photography

Animals, people, art, photography, creativity, and beauty [Various]

On 02/09/2024, in art, creativity, digital video, photography, United States, by Daniel Christian

The 2023 Wildlife Photographer of the Year Reveals the Most Magnificent Animal Behavior — from thisiscolossal.com by Grace Ebert and Co.

The Sony World Photography Awards 2024 Celebrate Childhood Joy and Fiery Festivities — from thisiscolossal.com by Grace Ebert and Co.

In Drew Simms’s Short Film, Yellowstone National Park’s Gentle Giants Hunker Down in Subzero Temperatures — from thisiscolossal.com by Kate Mothes and Drew Simms

From DSC:
Check out this beautiful short film. It’s incredibly well done!

Enter the New Era of Mobile AI With Samsung Galaxy S24 Series — from news.samsung.com

Galaxy AI introduces meaningful intelligence aimed at enhancing every part of life, especially the phone’s most fundamental role: communication. When you need to defy language barriers, Galaxy S24 makes it easier than ever. Chat with another student or colleague from abroad. Book a reservation while on vacation in another country. It’s all possible with Live Translate,² two-way, real-time voice and text translations of phone calls within the native app. No third-party apps are required, and on-device AI keeps conversations completely private.

With Interpreter, live conversations can be instantly translated on a split-screen view so people standing opposite each other can read a text transcription of what the other person has said. It even works without cellular data or Wi-Fi.

Galaxy S24 — from theneurondaily.com by Noah Edelman & Pete Huang

Samsung just announced the first truly AI-powered smartphone: the Galaxy S24.

For us AI power users, the features aren’t exactly new, but it’s the first time we’ve seen them packaged up into a smartphone (Siri doesn’t count, sorry).

Samsung’s Galaxy S24 line arrives with camera improvements and generative AI tricks — from techcrunch.com by Brian Heater
Starting at $800, the new flagships offer brighter screens and a slew of new photo-editing tools

My Honest Review of AI Art Tools I Used In 2023 Here’s what I think of every AI art tool I used in 2023.

On 01/14/2024, in Adobe, art, content development, aggregation, repositories, creativity, digital photography, emerging technologies, experimentation, graphics, innovation, photography, tools, vendors, by Daniel Christian

My Honest Review of AI Art Tools I Used In 2023 — from theaigirl.substack.com by Diana Dovgopol
Here’s what I think of every AI art tool I used in 2023.

Today, I want to give my honest review of every AI art tool I used and why I love/hate some of them. I’ll highlight the best features they have and how the impact they had on me as an AI artist.
…
Midjourney v4: The first AI art tool I loved
While Lensa had its moment and offered users the chance to turn their selfies into stylized AI art effortlessly, Midjourney v4 meant a world of new possibilities. You could create anything you wanted with a prompt!

Speaking of art and creativity, here are two other items to check out!

An Italian Basilica, Mountain, and the Moon Magically Align in an Extraordinary Photo — from thisiscolossal.com by Grace Ebert and Valerio Minato

***

Check out this beautiful photography, art, & creativity

On 01/01/2024, in art, creativity, digital photography, Europe, photography, by Daniel Christian

Photographer Mikko Lagerstedt Illuminates the Magical Solitude of the Nordic Winter — from thisiscolossal.com by Mikko Lagerstedt and Grace Ebert

380 Artists, 51 Countries, 14 Years: A Community Embroidery Project Connects Women Around the Globe — from thisiscolossal.com by Grace Ebert

Fav Photos Found in 2023: 75 Photos by 75 Photographers — from booooooom.com

Light Undulates Through Delicate Sheets of Glass in Ben Young’s Sculptural Seascapes — from thisiscolossal.com by Ben Young and Kate Mothes

Some items re: creativity — including “cinematic thinking” [Grush & Campbell]

On 12/14/2023, in art, blogs / blogging / vlogging, creativity, digital audio, digital photography, digital storytelling, digital video, media/film, online learning, online media, participation, photography, by Daniel Christian

The 2023 Ocean Photographer of the Year Contest Highlights the Stunning Sights Above and Below the Surface — from thisiscolossal.com

It’s Not Kansas Anymore: It’s Cinematic Thinking — from campustechnology.com by Mary Grush and Gardner Campbell
A Q&A with Gardner Campbell

Blogs are like a screenplay to a mental movie the student has made. It’s a kind of narrative, but in a way that’s more associative, the way film can be.

Grush: What about your recorded online class sessions? Do they present another path to cinematic thinking?

Campbell: Yes! A couple years ago I started describing what I did with online learning as making movies on location. That referred to the way that I really wanted each of our class meetings to be: a kind of experience, not just for students to be here as I’m lecturing, though I may be doing that, but an experience that’s similar to a live television show. Or almost like a live recording session. Of course, we’re making something that is recorded on video, and you can go back and look at it to get the flow of the experience of our time together: the way in which that story exists through time.

The Colonnade of a Barcelona University Building Embodies a 13-Meter-Tall Heart by Jaume Plensa [Mothes] + other artistic items

On 11/17/2023, in art, biology, creativity, digital photography, Europe, photography, universities, by Daniel Christian

The Colonnade of a Barcelona University Building Embodies a 13-Meter-Tall Heart by Jaume Plensa — from thisiscolossal.com by Kate Mothes

Comically Candid Snapshots Culminate in the 2023 Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards — from thisiscolossal.com by Jackie Andres

“Zen-Xan” by Photographer Lawrence Hardy — from booooooom.com by Lawrence Hardy

From the world of science, see:

One of the Most Colorful Composites of the Universe Highlights Galaxies 4.3 Billion Light-Years from Earth — from thisiscolossal.com by Grace Ebert

A Photo Preservationist Saved a Trove of 4,000 Glass Plate Negatives That Nearly Went Into the Trash [Cappucci & Mothes]

On 11/10/2023, in history, photography, United States, by Daniel Christian

A Photo Preservationist Saved a Trove of 4,000 Glass Plate Negatives That Nearly Went Into the Trash — from thisiscolossal.com by Kate Mothes and Terri Cappucci

Canva and Adobe are going hard with it re: the use of AI

On 10/09/2023, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, adjunct faculty, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, colleges, communications, community colleges, content development, aggregation, repositories, corporate universities / corporate training, design, digital photography, digital video, education technology, emerging technologies, engagement / engaging students, experimentation, faculty/staff, graphics, higher education, homeschooling/homeschoolers, human-computer interaction (HCI), innovation, instructional design, intelligent systems, IT in HE, K-12 related, liberal arts, maker movement, multimedia, online media, photography, platforms, productivity / tips and tricks, skills, student teaching/teacher education, student-related, teachers, teaching & learning, teaching online, technologies for your home, tools, training / L&D, United States, universities, vendors, visualizing information, web design and production, by Daniel Christian

Canva’s new AI tools automate boring, labor-intensive design tasks — from theverge.com by Jess Weatherbed
Magic Studio features like Magic Switch automatically convert your designs into blogs, social media posts, emails, and more to save time on manually editing documents.

Canva launches Magic Studio, partners with Runway ML for video — from bensbites.beehiiv.com by Ben Tossell

Here are the highlights of launched features under the new Magic Studio:

Magic Design – Turn ideas into designs instantly with AI-generated templates.
Magic Switch – Transform content into different formats and languages with one click.
Magic Grab – Make images editable like Canva templates for easy editing.
Magic Expand – Use AI to expand images beyond the original frame.
Magic Morph – Transform text and shapes with creative effects and prompts.
Magic Edit – Make complex image edits using simple text prompts.
Magic Media – Generate professional photos, videos and artworks from text prompts.
Magic Animate – Add animated transitions and motion to designs instantly.
Magic Write – Generate draft text and summaries powered by AI.

Adobe Firefly

Addendums on 10/11/23:

We released a new model ?

!!! Firefly Image 2 !!!!

As a scientist I am in disbelief that such model is possible with a small dataset as we had.

We compensated artists for training it.

We worked very hard on it. Please, enjoy! #AdobeMax https://t.co/j2TUiiyjN7 pic.twitter.com/gqABThSBWZ

— Kris Kashtanova (@icreatelife) October 10, 2023

Adobe Releases New AI Models Aimed at Improved Graphic Design — from bloomberg.com
New version of Firefly is bigger than initial tool, Adobe says Illustrator, Express programs each get own generative tools

A few hours ago, Adobe released Firefly 2, their new AI image generator.

But how good is it?

I compared it to Midjourney & DALL-E 3 across 10 very different image categories so you don’t have to.

Here are the results:

— Chase Lean (@chaseleantj) October 11, 2023

Some fun art, photography, and creativity for you!

On 10/09/2023, in art, creativity, engineering, photography, by Daniel Christian

Thandiwe Muriu Confronts Notions of Value in Her Vividly Disguised Portraits — from thisiscolossal.com by Grace Ebert

“Santa Monica” by Photographer Francesca Forquet — from booooooom.com by Francesca Forquet

Laurent Ballesta’s Luminous Photographs Reveal the Astounding Diversity of Ocean Life [Mothes]

On 09/04/2023, in art, creativity, digital photography, photography, by Daniel Christian

Laurent Ballesta’s Luminous Photographs Reveal the Astounding Diversity of Ocean Life — from thisiscolossal.com by Kate Mothes

Some beautiful art and photography for you!

On 07/06/2023, in art, creativity, digital photography, photography, by Daniel Christian

The 2023 Audubon Photography Awards Zeros In on Threats to Avian Life Amid the Climate Emergency — from thisiscolossal.com by Kate Mothes

Exquisite Paintings by Lee Me Kyeoung Are an Ode to the Quaint Corner Stores of South Korea — from thisiscolossal.com by Lee Me Kyeoung and Grace Ebert

Artist Spotlight: April Kamunde — from booooooom.com

Luminous Creatures Haunt Darkened Landscapes in Hannu Huhtamo’s Dreamlike Light Paintings — from thisiscolossal.com by Grace Ebert and Hannu Huhtamo

Some sharp creativity!

On 05/27/2023, in art, creativity, digital photography, photography, by Daniel Christian

Ruslan Khasanov Brings Cosmic Phenomena Down to Earth in His Mesmerizing Short Film ‘Space Iris’ — from thisiscolossal.com by Kate Mothes and Ruslan Khasanov

Space Iris 8K from Rus Khasanov on Vimeo.

2022 Booooooom Photo Awards Winner: Ophe?lie Maurus — from booooooom.com

Through Gripping Photos, Ryan Newburn Captures the Depths of Iceland’s Ancient Glacial Caves [Ebert & Newburn]

On 05/16/2023, in art, creativity, digital photography, geography / geology, photography, by Daniel Christian

Through Gripping Photos, Ryan Newburn Captures the Depths of Iceland’s Ancient Glacial Caves — from thisiscolossal.com by Grace Ebert and Ryan Newburn

So fun! Some really creative work here!

On 05/10/2023, in art, creativity, digital photography, Europe, photography, UK, United States, by Daniel Christian

A Collaborative Photo Project Imagines a World Where Street Artists Have Free Rein — from thisiscolossal.com by Grace Ebert

Excerpts:

What would artists create if all of the world’s surfaces could become a canvas? Joseph Ford—of Invisible Jumpers fame—responds to this question in a new project called Impossible Street Art. Collaborating with eight artists including Peeta, Levalet, and Victoria Villasana, Ford reimagines the possibilities of public spaces that are otherwise inaccessible due to scale, safety issues, or restrictions.

Dozens of Photographers Gather For ‘100 For the Ocean’ to Support Marine Research and Advocacy

On 05/02/2023, in digital photography, geography / geology, photography, by Daniel Christian

Dozens of Photographers Gather For ‘100 For the Ocean’ to Support Marine Research and Advocacy — from thisiscolossal.com by Kate Mothes

Learning Ecosystems