Grand Manan Images: The Flock of Sheep

Flock of Sheep

The Flock of Sheep is a set of glacial boulders sitting on top of the darker volcanic basalt on the southern end of Grand Manan Island. From the sea, these boulders look like a line of sheep on the shore (at least kind of), and that's how they got the name. While on our trip out to Machias Seal Island from Seal Cove, I saw this formation for the first time, and I was determined to hike there to see them close up. The hike is actually quite easy, given that we could start out from the beach at South-west Head. From there, it's a 10 or 15 minute walk along a cliff-side path to the formation.

Looking out to sea from the Flock of Sheep

This set of boulders, one of which is precariously sitting on the edge of the cliff, is actually the "Lower" Flock of Sheep. There is another set slightly further north, called the "Upper" Flock of Sheep. I'll get there next year!

. . . Rob Williams
http://www.robwilliams.ca

Grand Manan Images: Grass at Pettes Cove

Grass at Pettes Cove

When I got to Pettes Cove, the fog was thick, and it was raining. The cove itself was dreary, but I got out of the car just long enough to photograph some grass just beside the car. I like the image in quite a bit in colour, but it really looks good in black-and-white -- the photograph is pure texture.

. . . Rob Williams
http://www.robwilliams.ca

Grand Manan Images: Red Rocks at Red Rock Point

 

Red Rocks at Red Rock Point

These rocks lie at the base of an indent in the cliffs, exposed at low tide.  I'm sure these rocks are responsible for literally carving out their own niche in the cliff, thrown about by storms and tides.

. . . Rob Williams
http://www.robwilliams.ca

Two interesting announcements: Photosynth and TinEye

This past week I saw two interesting photographic announcements.

One announcement was Photosynth, a Microsoft endeavour that I first saw demonstrated in a short but mind-blowing Ted Talk by Blaise Aguera y Arcas. This is a fascinating application that combines a large number of photographs into a single "3D" continuum. You can browse the images, zoom in, out and move around, essentially providing a higher-order view of the images. It's quite amazing when the "synth" is done well. This "synth" of the Temple of Heaven in Beijing is a good example. The Photosynth website opens up this application to anyone who wants to try it.

A second announcement was TinEye Image Search, the kind if image search that I've always wanted, and the kind I expected Google to offer. This search engine uses a photograph as a search key, and uses pattern recognition to find that image on the web. It can also find alterations to the image, or use of the image in a collage. This concept is great -- it offers a way to see how an image is being used on the internet. The main drawback right now is that the image database is limited in size, and to be honest, it's too small for any practical use. However, the database is constantly expanding, and at some point it time, it will reach a critical mass of images. It's clear that this is a small start-up comany with a great idea. Hopefully they will get sufficient funding to make this search engine a go (or look for them to be acquired by one of the major players).

I really like the Photosynth app because it opens up a completely different way to process images -- a different concept of how to use and think about the billions of images available. In fact, both of these announcements open up the use of images on the web in a whole new way.

. . . Rob Williams
http://www.robwilliams.ca

Grand Manan Images: Castalia Beach

Castalia Beach at Sunset

The fog was thick in North Head, but at Castalia it was clear. This view looks north towards the fog bank which was letting the red glow of the sun peek through.

. . . Rob Williams
http://www.robwilliams.ca

Grand Manan Images: Men with Hats

Men with Hats

While driving along the Ingalls Head road towards Ingalls Head, you can see a line of posts with what looks like plastic buckets on top. So when the time came (i.e., a nice sunrise), I went out to see what these "men with hats" were all about. Well, here they are -- posts with old tires to protect some infilled land.

I almost called this post "We stand on Guard" using a phrase from Canada's national anthem. Instead, I used the first and only phrase that comes into my mind whenever I see these posts, "Men with Hats" after the musical group Men Without Hats.

. . . Rob Williams
http://www.robwilliams.ca