Thanks, Photopea!

According to The Verge …

Adobe has started testing a free-to-use version of Photoshop on the web and plans to open the service up to everyone as a way to introduce more users to the app. Source Credit: Adobe plans to make Photoshop on the web free to everyone, by Jacob Kastrenakes.

Way to go Photopea — looks like you might have helped to nudge Adobe out of its complacency!

Related Resources

• The Verge: Adobe plans to make Photoshop on the web free to everyone, by Jacob Kastrenakes.
• 9to5Mac: Photoshop on the web free in Canada; more regions on the way, by Allison McDaniel.
• Engadget: Adobe will release a free version of Photoshop for browsers, by A. Khalid.

Copyright © 2022 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.

Post update: What is it?

I was surprised no one commented on my last blog post. I guess the mystery object was too easy to identify. I will try to make the next installment of “What is it?” more challenging.

The photos show two views of a bullet from the Civil War that was discovered (using a metal detector) by my nephew Tim Roberts near his boyhood home in Warrenton, Virginia USA.

Notice there are two rings around the base of the bullet. That indicates the bullet was made for the Confederate Army.

Copyright © 2022 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.

What is it?

Ladies and gentlemen, children of all ages. It’s time for another exciting episode of “What is it?”

If you think you know what is shown in these photos, then please leave a comment. The answer will be revealed in a post update.

Copyright © 2022 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.

Fossil shark tooth, revisited

This blog post features a photo of a fossil shark tooth that I collected from the Lee Creek Phosphate Mine in Aurora, North Carolina. I didn’t record the exact date when I collected this specimen, but it was sometime between 1984 and 1989. The mine is currently open for phosphate mining, but it’s closed to the public for fossil collecting.

At the time I collected the tooth, the species of shark was called Carcharodon megalodon. Subsequently, the scientific name was changed to Carcharocles megalodon.

C. megalodon lived in “shallow” seas approximately 10 million years ago. 10 million years seems like a long time on the human time scale, but isn’t long ago on the Geologic Time Scale.

Size and jaw placement

The following annotated image shows one method for measuring the size of a fossil shark tooth. The “slant height” of the tooth is approximately four and one-quarter inches (~4 1/4″) long, as measured along the straighter edge of the tooth (lower edge, relative to the photo).

According to Gareth Williams, a member of the Megalodon Maniacs Facebook group, the tooth is from the upper jaw (lateral).

Lee Creek Phosphate Mine | C. megalodon (lingual side)

Photoblog post flashback

On 11 May 2020 I published a blog post entitled “Focus bracketing using Fujifilm X-T3” that features the same ruler shown in the preceding photo.

The 7″ plastic ruler is from the Calvert Marine Museum. Do you know why the small ruler is 7″ long rather than the more common 6″ length? Please leave a comment if you know the correct answer. Source Credit: Focus bracketing using Fujifilm X-T3.

The reason the ruler is 7″ inches long is because that’s the length of the largest fossil shark teeth ever collected — the holy grail for fossil hunters!

Tech Tips

The Adobe Photoshop “Ruler Tool” can be used to measure the number of pixels between any two points along the ruler shown in the preceding annotated image.

60s ‘shop: Using the ruler tool to measure distances in Photoshop CC, by Photoshop for the Scientist (1:00) provides a clear and concise explanation of how it’s done.

The resulting value (in pixels) can be used to set a custom scale in Photoshop in order to make other measurements of the tooth virtually.

Related Resources

• Fossil shark tooth, a blog post by Walter Sanford published on 16 September 2011. Whoa, I’ve been blogging a long time! As expected, an 11 year-old blog post includes some broken links.
• Fossil shark tooth, a recent blog post by Walter Sanford
• Saved post from “Megalodon Maniacs” Facebook group
• How to measure a fossilized shark tooth
• 60s ‘shop: Using the ruler tool to measure distances in Photoshop CC, by Photoshop for the Scientist (1:00). See also Setting a Custom Scale and Measuring in Photoshop (7:10).
• The Size Of Megalodon (see section entitled “Worlds Largest Megalodon Teeth“)

Copyright © 2022 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.

GoPro: “ProTune” is back, baby!

GoPro taketh-away; GoPro giveth back. What?

Thanks to Australian YouTuber Danny Black for a heads-up that the “GoPro Quik” app features the “ProTune” settings again. (See GoPro Tip No. 1 in the following video.)

The following screen captures from my Apple iPad mini 6 running the “GoPro Quik” app show the “ProTune” settings under “Video Settings,” “Photo Settings” …

“GoPro Quik” app | Settings

and “Time Lapse Settings.” Yep, “Protune” is back, baby!

“GoPro Quik” app | Settings

The “ProTune” settings are featured in Version 10.15 of the “GoPro Quik” app, the current version available from the Apple App Store as of this writing.

This is kind of a big deal. I wonder why GoPro didn’t mention the return of the “ProTune” settings in the Version History? It’s just so GoPro to fumble the ball like this!

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Copyright © 2022 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.

Fossil shark tooth

Sometimes I start working on a blog post by shooting some quick-and-dirty test shots of the subject, such as the following photos of a fossil shark tooth taken using the “Camera” app on my Apple iPad mini 6. Both photos featured in this post are unedited, that is, they are the original JPGs straight from the “Photos” app on the iPad.

Labial side

The first photo was taken with the built-in camera flash turned on. In my opinion, the light is a little too “harsh.”

The photo shows the side of the tooth that faces outward from the mouth of the shark. Notice the tooth edges are serrated.

There are at least two ways to measure the size of a fossil shark tooth. (More about how to measure shark teeth in a follow-up blog post.) This tooth is approximately four and one-quarter inches (~4 1/4″), as measured along the straighter edge of the tooth (right side, relative to the photo).

Lingual side

The last photo was taken was taken using a small LED light and the flash turned off. The LED lighting is better than the flash light, but the specular reflection located near the upper-middle of the tooth enamel is a little distracting.

The photo shows the side of the tooth that faces inward. Three prominent parts of the tooth are easy to identify in the following photo, including the crown/enamel (top), bourlette (middle), and root (bottom).

In the opinion of the author, the lingual side of a shark tooth is often displayed because it is more visually appealing than the labial side.

What’s next?

I plan to shoot better photos, of course, and annotate some of them in order to make it easier to identify the parts of the tooth.

I will describe when and where I collected the fossil shark tooth, identify the species of shark, and provide an estimate of its approximate age on the Geologic Time Scale.

Finally I will explain how to measure the size of a fossil shark tooth, and how to determine whether the tooth is from the upper- or lower jaw, including its approximate position along the jaw line.

Related Resource: Fossil shark tooth, revisited.

Copyright © 2022 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.

Happy summer!

01 June is the first day of summer. What? Perhaps you’re thinking, no that’s incorrect — the first day of summer is on the day of the June Solstice that occurs annually around 21 June. Well, as it turns out both of us are correct.

Atmospheric scientists, including climatologists and meteorologists, define summer as the three-month time period that includes June, July, and August. Astronomers define summer as the three-month time period from the June Solstice to the September Equinox.

Now you know. Again I say, Happy summer!

Related Resource: The Seasons, the Equinox, and the Soltices (by the National Weather Service).

Copyright © 2022 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.