Yloquen

Great MOCs. I'm a conformist!.

Since the topic was revived , and I'm experimenting with photography at the moment I wanted to share something. It's called High Dynamic Range (HDR) Photography. What is it? First of all - what is dynamic range - it is the difference (or the ratio) between the brightest and the darkest tones you can discern. You may know that the dynamic range of the human eye is far greater than that of cameras. Thus, on pictures where you have large bright objects (which tend to define the exposure time), the darker areas seem too dark and lose detail. If you selectively brighten the shadows, you will also increase the noise in those areas. If you increase exposure time to get more detail in the "shadows", the bright areas wash out and lose detail. To remedy this - HDR photography could be used. An HDR image is composed by taking a few consecutive shots at different exposure levels, which are then combined via mathematical algorithms. At low exposure values, detail in the brightest objects are visible and at high exposure values, details in the darkest objects are visible. The limitations of HDR arise from the requirement for consecutive shots – which means that only slowly changing (landscapes) or still objects (LEGOs – yay) can be used (supposedly, you can use a RAW to produce HDR from a single image, but it's only available on better cameras). What you need – your normal photography setup, of course, a tripod to keep the camera still between shots, a function in your camera allowing you to set exposure and software. Photoshop can compose HDR images and there are other dedicated programs as far as I know. Here is an example: This picture has not been edited in any way, except setting the HDR parameters and sharpening it a bit. Bear in mind that it has been taken with a very cheap camera, so some aspects of it might still be lacking in quality, but it's noticeably more pleasant than the single image taken at normal exposure (EV 0). If your model is from dark colors only, it is very easy to make the background fully white, without losing detail or washing out the colors. A tutorial (if someone is interested). Hoping to see your HDR images soon.

Depends on the set but almost always - no. The only one I sorted was the Batcave, because it was 1000+ parts in unnumbered bags.

I think that if you construct for strength, by using proper techniques (unlike the Mythbusters), like technic beams with pins and conventional bricks you don't have to use glue. I might be wrong though ... :) Anyhow - that project loses its charm if they use glue, because then, they could use arbitrary plastic pieces instead of LEGO ...

This might be familiar, but just in case I'm posting it: Flickr Brick Wishlist

No, I don't remember, but I'm pretty certain I read it. Let's hope to see the mystery theme for Xmas. I believe rumors will soon start to surface regarding the products we will get at that time, including the other themes.

I think Wild West is coming back. I remember I read something from a LEGO employee about reviving a well loved theme. Plus all other evidence brought forward in this topic equals high probability for reintroduction :). If that happens I don't think they are gonna try something revolutionary. Most of the possible topics have already been covered in the previous incarnation of Wild West. My bet is that if they do it, it will be akin to the Pirates theme - by trying to create more polished versions of existing sets, with a slight twist.

Mmmmm Chrooooome!

Great tower. And you have utilized a lot of pieces commonly considered as "useless" to a very good effect ...

Looks too <insert that tiresome argument> to me due to the many bright colors, and also two of those spike elements which are amongst my least favorite . Let's hope that's just a fluke, not a trend ...

Wow, that's quite emotionally charged filler for some people They should be more careful not to falsely rise peoples hopes for certain products Well, let's hope for the best because this year in Castle is a bit disappointing for me.

Yes, I know of BrickLink, but for some reason I feel unsatisfied when I buy parts only. When I get new LEGO I want to immediately build something with it, that's why I prefer sets Plus, I exaggerated a bit - I like a lot more parts in that set, plus the great minifigs in it (though I think it's price is a bit steep for the size, but still a cool set). Yep, it's not a port, probably it is built in a place which does not allow ships to get close to the shore. You have to send boats from your ship

I'd like to, but unfortunately, you are looking at my whole collection of blue parts :) Funny thing is one of the incentives for me to buy the Soldier's Fort was to get some blue for water :)

Ye, bluecoat, are not gonna trick me. I know your fleet is waiting to hijack my chests. But judging from the fact that the commander is out on an inspection ... it must be something pretty valuable ...

Looks interesting :) Let's see what's going to happen ...

No, I don't have old gray - it the new dk bley. I guess it's the lighting or the camera white balance that makes it look like the old.

Nice and funny vig. I have a theory of how it all happened. You see - there was that last sip of rum on the bottom of the barrel but since this pirate is a bit lazy he did not feel like lifting it ...

Yep, you are right, I was thinking of doing that but then decided that the small square on the bottom is a patch of dirt from which it grows :) I guess laziness can find an excuse for anything

Thanks for the comments. I like the pirate theme and I'm glad LEGO returned to it to allow newer fans like me to get into it. I'm exited about the new sets they are going to release. I hope they make something innovative, something they haven't done before. That roof is held by click hinges with thickness 1 plate which are embedded in the wall. I'll make a picture for you if that explanation is unclear. You bet. I pirat... uhhh, borrowed so many ideas for this MOC !!! :)

Not a week ago I didn't have a single pirate set. Now, I present my first MOC in this fascinating theme :) You can see one more pic at MOCPages

They are sorta nice, but I thought they would be BIGGER.

It looks more trollish than the official LEGO set :) I like

I have most of my white headlight bricks cracked on the front and back lower beams. Light bley also seem susceptible to that. I also have a lot of cracked 1x1 bricks (I must which colors are worst) and an occasional 1x2 and 2x2 corner bricks. All my bricks are from sets 2006+.

Hmmm, seems like an extreme case of nostalgia The Bounty has fantastic bow and stern. Middle part could be better (2 decks and 4 cannons). Color-wise - it's mind blowing. I can't comment too much on BSB but I don't like the yellow in it.

I want better arms for my skeletons. Current ones are too long.