Inceptive Notions

© Shane Lavalette

Now that classes have begun I’m more inclined to write down my ideas for blogs and postpone them until the weekend. I would like to update during the week but I fear my post would resemble the transcript of a baby’s first syllables.

If you look at a lot of blogs, what will save your life? Bloglines. It’s an easy tool to read all of your blog’s feeds in one place. If you don’t know what a feed is, just read the Help section and get yourself organized!

For anyone new to the world of blogs I’ll show you the ones I keep up with which includes the “essentials” and some obscurities.

I’ve separated them into small categories:

- Photography blogs (informative and pictorial)

- Photography blogs (simply photographs)

- Other

- Non-feedable blogs

Here we go…

A) Photography blogs (informative and pictorial)

1) A Photo Editor – General commentary on all things industry by Rob Haggart, a former director of photography.

2) Chase Jarvis – The musings of a commercial photographer. Chalk full of insights into how he shoots.

3) Photography Contests – Just what it says. Although a lot of the posted contests are for certain citizens (e.g. Irish, British) only. Also, make sure to note the entry fees.

4) Joe Mcnally – Similar to Chase Jarvis but with a little more anecdote. See this entry.

5) Magnum Blog – Magnum Photo Agency’s blog.

6) New York Daily Photo – Learn something new about New York everyday. With Brian’s light style of writing you can’t help but enjoy it.

© Ryan Pfluger

7) Ryan Pfluger – Keep up with the daily thoughts of an up and coming photographer. You’ll also get the added bonus of his opinions on the latest TV gossip.

8 ) Shane Lavalette – Discover fine art photographers and enjoy.

9) Shoot the Blog – Rachel Hulin’s (now departed) endeavor. She was the paid blogstress for PhotoShelter Collection which recently decided to shut down. The blog was updated so avidly it was hard to keep up but her personality and the posts were more than enough to keep me reading even if I didn’t have the time. Sort through the archives and then subscribe to her new independent blog: A Photography Blog.

10) Strobist – Learn everything lighting.

11) Vincent Laforet – Similar to Chase Jarvis and Joe Mcnally in content but of course a different perspective.

12) Visions of China – Another “deceased” blog but one that deserves a look through the archives. I’ve posted about this and Laforet’s before, but this one in particular is the sign of a hopeful future. I hope to see a lot more of this type of insight into news coverage.

13) The Year in Pictures – Run by James Danziger, the owner of the Danziger Projects gallery in Chelsea, The Year in Pictures always has interesting content.

B) Photography blogs (simply photographs)

Dorset Sheep, © Kathleen Connally

1) A Walk Through Durham Township – Demonstrates Kathleen Connally’s ever improving eye for the beauty in nature.

2) The Big Picture – Finally, photographs in the (large and descriptive) format they were meant to be seen in. I have yet to look through a photo essay that wasn’t insightful.

3) The Narrative – always beautiful (and sometimes hilarious).

4) The Sartorialist – Fashionista.

5) Urban Views – New York street photographer Markus Hartel.

C) Other

1) Jeff Hussein Strabone - Political commentary (without the fat).

2) Stuff White People Like – just because.

D) Non-feedable blogs

© Dennis Nazarov

These blogs, run by students in my department at NYU are not RSS feeds so they can’t be subscribed to. However, they usually provide a wealth of random photographs. If you’re interested in the everyday perspective of a photography student then give these links a go:

1) Bonnie Bryant

2) Charley Damski

3) Dennis Nazarov

4) Collin Lafleche

And now, you’re officially overwhelmed.

Welcome to the internet.

Michael George :: Sep.13.2008 :: Blogs, Photographers :: 2 Comments »

Nikon D90, © Chase Jarvis

In the past six years the world of photography has made tremendous leaps with its various forms of digital cameras. In the future, I imagine, we will look back on today as a milestone. Nikon has announced the release of the D90. All basic specifications aside, the most important aspect of this new camera is its ability to capture high-definition 720p video. Lately, from what I have gathered, everyone from photo editors to journalists and fine art to commercial photographers are wondering what direction photography and the media are heading. We’re facing an era where print media is slowly becoming obsolete as the Internet opens new doors, and professional photographers are looking on in uncertainty as the average consumer becomes the owner of a semi-professional digital SLR. There is a lot of speculation on the subject, and seemingly very few answers to the larger questions. This can be attributed to the fact that many companies are developing software that has untapped potential and there’s no telling what the general populace will do with it once it is at their fingertips. Microsoft is making leaps and bounds to take all of the millions of photographs uploaded to the Internet and amass them into a single place where the photographs become less of a flat image and more of a window into the landscape in which they were taken. The software, known as Photosynth, can be seen in a demo video here.

Gigapan

In a similar direction, I had the pleasure of watching Illah Nourbakhsh, a professor in the Robotics Institute at Carnegie Mellon University, demonstrate one of their machines known as the Gigapan. This little device takes an everyday digital camera and maxes out the zoom as it pans around the room and then couples with software that stitches all of these photographs together, creating an enormous panorama (a gigapixel image). You can explore these gigapixel images here. These new twists on what used to be a straightforward practice have people asking, Is Photography Dead? In the article Plagens states, “The next great photographers—if there are to be any—will have to find a way to reclaim photography’s special link to reality. And they’ll have to do it in a brand-new way.” This brand-new way will undoubtedly spring up from the myriad of new processes brought about by all of this evolutionary technology.

Iraq Kurdistan, Mediastorm, © Ed Kashi

One of the most poignant for me in recent memory is the way the people working with MediaStorm have managed to combine stop-motion animation with stills, video, and audio, to create extremely compelling narratives. Since this discovery I’ve found myself more interested in the potential for the combination of video and still photography and, at long last, Nikon has made the combination a comprehensible possibility. The camera, for one, is inexpensive ($999). But most importantly, the photographer will not feel out of their element while experimenting with video. All the tools needed are now housed in a single place. Although, from watching the videos, the camera is not foolproof. There is no autofocus and I would imagine the audiopickup is less than spectacular. Nonetheless, for those looking to experiment (i.e. me) this is a hint at what is to come and provides an easy outlet for testing the waters of the cinematic practice. Now, if only Canon would hop on the bandwagon.

P.S. Here is a video of Chase Jarvis testing out the camera:

Michael George :: Aug.27.2008 :: Blogs, News, The Industry :: No Comments »

© Dennis Nazarov

A friend of mine, also a student in the photography and imaging department, creates some really beautiful images with the simplest of cameras. He’s quite the frequent updater and provides a lot for you to look at. His blog can be found here. Leave thoughts.

Michael George :: Aug.19.2008 :: Blogs, Photographers :: No Comments »

Cheesy title acknowledged.

©John W. McDonough

The opening ceremonies to the Beijing Olympics have proven not only that China has an enormous population, but also that they can control those numbers with skill and beauty. Considering the enormous scope of performers (15,000) it’s hard to imagine the pressure on the photographers assigned to cover the event. Although, with such a spectacular performance it would seem impossible to take a bad photograph. Because of this, I moreso imagine what the pressure’s like to break apart from the swarm of other photographers and produce something original.

TIME.com posted a rather general, but nonetheless awe-inspiring, gallery of the ceremonies. I have a feeling I’ll be keeping a closer eye on Newsweek’s Visions of China photography blog. One of the three photographers contributing is additionally updating his own blog. See Vincent Laforet here. I’m already impressed by the in-depth look at his technique in photographing the fireworks display. I don’t understand how he finds the time.

Michael George :: Aug.08.2008 :: Blogs, News, Photographers :: No Comments »

©Martin Schoeller

Thanks to a link from the Strobist, I rediscovered the work of Martin Schoeller. I don’t doubt that most of you have seen his work before, but this gallery contains more than the usual celebrity showcase. I must say, however, that most of these are edited a little much for my taste. Their eyes begin to look a little alien…

Edit: Thanks to this interview, I learned that Schoeller actually shoots with film and then scans in his shots. He doesn’t detail what type of editing he does in Photoshop and looking through the gallery I myself can’t gauge it either.

Michael George :: Aug.07.2008 :: Blogs, Photographers :: No Comments »