The Coffee House

[CherylL]

The power of AI helped me yesterday. I was asked by a friend of my SIL's family member to photoshop a photo. The photo was a cropped image from a group shot where a woman was on a riser above another women. She wanted the two women side by side. After cutting them out and placing them what looked like a natural side by side, I did a little touch up and cloning where the people were cropped. The biggest area was the blouse of one woman who was in back. Missing about 3/4 of the blouse at a diagonal. I could have recreated the blouse with cloning, but would have taken me a long time to get it just right. AI on that selected area recreated it on the first try.

The person was very happy with the result. I found out later that her friend recently died and that was the last photo of them together.

 

[SquarePeg]

That’s a great use of AI! I was just talking about the good parts of having AI for editing yesterday with a friend. Who was bemoaning the end of photography as we know it ().

A few years ago I was taking group photos for my friend’s company website. One of her employees showed up late and was literally opening the package her sweater had been shipped in as she was getting out of her car. It had so many hard wrinkles from being folded. Her shirt definitely needed to be covered by the sweater. It took me hours in photoshop to get out all the wrinkles. Never again!! I’m sure AI could have done it in one second! And this is one of the many reasons why I no longer do any portraits of any kind unless it is my idea.

@CherylL im curious if you tried asking AI to move her to the other step before you did it yourself.

 

[smoke665]

@CherylL Generative Fill is soon much better than the previous PS.

@SquarePeg I've played with it in both Firefly and Photoshop and haven't come across anything like your question. However I did just discover some new additions in Neural Filters. The one I'm working with now will color match your foreground to your background.

 

[CherylL]

That’s a great use of AI! I was just talking about the good parts of having AI for editing yesterday with a friend. Who was bemoaning the end of photography as we know it ().

A few years ago I was taking group photos for my friend’s company website. One of her employees showed up late and was literally opening the package her sweater had been shipped in as she was getting out of her car. It had so many hard wrinkles from being folded. Her shirt definitely needed to be covered by the sweater. It took me hours in photoshop to get out all the wrinkles. Never again!! I’m sure AI could have done it in one second! And this is one of the many reasons why I no longer do any portraits of any kind unless it is my idea.

@CherylL im curious if you tried asking AI to move her to the other step before you did it yourself.

I didn't try moving her with AI. I like AI for individual items.

I've thought about the end of photography as we know it just like your friend. I made three fantasy photos recently for a friend's grand. One where I changed to background and AI did funny things with his ears and hand. I ended up masking and clone those parts. Fantasy photo two was changing the background and adding pandas around the scene. Fairly easy, but had to hit generate to get what I wanted. The third fantasy photo was compositing several of my photos and adding via AI small boulders in the bottom corner. The third one I spent the most time with painting masks and changing colors/blend modes, etc. By far the third one was the most rewarding creatively for me.

I think the same holds true creatively taking photos versus using AI. That feeling when you get all the settings dialed in and the light is right and subject is just right is priceless that AI can't replace.

The wrinkled sweater would drive me crazy! My last set of photos I had to battle moire in small stripes on the shirt. ACR moire didn't work so I ended up painting all the stripes in PS with a gaussian blur. Took me a long time for all 50 photos. Glare from glasses are a pain. AI would not fix the moire or the glasses glare.

The feature of AI I like best is the expand canvas. Sometimes I get my framing off and it has saved a photo.

 

[terri]

Happy Friday, hosers! Our weather has been fabulous the last few days. Sunny and warm, and today we hit 62F. Insanity! But it did get rid of the plowed snowbanks in all the parking lots around here.

After today the temps are heading right back down. We'll be back in the teens for overnight lows and highs around the freezing mark. But still sunny and dry. I like it!

No plans yet for this weekend. I'm likely to be scanning more negatives, blah. Will likely turn on the Superbowl on Sunday to watch Taylor Swift break her own passing record.

Who can beat that for fun?

 

[cgw]

Freak weather north of the border. 53F just a smidge short of a 1900 record today. Tiki torch weather!?
Ongoing electrical and plumbing work at the family ruin next week--bring money!

 

[jeffashman]

Well, it's been a gorgeous week! Temps reaching 70-72 during the day, and mid-50's at night. House opened up every day. Sat and Sun? It's going to be dark and rainy, because it's the weekend. Will be going to one of my son's in-laws to watch the Super Bowl. My wife is excited, because the Center for SF graduated from the High School she works at. Me? I'm just going for the wine and eats.

 

[JamesD]

Happy Friday, hosers! Our weather has been fabulous the last few days. Sunny and warm, and today we hit 62F. Insanity! But it did get rid of the plowed snowbanks in all the parking lots around here.

After today the temps are heading right back down. We'll be back in the teens for overnight lows and highs around the freezing mark. But still sunny and dry. I like it!

No plans yet for this weekend. I'm likely to be scanning more negatives, blah. Will likely turn on the Superbowl on Sunday to watch Taylor Swift break her own passing record.

Who can beat that for fun?

It sounds like you're not in the south anymore! Forgive me, I've been out of the loop here for a decade and a half.

I dunno about the Super Bowl. Maybe. It depends. But I do have an enlarger that's just about ready to go, and a roll of film in the FSLR, and all the chemistry, and picked up all the remaining accessories I need... I might just be about to write another ode to negatives this weekend.

Also, the adapter ring I need to set up my view camera for pinholes should be coming in the next half-week or so. I am *set*, I tell ya...

 

[JamesD]

Also, I have a Seagull TLR to take pictures of as soon as I get new covers made for my softboxes. Then I can dig into it and start refurbishing. I'm looking forward to that, and I even have film for it.

 

[terri]

Well, it's been a gorgeous week! Temps reaching 70-72 during the day, and mid-50's at night. House opened up every day. Sat and Sun? It's going to be dark and rainy, because it's the weekend. Will be going to one of my son's in-laws to watch the Super Bowl. My wife is excited, because the Center for SF graduated from the High School she works at. Me? I'm just going for the wine and eats.

How fun, that your wife has a personal connection to one of the players! Very cool.

I like watching football when I don't care who wins. It's enjoyable to watch the game, the strategies, and hope no one gets hurt.

 

[terri]

It sounds like you're not in the south anymore! Forgive me, I've been out of the loop here for a decade and a half.

I dunno about the Super Bowl. Maybe. It depends. But I do have an enlarger that's just about ready to go, and a roll of film in the FSLR, and all the chemistry, and picked up all the remaining accessories I need... I might just be about to write another ode to negatives this weekend.

Also, the adapter ring I need to set up my view camera for pinholes should be coming in the next half-week or so. I am *set*, I tell ya...

Well, I am out of the South and back in the north, but only for going on 2 years now. You didn't miss much. I moved up here to help my mom sell her home and transition to assisted living, and we've since bought a house and ugh, it's been a journey.

I don't see how you hold off on finishing up the new darkroom. I'm ready to read a brand new installment of Ode to Negatives!

 

[JamesD]

Well, I am out of the South and back in the north, but only for going on 2 years now. You didn't miss much. I moved up here to help my mom sell her home and transition to assisted living, and we've since bought a house and ugh, it's been a journey.

I don't see how you hold off on finishing up the new darkroom. I'm ready to read a brand new installment of Ode to Negatives!

I get it. Helped my mom move from Colorado to Arkansas a couple of years ago. She had hardware installed in her lower back and couldn't take the cold anymore. But she's doing all right so far. And I bought a house here in Georgia just under two years ago.. and wow has that ever been, yes, exactly, a journey XD

The permanent darkroom is mainly on hold because of the floors in this house, they're not nearly level or stable enough, so I need to shore them up, then add walls and stuff. But it'll be 12x12, with a 4x8 closet for storage. Technically a bedroom with some extra plumbing. But I have a pretty good sized bathroom that never gets used that I can appropriate for sorcery.


As for the poetry, I gotta work up to it a little bit, but it's sure to come.

 

[VidThreeNorth]

The Business of the Internet Dec 2023 - Jan 2024

The traffic "here" and in YouTube seemed to drop after November 2023 and it picked up again around the end of January 2024. I don't really know if that was seen by anyone else. I have no statistical proof. And even if I could prove it, I am not sure what caused it. It seems likely to me that a lot of "YouTubers", having looked at their income from 2022 and 2023 saw their income falling and decided to do something else -- like find a job. And many probably did find jobs as businesses have been re-opening.

On the other hand, it might just be the effect of the changes in YouTube programming. Whether there was a drop-off "here" might just have been specific topics that I read more than others.

Things do seem to be picking up again. . . .

 

[Original katomi]

Hi all, hope the day has been good to you, or given the time difference I hope you have a good day

 

[CherylL]

The Business of the Internet Dec 2023 - Jan 2024

The traffic "here" and in YouTube seemed to drop after November 2023 and it picked up again around the end of January 2024. I don't really know if that was seen by anyone else. I have no statistical proof. And even if I could prove it, I am not sure what caused it. It seems likely to me that a lot of "YouTubers", having looked at their income from 2022 and 2023 saw their income falling and decided to do something else -- like find a job. And many probably did find jobs as businesses have been re-opening.

On the other hand, it might just be the effect of the changes in YouTube programming. Whether there was a drop-off "here" might just have been specific topics that I read more than others.

Things do seem to be picking up again. . . .

Perhaps the youtubers moved to TikTok? People are making money there for their content. Nov & Dec you have to factor in the holidays.