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Learn the skills and resources you need to master virtual reality [Mark Metry, Tee Jia Hen, & Krill Karev]

On 08/15/2017, in 21st century, A/V -- audio/visual, computer science, digital photography, Media/film, photography, platforms, productivity / tips and tricks, professional development, programming, user experience (UX), vendors, virtual reality / worlds / learning, by Daniel Christian

Learn the skills and resources you need to master virtual reality — from vudream.com by Mark Metry

Excerpt:

[From] Tee Jia Hen, CEO of VRcollab
In my opinion, there are 4 specializations for the VR content professional.

  1. VR native app development
  2. Cinematic VR creation
  3. Photogrammetry
  4. VR web development

 

 

Also see:

Getting Started with WebVR –– from virtualrealitypop.com by Michael Hazani

Excerpt:

This is not a tutorial or a comprehensive, thorough technical guide?—?many of those already exist?—?but rather a way to think about WebVR and acquaint yourself with what it is, exactly, and how best to approach it from scratch. If you’ve been doing WebVR or 3D programming for a while, this article is most certainly not for you. If you’ve been curious about that stuff and want to know how to join the party— read on!

 

 

 

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Google is turning Street View imagery into pro-level landscape photographs using AI [Maggio]

On 07/21/2017, in 21st century, A/V -- audio/visual, digital photography, emerging technologies, Google, photography, platforms, tools, by Daniel Christian

Google is turning Street View imagery into pro-level landscape photographs using artificial intelligence — from businessinsider.com by Edoardo Maggio

Excerpt:

A new experiment from Google is turning imagery from the company’s Street View service into impressive digital photographs using nothing but artificial intelligence (AI).

Google is using machine learning algorithms to train a deep neural network to roam around places such as Canada’s and California’s national parks, look for potentially suitable landscape images, and then work on them with special post-processing techniques.

The idea is to “mimic the workflow of a professional photographer,” and to do so Google is relying on so-called generative adversarial networks (GAN), which essentially pit two neural networks against one another.

 

See also:

Using Deep Learning to Create Professional-Level Photographs — from research.googleblog.com by Hui Fang, Software Engineer, Machine Perception

 

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Looking to build a home? A learning space? Or move into an apartment across the country? How about a VR-based look around first.

On 04/06/2017, in business, design, emerging technologies, ideas, immersion, innovation, learning spaces, photography, platforms, society, Technologies for your home, trends, Uncategorized, user experience (UX), vendors, virtual reality / worlds / learning, visualizing information, by Daniel Christian

From DSC:
The use of virtual reality in industries such as architecture, construction, and real estate is growing. Below are some articles that speak to this trend.

In the future, it’s highly likely we’ll be able to get a nice VR-based tour of a space before building it, or renting it, or moving into it. Schools and universities will benefit from this as well, as they can use VR to refine the vision for a space with the appropriate stakeholders and donors.

 

 

 

Coming Soon: A Virtual Reality Revolution — from builderonline.com by Jennifer Goodman
American consumers will soon expect homes to be viewable before they are built. Are you ready?

Excerpt:

In what ways are builders using VR today?
There are two primary uses of the panoramic style VR that I mentioned above being used: 1) photography based experiences and 2) computer generated (CG) experiences. The former is getting quite a bit of traction right now through technologies like Matterport. They are what I consider a modern version of iPix, using a camera to photograph an existing environment and special software to move through the space. But it is limited to real world environments. The CG experiences don’t require the environments to be built which gives builders a huge advantage to pre-market their properties. And since it is computer generated, there is a tremendous amount of flexibility in what is presented, such as various structural options or cabinet selections. And not only homes! Developers are using the technology to market the amenities of a new master planned community.

 

 

Local builders step further into virtual reality — from richmondbizsense.com by Jonathan Spiers

Excerpt:

While 3D modeling and online virtual tours have become more commonplace in the home design industry, at least one local builder is taking the custom home building and buying process into a new dimension.

At a recent preview event for this year’s Homearama, an annual home design showcase to be held this May at Chesterfield County’s NewMarket Estates, Midlothian-based Lifestyle Home Builders let attendees virtually walk through and look around a completed version of the house it is building – while standing within the same unfinished home under construction.

Participants were invited to wear virtual reality (VR) headsets for a full immersion, 360-degree experience, or they could navigate the finished product via a virtual tour on a computer screen. LifeStyle is using the technology, which it adapted from building information modeling (BIM) and off-the-shelf software, to allow homebuyers a chance to see their custom home before it is built and make any changes prior to construction starting.

 

 

How Virtual Reality Could Revolutionize The Real Estate Industry — from forbes.com by Azad Abbasi

Excerpt:

Consider the top two hurdles of the average real estate agent:

  • Agents have to manage the time it takes to go from one visit to the other, dealing with traffic among other elements out of their control.
  • The most commonly heard phrase in real estate is, “It doesn’t look like the pictures.”

Virtual reality can help immediately resolve both of these issues. It offers the possibility to virtually visit a lot more homes in a lot less time. This will naturally increase sales efficiency, as well as allow the ability to see more potential buyers.

Here are three different options you can explore using virtual reality to heighten real estate experiences:

 

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The New Media Consortium (NMC) has released Digital Literacy: An NMC Horizon Project Strategic Brief

On 10/25/2016, in 21st century, adjunct faculty, Adobe, collaboration, colleges, communications, community colleges, creativity, curriculum, Daniel S. Christian, design, digital audio, digital citizenship, digital learning, digital photography, digital storytelling, digital textbooks, digital video, education technology, faculty, Graphics, higher education, ideas, library / librarians, maker movement, Media/film, multimedia, online media, pedagogy, photography, storytelling, student teaching/teacher education, student-related, teaching & learning, tools, universities, vendors, web-based collaboration, workplace, youth, by Daniel Christian

nmc-digitalliteracyreport-oct2016

 

The New Media Consortium (NMC) has released Digital Literacy: An NMC Horizon Project Strategic Brief in conjunction with the 2016 EDUCAUSE Annual Conference.
…
In analyzing the progress and gaps in this area, the NMC’s report has identified a need for higher education leaders and technology companies to prioritize students as makers, learning through the act of content creation rather than mere consumption. Additionally, the publication recommends that colleges and universities establish productive collaborations with industry, government, and libraries to provide students with access to the latest technologies and tools.
…
Based on the variety and complexity of these results, NMC cannot identify just one model of digital literacy. Instead three different digital literacies are now evident, each with distinct standards, potential curriculum, and implications for creative educators.

 

digitallits-nmc-oct2016

 

 

The aim of this publication is to establish a shared vision of digital literacy for higher education leaders by illuminating key definitions and models along with best practices and recommendations for implementing successful digital literacy initiatives.

 

 

To be digitally literate, you need to be:
fluent at critical thinking, collaborating,
being creative, and problem-solving in
digital environments.

 

 

Computer science and digital media classes can instruct on everything from office productivity applications to programming and video editing, for example.  Sociology courses can teach interpersonal actions online, such as the ethics and politics of social network interaction, while psychology and business classes can focus on computer-mediated human interaction. Government and political science classes are clearly well equipped to explore the intersection of digital technology and citizenship mentioned above. Communication, writing, and  literature classes have the capacity to instruct students on producing digital content in the form of stories, arguments, personal expression, posters, and more. 

 

 

 

From DSC:
If faculty members aren’t asking students to create multimedia in their assignments and/or take part in online/digitally-based means of communications and learning, the vast majority of the students won’t (and don’t) care about digital literacy…it’s simply not relevant to them: “Whatever gets me the grade, that’s what I’ll do. But no more.”

This type of situation/perspective is quite costly.  Because once students graduate from college, had they built up some solid digital literacy — especially the “creative literacy” mentioned above — they would be in much better shape to get solid jobs, and prosper at those jobs. They would be much better able to craft powerful communications — and reach a global audience in doing so. They would have honed their creativity, something increasingly important as the onward march of AI, robotics, algorithms, automation, and such continues to eat away at many types of jobs (that don’t really need creative people working in them).

This is an important topic, especially as digitally-based means of communication continue to grow in their usage and impact.

 

 

Part of digital literacy is not just understanding how a tool works but also why it is useful in the real world and when to use it.

 

 

 

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Some funny, sharp, innovative, creative photography

On 09/28/2016, in creativity, digital photography, innovation, photography, by Daniel Christian

2016 Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards Winners — from fubiz.net

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bird Chronophotography — from theawesomer.com by photographer Xavi Bou

 

 

 

 

Magical Pictures of Nature shot by a Traveller — from fubiz.net by photographer Lorenzo Montezemolo

 

 

 

 

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2016 National Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year Contest

On 09/15/2016, in creativity, digital photography, Geography / Geology, photography, by Daniel Christian

 

2016 National Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year Contest — from fubiz.net

Excerpt:

Every year, National Geographic opens its nature photography contest to photography lovers all around the world, with four categories: Landscape, Environmental Issues, Action and Animal Portraits. A perfect occasion for people who are passionate about nature to enjoy unusual or majestic scenes. The winner of the Grand Prize will win a 10-days trip for two in the Galápagos as well as two online portfolios with National Geographic.

 

Also see the National Geographic site regarding this year’s contest:

natlgeog-pic2016

 

 

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Is the provision of dual cameras in Apple’s new iPhone 7 laying the foundation for mainstream AR?

On 09/10/2016, in Apple, augmented reality, digital photography, digital storytelling, digital video, iPhone, Mixed reality, photography, platforms, tools, vendors, by Daniel Christian

iphoneplus-2cams

From Apple:

iPhone 7 Plus doesn’t have just one entirely new camera system — it has two. The same 12MP wide-angle camera that’s on iPhone 7 works with a 12MP telephoto camera that can get even closer. That means you can get higher-quality zoom from farther away. And with an all-new depth-of-field effect (coming soon), portrait shots will look better than ever. Say hello to the world’s best photo op.
…
Depth-of-field effect.
Depth of field allows you to keep faces sharp while creating a blurred effect in the background. When you take a shot with iPhone 7 Plus, the dual-camera system uses both cameras and advanced machine learning to make your subject sharp while creating the same out-of-focus blur in the background — known as the bokeh effect — previously reserved for DSLR cameras. So no matter what’s behind your subject, it’s easy to create a great portrait.

 

 

Dual camera smartphones – the missing link that will bring augmented reality into the mainstream — from theconversation.com

Excerpt:

Smartphones boasting “dual cameras” are becoming more common, and news that they will feature on the just-announced iPhone 7 Plus indicates the arrival into the mainstream. But while dual cameras may stem from efforts to improve picture quality, it has the potential to lead us down much more interesting paths: the real story may be that Apple is using dual cameras to position itself for the augmented reality world ushered in by the Pokemon Go phenomenon.
…
The iPhone uses machine learning algorithms to scan objects within a scene, building up a real-time 3D depth map of the terrain and objects. Currently, the iPhone uses this to separate the background from the foreground in order to selectively focus on foreground objects. This effect of blurring out background details, known as bokeh, is a feature of DLSRs and not readily available on smaller cameras such as those in smartphones. The depth map allows the iPhone to simulate a variable aperture which provides the ability to display areas of the image out of focus. While an enviable addition for smartphone camera users, this is a gimmick compared to what the depth map can really do.

 

What Apple has is the first step toward a device like Microsoft’s HoloLens, an augmented reality head-mounted display currently in development.

Software that provides similar analysis of people’s poses and location within a scene for dual camera smartphones would provide a virtual window onto the real world. Using hand gesture recognition, users could naturally interact with a mixed reality world, with the phone’s accelerometer and GPS data detecting and driving changes to how that world is presented and updated.

 

 

Apple has not arrived here by accident. In addition to acquiring Linx, Apple also purchased augmented reality pioneer Metaio in 2015, suggesting a game plan to develop a mixed reality platform.

 

 

 

Dual camera smartphones: here’s why you should want one — from t3.com by Joseph Carey
The iPhone 7 Plus is meant to feature dual cameras, but why are two cameras better than one?

Excerpt:

One sensor for the main image and one for the detail – dual cameras never usually have two of the same sensor.

 

 

 

 

 

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Prisma is a fun, engaging, & creative tool to put effects/styles on your photos

On 08/18/2016, in art, Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning / Deep Learning, creativity, digital photography, innovation, photography, tools, vendors, by Daniel Christian

Prisma-July2016

Description:
Turn Every Photo into Art | Using Artificial Intelligence
Prisma transforms your photos into artworks using the styles of famous artists: Munk, Picasso as well as world famous ornaments and patterns. A unique combination of neural networks and artificial intelligence helps you turn memorable moments into timeless art.

 

From DSC:
I’ve tried this tool and it’s really fun to use — producing some creative results! An innovative, sharp tool for sure.

 

———–

Addendum on 8/22/16 from DSC:
I wanted to highlight Nikos Andriotis’ comment on this posting, as it’s creative, innovative, fun, thinking!

Great tool! I’ve used it already too. A neat excersise for art classes would be converting an unrelated picture to a particular style, and then asking the learners what style is it, and where has it been used. Quite simple, but sounds rather enjoyable to me.

 

 

 

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Some beautiful/incredible examples of art, creativity, digital photography, innovative architecture & more!

On 08/06/2016, in architecture, art, creativity, digital photography, innovation, photography, by Daniel Christian

XL-Muse creates tunnel of books for shop in China — from dezeen.com

 

 

 

100-Year-Old Theatre Turned into a Magnificent Bookstore — from fubiz.net

 

 

 

 

 

Prismatic Paintings Produced From Refracted Light by Stephen Knapp — from thisiscolossal.com by Kate Sierzputowski

 

 

 

 

Passing From Day to Night in Israel — from fubiz.net

 

 

 

 

French Artist Turns Barren Walls into Beautiful Photorealistic Murals — from interestingengineering.com by Trevor English

 

 

 

 

Giant Boombox Mural in Chile

 

 

 

 

Tilt shift Van Gogh’s paintings — from fubiz.net

 

 

 

 

Superb Symmetrical Architecture Shot by EMCN — from fubiz.net

 

 

 

 

Triangular Tree House Chapel With a View to the Brazilian Sea — from fubiz.net

 

 

 

 

Artist Spotlight: Carlo Cane

 

 

 

 

PHASED | LA from SCIENTIFANTASTIC on Vimeo.

 

 

 

 

Fairy Pictures Of Fireflies in Japan — from fubiz.net

 

 

 

 

The Magical Realism of Eric Roux-Fontaine’s Dreamlike Paintings — from thisiscolossal.com

 

 

Horseman-NationalGeographic2016Winner

 

 

 

Also see:

 

 

 

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Creative, amazing photography, paper-based designs, and other great pieces of art!

On 07/01/2016, in architecture, art, creativity, digital photography, photography, web design and production, by Daniel Christian

Amazing Architectural Photography by Ivan Huang — from fubiz.net

 

 

 

 

 

30 Paper Art Designs

30PaperArtDesigns-March2016

 

 

Some creative sites to check out:

 

 

A fascinating 3D-printed light-based zoetrope by Akinori Goto — from thisiscolossal.com by Christopher Jobson

 

 

 

Hand-Cut Mandalas and Other Intricate Paper Works by Mr. Riuby — from thisiscolossal.com Kate Sierzputowski

 

 

 

 

Awesome Photographs taken from the Top Of The Golden Gate Bridge — from fubiz.net

 

 

 

 

Urban Photography Playing with Lights and Shades

 

 

 

Picture books for the arts integrated classroom — from educationcloset.com by Brianne Gidcumb|

Excerpt:

Today, though, I’m turning the focus back to those books on the shelves of your classroom libraries, as I share seven children’s titles that you might want to add to your bookshelves!

 

 

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