Thanks for the comment. As to the size of the pictures I use on the web page, there are several factors that led me to not go with larger sizes. First I wanted to integrate the large image within the web page layout which placed a limit on width. Second there is the issue of misappropriation of images, even with watermarks. I know of several instances where artists have had images from their web sites taken, enlarged, and re-marketed by others for financial gain.

Note that I’ve just posted a new image to my site (Zero Energy in the Abstract Gallery) and for that image I do reproduce at full size a 3 by 2 inch portion of the picture.

I liked the pictures. I followed the links to the pictures but they’re not all that big. Why don’t you make the pictures bigger like wallpaper size?

As to population, having an independent branch of humanity living on Mars is less about dealing with over population and more about insuring the long term survival of humanity because right now we have all of our eggs in one basket.

The point is that Auto Levels is not a color correction tool - it’s a contrast enhancement tool. As you can see in my image, if you shoot a picture in an environment where red is the predominant color, auto-levels over-compensates in the other channels with the result being that any thing that tends towards white becomes white.

From your second paragraph, I take it that you believe Hoagland’s claims. I’m sorry to hear that. Having had a life long interest in Mars, and regularly lecturing on the subject, I truly wish that Mars was a more Earth-like planet with a blue sky.

For anyone to claim that NASA and company are hiding evidence of an Earthlike Mars is truly ridiculous. It is in NASA’s, and the planetary scientist community, self-interest to have an Earth-like Mars. The dollars would really role in if that were the case. The fact that NASA and the planetary scientist community are taking a position that is not in either their financial or bureaucratic self-interest speaks volumes, as opposed to Hoagland’s position where it is in his financial and promotional self-interest to claim a big NASA cover up.

Thanks for your comments Steve.

Jim

Do you know if if Daniel posted his MDRS pictures on the net somewhere? Sounds like something that should be on the Mars Society web site. Haven’t checked myself.

Best of luck to you, Jim

Interestingly, at Mars Desert Research Station the professional photographer (Daniel Bayer) brought a flash with a blue gell filter on it for his outside photos. He then color “corrected” the images on the camera to the red side, so that he Utah area looked that much more mars-like in his pictures. The results were remarkable and very, very well done. Our shots looked a bit like Mars, his were perfectly Martian (except for the sky).

Caling it an evil conspiracy is silly, but the results are how we’d see things if we are on Mars, how the cameras actually see things, and fits the colors of the surface of Mars that we see from the Hubble, as well.

On theory is NASA is hyper-sensitive to a “Capricorn One” type conspiracy theory, and Mars looks way too much like Arizona for some people.

I too have used Autostitch and can also recommend it - especially since it not only works well but is free.

As to PanoramaPlus, the version 1 software was a big disappointment to me and it was less functional than Autostitch.

Call me foolish but subsequent to the original post, and in spite of my dissatisfaction with version 1, I did go out and buy version 3. It is far better than version 1 in that you can create full size versions of your panorama and have options as to the format for saving.

I’m still not fully satisfied with either the user interface or its ability to assemble panoramas and may one day purchase another product to see if I can get better results.

I haven’t tried the Serif product, but the basic engine has a number of settings under “EDIT” -> “Options” that you can tinker with, including specifying the width (or height) of the output file and JPG quality (default there is 75, but you can change it). Having used other Serif products (their DTP, PagePlus, in particular) in the past, it would surprise me greatly if PanoramaPlus were any less functional…