MichaelChang

<blockquote> <p>"This video introduces a high-speed SVBRDF measurement method which can be 180 times faster than a usual approach for an example.<br> Spatial Varying Bidirectional Reflectance Distribution Function: SVBRDF is a function that defines how light is reflected at a surface and used for a photorealistic rendering in computer graphics. Since most of the parametric SVBRDF measurements involve over-sampling and non-linear optimization, not only the acquisition time but also the estimation time become so long.<br> In order to realize the rapid SVBRDF measurement, we propose the strategy using an algebraic solution that eliminates over-sampling and optimization, and an adaptive illumination system that satisfies the necessary constraints for the solution. Based on this strategy, we demonstrated the rapid measurement with real objects and showed the synthetic scene with texel-level SVBRDF."</p> </blockquote> <p><a href="

<p><a href="https://www.quora.com/How-does-how-old-net-work/answer/Eason-Wang-6">Eason Wang's answer to How does how-old.net work? - Quora</a></p>

<p>Microsoft says the app was put together in a day by a couple of developers:<br> <a href="http://blog.how-old.net/">Fun with ML, Stream Analytics and PowerBI - Observing Virality in Real Time</a></p> <p>And the Microsoft <a href="http://gallery.azureml.net/">Microsoft Azure Machine Learning</a> API is available for download if anyone cares to play around with developing their own apps. </p>

<p>For a bit of fun but horribly inaccurate: <br> <a href="http://how-old.net/">http://how-old.net/</a><br> <a href="http://recode.net/2015/05/03/shingy-the-senior-citizen-and-other-things-we-learned-from-microsofts-how-old-net/">http://recode.net/2015/05/03/shingy-the-senior-citizen-and-other-things-we-learned-from-microsofts-how-old-net/</a></p>

<blockquote> <p><em>"Take some nudie cutie selfies. Have a business partner "leak" them to various sites. Sue for copyright violation and damages."</em></p> </blockquote> <p>It probably won't turn out well. A civil suit will expose the plaintiff to an onslaught of questions by the defense attorney about the origin of the photos and the people involved. </p>

<p>It appears that won't be necessary in the future.<br> <a href="http://www.cagoldberglaw.com/states-with-revenge-porn-laws/">http://www.cagoldberglaw.com/states-with-revenge-porn-laws/</a></p>

<p>A million dollars used to mean something; not so much any more - it'd cost twice that just to <a href="http://money.cnn.com/2014/06/07/investing/buffett-lunch-winner/">have lunch with Warren Buffett</a>, although it can still make life more comfortable for most people. </p> <p>I'd probably spend a small fraction of the sum to hire a few professional models to shoot; something that has always intrigued me but never had the opportunity. </p>

<p>Given the level of gear you have, I'd probably think more in terms of a manned photo station rather than a traditional unmanned photo booth. The activity is all about fun from the subjects' point of view, so I would rather focus my effort on participant experience. </p> <p>If a manned station is practical, then I'd use a simple black cloth as a backdrop and buy a big box of cheap party props from the dollar store that participants can use to quickly dress up and make fun poses. The more fun you make the experience, the more participants you'll engage to facilitate the celebratory atmosphere.</p> <p>If a manned station is not practical, another option is to use something like a GoPro (or an inexpensive eBay equivalent, and excellent quality) on a tripod in time-lapse mode, and just let it run all night at some interval. Resolution won't be as important as composition and fun factor so shooting at 1-3MB resolution on a 32G SD card should prove more than adequate.</p> <p>This will save your expensive gear from wear and tear or risk of theft and damage. </p> <p>You can even run another GoPro at 720p and record videos of participant activities, unmanned, all night. <br> </p> <p> </p>

<p>I haven't tried it with Android, but no problems with my Windows 8.1 8" tablet. I use a USB hub normally powered by an AC adapter, instead powered by an external battery power bank, then I can plug in several USB peripherals including HDDs. </p>

<p>Hi John, a $3,000 budget will buy a very decent camera with high capacity solid state storage, and just about every offering from major manufacturers in that bracket will have very good low light performance and image quality; the differences will be in features and ergonomics so it's really a matter of brand preference - I'm partial to Sony. </p> <p> </p>

<p>I've never used the rice drying method, but from my understanding (and memory), the theory is that rice can act as a mild desiccant thus absorbing ambient moisture. Since the rice won't be in direct contact with the water lodged in the crevices of the camera, it works by absorbing the evaporated moisture in the enclosed air. </p> <p>I haven't looked on the net on how it's typically done, but I imagine it would be in an airtight closed space, something like one of those large salad containers, and I presume you can crush the rice to increase the desiccant's surface area. </p> <p>The rice can be placed in a gauze bag to contain it. </p> <p>Since the water must first evaporate, it would seem to me that a small muffin fan to create air current in the container will help reduce drying time. </p>

<p>Charles, shame about your machine quitting. Have you tried repairing it?</p> <p>I've always drooled over Otari machines but they weren't that popular in my area. I once had a Tascam 8-TR 1/2" machine with DBX; never used it much but was cool to own. Had a Revox for a while and now have a Teac 1/4" that hasn't seen power in 20 years. </p> <p>The studios in my town mostly had Studer and Ampex machines back in the day, for unknown reasons Otari never gained popularity here.</p> <p> </p>

<p>Charles, did you use those little green VCA modules? I think Valley People also sold complete VCAs. </p> <p>Those green modules contained the 8 (log, antilog) transistors, Vbe matched to 1mV, and the same sex transistors were thermally bonded. The assembled package was then placed in the green housing to eliminate any thermal gradients across the package. The circuit was really quite elegant. </p> <p>Does the company Amber, Ed Meitner and Wayne Jones mean anything to you? </p>

<p>Thanks for editing the thread title, Lex. </p> <p>Not much of an apology, is it? Claiming it's an "accidental" deletion. Good thing is, it gave Rupi Kaur the exposure money can't buy. </p>

<p>Matt, I recall Paul Buff's VCA was at the core of most of their products which at the time was in stiff competition with Dave Blackmer's VCA design (and DBX products). I still remember the slightly sarcastic friendly rivalry between the two. </p> <p>The 70s and 80s were the golden age of pro audio, or audio in general. The good 'ol days. </p>

<p>I first met Paul Buff at an AES conference in Vegas back in the early 80s; still remember him manning his "Valley People" booth in jeans when most others were in suits. We corresponded frequently on his <a href="http://www.google.com/patents/US4341962">VCA patent</a> which our company subsequently used in an instrumentation design. </p> <p>One thing we had in common was our love of Abyssinian cats; I had one and he had two (at the time), and somewhere in my drawer is a Polaroid of his two cats that he sent me. </p> <p>We haven't spoken since the mid 80s but I've followed his evolving career through recently until his passing. Brilliant man whom I will always remember fondly. </p>

<p>Appreciate your thoughts, Benoît. </p> <p>My feeling about the Instagram backlash is that the photographer probably made a poor choice by posting it there given the site's user demographic.</p> <p>Had the images been posted here, and the first image was selected as a PoW, the ensuing discussion would have been quite different and probably more inline with how the photographer had intended it to be received.</p> <p> </p>

<p>As reported on an Indian site: <br> <a href="http://homegrown.co.in/period-shaming-on-instagram-rupi-kaurs-photoseries-deleted-due-to-community-guidelines/">http://homegrown.co.in/period-shaming-on-instagram-rupi-kaurs-photoseries-deleted-due-to-community-guidelines/</a></p>

<p>A photo was removed by Instagram for failing to meet community guidelines; the owner writes an open letter in response. <br> <a href="http://www.scoopwhoop.com/news/insta-photo/">http://www.scoopwhoop.com/news/insta-photo/</a></p>

<p>Couple of links showing the photo:<br> <a href="http://robchaney.net/world-press-photo-strips-giovanni-troilo-of-his-first-prize-win-for-misrepresenting-photo/">World Press Photo Strips Giovanni Troilo of His First Prize Win for Misrepresenting Photo | Lop Rabbit Photography</a><br> <a href="http://petapixel.com/2015/02/26/town-accuses-photographer-of-staging-his-shots-that-won-world-press-photo/">Town Accuses Photographer of Staging His Shots That Won World Press Photo</a></p>

<p>An interesting commercial from Chevrolet in 1966 with special effects followed by how the film crew did it in 8 days of prepping and filming:<br> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0HdYq26qkA&t=491">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0HdYq26qkA&t=491</a> - cued to about 8:11, 3 minutes long. </p>

<p>I can't speak to photography, but I've observed many seniors with "don't givadam" attitudes doing rather strange things, like planting tulips in precise 8" intervals in alternating colors, so I really think they don't givadam, but that is quite independent from creativity. </p>

<p>Our collective 15 minutes of fame makes the world an interesting place. </p>

<p>You might be right, Anders, on the other hand, who's to say that the IKEA painter isn't a million dollar artist whose work was simply not recognized?</p> <p>All it takes is for someone with recognized credentials to fuss all over it for the world to light it on fire, like how Gangnam Style got famous. <br> </p>

<p>While not directly photography related, it does have some parallel with people's perception of art and its value as in a recent thread about <a href="/casual-conversations-forum/00d08B">Peter Lik's photo selling for $6.5 million</a>: </p> <p><a href="http://time.com/3750805/ikea-painting-dutch-art-museum/">One man said he would pay the equivalent of $2.6 million for the approximately $10 IKEA painting</a></p>