Check this out. A coworker is into a racing thing here in the US where you have a $500 limit on your car, and your run it in a 24 hour race. Themes are key… Someone did a brick theme… Check out this specific one:Many more pictures if you sift through the New England entries in http://jalopnik.com/search/lemons/

After a few quick questions, he located their site boxybutgood.us.

What makes the car so cool is it’s design. Based on a volvo and designed to look like a Lego model. I haven’t obtained permission to skank any photos yet, so for now, you’ll just have to head over and see this mad beast for yourself.

Part 1: I do a lot of surfing on the Lego Flickr group. One thing that I’ve noticed is very often someone will post a photo of an excellent MOC and someone will call them on not having the entire thing smooth, or not using enough SNOT (studs not on top). It’s something that has started to bug me.

Part 2: Blacktron is entering a Neo stage (NBT), much like Classic Space enjoyed a few months ago. I thoroughly enjoyed the Neo Classic Space movement (the term still makes my wife giggle when I say it), and look forward to a darker, more violent theme to Blacktron. Of course like everything, people have set up a series of rules regarding what is and what is not NBT. Which brings me to the final part of this title.

Part 3: Adult, Teen, and Child Fans Of Lego all use these different Lego related groups on Flickr. Recently there have been discussions right down to how to refer to Lego, and how to interact with non Lego fans… Even though I fully agree that it is never cool to correct someone unless they ask. I’m beginning to wonder why do we need so many rules?

To me, Lego (as a kid, I called them Legos so bite it) were about freedom. Sure I built sets from the instructions, but they never stayed together. I always took them apart and enjoyed building My Own Creations (MOCs) more then most any set. I don’t know, maybe I’m in the minority, but I buy most of my sets now based on parts, minifigs, and finally sometimes if the model is really cool. I admit I follow some building trends, like hopping on and trying out some steam punk, or the NBT craze. For the most part however, I just enjoy being creative, I keep a box of Lego (plural bricks here) in the living room most of the time to build with while watching tv, or whenever.

I really enjoy seeing how new and creative ideas result in awesome looking stuff. There are certainly much more proficient builders out there then I. However, when these new techniques are shown, how and why do they become the new rules to build by?

Which brings me to the model way up at the top of this rant. Scroll up if you forgot what it looks like, I have. I was surfing again last night thinking I would like to explore the NBT movement. Blacktron, after all, was one of my favorite themes as a kid. Then I got thinking about it, and made a ship intentionally using SNOT techniques to get Studs on all sides of this Blacktron fighter. My intention was then to compile a short comic with it. However, by the time I finished this fighter, and figured out how to successfully photograph it, it was time to interact with the family. So the comic will be on hold until this weekend. Until then, please enjoy this fighter, which uses all the ‘rules’ to break them.

I found this by accident but it’s still pretty funny. Enjoy

Set 7634 recently caught my eye when I was in Toys’r'Us this last weekend. It’s a simple set, but a neat one. What originally caught my eye with the set was the windscreen pieces that make up the cab. I don’t know if they’ve been in other sets before, peeron has no inventory yet, but it’s the first time I had seen them. They slope in from bottom to top, and have a chamfered edges. I could see the use of these in different builds, from more farm, to space, etc. I also noted the back wheels on the set, again not knowing if they were in any other sets, it was still the first time I had seen them.

The build was simple. I was able to lazily assemble the set during an episode of This Old House, with a few distractions. This set to me was more about the parts, so I don’t mind the short build time. I also think the set, given other farm stuff available, could be fun to play with as an assembled toy. Overall a fun quick set. Worth picking up to add to your parts, or as a toy.

This will come after descriptions of camera parts. So there are not some labels on the camera body. I felt this topic would take the longest to create graphics for, and result in graphics for other topics. So it’s a bit out of order.

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There seems to be a misconception that macro photography just means being close to your subject. In fact, by definition, macro photography actually deals with the size that an image is recorded on your particular medium, either film, or CCD/CMOS. From wikipedia.org:

Macro photography is close-up photography; the classical definition is that the image projected on the “film plane” (i.e., film or a digital sensor) is close to the same size as the subject. On 35 mm film (for example), the lens is typically optimized to focus sharply on a small area approaching the size of the film frame. Most 35mm format macro lenses achieve at least 1:2, that is to say, the image on the film is 1/2 the size of the object being photographed. Many 35mm macro lenses are 1:1, meaning the image on the film is the same size as the object being photographed. Another important distinction is that lenses designed for macro are usually at their sharpest at macro focus distances and are not quite as sharp at other focus distances.

Huh?

It’s actually pretty simple. If you think of it in a visual way. I’m going to use film plane regardless of the fact I actually shoot in digital, its still the same thing. Lets look at it graphically.

If I use a lens that can reproduce at a 1:1 ratio, then the image of the item is recorded on the film plane at actual size. Take the image of the Lego soldier on the right to be the real world. Using 1:1 you see on the left (image cropped to fit in camera shell) that only some of the soldier will be in the photo. What is captured in the photo will appear to be very large when viewed. Directly bellow is an example of what recording at 1:2 would look like. The image recorded is half the actual size of the object.

For an extreme example, bellow is what recording 2:1 would look like. The image would be recorded at twice the actual size.

Who cares?!

At first it might not be so evident why this really matters. It all has to do with resolution. Given using the same camera for every photo, you can’t go in and change the physical size of your sensor (excluding changing to a medium format camera, etc), you have to change the projection of the image. If you make the projection of the image larger, then you have the ability to record more detail. Lets take a look at an over simplified, and a bit exaggerated visual.

In this first image, lets pretend that we’re looking at how a 1:2 ratio would look. The image on the left is like viewing the image in real life. The super imposed grid represents the pixels of the sensor on your camera. Each one can only record 1 color. The image at right is what the sensor records. Take special note of the cross marks on the soldier’s chest.

Notice how not all of the detail is recorded. It looks pixelated, because it is. Now remember, I’ve manufactured these results, though I feel I’ve done them correctly and consistently, they are a bit overexerted to make the point simple.

Now lets take a look at an image if we were able to record it at 1:1 ratio. If you haven’t guessed it already, there is more detail.

Even though the sensor and resolution stay the same size, you are able to record more detail because the image is projected larger.

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There are other nuances to macro photography, like depth of field among other things. That will get covered in other parts. This snippet is just to explain why reproduction ratio matters. Please, comment and let me know what you think. It will help me help the attendee’s better. Remember, if you’d like to come, the meetings are open to the public, and we always enjoy new faces!

When Jones “forgets” the oars, the captain is in for a big surprise. It seems maybe his wife is tired of getting splinters from that peg leg…

Inspired by Lego set 6253 Shipwreck Hideout I had to build my own version. I took the general concept and beefed it up a little bit. Most of the pieces come from 2 of the 6253 sets, but a mast or two and the rear hull come from my collection. Overall, the rock island is a little more formidable, and a little more of the ship survives making some living quarters. Add in a little more of a cave for the pirates to hide their treasure, and obvious disgust for whatever statesmen they had prisoner at the time of the crash and I give you Shipwreck Treasure Cave. (Any ideas for better names are welcome) Enjoy!