As computer games get increasingly photorealistic, it is sometimes difficult to discern between screenshots of modern games and actual photographs. Well, we are not there quite yet, but it is a fun conceptual idea to play around with. I formed a Flickr Group called Real Life Computer Game Scenery to have a little archive of images for “Real or Not?” comparison in the future.
While exploring photographs that might suit this definition, I quickly noticed that in real photographs there are often little “mistakes” that wouldn’t make it to a computer model. The random decay and debris is often almost too perfect in computer modelled scenes.
Please join and add a photograph or two if you happen to have anything in your archives that would be relevant to this group.
Posted by api at 19:12 - No Comments »
Every once in a while, while reading any random newspaper, one stumbles across a story about an expedition to the North Pole or some other extremely remote location. The stories usually make the international news treshold if a) an expedition has just started or b) they have just succesfully made it to the destination or c) someone gets lost or dies in the process. I just spotted a story in Helsingin Sanomat about a solo expedition to the North Pole. After a quick look at the website of Hannah McKeand it became obvious that she is one of the professional adventurers who make a living by planning, organizing and realizing expeditions. When she is not on the road, so to speak, she is available for motivational and public speaking engagements.
Adventurers like this usually have an extensive roster of corporate sponsors. On this particular expedition she has a separate shotgun sponsor and even a chocolate sponsor!
There is at least one professional adventurer, or “explorer” in Finland. The profession has a relatively high fatality rate. A highly controversial incident that many people still remember is the North Pole attempt by Dominick Arduin. She died while pursuing her dream. I tend to agree with the people who say it was mostly due to arrogance and lack of preparation. In the words of Benjamin Franklin: “Failing to Prepare is preparing to fail”.
If you are interested in the subject of people who venture out to the wilderness to find fulfillment in life, I highly recommend two films: Walking alone across Australia and the Oscar nominated film adaptation of Jon Kraukauer’s Into The Wild by Sean Penn. Into the Wild is not really about a professional explorer, but about a student who just wanted to get away from it all and find his inner self.
For a more technical overview of the field of adventuring around in the modern world, browse Explorersweb.com.
I wish fair weather and all the best to Hannah with her expedition. It is always inspiring to see people who have the guts, dedication and energy to get up and actually do this sort of stuff. I have nothing but utmost respect for people like her.
Posted by api at 10:35 - No Comments »
