As many of you know, I’ve been spending a bit of my time exploring the cool features in ActionScript 3.0 - some new, some not. Lately, I’ve been intrigued by the SoundMixer class which has a special method, computeSpectrum(), that essentially takes a snapshot of the wave of a streaming sound (or an embeded sound, but I’m talkin’ 100% code here)…

The finer details quickly boil down to binary data, but the power of this is the potential to create audio-powered animations in Flash.

After a refresher in Trigonometry, some tortellini, and a late night (or early morning), I’m pleased to present latest ActionScript 3 experiment!

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A few months ago, during some miscellaneous design research, I came across a new and very attractive look for Craigslist. I think one of the keys to the popularity and success of Craigslist is in it’s simplicity. It’s easy. It’s no-bells-and-whistles. It doesn’t make you think.

Ryan Sims and Design Eye for the List Guy had some fun with a redesign of the site. I think this could be quite a refreshing look while preserving the essence of the Craigslist we all know and love.

What do you think? Let’s tell Craig.

Main page:

Listings page:

For those of you who read my recent article on High Dynamic Range images, you’re already aware of the power of HDR in creating images that trample the boundaries of traditional photography. When pushed to the max, it’s quite easy to create eerie, surreal or just plain fake looking photos.

I recently did some night photography at the old train yard outside of downtown St. Paul, near Shepard Rd. The photo opportunities were endless. Surprisingly, both times I was approached by someone with a blaring walkie-talkie on their belt, I didn’t get kicked out - they only stopped to chat photography. And trains.

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Chances are, many of you have stopped to enjoy a sunset and taken a quick photo of your significant other to capture the moment. Chances also are that when you looked at the preview on your LCD (instant gratification!), you found that it was quite different than what you were actually seeing. Not in a bad way. In fact, some of those photos may have displayed even more vibrant colors and a nicely silhouetted subject. Not bad. Just different.

The reason for this is simply due to the nature of photography and exposure. New techniques and technologies, however, are blurring this discrepancy between our eyes and our images.

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I’ve done some more experimenting with the Papervision3D class library. This experiment uses a “Plane” object, the ArcStone logo for the plane’s “material” property, and a little bit of math to allow a full 360-degree view of the logo. The logo’s X and Y-axis rotation is determined by the mouse position.

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The last twelve months; particularly the last six, have seen big steps in my photographic vision. I’ve taken a camera where I haven’t done so before, looked at things from new perspectives and improved my processing skills. I’ve selected 10 of my favorite photos from 2007 to share with you. Some of them I’ve selected for technical qualities as a “good photo”, others simply for the personal experience that surrounds it. I hope you enjoy what you see.
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I spent a good portion of my holiday weekend sifting through the documentation for Papervision3D (let this load, it’s worth the wait!). Papervision3D is robust, open source ActionScript class library that aims to simplify the process of creating and animating 3D objects and effects in Flash.

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Just as promised, I have a more exciting experiment that makes use of the Grid Maker from my previous post. For those who caught the OOP reference in the title, the Mosaic Creator is actually not a subclass of the Grid Maker… although it probably should be.

After about $15 worth of Vanilla Lattes (which, sadly, is probably only 3), I’m pleased to introduce my Mosaic Creator - and AcionScript 3.0 experiment that dynamically creates a mosaic based on a few variables - photo, tile/cell size etc. (more…)

I realize how potentially boring a ‘Dynamic Grid Maker’ might sound, but it is mainly a precursor to some more exciting experiments (some of which are done but are awaiting an official Technology Translated introduction). And just to keep your attention, I’ve added a function that allows you to ‘explode’ the grid. (more…)

‘Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house, just my keyboard was stirring, along side the mouse … (more…)