The odds are good that while some of our Cameraderie members may not know the name Randall Munroe they likely know his creation, the comics of XKCD. XKCD combines humor with science sprinkled with social commentary. The official description is "A webcomic of romance, sarcasm, math, and language."
What does this have to do with photography though you ask? Munroe has released a new book, How To: Absurd Scientific Advice for Common Real-World Problems, which is a "How To..." guide for doing tasks in the most absurd ways, sort of a geek's guide of Rube Goldberg devices & schemes taken to an extreme level.
But what does it have to do with photography?! OK, here's the interesting part. Munroe released an excerpt of the book on the site Gizmodo (link below) with the topic being an explanation as to how photographers capture some of the "super moon" images that look amazing but often unrealistic because the size of the moon in the photo is so much bigger than how it actually appears in the sky. Munroe goes into some really interesting* detailed explanations in regards to size perspectives and how our eyes perceive what we see versus a camera. If you do read the whole excerpt, you can see about where he starts injecting a bit more sarcasm and the explanation veers off into the 'absurd' part of the book title.
But up until that part though it's a good read. With only a couple of dollars difference between the Kindle version and the hardback edition it's making the hardback edition a tempting purchase as I think this would provide some good entertainment for me.
gizmodo.com
* = Well, interesting to me at least.
What does this have to do with photography though you ask? Munroe has released a new book, How To: Absurd Scientific Advice for Common Real-World Problems, which is a "How To..." guide for doing tasks in the most absurd ways, sort of a geek's guide of Rube Goldberg devices & schemes taken to an extreme level.
How To: Absurd Scientific Advice for Common Real-World Problems: Munroe, Randall: 9780525537090: Amazon.com: Books
How To: Absurd Scientific Advice for Common Real-World Problems [Munroe, Randall] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. How To: Absurd Scientific Advice for Common Real-World Problems
www.amazon.com
But what does it have to do with photography?! OK, here's the interesting part. Munroe released an excerpt of the book on the site Gizmodo (link below) with the topic being an explanation as to how photographers capture some of the "super moon" images that look amazing but often unrealistic because the size of the moon in the photo is so much bigger than how it actually appears in the sky. Munroe goes into some really interesting* detailed explanations in regards to size perspectives and how our eyes perceive what we see versus a camera. If you do read the whole excerpt, you can see about where he starts injecting a bit more sarcasm and the explanation veers off into the 'absurd' part of the book title.
But up until that part though it's a good read. With only a couple of dollars difference between the Kindle version and the hardback edition it's making the hardback edition a tempting purchase as I think this would provide some good entertainment for me.
The Most Extreme Way to Take a Selfie, According to xkcd Creator Randall Munroe
The following is an excerpt from How To: Absurd Scientific Advice for Common Real-World Problems, a new book from cartoonist and science communicator Randall Munroe. How To is available on Amazon here.
gizmodo.com
* = Well, interesting to me at least.
