What will things look like in 1000 years?

It’s a long time ahead to be sure but one photographer in Arizona wants to take a long-exposure shot lasting a millennium to demonstrate the impact humanity has on its environment.

The Millennium Camera comes from the University of Arizona’s Jonathon Keats, a research associate at the school’s College of Fine Arts, the University’s website reports.

As the article explains, something that is going to last for 1000 years needs to be conceptually and structurally simple. Using a 24k gold sheet, light passes through a small aperture, traveling through a copper pole until making contact with a surface of rose madder that will capture the long exposure, the article explains.

He explains: “Most people have a pretty bleak outlook on what lies ahead. …It's easy to imagine that people in 1,000 years could see a version of Tucson that is far worse than what we see today, but the fact that we can imagine it is not a bad thing. It's actually a good thing, because if we can imagine that, then we can also imagine what else might happen, and therefore it might motivate us to take action to shape our future.”

One of the biggest questions all of this asks is how will a camera last for 1000 years? After all, that’s a long time, no matter how simple the construction, and how certain are we that the rose madder will be a good medium for this project? Answering these questions, Jonathon Keats admits that many things could go wrong and that a lot of this “process” is an “educated guess.”

It’s really a cool thought experiment nonetheless and something that does make one stop and think. You can read up on the inspiration behind the project and what Keats expects at this link.

Any thoughts you might have on this pretty cool experiment are welcome in the comments below.

We have some other headlines for you to read at this link.

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Artificial intelligence is coming for everyone, even influencers!

And while most of us probably won’t shed a tear over that, it is somewhat a sign of the times that someone is already trying that exact concept out.

As you can imagine, it’s not being well received in the marketplace of ideas, namely, Formula E fans.

In a stunt that could only come out of a marketing boardroom, Formula E racing team Mahindra attempted to field an AI-generated fan influencer much to the chagrin and displeasure of its intended audience.

Called “Ava Beyond Reality,” the “AI Ambassador” was intended to appeal to a new audience but ended up being such a bad idea that the content supporting Ava was taken down 48 hours after its debut, Car and Driver reports.

Naturally, the whole thing raised questions about what this was intended to do as well as why an actual female fan couldn’t be used instead of an AI creation.

Certain to go down in the Internet hall of shame, the profile for “Ava Rose” on Instagram also featured such pandering language as “Sustainable Tech Queen” and “Racing Rebel Robot,” Car and Driver notes.

The website also notes that posts from the “influencer” included advice on the need to “recharge the mind, the body, and the soul,” which are, Benjamin Hunting writes, “three things that this artificial marketing-machina did not possess.”

The solution to all of this, obviously, is to employ an actual influencer. If you want something genuine and authentic, you can’t fake that, a concept we talk about here time and time again when it comes to AI content. Whether this notion will change – or AI content achieves such a level of fidelity that reality and artificiality are no longer indistinguishable – will probably be the debate that shapes how people approach technology for a long time moving forward.

Let us know your thoughts on AI and AI-generated content in the comments below.

We have some other headlines you might want to read in our photography news section.

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Lightroom has been with us a very long time now, but how many of you are aware that it also catalogs video? Even if you are not a hybrid stills/video shooter, the chances are that you have accumulated more than a few video clips in your time. They might be simple family videos or perhaps you took them because video simply worked better than a photo for that particular scenario.

If you are not a big video shooter, you might tuck those video clips away at the back of a dusty hard drive never to be seen again. After all, why splash out on expensive editing software if you are not going to make full films? Why buy even more expensive cataloging software if all you shoot is a few clips a month?

This is where Adobe Lightroom steps up to the plate.

How to Import Video Into Lightroom

The good news is that importing video into Lightroom is as easy as it is for photos. Simply open the import dialogue, select the folder to import from, and decide whether Add, Move or Copy the videos into your catalog.

As with stills, Add will import the video into the library but keep it in the original folder. Move will move the clips from the original folder to Lightroom’s default catalog folder. Copy keeps the original files in the folder but makes copies inside the Lightroom folder.

Be aware that video clips are significantly larger than still images and moving or copying them inside your Lightroom catalog could quickly wipe out your hard drive space. As with importing stills, you can apply metadata and color presets to your files. Whilst applying metadata is a good idea, it’s best not to apply color presets. Most video is not the equivalent of RAW stills. In fact, it’s more akin to quite fragile JPEG files. Due to this, applying presets can very easily introduce noise or even banding to your clips.

You can rename your video clips as well as add keyword data on imports.

Lightroom will import AVI, MP4, MOV, and AVCHD formats and various extensions within those formats. It will not import RAW video or some of the higher-end production formats.

What Can I Do With Video In Lightroom?

The first thing I would say is to manage your expectations. Lightroom is not a full-featured editing suite, you will not be able to piece together multiple clips into a timeline and output a video. You can however do quite a lot outside of editing.

The first thing you can do is to catalog. You have the full range of Lightroom’s cataloging tools to work with. You star rate your clips, color code them and flag them. You can further add captions, keywords and descriptions. You can add them to collections, move them to different folders, rearrange the order, and delete them.

However, click on the Develop Module tab and you will quickly see Lightroom’s limitations. You will see a message saying Video Not Supported In Develop. However, there are some correction controls available.

To use them we must return to the Library Module.

How to Color Correct Video in Lightroom

Back in the Library module just underneath the histogram, you will find a few basic but useful controls. They are button-style controls rather than sliders, meaning they do not give you fine levels of control.

However, for some basic adjustments, they are fine.

At the very top, you can add a color preset, followed by a basic white balance control. This allows you to change the color temperature and tint. Be aware, however, that changing the white balance on video files is like changing it on JPEG photos. You are not actually changing the WB, merely adding color shifts to the video file.

Below this, we have button controls for Exposure, Contrast, Whites, Blacks, and Vibrance. These can be adjusted in relation to the histogram to give some punch and color to your clips. It's all very basic but usable.

Exporting Corrected Video Files

Again the export options are quite basic. You can export the video clip in its original format using the H.264, DPX, or original codecs. You can choose from a few preset compression levels from Max to Low depending on what the final destination will be. That’s really about it for Lightroom’s editing and export capabilities. Let’s take a look at some of the pros and cons of using Lightroom for video.

Lightroom For Video -The Pros

The most obvious pro is its cataloging abilities. We can import video files in the same way as stills, rate and organize them.

Another pro is that many of us already have a Lightroom subscription. This means we have access to a powerful video management tool without the need to pay for a dedicated app.

Whilst basic the editing tools do allow you to make basic corrections to your clips. You can correct exposure and contrast as well as make basic color and saturation corrections.

Because of the integrated nature of Lightroom, you can combine stills and videos into the same collections and folders. This can be very useful for media management.

Lightroom For Video – The Cons

Lightroom is not, and probably will never be a video editing app. Adobe has invested too much in Premiere Pro (a further subscription is required) to put too much capability in Lightroom.

The editing controls are very very basic, there’s no fine control, no saturation/hue controls, and no color wheels for grading.

Depending on where your video files are stored, Lightroom’s playback can be very jumpy and inconsistent. This obviously depends on both the speed of the computer and the drive the files are stored on. However, it does not make for a pleasurable experience. Unlike with dedicated editing suites, there is no way to encode the video to smaller files or proxies in order to run better.

The export controls are extremely limited with no fine control over compression and limited export codecs.

Lightroom for Video In Summary

Lightroom is best suited to occasional video creators who are looking to keep tabs on where their footage is. The basic correction tools are ok for quick edits and output to social media but not for serious production work.

Where Lightroom could be useful is in cataloging and preparing footage ready for a large video edit. The many tools at hand allow the editor to sort footage easily and export that original footage into suitable folders. With apps such as the amazing Davinci Resolve available for free, Lightroom could definitely be used as part of a cost-effective video workflow.

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Sourced by Time Trap Photography sharing the best photography tips, news and tricks throughout the industry. Time Trap Photography is dedicated to freezing those special moments in life that can be revisited and admired for generations to come. - Shannon Bourque
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When it comes to human practice and action, everything becomes subjective and even unique. Therefore, it is hard to conceptualise our behaviour by following the logic of laws. Yet, we find it exciting and fun to pose universal rules about our species.

Now, you might be wondering why I'm starting this digest with such reflection. Well, for those unaware, in 2018 I embarked on my ongoing journey of studying human visual behaviour; and it is beautiful to see patterns embedded within image-related desires.

For anyone feeling passionate about photography, the following insight will feel familiar.

From the very first moments we encounter with the power of capturing glimpses of life with a camera, everything becomes undoubtedly interesting. And perhaps one of the most familiar spots many of us have visited is foliage. You know, leaves and flowers! Whether landscapes or macros, we can't avoid the feeling of taking photographs of vegetation.

This past week's challenge was all about shooting leaves in a specific way, by using monochrome and focusing on textures. Selecting them was pretty easy this time because they all are great examples of this particular approach.

I hope you enjoy this gallery as much as I did while scrolling them one by one!

Photo Of The Week

From the moment I saw this photograph, I noticed some resemblance with one of the most definitive masterpieces of contemporary photography. I'm talking about “Calla Lily” by American photographer Robert Mapplethorpe. The story behind his Lilies is sad and hard to ignore, and at the same time feels like a celebration of life.

Never one who enjoyed house”work”, when this leaf literally blew in – it was a sign to quit work and start to play.

Congrats Pat, thanks for sharing this beautiful photograph with us…

Weekly Photographic Challenge Wrap-up

Now, let's see some fabulous leaves!

What You Shouldn't Be Missing from the Light Stalking Community

Maybe this could be of interest to you. There is a thing called “hot pixels” that I just learned about in a rather unpleasant way, so if you want to know more about what's wrong with this photo of mine, click on the following link. Thanks to Patrick for such an enlightening post within the thread.

beth delighted us with a long exposure of 120 seconds!

“I’m in florida for the week.  it’s a little stormy today.  this was a little before the storm hit.  it’s a 2 min long exposure.”

Marty, we wish you the best of luck!

I’m preparing to enter the Digital Art photo posted below in my city’s annual contest (due before Jan 28). My challenge is that I don’t recall the specific “recipe” for how I made this twirl photo from my original shot of eucalyptus bark.

Here’s the judging criteria for the Proficient Division: “Advanced editing, at the proficient level, such as layering, composites, cloning and healing tools, masking, warping and filters are also permitted but should be disclosed. Undisclosed advanced edits could lead to lowered ranking at judges discretion.”

I think I used a number of Photoshop filters (watercolor, pixelated/mezzotint, radial blur, and twirl), followed by either layering different versions and/or combining them in quadrants to make a “composite.” Does this sound right? I don’t know how to go back and find our discussions on twirls, etc in our LS forums (2022), and I haven’t been able to recreate this digital twirl art successfully.  I hope to avoid getting dinged by “failure to disclose” since I haven’t needed to disclose before. : ) Any suggestions you have would be greatly appreciated!

Photo for contest (Digital Art category):

Last but not least, an elegant shot of a humble crabapple courtesy of Tersha:

We'd Love To Hear Your Thoughts

Also, our Feedback Forum got some nice images and is clear that some of you have started building a solid photography style. This is the right place for all those people who want to grow fast as photographers.

Here, you'll get your work critiqued by plenty of well-intended people, but you'll also have the chance to critique your peers. We truly believe in the power of criticism and feedback. Here are some of the most interesting shots shared during the last week:

The Shark Tank is a great place to learn and discuss, so please read the instructions in order to get a better critique experience. Share your comments, opinions, and doubts on any or all of the images above. We also will be delighted to see some of your own images. Don't be shy, critiques are given to photographs and not photographers.

Also, don't forget to participate in our upcoming challenge!

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Sourced by Time Trap Photography sharing the best photography tips, news and tricks throughout the industry. Time Trap Photography is dedicated to freezing those special moments in life that can be revisited and admired for generations to come. - Shannon Bourque
Please visit our main site for booking availability and rates.

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