It's a Small World

Although I'm not particularly techy, geeky, nerdy, make-y, or even steampunk, I've long been an admirer of the Directory of Wonderful Things, Boing Boing.

I like how they can latch on to a concept and, even if it's not something you'd normally cotton on to yourself, you end up following it over various posts for weeks, months or longer. I now know, for example, a great deal more about Disney's Haunted Mansion than I ever would have thought necessary.

Also of fascination has been the site's multiple posts on the tilt-shift photography phenomenon, which in ideal circumstances can transform everyday pictures into convincing imitations of impossibly elaborate miniatures.

Most recently, we've been brought up to date on the existence of a website that will put your own photos through a (fairly primitive, admittedly) fake-tiltshifter. Above is one of my attempts, from last summer's Amsterdam jaunt.

And here's the Nile, complete with miniature watertaxi. They're not nearly as convincing as more professional examples of the actual tilt-shift process and even some films made using variations on it, but still, I think, kind of fun.