Beautiful, lush Kodachrome photos from the 40s. Kodachrome was the legendary color film popular among photographers like Steve McCurry, who shot the final roll after it was discontinued in 2009. See the rest of the set here.
via Shorpy
I’ve seen a lot of beautiful, moving images of the Shuttle lately but none have felt so intimate as these by Justin Ray for Spaceflight Now. Something about these photos of the now decommissioned spacecraft, engines removed, mission complete, bring the idea of it to life like none I’ve seen thus far. It’s the textures and details that highlight what an incredible machine this was and what a profound achievement for humankind it represents.
And look at that lettering! I’ve never seen it so close; it has such a handmade feel to it at this scale. The logos and typography of the Shuttle program always intrigued me, they seemed to represent the idea of the United States as a brand, an ideal to be consumed by the rest of the world. Then when Canadarm was installed on STS-2 it became apparent that even other — less crazy — countries felt the desire to push themselves as a brand in space. Of course, pushing your national space-brand became a bit more accessible with the ISS, but the US and Canada used Helvetica and were way ahead of the curve so I’d say they won whatever prize you get for most recognizable space-brand.
I wonder what we all gained growing up in a world where the Shuttle existed. I know it was a big part of my consciousness as a kid and probably had something to do with how I felt about my national identity. For me it symbolized the combined efforts of some of our greatest minds collectively reaching for a better understanding of the world we live in. For some — and perhaps rightly so — it probably represented a colossal waste of resources in the face of more earthly problems. Maybe it was both, but I I’ll personally miss it as a symbol of what we as humans can achieve when we work together.
Just came across William Eggelston’s photography work tonight (I know, very late to this party). I’m completely blown away. A lot of these almost feel like realist oil paintings.
Does anyone do work like this anymore? I’ve never really seen tone and definition like this in anyone’s work. I have to imagine most kids starting out in photography these days are purely digital; sad to think we’ll be seeing less and less film output as the years go on.
More work at William Eggleston Portfolios. Also check out his bio (pdf) for more info on cameras / film used.
Hengki Koentjoro is a photographer from Indonesia, where most of these shots were taken. You can see more of his jaw-dropping work on his flickr. Any idea what kind of camera was used for these?
via Snowce
I’m a fan of Aaron Ruell’s vision, he fakes retro in a very plastic & clean way. Some of his best work with Napoleon Dynamite I think we’ve overlooked since we’ve seen it soo many times in ads but after looking at them closely again i’m amazed at how well the color schemes are put together.
Beautiful, haunting double exposures by Oliver Morris. Even the title of his Flickr stream, “Lullabies to Paralyze” conjures a similar feeling of uneasiness in me.
This is my favorite thing on the internet right now. These terrific animated GIFs were created by Jamie Beck, a NYC based photographer. The allure is simple: rather than overtly drawing your attention to obvious movement, these animations are very subtle and controlled.
*Tasteful* I think is right word to describe them. It’s what sets them apart from all the other nonsense GIF animations. The subtlety creates a kind of serenity almost — sort of a halfway point between film and real life. Definitely makes you do a double take the first time you see it.
Prediction: I know animated GIFs are as old as time, but I think soon this subtle spin on the technique will be absolutely everywhere. Enjoy it now.
In the past we’ve talked about shooting underwater photos and wanting to experiment with it. These photos are from photographer Steven Taylor with musician Devan DuBois as the pictured subject. These images are a testament to the cool things that can result from experimenting with underwater photography.
I still would love to rent a housing for my Canon 1dmkII or even a cheap film camera and go for a dive into the ocean or a lake.
Can anyone recommend a decent waterproof film camera?