Consistent busyness never prevented a creative mind from daydreaming about what wonderful inventions could really help out while on a shoot here and there, or better yet push my photography into the elusive and much desired "she's the only one who does that" realm. I try to give realistic thought to everything, so I attempted to do so with these fleeting wild ideas and decided that these four fictitious inventions would be really great if they were real. If any scientist out there decides to capitalize on any of these ideas, please know that these were brainstormed here first by Amanda M. Kar (and I'd like to be contacted for design input). Images in this article courtesy of Google image search.
Deceased Portraiture
Like many creative ideas, this one actually came to me in a dream. It would involve family portraiture summoning the paranormal and bringing forth deceased relatives so that they may be present for portraits. I always give myself the benefit of the doubt of science fiction and envision how this could entirely be possible. It would involve contacting some paranormal specialists, ghost whisperers, or psychics, probably shooting in a space close to the deceased individual, and maybe some special equipment which would enhance my camera's ability to capture ectoplasmic activity in a photograph. Some images may be captured less in the humanoid depiction of a person and more in light of "ghost orb" photography. But wouldn't it be great to have a seance, bring forth a deceased loved one and capture some interaction with them in a photo? It'd be great if you could guarantee it. I'd completely freak out on the first two or three sessions, but I'd definitely have something here if it could be predictable and I could ensure capturing something every time.
Sun Balloon
The dimly lit high-ceiling church wedding ceremony is, I think, the bane of all wedding photogs' existence. The sun balloon would be a marvelous way to add daylight where there is none. This would be so great if designed to be inflated and deflated quickly, and to whatever size is needed (larger would emit more light). It would be made of a material which could both withstand the heat of output and diffuse the light just as overcast real daylight would... I guess it'd be more like a sun-behind-cloud balloon (we don't like direct daylight because it causes squints). The balloon would be tethered to be pulled back down for deflation or re-positioning. It could be solar powered! Just imagine, great light everywhere with no flash and green power to boot. *swoon*
Stilt Shoes
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| Yes like that. |
Okay I'm short. Even if you're not, it'd still be great to wear a portable ladder to jack you up 5 or 10 feet to get really great overhead shots of locations and groups. I'm taking a cue from Inspector Gadget here, but the invention would rather be an extension built into the sole of any shoe or it could be a device to attach externally to the soles, also allowing the shoe to remain comfortable while the stilts are retracted. It would have to have some mode of immobilization as a safety factor while extended to prevent walking and falling, and would need to extend and retract fairly quickly to avoid making re-positioning a pain.
Invisibility Cloak
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| Don't mind me! |
I do like when subjects give me full attention when I need it to pose them, but when I want a true candid moment, or to sneak somewhere without being detected in order to capture a really Real moment, I wish I could be invisible. I initially envision the Harry Potter invisibility cloak here, but for a photographer it'd have to be streamlined. It would really need to be a type of fabric which can reflect surroundings so as to give the illusion of invisibility, but which can also be toggled to be "invisible" or not. Somehow I think this is fairly possible. Update: I just looked it up and found this article about scientists actually working the real physics behind this. The military also has some good research going down too, for camouflage. Image below is from that site.
I also believe in spirit activity and ghost sighting, so I think that's fairly possible too. Extra-curricular activities for when I have more time to research these things :).
