Eddies [click image for larger version] (ColbyCosh.com)

Using Noise Ninja on this would probably be a disaster — it would wreck the delicate traceries of the smoke wisps. Leave it. It's a great photo, and the noise, like grain in a previous age, adds some interesting pointillist character.

In fact, properly printed, this image would rock.

Posted by Garth Wood | November 12, 2007 9:34 PM

Posted on November 12, 2007 21:34

Sean McCormick:

"Using Noise Ninja on this would probably be a disaster"

NOT if you know how to use it.

Posted by Sean McCormick | November 12, 2007 11:59 PM

Posted on November 12, 2007 23:59

Crid:

> You don't actually know?

Somebody help out a Big Ten grad: Is there an intellectual narrative seen only after reading all of Shakespeare or something?

Posted by Crid | November 13, 2007 5:10 AM

Posted on November 13, 2007 05:10

Jason:

It's a reference to Revenge Of The Nerds. One of the nerds runs around with a 42 on his shirt and he refuses to explain the reference. He's run over by a Volvo at the end of the movie.

Posted by Jason | November 13, 2007 7:09 AM

Posted on November 13, 2007 07:09

George Skinner:

Still can't beat tobacco smoke for flow visualization studies. Lots of nice fine particles. There was one professor at U of A who actually got to spend research funding on cigarettes for his fluid mechanics experiments.

Posted by George Skinner | November 13, 2007 2:18 PM

Posted on November 13, 2007 14:18

Colby Cosh:

I'm going to light up in a bar and tell people I'm not smoking, I'm demonstrating the properties of turbulent flow.

Posted by Colby Cosh | November 13, 2007 3:55 PM

Posted on November 13, 2007 15:55

Mike Jenkinson:

And there will be turbulence, yes ...

Posted by Mike Jenkinson | November 13, 2007 4:05 PM

Posted on November 13, 2007 16:05

Ryan Cousineau:

Hm. It appears that only Mr. Potter recalls a terrible joke in the original trilogy:

“Eddies,” said Ford, “in the space-time continuum.”
“Ah,” nodded Arthur, “is he. Is he.” He pushed his hands into the pockets of his dressing gown and looked knowledgeably into the distance.
"What?" said Ford.
"Er, who," said Arthur, "is Eddy, then, exactly, then?"

From Life, the Universe and Everything by Douglas Adams

Posted by Ryan Cousineau | November 13, 2007 5:04 PM

Posted on November 13, 2007 17:04

Ryan Cousineau:

As regards the noise question, well, at ISO 800 that happens. But Noise Ninja is a very special tool, and is often able to do noise reduction beyond what is possible using the tools provided by Canon, Nikon, or Adobe.

That said, I tend to agree that this photo, in the web versions, appears to need no help to look pretty. But the same may not be true in a printed version.

Posted by Ryan Cousineau | November 13, 2007 5:11 PM

Posted on November 13, 2007 17:11

Crid:

> “in the space-time continuum.”

Thanks... Never made time for that stuff, work was getting in the way. I still want to be friends with all of you, though.

Posted by Crid | November 14, 2007 6:32 PM

Posted on November 14, 2007 18:32