Enhanced Chess Art
The top row of the following composite image shows three 'photos' that were on my short list for this month's featured Flickr photo. When I checked for other chess photos by the same photographer, I found the 'photo' on the bottom row, which I had already added to my favorites a year ago. Which one to use for this post? I decided to use them all.
Top:
'Two Old Friends Playing Chess' (three views)
Bottom:
Afternoon Chess
© Flickr user Tom McSparron
under
Creative Commons.
Why put 'photos' in inverted commas (' ')? Because I didn't understand how they were done. The photo in the middle of the top row had no description other than
2_1920x1920_U_100_Original ratio
and a single tag that said,
Web Sharp Pro: Original ratio
The phrase 'Original ratio' is self-explanatory, so the only actionable info in those two strings is 'Web Sharp Pro'. This leads to Web Sharp PRO panel by Greg Benz (exchange.adobe.com), where a comment to the page informs,
WSP is a plugin that goes way beyond just cropping and sharpening in certain aspect ratios -- which it does powerfully, and well. The developer, Greg Benz, is also using it to keep folks abreast of the rapidly changing HDR landscape and leverage HDR for social media posts.
A Google search on 'HDR social media' gives the first result under the heading 'AI Overview'. It starts,
Instagram and Threads now support HDR (High Dynamic Range) photos, enhancing visual content with a wider range of colors and dynamic range, especially on HDR-capable displays. This means users can share more realistic and vibrant images, particularly those captured with smartphone cameras. Here's a breakdown of HDR on social media: [...] • Generative AI is experimental
As for the photographer responsible for the four photos, a search on 'Tom McSparron' leads to Tom and Lorraine McSparron (fineartamerica.com). There we learn,
After retiring from 'Corporate America', we both needed something new to keep us busy & entertained. We both decided on photography as that new hobby. Most of our pictures are from different parts of Colorado and the surrounding states, as we travel. Tom enjoys working in Photoshop to take a digital image from a photography to an enhanced art image.
Now I understand how the 'photos' were done.