Mar 25
Transparent desktop confab
2005 at 04.50 am posted by Veerle
Something fun for the Easter weekend is to create the illusion of a transparent screen. And no… I did not dismantle my PowerBook screen to get this as a result. I might be a little crazy but not that crazy ;-)
First you take a picture from what is behind your screen. Then place this as a desktop and take another shot so it matches exactly with your desktop pict.
The possibilities are endless and it doesn't have to be a PowerBook. Get the creative juices flowing!
- 1. crop (or resize) the picture to 440px wide and save it as jpeg/gif/png
- 2. upload the image to your own server
- 3. post a comment by using the pMachine image tag and the full URL path to your image, for example:
If you have a lack of inspiration, here is a fire starter.
21served
1
... and lots more at http://www.flickr.com/groups/transparentscreens/pool/
:-)
2
To have a better match between your laptop and the background there is an other way to do it.
- Put your digital camera on a tripod
- Set the desktop of your laptop to blue
- Take a first shot with your laptop open and lock exposure time
- Take a second shot with your laptop closed
- Put the pic with the laptop open in the first layer
- Put the pic with the background in the second layer
- make blue area of the desktop transparent showing the second layer.
- Color correct the resulting image to avoid
having too much difference in colors.
- Enjoy…
I’ll try this this week end once I cleaned the mess I have behind my laptop :).
3
Most if not all of the picture on flickr aren’t “photoshoped” but the technique I present in my previous comment could be used to help you create a true background picture.
4
It’s a bit more of a challenge with a wide angle lens and 3 screens, but here’s my attempt:
5
i see u use isight. could you give me an ‘insight’ on your experiences.
do you videochat with windowsusers easily?
-i am about to integrate it in a project with loads of pc users… so i am checking it out first..-
tx.
6
The light conditions were not that good, but I managed to create a cool result I guess :)
7
so what is the big fuss about folks sending in transparent monitors?
At first I thought this was real...but I think your blog is the only one that tells me that it’s oviously fake (seeing as how you gave instructions on what to do to achieve this effect).
Neat nonetheless.
8
“At first I thought this was real”
What do you mean by ‘real’? Do you mean that you thought that the monitors were transparent? I don’t think that anyone suggested that their monitor was transparent, it’s just an interesting effect.
9
Although it is fake, the idea of possibly having a see-through LCD monitor is not that far out in the near future. After all, they already use some of the technology to create windows that, with the flick of a switch, turn opaque. No need for blinds when the window has them built in. Besides, the equivalent idea is already used for LCD panels used on overhead projectors.
10
it’s suggested by the image itself. since nobody was outright saying “this is a neat ‘effect’” I was under the assumption that these were real transparent monitors - and not ‘photoshopped’
11
Verry nice...°)
12
@Dustin - if you really thought that these were transparent monitors, you’re either really gullible or just plain dumb. You obviously didn’t read Veerle’s post; which clearly states “the illusion of a transparent screen.”
13
If I understand correctly, to cut out the monitor area, the erase tool was used setting the second photos layer to transparent?
14
@lauras: No Photoshop tricks here. Just take a picture of the background that you want and save that as a desktop for your Mac or PC. When you have set the desktop you have to match the screen to the background area to make it fit together and then take a photo again of the whole set. If you use the erase tool you’re cheating ;-)
15
16
not mine, but…
http://camerasyncro.com/macbidouille/chat.htm
17
Here’s my attempt in a poorly lit room… I’ll see if I can do better tomorrow…
18
This is really cool. I like Funk’s picture. It looks like you’re crossing into a nother world in that picture. Anyway, I’ll try to do something nice. I have four computers to use for this. An Alienware Laptop, Alienware Desktop, HP Desktop PC, and a Dell Dimension 3000 Desktop. The Alienware Laptop would probably look best.
19
Your image-tip is picked up by diskidee.be as an easter egg.
20
@Bart: that’s pretty cool what he did with the transparent clothes. too bad I only know how to read english. When you say easter egg, how do you mean it? Easter egg usually refers to video games and computer applications, I have never heard it used in a physical situation.
21
I have done something similar on my blog but I think your’s is way cooler!
