Wearable devices are the flavor of the season and the digital camera sector is no exception. A little while ago we reviewed the Autographer and now the Lifelogger, which is currently trying to get funded via a Kickstarter project, offers a similar concept. The idea is to record liife events from your point of view with the Lifelogger attached to your ear. It’s similar to how you would wear a bluetooth headset. Learn more
Photographer, producer and Senior Photo Editor at National Geographic, Pamela Chen first picked up a camera at around 9 months old. Although she was pointing the camera the wrong way, as children often do, the photo that Chen shares with us in this video is a sweet remembrance. During the video, which is sponsored by Microsoft OneDrive, Chen tells the story of how capturing one blurry photograph when she was a college student changed the course of her life. See video
In the last two weeks we’ve look at the flora and some full on stunning landscapes. Now it’s time for some fauna, but focused in a little closer on some of its smaller members, photos of nature’s smallest critters. The insects!
Right around the corner in the Northern Hemisphere is spring with its showers and flowers. But there would be no flowers without the bees and insects to pollenate. So today we pay homage to our little buddies that work so hard. I bring you:
By Pablo Fernández
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By Prabhu B Doss
By Adam Foster
By Laurenz Bobke
By Viola’s visions ????
By nutmeg66
By Alexey Kljatov
By Bùi Linh Ngân
By nutmeg66
By Alexey Kljatov
By Reinhold Stansich
By Vinoth Chandar
By Stuart Williams
By Ferdi De gier
By Stavros Markopoulos
By Don Sutherland
By nutmeg66
By Lutz Koch
By Jon McGovern
By Matt Reinbold
By Alx Murray
By Harald Hoyer
By Taylor McBride
By Bart van Dorp
By Ray Dumas
By Bernat Casero
By quas
By Phil
By Maki_C30D
By Lisa Brown
By matt knoth
By casch52
The post A Collection of Photos of Nature’s Smallest Creatures – it’s a Bug’s Life by Darlene Hildebrandt appeared first on Digital Photography School.
Sometimes the lessons are so basic, they are overlooked. This is one I feel needs to be repeated for new photographers as well as a gentle reminder for those of us with decades of shooting experience.
Photography is the process of recording light. It is the same with your eyes, every waking moment of every day you use them. You see subjects around you and mentally are so busy classifying and figuring them out (“What a beautiful red Ferrari! Is it slowing down for a right hand turn?”) that when it comes time to lift a camera to your eye, you forget to stop and think about what is really going on.
Of what are you really taking photos? You are taking photos first and foremost of light. Most of the time it is light reflected off of a subject but sometimes it is of the light source itself (e.g. sunsets, light painting, fireworks, etc.). In the case of the former, you need to remember the subject itself might be interesting, but if the light is ‘bad’ then the subject doesn’t stand a chance.
Let me illustrate by example. These images are of the Olympic Mountain Range in Washington State, where I live part of the time. They are beautiful this time of year, when it’s not raining so much we can’t see them, and when they still have a full coating of snow for contrast. I took the pictures at different times of day of the exact same subject, but the results are different each time.
Sunrise 6:12 a.m.
After Sunrise 7:04 a.m.
Nearing Mid Day 10:28 a.m.
An Hour Before Sunset 6:10 p.m.
The Morning Before At Sunrise 5:59 a.m.
The images were all processed exactly the same and while the color balance naturally changed, what is most dramatic is the change in light and effect it has on the impact of the image.
A great photographer always thinks about light, even when she or he doesn’t have a camera up to their eye. It is light that makes the photo. The great thing about it is there is no ‘perfect’ that need be obtained in this regard. There is simply different light which will impart a different feel to the subject and whether or not you like that light.
Sometimes it is the tone of the light, or the angle, or the intensity, or the temperature. The best practice for taking the best picture possible of a given subject, in my mind, goes something like this, “Wow, that’s a beautiful subject! Does the light work right now?”
This process has stopped me from taking more bad pictures than I can count. This is because I have reviewed thousands of my own crappy images with bad light, but great subjects, that this process has been cemented into my mind.
The next time you are enamored by a fabulous subject, ask yourself, “Is this the best light for this subject?” If not, your photos will be lackluster. If the light is not right, find a time or place where it will be better. If the situation won’t allow for great light, set your camera down and just admire the subject that caught your attention in the first place.
Life is too short to be taking photos of great subjects in bad light.
The post Life is too Short to be Taking Photos of Great Subjects in Bad Light by Peter West Carey appeared first on Digital Photography School.
[ By Steph in Art & Street Art & Graffiti. ]
In another case of Photoshop invading the real world in three dimensions, giant erasers are appearing all over urban surfaces in London. Murals, street signs, billboards and trash bins are among the objects getting the Photoshop treatment with ‘Street Eraser,’ a joint project by artists Guus Ter Beek and Tayfun Sarier.
The installation consists of a series of handmade stickers plastered all over the city, featuring the gray and white checkered pattern that appears when you erase something in Adobe Photoshop.
A similar project used cardboard props to recreate the look of a photoshopped image in progress, with the photographer using the eraser tool on himself. Another photographer takes Photoshop tools literally with humorous interpretations of commands like ‘convert to smart object’, ‘smudge’ and ‘puppet warp.’
Anyone who has used Adobe products knows that they have necessarily become quite creative in naming some of their more abstract, surreal and unusual functions.
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Unsuspecting travelers saw their own images warped and integrated into bus shelter ads for fictional movies in a prank by a Photoshop artist.
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A huge inflatable red ball travels around the world, showing up in cities like Toronto and Abu Dhabi, squeezed into entryways and hovering above the street.
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[ By Steph in Art & Street Art & Graffiti. ]
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The 12-mile long Mendenhall Glacier, located just outside of Juneau, Alaska may be one of the world’s most easily accessible glaciers. But the crew of Firefight Films takes you far beyond the parking lot. Billed as the first documented drone flight through ice caves, Firefight Films’ co-founders, Lion El Aton and Christopher Carson, outfitted a DSLRPros DJI Phantom with a GoPro HERO3+ Black Edition to venture beyond the physical limits of a human film crew. See video
[ By Steve in Abandoned Places & Architecture. ]
Silence the sirens and be careful out there… these abandoned, closed and condemned ambulance & EMS stations no longer respond to medical emergencies.
(images via: Tracy Press, Glenn Moore)
The condemned former American Medical Response substation at at 455 Beverly Place in Tracy looks pretty good for an abandoned building. Then again, these photos from the November 29th, 2013 edition of the Tracy Press were taken less than a week after the doors slammed shut. Supposedly, the station was condemned due to the presence of a large tree on the property that might fall over in a gale. It’s worth noting that the station’s owner condemned the building; city inspectors found no serious structural damage and thus no justification for closing it.
(images via: Tracy Press, Glenn Moore and Tracy Press, Glenn Moore)
Ahh, the eternal struggle between wanting your local EMS station to be as close as possible and wanting your local EMS station to be as QUIET as possible. Sorry friends, never the twain shall meet. The eardrum conundrum evidently proved too frustrating for one resident who in 2010 declared (in a drunken, late-night tirade in front of Tracy City Council) that having an ambulance station near his home has turned his life into “13 years of hell.” He must be in heaven now.
(image via: Number Of The Month)
The UK’s NHS (National Health Service) has been praised and vilified to the extreme – often by the same people depending on whether they need its services or have just read the latest tale of wasted taxpayer’s money. Tongues are wagging once again due to the NHS’s (supposed) money-saving plans to close dozens of ambulance stations across the UK and consolidate their functions at larger “hub” stations. The plan may indeed save money but anyone and everyone will end up waiting longer for an ambulance as a result. Thanks, Obama!
(images via: The Queensland Times, Claudia Baxter and The Ipswich Advertiser)
If the original Ghostbusters drove a modified ambulance and had their HQ in an old firehouse, one would assume their Australian counterparts (being “down under”) would park their customized firetruck in an old ambulance station. Good thing, as the old Queensland Ambulance Service station complex on Downs Street in North Ipswich is said to be haunted by the ghost of WC Tomkins. The former station superintendent lived upstairs at the station and passed away in his bed one night in 1934… and, some say, he’s still there.
(image via: The Queensland Times, David Nielsen)
“This ghost has never hurt anyone and I don’t think he would,” states renowned hauntings historian Jack Sim (above). “He founded the ambulance in Ipswich and he is a nice bloke.” Perhaps the station’s supposed supernatural aura helped keep it on the auction block for the better part of six years. All good things must come to an end, however, and Beetlejuice himself couldn’t stop the station from finally being sold in March of 2013 for a cool one million smackers.
(images via: Hull and Hereabouts)
Since the old ambulance station on Osborne Street in Hull, England closed, the only emergencies occurring at the site concern Phil Jude’s 24-hour Emergency Boarding Up Service… or so the sign above states. Take it from Phil, they’re “probably the cheapest in the area.”
The age of the railroad may be over, but the marks of these powerful transport systems are evident everywhere you go – as well as abandoned train and subway …
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These unlocked, unloaded and unmanned abandoned police stations suggest that when the long arm of the law has withered, the end of society must be nigh.
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High above the Arctic Circle, the mid-1950s vintage remains of the DEW Line sit preserved by some of the coldest temperatures found outside Antarctica.
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[ By Steve in Abandoned Places & Architecture. ]
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[ By Steve in Global & Travel & Places. ]
Though Nelson Mandela’s passing will spur the creation of memorials worldwide, a number of larger-than-life tributes are already extant or planned.
(images via: Lemay Online)
The Nelson Mandela Sculpture in Howick KwaZulu-Natal was inaugurated and unveiled by South African President Jacob Zuma on August 4th, 2012. Artist Marco Cianfanelli was commissioned to create the sculpture in time for the 50th anniversary of Mandela’s capture by police in 1962, after which he was imprisoned for 27 years.
(image via: Lemay Online)
The sculpture comprises 50 metal columns ranging in height from 5 to 10 meters (16 to 33 ft). Visitors can only discern the portrait of Mandela at a point 35 meters (115 ft) away from the front of the sculpture, signifying the fact that Mandela, dubbed “The Black Pimpernel”, was able to elude authorities for 17 months after his arrest was ordered.
(images via: National Geographic and Howzit MSN News)
In June of 2013, a strikingly styled statue of Nelson Mandela was unveiled and unlike other Mandela statues on display around the world, this one depicts the famed freedom fighter as, well, a different sort of fighter. Situated in front of the Magistrate’s Courts in Johannesburg, the 5 meter (16.5 ft) tall steel statue by Marco Cianfanelli depicts Mandela in his younger days when he was known mainly for his skills in the boxing ring.
(image via: Edwards13)
Built in 1917, Toronto’s Park Public School underwent a multimillion dollar renovation that included the school’s name being changed to Nelson Mandela Park Public School. Much of the structure’s imposing architectural elements and Beaux Arts detailing both inside and out were retained in the renovation while students learn the reasons why their school, located so far from South Africa, was named for someone whose fame knows no national boundaries.
(images via: Toronto Star, HiMY SYeD and CBC.ca)
Located in in downtown Toronto’s Regent Park neighborhood, the school’s official renaming ceremony on November 17th of 2001 was attended by none other than Nelson Mandela himself. Mandela took time out from his third trip to Canada (during which he accepted honorable Canadian citizenship) to visit the school named for him and spend time with some of the students.
(image via: Hot 106.5FM)
The epithet “man of the people” suits the late Nelson Mandela more than most who’ve been casually dubbed as such, and his accomplishments are perhaps greatest treasured by the lowest levels of South African society. Here in one of Cape Town’s rougher neighborhoods, a well-worn mural depicts anti-apartheid freedom fighter Steve Biko alongside a younger Mandela.
Whether for effect or out of necessity because of the size of the canvas, here are 10 of the most interesting and mind bogglingly large portraits:
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Here are ten monuments dedicated to remarkable men of science that have changed our lives, sometimes in ways we take for granted.
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From around the world here are some of the most interesting monuments dedicated to amazing women of history.
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[ By Steve in Global & Travel & Places. ]
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The post 15 Gift Ideas For The Photographer In Your Life Or Yourself appeared first on JMG-Galleries – Landscape, Nature & Travel Photography.
Als ich die von Bilder Michael Ackerman letztes Jahr erstmals in Berlin vor mir sah, ohne Rahmen und versetzt an der weißen Galeriewand befestigt, hatte es mich gepackt, geschüttelt und getroffen.
Ich musste mir den Fotoband „Half Life“* unbedingt zulegen, ganz egal, was mein Konto dazu sagte. Nennen wir es reflexartige Überlebensreaktion. Seitdem atme ich ein wenig ruhiger und merke es bei einem der Bilder besonders.
Kürzlich las ich, dass die Betrachtung eines Bildes immer von den eigenen Erfahrungen und der Sensibilität für bestimmte Themen abhängig ist.
Betrachte ich das Bild, passiert etwas mit mir. Mein Gedankenkonglomerat kippt sich aus und setzt alte Bilder in mir frei. Ich bin ein DDR-Kind und mit meinen Eltern oft weggefahren. Ich kann mich an farblose Unterkünfte erinnern, an leere und große Speiseräume mit Deckchen und jeweils einer Vase und Blumen bestückt.
An die Menschen erinnere ich mich nur schemenhaft, so schenmenhaft wie die Menschen in Ackermans Buch dargestellt sind. Immerhin war ich erst sieben oder acht Jahre alt, da fühlt man sich klein, verletzlich und vor allem unwichtig zwischen all den großen Menschen, die doch immer viel klüger sind und das Kind nicht groß beachten.
Dies ist also mein Bild, obwohl ein fremdes, denn ich bestücke es mit meiner Erinnerung, die versteckt irgendwo in meinem Kopf saß und darauf wartete, hervorgeholt zu werden. Darüber hinaus kann ich diesen Fotoband aber allen ans Herz legen, die Schwarzweißwelten lieben und auch keine Angst haben, gedanklich mit ihnen in die Tiefe zu fallen.
Informationen zum Buch:
Michael Ackerman: „Half Life“
Seiten: 168 (Gebundene Ausgabe)
Abbildungen: schwarzweiß
Sprache: Englisch
Verlag: Dewi Lewis Publishing
* Das ist ein Affiliate-Link zu Amazon. Wenn Ihr darüber etwas bestellt, erhalten wir eine kleine Provision, Ihr zahlt aber keinen Cent mehr.