OverDrive wiki picture

[Bsteckler]

I was looking at the FIRST OverDrive wikipedia page, and I couldn't help but notice some peculiarities about the picture that was posted on it:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:F...m100_large.jpg

Notice how the background is blurred, this makes me think that the robot was traveling at a rather high rate of speed, also notice the proximity to the overpass. The only conclusion that I could come to was that the robot was going to get caught on the overpass and swing underneath, coming to rest on its back.

For the sake of satisfying curiosity, does anyone know what happened following this picture being taken?

[Joe G.]

I imagine its some weird camera setting that exaggerates the speed.

[Greg Needel]

you can accomplish this type of photo by having a tripod mounted camera and moving it along with the object (similar to panning). The trick with this is to pan the same speed as the object and will cause everything except the object to blur. Try it sometime for some fun results.

[=Martin=Taylor=]

I absolutely love this picture of our robot! It’s been my background for weeks!

Needless to say, this picture was not taken by anyone on our team, and none of us uploaded it to wiki.

Based on subtle modifications we did to the robot I'd say this was from the Portland Regional.

Our robot did not tip all season, and was only caught on the bar once during a practice match. We can hit the bar pretty hard without tipping.

[ttldomination]

I'm not sure, but I think it's been cleverly photoshopped. It's very simple , you can crop out the robot, and then add a "draft" to everything else, which will make the colors blend, making them blurry, and creating the speed sensation. B

But, you are right, considering the rack is right there, it probably wasn't the best picture to add any affects on.

[whitetiger0990]

Exif data says:

EXIF tags in 'FIRST_Overdrive_team100_large.jpg' ('Motorola' byte order):
--------------------+----------------------------------------------------------
Tag                 |Value
--------------------+----------------------------------------------------------
Manufacturer        |Canon
Model               |Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XTi
Orientation         |top - left
x-Resolution        |240.00
y-Resolution        |240.00
Resolution Unit     |Inch
Software            |Adobe Photoshop CS3 Macintosh
Date and Time       |2008:03:01 21:30:13
Artist              |unknown
Compression         |JPEG compression
x-Resolution        |72.00
y-Resolution        |72.00
Resolution Unit     |Inch
Exposure Time       |1/19 sec.
FNumber             |f/4.5
ExposureProgram     |Aperture priority
ISO Speed Ratings   |200
Exif Version        |Exif Version 2.21
Date and Time (origi|2008:03:01 15:02:34
Date and Time (digit|2008:03:01 15:02:34
Shutter speed       |4.32 EV (APEX: 4, 1/19 sec.)
Aperture            |4.34 EV (f/4.5)
Exposure Bias       |-0.67 EV
MaxApertureValue    |4.00 EV (f/4.0)
Metering Mode       |Pattern
Flash               |Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode.
Focal Length        |120.0 mm
Color Space         |Internal error (unknown value 65535).
PixelXDimension     |1400
PixelYDimension     |1867
Focal Plane x-Resolu|4433.30
Focal Plane y-Resolu|4453.61
Focal Plane Resoluti|Inch
Custom Rendered     |Normal process
Exposure Mode       |Auto exposure
White Balance       |Auto white balance
Scene Capture Type  |Standard
--------------------+----------------------------------------------------------
EXIF data contains a thumbnail (6779 bytes).

That low shutter speed is enough to get the blurring at the speed the robot is travelling, which isn't -that- fast. As Greg Needel said, I'm going to say they were just following the robot with the camera and took the picture.

You can very easily create something similar. Just have a person walk at a quick pace and follow them with the camera (preferably with a tripod, so it's level). Snap the shot at something below 1/60 and you've got a perfectly in focus person with everything else blurry.

I'd say the photoshopping involved was nothing but cropping and resizing.

(Someone could ask Logan Williams, whoever he is)