Category: LifeHacks

How to download ultra high-res images of works from Google Arts and Culture

Max Limpag

I wanted a framed print of The Lady with an Ermine when we were redesigning our workspace during lockdown. Important works such as this painting by Leonardo da Vinci usually have high-resolution images online. The typical sources are Wikimedia Commons and Google Arts and Culture.

The Lady with an Ermine has a high resolution copy on Wikimedia but the highest version only has a dimension of 2,048 pixels × 2,754 pixels. That is good enough for print but I wanted an even higher resolution.

NO DOWNLOAD OPTION. The zoomable image of The Lady with an Ermine on the Google Arts and Culture website. You can zoom into such high details on the site but there are no options on the page to directly download the image.
NO DOWNLOAD OPTION. The zoomable image of The Lady with an Ermine on the Google Arts and Culture website. You can zoom into such high details on the site but there are no options on the page to directly download the image.

There’s one in Google Arts and Culture – a zoomable version with ultra-high resolution that will allow you to focus on minor details of the work. The only problem is you can’t directly download images from the site. There are some works that you can download, such as those made publicly available by The Metropolitan Museum of Art, but most images you can’t.

To be able to download images from Google Arts and Culture, you can run a script such as Dezoomify. It has a web version and even a browser extension but I prefer the script. What Dezoomify does is download the maximum resolution of an image by getting it by tiles, which are the portions shown when zooming, and then reassembling it to its full quality.

If you download the script, all you need to do is run it, paste the address of the Google Arts and Culture image you want to download, choose the image resolution, and it takes care of the entire process. With The Lady with an Ermine, for example, the script took 5,002 tiles to download a 30,894 pixels x 41,545 pixels JPEG image with a total file size of 114 mb.

DOWNLOAD WITH SCRIPT. If you run the Dezoomify program, it will ask you to paste the URL of the file you want to download, pick a resolution, and then it does all the rest.
DOWNLOAD WITH SCRIPT. If you run the Dezoomify program, it will ask you to paste the URL of the file you want to download, pick a resolution, and then it does all the rest.

According to its project page, Dezoomify also works with other online resources such as the National Gallery of Art, Harvard Library, The British Library, among others. But I’ve only been able to try it with Google Arts and Culture and its vast collection.

ULTRA-HIGH RESOLUTION. The script was able to download a version of The Lady with an Ermine with a resolution of 30,894 pixels x 41,545 pixels - a JPEG file with a total file size of 114 mb.
ULTRA-HIGH RESOLUTION. The script was able to download a version of The Lady with an Ermine with a resolution of 30,894 pixels x 41,545 pixels – a JPEG file with a total file size of 114 mb.

The post How to download ultra high-res images of works from Google Arts and Culture appeared first on Leon Kilat: The Tech Experiments.

Day 1 of #48Days

Max Limpag Leave a comment
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Before you embark on an adventure, get a notebook, preferably one small enough to tuck into your back pocket. There is a sense of commitment in writing things down, almost like having a pact with one’s self.

I have several digital note-taking devices and services like Google Docs, Evernote and OneNote synced to the digital ether called the “cloud” and replicated on my phones, computers and laptop.

But digital, no matter how omnipresent and accessible, seems so fleeting, so deletable.

A recent study shows that people remember notes better if these are taken by hand rather than with digital tools.

I bought three yesterday – P49 cahiers from National Bookstore – for idea journals and notes.

Notes to an adventure.

Notes to an adventure. Looking forward to filling up these pages during my 48-day sabbatical from my day job.

Starting today and until June 20, I will be leave from business editor duties with Sun.Star Cebu to work on projects of my startup, InnoPub Media. These are primarily Digital Tourism projects. I also want to jumpstart ideas we’ve had to set aside for years now because of the lack of time and resources.

One thing I learned in starting up our Digital Tourism project is to muster the courage to pursue an idea. For years I have had several ideas about how to use tech to deliver certain types of information but I did not pursue these.

My wife, Marlen, and I finally decided to give it a go on our own with Digital Tourism and this has paid off for us. Digital Tourism has exploded this year and we’ve been expanding like crazy. People and groups now regularly send us messages asking when we could implement the program in their areas. Many approach us for help in digital and mobile projects. This 48-day sabbatical will allow me the breathing space to work on all these projects and pursue new ones.

I’ve also set some personal goals to learn new things, read a lot, blog and write more and run regularly.

The #48Days challenges I’m taking on during my break from my day job are:

  • Build my first iPhone app
  • Create 1 Android app a week for the entire break
  • Learn to build a Windows Phone app by myself
  • Build a news app
  • Finish reading at least 3 books
  • Run at least 200 kilometers
  • Write at least 5 articles and blog posts a week
  • Jumpstart 2 projects that have been percolating for years

My first entry on the journal is a challenge by Peter Brock, “Bite off more than you can chew and then chew like hell.”

That will set the tone for the next month and a half.

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The post Day 1 of #48Days appeared first on Leon Kilat : The Tech Experiments.

Related posts:

  1. Throw away those index cards, use your own wiki page
  2. Printable CEO goes online: Color-code and assign points to your tasks
  3. 1st 30-Day Challenge completed: run at least 5K daily

Day 1 of #48Days

Max Limpag Leave a comment
Share on Facebook Retweet this

Before you embark on an adventure, get a notebook, preferably one small enough to tuck into your back pocket. There is a sense of commitment in writing things down, almost like having a pact with one’s self.

I have several digital note-taking devices and services like Google Docs, Evernote and OneNote synced to the digital ether called the “cloud” and replicated on my phones, computers and laptop.

But digital, no matter how omnipresent and accessible, seems so fleeting, so deletable.

A recent study shows that people remember notes better if these are taken by hand rather than with digital tools.

I bought three yesterday – P49 cahiers from National Bookstore – for idea journals and notes.

Notes to an adventure.

Notes to an adventure. Looking forward to filling up these pages during my 48-day sabbatical from my day job.

Starting today and until June 20, I will be leave from business editor duties with Sun.Star Cebu to work on projects of my startup, InnoPub Media. These are primarily Digital Tourism projects. I also want to jumpstart ideas we’ve had to set aside for years now because of the lack of time and resources.

One thing I learned in starting up our Digital Tourism project is to muster the courage to pursue an idea. For years I have had several ideas about how to use tech to deliver certain types of information but I did not pursue these.

My wife, Marlen, and I finally decided to give it a go on our own with Digital Tourism and this has paid off for us. Digital Tourism has exploded this year and we’ve been expanding like crazy. People and groups now regularly send us messages asking when we could implement the program in their areas. Many approach us for help in digital and mobile projects. This 48-day sabbatical will allow me the breathing space to work on all these projects and pursue new ones.

I’ve also set some personal goals to learn new things, read a lot, blog and write more and run regularly.

The #48Days challenges I’m taking on during my break from my day job are:

  • Build my first iPhone app
  • Create 1 Android app a week for the entire break
  • Learn to build a Windows Phone app by myself
  • Build a news app
  • Finish reading at least 3 books
  • Run at least 200 kilometers
  • Write at least 5 articles and blog posts a week
  • Jumpstart 2 projects that have been percolating for years

My first entry on the journal is a challenge by Peter Brock, “Bite off more than you can chew and then chew like hell.”

That will set the tone for the next month and a half.

Share on Facebook Retweet this

The post Day 1 of #48Days appeared first on Leon Kilat : The Tech Experiments.

Related posts:

  1. Throw away those index cards, use your own wiki page
  2. Printable CEO goes online: Color-code and assign points to your tasks
  3. 1st 30-Day Challenge completed: run at least 5K daily

1st 30-Day Challenge completed: run at least 5K daily

Max Limpag Leave a comment
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I just completed a 30-day challenge to run at least 5 kilometers a day. I failed at my attempt to blog daily. One out of 2 isn’t bad for my first month.

The idea behind the 30-Day Challenge is that 30 days, according to Google engineer Matt Cutts, are “just about the right time to add a new habit or subtract a habit.” Cutts popularized the idea of taking on a 30-Day Challenge after he gave a TED talk on the topic.

For June, I decided to taken on 2 challenges: 1) run at least 5 kilometers a day and 2) blog daily. I completed the daily running part; I failed at the daily blogging right in the first week.

BASDAKO. One of my most memorable runs was the one from Hale Manna in Basdako, Moalboal to the Poblacion and back. Basdako is a beautiful place for running. You can then end your run with a dip in its gorgeous beach and clear waters teeming with marine life.

BASDAKO. One of my most memorable runs was the one from Hale Manna in Basdako, Moalboal to the Poblacion and back. Basdako is a beautiful place for running. You can then end your run with a dip in its gorgeous beach and clear waters teeming with marine life.

I think I’ve been able to rebuild my running habit. I used to run regularly and in long distances until I had to focus on my startup‘s projects. A few weeks into my daily runs, I started looking forward to my time on the road. My weekends are again set aside for running longer distances.

Among the most meaningful runs that I did in the month were on Day 1, when I started the challenge with a 21-kilometer solo LSD (long slow distance run); Day 7, when I ran in the rain in what was supposed to be an Ungo Friday Night Run; Day 12, when my run was cut short by a storm that flooded many areas in Metro Cebu; Day 14 at the Ayala Triangle in Makati City after covering the PLDT stockholders’ meeting; Day 17 at the beautiful Esplanade in Iloilo City after a meeting partners and friends that included liempo chips!; Day 22, which was a 22-kilometer run from Moalboal to Badian and back; Day 26 when I pushed myself to run 5 kilometers in 29 minutes and 25 seconds and Day 28, which was a 15K run from Hale Manna in Basdako in Moalboal to the Poblacion and back.

Day 14 of my 30-day running challenge was in the Ayala Triangle in Makati City.

Day 14 of my 30-day running challenge was in the Ayala Triangle in Makati City.

The month has taught me a few things:

1) Focus. Although I decided early on that my main challenge was to run, taking on another challenge doomed the secondary task from the start. Running daily takes a lot of commitment – physically and mentally – and I no longer had the energy for the secondary challenge of blogging every day.

2) Prepare. I was able to run 5 kilometers a day because I had been gradually getting back to regular running after about a year of slacking off. I had a base to build on. In fact, when I completed the challenge, it was already my 42nd successive day of running.

In contrast, I wasn’t prepared to write a blog post daily. I did not think ahead of potential topics and, more crucial, I did not prepare myself mentally for the task.

3) Commit. I made a commitment to myself that I would complete the running challenge, whatever it would take. This meant that sometimes I’d run by myself at midnight in our subdivision because that was the only free time I had. It also meant that I had to run under the storm (the June 12 downpour left me stranded in the flooded streets of Cebu).

4) Measure. You cannot change what you cannot measure. For this, I find the phone to be the best tool. In my running, I was dependent on RunKeeper, an app that uses GPS to measure your running distance and speed and then keeps a log of all your runs. I also extensively use Lift, an app that allows you to keep daily track of habit you want to build or lose.

Here’s my Twitter log of my 5K a day 30-Day Running Challenge:

 


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The post 1st 30-Day Challenge completed: run at least 5K daily appeared first on Leon Kilat : The Tech Experiments.

Related posts:

  1. Day 1
  2. Taking on 30-day challenges
  3. Location, location, location

Day 1

Max Limpag Leave a comment
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I’m setting 30-day challenges this month. Today is day 1. The challenges I chose are meant to help me improve my writing and fitness:

  • Run at least 5 kilometers every day
  • Blog every day

To start the month, I just finished a 21K run today, my first long run for a long time. One thing I realized that I really missed in running is the meditative state you are in when running longer distances. I used to be able to think out and outline column pieces during long slow distance (LSD) runs. In my solo run tonight, I was able to come up with several ideas for new projects as well as improvements on current ones.

I’ve been able to run nightly for 13 straight days and I hope to keep that up for this month’s challenge.

RUNKEEPER. The app for iOS and Android not only allows you to keep track of the distance of your run via GPS, it also serves as training log, resource and social network.

RUNKEEPER. The app for iOS and Android not only allows you to keep track of the distance of your run via GPS, it also serves as training log, resource and social network.

It’s a challenge to find the time to run but I realized it’s something I need to make time for not only to improve my fitness but also my writing. I’m able to think better after a run. Ideas come out, without fail, in my nightly runs.

As with anything I do, I use tech as a crutch. RunKeeper allows me to keep track of my runs while Lift reminds me of habits I want to build or change and keep track of these. You cannot change what you cannot measure, someone at Lift wrote (I can no longer find that link).

LIFT. The app allows you to sign up for challenges and keep track of your progress.

LIFT. The app allows you to sign up for challenges and keep track of your progress.

I’ve also decided to resume blogging – really blogging and not just making this site a repository of my newspaper articles and column. By working to be able to blog everyday, I hope to sharpen my craft (writing coaches tell you the best way to improve your writing is to keep doing it) as well as discipline myself into writing regularly.

Day 1 is about to end, a whole month awaits.

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The post Day 1 appeared first on Leon Kilat : The Tech Experiments.

Related posts:

  1. Taking on 30-day challenges