Where is the Filter Forge life preserver?

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Torley wrote: Is that life preserver an actual object one of the team took a shot of, and perhaps even owns?

This is a long story
We wanted to find a preview pic that fits several requirements:

- seamlessly tileable for demonstrating seamless effects
- clear hard contour with no fluffy edges for demonstrating filters based on selection
- has colored parts for color correction filters
- an easily recognizable object people already know
- clear readable shape that looks good even when reduced to a 20x20 thumbnail

We spent tons of time browsing iStockPhoto and similar sites -- we went through literally tens of thousands pictures. This life preserver was the only one that met all our requirements. Here's the original:

http://www.istockphoto.com/file_closeup.php?id=104889

Then we spent a couple of weeks trying to license it from iStockPhoto. Their licensing pipeline isn't built for custom license requests (we needed a license allowing inclusion into a software product).

As for the photo location, it's better to ask Chris Schmidt, the photographer who shot the photo. When I asked Chris for a RAW-format file, he said that the photo was shot several years ago, so I'm not sure the object itself still exists

Instant Archetype!

Perhaps one day more it will be more universally associated with this product than
what the picture represents.

Image meme transform, can that be a setting?

haha.

I'm SO glad I asked; now I know. Thanx for sharing the story with us, Vladimir.

Now, if anyone asks in the future... we can point them here.

Imagine a football game with Filter Forge fans in the audience; we could be wearing white and orange and the life preservers over our heads, or hats, or something, hahaha....

@Zephos: That's such a hilarious mental image. Imagine the hilarity! HAHAHAHA.

@infiniview: I oughta use "instant archetype" more, that's a brill saying and has much more potency to it than "instant classic".

@Crapadilla: Hahaha, these injokes are cracking me up.

At the very least, seeing all the times the life preserver's been affected/effected reminds me of one UBER Andy Warhol-style work of art!

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Oh gosh, I just had a crazy spark in my head: the Filter Forge life preserver as an animated mascot! And an ad where people are drowning in artistic bordeom, and Forgey (we'll call 'im that for now) comes to save them with a blessed bounty of creativity!

ok, back on your meds, torley but ya know, now that you mention it, it does sort of look like the old alka seltzer animated mascot

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Torley wrote: Oh gosh, I just had a crazy spark in my head: the Filter Forge life preserver as an animated mascot! And an ad where people are drowning in artistic bordeom, and Forgey (we'll call 'im that for now) comes to save them with a blessed bounty of creativity!

Forgey, hahahahaha! Marvelous idea!

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Crapadilla wrote: Forgey, hahahahaha! Marvelous idea!

Brings another filter challange..Create the preserver without using the preserver..

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Torley wrote: Oh gosh, I just had a crazy spark in my head: the Filter Forge life preserver as an animated mascot! And an ad where people are drowning in artistic bordeom, and Forgey (we'll call 'im that for now) comes to save them with a blessed bounty of creativity!

hehe Falling into the water with blank canvases tied to their feet and surrounded
by the water with depressing and dull colors..

While your discussing the life preserver - how do you get the l.p back after you test out some of your own pics without closing and reopening the program if its obvious to a blind monkey be gentle I bruise easily, now I'm on a roll why do you get 3 messages when you get 1 comment on a filter?............. Carl

actually, there is a way. just go to 'file>open image' and browse to c:\program files\filter forge\previews\ and click on 'default.bmp' and it will load the preserver back in.

good