one more crystal ball shot

[rdking647]

i really like this idea. im planning on doign a whole series of shots thru it


stevie ray vaughn was a magical guitar player

[CaliforniaPeggy]

1. Very very cool!

I look forward to seeing more of these...

[rdking647]

2. if it ever stops raining.....

i want to get some reflections from the lake thru the ball. but due to the extreme rain weve had thay had to open the floodgates on the dams so the lake is now a rapidly flowing river.

fortunatly our part of austin hasnt flooded like the rest of texas although its pouring again now. it supposed to stop this weekend.

im also going to take it to big bend to shoot the night sky thru it this weekend.
hopefully its clear and i get some good shots

[CurtEastPoint]

3. I hate to be dense, but can you explain the technique/filter/object we see?

[rdking647]

4. explanantion

crystal ball on a table

i used the smallest aperture i could for maximum depth of field

manual focus on the image in the ball and took the photo

went into photoshop and selected the ball.
upsized it by 250%

then used topaz glow on the upsized ball for the magic effect.

minor edits after that

[CurtEastPoint]

5. GOT IT! I guess I was puzzled most by the glow. Didn't account for filter!

lovely! Thanks!

Now.... where does one buy a crystal ball?

[rdking647]

6. amazon

just be carefull in direct sunlight. they act like a magnifying glass. i keep a cloth on mine until i take the shot then cover it up again. or shoot under clouds

[Solly Mack]

7. I agree...very cool effect.

Cool photo!

[scottie10]

8. Another awesome pic

Telling people how to do this could turn into a "theme of the month." Thanks, can't wait for more.