The Future of Photography

This week Ade and Chris try to leave the science behind and talk philosophy. They almost manage it, but not quite. There is an amusing interlude while we try to imagine what art critics think and then the reality of what the real critics - friends and family - might say. Also, would you be interested in a TFOP meetup, workshop and live recording? Register your interest here and we will start developing the ideas!

At the family holiday festivities, Ade saw kids as young as 8 get drones as presents. "Holy Flying Menace, Batman" he thought to himself. He quickly ran to safety and started researching the mainstream acceptance of consumer-grade drones. Even common newspapers had buying guides. Also this week, hilarity ensues when Chris flies his own drone indoors and crashes it :-) Would you be interested in a TFOP meetup in the UK in 2018? Potential for knowledge sharing, playing with other people's toys, recording a live show... If that sounds like fun to you, please let us know by registering your interest.

What if I want to climb a mountain to take photos or videos? What if I am a keen cyclist? What if I am a scuba diver?Traditionally I needed bespoke kit but now technology is helping us out. Do I still need an enormous DSLR or can I do something else? This week Ade and Chris talk about mobility with photo kit and how you can achieve it. What's out there today that's tiny and cool? Where does it go next? What (if anything) does this mean for the future of photography? Some fun 360 degree toys... Nicolas Cage Can Now Be Put Into Any Movie in History

Don't forget to let us know if you're interested in our 2018 TFOP meetup and just a reminder: you can make a difference and support us with a small contribution.

Chris and Ade explore some new research that just came out of Nvidia, a manufacturer of graphics and machine learning hardware. In the future it will be possible to translate a winter image into a summer image or a corgi into a german shepherd and they are showing that in a set of impressive demos. TFOP 002 Depth. Research website. Example video 1. Example video 2. Explanation video. [Slightly NSFW] Face swapping for fake p*rn.

Today's lenses are made of solid glass. This makes bigger lenses heavy and bulky. While fresnel lenses have managed to make lenses flatter by splitting them up in concentric circles of lens segments, they have always had some level of quality loss which makes them not ideal to use in photographic applications. Microsoft has now patented a flat lens that uses tiny nano structures on a flat surface to bend light similar to what a traditional lens does. For the future of photography this could mean smaller lenses and thinner smartphones without a camera bump. Don't forget, our robot still has no name and you could choose it and win a t-shirt! Make as many suggestions as you like here by 24th December.