I haven't tried this, so I hope I'm not being hoodwinked. This article on DIYPhotography shows how to cut out a sort of lens gobo to shape high contrast parts of an out-of-focus photograph.
Bonus points for the first person to build a "MAKE:" bokeh one letter at a time and post the results on the MAKE Flickr pool!
Speaking of which, this example came from the MAKE Flickr pool:
Posted by: Stephen Gentle on January 30, 2009 at 6:15 AM
I've tried this
A long time ago I tried this, and while I could never get it to work well with my lens (massive vignetting) you could definitely see the effect - it's pretty nifty.
Posted by: anachrocomputer on January 30, 2009 at 7:33 AM
Depends on lots of things
The effect will depend on a number of factors, such as lens focal length, max f-stop, taking f-stop and distance from lens to mask. So, results will vary, but worth experimenting with!
Void your warranty, violate a user agreement, fry a circuit, blow a fuse, poke an eye out. Make: The risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things... Welcome to Make: Online!
More contributors: Mark Frauenfelder (Editor-in-Chief, MAKE magazine), Kipp Bradford (Technical Consultant/Writer), Chris Connors (Education), Diana Eng (Guest Author), Peter Horvath (Intern), Brian Jepson (O'Reilly Media), Robert Bruce Thompson (Science Room)
Behind the Scenes at MAKE and CRAFT
In January, many of the remote MAKE/CRAFT team members (myself included) convened at the Maker Media headquarters at O'Reilly Media in Sebastopol, California. Take a look behind the scenes of your favorite DIY publications as Goli Mohammadi gives us...
More...
Sign up for the Make: Newsletter
Our Make: Newsletter covers news from maker Media, has original columns, Shed deals, and more! You can also read the archives of past issues.
A long time ago I tried this, and while I could never get it to work well with my lens (massive vignetting) you could definitely see the effect - it's pretty nifty.
Reply to this comment
The effect will depend on a number of factors, such as lens focal length, max f-stop, taking f-stop and distance from lens to mask. So, results will vary, but worth experimenting with!
Reply to this comment
If you use Cokin filters, then you can just make one out of a piece of thin card - I've had some great results with a 50mm prime.
Reply to this comment