poetic image, that I can write a whole novel by just sitting and watching it.
 
Dear Google+ friends, if you know something more about the creator of this artwork, please do share it with me. :)

Thank you in advance and I'm wishing you a wonderful weekend!

2013-05-17 14:59:47 (1 comments, 8 reshares, 5 +1s)

Look at his face. Just look at it.

www.buzzfeed.com/mjs538/george-takei-responds-to-traditional-marriage-fans

2013-05-16 04:24:27 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 5 +1s)

I can relate to this prayer: http://i.imgur.com/IKQUKRV.jpg

2013-05-14 19:31:14 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 9 +1s)

If the fire alarm at Disney goes off, someone is gonna be pissed...

2013-05-13 21:49:00 (3 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

+Timothy Dahlum made me listen to this song the other day, and I couldn't stop laughing. Give it a second until it starts with the main chorus, the intonation is pure comedic genius.
http://grooveshark.com/s/Poisoning+Pigeons+In+The+Park/2nnjm2?src=5

2013-05-13 16:18:27 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

Here you can see +Samuel Araya's paintings that are on exhibition in Seattle now. Solid collection of new work, if you are around Seattle you should go check it out in person. 
http://www.krabjabstudio.com/#!exhibition/c21an

2013-05-12 23:54:30 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

This made me so happy. I love Chris Hadfield's videos but this is beyond. Great voice, one of my favorite songs, and from inside the International Space Station.

2013-05-12 22:44:53 (3 comments, 0 reshares, 34 +1s)

I just finished folding an origami chocobo! It's from Satoshi Kamiya, pretty intricate design but not too hard to fold, it took me 2 hours of zen-ness.

I did a test in regular origami paper and there was absolutely no way to make it work, so I used a super thin 9x9 inch colored gampi paper to do the final one. This gampi paper is fucktastic, so incredibly thin and holds the folds amazingly, plus it has a nice sheen to it.

And now the chocobo music will be playing in my head for the rest of the day...

2013-05-11 21:06:45 (5 comments, 0 reshares, 19 +1s)

This is how I work at home, Elton supervises the mouse motion and lap temperature. Left hand is kept free to pet him.

2013-05-09 16:50:00 (6 comments, 0 reshares, 9 +1s)

Kuma has no balls, so I gave him some last night.

2013-05-09 16:28:30 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 5 +1s)

If you missed the Big Hero 6 video on that article... I've seen this clip on the big screen, the lighting is insane.

2013-05-09 16:06:34 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

She's back! So glad to see her posting again. So funny and sad and real and surreal.
http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.com/

2013-05-09 15:43:27 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 1 +1s)

Here it is, finally revealed, some info on our two next features at Disney: Frozen and Big Hero 6. We are close to being done with Frozen (at least in layout), and I'll be moving on to Big Hero 6 soon, which is freaking awesome.

It takes place in San Fransokyo!

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/moviesnow/la-et-mn-disney-big-hero-6-frozen-20130508-dto,0,4722556.htmlstory

2013-05-08 22:35:39 (0 comments, 2 reshares, 6 +1s)

My new mobius strip made the front page of Reddit. Success! http://www.shapeways.com/model/1038055/mobius-nautilus.html

2013-05-08 16:22:48 (1 comments, 2 reshares, 16 +1s)

Mobius nautilus. I just got this 3d print yesterday and I was completely blown away by how well it turned out. I made this compound mobius strip by intersecting 36 thin mobius strips in a row, then twisting them into a massive mobius strip where they interlocked through the spaces left between them.

Available here: http://www.shapeways.com/model/1038055/mobius-nautilus.html

This print surprised me: the translucent material, how delicately the strips pass through each other without touching, the grainy texture but high fidelity of the shapes, it's all just so exciting to hold in your hands. And taking pics of it was a delight, so many possibilities for macro shots.

2013-05-07 18:01:02 (2 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

Sylvia Browne is a supreme charlatan who scavenges on the suffering of humans. All psychics are either scam artists, or completely deluded; either way, they take advantage of people in need and they should be exposed. Sylvia was proven to be a fake a bizillion times, yet the bitch still has a huge following. Here are some reactions to her latest massive failure at being a decent human being: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/may/07/sylvia-browne-amanda-berry-cleveland?CMP=twt_gu

2013-05-07 17:15:52 (18 comments, 4 reshares, 17 +1s)

New 3d model! I made the skeleton of an origami crane. You can get your own 3d-print here: http://www.shapeways.com/model/994801/origami-crane-skeleton.html

I've always loved origami, I've been making models since I was 5 years old. It was a little tricky to build and it is as anatomically correct as any origami skeleton could be, so don't be whining about the tail having vertebrae. Please share it, I'm sure a lot of origami lovers will like this one.

2013-05-03 23:44:41 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 3 +1s)

Incredible minimalism in this movie poster: http://i.imgur.com/OHjRmiK.png

2013-05-02 19:41:08 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

Here's something to spark a happy debate. Start from the top: http://i1.minus.com/isf4uZkqRyjpV.jpg

2013-05-02 18:14:40 (1 comments, 7 reshares, 2 +1s)

Sagan, Rogers, Ross, Nye. Assemble!

2013-05-01 05:02:37 (1 comments, 1 reshares, 3 +1s)

Animating with atoms. Character development was a bit lacking, the anatomy of the lead character was not very realistic, and the plot development felt contrived. Wait, fuck that, it's atoms.

2013-04-28 03:43:35 (1 comments, 1 reshares, 4 +1s)

Just watched the International Space Station passing above, it was super bright tonight. I tried to take some pics, but it moves so fast... My pics look like a square star, too overexposed and blurry because of the motion.

You should all check it out, it happens a few times a month, sometimes it's much better than others. You can get a text from NASA the day it happens so you know where to look and at what time:

http://spotthestation.nasa.gov/

2013-04-26 15:22:19 (9 comments, 0 reshares, 3 +1s)

I woke up in the middle of the night and had the most incredible idea for a 3d print ever. Now I can't remember it. I'm hoping it was a shitty idea and I just thought it was great because I was partly asleep.

2013-04-25 20:55:04 (1 comments, 2 reshares, 6 +1s)

We just had a screening of From Up on Poppy Hill, from Studio Ghibli. Quite unexpected, this was a masterfully crafted film. Seeing Japanese culture so carefully represented made me want to go back to Japan. It's so immersive, slow paced and feels so real. I'm guessing that Miyasaki's son (who directed this) is going to have an incredible career after this one.

If you can find somewhere to watch this film, please do. Don't expect magic, kaijus, pokemons or mech warriors, this is an entirely different experience. If you liked Grave of the Fireflies, you'll love this one, and won't be as heartbroken by the end.

2013-04-24 15:16:10 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 3 +1s)

Shapeways just blogged about my new design. So cool.

http://www.shapeways.com/blog/archives/2031-3D-Printed-Product-of-the-Day-Darwins-Cladogram-Tree.html

2013-04-24 11:17:34 (4 comments, 0 reshares, 6 +1s)

My new 3d printed model, a variation on Charles Darwin's cladogram. This is his first sketch of a tree of life, in the form of an actual tree (compare with Darwin's original drawing on the paper behind). I added 4 cute finches perched on the positions of his A, B, C and D marks on the page.

Available on Shapeways now: http://www.shapeways.com/model/999231/darwin-s-cladogram-tree-with-finches.html

It's a nice size too, 5 inches (12cm), and super cheap since it's so thin and delicate. It's quickly becoming my favorite 3d print, it is just so geekily nerdy.

My evil genius plan is to take over the unexploited market of cladistic taxonomists who love 3d printing. I bet it's a huge market...

2013-04-22 23:13:33 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

Wow, I have to see this film! So much new footage, and many species I had never seen before. This is incredible, fantastic images. I can't wait until they release it.

2013-04-22 20:23:00 (1 comments, 1 reshares, 7 +1s)

Last pic from Hawaii! That's it, it's the selection of the best I got during that week. This is Paihi Falls, on mile marker 45 of the Hana drive. You can't miss it, it's right by the side of the road, and you can easily climb down to the round pool below the falls.

The polarizer worked wonders on this one. And I tried all sorts of shutter speeds to make the water softer, yet ended up liking this not-so-soft one at 1/8s better, it's just sharper and feels more realistic.

No more pics to post :( ... Gotta take another trip soon.

Equipment and settings:
Canon 5D Mark II
ISO 640, f/4, 1/8s
Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM @28mm
B + W 77mm Kaesemann Circular Polarizer Coated Glass Filter
Gitzo GT1542T tripod
Markins Q3T ballhead and plate

2013-04-22 18:04:38 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 5 +1s)

http://i.imgur.com/NCTb4ow.jpg

2013-04-22 17:12:13 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

Pure RGB. We were driving through Lahaina, and just kept driving, past Kaanapali (ugly as hell, too many people and too commercialized), past Kapalua, and even past Honokohau Bay. There were plenty of amazing vista points on that road, so we just kept going and going. Our goal was to find the best snorkeling places out there, but the winds were strong that day so there was no hope of jumping in those waters.

I can't quite recall where this one was, it's somewhere on the Honoapiilani road.

Equipment and settings:
Canon 5D Mark II
ISO 320, f/13, 1/100s
Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM @50mm
B + W 77mm Kaesemann Circular Polarizer Coated Glass Filter
Handheld

2013-04-20 20:03:41 (3 comments, 0 reshares, 8 +1s)

Carl Sagan's last interview, definitely worth watching. If I had to pick the single most influential person in the way I live my life and my fascination to want to understand our universe, it would undoubtedly be Carl Sagan. I started reading his books when I was around 15, every single one of them, and I can still remember the excitement I felt with every new discovery.

I find it kind of eerie to see him skinny, hairless, old and close to death, yet his voice is still the same as always, and his slow-paced thoughtful responses still carry that empathic smile.

2013-04-24 11:17:34 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 6 +1s)

New iPhone case I created, with the leaf skeleton design. I have my phone with it right now, it fits very well and feels good with the slightly textured 3d-print.

You can buy them from Shapeways, right here:

iPhone 5: http://www.shapeways.com/model/997347/leaf-skeleton-iphone-5-case.html
iPhone 4 / 4s: http://www.shapeways.com/model/997346/leaf-skeleton-iphone-4-4s-case.html

2013-04-19 17:21:21 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 4 +1s)

One last one from the Haleakala Crater, I wanted to show this softer, smoother valley among the cinder cones.

Equipment and settings:
Canon 5D Mark II
ISO 800, f/22, 1/100s
Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM @24mm

2013-04-18 18:40:21 (4 comments, 0 reshares, 13 +1s)

One more bird for today! I followed this white tern (Gygis alba) around a park in Honolulu. They seem to be pretty common in the island, in urban areas. I saw him land on a short branch and sneaked up on him to get this pic.

For those wondering, the "blue flower" behind the tern is actually a patch of sky, seen through holes between leaves.

Equipment and settings:
Canon 5D Mark II
ISO 100, f/5, 1/200s
Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM @105mm
Handheld

2013-04-18 16:43:13 (4 comments, 2 reshares, 12 +1s)

Once we landed in Maui, we went straight to Da Kitchen Cafe, right by the airport, there's some great food at that place. Just a block away from Da Kitchen is the Kahana Pond State Wildlife Sanctuary, so we took a quick detour before driving to Kihei to check into our hotel.

Plenty of birds there. This Black-necked stilt (Himantopus mexicanus) was hunting for fish. I got a few shot of him catching fish, but I liked this one better since it's so calm and perfectly split in the middle.

Equipment and settings:
Canon 5D Mark II
ISO 800, f/5.6, 1/800s
Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 L IS USM @400mm
Gitzo GT1542T tripod
Markins Q3T ballhead and plate

2013-04-17 20:51:36 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 7 +1s)

One more macro pic for today. This is again at the Hana Drive, on the Waikamoi Ridge Trail. This is a small leaf, about 8cm, I just liked the large hexagonal patterns on it.

Equipment and settings:
Canon 5D Mark II
ISO 640, f/3.5, 1/50s
Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM
Handheld

2013-04-17 18:08:59 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 3 +1s)

:)

2013-04-17 18:00:32 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 4 +1s)

On the road to Hana we stopped by the Garden of Eden, an arboretum and botanical garden on mile marker 10 1/2. We went through it quickly, we had so much more to see, but it was still worth the visit.

I found this purple lotus half-submerged into a pond, and got really close with the macro lens to get the pic.

Equipment and settings:
Canon 5D Mark II
ISO 640, f/11, 1/50s
Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM
Handheld

2013-04-16 18:52:27 (2 comments, 0 reshares, 8 +1s)

Another pic of the Oheo Gulch, this is from the opposite side of the previous pic, and about 10 minutes earlier when there was just a tiny bit more light after the sun had set. The rocks had this strange glare and color because they were mostly reflecting scattered light.

After taking a few pics down there, the drive back was unnerving. Extremely windy, mostly one-lane road in a moonless night, with sporadic rain, and never being able to see the cars coming around the corner. Luckily, Hawaii lacks endemic mammals and there are few non-endemic ones, so you won't be hitting a deer or moose or anything else on the road, just other cars.

Equipment and settings:
Canon 5D Mark II
ISO 640, f/14, 30s
Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM @32mm
Gitzo GT1542T tripod
Markins Q3T ballhead and plate

2013-04-16 17:02:18 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 7 +1s)

The Hana Drive was one of the most amazing experiences in Maui. We didn't plan it well enough, left a bit late and ended up stopping in way too many cool places, so by the time we reached the best part of all at the end of the ride, it was already getting pretty dark.

This is the Oheo Gulch, a series of clear pools over polished, volcanic rock. This is also a night picture, keeping the shutter open for 20 whole seconds. Even in this level of darkness, I could see through the clear waters. I wish we had had more time to jump into the pools, but Timothy had to stay up in the car with the hazard lights on while I whet to get the pics, and it was getting way too dark for me to be jumping over the creek with an expensive camera.

Equipment and settings:
Canon 5D Mark II
ISO 1250, f/11, 20s
Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM @40mm
Gitzo GT1542T tripod
Markins... more »

2013-04-15 19:53:19 (2 comments, 0 reshares, 9 +1s)

This is a wider view of the sunrise at Haleakala crater. I merged it from two RAW files at very different exposures (just manually with a gradient mask, the lens flares were not very HDR friendly).

It sort of looks like a round crater in the distance, but it's deceiving... It's actually a series of linear ridges and pointy cinder cones, rather shapeless and random, I was only able to see that later when I looked at a 3d map of the area.

Equipment and settings:
Canon 5D Mark II
ISO 1000, f/22, 1/15s
Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM @24mm
Gitzo GT1542T tripod
Markins Q3T ballhead and plate

2013-04-15 17:06:34 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 3 +1s)

Sunrise at the Haleakala volcano crater. We had to wake up at 3:30am to get there in time for sunrise, and as expected it was cold as fuck up there. I sported my fanciful beach towel scarf, and Timothy wore his beach towel hijab.

There's a touristy lookout point with glass windows and cover against the wind up in the summit, but it got packed full of people and it actually doesn't have the best view of the valley below. Instead, we took the little trail just north of it, where only one guy was sitting in the cold, with a nice, uninterrupted view of it all.

Right beneath those clouds there are more hills and volcanic flows, and the ocean. I'll post some wider views as well.

Equipment and settings:
Canon 5D Mark II
ISO 1000, f/36, 1/40s
Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 L IS USM @220mm
Gitzo GT1542T tripod
Markins Q3T ballhead and plate

2013-04-13 14:59:52 (1 comments, 1 reshares, 8 +1s)

Who needs time-lapse cameras when you can use Google Street View? http://vimeo.com/63653873# ... and in just seconds, you can make one of your own street, with this site: http://hyperlapse.tllabs.io/

2013-04-15 17:07:54 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 7 +1s)

Another pic from the Waikamoi Ridge Trail. We found a cluster of torch gingers (Etlingera_elatior), that were blossoming. They were hit by some harsh beams of light, but every once in a while a cloud would soften the light and they seemed to glow.

It's a big flower, I shot with the macro lens again but from a slight distance. I added a bit of soft vignetting at the edges to punctuate the glow in the center.

Equipment and settings:
Canon 5D Mark II
ISO 640, f/2.8, 1/1250s
Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM
Handheld

2013-04-15 17:08:08 (5 comments, 0 reshares, 8 +1s)

I shot this bamboo forest from the Waikamoi Ridge Trail, on mile marker 9.5 on the Hana Drive. It's a very nice trail, no waterfalls, just lush, dense rainforest, with tons of unique plants.

I couldn't get many good pics because of the scattered, contrasting lighting in the forest, so I put on the macro lens for a while to hunt for moss, flowers, and other little details. I ended up shooting this distant forest with the macro lens, which works as a nice telephoto too for some situations.

Equipment and settings:
Canon 5D Mark II
ISO 640, f/11, 1/320s
Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM
Handheld

2013-04-24 11:17:34 (6 comments, 5 reshares, 11 +1s)

Yet another 3d printed model! I created this print of Kepler's Platonic Solids Model of the Solar System (well, he didn't see it as "solar", but screw him). It's from his 1596 book Mysterium Cosmographicum, and shows the planets orbiting the Earth with orbits in the shape of regular platonic solids.

More info, and link to buy here:
http://www.shapeways.com/model/977916/kepler-s-platonic-solids-model-of-the-solar-system.html

2013-04-15 17:07:27 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 6 +1s)

This is the Wai'anapanapa cave, holding a legend of an ancient murder. It's right next to the black sand beach, and you can see the black pebbles that carpet the dark cave.

The waves wash right into the cave, moving the rocks around. I set my camera on the tripod right at the edge of where some waves hit, and took a 10 second exposure to make the foam look like mist. I tried this a couple of times, and several times the waves got too close and I had to run back to avoid getting myself and my camera wet.

Equipment and settings:
Canon 5D Mark II
ISO 50, f/22, 10s
Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM @32mm
B + W 77mm Kaesemann Circular Polarizer Coated Glass Filter
Gitzo GT1542T tripod
Markins Q3T ballhead and plate

2013-04-24 11:17:34 (5 comments, 2 reshares, 16 +1s)

My first ever silver 3d print. I designed this pendant and printed it in solid silver, it is the original sketch that Charles Darwin did of a tree of life, from his notebooks on the transmutation of species.

INSERT NERDGASM HERE

You can buy one if you want to. It's pricy, but only because it's actual solid silver:
http://www.shapeways.com/model/971216/darwin-s-silver-cladogram-tree.html

This new premium silver material from Shapeways is astonishing. It is so smooth, shiny, perfectly detailed. And it comes in a nice black velvet bag.

2013-04-15 17:07:17 (2 comments, 0 reshares, 6 +1s)

Another pic from the Wai'anapanapa State Park, this is the opposite side from the pic I posted yesterday. You can see the super sharp rocks here, if you trip and fall even a few feet you'll be shredded to bits.

I made this a longer exposure, 1 second, to soften the water and blur the wave that hit the cliffside. That also allowed for a small aperture of f/22 so it's all sharp and pointy.

Equipment and settings:
Canon 5D Mark II
ISO 100, f/22, 1s
Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM @50mm
B + W 77mm Kaesemann Circular Polarizer Coated Glass Filter
Gitzo GT1542T tripod
Markins Q3T ballhead and plate

2013-04-15 17:07:05 (3 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

Ok, let's start with the Hawaii pics, I'll post about one a day. This is the Wai'anapanapa State Park, where the volcanic, extremely sharp rocks formed these columnar formations. This area is also known for its black sand beach.

That day, driving on the Hana Highway, was a bit rainy in parts. I had to keep my camera covered while not shooting, and also protected from the immense waves that hit hard, shooting foam all over (image the water rising about twice the height of that cliff wall). I got pictures of the waves hitting too, but they were so big that it's all just white and not really as pretty as this calmer shot.

I used the circular polarizing filter to get some detail in the water and rocks, otherwise everything was too wet and reflective.

Equipment and settings:
Canon 5D Mark II
ISO 1000, f/6.3, 1/125s
Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS... more »