John J. Audubon’s Birds of America has unlocked 435 high-resolution digital prints of birds from American Avocet to Zenaida Dove. For background information, see http://www.openculture.com/2019/10/download-435-high-resolution-images-from-john-j-audubons-the-birds-of-america.html or https://www.thisiscolossal.com/2019/10/birds-of-america-download/. Sweet dreams!
Tag: free
Rawpixel
rawpixel Rawpixel Ltd. is a UK-based stock image provider that offers an array of free and paid images. The company prides itself on authenticity and creativity and on supporting good causes. And here’s a special tip for Deep Dreamers: rawpixel provides public domain images enhanced to high resolutions. Register to download 10 free images daily for personal or commercial use. Also, download unlimited public domain images. Currently, “to help you during these difficult times”, rawpixel […]
Smithsonian Open Access
Smithsonian Open Access Another great museum has unlocked 2.8 million images for you to download and reuse. More public domain images will be added in time. The potential for dreamers is huge! Select from among images across the entire Smithsonian group. Browse collections in the areas art and design, history and culture, or science and nature. To search the collection images efficiently, apply a filter.
Biodiversity Library
Bidodiversity Library Are you looking for natural sciences images? Ones that are public domain, free, high-quality and interesting as sources for deep dreaming? Then check out the Biodiversity Heritage Library’s site, an open-access online archive containing over 150,000 images. Find a description of the archive’s content here and a well-organized selection of the images for download on the archive’s Flickr site. Search by Flickr album or download entire albums. In this way, you can target […]
What Is in the Image?
Dreamer Daniel Zamir has programmed a nifty little app that can recognize what is in an image – in particular, a dream image. To try it out,go to Daniel’s GitHub page first to download the app. Next, click on the green “Clone or download” button. If you download the ZIP file, open the file, then open the folder “dist” and click on “app.exe.” Should your computer refuse to open the app because Windows defender does […]
GauGAN
Like thispersondoesnotexist, GauGAN (named after artist Paul Gauguin and GANs, i.e. generative adversarial networks) is another GAN-based tool developed by NVIDIA. This interactive app uses familiar paint program devices such as paint buckets and brushes to suggest a landscape in the form of a segmentation map on the left side of the screen. The GAN simultaneously translates your scribbling into a virtual landscape of your choice on the right side of your screen. What is […]
Needpix
Needpix Needpix offers a collection of over 1.5 million free photos and illustrations under the Creative Commons Zero (CC0) license. As the site states on its “about” page, “[A]ll photos hosted here are collected only from public domain sources such as: pixabay.com, pond5.com, picjumbo.com, publicdomainpictures.net, and others.” It’s easy to search the well-tagged site. Also, many images are high resolution. Apart from photos, you’ll find vector illustrations, clipart, paintings and drawings, fractals, as well as […]
thiswaifudoesnotexist
This waifu does not exist produces an endless stream of potential source images for deep dreaming. Create a new waifu (a fictional character, typically an anime, manga, or video game character that is attractive to the point of being considered a significant other) every time you refresh the website. Click on pause refresh at the bottom of a waifu page to read the little made-up story to the right of the face. Alternatively, call […]
Burst
Burst Burst is a stock photo platform with thousands of royalty-free images mainly for the web community. But some collections are interesting for Deep Dreamers, notably animals and nature & landscapes. Moreover, the odd background or texture might be useful input for a style. Also, browse the site for new public domain photos added every week. Another nifty feature is the option to download a given image in high or low resolution.
NegativeSpace
NegativeSpace NegativeSpace offers photographers a platform to share their work free of charge and without copyright restrictions (Creative Commons 0). The website takes its name from a photography technique: photos focus sharply on a subject whereas the blurry surroundings represent the “negative space.” Search by categories or by color. Downloading is a cinch. Finally, you might consider signing up for a newsletter to receive 20 new stock photos by mail every week.
National Gallery of Art
Deep Dreamers, here’s another wonderful repository of open-access images: The National Gallery of Art makes open-access works in its collection available in a dedicated website. Go to NGA Images to see and choose from among over 51,000 digitized open-access works. You’ll find everything from Impressionist paintings to iconic works by U.S. artists. The site has a particularly useful feature: Select the most convenient image size and resolution. What is more, the NGA has organized images […]
wikiart.org
The drive to make art available for educational and other purposes has spawned new websites like wikiart. Wikiart’s mission is to collect art from around the world and make it accessible to everyone. Search for images by a broad range of categories, not just art styles or artists, but also unusual criteria like female artists. The site operates on the wiki principle: Anyone may contribute and edit content. Of course, new content is consistently moderated. […]
The Public Domain Review
The online journal The Public Domain Review showcases a large number of curated collections of PD images. An excellent classification system facilitates searching. Narrow down your search by defining criteria such as the century created, the type of artwork or its source (such as museums, libraries, government agencies). Understandably, most of the images are pre-twentieth-century works. But especially if art curiosities from centuries past are what you’re looking for as a Deep Dreamer, you will […]
Rijksmuseum
The Rijksmuseum is a pioneer of the movement toward digitization and open access in the GLAM (galleries, libraries, archives and museums) sector. It initially released over 100,000 images of artworks to the public domain already in 2012. Shortly thereafter, the Rijksmuseum launched Rijksstudio to allow users to create their own exhibition pages and share material. In fact, the museum encourages users to reuse images and share the results with the Rijksmuseum. To access the Rijksmuseum’s […]
thispersondoesnotexist
This person does not exist! Every time you refresh the website at two-second intervals, you conjure up a new synthetic face. Most portraits look uncannily real. The website uses code released by GPU inventor NVIDIA using data from generative adversarial networks (GANs) and style transfer to blend images. Software engineer Philip Wang created the thispersondoesnotexist website. To find out about Wang’s method and motives, look at his Facebook post. Also, if you’re interested in relevant […]
Cleveland Museum of Art
The Cleveland Museum of Art recently joined the league of museums that have adopted an open access policy. Here’s an excerpt from the announcement by Creative Commons on January 23, 2019: “Today, we are announcing a release of 30,000 high quality, free and open digital images from the museum’s collection under CC0 and available via their API. CC0 allows anyone to use, re-use, and remix a work without restriction.” This is great news for all […]
Belvedere
The Belvedere museum is the first museum in Austria to provide open access to parts of its collection online. About half the items in the collection are available in high resolution. So you’re free to download, share and remix any of these CC0 images without restriction. The works include a few fascinating paintings by Austrian artists like Gustav Klimt, Albin Egger-Lienz and Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller. But you also have open access to works by other […]
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Open access at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (Met): In early 2017, the Met made over 406,000 high-resolution images of public domain works in its collection freely available. Thus, you may download, share and remix any of these CC0 images without restriction. It’s wonderful to have a guilt-free source of high-quality images as sources or styles for dreaming! What is more, the huge collection is easy to browse: Apply very efficient filters to narrow down […]
The Art Institute of Chicago
The Art Institute of Chicago has made over 50,000 public domain images of works in its collection available under CC0. What an unexpected bonanza! But it’s true: The Terms and Conditions and guidelines on open access images confirm it. Browse the collection online. Discover stunning Impressionist treasures, iconic Americana – American Gothic! – or familiar pop art images.You won’t be able to take favorites still subject to copyright. But the images you may download are high-resolution photos […]
PikWizard
PikWizard PikWizard is a new player in the stock photo game, and some bloggers cite it as a well-kept secret. The website has a stock library with over 30,000 completely free images, over 5,000 of which are exclusive. The images are licensed under Creative Commons zero cc0. It’s a good pleace to search for nature shots, photographs of people and all kinds of desktop wallpapers. Mouse-over an image you want to use, and you will […]
ArchitectureIMG
ArchitectureIMG features architecture photos sourced mainly from the website user community. The website operators assume that all images they host are public domain. However, some images are from free wallpaper sites, so this might not always hold true. The upshot: Unless images are specifically designated as PD, you must get permission from the respective authors to use them for purposes other than as desktop wallpapers. Images – photos and paintings – are easy to find. […]
PxHere
PxHere PxHere provides well over 1 million free images published under Creative Commons zero cc0 into the public domain. Thus, you may copy, modify, distribute, and use the images, even for commercial purposes. Indicentally, you may contribute images as well. Call up tags in the dropdown menu to narrow down your searches. You muss register to use the website.
Gratisography
Gratisography currently provides a total of about 700 free high-resolution images completely without copyright restrictions. The website claims that the collection comprises “the world’s best, most creative images – photos you just won’t find anywhere else.” The focus is on “whimsical” images. The site is associated with Shutterstock (which, however, provides images at cost). So don’t be surprised when search results turn up a large proportion of Shutterstock images.
Wikimedia Commons
As the name suggests, Wikimedia Commons is a well-indexed and huge collection of files. You can use the media files freely. While the Terms of Use describe complicated exceptions and attribution rules, a pop-up box showing that you need to attribute an author appears when you click to download an image. Then, follow the guide for the attribution process. On the downside, the available images are not necessarily high resolution. But if you search featured […]
New Old Stock
If you’re looking for free vintage photos from public archives that have no copyright restrictions (according to the site, “at the very least avaialble for personal and noncommercial use”), check the New Old Stock website. Curated photo packs are available at a cost. Use the search function (hidden in the top left corner of the site) to find topical photographs. The site appears to have very appealing but very few black-and-white photos: My search for […]
Morguefile
Morguefile provides over 350,000 free stock photos in high resolution. The images may be used for commercial purposes. Incidentally, the term “morgue file” means that this is a file to store post-production material. The website states that it is a free photo archive “for creatives, by creatives.” No registration is required, but it is encouraged, as is sharing your own material.
Turtle Graphics Renderer
The Turtle Graphics Renderer is a simple online platform created by Kevin Roast that allows you to create L-Sytem (“turtle”) patterns. These graphics are recursive patterns characterized by self-similarity and hence fractal-like forms. Plant models and natural-looking organic forms ‘grow’ and become more complex by increasing the iteration level of the form. To create images, choose a sample image on the right side of the screen and change the mathematical parameters (e.g. angles) at the […]
Life of Pix
Life of Pix offers a relatively small stock (currently some 2,000 images) of free high-resolution PD photographs. You may download the images without copyright restrictions for personal or commercial use. The selection of photos is strongly skewed toward nature and city photographs (about half the collection).
PhotoFunia
PhotoFunia is an Odessa-based website currently offering just short of 600 image editing effects. PhotoFunia works with a wide variety of programs and some web browsers. The tool is free and very easy to use: Simply choose an effect, drag and drop or upload an image, and click go. Download your finished image. Here’s an example: The first image is the original, the second showcases the image with the “famous gallery” effect.
Pixabay
Pixabay, an international website based in Germany, is an open-source repository for sharing high-quality images published under Creative Commons. Download images in various resolutions and use as you wish, even for commercial purposes. Register free to upload or download full-sized images.
Pexels
Pexels offers free stock photos in good resolution quality. All photos are licensed under the Creative Commons Zero license and may be used for commercial and noncommercial purposes. No attribution is required, but downloaders are requested to thank the respective photographer.
PhotoMania
PhotoMania is a free photo editor. No registration is required for online use. The app can be downloaded for use on Android and iOS moblile phones. The editor stands out for its ease of use. Regulate the intensity of effects by using a slider. On the downside, applying one of the wide variety of effects will reduce image resolution; also, the image is watermarked. Here’s a sample: The first image is the original, the second […]
Sterling 2 Fractal Generator and Fractal Gallery
Sterling 2 is a fractal software based on the Sterling fractal generator program written by Stephen C. Ferguson. Unlike the original program, which you can purchase for USD 35 from Stephen C. Ferguson’s website at http://tierazon.com/ktaza/fractal/index.html, Sterling 2 is free. Moreover, it comes with a formula editor. Download Sterling 2 directly from Soler’s website. Additionally, the website provides a link to Soler’s fractal gallery of 1,128 fractals you are welcome to download and use. Here’s a […]
picresize
picresize Decrease the size of large bmp or jpg images. Drag & drop or upload single images to the site or add multiple files for batch resizing.
PS Express
A free smartphone & tablet app for iOS and Android that packages some of Photoshop’s features in a streamlined mobile wrapper. Especially useful for quick collages with a reasonable degree of customizability, and the ability to export with layers to Photoshop for further edits.
BeFunky
Photo editor, collage maker, design tool. Basic functions are free, more functions are available at a monthly rate of USD 2.91 billed yearly (or a monthly rate of USD 4.95 billed monthly). Has a very good cartoon render effect in Artsy/Digital.
