In sports car racing, there is a wonderful thing called ‘homologation’. Manufacturers hate it, car collectors love it. It means that in order to enter a car in sanctioned sports car races, it has to be based on a production model. Without going into a lengthy explanation, just appreciate the fact that it has brought the world some of it’s most prized street-legal race cars. The 300SL is undeniably one of the most iconic. In 1952, Mercedes Benz was feeling ambitious and decided they wanted to win alot of races. So they built an incredibly streamlined, lightweight, and reliable race car using some of the most exotic materials at the time – the homologated street version that was sold to the public a complete afterthought. It was then entered it into many of the most prestigious, and difficult, endurance races of the day. They succeeded, taking 1-2 victories at the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the Carrera Panamericana to name a few. Above are a few photos of the 300SL in action at the aforementioned races (the 2nd of which is the variant used in the trans-mexican rally, where the windshield had to be reinforced with wrought iron bars due to ‘buzzard collisions’). The second group of photos are of the oldest 300SL in existence, serial number zwei. It never saw any racing, rather it was used as a training car for the very capable Hermann Lang & Fritz Reiss (along with the rest of the Silver Arrows) who went on to take many checkered flags. Dragged out of the broom closet by Mercedes, it underwent an extensive 9 month restoration for it’s 60th birthday, and in celebration of the new SLS AMG. What a timeless example of German design – both in form & function.
Several other Tycho live dates have just been announced (see below or check the Tycho tour page), really excited to be making it out to some new cities this time around. See you this summer!
I’m at Percussion Lab right now, they stream a radio station ( tune in now ) out of Brooklyn, NY every Monday night run by Praveen( Sepalcure, Braille, Praveen & Benoit ) who is no stranger to the blog since we started. This weekend they will be putting on a show for Unsound Festival which is featuring 2562, Sepalcure, Throwing Snow, and many more, here’s more info on the event if you’re interested it’s called Bass Mutations. This track by Throwing Snow is one of the only ones I could find that I loved that I heard Praveen play on the show, hopefully he’ll have some of this unreleased stuff out soon.
Last night I had a going away party because i’m moving across the country to the Bay Area, We had Praveen play a live Braille set, Sarah from Phantogram debuted her first DJ set, Beacon threw down their best DJ set i’ve ever heard and Sam Valenti IV and his lady Moderna closed out the night, Shaun White was even there, really funny guy, well anyway they threw down this huge slow jam from Mark E, its the Space Dub version, absolutely murdered my face off on the dance floor.
Kyson is a new signing on Moodgadget, one thing I love about him is that he does just a bunch of bootleg remixes on his spare time, my favorite has to be his Washed Out one, it just kind of flutters in this one area and dissolves nicely. His EP Patience is out on May 1st, definitely worth a listen.
The owners of one of my favorite labels of all time are back at it in the studio under the name Mohn. The delicate builds these two have made over the years are mind boggling, if you want more pick up their Burger/Ink material.
Eurobus is a series of photographs featuring European tour bus designs by Taylor Holland, which was shot Spring of 2011, while on various bicycle commutes around Paris, France. The series was published by Matmos Press, an independent publisher based in Montreal (QC).
This book is dedicated to the anonymous designers of European tour bus graphics, who have embraced an underappreciated art space and made it their own.
Swedish software firm Propellerhead (the makers of Reason) put together not only a simple eye appealing music making app but one that has controls that will have you making music in just a few minutes.
The great part about this music app is the sounds aren’t wacky, thin or robotic, if you’re a Reason user like myself since v2.0 then this will make you smile from ear to ear especially at the $.99 price tag.
They have a thorough overview on their site and the solid video above for new fans. Definitely haven’t been this happy about a music app since Animoog.
“I think we as an industry haven’t been that great about inviting people in who don’t have deep dreams about becoming big stars or understanding everything about music production, it’s time for that: I think everyone should be invited to be part of this. Figure is a small step towards that.” – says chief executive Ernst Nathorst Böös.
The wonderful work of Berlin based, self-taught photographer Matthias Heiderich has been covered here on the blog a couple of times before, but I thought I would check up on him to see what he’s been up to and glad I did so. He’s posted a few new amazing series and pieces since then, which I just can’t seem to get enough of. Great color and great composition.
Below are more examples of some of my favorites (hard to pick), which Matthias was kind enough to let me use for this post.
This also marks the first of the Weekend Inspiration posts I’ll be doing every Friday. This week is about photography, but I’ll be covering other subjects, as well doing a couple of process posts, weekend challenges and other ideas I’m cooking up. This is an effort to hopefully get all of us here on the ISO50 community to continue to be involved, sharing, and inspired enough to want to try and learn new things.
Please feel free to post in the comments below any ideas you may have for the Weekend Inspiration posts (challenges, process posts, etc.)
Name: Cole Rise. Current City: San Francisco, CA Website:coleri.se
Instagram: @colerise Pets: A piano named Eleanor. I feed her and she makes music. Dream vehicle: Piper Super Cub with Tundra tires (it’s a bush plane)
ISO50: Tell me about your first memory?
Cole: The first thing I remember is an insect in my bed. Maybe it was a millipede? It’s not like the house was gross or anything… we were in a wooded area so i think it was just lost. We moved out of that house when i turned 2, so I must have been about one and half years old, as crazy early as that sounds. I remember waking up and being rather startled by it, but not having the words to express it. I wasn’t the most verbose one and a half year old. I probably just stared, wide-eyed. I vaguely remember mom coming in a few minutes later, but by then it had crawled out of sight. I hope it found it’s way.
ISO50: I see that you’re a pilot, do you ever let go of the wheel and get a photo off like some of the instagram car drivers I see sometimes on the road?
Cole: Oh sure… but within reason. It’s not as dangerous as you might think. When you’re learning to fly, they teach you to scan your horizon every few minutes, so you’re always aware of where you are, who and what’s around, and what’s ahead. Plus most planes have auto-pilot, which is basically 3-dimensional cruise control. With little air traffic, it’s reasonably safe to snap a photo or two. On the other hand, I recently tried it while hang gliding and almost dropped the phone from 800 feet. I’d say that was more dangerous.
ISO50: Can you list off a 4 song playlist of what you listen to while you’re tinkering with a photo?
Cole: In no particular order, i give you…
“Aegina Airlines” by The Dead Texan
“Indian Summer” by Jónsi & Alex
“Don’t Worry” by Zoe Keating
“Foreground” by Grizzly Bear (Note: this song works in all regions of a photo.)
Tycho, of course, goes without saying.
ISO50: If there could be a new filter added on instagram describe it the best you can:
Cole: If you combine Inkwell (the current b&w filter) with say, the soft tones of Sierra, it produces some lovely results. I think there may be something to that.
ISO50: Do you find there being pressure of getting a certain kind of shot to post on instagram? Do you ever hesitate to post?
Cole: Sure i’d say there’s an incentive to keep it interesting and meaningful, so you tend to become more selective with what you post. I definitely feel some pressure to keep traveling, to keep it consistent with the landscapes that i usually post. Twist my arm. As for hesitation, once in a while i’ll think twice about posting some the crazy experimental stuff. I have fun trying to push the medium in new & weird ways, and then sharing the process so everyone take part and push it further. Take for instance, shooting through a sweater stretched over the lens. Sometimes you have to look at the photo, turn your head to one side and ask yourself “… really?” So, you share what works, and you bury the rest. Like an iceberg, most people only see the little bit that’s above water.
ISO50: I’m moving to SF next week, can you list your favorite bar, venue, restaurant, and a place to relax at?
Cole: On a Thursday night when it’s not too crowded, grab a couple of friends for drinks in an old pirate ship themed bar called Smuggler’s Cove in Hayes Valley. There’s even a flaming skull drink! Nuff said. Then, when you’re good and toasty, mozy on down the block to Absinthe for one of the best burgers in the city. While you’re there, have them bring over the St. George absinthe, the only variety any sane person should bother to try. You’ll be feeling pretty good at this point, and maybe a bit full, but i promise you won’t care. When it’s time, sign your check and stroll a few blocks further to the more relaxed appeal of Hotel Biron, for a glass of wine you’ll in the short term love & then soon regret as you wait for your Uber cab before crawling into bed.
ISO50: What do you think about the popular page on instagram? What would you change about it to make it something you’d visit more frequent?
Cole: It’s very honest and very human. Algorithmically, it’s doing some really smart things to bring you photos that are getting a lot of attention. Attention, however doesn’t guarantee that every photo will be amazing, so that’s where i think the honesty comes in. Right now, the popular page is a perfect snapshot of what’s on people’s minds at a given point in time. It’s Freud meets Ansel Adams, with some teenage angst and a few cute puppies thrown in. I love it for what it is, but as with anything, it’ll evolve. Down the line I would love to see it become more curated, or influenced by more tastemakers on Instagram. Imagine giving more weight to a photo if it’s liked by other influential users who have had a few of their own photos featured on the popular page. An “artists supporting upcoming artists” metric.
ISO50: If you weren’t working on photography or being a pilot what would you be doing for a living?
Cole: Well, I have a web company called Particle that pays the bills, but that aside, i’d probably sell tripods or hang gliders online and travel. Build a water well for a community that needs it. Maybe grow some rice.
ISO50: What are your feelings on Facebook buying Instagram? Any updates that what would make you sad to see added?
Cole: I think from the beginning it was obvious that the app was going to be huge. Even before they launched, the hundred or so beta testers were using the app all day everyday. It was exactly what was missing, and i’m damn thrilled to see it make its mark in history. Their team and inner culture is incredible, so i have faith in the people and the smarts they bring behind scenes. I can’t really imagine them adding a feature that wasn’t great or without the user in mind. I’m actually looking forward to the much needed updates to Facebook that Instagram will bring.
5a5a5a – The colors of this feed are perfect when it comes to bright colors, never too simple and never overwhelming, such good balance.
debbs – With all the minimal architecture shots going on, I often find myself looking for photographers that photograph people well but not in a personal way, debbs does a great job of capturing people without relying on their style to make it a popular shot.
_willett – _willett has under a 100 photos under his belt, his hazy work is my favorite.
