On a day I’m recovering from the Shingles vaccination (second dose), I figure I’d do a simple post […]
Category Archive: Effects and Filters
In four days, the Alphabet Challenge “T” Stories voting round will end. I post the reminders because there have been late-round voting surges which seem tied to the deadline approaching . . . probably people who enjoy the thrill of working to a deadline.
. . . although this isn’t really work, or shouldn’t be . . . .
If you’re a reader of our stories and someone who votes, thank you in advance for casting a vote for your favorite of the three. Links to the stories and the poll for voting for “Alphabet Challenge T-Stories” are HERE(link) Votes will be accepted until noon, Chicago time, on November 27th.
As usual, let me know if something goes wrong with the voting . . . and today I decided to process a few more Nikon D100 photos, but transitioning from flowers to other stuff.
Those look like Black-eyed Susan flowers but they’re actually a wildflower that looks similar. Or, maybe they are Black-eyed Susan from seeds that had been blown into a natural setting. We’ll never know.
With five days to go, the Alphabet Challenge “T” Stories voting round heated up into a frenzy of votes and drastic moves in the standings of individual stories. It’s good to see the activity pick up a bit as we approach the end of the voting block. Perhaps we’ll top the record set last week (but still far from the once-hoped-for 100 votes mark).
If you’re a reader of our stories and someone who votes, thank you in advance for casting a vote for your favorite of the three. Links to the stories and the poll for voting for “Alphabet Challenge T-Stories” are HERE(link) Votes will be accepted until noon, Chicago time, on November 27th.
As usual, let me know if something goes wrong with the voting . . . and today I decided to process a few more photos of flowers captured with the D100.
That’s a Stella D’Oro daylily. Artified, of course.
With six days to go, the Alphabet Challenge “T” Stories voting round is progressing nicely. I suppose I should start thinking about my next story.
Meanwhile, if you’re a reader of our stories and someone who votes, thank you in advance for casting a vote for your favorite of the three. Links to the stories and the poll for voting for “Alphabet Challenge T-Stories” are HERE(link) Votes will be accepted until noon, Chicago time, on November 27th.
As usual, let me know if something goes wrong with the voting . . . and today I decided to process a few photos of flowers captured with the D100.
That’s a peach tree blossom, I think. Artified, of course.
This will be a very quick reminder . . . If you are a reader of our stories […]
Usually, Alphabet Stories voting rounds seem to pass quickly and I find myself scrambling for a story. But, the Alphabet Challenge “T” Stories voting round is only halfway done and it already seems like it’s been running for a long while. Heck, I still have eight days before I need to write something.
My advice to readers is . . . don’t be like me. Get your reading in early and lock in your vote, preferably well ahead of time.
If you are a reader of our stories and someone who votes, thank you in advance for casting a vote for your favorite of the three. Links to the stories and the poll for voting for “Alphabet Challenge T-Stories” are HERE(link) Votes will be accepted until noon, Chicago time, on November 27th.
As usual, let me know if something goes wrong with the voting . . . and today we’re looking at two panoramas from our 2006 Utah Tour (LINK). The panoramas are from photos I shared on that post (although I didn’t present any panoramas there).
That’s a panorama composed of four photos taken in portrait mode and stitched in Photoshop.
The Alphabet Challenge “T” Stories voting round is progressing nicely. Not blazingly, but steadily. Strangely, I’m getting a lot of visitors to the blog. It doesn’t seem to translate into additional votes, comments, or even ‘likes’ . . . which leads me to believe these new visitors just took a wrong turn on their way to somewhere else.
. . . I hadn’t noticed the increase (I rarely check my stats), but for a few months now, I’ve been averaging better than 70 visitors per day. Again, they come, they see, most leave no trace, but I’m glad they’re stopping by, even if they don’t interact.
If you are a reader of our stories and someone who votes, thank you in advance for casting a vote for your favorite of the three. Links to the stories and the poll for voting for “Alphabet Challenge T-Stories” are HERE(link) Votes will be accepted until noon, Chicago time, on November 27th.
As usual, let me know if something goes wrong with the voting . . . and today we’re making our way back to November of 2018. We knew we were leaving the Big Island at the end of the year, so we made it a point (when not packing and shipping our few belongings) to visit the places we liked.
That’s an actual painting, not something I whipped up on my computer. It’s a mural by Margaret Stanton, “The Cane Cutters” — 1998. It’s in the town of Honokaʻa, in the Hamakua district on the northern portion of the Big Island of Hawaiʻi.
The Alphabet Challenge “T” Stories voting round is moving along at a glacial pace, but it is moving, and for that, we are grateful.
If you are a reader of our stories and someone who votes, thank you in advance for casting a vote for your favorite of the three. Links to the stories and the poll for voting for “Alphabet Challenge T-Stories” are HERE(link) Votes will be accepted until noon, Chicago time, on November 27th.
Let me know if something goes wrong with the voting . . . and here are a couple of artsified Nikon P900 photos.
That’s from a photo that did not turn out well . . . but that I thought might make a decent painting rendering.
This is the third day of the Alphabet Challenge “T” Stories voting round. After a very quick start, we hit dead calm. No new votes. lots of views, but those are likely people using readers and not actually reading anything.
. . . there go my hopes of a 100 votes round . . .
If you are a reader of our stories and someone who votes, thank you in advance for casting a vote for your favorite of the three. Links to the stories and the poll for voting for “Alphabet Challenge T-Stories” are HERE(link) Votes will be accepted until noon, Chicago time, on November 27th.
As usual, let me know if something goes wrong with the voting . . . and here are a few Nikon P900 photos.
Most people get a pleasant reaction from scenes like the one above. I think deep in our evolved nature, we have an affinity for water.
For them not interested in reading, you can see the photos in THIS<<link SmugMug Gallery.
For a SmugMug slideshow, click HERE<<link. When you click the link, it will open in a new window and you have two options:
1) Manually scroll through the photos by clicking the “<” and “>” symbols to the left or right of the photos.
2) There’s a PLAY/PAUSE button at the top-left of the screen with the transition set at about 5 seconds. Note: the symbol above the PLAY arrow will switch to a full-screen slideshow . . . which I advise for the best experience (press Esc to exit). You can then still use the”<” and “>” symbols to the left or right of the photos as this will pause the slideshow.
If you want the full experience, keep reading.
For them not interested in reading, you can see the photos in THIS<<link SmugMug Gallery.
For a SmugMug slideshow, click HERE<<link. When you click the link, it will open in a new window and you have two options:
1) Manually scroll through the photos by clicking the “<” and “>” symbols to the left or right of the photos.
2) There’s a PLAY/PAUSE button at the top-left of the screen with the transition set at about 5 seconds. Note: the symbol above the PLAY arrow will switch to a full-screen slideshow . . . which I advise for the best experience (press Esc to exit). You can then still use the”<” and “>” symbols to the left or right of the photos as this will pause the slideshow.
If you want the full experience, keep reading.
That’s it. This post has ended . . . except for the stuff below. <><><><><><><><o><><><><><><><><><o><><><><><><><> Note: if you are not reading […]
That’s it. This post has ended . . . except for the stuff below. <><><><><><><><o><><><><><><><><><o><><><><><><><> Note: if you are not reading […]
That’s it. This post has ended . . . except for the stuff below. <><><><><><><><o><><><><><><><><><o><><><><><><><> Note: if you are not reading […]
So, Photoshop dropped an update with significant changes. Here, I will explore one of the many new features . . . Neural Filters.
“What be they?” you ask?
Well, Bob, it’s like everything else in this screwed up world. We apply massive computing power to AI algorithms for entertainment purposes. I mean, we should apply them to solving the world’s problems, but that probably makes too much sense, and so we leave that to deeply flawed individuals motivated by religious dogmas, driven by greed, and wading in deep pools of ignorance.
So, what do these filters do? Well, let me show you . . . but first, let me warn you. This has nothing but pictures of me, and none of them flattering. Not that I would have ever won any beauty contests — I do bikinis poorly — but I’ve definitively aged poorly.
By that, I mean that at 57, I looked like 42 . . . but now, at 67, I look like . . . well, here . . .
That is a photo of me I took for an ID card. As I mentioned before, I try extra hard to make ID photos as ugly as I can get them, and, as I’ve gotten older, that’s gotten easier.
Enter Photoshop’s neural filters . . .
