tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-128868112024-03-16T11:52:11.428-07:00DurovaThe wiki witch of the westLise Broerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15087397520904837725noreply@blogger.comBlogger224125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12886811.post-40440584989383569002010-04-14T11:32:00.000-07:002010-04-14T11:33:24.461-07:00Telling knitting from crochet<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/19/Filet_crochet_sofa_blanket.jpg/800px-Filet_crochet_sofa_blanket.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="233" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/19/Filet_crochet_sofa_blanket.jpg/800px-Filet_crochet_sofa_blanket.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>It came as a surprise three years ago when I started crocheting to hear people call it "knitting". Nobody who crochets or knits confuses the two, and most people who do a few textile arts can tell the difference at a glance. But a large number of people who don't do either craft haven't any idea how to distinguish them. <br />
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The sofa blanket and pillow above are both crochet. If you want to get fancy, the blanket is <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filet_crochet">filet crochet</a>. Filet crochet is a technique that uses two stitches of different sizes to create patterns, using the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Negative_space">negative space</a> generated by the smaller stitch for contrast.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5f/Crochet-round.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5f/Crochet-round.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>If you see someone making fabric and are trying to tell whether it's crochet or knitting, the absolute giveaway for crochet is a hooked tool. If you aren't standing quite close enough to see whether there's a hook on the end, count the implements. <i>One</i> short tool is always crochet.<br />
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Crochet also holds very few stitches. If you see only one loop of yarn on the tool (or just a couple), you're looking at crochet.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3a/Pink_knitting_in_front_of_pink_sweatshirt.JPG/800px-Pink_knitting_in_front_of_pink_sweatshirt.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3a/Pink_knitting_in_front_of_pink_sweatshirt.JPG/800px-Pink_knitting_in_front_of_pink_sweatshirt.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><a href="http://www.blogger.com/"></a>Knitting uses at least two sharp ended needles with dozens of stitches all looped around the needles at the same time.<br />
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Knitting can be reproduced by machine, but crochet has to be made by hand. So everyone owns a lot of knitted items. T-shirts, socks, sweatpants, and mass produced sweaters are all knitted items. Crochet has its own distinct stitch patterns that won't look like anything in your sock drawer.<br />
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Knitting is good at creating soft stretchy fabric such as socks. Crochet tends to be stiffer so it's good for sturdy items such as placemats or tote bags. It's easier to make fancy patterns with crochet and crochet produces fabric somewhat faster than hand knitting. <br />
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Crochet is inherently denser than knitting and uses one-third more yarn to produce the same sized item. That sofa blanket in the photograph weighs about ten pounds.<br />
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Image credits:<br />
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Pink_knitting_in_front_of_pink_sweatshirt.JPG<br />
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Crochet-round.jpgLise Broerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15087397520904837725noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12886811.post-42996486465513136152010-04-13T18:17:00.000-07:002010-04-13T18:33:43.114-07:00Neglected subjects<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d3/Home_knitting_machine.jpg/800px-Home_knitting_machine.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="203" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d3/Home_knitting_machine.jpg/800px-Home_knitting_machine.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>This morning Peter Weis and I were chatting, and I mentioned that I was learning to use a knitting machine. He replied that Singer was famous for their knitting machines, and it was a little while before we realized that he was thinking of <i>sewing</i> machines rather than knitting machines. So if you've never seen a knitting machine before, this is what one looks like. Sewing machines join fabric together; knitting machines generate knitted fabric. <br />
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That red strip hanging down from the device is a piece of knitting. It curls at the side because it is a stockinette stitch (stockinette stitches like to roll and curl; that's how they behave). This knitting machine has 50 hooks threaded, half of which I'm using to produce this item. Each hook holds one stitch of fabric. The purple item at right is a shuttle, which pushes the hooks and creates knitting stitches as it moves across the hook bed. I operate this shuttle manually; higher end knitting machines can be punch card driven or computerized.<br />
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The advantage of using a knitting machine is that it can generate an entire row of stitches in the time it would take to produce two or three stitches with regular knitting needles. This device can create rows up to 100 stitches wide, and with accessory extensions I could extend that as wide as the work table.<br />
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Knitting machines aren't like regular knitting needles, though. This doesn't pack into a tote bag and carry to Starbucks. It needs a fairly large work table with specific dimensions and it has to be clamped down. It also requires engineering skill: a lot of things can go wrong with the assembly and operation. <br />
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Each knitting machine can only do certain things. The hooks are sized to a given size of yarn and spaced at a fixed spacing, which means that one machine could produce baby blankets or heavy sweaters, but not both. This flat bed knitting machine will never make socks (unless you like a seam in your socks, which nobody does--seams in socks are uncomfortable).<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1d/Spool_knitting_machine.jpg/603px-Spool_knitting_machine.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="316" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1d/Spool_knitting_machine.jpg/603px-Spool_knitting_machine.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Before getting the flat bed machine I tried the smaller circular machine at right. It operates on a crank and generates thin rounded pieces of knitting that are suitable for cords and edging.<br />
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The smaller machine is worth getting if this intrigues you. This device doesn't work on as many types of yarn as the manufacturer claims. I've had success only with acrylics and wools in baby yarn and sock yarn. It's almost a necessity to have a lace making crochet hook in order to correct for machine errors: these devices are prone to skipping and jamming. <br />
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Although once a piece gets started properly, this is far faster than manual knitting.<br />
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In recent years basic terms and concepts in textile arts have been fading from general knowledge. These days, "needlepoint" and "knitting" and "braiding" often get misapplied to things that are not needlepoint or knitting or braiding, because a lot of people don't know enough about these subjects to tell the difference. I've created a lot of the Wikimedia Commons textile arts categories; one has to know what one is looking at to sort the content.<br />
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I uploaded these photographs to Wikimedia Commons today; they might find their way into articles soon.Lise Broerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15087397520904837725noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12886811.post-11611120549826732522010-03-31T17:25:00.000-07:002010-03-31T17:25:15.325-07:00Wikipedia's Arbitration Committee implements genuine reform.Good news at last: Wikipedia's Arbitration Committee has implemented a new system that saves weeks and months of hassle without any loss in quality over their previous system. Check it out <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Arbitration_Committee/Magic_8_Ball&action=purge">here</a>.Lise Broerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15087397520904837725noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12886811.post-57594318753207290212010-03-20T09:43:00.002-07:002010-03-20T09:43:51.740-07:00Referencing comes full circle<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/89/Bigunki_buho_verde_lateral.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/89/Bigunki_buho_verde_lateral.JPG" style="cursor: move;" width="320" /></a></div>I wonder whether <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amigurumi">amigurumi</a> was invented to keep guys away from things. Drop an amigurumi on the remote control, send a shiver down his spine, and he leaves the room to hunt for leftover pizza while a woman settles in happily to watch the shopping channel. The cuteness factor on these things is absolutely repellent.<br />
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One of the areas where Commons and Wikipedia need more attention is textile arts. It's not as if men <i>never</i> touch the subject (<a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Crochet_blanket_in_progress_close-up.jpg">here's</a> a photograph of WMF volunteer coordinator Cary Bass's crochet project), but let's face it: women are underrepresented among editors and it's usually women who take an interest in the subject.<br />
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If a guy's going to work on textile arts it probably won't be amigurumi. It's a crochet form that originated in Japan to make miniature animals, such as the owl at right. I don't make them, but the quantity of amigurumi photographs at Wikimedia Commons had reached the point where a category was justified. So I made <a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Amigurumi">a new category</a> today. It's the sort of housekeeping work that makes Wikimedia Commons useful and anyone can do it on subjects they happen to know.<br />
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Back at Wikipedia I added a {{Commonscat}} template at the amigurumi article to link to the new category. Then I looked at the article, which is a dreadful little stub whose only reference is an AOL blog that probably isn't reliable. So I looked for something better. Mostly the references on this type of subject aren't very good: they tend to be how-to books with a lot of patterns and minimal context. But that's better than nothing, right?<br />
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Um...<br />
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Here's an excerpt from the top return on Google Books: <i>Amigurumi!: Super Happy Crochet Cute</i> by Elisabeth A. Doherty<br />
<blockquote>In Japan a crocheted or knitted doll is called an amigurumi (ah-mee-guh-ROO-mee). Disclaimer: Please, people. I do not speak Japanese. This pronunciation guide should be taken with a grain of salt. There is very little information available in English on Amigurumi, so I have decided to go with my own definition based on information I found in an online encyclopedia. <i>Ami</i> is a shortening of the word <i>amimie</i>, which means “stitch.” <i>Gurumi</i> is a shortening of the word <i>nuigurumi</i>, which means “stuffed doll or toy.” Smoosh the two together and you get amigurumi.</blockquote>The book was published in 2007 and that's reasonably close to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Amigurumi&oldid=92595690">Wikipedia's definition</a> as it appeared at the end of 2006. I don't know if we'll ever get a reliable source on this stuff, but I'll keep looking.Lise Broerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15087397520904837725noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12886811.post-5410003550134361752010-02-25T20:03:00.000-08:002010-02-25T20:03:54.561-08:00The good, the bad and the uglyThe following is a guest post by Peter Weis:<br />
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<i>What is chromatic aberration?</i> <br />
“In optics, chromatic aberration (also called achromatism or chromatic distortion) is the failure of a lens to focus all colors to the same point”, is the first sentence in the Wikipedia entry on chromatic aberration. Basically light enters a lense in the same, aligned direction but due to the mechanical advice and its imperfection – the light leaves the lense in several unaligned directions. <br />
We should leave the technical question at this point as well. For further information I recommend the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chromatic_aberration">full article</a>. <br />
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<i>How does that affect an image?</i> <br />
Chromatic aberration looks like “purple fringing”. On the image below you can see longitudial chromatic aberration. In this case all edges of your subject have purple fringes. If there are additional green fringes you speak of lateral chromatic aberration. Again for further technical information I recommend reading <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Purple_fringing">the article</a> on purple fringing. <br />
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<i>The good</i> <br />
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The most convenient solution for chromatic aberration is using Adobe's Camera Raw. For those amongst you who use Photoshop but never headed for Camera Raw <a href="http://www.adobe.com/products/photoshop/cameraraw.html">here</a> you go. <br />
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Camera Raw is freeware that enables you to work with the raw material from your DLSR. To explain the full workflow and the advantages and disadvantages of Camera Raw would be enough information for a second article – so let us focus on dealing with chromatic aberrations and purple fringing. I recently edited a map of the South Pole which had some problems. <br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_8aUq9PGk5fA/S3A6rLm8YEI/AAAAAAAAABU/izcVWXXfNGg/s1600-h/S%C3%BCdpol+400%25.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5435909263761104962" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_8aUq9PGk5fA/S3A6rLm8YEI/AAAAAAAAABU/izcVWXXfNGg/s400/S%C3%BCdpol+400%25.jpg" style="cursor: hand; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 394px;" /></a> <br />
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This image was cropped at 400% - the occurring greenish/reddish fringing is between 1-3 pixels. First step is to open your Raw file with Photoshop. If Camera Raw is already installed, this should be possible by double-clicking the file. <br />
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Note: If your file is not a Raw file you could nonetheless open it using Camera Raw. Here's a short how to: <br />
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Photoshop >>> File >>> Open as… <br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_8aUq9PGk5fA/S28gUE3FXKI/AAAAAAAAAA8/0WScbqXGmR4/s1600-h/File+Open+as.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5435598804533730466" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_8aUq9PGk5fA/S28gUE3FXKI/AAAAAAAAAA8/0WScbqXGmR4/s400/File+Open+as.jpg" style="cursor: hand; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 225px;" /></a> <br />
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>>> [yourfile].[yourimageformat] >>> <br />
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_8aUq9PGk5fA/S28gUJDDAII/AAAAAAAAABE/NoSJCoipjBk/s1600-h/Open+as.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5435598805657649282" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_8aUq9PGk5fA/S28gUJDDAII/AAAAAAAAABE/NoSJCoipjBk/s400/Open+as.jpg" style="cursor: hand; display: block; height: 393px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a> <br />
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Open as: Camera Raw <br />
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_8aUq9PGk5fA/S28gUVwAF9I/AAAAAAAAABM/A9pHThdnnUQ/s1600-h/Camera+Raw.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5435598809067427794" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_8aUq9PGk5fA/S28gUVwAF9I/AAAAAAAAABM/A9pHThdnnUQ/s400/Camera+Raw.jpg" style="cursor: hand; display: block; height: 278px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a> <br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_8aUq9PGk5fA/S3CHqMWKFAI/AAAAAAAAABk/RdABKHQRENg/s1600-h/S%C3%BCdpol+Lens+Correction+Menu.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5435993909174604802" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_8aUq9PGk5fA/S3CHqMWKFAI/AAAAAAAAABk/RdABKHQRENg/s400/S%C3%BCdpol+Lens+Correction+Menu.jpg" style="cursor: hand; float: right; height: 400px; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px; width: 184px;" /></a> In the next step the Raw dialog should open up. The third tab from the right is “lens correction” – that’s where we will start working. The section “Chromatic Aberration” is almost self-explanatory. Depending on the colour fringing of your image you either adjust red/cyan or blue/yellow. The larger the colour fringing the easier to remove it – but don’t panic if otherwise. <br />
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In this case you could use “Defringe: All Edges” or “Defringe: Hightlight Edges“. “Defringe: All Edges” will remove the colour fringing, but also results in subtle grayish lines. For my image this solution appeared to be the optimum. The defringed image tends to be a little bit desaturated, so I recommend you to slightly increase the saturation and if needed contrast. It might be helpful to have the original layer and the adjusted layer in your layers palette to directly compare what values of saturation/contrast fit the most for your project. “Defringe: Highlight Edges” is to be used if most of the colour fringing occurs in edges of highlighting, which is quite often the case. Just feel free to play around with the sliders. <br />
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After a few hours of work including temperature, levels, curves, saturation and restoring the map the finished version looks like this: <br />
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_8aUq9PGk5fA/S28f7TjLuqI/AAAAAAAAAA0/i3pLFSvbdFc/s1600-h/S%C3%BCdpol+400%25+restored.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5435598378980063906" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_8aUq9PGk5fA/S28f7TjLuqI/AAAAAAAAAA0/i3pLFSvbdFc/s400/S%C3%BCdpol+400%25+restored.jpg" style="cursor: hand; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 394px;" /></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12886811.post-58379870919047176642010-02-24T16:55:00.000-08:002010-02-24T17:42:31.023-08:00Writing articles for a change...and oh what a changeStrange as it may seem, I've also been known to <i>write</i> for Wikipedia. This last day has been more interesting than usual in that regard. You're going to love how this post ends.<br />
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Found the topic from <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Administrators%27_noticeboard/Incidents&oldid=346188331#Eyes_requested">a short mention</a> at an administrative noticeboard.<br />
<blockquote><i>It appears that this article on a California company may be part of that company's pre-IPO publicity blitz. The company's website, linked from the article, shows a countdown clock for tomorrow at 9:00 am local time. Given that just a few contributors wrote most of the article over the past few days, is this cause for concern? User:LeadSongDog come howl 21:37, 23 February 2010 (UTC) </i></blockquote>The good thing about blogging is it gives the chance to be more candid. So not to mince words, this looked like <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astroturfing">astroturfing</a>. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bloom_Energy_Server&oldid=345972184">Here's how it appeared</a> shortly before my first edit. Red flags for promotional writing include awards in the lead and a single sentence of criticism backloaded at the tail end of the article. The section entitled "Competition" used one source that basically stated the major players had recently pulled out of the field. If you check the references the quotes turn out to be cherry picked. <br />
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Actual press coverage is mixed: plenty of positives, also skepticism over feasibility and hype. The company was profiled by <i>60 Minutes</i> a few days ago and has been doing a media blitz since then. It's a tech firm that wants to sell green energy and is very cagey about its company secrets. They held a press conference this morning with <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arnold_Schwarzenegger">Arnold Schwarzenegger</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colin_Powell">Colin Powell</a>, and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Bloomberg">Michael Bloomberg</a>. Is this pre-<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IPO">IPO</a> hype? <br />
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Astroturfing jobs at Wikipedia these days are getting contracted at one or two levels of separation from the client company. So the geolocation of this major contributor is less significant than its singlemindedness. Read the edits for yourself.<br />
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<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:Contributions&limit=500&target=58.179.137.71">http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:Contributions&limit=500&target=58.179.137.71</a><br />
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Following are a few highlights from the IP's attempts to reinsert promotional content into company history such as a tangential NASA connection that the CEO had prior to founding the startup:<br />
*<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bloom_Energy_Server&diff=prev&oldid=346019353">(the idea came from somewhere....look at the Microsoft Page....)</a><br />
*<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bloom_Energy_Server&diff=prev&oldid=346061780">(one fine day in 2001, Mr Sridhar became an expert in fuel cells!)</a><br />
*<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bloom_Energy_Server&diff=prev&oldid=346118186">(the fucking Google page says where the name Google came from!!!!! ok, bitch?)</a><br />
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The last of those comments looks to have been intended toward me; the IP user appears not to have noticed that by this time the IP was actually <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bloom_Energy&diff=346094688&oldid=346084903">edit warring with a male administrator</a>. This IP editor doesn't seem to understand much about the underlying engineering or science. At one point I stopped to explain that <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrolysis">hydrolysi</a>s consumes energy rather than produces it; shortly afterward the IP shuffled sentences so it looked like a venture capitalist was using a cost per kilowatt hour argument to rebut a criticism about fuel cell manufacturing costs.<br />
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The firm has $400 million in venture capital and a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burn_rate">burn rate</a> of $85 million a year. Everyone loves green energy--or would if it were cost effective--but this looks like a very high stakes gamble. Bloom Energy's business plan is based upon a bet that a notoriously unstable technology can be mass produced by a startup firm headed by a Ph.D. who never got any closer to NASA than managing a university department that built prototypes. Instead of Schwarzenegger and Powell, I wish that company had introduced its VP of production at the press conference today.<br />
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It turns out that Sprint Nextel owns 15 patents on similar fuel cell technology and has been using their own models in the field for five years. The Department of Energy gave Sprint a $7 million grant last year to expand their program. Quite a few other firms are active in the area. It isn't clear what Bloom Energy has that they don't--other than a star studded board and a hype generator. It could be the start of a new era or it could be the next <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pets.com">Pets.com.</a><br />
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Among the interesting tidbits I found was a piece from <i>Wired</i> that had located a 2009 patent award to Bloom Energy for a device that seems very similar to its Bloom Energy Server. Perhaps the vaunted "secret ingredient". Did you know...<br />
<blockquote>.<i>.. that <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloom_Energy_Server">Bloom Energy</a> was awarded a patent in 2009 for a power device that utilizes <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yttria-stabilized_zirconia">yttria-stabilized zirconia</a>?</i></blockquote>That lovely bit of information is <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Main_Page&oldid=335551250">on Wikipedia's main page right now</a>. <br />
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Time to go back onsite and politely congratulate that IP coauthor. Entries at Wikipedia's "Did you know?" feature remain live about six hours. Wikipedia's main page typically receives 1 million page views during that time.Lise Broerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15087397520904837725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12886811.post-67056270079710482432010-02-06T13:24:00.000-08:002010-02-06T13:49:36.139-08:00Lead room<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S23I-d6LInI/AAAAAAAAA-g/2OSelrEE0to/s1600-h/Ben+Shahn1+small.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="422" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S23I-d6LInI/AAAAAAAAA-g/2OSelrEE0to/s640/Ben+Shahn1+small.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>One factor to consider when cropping a portrait is <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lead_room">lead room</a>. When a subject looks to one side viewers become curious where the person is looking. Lead room adds a sense of meaning to facial expressions and gives compositions a satisfactory emotional balance. This 1935 portrait has a beautiful use of lead room: it was taken by photographer <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben_Shahn">Ben Shahn</a> in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jackson_Square,_New_Orleans">Jackson Square, New Orleans</a>. A wide space to the left enhances the wistful expression in the subject's eyes.<br />
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To see what a difference the lead room makes, let's try cropping out part of the photograph so he looks centered. The effect isn't nearly so pleasing.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S23NSqaKa0I/AAAAAAAAA-4/A4hQt6P3zTo/s1600-h/Ben+Shahn1+small+crop.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="323" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S23NSqaKa0I/AAAAAAAAA-4/A4hQt6P3zTo/s400/Ben+Shahn1+small+crop.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;">Human beings take cues from the eyes of other people. We want to know what catches their attention; there's an urge to glance in the same direction. Even when we know that we're looking at a very old portrait we feel that urge; it's instinctive. And although this subject's expression is exactly the same the cropped version seems caged; we glean less from it. The slouch and the knitted brow don't convey as much.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Last night the concept of lead room intruded on a search for historic Irish portraits that <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Alison">Alison</a> and I were doing. She wanted <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Countess_Markiewicz">Countess Markiewicz</a> and we found a 12 MB portrait that was feasible but not ideal. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S23JFziShWI/AAAAAAAAA-o/PwJbxgYcx8g/s1600-h/Countess+Markiewicz+small.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S23JFziShWI/AAAAAAAAA-o/PwJbxgYcx8g/s640/Countess+Markiewicz+small.jpg" width="460" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;">This doesn't have Ben Shahn's artistry and the lead room is on the wrong side. Plus the image has more damage at right than at left. There isn't much room to crop in any direction and the crop I want to make out of sheer laziness would get rid of that bright vertical band. But then we would lose precious lead room and this photograph doesn't have enough of it anyway.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">It only takes a moment to perform a crop, but the decisions that go into it mean a great deal. Historic material sometimes carries unavoidable flaws. Alison was willing to work with this anyway; Countess Markiewicz was the first woman in Europe to hold a cabinet minister position in a national government; she was Minister of Labor for Ireland from 1919-1922 (Alison might want to throttle me for not spelling that L-a-b-o-u-r but I'm an ignorant Yank).</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">She's doing most of the work herself. I offered to crop. There's no really good choice here and a lot of bad ones.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S23JJoHL2dI/AAAAAAAAA-w/J9QljcP98PE/s1600-h/Countess+Markiewicz1+small.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S23JJoHL2dI/AAAAAAAAA-w/J9QljcP98PE/s640/Countess+Markiewicz1+small.jpg" width="450" /></a> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I wanted to crop away at left to balance the lead room but couldn't really go very far: her long skirt, the andirons, her fingers, and the books on the mantel all got in the way. So I left a lot of the bright vertical band at far right. It's a correctable problem. Alison will need extra work to fix it--and somehow I suspect I may be helping with those touches. But the result will be worth it.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">For comparison here's a "lazy editor's crop" alternate. Less work to restore but it would never be as good.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S23Wfq-YZII/AAAAAAAAA_A/Cb5f3m2vjNQ/s1600-h/Countess+Markiewicz+small+crop.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S23Wfq-YZII/AAAAAAAAA_A/Cb5f3m2vjNQ/s640/Countess+Markiewicz+small+crop.jpg" width="448" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;">So cheers to <a href="http://www.alisoncassidy.com/">Alison</a>! (And now, since I'm such an evil wiki witch, she'll just have to do this restoration so you can all read the followup. Excuse me while I drop another newt into the cauldron...)</div>Lise Broerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15087397520904837725noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12886811.post-72851538800461640402010-02-05T19:43:00.000-08:002010-02-06T11:48:36.028-08:00Copyright limbo<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S2zc-1tNPvI/AAAAAAAAA-Q/Xnk0vc1xA3o/s1600-h/Sigmund_Freud_LIFE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S2zc-1tNPvI/AAAAAAAAA-Q/Xnk0vc1xA3o/s320/Sigmund_Freud_LIFE.jpg" /></a></div>Today's example of Sigmund Freud isn't so much an example as a contemplation of copyright law. The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Sigmund_Freud_LIFE.jpg">portrait</a> was taken in 1914, which makes it public domain under United States law. If the portrait had been taken ten years later then Wikimedia Commons wouldn't be able to host it. Although all of Freud's writings entered public domain in the European Union at the start of 2010, United States law doesn't recognize all of his work as public domain. It's a really weird quirk that causes big obstacles.<br />
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Copyright terms in the European Union run for the life of the author plus seventy years. Freud died in 1939. So on January 1 2010 all of his copyrights expired in Austria and the United Kingdom. Most countries reflect that lapse in their own law by a provision known as the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rule_of_the_shorter_term"><i>rule of the shorter term</i></a>, but the United States doesn't follow the rule of the shorter term.<br />
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So I could republish all of Freud's writings from Vienna where they're public domain, but not from the US where they remain under copyright. The Wikimedia Foundation servers are located in the United States. So because the servers fall under United States law, Austrian Wikimedians can't bring Freud's later writings onto the German language Wikisource (which hosts free licensed texts).<br />
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United States copyright law is complex, but one rule that holds true nearly all of the time in the States is that material which was published before 1923 is public domain (no matter when the author died). So this 1914 portrait is fine to reuse but a 1924 portrait wouldn't necessarily be free. That copyright gap is going to widen: Anne Frank's autobiography will lapse into public domain in The Netherlands in 2015 but will remain under copyright in the United States. Broadly speaking, United States copyrights are in a holding pattern until 2020. So 1923 works won't lapse public domain for at least another ten years.<br />
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For the last thirty years U.S. copyright law has been getting a series of extensions. Those extensions have something to do with lobbying by the Walt Disney Corporation: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mickey_Mouse#Legal_issues">Mickey Mouse was created in 1925</a>. It doesn't actually protect the value of Mickey Mouse to keep Sigmund Freud under copyright in the United States, though. The United States could adopt the rule of the shorter term without harming Disney's profits.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S2zkTg3lB7I/AAAAAAAAA-Y/EjxcxaJwELo/s1600-h/William_Butler_Yeat_by_George_Charles_Beresford.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S2zkTg3lB7I/AAAAAAAAA-Y/EjxcxaJwELo/s320/William_Butler_Yeat_by_George_Charles_Beresford.jpg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div>Other culturally valuable material is getting tied up because of this legal hitch: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Butler_Yeats">William Butler Yeats's</a> works entered public domain in his native country of Ireland this year. I can republish this 1911 portrait of him freely, but I can't republish his late poems.<br />
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And one thing worth wondering is this: with a normal copyrighted work it could be possible to contact the copyright owner and request a release under <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyleft">copyleft</a> license. How does one seek access to material that remains under a copyright which no one seems to own?Lise Broerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15087397520904837725noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12886811.post-64892803608291535442010-02-03T13:49:00.000-08:002010-02-03T13:49:49.360-08:00More than one way to skin a cat<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S2nsQCR8_sI/AAAAAAAAA-I/l5m8nippovc/s1600-h/Jenny+Lind+alternate.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S2nsQCR8_sI/AAAAAAAAA-I/l5m8nippovc/s320/Jenny+Lind+alternate.jpg" /></a></div>Last month I posted about restoration work on a portrait of opera singer Jenny Lind. Today I came across another graphic artist's approach to restoring her portrait. It's an interesting peek at how different two approaches can be. <a href="http://psd.tutsplus.com/tutorials/tools-tips/how-to-repair-scratches-tears-and-spots-on-an-old-photograph/">Robert C. McLaughlin's restoration</a> is a composite of two different photographs including the one from the Library of Congress that I've been using.<br />
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He specifically avoids using the healing brush and works toward a much more artistic effect. The result looks more like a pencil sketch than a photograph.<br />
<h4><a href="http://machlochlainn.carbonmade.com/" rel="external" title="Visit Robert C. McLaughlin’s website"><br />
</a></h4>Lise Broerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15087397520904837725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12886811.post-36862349885045852572010-01-31T23:14:00.000-08:002010-01-31T23:14:57.412-08:00The fast food hamburger of digital editing<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S2Zq1ho4_6I/AAAAAAAAA9Y/FfN_JFGl5kA/s1600-h/cavalryatbalaklava2+small.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="380" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S2Zq1ho4_6I/AAAAAAAAA9Y/FfN_JFGl5kA/s640/cavalryatbalaklava2+small.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>Today I'm going to do the unspeakable: praise the Photoshop auto levels function. This is something like a fine chef admitting to liking fast food. Auto levels is notorious as the one click tool that gives mediocre results. It's reliable, quick, easy, and not very good for you. Sort of like a hamburger. And yes, I have a use for it. Not the usual use, though.<br />
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NativeForeigner is working on another Crimean War lithograph. He asked me to check his progress, which was very good except for something he hadn't noticed yet. A problem loomed in the upper left corner.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S2Z0ert2IRI/AAAAAAAAA9g/u9kDp3ErQik/s1600-h/cavalryatbalaklava2+corner.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="352" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S2Z0ert2IRI/AAAAAAAAA9g/u9kDp3ErQik/s640/cavalryatbalaklava2+corner.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;">Don't see it yet? Neither did Native Foreigner. And neither would I unless I had worked with this type of image before. Now let's peek at what the auto levels function reveals: big stains!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S2Z2YiNM3EI/AAAAAAAAA9o/5OjyuZz8x5I/s1600-h/cavalryatbalaklava2+corner+levels.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="352" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S2Z2YiNM3EI/AAAAAAAAA9o/5OjyuZz8x5I/s640/cavalryatbalaklava2+corner+levels.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;">A lot of nineteenth century lithographs have subtle problems with vertical banding that show up in the sky. I suspect this is because they had been rolled for storage at some point. This type of problem tends to seem very faint until the editor adjusts the histogram. And then there's just no ignoring it.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">If I suspect an image might have this type of problem I preview it in auto levels to gauge the severity.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">And to all the other digital image editors who are gasping at this statement, please remember:</div><div style="text-align: left;">That's preview.</div><div style="text-align: left;">pre-view</div><div style="text-align: left;">p-r-e-v-i-e-w.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Please don't pounce on me like you're all chefs who've just caught a fellow chef munching French fries.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S2Z6d3s9qkI/AAAAAAAAA94/pi4AQFt7d4k/s1600-h/cavalry2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="352" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S2Z6d3s9qkI/AAAAAAAAA94/pi4AQFt7d4k/s640/cavalry2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;">Using the History option we step back from that auto levels version. It's too early to really change the histogram permanently. That preview gave a very clear look at the side, shape, and darkness of the staining problem. Now we're going to resolve the problem. There are different ways to do this. A lot of people like the Dodge and Burn tools. I prefer masks and brightness adjustments.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">The way I solve this is to draw a free form selection and add feathering. Feathering a selection blends its borders. This edit used 10 pixels of feathering and increased the brightness by 2 in the selected area. If you like to be cautious you can do these edits within new layers. Then redraw another selection, make a very slight adjustment, and keep going until the stains vanish.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Here's the effect of the first edit in another levels preview. Once NativeForeigner understood this he did the remaining work himself.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S2Z_J9sxRUI/AAAAAAAAA-A/Sbwud5ma87Y/s1600-h/cavalryatbalaklava2+corner+after+auto+levels.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="352" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S2Z_J9sxRUI/AAAAAAAAA-A/Sbwud5ma87Y/s640/cavalryatbalaklava2+corner+after+auto+levels.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div>Lise Broerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15087397520904837725noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12886811.post-47470808890050763972010-01-30T10:14:00.000-08:002010-01-30T10:14:20.578-08:00Library of Congress starts open source initiative<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S2RobvGqPKI/AAAAAAAAA8Y/g6bkG7LUHAQ/s1600-h/780px-Havana_1639b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="492" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S2RobvGqPKI/AAAAAAAAA8Y/g6bkG7LUHAQ/s640/780px-Havana_1639b.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>Considering how much of the historic media at Wikipedia comes from the Library of Congress, it may surprise you that the Wikimedia Foundation has no formal partnership with the Library of Congress. <br />
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Yesterday <a href="http://tech.slashdot.org/story/10/01/29/2032255/Library-of-Congress-Explores-Ways-To-Release-OS-Software">Slashdot</a> picked up on a Library of Congress initiative to do more of their work with open source software. It would make a lot of sense if the Library of Congress interfaced directly with the world's most successful open source nonprofit: Wikimedia. The Library of Congress has been absolutely wonderful about making its material available to the public at high resolution. Today's post expresses appreciation for that openness in the hope that this valuable synergy will be appreciated and built upon.<br />
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Eight of the images that ran on the main page of the English Wikipedia this month came from the Library of Congress collection. The<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Havana_1639b.jpg"> image</a> above is a landscape of Havana, Cuba painted in 1639 by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johannes_Vingboons">Johannes Vingboons</a>, which I restored. Wikipedia's main page received 4.0 million page views while it ran at the Picture of the Day feature on January 1, 2010. The image itself received <a href="http://stats.grok.se/en/201001/File%3AHavana_1639b.jpg">11,900 direct page views</a> that day and a total of 13,382 direct views this month. All of the page view statistics for Wikipedia's main page are confirmed <a href="http://stats.grok.se/en/201001/Main%20page">here</a>. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S2RohAMRvyI/AAAAAAAAA8g/6KVeJ5eV64s/s1600-h/455px-Mary_Coriolano2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S2RohAMRvyI/AAAAAAAAA8g/6KVeJ5eV64s/s640/455px-Mary_Coriolano2.jpg" width="486" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;">The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Mary_Coriolano2.jpg">Picture of the Day</a> for January 6, 2010 was a seventeenth century <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Mary_Coriolano2.jpg">chiaroscuro woodcut</a> by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bartolommeo_Coriolano">Bartolommeo Coriolano</a>, who was knighted by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Urban_VII">Pope Urban VII</a> for his artistic work in engravings and woodcuts. I did the restoration. Wikipedia's main page received 5.1 million page views on January 6 and the image itself received <a href="http://stats.grok.se/en/201001/File%3AMary%20Coriolano2.jpg">7937 direct page views</a> this month.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S2RokqMyaAI/AAAAAAAAA8o/J9z8VwgARTM/s1600-h/319px-Gaucho1868b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S2RokqMyaAI/AAAAAAAAA8o/J9z8VwgARTM/s640/319px-Gaucho1868b.jpg" width="340" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Gaucho1868b.jpg">This</a> 1868 portrait of an Argentine <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaucho">gaucho</a> was Picture of the Day on January 8. Wikipedia's main page received 5.2 million page views that day and the image received <a href="http://stats.grok.se/en/201001/File%3AGaucho1868b.jpg">16,427 direct views</a> this month. This was another of my restorations. We'll be seeing other volunteers' work too.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S2RooJrqXrI/AAAAAAAAA8w/ytF9xoMVcAA/s1600-h/800px-Quays_Waterford2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="468" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S2RooJrqXrI/AAAAAAAAA8w/ytF9xoMVcAA/s640/800px-Quays_Waterford2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Quays_Waterford2.jpg">This</a> 1890s <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photochrom">photochrom</a> print of the quays at <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waterford">Waterford</a>, Ireland was restored by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Jake_Wartenberg">Jake Wartenberg</a>. It was Picture of the Day on January 14 when Wikipedia's main page received 5.3 million page views. Jake's restoration has received <a href="http://stats.grok.se/en/201001/File%3AQuays_Waterford2.jpg">33,629 direct page views</a> so far this month. Good work, Jake!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S2RospyauyI/AAAAAAAAA84/bgIqryXfqCo/s1600-h/796px-Kiyonaga_bathhouse_women-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="484" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S2RospyauyI/AAAAAAAAA84/bgIqryXfqCo/s640/796px-Kiyonaga_bathhouse_women-2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;">The artist for<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Kiyonaga_bathhouse_women-2.jpg"> this woodblock print</a> of a women's bathhouse was <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torii_Kiyonaga">Torii Kiyonaga</a>, 1752-1815. Wikipedian editor <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Torsodog">Torsodog</a> performed the restoration. It was Picture of the Day on January 18 when Wikipedia's main page received 5.6 million page views. The image has received <a href="http://stats.grok.se/en/201001/File%3AKiyonaga_bathhouse_women-2.jpg">39,158 direct page views</a> this month.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S2Ro33JRIVI/AAAAAAAAA9A/PXyQuyUIB58/s1600-h/525px-Snake_charmers2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S2Ro33JRIVI/AAAAAAAAA9A/PXyQuyUIB58/s640/525px-Snake_charmers2.jpg" width="562" /></a> </div><div style="text-align: left;">On January 20 Wikipedia's main page ran <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Snake_charmers2.jpg">this albumen print</a> of Moroccan snake charmers, which was created during the latter half of the nineteenth century. This was another of my restorations. Wikipedia's main page received 5.3 million page views that day. The image file has received <a href="http://stats.grok.se/en/201001/File%3ASnake%20charmers2.jpg">17,884 direct views</a> this month.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S2Ro_XUdt6I/AAAAAAAAA9I/BKLQ1IVpDSE/s1600-h/800px-Hospital_at_Scutari_2a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="412" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S2Ro_XUdt6I/AAAAAAAAA9I/BKLQ1IVpDSE/s640/800px-Hospital_at_Scutari_2a.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;">On January 21 another one of Jake Wartenberg's restorations ran on Wikipedia's main page. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Hospital_at_Scutari_2a.jpg">This</a> is an 1856 lithograph of the hospital at <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selimiye_Barracks">Selimiye Barracks</a> where <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florence_Nightingale">Florence Nightingale</a> worked during the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crimean_War">Crimean War</a>. The main page had 5.3 million page views on January 21 and the image file received <a href="http://stats.grok.se/en/201001/File%3AHospital_at_Scutari_2a.jpg">21,840 direct views</a> this month.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S2RpKLdRFvI/AAAAAAAAA9Q/71gjivRZDhU/s1600-h/428px-Rice_%26_Barton%27s_Big_Gaiety_Spectacular_Extravaganza_Co._-_Gaiety_Dancers.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S2RpKLdRFvI/AAAAAAAAA9Q/71gjivRZDhU/s640/428px-Rice_%26_Barton%27s_Big_Gaiety_Spectacular_Extravaganza_Co._-_Gaiety_Dancers.png" width="458" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;">This <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Rice_%26_Barton%27s_Big_Gaiety_Spectacular_Extravaganza_Co._-_Gaiety_Dancers.png">theatrical advertisement</a> from 1900 was restored by <a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Adam_Cuerden">Adam Cuerden</a>. While it was Wikipedia's Picture of the Day for January 22, the site's main page received 5.3 million page views. The image file hosting page has received <a href="http://stats.grok.se/en/201001/File%3ARice%20%26%20Barton%27s%20Big%20Gaiety%20Spectacular%20Extravaganza%20Co.%20-%20Gaiety%20Dancers.png">11,211 direct views</a> this month.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
Altogether that totals 41.1 million page views this month for Wikipedia's main page while media from the Library of Congress was running on it, and 161,468 direct page views for the eight Library of Congress images that were highlighted as Picture of the Day. These numbers are typical for the attention the Library of Congress collection is receiving through Wikimedian volunteer efforts.<br />
<br />
I'd like to coordinate directly with the Library of Congress management to utilize this synergy better. And if the Library of Congress isn't interested I'll be happy to work more closely with institutions such as the Tropenmuseum that see the potential.</div>Lise Broerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15087397520904837725noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12886811.post-51518691258304406432010-01-29T22:23:00.000-08:002010-01-29T22:25:52.153-08:00SMS Moltke<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S2PAfMN51PI/AAAAAAAAA7Y/7ui5VGJ1NsU/s1600-h/800px-SMS_Moltke_Hampton_Roads_1912_FINAL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="390" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S2PAfMN51PI/AAAAAAAAA7Y/7ui5VGJ1NsU/s640/800px-SMS_Moltke_Hampton_Roads_1912_FINAL.jpg" width="640" /></a> Staxringold asked me to collaborate with him on <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:SMS_Moltke_Hampton_Roads_1912_FINAL.jpg">this restoration</a> of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SMS_Moltke_%281910%29">SMS Moltke</a> at <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hampton_Roads">Hampton Roads</a>, Virginia in 1912. There was a difficult repair in the foreground on this image, which was 147 MB at <a href="http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/hec.01140%20">full resolution</a> in uncompressed TIFF format. At preview size the area looks like two white marks in the waves about two-thirds of the way to the left.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S2PCEIzsbcI/AAAAAAAAA7g/wKN4qS3tQ8k/s1600-h/800px-SMS_Moltke_Hampton_Roads_1912.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="474" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S2PCEIzsbcI/AAAAAAAAA7g/wKN4qS3tQ8k/s640/800px-SMS_Moltke_Hampton_Roads_1912.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;">This image was digitized from a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photographic_plate">glass plate negative</a>. Glass plate photography was developed in the mid-nineteenth century and was widely used until the early decades of the twentieth century when photographic film was introduced.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S2PGw7KccsI/AAAAAAAAA7o/uwqYQYEavr0/s1600-h/SMS+Moltke+demonstration+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S2PGw7KccsI/AAAAAAAAA7o/uwqYQYEavr0/s640/SMS+Moltke+demonstration+1.jpg" width="630" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;">One of the problems with this format, though, is that the photographic emulsion is prone to damage. Once damage occurs the emulsion can peel away from the glass. That's starting to happen in this section. The challenge I faced was to reconstruct the appearance of choppy water. The sequence you'll see below was the progressive work on this area that I showed to Staxringold so he can do this type of area himself next time. The following sections are screen shots at 200% resolution.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S2PM2CHIYII/AAAAAAAAA7w/le0gO55U6ME/s1600-h/SMS+Moltke+demonstration+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S2PM2CHIYII/AAAAAAAAA7w/le0gO55U6ME/s640/SMS+Moltke+demonstration+2.jpg" width="636" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S2PNpRLitAI/AAAAAAAAA74/nh16JGyi-hU/s1600-h/SMS+Moltke+demonstration+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S2PNpRLitAI/AAAAAAAAA74/nh16JGyi-hU/s640/SMS+Moltke+demonstration+3.jpg" width="622" /></a> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S2PNxixorMI/AAAAAAAAA8A/X6NaDb-3zNs/s1600-h/SMS+Moltke+demonstration+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S2PNxixorMI/AAAAAAAAA8A/X6NaDb-3zNs/s640/SMS+Moltke+demonstration+4.jpg" width="628" /></a><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S2PN96f3KEI/AAAAAAAAA8I/1O0xntoi_wg/s1600-h/SMS+Moltke+demonstration+5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="638" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S2PN96f3KEI/AAAAAAAAA8I/1O0xntoi_wg/s640/SMS+Moltke+demonstration+5.jpg" width="640" /></a><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S2POGWFhodI/AAAAAAAAA8Q/vv4TVjnNm6s/s1600-h/SMS+Moltke+demonstration+6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="638" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S2POGWFhodI/AAAAAAAAA8Q/vv4TVjnNm6s/s640/SMS+Moltke+demonstration+6.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;">If it seems a little nutty to work at 200% resolution on a 147 MB digitization of a negative that was no larger than 5" x 7", maybe it is. But glass plates are a high resolution format. Film gained dominance in the consumer market because it was less fragile and easier to work with. Glass plates remained in use for technical purposes such as astronomy and medical imaging until digital technologies took over at the very end of the twentieth century. <br />
<br />
All in all, that makes a pretty good useful lifespan for a technology that came into wide use during the American Civil War.</div>Lise Broerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15087397520904837725noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12886811.post-80144540760097741852010-01-28T22:00:00.000-08:002010-01-28T22:01:47.359-08:00D-Day<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S2J3DM_mwRI/AAAAAAAAA7Q/BTqGK9YLjoE/s1600-h/486px-Synagogue_D-Day3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S2J3DM_mwRI/AAAAAAAAA7Q/BTqGK9YLjoE/s640/486px-Synagogue_D-Day3.jpg" width="520" /></a> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Occasionally digital restoration raises new questions. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Synagogue_D-Day3.jpg">This photograph</a> depicts a synagogue in New York City on D-Day, 1944. The Library of Congress didn't identify which congregation. A Wikipedian who edits under the username <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Pharos">Pharos</a> has identified it as Congregation Emunath Israel on West Twenty-third Street.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I've requested this to be Wikipedia's picture of the day for June 6, 2010.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">It would be really wonderful to make contact with this congregation before that day so they know about it. A few of their older members might even be able to name who these women are. Unfortunately they don't have a website or publish an email address. Their telephone goes directly into a voice mail system.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">So if you live in New York City or know a friend who does, would you be willing to help contact this congregation please? I'd really appreciate the help.</div>Lise Broerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15087397520904837725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12886811.post-41066505173729423792010-01-27T16:41:00.000-08:002010-01-27T17:20:13.499-08:00This stinks in Cologne<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S2DIcGDSRGI/AAAAAAAAA7A/hZXugFyen6Y/s1600-h/800px-Hohenzollernbr%C3%BCcke_K%C3%B6ln.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="444" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S2DIcGDSRGI/AAAAAAAAA7A/hZXugFyen6Y/s640/800px-Hohenzollernbr%C3%BCcke_K%C3%B6ln.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
</div>The fourth largest city in Germany actually is quite beautiful. <a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hohenzollernbr%C3%BCcke_K%C3%B6ln.jpg">The photograph</a> here was taken by a German Wikimedian named <a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Der_Wolf_im_Wald">Thomas Wolf</a> and it is featured in three languages. The thing that stinks is that the city's archive building collapsed last year; Cologne's archive had been one of the very few that had survived World War II completely intact. Last March the city was constructing a subway on the same street. Then suddenly the archive tumbled.<br />
<br />
Two people died. Thousands of documents going back nearly 1100 years were in rubble. Half a million photographs were housed there. Disasters <a href="http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,611311,00.html">such as the Cologne archive collapse</a> demonstrate why it is important to digitize cultural records. Digital versions help protect and preserve a heritage.<br />
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So with thoughts of Cologne, here's a photochrom print circa 1910 of the Eisenbahn Bridge at Cologne from the <a href="http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/ppmsca.00861%20">Library of Congress</a> collection. I haven't restored it yet; maybe someday.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S2DUUDqcvpI/AAAAAAAAA7I/Ly8zPLpV_lQ/s1600-h/Eisenbahn+Bridge.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S2DUUDqcvpI/AAAAAAAAA7I/Ly8zPLpV_lQ/s640/Eisenbahn+Bridge.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
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</div>Lise Broerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15087397520904837725noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12886811.post-68709650198495755282010-01-26T07:21:00.000-08:002010-01-26T10:27:03.818-08:00Looking ahead<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S18HVB7fuTI/AAAAAAAAA64/xA66C2rXRd4/s1600-h/449px-Belle_of_Nelson_Whiskey_poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S18HVB7fuTI/AAAAAAAAA64/xA66C2rXRd4/s640/449px-Belle_of_Nelson_Whiskey_poster.jpg" width="480" /></a><br />
</div>Congratulations to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Coffee">Coffee</a> on his first digitally restored <a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Belle_of_Nelson_Whiskey_poster.jpg">featured picture</a>: a nineteenth century whiskey advertisement so politically incorrect it's almost quaint. It really is wonderful and rewarding to help new people such as NativeForeigner and Coffee learn digital restoration. Yet tutoring is very time consuming. <br />
<br />
So today's post is brief: it's time to scale up this digital restoration work. One way to do that is to collaborate with art schools. What I'd like to do is get this incorporated into the curricula of advanced digital editing classes with the best student work to be selected for exhibition in museums. We have the contacts on the museum side to make that happen. <br />
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If you have contacts with an art school, please put them in touch with me: nadezhda(dot)durova(at)gmail(dot)comLise Broerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15087397520904837725noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12886811.post-83845792542849913662010-01-25T16:12:00.000-08:002010-01-25T16:17:42.427-08:00Beginner's luck<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S14erNzzwmI/AAAAAAAAA6Q/mO6Chn_lFDU/s1600-h/durovafinalv2+small.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="522" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S14erNzzwmI/AAAAAAAAA6Q/mO6Chn_lFDU/s640/durovafinalv2+small.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
</div>Would you believe that this image is not only an editor's first restoration, but his first digital editing project of any sort? <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:NativeForeigner">NativeForeigner</a> asked me to help choose his first project a few days ago. After discussing several options I pointed him to a series of lithographs about the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crimean_War">Crimean War</a>. The Library of Congress owns a wonderful set created by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Simpson_%28artist%29">William Simpson</a> in the mid-1850s that's been well preserved. He installed GIMP and Skype, we traded screen shots and shared ideas, and he performed most of the edits himself. Here's a view of the <a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Balaklava_sick.jpg">unedited original</a>.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S14l3Wg0BLI/AAAAAAAAA6Y/ubm550xppcg/s1600-h/Balaklava+sick+small.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="422" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S14l3Wg0BLI/AAAAAAAAA6Y/ubm550xppcg/s640/Balaklava+sick+small.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">NativeForeigner inspired me to think of this when he showed an interest in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_Fenton">Roger Fenton's</a> Crimean War photography. The Simpson lithographs make wonderful beginner projects.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">So today we'll share a few highlights from the collaboration. NativeForeigner's first question was how to address the area in this screen shot.<br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S14uUEqtE2I/AAAAAAAAA6g/BjrLbxJJcbU/s1600-h/firstissue.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="458" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S14uUEqtE2I/AAAAAAAAA6g/BjrLbxJJcbU/s640/firstissue.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">How many of these marks are intentional, he wondered? I sent back a draft edit of a suggested first pass to the section. The key concept here is that it's easier to take away than to readd data. So when something is uncertain, leave it for later and work on the easier material while you grow more familiar with the image and gain an understanding of its context.<br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S14uW5qW1GI/AAAAAAAAA6o/9femlaiAERA/s1600-h/firstissue1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="458" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S14uW5qW1GI/AAAAAAAAA6o/9femlaiAERA/s640/firstissue1.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S14vlrVFugI/AAAAAAAAA6w/g8zbnKfMWqA/s1600-h/blatantly+missed+issue.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S14vlrVFugI/AAAAAAAAA6w/g8zbnKfMWqA/s320/blatantly+missed+issue.jpg" width="320" /></a>NativeForeigner trusted my advice and did the first three passes himself. He only really needed to pause for advice again to address a stain at the lower left corner: a dark spot surrounded by a fainter orange mark. He corrected that problem with clone stamping.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">After his third pass I found a damaged portion in the sky at upper right, which he corrected. Then he transferred the file and I gave the image a pass to correct for scratches, creases, and subtle stains. Then a Curves adjustment and a color balance provided the final touches.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">We're creating the featured picture nomination together at Wikimedia Commons as I write this post. Once it goes live we'll add the image to articles on Wikipedia. This illustration, which was published in April 1855, shows the conditions that <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florence_Nightingale">Florence Nightingale</a> confronted when she arrived at <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balaklava">Balaklava</a> in late 1854. Her work to improve care for the wounded and sick during that war established her reputation. In many ways that turned nursing into a modern and respected profession.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div>Lise Broerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15087397520904837725noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12886811.post-6625321727776987022010-01-24T10:52:00.000-08:002010-01-24T11:15:39.119-08:00Headhunters<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S1yGT-l2zqI/AAAAAAAAA5w/Tqj7haPCw-Q/s1600-h/COLLECTIE_TROPENMUSEUM_Een_groep_onderworpen_koppensnellers_Nias_TMnr_10001505.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="406" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S1yGT-l2zqI/AAAAAAAAA5w/Tqj7haPCw-Q/s640/COLLECTIE_TROPENMUSEUM_Een_groep_onderworpen_koppensnellers_Nias_TMnr_10001505.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
</div>"You have to appreciate that the deforestation of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nias">Nias</a> started when they were no longer headhunting! So it was functional." Gerard Meijssen often expresses unusual perspectives that make me laugh, but he's seldom wrong. This photograph was taken in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indonesia">Indonesia</a>. Here's Gerard's translation of the <a href="http://www.tropenmuseum.nl/">Tropenmuseum's</a> caption:<br />
<blockquote>Repronegative. The best known island of the range to the west of Sumatra is probably Nias. It was at any rate the biggest and most populous. In the time of the VOC, the island was best known as an exporter of slaves to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atjeh">Atjeh</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Padang_Island">Padang</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benkoelen">Benkoelen</a>. In this way the gentry of the hierarchical Nias earned the gold needed for dowries and the ritual feasts. Nias was a society of warriors who not only enslaved people, they also went head hunting, for instance for the burial ritual of a nobleman. The colonial government tried to end this (P. Boomgaard, 2001). A group of subdued headhunters, Nias “a group of head hunters came to submit themselves” Nias, Northern Sumatra, ca 1920<br />
</blockquote>Go ahead and double check the museum's <a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:COLLECTIE_TROPENMUSEUM_Een_groep_onderworpen_koppensnellers_Nias_TMnr_10001505.jpg">official metadata</a> if you can read Dutch. Gerard seems perfectly serious, which is a little hard to stomach if, like me, you envision reruns of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gilligan%27s_Island"><i>Gilligan's Island</i></a> when the word "headhunters" enters a conversation.<br />
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Headhunters really existed. And after too many formative years of squandering brain cells on the best bad sitcom of all time I'm restoring an actual photograph of headhunters. Here's a thumbnail version of the image the Tropenmuseum provided at high resolution. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S1yNnzfsU3I/AAAAAAAAA54/LAENYl_b83Y/s1600-h/Tropenmuseum+60009097+small.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S1yNnzfsU3I/AAAAAAAAA54/LAENYl_b83Y/s640/Tropenmuseum+60009097+small.jpg" width="408" /></a><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">This was probably photographed in or near the village of Bawemataloeo. If Gerard is right, these people took heads as trophies in battle. An effective way to put fear into one's enemies! Although (per <i>Gilligan's Island</i>) I'm slightly embarrassed to discuss this subject, it is fascinating to see the people who lived that way. And a relief to know it's historic. Then I remember the deforestation and my political correctness meter breaks.<br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S1ySNoBesHI/AAAAAAAAA6A/0PfdnDFF_ow/s1600-h/Tropenmuseum+60009097+crop.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="624" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S1ySNoBesHI/AAAAAAAAA6A/0PfdnDFF_ow/s640/Tropenmuseum+60009097+crop.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">This seems to have been digitized from a print on textured paper with directional lighting. The scratches aren't clear lines: they look like little horizontal nicks stacked over each other. It's quite difficult to work on. I've been spending most of my time at 200% and 300% resolution with a healing brush selection three to six pixels wide. The hardest part of it is repairing this man's face.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">When an image has problems that are solvable yet difficult, the mellow approach is best: address the parts that are easy to fix and go work on a different area when it starts to seem frustrating. Come back after the subconscious has pondered the situation, work on the tough area again, and slowly turn big problems into little problems.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">One of the things I do is keep an unaltered version of the image handy and pause occasionally to view sections side by side. That helps to distinguish photographic damage from real data. It also sustains my morale through a hard restoration. Here's how that section looks so far.<br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S1yWif3HA8I/AAAAAAAAA6I/uOUszvG_mR8/s1600-h/Tropenmuseum+60009097a+crop.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="622" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S1yWif3HA8I/AAAAAAAAA6I/uOUszvG_mR8/s640/Tropenmuseum+60009097a+crop.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
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</div>Lise Broerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15087397520904837725noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12886811.post-40819066797302745762010-01-23T12:57:00.000-08:002010-01-24T09:10:38.357-08:00Delurking in the shadows<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S1s4gUoP-TI/AAAAAAAAA44/oRPVre4_Hc0/s1600-h/Henry_Clay_Senate2+small.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="514" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S1s4gUoP-TI/AAAAAAAAA44/oRPVre4_Hc0/s640/Henry_Clay_Senate2+small.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
</div>Everyone likes the person who can make a portrait look better. A tool in Photoshop called Shadow/Highlight that is equally useful whether the portrait is a nineteenth century engraving or a twenty-first century photograph. Today we'll put that tool to use in both situations.<br />
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Our <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Henry_Clay_Senate2.jpg">first example</a> depicts Senator <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Clay">Henry Clay</a> of Kentucky who was one of the influential legislators of the nineteenth century. The edit at the top of this post was done by a classical guitarist who volunteers for Wikipedia under the username <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Jujutacular">Jujutacular</a>. Jujutacular has also uploaded several musical performances under free license and fellow editors have selected his work as <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:FS">featured sounds</a>. An example of Jujutacular at guitar is <a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e2/Sor_Op_31_No_1_Rec_2.ogg">here</a>; it plays best on the Firefox browser. Jujutacular also restores historic images and yesterday I helped him with the image edit, which he had done from <a href="http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/ppmsca.09398">this Library of Congress original</a>.<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S1tMBzJbw3I/AAAAAAAAA5o/Tq-f9NcsUUg/s1600-h/Henry+Clay+histogram.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S1tMBzJbw3I/AAAAAAAAA5o/Tq-f9NcsUUg/s320/Henry+Clay+histogram.jpg" /></a>Jujutacular's dirt and scratch removal was very careful, yet the image remains badly faded. Here's what that fade looks like on a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image_histogram">histogram</a>. A histogram assigns all the pixels on an image a brightness rating from 0 (for black) to 255 (pure white). Faded images lose data at the left and right ends of the graph.<br />
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Image editing programs offer several ways to correct for fade. The Shadow/Highlight tool in Photoshop is a powerful way to coax detail out of the shadows.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S1s486s0t7I/AAAAAAAAA5I/prmGmWlm_8I/s1600-h/Henry+Clay+shadow-highlight.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S1s486s0t7I/AAAAAAAAA5I/prmGmWlm_8I/s400/Henry+Clay+shadow-highlight.jpg" width="256" /></a>This tool has three sets of sliders. The top section controls shadows and the middle controls highlights. Those are the only two sections we'll need for today. The top bar in each section, "Amount" controls the amount of enhancement. The "Tonal Width" and "Radius" bars control the data selected for enhancement.<br />
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The shadow/highlight tool shows previews in real time. So the best way to get familiar with it is to open it up and play around with a few images. A good fade correction brings out the information you want to see without overpowering changes. <br />
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The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Henry_Clay_Senate3.jpg">final version</a> of the Henry Clay engraving had minimal editing after the Shadow/Highlight adjustment. Notice how much clearer it becomes.<br />
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Although I admire the detail of this engraving, overall it's a period piece not quite to my taste. The postures are stiff and theatrical. He looks more like a third rate actor playing a senator than an actual senator. Yet it's a good example of an artistic style that was popular during his career. Have a look and we'll move on to a twenty-first century portrait.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S1s4wvVQo6I/AAAAAAAAA5A/vLEMWMdXq4A/s1600-h/Henry_Clay_Senate3+small.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="514" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S1s4wvVQo6I/AAAAAAAAA5A/vLEMWMdXq4A/s640/Henry_Clay_Senate3+small.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">One type of problem that's probably happened to everybody is the indoor portrait taken next to a bright window. The human eye adjusts to brightness differences better than any camera. So this type of pose usually seems like it ought to look fine but gives disappointing results. <a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:PBEAUDETTE_SEPT_09_WMF_STAFF_GOLDBERGN-9013.jpg">Here's</a> an example with Philippe Beaudette who works for the Wikimedia Foundation.<br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S1s0tSLKRaI/AAAAAAAAA4w/GIEVzG0al6c/s1600-h/800px-PBEAUDETTE_SEPT_09_WMF_STAFF_GOLDBERGN-9013.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S1s0tSLKRaI/AAAAAAAAA4w/GIEVzG0al6c/s640/800px-PBEAUDETTE_SEPT_09_WMF_STAFF_GOLDBERGN-9013.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
</div><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S1s5HKn5jyI/AAAAAAAAA5Q/r6p964QgWck/s1600-h/Philippe+shadow-highlight.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S1s5HKn5jyI/AAAAAAAAA5Q/r6p964QgWck/s400/Philippe+shadow-highlight.jpg" width="257" /></a>Poor Phillippe looks like he hasn't been outdoors in a month. He doesn't really live in a cave; it's just the lighting. The first edit was a mild perspective crop to take out distracting architectural elements at left and right.<br />
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Then I wanted to put texture and color back into his face, but not too much. The aim is to give his forehead definition without exaggerating contours so much that the skin looks blemished. On the highlight slider an unusually large radius setting (92 pixels) produced a pleasing effect. The edits to the shadow mostly brought out details in his sweater and hair. I don't want to bring out very much of the shadows, though, because too much could produce the dreaded five o'clock shadow.<br />
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Unfortunately the current version of GIMP doesn't have an equivalent editing tool to Photoshop's Shadow/Highlight feature. GIMP users can coax somewhat similar effects from the Curves tool.<br />
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Afterward I increased yellow by a small amount in the midtones and highlights, then boosted the saturation slightly. Very small increases to saturation often make a subject look healthier. The edits almost gave him a tan.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S1s5dylCpVI/AAAAAAAAA5Y/iCnD1fmMgNg/s1600-h/PBEAUDETTE_SEPT_09_WMF_STAFF_GOLDBERGN-9013+edited+small.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="516" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S1s5dylCpVI/AAAAAAAAA5Y/iCnD1fmMgNg/s640/PBEAUDETTE_SEPT_09_WMF_STAFF_GOLDBERGN-9013+edited+small.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div>Lise Broerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15087397520904837725noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12886811.post-20979177668974635292010-01-22T11:00:00.000-08:002010-01-22T12:20:29.450-08:00Shades of gray<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S1nZhY8kykI/AAAAAAAAA3o/-OcWhpAkNAg/s1600-h/Egyptian+camel+transport+small.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="292" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S1nZhY8kykI/AAAAAAAAA3o/-OcWhpAkNAg/s640/Egyptian+camel+transport+small.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
</div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">How do you color balance a black and white image? Today's restoration is an Egyptian camel transport photographed at Mount Olivet near Jerusalem in 1918. It was scanned from a print in an old album. Paper tends to get deficient in blue as it ages. Old photographic prints turn color in similar ways to old newspapers. So this photograph appears to be shades of brown; what do you do about that?<br />
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</div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Some people think that black and white photography ought to look black and white. Others prefer sepia tones. We probably can't resolve differences of taste, but it's worth a look at what happens with both approaches. They each have their shortcomings. You'll also see the solution that I think works best.<br />
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<div style="text-align: left;">Desaturation is a simple edit. Here's a screen shot of how to perform it in Photoshop.<br />
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S1nhzhCcWVI/AAAAAAAAA3w/Y_buBvdbXKk/s1600-h/camel+desaturate+screen+shot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="516" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S1nhzhCcWVI/AAAAAAAAA3w/Y_buBvdbXKk/s640/camel+desaturate+screen+shot.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
</div></div><div style="text-align: left;">If you're editing in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GIMP">GIMP</a> the Desaturate option is on the Colors menu. Here's the result you'll get in either program.<br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S1njexeenbI/AAAAAAAAA34/LR7G3aw56FM/s1600-h/Egyptian+camel+transport+small+desaturated.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="292" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S1njexeenbI/AAAAAAAAA34/LR7G3aw56FM/s640/Egyptian+camel+transport+small+desaturated.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S1nn2g4aiAI/AAAAAAAAA4A/N-Ehf5GhA2A/s1600-h/Camel+histogram+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S1nn2g4aiAI/AAAAAAAAA4A/N-Ehf5GhA2A/s320/Camel+histogram+1.jpg" /></a><br />
</div>This may be totally justifiable on technical grounds, but desaturation tends to convey an emotional coldness. The original is a gorgeous panorama. This doesn't have the same appeal; I don't feel the urge to lose myself in it the way I did with the original.<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S1nn9fr3s2I/AAAAAAAAA4I/fYIPRNgVnvY/s1600-h/camel+histogram+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S1nn9fr3s2I/AAAAAAAAA4I/fYIPRNgVnvY/s320/camel+histogram+2.jpg" /></a>So why not keep those warm sepias just as they are? If you're really restoring the image that won't be feasible. The trouble develops when you work with the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image_histogram">histogram</a>. Without getting too technical about it, old images usually fade. And when you correct for that fade (in terms of brightness), any discoloration will seem to be intensified. As a demonstration we'll do a simple levels adjustment on a partially restored version of this image.<br />
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<div style="text-align: left;">Notice how artificial this looks. This photograph was well preserved and had a good histogram for something ninety years old. In an average print of similar age those browns could turn bright orange.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S1noG3JETJI/AAAAAAAAA4Q/RdzKLKLY2kI/s1600-h/Egyptian+camel+transport2+small+demonstration.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="274" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S1noG3JETJI/AAAAAAAAA4Q/RdzKLKLY2kI/s640/Egyptian+camel+transport2+small+demonstration.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
</div><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S1ntnv7oqKI/AAAAAAAAA4g/1X1JA83DULs/s1600-h/camels+screenshot+2+color+balance.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S1ntnv7oqKI/AAAAAAAAA4g/1X1JA83DULs/s320/camels+screenshot+2+color+balance.jpg" /></a></div>One possible solution is to leave both the histogram and the colors alone, and to only perform dirt and scratch removal. That would keep the sepias untouched but lose whatever detail might be recovered from the shadows. My solution is a compromise: I worked on the histogram with the Photoshop Curves tool (which is a more sophisicated cousin to Levels), then I adjusted the color balance by hand and did a partial desaturation.<br />
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Since old paper is deficient in blue, a color balance adds blue. This means moving the bottom slider toward blue and the top slider toward cyan. Photoshop allows the user to adjust highlights, midtones, and shadows differently. I like to start with highlights because usually blue is more deficient in highlights. That makes sense if you think of paper prints turning color like old newspapers: the dark areas have more ink, which conceals some of the change that occurs in the paper.<br />
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For this adjustment I moved the sliders four units toward cyan and blue in the highlights, then three units toward cyan and two toward blue in midtones, and one unit each in shadows. Don't worry too much about remembering those exact numbers. When you're editing just use the preview function and adjust the settings until they feel right.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S1nthQGNJ6I/AAAAAAAAA4Y/p18sME8QSrI/s1600-h/Camels+screenshot+saturation.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S1nthQGNJ6I/AAAAAAAAA4Y/p18sME8QSrI/s320/Camels+screenshot+saturation.jpg" /></a></div>Next I reduced saturation in the Hue/Saturation dialog. This lets an editor take out some of the color while still leaving enough to to keep that emotional allure. The sepias won't be overwhelming anymore, but they're still there.<br />
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The equivalent editing tools can be accessed in GIMP by choosing Layers > Colors > Color Balance for color edits, and Layers > Colors > Hue-Saturation.<br />
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Here's the end result of my edits. You might prefer a slightly different final version. Photography is an art; so is digital image restoration. The unedited Library of Congress file is available <a href="http://memory.loc.gov/phpdata/pageturner.php?type=contactminor&cmIMG1=/pnp/ppmsca/13200/13291/00057t.gif&agg=ppmsca&item=13291&caption=57">here</a>. Soon I'll be uploading my work on the image to Wikimedia Commons including an interim edit that doesn't include my final changes to the histogram, color balance, or saturation. Feel free to work with that if you'd prefer something a little different.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S1nylqOnXLI/AAAAAAAAA4o/hQIQh6-cyos/s1600-h/Egyptian+camel+transport3+small.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="274" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S1nylqOnXLI/AAAAAAAAA4o/hQIQh6-cyos/s640/Egyptian+camel+transport3+small.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>Lise Broerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15087397520904837725noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12886811.post-42540315249467264162010-01-21T12:03:00.000-08:002010-01-21T12:05:59.998-08:00Talk like a Pittsburgh Pirate<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S1ikDeHYERI/AAAAAAAAA2A/o9MN0dX8Zho/s1600-h/800px-1909_Pittsburgh_Pirates_on_a_boat_FINAL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S1ikDeHYERI/AAAAAAAAA2A/o9MN0dX8Zho/s640/800px-1909_Pittsburgh_Pirates_on_a_boat_FINAL.jpg" /></a><br />
</div>There's a wonderful Wikipedia editor named James Ringold who puts his volunteer time into baseball articles. He edits as <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Staxringold">Staxringold</a> and recently nominated a featured topic about Major League Baseball awards where seventeen of the eighteen articles are <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:FA">featured articles</a>. It really shows how much the baseball editors put into their work. When James restores images he's equally diligent; he recently completed work on a poster about the Pittsburgh Pirates' 1909 National League championship. That's <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honus_Wagner">Honus Wagner</a> at the upper right corner next to the pennant. The full resolution restoration is available <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:1909_Pittsburgh_Pirates_on_a_boat_FINAL.jpg">here</a>; it makes an interesting comparison against <a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:1909_Pittsburgh_Pirates_on_a_boat.jpg">the original</a>.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S1iqd1oHFfI/AAAAAAAAA2I/24wUvxtYq4Y/s1600-h/800px-1909_Pittsburgh_Pirates_on_a_boat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S1iqd1oHFfI/AAAAAAAAA2I/24wUvxtYq4Y/s640/800px-1909_Pittsburgh_Pirates_on_a_boat.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S1isSav84lI/AAAAAAAAA2Q/RL6MbUiyqcA/s1600-h/455px-Babe_Ruth2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S1isSav84lI/AAAAAAAAA2Q/RL6MbUiyqcA/s320/455px-Babe_Ruth2.jpg" /></a><br />
</div>Each day <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page">Wikipedia's main page</a> runs a section called Picture of the Day. Scroll about halfway down the page to see it. You can see from next month's upcoming schedule that <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babe_Ruth">Babe Ruth</a> will be on the main page on his birthday, February 6. Sometimes special occasions get scheduled per request.<br />
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James and I both think the Pittsburgh Pirates would be perfect for <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Talk_Like_a_Pirate_Day">International Talk Like a Pirate Day</a>. If you'd like a peek under the hood at how Wikipedia operates, here's <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_talk:Howcheng#POTD_request_for_September_19">our conversation</a> with the Picture of the Day director:<br />
<h2><span class="mw-headline" id="POTD_request_for_September_19">POTD request for September 19</span></h2><div class="thumb tright"><div class="thumbinner" style="width: 252px;"><a class="image" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:1909_Pittsburgh_Pirates_on_a_boat_FINAL.jpg"><img alt="" class="thumbimage" height="153" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3f/1909_Pittsburgh_Pirates_on_a_boat_FINAL.jpg/250px-1909_Pittsburgh_Pirates_on_a_boat_FINAL.jpg" width="250" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a class="internal" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:1909_Pittsburgh_Pirates_on_a_boat_FINAL.jpg" title="Enlarge"><img alt="" height="11" src="http://bits.wikimedia.org/skins-1.5/common/images/magnify-clip.png" width="15" /></a></div>Arrrrr!</div></div></div>Seems perfect for Talk Like a Pirate Day. ;) <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Durova" title="User:Durova"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="color: #000099;">Durova</span></span></a><sup><i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_talk:Durova" title="User talk:Durova">401</a></i></sup> 22:58, 16 January 2010 (UTC)<br />
<dl><dd>"Talk like a Pittsburgh Pirate"? Heh. I think there's another pirate-themed FP lying about, however. <span style="font-family: Verdana;"><b><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Howcheng" title=""><span style="color: #3333cc;">howcheng</span></a></b> <small>{<strong class="selflink">chat</strong>}</small></span> 23:55, 18 January 2010 (UTC) <ul><li>NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! :) <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Staxringold" title="User:Staxringold">Staxringold</a> <sub><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_talk:Staxringold" title="User talk:Staxringold">talk</a></sub><sup><span style="left: -16px; margin-right: -16px; position: relative;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Contributions/Staxringold" title="Special:Contributions/Staxringold">contribs</a></span></sup> 01:46, 21 January 2010 (UTC) <br />
</li>
</ul></dd></dl>----<br />
Many thanks to the Library of Congress for making these fine images available to the public at high resolution.Lise Broerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15087397520904837725noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12886811.post-53979458707659407482010-01-20T11:05:00.000-08:002010-01-20T11:49:56.653-08:00Camera tilt<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S1dBLeNjz1I/AAAAAAAAA1Y/Iex9ryL8CUs/s1600-h/Ed+warship+small.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="484" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S1dBLeNjz1I/AAAAAAAAA1Y/Iex9ryL8CUs/s640/Ed+warship+small.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
</div>Today's edit techniques are equally useful whether the photograph depicts a World War I battleship or yesterday's birthday party. You're going to like this if you're new to digital editing and want good skills that are quick, easy, and make your friends think you're an expert.<br />
<br />
This ship is the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_New_Jersey_%28BB-16%29">USS New Jersey (BB-16)</a>, painted with camouflage in 1918. It's one of the subjects of a Wikipedia content drive called <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:WikiProject_Military_history/Maritime_warfare_task_force/Operation_Majestic_Titan">Operation Majestic Titan</a>, which is working to provide good articles about every battleship ever built. An administrator who works with that project, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:The_ed17">The ed17</a>, thought this photograph might have the quality to become a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Featured_pictures">featured picture</a>.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S1dHirPZEPI/AAAAAAAAA14/hFwvwX_mB6c/s1600-h/Ed+warship+superstructure.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="161" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S1dHirPZEPI/AAAAAAAAA14/hFwvwX_mB6c/s200/Ed+warship+superstructure.jpg" width="200" /></a>Ed asked me for help after the first reviewer noticed how tilted the horizon is. He didn't think the <a href="http://www.defenseimagery.mil/imagery.html;jsessionid=86142024CFCAFE3162EBD73ACD06B93E#guid=4752cea2be92aa778a442f9f5336eb9956b85790">defenseimagery.mil</a> image was high enough resolution to merit a full restoration--he just couldn't figure a good way to correct this tilt. Ed's dilemma was that he had no leeway. The photograph already cuts off part of the ship's superstructure. He didn't want to lose any more information.<br />
<br />
If the solution looks confusing at first, smile and think how much it will impress your friends. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S1dBFp6tiuI/AAAAAAAAA1Q/C6TZD7DAmJA/s1600-h/Ed+warship+crop.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="508" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S1dBFp6tiuI/AAAAAAAAA1Q/C6TZD7DAmJA/s640/Ed+warship+crop.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">The first thing to do is straighten that horizon: this image needed two degrees counterclockwise rotation. That's why the framing looks tilted within a black box. The next step is the crop. The dotted lines on this screen shot show where the crop was about to happen.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Ed understood the basic mechanics of editing but he wasn't sure how to apply them to this situation. This image had enough room to crop left and right and a little too much foreground, but that superstructure left no good choice at the top of the frame.<br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S1dBqvNwIYI/AAAAAAAAA1w/-pLZ20Z-Zi4/s1600-h/Ed+warship1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="428" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S1dBqvNwIYI/AAAAAAAAA1w/-pLZ20Z-Zi4/s640/Ed+warship1.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Obviously we aren't going to propose a featured picture candidate with black triangles in the sky, but that's just sky. We can patch empty sky. <br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S1dBWL64YVI/AAAAAAAAA1g/8HcX6nvC_fA/s1600-h/Ed+Warship+patching.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="306" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S1dBWL64YVI/AAAAAAAAA1g/8HcX6nvC_fA/s640/Ed+Warship+patching.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">These edits used the clone stamp and then the healing brush to blend a natural effect. Altogether it took less than five minutes to perform the rotation, crop, and the repair on the sky.<br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S1dBdKk-T2I/AAAAAAAAA1o/aTlEThi2z9E/s1600-h/Ed+warship2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="428" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S1dBdKk-T2I/AAAAAAAAA1o/aTlEThi2z9E/s640/Ed+warship2.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
</div>If you don't already own software that has these features, an open source program called <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GIMP">GIMP</a> can do it. The Wikipedia article about GIMP includes external links for download and tutorial.<br />
<br />
And if you're more likely to edit birthday party photos than World War I history, a good habit to get into is to zoom out a little while shooting. The editing is much easier when all four sides of an image have enough room to rotate and crop.Lise Broerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15087397520904837725noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12886811.post-16964924921943370362010-01-19T08:57:00.000-08:002010-01-19T14:14:02.423-08:00Pattern recognition<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S1XYRL3CdCI/AAAAAAAAA0o/HMxcy_HCcf4/s1600-h/Shoulder+scratches+5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S1XYRL3CdCI/AAAAAAAAA0o/HMxcy_HCcf4/s640/Shoulder+scratches+5.jpg" /></a><br />
</div>The human nervous system is wonderful at pattern recognition. That's bad news when photographic damage forms a distinctive pattern because even when restoration removes nearly all of the damage our brilliant brains still see a pattern. There's a trick to overcome that effect. <br />
<br />
There are always more good images to restore than time to restore them. A friend is collaborating on the Haitian restoration and the Indonesian restoration is nearly finished. Today's post looks at a different part of the Indonesian portrait where the challenge looks difficult and is actually even harder than it seems. Here's what we're dealing with:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S1XcHhzGUdI/AAAAAAAAA04/hXrDxZpGWGs/s1600-h/Shoulder+scratches.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S1XcHhzGUdI/AAAAAAAAA04/hXrDxZpGWGs/s640/Shoulder+scratches.jpg" /></a><br />
</div>Vertical streaks at close parallel are a tough kind of damage. We want to erase those streaks without losing the folds of the garment or the shape of the earring. I worked on this with a healing brush at six pixels diameter, which was just the right width to erase those lines.<br />
<br />
Healing brushes work by sampling one area of an image and performing a complex mathematical operation to blend data from that region with a different area. If you think of this intuitively, the way to heal a scratch that goes from a light section of fabric to a dark section of fabric is to choose a source region that has similar light and dark areas. One by one those scratches start to disappear.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S1Xe5NYb9_I/AAAAAAAAA1A/OVvLptI4MoU/s1600-h/Shoulder+scratches+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S1Xe5NYb9_I/AAAAAAAAA1A/OVvLptI4MoU/s640/Shoulder+scratches+2.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">The progress feels rewarding for a while until you reach a point where the scratches are nearly gone. But darnit, you still see 'em.<br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S1XflRzZ2WI/AAAAAAAAA1I/lPXvFUltnM8/s1600-h/Shoulder+scratches+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S1XflRzZ2WI/AAAAAAAAA1I/lPXvFUltnM8/s640/Shoulder+scratches+3.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">This is one situation where reviewing an area at 200% resolution is not sufficient: subtle patterns emerge when you pull back to 50% resolution. Our brains recognize lines--especially lots of parallel lines. We distinguish lines even when they're faint and discontinuous. This gets very frustrating when you're trying to erase them.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Fortunately you don't have to sit at the computer for hours until you start climbing the wall.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">The secret to finishing work on this area is to recognize that your brain is just reacting to a pattern. All you really need to do at this point is break up that pattern and randomize it. So instead of editing in an endless series of vertical strokes, increase the pixel selection and follow the curves of the garment. Clone stamp the delicate areas such as the necklace. <br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">A neurological phenomenon called <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lateral_inhibition">lateral inhibition</a> might have something to do with why we see this. If the phenomenon interests you, the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mach_band">Mach bands</a> illusion and the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornsweet_illusion">Cornsweet illusion</a> make good reading.<br />
</div>Lise Broerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15087397520904837725noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12886811.post-53880616706448103842010-01-18T09:40:00.000-08:002010-01-18T09:40:55.649-08:00The cabinet secretary's chin<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S1STLsMAHFI/AAAAAAAAA0Q/Jy3nTurZITQ/s1600-h/475px-Franklin_Knight_Lane-Harris_%26_Ewing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S1STLsMAHFI/AAAAAAAAA0Q/Jy3nTurZITQ/s320/475px-Franklin_Knight_Lane-Harris_%26_Ewing.jpg" /></a><br />
</div>A Wikipedia administrator who goes by the username <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Wehwalt">Wehwalt</a> has contributed a lot of featured articles about historic politics. He's one of the reasons Wikipedia's biographies of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neville_Chamberlain">Neville Chamberlain</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neville_Chamberlain">Nikita Krushchev</a> are as good as they are. The portrait at right is lead illustration at another of Wehwalt's featured articles. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franklin_Knight_Lane">Franklin Knight Lane</a> was United States <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Secretary_of_the_Interior">Secretary of the Interior</a> during <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woodrow_Wilson">Woodrow Wilson's</a> presidency.<br />
<br />
Wehwalt and I were discussing a possible restoration on an image from one of his articles. Something unexpected turned up last night when I saw the full resolution version of Lane's portrait. This doesn't happen every day: it looks like a crude job of retouching tried to hide a double chin.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S1SYy3OrchI/AAAAAAAAA0g/FcIvWwxGp30/s1600-h/chin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S1SYy3OrchI/AAAAAAAAA0g/FcIvWwxGp30/s640/chin.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Notice how the dark marks begin just below his actual chin line although it's obvious that the actual skin in that area and below the side of his jaw is not in shadow.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"> <br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">So here's an invitation: you help me decide. Should I restore Mr. Secretary Lane's original double chin or should I complete the retouching properly? Normally I don't try to make encyclopedic subjects more handsome than they actually are, but this alteration looks historic.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">My inclination is to reconstruct the original chin (both of them). Yet I'm really curious what you think.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Either way, here's hoping you chuckle as much as my friends did. There's nothing like a little bit of vanity even if it's 97 years old.<br />
</div>Lise Broerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15087397520904837725noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12886811.post-42933107145330484072010-01-17T16:05:00.000-08:002010-01-17T17:44:14.519-08:00Preserving culture<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S1OYRjluZWI/AAAAAAAAAzo/QUXvq2xsw-w/s1600-h/Port+au+Prince+1901+small.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S1OYRjluZWI/AAAAAAAAAzo/QUXvq2xsw-w/s640/Port+au+Prince+1901+small.jpg" /></a><br />
</div>The other day Jose Antonio Vargas wrote a piece for the <i><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jose-antonio-vargas/the-web-is-flat----the-wo_b_422394.html">Huffington Post</a> </i>about online coverage of the Haitian earthquake<i>.</i> He had very kind things to say about Wikipedia's article on the earthquake--hundreds of people from around the world were prompt about compiling relevant information from newspapers and other sources.<br />
<br />
Internet communication brings the world a whole lot closer. It can bring out the best in us, yet the comfort of distance also produces a few howlers. When Jose asked for research assistance with that story I stumbled across these highlights from a two hour sequence in the article edit history. These edit summaries all seem well intended even if not all of them are equally clueful:<br />
<br />
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=2010_Haiti_earthquake&oldid=337642611" target="_blank" title="2010 Haiti earthquake">18:40, 13 January 2010</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Scribeofargos" target="_blank" title="User:Scribeofargos">Scribeofargos</a> (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_talk:Scribeofargos" target="_blank" title="User talk:Scribeofargos">talk</a> | <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Contributions/Scribeofargos" target="_blank" title="Special:Contributions/Scribeofargos">contribs</a>) (41,751 bytes) (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010_Haiti_earthquake#Casualties" target="_blank" title="2010 Haiti earthquake">→</a>Casualties: UN has confirmed Annabi is missing and updated the latest confirmed casualty numbers released from UN) (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=2010_Haiti_earthquake&action=edit&undoafter=337642432&undo=337642611" target="_blank" title="">undo</a>) <br />
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=2010_Haiti_earthquake&oldid=337647370" target="_blank" title="">19:07, 13 January 2010</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=User:Schuster_gph&action=edit&redlink=1" target="_blank" title="User:Schuster gph (page does not exist)">Schuster gph</a> (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_talk:Schuster_gph" target="_blank" title="User talk:Schuster gph">talk</a> | <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Contributions/Schuster_gph" target="_blank" title="Special:Contributions/Schuster gph">contribs</a>) <abbr title="This is a minor edit">m</abbr> (47,425 bytes) (Put Costa Rica on the list of solidarity. Waiting for reference as it is happening now.) (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=2010_Haiti_earthquake&action=edit&undoafter=337647287&undo=337647370" target="_blank" title="">undo</a>) <br />
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=2010_Haiti_earthquake&oldid=337650259" target="_blank" title="">19:24, 13 January 2010</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Krenakarore" target="_blank" title="">Krenakarore</a> (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_talk:Krenakarore" target="_blank" title="">talk</a> | <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Contributions/Krenakarore" target="_blank" title="">contribs</a>) <abbr title="This is a minor edit">m</abbr> (47,896 bytes) (International aid - Brazil) (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=2010_Haiti_earthquake&action=edit&undoafter=337650143&undo=337650259" target="_blank" title="">undo</a>) <br />
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=2010_Haiti_earthquake&oldid=337652763" target="_blank" title="">19:39, 13 January 2010</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=User:Br10ta10&action=edit&redlink=1" target="_blank" title="User:Br10ta10 (page does not exist)">Br10ta10</a> (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=User_talk:Br10ta10&action=edit&redlink=1" target="_blank" title="User talk:Br10ta10 (page does not exist)">talk</a> | <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Contributions/Br10ta10" target="_blank" title="Special:Contributions/Br10ta10">contribs</a>) <abbr title="This is a minor edit">m</abbr> (48,908 bytes) (Added the fact that the main Port-au-Prince jail collapsed (and prisoners escaped) ~~~~) (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=2010_Haiti_earthquake&action=edit&undoafter=337652524&undo=337652763" target="_blank" title="">undo</a>) <br />
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=2010_Haiti_earthquake&oldid=337655028" target="_blank" title="">19:51, 13 January 2010</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:RobNS" target="_blank" title="">RobNS</a> (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_talk:RobNS" target="_blank" title="">talk</a> | <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Contributions/RobNS" target="_blank" title="">contribs</a>) (49,108 bytes) (Added image of National Palace before it was destoyed) (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=2010_Haiti_earthquake&action=edit&undoafter=337654926&undo=337655028" target="_blank" title="">undo</a>) <br />
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=2010_Haiti_earthquake&oldid=337665915" target="_blank" title="">20:47, 13 January 2010</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Moncrief" target="_blank" title="User:Moncrief">Moncrief</a> (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_talk:Moncrief" target="_blank" title="User talk:Moncrief">talk</a> | <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Contributions/Moncrief" target="_blank" title="Special:Contributions/Moncrief">contribs</a>) (52,306 bytes) (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010_Haiti_earthquake#International_aid" target="_blank" title="2010 Haiti earthquake">→</a>International aid: why oh why would someone do this. This is an encyclopedia. SPELL OUT "AND") (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=2010_Haiti_earthquake&action=edit&undoafter=337665704&undo=337665915" target="_blank" title="2010 Haiti earthquake">undo</a>)<br />
<br />
So, during this time while fresh water and mass burial are urgent concerns is it inappropriate to discuss photography? Here's hoping, with respect, that it's sufficiently clueful. One of the things that gets lost in a disaster is culture. What happens to the museums and libraries? The photograph above is a Port-au-Prince street scene from 1901. Since I can't get to Haiti to clear rubble from the streets I'll repair a piece of Haitian heritage.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S1OYY_L9SCI/AAAAAAAAAzw/YQ7KuKsKy0A/s1600-h/Port-au-Prince+street+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S1OYY_L9SCI/AAAAAAAAAzw/YQ7KuKsKy0A/s640/Port-au-Prince+street+1.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Here's a section near the lower left corner. Someone wrote a description on the image. It also has a large fingerprint and several small dirt specks.<br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S1OYjsgK61I/AAAAAAAAAz4/wfIZk3mI18U/s1600-h/Port-au-Prince+street+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S1OYjsgK61I/AAAAAAAAAz4/wfIZk3mI18U/s640/Port-au-Prince+street+2.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">A good habit to develop when doing restoration work is to repair small damage first. The edits so far were all done with the Photoshop healing brush at default settings and 4 pixels diameter. Now that this has a good region at right to sample from, I increased the healing brush to 21 pixels to address the thumbprint.<br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S1OYuJXmfNI/AAAAAAAAA0A/g6zegKTIIbs/s1600-h/Port-au-Prince+street+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S1OYuJXmfNI/AAAAAAAAA0A/g6zegKTIIbs/s640/Port-au-Prince+street+3.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">With the preparation work done properly, the fingerprint disappeared in under a minute. The trap to avoid is the urge to rush things. Nothing looks more artificial than repetitive fiber marks from faulty cloning. The practice I follow to review a section at 200% resolution. If the result looks natural enough that I can't see where the edits were made, then it's ready.<br />
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</div><div style="text-align: left;">This image is not going to be finished in an hour, though. Similar to the Guadalcanal photograph, it has scratches through important sections. Whenever a scratch crosses a boundary that boundary area needs special attention to repair. So a large scratch across a busy street scene requires much more effort to fix than a scratch across a clear sky. Here's a view of the work on another part of the photograph. Not exactly before and after, but before and interim. The portion at right shows the work in progress. Click in closer to see the details.<br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S1OY9yAuoLI/AAAAAAAAA0I/FwsXAjDkVwI/s1600-h/Port-au-Prince+street+before+and+interim.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S1OY9yAuoLI/AAAAAAAAA0I/FwsXAjDkVwI/s640/Port-au-Prince+street+before+and+interim.jpg" /></a><br />
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</div>Lise Broerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15087397520904837725noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12886811.post-37634498994473232772010-01-16T14:12:00.000-08:002010-01-16T14:28:24.992-08:00Selecting a project<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S1H3eA0PiFI/AAAAAAAAAy4/0tKFR0-58nA/s1600-h/Guadalcanal+stretcher+small.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S1H3eA0PiFI/AAAAAAAAAy4/0tKFR0-58nA/s640/Guadalcanal+stretcher+small.jpg" /></a><br />
</div>This week a Marine who's stationed in Afghanistan posted to my Wikipedia user page to ask for assistance learning digital image restoration. He said he found me through the site's <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:MILHIST">Military History Project</a>, which is a place where editors organize work on the subject, and asked me to select his first project.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S1IYfF7Ht6I/AAAAAAAAAzA/PKsOXpYoTik/s1600-h/wounded+man%27s+face.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S1IYfF7Ht6I/AAAAAAAAAzA/PKsOXpYoTik/s320/wounded+man%27s+face.jpg" /></a><br />
</div>It's important to work on a subject one cares about so I headed to the Library of Congress website and ran a <a href="http://lcweb2.loc.gov/pp/pphome.html">search</a> for the keyword "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guadalcanal_Campaign">Guadalcanal</a>". It was the first major Allied offensive operation in the Pacific during World War II and the Marines saw heavy action there. Found a number of high quality images, not all of which are in public domain. After researching the rights status the best I could find was this image of a team of people aiding a man on a stretcher. It's an excellent photograph in terms of composition and expression. But it wouldn't be a good beginning restoration project. A view at full resolution reveals a large number of surface scratches at important areas. The injured man's face at right is a sample. The problem gets worse at lower left where they're dressing his wound.<br />
<br />
So I ran a second search for <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Iwo_Jima">Iwo Jima</a> and located the Second Battalion, Twenty-Seventh Marines landing at the beach on February 19, 1945.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S1IaaPJODNI/AAAAAAAAAzI/IrNbgRejIrE/s1600-h/Iwo+Jima+small.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S1IaaPJODNI/AAAAAAAAAzI/IrNbgRejIrE/s640/Iwo+Jima+small.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S1Ib7WDY8NI/AAAAAAAAAzQ/y5RHOXH4Lms/s1600-h/Iwo+Jima+fingerprint.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S1Ib7WDY8NI/AAAAAAAAAzQ/y5RHOXH4Lms/s320/Iwo+Jima+fingerprint.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">The Iwo Jima photograph also has scratches and even fingerprints, but none of the most serious damage occurs in a crucial area. At right is a crop of the fingerprints at full resolution. It's fairly easy to repair a problem of that size when it occurs on a sandy beach or in a sky: the historic value of this image is not tied to the placement of a few grains of sand.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">The important information is mostly in the human figures. As you'll see below, the work to be done there is at a level a beginner could handle. The ideal thing to go for with a starter project is a project whose damage in critical areas is limited to small dirt and fiber issues.<br />
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Now I'll be getting to work on a new selection for my own projects: a photograph of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Port_au_Prince">Port-au-Prince</a> from 1901. More about that tomorrow. <br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S1IcLNwMmSI/AAAAAAAAAzg/THQD_SM5nHI/s1600-h/Iwo+Jima+Marines.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_OC6WlTNyeuo/S1IcLNwMmSI/AAAAAAAAAzg/THQD_SM5nHI/s640/Iwo+Jima+Marines.jpg" /></a><br />
</div>Lise Broerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15087397520904837725noreply@blogger.com6