Feeling old? Photoshelter has published a humorous list of 17 signs that you were around before digital photography became the norm. For those of us that were, the list is a nostalgic look at some tools and accessories that have fallen into disuse, as well as a reminder, possibly, that some things remain useful, even in the digital age. If you’re too young to remember anything before digital, you should take a look at the list anyway. You might learn something.
Photography has been around for almost two hundred years, but amazingly, it’s only in the past couple of decades that it has gained widespread acceptance as an artform. These days, images by significant photographers command very high prices. But How high is ‘very high’? Internet community FreeYork.org has published a list of the ten most expensive photos ever sold. Click through for the list.
[ By Steph in Architecture & Public & Institutional. ]
The Sydney Opera House might have been little more than a squat concrete building resembling a factory, and a visit to the statue of Abraham Lincoln at the Lincoln Memorial could have required scaling a massive stepped pyramid. Ranging from close second-place finishes in design competitions to proposals that were little more than pipe dreams, these alternative designs for 12 major iconic landmarks around the world represent radical departures from the monuments we’re accustomed to.
Sydney Opera House
(images via: new world wonders, wikimedia commons)
The Sydney Opera House is one of the most recognizable buildings in the world, with a dramatic series of vaults rising from the ground along Sydney Harbour. But Danish architect Jørn Utzon’s now-iconic design was controversial when it was first proposed in 1957, and the design that came in second place may have been more palatable to the public. American architect Joseph Marzella’s design was rather industrial in its appearance, but didn’t seem quite so out there. It’s hard to imagine the magnificent performing arts venue looking so squat and dull.
Triumphal Elephant in Place of Paris’ Arc de Triomphe
(images via: wikimedia commons)
In place of one of Paris’ most famous monuments, the Arc de Triomphe, could have been a three-story elephant monument with a spiral staircase in the underbelly leading to the pinnacle. 18th century architect Charles Ribart offered this monument for the Champs Élysées, complete with a cross-sectional drawing showing the intricate rooms within, but was turned down by the French government.
This isn’t even the only massive, ridiculous elephant statue envisioned for Paris. Originally conceived by Napoleon, the imposing Elephant of the Bastille (third photo) was meant to be cast of bronze and placed in Paris’ Place de la Bastille on the site of the old Bastille prison, which was the birthplace of the French Revolution. A stairway set into the legs would give access to the top, and the base would be surrounded by a fountain. However, only a plaster model was built, as memorialized by Victor Hugo in the novel Les Miserables, and eventually the July Column took its place.
Unbuilt Design for the Golden Gate Bridge
(images via: pbs newshour, wikimedia commons)
Now 76 years old, the Golden Gate Bridge is an iconic symbol of San Francisco, coated in literally millions of gallons of orange paint. The Art Deco-style bridge is one of the longest suspension bridges in the world, beating many experts’ predictions that it wouldn’t last against gale-force winds in the straight where the San Francisco Bay opens to the Pacific Ocean. But this wasn’t engineer Joseph Strauss’ first design. The original proposal is markedly different, with a heavier look combining cantilevered and suspension designs. It was rejected by the planning committee.
Lincoln Memorial Pyramid
(images via: i own the world, wikimedia commons)
Highlighted at Unbuilt Washington, an exhibition at the National Building Museum in Washington D.C., John Russell Pope’s Lincoln Memorial Proposal replaces the columned rectangular building honoring the 16th president with a pyramid. Anyone who wanted to get up close to Abraham Lincoln’s statue would have had to climb that entire thing to reach it. Some historians believe that this proposal was ridiculous on purpose; Pope wasn’t a fan of the swampy location chosen for the memorial, and may have created this and other absurd designs in an effort to encourage the committee to seek a new setting. Pope went on to successfully design the Jefferson Memorial.
Pyramid Necropolis for London’s Primrose Hill
(images via: andrew gough, wikimedia commons)
Infused in the Victorian preoccupation with melancholy and inspired by the Egyptian spoils of traveler and tomb-raider Giovanni Battista Belzoni, London architect Thomas Wilson proposed a massive, 15-acre pyramid-shaped necropolis for the city’s Primrose Hill. The granite pyramid would have towered into the air with 94 tiers of tombs in honeycomb shapes and a base measuring 18 acres, casting a gargantuan shadow over the hill many Londoners use for picnics and looking out over the city. Churchyards were so crowded at the time, that graves were bursting out of the ground – but concerns about what to do with London’s dead weren’t enough to convince the public that a necropolis was a good idea.
White House Alterations for President Harrison
(images via: loc.gov, wikimedia commons)
While he’s not nearly as forgettable as his grandfather, ninth United States President William Henry Harrison – who died after just 32 days in office – many Americans will struggle to recall any of twenty-third President Benjamin Harrison’s achievements during his tenure in the White House. However, Harrison could have made quite a mark. The first President to reside in the White House after it was wired for electricity, Harrison and his First Lady, Caroline Harrison, proposed significant changes to the complex that were never carried out. However, ten years later, Theodore Roosevelt made plenty of changes of his own, including the addition of the West Wing.
Next Page: Alternative Landmarks 12 Monuments As They Almost Were
[ By Steph in Architecture & Public & Institutional. ]
Next Tuesday evening, May 14th at 5:30pm, my good pals Trey Ratcliff, Robert Scoble and the awesome team at Google+ Photos will be joining me for an historic and truly epic photowalk in San Francisco. We think it will probably be the largest photowalk ever held in the history of photowalking — already almost 600 people have signed up! We will start the walk in Yerba Buena Gardens in downtown San Francisco.
Most exciting, one of our lucky photowalkers will win Google Glass. That’s right, a winner will be selected randomly — you must pre-register for the walk here and must be present at the end of the photowalk in person to win. We will go over the rules and details on how to win the Glass at the photowalk.
This is a free event open to everyone regardless of skill, experience, camera type, etc. Bring your Holga/Diana or your Canon 5D Mark III or your Rebel or your Android phone — or even that other phone that I can’t ever remember the name of
We will be announcing more details between now and the event, but you won’t want to miss this fantastic San Francisco event. We will have a great afterparty too where we can all geek out about photography.
We’ve all got them. That perfect shot hidden away on our hard drive or waiting in a negative sleeve.
But, with 80 bajillion photo sharing sites out there the question of where to share our masterpieces is not always an easy answer.
Getting your photos in the right place means getting your photos seen, so Photojojo has come up with a foolproof guide to help you figure out:
A) What type of photographer you are?
B) Where you should share your stuff?
Sound simple? It is!
You can finally give ImageHive the heave ho and find the sharing service that’s right for you.
A Personalized Guide to Photo Sharing
p.s. Now’s a great time to order photo prints! You can get up to 80% off with the Photojojo promo code at Nation’s Photo Lab.
p.p.s. We’re looking for the World’s Most Friendly Full Stack Web Developer in San Francisco, CA (relocation available) to join Photojojo (a.k.a. “Team Awesome”) Tell your friends! ? Here’s the details… ?
The Globetrotting Travel Snapper
What They’re About: Hopping from hotel to hostel in search of graffiti filled alleyways and temples shrouded in fog.
Where They Share: Flickr: The Flickr Travel Photography Group boasts over 75,000 members and the improved mobile app makes it easy to share while on safari.
Instagram: This photo-sharing app incorporates a neat map showing all your geotagged photos and makes it easy to share your travels across all your favorite social media sites at once.
Postagram: This app revolutionized the postcard. Simply take a pic on your phone, write a message, and hit send. The Italian postal system could learn a thing or two from these guys.
Their Cameras:Waterproof compacts, mirrorless interchangeable-lens cameras, dinged up DSLRs
Famous Travel Photogs: Steve McCurry, Robert Frank, Trey Ratcliff
The Fashionista Portrait Popper
What They’re About:The Portrait Popper assures that the fashions of their generation don’t go undocumented.
Where They Share: Pinterest: A place to share and keep track of your best fashion photos. A digital dream board that serves fashion-fans as a well of inspiration.
Pose: Similar in design to Pinterest but much more fashion centered. Pose offers some fantastic features like the ability to tag items of clothing when you post!
Lookbook: The fashion-inclined share not only their best daily ensembles, but their best shots, too.
Their Cameras: Holgas, Polaroids, 85mm lenses
Famous Portrait Photogs: Richard Avedon, Annie Leibovitz, Steven Klein
The Light Bending Experimenter
What They’re About: Photographic mavericks that set the shutter to their own tune and have no fright of the night.
Where They Share: Flickr: Has a number of experimental groups such as: Experimentation, Experimental Techniques, Light Painting, Digital Abstract, and Illusions
DeviantArt: While not a solely photography based site DeviantArt showcases some fantastic abstract and digital art that overlaps with photography.
Reddit: Subreddits cover all manner of niche photography including: /r/toycameras, /r/PerfectTiming, /r/lightpainting, and the tantalizingly titled yet completely safe for work /r/exposureporn/
Their Cameras: Anything that will take a photo! From paper pinhole cameras, to giant walk-in camera rigs, to glitchy phone cameras and Rebels
Famous Experimental Photogs: Andy Warhol, Troy Paiva, Kyle Thompson
The Foodie Chronicler
What They’re About: Each day brings a new opportunity to fill their bellies and Instagram feeds with the best of both worlds.
Where They Share: Instagram: To the foodie photog Instagram is like brushing your teeth, something you do everyday at least 2-3 times.
Foodspotting: This foodcentric photo app makes it easy to tag food types and find other users’ yummy stuff.
Serious Eats: The Photograzing section of Serious Eats offers up some of the finest food photography on the net.
Their Cameras: Their phone, DSLR or anything that will shoot macro
Famous Foodie Photogs: Carl Warner, Marcus Nilsson
The Family Memory Machine
What They’re About: Pictorially protecting holidays, graduations, and family vacations from the inevitable fade of memory.
Where They Share: Facebook: The popularity of Facebook, it’s simple design, and the ability to simply tag family members makes Facebook the social network of choice when it comes to family photo sharing.
Shutterfly: This popular print making service makes it easy to create photo books, stationery, and calendars from your own shots. It even has an app so you can use photos from your iPhone!
Their Cameras: Point-and-shoots, DSLRs, iPads, and zooming cameras for capturing various sporting events
Famous Family Photogs: Sally Mann, Jock Sturges, and Dorothea Lange
The Landscape Lover
What They’re About: The Landscape Lover can’t get enough of the outdoors and they have the camouflage tripod to prove it.
Where They Share: Google+: Nature photography based communities, built in photo editing, and extra large image uploads.
500px: Contributions from amazing landscape photographers from all around the world help to make 500px the gold standard of social photo sites. If you are interested in selling prints, this may be a good place to start.
Their Cameras: Million mega pixel DSLRs, medium format film holdouts
Famous Landscape Photogs: Ansel Adams, Charles O’Rear, Galen Rowell
The Analogue Enthusiast
What They’re About:35mm, medium format or Polaroid, these retro revivalists love affair with analogue borders on religious.
Where They Share: Tumblr: Powerful blogging resource and treasure trove of analogue projects. Search ‘film photography’ tag for some fine examples, and check out I Still Shoot Film and Filmspiration.
Flickr: There are tons of film photography groups on Flickr including this aptly titled group: I Shoot Film, which has a pool of over 2 million film shots. Whew, thats over 50 miles of film!
Meetup: This website is great for finding passionate people with similar interests and has loads of groups that are tailored towards film fanatics. (Ahem, photo walks!)
Their Cameras: Nikon F3s, Bronica S2s, Canon A-1s
Famous Film Photogs: Henri Cartier-Bresson, Robert Capa, William Eggleston, Robert Doisneau, pretty much any photographer before 1999
The DIY Photo Crafter
What They’re About: While most people are content with a photo’s standard two dimensions, Photo Crafters like to see it in all three.
Where They Share: Pinterest: The DIY and Crafts section of Pinterest is a mecca for those seeking crafty inspiration and looking to share their latest creations.
Instructables: This is where the mad scientists and fearless explorers of the photo world come to hand out their crafty camera hacks.
Their Cameras: DSLRs sporting a Holga lens, home modified IR cameras, their phone with a fisheye lens attached
Famous DIY Photogs: Justin Quinnell, Maurizio Galimberti, Enrico Nagel
The Micro Macro Marvel
What They’re About: This specialized breed of shutter bug goes mad for all things small miniscule.
Where They Share: Flickr: Boasting a number of fantastic macro groups such as Flower Closeups, Closer and Closer, Macro in Black and White, Macro Liquid, and Secret Forrest.
Small World: For thirty six years, Nikon’s Small World competition has been showing the world that the microscope can be just as effective as a paint brush for showcasing life’s natural beauty.
Their Cameras: Even your phone takes pretty sweet macro shots these days, but pros and enthusiasts shoot DSLRs with specialized lens so they feel special
Famous Macro Photogs: Thomas Shahan, Lester Lefkowitz, Michael Keniston
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Mobile Photography Awards (MPA) have announced the winners, runners up and honorable mentions of their 2013 competition. A record number of entries were received in this year’s competition from participants around the globe, demonstrating increasing interest in mobile photography as an art form. We’ve picked some of our favorites from the 19 categories.
Yes, after a long month of no videos we’re back. We had plenty to be doing in real life such as GCSE’s and work experience, but we’re back on track with free time so we should be delivering our usual amount of content over the next few months at least 🙂 We have a lot planned for 2011 just to raise the bar for us in 2012. So, why not subscribe? ~ Initial
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What They’re About: Hopping from hotel to hostel in search of graffiti filled alleyways and temples shrouded in fog.
What They’re About:The Portrait Popper assures that the fashions of their generation don’t go undocumented.
What They’re About: Photographic mavericks that set the shutter to their own tune and have no fright of the night. 
What They’re About: Each day brings a new opportunity to fill their bellies and Instagram feeds with the best of both worlds.
What They’re About: Pictorially protecting holidays, graduations, and family vacations from the inevitable fade of memory.
What They’re About: The Landscape Lover can’t get enough of the outdoors and they have the camouflage tripod to prove it.
What They’re About:35mm, medium format or Polaroid, these retro revivalists love affair with analogue borders on religious.
What They’re About: While most people are content with a photo’s standard two dimensions, Photo Crafters like to see it in all three.
What They’re About: This specialized breed of shutter bug goes mad for all things 
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