1stAngel & Friends

I would like to introduce you to a BRAND NEW SERVICE. Please pop along today and check it out…

Hi, I’m Meghan Gerhart, a hobbyist model, photographer and photo retoucher and I’m happy to announce that I will now be offering my photo retouching and restoration services online!

I do everything from minor retouches (colour correction and removing blemishes) to full “glamorizing” of any product or portrait.

I also offer full digital restoration and recolouring of black and white and/or vintage photos, postcards, etc!

My prices go as low as 5$ per retouch!

If you are interested in these services, please visit my WEB PAGE for further details as well as to see examples of my work, or send an email my way! meg1448@hotmail.com

Amateur dramatic group, The Pantiles Players, will present Shakespeare’s ‘The Two Gentlemen of Verona’ in the charming walled courtyard of Runcie Court at Salomons.

The play is believed by many scholars to be Shakespeare’s first play and expresses themes that are revisited in his later plays. The over-riding theme of the play is love and focuses on the relationship of two childhood friends, Valentine and Proteus (the two gentlemen of the title) and that between Valentine and Silvia and Proteus and Julia.

The Pantiles Players is an amateur dramatic group originally formed in 1942 to provide local wartime entertainment. They were first invited to play on the Pantiles bandstand in 1983 and have performed a play, usually Shakespeare, there every year since. (more…)

So far there does not seem to be a way of retaining image metadata on our images once we upload to sites.  And, even if the site we uploaded them to DOES retain them (none do thumbnail retention to date) then anyone grabs them and the data will be lost anyway.

So what does the future hold with copyright issues?

I have been lucky enough to have been testing TinEye A lovely way of finding your image across the net.  This is not good enough yet though and I can see it taking a while to make the database vast enough to find all our images if needed.

There are other programmes on the net too like this but, do they not need a modicum of likenesses in filename etc to work?  Imagine if our filenames had all been totally changed to 1.jpg and we had to search by colour,  we would end up with millions of images to sift through again.

I admit I am lost when it comes to this issue of protecting our photos and art.  If we metadate, it is stripped, and if we put copyright messages on the work no-one wants it.

Ideas anyone?

Extending the boundaries of 3D imaging technology yet again, PassmoreLab has delved into the rock-and-roll archives of famed photographer Bob Gruen to produce the first-ever 3D conversions of images from the Rock, Punk, and New Wave eras. Working together with Gruen, whose vast collection of photographs comprises a veritable Who’s Who of music legends both past and present, the PassmoreLab team developed an innovative new process to convert many of Gruen’s well-known images to a format that can be viewed on stereoscopic displays.

The techniques used for the Gruen project are an extension of PassmoreLab’s system designed to convert legacy motion picture content, which the company has utilized in 2D-to-3D conversions of award-winning animations and short format theatrical titles. This groundbreaking process will ultimately open the doors for the conversion of any 2D image to 3D, making it possible for the art of still photography to take a significant step into the future. (more…)

Two Salford University academics are helping to revolutionise the treatment of cellulite - not to mention alleviate lower-leg pain and improve muscle tone.

Dr Phil Graham-Smith and Dr Richard Jones have given their scientific backing to FitFlops, a new footwear product that is taking the worlds of fashion - and health - by storm.

The FitFlops’ sole acts like a ‘wobble board’ - creating some instability that requires more muscle effort to stabilise the body during walking.

Phil said: “The entrepreneur Marcia Kilgore approached us in November 2006 to carry out an independent evaluation of the FitFlops. She wanted our input because of our expertise in bio-mechanics and footwear design.”

The trials consisted of placing retro-reflective markers on the body, measuring how forces were distributed around the lower body, and measuring muscle activity profiles.

“We found that the calf and hip muscles were being activated for longer when wearing the FitFlops, which in effect is like giving those areas of your legs a more targeted workout,” explained Phil. “Because they offer less support, it makes the arch of your foot, and supporting leg muscles work harder to stabilise the body.

“On the basis of our evaluation, Marcia decided to go ahead with the mass production and FitFlops are now being sold worldwide. There are now half a million pairs in existence - all bearing the University of Salford name!”

Phil and Richard are now looking into the pain-alleviation properties of FitFlops, which have already been dubbed “maybe one of the greatest, most cost-effective boons ever for cellulite sufferers”.

As well as the cosmetic benefits, FitFlops wearers are reporting that they the shoes are helping to alleviate pain in a number of chronic conditions, such as lower back pain and arthritis.

“Potentially this could be a miracle shoe!” said Phil. “It’s not often that you get a product that can aid performance and help to reduce pain at the same time. We are very excited.”

University College for the Creative Arts at Canterbury, Epsom, Farnham, Maidstone and Rochester

A conference organised by Professor of Textile Culture Lesley Millar and the University College for the Creative Arts at Epsom will mark the opening of a major new exhibition at RIBA London on Wednesday 7 May.To coincide with the exhibition HAPTIC - awakening the senses the conference Memory and Touch explores the importance of the sense of touch as a means of communication - that is as textural communication (more…)