Close Up At A Distance

The past two decades have seen revolutionary shifts in our ability to navigate, inhabit, and define the spatial realm. The data flows that condition much of our lives now regularly include Global Positioning System (GPS) readings and satellite images of a quality once reserved for a few militaries and intelligence agencies, and powerful geographic information system (GIS) software is now commonplace. These new technologies have raised fundamental questions about the intersection between physical space and its representation, virtual space and its realization. In Close Up at a Distance, Laura Kurgan offers a theoretical account of these new digital technologies of location and a series of practical experiments in making maps and images with spatial data. Neither simply useful tools nor objects of wonder or anxiety, the technologies of GPS, GIS, and satellite imagery become, in this book, the subject and the medium of a critical exploration. Close Up at a Distance records situations of intense conflict and struggle, on the one hand, and fundamental transformations in our ways of seeing and of experiencing space, on the other. Kurgan maps and theorizes mass graves, incarceration patterns, disappearing forests, and currency flows in a series of cases that range from Kuwait (1991) to Kosovo (1999), New York (2001) to Indonesia (2010). Using digital spatial hardware and software designed for military and governmental use in reconnaissance, secrecy, monitoring, ballistics, the census, and national security, Kurgan engages and confronts the politics and complexities of these technologies and their uses. At the intersection of art, architecture, activism, and geography, she uncovers, in her essays and projects, the opacities inherent in the recording of information and data and reimagines the spaces they have opened up.

Master macro techniques and capture brilliant up-close photos Macro photography uses specialty lenses and advanced digital cameras to capture stunning up-close images. This book helps you understand the nuances of macro techniques so you can take unique and remarkable close-up digital photos. Equipment recommendations, helpful tips, and coverage of specialized elements that are exclusive to macro photography all aim to make you more savvy and comfortable with macro and close-up techniques. In addition, the easy-to-follow steps and suggested exercises go a long way to make you more familiar with your camera's capabilities so that you can take fantastic photos. Introduces the techniques of macro photography and explores how to capture stunning close-up digital photos Reviews using macro lenses, extension tubes, reversing rings, and other camera equipment and accessories Shares tips for exposure and lighting techniques in the macro format Addresses depth of field, working distance, and framing when shooting Covers where to find subjects to shoot and setting up your macro studio With full-color examples and technique comparisons, this fun and friendly book presents step-by-step guidance for taking your close-up photography skills to the next level.

Maps poised at the intersection of art, architecture, activism, and geography trace a profound shift in our understanding and experience of space. The maps in this book are drawn with satellites, assembled with pixels radioed from outer space, and constructed from statistics; they record situations of intense conflict and express fundamental transformations in our ways of seeing and of experiencing space. These maps are built with Global Positioning Systems (GPS), remote sensing satellites, or Geographic Information Systems (GIS): digital spatial hardware and software designed for such military and governmental uses as reconnaissance, secrecy, monitoring, ballistics, the census, and national security. Rather than shying away from the politics and complexities of their intended uses, in Close Up at a Distance Laura Kurgan attempts to illuminate them. Poised at the intersection of art, architecture, activism, and geography, her analysis uncovers the implicit biases of the new views, the means of recording information they present, and the new spaces they have opened up. Her presentation of these maps reclaims, repurposes, and discovers new and even inadvertent uses for them, including documentary, memorial, preservation, interpretation, political, or simply aesthetic. GPS has been available to both civilians and the military since 1991; the World Wide Web democratized the distribution of data in 1992; Google Earth has captured global bird's-eye views since 2005. Technology has brought about a revolutionary shift in our ability to navigate, inhabit, and define the spatial realm. The traces of interactions, both physical and virtual, charted by the maps in Close Up at a Distance define this shift.

Focusing on fieldcraft techniques for macro and close-up photography, Thompson covers the vital but often overlooked skills necessary to achieve consistent professional results in the field. Case studies covering a broad and often challenging group of subjects from the seashore to your back garden form the core of the lavishly illustrated book. Biology, life history, subject behaviour and ethics along with best practice approaches are discussed in detail and underpinned with photographic tips. The book is divided into four sections—Digital Fundamentals, Fieldcraft & Methodology, Portfolio Case Studies, Digital Workflow & Presentation—covering the full photographic process from capture through to editing, captioning, development and storage are discussed. Moving beyond the surface-level approach to macro instruction, this book provides readers with techniques that work in the field. Illustrated with over 250 of the author's own inspiring images, this publication is a must for photographers, naturalists and anyone interested in improving their macro skills in the field.

The Passive Eye is a revolutionary and historically rich account of Berkeley's theory of vision. In this formidable work, the author considers the theory of the embodied subject and its passions in light of a highly dynamic conception of infinity. Arsic shows the profound affinities between Berkeley and Spinoza, and offers a highly textual reading of Berkeley on the concept of an "exhausted subjectivity." The author begins by following the Renaissance universe of vision, particularly the paradoxical elusive nature of mirrors, then shows how this conception of vision was translated into the optical devices and in what way the various ways of deception could be conceived. Reading Berkeley against the backdrop of competing theories, in relation to Leibniz, Spinoza, Newton, Malebranche, Hume, Locke, Molyneux and others, this book gives a meticulous historic reconstruction of Berkeley's theory. This excellent scholarly work presents Berkeley's theory in a new and radical light. The book, presented in three parts, begins by presenting the conceptions of vision prior to Berkeley's intervention. In the second part, the author moves through a careful study of Descartes' theory of vision to arrive at Berkeley. The third part addresses the author's version of Berkeley in which the eye and the image become inseparable due to the collapse of the universe of representation. The problem of vision becomes not that of representation, but of presentation. Through an erudite historic reading of Berkeley's theory and astute comparative assessments, the author uncovers Berkeley's place as a contemporary theoretician, corresponding with such thinkers as Deleuze, Lacan, Foucault, and Derrida.

Recent years have seen remarkable progress on both advanced multimedia data processing and intelligent network information systems. The objective of this book is to contribute to the development of multimedia processing and the intelligent information systems and to provide the researches with the essentials of current knowledge, experience and know-how. Although many aspects of such systems have already been under investigation, but there are many new that wait to be discovered and defined.The book contains a selection of 36 papers based on original research presented during the 10th International Conference on Multimedia & Network Information Systems (MISSI 2016) held on 14–16 September 2016 in Wrocław, Poland. The papers provide an overview the achievements of researches from several countries in three continents.The volume is divided into five parts: (a) Images and Videos - Virtual and Augmented Reality, (b) Voice Interactions in Multimedia Systems, (c) Tools and Applications, (d) Natural Language in Information Systems, and (e) Internet and Network Technologies.The book is an excellent resource for researchers, those working in multimedia, Internet, and Natural Language technologies, as well as for students interested in computer science and other related fields.

Laboratory Imaging and Photography: Best Practices for Photomicrography and More is the definitive guide to the production of scientific images. Inside, the reader will find an overview of the theory and practice of laboratory photography, along with useful approaches to choosing equipment, handling samples, and working with microscopic subjects. Drawing from over 150 years of combined experience in the field, the authors outline methods of properly capturing, processing and archiving the images that are essential to scientific research. Also included are chapters on applied close-up photography, artificial light photography and the optics used in today’s laboratory environment, with detailed entries on light, confocal and scanning electron microscopy. A lab manual for the digital era, this peerless reference book explains how to record visual data accurately in an industry where a photograph can serve to establish a scientific fact. Key features include: Over 200 full-color photographs and illustrations A condensed history of scientific photography Tips on using the Adobe Creative Suite for scientific applications A cheat sheet of best practices Methods used in computational photography