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Posts Tagged ‘Past’

Past Preserved in Paper: Miniatures Document Gentrification

28 Jul

[ By Steph in Art & Sculpture & Craft. ]

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Today, that charming old brick building on the corner might be a market where you can still grab a six-pack at a decent price; within mere months, it could be knocked down for a gleaming high-income condominium tower. The shift in a city’s character can seem to occur in the blink of an eye as the look and usage of its architecture changes. As gentrification rapidly alters the face of the city around him, Philadelphia artist Drew Leshko documents and preserves building facades as they presently stand in miniatures made of paper and wood.

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Whatever your opinion may be about the onward march of modernization and urban progress, it’s hard to deny that too much ‘spiffing up’ without the careful preservation of historical details and the imprints of the people and cultures that have shaped them can make all cities look the same.

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Though cleaner and safer, New York City has become virtually unrecognizable within just a couple decades, replacing all of the independent businesses that once lined its streets with chain stores and sleek signage. The same is happening in cities around the world, much to the chagrin of people who have a sentimental attachment to what those places used to be.

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Leshko cycles around Philadelphia documenting interesting buildings to later recreate in his studio at a 1:12 scale. Details like bars on the windows, hand-painted banners, graffiti and uneven weathering are reproduced in three dimensions as a way of archiving their condition before they’re gone.

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Though they may still be a reflection of what Philadelphia really looks like, it won’t be long before these sculptures are mere nostalgia. No matter where you live, taking a close look at them might just prompt you to appreciate the current state of your own city a little bit more.

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[ By Steph in Art & Sculpture & Craft. ]

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Photokina 2014: Fujifilm interview – ‘Over the past few months I’ve been getting more confident’

25 Sep

DPReview attended the Photokina trade show last week in Cologne Germany, and as well as stand reports and hands-on looks at the major new products we also sat down with executives from several of the major camera manufacturers. In this interview, we speak to Toshihisa Iida, Senior Manager of Sales & Marketing in Fujifilm’s Optical Device & Electronic Imaging products division. Click through to read more

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Sprawling Vision of the Past: American Suburbs From Above

06 Jul

[ By Delana in Art & Photography & Video. ]

cristoph gielen aerial suburban photographs

Suburbs are far older than most of us tend to realize, but when we talk about urban sprawl we most often think of the planned communities that popped up during the industrial revolution. Photographer Christoph Gielen spent seven years documenting some of these communities in America from a helicopter, creating a fascinating series that he calls Ciphers, which he published in a book of the same name.

urban sprawl seen from above

Seen from within, urban sprawl seems like little more than closely-built homes that all look the same. But there is a deeper meaning to these communities that is sometimes glossed over. They were built at the height of the country’s growth phase, when driving miles to work didn’t seem like a bother because gas prices were low and expected to stay that way.

american suburbs from above

But the best laid schemes of mice and men often go awry, and eventually suburbs became more of a headache and an eyesore than the pleasant communities they were meant to be. A 45-minute commute between work and home became an extremely expensive proposition, but suburban homeowners were stuck with their “American dream” hoames. Today, these relics of a time gone by are still mostly inhabited, their residents still driving long distances each day.

cristoph gielen ciphers

The goal of Gielen’s project was to draw attention to the effect these communities have on the environment. The practice of building further and further away from city centers, and in turn creating the need to use cars to drive long distances, creates an environmental burden that he calls “fascinating and profoundly unsettling.” Regardless of your opinion of these far-flung planned communities, there is a certain sort of lovely aesthetic to the patterns and shapes formed by the streets, green spaces, and tiny box houses that make up the American suburb.

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[ By Delana in Art & Photography & Video. ]

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Blast from the past: Photographing steam locomotives

04 Jul

Matthew Malkiewicz is what you might call a vintage train enthusiast. Fascinated with trains since his childhood, he’s been photographing steam locomotives since a trip to Colorado in 2005 reignited his interests in trains and photography. His photos capture the old-world charm and romanticism that these steam-powered machines evoke. He answered a few questions about his work – see more of his photos and learn about his process. See gallery

related news: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Google Street Art: View Over 5,000 Past & Present Pictures

25 Jun

[ By WebUrbanist in Gaming & Computing & Technology. ]

street art 5 ppoints

Using panoramic Street View technologies, Google is assembling an awesome collection of high-resolution images capturing over 100 works in 5,000 interactive photographs to date, including many famous pieces from all over the globe (include now-destroyed paintings and tags).

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Street artwork is often ephemeral, sometimes disappearing within a day of its creation, making this endeavor an ambitious attempt to document an art form frequently subject to being painted over by unhappy building owners or paid city workers. Art captured and presented here ranges from whole-wall exterior murals to floor-to-ceiling interior works, complete with online critiques, commentary and supplemental imagery.

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The 5Pointz murals, for instance, were lost despite community protests, first painted over (presumably to lesson the blow of what was to come next) before the building they were on was destroyed entirely.

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All of this is part of a larger endeavor, the Google Cultural Institute, which provides access to famous art and architectural interiors from around the world. The street artwork subsection lets you sort by artist or artwork, collection or location.

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[ By WebUrbanist in Gaming & Computing & Technology. ]

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Antarctopia: A Vision of Past & Future Polar Architecture

30 May

[ By Steph in Architecture & Public & Institutional. ]

Antarctopia 1

The most remote and climactically unforgiving place in the world, Antarctica has served as a setting for only the hardiest and most practical of architecture since its initial exploration in the 19th century. An exhibition at this year’s Venice Architecture Biennale examines how the man-made structures of the continent have evolved over the decades since, and how aesthetics could come into play in the future, adding some form to all that function.

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‘Anarctopia’ is a pavilion featuring a model of the British Antarctic Survey’s Halley VI Research Station by Hugh Broughton Architects as well as work by 15 international architects and artists examining the provisional nature of architecture in Antarctica and new design proposals that go beyond the scientific, industrial and military missions that have directed the continent’s utilitarian architecture in the past.

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Directed by artist Alexander Ponomarev and architect Alexey Kozyr, the pavilion offers visions of snowflake-shaped structures covered in solar panels nestled into a snowy landscape dotted with wind turbines and penguins. The organizers hope that the project will have an impact on the design of real stations in the future. “Among enthusiasts and unbolt schemes dwells the promise of a new Antarctic man.”

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And while most of us will never get to explore the actual Halley VI Research Station in Antarctica, visitors to the Biennale can get up-close and personal views of models of the world’s fist mobile research center, which opened in 2013. The pods that make up the station are set on adjustable ski-like feet so they can be relocated inland to avoid being stranded on an iceberg, and raised above high snowfall accumulations.

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[ By Steph in Architecture & Public & Institutional. ]

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Composite Crime Scenes: NYC Past Patched onto Present

29 Apr

[ By Steph in Art & Photography & Video. ]

NYC Crime Scene Collage 1

Murdered gangsters, car crashes and four-alarm fires are nearly forgotten in the peaceful present day, but this photo series reminds us that the past is not so far away. Photographer Marc A. Hermann, a historian with the New York Press Photographers Association, lays old New York City crime scene photos on top of their present-day locations for dramatic juxtapositions of time period and mood.

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Warning: these are real crime scene photos, and aren’t for the faint of heart. The very recently deceased are seen cradled in the arms of their loved ones, or sprawled out on the floor. The top photo depicts a distraught woman who climbed onto the ledge of her building; the second shows the Church of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary aflame.

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The demise of gangsters Salvatore ‘Sammy’ Santoro and Frankie Yale can be seen after a shooting and a car crash, respectively. A woman hides her face in mourning of her sister in front of the ruins of a car. Firefighters battle a blaze at the Elkins Paper & Twine Co. that claimed the lives of six people.

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In each photograph, the black-and-white historical image contrasts sharply with the modernized full-color setting. Tourists stroll past the scenes of some of the city’s most tragic disasters, completely unaware. The message seems to be that life goes on, but the ghostly imprints of those incidents remain. See the full series at New York Daily News.

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Past and present: NYC’s changing streetscape

14 Apr

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Ten years ago, James and Karla Murray set out photographing New York City’s distinct and varied storefronts. The project was known as Storefront: The Disappearing Face of New York. With ten years passed they revisited the same locations and photographed them again, where over and over one-of-a-kind signage has, in fact, disappeared. Banks and fast food restaurants have sprung up in some places, while others decay behind bars and graffiti. See gallery

News: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Past Food: 10 Creepy Closed & Abandoned McDonald’s

21 Dec

[ By Steve in Abandoned Places & Architecture. ]

abandoned closed McDonald's
I’m leavin’ it! You can bet your sesame seed buns these 10 closed and abandoned McDonald’s have swirled their last McFlurry and will bag burgers no more.

Archless In America

abandoned McDonald's (image via: Flavio Grana)

The usual knock against modern architecture (or should we say, “ARCH-itecture”) is that it lacks character, and the stereotypical mansard-roofed “McStore” style of McDonald’s outlets is the poster child for the genre. With that said, Flickr user Flavio Grana has managed to coax a supersized amount of depth out of the anonymous abandoned McDonald’s location above. Stripped of all brand identity yet instantly recognizable, the moonlit McD’s stands alone in silent glory, a washed-out monument to conspicuous consumer culture.

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Megatron McDonald's Alconbury(images via: Reddit, Comfortable Disorientation and Geograph UK))

If you thought the UFO-shaped McDonald’s in Roswell, NM was out of this world, then feast your eyes on the former McDonald’s restaurant in Alconbury, UK. First opened in 1990 as The Megatron, the distinctive saucer-shaped eatery was an interplanetary flop: in 1993 it closed but soon re-opened under the McDonald’s banner.

McDonald's Megatron Alconbury(images via: Daz, Comfortable Disorientation and HuntsPost24/Geoff Soden)

After roughly 15 years serving up burgers, fries & shakes to hungry Huntingdonshire locals, the location shut down for good and (oddly for a closed McDonald’s franchise) remained shuttered for a further half-decade before finally being demolished in mid-2008. Plans are now afoot to allow six “gypsy pitches” to occupy the land where the McUFO once stood. Tramps and thieves are advised to look elsewhere.

Arch-Criminal?

abandoned McDonald's golden arches sign(image via: rustyjaw)

It’s not often an item (with emphasis on the “em”) this large and obtrusive escapes the watchful eyes of the McBrand Police but it seems to have happened here. Flickr user rustyjaw doesn’t explain what the Big M is doing inside an abandoned naval communications station or what plans (if any) he has for this piece of fast food M-orabilia, and that’s probably in his own best interest. Imagine refurbishing and re-electrifying the signage, then mounting it on your dining room wall… awesome to be sure, though it would definitely ruin the mood during intimate gourmet dinners.

Supersize My Storm

abandoned McDonald's Biloxi clown(images via: Imgur/1RgbS and Joel Carranza))

If Ronald McDonald wasn’t creepy enough already, check out his zombie clown alter-ego, still (barely) standing in Biloxi, MS, shortly after Hurricane Katrina devastated the area in September 2005. It took a while for reconstruction to get into full swing around Biloxi and the neighboring gulf coast but it was too late for both this shattered & shuttered McDonald’s and the tilted Ronald – they’ve been replaced by a Wendy’s.

Next Page – Click Below to Read More:
Past Food 10 Creepy Closed Abandoned Mcdonalds

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[ By Steve in Abandoned Places & Architecture. ]

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Our Most Popular Gifts From Christmases Past

17 Dec

OooOooo, the Ghost of Photojojo Christmases Past here.

I came to show you gifts that are guaranteed to be crowd pleasers. In fact, they already are (have been/will continue to be).

Our most popular gifts from Photojojo Christmases past!

To prove that I am a friendly ghost. I’m going to unlock *FREE USA SHIPPING* FOR EVERYONE! But, only if 1000 people visit the Shop at once, by noon PST. Visit Photojojo.com to boost the visitor count and see how close we are to free shipping.

Smartphone Spy Lens

Take photos on the sly with this 90° periscoping lens. → More

TiPhone Light Studio

Dial up any color under the sun with app controlled LEDs. → More

Smartphone Film Scanner

Scan 35mm film directly to your phone to edit and share. → More

Pop-up Flash Bounce

Turn your nasty pop-up flash into lovely even lighting. → More

Phone Stabilizer and Tripod

The SlingShot is a stand + handle for crisp photos + vids. → More

The Polaroid z2300

This digital camera makes prints at the push of a button. → More

Rotating Camera Stand

Take pro-quality 360° timelapse videos w/ the Camalapse. → More

Zigzag Camera Strap

A jaunty addition to any photographers ensemble. → More

iPhone Instant Cam Decal

Your iPhone = analog awesome w/ an easily applied decal. → More

Ring Flash Adapter

Turn your regular ol’ pop-up flash into a defused ring flash. → More

iPhone SLR Lens Mount

Use your DSLR’s lenses on your phone. ON SALE! $ 70 off → More

Macro Lens Band

Taking stunningly detailed super close shots on any phone. → More

Camera Lens Mugs

Drink your very favorite bevvy out of your favorite lens. → More

Jelly Camera Phone Filters

Add starburst, prism & wide angle FX. ON SALE! $ 8 for 3 → More

Instax 210 Wide Camera

An Instant Camera that makes big ol’ wide prints. → More

Polaroid SX-70 Cameras

Iconic polaroid cams in prestine working condition. → More

Magnetic Photo Ropes

Hang your 8 best photos anywhere with just one tack. → More

White Balance Lens Caps

The simplest way to white balance your photos. → More

Seat Belt Camera Straps

Recycled seat belts, keep your camera safe. → More

Photojojo! The Book

A book full of insanely great photo projects and DIY ideas. → More


Polaroid Z340 Cam

$ 249

$ 199 BUY!


Holga iPhone Lens

$ 30

$ 25 BUY!


iPhone Video Slider

$ 95

$ 60 BUY!


Photoshop Magnets

$ 25

$ 20 BUY!


Vintage Camera Mobile

$ 35

$ 25 BUY!


Pennant Party Box

$ 25

$ 20 BUY!


See 100+ more amazing gifts…


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