When photographing objects, it's sometimes helpful to place a ruler along side them to indicate size. This can give an indicator but a more informative comparison can be made by the proximity of a human hand. This is the principle of the idea of The Calibrated Hand.

For convenience, The Calibrated Hand comes flattened out like a glove, but is quickly inflated to fully 3 dimensional form via a small cylinder of compressed air; connecting hose and release valve. Once inflated, the hand reveals itself as having inches and centimeters inscribed along the side of the forefinger, and the edge of the palm. The thumb also extends to form an exact right angle against the main body of the hand.

With The Calibrated Hand in place, size comparison photographs become much more relatable, plus there is the added verifiable accuracy of the calibrations for forensic consideration etc.
-- xenzag, Jan 03 2022

So if you inflate it a bit more, it's not so calibrated. This could be handy when you're trying to deceive someone regarding the size of some object.
-- RayfordSteele, Jan 03 2022


Puffing-up produces parallax problems. Propose planar presentation, producing perfect photo-calibration.
-- pocmloc, Jan 03 2022


No because the gradations would change their size when your hand grows and shrinks.
-- pocmloc, Jan 03 2022


//Wouldn't it just be easier to tattoo the appropriate measurement onto your own hand?// No.Both hands are required to operate a camera. and in many cases you need to be more than an arm’s length away from the subject matter.
-- xenzag, Jan 04 2022


//No.Both hands are required to operate a camera//
Rubbish. While it's not always easy, I manage with one (Nikon D5500, in case you're wondering...). Although I do use a mono- or tri-pod a lot.
-- neutrinos_shadow, Jan 05 2022


He didn't lose it, it's just busy doing other things... it takes a bit of effort to keep the third leg of a tripod from going limp, you know.
-- RayfordSteele, Jan 05 2022


[RayfordSteele]; nice euphemism, but I have Erbs Palsy in my left arm. Not enough dexterity or strength to help with a camera.
-- neutrinos_shadow, Jan 06 2022


Regardless of camera operating abilities, central to this idea is the provision of an accepted physical object of recognisable scale for the purposes of making size comparison photographs. This requires stepping back from the photographic scene, so including your own hand is seldom going to be a viable option. Meanwhile, being able to operate a complex camera with one hand is an admirable achievement.
-- xenzag, Jan 07 2022


There is also the problem of scale. A calibrated human hand is just fine for photographing a teapot or an astrolabe, but it not very useful if you are trying to photograph a mosquito or a suspension bridge. Proposed is a set of appropriate scale appendages, from insect legs, mouse paws, elephant feet and kraken tentacles which can be used in a variety of common situations.
-- pocmloc, Jan 07 2022


I was going to post the Calibrated Ear I made as an illustrated example...
-- xenzag, Jan 07 2022


[a1]; not offended in the slightest. It was a birth accident. You're the Google-master; you can probably find better info on it faster than I can.
-- neutrinos_shadow, Jan 07 2022


Do you use a right-handed keyboard layout, or is it not that bad?
-- RayfordSteele, Jan 07 2022


I just use a normal qwerty (mostly one-handed; almost- but-not-quite "blind"). I didn't learn about "one handed Dvorak" keyboards until maybe 10 years ago, but I haven't bothered trying to fnd one.
-- neutrinos_shadow, Jan 08 2022


//When photographing objects, it's sometimes helpful to place a ruler along side them to indicate size// Hmm. In the Interwebs, where we all live now since the Covids, I believe the commonly accepted unit of relative size is the 'banana'.

Bananascale of course offends my scientific sensibilities, given the variation in size of bananas from the same bunch. However, my artistic philosophical self relishes the joy of confusion caused by 'Just how small(big) IS that banana?' juxtapositions.

Therefore, I will award a cautious bun, pending copyright allowance for [a1]'s hand tattoo (The Calibrated BananaHand™), which provides accurate measurement when the skin of the hand is at the same turgidity as it was when the tattoo was installed, but also allows for random inaccuracies introduced by water retention from the nachos and dehydration from the tequila.
-- Sgt Teacup, Jan 08 2022



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