Olympic DiveCam Explained

Ever since I first saw the DiveCam that NBC uses for televised events a few years ago, I wondered how the operator managed to keep the camera so perfectly synced with the diver as they plunged into the pool. Well thanks to a few different camera angles used at this year’s Olympic games I finally figured out the simple gimmick the DiveCam uses, but the Wall Street Journal has gone one step further and provided a bit of backstory regarding its development.

For those who don’t know or haven’t seen it, the DiveCam is basically a small camera contained in a tube that follows the diver from the top of the platform all the way into the water. But instead of using complex pneumatics or motorized tracks, the camera is simply dropped at the same time the athlete leaves the platform. Since gravity ensures that everything falls at the same rate, as long as the operator releases the camera at the same time as the diver, it will perfectly follow them into the water. The idea was originally thought up by NBC’s David Neal, but he contracted Garret Brown, inventor of the Steadicam (and countless other ingenious camera rigs) to make it a reality. Garret improved on the idea with mechanisms to safely bring the camera to a stop once underwater, and added remote tilt-and-pan controls so that the cameraman could always keep the diver in frame. I’ll admit that diving is not one of my favorite events, but seeing the footage that comes from the DiveCam is enough to keep me watching every time it’s on.

 WSJ – Now Diving: Sir Isaac Newton

Great Review Site For iPhone Apps

Check out this great website AppVee for iPhone apps.

Surfing

Imagine you are surfing the waves, just living for the moment. Everything else is unimportant. Later you are lying on the beach, enjoying the sunshine and feeling re-born. Once you have felt this sensational feeling you will always want more.

Surfing is a type of sport. Actually it is more than that, it´s a connection between you, the sea and your board. You are not only physically connected, it becomes part of your soul as well. This type of association is the main part of the surf experience. It is addictive, universal and at times almighty! If you haven´t yet tried it, take the chance to do so now. Surfing gets under your skin and the surf connection will stay with you the rest of your life. It is better to have surfed once and then to give it up than never to have surfed at all.

James Jarvis Niketown Installation in London

Celebrated artist James Jarvis has a new installation at the Niketown store in London. Showcasing his famous style, the windows are decorated in a wind runner bird print, a character he created within his realm of ideas. There is also an 8-panel vinyl piece inside the store featuring the same clever imagery. Make sure to stop by Niketown if your in London, it looks like an awesome installation and a free James Jarvis poster is always nice.

Julian Opie at the MAK in Vienna – Solo Exhibition of Recent Works

In this show of “Recent Works”, the MAK presents a comprehensive solo exhibition of the British artist Julian Opie. The three large bodies of work assembled in the show, “Portraits”, “Nudes”, and “Land-scapes”, survey most recent works by the artist, many of them never shown before. The works of this boundary-pushing artist who always strives to find innovative ways of artistic expression oscillate between painting and sculpture, expanding techniques and readings of art.

Singapore Art Museum (SAM) presents – Masriadi: Black is My Last Weapon

Singapore Art Museum (SAM) is proud to present Masriadi: Black is My Last Weapon, the celebrated contemporary Indonesian artist I Nyoman Masriadi’s first regional and international solo exhibition. This show forms part of SAM’s exhibition programme in showcasing works of key modern and contemporary Southeast Asian artists, continuing on from solo exhibitions such as Affandi and Widayat in 2007. This new exhibition highlights Masriadi’s unique visual language of painting – striking visual vocabulary and visual imageries strongly influenced by anime, cyber-gaming and comics. The exhibition features over 30 selected works from private collections in Indonesia, Singapore and Hong Kong, including early works from 1998 to latest works. 

High Speed Photography

No, high speed photography is by no means a new idea; we just very much enjoyed this Flickr collection by user nebarnix. A large gallery of objects frozen in motion with a 500-nanosecond flash, a visual cacophony of exploding eggs and firecrackers captured mid-pop await those who hit the link.

Via: Flickr