To begin, the idea of this project is to focus on a subject and move backwards while still focusing and keeping the size of the subject the same. Because of this, we get to notice the background of the photo change as we change our position. I borrowed my friends Nikon camera in order to create the photos and gifs shown below.
For this project, I began by attempting to take photos individually while changing the focus to keep the subject of the pictures the same size. At first, I practiced taking photos of the apple trying to keep it at the same size against the ground.
However, it is clearly really hard to notice a difference in the background because the floor doesn't really alter as we move away from the apple. Therefore, I tried againt to have the apple against Evan's wall.
Because of this, I talked to my friends who were much familiar with cameras and they recommended me to try taking videos instead. After a couple attempts, I actually got some very cool Vertigo videos featuring my friend and this jar of jelly beans.
To begin, the idea of this project is to use an energy function to essentially map out the values within a picture. Given this energy mapping, we determine the least important path using dynamic programming from one end of the picture to the other end and after defining this path, we remove that pixel worth from the picture, which essentially shirnks the photo. We can repeat this for multiple iterations until we get to some size we want for our images. Because the energy value for a path is higly determinant of the type of energy function we use, not all pictures may turn out as they should because the lowest energy of a path could actually cause certain parts of the image to become deformed.
For this project, I began by taking random photos across my apartment and outside my apartment. I followed the guide on the project website and took photos with backgrounds that feature more of a plain view so that we can really see a change in the sizing of photos. Here are some very successful pictures that I received. If you notice the area between the objects, you can tell where the background space decreased, leaving the more noticeable parts of the picture intact.
On the otherhand, here are some photos where it doesn't turn out as well. On this first picture, we see that the heater's left edge becomes deformed and not a straight line, especially where the head of the rose is.
On this picture, we can really notice that the fire hydrant becomes really squished and deformed as well.
Depending on the energy function, I'm certain that it changes which types of photos work better with seam carving and which don't. Like the paper notes, using a different type of energy function changes the seams which we decide to carve out.