Make Your Amateur Photos More Professional With everyone and their grandmother having a digital camera you can make almost anybody look like a professional photographer, well, better-than-amateur at least. You can use this simple process on almost any photo you take. Let’s start with our regular, old, point-and-shoot photo. This one was taken with a little higher-end camera, but it can still use a lot of work. First, we’re going to sharpen our image a bit using the Unsharp Mask [Filter > Sharpen > Unsharp Mask]. Now we’re going to add a Levels Adjustment layer [Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Levels]. Next step is to add a Brightness/Contrast Adjustment layer [Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Brightness/Contrast]. One more adjustment layer… the Hue/Saturation Adjustment layer [Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Hue/Saturation]. Now you can probably already see how much of a difference these few steps make. It’s a subtle change, but it usually makes the photo look nicer. I’m going to start by duplicating my Background Layer [Ctrl + J].
Social Skydiving: The Art of Talking to Strangers I’ve travelled all over the world, from New York to Cape Town, Rio de Janeiro to Tokyo. I’ve had the privilege of working with brilliant minds. A few years ago I learned French, and mastered the language well enough to speak in horrible slang with a fully authentic accent. I bought my first house not even 72 hours after my first ever house-shopping expedition, and only hours before I was due on a plane to Australia. But the single most exhilarating thing I’ve ever done was to make a habit of talking to strangers. Nothing has changed my world view, and my life, more than taking the risk of saying “Hi” to people I don’t know on a regular basis. How to Become a Social Skydiver I can’t help but geek out on almost everything I do. Figure out what you want. How to Approach People I prefer to keep my conversations fairly organic. What you say isn’t nearly as important as how you say it. That’s okay. What I’ve Learned from Talking to Strangers People don’t bite. One Approach a Day
Engineering and Math Please enable JavaScript to view the <a href=" powered by Disqus.</a> Engineering and Math Follow Us Views: 324,010 Engineering and Math 3 Online Think ..."Some time ago I received a call from a colleague. He was about to give a student a zero for his answer to a physics question, while the student claimed a perfect score. The student had answered, "Take the barometer to the top of the building, attach a long rope to it, lower it to the street, and then bring the rope up, measuring the length of the rope. The student really had a strong case for full credit since he had really answered the question completely and correctly! I suggested that the student have another try. In the next minute, he dashed off his answer which read: "Take the barometer to the top of the building and lean over the edge of the roof. At this point, I asked my colleague if he would give up. "Well," said the student, "there are many ways of getting the height of a tall building with the aid of a barometer. "Fine," I said, "and others?" "Yes," said the student, "there is a very basic measurement method you will like. "A very direct method." "Of course.
We Are Selecters · You Are Selecters ♥ » RJ Shaughnessy Photography El fotógrafo de Los Angeles, RJ Shaughnessy convierte lo ordinario en extraordinario ... "Las realidades de las situaciones son aburridas, ... tiene que haber algo roto dentro del marco", dice Shaughnessy. El trabajo de RJ llamó la atención de numerosas publicaciones y ha trabajado con empresas como Adidas, Nike, Sony PlayStation y Microsoft. Desde que se graduó en el año 2004, en el Art Center College of Design en Pasadena, California, RJ ha ganado una reputación de capturar la naturaleza salvaje, anárquica, espontánea y juguetona de la juventud. Estas imágenes son el resultado de una vida en Los Angeles en medio de los muchos pensamientos de perfección (y su opuesto), ... pensamientos que sólo "la ciudad de los ángeles" puede evocar. Los Angeles based photographer RJ Shaughnessy transforms the ordinary into extraordinary... RJ´s work caught the attention of numerous publications and he has worked with companies such as Adidas, Nike, Sony PlayStation, and Microsoft.
10 Animals You Probably Didn't Know Existed We’ve all heard about the flying squirrel, vampire bats, and naked mole rat, but I bet you haven’t heard of Markhor, Lamprey, and Gerenuk! Here are ten animals that you probably haven’t heard of! (Too lazy to write a good introduction!) Related: 1. Tufted deers are a small species of deer that are found in China. 2. Star-nosed moles are small moles found in eastern Canada and United States along wet and low areas. 3. Southern right whale dolphins are small species found in cool waters far south. 4. Raccoon Dogs, or Tanuki, are found in East Asia. 5. Patagonian Maras are large rodents found in parts of Argentina. Relevant: 5 Members Of The Animal Kingdom That Will Blow Your Mind 6. Markhors are large species of wild goats that are found in Afghanistan and Pakistan. 7. Maned Wolves are found in South America. 8. Lampreys are the spawn of hell. 9. Gerenuks are long-necked species of antelopes found in Eastern Africa. 10. Amazonian Royal Flycatchers are found in the Amazon.
27 Science Fictions That Became Science Facts In 2012 We may never have our flying cars, but the future is here. From creating fully functioning artificial leaves to hacking the human brain, science made a lot of breakthroughs this year. 1. At the University of Pittsburgh, the neurobiology department worked with 52-year-old Jan Scheuermann over the course of 13 weeks to create a robotic arm controlled only by the power of Scheuermann’s mind. 2. Once the robot figures out how to do that without all the wires, humanity is doomed. 3. Photo Courtesy of Indigo Moon Yarns. At the University of Wyoming, scientists modified a group of silkworms to produce silk that is, weight for weight, stronger than steel. 4. Using an electron microscope, Enzo di Fabrizio and his team at the Italian Institute of Technology in Genoa snapped the first photos of the famous double helix.Source: newscientist.com / via: davi296 5. 6. ReCell by Avita Medical is a medical breakthrough for severe-burn victims. 7. 8. 9. 3-D Printer Creates Full-Size Houses in One Session
Terrafugia unveils next-generation flying car It’s a flying car! At least more than the last one was. Terrafugia, creators of the Transition street-legal airplane, have unveiled their vision for the next generation of personal aircraft, the TF-X. The TF-X is closer to being a direct replacement for the automobile than the Transition, which features retractable wings that allow it to be driven on public roads and is primarily intended for use as a conventional aircraft that takes off and lands from an airport runway. It’s also a hybrid, in more ways than one. Although it flies like a fixed-wing aircraft, the four-seat TF-X was designed to take off and land vertically with the help of collapsible, electrically-powered rotors mounted on the ends of its fold-up wings. On the ground, the TF-X is propelled by electric motors in the wheels that are also run off of the battery pack, or in series hybrid mode where the turbine generates electricity after the battery charge is depleted. They’ll have plenty of time to sort it out.
Photography Tips for Ameteur Photographers I’m sure each and everyone of us were pretty excited when we first got our DSLR. I mean, who’s not right. And the next thing most of us will do is – start abusing the shutter and snapping non-stop. That’s just how we learn. Photography is a beautiful form of art with no hard rules. 1. Long shutter photographs are always amazing. examples Photo credit Photo credit Photo credit Photo credit So, you got a rough idea on what exactly is long shutter photography. Technique To take amazing long shutter photographs, you have to first learn and completely understand what exactly Shutter Speed is. These are the time for which your shutter will be open while taking a particular photograph. 2. custom bokeh shapes According to Wikipedia, the definition of bokeh is: "In photography, bokeh is the blur, or the aesthetic quality of the blur, in out-of-focus areas of an image, or “the way the lens renders out-of-focus points of light” Examples (Bokeh) Photo credit Photo credit Photo credit Photo credit Photo credit 3.
The Pixar Theory: Every Character Lives in the Same Universe Jon Negroni spent one year untangling the secret world hidden deep within Pixar films. This thesis (printed in full below) originally appeared on his personal blog and quickly became a viral sensation. Negroni continues to update his post based on interesting feedback from readers. Several months ago, I watched a fun-filled video on Cracked.com that introduced the idea (at least to me) that all of the Pixar movies actually exist within the same universe. Since then, I’ve obsessed over this concept, working to complete what I call “The Pixar Theory,” a working narrative that ties all of the Pixar movies into one cohesive timeline with a main theme. This theory covers every Pixar production since Toy Story: A Bug’s Life, Toy Story 2, Monsters Inc., Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, Cars, Ratatouille, Wall-E, Up, Toy Story 3, Cars 2, Brave and Monsters University. Every movie is connected and implies major events that influence every single movie. Or does he? Buddy didn’t have any powers.
11 cheap gifts guaranteed to impress science geeks Science comes up with a lot of awesome stuff, and you don't need a Ph.D, a secret lab, or government funding to get your hands on some of the coolest discoveries. We've got a list of 11 mostly affordable gifts that are guaranteed to blow your mind, whether or not you're a science geek. Click on any image to see it enlarged. 1. Aerogel Also known as frozen smoke, Aerogel is the world's lowest density solid, clocking in at 96% air. Aerogel isn't just neat, it's useful. Price: $35 2. Inside these sealed glass balls live shrimp, algae, and bacteria, all swimming around in filtered seawater. EcoSpheres came out of research looking at ways to develop self-contained ecosystems for long duration space travel. Price: $80 3. NASA has been trying to figure out how to get a sample of rock back from Mars for a while now. Every once in a while, a meteorite smashes into Mars hard enough to eject some rocks out into orbit around the sun. Price: $70+ 4. Price: $150 5. Price: $110 6. Price: $80 7. Price: $15 8.
Coming Soon: Your Personal Flying Car It's 2013. Where's my flying car? Answer: about eight years away. Terrafugia is a Massachusetts company previously best known for the Transition, which is best described as a plane you can drive. Now Terrafugia is working on a full-on futuristic flying car, the TF-X, which it expects to start selling in the early 2020s. Once in the air, the rotor blades drop and a rear-mounted gas engine takes over. The concept behind the TF-X is that it puts as much of the process as possible on autopilot; as much as your average commercial jetliner, if not more. How about the cost? Now for the obligatory note of skepticism: we'll believe in the TF-X when we see the Transition. Currently, the company estimates it will start shipping the $270,000 Transition to eager customers in 2015. Still, it's a beautiful concept. Image courtesy of Terrafugia
Demersal on the Behance Network The collection of the latest photos of the young artist Luka Klikovac represents an exiting and creative play of colored fluids. Through his camera lens he reveals realistic and tangible space where wondrous motions of strange forms occur, thereby creating psychedelic effects. The author is fascinated with the diversity of surreal depths and spaces created by unpredictable laws of motion of colored fluids. His imagination, artistic sensibility and knowingly caused "randomness" in a glass of water, lead viewers to an endless adventure, full of surreal and timeless scenes. Carved Book Landscapes by Guy Laramee (click images for detail) For the better part of three decades multidisciplinary artist Guy Laramee has worked as a stage writer, director, composer, a fabricator of musical instruments, a singer, sculptor, painter and writer. Among his sculptural works are two incredible series of carved book landscapes and structures entitled Biblios and The Great Wall, where the dense pages of old books are excavated to reveal serene mountains, plateaus, and ancient structures. Of these works he says: So I carve landscapes out of books and I paint Romantic landscapes. Laramee’s next show will be in April of 2012 at the Galerie d’Art d’Outremont in Montreal.