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柳宗元《江雪》
千山鳥飛絕，萬徑人蹤滅。
孤舟蓑笠翁，獨釣寒江雪。
Technically there is no snow in this photo but every time I see a tiny boat sail by the sea outside my window, I am reminded of this poem by poet 柳宗元 Liu Zongyan [1], especially in the winter.
# SML Translate
+ 孤: single, alone, lonely.
+ 舟: ship.
+ 蓑笠: 蓑衣與笠帽。 《儀禮·既夕禮》：“道車載朝服，稾車載蓑笠。” 鄭玄注：“蓑笠，備雨服。”《後漢書·蔡邕傳下》：“故當其有事也，則蓑笠並載。” 清唐甄《潛書·明鑑》：“茅舍無恙，然後寳位可居；蓑笠無失，然後袞冕可服。” [2]. Coat and hat for the rainy day.
+ 獨: single, on one’s own.
+ 釣: fish (v), fishing.
+ 寒: cold.
+ 江: sea, lake, ocean.
+ 雪: snow.
# Notes
1. Liu Zongyuan (Chinese: 柳宗元; pinyin: Liǔ Zōngyuán; Wade-Giles: Liu Tsung-yuan) (773–November 28, 819), courtesy name Zihou (子厚; Wade-Giles: Tzu-hou), was a Chinese writer who lived in Chang'an during the Tang Dynasty. Liu was born in present-day Yongji, Shanxi, along with Han Yu, he was a founder of the Classical Prose Movement. He was traditionally classed as one of the Eight Great Prose Masters of the Tang and Song. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liu_Zongyuan
2. ZDic: 蓑笠: www.zdic.net/cd/ci/13/ZdicE8Zdic93Zdic91231378.htm
# SML Workflow
Taken with the Canon EOS M with Canon EF 17-40 f/4L. Handheld. Processed in Lightroom 4.
# SML Data
+ Series: 寧 Serenity
+ Date: 2013-01-28 16:04:37 GMT+0800
+ Dimensions: 3268 x 4902
+ Exposure: 1/400 sec at f/4.0
+ Focal Length: 25 mm
+ ISO: 100
+ Camera: Canon EOS M
+ Canon EF 17-40 f/4L USM
+ GPS: 22°24'58" N 114°12'49" E (SML Universe HKG)
+ Serial: SML.20130128.EOSM.01593
“孤舟蓑笠翁 獨釣寒江雪”
/ 寧 Serenity
/ SML.20130128.EOSM.01593.C23.BW
I often tell people that photography is not necessarily a reflection of reality. Even without any manipulation in the dark room or heavy montage action inside Photoshop, what is depicted may be a mind trick.
Seen here was taken through my window. At first I was wondering why there appears to be “speed boats” running in curves. Then I realized that those were cars on the highway from the fainted reflection by the window. The reflection on the sea is also a reflection. The sun was so strong that it would in fact be impossible to photograph directly, yet here it works somewhat, thus superimposing two images to one in one shot.
The mountains were superimposed similarly. One is actually present, the other is reflected. The rectangular forms far down are private housing development, whereas the structures to the left is a construction site, I think.
The scene is completely unreal, yet it is very interesting. So next time you see an UFO photograph, think twice about all the physical possibilities you can do with using the camera alone. I am not trying to defunct any UFO theories, and I certainly entertain any possibilities, but in many instances photography does lie.
www.flickr.com/photos/seeminglee/8396741473/
www.flickr.com/photos/seeminglee/8396741473/sizes/o
# SML Data
+ Date: 2013-01-19 16:46:32 GMT+0800
+ Dimensions: 2219 x 3944
+ Color: Black and white
+ Exposure: 1/125 sec at f/8.0
+ Focal Length: 66mm
+ ISO: 100
+ Flash: Did not fire
+ Camera: Canon EOS 7D
+ Lens: Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM
+ GPS: 22°25'10" N 114°13'26" E
+ Location: 中國香港馬鞍山沙田海 中国香港马鞍山沙田海 Sha Tin Hoi, Ma On Shan, Hong Kong SAR, China
+ Photographed at: SML Universe Limited, Hong Kong.
# SML Workflow
+ Photographed with Canon EOS 7D + Canon EF 24-70 f/2.8L, cropped as 16:9 aspect ratio, processed in Adobe Photoshop CS6, metadata tagged in Adobe Lightroom 4.
# Related SML Universe
+ SML Flickr set: 寧 Serenity: sml8.it/smlflickr-serenity
+ SML Photography Blog: Serenity: Part 1: photoblog.seeminglee.com/2012/10/serenity.html
+ SML Photography Blog: Serenity: Part 2: photoblog.seeminglee.com/2012/12/serenity-part-2.html
+ SML Serenity Tumblr: smlserenity.tumblr.com
+ SNL Serenity Twitter: twitter.com/smlserenity
# Media Licensing
Creative Commons (CCBY) See-ming Lee 李思明 / SML Photography / SML Universe Limited
”海市蜃樓 海市蜃楼 Mirage” / 寧 Serenity / SML.20130119.7D.20632.C169.P1.BW
Photographed with Canon EOS M and the Canon EF 17-40 f/4L lens mounted on tripod at SML Universe Limited (Hong Kong). Imported into Premiere Pro and sped up 1000%. In the middle you will see a ship hurry quickly by. There is a long version for this also but no one really have the time to look at 10 min of “artsy” video so hereby sped up ten times to 53 sec total.
Soundtrack composed using the iPad app Orphion (playing live). First exported as m4a in-app, then imported into Ableton Live 8 to manually wrap points. Added some Lexicon reverb and then mastered using iZotope Ozone 5. The full-length 24-bit 48 kHz track can be downloaded on SML SoundCloud. See link below.
# SML Translate
+ 雲: clouds.
+ 蒸: steam; metaphor for rising slowly.
+ 霞: red cloud.
+ 蔚: lush, colorful.
+ 雲蒸霞蔚: Rich and luxuriant clouds rise slowly as steam from the horizon [1]. Metaphor for colorful scenery [2]. Describes things are booming [3].
+ 嘯: howl, roar, whistle, the sound from nature. [4]
+ 咤: scold, bellow, shout at, roar. [5]
+ 風: wind.
+ 雲: clouds.
+ 嘯咤風雲: Describes something as being powerful, as if the winds ands clouds are roaring.
# Notes
1. 漢典 ZDic: 雲蒸霞蔚: www.zdic.net/cd/ci/4/ZdicE4ZdicBAZdic91263325.htm
2. 比喻絢麗多彩。清侯方域《新遷顏魯公碑記》：“獨斯碑者，雲蒸霞蔚，筆既斷而還連；鳳翥龍蟠，勢如斜而反正。” 劉白羽《紅瑪瑙集·長江三日》： “抬頭望處，已到巫山。上面陽光垂照下來，下面濃霧滾湧上去，雲蒸霞蔚，頗為壯觀。”參見“ 雲興霞蔚”。[1]
3. 形容事物蓬勃興起，蔚為大觀。清顏光敏《顏氏家藏尺牘·馮溥》：“且海內人文，雲蒸霞蔚，鱗集京師，真千古盛事。” 清王韜《論日報漸行於中土》：“今日雲蒸霞蔚，持論蠭起，無一不為庶人之清議。” [1]
4. 漢典 ZDic: 嘯: www.zdic.net/zd/zi/ZdicE5Zdic98ZdicAF.htm
5. 漢典 ZDic: 咤: www.zdic.net/zd/zi/ZdicE5Zdic92ZdicA4.htm
6. 漢典 ZDic: 嘯咤風雲: 形容威力極大。同“叱吒風雲”。http://www.zdic.net/cy/ch/ZdicE5Zdic95ZdicB821384.htm
# SML Photography
Series: 寧 Serenity
Camera: Canon EOS M
Lens:Canon EF 17-40 f/4L USM
Video: H264 MP4, 1080x1920 (1080p HD portrait), 25fps, Progressive, 10 Mbps
Audio: AAC, 320 kbps, 48 kHz, Stereo
Length: 53 sec
Color: Color
Location: Sha Tin Hoi, Ma On Shan, Hong Kong SAR, China
Date: 2013-01-21 (recorded) 2013-01-21 (processed)
Photographer: See-ming Lee 李思明, SML Photography
Music: Orphion Ping Pong 005 / SML Music
Media Production: SML Universe
Copyright: 2013 See-ming Lee 李思明, SML Universe Limited
Serial: SML.20130121.EOSM.01542
# SML Music: Orphion Ping Pong / SML: Bits and Pieces (2012)
The instruments we use changes the way we play. The track was recorded and played live directly on the iPad using Orphion’s “3rds Matrix” grid.
The natural position of my right hand touches A4 and A#4. The natural position of my left hand touches F4 and D4. By shifting my hands a note to the left and to the top right, I get RH: F4 F#4 LH: C#4 A#3 and then RH: A#4 B4 LH: F#4 D#4.
1L: D4 F4 1R: A4 A#4
2L: A#3 C#4 2R: F4 F#4
3L: D#4 F#4 3R: A#4 B4
I don't know what key this is in. I just play. And so while as a classically trained pianist I am conscious of the notes and key signature when I play on a conventional keyboard, Orphion’s seemingly illogical layout renders some nice experimental results which I enjoy.
I use the in-app recorder to record my live playing which I then email myself as an M4A file. The file is then placed into Ableton Live where I manually wrap my human-playing into something which sounds somewhat on time — though obviously the nice rubato are lost. I will work on getting something that is less machine like perhaps.
Then I layered some repeated tracks, and added some ping pong to the piece to give it some nuance together with some Lexicon reverb goodness. Mastered with Ozone 5 and voila.
24-bit 48 kHz AIFF download:
+ soundcloud.com/seeminglee/orphion-ping-pong-sml-bits-and
# SML Workflow
Photographed with Canon EOS M with Canon EF 17-40 f/4L USM mounted on Manfrotto tripod. Video production in Adobe Premiere Pro CS6. Soundtrack written using iPad app Orphion; imported to Ableton Live, manual beat wrap, added some Lexicon reverb, mastered with iZotope Ozone 5.
# Media Licensing
Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported (CCBY) See-ming Lee 李思明 / SML Music / SML Photography / SML Universe Limited
“雲蒸霞蔚 嘯咤風雲” / 寧 Serenity / SML.20130121.EOSM.01542
/ #寧 #Serenity #SMLSerenity #CCBY #SMLPhotography #SMLMusic #SMLUniverse #SMLBW #SMLVideography
/ #山水 landscape #攝影 #摄影 #photography #海 #Sea #自然 #nature #山 #mountains #雲 #cloud #cloudscape #風 #wind #video #videography
/ #中國 #中国 #China #香港 #HongKong #馬鞍山 #MaOnShan
/ #CanonEOSM #Canon1740 #Canon1740f4L SML:Projects=Serenity
/ #Orphion #music #soundcloud #soundtrack
I bought the Canon EOS 6D today, and of course the first thing I did is drop in the 17-40 and check out the wide end. Wow incredible—drama! I have not really used a full-frame body since the analog days so it is a very welcoming experience so far. And of course I see now that the natural vignette from the lens is quite serious—something which I never noticed previously with the 7D because it has an APS-C CMOS.
Before picking the 6D, I have thought it long and hard if I should get the EF-S 10-22, but noting that my goal as always been to get a full-frame body eventually, I hesitated. Trust that you will see more use of this camera soon on my stream.
# SML Data
+ Date: 2013-04-11T16:38:22.00+0800
+ Dimensions: 3583 x 5375
+ Exposure: 1/320 sec at f/4.0
+ Focal Length: 17 mm
+ ISO: 100
+ Flash: Did not fire
+ Camera: Canon EOS 6D
+ Lens: Canon EF 17-40mm f/4L USM
+ GPS: 22°25'9" N 114°13'25" E
+ Location: SML Universe HKG
+ Subject: 中國香港八仙嶺和吐露港 Tolo Harbour + Pat Sin Leng, Hong Kong, China
+ Workflow: Lightroom 4
+ Serial: SML.20130411.6D.00004.BW
+ Series: 寧 Serenity
# Media Licensing
Creative Commons (CCBY) See-ming Lee 李思明 / SML Photography / SML Universe Limited
“風雲再現 孤舟過江” / 寧 Serenity / SML.20130411.6D.00004.BW
/ #寧 #Serenity #SMLSerenity #黑白 #BW #SMLBW #CreativeCommons #CCBY #SMLPhotography #SMLUniverse #SMLProjects
/ #中國 #中国 #China #香港 #HongKong #攝影 #摄影 #photography #自然 #Nature #山水 #Landscape #山 #Mountains #水 #Water #雲 #Cloud #Cloudscape
水 Water is an important element in 風水 Feng Shui—if you know Chinese, you would know that the two characters 風 Feng means wind, and 水 Shui means water.
Water is important because it flows. In Cantonese, the character is synonymous with money. And money should always be flowing, thus at the garden downstairs at 聽濤雅苑 Vista Paradiso, where I live, water flows continuously on many manmade falls.
I took my tripod with me to do some panorama in the neighborhood. On my way back I passed by the garden and took some photos. It is rainy today so even though I did not have an ND filter, I was able to photograph this under a long exposure (5 second to be exact, but enough to render water is silk).
# SML Data
+ Date: 2013-03-26T14:00:10+0800
+ Dimensions: 3123 x 4685
+ Exposure: 5.0 sec at f/45
+ Focal Length: 121 mm
+ ISO: 100
+ Flash: Did not fire
+ Camera: Canon EOS 7D
+ Lens: Canon EF 70-200mm f/4L USM + Canon EF 1.4x Extender III
+ Accessories: Canon TC-80N3 Timer Remote Release, tripod
+ GPS: 22°25'9" N 114°13'32" E
+ Altitude: 10.8 m
+ Location: 中國香港馬鞍山恆明街2號聽濤雅苑二樓花園 Garden, 2nd Floor, Vista Paradiso, 2 Hang Ming St, Ma On Shan, Hong Kong, China
+ Serial: SML.20130326.7D.36470.C23.BW
+ Workflow: Lightroom 4
+ Series: 寧 Serenity, 自然 Nature, 黑白 Black and White
# Media Licensing
Creative Commons (CCBY) See-ming Lee 李思明 / SML Photography / SML Universe Limited
“流水 Water Flow” / 寧 Serenity / SML.20130326.7D.36470.C23.BW
/ #寧 #Serenity #SMLSerenity #自然 #Nature #黑白 #BW #SMLBW #CCBY #SMLPhotography #SMLUniverse #SMLProjects
/ #中國 #中国 #China #香港 #HongKong #攝影 #摄影 #photography #水 #Water #石 #Rocks
Back for more waterfall. I shot a series of these. The one which is actually correctly exposed (1 second) has so much water that I cannot really make out the rocks it is falling into, so I shot this one which is not correctly exposed (0.3 second) but then it has the correct amount of water splashing, then I overexpose it back inside Lightroom.
In the analog days we call this push and pull. In digital photography, it is often better to underexpose then to overexpose, because underexposing usually mean that you can push the whites, but overexposing and you are pretty much through. Of course this is not a golden rule but in most cases it is true.
This is also me placing my camera in awkward position. No tripod is used. I never really do photo trips—I just take my camera everywhere I go.
# SML Data
+ Date: 2013-03-31T16:04:35.37+0800
+ Dimensions: 5184 x 3456
+ Exposure: 0.3 sec at f/32
+ Focal Length: 98 mm
+ ISO: 100
+ Flash: Did not fire
+ Camera: Canon EOS 7D
+ Lens: Canon EF 70-200 f/4L USM + Canon EF 1.4x Extender III
+ GPS: 22°25'9" N 114°13'30" E
+ Location: 中國香港馬鞍山恆明街2號聽濤雅苑二樓花園 Garden, 2nd Floor, Vista Paradiso, 2 Hang Ming St, Ma On Shan, Hong Kong, China
+ Serial: SML.20130331.7D.37395.C23.BW
+ Workflow: Lightroom 4
+ Series: 寧 Serenity, 自然 Nature, 黑白 Black and White
“聽濤 Listening to the sound of water” / 寧 Serenity / SML.20130331.7D.37377.BW
/ #寧 #Serenity #SMLSerenity #自然 #Nature #黑白 #BW #SMLBW #CCBY #SMLPhotography #SMLUniverse #SMLProjects
/ #中國 #中国 #China #香港 #HongKong #攝影 #摄影 #photography #水 #Water #石 #Rocks #山水 #Landscape
In art school, we were taught to “draw what [we] see.” The philosophy is simple: when the left brain get involved and proceed to interpret what “must” be reality, what is drawn is never a representation of reality. Of course, an artist is up to his/her own interpretation, but if the intention is to represent reality, then this is a very good way of achieving it.
These bizarre patterns are seen every night outside my window. Photography captures reality so it is interesting to note how it seems completely illogical that water should appear like this—but yet it does.
Ships disturbs the flow of water, so under long exposure, it renders a matte surface which reflects the lights + shadows from the tree-lined Tolo Highway. The undisturbed water is left behind with a clear dark divide, brightened only by the light anchor floating in the sea.
The capture is mounted on a tripod and captured using a remote, so trust that everything is lying still, but the water moves, so the light anchor is moving quite a bit, even though we might think that it should not.
# SML Data
+ Date: 2013-03-21 00:27:34 GMT+0800
+ Dimensions: 4265 x 2843
+ Exposure: 29.0 sec at f/8.0
+ Focal Length: 176 mm
+ ISO: 100
+ Flash: Did not fire
+ Camera: Canon EOS 7D
+ Lens: Canon EF 70-200mm f/4L USM + Canon EF 1.4x Extender III
+ Accessories: Canon TC-80N3 + Canon GP-E2 + tripod
+ GPS: 22°25'4" N 114°13'7" E
+ Location: SML Universe HKG
+ Subject: 中國香港吐露港 Tolo Harbour, Hong Kong, China
+ Serial: SML.20130321.7D.35757.C23.BW
+ Workflow: Lightroom 4
+ Series: 寧 Serenity, 形 Forms, 自然 Nature, 黑白 Black and White,
“自然城市夜倒影之形 Nature Reflected Urban Night Forms” / 寧 Serenity / SML.20130321.7D.35757.C23.BW
/ #寧 #Serenity #SMLSerenity #形 #Forms #SMLForms #黑白 #BW #SMLBW #CCBY #SMLPhotography #SMLUniverse #SMLProjects #SMLOpinions
/ #中國 #中国 #China #香港 #HongKong #攝影 #摄影 #photography #自然 #nature #夜 #night #山水 #landscape
I knew from experience that long exposure of water would render a blur, but what I did not know is that because of this blur, the reflected forms would be clear and sharp. Obviously this made sense but it is a very welcoming surprise, so I will try more of it in the future.
The 1.4x extender continues to be a wonderful accessory. It turns the 70-200 f/4L effectively into a 98-280 f/5.6L lens. Together with the APS-C sized 7D with a 1.6 crop factor, it is functioning as a 157-448 f/5.6L lens on a full frame body.
Zooming that far also means that there are not much geometric distortion so it has been a really fun ride.
There is a reason that I did not get the 2x extender. Each 1.4x will stop the lens down 1 stop, and what most people might not realise is that with the exception of EOS 1D, none of the Canon EOS line-up can do autofocus with an f/8 lens. For this shot I used manual focus anyway because it was too dark, but for shooting daylight scenes especially birds having autofocus is still much of a blessing.
# SML Translate
More trials at Chinese poetry:
夜氣怡人樹欲静
風平浪停水映形
+ 夜: night.
+ 氣: air.
+ 怡: pleases, joyful.
+ 人: people.
+ 樹: trees.
+ 欲: intends to, wishes to.
+ 静: silence.
+ 夜氣寧人樹欲静: The breezy air at night pleases the spirit of my soul while the trees wish to remain silent.
+ 風: wind.
+ 平: flat. Describes the wind stops.
+ 浪: wave.
+ 停: stops. Describes the wave has stopped (by the long exposure).
+ 水: water.
+ 映: reflection.
+ 形: forms, shapes.
+ 風平浪停水映形: The tree wishes to remain silent (from prose 1), thus the wind stops, the lake remains quiet, so that the water is able to reflect the forms of the shadows. (describes the photograph).
# SML Workflow
Photographed with the Canon EOS 7D + EF 70-200mm f/4L USM + EF 1.4x Extender III mounted on tripod. Processed in Lightroom 4.
# SML Data
+ Date: 2013-02-08 03:24:06 GMT+0800
+ Dimensions: 4960 x 3307
+ Exposure: 15.0 sec at f/5.6
+ Focal Length: 280 mm
+ ISO: 100
+ Flash: Did not fire
+ Camera: Canon EOS 7D
+ Lens: Canon EF 70-200mm f/4L USM + EF 1.4x Extender III
+ GPS: 22°25'10" N 114°13'26" E
+ Location: SML Universe (Hong Kong) Limited
+ Subject: Reflection of trees on the Tolo Highway from Tolo Harbor / Sha Tin Hoi from the vantage point of Ma On Shan in Hong Kong SAR, China. 從中國香港馬鞍山沙田海看吐露港公路上樹的倒影。从中国香港马鞍山沙田海看吐露港公路上树的倒影。
+ Serial: SML.20130208.7D.21339.C23.BW
+ Series: 寧 Serenity, 黑白 Black and white, 山水 Landscape.
# Media Licensing
Creative Commons (CCBY) See-ming Lee 李思明 / SML Photography / SML Universe Limited
“夜氣怡人樹欲静 風平浪停水映形” / 寧 Serenity / SML.20130208.7D.21339.C23.BW
/ #寧 #Serenity #SMLSerenity #黑白 #BW #SMLBW #山水 #Landscape #CCBY #SMLPhotography #SMLUniverse #SMLProjects
/ #水 #Water #自然 #nature #夜 #nights #樹 #trees #reflection #攝影 #摄影 #photography
/ #中国 #中國 #china #香港 #HongKong #Canon7D #Canon70200f4L
25-second long exposure with the new 100-400 mounted on tripod. The 7D is in the shop right now so here with the 6D. Pretty sweet. I am testing the long end right now so this frame is probably a little bit too tight—but the fact that I can see the doors on in the building across the harbor is nice, I must say.
With these new toys I think that it is easy to get carried away with tech—sorry. Someone said that a self portrait of me playing with the 6D looks like a kid in the candy store—well maybe because I am [1]. :)
# SML Data
+ Date: 2013-04-17T20:02:17+0800
+ Dimensions: 5115 x 3410
+ Exposure: 25.0 sec at f/11
+ Focal Length: 400 mm
+ ISO: 100
+ Flash: Did not fire
+ Camera: Canon EOS 6D
+ Lens: Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM
+ Accessories: Canon TC-80N3 Remote, Manfrotto tripod
+ GPS: 22°25'10" N 114°13'28" E
+ Location: SML Universe HKG
+ Subject: 中國香港吐露港公路 Tolo Highway, Hong Kong, China
+ Serial: SML.20130417.6D.00921.BW
+ Workflow: Lightroom 4
+ Series: 寧 Serenity, 長時間曝光 Long Exposure
# Media Licensing
Creative Commons (CCBY) See-ming Lee 李思明 / SML Photography / SML Universe Limited
# Notes
1. “SML + Canon EOS 6D Remote shooting via wifi with the iPhone app” / SML Me / SML.20130413.6D.00472: www.flickr.com/photos/seeminglee/8644004997/
“吐露港公路 Tolo Highway” / 香港夜之寧 Hong Kong Night Serenity (25-sec LE) / SML.20130417.6D.00921.BW
/ #寧 #serenity #SMLSerenity #黑白 #BW #SMLBW #LongExposure #LE #SMLLE #CreativeCommons #CCBY #SMLPhotography #SMLUniverse #SMLProjects
/ #中國 #中国 #China #香港 #HongKong #攝影 #摄影 #photography #山水 #Landscape #夜 #Night #城市 #Urban
There is an almost cardinal rule in visual arts to not place anything in dead center, but sometimes the objects are dead center and you cannot really move them. In those instances, I just leave them dead center—the sun in this case.
Would I have preferred the sun to be located to the left? Probably. So I probably should venture up north (to the right) and photograph this. But if I venture up north then I would not be able to see the entire university campus.
Or perhaps wait til another season. If I remember correct the sun used to set a bit way further to the left in the winter.
That winged object on the left in the sky is not a bird. It is a plane. I had no idea that planes fly on this part of the sky until yesterday.
# SML Translate: 水映雲中日
+ 水: water.
+ 映: reflect, reflection.
+ 雲: clouds.
+ 中: center, middle, inside.
+ 日: sun
+ 水映雲中日: the water reflects the sun amidst the clouds. The character 中 is also used to describe the position of the sun in the capture.
# SML Data
+ Date: 2013-05-16T17:12:42+0800
+ Dimensions: 4932 x 3378
+ Exposure: 1/200 sec at f/11
+ Focal Length: 17 mm
+ ISO: 100
+ Flash: Did not fire
+ Camera: Canon EOS 6D
+ Lens: Canon EF 17-40mm f/4L USM
+ GPS: 22°25'18" N 114°14'2" E
+ Location: SML Universe (Hong Kong) Limited
+ Subject: 香港中文大學 Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) + 吐露港 Tolo Harbour + 香港科學園 Hong Kong Science Park
+ Serial: SML.20130516.6D.06567.C23.BW
+ Series: 寧 Serenity
# Media Licensing
Creative Commons (CCBY) See-ming Lee 李思明 / SML Photography / SML Universe Limited
“水映雲中日” / 香港吐露港日落之寧 Hong Kong Tolo Harbour Sunset Serenity / SML.20130516.6D.06567.C23.BW
/ #寧 #Serenity #SMLSerenity #黑白 #BW #SMLBW #SMLPhotography #SMLUniverse #SMLProjects
/ #中國 #中国 #China #香港 #HongKong #攝影 #摄影 #photography #山水 #landscape #雲 #Cloud #Cloudscape #自然 #Nature #seascape #sunset
My sister commented on a photograph from the serenity series, saying that it needs a tiny little figure to complete the Chinese painting. Well, nature has a way of delivering tiny men for me to photograph, and look, there he is—alone, fishing in the middle of nowhere.
# SML Translate: 霧中獨釣寒江水
This is a reference to the a Chinese poem titled “江雪” by 柳宗元, where somewhere in the prose: 獨釣寒江雪. But there is no snow here, so…
+ 霧: fog.
+ 中: inside, within, center.
+ 獨: alone.
+ 釣: fish (verb).
+ 寒: cold.
+ 江: lake, open water.
+ 水: water.
# SML Data
+ Date: 2013-03-21 15:28:28 GMT+0800
+ Dimensions: 4352 x 2901
+ Exposure: 1/160 sec at f/8.0
+ Focal Length: 98 mm
+ ISO: 250
+ Flash: Did not fire
+ Camera: Canon EOS 7D
+ Lens: Canon EF 70-200mm f/4L USM + Canon EF 1.4x Extender III
+ GPS: 22°25'19" N 114°13'40" E
+ Location: SML Universe HKG
+ Subject: 中國香港吐露港 Tolo Harbour, Hong Kong, China
+ Serial: SML.20130321.7D.35777.P1.L1.BW
+ Workflow: Photoshop CS6, Lightroom 4
+ Series: 寧 Serenity, 自然 Nature, 山水 Landscape, 黑白 Black and White
“霧中獨釣寒江水” / 寧 Serenity / SML.20130321.7D.35777.P1.L1.BW
/ #寧 #Serenity #SMLSerenity #自然 #Nature #黑白 #BW #SMLBW #山水 #Landscape #CCBY #SMLPhotography #SMLUniverse #SMLProjects
/ #中國 #中国 #China #香港 #HongKong #攝影 #摄影 #photography #水 #Water #sea #霧 #fog
Two asian waterbirds chasing the tail of a Keka-class patrol boat of the Hong Kong Marine police launch at Tolo Harbour in Hong Kong. I think that I might be able to complete the full line-up by year end. :)
According to Wikipedia, Keka class patrol boats are vessels designed by ASC Pty. Ltd. (formerly named Australian Submarine Corporation) originally for the Royal Thai Navy (3 vessels). A second variant series was designed for the Hong Kong Marine Police (6 vessels) [1].
Also, please note that the “seagulls” referenced earlier on the stream are apparently all asian waterbirds. I just didn’t realise that. And apparently they are under WWF protection [3].
Regarding the black and white processing, I know that it is a bit of extreme. But doing scientific reproduction too long and I get bored. So a bit of fun for me.
# Notes
1. Wikipedia: EN: Keka-class patrol boat: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keka_class_patrol_boat
2. Wikipedia: EN: Marine Region: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marine_Region
3. www.wwf.org.hk/en/reslib/resources/asianwaterbirdreport/
# SML Data
+ Date: 2013-02-25 11:15:09 GMT+0800
+ Dimensions: 5184 x 3456
+ Exposure: 1/500 sec at f/6.3
+ Focal Length: 280 mm
+ ISO: 100
+ Flash: Did not fire
+ Camera: Canon EOS 7D
+ Lens: Canon EF 70-200 f/4L USM + Canon EF 1.4x Extender III
+ GPS: 22°25'17" N 114°13'19" E
+ Serial: SML.20130225.7D.24695.P1.L1.BW
+ Workflow: Photoshop CS6, Lightroom 4
+ Series: 寧 Serenity
“警輪61 Police Launch 61” / 寧 Serenity / SML.20130225.7D.24695.P1.L1.BW
/ #寧 #Serenity #SMLSerenity #黑白 #BW #SMLBW #CCBY #SMLPhotography #SMLUniverse #SMLProjects
/ #中國 #中国 #china #香港 #HongKong #攝影 #摄影 #photography #水警 #marine #警察 #police #船 #ships #海 #sea #鳥 #鸟 #Birds
Oh, the things you see under long exposure.
I was photographing the reflection of the lights of the 吐露港公路 Tolo Highway against the 吐露港 Tolo Harbour way across on the other side of the harbor where SML Universe HKG is at. But when I process it I noticed that there was a ship in the middle. I would not have seen it had it not been this shot.
The shot was mounted on a tripod and done in a delayed-time release to minimise vibration, so the blur is likely a result of the natural blur — it is on water after all.
A generous amount of S/H is applied in Photoshop to extract some details. I am thinking of getting a Holga because it seems like that toy camera is quite good at rendering these kinds of things.
# SML Data
+ Date: 2013-03-02 14:58:22 GMT+0800
+ Dimensions: 4651 x 3101
+ Exposure: 13.0c sec at f/5.6
+ Focal Length: 280 mm
+ ISO: 100
+ Flash: Did not fire
+ Camera: Canon EOS 7D
+ Lens: Canon EF-200mm f/4L USM + Canon EF 1.4x Extender III
+ GPS: 22°25'3" N 114°12'53" E
+ Location: SML Universe HKG
+ Subject: 中國香港中文大學水上活動中心對外的吐露港 中国香港中文大学水上活动中心对外的吐露港 Tolo Harbour outside The Chinese University Of Hong Kong University Water Sports Centre at Science Park Road, Hong Kong, China
+ Serial: SML.20130302.7D.24841.P1.L1.BW
+ Workflow: Photoshop CS6, Lightroom 4
+ Series: 寧 Serenity
“水影 Water Reflection” / 夜之寧 Serenity at Night / SML.20130302.7D.24841.P1.L1.BW
/ #寧 #serenity #SMLSerenity #黑白 #SMLBW #CCBY #SMLPhotography #SMLUniverse #SMLProjects
/ #中國 #中国 #China #香港 #HongKong #攝影 #摄影 #photography #夜 #night #水 #water #山水 #landscape #船 #ship #城市 #Urban
I finally figured out what those weird patterns on the water surface is. They are tracks left behind by ships. You don’t see this normally in open waters. But 沙田海 Sha Tin Hoi is part of 吐露港 Tolo Harbor. As water mass surrounded by land, it is far easier for tracks to be left behind.
Lights get reflected based on the angle of the water surface, so when viewed afar they look like an ever-evolving abstract painting. It is wonderfully amazing.
This leads me to think that if I am to model something inside RealFlow [1] and then place a few ships on it I should be able to create an ever-evolving abstract painting also. But who has the time and computer processing power to do that? So I will leave it up to nature to produce art for me for my ceiling-to-floor “wall” outside, I think.
# Notes
1. RealFlow is a fluid and dynamics simulator for the 3D industry, created by Madrid-based Next Limit Technologies. Currently at version 2012, the stand-alone application can be used to simulate fluids, water surfaces, fluid-solid interactions, rigid bodies, soft bodies and meshes. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RealFlow
# SML Data
+ Date: 2013-01-30 09:09:44 GMT+0800
+ Camera: Canon EOS 7D
+ Lens: Canon EF 70-200mm f/4L USM
+ Dimensions: 3311 x 4966
+ Exposure: 1/200 sec at f/8.0
+ Focal Length: 78 mm
+ ISO: 100
+ Handheld
+ Flash: Did not fire
+ GPS: 22°25'9" N 114°13'25" E (SML Universe HKG)
+ Subject: 中國香港馬鞍山沙田海 Sha Tin Hoi, Hong Kong SAR, China
+ Series: 寧 Serenity
# SML Workflow
Photographed with the Canon 7D with the 70-200 f/4L lens, processed in Lightroom 4.
# Media Licensing
Creative Commons (CCBY) See-ming Lee 李思明 / SML Photography / SML Universe Limited
“海面上的麵包屑 Breadcrumbs on the sea”
/ 寧 Serenity
/ SML.20130130.7D.20752.BW
I’m out of words. So all you get is data.
# SML Data
+ Date: 2013-03-05 14:31:41 GMT+0800
+ Dimensions: 3456 x 5184
+ Exposure: 1/320 sec at f/5.6
+ Focal Length: 40 mm
+ Flash: Did not fire
+ Exposure: 1/320 sec at f/5.6
+ Focal Length: 40 mm
+ ISO: 400
+ Flash: Did not fire
+ Camera: Canon EOS 7D
+ Lens: Canon EF 17-40mm f/4L USM
+ GPS: 22°25'47" N 114°13'24" E
+ Location: SML Universe HKG
+ Subject: 中國香港吐露港 中国香港吐露港 Tolo Harbour, Hong Kong, China
+ Serial: SML.20130305.7D.26367.BW
+ Workflow: Lightroom 4
+ Series: 寧 Serenity, 自然 Nature, 黑白 Black and White
# Media Licensing
Creative Commons (CCBY) See-ming Lee 李思明 / SML Photography / SML Universe Limited
“自然抽象之形 Nature Abstract Forms” / 寧 Serenity / SML.20130305.7D.26367.BW
/ #自然 #Nature #寧 #Serenity #黑白 #BW #SMLBW #CCBY #SMLPhotography #SMLUniverse #SMLProjects
/ #中國 #中国 #China #香港 #HongKong #攝影 #摄影 #photography #海 #Sea #自然 #nature #抽象 #abstract #山水 landscape
People asked why I include all the data information on my description. Well, although you can view the EXIF info on Flickr, on most sites they are invisible. And in the past when I look at photography I often wonder how people do what they do technically. Ultimately photography is a synergy of art and science. Sometimes to get the effect you want you need to tinkle with the machines. So the data is provided so hopefully they will be useful. I wish that everyone would be so nice to include them—I do try to be a nice person. :)
# SML Data
+ Date: 2013-03-18 16:37:16 GMT+0800
+ Dimensions: 3417 x 5125
+ Exposure: 1/640 sec at f/4.0
+ Focal Length: 17 mm
+ ISO: 100
+ Flash: Did not fire
+ Camera: Canon EOS 7D
+ Lens: Canon EF 17-40mm f/4L USM
+ GPS: 22°25'8" N 114°13'28" E
+ Location: SML Universe HKG
+ Subject: 香港中文大學 Chinese University of Hong Kong
+ Serial: SML.20130318.7D.35682.BW
+ Workflow: Lightroom 4
+ Series: 寧 Serenity, 自然 Nature, 山水 Landscape, 黑白 Black and White
# Media Licensing
Creative Commons (CCBY) See-ming Lee 李思明 / SML Photography / SML Universe Limited
“如上以下 As above, so below” / 寧 Serenity / SML.20130318.7D.35682.BW
/ #寧 #Serenity #SMLSerenity #自然 #Nature #山水 #Landscape #黑白 #BW #SMLBW #CCBY #SMLPhotography #SMLUniverse #SMLProjects
/ #中國 #中国 #China #香港 #HongKong #攝影 #摄影 #photography #山 #Mountains #水 #Water #雲 #Clouds
It has been mostly foggy outside the past few days. When it is foggy you don’t see anything. The tonal range has already been expanded somewhat so you can at least make out something. This would fall into the minimalism category. The empty sky is necessary to contrast with what is present. The emptiness is intentional—nothing can be something. Sometimes something in fact would be nothing.
有即是空，空即是有。
# SML Data
+ Date: 2013-04-14T13:05:01+0800
+ Dimensions: 3648 x 5472
+ Exposure: 1/320 sec at f/8.0
+ Focal Length: 40 mm
+ ISO: 100
+ Flash: Did not fire
+ Camera: Canon EOS 6D
+ Lens: Canon EF 17-40mm f/4L USM
+ GPS: 22°25'3" N 114°13'25" E
+ Location: SML Universe HKG
+ Subject: Tolo Habour, Hong Kong, China
+ Serial: SML.20130414.6D.00615.BW
+ Workflow: Lightroom 4
+ Series: 寧 Serenity
“霧中尋 Seek amidst the fog” / 寧 Serenity / SML.20130414.6D.00615.BW
/ #寧 #serenity #SMLSerenity #黑白 #BW #SMLBW #CreativeCommons #CCBY #SMLPhotography #SMLUniverse #SMLProjects
/ #中國 #中国 #China #香港 #HongKong #攝影 #摄影 #photography #山水 #landscape #霧 #Fog #水 #Water #空 #Sky #Minimalism #mnml
I have been experimenting with using my own photography as a source image to influence image generation with Stable Diffusion. seeminglee.com/blog/serenity-ai-purple/
The rationale behind this is straightforward — I have taken lots of photos over the years, but the conditions under which they were taken were not always ideal. Photography is subject to a myriad of influencing factors, and even with a specific vision in mind, nature may not cooperate to allow that vision to be captured perfectly. Similarly, the ideal setting we imagine might simply not exist in reality.
That’s where the power of AI comes in. I’ve discovered its phenomenal ability to materialize the concepts I feed into it. A potential point of contention is that since these images are AI-generated, they might be perceived as the product of AI rather than my own creativity. This viewpoint occasionally arises among those unfamiliar with AI work. I personally disagree, but I’ll reserve that discussion for a separate post.
Considering these images are the fusion of my original photographs and my descriptive text prompts, the notion that they’re devoid of human creative input seems baseless. As such, in my opinion, they are completely entitled to copyright protection.
I plan on experimenting this further, exploring diverse series and themes. My archive is filled with photographs that I find intriguing but seem to be missing that final touch to elevate them. I’m optimistic that by leveraging text prompts, I’ll be able to address these shortcomings and conceive new creations that blend my photography and the power of imaginative prompting.
1-9. Night Serenity 夜之寧
Stable Diffusion with SDXL, using my own photography as source image.
- 50 Steps, DPM++ 2S a Karras
- SDXL Base 1.0, SDXL VAE 1.0
- Automatic1111 Version: v1.6.0
10. 春夜霧朦朧 紫空燦金輝 / 香港中文大學夜之寧 CUHK Night Serenity (60-sec LE) / SML.20130513.6D.06547
- Canon EOS 6D
- Canon EF 24-70 f/2.8L
- Manfrotto tripod
- Remote release with Canon TC-80N3
- f/11, 24mm, 60 sec, ISO 100
Someone on Google+ asked to see a black and white rendering of a photograph in the Serenity series [1]. This is one process of it. Personally I think that the color version is better because the colors of the lights adds more to the photograph where as this black and white is mostly about moods and that tranquil quality in the color version is lost.
But the most WTF thing about my photography work tends to follow a very simple formula: what I love, no one likes. What I don’t like, everyone likes. So maybe you will like this. Who knows.
# SML Data
+ Date: 2013-02-06 02:07:29 GMT+0800
+ Dimensions: 4958 x 3306
+ Exposure: 30.0 sec at f/4.0
+ ISO: 100
+ Flash: Did not fire
+ Camera: Canon EOS M
+ Lens: Canon EF 17-40 f/4L USM
+ GPS: 22°26'58" N 114°12'26" E
+ Location: 中國香港沙田吐露港 中国香港沙田吐露港 Tolo Harbour, Shatin, Hong Kong, China
+ Serial: SML.20130206.EOSM.01652.P2.L2.BW
+ Workflow: Photoshop CS6, Lightroom 4
+ Series: 寧 Serenity
# Notes
1. “夜雨霧濃山無形 水影明照彩霞城” / 夜之寧 Serenity at Night / SML.20130206.EOSM.01652.P1: www.flickr.com/photos/seeminglee/8447582461/
“夜霧濃 山無影 The mountains disappeared on a foggy night” / 夜之寧 Serenity at Night / SSML.20130206.EOSM.01652.P2.L2.BW
/ #寧 #serenity #SMLSerenity #黑白 #BW #SMLBW #CCBY #SMLPhotography #SMLUniverse #SMLProjects
/ #中國 #中国 #China #香港 #HongKong #夜 #night #水 #water #山水 #landscape #霧 #fog #攝影 #摄影 #photography
Autofocus failed. Manual focus also failed. Sometimes the weather is so foggy that even when magnified 10x on the EOS M I am unable to tell whether something is sharp or not. But the blur actually helps here—rendering a dreamscape like no others. So I processed it.
I am trying to find some graduated filters right now, so that I don’t have to keep on fiddling with Shadow/Highlights inside Photoshop to extract some contrast in the white clouds. But perhaps that bit is unavoidable. Might consider doing some HDRs in the future.
# SML Translate: 朦朧日落白玉雲
+ 朦朧: blurry
+ 日: sun.
+ 落: down.
+ 白: white.
+ 玉: jade.
+ 雲: cloud.
+ 朦朧日落白玉雲: As the sun set, the clouds appear as blurry textures seen on a piece of white jade.
# SML Data
+ Date: 2013-03-02 17:59:49 GMT+0800
+ Dimensions: 3456 x 5184
+ Exposure: 1/60 sec at f/4.0
+ Focal Length: 40 mm
+ ISO: 200
+ Flash: Did not fire
+ Camera: Canon EOS M
+ Lens: Canon EF 17-40mm f/4L USM
+ GPS: 22°25'10" N 114°13'25" E
+ Location: SML Universe HKG
+ Subject: 中國香港吐露港船灣八仙嶺 中国香港吐露港船湾八仙岭 Pat Sin Leng, Shuen Wan, Tolo Harbour, Hong Kong, China
+ Serial: SML.20130302.EOSM.03009.P1.L1.BW
+ Series: 寧 Serenity
“朦朧日落白玉雲” / 寧 Serenity / SML.20130302.EOSM.03009.P1.L1.BW
/ #寧 #Serenity #SMLSerenity #黑白 #BW #SMLBW #CCBY #SMLPhotography #SMLVideography #SMLUniverse #SMLProjects
/ #中國 #中国 #China #香港 #HongKong #攝影 #摄影 #photography #山水 #landscape #雲 #Cloud #Cloudscape #自然 #Nature
“野水孤舟”
# SML Translate
+ 野: wild, plain, open space
+ 水: water, liquid, river, aquatic
+ 孤: solitary, alone, isolated
+ 舟: boat, small ship
野水孤舟 (Yěshuǐ gū zhōu) [1] is a poem by poet 梁棟創 (Liáng dòng chuàng) in 宋朝 (Song Dynasty) [2]
前村雨過溪流亂，行路迷漫都間斷。
孤洲盡日少人來，小舟系在垂楊岸。
主人空有濟川心，坐見門前水日深。
袖手歸來茅屋下，任他鷗鳥自浮沈。
# Notes
1. Baike: 野水孤舟:《野水孤舟》是宋朝梁棟創作的一首七言律詩。有國畫題識：野水無人渡，孤舟盡日橫。 baike.baidu.com/view/5662435.htm
2. Wikipedia: ZH-HK: 宋朝（960年—1279年）是中國歷史上的一個朝代，根據首都及疆域的變遷，可再分為北宋與南宋，合稱兩宋。因國君姓趙，又為區別於南北朝時期之南朝宋（劉宋），故亦稱「趙宋」。又因五德終始說，宋朝為火德，故又別稱「火宋」、「炎宋」。宋時北方政權契丹和西夏以宋朝位處其南方，稱其為「南朝」；西夏又因宋朝位於其東南，特稱其為「東朝」。 zh.wikipedia.org/zh-hk/宋朝
2. Wikipedia: EN: Song Dynasty: The Song Dynasty (Chinese: 宋朝; pinyin: Sòng Cháo; Wade-Giles: Sung Ch'ao; IPA: [sʊ̂ŋ tʂʰɑ̌ʊ̯]) was a ruling dynasty in China between 960 and 1279; it succeeded the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period, and was followed by the Yuan Dynasty. It was the first government in world history to nationally issue banknotes or true paper money, and the first Chinese government to establish a permanent standing navy. This dynasty also saw the first known use of gunpowder, as well as first discernment of true north using a compass. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Song_Dynasty
# SML Data
+ Series: 寧 Serenity
+ Date: 2013-01-18 12:20:50 GMT+0800
+ Dimensions: 3249 x 4874
+ Color: Black and white
+ Exposure: 1/3200 sec at f/2.8
+ Focal Length: 70mm
+ ISO: 100
+ Flash: Did not fire
+ Camera: Canon EOS 7D
+ Lens: Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM
+ GPS: 22°25'11" N 114°13'20" E (approximate)
+ Location: 中國香港馬鞍山沙田海 中国香港马鞍山沙田海 Sha Tin Hoi, Ma On Shan, Hong Kong SAR, China
# Media Licensing
Creative Commons (CCBY) See-ming Lee 李思明 / SML Photography / SML Universe Limited
# Related SML Universe
+ SML Flickr Set: Serenity: sml8.it/smlflickr-serenity
+ SML Photography Blog: Serenity: Part 1: photoblog.seeminglee.com/2012/10/serenity.html
+ SML Photography Blog: Serenity: Part 2: photoblog.seeminglee.com/2012/12/serenity-part-2.html
+ SML Serenity Tumblr: smlserenity.tumblr.com
+ SML Serenity Twitter: twitter.com/smlserenity
/ 寧 Serenity
/ SML.20130118.7D.20535.C23.BW.PS1
/ #寧 #Serenity #SMLSerenity #CCBY #SMLPhotography #SMLUniverse #SMLProjects #黑白 #BW #SMLBW #SMLFlickr
/ #山水 #landscape #攝影 #摄影 #photography SML:Projects=Serenity #海 #Sea #自然 nature #山 #mountains
/ 中國 #中国 #China #香港 #HongKong #馬鞍山 #MaOnShan 2013 201301 20130118
/ #Canon7D #Canon2470
Two white seagulls fly in pairs across the sea in a quiet afternoon. The first thing I thought of is how much it looks like the X-wing [1] from Star Wars.
We are often amazed by the imaginations of the artists in sci-fi movies, but if we look closely in the world around us, we would see that inspirations are in fact everywhere.
# Notes
1. X-wings are fictional starfighters from the original Star Wars trilogy and the expanded universe. They are depicted as the primary interceptor and dogfighter of the Rebel Alliance and the New Republic. The craft has been merchandised as a variety of toys and models and licensed for use in games, novels and comics. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X-wing
# SML Data
+ Date: 2013-01-18 12:11:07 GMT+0800
+ Dimensions: 3456 x 3456
+ Color: Black and white
+ Exposure: 1/1000 sec at f/2.8
+ Focal Length: 70mm
+ ISO: 100
+ Flash: Did not fire
+ Camera: Canon EOS 7D
+ Lens: Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM
+ GPS: 22°25'11" N 114°13'20" E (approximate)
+ Location: 中國香港馬鞍山沙田海 中国香港马鞍山沙田海 Sha Tin Hoi, Ma On Shan, Hong Kong SAR, China
# Related SML Universe
+ SML Photography Blog: Serenity: Part 1: photoblog.seeminglee.com/2012/10/serenity.html
+ SML Photography Blog: Serenity: Part 2: photoblog.seeminglee.com/2012/12/serenity-part-2.html
+ SML Serenity Tumblr: smlserenity.tumblr.com
+ SNL Serenity Twitter: twitter.com/smlserenity
# Media Licensing
Creative Commons (CCBY) See-ming Lee 李思明 / SML Photography / SML Universe Limited
“X-wing 的起源 X-wing Origins” #landscape / 寧 Serenity / SML.20130118.7D.20547.SQ.BW
I spoke too soon—it seems that the storm was just approaching.
# SML Data
+ Date: 2013-04-30T14:43:30+0800
+ Dimensions: 3623 x 5435
+ Exposure: 1/80 sec at f/4.0
+ Focal Length: 17 mm
+ ISO: 100
+ Flash: Did not fire
+ Camera: Canon EOS 6D
+ Lens: Canon EF 17-40mm f/4L USM
+ GPS: 22°25'9" N 114°13'23" E
+ Location: SML Universe HKG
+ Subject: Tolo Harbour, Hong Kong, China
+ Serial: SML.20130430.6D.03715.BW
+ Workflow: Lightroom 4
+ Series: 寧 Serenity
“風暴怒雲 Cloudscape before the storm” / 寧 Serenity / SML.20130430.6D.03715.BW
/ #寧 #Serenity #SMLSerenity #黑白 #BW #SMLBW #CreativeCommons #CCBY #SMLPhotography #SMLUniverse #SMLProjects
/ #中國 #中国 #China #香港 #HongKong #攝影 #摄影 #photography #山水 #landscape #雲 #Cloud #Cloudscape #自然 #Nature #天 #空 #Sky
So after more research it appears that these are not a seagulls but in fact Asian Waterbirds. Apparently, they are under WWF protection and is a rare species—but I see them all the time outside the window.
Also noted: I definitely need a longer lens. But it is good because I never really got to use my 70-200 til I moved back to Hong Kong.
Some captures are impossible to process inside Lightroom, so this was done in Photoshop.
# SML Data
+ Date: 2013-03-17 15:55:10 GMT+0800
+ Dimensions: 5184 x 3456
+ Exposure: 1/640 sec at f/5.6
+ Focal Length: 280 mm
+ ISO: 100
+ Flash: Did not fire
+ Camera: Canon EOS 7D
+ Lens: Canon EF 70-200mm f/4L USM + Canon EF 1.4x Extender III
+ GPS: 22°25'11" N 114°13'23" E
+ Location: SML Universe HKG
+ Subject: 中國香港吐露港 中国香港吐露港 Tolo Harbour, Hong Kong, China
+ Serial: SML.20130317.7D.35160.P1.L1.BW
+ Workflow: Photoshop CS6, Lightroom 4
+ Series: 寧 Serenity, 自然 Nature, 黑白 Black and White
“下午飛翔 Afternoon Flight” / 寧 Serenity / SML.20130317.7D.35160.P1.L1.BW
/ #自然 #Nature #寧 #Serenity #黑白 #BW #SMLBW #CCBY #SMLPhotography #SMLUniverse #SMLProjects
/ #中國 #中国 #China #香港 #HongKong #攝影 #摄影 #photography #海 #Sea #山水 #landscape #鳥 #鸟 #Birds
Some dynamic ranges could not be captured with multiple exposures, because the reality covers so little bits that even when expanded you can only fetch so much.
Stitched using nine 7D RAW captures mounted on tripod.
# SML Data
+ Date: 2013-03-20 17:24:31 GMT+0800
+ Dimensions: 6620 x 2534
+ Exposure: 1/50 sec at f/5.6
+ Focal Length: 29 mm
+ ISO: 200
+ Flash: Did not fire
+ Camera: Canon EOS 7D
+ Lens: Canon EF 17-40 mm f/4L USM
+ Panorama FOV: 74 degree horizontal, 48.3 degree vertical
+ Panoramic Projection: Rectilinear
+ GPS: 22°25'10" N 114°13'25" E
+ Location: SML Universe HKG
+ Subject: 香港中文大學 Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) + 吐露港 Tolo Harbour
+ Serial: SML.20130320.7D.35705-SML.20130320.7D.35713-Pano.Rectilinear.74x48.3.BW
+ Workflow: Hugin 2012, Lightroom 4
+ Series: 寧 Serenity, 自然 Nature, 黑白 Black and White, 山水 Landscape, 全景攝影 Panoramic Photography
“今天天氣報告：多雲，有雨，非常大霧 Today’s Weather Report: Cloudy, rainy, and very foggy” / 寧 Serenity / SML.20130320.7D.35705-SML.20130320.7D.35713-Pano.Rectilinear.74x48.3.BW
/ #寧 #Serenity #SMLSerenity #自然 #Nature #黑白 #BW #SMLBW #全景 #Pano #SMLPano #山水 #Landscape #CCBY #SMLPhotography #SMLUniverse #SMLProjects
/ #中國 #中国 #China #香港 #HongKong #攝影 #摄影 #photography #城市 #Urban
www.flickr.com/photos/seeminglee/8574774232/
www.flickr.com/photos/seeminglee/8574774232/sizes/o/ (6620 x 2534)
The ever changing water photographed at the ground level as well as from the 27th floor vantage point of SML Universe HKG using the 70-200 f/4L + 1.4x Extender zoomed to the max (280mm). I think that I need a longer lens, and am shopping for one.
There was some color oddity added to the mix when YouTube / Flickr / Vimeo re-encoded my video so hereby reissue as black and white as well as tweaked with curves. Which is a whole lot better now, I think.
# Soundtrack
Water by Chaletshalom (SoundCloud CCBY)
soundcloud.com/chaletshalom/01-water-mp3
# SML Data
+ Date: 2013-02-26, 2013-03-02 (recorded) 2013-03-02 (processed)
+ Camera: Canon EOS 7D
+ Lens:Canon EF 70-200 f/4L + Canon EF 1.4x Extender III
+ Video: H264 MP4, 1920x1080 (1080p), 24fps, Progressive, 10 Mbps
+ Audio: AAC, 320 kbps, 48 kHz, Stereo
+ Length: 1 min 16 sec
+ Color: Color
+ Location: 中國香港馬鞍山海濱長廊 Ma On Shan Promenade, Hong Kong, China
+ Photographer: See-ming Lee 李思明, SML Photography
+ Soundtrack: Water by Chaletshalom (SoundCloud CCBY)
+ Media Production: SML Universe
+ License: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported (CCBY)
+ Copyright: 2013 See-ming Lee 李思明, SML Universe Limited
+ Series: Serenity 寧
+ Serial: SML.20130302.Serenity.Water.BW.1080p24
+ Serial-Source: SML.20130226.7D.24809 SML.20130226.7D.24810 SML.20130226.7D.24811 SML.20130226.7D.24823 SML.20130226.7D.24824 SML.20130226.7D.24825 SML.20130302.7D.24851 SML.20130302.7D.24852 SML.20130302.7D.24853 SML.20130302.7D.24854 SML.20130302.7D.24855
# SML Simulcast
+ SML Facebook: www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=10151541531713035
+ SML Flickr: www.flickr.com/photos/seeminglee/8519946741/
+ SML Vimeo: vimeo.com/60888178
+ SML Universe YouTube: youtu.be/H_YbpDwS1nM
“水 Water” / 寧 Serenity / SML.20130302.Serenity.Water.BW.1080p24
/ #寧 #Serenity #SMLSerenity #黑白 #BW #SMLBW #CCBY #SMLPhotography #SMLVideography #SMLUniverse #SMLProjects
/ #中國 #中国 #China #香港 #HongKong #攝影 #摄影 #photography #山水 #landscape #水 #Water #自然 #Nature #ToloHarbour #Chaletshalom #seeminglee
The ever changing clouds rendered in black and white and sped up ten times of the normal speed.
# Soundtrack
Every Cloud by Rameses B (SoundCloud CCBY)
soundcloud.com/ramesesb/rameses-b-every-cloud
# SML Data
+ Date: 2013-03-02 (recorded) 2013-03-03 (processed)
+ Camera: Canon EOS M
+ Lens: Canon EF 70-200 f/4L + Canon EF 1.4x Extender III
+ Video: H264 MP4, 1920x1080 (1080p), 25fps, Progressive
+ Audio: AAC, 320 kbps, 48 kHz, Stereo
+ Length: 3 min
+ Color: Black and white
+ Location: SML Universe Limited, Ma On Shan, Hong Kong, China
+ Subject: Clouds above Tolo Harbour
+ Photographer: See-ming Lee 李思明, SML Photography
+ Soundtrack: Every Cloud by Rameses B (SoundCloud CCBY)
+ Media Production: SML Universe
+ License: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported (CCBY)
+ Copyright: 2013 See-ming Lee 李思明, SML Universe Limited
+ Series: 寧 Serenity
+ Serial: SML.20130302.EOSM.Serenity.Clouds.BW.1080p25
+ Source Serial: SML.20130302.EOSM.03014 SML.20130302.EOSM.03015 SML.20130302.EOSM.03016
# SML 1080p Simulcast
+ SML Vimeo: vimeo.com/60935061
+ SML Universe YouTube: youtube.com/watch?v=f5o8iKKsaaM
+ SML Flickr: flickr.com/photos/seeminglee/8524328020
+ SML Facebook: facebook.com/video/video.php?v=10151543576173035
“雲 Clouds” / 寧 Serenity / SML.20130302.EOSM.Serenity.Clouds.BW.1080p25
/ #寧 #serenity #SMLSerenity #黑白 #BW #SMLBW #CCBY #SeemingLee #SMLPhotography #SMLUniverse #SMLProjects
/ #中國 #中国 #China #香港 #HongKong #攝影 #摄影 #photography #videography #山水 #landscape #雲 #云 #Clouds #Cloudscape #CanonEOSM #Canon70200f4L #1080p #HD
In the morning, the building where I am at casts a shadow on the sea.
# SML Translate
+ 影: shadow
+ 形: forms
+ 不: not
+ 離: distance, distant
+ 影形不離: forms and shadows are not far apart. Metaphor for close relationship (between people / lovers / etc). [1]
# Notes
1. 形影不離，比喻關係密切。
老舍《趙子曰》：“他的面貌、服裝比趙子曰的好看的不止十倍，可是他們兩個是影形不離的好朋友。” www.zdic.net/cy/ch/ZdicE5ZdicBDZdicB125146.htm
# SML Data
+ Date: 2013-01-17 09:51:00 GMT+0800
+ Dimensions: 1534 x 2301
+ Color: Black and white
+ Exposure: 1/1300 sec at f/2.4
+ Focal Length: 4.28mm
+ ISO: 50
+ Flash: Did not fire
+ Camera: Apple iPad 3
+ GPS: 22°25'10" N 114°13'26" E
+ Location: 中國香港馬鞍山沙田海 中国香港马鞍山沙田海 Sha Tin Hoi, Ma On Shan, Hong Kong SAR, China
+ Photographed at: SML Universe Limited, Hong Kong.
# SML Workflow
+ Photographed with iPad3, cropped as 2:3 aspect ratio, processed in Adobe Lightroom 4.
# Related SML Universe
+ SML Photography Blog: Serenity: Part 1: photoblog.seeminglee.com/2012/10/serenity.html
+ SML Photography Blog: Serenity: Part 2: photoblog.seeminglee.com/2012/12/serenity-part-2.html
+ SML Serenity Tumblr: smlserenity.tumblr.com
+ SNL Serenity Twitter: twitter.com/smlserenity
# Media Licensing
Creative Commons (CCBY) See-ming Lee 李思明 / SML Photography / SML Universe Limited
“影形不離” / 寧 Serenity / SML.20130117.IP3.07133.C23.BW
The sun is shy so it is hiding behind the clouds.
# SML Data
+ Date: 2013-04-24T18:18:21+0800
+ Dimensions: 5184 x 3456
+ Exposure: 1/800 sec at f/8.0
+ Focal Length: 400 mm
+ ISO: 100
+ Flash: Did not fire
+ Camera: Canon EOS 7D
+ Lens: Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM
+ GPS: 22°25'9" N 114°13'26" E
+ Location: SML Universe HKG
+ Serial: SML.20130424.7D.39958
+ Workflow: Lightroom 4
+ Series: 寧 Serenity
# Media Licensing
Creative Commons (CCBY) See-ming Lee 李思明 / SML Photography / SML Universe Limited
“日落黃昏錦雲觀 Golden cloudscape during sunset” / 寧 Serenity / SML.20130424.7D.39958
/ #寧 #Serenity #SMLSerenity #CreativeCommons #CCBY #SMLPhotography #SMLUniverse #SMLProjects
/ #中國 #中国 #China #香港 #HongKong #攝影 #摄影 #photography #山水 #landscape #自然 #Nature #雲 #云 #clouds #cloudscape #日落 #黃昏 #Sunset
I was running out but I had to capture this because the clouds were simply too beautiful.
# SML Data
+ Date: 2013-01-19 15:56:38 GMT+0800
+ Dimensions: 3221 x 4831
+ Color: Black and white
+ Exposure: 1/1600 sec at f/2.8
+ Focal Length: 24mm
+ ISO: 100
+ Flash: Did not fire
+ Camera: Canon EOS 7D
+ Lens: Canon EF 24-70 f/2.8L USM
+ GPS: 22°25'10" N 114°13'26" E
+ Location: 中國香港馬鞍山沙田海 中国香港马鞍山沙田海 Sha Tin Hoi, Ma On Shan, Hong Kong SAR, China
+ Photographed at: SML Universe Limited, Hong Kong.
# SML Workflow
+ Recropped as 2:3, processed in Photoshop CS6, metadata tagged in Lightroom 4.
# Related SML Universe
+ SML Flickr Set: Serenity: sml8.it/smlflickr-serenity
+ SML Photography Blog: Serenity: Part 1: photoblog.seeminglee.com/2012/10/serenity.html
+ SML Photography Blog: Serenity: Part 2: photoblog.seeminglee.com/2012/12/serenity-part-2.html
+ SML Serenity Tumblr: smlserenity.tumblr.com
+ SNL Serenity Twitter: twitter.com/smlserenity
# Media Licensing
Creative Commons (CCBY) See-ming Lee 李思明 / SML Photography / SML Universe Limited
“雲景 Cloudscape” / 寧 Serenity / SML.20130119.7D.20606.PS1.BW.C23
What I learned last night while doing this 30-second long exposure is that the moon moves fairly quickly. I actually also had a 2-minute shot, and while the landscape lies still the moon moves so far away that it looked like a mistake.
In photography, there is an almost cardinal rule that you do not place subjects in the center. But rules are meant to be broken, and I think that the moon works best when placed dead center for this particular scene.
# SML Translate: 春夜新月空
+ 春: spring (season).
+ 夜: night (time).
+ 新: new (describe the moon).
+ 月: moon (crescent mood).
+ 空: air, sky.
# SML Data
+ Date: 2013-04-14T19:36:33+0800
+ Dimensions: 3549 x 3549
+ Exposure: 30.0 sec at f/8.0
+ Focal Length: 19 mm
+ ISO: 100
+ Flash: Did not fire
+ Camera: Canon EOS 6D
+ Lens: Canon EF 17-40 f/4L USM
+ GPS: 22°25'10" N 114°13'25" E
+ Location: SML Universe HKG
+ Subject: 香港中文大學 The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK)
+ Workflow: Lightroom 4
+ Serial: SML.20130414.6D.00676.SQ
+ Series: 寧 Serenity, 長時間曝光攝影 Long Exposure Photography
# Media Licensing
Creative Commons (CCBY) See-ming Lee 李思明 / SML Photography / SML Universe Limited
“春夜新月空” / 香港中文大學夜之寧 The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) Night Serenity / SML.20130414.6D.00676.SQ
/ #寧 #serenity #SMLSerenity #LongExposure #CreativeCommons #CCBY #SMLPhotography #SMLUniverse #SMLProjects
/ #中國 #中国 #China #香港 #HongKong #攝影 #摄影 #photography #山水 #Landscape #中文大學 #CUHK #夜 #Night #自然 #Nature #大學 #university
I have been experimenting with using my own photography as a source image to influence image generation with Stable Diffusion. seeminglee.com/blog/serenity-ai-purple/
The rationale behind this is straightforward — I have taken lots of photos over the years, but the conditions under which they were taken were not always ideal. Photography is subject to a myriad of influencing factors, and even with a specific vision in mind, nature may not cooperate to allow that vision to be captured perfectly. Similarly, the ideal setting we imagine might simply not exist in reality.
That’s where the power of AI comes in. I’ve discovered its phenomenal ability to materialize the concepts I feed into it. A potential point of contention is that since these images are AI-generated, they might be perceived as the product of AI rather than my own creativity. This viewpoint occasionally arises among those unfamiliar with AI work. I personally disagree, but I’ll reserve that discussion for a separate post.
Considering these images are the fusion of my original photographs and my descriptive text prompts, the notion that they’re devoid of human creative input seems baseless. As such, in my opinion, they are completely entitled to copyright protection.
I plan on experimenting this further, exploring diverse series and themes. My archive is filled with photographs that I find intriguing but seem to be missing that final touch to elevate them. I’m optimistic that by leveraging text prompts, I’ll be able to address these shortcomings and conceive new creations that blend my photography and the power of imaginative prompting.
1-9. Night Serenity 夜之寧
Stable Diffusion with SDXL, using my own photography as source image.
- 50 Steps, DPM++ 2S a Karras
- SDXL Base 1.0, SDXL VAE 1.0
- Automatic1111 Version: v1.6.0
10. 春夜霧朦朧 紫空燦金輝 / 香港中文大學夜之寧 CUHK Night Serenity (60-sec LE) / SML.20130513.6D.06547
- Canon EOS 6D
- Canon EF 24-70 f/2.8L
- Manfrotto tripod
- Remote release with Canon TC-80N3
- f/11, 24mm, 60 sec, ISO 100
# SML Translate
+ 夜: night.
+ 寧: quiet, peaceful.
+ 雲: clouds.
+ 茫: vague and vast.
+ 水: water, sea, ocean.
+ 影: shadow, picture, image, reflection.
+ 明: bright, clear.
+ 夜寧雲茫水影明: the clouds are misty but the water are still as it reflects the light from the city at a peaceful and quiet night.
# SML Workflow
Photographed with the Canon EOS M with the Canon EF 70-200 f/4L lens mounted on tripod. Processed in Lightroom 4 and Photoshop CS6.
# SML Data
+ Date: 2013-02-03 20:58:37 GMT+0800
+ Dimensions: 3281 x 4921
+ Exposure: 0.5 sec at f/4.0
+ Focal Length: 70 mm
+ ISO: 6400
+ Flash: Did not fire
+ Camera: Canon EOS M
+ Lens: Canon EF 70-200 f/4L USM
+ GPS: 22°24'58" N 114°12'49" E (SML Universe HKG)
+ Subject: Ocean: 吐露港 Tolo Harbor; Mountains: 八仙嶺 Pat Sin Leng; 中國香港 Hong Kong, China.
“夜寧雲茫水影明”
/ 寧 Serenity
/ SML.20130203.EOSM.01597.C23.P1.BW
/ #寧 #serenity #SMLSerenity #CCBY #SMLPhotography #SMLBW #SMLUniverse #SMLProjects
/ #夜 #night #雲 #clouds #cloudscape #水 #water #ocean #影 #reflection #明 #bright #山水 #landscape #攝影 #摄影 #photography #黑白 #BW #香港 #HongKong #中國 #中国 #China
“Rainbow Teddy photographs 寧 Serenity”
Left. Utilizing the iPad as a large format view camera in the digital age, Rainbow Teddy positions the life-sized camera in front of his body and fiddles with the built-in camera app to photograph the beautiful scenery outside the windows of SML Universe.
Right. Recognizing that #Crazyisgood, Rainbow Teddy ordered his iPad from the Apple Store online mainly because it provides free engraving to every purchase.
/ SML.20130112.IPH5.RainbowTeddy.Serenity
/ #RainbowTeddy #ToyStory #寧 #Serenity #SMLSerenity #CCBY #SMLPhotography #SMLUniverse #Crazyisgood #SMLProjects #SMLMotto #SMLPHIL
/ #gay #bear #LGBT #toys #Apple #ipad #ipad3 #engraving #technology #viewcamera #digital #cameras #AppStore
/ 攝影 #摄影 photography 馬鞍山 MaOnShan 香港 #HongKong 中國 #中国 #China IPH5 SQ SML:Projects=RainbowTeddy SML:Projects=ToyStory diptych montage
Pink little flowers are starting to bloom at the garden downstairs. I like little flowers—flowers with no name but together contribute every bit of joy for me everyday.
The sharp eyed would note that the leaves are not perfect. The perfectionists would likely not like the fact that I have decided on the focusing on the leaves and not the flowers either.
But you know, perfection will not exist if not for imperfection. And a photograph without imperfection is not really a depiction of reality. I celebrate imperfections and I celebrate all. If I paint flowers, they will not be perfect either. So yes, it is intentional.
# SML Translate
花團錦簇
開心見誠
+ 花: flower.
+ 團: crowd.
+ 錦: brocade.
+ 簇: coming together.
+ 花團錦簇: flowers coming together in numbers.
+ 開: open.
+ 心: heart.
+ 見: see, observe.
+ 誠: sincerity.
開心見誠: observe sincerity from those who have an open heart.
# SML Workflow
Photographed with the Canon 7D + 70-200 f/4L + 1.4x. Processed in Lightroom 4.
# SML Data
+ Date: 2013-02-08 11:29:43 GMT+0800
+ Dimensions: 5184 x 3456
+ Exposure: 1/320 sec at f/5.6
+ Focal Length: 280 mm
+ ISO: 3200
+ Flash: Did not fire
+ Camera: Canon EOS 7D
+ Lens: Canon EF 70-200 f/4L + Canon EF 1.4x Extender III
+ GPS: 22°25'9" N 114°13'31" E
+ Location: 中國香港馬鞍山聽濤雅苑 中国香港马鞍山听涛雅苑 Vista Paradiso, Ma On Shan, Hong Kong SAR, China
+ Serial: SML.20130208.7D.21556
+ Series: 寧 Serenity
# Related SML Universe
+ SML Pro Blog: Delete Perfection + Zero expectations / Happiness Life Hacks blog.seeminglee.com/2012/12/delete-perfection-zero-expect...
”花團錦簇 開心見誠” / 寧 Serenity / SML.20130208.7D.21556
/ #寧 #Serenity #SMLSerenity #CCBY #SMLPhotography #SMLUniverse #SMLProjects
/ #花 #flowers #葉 #leaves #自然 #nature #綠 #green #紅 #red #色 #color #攝影 #photography #春天 #spring #新年 #NewYear #中國 #China #香港 #HongKong #馬鞍山 #MaOnShan #花園 #garden #聽濤雅苑 #VistaParadiso
I have been experimenting with using my own photography as a source image to influence image generation with Stable Diffusion. seeminglee.com/blog/serenity-ai-purple/
The rationale behind this is straightforward — I have taken lots of photos over the years, but the conditions under which they were taken were not always ideal. Photography is subject to a myriad of influencing factors, and even with a specific vision in mind, nature may not cooperate to allow that vision to be captured perfectly. Similarly, the ideal setting we imagine might simply not exist in reality.
That’s where the power of AI comes in. I’ve discovered its phenomenal ability to materialize the concepts I feed into it. A potential point of contention is that since these images are AI-generated, they might be perceived as the product of AI rather than my own creativity. This viewpoint occasionally arises among those unfamiliar with AI work. I personally disagree, but I’ll reserve that discussion for a separate post.
Considering these images are the fusion of my original photographs and my descriptive text prompts, the notion that they’re devoid of human creative input seems baseless. As such, in my opinion, they are completely entitled to copyright protection.
I plan on experimenting this further, exploring diverse series and themes. My archive is filled with photographs that I find intriguing but seem to be missing that final touch to elevate them. I’m optimistic that by leveraging text prompts, I’ll be able to address these shortcomings and conceive new creations that blend my photography and the power of imaginative prompting.
1-9. Night Serenity 夜之寧
Stable Diffusion with SDXL, using my own photography as source image.
- 50 Steps, DPM++ 2S a Karras
- SDXL Base 1.0, SDXL VAE 1.0
- Automatic1111 Version: v1.6.0
10. 春夜霧朦朧 紫空燦金輝 / 香港中文大學夜之寧 CUHK Night Serenity (60-sec LE) / SML.20130513.6D.06547
- Canon EOS 6D
- Canon EF 24-70 f/2.8L
- Manfrotto tripod
- Remote release with Canon TC-80N3
- f/11, 24mm, 60 sec, ISO 100
I have been experimenting with using my own photography as a source image to influence image generation with Stable Diffusion. seeminglee.com/blog/serenity-ai-purple/
The rationale behind this is straightforward — I have taken lots of photos over the years, but the conditions under which they were taken were not always ideal. Photography is subject to a myriad of influencing factors, and even with a specific vision in mind, nature may not cooperate to allow that vision to be captured perfectly. Similarly, the ideal setting we imagine might simply not exist in reality.
That’s where the power of AI comes in. I’ve discovered its phenomenal ability to materialize the concepts I feed into it. A potential point of contention is that since these images are AI-generated, they might be perceived as the product of AI rather than my own creativity. This viewpoint occasionally arises among those unfamiliar with AI work. I personally disagree, but I’ll reserve that discussion for a separate post.
Considering these images are the fusion of my original photographs and my descriptive text prompts, the notion that they’re devoid of human creative input seems baseless. As such, in my opinion, they are completely entitled to copyright protection.
I plan on experimenting this further, exploring diverse series and themes. My archive is filled with photographs that I find intriguing but seem to be missing that final touch to elevate them. I’m optimistic that by leveraging text prompts, I’ll be able to address these shortcomings and conceive new creations that blend my photography and the power of imaginative prompting.
1-9. Night Serenity 夜之寧
Stable Diffusion with SDXL, using my own photography as source image.
- 50 Steps, DPM++ 2S a Karras
- SDXL Base 1.0, SDXL VAE 1.0
- Automatic1111 Version: v1.6.0
10. 春夜霧朦朧 紫空燦金輝 / 香港中文大學夜之寧 CUHK Night Serenity (60-sec LE) / SML.20130513.6D.06547
- Canon EOS 6D
- Canon EF 24-70 f/2.8L
- Manfrotto tripod
- Remote release with Canon TC-80N3
- f/11, 24mm, 60 sec, ISO 100
I have been experimenting with using my own photography as a source image to influence image generation with Stable Diffusion. seeminglee.com/blog/serenity-ai-purple/
The rationale behind this is straightforward — I have taken lots of photos over the years, but the conditions under which they were taken were not always ideal. Photography is subject to a myriad of influencing factors, and even with a specific vision in mind, nature may not cooperate to allow that vision to be captured perfectly. Similarly, the ideal setting we imagine might simply not exist in reality.
That’s where the power of AI comes in. I’ve discovered its phenomenal ability to materialize the concepts I feed into it. A potential point of contention is that since these images are AI-generated, they might be perceived as the product of AI rather than my own creativity. This viewpoint occasionally arises among those unfamiliar with AI work. I personally disagree, but I’ll reserve that discussion for a separate post.
Considering these images are the fusion of my original photographs and my descriptive text prompts, the notion that they’re devoid of human creative input seems baseless. As such, in my opinion, they are completely entitled to copyright protection.
I plan on experimenting this further, exploring diverse series and themes. My archive is filled with photographs that I find intriguing but seem to be missing that final touch to elevate them. I’m optimistic that by leveraging text prompts, I’ll be able to address these shortcomings and conceive new creations that blend my photography and the power of imaginative prompting.
1-9. Night Serenity 夜之寧
Stable Diffusion with SDXL, using my own photography as source image.
- 50 Steps, DPM++ 2S a Karras
- SDXL Base 1.0, SDXL VAE 1.0
- Automatic1111 Version: v1.6.0
10. 春夜霧朦朧 紫空燦金輝 / 香港中文大學夜之寧 CUHK Night Serenity (60-sec LE) / SML.20130513.6D.06547
- Canon EOS 6D
- Canon EF 24-70 f/2.8L
- Manfrotto tripod
- Remote release with Canon TC-80N3
- f/11, 24mm, 60 sec, ISO 100
I have been experimenting with using my own photography as a source image to influence image generation with Stable Diffusion. seeminglee.com/blog/serenity-ai-purple/
The rationale behind this is straightforward — I have taken lots of photos over the years, but the conditions under which they were taken were not always ideal. Photography is subject to a myriad of influencing factors, and even with a specific vision in mind, nature may not cooperate to allow that vision to be captured perfectly. Similarly, the ideal setting we imagine might simply not exist in reality.
That’s where the power of AI comes in. I’ve discovered its phenomenal ability to materialize the concepts I feed into it. A potential point of contention is that since these images are AI-generated, they might be perceived as the product of AI rather than my own creativity. This viewpoint occasionally arises among those unfamiliar with AI work. I personally disagree, but I’ll reserve that discussion for a separate post.
Considering these images are the fusion of my original photographs and my descriptive text prompts, the notion that they’re devoid of human creative input seems baseless. As such, in my opinion, they are completely entitled to copyright protection.
I plan on experimenting this further, exploring diverse series and themes. My archive is filled with photographs that I find intriguing but seem to be missing that final touch to elevate them. I’m optimistic that by leveraging text prompts, I’ll be able to address these shortcomings and conceive new creations that blend my photography and the power of imaginative prompting.
1-9. Night Serenity 夜之寧
Stable Diffusion with SDXL, using my own photography as source image.
- 50 Steps, DPM++ 2S a Karras
- SDXL Base 1.0, SDXL VAE 1.0
- Automatic1111 Version: v1.6.0
10. 春夜霧朦朧 紫空燦金輝 / 香港中文大學夜之寧 CUHK Night Serenity (60-sec LE) / SML.20130513.6D.06547
- Canon EOS 6D
- Canon EF 24-70 f/2.8L
- Manfrotto tripod
- Remote release with Canon TC-80N3
- f/11, 24mm, 60 sec, ISO 100
I have been experimenting with using my own photography as a source image to influence image generation with Stable Diffusion. seeminglee.com/blog/serenity-ai-purple/
The rationale behind this is straightforward — I have taken lots of photos over the years, but the conditions under which they were taken were not always ideal. Photography is subject to a myriad of influencing factors, and even with a specific vision in mind, nature may not cooperate to allow that vision to be captured perfectly. Similarly, the ideal setting we imagine might simply not exist in reality.
That’s where the power of AI comes in. I’ve discovered its phenomenal ability to materialize the concepts I feed into it. A potential point of contention is that since these images are AI-generated, they might be perceived as the product of AI rather than my own creativity. This viewpoint occasionally arises among those unfamiliar with AI work. I personally disagree, but I’ll reserve that discussion for a separate post.
Considering these images are the fusion of my original photographs and my descriptive text prompts, the notion that they’re devoid of human creative input seems baseless. As such, in my opinion, they are completely entitled to copyright protection.
I plan on experimenting this further, exploring diverse series and themes. My archive is filled with photographs that I find intriguing but seem to be missing that final touch to elevate them. I’m optimistic that by leveraging text prompts, I’ll be able to address these shortcomings and conceive new creations that blend my photography and the power of imaginative prompting.
1-9. Night Serenity 夜之寧
Stable Diffusion with SDXL, using my own photography as source image.
- 50 Steps, DPM++ 2S a Karras
- SDXL Base 1.0, SDXL VAE 1.0
- Automatic1111 Version: v1.6.0
10. 春夜霧朦朧 紫空燦金輝 / 香港中文大學夜之寧 CUHK Night Serenity (60-sec LE) / SML.20130513.6D.06547
- Canon EOS 6D
- Canon EF 24-70 f/2.8L
- Manfrotto tripod
- Remote release with Canon TC-80N3
- f/11, 24mm, 60 sec, ISO 100