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Slideshow: Winners of the 1st annual Paris Aerial Photography Awards

21 Oct

Winners of the 1st annual Paris Aerial Photography Awards

Several thousand photos from 65 countries were submitted to the 1st annual Paris Aerial Photography Awards – a competition open to artists using drones, kites, balloons, helicopters, and planes to capture imagery. The jury, including From Where I Drone’s Dirk Dallas, Costas Spathis, Women Who Drone’s Elena Buenrostro, the Abstract Aerial Art team, and Florian Ledoux awarded 106 photos in 22 categories and 11 photographers in 6 master categories.

‘When I submitted my images to the Aerial Photography Awards I knew the competition was going to be fierce. The number of aerial photographers has grown exponentially in the past few years. The advent of high quality, inexpensive and easy to fly drones is the obvious cause. But it takes more than just good gear. The incredible images submitted to the competition shows the dedicated and talented artists that the Aerial Photography Awards attracts,’ Jamie Malcolm-Brown, who received a nod in the Special Mentions section, tells DPReview.

A few of the Master category winners include these photos, from left to right, in the Abandoned, Travel, and Cityscapes categories.

Sebastian Nagy was awarded overall Aerial Photographer of the Year. He got his start in aerial photography on city rooftops. Six of the images he submitted were category winners. Make sure you check out the Awarded Photographers, Aerial Photos of the Year, and Special Mentions.

Aerial Photographer of the Year 2020, 1st Place, Daily Life: ‘The Lady of the Sea’ by Duy Sinh (Vietnam)

Artist Statement: A fishing boat is dropping a net and accidentally the waves pull the edges of the net into a lady on the blue sea. An accident of creation.

Aerial Photography Technique: Drone

Aerial Photographer of the Year 2020, 2nd Place, Daily Life: ‘Anchovy Catching’ by Thien Nguyen (Vietnam)

Artist Statement: Soft light of new day illuminating the long smoke from fishing boat engine & the shape of green nets moving underneath the water surface when local fishermen pulling their nets.

Many local fisherman families along the coastline of Phu Yen province will follow the near-shore currents to catch the anchovy during peak season. Salted anchovy is the most important raw material to create traditional sh sauce – the spirit of Vietnamese cuisine.

Aerial Photography Technique: Drone

Aerial Photographer of the Year 2020, 1st Place, Patterns: ‘Umbrella Crossing’ by Daniel Bonte (Japan)

Artist Statement: Crossing of umbrellas bring colors on a gray rainy canvas.

Aerial Photography Technique: Drone

Aerial Photographer of the Year 2020, 2nd Place, Editorial: ‘Eid Congregation’ by Azim Khan Ronnie (Bangladesh)

Artist Statement: South Asia’s largest Eid-ul-Fitr Congregation held in Gor-e-Shahid Boro Math, Dinajpur, Bangladesh. According to the organizers’ claim, over 600,000 devotees participated in this Eid congregation. The prayers began at 8:30 am with devotees coming from different parts of the region. Eid-ul-Fitr is a Muslim festival of happiness celebrated all over the world.

Aerial Photography Technique: Drone

Single Category Winner, Digitally Enhanced: ‘Airplanes’ by Cassio Vasconcellos (Brazil)

Artist Statement: These aerial images are all constructed after many different photos that I did flying by helicopter. All images presented here are done after 2015 but is impossible to determine just a one-day shooting since I use sometimes hundreds of photos.

Aerial Photography Technique: Helicopter

Aerial Photographer of the Year 2020, 1st Place, Documentary: ‘Fire Attack’ by Marc LeCornu (Jersey)

Artist Statement: Firefighters from the Jersey Airport Rescue & Firefighting Service work as a team to attack a simulated aircraft response. These live response scenarios are designed to ensure the crews are fully skilled and ready should a real incident occur.

Aerial Photography Technique: Drone

Aerial Photographer of the Year 2020, 1st Place, Waterscapes: ‘Arctic Paradise’ by Kyle Vollaers (United Kingdom)

Artist Statement: This image was taken o the coast of Qeqertarsuaq in -25° celsius. One of the most beautiful yet abstract places I’ve ever seen.

Aerial Photography Technique: Drone

Aerial Photographer of the Year 2020, 1st Place, Landscapes: ‘Skyggnisvatn’ by Sebastian Müller (Switzerland)

Artist Statement: The Highlands of Iceland.

Aerial Photography Technique: Drone

Aerial Photographer of the Year 2020, 1st Place, Trees & Forests: ‘Forest Path’ by Mehmet Aslan (Turkey)

Artist Statement: Herd of sheep uses forest road to return home.

Aerial Photography Technique: Drone

Aerial Photographer of the Year 2020, 1st Place, Abstract: ‘Tatacoa Desert’ by Johan Van Den Hecke (Belgium)

Artist Statement: A topdown view of the rock formations of the Tatacoa desert at sunset.

Aerial Photography Technique: Drone

Aerial Photographer of the Year 2020, 1st Place, Accommodations: ‘Colors of Dubai’ by Kevin Krautgartner (Germany)

Artist Statement: Real estate shooting for accommodations in the Burj Khalifa.

Aerial Photography Technique: High point of view.

Special Mention: ‘Love Island’ by Jamie Malcolm-Brown (United States)

Artist Statement: The fog dissipated as the sun rose behind some storm clouds over this heart-shaped island.

Aerial Photography Technique: Drone

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Paris Musées launches online portal with thousands of historic photographs

22 Jan
Eugène Atget (Jean Eugène Auguste Atget, dit) (Libourne, 12–02–1857 – Paris, 04–08–1927), photographer

Paris Musées, the public institution that manages all of the museums in Paris, has launched a new Collections portal that offers the public access to more than 100,000 high-resolution digital reproductions of classic artwork and photography. All of the content offered in the Collections portal is available under a CC0 license.

In addition to high-resolution images of artwork from such notable names as Rembrandt, the online collection also includes a portal with more than 62,000 high-res photo scans showcasing some of the nation’s earliest photography from photographers that include Pierre Emounts ou Emonds, Eugene Atget, Ernest Charles Appert, Hippolyte Blancard and Roger Henrard.

Maison de Balzac, 16th arrondissement, Paris. Eugène Atget (Jean Eugène Auguste Atget, dit) (Libourne, 12–02–1857 – Paris, 04–08–1927), photographer

Because the photos are all under a CC0 license, anyone can download high-resolution copies of the images alongside documents with full details on the photos, including when and where they were taken, which museum they’re located at and the materials and techniques used to produce each print. The institution will also make copyrighted images from its museums available as low-resolution previews.

In its announcement of the new online collection, Paris Musées explains that it receives a large number of requests from students and others who want to view and/or use some of the images from its museum collections. This portal now makes it possible for anyone to quickly locate and download the content.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Photogenic Paris street seeks to ban Instagrammers certain times of the week

21 Mar

Residents of a Paris street plagued by Instagrammers, selfie takers and music video crews are asking the city government for a weekend and evening ban to give them some peace.

The number of images on Instagram with the hashtag ‘Rue Crémieux’ has reached over 31,000 and those trying to live in the quaint cobbled street have had enough, according to a report on French website Franceinfo.

Residents have to not only put up with tourists photographing their beautiful street but with parties of dancers filming routines with their pastel colored houses being used as a backdrop and the blaring music that goes with it. Locals have described the situation as ‘hellish’ and are fighting back, forming an association to petition the local government for road closures at the weekend and during evenings so that they can get some peace.

Alternative Instagram and Twitter accounts have been set up to document the ‘S**t people do in rue Cremieux,’ as seen above. The accounts show pictures and videos of dance troupes, fashion shoots, music video crews, endless selfie takers and photographers using the street as though it were a public studio.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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MAD Architects Redesign Turns Ugly Paris Tower into Giant City-Scale Mirror

03 Oct

[ By WebUrbanist in Architecture & Offices & Commercial. ]

Tall, dark and brooding, the infamous Maine-Montparnasse Tower is an unexciting skyscraper, especially by Parisian standards, but that could all change if MAD Architects converts it into a city-scale mirror. Their renovation proposal employs clever optical tricks to reflect and invert the surrounding cityscape.

When it was built, Montparnasse was the tallest building in France and heralded as a technological achievement. But unlike the Eiffel Tower, which was controversial at first but became a symbol of the city, this skyscraper never gained iconic status — in fact, it led urban building heights to be capped at seven stories. Some quip it has the most beautiful views in the city, in part because those views don’t include the building.

MAD Architects aims to change perceptions of the tower and its role in the city using concave glass panels tilted at an angle to create reflections of the surrounding built environment.

Viewers would be able to see surrounding streets, roofs and buildings in its mirrored facade. In a way, the resulting design both blends into the environment while also highlighting the beauty of the French capital and showing it from generally unseen angles.

“Today, we cannot really demolish this building and the historical regrets it stands for,” explains one of the architects behind the proposal, “but we can establish a new perspective to re-examine and think about how humanity can co-exist and interact with the tower and its environment, to bring meaning to our hearts.”

Perhaps unfortunately, while the firm was shortlisted in a redesign competition, another team was chosen to renovate the structure before the upcoming Olympic Games. Still, the design idea is out there, and another city might have its own ugly tower in need of transformation.

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Bike on the River: Cycle-Powered Gym Boat Glides Through Paris

01 Dec

[ By SA Rogers in Conceptual & Futuristic & Technology. ]

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Well, here’s one way to get some exercise and simultaneously enjoy views of a beautiful city without getting rained on or dealing with traffic.  Gliding along the surface of the Seine in Paris, past such landmarks as the Notre Dame Cathedral, ‘The Paris Navigating Gym’ gets most of its power from the humans operating the stationary bicycles inside. Supplemented by rooftop solar panels, the boat is a mobile exercise facility and relaxing tour of the city all at once, separated from the noise and chaos of the streets.

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Architect Carlo Ratti collaborated with fitness manufacturing company Technogym, non-profit Terreform ONE and urban generation institute URBEM to develop the project. Director of the MIT Senseable City Lab, which describes itself as ‘urban imagination and social innovation through design & science,’ Ratti aims to explore the potential of power generation through the movement of human bodies.

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The boat itself is pretty cool, accommodating up to 45 people on the bikes and other fitness equipment made by Technogym. As they work out, they can keep track of how much energy they’re producing as well as their fitness progress. An inverter convert the pedal power into utility grade electricity, powering the electronic elements of the equipment and propelling the boat. Excess energy is fed into the grid.

paris-gym-boat

The design of the boat is based on that of Bateaux Mouches, ferry boats for tourists that have dotted the Seine for nearly a century. The panoramic glass facades looking out onto the water sure beat the views of parking lots and televisions at most local gyms.

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[ By SA Rogers in Conceptual & Futuristic & Technology. ]

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Largest Mural in Paris: 15,000 Origami Birds Adorn Condemned Building

13 Jul

[ By WebUrbanist in Art & Street Art & Graffiti. ]

lunar building

Lunar Cycles is a massive site-specific installation featuring 15,000 paper-crafted birds in the 13th arrondissement of France’s capital city, requiring (non-paper) cranes to hang the elaborate avian collage.

bird art crane

Created by French street artist Mademoiselle Maurice in collaboration with Mathgoth Gallery, the work represents the biggest mural Paris has ever seen, a massive flight of birds landing on a 20,000-square-foot wall.

lunar art bird origami

birds on cranes

The artwork was installed on a condemned building, allowing the artist to first apply a layer of black paint as a backdrop for the colorful array of geometric paper birds added to the wall. She also painted on a series of two-dimensional origamic patterns to bridge between the physical papers and flat surface.

painted bird art

bird crane aerial view

The artist notes that the neighborhood contributed to the design, including those most impacted but the upcoming demolition of this long-standing structural pillar of the community. Previous projects from Maurice have featured similar themes in other settings, from birds and other geometric origami shapes gracing the walls of city streets and ancient castles alike. This work will be up through August.

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Real Underground Art: Secret Sculptural Installations Below Paris

14 May

[ By Steph in Art & Installation & Sound. ]

underground art 7

There’s a good chance that no one, other than an errant worker, will ever even see these highly symbolic (not to mention illegal) installations hidden far beneath the streets of Paris. Tucked into tunnels that have been disused for decades, Radouah Zeghidour’s sculptural creations have a furtive feel, each one requiring hours upon hours of investigative preparation as the artist slinks around the subterranean spaces to find locations that will be undisturbed as long as possible.

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“I place cigarette butts inside door locks, wedge things underneath the door, and place objects along hallways and passageways,” Zeghidour says. “Then I come back later to see if they’re moved, and when. I also research the locations extensively, and try to see if any construction work is planned along the subway lines. I try and find out workers’ hours and those of security as well. I also plan an emergency exit, in case something goes wrong.”

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The Paris-based urban explorer maps out these ideal spots and enters them at dawn, spending around ten hours at a time building his installations in place. Most are made using materials he finds within the tunnels, like branches, pallets, pipe, string and the remains of old structures. Most of his locations aren’t disclosed, but Zeghidour says 2014’s Radeau échoué (Sunken Raft, below) was placed along a subway line, while Désenchantement (Disenchantment, above) occupied an underground room beneath the contemporary art space La Maison Rouge.

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There’s definitely risk involved – the artist one spent three days in jail after he was caught in a restricted area, and has been escorted back above ground on other occasions. But Zeghidour finds the whole process to be healing and restorative, telling the Creators Project, “I explore underground when I feel blue. It soothes me.”

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The secretive nature of the process is a fitting complement to the work itself, which often evokes images of camps for refugees and the homeless. Accessed and utilized without permission, these often wasted spaces are temporary homes to surreal architectural creations, if not to the humans who could actually use them.

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[ By Steph in Art & Installation & Sound. ]

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Parasite Houses of Paris: Rooftop Prefabs Cling to Buildings

06 Feb

[ By Steph in Architecture & Cities & Urbanism. ]

parasitic prefab

Prefab structures jut out from the roofs of Paris’ charming architecture, adding affordable real estate to the densely-packed, land-scarce city in the only way possible: building up. While other cities across the world are knocking down one older structure after another to build shiny new condos that stretch up into the sky, the new units are often too expensive for the average urban resident, and significantly alter the historic character of each individual place.

parasitic prefab

Whether historically significant or not, the older buildings in most cities help give each location its own particular flavor. Razing them to throw up generic condominiums for people with upper-middle-class incomes not only displaces existing residents, it erases much of each city’s personality. A new project called 3BOX aims to compromise.

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Stéphane Malka Architecture has designed a series of rooftop prefabs that work within the context of Paris’ new property law, the Loi ALUR, which aims to construct 70,000 new dwellings per year while also stabilizing rent. The law comes with a relaxation in planning and zoning, enabling new rooftop construction.

Screen Shot 2016-02-05 at 8.28.32 AM

While many of the new dwellings built under Loi ALUR will go on brownfield sites, like those currently owned by French rail company SNCF, others will have to be woven into the fabric of the city in more creative ways. ‘Les Toits Du Monde,’ or the Roofs of the World, offers three different prefab structures bolted onto existing buildings with steel supports.

parasite houses 3

Not everyone will be crazy about altering 19th century buildings with these prefab boxes, no matter how science-fiction it may start to look, but the rooftop terraces help make them more attractive, and they could be a good option for structures with less aesthetic value.

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Stark Suburbs of Paris: Scenes from a Former Utopia

12 Nov

[ By Steph in Architecture & Houses & Residential. ]

dystopian paris 2

Dull gray concrete volumes stacked in irregular shapes stretch across the landscape just beyond Paris like a set from a dystopian film, dwarfing the mostly elderly residents who wander their halls. The ‘Babel-like’ housing estate known as Noisy-le-Grand began, in fact, as a utopian dream: a postmodern wonderland built between the ‘50s and ‘80s to welcome a migrant population of refugees from rural areas of France and other nations.

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Standing in stark visual opposition to the gleaming glass and steel of Paris’ more modern architecture and all of its centuries-old Gothic grandeur, Noisy-le-Grand was envisioned as a counterpoint to the boxy white creations of Le Corbusier, which the architects deemed unimaginative. Ricardo Bofill and Manuel Nunez-Yanowsky designed the Espaces Abraxas and Arénes de Picasso with a postmodern sensibility.

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But while the structures certainly aren’t lacking in imagination, ambition or scale, they are often – not unreasonably – compared to fortresses, prisons and industrial architecture. Unsurprisingly, the estate has been used as a set for everything from Terry Gilliam’s classic 1984 film ‘Brazil’ to ‘The Hunger Games: Mockingjay.’

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The fact that the residents of this strange suburb are almost all elderly reinforces the somewhat dystopian feel, especially when they’re photographed under vast concrete archways in this compelling photographic series by Laurent Kronental. Their humanity and the warmth and personality of their interior spaces contrast against the coldness of the architecture.

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Entitled ‘Souvenir d’un Futur,’ the series is the result of four years of visits. According to his artist statement, Kronental “felt a need to examine their living conditions and shed light over a sometimes-neglected generation. Exposing these unsung and underestimated suburban areas is a means to reveal the poetry of aging environments slowly vanishing, and with them, the memory of modernist utopia.”

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Paris Safari: Projected Wildlife Gets Chic in the City

17 Sep

[ By Steph in Art & Street Art & Graffiti. ]

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Soaring up to six stories in height, these lemurs, deer, gorillas, eagles and other carefully clothed creatures projected onto buildings all over Paris are mocking your fashion choices. The exotic animals – which certainly can’t be found in the streets of the city otherwise – might seem like just a bit of fun, or a statement on the lack of nature in urban environments, but the creator of the project has something a little deeper to say.

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Artist Julien Nonnon has spent all of September beaming his creations onto building facades after the sun sets, in a mix of street art and video mapping. For ‘Safari Urbain,’ Nonnon developed his own tools to project the images anywhere from life size to the full height of towering apartment buildings.

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Some of the animals are clad in three-piece suits, others in plaid flannel shirts or hoodies, echoing the fashions seen among the human passersby who stop to gaze up at them. The point, says Nonnon, is calling attention to how we contradict ourselves with what we choose to wear, wishing to be unique while simultaneously marking ourselves as part of a clearly defined group in an attempt to fit in.

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“The bestiary coming right out of fashion magazines, questions our behavior… In our way of dressing, we express our vision of the world, while indirectly revealing our social position and financial power. Fashion is nothing other than a means of communication, of integration and belonging to a group.”

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