tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-82843002024-03-10T19:17:52.983+11:00wandering in the lightThings They Forgot to Tell You About DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY & ARTnormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03064736990200219176noreply@blogger.comBlogger2732125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8284300.post-79163413856736752542024-02-23T22:45:00.002+11:002024-02-23T22:54:57.034+11:00Luminar Neo's GenAI Tools Need More Time in the Oven<p>Luminar Neo recently added three new generative AI tools called GenErase, GenExpand, and GenSwap, all supposedly based on generative AI technology. I’d seen a bit of hype about them and they just turned up for a 30 day trial, so I just need to play and try these new features. I have to say they clearly needed more time in development before being released to the public.</p><p>The tools are only available through Neo's subscription service presumably because they utilize cloud computing power. This means they will likely never be available to run locally on a desktop.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhqWEQR9TqzrlBlFCXSJKn0zejY0vPgpKVeca7XoKDamwZKhMwou-69-wLtCufQa0RrK1Y-axQNUUMA_if_Ufbt4wlEI54XgD5li_Akh673NNxTpgbM3wCKFd_W-OLnXnJehh9gTrIACSZ-ab3lbMjdgyVQ5Ekz-adt1bdyN-nDS-10daBvCTgO" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="621" data-original-width="2400" height="166" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhqWEQR9TqzrlBlFCXSJKn0zejY0vPgpKVeca7XoKDamwZKhMwou-69-wLtCufQa0RrK1Y-axQNUUMA_if_Ufbt4wlEI54XgD5li_Akh673NNxTpgbM3wCKFd_W-OLnXnJehh9gTrIACSZ-ab3lbMjdgyVQ5Ekz-adt1bdyN-nDS-10daBvCTgO=w640-h166" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p><div><p class="MsoNormal">I was most interested in testing out <b>GenExpand</b>, which is
supposed to let you extend the edges of an image. I do like Neo’s Panorama
stitching extension but I often get bulbous, untrimmed images when stitching
together handheld panoramas in Neo, so I thought GenExpand could help with
that. Unfortunately, my first attempt to expand a massive 588MB panorama got
stuck taking forever and then just produced blackness over the area I’d
selected. Oh well, back to the drawing board.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-BdoPVYvMIU3Qxi_wzn83TPXsvavVfDctEex9-IH7y9c5HnUhXsFUNiV7N4GUutNEJHDf_cQdbh7V8pcfMEOD50Xb__gfAsZ94S4yDkA77nGomCOceSiVUPqsEEhqpvfy8hlHl5qD8BCPabgOHwA0nkQDnzkk6jpKl7cKBWA8Jn3DVJcrFsL_/s2400/PB060031_panorama_genErase.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="621" data-original-width="2400" height="166" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-BdoPVYvMIU3Qxi_wzn83TPXsvavVfDctEex9-IH7y9c5HnUhXsFUNiV7N4GUutNEJHDf_cQdbh7V8pcfMEOD50Xb__gfAsZ94S4yDkA77nGomCOceSiVUPqsEEhqpvfy8hlHl5qD8BCPabgOHwA0nkQDnzkk6jpKl7cKBWA8Jn3DVJcrFsL_/w640-h166/PB060031_panorama_genErase.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal"> A smaller test image did successfully expand, but the new edge addition was blurry and grayscale. On closer inspection the horizon matched byt clouds and waves didn’t matchup well to the original.</p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_CcybcI0JYWS8qd0brFg59ZC2hduSdP1u1iTiOJ1rO-awzEBcYKcv26tk2Dg7u4xrh_K7FQngaOQWAsiUe9TpeDglyXidcB9qO6hpM2H5GCZa0Zv2-NvEkLxkhe6uSfMYszc3C8SHE8I6xpsUi_QT7V02-Gxnss7NcIWN3epZFTx1RH79brbM/s2000/PB080226_genExpand.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1307" data-original-width="2000" height="418" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_CcybcI0JYWS8qd0brFg59ZC2hduSdP1u1iTiOJ1rO-awzEBcYKcv26tk2Dg7u4xrh_K7FQngaOQWAsiUe9TpeDglyXidcB9qO6hpM2H5GCZa0Zv2-NvEkLxkhe6uSfMYszc3C8SHE8I6xpsUi_QT7V02-Gxnss7NcIWN3epZFTx1RH79brbM/w640-h418/PB080226_genExpand.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Hoping for better luck, I tried <b>GenSwap</b> to insert a kangaroo into a photo. The AI clearly wasn't trained on enough Aussie animals, its a bizarre creature but “<i>thats not a real kangaroo</i>”. At this point, my enthusiasm was waning.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF3kpMCQrXj_PASd-n7inTRn8vjiGqVFoqjyYCfjMlS_Y2Ao5Smjt2p0J8jeZDNYZztiKc7ONFFn2Lj8mhCUUH09Q5FO-_6X3xBwRXbo9bRy7Pcw6roAsBf9hqEnwutlGb75Mjg6JaJF3Dpck9xYy7m_rht2oAwIcPs5fYI2A61N0rBWaXh5U_/s2400/PB080226_genExpand_genSwap.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1769" data-original-width="2400" height="472" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF3kpMCQrXj_PASd-n7inTRn8vjiGqVFoqjyYCfjMlS_Y2Ao5Smjt2p0J8jeZDNYZztiKc7ONFFn2Lj8mhCUUH09Q5FO-_6X3xBwRXbo9bRy7Pcw6roAsBf9hqEnwutlGb75Mjg6JaJF3Dpck9xYy7m_rht2oAwIcPs5fYI2A61N0rBWaXh5U_/w640-h472/PB080226_genExpand_genSwap.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Finally, I tested <b>GenErase </b>to remove objects from photos. It performed decently but didn't seem much better than the standard erase tool already in Luminar Neo. Trying to erase a larger object again resulted in the tool freezing up.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiohwmTRkD1P_eYRiFrj8HNcSPyFVP4ZuE2yOT9sMZweJFJEJZ_7RGPsmvnt8rXPTN0_Of6iO9SWxw0_qfL615t77doPgdpjtrttaNVymmRCku4WfNMWJ7j69PqmsEdBiL3QmAEu0c4lxs1tL53D5ewISg5BxRlXev88r8m7fmFE3uR-EDqc3Fo/s1782/PB080226_orig%20neo2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1307" data-original-width="1782" height="470" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiohwmTRkD1P_eYRiFrj8HNcSPyFVP4ZuE2yOT9sMZweJFJEJZ_7RGPsmvnt8rXPTN0_Of6iO9SWxw0_qfL615t77doPgdpjtrttaNVymmRCku4WfNMWJ7j69PqmsEdBiL3QmAEu0c4lxs1tL53D5ewISg5BxRlXev88r8m7fmFE3uR-EDqc3Fo/w640-h470/PB080226_orig%20neo2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>In the end, while the ideas behind these new GenAI tools are intriguing, I feel they simply aren't ready for practical use. Too many bugs, glitches, and failures to finish make them more frustrating than functional. Luminar Neo would have been better served by traditional beta testing before releasing them. For now, I don't trust these tools, or for that matter many other developers' generative AI tools to deliver satisfactory results, or are my expectations too high? Maybe someday the technology will mature into something more reliable, but for now <b>GenAI</b> feels more like a breakable flashy toy and “<i>trying to keep up with the Jones</i>”.</div></div></div>normhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03064736990200219176noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8284300.post-35934800915366818732024-02-20T16:30:00.005+11:002024-02-20T22:49:45.010+11:00Happy Birthday Flickr<p style="text-align: left;">Today marks the eve of Flickr's 20th anniversary, a milestone that brings back memories of its inception in 2004. They have a nice article about their <a href="https://blog.flickr.net/en/2024/02/02/20-years-of-significant-moments-in-flickrs-development/">significant moments and time-line on their blog</a></p><p>Reflecting on my journey with Flickr, I recall how I initially turned to it as a platform to upload and share photos for this blog, which started out as "<b><i>things they forgot to tell you about digital photography</i></b>". It was a time when the concept of cloud storage and HTML image links felt groundbreaking. Moreover, Flickr's community features, such as groups and commenting, added depth to the experience, fostering connections among photographers worldwide. Introducing their <a href="https://imageo.blogspot.com/2019/03/my-10-photobook-arrives.html">"interestingness"</a> algorithm brought exposure to countless talented individuals, while Flickr’s commitment to Creative Commons licensing set a standard that others struggled to match.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiMTDTOpgKNhctJ9DcocplYBw50mM5xiPe1BX3SUrptZMPuLFtRlTZK8avcumAVTIR4IDOh73QI-wHPg9ilzz8YeTjg623FI8NP5-qC7bf1yYtumCCWnSJ0OEonuwVwFbQ_S4ICbHjmLTRuh0JfvuAPtrHB5daLWL4quym-p_GpS7IaXZKAjhqj" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1787" data-original-width="1787" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiMTDTOpgKNhctJ9DcocplYBw50mM5xiPe1BX3SUrptZMPuLFtRlTZK8avcumAVTIR4IDOh73QI-wHPg9ilzz8YeTjg623FI8NP5-qC7bf1yYtumCCWnSJ0OEonuwVwFbQ_S4ICbHjmLTRuh0JfvuAPtrHB5daLWL4quym-p_GpS7IaXZKAjhqj=w640-h640" width="640" /></a></div><br />For me, Flickr and digital photography have been intertwined since I acquired my first privately owned digital camera in 2003. Over the past two decades, I've amassed a collection of cameras, each holding its own story. It's been a little embarrassing laying out the number of cameras and estimating the money spent! While I no longer use most of them, I cherish the memories and photographs those cameras enabled. Most are still operational, though finding the right memory card for my original Olympus Camedia or a battery charger for an early rechargeable, may prove challenging.<p></p><p>As a consulting geologist, I purchased a Canon Rebel DSLR for video capabilities which has served me well for filming professional videos over the years. I still use that Canon today with a tethered setup to photograph my art on a copy stand. Over time I had invested in two Pentax digital SLRs as megapixels increased into the 12-16MP range, though I seldom use those models now., there were and still are great cameras just a bit heavy.</p><p>The two sleek Olympus mirrorless cameras have re-ignited the joy, fun and passion for capturing moments. Despite the evolution of technology, these cameras continue to serve me well, each with its unique capabilities and charm.</p><p>As we celebrate Flickr's anniversary, I can't help but acknowledge how my own photography journey has evolved alongside it. While changes of ownership, lockdowns and changes to Flickr's account limitations have impacted my activity, I remain loyal to the platform, eagerly anticipating events like the upcoming <a href="https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/back-in-nature-end-of-summer-photowalk-tickets-819382303527?aff=oddtdtcreator">worldwide photo walk in Jells Park</a>.</p><p><span style="color: black;"><a href="https://blog.flickr.net/en/2024/02/02/20-years-of-significant-moments-in-flickrs-development/"></a></span></p><p>To Flickr, I extend my heartfelt gratitude for two decades of inspiration and community. <b>Here's to many more years of creativity and connection in the digital realm.</b> Cheers from down under</p><div><br /></div>normhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03064736990200219176noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8284300.post-55002319521068425072024-02-13T10:18:00.006+11:002024-02-13T11:50:51.531+11:00Photography without a camera<p>On Saturday I attended an artist talk at the <a href="https://maph.org.au/whats-on/" target="_blank">Museum of Australian Photography</a> focused on three exhibits around “<b><i>photography without a camera</i></b>”. One project that really interested me was by <a href="https://www.kate-robertson.com/">Kate Robinson</a>, who created images using generative AI and then made physical prints using the traditional cyanotype process. She ran a workshop on the process in the afternoon</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIUWr8sNU1ugcWrRjCwUqUVTWuiJ6IumT0juSXOtZmqEJ13uvXtwdtEs1bfZJmrUiK0EX2NcTv5f-4GXJ_dHY889K99zkYmAnRZqiRdJQyzu9bpBJbnMxPKohnTa3dI2rDZB3mN4HWkW7jhl0QgMZqBmDdv9I5GZfcaZOn2hMZ4USpA919zkhw/s4183/adobestock_287568029.jpeg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4183" data-original-width="3586" height="91" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIUWr8sNU1ugcWrRjCwUqUVTWuiJ6IumT0juSXOtZmqEJ13uvXtwdtEs1bfZJmrUiK0EX2NcTv5f-4GXJ_dHY889K99zkYmAnRZqiRdJQyzu9bpBJbnMxPKohnTa3dI2rDZB3mN4HWkW7jhl0QgMZqBmDdv9I5GZfcaZOn2hMZ4USpA919zkhw/w77-h91/adobestock_287568029.jpeg" width="77" /></a></div>I've been fascinated by optical illusions, like Rubin's vase which can be seen as two faces or a vase. I tried generating the illusion image through text prompts to DALL-E 2 but it didn't work, their AI evidently didn't know about the famous illusion, I just got nice vases. So I experimented with Stable Diffusion instead, knowing I could add a noisy starter image with the same prompt <i>“photo-realistic version of Rubin vase</i>”, this generated something closer to what I needed.<p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizT5BTzrZcPgcG_rB_3srIFU5qT1VEA6yQ0nm1aBQXhjKyJH9iFB9qVQSZMBi40p9_GEl3bl_c_F2z7xKhBkrLX9M6WBhGJqdYZNR78OiAVo_ublEY0-e6YhwbrxBqAuiumKBMlrATVwk0CnHxbHnMs8bbxnu9KajX7Em45bepu0SgR1LQ44I-/s4090/dall-e4%20fail%20rubin%20vase.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1009" data-original-width="4090" height="158" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizT5BTzrZcPgcG_rB_3srIFU5qT1VEA6yQ0nm1aBQXhjKyJH9iFB9qVQSZMBi40p9_GEl3bl_c_F2z7xKhBkrLX9M6WBhGJqdYZNR78OiAVo_ublEY0-e6YhwbrxBqAuiumKBMlrATVwk0CnHxbHnMs8bbxnu9KajX7Em45bepu0SgR1LQ44I-/w640-h158/dall-e4%20fail%20rubin%20vase.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>I then gave Stable Diffusion a detailed text prompt asking for “<i>Male & Female Heads in profile facing each other, Professional photography, bokeh, natural lighting</i>” I used the latest SDXL 1.0 model which generates very realistic images. This produced some great portraits which had sharp focus on the faces and soft, blurred backgrounds, while maintaining the illusion styling.<p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKTxmCcEUXcOlC3OkiUuGbfeAibQoD6sbV_Byrq1GFJH27IcmxHoNXCQXxR-m2sFTgTh90Y3CWcNjlc7RYjaRWtdZYzJfqqZSfAHVd9swoyl-wUkAJAxRvN8KB8jJUBrQ5Anv-RNtI-1zfRDi0v4JqRFsw3QEAAcTjvdIjSlhF9ysDE8wsjE3-/s5120/rubin%20vase%20collage.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2191" data-original-width="5120" height="274" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKTxmCcEUXcOlC3OkiUuGbfeAibQoD6sbV_Byrq1GFJH27IcmxHoNXCQXxR-m2sFTgTh90Y3CWcNjlc7RYjaRWtdZYzJfqqZSfAHVd9swoyl-wUkAJAxRvN8KB8jJUBrQ5Anv-RNtI-1zfRDi0v4JqRFsw3QEAAcTjvdIjSlhF9ysDE8wsjE3-/w640-h274/rubin%20vase%20collage.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1. Stable Diffusion Starter<br />2. Stable Diffusion generated images<br />3. Selected image upscaled<br />4. Greyscale & Inverted for transparency</td></tr></tbody></table><p><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0lb5tAPOrRDgpp2i1GyC45lGws5KK_VkKaLSi5y7gBFui-6h3u5Dzu_95SeKmZ7qJMydjjRSCysRx-DlUSYDSh9jWL_RuFvrytmRt-M1cjgI54bcRF3HCw4PXm07s8upcIqpqtB34wrRFvLapgnwo-vtP23PI9tJj-c-N8SMXecsf4wDDctFg/s2000/P2100340%20neo2.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1789" data-original-width="2000" height="89" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0lb5tAPOrRDgpp2i1GyC45lGws5KK_VkKaLSi5y7gBFui-6h3u5Dzu_95SeKmZ7qJMydjjRSCysRx-DlUSYDSh9jWL_RuFvrytmRt-M1cjgI54bcRF3HCw4PXm07s8upcIqpqtB34wrRFvLapgnwo-vtP23PI9tJj-c-N8SMXecsf4wDDctFg/w99-h89/P2100340%20neo2.jpg" width="99" /></a></div>I picked one of the four generated AI images with good tonal range, upscaled it, and inverted it to make a negative. Then printed this negative image onto a transparency. Kate had already prepared some watercolour paper with the light-sensitive cyanotype chemicals. I sandwiched the sensitized paper with the transparency under a piece of perspex and exposed it to sunlight for about 25 minutes.<p></p><p>When the transparency was removed the image had magically appeared on the paper! Somewhat faded. Just like seeing that first print develop in the darkroom, under the red light. I rinsed the paper first in water and then briefly in vinegar to set the blue cyanotype tones. In only about 40 minutes, I had gone from an AI concept to a one-of-a-kind cyanotype print, all without ever using a camera!</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtakwufhYmMw_oGDkHQfZJLTJjsipcNLrzvacEZ3UcCznJsXwVGlspsndS9Lv9WqhFyybnvgXGwEDx8IAwJbIZ2aHcnLTahib8n83yW3suFMksbKpD_XRVcSRtuACkYuBDzqR2ilWHBkj3kbnxsjBeX8uJCVe9TKeQBvgk_vkXGLj2gW7gY3sd/s2000/P2130344%20neo2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1708" data-original-width="2000" height="546" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtakwufhYmMw_oGDkHQfZJLTJjsipcNLrzvacEZ3UcCznJsXwVGlspsndS9Lv9WqhFyybnvgXGwEDx8IAwJbIZ2aHcnLTahib8n83yW3suFMksbKpD_XRVcSRtuACkYuBDzqR2ilWHBkj3kbnxsjBeX8uJCVe9TKeQBvgk_vkXGLj2gW7gY3sd/w640-h546/P2130344%20neo2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>This project showed me the creative potential in blending digital and analogue photographic methods. I'm re-excited to experiment more with generated AI images and bringing them into the real world through alternative printing processes.<p></p><div><br /></div>normhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03064736990200219176noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8284300.post-90677772558608124542024-02-07T13:32:00.003+11:002024-02-07T17:18:20.974+11:00Where Do We Go From Here?<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">Testing Out
New AI Tools for Writing - The Good 👍and The Bad 👎<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNOBTuKhOiwq90taRJunkLHWs3j6I8dGgshZGDnWtTgHP7zHsfBcAfOCcgIvGQF77x1IxKVJ-N8Y0sZsgiEMsBYoijLMZeWIoID8E2lKkfHCepZERxGt0rYbZxxt0mQ6bnAc-vRffYAwJrdmgX6RAo-LOKjmkCgVnava8J5LZBRTZaH_ndFJ9D/s1344/AI%20bots.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1344" height="366" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNOBTuKhOiwq90taRJunkLHWs3j6I8dGgshZGDnWtTgHP7zHsfBcAfOCcgIvGQF77x1IxKVJ-N8Y0sZsgiEMsBYoijLMZeWIoID8E2lKkfHCepZERxGt0rYbZxxt0mQ6bnAc-vRffYAwJrdmgX6RAo-LOKjmkCgVnava8J5LZBRTZaH_ndFJ9D/w640-h366/AI%20bots.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium; line-height: 107%;">I've been
experimenting with some of the new large language AI models like ChatGPT Bard and
Claude to help summarize and clean up my dyslexic writing. At first, it seemed
amazing - I could just dictate my random thoughts and the AI would turn it into
clear, readable text. I even had it generate content like blog posts, YouTube
scripts, and Instagram captions.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><br /> </span><span style="line-height: 107%;">However, I
started noticing some issues:</span></span><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-size: medium; line-height: 107%;">The AI can
be <b>overenthusiastic</b>, especially when mentioning product names. It reads like
advertising copy. I have had to rewrite these sections to keep them factual. </span></li></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-size: medium; line-height: 107%;"><b>Outrageous
claims</b> and <b>incorrect facts</b>. About 40% of the time, the AI includes claims or
"facts" that are just plain wrong. I end up removing entire
paragraphs.</span></li></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-size: medium; line-height: 107%;">About 30%
of the time, the content is good as is. The other 30% needs some reworking to
<b>tone down the language</b>. </span></li></ul><span style="font-size: medium; line-height: 107%;">Clearly
there's an issue here with misinformation. My current theory is that these large
language models are trained on in-discriminant internet data containing conspiracy
theories, misinformation, and bias.<b><i> Garbage in, garbage out.</i></b> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><br /></span><span style="line-height: 107%;">I'm finding
<a href="https://claude.ai/chats" target="_blank">Anthropic's Claude model </a>more reliable with fewer glaring errors. I have used
it on this post, but</span><span face="Calibri, "sans-serif""> I still have to</span><span> carefully review any AI-generated text
before publishing. </span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span><span style="line-height: 107%;">As AI
becomes more ubiquitous, it's crucial that we understand how these models are
trained and what biases they may contain. We have to establish checks and
balances, verifying information and not blindly trusting AI outputs.<br /> </span><span style="line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium; line-height: 107%;">I'll keep
experimenting with AI writing assistants, AI in photography and digital Graphics (generative AI images such as the one abouve), but always
maintain oversight. Stay tuned for more on responsible use of generative AI.</span></div><p class="MsoNormal"></p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">
</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal">
</p>normhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03064736990200219176noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8284300.post-89066358224582204012024-02-04T13:37:00.003+11:002024-02-07T22:29:29.363+11:00Back in Nature - End of Summer Photowalk<p>To celebrate their <a href="https://blog.flickr.net/en/2024/01/24/20-years-of-flickr-a-birthday-festivities-guide" target="_blank">20th Birthday, Flickr </a>are reviving their worldwide photowalks. I'm going to revisit the first walk I led as part of the worldwide photowalk project back in 2016. We'll walk through what was then the conservation area behind Jells Park Lake to capture the natural world thriving amidst suburbia. The conservation area is now opened-up but some trails are blocked off, nature is still happily doing its thing. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj9enp1QrC8dK6aff21tRhwpbUdbsp0YWjIJQdwBNePE-5EPcMjQBDlWOiZy_JH5FcimgherehulLjm1boh3724KOHuM3FtG0ABUw6KwCBIl9fy6SS49YyXL87PjI8gIb3mNgaV8OWU0pNgqG4dXeA-3WrmtHK2rk3Gf_F1Gu16fTUQpiSEWx0/s800/Next%20Photowalk%202.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="800" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj9enp1QrC8dK6aff21tRhwpbUdbsp0YWjIJQdwBNePE-5EPcMjQBDlWOiZy_JH5FcimgherehulLjm1boh3724KOHuM3FtG0ABUw6KwCBIl9fy6SS49YyXL87PjI8gIb3mNgaV8OWU0pNgqG4dXeA-3WrmtHK2rk3Gf_F1Gu16fTUQpiSEWx0/w400-h400/Next%20Photowalk%202.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p>This year has been a milder summer and vegetation is thriving, though some weeds are a bit overwhelming. Insect and bird life are literally hopping and buzzing. I've scheduled the walk later to take advantage of the low angle summer light. Precious moments as we only get about half an hour of golden light at this time of year at the end of summer. </p><p>The walk winds through the trees and shrubs behind the lake. There's a quiet beauty in the lengthening shadows and soft evening light. All varieties of birds can be spotted flitting through the branches or foraging on the ground. The constant hum of cicadas and other insects fills the air. Underfoot, wildflowers and grasses sway in the breeze. It's a glimpse into the natural rhythm at summer's close.</p><p>If you'd like to stay until 8:30pm and the weather is kind, you'll have a great opportunity to watch the full moon rise over the Dandenongs or be reflected in the lake's still waters. The interplay of light on the landscape creates unique photographic possibilities.</p><p>Like the original walk, this photowalk is limited to 20 participants and is free. I hope you can join me to capture the magic of nature at summer's end! Let me know if you have any other questions.</p><p>Registration via <a href="https://bit.ly/3Ss8GiV" target="_blank">Eventbrite</a></p>normhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03064736990200219176noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8284300.post-74935468562542187322023-11-28T10:16:00.001+11:002023-11-28T10:30:56.112+11:00Next Photowalk this Sunday<h3 style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"> Seeing from Both Sides Now</span></b></h3><p></p><div style="text-align: right;">Sunday 3rd December 2023</div><div style="text-align: right;">1:00-2:30pm</div><div style="text-align: right;">Meet at Madeline's Cafe, Jells Park</div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.imageo.com.au/images/clouds.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="253" data-original-width="449" height="360" src="https://www.imageo.com.au/images/clouds.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><i style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“Albert Einstein put it best: “The intuitive mind is a sacred gift, and the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created a society that honours the servant and has forgotten the gift.” </i></p><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></div><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Betty Edwards, Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain. <span class="fs10lh1-5" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">This Photowalk will introduce the ideas of Betty Edwards, on right and left brain thinking, and how they can be applied to significantly improve how you “see” what you are photographing. We will use our cameras and our perceptions to consider the questions “Who am I?” and “What do I want?”</span></div><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13.3333px; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></div><p>$7.50 - $10 Bookings Essential <span class="fs10lh1-5" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Register via</span><span class="fs10lh1-5" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span><span class="fs10lh1-5" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="https://maph.org.au/events/886/">MAPh events page</a></span></p>normhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03064736990200219176noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8284300.post-22336960793917596362023-11-21T15:40:00.000+11:002023-11-21T15:40:05.681+11:00 Simplifying My Backup Strategy:<p>It's been a while since I posted here. Today I wanted to share some changes I've made to my backup and archiving strategies. Back in my consulting days, I relied on a NAS storage system, specifically a Netgear Stora. It had some fantastic automatic backup features, making it easy to keep duplicates of anything sent to it. It also allowed me to sync folders from each computer, ensuring only recent files were sent to the NAS. It was simple and reliable.</p><p>Fast forward to today, and retirement has brought about a shift in my storage needs. I no longer need to hold on to large amounts of client data. Also thanks to the relentless upgrades in Windows that unfortunately led to the demise of my previous backup Stora software, I can no longer use that NAS.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwBTLkeL1eF-CFSd2ZW2wAQipeToY_-9gI8TX8tZzdTxbvLFnRQw4KiiD8UUxsZkO9S6myH3zNRnoxt0m_TGJKAxFrNnTebxEyDdYMUEt3Dk3LqS3QTupCVpSk2-DQV9REJ7hLWkNr2wZyGO4XSTLtrKdYFLI2w9GSV6M_8wBqP-NjFe5VC5vR/s2000/PB210516%20neo2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1612" data-original-width="2000" height="258" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwBTLkeL1eF-CFSd2ZW2wAQipeToY_-9gI8TX8tZzdTxbvLFnRQw4KiiD8UUxsZkO9S6myH3zNRnoxt0m_TGJKAxFrNnTebxEyDdYMUEt3Dk3LqS3QTupCVpSk2-DQV9REJ7hLWkNr2wZyGO4XSTLtrKdYFLI2w9GSV6M_8wBqP-NjFe5VC5vR/s320/PB210516%20neo2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Rather than buy a New NAS system, I realised the bulk of my long-term storage is dedicated to my photography and art projects, totalling around 6 gigabytes. After spending a month decluttering duplicates and obvious duds, I repurposed older USB external drives no longer needed for client data for my photo archive. In addition to the current “originals on spinning discs connected to my main computer, and available across my LAN, I've organized them into three sets: one as a master archive in my office, and two duplicate sets rotated, with one stored off-site for added security. The rotation has been roughly monthly<p></p><p>Without a functioning NAS, I've reverted to a more manual approach, reminiscent of the magnetic tape days. I've set up a small, manually triggered incremental backup stream onto my locally held external archive sets.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEIy_sMOrdD1B0FI77geQ0jegAOceUtcpJK286AIQKZzRP_b8BJruxoYSwwlCBmclFVVoabeBV9b9jXHiMRzQzDJ0T9nuTN0fdHGqKJdUBIF8pNEZ0XXdtjJRN4bl-8grgkuRv2kNiUVhQbeMnberJGNrLm41jzqhFhFThk82lexNlWYhrvUDd/s522/Screenshot%202023-11-21%20102316.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="193" data-original-width="522" height="118" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEIy_sMOrdD1B0FI77geQ0jegAOceUtcpJK286AIQKZzRP_b8BJruxoYSwwlCBmclFVVoabeBV9b9jXHiMRzQzDJ0T9nuTN0fdHGqKJdUBIF8pNEZ0XXdtjJRN4bl-8grgkuRv2kNiUVhQbeMnberJGNrLm41jzqhFhFThk82lexNlWYhrvUDd/w320-h118/Screenshot%202023-11-21%20102316.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Here's the breakdown of my new system:<p></p><p></p><ol style="text-align: left;"><li>I've allocated five folders with appropriate week names.</li><li>I manually perform the incremental backup at the end of each week.</li><li>At the end of the first week, I store all files that have changed since the beginning of the month in the respective weekly folder.</li><li>At the end of the second week, I copy all files changed since the beginning of the month, extending my increments back to the start of the month. I don't worry about overlapping days between months; those files go into the appropriate week's data set.</li><li>In months with only four weeks, I also copy the entire increment into week five, ensuring it contains the full month of new and changed files.</li><li>At the beginning of the next month, I clear out the first four weekly folders but keep week five, which now holds the backup of the previous month.</li></ol><div>This system gives me a two-month window to recover files. While it might not be perfect, it's easy to manage and ensures the job gets done. Although I'm not backed up to the minute, the simplicity and ease of execution make it a viable solution for my needs. Plus, for anything super important, I can always make an additional copy to the current increment folder. Easy and quick!</div><div><br /></div><div><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">I used ChatGPT to help proofread my typos etc, and simplify the text, most of which it did well BUT it clearly didn't understand my process and made up some stuff, so I've used the good bits, and corrected or deleted the rubbish</span></i></div><p></p>normhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03064736990200219176noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8284300.post-12126100710928854532023-08-26T10:39:00.005+10:002023-08-31T16:38:23.254+10:00Descript : making a quick video?<p>I've recently had a corneal graft, my second. The original graft was over 25 years ago and it was failing relatively quickly. Thus the need for a replacement graft. As a reference, I had painted the same brush a few times over the past year. I'm still in the recuperation phase and have to take it easy which includes limiting time on the computer.</p>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://share.descript.com/embed/QQe2soNXzVC" width="640"></iframe>
<div><br /></div><div><p class="MsoNormal">In the ever-evolving landscape of video editing software,
<a href="https://www.descript.com/tour">Descript</a> has emerged as a promising contender, luring creators with its
innovative approach to simplifying the editing process. I decided to dive in and
see whether it truly lived up to the hype. Perhaps it could save me precious computer and therefore eye strain time.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The standout feature that initially caught my attention was
Descript's automatic transcription capability. This unique functionality allows
you to transcribe your videos into text, essentially transforming them into
editable documents. The allure of being able to edit videos as effortlessly as
word processing documents was undeniable. Moreover, the software offered a free
trial, giving me the perfect opportunity to explore its offerings.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">One of the immediate benefits I experienced was the ability
to effortlessly eliminate verbal hiccups like "umms" and awkward
pauses. Descript's features allowed me to easily identify and remove these
moments, making the editing process not only smoother but also enjoyable. This
aspect of the software lived up to its promise of quick and intuitive editing.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">However, as with any tool, there were challenges that arose
as I delved deeper into my video editing journey. My primary struggle revolved
around incorporating scanned paintings and overlaying them onto the video.
Descript introduced a concept called "scenes" for this purpose, which
was a unique approach not commonly found in other video editing platforms.
While the idea was intriguing, I found that achieving the level of control I
desired over these scenes required a more intricate understanding of the
software's mechanics.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">When it came to incorporating additional
graphics, titles, and other visual elements, my progress was stalled. I struggled to find the small icons for tools, which I had not used before and on a screen layout that was not familiar. The process
turned into a frustrating challenge, demanding better eyesight and a steeper learning curve than I
had anticipated.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Despite my minor struggles, it got the video above produces in a couple of hours. I can't dismiss the potential
that Descript holds. The software's approach to script-based editing is
undeniably a game-changer, particularly for creators seeking a quicker and more
fluid way to edit their videos. As for the complexities of adding intricate
graphics and titles, I've come to realize that these challenges may be
conquered with time and dedicated learning.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><i>PS Another admission, I use ChatGPT to summaries my original three short typo filled paragraphs into a blog post, and it gave me 10 paragraphs! I've cut out a lot and removed some over-hyped claims, but it reads well so there you have it an AI chat bot commenting on an AI based transcription tool</i></p><p class="MsoNormal"><i><o:p></o:p></i></p><br /></div>normhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03064736990200219176noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8284300.post-45747863286169820692023-08-23T08:00:00.001+10:002023-08-26T16:53:01.139+10:00 Taming the Cable Chaos: A Creative Solution<div class="flex-1 overflow-hidden" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(69,89,164,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 transparent; --tw-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid rgb(217, 217, 227); box-sizing: border-box; flex: 1 1 0%; overflow: hidden;"><div class="react-scroll-to-bottom--css-hzhgl-79elbk h-full dark:bg-gray-800" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(69,89,164,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 transparent; --tw-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid rgb(217, 217, 227); box-sizing: border-box; height: 473.067px; position: relative;"><div class="react-scroll-to-bottom--css-hzhgl-1n7m0yu" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(69,89,164,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 transparent; --tw-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid rgb(217, 217, 227); box-sizing: border-box; height: 473.067px; overflow-y: auto; width: 764px;"><div class="flex flex-col text-sm dark:bg-gray-800" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(69,89,164,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 transparent; --tw-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid rgb(217, 217, 227); box-sizing: border-box; display: flex; flex-direction: column; line-height: 1.25rem;"><div class="group w-full text-token-text-primary border-b border-black/10 dark:border-gray-900/50 bg-gray-50 dark:bg-[#444654]" data-testid="conversation-turn-3" style="--avatar-color: #19c37d; --tw-bg-opacity: 1; --tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(69,89,164,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 transparent; --tw-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px 0px 1px; box-sizing: border-box; width: 756px;"><div class="flex p-4 gap-4 text-base md:gap-6 md:max-w-2xl lg:max-w-[38rem] xl:max-w-3xl md:py-6 lg:px-0 m-auto" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(69,89,164,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 transparent; --tw-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid rgb(217, 217, 227); box-sizing: border-box; display: flex; gap: 1.5rem; line-height: 1.5rem; margin: auto; max-width: 38rem; padding: 1.5rem 0px;"><div class="relative flex w-[calc(100%-50px)] flex-col gap-1 md:gap-3 lg:w-[calc(100%-115px)]" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(69,89,164,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 transparent; --tw-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid rgb(217, 217, 227); box-sizing: border-box; display: flex; flex-direction: column; gap: 0.75rem; position: relative; width: calc(100% - 115px);"><div class="flex flex-grow flex-col gap-3 max-w-full" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(69,89,164,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 transparent; --tw-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid rgb(217, 217, 227); box-sizing: border-box; display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; gap: 0.75rem; max-width: 100%;"><div class="min-h-[20px] flex flex-col items-start gap-3 overflow-x-auto whitespace-pre-wrap break-words" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(69,89,164,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 transparent; --tw-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; align-items: flex-start; border: 0px solid rgb(217, 217, 227); box-sizing: border-box; display: flex; flex-direction: column; gap: 0.75rem; min-height: 20px; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow-x: auto;"><div class="markdown prose w-full break-words dark:prose-invert light" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-prose-body: #374151; --tw-prose-bold: #111827; --tw-prose-bullets: #d1d5db; --tw-prose-captions: #6b7280; --tw-prose-code: #111827; --tw-prose-counters: #6b7280; --tw-prose-headings: #111827; --tw-prose-hr: #e5e7eb; --tw-prose-invert-body: #d1d5db; --tw-prose-invert-bold: #fff; --tw-prose-invert-bullets: #4b5563; --tw-prose-invert-captions: #9ca3af; --tw-prose-invert-code: #fff; --tw-prose-invert-counters: #9ca3af; --tw-prose-invert-headings: #fff; --tw-prose-invert-hr: #374151; --tw-prose-invert-lead: #9ca3af; --tw-prose-invert-links: #fff; --tw-prose-invert-pre-bg: rgba(0,0,0,.5); --tw-prose-invert-pre-code: #d1d5db; --tw-prose-invert-quote-borders: #374151; --tw-prose-invert-quotes: #f3f4f6; --tw-prose-invert-td-borders: #374151; --tw-prose-invert-th-borders: #4b5563; --tw-prose-lead: #4b5563; --tw-prose-links: #111827; --tw-prose-pre-bg: #1f2937; --tw-prose-pre-code: #e5e7eb; --tw-prose-quote-borders: #e5e7eb; --tw-prose-quotes: #111827; --tw-prose-td-borders: #e5e7eb; --tw-prose-th-borders: #d1d5db; --tw-ring-color: rgba(69,89,164,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 transparent; --tw-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid rgb(217, 217, 227); box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.75; max-width: none; overflow-wrap: break-word; width: 493px;"><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(69,89,164,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 transparent; --tw-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid rgb(217, 217, 227); box-sizing: border-box; margin: 1.25em 0px;"><span face="Söhne, ui-sans-serif, system-ui, -apple-system, Segoe UI, Roboto, Ubuntu, Cantarell, Noto Sans, sans-serif, Helvetica Neue, Arial, Apple Color Emoji, Segoe UI Emoji, Segoe UI Symbol, Noto Color Emoji" style="color: #374151;"><span><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;">If you're anything like me, you've probably experienced the frustration of dealing with a growing mess of cables and chargers around your computers. It's a common struggle in our increasingly connected world, with USB cables and their various iterations being the primary culprits. The sight of tangled wires behind the desk and in drawers is enough to induce a headache. The real challenge arises when you need to reconnect a long-forgotten device or simply ensure that a cable is still functional.<br /></span></span></span></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(69,89,164,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 transparent; --tw-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid rgb(217, 217, 227); box-sizing: border-box; margin: 1.25em 0px;"><span face="Söhne, ui-sans-serif, system-ui, -apple-system, Segoe UI, Roboto, Ubuntu, Cantarell, Noto Sans, sans-serif, Helvetica Neue, Arial, Apple Color Emoji, Segoe UI Emoji, Segoe UI Symbol, Noto Color Emoji" style="color: #374151;"><span><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;"></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span face="Söhne, ui-sans-serif, system-ui, -apple-system, Segoe UI, Roboto, Ubuntu, Cantarell, Noto Sans, sans-serif, Helvetica Neue, Arial, Apple Color Emoji, Segoe UI Emoji, Segoe UI Symbol, Noto Color Emoji" style="color: #374151;"><span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizMENgM6FHJakFIlLuedzauDZKL86sGTzByiOXFQ4CjFq4I6MiLdVyMt4q_QUip4SCNIq2uTwUadTz_B7nkOWPkzMJGFVMj9S2KROQYonav-6-tKBZ4XZYFfZB41lQVJR-jE8V34ph-WJnItWsfPDnE3PFvWdLqqQLipL1c4m3SaEAC1ROnqtl/s1524/P8260116.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1482" data-original-width="1524" height="194" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizMENgM6FHJakFIlLuedzauDZKL86sGTzByiOXFQ4CjFq4I6MiLdVyMt4q_QUip4SCNIq2uTwUadTz_B7nkOWPkzMJGFVMj9S2KROQYonav-6-tKBZ4XZYFfZB41lQVJR-jE8V34ph-WJnItWsfPDnE3PFvWdLqqQLipL1c4m3SaEAC1ROnqtl/w200-h194/P8260116.jpg" width="200" /></a></span></span></div><span face="Söhne, ui-sans-serif, system-ui, -apple-system, Segoe UI, Roboto, Ubuntu, Cantarell, Noto Sans, sans-serif, Helvetica Neue, Arial, Apple Color Emoji, Segoe UI Emoji, Segoe UI Symbol, Noto Color Emoji" style="color: #374151;"><span>The first step was to prepare these clips for their new purpose. I decided to paint them with fluorescent acrylic paint, opting for different colours based on their designated usage or storage location. My simple colour-coding system instantly gave each cable its own identity.</span></span><p></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(69,89,164,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 transparent; --tw-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid rgb(217, 217, 227); box-sizing: border-box; margin: 1.25em 0px;"><span face="Söhne, ui-sans-serif, system-ui, -apple-system, Segoe UI, Roboto, Ubuntu, Cantarell, Noto Sans, sans-serif, Helvetica Neue, Arial, Apple Color Emoji, Segoe UI Emoji, Segoe UI Symbol, Noto Color Emoji" style="color: #374151;"><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;">With the multitude of places where computers are stationed and cables are used, I knew I needed a solution to keep things organized. That's when the idea struck me – why not tag each cable for its specific purpose/place? And so began my journey to conquer the cable chaos.</span></span></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(69,89,164,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 transparent; --tw-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid rgb(217, 217, 227); box-sizing: border-box; margin: 1.25em 0px;"><span face="Söhne, ui-sans-serif, system-ui, -apple-system, Segoe UI, Roboto, Ubuntu, Cantarell, Noto Sans, sans-serif, Helvetica Neue, Arial, Apple Color Emoji, Segoe UI Emoji, Segoe UI Symbol, Noto Color Emoji" style="color: #374151;"><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;">In the quest for an innovative yet accessible solution, I found an unlikely hero – the plastic clips that come with bread bags and many other grocery items. Instead of letting them go to waste, I started collecting these clips. They had the perfect shape for attaching to cables and were ripe for customization.
</span></span></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(69,89,164,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 transparent; --tw-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid rgb(217, 217, 227); box-sizing: border-box; margin: 1.25em 0px;"><span style="color: #374151; white-space-collapse: preserve;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5ChdiDTHbkB-rcltp7Mic4xaThQlIX902R8KaI6xB7b5Kqd_8TrTyZpE2XHra1ye1k0Lb0BNr7LvDRAawpI-tXt8BbwGtaX9W1lKX9nsv_cBSpk0KcY-UrDI1xeJg8UqHiGU218g6GTCA5WqcY328K9463djvEVOp9EgfErMSKI7QYh6jduPf/s1600/P8260118.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1207" data-original-width="1600" height="151" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5ChdiDTHbkB-rcltp7Mic4xaThQlIX902R8KaI6xB7b5Kqd_8TrTyZpE2XHra1ye1k0Lb0BNr7LvDRAawpI-tXt8BbwGtaX9W1lKX9nsv_cBSpk0KcY-UrDI1xeJg8UqHiGU218g6GTCA5WqcY328K9463djvEVOp9EgfErMSKI7QYh6jduPf/w200-h151/P8260118.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>USB cables and power cords received their own distinct tags. Even the smaller chargers that always seemed to vanish into the abyss of drawers were not spared. I extended this tagging system to cables I frequently used during travel or those required for specific tasks. This sometimes led to a cable sporting multiple tags, each representing a different context in which it played a role.<p></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(69,89,164,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 transparent; --tw-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid rgb(217, 217, 227); box-sizing: border-box; margin: 1.25em 0px;"><span style="color: #374151; white-space-collapse: preserve;">No longer did I have to play the guessing game when searching for a particular cable or charger. The colour-coded tags eliminated the frustration of untangling a web of wires. Reconnecting devices I hadn't used in a while became a breeze, and the reassurance of a cable's functionality was just a glance away.</span></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgba(69,89,164,.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 transparent; --tw-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid rgb(217, 217, 227); box-sizing: border-box; margin: 1.25em 0px;"><span face="Söhne, ui-sans-serif, system-ui, -apple-system, Segoe UI, Roboto, Ubuntu, Cantarell, Noto Sans, sans-serif, Helvetica Neue, Arial, Apple Color Emoji, Segoe UI Emoji, Segoe UI Symbol, Noto Color Emoji" style="color: #374151;"><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;">In the end, what started as a simple quest to tackle cable clutter turned into a creative endeavor. Those humble bread bag clips, transformed by a coat of paint, became the guardians of order in my tech realm. So, if you find yourself in a similar cable conundrum, consider giving this colourful solution a try. You might just find yourself appreciating the organized aesthetics as much as the functional benefits.</span></span></p></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>normhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03064736990200219176noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8284300.post-69449179153354798442023-08-18T14:18:00.000+10:002023-08-18T14:18:28.686+10:00The hyper-real, as a replacement for our photographs?<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4UEED046ILBsaXn4dLG6VPlErymS2LL8a7INQ2qXNE8lbSZW9RSW_Dqc6iGIIaavQFaRui0cULycmA8PVKXrvUN70Kz88rnkZ9clyRRbuNrsvbnyp6DfePPHFmxnuEo-p8lJTglk8FRWADkpx1sYXCPP_I7cOvdsWorYi_fpqtBWVzOJwLN9l/s1881/IMGP6972aur%20Pano%20jell%20park%20lake.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="786" data-original-width="1881" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4UEED046ILBsaXn4dLG6VPlErymS2LL8a7INQ2qXNE8lbSZW9RSW_Dqc6iGIIaavQFaRui0cULycmA8PVKXrvUN70Kz88rnkZ9clyRRbuNrsvbnyp6DfePPHFmxnuEo-p8lJTglk8FRWADkpx1sYXCPP_I7cOvdsWorYi_fpqtBWVzOJwLN9l/w640-h268/IMGP6972aur%20Pano%20jell%20park%20lake.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>I was out scouting for my last photowalk, on a bright winters day with virtually no breeze. The Jells Park lake was forming a beautiful mirror with strong reflections. I am also testing out the new Skylum Neo extension for creating a multi-image stitched panorama, its nice and much faster than the stitching routine I'm currently using in ON1 Photo RAW.<p></p><p>Things are changing fast in generative AIart all the time and I was also testing out the latest version of Stable Diffusion (model <span style="background-color: white; color: #6c7176; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 16px;">SDXL 1.0) on <a href="https://creator.nightcafe.studio/creation/khLvq6pQQf3UXOUHJ5ab">Nightcafe studio</a> </span>and thought a sunny winter's scene like the above would make a good test. I used the text prompt -</p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #6c7176; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic;"></span></p><blockquote><span style="background-color: white; color: #6c7176; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic;">"</span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #6c7176; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Segoe UI, Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, Apple Color Emoji, Segoe UI Emoji, Segoe UI Symbol;"><i>bright winter blue sky, some clouds over a still lake with strong reflection, yellow ochre grasses in foreground, Professional photography, natural lighting, shot on micro four third digital camera sharp focus</i></span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #6c7176; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic;">"</span></blockquote><span style="background-color: white; color: #6c7176; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic;"></span><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFinWcmZ7o3RUSBVD69rNav2_y41mvYKY0HnEFSvDkDxF9CdVHfPbGjPvkyoYEciNs0HoKsthIyOlpBsiXlha4opWYsZqd1I25zegMJOMBHQufvIrsAnF626mlVR1s19hVZ5UPEv-2UcjqcSPzIMxArsHTfxBc8lln7zesZVtLMYyW59y1Kqca/s1536/Stable%20diffusion%20lake%20image.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="1536" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFinWcmZ7o3RUSBVD69rNav2_y41mvYKY0HnEFSvDkDxF9CdVHfPbGjPvkyoYEciNs0HoKsthIyOlpBsiXlha4opWYsZqd1I25zegMJOMBHQufvIrsAnF626mlVR1s19hVZ5UPEv-2UcjqcSPzIMxArsHTfxBc8lln7zesZVtLMYyW59y1Kqca/w640-h266/Stable%20diffusion%20lake%20image.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p>With the above photo being given the defaults of a 50% Prompt Weight and 50% Noise Weight as the starting diffusion image for the generative process.</p><p>Certainly the capabilities of these generative AI systems has become really great, the detail is definitely starp and the reflections undoubted strong. However is it just a bit disturbingly too much on the hyper-real side?</p><p>"Hyper-real: More real than reality..." Brookes Jensen, <a href="https://www.lenswork.com/podcast/LW1362%20-%20The%20End%20of%20the%20Trail,%20Sort%20Of.mp3">Lenswork PodcastLW1362 - The End of the Trail, Sort Of</a></p>normhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03064736990200219176noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8284300.post-65176918300853399842023-08-12T19:30:00.005+10:002023-08-12T19:34:12.749+10:00Is it me or AI that’s improving" ?<p style="text-align: center;"> <b><span style="font-size: large;">Painting Granitic Rocks</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">This week's
Wednesday Wanderers was painting a vista on the East Coast of Tasmania, a little channel of granitic rocks against some silhouetted trees reflected in
the water. I was trying out a different Art Spectrum watercolour paper, 300gsm but 20%
cotton and heavily textured. Didn’t really like it at first, unfortunately it’s also
very absorbent so I ran out of time to wait for it to dry during the session. I
returned to it yesterday, adding a little bit of detail, some deep tone
and colour. It turned out OK (see below).</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX1jOg08Wh0FQFLD2o4PIa8O0vv0IgR7W3uZcOsr5GWkhAzmu_4kJEOq5EyGhaqf9a5VAC4C8LBTbsALGUuRfdUMuCcNWwoJnK4RBnjtRDGP3NR0ypvy7VHKo_nrSkRChkvEk4Q42zui7JCgPfQm8grrlUJKUcpI2y7LLT45WIChtgjEAqGuH-/s1747/norms%20wander.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1234" data-original-width="1747" height="453" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX1jOg08Wh0FQFLD2o4PIa8O0vv0IgR7W3uZcOsr5GWkhAzmu_4kJEOq5EyGhaqf9a5VAC4C8LBTbsALGUuRfdUMuCcNWwoJnK4RBnjtRDGP3NR0ypvy7VHKo_nrSkRChkvEk4Q42zui7JCgPfQm8grrlUJKUcpI2y7LLT45WIChtgjEAqGuH-/w640-h453/norms%20wander.png" width="640" /></a></div><span style="line-height: 115%;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">As has been
my way of late I have also checked out what AI might make of my style. I did a “sty;e
transfer” on <a href="https://creator.nightcafe.studio/">night café studio</a>, which trains on my artwork (above) and applies that to the originl photo. The results were pretty good (see below). Still
a couple of tiny “distractions”. So the question is <i><b>“Have I improved or has AI?”</b></i>
Perhaps its both, especially in the rendering of the granite boulders.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 14pt;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrrUNmENP6FSfigSIzf_jJxA_GjeBbJGPav01QUj0FP4w0Fy1oNkV_nkZEzfDtEINWy-4cEzyFnv1MfYHCTBG9NEcpumVVWNEZDxQQavolDLsyDp560aT6PnTzbfgtPgREDuJptXjFsoJ3qyQtkeonF2D8ZrPZbeUlZRGSuI3pF4hgLDqmO-fh/s1713/style%20transfer.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1285" data-original-width="1713" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrrUNmENP6FSfigSIzf_jJxA_GjeBbJGPav01QUj0FP4w0Fy1oNkV_nkZEzfDtEINWy-4cEzyFnv1MfYHCTBG9NEcpumVVWNEZDxQQavolDLsyDp560aT6PnTzbfgtPgREDuJptXjFsoJ3qyQtkeonF2D8ZrPZbeUlZRGSuI3pF4hgLDqmO-fh/w640-h480/style%20transfer.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Pushing my
luck I decided to also do some generative Ai testing using the prompt- "</span><i style="font-size: 14pt;">bright blue sky granite rocks silhouetted trees with strong reflections watercolor"</i><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p></span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrwwGy006-njs3sCYMWFlhvVVNEEIdBh7dwkMBoHbXvsAKzR-HG0yEfziI6tpKXbjTR1Y_yyTkqMZDdEFXjPXESMlKwAMH8WE3dYSu8xoQsVLFd3nFx4tdkPsNp0_BR7J05DfsXlTHbyklDzU_b36K3AMyN9o--IuCBdyIGy6IWsF3clP0aZVD/s5120/AI%20collage.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2560" data-original-width="5120" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrwwGy006-njs3sCYMWFlhvVVNEEIdBh7dwkMBoHbXvsAKzR-HG0yEfziI6tpKXbjTR1Y_yyTkqMZDdEFXjPXESMlKwAMH8WE3dYSu8xoQsVLFd3nFx4tdkPsNp0_BR7J05DfsXlTHbyklDzU_b36K3AMyN9o--IuCBdyIGy6IWsF3clP0aZVD/w640-h320/AI%20collage.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">So the score
(according to me).<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">
</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Me <b>1/1</b> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">my
Style Transfer <b>0.95/1</b></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><b> </b> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Generative AI <b> 0.2/3</b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><i></i></span></p><blockquote><i>How would you score the images?</i></blockquote><p></p><br /><p></p>normhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03064736990200219176noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8284300.post-79491994922102770692023-08-11T19:37:00.000+10:002023-08-11T19:37:19.633+10:00Make your own Colour Wheel Dot Card<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/A7sdkjrkvbs" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe>
<p><span style="background-color: white; color: #0d0d0d; font-family: Roboto, Noto, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #0d0d0d; font-family: Roboto, Noto, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space-collapse: preserve;">This is something every water-colourist should do. Make yourself a dot card of your favourite colours, Better still make it a colour wheel, then slip it into an old DVD case, add a small sketchbook, a pencil or pen, a water brush and your have a very compact and portable plein-air kit.</span></p>normhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03064736990200219176noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8284300.post-88520384308280732302023-07-28T17:39:00.005+10:002023-07-28T17:39:19.318+10:00Next Photowalk is on Sunday<p> </p><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-collapse: collapse; color: #333333; font-family: "Lucida Grande", Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; max-width: 660px; text-size-adjust: 100%; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td class="v1mceWrapperInner" style="background-color: white; background-position: center center; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: cover; text-size-adjust: 100%; word-break: break-word;" valign="top"><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse; text-size-adjust: 100%; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr class="v1mceRow"><td style="background-position: center center; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: cover; text-size-adjust: 100%; word-break: break-word;" valign="top"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse; text-size-adjust: 100%; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td class="v1mceColumn" colspan="12" style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%; word-break: break-word;" valign="top" width="100%"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse; text-size-adjust: 100%; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td class="v1mceBlockContainer" style="padding: 12px 24px; text-size-adjust: 100%; word-break: break-word;" valign="top"><div class="v1mceText" id="v1dataBlockId-19" style="border-top: 0px; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; padding-top: 0px; white-space-collapse: preserve; width: 612px;"><h2 style="direction: ltr; font-size: 25px; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Taking advantage of winter light </h2><p style="direction: ltr; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%; word-break: break-word;">30 July 2023</p><p style="direction: ltr; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%; word-break: break-word;">Sunday 1:00pm – 2:30pm<br />Meet at Madeline's Cafe, Jells Park</p><p class="v1last-child" style="direction: ltr; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%; word-break: break-word;"><br /></p></div></td></tr><tr><td align="center" class="v1mceBlockContainer" style="padding: 12px 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%; word-break: break-word;" valign="top"><img class="v1imageDropZone" height="auto" src="https://dim.mcusercontent.com/cs/38acb3cd4d1cfe00088fb677c/images/8eb14962-5f2b-a1d6-28eb-ab65298214b4.jpg?w=564&dpr=2" style="border: 0px; display: block; height: auto; max-height: 100%; max-width: 100%; outline: none; width: 564px;" width="564" /></td></tr><tr><td class="v1mceBlockContainer" style="padding: 12px 24px; text-size-adjust: 100%; word-break: break-word;" valign="top"><div class="v1mceText" id="v1dataBlockId-15" style="border-top: 0px; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; padding-top: 0px; white-space-collapse: preserve; width: 612px;"><p style="direction: ltr; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%; word-break: break-word;"><em>"Bad weather makes for good photography."</em></p><p style="direction: ltr; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%; word-break: break-word;">Ansel Adams</p><p style="direction: ltr; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%; word-break: break-word;"><br /></p><p class="v1last-child" style="direction: ltr; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%; word-break: break-word;">Winter is a good time for photographers to take advantage of the lower sun and softer, angled light. Melbourne's weather is notorious for its changeability: mid-winter can be bright – with strong, long shadows that add extra depth to your photographs – or dark and brooding. Even "bad" weather can create drama. It's a great time to change your viewpoint to capture more moody or abstract images. </p><p class="v1last-child" style="direction: ltr; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%; word-break: break-word;"><br /></p><p class="v1last-child" style="direction: ltr; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%; word-break: break-word;">Rug-up for this photowalk session and be prepared to explore the changeable light as a way to gain a different view of the world.</p><p class="v1last-child" style="direction: ltr; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%; word-break: break-word;"><br /></p><p class="v1last-child" style="direction: ltr; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%; word-break: break-word;">Further <a href="https://maph.org.au/events/866/">details and registration on MAPh</a></p></div></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table>normhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03064736990200219176noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8284300.post-2584489995384904232023-06-26T21:21:00.006+10:002023-06-28T21:52:40.204+10:00Collaging myself onto a famous painting and then Hand Colouring<span style="background-color: white; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">An example I made for yesterday's "Hand colouring photographs" workshop at the Museum Of <span> Au</span>stralian Photography, </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">this collage is based on Charles Conder's famous impressionist painting of the Mentone Baths. I grew up near them.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" /><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoK-hW9tvyeeQ-51KCrckH6TORTVoaodiWBESPqdeL4Dc7peZ0OzATx4CB3R0G2e7iYbEPFnpR3jV_RmJe7yYOO-p9zXGO6VRrj3b6yQBrFCf8gh-yTJzT5Uh7wxMmrQ_JUdKpounh7cHa9Whdsr5eFErmEmxmt68Y8hxcrW6gxeJppplg4ZRu/s1201/P6240677%20neo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="875" data-original-width="1201" height="466" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoK-hW9tvyeeQ-51KCrckH6TORTVoaodiWBESPqdeL4Dc7peZ0OzATx4CB3R0G2e7iYbEPFnpR3jV_RmJe7yYOO-p9zXGO6VRrj3b6yQBrFCf8gh-yTJzT5Uh7wxMmrQ_JUdKpounh7cHa9Whdsr5eFErmEmxmt68Y8hxcrW6gxeJppplg4ZRu/w640-h466/P6240677%20neo.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><br /></span></p>Both Conder's painting and my photo were printed on a laser printer. My photo was cut out and stuck down with diluted PVC glue. I also gave the collage a little wash of Gesso (50% diluted) to give the very absorbent paper a light sizing to better hold water colour. I then use my watercolour to build up a few coloured washes over the collage.<p></p><p><a href="https://www.imageo.com.au/photoessays/Handcolouredphoto-collage.pdf">Link to a pdf of the step by step</a></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><br />normhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03064736990200219176noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8284300.post-54846999196157191332023-06-24T08:30:00.001+10:002023-06-24T13:49:38.480+10:00Tomorrow :: A different kind of photowalk<p><b><span style="font-size: large;"> It's Tomorrow, so don't delay <a href="https://maph.org.au/events/857/">registering</a></span></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigQjPhpa7U27VMubLSWpl3PbZq3P7AeVuCbEQcjOniUT-NvHHjoRtxUpg_uxzYULutGlPFEOZLJdBB8mNC1clRsZ8QiQLS3Pat-jLZyKnl48FUUIOaXHdrjZoHCRdiNCsucZ3h1neDvHnBGYsnjgRcJ2zQZodNVdxpCFsgsYgYpq32DewCeA1N/s916/Hand%20Colouring%20Photos.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="701" data-original-width="916" height="490" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigQjPhpa7U27VMubLSWpl3PbZq3P7AeVuCbEQcjOniUT-NvHHjoRtxUpg_uxzYULutGlPFEOZLJdBB8mNC1clRsZ8QiQLS3Pat-jLZyKnl48FUUIOaXHdrjZoHCRdiNCsucZ3h1neDvHnBGYsnjgRcJ2zQZodNVdxpCFsgsYgYpq32DewCeA1N/w640-h490/Hand%20Colouring%20Photos.png" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p>Have some fun experimenting with different ways to handcolour old or new photos. While you are at MAPh have a look at <a href="https://maph.org.au/exhibitions/266/">ZAHALKAWORLD</a>, particularly her hand coloured collages and recoloured old photos as inspiration.</p>normhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03064736990200219176noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8284300.post-10903174543235098082023-06-10T11:28:00.003+10:002023-06-10T11:36:17.806+10:00What's in my Camera Bag Now?<p>It’s been a while since
I posted <a href="https://imageo.blogspot.com/2017/03/refining-travelling-kit.html">what’s in my “travel” camera bag</a>. It's got a lot smaller. Back
in the day before I retired and was travelling internationally too much My camera
gear took up most of my backpack as well an extra camera bag or two. There was quite a lot to carry around and I still often forgot extra batteries or specific cables or card readers. Things changed a lot and I probably have purchased too many different camera bags (and more than one backpack). Such is life.</p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmRIUTU88dfaCt6vMLJ8XAxj4gRdNSvRpEfEdxcW7yQaZ6wiFQTGojnlHKKgENs0wnLpcnNSyS7CgunhTHFrPwJmByt7D2Nm7bnTz3_YtEkFZZe70L-eFBlY5JdIwMg8_-eQVDpiJCsQAHdIDcIwLmx4d_WTRtiQp7EqmcV5ObDDdPhGk-lQ/s3815/IMG_7599%20neo2.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2544" data-original-width="3815" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmRIUTU88dfaCt6vMLJ8XAxj4gRdNSvRpEfEdxcW7yQaZ6wiFQTGojnlHKKgENs0wnLpcnNSyS7CgunhTHFrPwJmByt7D2Nm7bnTz3_YtEkFZZe70L-eFBlY5JdIwMg8_-eQVDpiJCsQAHdIDcIwLmx4d_WTRtiQp7EqmcV5ObDDdPhGk-lQ/s320/IMG_7599%20neo2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><a href="http://imageo.blogspot.com/2017/08/my-camera-bag-diet.html">A Think Thank Mirrorless Mover bag</a> and my little mirrorless OMD10 opened my eyes to the lighter and happier world of smaller kit. <p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br />Over time yet a smaller
lowpro shoulder bag and another Olympus
has joined my gear. Now everything is in one bag, available at any time, its
easy to pick up the bag and I’m off. It currently houses two small Olympus
bodies, new OMD5 & original OMD10, 4 lenses, extra batteries, memory cards and other paraphernalia.
I have everything I need. </p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhjJcBAKphCnW6TKOUlLTFTBwCoLXbsHNN75AH2YIDXfF4bYHrIjcF5ZlUdQ6lJs3iBNJ02ds8DMj0tDaaFzDrouecPszmSyprgNqg7s9ioxdHhVU0gcOJXJAJjUivGpCNgN1z6Yh609-RsOpai2A-XXzS-adeD_UeLJkyRtlqXu90Majn4w/s2400/IMG_7590%20neo2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="2400" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhjJcBAKphCnW6TKOUlLTFTBwCoLXbsHNN75AH2YIDXfF4bYHrIjcF5ZlUdQ6lJs3iBNJ02ds8DMj0tDaaFzDrouecPszmSyprgNqg7s9ioxdHhVU0gcOJXJAJjUivGpCNgN1z6Yh609-RsOpai2A-XXzS-adeD_UeLJkyRtlqXu90Majn4w/w640-h426/IMG_7590%20neo2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaNmk6SNp78XKkfhHqxOLDP87O8C-iPL0A2JQ87LybNxia4lAbMZKmz5JiN7WVBOhknXIpmmZOq75M5oJ_fntiv7IMGuIzpC4WB333159nR19c9w5lUzz4TLRrFxK3qqz6hlbfIUgMt7_uSDGqS46RSlRtpeuqCHDMHO7I-7pNYdQ-jJOr0Q/s2000/IMG_7597%20neo2.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2000" data-original-width="1333" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaNmk6SNp78XKkfhHqxOLDP87O8C-iPL0A2JQ87LybNxia4lAbMZKmz5JiN7WVBOhknXIpmmZOq75M5oJ_fntiv7IMGuIzpC4WB333159nR19c9w5lUzz4TLRrFxK3qqz6hlbfIUgMt7_uSDGqS46RSlRtpeuqCHDMHO7I-7pNYdQ-jJOr0Q/w133-h200/IMG_7597%20neo2.jpg" width="133" /></a></div><br />The small
travel tripod (it's very light and fits nicely in my suitcase case and some of the ancillary gear, like a wireless WIFI modem, battery charger and extra USB cables travel in my luggage. When away for extended periods I also pack an external USB harddrive for backup and my old HP Spectre laptop (not shown in the photos). <p></p><p class="MsoNormal">The phone, which does sport a decent camera, travellers in my pocket.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>normhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03064736990200219176noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8284300.post-24639259149770283642023-06-07T21:18:00.001+10:002023-06-07T21:35:27.883+10:00Why I like Water Brushes<p><b><span style="font-size: large;">I've</span> been using water brushes for some time</b>, I
particularly loved them in the field with a small portable palette, like my
little Cotman sketcher box. Alas, I tend to lose them.</p><o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBzbZogfHeZIJaYP5EZlgmyZLrQG_vrOE08mA8ME16PxRSkSrqGm3hRSBY-jLCX_CPGXrdPYaxEsKPmns79ba0oMRWk6D1crVrkPdky4NCQsBBgMFyNY9yKyEaM0Cu7SYYTD74X3koV5IRpn2gNMxYeA7IecHDDIKcJmJtVy8tzGA3-UWzqw/s903/waterbrush3s.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="810" data-original-width="903" height="287" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBzbZogfHeZIJaYP5EZlgmyZLrQG_vrOE08mA8ME16PxRSkSrqGm3hRSBY-jLCX_CPGXrdPYaxEsKPmns79ba0oMRWk6D1crVrkPdky4NCQsBBgMFyNY9yKyEaM0Cu7SYYTD74X3koV5IRpn2gNMxYeA7IecHDDIKcJmJtVy8tzGA3-UWzqw/s320/waterbrush3s.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>On a recent visit to <a href="https://theartshop.com.au/">the art shop, </a>I found that Derivan now makes a set of four refillable brush pens. This set is reasonably priced and comes in different tip sizes and a larger barrel capacity. The brushes are made of nylon hairs, one Chisel tip and the other is pointed rounds of three sizes. They are designed for both water and Derivan’s acrylic inks. I decided to add my watercolour ink, diluted about 50% to one of the middle-sized round tips as a worthwhile addition to my sketching stuff. The idea is it could add the mid-tones while I just sketched with a normal black pen. This combination struck me as ideal for getting that first compositional/tonal sketch down quickly. It worked perfectly.<p></p><p class="MsoNormal">I chose
the cyan ink just because I've been using the cyan gel pen which blends in
quite well if you want to paint over the top of it. Also, I didn't have any
grey watercolour ink on hand. At some future stage, I'll probably try diluted
fountain pen ink but I will avoid Indian Inks it's likely to come up the brush
tip.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn2fAaNYqrs5-G-3F2d80INeVPvh2fHwEZiTfU_ioCIqBtjifplwRipWL15-hJP_vIELPcTOx4JSnh9wyZE-GZ7b2B8TljEtmLdCqRl9p57pqbMsWH6vRg_8PQHpVMX5UxDr4xwU-qxZWaRkXEDJnYTXpXrVrd7tw_aYRX2RB_WbbDpS1ivQ/s1600/1-New%20folder.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="1600" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn2fAaNYqrs5-G-3F2d80INeVPvh2fHwEZiTfU_ioCIqBtjifplwRipWL15-hJP_vIELPcTOx4JSnh9wyZE-GZ7b2B8TljEtmLdCqRl9p57pqbMsWH6vRg_8PQHpVMX5UxDr4xwU-qxZWaRkXEDJnYTXpXrVrd7tw_aYRX2RB_WbbDpS1ivQ/w640-h214/1-New%20folder.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal"></p><blockquote><i>If you want a laugh, read how <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CtL7xCuyo6x/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==">ChatGPT rewrote this post for Instagram</a>, less the outrageous bit I removed.</i></blockquote><p></p>normhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03064736990200219176noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8284300.post-88278519342973683932023-06-05T14:46:00.004+10:002023-06-06T11:28:39.517+10:00Secure Drawingboard Tripod Mount<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEmrY6nmEN-fymgynTRizP0-D-QR42m_iDSKfIEaM-z1yPLXmh9-4mFwqIhByFJTv3mRVEg-KvV1FD4POQh80X4l22W_3oU3UQPdcSQCnVgq7oYUHB3sAIsFtzTJ1BBnqGe8E_-k7DopNhqopVhkfRBrxU9fl-Hh5PGZbS-E48UB_cZq0-jQ/s868/tripod%20mount.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="868" data-original-width="868" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEmrY6nmEN-fymgynTRizP0-D-QR42m_iDSKfIEaM-z1yPLXmh9-4mFwqIhByFJTv3mRVEg-KvV1FD4POQh80X4l22W_3oU3UQPdcSQCnVgq7oYUHB3sAIsFtzTJ1BBnqGe8E_-k7DopNhqopVhkfRBrxU9fl-Hh5PGZbS-E48UB_cZq0-jQ/w320-h320/tripod%20mount.png" width="320" /></a></div><span><p style="font-size: x-large; font-weight: bold;"><b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></p><p style="font-size: x-large; font-weight: bold;"><b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></p><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">It</span><span style="font-size: large;"> was time </span></b>to update my flimsy method of connecting my
sketch board to a tripod (it was just a<a href="http://imageo.blogspot.com/2011/10/towards-light-portable-watercolour.html"> ¼” nut glued onto the back of a plywoodboard</a>).</div></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR1WklvRVa2iWcwJnUZc4M6jB39nAiCfRIiz430jcAXNlUQeK-Y2K_To-QplZluy5K7tX6SuwwiqvlEWdHuXDgWUjgrM1Yjy_ye0mVJx0AXrsTCrZqtUpKEygGya38NUN9kgu11oRXpEbaEBBPRMgydkTMq1Ztk3TZdDgEe9UEIpVpouFEWQ/s2560/81l+rZthglL-1551681135.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1238" data-original-width="2560" height="97" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR1WklvRVa2iWcwJnUZc4M6jB39nAiCfRIiz430jcAXNlUQeK-Y2K_To-QplZluy5K7tX6SuwwiqvlEWdHuXDgWUjgrM1Yjy_ye0mVJx0AXrsTCrZqtUpKEygGya38NUN9kgu11oRXpEbaEBBPRMgydkTMq1Ztk3TZdDgEe9UEIpVpouFEWQ/w200-h97/81l+rZthglL-1551681135.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>I had been given a wonderful little connector which can be
hammered into the board (I now know they are called T-Nuts ¼” or maybe barrel
nuts and used extensively in prefabricated furniture manufacture). I decided
to add a separate piece/pad to hold the nut securely in place (with gorilla
glue this time).<o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I have a variety of tripods and camera plates to allow connection
to tripods and other stands, and they are different sizes. Also, the tripods
they serve have different heads allowing different movements. I made this extra pad square with the maximum
dimension of connector plates (70cm) so I could mount this either way (with the
board either vertically or horizontally aligned). Importantly with the rotate/tilt
handle easily accessed from the front, so you don’t need to get up to adjust
the drawing/painting surface. I also added a layer of the “bubbly” rubber sheet
sold for lining kitchen pot and pan draws to provide a very sound surface for
the plate to screw into and hold firm.<o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfOdmVhYHJ8u1icS0pfw4WGutSG9AQUd91hJgQngKFkgyMgILWbveoKs1roXzt2-v8AQ4YEUtk4fNrGLA6igkjYNovgqa-zq-7c6fJZ9g7Cxa_zZOMsEde1kHHGw5zGV16e0jLYf0UIUl-CUjgJXJQiUdZhmOdS8UXTOUhIQFS-2aukzcD5w/s2000/P6050589%20neo2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="2000" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfOdmVhYHJ8u1icS0pfw4WGutSG9AQUd91hJgQngKFkgyMgILWbveoKs1roXzt2-v8AQ4YEUtk4fNrGLA6igkjYNovgqa-zq-7c6fJZ9g7Cxa_zZOMsEde1kHHGw5zGV16e0jLYf0UIUl-CUjgJXJQiUdZhmOdS8UXTOUhIQFS-2aukzcD5w/w640-h480/P6050589%20neo2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal">The result is versatile and holds firm, from my lightweight portable tripod to a desk mounting position and all other options.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbdioh4iLt1K15JFGqWm11Z7lxPSvemk_N3PPEfcmppzHW2mZzjLBHqOfGxj-DJH2M9mw8WUA8WEtEjfUIhBgqyO_u4iYEJHUjDcBnYWtq96_6RbpenVhzyjs5Qcyq5a61Q6HRzgCVQ34eHScH7mIuOAW1ZkX_8GNtas0UjGrN9kebuL8cug/s1600/1-aiart.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbdioh4iLt1K15JFGqWm11Z7lxPSvemk_N3PPEfcmppzHW2mZzjLBHqOfGxj-DJH2M9mw8WUA8WEtEjfUIhBgqyO_u4iYEJHUjDcBnYWtq96_6RbpenVhzyjs5Qcyq5a61Q6HRzgCVQ34eHScH7mIuOAW1ZkX_8GNtas0UjGrN9kebuL8cug/w640-h640/1-aiart.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>normhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03064736990200219176noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8284300.post-47320140218855426662023-06-01T21:59:00.001+10:002023-06-05T22:07:41.053+10:00Pastel Plein Air Kit Colour Selection<p><b><span style="font-size: large;"></span></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg37YPUV9h28i6mCdgL0O-3MA2iMxoo6rNqD90EuAjUldesESIvPhb_tY2Ble1fPHLoLp1rtaP1DEet1yDI5F9vORz796kYkJwstkRpHUdapnScxnu5dsy_uX5bQexL_CFMxqZO1q6nLe5SOhtNVtsvYjDuxkcfdkmwLGL1ma6h7-6brErkeA/s985/colour%20wheel.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="985" data-original-width="985" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg37YPUV9h28i6mCdgL0O-3MA2iMxoo6rNqD90EuAjUldesESIvPhb_tY2Ble1fPHLoLp1rtaP1DEet1yDI5F9vORz796kYkJwstkRpHUdapnScxnu5dsy_uX5bQexL_CFMxqZO1q6nLe5SOhtNVtsvYjDuxkcfdkmwLGL1ma6h7-6brErkeA/w200-h200/colour%20wheel.png" width="200" /></a></span></b></div><b><span style="font-size: large;"><br />I’ve</span><span style="font-size: medium;"> rearranged my soft pastel plein air kit</span></b> (actually just
two plastic boxes with a minimal set of useful colours in ”half sticks” that I
might find handy for sketching). Making them into a set of the 6 primary
colours I use (RGB + CYM), plus a neutral greyish column and a couple of
columns of earth colours. Within each colour group, I have something intense
along with lighter and darker tonal variations including very soft and harder
composition pastels<p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEOGf3odb0Id5Ec4QSNXtsppRoYF9cOeCspZWix4Fh0wmSBOMiGEfsKSbUcIp5klN0jpOOD3m-c8aMPRqmliO877ByKLpjZi8k250JeMclx2INA3gOkGRkSQRSvhipPqCCqc_za1POUrZMIsbrozRAbNUjCGtYIscifi7zAyNueuV0CHUDpA/s1600/1-lem1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="1600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEOGf3odb0Id5Ec4QSNXtsppRoYF9cOeCspZWix4Fh0wmSBOMiGEfsKSbUcIp5klN0jpOOD3m-c8aMPRqmliO877ByKLpjZi8k250JeMclx2INA3gOkGRkSQRSvhipPqCCqc_za1POUrZMIsbrozRAbNUjCGtYIscifi7zAyNueuV0CHUDpA/w640-h320/1-lem1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Let's see how I go. I’m sure to need to change out and swap
a few sticks. BUT the new arrangement looks nice.<o:p></o:p></p>normhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03064736990200219176noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8284300.post-73465498378823711372023-05-20T11:17:00.004+10:002023-05-20T16:10:44.083+10:00Asking AI for help writing this post<p><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">I </span><span style="font-size: large;">had </span><span style="font-size: medium;">set up this topic </span></b>to do a little test of AI chatbots
from <a href="https://openai.com/blog/chatgpt">Open AI's (chatGPT)</a> and <a href="https://bard.google.com/">Google’s (Bard)</a>, using the simple prompt “<i>write a
short blog post on why an old TV makes a great monitor for an artist's studio</i>”.
Well, it was a no contest, ChatGPT took old TV to mean a cathode ray screen and
its text was overly enthusiastic and provided very dubious reasons. Bard did
provide clearly correct information and a couple of items I’d overlook. Neither
appealed for direct use as the "content" in this blog.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipSoInRSfNYBa88ScSij3ngh8njpg-CpfM-vLYUntOxiuhV2L3QYj1yt9ZlYPQagG5xc5J_PVNVzIwNjGphcgNI1p39qfadsFQDb8WhSRFW1GReDGzpTCnK8FbRzJlApMGSL-8NwXg5QgBEoxN0KmdQeoMnABnHuElphXg2ccWfSKsDMBOww/s2163/compqaring.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1109" data-original-width="2163" height="328" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipSoInRSfNYBa88ScSij3ngh8njpg-CpfM-vLYUntOxiuhV2L3QYj1yt9ZlYPQagG5xc5J_PVNVzIwNjGphcgNI1p39qfadsFQDb8WhSRFW1GReDGzpTCnK8FbRzJlApMGSL-8NwXg5QgBEoxN0KmdQeoMnABnHuElphXg2ccWfSKsDMBOww/w640-h328/compqaring.png" width="640" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal">So then I tried Generative AI (Text-to-Image) comparing
Stable Diffusion versus Dall.E (using <a href="https://creator.nightcafe.studio/">nightcafe studio</a>). I altered the prompt a
little “<i>Artist viewing a wall-mounted LCD TV to copy a reference photo and
paint at easel</i>”. Again pretty unusable perhaps except for the large one shown below. It’s superficially ok has some artistic merit and just might be partly on topic.</p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaQ7jK0UrDD7RGTnHHYrJ1Gnl1H9sW5Uv5261OdLZk4WGpdW3r3878t7nWIFHMWhqOY46t1U8YqYAVt3Y9a-q-iHLYAwtSPdFtzHWX5cFzsbV9s0nIcSgYAHnve7jJk7puDCAP6f3pTnhg1BmOg9OrZ1l7Q-2iZhkZ5xo2MpW_UV_H0GP8MQ/s512/IeWEfIn7ewzpegr3hkFg--2--xx1b7.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="512" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaQ7jK0UrDD7RGTnHHYrJ1Gnl1H9sW5Uv5261OdLZk4WGpdW3r3878t7nWIFHMWhqOY46t1U8YqYAVt3Y9a-q-iHLYAwtSPdFtzHWX5cFzsbV9s0nIcSgYAHnve7jJk7puDCAP6f3pTnhg1BmOg9OrZ1l7Q-2iZhkZ5xo2MpW_UV_H0GP8MQ/w640-h640/IeWEfIn7ewzpegr3hkFg--2--xx1b7.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Worryingly he appears to be considering painting on the wall-mounted picture, which isn't a TV! <br />Using his right hand attached to his left arm!!</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><p class="MsoNormal">Maybe I’m getting a bit picky now. I’m a little spooked now that
<a href="https://imageo.blogspot.com/2023/04/co-incidence-or-urban-myth.html">Google might be downgrading access to your blog if it’s using chatGPT</a>. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>normhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03064736990200219176noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8284300.post-79190806411303784902023-05-19T12:08:00.001+10:002023-05-20T12:18:14.361+10:00It's alright now....<p><span face="Calibri, "sans-serif"" style="line-height: 115%;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">A</span><span style="font-size: large;">fter
possibly</span><span style="font-size: 11pt;"> too much mucking around</span></b><span style="font-size: 11pt;">, I am proud of my new computer set-up and work
table in my studio.</span></span></p><p><span face=""Calibri","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-AU; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-qkFlurnN9jUNjQ6LUJqz6ZMN-JcL9UY8hJUU2dvBJbSBf93I-3xgLVLfB78m1u-Zi_plVY_X1XJjl9lhoPtmUv9Q1YIbgvBz-RodqoK2bxUbNujSp9IWM7k_iN9kILqe4_6Nzz_Ty2Uyh2G7LPWra5oQReqcgTR5FeADRp6eYlwwPG-Nbw/s2000/P5190578%20Pano_smaller.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1193" data-original-width="2000" height="382" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-qkFlurnN9jUNjQ6LUJqz6ZMN-JcL9UY8hJUU2dvBJbSBf93I-3xgLVLfB78m1u-Zi_plVY_X1XJjl9lhoPtmUv9Q1YIbgvBz-RodqoK2bxUbNujSp9IWM7k_iN9kILqe4_6Nzz_Ty2Uyh2G7LPWra5oQReqcgTR5FeADRp6eYlwwPG-Nbw/w640-h382/P5190578%20Pano_smaller.jpg" width="640" /></a><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal">Again it is a large screen Tv mounted on the wall that
really lifts this work area, integrated the computer technology and adds flexibility.</p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Bigger images as reference</li><li>Wider viewing angle, Less affected by ambient light</li><li>You’re not chained to a desk. Better when standing (eg at an easel)</li><li>Affordable, Repurposed rather than new consumption</li><li>Can still be a TV and/or Chromecast.</li></ul><p></p>normhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03064736990200219176noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8284300.post-45445220337150131562023-05-17T18:23:00.011+10:002023-05-20T11:58:40.546+10:00Some Frustration along the way<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLryqZiYYOcbZOLKaGSuq_sWO-ilW-FrXgZEMMJvsluBc0oc8VxoDwQPG7hlVMjuvPrsqbQohZiu9UEi8Rv4RKE1JnxqbkA2EpApgIcCw7zSOaCWW7eAbBeZK010vbTw2eTb8tTRcw_yFgAt8Odmwx9p1tQ2vvyndxOGpc_V6k5p7b1eE_VQ/s2000/P5180573%20neo.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2000" data-original-width="1808" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLryqZiYYOcbZOLKaGSuq_sWO-ilW-FrXgZEMMJvsluBc0oc8VxoDwQPG7hlVMjuvPrsqbQohZiu9UEi8Rv4RKE1JnxqbkA2EpApgIcCw7zSOaCWW7eAbBeZK010vbTw2eTb8tTRcw_yFgAt8Odmwx9p1tQ2vvyndxOGpc_V6k5p7b1eE_VQ/w290-h320/P5180573%20neo.jpg" width="290" /></a></div><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">T</span><span style="font-size: large;">he computer</span><span style="font-size: medium;"> system in my studio</span></b> has developed over time.
Computers have come and gone, devices have been added and <a href="https://imageo.blogspot.com/2021/09/so-why-am-i-bothering.html">taken away</a> or <a href="https://imageo.blogspot.com/2021/05/taking-my-studio-computer-off-life.html">died</a>,
interfaces changed, and monitors of different sizes swapped in and out. The use
of <a href="https://imageo.blogspot.com/2021/09/an-updated-studio-painted-decluttered.html">an older Bravia LCD TV wall mounted was a game change</a>r at the time. Allowing
me to redesign my work table to suit both sitting-down art-making, and/or standing at my easel (now my favourite way to work). However, this ad hoc
approach meant I had a plethora of cables, power, video, audio and lots of
tangled USB cables. Some actually go nowhere and are no longer used. It was a
mess.<p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">As it was playing up the old Bravia TV had apparently
modified the graphic card drivers or reset something deep in the operating system. So on first attempts, I couldn’t get the repurposed
TV replacement to work at all. A fair bit of time was wasted not knowing what
was wrong, Attaching the computer to other monitors showed that the screen only worked when connected to the older style VGA cable but not to HDMI. Well very inconsistently on HDMI. So I dug out a very old flat-screen monitor I hadn't used for years.
This gave me two screens and let me waste a lot of time checking the graphics card setting, updating drivers,
swapping cables and also fiddling with the settings on the TV. Eventually, I got
it going reliably.<o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgggUSczYio9t4dYLPhf8F92SVBmZlrY8HBuTPhWT-P9WNWw_JFMwQadMWiUxTP52ncLeleqZrtJLm5uA-Vds1JS0KQCR7xSKqEKKTpInVxHEf-CBddBeXCHXePPUosXpQ_5iBPP_9bTJQ79G3qUCYfki9Zgh_5lxadHd854JWEyRXdUH0q6Q/s2000/P5180574%20neo.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1031" data-original-width="2000" height="330" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgggUSczYio9t4dYLPhf8F92SVBmZlrY8HBuTPhWT-P9WNWw_JFMwQadMWiUxTP52ncLeleqZrtJLm5uA-Vds1JS0KQCR7xSKqEKKTpInVxHEf-CBddBeXCHXePPUosXpQ_5iBPP_9bTJQ79G3qUCYfki9Zgh_5lxadHd854JWEyRXdUH0q6Q/w640-h330/P5180574%20neo.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal">Now to simplify that wiring….</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>normhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03064736990200219176noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8284300.post-77089531354473838272023-05-16T14:26:00.005+10:002023-05-19T20:25:27.295+10:00Oh no….<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh80vjjv7l9hQOa7vG5s0o9zBZcO8-3iHYzKU8n9CpAKTydK1Q7cPz7qLf-MwdOHjcow5jpdlj3LRfus6cOuu62a1T-11f-K8bwAC4RYVfljl_yeq_BOQKvfEJAWMhjH77P2hoIIZ6aqfheZw0gGv5_UOCb5pKKopIdeujOHTZUY_J4lVUEXA/s2000/P5160570.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="2000" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh80vjjv7l9hQOa7vG5s0o9zBZcO8-3iHYzKU8n9CpAKTydK1Q7cPz7qLf-MwdOHjcow5jpdlj3LRfus6cOuu62a1T-11f-K8bwAC4RYVfljl_yeq_BOQKvfEJAWMhjH77P2hoIIZ6aqfheZw0gGv5_UOCb5pKKopIdeujOHTZUY_J4lVUEXA/w640-h480/P5160570.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><b><span style="font-size: large;">My </span><span style="font-size: medium;">large screen TV</span></b> used as a monitor in my studio was a great
friend. It worked well as a sit-down position, or moving around with a wireless keyboard, but it was also wonderful for standup
work (eg painting at my easel), It had a reasonable built-in sound so I avoided
speakers on the table. It did what I wanted without getting in the way.<p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Unfortunately, it became terminally ill and I have had to
pull the studio apart to find an alternative (at a reasonable price) … Uggh, all those wires.....<o:p></o:p></p>normhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03064736990200219176noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8284300.post-43413740858436156702023-05-10T15:02:00.072+10:002023-05-20T15:35:24.053+10:00What can we now believe?<b><span style="font-size: large;">I</span><span style="font-size: medium;"> like </span></b>Sean Tucker am moving to the view that the greatest threat from the current crop of large-scale neural networks, which currently indiscriminately scrap the internet for their training data, is that they will destroy the potential credibility of everything on the internet. Particularly the veracity of photographs.
<p> <iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/szgtpjeTTvk" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe> </p><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Yet,</span></b> I also agree that at least some people will appreciate <b><span style="font-size: medium;">the real</span>.</b> "We'll always want to know whether what we are looking at is
real or not and justice like with Photoshop and CGI will come up with systems and rules to differentiate where it counts." Fingers crossed.<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p></div>normhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03064736990200219176noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8284300.post-25962767661195060772023-04-30T16:20:00.002+10:002023-04-30T16:21:07.257+10:00Next Photowalk :: Seeing the Person<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIdsPVvk4kaMbJ-VovEd-GZrAzWGWWAwyuUH5-57abzcxadGWqjqla13b-XQtjAnHIJzOGppkuWzmZDoAonAVEhSZZuE6N0vq1yZ2LJmPzSHChrgb0bzA45qkORHy9VJTqCin5YcPeRo1IJJMUrI2S_FkJ7KqBgnrZj3koIlYkV87lRGbCQA/s800/Next%20Photowalk%20maypng.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="800" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIdsPVvk4kaMbJ-VovEd-GZrAzWGWWAwyuUH5-57abzcxadGWqjqla13b-XQtjAnHIJzOGppkuWzmZDoAonAVEhSZZuE6N0vq1yZ2LJmPzSHChrgb0bzA45qkORHy9VJTqCin5YcPeRo1IJJMUrI2S_FkJ7KqBgnrZj3koIlYkV87lRGbCQA/s320/Next%20Photowalk%20maypng.png" width="320" /></a></div>The next photo walk is coming up. <b> Sunday 7th May, 1:00 to 2:30pm. Meet at
Madeline's Cafe, Jells Park.</b><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In this Photowalk session, we will investigate using the
landscape as the background for an “environmental portrait” that perhaps gives
some insight into the personality, hobbies or lifestyle of the subject. We’ll explore
a ‘keep it simple’ strategy to arrange visual elements. In the case of a portrait in nature, we need a complementary centre
of interest so as not to distract but rather to compliment and give context to the
subject.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424; font-size: 11.5pt;">Composition becomes very important as an aid to telling a subject's story. Composition is a massive topic in art and design. So we will just explore
some of the rules of composition and share tips and common pitfalls in developing
a strong design for your photos. We’ll also have a bit of fun deliberately breaking
some of the common rules of composition.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424; font-size: 11.5pt;"><a href="https://maph.org.au/events/845/"></a></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWMqMXSpgSPLBfvTus6cHQbBRFrfF0PeCxB1o85bqrieHgHryJdjy4JcAOukytruHeJoLq_qVwVqNZDfO_CbkIbtjt19iabpceTvLTOE6gT8eaXVYG8qKcmW4r4gbf5CM3YeF2jQWeWMk3REem0wF4qFm0riK8cBZAy2uK9QemqzuVCxFf0Q/s1177/maph%20100%20faces.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="718" data-original-width="1177" height="122" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWMqMXSpgSPLBfvTus6cHQbBRFrfF0PeCxB1o85bqrieHgHryJdjy4JcAOukytruHeJoLq_qVwVqNZDfO_CbkIbtjt19iabpceTvLTOE6gT8eaXVYG8qKcmW4r4gbf5CM3YeF2jQWeWMk3REem0wF4qFm0riK8cBZAy2uK9QemqzuVCxFf0Q/w200-h122/maph%20100%20faces.png" width="200" /></a></div><br />Register via the MAPh events page<p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Also staying on thing photographic, MAPh – Museum of Australian Photography (formerly
mga) is holding their 100 faces exhibition until 29<sup>th</sup> May. It’s a great
opportunity to study a range of portraiture.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>normhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03064736990200219176noreply@blogger.com0