Alan / Former Instants

Alan / Former Instants

@formerinstants.bsky.social

Pro/Am motorsport photographer (I shoot lots of other stuff too). I also like talking about movies, science, and...well a lot of things really. Also on Flickr. Check my website to see my latest work: https://www.formerinstants.com/

83 followers72 following2.6K posts

This is why I really wish the Culture show had come to fruition. It really flips the script on AI-related themes.

Revan@revan.eurosky.social

22. The existing sci fi canon on artificial intelligence has had a strong negative effect on real world AI discourse

Alan / Former Instants reposted

Didn't expect to see a Ligier LMP3 at Snetterton for the MSVR All-Comers Was an awesome sight made even better by the weather. #msvrallcomers #msvr #snetterton #ligier #racing #rain

Alan / Former Instants reposted

We need a better way to talk about EV drives. If Rolls Royce says "This car has a 6.7 liter V12" everyone's all "oooh" and "aahhhh," "amazing." If they say "it's an EV" people are just like "....k?" Gotta say something like, "It's a triple-0 helix encabulator" or whatever. That'll get people buying

Alan / Former Instants@formerinstants.bsky.social

EVs have a higher baseline of luxury due to the natural smoothness and quietude of an EV drivetrain. An EV Rolls Royce would be the ultimate luxury car, but RR customers are too boomer-brained to realize this. They do not want luxury, they want prestige.

Normally I make my teaser albums 200 images. Feels like a nice number. But Wednesday night around 1:30 a.m., I was desperately trying to get things finished and uploaded, and could NOT figure out how to make enough cuts. So I said, screw it, you get 243 this time. #photography

formerinstants.comSCCA Jefferson HPDE (Oct 2026) - Former InstantsA few of my favorite shots from the SCCA HPDE event at Summit Point's Jefferson Circuit on Oct 17-18, 2026. I have photos of everyone, to order send your car details and run group to me by e-mail (ala...
Alan / Former Instants@formerinstants.bsky.social

getting over the hump just in time for bed #photography

God, I don't know if I've ever been this exhausted after a weekend shoot. I got a full 9 hours of sleep last night, and I still had a rough wakeup and can't get my brain to engage on the review! My body also hasn't quite recalibrated to feeling normal temperatures, but that's a separate issue.

Like, the second start into trying to pick highlights, my brain recoils and wants to have a nap. Maybe it's because of the boring ones at the beginning. If I skip over those, I'm a bit more compelled... #photography

Heavens the wind was bad today. Thermometer read 53° but it felt like 20. I put on sunscreen but that does nothing for windburn. Anyway I think I got some good photos, provided my shivering didn't make them all blurry.

Pffft get me there on a mountain bike and I beat the record in a day

Paul Byrne@theplanetaryguy.com

Yesterday, NASA broke a record. The longest distance travelled by a vehicle on the surface of a world other than Earth. The Perseverance rover has now driven 45.22 km, beating the previous record of 45.16 km by the Opportunity rover. Perseverance did the distance in 5.5 years to Oppy's 15.

TBH he's one of the best follows on this eeb site

🎃 Found Star Trek Episodes 🎃@foundepisodes.bsky.social

And it’s great! Thank you so much, everyone, for being here and being completely silly with me. Having this little corner of the internet to play in has meant everything to me for six years now. Meanwhile, a Gorn egg mutates my chicken sandwich which then tries to kill me. Transporter chief: You 🥰

Truly incredible things are happening in the world of astronomy these days

Paul Byrne@theplanetaryguy.com

This will never stop blowing my mind. A 12-year sequence of real telescope images of a star 133 lightyears away. And around it, four planets slowly orbiting. Four real exoplanets, each more massive than Jupiter, imaged as they move around their host star.

Alan / Former Instants reposted

The valley of Botnsá near the Glymur waterfall seemed to be the epicenter of autumn color in Iceland with birch trees putting on quite the show. Glymur is the main attraction here, but this scene ended up being one of my favorites. #timothykeeneyphotography #photography #landscapephotography

Alan / Former Instants reposted

Crazy light across Manhattan with a rainbow as the sun set ahead of an approaching nor'easter storm in New York City, Friday evening #newyorkcity #nyc #newyork #sunset #noreaster #rainbow

Alan / Former Instants reposted

I had visited Hraunfossar a few times before - but never in fall - and all I can say is "wow". The autumn yellows and reds take this place to another level of beauty. #timothykeeneyphotography #photography #landscapephotography

It's done! #photography #motorsport #clubracing #porsche www.formerinstants.com/Albums/Summi...

formerinstants.comPCA Club Races (Sep 2026) - Former InstantsPhotos from the "Rock The Summit" PCA Club Racing event at Summit Point on September 19-20, 2026. Additional photos and packages are available on request.
Alan / Former Instants@formerinstants.bsky.social

Gonna try to get the PCA mega-gallery online tonight instead of screwing around with color grading for the next 17 days. #photography

I don't mind needing an account to use Affinity Photo, but having to log in again every time I start the frickin program is the most annoying thing in the world. Well, I guess it's less annoying than having a subscription fee...