Throw the camera!

http://cameratoss.blogspot.com/

http://www.flickr.com/groups/cameratoss/

For we are the reckless folks on flickr that enjoy the abstract, chance, generative, physical photography that results from throwing our cameras into the air

The photography technique known as camera tossing can be described in three words: click, throw, catch (or not). The details of course depend on the type of camera you use, but that’s all that is needed. The key is to adjust the exposure time wisely, and throw the camera in a certain way so as to Continue reading Throw the camera!

Lego of Choice: Pinhole Camera

http://www.foundphotography.com/

I think the new design is simple and I dare say quite beautiful.

Adrian Hanft is a graphic designer and founder of the very interesting Found Photography Blog. Besides publishing his pictures he has also made several articles on the cameras he uses, among these a peculiar camera of his own invention: the lego pinhole camera.

A pinhole camera is a kind of camera which follows the same principle as the camera obscura (it is, actually, a small camera obscura). You can read a thorough explanation on both concepts in this and this Wikipedia articles; in brief, a pinhole camera is a camera with no lens, the light crossing instead through a very small hole in the body of the device. This simplicity has made pinhole cameras very popular among hobbyists, and you can easily Continue reading Lego of Choice: Pinhole Camera

The art of breeding pictures

http://mzlabs.com/gart/g4.html

Genetic Art is a way to describe processes where genetic selection procedures are applied to computer-generated media, the selection criteria being based on aesthetical choices. In other words, think of yourself as a Mendel-wannabe of the digital era, one that works with images instead of peas. Ready to experiment? Continue reading The art of breeding pictures

NetLogo 3.1

http://ccl.northwestern.edu/netlogo/

NetLogo is a programmable modeling environment for simulating natural and social phenomena. It is particularly well suited for modeling complex systems developing over time. Modelers can give instructions to hundreds or thousands of independent “agents” all operating concurrently. This makes it possible to explore the connection between the micro-level behavior of individuals and the macro-level patterns that emerge from the interaction of many individuals.

3.1 features a new suite of link primitives, configurable world topologies, randomized agent ordering, and a new tie primitive.

NetLogo is one of those cool, easy-to-understand program languages, like Processing, that I keep in my linkshelf with the hope to learn one day and become a really cool artist.

Based on the famous (at least when I was a kid) LOGO language, NetLogo really IS an impressive programming environment for at least three reasons: it is easy to learn so students can use it; it is written in java, which means that the programs can be executed from within the web browser, like the examples here; and it has a very wide scope of applications, from biology to art. All in all, this is a highly interesting and worthwhile environment that I’ll keep on wanting to try for a long time. 😉

Intuitive 3D modeling with Smooth Teddy

http://www-ui.is.s.u-tokyo.ac.jp/~takeo/java/smoothteddy/index.html

You can make round 3D models such as teddy bears quickly, and paint them in an integrated environment.

Smooth Teddy is a small, yet highly amusing program by Takeo Igarashi. A sort of “3D playground”, it allows you to fiddle with 3D models by scribbling shapes that are automatically given volume. Once you have your first amoeba on screen, adding pseudopods is just a matter of painting shapes over it: once a secondary shape is given volume, you can displace it over the first one, clone it if you want, and finally merge the two into a single piece. Modeling in this way becomes an intuitive process, and though it is not very precise nor very quick, the program has a high cuteness factor which will Continue reading Intuitive 3D modeling with Smooth Teddy

Counting Out

http://www.dprp.net/proghistory/index.php

The albums featured will either be milestones in the history of progressive rock, other influential albums, or just good examples from the catalogue of a certain band. Each article is designed to offer an insight into the background of the band, the musicians, the writing and events surrounding the recordings. Not so much a review but more of an in-depth feature assessing the impact made by these particular recordings.

“Counting out Time” is a site, part of the dprp (Dutch Progressive Rock Page), which offers a collection of articles on selected Progressive Rock music albums from the sixties to the nineties. Some of the articles focus on analyzing the music (my friend Ángel will probably Continue reading Counting Out

Groboto-beta: new videos

http://www.groboto.com

The antialiasing is real-time and perfect (no really it is) while the textures use conformal mapping which means no stretching or mapping artifacts like you get with typical projective mapping.

Jeff Anderson has updated his blog with some new videos showing Groboto, the 3D organic art program, in action. It seems that the hopes I showed in my last article on the beta are being confirmed. The interface proves to be friendly and powerful; you can rotate the model effortlessly at any moment, and manipulating the seed (the little shape you start with) or the lighting is also very easy. Everything casts shadows over everything, and the textures have a crisp look due to the special kind of bump mapping used.

There are still many things about Groboto that remain a mystery: will it feature predefined shapes like the previous version? will it have a genetics lab? what will the export options be? When the beta testing is open I’ll be able to answer those questions. Until then, the expectations are getting pretty high 😀

Related Article: Groboto 2.0 in the works

Related Article: Groboto-beta: new screens

The BioWall

http://www.loop.ph/twiki/bin/view/Loop/BioWall

A Synetic building is an airy and lace-like basketry of thin arcs patterned in curvilinear triangulation.

What?

The structure is based on the principle of self-similarity enabling it to work from the nano to the macro scale.

oh… that must be the wall… but, where’s the Bio?

(…) reactive surfaces inspired by botanical life that reflect and Continue reading The BioWall

We love kung-fu!

I hate fighting games. My first contact with them was the Street Fighter 2 coin-op, and already then I thought it was a ridiculous game. That’s strange, because I could finish the first Double Dragon without blinking, but there was no chemistry. It was a game without power-ups, where in order to get the control dynamics you had to Continue reading We love kung-fu!