Special effects assignment...

We were given a lot of latitude here with only a few suggestions. I really wanted to do something original, so I googled and found what I thought was a pretty cool idea. By creating a special "hood" on my lens with a special shape cut out, I was able to change specular highlights in the bokeh into the cut out shape....in this case, music notes. This idea works better with the subject in the foreground (close to camera) and lights in the distant background. There was no way to set that up with the piano tho'. It bothers me that nothing is in focus except the notes, but I still think it's kinda interesting. If I were to try it again, I'd experiment with different aperature settings. I was just using what the article suggested (wide open) for the best bokeh. Considering how teeny tiny the music note cut out was, it's amazing I got an image at all. I did have to overexpose considerably. This is much easier to do with a more open shape (a star, heart, etc.). Wish we'd had colored lights too, but oh well. BTW, the instructor thought my music notes looked like ducks. Seriously?
Zoom exposure....harder to do than I imagined. Took a few tries to get something decent. Now, I just need to shoot some "real" pics of these beautiful sunflowers. I'm sure enjoying them in my kitchen!
I have Kim to thank for this cool idea. She saw it in an article with a person in the center of the fire ring. I had no subjects this day tho', so had to settle for the cross. I'm calling it "Heaven and Hell". :) My camera, on tripod, was manually focused on the cross (on a stool) and with a slow shutter speed (8"), I walked around the stool holding a candle. It was a completely dark room with no other light source, other than the candle. I'm amazed that I was not caught in the image. And, in case you're wondering, the background was not red...it was black. The red is just from the flame. Fun experiment and something I may want to try again. I'm wondering if you can write your name with a flame. Hmmmmmm.....