SCOPHY

Before blogs, there were zines.  Some zines acan truly be works of art and simply holding them in your hand a real pleasure.  This short video shows you how to fold an A4 paper into a small zine.

Teleprompters are often used by newscasters to read rather than memorize the headlines. This video shows you how to build a telemprompter for a fraction of their regular price. So, no more excuses for your video podcast to not look professional.

A snoot will help you focus the flash on your camera and lend a professional feel to your images.

Here is an example:

Here’s how to do it:

Get gaffer’s tape and foam paper. Look in the craft supply area of your local hardware store to find the foam paper, and if you have friends at the local theater (plays not movies) you can often get a bit of Gaffers tape at no charge. Else, check with a camera shop that carries lighting supplies.

Then make the first incision and “stitch” - Cut the foam board so the “long” side will fir around your flash; then Place the gaffer’s tape smoothly along the short end of the foam paper.

Now tube it - Make a tube out of the foam paper, butt the ends of the foam paper together firmly for a nice even join.

Snoot it - Put it on your speedlight and call it a snoot! The snoot should fit snugly on the end of the speedlight.

Enjoy it - You’ll be able to get a nice narrow light pattern, customizable by squeezing the snoot.

Yours truly has a 40 degree fever (104 F) but is still managing to post…how is that for dedication!

Anyway…

Most ice tends to be cloudy.  Here is a simple foolproof way to make crystal clear ice.

First, use filtered water if possible.

Boil the water and let it cool.

Boil the water and let it cool again.

Pour into the ice cube tray and voila!

Link to video

Back to bed and enough medication to put an elephant to sleep…

When I was visiting my cousin in Ottawa, she had bought this neat item to better reduce/reuse plastic bags.  Why buy when you can simply recycle an existing plastic bag for the same use…

The Props

A plastic bottle

Box cutter and/or scissors

Sharpie

Durable tape

Excess plastic bags

The Procedure

Mark your bottle on top and bottom as shown.

Use box cutter to punch hole in marked areas and then switch to the scissors to cut out openings. (Using a scissors will greatly reduce the odds of cutting off one of your fingers.)

Apply tape around openings, if plastic edges are sharp.

Punch or drill a hole in the bottle’s cap and add twine to hang, if desired.

As you get them, shove bags in the top hole; as you need them, pull them out of the bottom hole. (I fit 15 medium-sized bags in my bottle.) Having the plastic bags at hand–my keeper will be hanging by my back door–should encourage reusing them. Plus, they look a lot neater packed in that bottle.

Ever wanted to print a huge poster? With a regular resolution, a photo that is enlarged will begin to show its pixels and simply not look good. With a web-based program called Rasterbator, the images are rasterized and can be printed on individual sheets of A4 paper. When put together, you can have a quite decent looking gigantic poster.

Link to Rasterbator site

Ever wanted to make a statue? Well, with this kit, you can’t quite make a full statue but part of it at least. Mix the goo, stick your hand in to create the mould, then 7 minutes later…voila.

Link to website

Here is an original variation on the stencil t-shirt.  Instead of using paint, you can use bleach to bring out the parts that would otherwise be dark.

Link to tutorial 

This paper-cut dragon will give the illusion it’s moving and watching you no matter which angle you look at it.

Link to pdf paper outline with instructions