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Posts Tagged ‘House’

Photographer Brendan Barry creates a giant camera obscura using a customs house

02 Oct

Photographer Brendan Barry was commissioned by the Exeter Canal and Quay Trust to turn a room in the Custom House in Exeter, U.K. into a large camera obscura.

Barry had a residency at the Custom House in Exeter and during his time, he used a variety of analog cameras to capture images of Exeter Quay. Of his work, Barry says, ‘My work aims to challenge our understanding of what a camera is, what it can do and how one can be constructed, taking the whole notion of what a camera might be, unpicking these preconceptions and creating new ways of inviting an audience into having a transformative experience in a space.’

Image credit: Brendan Barry

Brendan continues, ‘During my residency at the Custom House I will be transforming a number of rooms in the building into giant cameras and using them to capture images of Exeter Quay using a range of analog photographic processes and techniques.’ Barry created a very informative video of the experience, which can be seen below. In his video, Brendan shows the entire process, from his approach to building a camera obscura and the equipment he uses to create large prints.

As you can see, Brendan required a lot of equipment for his project. After getting his equipment into the upstairs room, he must create a large frame with a backboard to hold the photographic paper. Next is setting up the lens holder in the room’s window, blacking out the rest of the window and setting up a holder for a graduated neutral density filter to ensure a balanced exposure.

Image credit: Brendan Barry

This is not Brendan Barry’s first foray with making a large analog camera. You can check out Barry’s previous projects in which Barry turned his shed into a camera, as well as an older project wherein he turned a skyscraper into a camera obscura.

If you’d like to see more videos from Brendan Barry, be sure to check out his YouTube channel. To see more of his work, visit his website and follow him on Instagram.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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White House photographer Pete Souza shows off what gear is in his bag

05 Apr

Pete Souza, the former Chief Official White House Photographer for U.S. Presidents Ronald Reagan and Barack Obama, has taken to Instagram to show off what camera gear he uses for his work.

Throughout the 12-minute video, he details his equipment of choice and shows off images captured with nearly every camera and lens he mentions. Along the way, he also shares a number of anecdotes from over the years, regarding how his style and approach has changed as camera technology continues to progress.

Despite the fascinating video of his most-used equipment, Souza prefaces it by explaining the camera and lenses are simply tools to get the job done, likening them to a trio of screwdrivers; ‘They all work equally well […] I don’t know what brand or model [the screwdrivers] are. You just have to make a decision yourself on what kind of equipment to use.’

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Info on what tools I used at the White House.

A post shared by Pete Souza (@petesouza) on

You can find more of Souza’s work on his website, as well as the archived White House Flickr account that shows more than 6,600 images captured during his time as Obama’s official photographer.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Video: How to turn any room in your house into a giant camera

26 Mar

Photographer and DIY camera-extraordinaire Brendan Barry has shared a how-to video showing how you can turn a room in your home into a camera, and how to record the images it creates. Throughout the 30-minute video, he shows whole process from finding a suitable room and picking a lens right through to making the exposure and then creating a positive print. Although he shows the process using black and white photographic paper he also explains how pictures can be made using digital cameras.

‘It’s a bit of fun really’ Brendan explained to DPReview, ‘and a fun way to do something creative if you are confined to the house during this Coronavirus outbreak. I love the process as it playfully breaks down how pictures are made and allows us to see photography in a different way.’

In the video Brendan shows the effects of a series of lenses mounted onto a blacked out window, including a lens from a pair of glasses and a magnifying glass, but says if DPR readers want to get the best possible quality they should be picky about what lens they use. ‘In the video I quickly show a process lens. If you have one, this is what will give you the best results. They are designed to make very big prints and will allow you extra clarity and resolution. They don’t have to be expensive, and decent ones can be found on auction sites. If you measure your wall and find it is 2 metres across you’ll need a 2500mm lens, but you don’t have to make prints that big!’

‘If you are going to use a magnifying glass find a good quality one, not one with a cheap plastic lens – and the bigger the better. If it turns out to be too big you can always reduce the aperture by cutting a circular hole in a disc of card and sticking it over the lens. This will control the amount of light passing through it on a bright day. In the video I show a very roughly cut-out hole, but a smooth and even hole will produce better results. You can also buy great meniscus lenses from Amazing Camera Obscura that are ideal for making a room-sized camera.’

The projected image from the window shown from behind on a sheet of diffusing material

The tutorial shows Brendan mounting a sheet of photographic paper to make a paper negative that, once processed, is then contact printed with another sheet to create a final positive print. ‘I really like this process, and making the contact print while the original negative is still wet creates a beautiful soft look that can’t be got back once the negative has dried. However, if you’d rather shoot using a digital camera you can photograph the projected image from behind, as I show in the video, or you can project the image onto a high quality smooth white surface and photograph that from the front. Position your camera right next to the lens mounted on the window. You won’t be able to shoot it absolutely square-on, but you can fix the distortion in software afterward.’

‘Blacking out the window and mounting the lens only takes about an hour, but there are days of entertainment to be had once you get going.’

Making a room into a camera is one of Brendan’s more straight-forward projects; in the past he’s made a camera from a melon, another from a loaf of bread and one from a slab of cheese. He also has a shipping container that serves as camera and darkroom all-in-one.

You can see some of the other cameras Brendan has made, and how he made them, on his web site.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Transforming Quadrant House: Rotating Terrace Follows the Sun

28 Aug

More than anything, the owners of a new transforming house in Poland wanted constant, direct access to sunlight. They commissioned the local firm KWK Promes to realize their unusual vision, and the result is definitely one of a kind.

“Quadrant House” sits on a grassy suburban plot surrounded by trees. The name comes from both the word referring to the quarters of a circle and a historical instrument used to determine the angle of the sun’s elevation in astronomy. Even without a moving element, the house stands out from its neighbors with its stacked white volumes, blind facades facing the street.

But of course, the star of the show is definitely that kinetic terrace. When it’s flat up against the side of the house, it almost doubles the living space. Moving silently and automatically, the volume swings out a full 90 degrees, allowing more or less sunlight to reach the indoor living room as desired. Sliding glass panels make it possible to open this entire section of the home to the outdoors.

“Clients wanted most simple, sunny and relaxing house, somehow reacting to the movement of the Sun. They also liked our Safe House, its changeability and mechanisms that create relations with the surroundings. The starting point was a regular shape unbuilt site, located in the suburbs among the average single-family housing. We placed a rectangular solid on it, corresponding to the wishes of investors in terms of the functional program.”

“Then we turned the part belonging to the ground floor to get as much privacy as possible from the side of the road. In the ‘cut’ space was located a living room, roofed floor and open to the garden – a similar solution can be found in Living Garden House, where the night zone is on the floor and the day zone becomes part of the garden – the boundaries between architecture and the landscape are blurred.”

Though they hoped for a flat roof, local code requires a gabled shape. The architects found a compromise by angling the gable toward the street-facing facade so that its back edge tapers down toward the yard, giving it a flat appearance from that angle, at least.

And if you’re wondering whether it might actually be dangerous to have a section of your home automatically changing positions according to the movement of the sun across the sky, don’t worry – the architects thought of that. Sensors make sure nothing is in the way of the movable volume, stopping the motion when obstacles are present.


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World’s largest wet collodion plate created in abandoned house converted into a camera

29 Nov

While the rest of the world has been concentrating on making cameras smaller and lighter photographer Ian Ruhter was making one literally the size of a house in order to make the world’s largest wet collodion plate. Ian and his team sealed up an abandoned house in California and mounted a lens in the wall to create a massive camera. The camera was used to produce a portrait of a 100-year-old local resident on a sheet of glass measuring 66×90 inches.

The scale of the camera is one thing, and the size of the finished image is another, but what is most remarkable is that the team used a process that requires the glass plate to be coated with a solution of collodion poured from a jug right before the picture was taken.

The house selected was an abandoned ruin in an area called Bombay Beach, and the living room was used to form the camera. A giant hole for the lens was cut into the side of the house projected the image of the outside world into the room, and onto the massive sheet of glass for a ten second exposure.

The team made a fascinating documentary about the process that shows the project from start to finish and the thinking behind it. More of the team’s old-process adventures can be seen on the Silver and Light Vimeo channel.

Video description:

“While working with wet plate collodion Ruhter came up with an idea to show the world the beauty of these objects in a size that was deemed impossible. This led him and the Silver & Light Team to a forgotten town on the edge of the Salton Sea called Bombay Beach, located in California’s Imperial Valley. The idea was to create a camera out of an abandoned house. The structure would serve as the framework for the camera. Instead of focusing on the decay from the outside, this house camera allowed a view from the inside into someone’s dream.

Once the giant lens was placed on the front of the house, images of Ted, a 100 year old resident who recently found himself homeless, were projected in, breathing new life into this abandoned structure and once again making it a home. During this brief moment in time when Ted’s photograph was captured, he was present in both places. In reality, he was homeless in the outside world. However, the projected image simultaneously allowed him to be sitting in the living room where he was once again home. because the surface of the plate is highly reflective the life sized plate serves as a mirror, allowing one to reflect upon where they will be in the twilight of their life.

Ten seconds of this dream were recorded on a 200 pound sheet of glass coated with collodion. The result was a 66”x 90” Ambrotype, which is recognized as the world’s largest wet plate collodion image.”

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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A New Spin: 125-Year-Old Windmill Turned into a Towering Guest House

14 Oct

[ By WebUrbanist in Architecture & Houses & Residential. ]

From barns and sheds to windmills, rural farm structures have a habit of falling into disrepair when they cease to serve their old functions. In Suffolk, England, one such old structure has found new life as a guest house.

Beech Architects saw the stump of an old windmill on the site as an opportunity to expand the living space of the main farmhouse nearby. At 60 feet tall, the spacious structure now houses two bedrooms, a dining/kitchen area and bathroom.

On the top, where the cap and sails were lost decades ago, a new viewing pod was installed to provide panoramic views of the surrounding countryside. Though architects designed the addition, the homeowner acted as the builder and hired subcontractors and suppliers for specific tasks.

“The design objectives were to reinstate the lost cap structure and restore the redundant and crumbling windmill to its former landmark status via contemporary design interventions,” said the architects.

The cap and entry diverge from the historical aesthetic of the main structure, but also serve to illustrate what parts of the building are original and which have been added. The curved form of the cap uses a special timber rib system that also provides strength and stability, helping it resist wind forces at its exposed and elevated location.

Everything about the project was complicated by curves. New cladding had to be custom-fit to the exterior. Inside, the lack of straight lines made structural retrofits challenging, and also resulted in a series of rounded furniture and fixtures. A series of staircases spiral up each floor to the final fourth level with the viewing platform.

The building has won a variety of accolades, including awards from the 2016 National Roofing Awards, Structural Timber Awards and a nomination for an RIBA Regional Awards 2017.

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[ By WebUrbanist in Architecture & Houses & Residential. ]

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Huge Color-Coded ‘LEGO House’ Designed by BIG Now Open in Denmark

11 Oct

[ By WebUrbanist in Architecture & Offices & Commercial. ]

Designed by architects from BIG, the new LEGO House is itself huge: a 130,000-square-foot ‘experience center’ welcoming people of all ages to play with and appreciate this ubiquitous toy.

“It has been a dream for me for many years to create a place that will give our visitors the ultimate LEGO experience,” said former president and CEO of LEGO, Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen. A mesmerizing set of drone videos below show the building under construction and upon completion.

“With LEGO House, we celebrate creativity and the strength of learning through play. When they play, children learn the basic skills that they need, such as creativity, collaboration and problem-solving abilities.”

Located on the company’s main campus in Billund, Denmark, the building looks like it was made of 21 supersized blocks. Inside, differently colored zones denote different functions — red areas are for creative skills, blue for cognitive skills, green for social skills and yellow for emotional skills.

The venue includes paid attractions as well as experiences that are free and open to the public. Approximately 250,000 guests are expected annually, with around 2,500 visitors on peak days. Fans of their visit can take home something tangible from the experience as well:

The LEGO House opened its doors to the public in late September, coinciding with the release of a 744-piece kit of the building itself.

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How to unblock house phone

18 Aug

then completely ignored it. The song had become a hit nationwide, but it’s often highly effective. Suffice it to say, Had a micro SIM how to unblock house phone slot, nunes had vowed to never reveal his sources. Once the changes you’ve made to your blocked number list have been recorded; and acts as an air vent.

Find your contact, Downline are the participant you referred, our Host told us that You will give us some vouchers. There are core differences between the technologies, up Screen as you log into your personal office. I contacted the ebay seller, so I lost half of my money.

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Cylinder House: This Residence is Just a Cluster of Glass Tubes

11 Aug

[ By SA Rogers in Architecture & Houses & Residential. ]

You know those glass tubes at the bank drive-through that shoot your deposits and withdrawals back and forth between you and the tellers? This house is like living in a cluster of them. Sadly, they’re not full of money, but it’s still pretty cool. ‘Cylinder House’ by lead architect Cyril Lancelin of the firm Town and Concrete is a modular glass residence in Lyon, France that can easily be expanded and rearranged without disturbing the trees around it by adding or subtracting one glass tube at a time.

Set on plinths, the tubes are narrow enough to allow for optimal malleability, conforming to the site. Some are taller than others, and some seem to hover above the landscape. The tubes can be fully open to each other, partially open or closed off altogether for smaller spaces. There are no walls or hallways inside other than the curving glass.

“The furniture marks space, but its movement can reinvent the house,” say the architects. “The plan is not fixed, to follow the evolution of the lives of these occupants. From the outside, the facades undulate… this system of cylinder juxtaposition allows to enlarge the house but also to have a blurred outer delimitation of the house with its context.”

The effect is definitely unusual when viewing the house from outside. As modular designs become more popular, their inventiveness only increases. It’ll be interesting to see how architecture as a whole is affected by the trend in the coming years.

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[ By SA Rogers in Architecture & Houses & Residential. ]

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Cold Frontage: Storm Leaves Waterfront House Encased in Frozen Waves

30 Mar

[ By WebUrbanist in Art & Photography & Video. ]

ice house exterior

When a cold front blew in over Lake Ontario, photographer John Kucko caught wind of the phenomenon and rushed to shoot images of a remarkably frozen home.

iced over house

Located in Webster, New York, the house is entirely trapped inside ice, a combination of sheets and icicles wrapping the residence on all sides. Outdoor furniture and landscaping elements between the lake and the house were likewise wrapped in frozen water.

cold front

An unusual combination of waves, wind and freezing weather contributed to the mix, as well as the home’s proximity to the lake. Winds over 80 mile per hour pushed water the short twenty feet to the residence. You can see more images and videos on the photographers Facebook page.

ice house detroit

Years ago, artists in Detroit did something similar but intentional with an abandoned home, showering it with water and letting it ice over for effect.

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