New to me 2.0.1

So another new 2.0 technology I’ve come across is online photo editing. One such site:

http://www.pixlr.com/

Even the concept of online photo editing is both terrific in its technology and fascinating in how quickly this technology has hit the mainstream. A mere 10 years ago this technology was a pipedream, inhibited by the immense processing power required. Not to mention the skill level of the user. As a photographer I’m perplexed by the fading away of film. I enjoy the instant gratification of digital, but I lament that many photographers are losing their technical skill, ironically, by not learning the concepts of depth of field, fast shutter speeds or how to create effects with analog tools.

Of course the functionality of this site is really impressive, on par with Photoshop Elements. One may crop, rotate, sharpen, resize or add filter effects. The tools are limited and simplified for novice users but this is an incredibly handy online image editor. The online application was developed by a Swedish team of programmers. The API is available for those who would like to incorporate use of the editor on their site, though they encourage that use be for non-commercial purposes.

I’m intrigued by what may be possible for online image databases with something like the toolset provided here. Currently there are simple tools, such as panning, zooming or rotating, available on many image browsing sites, but what if one could add sharpening, or control brightness and contrast to enhance image study? I’m convinced that it’s online tools like this that will drive the next level of functionality for image libraries.