Photo fakery in the computer age: a $200 program could put the Eiffel Tower in Times Square
Article Abstract:
Computer techniques make it easier to retouch or to fake a photograph. An original photo is itself photographed using a charge couple device camera, and the image is broken into tiny pixels. The color or hue or intensity of each pixel is stored digitally, so that an image can be retrieved and manipulated. The manipulations can generate startling new images. New elements can be blended in so that a picture cannot be differentiated from an original photo. Even an expert might not find technical inconsistencies. And equipment needed to accomplish photographic forgery need not be expensive: photographic retouching can be done using an electronic scanning device, which can be purchased for less than $200. Photo forgeries are a subject of particular interest because of recent photos that depict American MIAs (servicepeople missing in action) alive in Indochina.
Publication Name: The New York Times
Subject: News, opinion and commentary
ISSN: 0362-4331
Year: 1991
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Computers help fill in the gaps of Pompeii's past
Article Abstract:
Archaeology finds a new application for computer image reconstruction and enhancement technology. Fiat Engineering and IBM Italy have put together an exhibit of artifacts from Pompeii, Italy at the IBM Gallery of Science and Art in NYC. Computer experts from IBM created a data base and worked with scientists on the reconstruction of some of the remains. Computer technology is especially useful in the restoration of illegible texts by increasing the contrast between the background papyrus and the inked letters. Other computerized reconstruction techniques can be used to fill in gaps in frescoes by performing computer analyses of the colors in the painting and filling in the background with similar shades. The data base is also used in generation of maps of the excavation sites.
Publication Name: The New York Times
Subject: News, opinion and commentary
ISSN: 0362-4331
Year: 1990
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'Magic' crystals: key to new technologies?
Article Abstract:
'Photorefractive nonlinear optics' involves a class of materials that exhibit unusual qualities - bending light, changing its color or mirroring it. Physicists think that such odd behavior might signify the dawn of a new family of technologies. Telephone systems, say the scientists, might be more efficient and cheaper; computers might be more flexible and intelligent; and lasers might be more powerful. Optical materials, say the scientists, may eventually take over tasks now performed by semiconductor devices. Organizations backing research into photorefractives include communications companies and the US Department of Defense.
Publication Name: The New York Times
Subject: News, opinion and commentary
ISSN: 0362-4331
Year: 1990
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