According to an image transmission method, a pre-processed image is inputted into a compression system, which automatically localizes at least one primary feature in the pre-processed image and then automatically determines a position within the pre-processed image of at least one landmark corresponding to the at least one primary feature. It then automatically foveates the pre-processed image to emphasize portions of the pre-processed image within a pre-determined measure of closeness to the landmark(s) and transmits the foveated image to at least one recipient system, which reconstructs a received version of the pre-processed image by inverse foveation. In one embodiment, an incompressible fluid mechanics model is used to determine the degree of foveation at different points in the pre-processed image.