Posts in Photography

You may remember Josef Schulz’s series Sign Out from a while back. I was a big fan of that series, but these photographs, that focus on the subtle details of architecture, are much more intriguing to me. It’s all about the lines and the color. I am reminded of the work of Philipp Schaerer — that or video game architecture, where environmental details are obscured just enough to allow you to focus on the bad guys (or reduce processor load).

Using digital image processing, the analogue picture produced is then “cleansed” of the few remaining hints pointing to age, location or environment of the buildings. All details that might possibly allow conclusions concerning the actual size, users, time or place of the buildings are completely removed. The physical reality of the buildings is changed in such a way that they seem to become virtual blueprints designed to perfection.
— Excerpt from an essay by Thomas Ruff.

So after years of being goaded by my friends I finally took the plunge and went to Burning Man. I figured it would be a good idea to bring a camera but I had heard that the dust could wreak havoc on the delicate inner-workings of a DSLR so I decided to leave the D80 at home and bring my little SD780 Elph. It ended up working out great, that little thing surprised me every time I used it. But this being my first time, I wanted to focus more on the experience and not be worrying about getting shots the whole time. Consequently, I didn’t come home with a whole lot of material, but I was really happy with what I did manage to get. Next year I am definitely going to bring the D80 (or whatever I’m shooting with at that time) and focus more on shooting, the place is a photographer’s dream.

Above are some examples of the shots I did get; all have been post-processed and most are multiple-exposures. As you can see, the place was downright otherworldly in terms of aesthetics; the beauty of the desert (a place I’ve spent very little time in my life) was absolutely breathtaking. The texture of the sand (which was extremely fine, almost like talcum powder) seemed like what I’d imagine the moon to be like. As the images above will attest, I was somewhat preoccupied with the sun, but you’ll have to forgive me as the sunrises and sunsets were some of the most beautiful I’ve ever witnessed. Some of the photos are available for purchase as prints at the ISO50 Photographic site.

As for the experience itself, I could go on and on but I’ll spare you the details and just say that is was without question a high point for me. The music, people, and artwork were all incredible. I brought with me a lot of preconceived notions about what Burning Man is and the kind of people who go there, but within the first hour or so of being out there in the desert with 50,000 people, every one of those notions were proven to be completely wrong. Try to make it out there if you have the opportunity, it’s really something special to be a part of.

Edit: I’ve discussed the process of creating these images a little in the comments.

Edit: ZX asked in the comments if I could post an unprocessed image, the example below is the raw output from the camera. After processing it became the top-most image above (this one). I really had a great time working with these images and I think I am closer than ever to becoming a Canon convert with my next DSLR purchase.

I came upon these pictures from the Princeton 1966 yearbook while tracking down a copy of Take Ivy. These shots are reminiscent of those in Hayashida’s book, but they are actually from a year later and were just published in the school yearbook. I went to prep school and I did not look this cool.

What I love about these shots is the feeling of potential that is conveyed. I feel like important things are being discussed; movers and shakers are in the making. It appears impossible to not achieve ultimate focus in this academic environment.

via The Trad

If you’re looking for a high end compact camera, the newly announced Nikon P7000 may just fit the bill. I’ve found myself leaving the full size SLR behind more and more lately so I’ve been thinking of filling the gap with something a bit more portable without sacrificing much in picture quality.

You can pick one up later this month for around $500. Plenty more info and specs over here.

Source Engadget

Kim Høltermand emailed to let us know about his incredible new series Tuve. I would love to find this place and see if it’s as eerie in real life as it is depicted here. Out of context some of the rocks look like abstract 3D renderings floating in space. It’s hard to imagine water that still. Breathtaking and haunting as usual from Mr.Høltermand.

Came across these really great shots via Colorcubic’s Flickr. The images were taken for an IBM catalog in 1964. Take note of the great compositions and use of bokeh in the first image. Not sure that IBM would let that fly nowadays. Also, the super warmth and contrast of the film really make those panel interfaces look stunning.

Seeing these images in spread form would be interesting. Rather curious whether or not the designer overlaid the type on them or if the images stood alone. In some IBM ads, it appears that type was both on and off the images.

I noticed Jesse Brew in the comments sometimes, always super kind. I had to check his work to see what he was up to and i’m so happy I did. He has great a photo series growing and a wonderful eye, I hope to share more in the near future.

It always seems that when something great goes away, we don’t realize how great it actually was until its nearly gone. Film is that thing. Although I wouldn’t say film is gone, it certainly has been on its way out. I know I’ve personally taken it for granted, but when I see cameras like this or the return of the Polaroid, it makes me want to experiment.

This camera by Steven Monteau is called the Guillotine / Adidas Camera and was intended for use shooting ultra-wide action sequences on 120 film. The effect that the three images as one create is really beautiful.

The way the camera works is by sliding the long angular strip that acts at your shutter quickly once to expose the film. The body is built out of cardboard and utilizes two winding knobs to wind the spool. I’m quite curious though whether or not there are stops so you know how far you’re winding the spool or if you have to guess.

Check out more of the process here

You may remember Impossible Project as the company that’s been promising to revive the recently-defunct Polaroid instant film brand. They delivered partially in March with the sepia PX 600 but now they’re finally offering full color film with their PX 70 product. The results (you can see some in this gallery – towards bottom of page) are a bit washed out for my tastes, I still would prefer the expired Spectra they offer. But it’s a step in the right direction for now.

Impossible Project PX 70

I found these pieces by Andrew B. Myers really enjoyable, hoping to post some music later today that kind of soundtracks this work.