Category: Software & Technology

  • What you missed at the 2018 LDV Vision Summit – Kaptur

    [contentcards url=”https://kaptur.co/what-you-missed-at-the-2018-ldv-vision-summit/”]

    What you missed at the 2018 LDV Vision Summit – Kaptur

    The 2018 edition of the LDV Vision Summit was, like its four predecessors, a refreshing display of creative ingenuity, stunning engineering and brilliant problem-solving. With successive keynotes never longer than 5 minutes each, subtlety interrupted by more extended fire chats or panels, there is no room for boredom. Even if a topic or speaker might not be in your field of interest, it is not long before another will keep you glued to your chair and wanting to know more. Which, thanks to the casual and friendly networking, is not hard to do. Speakers are all available to explain more if needed and do business, if appropriate. No superstars here leaving in limos the minute they step out the stage. Instead, a succession of people passionate about their work as much as the audience.

  • See in the Dark: a machine learning technique for producing astoundingly sharp photos in very low light / Boing Boing

    [contentcards url=”https://boingboing.net/2018/05/09/enhance-enhance.html”]

    See in the Dark: a machine learning technique for producing astoundingly sharp photos in very low light / Boing Boing

    A group of scientists from Intel and the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign have published a paper called Learning to See in the Dark detailing a powerful machine-learning based image processing technique that allows regular cameras to take super-sharp pictures in very low light, without long exposures or the kinds of graininess associated with low-light photography.

  • Facebook Training Image Recognition AI with Billions of Instagram Photos

    [contentcards url=”https://petapixel.com/2018/05/03/facebook-training-image-recognition-ai-with-billions-of-instagram-photos/”]

    Facebook Training Image Recognition AI with Billions of Instagram Photos

    While companies and researchers around the world work to build the most advanced and powerful AI systems, Facebook has a special treasure trove that most don’t: billions of tagged photos thanks to Instagram. Facebook has now used those photos to create a leading image recognition AI.

  • Canon’s New Speedlite 470EX-AI Shows How Fast Computational Photography Is Moving – PhotoShelter Blog

    [contentcards url=”https://blog.photoshelter.com/2018/02/canons-new-speedlite-470ex-ai-shows-fast-computational-photography-moving/”]

    Canon’s New Speedlite 470EX-AI Shows How Fast Computational Photography Is Moving – PhotoShelter Blog

    We previously wrote about the state of computational photography in September 2017. Included within that piece was a reference to the work by Kukas Murmann, Abe Davis, Jan Kautz and Frédo Durand who built a prototype flash mounted on a servo and connected to an electric eye. The mechanism provided an automated way to position a flash to provide indirect light. The resulting images were a dramatic step up from direct flash photography.

  • Why Can Everyone Spot Fake News But The Tech Companies?

    [contentcards url=”https://www.buzzfeed.com/charliewarzel/why-can-everyone-spot-fake-news-but-the-tech-companies?utm_term=.xhdo1P7WP#.wdAJ87kR7″]

    Why Can Everyone Spot Fake News But The Tech Companies?

    And beyond that, why is it — after multiple national tragedies politicized by hoaxes and misinformation — that such a question even needs to be asked?

  • 10 Questions for a Founder : TruePic – Kaptur

    [contentcards url=”https://kaptur.co/10-questions-for-a-founder-truepic/”]

    10 Questions for a Founder : TruePic – Kaptur

    With each iteration of Photoshop, it is easier and easier to alter images, making it impossible to spot the alterations. Soon, with AI generated images taking over in many fields, it will be impossible to trust if an image is an actual photograph or a complete fabrication. Photography is in danger of losing its essential tie to reality and truth. Enters TruePic. With an array of patented technologies, the company offers a solid counterbalance to this seemingly unstoppable wave of reality-altering technologies. It certifies that a photograph is 100% original and has not been tampered with. We spoke with CEO Jeff McGregor to learn more:

  • OK Computer: Computational photography is here to stay!

    OK Computer: Computational photography is here to stay!

    Whilst many photographers remain deep in conversation concerning the evolution from analog to digital photography—and the positives and negatives of both—the world of photographic technology has paid little heed to their protestations and continued on with its research and development. As a result, we find ourselves today — in fact we have been here for some time — in the age of computational photography.

  • 2 research that will change photography forever – Kaptur

    [contentcards url=”https://kaptur.co/2-research-that-will-change-photography-forever/”]

    2 research that will change photography forever – Kaptur

    A couple of research papers were recently published, both touching on advancement in computer vision and machine learning. While research papers are a common occurrence in this field, these two are worth reviewing a bit deeper, as their implication will have a wide impact once they mature.

  • A crypto Kodak mess ? – Thoughts of a Bohemian

    [contentcards url=”http://blog.melchersystem.com/a-crypto-kodak-mess/”]

    A crypto Kodak mess ? – Thoughts of a Bohemian

    Will stop here with our analysis because it seems to be clear that even if it is under the once respected name of Kodak, this project still has a lot to clear before becoming trustable. For one, and foremost, a working demo would go a long way to demonstrate exactly how this functions and if viable. As well, it would eliminate any doubts that this is not a get quick rich tech play that might leave a lot of photographers worst than where they are now.

  • How an A.I. ‘Cat-and-Mouse Game’ Generates Believable Fake Photos – The New York Times

    [contentcards url=”https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/01/02/technology/ai-generated-photos.html?_r=0″]

    How an A.I. ‘Cat-and-Mouse Game’ Generates Believable Fake Photos – The New York Times

    At a lab in Finland, a small team of Nvidia researchers recently built a system that can analyze thousands of (real) celebrity snapshots, recognize common patterns, and create new images that look much the same — but are still a little different. The system can also generate realistic images of horses, buses, bicycles, plants and many other common objects.

  • How Do You Vote? 50 Million Google Images Give a Clue – The New York Times

    [contentcards url=”https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/31/technology/google-images-voters.html”]

    How Do You Vote? 50 Million Google Images Give a Clue – The New York Times

    For the first time, helped by recent advances in artificial intelligence, researchers are able to analyze large quantities of images, pulling out data that can be sorted and mined to predict things like income, political leanings and buying habits. In the Stanford study, computers collected details about cars in the millions of images it processed, including makes and models.

  • The WIRED Guide to Digital Security | WIRED

    [contentcards url=”https://www.wired.com/2017/12/digital-security-guide/”]

    The WIRED Guide to Digital Security | WIRED

    IN AN AGE of nonstop breaches and hacks, getting a handle on your own digital security matters more than ever. But everyone has their own threat model—a set of concerns unique to themselves. The average smartphone user doesn’t need to know what a Faraday cage is; an NSA contractor probably already has a good grasp of security basics. (Or … do they?) In this guide, we’ve included a few ways to improve your online security posture based on those different levels of risk. These won’t prevent the next megabreach or banish ransomware from the earth. They’re not all-encompassing. But they’ll help get you in the mindset of the types of steps you should be taking based on your particular situation. And they’ll help ensure that the next time you read one of those paralyzing headlines, it doesn’t apply to you.

  • Capture One 11 Unveiled with New Features and Better Performance

    [contentcards url=”https://petapixel.com/2017/11/30/capture-one-11-unveiled-new-features-better-performance/”]

    Capture One 11 Unveiled with New Features and Better Performance

    Phase One has just announced Capture One 11. The latest version of the popular raw converter and image processing software brings a new processing engine along with a number of powerful new features.

  • Do Facebook and Google have control of their algorithms anymore? A sobering assessment and a warning | Poynter

    [contentcards url=”https://www.poynter.org/news/do-facebook-and-google-have-control-their-algorithms-anymore-sobering-assessment-and-warning”]

    Do Facebook and Google have control of their algorithms anymore? A sobering assessment and a warning | Poynter

    Platforms rely on these algorithms to perform actions at scale, but algorithms at scale also become increasingly inscrutable, even to the people who wrote the code. In her recent TED Talk about the complexity of AI, Zeynep Tufekci points out that not even the people behind Facebook’s algorithms truly understand them:

  • Macphun Unveils Luminar 2018 to Take on Adobe Lightroom

    [contentcards url=”https://petapixel.com/2017/11/01/macphun-unveils-luminar-2018-take-adobe-lightroom/”]

    Macphun Unveils Luminar 2018 to Take on Adobe Lightroom

    California-based software developer Macphun (soon to be Skylum) has announced Luminar 2018, a digital photo editor and organizer that’s aiming to be a direct competitor to Adobe Lightroom.

  • What Photographers Need to Know About Computational Photography

    [contentcards url=”https://pdnpulse.pdnonline.com/2017/10/photographers-need-know-computational-photography.html”]

    What Photographers Need to Know About Computational Photography

    In a panel at PhotoPlus Expo, several experts explored scenarios for what computational photography will mean for creative professionals. The short answer: more immersive virtual reality, smaller and lighter cameras that nonetheless perform as well if not better than DSLRs and the embedding of more information inside images to enable augmented reality experiences.

  • Adobe Cloak is Content-Aware Fill for Video

    [contentcards url=”https://petapixel.com/2017/10/20/adobe-cloak-content-aware-fill-video/”]

    Adobe Cloak is Content-Aware Fill for Video

    Adobe demoed a number of technologies at Adobe MAX 2017 yesterday, including something called Cloak. It’s basically Photoshop’s Content-Aware Fill for video — you can easily remove unwanted things from video, as you can see in the 6-minute demo above.

  • Ubiquitous photography – Kaptur

    [contentcards url=”http://kaptur.co/ubiquitous-photography/”]

    Ubiquitous photography – Kaptur

    One of the most important announcement during Google latest release event has mainly passed under the radar or simply dismissed as a gadget. The Pixel Clip camera is a small device that can be attached anywhere and, using a simple A.I.,  continuously takes photos when it recognizes familiar faces. Perfect for busy parents who like to record everything but do not want to break the moment by picking up their phones to take a picture. But, beyond the convenience, Google just might have open the door to a new type of photography, one that is powered by smart IoT’s and is completely ubiquitous.

  • Google and Facebook Have Failed Us – The Atlantic

    [contentcards url=”https://www.theatlantic.com/amp/article/541794/?single_page=true”]

    Google and Facebook Have Failed Us – The Atlantic

    There’s no hiding behind algorithms anymore. The problems cannot be minimized. The machines have shown they are not up to the task of dealing with rare, breaking news events, and it is unlikely that they will be in the near future. More humans must be added to the decision-making process, and the sooner the better.

  • 194 Photo Editing Tools and Apps You Should Know

    [contentcards url=”https://petapixel.com/2017/09/28/194-photo-editing-tools-apps-know/”]

    194 Photo Editing Tools and Apps You Should Know

    Hello, photographers. Here’s a giant list of 194 photo editing tools and apps you can use in your photography.