Life Through My Crystal Ball

[zkogut]

Hi Everybody,

It's been awhile since I've posted but I found this 50mm crystal ball and figured I'd try some cool landscapes with it. Since it's 60 degrees here in Upstate NY I went out to Canandaigua Lake and took a bunch of shots using the ball and these were my favorites. I up'ed the clarity a ton on these because I liked the effect. What do you think?

Boat Houses/Storage on Canandaigua Lake


Canandaigua Lake/Docks


Canandaigua Lake/Docks 2


Canandaigua Lake Ice Breaking Up From The Heat

[Shadowman]

cool captures.

[Dave Humphries]

Great concept well executed Zak,

Definitely worth viewing at 100% in the LyteBox.

[Mike Buckley]

Great concept well executed Zak,

Definitely worth viewing at 100% in the LyteBox.

Absolutely!

[ShaneS]

Well done Zak. The first image a stunner!

This made me think of a friend who is doing a series of night portraits Enevu Cube light that may provide you with further inspiration. (http://www.japanorama.co.uk/shooting...vu-cube-light/) I wonder what wonders you could do with light and your crystal ball?

[Tronhard]

Zac I have to say, with sincerity, that all round these are great images!

What a great idea!

[NorthernFocus]

Very cool.

[zkogut]

Zac I have to say, with sincerity, that all round these are great images!

What a great idea!

Thank you! And thanks for looking. I'll hopefully have more time as Spring approaches to get some more of these crystal ball shots. Plenty of old villages and landscapes near me.

[zkogut]

Well done Zak. The first image a stunner!

This made me think of a friend who is doing a series of night portraits Enevu Cube light that may provide you with further inspiration. (http://www.japanorama.co.uk/shooting...vu-cube-light/) I wonder what wonders you could do with light and your crystal ball?

That's a neat idea. I want to try using my crystal ball with some high power LEDs, maybe even different colors.

[Manfred M]

A great concept, nicely executed Zak. You have a very compelling series of images that you posted here.

Just looking at them makes me wonder what kind of night shots might be possible with this technique.

[ionian]

These are great - I want a crystal ball!

[zkogut]

A great concept, nicely executed Zak. You have a very compelling series of images that you posted here.

Just looking at them makes me wonder what kind of night shots might be possible with this technique.

I've been wondering the same thing. Unfortunately, there isn't anything besides stars to photograph at night out here since I'm in farm country. I might need to just suck it up and drive into the city and try it out.

[Dave Humphries]

I've been wondering the same thing. Unfortunately, there isn't anything besides stars to photograph at night out here since I'm in farm country. I might need to just suck it up and drive into the city and try it out.

Might actually be worth trying with the stars (I'm thinking the Milky Way band might be resolvable), although you may need to rethink how it is held, since I guess a fairly long exposure might be required.

[Manfred M]

I've been wondering the same thing. Unfortunately, there isn't anything besides stars to photograph at night out here since I'm in farm country. I might need to just suck it up and drive into the city and try it out.

In that case, in addition to the star shot that Dave has suggested, you should be able to get some interesting "golden hour" and "blue hour" images. I just looked up where Pittsford is; so it looks like Rochester isn't all that far away.

[zkogut]

Might actually be worth trying with the stars (I'm thinking the Milky Way band might be resolvable), although you may need to rethink how it is held, since I guess a fairly long exposure might be required.

I agree that I'll need a new way to hold it. If I was still living in AZ, I'd try to get a Milky Way photo which would probably look very neat through this ball. I'll have to wait until August here in NY if I'm gonna try a Milky Way shot. I'm thinking about driving into Rochester and getting the Genesee River at night with all the city lights on it. There's a nice waterfall there as well.

[zkogut]

In that case, in addition to the star shot that Dave has suggested, you should be able to get some interesting "golden hour" and "blue hour" images. I just looked up where Pittsford is; so it looks like Rochester isn't all that far away.

Never heard of "blue hour" before. I'll have to look up what that means. You're right that I'm not that far away from Ottawa. My grandparents used to bring me up to your neck of the woods back when I was a kid and they still had their boat. Good times. I would love to visit Canada today with my camera. Gorgeous country!

[Wavelength]

Very nice set

[Sergio M.]

Very creative idea.

Sergio

[rpcrowe]

Neat technique!

[zkogut]

Very creative idea.

Sergio

Thanks, but it wasn't my idea. They have a couple of groups dedicated to this type of photography on Flickr. I just tried it for myself with my own surroundings. Definitely gave me the results I was looking for.