Through a Lens, Clearly!

Can a computer read beauty?–

Xerox recently announced a tool they are developing called Aesthetic Image Search which can be accessed at Open Xerox (open.xerox.com). While many methods of image classification are based on parts, this software attempts to classify images according to quality. Can a computer be taught to distinguish between normal and high quality photos? See and judge for yourself on their website. The project is currently still at the alpha stage. It chooses images only from a prepared set and does not allow uploads yet.

Raffy Paredes

A rather surprising article on PetaPixel a week ago claimed that virtually all photographic films and papers are made with animal parts. “Most of the thickness in film comes from gelatin, which is used to hold the silver halide crystals in an emulsion. Gelatin is made from animal hides and bones — mainly cows and pigs. People have tried to come up with substitutes, but they haven’t been able to find anything suitable that’s as stable or cheap as gelatin,” according to the article. Knowing this, vegans may consider avoiding film altogether.

A ball-shaped foam-padded enclosure containing 36 fixed focus 2-megapixel mobile camera modules for panoramic photography is being developed in Berlin, Germany. To take a spherical panoramic photo, the device is thrown in the air just like a ball. As the ball reaches its highest point, when it stops moving for a split second, all the cameras take photos simultaneously. The pictures are then downloaded via USB and viewed in a spherical panoramic viewer. Read more and see the amazing panoramas it can take at http://jonaspfeil.de/ballcamera.

Readers who believe in supporting the group the Bawal Mag-Shoot Dito (BMSD) which was featured in this column last week can do so through the group’s Facebook page.

And now to our featured readers.

From Iriga City, Camarines Sur, 16-year-old Renzo Ayubo writes: “I just saw the Picture Perfect page in Manila Bulletin and I thought if I can send you my shots.” He sent in the photo “Porta Mariae, Metropolitan Cathedral, Naga City.”

Richard Jason Salvador of Abucay, Bataan took photos in Ghana, West Africa where he is now based. “I started photography last 2008 just for a hobby and I enjoy shooting people with a lot of expressions,” he shares. His photo “Mother and Child” shows how a Ghanian mother carries her child while at work.

Anh Allada of Laguna writes: “I started to love taking pictures of places and faces at a very young age. Maybe eight or nine. I didn’t have a good camera then, I cannot afford it. The first camera that I can call my own was a gift from my sister when I graduated high school. It was even an old one, but I have loved it so much for it still allowed me to take pictures of the places I have visited, to capture happy and sad faces. I was young and I didn’t care if the camera was old, because I strongly believe that a good picture doesn’t depend on the camera, it depends on the heart of the person holding it.” She adds, however, that as she matured, she also realized how a good lens “is equally important to get that perfect shot.” Anh’s photo of multicolored candies is titled “Sweet.”

Sisters Kyla, 10 and Ryza, eight, daughters of regular contributor Koni Gutierrez-Cruz have also began to love photography, reports their mom. “Whenever we pass by a scenic spot, they always ask me to stop and they will share our camera to shoot.” Today, they share their versions of a sunset which the three of them photographed one after the other with the same camera. Koni is an sssistant professor II at the Bataan Peninsula State University in Balanga, Bataan. She recently engaged her students in a friendly competition to shoot creative photographs that depict mathematical concepts.

Also sharing their photos for the first time are Daena Erin who took a photo of a boy on his donkey at the Eid festival along the Cox Bazar beach in Bangladesh two years ago; Kenth Nilsson with the photo, “Caterpillar Beauty,” taken in his garden in Phuket, Thailand; and pharmacist Joana Marie E. Verdeflor with “Become,” a scenic photo of a green field and light clouds on a blue sky, reminding one of the iconic Windows XP wallpaper “Bliss.”

Last week’s issue mentioned Glenn Guardian of the Subic Shutter Club but inadvertently omitted his photo contribution “Man And His Friends” - a photo of a man walking his dogs as the sun begins to set. That picture is published on this page today.

For comment, suggestions or just to share an image or idea, email rfyparedes@yahoo.com