!!Con 2020 - Recreating Photography of the 1850s in a Digital World: by Phil Warren

Recreating Photography of the 1850s in a Digital World: Cowboys, Principal Component Analysis, and One Vengeful Volcano Spirit!!! by Phil Warren Ever wonder why photos taken from the civil war era make the subject look ridden hard and put away wet? Exploring the chemical properties from those photos, we can learn why conventional modern cameras can’t naturally photograph the same way, and how we can hack them to get closer. Along the way we’ll employ the help of some principal component analysis on a 3 dimensional volume of color-sorted pixels to make our weird novel data look correct. Then we’ll make portraiture with glowing eyes and unseen freckles, because we’ll learn how to make and use UV-sensitive digital photography- and learn a thing or two* about vengeful volcano spirits! *only one thing will be learned about a singular vengeful volcano spirit. Phil Warren works in R&D in image technology, and enjoys adventures, eating things, and meeting people. He wants to explore and see everything, and discover new ways to do so. His skillset does not include competently hang gliding or playing a singing saw, but he’s tried it anyway, and hopes to try many more esoteric pastimes!