Joseph Pacheco, Author at The Blog Cache

Whether from an excited friend or random stranger on the trail admiring your brand new DSLR it is bound to occur. The phrase that basically means asks you if you’re a “serious” photographer which is,

“Are you shooting in RAW?”

Usually when we press, click, or tap to snap a photo with a digital camera of any kind there is a process that occurs almost instantaneously. The camera focuses light through a lens onto a sensor that absorbs light and records it as data which is then interpreted into an image by a processor. At this point you can see the image on your screen! This is fantastic for many of us as the end result is an immediately shareable picture.

But what happens when you shoot in this fabled RAW mode that is available on your camera? Well, it simply means that instead of an image processor developing the photo for you, you do it yourself with the raw data the camera sensor has collected! Still don’t understand? Let’s see if we can illustrate this better…

A camera sensor is like a sponge and light is like paint. When the sensor absorbs light it has a certain depth to it much like the sponge does having absorbed paint. Ultimately the end result in both cases could be seen as an absorption of information.

Now having saturated our sponge with information we could press it onto some paper and get a deep imprint of the paint, We could also gently dab it for a shallower imprint; Depending on how we press the sponge we have a specific result based on the same information. This would be much like developing a digital image from raw data. You would tweak settings in a processing program and get the result you want from the absorbed information. Adobe Lightroom is probably the most popular program for this. It is available for home computers, however, I will briefly demonstrate it on the Lightroom smartphone app version:

Comparing these two screenshots we see that the shadows were able to be altered. The camera had absorbed light from dark areas, but the processor interpreted the image in a way I didn’t prefer. With a quick tweak I am able to make my photos do what I intend with the light my sensor recorded. This capability is why shooting in RAW excites people so much. You have more control over how well your photo turns out after it has been taken.

Hopefully this helps some folks grasp what this whole “RAW” thing is and why it may or may not be for them. For those who are interested the Arboretum has a Lightroom Users Group that meets monthly. Keep an eye on our newsletter or check the events page at our website for upcoming meeting dates.

In the world of smartphones and virtual applications we have come to a new universe to explore. Augmented reality is finally gaining traction as Pokémon GO, one of the most downloaded mobile game apps of all time, has changed the way people interact with their environment and each other.

Make no mistake, there are many variables to consider when it comes to disruptive technology and Pokémon GO is no acception. With news stories about people stumbling upon corpses, or walking into traffic being quite prolific in the news and on our social media feeds, it is easy to feel it could do more bad than good. Of course this isn’t truly the case as many positive things come with new technology. In the case of Pokémon GO we at the Arboretum have found that the game’s developer has gone to great lengths to include real-world data in the game which opens up a slew of opportunities for knowledge transfer.

Much of our signage in the park has been designated as locations for players of the game to not only make gains in-game, but also serve to include the tangible environment as a part of this. Points along the trail have been highlighted as beneficial to visit for users seeking to get ahead. This acts as a prompt for individuals and groups to take part in learning is present on more than one platform.
Take for instance this sign about salt content in soil. The game prompts users as to the presence of information.

With the creativity of educators this can be pushed even further as it would offer students incentive to pay closer attention to the environment. In tandem with this point of interest is may be an in-game “gym” which is a larger area of interest to all who play the game. These gyms areas are essentially rally-points which tend to be in an area with seating and space; they’re perfect for harboring a group as a potential audience for an interpretive guide or a teacher to present.

Hopefully service providers to extend their reach to parks and garden as often they are not completely covered. The Arboretum out here in Superior, Arizona for the moment seems mostly compatible with only those on Verizon and T-mobile networks. We fully anticipate educators and those who operate in interpretive capacities will be looking closely at augmented reality apps to better information transfer. It is very exciting. It definitely doesn’t end here. If you would like to give it a try Pokémon GO is available on smartphone devices in both the Apple store and Google play.