read.cash Log in
@valo

@valo in February 2023

@valo

The pictures came to existence using the more abstract prompt "life us hard". I have been struggling a lot with depression and anxiety lately, so it's matching decently my state of mind at the moment. There's this imaginary world that I roam through, expecting it to save me from the hard facts of reality. Escapism is a big thing for me. It's a survival mechanism I developed as a child. #Artwork #Digitalart

@valo

"Love is an illusion" - an abstract artwork I generated in starryai. An illusion Love can be an illusion. You believe that love will last forever - just like in fiction and movies. And it really feels like that when you are head over heels for your new partner. But... maybe you are in love with the wrong person. Or you believe that you are in love when you are, in fact, simply physically attracted. Unrequited love is easily among the harshest feeling that one may ever…

@valo

Motivation and realistic goals Setting up too ambitious goals is a recipe for disaster. Just like New Year's resolutions. Those life-changing goals that we claim we're going to achieve are simply too much to handle, even with the best of intentions. So, to make the journey more plausible, I set the goal of going out on 4 days of the week. That's a pretty good start compared to my usual 1-2 times. I still have some suspicions that I'll start slacking off but shame and…

@valo

Painting colour to black-and-white photos This might be slightly controversial, but I decided to share how I processed black-and-white film photos with the app Colorize (I’m not an affiliate). It uses AI to restore colour in old photos, so I decided to give it a try. It is not perfect and sometimes downright fails, but it manages surprisingly well on most occasions. I believe that they have optimised it for portraits and maybe landscapes. I rarely shoot people, so I have not…

@valo

Oh, no, I nearly missed to post my report with the steps from yesterday. I forced myself to go for a walk and it was tiring but good. Sadly, I have only a couple of minutes left before midnight, so I have to keep this short. I hope I haven't shared this picture already.

@valo

Rubinar 500mm f/5.6 - "macro" mode use Some time ago, I wrote about one of my lenses, the MTO 500mm f/8, a nice mirror lens that I bought several years ago. I made a basic schematic and explained a bit about how the lens works and how it differs from traditional constructions. Today I am continuing the story about this interesting construction, telling about the MTO's cousin, the Rubinar 500mm f/5.6.really huge one. It came with a set of colour filters. At 1.2 kg (2.6…

@valo

Moving even you don't want to My exercise goals have been a total disaster lately. Last week, I only managed to reach 5k steps twice. Conveniently enough, I forgot to post the report the second time... silly me. Not the first time, and certainly, it won't be the last one, either. Reasons and excuses... read more :https://www.publish0x.com/valo/moving-even-you-dont-want-to-xxznqdo

@valo

Infrared photography: Oslo at 760+ nm Infrared photography is fascinating. It takes some skill to imagine what objects will look like after the camera filters out the visible light, and (often) we turn the saturation slider to a minimum. I have been thinking of a post (or a series) dedicated to infrared photography. I will start with some examples that I have taken using a 760 nm filter on a camera whose IR-cut filter has been removed from the sensor. To clarify succinctly,…

@valo

Yesterday, I was out in the city going from one place to another and I managed to reach 10k which made me feel successful, but also totally drained. I'm really trying to see the light, but lately it's often difficult. Art is my outlet (surprise, surprise), and hives me some peace. If you're also struggling with your mental health, you can also try generative art like fractals or AI-based. My head is too messy to write something meaningful, so I'll stop here with my report.

@valo

This week has started equally bad, but at least on Monday, I managed to reach just over 5000 steps - they are what you see on this report. Tuesday's result so far is 4500 steps with just 18 minutes to go. And migraine corroding my brain. Maybe I'll make it. I created lots of AI-generated pictures and some fractals last week. I always end up resorting to art when something goes wrong. Due to the hurry, I'm only adding two of them, and I'll explain about it tomorrow... if I…

@valo

My exercise goals have been a total disaster in the pas 10 days. Last week, I only managed to reach 5k steps twice. Conveniently enough, I forgot to post the report the second time... silly me. Not the first time, and certainly it won't be the last one, either. Reasons and excuses... my mental and physical health going off the rails. There's this annoying combination of migraine, seizures, depression, anxiety and sleep problems that trigger each other. Combine these with a…

@valo

Yesterday evening, I was short on steps and I had to push myself a bit to reach 5000 steps. The last 500 ones came in the last 15 minutes... but apparently, I made it! This means that so far, I have 2/7 days. And since this is yesterday's result... I'll give out a little secret. Today I got myself out and moving, so it's already 3/7, yay! One more active day and the weekly goal will end up fulfilled! So, yesterday, I only shared a couple of AI-generated pictures because I…

@valo

I tried "facing hardships". Yes, it's too abstract for an AI, and even though the picture is beautiful, I wouldn't say it depicts the idea. Maybe in the future it will understand such concepts better. Or maybe I should've chosen another method. Maybe a human figure would have been more appropriate. "life is hard", I like the small human figure on the hill. He or she seems to be leaving, having come across a mountain and a river or a lake. The sky is mysterious and dreamy,…

@valo

Last week, I failed to reach my goal of at least 5k steps at least four times during the week. This week has started well, and on each day so far, I have reached the goal. My absent-mindedness forgot to publish Monday's report, though. On Tuesday, I took a long lunch break and in nature to enjoy a bit of sunlight. These 13k steps were gathered during my trip. Due to lack of time, i.e., being too distracted as usual, I'm only sharing one AI-generated picture I obtained with…

@valo

Searching for the light Gloominess is all-absorbing, but I'm trying to find the light. It will eventually come, even though right now, I'm stuck in a deep hole and digging deeper and deeper. My weekly walking goals have failed twice in a row. It has been ages since I last posted on Actifit. On one occasion, I forgot. There went my 12k from a pleasant long walk. In two other cases, my phone had killed the app, and at the end of the day, I only had 100 steps or so, even though…

@valo

I like spending time in nature, and there always are several cameras in my bag when I go for a walk. Here are some old photos that I have taken over the years. Back then, I only had two Canon lenses. It was still my pre-vintage era. It seems that I have always been after a shallow depth of field.

@valo

It's Friday again which means it's time to go through my photos of mushrooms. This time the search did not take long. Even though mushrooms are most abundant in autumn, spring brings out some nice surprises, too. Morchella mushrooms are unusual spongy species that form cavernous structures on their caps. The mushroom inside is hollow, as you can see in my photo below where one of them has probably fallen apart due to old age. Morchellas are supposed to be fairly common, yet,…

@valo

My camera was not with me but thankfully my phone was able to capture these beauties well enough. To spice up the photos a bit, I processed them in an app to add some extra character to the picture. You can also see the unprocessed picture for reference. Morchella mushrooms, or true morels, are a type of edible mushroom valued for their flavour. I have not tasted them myself, but I am a mushroom friend and avoid eating any. It should be noted that morels are actually toxic…

@valo

Painting colour to black-and-white photos This might be slightly controversial, but I decided to share how I processed black-and-white film photos with the app Colorize (I’m not an affiliate). It uses AI to restore colour in old photos, so I decided to give it a try. It is not perfect and sometimes downright fails, but it manages surprisingly well on most occasions. I believe that they have optimised it for portraits and maybe landscapes. I rarely shoot people, so I have not…

@valo

Every time I see a BW photography contest, I'm excited to join since I'm a big fan of film photography. This is a citrin gemstone from up close. I'm afraid I don't remember what lens I used. There's no EXIF data on a film! At least the camera is Asahi Spotmatic.

@valo

I just learned that there are insects called fig wasps that end up laying eggs inside the fruit of fig trees and their larvae hatch while the fig is ripening. (Reference) I think I will stop eating figs... Some species of wasps are actually predators. They look a bit different from the usual wasps that sometimes pester us. I remember taking photos of predatory wasps in the wild but finding the photos would be a challenge. Speaking of looks, commonly seen wasps are somewhat…

@valo

These were starting to look quite realistic, so I decided to try a photorealistic image where I specify that I want an aerial view towards the mountains, using a wide angle lens, and so on. The results are scary. I mean, beautiful, but one starts thinking how long it will take for AI to become a better photographer than most people... Follow me on my blog to read more Publish0x https://www.publish0x.com/-/exciting-overview-of-week-1-my-actifit-report-card-january-6-xjrvjzv…

@valo

I don't have a fitness tracker bracelet or a smart watch and my step count comes from my phone's sensor. Yesterday, I was doing housework and kept it in my pocket most of the day. My only outing was to get some groceries, yet surprisingly, I had somehow hit 6k steps. Conclusion - housework is healthy! To honour that, today's AI-generated picture came to life with the prompt "A cosy cottage". I'd like to own a cottage in the wilderness one day. I want to have a safe sanctuary…

@valo

This will be another concise report with only one AI-generated picture. I have been struggling a lot in the past few days. My exercise goals are failing. Twice I didn't notice that Actifit has turned off. My phone often kills the app, and my steps aren't tracked. I haven't lost hope but the gloominess is toxic. A certain event yesterday truly left me truly speechless. This is the prompt for today.

@valo

Lack of direction As the title of this post says, I've lost the direction of my life, so I've taken up self-discovery. It's nice to try and connect with one's own wishes, especially at times when you feel like you've dug yourself into such a deep hole that no light passes in anymore... Visit my Hive account to read more about the Lack of direction https://ecency.com/hive-193552/@taimen/actifit-taimen-20230222t213814972z