Adam Broomberg and Oliver Chanarin have won the 2013 Deutsche Börse Photography Prize for their War Primer 2 publication — a collection of screen grabs and smartphone images paying homage to Bertold Brecht’s original War Primer project from 1955. Learn more on connect.dpreview.com.
News: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
Balance is a very important aspect in photography. If you are aiming to create a balanced photo, then there is one key that is often overlooked.
The corners of an image.
Our eyes have a natural tendency to want to dart off of the sides of a photograph when we look at it and so, when we can, we need to use the edges to fight this natural urge. Putting elements in the corners will stop the eyes so that they move back into the scene.
When you are framing a photograph look into each corner to see what is there. It can often help to cut off elements. A hint of a stair, window, or tree branches will simultaneously make us feel like the full element is there while still grounding the photo and pushing our eyes back into the middle.
If you’ve noticed why some photographs feel balanced and some don’t and can’t tell why, the corners are often the reason.
Here are 5 examples to look at.
The corner lines all lead the eyes to the middle, except the lower left corner, which adds another level of interest but still eventually pushes the eyes back into the photo.
Notice on the top how you only need a tiny area in the corners to provide balance. You can see how this effect applies to the elements on the top and left and right sides of the photo as well.
The lines all push the eyes into the scene. Notice how there are two ‘corners’ providing balance on the top right.
The ‘corner’ elements don’t have to be at the very edge. They can be further away from it. They just have to provide the feeling of balance.
Post originally from: Digital Photography Tips.
Check out our more Photography Tips at Photography Tips for Beginners, Portrait Photography Tips and Wedding Photography Tips.
How to Improve the Balance of your Photos by Paying Attention to the Corners
When we stepped foot onto Bangkok’s Klong Toey slum, we had no idea what to expect or what we were getting ourselves into. A juxtaposition of feelings is what would best describe us at that moment. The further we delved in, the more we became overwhelmed by the lives and the spirit of its people. Life seemed so surreal there and somehow living with close to nothing seemed acceptable. It was absolute functioning chaos but shed a light on the excessive lifestyles of not just the west, but of people all over the world who cannot fathom living without the many luxuries they have.
The railroad tracks were cluttered with tiny wooden shacks, most of them falling apart with little or no windows at all. Families and friends were gathered around in circles, having a beer or two and sharing food. Children played on what seemed to be a perfect playground for their curious little minds; throwing fistfuls of dirt in the air and jumping on roofless mattresses on the trackside. The drug addicted roamed about, adding a bit of intimidation to the place but keeping to them selves most of the time. A melting pot of people lived along this path, all of which surprisingly seemed harmless. We were even invited to dinner by one local man, but didn’t want to press our luck considering we were new to the area!
Deeper into the narrow alleyways were glimpses of family life, and their daily routines were no different from ours. It was close to sunset and the scent of Thai cooking was amidst! Every time we encountered a group of young teenagers, they took the opportunity to practice their English, so we’d exchange responses with them in Thai and learned a few new lines along the way. To our surprise, we even came across one young girl playing with a new Ipad!
We tried to capture simple moments that wouldn’t patronize these ordinary people who often become stigmatized by the rest of society. There were moments where it seemed these people were just making the best of their situation, no matter how dire it may be. In essence, we all share the same emotions and handle the lives we were born into accordingly. The people in this community were nothing short of welcoming and vibrant. Their energy was infectious. The following photos are part of a project in progress.
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silent tapes is a series of projects by 2 photographers, Francis and Stephanie Lane, focusing on documenting the lives of people from different cultures in various slums around the world, and generating funds for those communities through their works.
http://www.silenttapes.com
[ By WebUrbanist in Design & Furniture & Decor. ]
Two very similar designs with somewhat different audiences, Multiplo emphasizes their kit-of-parts approach as a means toward making convertible adult furniture, while Gogo Blocks are presented as a way for children to build their own play spaces, forts and mazes.
Sinclair Smith designed the Blocks as a student project, and, when he came across Multiplo, celebrated and encouraged HeyTeam‘s development of its parallel project.
But the blocks can work as furniture too, writes Smith: “Gogo blocks are a children’s play system of foam pillows for building and imagining, and are specifically scaled to form a twin mattress for sleepover guests.”
As to Multiplo: users are welcome to invent their own configurations and transformations, but core starting suggestions include couches, beds and a square lounge pit for seating groups. Also, the color palette is a bit more passable for older users (at least: young adults), being somewhat less colorful than that of its cousin, Gogo.
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Samsung has announced a 10mm F3.5 Fisheye lens for its NX mirrorless cameras, which it says is the smallest and slimmest of its type. It offers a 180 degree diagonal angle of view, and includes Samsung’s unique ‘i-Function’ button that allows the manual focus ring to re-purposed to operate other camera controls. It’s just over 26mm / 1″ thick, and is a featherweight 71g (2.5 oz). It’ll be available at the beginning of July.
News: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
I’m giving a plug here for my friend Sean Reid and his subscription web site, Reidreviews.
Sean has just published the first review of the new Leica X Vario, which was announced this morning. This is bound to be a somewhat controversial camera (which new Leica isn’t), and if you are interested in what it might havw to offer you then Sean’s write-ups are always a great place to find out what’s what.
…
The Luminous Landscape – What’s New
Leica has officially announced its much-teased (and leaked) X Vario – the world’s first compact camera with an APS-C sensor and fixed zoom lens. Its Vario Elmar 18-46mm 1:3.5-6.4 ASPH lens offers a 28-70mm equivalent range, and sits in front of a 16.1MP CMOS sensor. Viewing is via a 920k dot 3″ LCD, or the same optional plug-in EVF as used by the M Typ 240 and X2. As we’d expect from Leica the camera has a full set of traditional analogue controls for shutter speed, aperture and exposure compensation, along with a hefty price tag of £2250.
News: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
 Extra photos for bloggers: 1, 2, 3 |
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If you love 35mm, all your best memories are captured on film! And they’re just kinda stuck there. Until now…
Thanks to The Smartphone Film Scanner. It lets you use your everyday cell phone to scan your old 35mm negatives and bring them into the digital world for sharing on Instagram, Facebook whatever.
Its snug mount adjusts to fit any smartphone, even with a case on. Just slip your film in through the bottom, turn on the backlight and snap a pic on your phone.
Lomography’s free app (for Android and iPhone) turns your negative to a positive. You can also adjust the color and set the exposure before you capture the image on your phone.
Now that you’ve got your film photo on your digital phone you can upload straight to the Internets in no seconds flat! Blammo!
Check Out the Smartphone Film Scanner
$ 59 at the Photojojo Store
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Ein Beitrag von: Daesung Lee
Die Insel Ghoramara liegt in der Deltaregion des indischen Bundesstaates Westbengalen. Aufgrund des Klimawandels und dem damit einhergehenden dramatischen Anstieg des Meeresspiegels werden die Ufer der Insel seit den 1960er Jahren stetig ausgewaschen.
Seit den 1980ern ist mehr als die Hälfte des Inselterritoriums der Erosion zum Opfer gefallen. Mit dem Ergebnis, dass inzwischen zwei Drittel der ursprünglichen Bevölkerung die Insel verlassen haben.
Viele Menschen, die noch immer hier leben, sind Bauern oder Fischer, deren Leben von den natürlichen Ressourcen der Insel abhängig ist.
Laut eines Staatsbeamten, den ich vor Ort getroffen habe, könnte die indische Regierung die Insel in 20 bis 25 Jahren aufgeben und hat bereits Pläne angedeutet, die Bewohner auf eine andere Insel namens Sagar zu evakuieren.
Doch sieht dieser Evakuierungsplan keinerlei finanzielle Unterstützung für diejenigen vor, die ihr Leben vollständig verlagern müssen.
Als ich Ghoramara besuchte, konnte ich bereits im Ansatz erkennen, wie sich dort durch die steigenden Fluten allmählich ein Erbe auflöst.
Durch die Erosion entblößte Wurzeln versinnbildlichen das fehlende Fundament im Leben der Menschen. Das Meer verschlingt ihre Vergangenheit, während ihre Zukunft ungewiss bleibt.
Das kontinuierlich zurückweichende Ufer und die schwindende Vegetation hinterlassen eine Küste aus Sedimenten von ironischer Schönheit inmitten der kargen Ufer. Man könnte auch von einer tragischen, menschengemachten Schönheit sprechen.
Für meine Fotoarbeit „On the shore of a vanishing island“ (der englische Originaltitel der Serie, Anm. d. Red.) habe ich Inselbewohner am Ufer platziert, sie der Schönheit des schwindenden Eilands gegenüber gestellt und Portraits von ihnen gemacht, um eine unrealistische Anmutung zu erzielen.
Aber dennoch handelt es sich ja dort, wo sie leben, um eine für sie sehr reale Situation. Der Tag wird kommen, an dem die Menschen ihre Heimat verlassen müssen. Eines Tages wird die Insel, auf der sie geboren wurden nur noch in ihrer Erinnerung existieren.
In meinen Projekten setze ich mich kontinuierlich mit dem Einfluss der Globalisierung auseinander. Begonnen, fotodokumentarisch zu arbeiten habe ich 2007 als ich die Bergbaustadt Campa in der Nähe der Halong-Bucht – einem Weltnaturerbe der UNESCO – in Vietnam besuchte.
Die Kohlegewinnung hat die Stadt und die Umwelt in diesem Bereich vollständig zerstört. Mir wurde klar, dass diese Art der Gewinnung natürlicher Rohstoffe Teil der Weltwirtschaft ist, vorangetrieben von der Globalisierung und unserem Verbrauch.
Also begann ich, das Thema der Rohstoffgewinnung in den Ländern Asiens zu vertiefen und mir Gedanken über die Folgen der Globalisierung zu machen. „On the shore of a vanishing island“ ist dabei als Teilserie im Rahmen meines gesamten Projektes angelegt.
Die Bewohner Ghoramaras sind auf einen traditionellen Lebensstil angewiesen, auf Fischfang und Landwirtschaft in einem nachhaltigen ökologischen System, das nichts mit Globalisierung zu tun hat.
Doch ihre Existenz ist durch die Auswirkungen derselben auf ihren Lebensraum im Begriff, zerstört zu werden und dafür sind teilweise wir verantwortlich.
Ich habe vor, dieses Projekt an anderen Orten weiterzuführen, wie in der Mongolei, im Amazonas oder in Grönland, wo traditionelle Lebensräume von Menschen durch Desertifikation, Abholzung und Rohstoffgewinnung bedroht sind.
Ich finanziere alle meine Projekte selbst und arbeite dafür in mehreren Teilzeitjobs. Es ist nicht einfach, auf diese Weise mein Langzeitprojekt fortzuführen. Doch ich halte daran fest, damit ich meine Ideen zeigen und so mittels meiner Fähigkeiten als Dokumentarfotograf zur Gesellschaft beitragen kann.
Daesung hat diesen Artikel auf Englisch verfasst, unser Redakteur Robert hat ihn für Euch auf Deutsch übersetzt.
kwerfeldein – Fotografie Magazin
[ By Steph in Design & Furniture & Decor. ]
Does maintaining a sizable amount of your living space for a single purpose that’s only required for a short period each day really make sense? What if you could simply switch out the function? ‘Elastic Living’ by Italian furniture maker CLEI makes it possible to do just that with sliding shelving units for different purposes that can be moved out of the way when you don’t need them.
The modular spaces all fit together into one big rectangular box when not in use. Need the kitchen? Slide it out, cook, and then put it back up when you’re done. The same goes for the living room, bedroom, bathroom, home office, gym and closets.
Inspired by library wall racks, the series contains seven different room functions that can easily be ‘filed away.’ It’s meant for a large, open space, like a loft or warehouse, and would be less practical for a home that’s already divided into different rooms.
CLEI is known for transformable furniture that fits lots of function into tight spaces. See more compact, modular furniture including 10 pieces of clever transforming furniture and mini, mobile kitchens.
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