SEFCC Arts & Crafts Show, January 28 and 29, 2012

I will be selling my photography, jewelry and art this coming weekend, the 28th and 29th, at the

South East Florida Chamber of Commerce (SEFCC) 2012 HOME SHOW

at the Fort Lauderdale War Memorial Auditorium. 

The Home Show is a combination of Arts and Crafts, Home and Health and Fitness Expo, so there should be fun stuff for everyone.  Best of all there's free admission, although I think there might be a parking fee.  There will also be a raffle each day for a $2,500 shopping spree to be spent on any of the vendors there. You could be the winner.

If you are in the South East Florida area, come by and see me. Tell me you are either a blogger reader, Twitter follower, Facebook fan or friend, or an etsy person and get a free postcard of your choice. If you buy anything, get a free ACEO (in stock) of your choice.

For more info visit Art Sunny Side Up.

The Amazing Liquid Art Photography of Markus Reugels

Here's another in my 'thinking outside the box' series.

If you were impressed by newcomer Heinz Maier's water droplet photography, take a look at the work of Markus Reugels who happens to be the father of the genre. A fellow German living in Scheinfurt, Reugel's spends his days laying parquet flooring for a living, and playing with his photography in his spare time.

With elaborate setups, a lot of patience, an enviable imagination, and his Sony A700 and 300 cameras, Reugels uses high-speed photographic techniques to take exquisite photos of everything from soapfilm, to colorful liquid sculptures.  He creates these 'sculptures' by placing a black balloon over a bass reflex tube and places it on a speaker.  He then places a spoonful of water in the middle of the balloon, adds acrylic paints to the water, switches on some technomusic (bass only) and the music does the work.  He's still experimenting, but what he has so far is phenomenal. Here is his setup. I'm sure the process is a messy one, but well worth the results.

His latest endeavour is capturing planets in water droplets.

Most of his work can be seen on his Flickr stream, and his photography website where you can purchase his colorful work.

If you want to try your hand at high-speed photography, here's a great site that explains what it's all about, and how you can create your own.

Amazing Examples of Toroidal Vortex Rings

The video below is an amazing example of toroidal vortices.

What is a toroidal vortex, you might ask:

A toroidal vortex, also called a vortex ring, is a region of rotating fluid moving through the same or different fluid where the flow pattern takes on a toroidal (doughnut) shape. The movement of the fluid is about the poloidal or circular axis of the doughnut, in a twisting vortex motion. Examples of this phenomenon are a smoke ring or a microburst. Vortex rings were first mathematically analysed by the German physicist Hermann von Helmholtz, in his paper of 1867 On Integrals of the Hydrodynamical Equations which Express Vortex-motion Smoke rings have probably been observed since antiquity since they can easily be blown from the mouth.

Don't worry, I had no clue what they were either, but surprisingly it's something whales, dolphins, volcanoes, hydrogen bombs and man can do, and it's a pretty fascinating phenomenon.

If you want to learn how to make your own, the Surfing Scientist tells you how. All you need is a glass, water and some food coloring.

I need to do some shopping!  This would be a fun photography project.  I'm trying to think outside the box. And here.

Fotoshop by Adobé- Jesse Rosten Spoof Video Skewering The Beauty Industry

This is a brilliant video commentary/parody skewering the beauty industry by Northern California filmmaker/commercial director Jesse Rosten.  According to Rosten he was inspired to make the video after some channel surfing one late night:

I was watching TV one sleepless night and stumbled upon an infomercial for some beauty product. The commercial showed before and after portraits, that to my eye, looked like the same photo just photoshopped. I laughed to myself. Then I made this video.

At least the industry watchdogs are doing something about ad campaigns with excessive photoshopping. A Covergirl Natureluxe Mousse Mascara ad was recently banned in the U.S. as was a Julia Roberts Lancome ad in the U.K. last year.

It is amazing what Photoshop can do, but .....

Truth in advertising, folks!

 Fotoshop by Adobé

Fotoshop by Adobé from Jesse Rosten on Vimeo.

Green On The Road, Etsy Treasury by Fancy Pansy Crafts

Green is one of my favorite colors, and this lovely green treasury "Green On The Road" was put together by Slovakian doily maker Marie from Fancy Pansy Crafts.  Marie featured my 5x7 'Scandinavian Farmhouse'. I was delighted to have sold an 8x10 a few days ago. It's my most popular capture, and of all my photos has been featured the most on the front page.

Breathtaking Aurora Borealis Timelapse Video For Visit Finland

I love to travel, and have been very blessed to have lived in and visited many extraordinary places.  A few years back we journeyed to Scandinavia where we spent some time in Sweden, Denmark and Norway. We never made it to Finland though, which technically is not considered Scandinavia but rather part of the Nordic countries along with Iceland.  But some day my dream is to make it to both Finland and Iceland, my cameras in tow.

One appealing thing about those northern hemisphere countries is they get to experience God's light show in the form of the northern lights, aka the Aurora Borealis, exquisite natural light phenomenon.

An aurora (plural: auroras or aurorae) is a natural light display in the sky particularly in the high latitude (Arctic and Antarctic) regions, caused by the collision of energetic charged particles with atoms in the high altitude atmosphere (thermosphere).

But to see the northern lights in Finland you have to go there when it's pretty darn cold, autumn or winter, because the long summer days (and nights)  makes it almost impossible to see them.  Apparently they are best observed in Lapland during the winter.

But if you don't have the money to travel there, or prefer not to freeze your butts off, you can experience the beauty of those lights right from the comfort of your own computer.  Flatlight Films, a production company based in Finland, created a magnificent timelapse commercial of the Aurora Borealis this past winter for Visit Finland (the Finnish Tourism Board), with the goal of enticing people to go visit. They certainly hooked me.

They shot in several different areas of  the Finnish Lapland using several Canon DSLRs with remote pan/tilt heads and the timelapse technique.

Digital Photography School has a tutorial on how to make your own using your DSLR.

Enjoy the breathtaking  beauty!



Aurora Borealis in Finnish Lapland 2011 from Flatlight Films on Vimeo.

Photo Credit: Timelapse Films

Elephants- An Etsy Treasury Curated By Kim Hambric Fiber Art

Kim Hambric curated this wonderful Etsy treasury full of elephants and my abstract Reflections In Water On Asphalt.  The tree is actually a reflection in a puddle of water. 



Kim is a fiber artist who creates beautiful, earthy art quilts, wall hangings and collages. Here's her blog, and for more of her work, check out her website.