Unmanned, Pilotless QF-16 First Flight (NSFW)

Test flight of BOEING's first unmanned QF-16 Full Scale Aerial Target. 
PRESS: sUAS News, Unmanned QF-16 first flight
    

Source:

• BOEING's unmanned QF-16 first flight: PRESS, sUAS News
• Pilotless QF-16 test flight: Google Search
• BOEING Military Aircraft: Home
• Southern Oregon RC: first seen at

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You don't want to get into trouble with the US Government ...

... "Then you might want to reconsider photographing anything that might cause suspicion among law enforcement, especially if you’re Middle Eastern or a ‘Chinese national.’ A newly published document has revealed that government agencies have been compiling lists of “suspicious activity” reports, many of which contain records of photographers legally taking pictures of bridges, dams, courthouses, and post offices" 
     

• The US Govt Has Records of ‘Suspicious’ Photographers Legally Taking Pictures 

Related: July 12, 2014

• ACLU Sues US Gov Over Program that Can Mark You as ‘Suspicious’ for Taking Photos in Public

       

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Rotating Moon from Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera

A huge payoff from the longevity of the LRO mission is the repeat coverage obtained by the LROC Wide Angle Camera (WAC). The WAC has a very wide field-of-view (FOV), 90° in monochrome mode and 60° in multispectral mode, hence its name. On the one hand, the wide FOV enables orbit-to-orbit stereo, which allowed LROC team members at the DLR to create the unprecedented 100 meter scale near-global (0° to 360° longitude and 80°S to 80°N latitude) topographic map of the Moon (the GLD100)! - Credit: LRO, NASA

• Source: Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera (LROC) 
• License:  Creative Commons Attribution license (reuse allowed)

   

 

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Inspiration ...

from Successful Creatives

... For growth and success as a photographer

Quote: As an established photographer once told me when I was just starting out: "My job is everyone’s hobby." Essentially, what he was saying was that everyone wants to be a famous photographer, musician or actor, but so few have that special combination of talent, personality and luck to actually make it happen.

... or just LISTEN to the tunes ... as Tony the Tiger (UncyclopediA) said "They're GREAT!" 

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Virtual Contact Prints

For approximately 200 years (timeline) photography was only analog photography, yes I am talking about film. I came from the old-school of film whose collected quite a few dusty old, black & white and colour negatives with a collection of colour slides which I'm planning to digitize soon. In order to view our negatives as positives many old timers will remember making contact prints (Google Images) when we had darkrooms back in the day. Therefor I'd say this wee TIP might make life of an old film buff gone or going digital somewhat easier and maybe fun.

Armed with this knowledge it will give one the ability to view all their old Black & White negatives in their positive form. Unfortunately to the best of my knowledge this trick only works for those who have an iOS compatible device such as an iPhone, iPod or iPad.  To enable the ability on any iOS device (it is so simple it is brilliant) simply hit ... 

Settings> General> Accessibility> Triple-click Home> Invert Colors

Now click the Home button three times to invert the colours and while using the camera's 'live' view you now have the ability to view any Black & White negative in their positive form.

Hope you find the tip useful, enjoy ...
  

As a demonstration I setup the following image to show the TIP in action.
Black & White negatives found throughout Google Images.

                      
Source:

• How to Use Your iPhone as a Quick and Easy Negative Viewer ~ PetaPixel.com

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Copyright Troll and Attorneys Sanctioned by Federal Judge

I might agree or disagree with the contents of the following article but consider the fact the following quotes are shown out of context. Therefor to get the whole meaning and what the implications are the entire commentary should be read. 

The article is a cautionary tail I believe would benefit anyone who contributes content to the World Wide Web, the Internet.


Source: Prenda Law Is The Tip of the Iceberg 
              - May 7, 2013 | By Mitch Stoltz

"The Internet is rejoicing with news that notorious copyright troll Prenda Law, and its attorneys John Steele, Paul Hansmeier, Paul Duffy, and Brett Gibbs, received a stinging sanction from federal judge Otis D. Wright, II - over $81,000 in attorney's fees and a referral to federal prosecutors"

"Copyright is a broken system, biased in favor of copyright owners at the public's expense, prone to harsh punishment and ruinous damages, steeped in the misleading and unhelpful rhetoric of "theft" and "piracy."  A system so out of balance is a natural haven for lawsuit abuse."

"Looking beyond trolls, the same vague legal principles create legal nightmares - and sometimes financial ruin - for people that try to play by the rules. Companies like ReplayTV and Veoh went bankrupt trying to convince courts that they shouldn't be held responsible when customers copy TV and movies. Dish Networks/ReplayTV, YouTube, and many less prominent technology companies face lawsuits where the toolmaker must answer for the tool user. Only lawyers benefit, as vagueness means long fights and lots of legal fees."

"Free speech, due process of law, and privacy often take a backseat when someone cries 'copyright.' In this climate, it's no wonder that Prenda Law and its fellow trolls talk about 'digital pirates' who are 'threatening entire areas of creative works' when the trolls demand money - it puts them rhetorically on the side of motherhood and apple pie."
    
Related: 

• Members of Congress Demand Answers for Homeland Security’s Unjust Domain Name Seizures 
• 250 Million Reasons You Should Register Your Photo Copyrights

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BIG F-14 Tomcat Scratch Build Project

© invertmast of Helifreak.com

This rather large scale F-14 RC jet fighter was started June 29, 2009 and I've been following since it's beginning. The build is not completed with quite a number of parts yet to be created before actual assembly can start. With allot of photos and videos I nevertheless thought I would post so everyone can also follow along to this aircraft's first test flight. Which I'm guessing will be well into the future judging by the start time through the years to this post ... As I am, enjoy.

                         F-14 Tomcat Scratch Build

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Tutorial: Focal Length Explained

Source: Focal Length Explained








Related: See my list of Photographic Tutorials 

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As Seen by Curiosity Phobos a Martian Moon Eclipses the Sun

"This video clip shows the larger of the two moons of Mars, Phobos, passing directly in front of the sun, in an eclipse photographed by NASA's Mars rover Curiosity."
   
   NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory



 

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Let There Be Light

"The video begins with a historical review of the origins of cinema lighting. Next - some background on the physics of light and color - and how these facts relate to the choices we make as cinematographers and photographers. The video concludes with a montage of modern lighting instruments and then a quick summation."

Let There Be Light from Mark Vargo on Vimeo.

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The History and Science of Colour Film ...

... from Isaac Newton to the Coen brothers ...
 
"Colour is a subtle tool that can transport us from our ordinary lives to extraordinary worlds of cinema. Peel back the layers of history and look at how colour was first understood and implemented in the world of film"

Full text write up at FilmmakerIQ.com, view larger at Vimeo 

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