Hacking Photography - one Picture at a time
We’ve been so used to hearing about the downsides of AI that it’s easy to overlook the potential benefits. A pioneering new project has developed an AI-assisted wildlife camera in order to protect endangered wildlife better.
The University of Stirling teamed up with Dutch tech start-up Hack The Planet to come up with this innovative device. In terms, the AI assists the camera in actually understanding the images as it snaps them.
Over the course of 2022, we featured an unusually high number of bear-related stories. So, is there a better way to conclude this year with another story featuring a bear? This one is about bear photography – but it’s the bear who is the photographer. Well, sort of. A chubby bear cub was caught on camera as it was “re-adjusting” it to get a different angle. And the results were pretty darn good, as the camera filmed many wild animals.
Trail cameras can tell us a lot about animal behavior and habits. They sometimes capture charming and utterly hilarious sights, and recently, there was quite a remarkable one. A trail camera in Papua New Guinea filmed an extremely rare and critically endangered black-naped pheasant-pigeon. The bird isn’t only super-rare, but this is the first time it has been spotted since its discovery – which was in 1882!
It’s kind of tough as a mama to admit it, but occasionally your kids can behave a bit like little punks. And bear cubs are no exception. This little cub was caught on trail cam testing out his mother’s patience. When she put him back in his place he took out his frustration on the camera. Twice. The second time succeeding in knocking it over.
The scientists monitoring the footage even went so far as to call the cub “a little twerp”. He’s a little young for such teenage antics, but the footage is both adorable and funny. Particularly if you have your own little punk at home.
Trail cameras offer a wonderful insight into the natural world around us. Often they’re fully automated to capture what wildlife does when we’re not around. After all, they usually get spooked pretty easily. I have a camera set up in the backyard for that very purpose. We often get foxes, deer and badgers entering the garden during the night.
But what wildlife photographer Levi Dojczman has done, however, is take it to the extreme. He built a custom trail camera with a DIY tree-bracket, Sony A6100, 200-600mm lens and a 60ft remote cable to let him shoot the animals he wants to see without being anywhere near them.
When photographer Jeff Wirth set up his trail camera on a log, he was hoping to take photos of bobcats. Little did he know that, other than wild animals, he’d also end up with a photo of a dude with a wild sense of humor. While he was going through photos, Jeff noticed a photo of a guy who struck a pose on the log. The photo made him laugh really hard, and Jeff kindly shared the laughs and the photo with the rest of us.
Well, this is messed up. A warning has been issued that IEDs have been found in Harlan County, Kentucky. The IEDs in question are hidden inside trail cameras. So far, nine such devices have been discovered. Sadly, some have already detonated, permanently injuring at least one member of the public. But officials believe there are more out there.
Outdoor Hub reported in June that cameras were being investigated. Initially suspected that the explosives were a way to deter thieves, the reality ia a little more sinister. The Lexington Herald Leader reported that after a man lost several fingers in an explosion, police arrested Mark Sawaf after materials connected to the IEDs were found in his trash. A note found amongst evidence found at the home suggests he didn’t want to just deter thieves, but maim or even kill them.
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