We recently started carrying these funky camera tripods in the Kodak Store called Gorillapods. You can bend the legs of this tripod to wrap around all sorts of things to get a good shot.
My mind started churning.
I knew what I wanted to stick the Gorillapod on.... my dog, Oscar. Just like it's interesting to get pictures taken from a child's point of view I wanted pictures from a dog's point of view. But they don't have thumbs. Thus, the Gorillapod.
I wrapped the Gorillapod with digital camera around Oscar's neck and collar, set the self timer and let him loose. (no pugs were harmed in the making of this post) I used one of my older cameras in case of a mishap.
Stop looking so pathetic.. it'll be fun! 
Granted, the majority of the pictures Oscar took were like this... blurriffic. But we persevered.
Other than his food bowl, this is probably the scene Oscar sees the most... us looking down at him.
Stewie is also a favorite subject of Oscar's.
I think this is going to catch on like wildfire and we are going to see exhibits from everyone's furry friends. Just like cats that paint!
Go to the Blog Gallery to see a few more pictures that Oscar took.
Since today is Halloween, I thought I would talk about scary pictures. And I am not refering to that picture your mom took of you in the seventh grade with the bad haircut and unfortunate choice of eyeglass frames.
Spooky photography has been around for a long time. Check out some early examples from the American Museum of Photography's Ghostly Gallery. I wanted to create some of my own scary pictures using just a tripod, digital camera and a patient husband. Being a designer, I gave in to the call of Photoshop by the end of the process though.
I created this first picture by using the panoramic stitching feature on my V705. After I took the first shot of Aaron he would run and place himself in the next frame. After three shots, the camera seams the three captures together. While it is weird that there are three Aarons in one picture it isn't exactly scary.
For my next series of pictures I set the camera exposure to 8 seconds. Aaron would stand in the shot for 5 seconds, then duck out, creating a double exposure and making his image appear transparent.
To up the scary factor I made Aaron wear a top hat and dark overcoat. Images that "look old" rank higher in spookiness. I also used the black and white setting on my camera... way creepier than color.
I really like how this one turned out. If anything, it was fun shouting "MOVE!" and watching Aaron hit the floor and roll out of the shot.
I took these pictures at dusk... since there was going to be an 8 second exposure I needed the setting to be darker to avoid overexposure and blown out images.
At this point, I started using Photoshop. Using the tripod, I took a picture of the tree alone, Aaron sticking out on the left side, then Aaron sticking out of the right side. By layering the images on top of one another, erasing parts of Aaron on one layer, decreasing the opacity of Aaron on another, I was able to create the effect of his ghostly double.
To see other shots and more variations check out my spooky photography on our Blog Gallery. Do you have a spooky picture or photo tip? Leave a link to it in our comments!
Boo!
A dispatch from Köln, Germany-
The 160,000 people attending Photokina, the über photo
industry exposition, are being treated to unique fashion shows this week. These
photos were sent to us by our Kodak fashionistas from the catwalk in
Germany.
We are always trying to find creative uses for our products and this goes above and beyond! These outfits were crafted from Kodak products. Who knew that
Endura Metallic Photo Paper, Picture CDs, High Performance Memory Cards,
Gallery photo canvas, Portra 160VC film, Portra 400NC film boxes, and photo
slides could become elements of haut couture?
We will never look at camera straps the same way again. We haven't even begun to explore fashionable uses for USB
cables or printer dock trays. Are they candidates for prêt-à-porter? How about your colorful used thermal printer
cartridge ribbons? This is also opening up some doors of opportunity. Don't just show your neighbors a slide show of your vacation...wear them over to their house! No need to e-mail Mom pictures of your new puppy...show up for Sunday dinner swathed in photos of Fido! Whaddya think, is this a fashion trend or risk? ;-)
Ciao for now, tommy h.
