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Posts Tagged ‘Metropolis’

Lomography releases Simple Use Camera preloaded with LomoChrome Metropolis film

20 Feb

Lomography’s latest Simple Use Camera, the LomoChrome Metropolis, is now available to purchase from the company’s online store. The camera is loaded with Lomography’s LomoChrome Metropolis ISO 100-400 film, operates off a single AA battery and features a built-in flash. The Simple Use Camera is reloadable, as well.

According to Lomography, its Simple Use Camera loaded with LomoChrome Metropolis film can be used to capture ‘grungy shots with muted colors and distinctive shadows.’ The camera includes three Color Gel flash filters (yellow, magenta and cyan), a built-in frame counter, direct optical viewfinder, 31mm F9 lens and 1/120 shutter speed.

In addition to the LomoChrome Metropolis ISO 100 – 400 film, the Simple Use Camera is also available with Black & White ISO 400, LomoChrome Purple ISO 400 and Color Negative ISO 400 film. The camera is available from Lomography now for $ 22.90 each.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Sample gallery and impressions: We shot a test roll of Lomography’s new Metropolis film

05 Nov

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Lomography recently announced LomoChrome Metropolis, the company’s first new film stock in five years. It’s currently available for pre-order, however Lomography was nice enough to send us an early production roll to experiment with. We’ve had some rare sunny Seattle days here recently, so I took advantage and loaded the roll up in my Leica M6 + Rokkor 40mm F2 combo and got shooting.

Metropolis is pitched as a film stock with muted tones, desaturated color and heavy contrast. And though the results of my test roll aren’t exactly my cup of tea, I think it’s accurately advertised.

Then again, my initial choice in subject matter, dogs in halloween costumes, may not have been the best match for Metropolis. The greenish hue of the film doesn’t lend itself particularly well to scenes with a lot of bright colors. But I could certainly see this being a tempting choice for moody cityscapes and street photography. I’d also be curious to push it a little and shoot closer to dusk (I shot it at ISO 400).

Dogs in Halloween costumes may not have been the best choice of subject matter to compliment Metropolis’ unique characteristics.

This is not an everyday film, of course, its a subject-specific film. And choosing subject matter based on your film stock is sort of a foreign concept to me. I’ve always been in the mindset that the film being used should be adaptable to whatever subject matter you choose. But I think it’s cool that Lomography is coming up with creative new films for people wanting a specific or novel look.

Ultimately, of the images I shot, those with urban elements are the ones I think look the best. And I look forward to putting another roll through my camera, this time with the intention of shooting subjects that will complement its unique characteristics. Until then, I’ll stick with my standard film stocks.

See our ISO 400 LomoChrome Metropolis sample gallery

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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California City: The Half-Built Desert Metropolis of the Golden State

01 Aug

[ By WebUrbanist in Abandoned Places & Architecture. ]

It’s the third-largest city in California by land area but most people (including many in CA) have never even heard of this mostly-empty desert oasis, home to around 15,000 people. It’s not quite a city, but not quite a ghost town either.

Visiting the area is a bit surreal – roads running through its 200 square miles connect nothing to nothing in the hot Mojave, in some cases following straight lines and in others wrapping to form cul-de-sacs.

Some roads are paved, but most aren’t. In places, nature has started to reclaim the dirty gravel strips with hearty desert plants growing right up through streets.

Photographer Noritaka Minami recently took a trip in a helicopter to photograph the strange sprawling semi-ghost town, which are on display at On Freedom, an exhibition at Aperture for another month.

The place was a mid-century vision of a real estate developer named Nathan Mendelshon who purchased over 80,000 acres, imagining California City as a fresh metropolis for a growing state.

Some parcels were resold but never developed — others were bought and remain in use, mainly for people working at a nearby military base or prison.

The few houses that do exist seem almost stranger than the framework of roads around them, neatly fenced in a neighborhood of empty plots.

More from Minami: “This project focuses on California City, a master planned community in the Mojave Desert conceived by sociologist turned real estate developer Nathan K. Mendelsohn in 1958. California City was envisioned as the next major metropolis in California in response to the population and economic growths after World War II. This development was based on the belief that even in a harsh desert landscape, mankind had the freedom and power to produce a built environment that provided all of the essential needs for a prosperous modern life.”

In his series of black-and-white images, “aerial photography is used to document the scale of the vision Mendelsohn proposed in the desert and question whether this ‘wonderland’ could have even been sustainable in this environment. Despite having the foundation for a city in place, there are no indications that this city will ever be realized in the future.” In the end, half-built may be an overstatement — in reality, the place is more like a skeletal outline of a city, punctuated (like a normal rural landscape) by pockets of development and clusters of community.

22 Global Tales of Ghost Towns and Abandoned Cities

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Nearly two decades ago even short trips across Europe could involve multiple stations, guards, lines and stamps, but the open-border policies in effect today have transformed many of these …

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[ By WebUrbanist in Abandoned Places & Architecture. ]

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Miniature Cities in Motion: Tiny Animated Metropolis Made of Paper

15 Nov

[ By SA Rogers in Art & Sculpture & Craft. ]

paperholm

Diminutive flags wave in the wind, ferris wheels the size of clock gears turn, cranes rise and fall and tiny cars zoom around in this three-dimensional world made out of paper. Artist Charles Young has been working on his ‘Paperholm’ project for years, typically completing one miniature building every single day, mounting them to wood or stone and creating stop-motion animations from their moving parts.

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Today, Young has amassed over 635 paper buildings, rollercoasters, vehicles and other elements of his miniature cities, putting them together into an impressively well-organized whole. A graduate of the Edinburgh College of Art with both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in architecture, Young initially took on the 365-day project to explore architectural forms in paper, hand-cutting them from watercolor paper and assembling them with PVA glue.

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The first time Young created an animated GIF of one of his creations, he just wanted to demonstrate how smoothly a particular element spun in a circle. This turned out to be a pretty cool way of showing them off. He sketches, cuts and assembles each structure in a single sitting.

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The resulting city is gleaming white and surprisingly well realized considering its two-dimensional origins. Each element is individually documented on the Paperholm tumblr so you can see how it works, and then take in entire blocks of the tiny creations as a whole.

Tube Art: Tiny, Magical Worlds Inside Toilet Paper Rolls

We rarely give much thought to the humble toilet paper roll – and why should we? It’s just a piece of cardboard, destined for the recycling bin, a carrier for a necessary but unremarkable …

Paper City Animation: “Rise & Fold” of a Fragile Metropolis

Unfolding like a pop-up book in real time, this incredible little built landscape of buildings and bridges, trees and mountains, lampposts and benches rises from nothing then fades back into the …

Tiny Toothpick Art Goes Far Behind Merely Miniature

A toothpick replica of the Eiffel Tower is impressive enough – but one San Francisco artist takes it much further than that, using shards of a single toothpick to build amazingly tiny, detailed …

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Urban Microscape: Build Your Own Miniature Metropolis

23 Feb

[ By Steph in Design & Products & Packaging. ]

microscape 1

Display your own little corner of your favorite city – or the entire metropolis of Manhattan – on your wall or table, scaled down to 1:5000 and simplified in white monochrome. ‘Microscapes’ are 3D-printed tiles developed from up-to-date aerial scale data so they can evolve along with built environments, including buildings still under construction or in planning phases. The designers are kicking off their campaign with New York City and will expand to other major cities across the United States and the world once their Kickstarter campaign is complete.

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The entire island of Manhattan is available in the form of individual, 6” square tiles, but to collect all 200, it would cost you a rather shocking $ 25,000. But early backers on the campaign can get a single tile of their choice, featuring some of Manhattan’s most popular locations, for a pledge of $ 65 or more. Each tile captures roughly half a square mile of the city.

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The tiles are made from biodegradable, non-toxic white thermoplastic derived from cornstarch and range in height according to whatever section of the city you’ve chosen, up to 5.5 inches tall for the highest skyscrapers. The campaign is already generously over-funded, but you’ve still got a little bit of time left to snag a pre-order of your own.

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Paper City Animation: “Rise & Fold” of a Fragile Metropolis

01 Jul

[ By WebUrbanist in Art & Drawing & Digital. ]

paper city animation project

Unfolding like a pop-up book in real time, this incredible little built landscape of buildings and bridges, trees and mountains, lampposts and benches rises from nothing then fades back into the oblivion from whence it came.

paper unfolding built environment

A summary from the creator of this cool short animation, Maciek Janicki: “The streets are paved with paper. This delicate animation follows the charming rise and fold of a fragile metropolis. Captured by an unseen helicopter, the narrative unfolds through winding roads, erupting forests and emerging mountains. Paper City grows in one fluid take, with skyscrapers rising from the page – only to crumble, wrinkle and gently crease back into the ground.

Janicki is a motion graphics artist and computer animator from London, England, whose work often focuses on the intersection of built environments, everyday objects of offbeat animation. Some of his other projects, experiments and tests can be viewed via the videos above.

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Lawless Metropolis: Kowloon Walled City, Then and Now

09 Apr

[ By Steph in Architecture & Cities & Urbanism. ]

Kowloon Walled City 1
Twenty years ago, a dank, lawless, congested and compacted lawless city located just outside Hong Kong was evacuated and destroyed, putting an end to the nearly century-old settlement first created as a Chinese military fort. Kowloon Walled City was packed with at least 50,000 inhabitants in 6.5 acres just before its demolition in 1993, and its history included a period of mob rule with sky-high rates of prostitution, gambling and drug use. Today, it’s the Kowloon Walled City Park, a tranquil place modeled on traditional gardens of the early Qing dynasty.

Kowloon Walled City 2

The former fort became an enclave when Britain gained control of the New Territories, which is one of the three main regions of Hong Kong. During World War II, as the Japanese occupied Hong Kong, the walled city’s population began to multiply dramatically. Once Japan surrendered, China announced plans to take back the city from Britain, and even more refugees poured inside, increasing the number of squatters to 2,000. Unable to drive them out, both China and Britain washed their hands of the situation, allowing it to rule itself.

Kowloon Walled City 3

But it was hardly a democracy that rose inside Kowloon in response. Underground mob groups increased already-rampant crime, taking control of brothels, gambling parlors and opium dens. Hong Kong police would only attempt to infiltrate the city in large groups.

The architecture of Kowloon Walled City was haphazard, rising vertically with such narrow alleyways on the interior that sunlight rarely penetrated to street level. Pipes constantly dripped onto pedestrians. Children climbed to the rooftops to play. Many interior apartments had no windows. These factors came together to give it a dystopian feel, popularizing it as a setting for novels and games.

Kowloon Walled City 4

Exasperated with the unsafe, unsanitary conditions, China and Britain mutually agreed to tear it down. In its place, a 330,000-square-foot park was created, completed in 1995. Paths and pavilions inside are named after the streets and buildings of the vanished Walled City. Some artifacts, like entrance plaques and the city’s south gate, are on display. Where the city’s 300 interconnected buildings once stood are now floral walks, ponds and carefully cultivated gardens. Catch a glimpse into Kowloon Walled City’s fascinating past at the website of photographer Greg Girard.

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Car-Free City: China Builds Dense Metropolis from Scratch

19 Feb

[ By Steph in Architecture & Cities & Urbanism. ]

China Carless City 1

Altering most of today’s cities to eliminate cars altogether would be a daunting, if not impossible, proposition – which is why China is starting from scratch. Great City will be built around a high-rise core housing 80,000 people, entirely walkable, and surrounded by green space.

China Carless City 2

Planned for a rural area outside Chengdu, the high-density Great City will give residents access to a ‘buffer area’ of gardens and greenery making up 60% of the total area of the city. Walking from the center of the city to the green spaces takes just ten minutes, and other nearby urban centers will be accessible by a mass transit system.

China Carless City 3

Chicago architecture firm Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture say the city will use 48% less energy and 58% less water than a more conventional city of the same size; it will also produce 89% less landfill waste and generate 60% less carbon dioxide.

China Carless City 4

The development addresses the problem of overpopulation, pollution and urban sprawl by compacting a lot of residents into vertical housing, growing food nearby. “The design is attempting to address some of the most pressing urban issues of our time, including the need for sustainable, dense urban living at a cost people can afford,” says Gill.

Carless City China 5

“Accordingly, we’ve designed this project as a dense vertical city that acknowledges and in fact embraces the surrounding landscape—a city whose residents will live in harmony with nature rather than in opposition to it. Great City will demonstrate that high-density living doesn’t have to be polluted and alienated from nature. Everything within the built environment of Great City is considered to enhance the quality of life of its residents. Quite simply, it offers a great place to live, work and raise a family.”

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Car-Free City: China Builds Dense Metropolis from Scratch

12 Feb

[ By Steph in Architecture & Cities & Urbanism. ]

China Carless City 1

Altering most of today’s cities to eliminate cars altogether would be a daunting, if not impossible, proposition – which is why China is starting from scratch. Great City will be built around a high-rise core housing 80,000 people, entirely walkable, and surrounded by green space.

China Carless City 2

Planned for a rural area outside Chengdu, the high-density Great City will give residents access to a ‘buffer area’ of gardens and greenery making up 60% of the total area of the city. Walking from the center of the city to the green spaces takes just ten minutes, and other nearby urban centers will be accessible by a mass transit system.

China Carless City 3

Chicago architecture firm Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture say the city will use 48% less energy and 58% less water than a more conventional city of the same size; it will also produce 89% less landfill waste and generate 60% less carbon dioxide.

China Carless City 4

The development addresses the problem of overpopulation, pollution and urban sprawl by compacting a lot of residents into vertical housing, growing food nearby. “The design is attempting to address some of the most pressing urban issues of our time, including the need for sustainable, dense urban living at a cost people can afford,” says Gill.

Carless City China 5

“Accordingly, we’ve designed this project as a dense vertical city that acknowledges and in fact embraces the surrounding landscape—a city whose residents will live in harmony with nature rather than in opposition to it. Great City will demonstrate that high-density living doesn’t have to be polluted and alienated from nature. Everything within the built environment of Great City is considered to enhance the quality of life of its residents. Quite simply, it offers a great place to live, work and raise a family.”

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Halo 2: Walkthrough – Part 6 [Mission 5] Metropolis – Scarab (Gameplay & Commentary)

29 Nov

Halo 2 Walkthrough: Metropolis [Mission 5] Part 6 of my Lets Play series from Halo 2 Playlist – www.youtube.com Follow me on Twitter – www.twitter.com
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