Category Archives: Photography

In the Beginning…

It’s extraordinarily difficult to conceptualize what scientists refer to as “The Big Bang”. The theory that from infinite nothingness, a singular explosion containing all matter in the universe erupted, is not easy for a layman to comprehend.

The video above, titled Beginning, is the product of animator Grzegorz Nowiński and Novina Studio, it shows in grand stylized detail, the bullet points of the existence of the universe, Earth, and Life itself. Portrayed in stark black and white on a canvas of running water, the video leaves one with not only a concept of how science theorizes how we came to be, but how magnificent things like the impact of meteors or the formation of a planet may have looked or felt.

It’s one thing to read these things in a textbook, but it’s quite another to be shown them on a curtain of water within the span of several minutes. Such an elegant portrayal is truly a thing of beauty.

What Sparks Our Fire:  The visualization of things that normally couldn’t be visualized.

Does this video help attenuate your understanding of the Big Bang?

All Eyes On Me

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The action cam is the oldest wearable tech that isn’t clothing. The incredible point of view videos shot from the perspective of skiers, surfers, bikers, and skydivers all come from these durable high-def little cams. Looking to add even more to the experience, Sony is upping the ante by multiplying the cameras.

The Sony HDR-AS100V is the tech giant’s next offering from CES. Up to five separate cameras can be networked together through an optional  RM-LVR1 wrist controller, giving the user a dynamic experience with cameras mounted either on different points of the body (ie. head, arms, torso, etc.) or on multiple people. Splash-proof, high definition, slow motion, and the ability to capture multiple angles at once will create an incredibly vivid and immersive experience. When combined with the PlayMemories software, the multiple viewpoints can be merged, creating a seamless video.

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The whole package will be available in March, to the tune of about $1,600.

What Sparks Our Fire: We love what we’ve seen from CES, and wearable tech definitely seems to be the thing of the future, even for extreme sports.

Would you want to document your adventures with this kind of camera?

Instarect Messagegram

Di-Insta Grammage. PersonalPics. Better Snapchat. Okay, maybe it’s good I didn’t name Instagram’s new feature. Long story short, you can now use Instagram to send pictures and messages to individual users. This is comparable to what Snapchat does now, only the pictures don’t disappear, and you can edit and refine them the way you normally can on Instagram. The new feature is available as a software update, so if you have Instagram, you can also have DiInstarect-MessageChatGram. Okay, okay, I’ll stop now.

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What makes this addition interesting is it adds another social layer to an important social network whose popularity is steadily growing, especially within younger demographics. The fact of the matter is that users 18 and younger are losing interest in Facebook as a network and are increasingly relying on others, specifically Twitter and Instagram. Facebook acquired Instagram in April of 2012 to the tune of $1 Billion in cash and stock, which was an excellent move, considering the popularity of the app with younger demographics. What Instamessage Directagram does is create a privately social aspect to network, similar to Twitter’s direct messaging. This can only increase the channels that users can interact over, and is a good improvement to the app.

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What Sparks Our Fire: Not fixing what isn’t broken, but rather improving upon a successful platform to make it more successful.

Do you see yourself using Instagram Direct? (There! That one! Use that one!)

So, There’s a Cannon on the Space Station

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Attached to Kibo, the Japanese module on the ISS, is a projectile launcher. The designers, Darth Vader and Captain Kirk, believe that this will be the first step of Japan’s unquestioned domination of space.

Okay, that’s not what it is. I’m trying to be funny and digressing. I’ll shut up now. original-1

What the JEM Small Satellite Orbital Deployer actually does is launch satellites from space. The Japanese space agency states “it is a mechanism for deploying small satellites designed in accordance with CubeSat design specification (10cm×10cm×10cm) that transfers the satellites from the Japanese Experiment Module Kibo’s airlock to space environment and releases them on orbit.” Basically, it’s a cube launcher.

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So far, the Japanese have launched three satellites, and we haven’t yet seen the applications of the technology yet, but it’s an interesting concept.

What Sparks Our Fire: STAR WARS.

What do you think are the applications of nano-satellites?

Sound Waves

Have you ever wondered how string instruments make sound? Very simply, you pluck, strum, strike, bow, or otherwise agitate the string so that it vibrates at a certain pitch. You can see it happen faster than sight in real time, but in order to see the vibrations, you need a very specialized piece of equipment known as a high shutter speed video recorder. As shown in the above video, you can see the individual undulations in real time as the bassist plucks the strings. It’s fascinating to see the minuscule machinations that create the music that we hear every day.

What Sparks Our Fire: Using technology to see things in ways we never thought we could.

Does this change the way you see stringed instruments?