Points of Interest: The Photography Edition

The world’s largest digital camera has its eye on the skies On a stark summit in Chile’s Andean foothills, an unprecedented science project is in the works: A 3,200–megapixel camera will capture 37 billion stars and galaxies nightly for a decade. Starting in late 2022, the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope will produce the deepest, widest images ever made of the universe, including the nature of dark matter, dark energy and the evolution of the cosmos.

Feast your eyes at three new photo–themed restaurants A forest mural evokes the mood of early photographs at Verōnika (pictured), the grand café named after the patron saint of photography inside the New York outpost of Swedish museum Fotografiska. In Chicago, the signature drinks at Bokeh, a small–bites and cocktail spot owned by a former professional photographer, echo camera lingo, like the bourbon–honey Lens Flare. And at Toronto’s Man Ray wine bar, opening this spring, images focusing on food and the human body are inspired by surrealism, fitting given the establishment’s namesake.

Step inside the Giant Camera for an up–close view of San Francisco’s coast Perched on the rocky shoreline at Lands End park, near the entrance to San Francisco Bay, is a working walk–in camera that captures the shimmering sea and seals sunbathing on outlying rocks. A centuries–old innovation many credit to Leonardo da Vinci, this particular camera obscura was built in 1946 as part of the Playland amusement park (it’s now an official landmark on the National Register of Historic Places). A convex lens atop the Giant Camera catches light reflected by a corresponding mirror, then projects a live 360–degree image of the view outside onto a tabletop in the dark room. Visit just before sunset for a spectacular show – since the image is magnified by seven, you may see solar flares or even witness the green–flash phenomenon.

Try a not–for–Instagram dish at the Restaurant at Pearl Morissette “We do nothing to make our food photogenic,” says Daniel Hadida, chef of the Jordan Station, Ontario, destination named Canada’s Best New Restaurant in 2018. In dishes like cod and cabbage, flavour and simplicity trump esthetics and dim lighting deters diners from documenting every bite – after all, any given dish is unlikely to be served again.

AR is reshaping clothing in the eye of the beholder At this year’s BAFTAs, TV host Maya Jama wore a 5G–powered augmented reality gown that transformed when viewed through a smartphone camera. The technology could be coming to your closet: Silicon Valley entrepreneur Peter Diamandis predicts that by 2030, digital wardrobes will allow people to change their looks with the swipe of a finger.