I just arrived in Honduras for the week. The big plan was to bring the Nikon D80 and hopefully get some good shots. But of course, I left the battery sitting on the charger so now I’m left with the iPhone 4 (which took the above shot) and a little canon SD870 IS. I’m going to take it as a challenge and try to coax the best shots I can from the little guys.
The internet is super spotty out here so not sure I’ll be doing any more uploads during the trip. But with a little luck I’ll have some interesting stuff to share when I return.
I checked in on Tim Navis recently after way too long away and as usual, I was not disappointed. He’s posted a lot of new work much of which I see as a distinct evolution from his already stellar earlier output. A lot of it is taking on a very illustrated quality which I really enjoy. Also loving the new B&W stuff; that tennis court shot is incredible. I’m pretty sure he’s using a 5D MK2 these days, not quite certain though.
A friend recently turned me on to Adreas Gursky’s photography. His work is absolutely breathtaking; the sort of vaguely distant quality of the images is really striking. Gursky has been working for many years but only started using computers to manipulate his photographs the ’90s. Apparently his prints range all the way up to 6 feet tall; I can’t even imagine how impressive the detail must be at that scale. You can find some more of his work at the Matthew Marks Gallery site or via Google Images. Truly inspiring.
Also, I really need to go to wherever that pool is. It looks like some sort of utopian society where they somehow put Barton Springs in the middle of Amstelpark.
Via Simon Smith
UPDATE: Thanks to WZT in the comments for sharing the location of the pool in the last photo. Check it out on Google Maps.
Polaroid hinted at a potential rebirth for instant photography today with this teaser sent to Engadget. Looks intriguing; the slot at the front is just enough to get me lusting after this. Will be really interesting to see if they can recapture some of their former glory with a new instant camera. But in this day and age of 8MP camera phones I wonder if the thrill of the instant physical copy might be lost on most. How ever would you Facebook it!!?
I’m personally hoping for some nice balance of tempered throw-back aesthetics with a healthy dose of new features. From the vague image they’ve provided, it’s looking pretty clean. But knowing how they roll now, I’d be surprised if they really pull it off.
Architectural photographer (sounds like a pretty good gig right?) Benny Chan’s Traffic! series depicts aerial views of rush hour traffic around Los Angeles, a place that’s no stranger to the phenomenon. Beautifully shot, I’d love to have one of these huge on a wall somewhere to remind me of how we — sort of — have it better here in SF. Click the images for (very) large versions.
Well I finally downloaded Instagram, after much ado. Prior to actually downloading the app, my understanding of Instagram was that it infested my Twitter stream with photos affected with filters I spent most of my first year at design school trying to apply to everything (posters, shirts, CDs, food etc). It was really annoying. “What is with all these forced vintage iPhone PHOTOS!” was the common refrain while clicking through my Twitter folk. (Kind of like the vintage film effect in Jersey Shore. WHY. Or so I’ve heard…)
I downloaded it over the break as part of some research I am doing for a new app I am working on (completely unrelated; I was basically downloading the entire app store and Instagram happened to come with it). Anyway after playing with it for the last few days I must say I am a convert, a fan. I get it now: it’s fun to see completely mundane photos suddenly become awesome with the tap of a finger. Cruddy picture of airline seats with poor light and an iPhone lens? No problem! Apollo filter and it looks like Hunter S Thompson just got up to go to the bathroom.
Of course I’m kidding around, but I actually am a fan of the app. Filters and mega-vintage filtering aside, the real power of the app is the social component. This doesn’t seem surprising now, but remember that there were tons and tons of other camera apps before it that played a similar card (vintage-izing) but left out this crucial bit of Twitter-esque following. The app now sits squarely between Facebook and Twitter on my iPhone and I find myself clicking it just as often to see if any of my friends have posted new pictures or ‘liked’ any of mine.
Definitely consider myself addicted, at least for the time being. However there are a number of frustrating bits that I hope they address sometime soon. First, there is no web component or ability to do anything at all anywhere but the phone. The website lets you…change your password, but I can’t direct you to my entire feed or anything. You have to download the app, search for me, then follow. An annoying process. Also, what’s the deal with the popular tab? It’s almost as mysterious as the frontpage of FFFFOUND. I would love some more powerful search, sort and filter capabilities. And I swear if they start charging $$ for additional filters…
My username is alexcornell if you can find me! Some of my first Instagrams are above.
Philistine DSGN is a anti-art collective out of Brooklyn, NY that is run by Danny Scales. In my mind he finds the beauty in what most people might see as darkness but since i’ve known him I see it as pure care taking of what should be visually appealing and interesting during a time where a lot of darker looking design is so ordinary and without surprise in my mind.
