By Ian Hollidae, 2026/01/31

As someone who uses open-source software whenever feasible, this looks like good news for the FOSS world:

"This membership is a significant acknowledgement of Blender becoming more embedded in high-end animation studios' workflows. I deeply appreciate this strategic initiative from Netflix Animation Studios as an investment in a diverse, public, and open-source friendly ecosystem of creative tools that will benefit the global community of content creators."

-- Francesco Siddi, CEO Blender

What Blender is doing should be considered a big achievement. No one will credibly claim GIMP is challenging Photoshop or Inkscape is challenging Illustrator. And yet, Blender seems to be a viable alternative to major players like Maya.

If only I could find more time to dive deeper into Blender usage.

Tags: Graphics

By Ian Hollidae, 2026/01/20

This is a new-ish sidewalk with some uneven brushing. There's also traces of a boot print. Since the rest of the sidewalk looked normal, I can only assume whoever did the brushing was in a hurry to finish. I tried to catch the more interesting sections which I thought could make a good flooring texture.

Select a thumbnail to see a preview.

Download the Brushed Concrete texture set under Creative Commons (CC BY 4.0).

Tags: Textures

By Ian Hollidae, 2026/01/14

With the announcement that Bandcamp has banned AI, the obvious question is whether or not they can enforce the policy. The more I read about AI developments, the more I think the way forward is to simply continue doing the things AI can't. As humans, we can be creative, original and inspirational. We can also understand that advancement will always be with us in some form whatever we decide to call it. And if AI didn't currently exist as a problem, there would be something else.

We'll survive. It's something humans can do.

Tags: AI

By Ian Hollidae, 2026/01/04

It's safe to say that copyright reform in the digital age has been underwhelming. So when I saw the news regarding the Visual Artists Copyright Reform Act of 2025 (VACRA) that is being considered, I took it as a positive step. It also appears the bill has substantial support, including the ASMP:

"VACRA breaks down the barriers that prevent so many creators and photographers across the country from being able to protect the fruits of their life's work and passion...These sorely needed and common-sense reforms are long overdue and are a first step in bringing so many artists back into the very copyright system that is designed to support their efforts in the creative economy. ASMP applauds Senator Blackburn and Senator Welch for their leadership and support of VACRA, and the far-reaching effects this bill will have on photographers and all visual creators in this country."

-- Thomas Maddrey, ASMP CEO

The main goals of VACRA is it increases limits for group registration submissions, allows for deferred registrations, and introduces subscription models and third-party registries.

I'm sure there will be the usual "will this be effective" or "it doesn't do enough debate". But at this point, even small steps forward is probably good news. I'll take it.

Tags: Photography

By Ian Hollidae, 2025/12/17

This is the lone window in what is otherwise a long, ordinary stone wall. It appears to be an abandoned shed or storage spot. Why the structure is embedded like this, as opposed to being separate, is unknown. It was also unimportant. This was an object of curiosity, so it got added to my to-do list.

Additionally, this picture provided an interesting lesson from a beginners point of view. It was the first photo where the "rules" of photography didn't seem to improve my shot. A straight forward take always produced the most satisfying result. From this photo on, my focus was more on the result as opposed to the process.

Photo Only

This post is a continuation of the Beginners Photography Project.

Tags: Feature Photos

By Ian Hollidae, 2025/12/12

Let me say this up front: the only reason I have cable is sports. I do watch a few of the basic movie channels (TCM, Flix, Sundance) but they aren't actually needed. If I could get a sports-only subscription, that's the route I would take. Since I can't, my only options are to continue on as I've been doing or sign up for multiple sports streaming services. Neither path is optimal.

However, this all could be changing with the news that YouTube will start offering genre-specific subscriptions. The details haven't been released and the specific offerings will probably determine each bundles success. What's really important though is if YouTube is willing to bundle up specific packages, all the other streaming services might have to follow suit. Will this finally be the start of true a la carte TV?

I certainly hope so.

Tags: Streaming

By Ian Hollidae, 2025/12/08

A clear summary of where photography currently sits in the multimedia landscape:

...art saved itself by abandoning the function that cameras could perform better, even without color. This shift from depiction to expression gave rise to the artistic movements of the early twentieth century and allowed painting to remain art. Today, photography faces the same moment.

Photography now faces the same need to redefine its role within a visual economy.

Tags: Photography

By Ian Hollidae, 2025/12/03

I've been trying to put the recent Netflix decision to drop support for casting videos from users phones to connected TV's (CTVs) into perspective. After doing some searching, there seems to be conflicting data regarding how people watch television. Some reports claim that smartphone and tablets are the primary method for streaming content. YouTube itself says that more people than ever watch their service on CTVs. Several of Google's AI summaries says there is no official data regarding how many people cast to TV's. Right.

I'm guessing Netflix has enough coverage through pre-installed TV apps that supporting phone casting no longer makes sense. That might open the door to charging for the casting feature down the line. You have to wonder what kind of push back that might generate. But seeing how this news has only caused a moderate response, it may not be too big a deal.

For now, this is clearly a Netflix thing. If other streamers follow, we could certainly call it the latest change in the market.

Tags: Streaming

By Ian Hollidae, 2025/11/26

It appears that HP and Dell are disabling playback of videos that use the HEVC format on certain PC models because the licensing fee is set to increase in 2026. This obviously brings up a number of questions such as will other venders follow suit, how many end users will ultimately be affected, and how big of a problem will this turn out to be.

From my own perspective, I wonder if this could be the beginning of the end for proprietary formats given the rising importance of video in so many areas such as entertainment and communications. I have to imagine that every major streaming and video chat service, and anyone looking to start a new service, will be looking to cut delivery cost any way they can. And as for the end users, who care nothing about licensing agreements, how many times will they put up with disruptions to vital features.

Regardless of how this all plays out, royalty free formats such as AV1 seem like they have an increasingly bright future.

Tags: Streaming

By Ian Hollidae, 2025/11/19

This is the concrete pavement of a large covered sitting area at a nearby park. There were plenty of colored sections to choose from (green, blue, etc) but the red sections stood out. I can certainly see this texture being used for floors, walls, and maybe, vases.

Interestingly, after I shot this, I learned that the colored fragments were glass. I had always assumed they were rock. If that's true, I guess it's one of the many things you discover while researching your subject.

Select a thumbnail to see a preview.

Download the Sprinked Colors texture set under Creative Commons (CC BY 4.0).

Tags: Textures