THE COINCIDENCE PROJECT

Moving is often proposed as a way of improving your photography. This could simply be moving closer to  ensure that the object fills as much of the frame as suits the composition. Moving can change perspective, totally changing the feeling of an image. Frames for your image can be found by changing your relationship between foreground and background. Denis Cherim has found another benefit of moving before releasing the shutter as a way of producing unique photographs.

by Denis Cherim from instagram - #coincidenceproject

Moving around to get the right coincidence between objects in the foreground, mid-ground and background produces images where the co-incidence of objects on the photo plane gives amazing results. Not always beautiful or attractive but definitely needing some time to interpret.

Next time - some of my co-incidence shots. What about yours?

GOOGLE'S ADVERT ALGORITHM - DOES IT WORK?

All the talk is about how GOOGLE uses our activity on their websites to decide on what adverts we see online. GOOGLE now publish your "personal info" that originates from their systems and their advertises. They use this to decide what to advertisements to push to you.

https://adssettings.google.com at 14:30 ET 29 October 2018

So now I know what picture GOOGLE have on my interests based on "48 factors" - Rugby and South Africa do appear in the list and clothes and shoes don't. So why do I continually see adverts for the most ridiculously designed shoes and clothes?

https://www.enca.com - 14:32 29 October 2018

Their factors do tell them I am male and 65 Years+. Is it just that GOOGLE collect more data than they can use or are algorithms not up to it?

PUTTING A VALUE ON FINE ART PHOTOGRAPHS

In the course of publicising the wall art advertised to the right I received feedback from an online Art Site that got me thinking. I had just read Martin Baileys post of a few years ago in which he discussed when a photograph can be termed fine art and where I saw Pepper Number 30 for the first time, which also fed in to my thoughts.

from PetaPixel - click image to visit site

The Art Site's feedback was simply that "a photograph of a zebra" can't justify the price of $ 4 500.
However, a "photograph of a pepper" justified a hundred thousand plus price tag when Edward Watson's Pepper Number 30 was auctioned for $ 130 700 by Sotheby's.

Pepper Number 30 has been widely analysed and described for its artistic characteristics, merits and provenance, which is what justifies its proven value, while the Art Site made no input on these issues whatsoever so adds little value. Some feedback would have helped me to improve my evaluation by adding to my subjective feeling  and the recognition and award the image got in a GuruShots Competition on Alluring Textures some time ago.

So can I please ask all readers to give me whatever feedback they feel would be appropriate for me in my attempts to sell this work. Just two things I have only sold works through stock thus far so need lots of help and I am intending to sell this work exclusively ie only one print will be made.

After getting your feedback I will give you my feelings now and also if/how I change my view after getting feedback.

I look forward to your feedback!

THE WASPS ARE OUT IN THE HEAT

© 2018 Dave Harcourt.  All rights reserved

YOU NEED THE WORLD'S WIDEST WIDE ANGLE FOR THIS!

This picture is a screen grab from the National Geographic video on the Mauritanian Iron Ore Train.



The thin line across the image just below the horizon is the train - the wagons are just visible even if you zoom in, showing the distance from which this was filmed. Maybe VR or sacked panoramas would be the only way to view the whole train!

By the way, the video is worth watching, if only to show what a simple life we live. The fishmonger takes the 30 hour trip with fresh fish from the port, rests at home for two days before repeating the trip to make around $50 a week.

GOOGLE PHOTOS - WHERE'S THE AI?

Around a year ago I searched my Google Photos for "snow" and was very disappointed with the large number of false positives it gave. Also that it raised doubts around the false negatives it could be giving which are much harder to quantify or identify.

I have now repeated the search



and found very little change and no obvious improvement. This isn't the picture we get of computers learning and improving.

Google Photos also found an exposure bracketed set in my images and produced an HDR for me, which I show on the right below.



Overlooking the poor quality and the button on the top right, which come from the screen capture, I would think most would agree that the colours go Google's HDR new unrealistic and unpleasing. Again not the performance of a leaning algorithm.

Not a very nice looking posting but hopefully interesting.

Lets have your views.

TRANSFORMING PHOTOGRAPHS

I find a lot of enjoyment in transforming fairly straight forward photographs into colourful, eye catching designs.

© 2018 Dave Harcourt.  All rights reserved

© 2018 Dave Harcourt.  All rights reserved

Email me if you are also interested in transforming images.

A FEW MIXED IMAGES TO GET GOING

© 2018 Dave Harcourt.  All rights reserved

Over 40 years ago

Over 40 years since this was taken and it's still perfect after having had no attention - today's jpeg will certainly not last that long unattended.

© 1976 Dave Harcourt.  All rights reserved

Bob Chuffin

Click the image to see Bob's work.