The download section of our site hasn’t been updated recently due to an over-abundance of things to do outside of the realm of shameless self-promotion. However, it seems that the downloads are still kicking up web traffic, via hdw.eweb4.com/, an online desktop download location. Seems that some of the first of our desktop downloads made the list, but a few of our favorites were missing, so we’re scratching our heads.

- AC

We’d like to congratulate PositionSizer.com on their recent site launch. Alupa Creative provided a full range of creative and technological services for PositionSizer, and we’re happy with the final product.

Check out the site here.

Our annual contribution to the Lawrence Ultimate Summer League is ready for print. This year’s shirt provides a safety briefing to summer league participants through a “Back to Safety” campaign based on airline safety pamphlets.

Alupa Creative has been providing shirts to various Ultimate Frisbee Summer Leagues in one way or another since 2004.

In addition to the shirt, this year’s ultimate frisbee disc has also been completed and is ready to go.

* Editor’s Note *

Thanks to Jon UB for the feedback re: Shirt Cone Number Issue. The cones in the image have been changed from four to the appropriate 8 in both the mock ups above and on the updated shirt design that we gave to the printer. Should be good to go.

Also, here’s the disc, since Noble asked.

Word x2.

- AC

Article by Mike Oliva, Photographer

Over the last couple of years of taking pictures, I’ve always found that light painting is one of those things that is simply just “cool”.  There are so many possibilities with it that you can really experiment and come up with some great ideas and make some great images.

At it’s very basics, light painting photography is using a long exposure to capture some light source over time.  It can be done with a direct drawing with light or using that light to “paint” an object to make it pop in an image.  I’ve written up a brief explanation of what you need and how to get started.

Step 1:  What you need

A. A camera with manual controls and/or bulb shutter settings.  Most DSLRs have this feature and will allow you to have the shutter open for as long as you desire.  If you don’t have this available you’ll need to find your camera’s longest shutter setting and you’ll just have to move EXTREMELY FAST to paint in the allowable time.  just get a camera w/ bulb setting, it will be TONs easier.
B. LED flashlights, wands, etc.  Really any light source can be used but you want to make sure to choose something that will work for what you are drawing and for ease of use.  I typically use an LED flashlight with easy on/off operation which allows my to draw like I’m holding a giant pen.
C. Tripod to steady your camera.  Since this will be a long exposure you want to make sure that the camera stays put.  You can use any steady surface but a tripod really helps to make things easier when composing your shot and reviewing your tries.
D. Probably most important is a room that you can make VERY dark or someplace outside that does not have a lot of contamination from other light sources i.e. street lights or cars, etc.  This is somewhat dependent on how long you need to “paint” your image and whether or not you want some of that ambient light to show your scene or surroundings.  The more ambient light the more you will appear as a ghost in the drawn image.
Some Optional Items:
E. Gels for producing different colors, rosco makes a pack of gels for stage lighting that can be used.
F. On Camera or external flash for including a subject, maybe yourself in the final image.  this allows you to be “frozen” rather than trying to stand still for as long as the shutter is open.
G. Wire templates for helping to draw a detailed image rather than relying on drawing freehand.  For the image of the logo above I used a wire dry cleaner hanger, I might try wire solder since it’s easy to bend and make your designs or even a cardboard cutout.
H. Camera remote for tripping the shutter.

Step 2:  Setting up and Camera Settings

Find a suitable location and set up your camera on a tripod or other sturdy surface.  Compose your shot, visualizing the drawing that you have in mind and the elements in the frame.  Set your camera on manual control and set the shutter to BULB setting.  For some cameras in bulb mode you need to press and hold the shutter for the entire exposure.  To get around this you can use a camera remote that allows you to press once to open the shutter and start the exposure and then a second time to close the shutter and finish the exposure.  If no remote is available you can get a friend to help hold down the shutter release while you draw.

You’ll also want to set your Aperture to an appropriate f-stop for what you are looking to achieve.  For a pure black scene you may be in the range of f16, for more ambient light to show in the image you may want to go with a larger aperture of around f8-f11.  If using an external flash you’ll want to tweak flash power settings and aperture to get the best balance of flash exposure and ambient light levels.  Check out the exposure triangle of SHUTTER – APERTURE – ISO if unfamiliar with exposure basics for help with getting familiar with the camera settings.

Step 3:

Turn off all lights and get your drawing tools at the ready.

Step 4:

Start the exposure and go nuts with your drawing.  It is very helpful to have a drawing plan prior to getting started with making exposures, and I find it useful to do a sort of “dry” run to get a game plan down before I start.  To draw just get your led flashlight or whichever tool you are using, into position (off) and then turn on.  I typically point the light source directly at the camera to avoid having some part of my body or some other object obscure what I am drawing.  Depending on what you determine is a long enough exposure duration will determine how long you have to draw.  If you are in a pitch black room you should have almost infinite time to work on your drawing.  If working outside you’ll probably have less time if trying to capture some ambient light of the scene in your image.  Season to taste.

With DSLRs you have the ability to get that instant feedback w/ what you are doing and make changes where things are not looking exactly as you’d like.  It may take a few tries, just keep working at it until you get something you like.

Check out the flickr light painting group for some other drawing ideas. Good luck!!

Guest contributor Mike Oliva is a Kansas City area photographer. Additional images in this post can be found at his picassa page.

Alupa Creative has recently been featured on RefreshStyle.net, a web design gallery. We’re happy to have been included in this group of great sites. Check out and rank listings here.

Pentagram.com has released a handy instrument that can tell you which type of “Type” category that you fall into. Take the test here.

Through a series of questions, posed by a pseudo-psychiatric video moderator, you can determine if you are the happy go-lucky type, or the down to earth pragmatic type. Think of this as a simplified Myers-Briggs Type Indicator for all of those designers and typophiles out there.

The Alupa Creative portfolio is now being featured on DesignerSource.net, an online web design gallery. We’d like to thank them for the addition and the great feedback about the site.

Cheers,

- AC

The plans are nearly complete…

This is a follow up to a previous post we had regarding fan-made clips of Star Wars, Ep. IV. {As you may remember} The entire movie was edited down into 15 second clips and then users signed up, and subsequently, recreated their own version of the movie action.

The Star Wars: Uncut trailer has been available for a little while, but things have been pretty busy around the digital office recently, so we’ve had no time to post. Here’s this clip of the trailer. For the full movie (in all it’s glory) you can visit the Star Wars Uncut website.

The Alupa Creative portfolio has again been featured online. The most recent nod comes from 101bestwebsites.com, an online web design gallery focused on design excellence online.

We’re happy to be added to the ranks and look forward to additional feedback from the users over at 101bestwebsites.com.

To all of our loyal followers on Facebook, these two wallpapers are for you.

Based on a design for one of our clients, we were authorized to use some of the components of the logo building process to put together these Three Little Birds wallpapers. For those users with two monitors, two sizes are available to maximize the size of the flock on your screen.

These wallpapers are exclusively available on our Facebook page, so become a fan and download now.