In this article, nature photographer Erez Marom takes us through the complicated process he used to achieve his image ‘Lost in Space’. As well as equipment choice and location, Erez also explains in detail exactly how he went about adjusting and manipulating multiple images in software to create the final result. Click through for the full article.
News: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
[ By WebUrbanist in Architecture & Public & Institutional. ]
Rainbows on the horizon are impossible to approach, let alone pass through – they flicker and fade like phantoms, except in the case of this iconic space.
Your Rainbow Panorama by Olafur Eliasson is an enclosed circular walkway that sits atop the ARoS Aarhus Kunstmuseum in Denmark. Its colored glass spans from floor to ceiling and rotates visitors through five hundred feet of color, looping them through a rainbow of panoramic city views.
The experience of walking along this 500-foot path is at once reductive and complex. At each step, the city outside becomes a monochromatic landscape, filtered through the lens of single slices of color that rotate as you move.
From outside, the raised structure forms a bright beacon within the city, a recognizable icon thanks to its combination of round shape and vibrant color. As this project illustrates, powerful architecture can be about more than structure, building and void – it is also about shaping experience through color and light.
According to its Danish-Icelandic designer, it is “a space which virtually erases the boundaries between inside and outside – where people become a little uncertain as to whether they have stepped into a work or into part of the museum. This uncertainty is important to me, as it encourages people to think and sense beyond the limits within which they are accustomed to moving.” In the end, is it an gallery space, a viewing platform, a permanent art installation … or does it perhaps span a spectrum of spatial definitions as well as colors?
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Space robots, including the Curiosity rover currently roaming Mars, have been great at following orders. Now, scientists are looking for ways to put more decision making power within the grasp of the rover itself. A team at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory is developing a camera system called TextureCam to do just that. They’ve developed an algorithm to allow the rover to analyze 3D images and determine whether an object in front of it deserves further investigation. Click through to read more.
News: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
This week we explored the idea of Negative Space in composing images so now it is time to put that into practice with our weekly photographic challenge.
Your challenge is to take and share an image that uses Negative Space well.
You can do this by taking a photo of any genre, portraits, macro, street or landscape… anything you like.
If you’d like another tutorial on Negative Space check this one out too.
Once you’ve taken your ’2nd Point of Interest’ photos upload your best ones to your favourite photo sharing site either share a link to them even better – embed them in the comments using the our new tool to do so.
If you tag your photos on Flickr, Instagram, Twitter or other sites with Tagging tag them as #DPSNEGATIVE to help others find them. Linking back to this page might also help others know what you’re doing so that they can share in the fun.
Also – don’t forget to check out some of the great shots posted in last weeks Secondary Point of Interest challenge – there were some great shots submitted.
Post originally from: Digital Photography Tips.
Check out our more Photography Tips at Photography Tips for Beginners, Portrait Photography Tips and Wedding Photography Tips.
Negative Space: Weekly Photography Challenge
In portraiture, negative space is the area around the main subject of your photograph. The portrait above has negative space – it is the dark area around the model. I’ve highlighted it below in green so you can see exactly what I mean:
There’s a quote in photography attributed to photojournalist Robert Capa:
“If your photographs aren’t good enough, you’re not close enough.”
A lot of the time, that’s good advice – many portraits can be improved by getting in closer to the subject, either physically or with a longer lens, so the model dominates the frame. When it comes to photographing people, it also helps to get closer emotionally to your models, by establishing a rapport or connection that enables you to take deeper, more insightful portraits.
But there are also times when the environment around your model can contribute to the composition. Sometimes the subject needs room to breathe. This is when you can create an interesting image by backing off and including more negative space.
There is nothing to stop you getting in close to your model and making a portrait, and then stepping away and including more of the environment to make use of the negative space. This is called working the subject, and is the process of exploring the photographic possibilities by varying focal length, shooting distance and other factors.
In addition to making the portrait above, I also got in close during our shoot. Here’s a close-up portrait, side-by-side with the first so you can see the difference. See how the close-up also uses negative space, just in a different way:
Please note there is no right or wrong here, no simple rule to tell you what to do. You have to take each situation on its merits and find the best way to make a good portrait of your model. But, it always helps if you keep the composition as simple as possible. In the examples here, the negative space is ‘empty’. There is detail if you look closely, but nothing to distract attention away from the model.
This technique also works with subjects other than portraits. Here is an example with a photo of a dandelion. Note the principle of simplicity has come into play again. I used a wide aperture (f2.8) to ensure the background is blurred:
Here’s an example of a landscape photo that uses negative space in the composition. It works because the blue and orange colours in sky add atmosphere and mood:
Finally, here is a black and white photo I took in Argentina a few years ago. I was attracted by the textures in the door and the wall, which I knew would come out well in black and white. Note the use of rectangles in the composition. The door is a rectangle, so is the door frame, and so are the paintings hanging on the wall. They are all contained in another rectangle – that of the 35mm frame. The negative space provided by the wall (which I darkened in post-processing to emphasise the effect) accentuates the rectangular shapes in the image.
My latest ebook, Mastering Photography: A Beginner’s Guide to Using Digital Cameras introduces you to digital photography and helps you make the most out of your digital cameras. It covers concepts such as lighting and composition as well as the camera settings you need to master to take photos like the ones in this article.
Post originally from: Digital Photography Tips.
Check out our more Photography Tips at Photography Tips for Beginners, Portrait Photography Tips and Wedding Photography Tips.
Composition and Negative Space
[ By Steph in Art & Installation & Sound. ]
An abandoned, deteriorating bridge in the city of Kosice in Slovakia has been rehabbed and modified to serve as an amphitheater and public gathering space that glows in bright rainbow colors at night. The urban intervention was organized by Atrium Studio and Esterni as a temporary installation to reclaim this prominent disused space.
On one side of the bridge, a wooden framework was built that serves as a stage for concerts and performances. On the other, a wooden seating system makes the concrete surface more comfortable for those who come to enjoy the free public shows.
This project echoes many other urban interventions that seek to take the ownership of neglected or abandoned urban spaces into the hands of the people.
Urban interventions can be as subtle as adding eyeballs to mailboxes and other public objects, or as bold as repainting an entire abandoned church in shocking hues.
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[ By Steph in Design & Fixtures & Interiors. ]
Making the most of limited living space requires modular solutions that can be moved around and altered at will, and that includes bathroom fixtures. Smart, compact modular or all-in-one bathroom solutions add extra luxuries to tiny rooms, rather than taking them away, making room for tubs, saunas, spacious vanities and storage along with necessities like toilets and sinks. Here are 15 intriguing space-saving bathroom concepts.
Few people in small urban apartments are lucky enough to have a bathtub. But that kind of relaxing amenity would be more possible if more bathtub designs resembled this one. Designer Dominik Chojnacki envisions a fold-up tub that nestles up against the wall when not in use. Too bad it doesn’t double as a shower for ultimate adaptability.
In a one-room apartment where privacy isn’t a problem, perhaps something like this would work (though it would be better if it was at least partially walled off): a gridded wall that opens to reveal a sink, toilet and shower along with storage for towels and other items.
This modular all-in-one bathroom concept combines a shower, sink, tub and vanity in one compact unit. A portion of the ‘Flight’ cabinet folds down to become an elevated bathtub.
Here’s another concept that hides bathroom fixtures in a wall so they’re out of the way when not in use. Each panel of the Fluid Wall has identical hidden mounting points so various components can be swapped out as desired by the user including sinks, toilets, shelves and storage.
The Tulip Shower is an actual dual-usage, fold-up fixture that serves as a shower when standing or a tub when laying down. It looks sort of like a futuristic space pod full of high-powered massagers and underwater jets. The back surface of the shower provides a space to lean against when you’re lounging in the tub.
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[ By Steph in Design & Furniture & Decor. ]
Alternating treads, ultra-narrow ladders, built-in storage and other tricks enable these 15 smart space-saving designs to fit into the smallest of apartments. Offering access to sleeping lofts, second stories or just elevated storage, these ultra-compact staircases avoid a large footprint through furniture integration, tight spirals, or – at times – clever solutions that wouldn’t really pass safety inspections in most places.
The steps to access a small glass-walled loft are barely noticeable in this contemporary renovation to a 1930s traditional English cottage-style home by Mark Frazerhurst Architect. They’re built right into the entertainment center, with alternating treads sticking out from a functional shelf.
An all-in-one kit from Sweden’s Compact-Living adds a loft with a wall-mounted ladder to any room with a high enough ceiling to accommodate it.
Designer Francesco Librizzi added this contemporary metal rod staircase to an original house in France built in 1900, saying “the only possible intervention was an almost 2D-frame, able to double the space in height and create new possibilities on other layers.”
These stairs take up very little space thanks to a pivoting design with a (very) small platform at the bend. Too bad staircases like this – lacking handrails – don’t typically pass code inspections in the United States.
A bookshelf ladder by Brooklyn designers WORKSTEAD attaches a narrow metal ladder to a built-in bookcase, leading to a skylight and the rooftop above.
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[ By Steph in Design & Furniture & Decor. ]
Assemble rectangular furniture components like building blocks to create the exact arrangement of seating, tables and storage to suit your space and lifestyle. ZIG Modular furniture by Cezign comes in four different block types – upholstered foam, solid wood, open wood and clear polycarbonate – that can be stacked and strapped together any way you like for optimal versatility and adaptability.
Perhaps you need to make the most of a tiny studio apartment, or you need to be able to quickly and easily clear furniture away to use your living space for other purposes. Maybe you just like to change things up. Modular systems like ZIG give you control over what is typically some of our bulkiest, heaviest, most unchangeable possessions.
ZIG offers colorful adjustable belts that hold the foam pieces together, so you can build couches and beds of any size, or just use them as soft tables with no sharp corners to harm clumsy toddlers. Putting them together is like a creative project, challenging the user to come up with the ideal geometries for their interiors and usage requirements.
Available through Cezign, ZIG comes as a set of six units, and expansions are virtually limitless. “Our focus is on creating affordable spaces that have a high level of multi-functionality but that still blend aesthetically with what is unique and contemporary,” say the creators. “It is a creative force that transforms unused existing raw spaces and turns them into attractive, modern design projects at reasonable cost.”
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[ By Steph in Abandoned Places & Architecture. ]
In the 1970s, these odd little pods were on the cutting edge of portable architecture, with a design clearly influenced by Space exploration and futurism. Today, they sit abandoned on the lot of an Italian holiday resort, cracked and stained. Time hasn’t been kind to these relics of a bygone era, but they could be saved. Restoration specialists are seeking funding to preserve them, along with the rest of the resort, making them an active travel destination.
‘BANGA’ portable bungalows were created by an unknown designer in 1971, intended for use as compact living spaces with folding beds, a small bathroom and kitchenette. The interiors are reminiscent of airplanes and boats, with rounded surfaces, porthole windows, and virtually everything built right into the plastic walls.
All of the factory-assembled components are made from glass-reinforced plastic GRP. Left to age over the decades since they were built, these unusual living units have definitely seen better days, and they’re in need of some serious care, but it’s not hard to imagine them scrubbed up and ready for novelty-seeking travelers.
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