I’m actually on time for this week’s post! And it’s Halloween! A little late on Halloween, but that’s because the sun took a while to come out, and I needed some bright light to take some photos. No triple-stacked filters, as it wasn’t bright enough for that, but.
Anyways, To reward myself for actually doing a post on time, how about a party? We can enjoy some music, and have a good time, and ignore all the political news going on right now.
Seriously, we just got through an election, and I’m well and truly sick of hearing about politics. I’m turning the radio off as soon as I hear pundits speculating about if Justin Trudeau will form a coalition, or if Andrew Scheer will stay on as Conservative Leader, or if the local serial killer known only as ‘Stabby Joe’ will be caught before he kills again. You know, political stuff.
So come on down and forget the world for the night. In fact, the first guest is here already.
Look at this cheery fellow! Is that a knife he’s holding? I bet he’s going to cut us all slices of a cake! The cake must be off-camera, but I’m sure it’s there. Anyways, for the rest of you, The party rules are ‘No Political talk’, and keep the conversation polite.
As for the dress code? Wear what you want. Personally, I’m always torn about dressing up for Halloween; on the one hand, it’s fun to participate, but on the other hand, I’m self-conscious enough already. What if I’m judged on my costume choice? The answer, of course, is to dress up, but not look as if I’m dressed up. If anyone asks, I can say I’m dressed for the occasion… and are they smart enough to discover my secret costume?
… the answer is no. Without a UV-capable camera(such as my modified Canon Rebel T3i, which I’m using to take these photos), or a certain type of eye surgery, no one will figure it out. I’m superior to all of them!
… don’t argue; I need this. It’s my party, give this to me.
Party Update: my first guest is called Joseph, and he says there is a cake he brought; it’s just one of those invisible cakes that are all the rage(confession time- I never heard of ‘Invisible Cake’, but don’t tell Joe; I want him to think I’m cool). We really need more people here to cement my ‘coolness factor’; I gave you all the address, right?
…
Actually, I don’t think I did. Anyways it’s…
… wait. Party Update: Joseph says I’m supposed to wear a blindfold and wait for him to cut a piece of cake. He wants it to be a BIG surprise!
That’s frustrating! I wanted to take photos, too. I’m going to compromise. If I use a camera filter mostly outside the visible spectrum, that’s kind of the same as blindfolding myself, isn’t it? So, lets switch to my short-pass filter(Ultraviolet, violet, and a bit of blue light can pass through it), then I can maybe sneak a photo.
…something looks off. I forgot to set the white balance(as I mentioned before, my camera can’t get a neutral white balance with this filter, but it can achieve a better one than this). I guess that I’ll keep writing about my costumes as I fiddle with the camera settings.
So, how is a costume not a costume? I could do something ‘ironic’, like dress up as ‘regular man’, but that’s dumb. Both ironically and non-ironically dumb. Instead, lets do something that looks completely normal until you know the secret.
For this type of costume, I use a light coloured shirt without any designs. I usually use white, but light tan works as well. Then I just paint on it with…
Hang on. I just set the white balance. Taking a photo now…
Yeah, that isn’t right. I’m a little worried now. I’m just going to combine my Schott BG40 and UG11 filters to cut out the visible spectrum entirely, and take another photo exclusively in ultraviolet. Then I’ll be sure.
But as I was saying, I use some suntan lotion (any type works, although this year I used Banana Boat 30 SPF). Then, I just paint a design onto the shirt with the lotion, only visible through my camera. It can be a little awkward, as I’m essentially painting blind, so I keep it fairly simple.
Party Update: The camera is set. The UV photograph of Joseph looks like this:
Okay. Okay. I’m fine. I’m fine.
No, I’m not fine. That is horrifying, and I think I made a big mistake. Joseph (although he says to call him Joe) isn’t what he appears to be.
That shirt is filthy! Do YOU want a dirty man to serve you cake? I’m not going to be sick over Halloween; I took Foodsafe! Am I liable if all the party-goers end up in the hospital? It’s too much of a risk. I’m just going to tell Joe to leave; in the meantime, here is the rest of my costume blog post.
The suntan lotion can slightly discolour the shirt until it’s washed, and might look a little greasy, so an older shirt works better(and if it has slight stains, they will hide the suntan lotion better). If it is bright enough, I can give other people my camera and they can take a look. It’s therefore a good party trick, but not a good nighttime party trick. Best of all, it is just regular suntan lotion, so it is safe for clothing AND non-toxic(hopefully), which means you can paint your skin as well.
… and if you don’t feel like telling someone? Don’t! They’ll never know the difference!
but who cares, because…
Party Update: I talked it over with Joe, and he said I can cut my own piece of cake. I just need to promise to keep my eyes closed while he walks over, then he will give me the knife. He promised. So come on down and try some invisible cake; I think he said the flavour is Chocolate. I wonder what type of frosting he
Parallel Views 