London Aerials, at Night_Photographer: Jason Hawkes

Really nice Aerial shots of London at night by photographer Jason Hawkes, and nicely presented by Boston.com. Using a typical aerial set-up consisting of a helicopter, and camera mounted to a gyro-stabilizer he is able to attain detail with a slower shutter speed and still keep images sharp. See first slide show (from August,2008) HERE, and second slide show (from January 28,2009) HERE, and Jason Hawkes site HERE.

As Long as We are Talking Catalogs...

I thought the above article was an interesting read and affirms my opinion post dated January 15. From MultiChannel Merchant (HERE).

Historic catalog... coming to your mailbox soon?

With it's origins dating back to 1872 and out of business in 2000, the Montgomery Ward catalog is being resurrected. Monroe Wisconsin based Swiss Colony, who purchased the bulk of Montgomery Ward assets last August for $15.5 million plans to print the new 116 page catalog in February and have it in mailboxes by mid-March. In 1985 I was working at a Chicago photo studio shooting much of the montgomery wards catalog photography when it was announced that their big book catalog would not be produced any more, the work in our studio producing this catalog came to a sudden halt. Montgomery Wards which was one of the nations first large mail order catalog businesses built a 1.25 million square foot warehouse that is a Chicago visual landmark along the North Branch of the Chicago River.

Leningrad in WWII Photo's Superimposed on St. Petersburg Today

This link sent to me from my friend Jim, I like the idea. Images from WWII and of today combined make for an interesting view, although I think the technique can be refined and done better, hard to say because I cant read the web site. Check it out for yourself HERE.

1,474 Megapixel Photo Made of Obama's Inaugural Address

Photographer David Bergman used a Gigapan Imager to produce a panoramic photo of Obama's Inauguration. The Gigapan Imager is a robotic camera mount which enables the photographer to take multiple images of a scene and stitch them together producing one heck of a massive image file, 59,783 x 24,658 pixels...Thats HUUUGE! The detail of course is unreal. See it and read more about it at David Berman's site HERE.

Obama Yourself HERE

My friend Jim often shares interesting tid-bits of information about global curiosities he finds on the internet, (global curiosities...what the #?%!) and this site where you can create an Obama poster technique to any of your own photo's is one of those finds, check it out HERE. The original poster done by Shepard Fairey became the iconic image of Obama's campaign. The original source photo that Fairey used was shot by Reuter's photographer Jim Young in 2007. Young who has shot thousands of photo's of Obama had no idea that the poster was based on one of his photo's. Read the Reuters story HERE.

Polaroid...Reborn

Don't throw away those polaroid cameras just yet. It seems that a group of business men and former Polaroid employees have bought a polaroid factory and it's equipment in Amsterdam. These folks founded a new company called Impossible b.v. with the aim to re-start production of analog integral film for vintage Polaroid cameras. Production of instant polaroid film stopped in June of 2008. See the Impossible web site Here. Also if you are a polaroid fan you might like this site: www.savepolaroid.com/

Weapons of Mass Destruction_Photographer: Martin Miller

Fine art photographer Martin Miller's series of black and white images offer a retrospective look at Weapons of Mass Destruction. They are beautifully done and shot mostly 8x10 film, they are interesting and even appear somewhat surreal. Take a look HERE.

Pete Souza, White House Photographer and Official Portrait of Obama

Pete Souza, newly appointed official White House Photographer, see his web site Here, talks to the Today show, see the interview HERE. Pete discusses the official portrait of Barack Obama that he took. See the official announcement of the portrait HERE.

State of Economy and Advertising…Just My Opinion

I like to keep the Creative Punch Bowl just that, creative, but I have been in the catalog/advertising business as a photographer for over 25 years and I think that alone qualifies me to assess the current business climate as I see it. Good luck to the youngsters just getting into this business as it is going to be a tough haul. But I have to say, this economy is a blessing to the true professionals who deserve to prevail in this tight economy. The reason is simple; companies need great advertising and photography now more than ever to sell their products. I have been in a position to see young people just out of school and folks with little experience and become “ art directors, creative directors, photographers, etc.”. This is a great thing to have happen to someone with limited experience…except one thing, it happened as a result of greediness on the part of big companies. These folks with limited experience were hired for a lot less money than a true professional and it has happened way too many times. They are eager and willing to try to accomplish whatever the “boss” wants, a true “yes” person. But they don’t have the experience, and the company is not paying them for experience, they just talk a good talk. So, the company gets a great deal…or do they. If they are unable to put together a layout or photography or an ad campaign that sells, is it such a deal. Well now, here comes economic hard times and these companies are looking and telling their employees why sales are down. I’ve heard all the bullcrap, but what I have not heard is these companies and their middle and high management take responsibility for slipping sales. You know it’s always something. How about hiring people for their experience and creativity and reaping the benefits of increased sales. Yes, these economic times are tough, and companies need more than ever a good advertising strategy and photography to sell their merchandise, it’s more important than ever. This is good news to true hardworking folks in this business, your skills are needed more now than ever before.

L.L. Bean's Search for Authenticity

This interview came to my attention through an e-mail from a friend, and since I am in the catalog/ advertising industry I thought it interesting. I understand the amount of people and planning a catalog needs to be successful You can view the interview at PDN. (Photo District News, Here).The 100-person-strong creative team is responsible for the images
in those ubiquitous L.L.Bean catalogues and on llbean.com, as well as in
online ads.Marcia Minter, vice president and creative director, says the creative team
produces a whopping 62 catalogues each year, covering seven business groups:
fashion (men's and women's apparel and accessories); kids; outdoor gear;
hunting and fishing; home; travel (though this group is being discontinued);
and direct to business. An art director is assigned to each group (with some
overlap), and each group has its own creative direction and photographic
approach. They hire freelance shooters comfortable in each area, relying on
a total of 10 to 12 core photographers and rotating three to four new ones
each year to mix things up.Minter says the creative team strives to "create an emotional connection
through the authenticity of the photography," and she uses the word
"authentic" often when describing the brand's overall approach.You can view the interview at PDN. (Photo District News, Here)

Photographer Nadav Kander's "Obama's People"

This Photographer gained access to 52 members of Obama's incoming administration. I have to say that these are not the best portraits that I've seen, but the story of getting access to these people and the circumstances of location and time restraint is interesting. The portraits published by the New York Times, are in a slideshow form and come with an audio discussion between the photographer and Times' director of photography, Kathy Ryan. Go HERE to see.

Another Way of Looking at Art...The Prado in Google Earth

You can now use Google Earth to navigate masterpiece reproductions such as Rembrandt or Velasquez at Spain's Prado museum. The level of detail is amazing and photographing these masterpieces was obviously no small task, see video of how the photography was accomplished HERE. These images contain approximately 14,000 million pixels, that's 1,400 times more detail than an image taken with a 10 megapixel camera. Check it out HERE, and follow the instructions, you just need to download Google Earth if you do not have it and make sure to check the 3D buildings layer on the bottom left panel, find Spain and click on Prado museum. You will be amazed at the detail, you can see every brush stroke and the texture of the canvas.

The Chicago Project

The Chicago Project is an online gallery devoted to new and established photographers in the Chicago area. See it HERE at the Catherine Edelman Gallery. Also while your there check out the current exhibition of Robin Bowman "It's Complicated: The American Teenager. I like the photography but what makes it even more interesting is the teenager's own story and words to go along with the photograph. Also while you are there, check out some of Achim Lippoth photos Here, done in a 1950's style, they are great!

Things I Like...More Miniatures, and A Photo Appears

I was in Prairie Du Chien, Wi. and drove across the beautiful Mississippi River to Marquette, IA. and took this photo. I had in mind at the time to try it out on the TiltShiftmaker web site. I think it is a better subject for this effect because of the higher angle that I was able to shoot at and the nice little town atmosphere. If you look at examples of this technique,the images taken at higher angles work better because if you are looking at say, a train layout with model buildings your perspective is usually from a high angle looking down, you are not inside the model looking up or out. Another reason I like this site is that I do not always have enough time to experiment with photoshop as I would like, so when I find an easy way of doing something in photoshop I'll try it. Another thing I like is when I see an image and it is lit by the sunlight coming through my window and I think, hey, here is an image that I like and it is already lit for me from the sunlight coming through my window. I like it even more when I think, I should grab my camera, and the light is still there after I grab my camera. It's nice when things work out when you plan, it's nice when things work out when you don't plan.

Miniature Model Effect

I created the above "miniature model effect in seconds at a new web site called TiltShiftmaker. There are a number of ways to achieve this look of making your photographs appear like a miniature model. My friend and colleague Photographer Chris Klinge has some examples on his web blog that he did in photoshop, see them here under titles of "Some Attempts", "A Few More Miniature Model Effects", and "One More For Today". Chris spent more time and probably had more fun doing this technique than I did because I did mine at a web site offering this effect for free. Its real simple and fast to use and gives acceptable results. Requirements are that your photo's are jpg and less than 4 megs in size. Obviously some photos work much better than others but this has been a real popular effect recently. Try it out HERE.

Army collection of Korean War Photos, Video

The Army (see Stars and Stripes article) has released images and video from the Korean War captured by military photographers. The still images are black and white, and very well done, see them here. Videos are here.

Artist or Jerk?

Magnum Photographer Bruce Gilden has a unique, or surprising technique of getting his shots. Some criticize and some praise his methods. Check out this video of him shooting and decide for yourself.

Britain's Landmark taken with with one of the Longest-Ever Exposures

Now this is really cool and creative, and a great story from the Telegraph
This Photograph called a "Solargraph" shows a six month exposure through a pinhole camera made of an empty drink can with a 0.25 aperture. It shows each phase of the sun over Bristol's Clifton Suspension Bridge. Photographer Justin Quinnell strapped the camera to a telephone pole and made the exposure from December 19, 2007 to June 21, 2008, the winter and summer solstices. The dotted parts of the arc are overcast days when the sun could not penetrate the clouds. Justin's father passed away halfway through the exposure and the photograph allows him to pinpoint the exact location of the sun at the moment his father passed.
Also see a slideshow of some of Justine Quinnell's work Here from NewScientist.

GREENER PHOTOGRAPHY

I thought this was interesting as "going green" is the buzzword these days. I thought I would throw it out there as it makes sense. You can pick up some good ideas for helping the earth and some money saving tips as well. Check it out for yourself HERE

LIFE Photo Archive

Life magazine photo archive is online and hosted by Google. You can search or browse millions of historic photographs, many that were never published. You can download high resolution photos for non- commercial use. This sounds like it was a huge project and well worth it. Check it out HERE

Genius of Photography

Excellent 6 part series produced by the BBC is a must watch for anyone seriously interested in photography. This series has been conveniently posted on You Tube in 10 minute installments. Start with,
ep1: Fixing the Shadows_
ep1 pt1
ep1 pt2
ep1 pt3
ep1 pt4
ep1 pt5
ep1 pt6

ep2: Documents for Artists_
ep2 pt1
ep2 pt2
ep2 pt3
ep2 pt4
ep2 pt5
ep2 pt6
ep2 pt7

ep3: Right time, Right Place_
ep3 pt1
ep3 pt2
ep3 pt3
ep3 pt4
ep3 pt5
ep3 pt6

ep4: Paper Movies_
ep4 pt1
ep4 pt2
ep4 pt3
ep4 pt4
ep4 pt5
ep4 pt6

ep5: We are Family_
ep5 pt1
ep5 pt2
ep5 pt3
ep5 pt4
ep5 pt5
ep5 pt6

ep6: Snap Judgements_
ep6 pt1
ep6 pt2
ep6 pt3
ep6 pt4
ep6 pt5
ep6 pt6

Year in Pictures

msnbc with a nice Year in pictures slide show, make sure you stay tuned for the sports pictures that come automatically after the news pictures. Check it out HERE

The Boston Globe's Year in Photographs collection

I found this excellent collection of photographs depicting this past year, 2008, at the Boston Globe.
Some very interesting and creative photographs showing photojournalism at its finest.
Check it out HERE