Monthly Archives: September 2010

There were three things (among several) that I really wanted to do for some time:

1. Colorize a black and white photo (that I’ve never done before)
2. Give Recolored a try and
3. Start using my Wacom A5 tablet that I bought a year ago for sketching and never got the time to actually use it

So, having combined all of these into one task, I picked up the iconic photograph of Migrant Mother for this, taken by Dorothea Lange in 1936 during the Great American Depression, which I also mentioned few days back.

The thing that I wanted to avoid in this exercise is to have that artificial look-n-feel that we normally get to see when a black and white photograph is converted into color. Also, rather than just adding colors to make this photograph look like a real color-photo, my objective would be to capture the essence of this photo in colors and retain it. This can be done by using a color palette that is not overpowering and simply complement the original image.

Keep reading …

Some amazing landscape photography by Ákos Major, a 35 years old Budapest (Hungary) based amateur photographer. Ákos Major is leaving the ad-agency buzz behind these days after having spent 10 years in the industry.

These images were taken during his travels in Iceland, Germany, Austria and Hungary.

View more of Ákos Major’s photography

This wearable head-mounted display concept is not new but projecting something directly onto the retina sure is. Brother’s AirScouter wearable Retinal Imaging Display (RID) prototype, shown at the Brother World Japan 2010, creates a mysterious effect, making it look as if there’s a 16-inch screen floating one meter in front of the eyes, and the scenery behind the screen seems transparent as well.

This display uses the ‘persistence of vision’ effect to project pictures onto the retina. It does this by shining a light, at a level of brightness that’s safe for the eyes, and moving the light at high speed. The images projected on the retina are recognized by the visual sense, making it seem just as if they are floating just in front of the eyes. Learn more

Amazing piece of technology, just that how one would look making a video call on this once Smartphone connection is possible or using an iPad style app in public? I never used a Bluetooth wireless headset (and will not either) having seen how people look while talking and staring at walls (or sometimes at you) in the middle of a corridor or sitting alone at a table in a restaurant or in a bus. Apologise to those who love wearing these – it is just that I can’t.

Although I’m not a big fan of HDR photography but sometime you get to see something really awesome such as this HRD video by Soviet Montage. This seems to be the first ever attempt to create HDR video and the overall effect is intensely dramatic and comic … may be it is meant for videos!

This video highlights several clips we’ve made using our new High Dynamic Range (HDR) process. Video is captured on two Canon 5D mark II DSLRs, each capturing the exact same subject via a beam splitter. The cameras are configured so that they record different exposure values, e.g., one camera is overexposed, the other underexposed. After the footage has been recorded, we use a variety of HDR processing tools to combine the video from the two cameras, yielding the clips you see above.

This groundbreaking NRDC documentary explores the startling phenomenon of ocean acidification, which may soon challenge marine life on a scale not seen for tens of millions of years.

Acid Test was made to raise awareness about the largely unknown problem of ocean acidification, which poses a fundamental challenge to life in the seas and the health of the entire planet. Like global warming, ocean acidification stems from the increase of carbon dioxide in the earth’s atmosphere since the start of the Industrial Revolution.