via flickr.com
Blimming brilliant. One of my aims for 2010 is to make sushi on a more regular basis – and this beautifully shot Christmas tree made by bananagranola is great inspiration!
Tuesday, 22 December 2009
Monday, 21 December 2009
Wednesday, 9 December 2009
The Digital Harinezumi 2
That is what the Harinezumi has brought back to video. It had all become too clean, to perfect. High Definition, crystal clear focus, rich sound. But just like the warmth of a vinyl record is more soothing then a compact disc- there was a need to have that warmth in the videos that you were creating of the special moments now.
via nicnichols.com
A very beautiful and convincing piece of writing that's also a review of the new Harinezumi 2 digital camera. Worth clicking through to the website as there's some beautiful videos and images on there.
It's getting tricky not to buy this camera – along with this lovely piece of writing, I'm also fending off emails from a very dear and knowlegable friend who's ordering me to sell all my film gear and buy a Harinezumi as soon as physically possible.
Ho hum. Maybe after Christmas...
Tuesday, 8 December 2009
An appreciation of the 50mm lens
So what is the alternative? Well, you could do what most of today's pros and some ambitious amateur photographers do and buy a "professional" 28-70mm zoom lens with a fixed f/2.8 aperture. These lenses are reasonably fast, quite sharp and well made. But they are heavy, bulky and very very expensive. For most people I believe there is a better alternative: the classic 50mm "normal" lens.
via vothphoto.com
A great piece by the photographer Gary Voth on the wonders of shooting with a 50mm f/1.8 or f/2 – I only just started shooting with a prime about six months ago (there was one with my Olympus E-P1 that my Dad gave/loaned to me) and the difference is remarkable. 50mms are the epitome of "keep it simple". If you haven't got one, get one, and your photography will improve almost overnight.
Holga & Diana Camera Workshop @ Garage Studios
Earlier this year I went on a course at Garage Studios where I learned the ins and outs of my LC-A camera – they've just started offering Holga and Diana courses as well. Can't recommend these Brighton-based chaps highly enough – they're friendly, helpful and you're guaranteed to come away very happy with your camera.
camera camera bag at japan exposures
Clever idea for a camera bag. Well, I like it, but if you were trying to be discreet about your photography it might be a giant screaming beacon that you're taking pictures.
There's several other designs on the website, including some small ones for compacts that look like Olympus Trip cameras. Nice...
Monday, 7 December 2009
Snarkmarket - The Tidal Bore of Meaning
Stanislas Dehaene tries to explain how when we read a word, the brain gathers and relays information to multiple networks:
Take the verb “bite.” As you remember what it means, your mind briskly evokes the body parts involved: the mouth and teeth, their movements, and perhaps also the pain associated with being bitten. All of these fragments of gesture, motion, and sensation are bound together under the heading “bite.” This link works in both directions: we pronounce the word whenever we talk about this peculiar series of events, but to hear or read the word brings on a swarm of meanings…
Perhaps the easiest way to describe how activation spreads through the dozens of fragments of meaning dispersed in the brain is to compare it to a tidal bore. Some rivers are subject, twice a day, at high tide, to a peculiar phenomenon whereby the leading edge of a massive wave reaches deep into their estuaries. If conditions are right, the wave can travel dozens of miles upstream. No salt water ever reaches this far inland—the tidal bore simply relays a distant rise in water level that spreads in synchrony into the river’s entire system. Only an airplane or satellite can get the true measure of this beautiful natural phenomenon. For a few minutes, a whole network of streams is simultaneously swollen by a powerful surge of water, simply because they all flow into the same sea.
A written or spoken word probably activates fragments of meaning in the brain in much the same way that a tidal bore invades a whole riverbed.
via snarkmarket.com
Just stumbled on this seemingly excellent blog and the top post (quoting a blog quoting a book, so many frames of reference) refers to the idea that thoughts are like ripples in water, rebounding off objects and other memories - made-up words don't mean anything, but resonant words will grow in magnitude and impact, depending on your own personal experiences.
Fascinating idea. Must go make more tea and ponder.
Sugru
via sugru.com
This is such a brilliant idea for a product! Sugru allows you to "hack things better" and fix objects or add new appendages to make them work better for your life. My first thought is improving on cameras' grips – adding finger slots, etc – or maybe just fixing my graphic tablet's pen... wow. Mind expanding...
via @brokenbottleboy, again
Newspaper Club
Brilliant idea of a website that lets you make your own newspapers. This'd be really fab for local (I mean REALLY local) papers – might put the team in charge of our village magazine in touch with them.
I also like their hugely honest blog. Yup, call me a fan! Now all I need is someone to make a magazine with..
Friday, 4 December 2009
Beware Social Media Snake Oil - BusinessWeek
Over the past five years, an entire industry of consultants has arisen to help companies navigate the world of social networks, blogs, and wikis. The self-proclaimed experts range from legions of wannabes, many of them refugees from the real estate bust, to industry superstars such as Chris Brogan and Gary Vaynerchuk. They produce best-selling books and dole out advice or lead workshops at companies for thousands of dollars a day. The consultants evangelize the transformative power of social media and often cast themselves as triumphant case studies of successful networking and self-branding.
The problem, according to a growing chorus of critics, is that many would-be guides are leading clients astray. Consultants often use buzz as their dominant currency, and success is defined more often by numbers of Twitter followers, blog mentions, or YouTube (GOOG) hits than by traditional measures, such as return on investment. This approach could sour companies on social media and the rich opportunities it represents. "It's a bit of a Wild West scenario," blogs David Armano, a consultant with the Dachis Group of Austin, Tex. Without naming names, he compares some consultants to "snake oil salesmen."
via businessweek.com
Interesting comment piece on the dangers of throwing money at social media. I like the comparison between social media and high-risk investments, that may pay off but also may backfire.
I've never been entirely happy with being billed as a "social media expert" and prefer to describe myself as someone who understands and uses social media to network. Jonathan Worth's piece about how social networking is just the 21st century version of standing awkwardly in a room, holding a cocktail glass, reassured me that it's definitely worthwhile using these tools, but over the past couple of months, I've lost focus somewhat and have had the creeping feeling that spending time on Twitter and Facebook is literally just a form of procrastination.
As a result, I've started setting myself goals for each time I log in to one of the sites – four more followers for Photo Pro, contact a certain photographer, get retweeted by ten people, etc. As this excellent article in Business Week winds up summarising, having a fixed idea of what you're trying to achieve through your online efforts will definitely help keep you on the straight and narrow path towards your own vision of success.
Thursday, 3 December 2009
an amazing home page
via giacavalli.co.uk
very simple, but ever so effective. Reminds me of JKRowling's desk-in-the-shed...
Pictory
via pictorymag.com
Pictory is a new online photomagazine from Laura Brunow Miner, former Editor-in-Chief of JPEG magazine. This is brand new, but it's already easy to see that it's a beautifully designed piece of work and a fantastic way to display images.
Wednesday, 2 December 2009
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