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Saturday Night in the Desert: It's All in the Perspective

It's all in the perspective. No Photoshopping here.

No trick photography.

No outside help from another human being.

Can you guess how this photo was taken? The photographer had no outside help, nor was anyone else within a quarter mile of him.

This photograph has captured my imagination this week. It's a self portrait!

How in the world did he get this shot?

I know, but I'm not telling (yet.)

I want to see the world from God's perspective. That's what the photo reminds me of when I think of my own life.

Am I doing the right thing? Am I making a difference?

When you are touched by my posts, are you encouraged?

I hope so!

I'm Mike in Tucson, your preferred Tucson, Arizona mortgage lender.

Think of me as your local expert.

photo copyright Chuck Park, Tucson, AZ

Posted by Mike Jones on 07/26/2008 11:52 PM

Comments (78)

perspective, tucson mortgage, tucson, arizona, mortgage lender

Originally posted at: Tucson By Choice!: Saturday Night in the Desert: It's All in the Perspective

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78 Comments on Saturday Night in the Desert: It's All in the Perspective

JUL

2008

yeah, I am...

Mike,

That is quite the photo. It's an awesome view. I don't have the slightest clue on how your client took that by him self.

Jose,

It is, isn't it?! I'll tell you later this week.

Nick,

That's encouraging! Good to see you, buddy. Did you get the photo card?

Mike in Tucson

JUL

2008

I did get the card, thanks!

HI Mike...what an awesome picture! I can't imagine how he did it...are you going to tell us ae do we have to guess? I definitely want to know the answer. A mirror? Ok...I give up!

Sandi,

Thanks for commenting. It's interesting, isn't it? Not a mirror. I will let the cat out of the bag later this week.

Nick,

Awesome! See you on your blog.

Mike in Tucson

Remote control airplane or helicopter with camera? I'm intrigued.

This is a great picture, and perspective... I am going to guess judging by what appears to be a remote control in his hands he took the photo using a digital camera connected to a small flying device (ie. mini plane/ helicopter) :-D

Remote control airplane or helicopter with camera? I'm intrigued.

Well that's one GREAT way to get me to subscribe! :) I'll be looking forward to finding out about this one. I haven't even figured out how to put a picture on a blog yet! Still a newbie!

All,

No remote control airplane. No balloon. No remote control helicopter. (Thanks for commenting and Sandi--for subscribing!)

Mike in Tucson

Mike- Ok, He set the self timer and threw the camera into the air until he got the shot he wanted LOL :-D

Chris,

Nope! Thanks for playing!

Mike in Tucson

A pole camera shot?? It almost looks like he has a camera in his hands.

hmmm, another guess here... a tripod up on a ledge?

I see he has placed himself in the shadow of the cactus, long shadow, later in the day or earlier in the morning.

It looks kinda wide angleish. ???

I'll be back for the answer.

And yes, your writing is encouraging to read. You have such great insight.

Doreen,

You've come the closest to figuring this out of anyone so far. No pole, though. And no ledge, rock or otherwise. The appearance of a wide angle shot has to do with the foreground being the tip of the saguaro, while the photographer is part of the background. Your eye is used to seeing just the opposite. The saguaro is really very tall, and the shadow relatively short compared to the saguaro, so it's a mid-morning or mid-afternoon shot.

Mike in Tucson

Am I the only one who sees humor in the shadow?

Susie, do you mean the part that looks like a monster has raised its arms to get him?

Is the camera up on a piece of construction equipment? or a large vehicle? A roof?

is there a mirror up there?

He is taking a shot of himself in a mirror.

Susie,

Thanks for stopping by to comment.

Doreen,

He's in the middle of the desert. No mirror, nothing anywhere near the photo site that is not natural to the desert. No vehicle or anything manmade parked nearby.

Mike in Tucson

He zoomed in on the mirror.

Doreen,

No mirror involved whatsoever! Give up on the mirror. LOL

Mike in Tucson

OK, scratch that last one, I didn't see your comment. I have to go stare at the picture some more so I can make some more wild guesses!

Doreen,

If you miss church tomorrow morning, it will be my fault, I guess. Get some sleep! (Oh, and it's time for another post on your blog.)

Mike in Tucson

Did he put two photos together to make this?

scratch that one too. it looks like it is one photo because of the perspective, he and the cactus look like they are leaning away from each other. That is a tall one.

LOL! check this out

no utility poles? How about a tree or another tall cactus?

I have to give up. I am tired, this wore me out. haha

Susie Blackman no I see the humor in the shadow. Looks like someone shooting the bird. :-)

Hmmm...it still looks like a remote control in his hand. Give us a hint, is it something that he is controlling remotely?

Mike,

I think he set up a telescopic pole with the camera on it set with a time delay, WHEW, I said all that without taking a breath!!

You have been an inspiration to me since I have been on AR and I gave you another mention just this week in a post.

BTW, Thanks for the photo card and I see you use SendOut Cards too.

Thank you my friend and keep up the good work!

Don R.

He threw his camera in the air (with a 3 second delay click).... LOL!!!

I have no idea, looks great!!!

Your friend in Charlottesville!

Mike - good wa to get people guessing. I would like to talk about the other part of the question. Am doing the right things? Am i doing all i can, or taking the lazy way through life. I would like to think that I'm doing the right things, but sometimes I catch myself. I do know that Karma will play a role in your life, so the people who are out to take advantage of others usually pays for it in a bad way. I'm always rewarded when i go ou of my way to help people.

Thanks for the post and the thought.

Larry,

Thanks for commenting on the rest of the post!

Charles,

The camera was under control the whole time by the photographer. The camera is obviously above him, so he's not holding it. He is holding something, though.

Don,

No pole.

Michael,

He does have something in his hands, and he has control of the camera.

Nanette & Susie,

Tsk tsk!

Doreen,

No tree, no other cactus (actually, another tall cactus nearby would have made things more difficult for the photographer.) No spliced or photoshopped pics, either.

Mike in Tucson

I woke up this morning STILL thinking about this picture! Geeze....if all of your blog entries are this interesting...I think I'm going to take the next rainy day off work just to read them ALL! Of course I was hoping that you were tired of keeping us all guessing and had posted the answer to this mystery! Oh well...I'll wait a little longer! Sandi

Mike,

There is a quote from Albert Einstein that came to my mind looking at this photograph.

"The secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sources."

Can I change the question?

How would I know how the photograph was made? I would know if I were there when it was taken.

Would I know if I could inspect the site?

Is there enough information in the picture to learn the method? the shadow, the perspective (appears to be directly over the photographer), the site looks eroded by water,

Thanks for the exercise. Always good to change the view occasionally.

Richard

I noticed the fact that there had been water flowing as well. I doubt it's in a wash though. (in Arizona, what you see there would be called 'flood') The way a saguaro grows, I don't think it would be able to survive in a wash. Besides I grew up in that desert and don't recall ever seeing a saguaro in a wash.

So, Mike, I can blame you when I miss church??? What else can I say is your fault? LOL!

(sorry, couldn't resist that one) :)

Please tell me that the cactus is a foot tall.

I haven't figured out the part about the person in the shot.

Lenn,

The cactus is 18' tall. The person is 6' tall.

Doreen,

The saguaro is in its natural setting. Nothing goofy there.

Richard,

The answer is in your brain. The site is irrelevant to the means of taking the photo. Had you been there, you might have said "Gee, I didn't know you could do that!"

Sandi,

What? No more guesses?

Mike in Tucson

Mike, I haven't given up my curiousity to know what it is. But I've made my best guess and you discounted that before I even posted it. So with that said I'm beginning to think I would rather "trust the process", as some things are better left to ponder. In other words....I'll just wait and see what the answer is when you decide to let us all in on it! LOL

You have us all waiting anxiously for the answer. My guess was the pole but already mentioned.

http://www.aerialproducts.com/

Wireless, remote control blimp or something else that floats or flies.Great photo in any event.

A friendly alien flew by and took the shot??? I really have NO CLUE and can't wait for the answer!

I love the picture.. wow i can't image it in person.. it must be very tall...

All my guesses have already been posted and ruled out. So apparently there's only one thing left. This must be an example of the exciting new Frisbee Powered Photography. :)

Okay, here's a clue:

Mike in Tucson

NYL,

No Frisbee.

Donna,

It's as big as a telephone pole.

Barbara Jo,

Check out my clue. You'll get it.

Jim,

It doesn't float. It does fly. You're close.

Nicholas,

Here's the answer in my clue. Come on back.

Anonymous,

Come on back!

Mike in Tucson

No way! Kite photography???

Not Yet Licensed...

WAY!!! Good job!

Mike in Tucson

So it is a picture of a PAINTING???

Sandi,

Nope! Look at the painting in my Clue Comment. What is the young Ben Franklin doing?

Mike in Tucson

Flying a kite, a remote control kite with a camera? Am I being a blonde here? I thought you ruled the remote control things out? Ha Ha...I just typed a question after the graffic to send...DUH this is driving me nuts

JUL

2008

I just had to come back to find out the answer. Cool!

Nanette,

Yup! Thanks for coming back.

Sandi,

Stick around; I'll be writing more about remote camera photography and kite flying.

Mike in Tucson

Gee, I didn't know you could do that.

Richard

That is too much. Ben Franklin would be proud of you. Camera photography and kite flying, what next.

Nicholas,

Ben might be proud of me for writing about it, but I'm not the guy in the photo.

Richard,

Neither did I, until Chuck came into my office.

Mike in Tucson

JUL

2008

GREAT PIC!

Robert

Robert,

THANKS!

Mike in Tucson

AH, BEN WOULD BE STILL PROUD OF YOU, USING HIS KITE FOR OTHER REASONS BESIDES ELECTRICITY.

Thanks, Nicholas!

Mike in Tucson

Hey Mike..I haven't gone anywhere...just had to break my newly formed addiction to acid rain to do some real estate deals. BUYER UNDER CONTRACT TODAY AND ONE CLOSING TOMORROW! Your posts are truly thought provoking. Thanks for being here!

JUL

2008

Sandi,

Congrats! That's fantastic!

Mike in Tucson

Hey Mike,

Quick question. Is there a real estate application for kite photography?

Bruce

Thank you Mike for posting my photo. And thanks to everyone else for the interest. I do a lot of aerial photography using remote controlled airplanes, and after seeing this persons work <http://scotthaefner.com/kap/>, I just had to get into KAP (Kite Aerial Photography). I am pretty sure he has links to other sites about the art of KAP and I recommend exploring them. You should be able to see plenty of sites explaining how one goes about doing KAP, from kite selection to attaching the camera, to flying the kite. Thanks again for your interest, Chuck Park. clspark@aol.com

Chuck,

Thanks for coming by to comment. As you can see, you've piqued a lot of interest! Thanks for the link. I'll put it here as a live link so our readers can check out Kite Aerial Photography.

www.scotthaefner.com/kap

Bruce,

Click the link above and see. I don't know, but I'm willing to bet that it's interesting stuff.

Mike in Tucson

JUL

2008

Chuck, That photo is cool no matter how you shot it. I want to know how a kite stays steady enough to take a photo?? How do you know when it's in the right place? How do you get it there? I have a bunch of questions about how this works.

Thanks for letting Mike share it with us.

Bless you!

I just want to add that I really like it because it is a great self portrait and is really what we all could have for a self portrait. I don't see it as God looking down on us, but me looking up (following) to Him for what I need.

Mike, I thought for sure you would be up, just waiting for me to comment, so you could reply! ?? :)

Great photo Mike! In answer to your questions:

Are you doing the right thing? From my perspective you are. You've returned my 2 phone calls within a half hour and you've been extremely helpful to me.

Are you making a difference? 70+ comments from one blog? What do you think??

When you are touched by my posts are you encouraged? Yes. Your positive outlook is positively contagious!

Take care Mike. Thanks for your help yesterday. You're one of a kind.

Rita,

Thanks for the encouragement; it's a two way street. Thanks for subscribing to my blog back when nobody in the Rain knew anything about Mike in Tucson.

Doreen,

Thanks for coming back; ditto my comment to Rita. I really appreciate your comments. You're always an encouragement. (I turned in early, LOL)

Mike in Tucson

Doreen asked: " I want to know how a kite stays steady enough to take a photo?? How do you know when it's in the right place? How do you get it there? I have a bunch of questions about how this works."

Doreen.

I fly the kite up above most turbulence caused by obstructions on the ground to the wind. Things like trees, rocks, and buildings. at that altitudes things are a bit more steady. I have 500 feet of line wound up on a winder and I let the kite pull out about 250 feet to get it up in the clean air. Then I attach the camera rig to the kite line. The rig consists of a self equalizing hitch that looks like a "cats cradle", which is attached to a powered, remotely controlled camera mount which carries the camera. Then I let out however much more line I need to get the camera to the altitude I desire. (the photo Mike posted only required an altitude of 20 or so feet). I can walk the whole unit around and place the camera where I want. Knowing when it is in the right place is not easy. Usually I estimate the spot, tie off the line and walk over and check the alignment visually. It takes some practice. The camera can be panned, tilted, and shuttered remotely. I set the shutter speed and focus is automatic. It is really a lot of fun and quite challenging.

Hope that helps

Chuck

Thanks Chuck!

OK, when it cools off, in say, November, I'll be down for a personal demo. Seriously, I would love to see this in action!

My blog post has been hijacked! LOL

Chuck,

Thanks so much for coming back and explaining!

Doreen,

Thanks for great questions and commentary!

Mike in Tucson

AUG

2008

I trust you will make the arrangements for the demo in the fall?...?

Isn't that the best part? When it's hijacked?

Wow, I was thinking the google satalite. Thanks for sharing. Judy

Judy,

I guess satellite photography could do this too, couldn't it?

Doreen,

It is the best part! Some posts just take on a life of their own. (Chuck's going to call me the next time winds are consistent enough for kite flying.)

Mike in Tucson

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