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kottke.org posts about photography

Olympics wrap-up

I’ve got a few stories about the Winter Olympics open in tabs, so in the interest of getting rid of them:

- Photographer Vincent Laforet discusses his process in getting the photographs he wants.
- How the broadcast graphics were done for NBC’s coverage of the Olympics.
- The Nation on what went wrong with NBC’s coverage.
- Here’s the New Yorker’s take on the TV coverage.

Finally, Gelf Magazine compares Olympic predictions with the actual results. The media outlets surveyed all predicted higher medal counts for the US, but weren’t off by that much (aside from the ridiculous AP predicitons). Only NBC and Nike were surprised that Bode Miller sucked so royally.


A statement on art statements. “I have

A statement on art statements. “I have no way of actually proving this, but I am convinced that many photographers do not have all that stuff from their statements in their heads and then go out to shoot the photography. I have the suspicion that some of them, after having shot their photos, have a hard time writing something that can pass as a statement, because ‘I just wanted to take beautiful photos of rubble piles’ somehow doesn’t appear to be acceptable.”


Canon, Sony, and Nikon top the list

Canon, Sony, and Nikon top the list of the most-used camera on Flickr. Nokia is #11.


Were you up on the High Line

Were you up on the High Line on Feb 20? Did you lose your digital camera? It’s been found…claim it on Craigslist.


Edward Burtynsky and World Changing have collaborated

Edward Burtynsky and World Changing have collaborated on a video using his photographs to depict humanity’s impact on the planet. Burtynsky has pledged $50,000 from his 2005 TED Prize (as has the Sapling Foundation) to match donations to World Changing. More information on the TED blog.


Rob at Cockeyed is building a photographic

Rob at Cockeyed is building a photographic height/weight grid, effectively a catalog of people’s body types. Description and call for entries here.


My pal Judith lost her camera on

My pal Judith lost her camera on vacation in Hawaii and tried to make the best of the situation by starting a project using other people’s Flickr photos to reconstruct a trip journal. Now, a family has found her camera but won’t give it back to her because they don’t want to take it away from the 9 yo kid that found it. “We can’t tell him that he has to give it up. Also we had to spend a lot of money to get a charger and a memory card”. The dishonesty displayed here is maddening.


A 1904 photograph by Edward Steichen was recently

A 1904 photograph by Edward Steichen was recently sold at auction for more than $2.9 million, the most anyone’s ever paid for a photo at auction. (via consc)


The first two $25,000 “no strings attached” photography

The first two $25,000 “no strings attached” photography grants have been given out.


Gallery of the winners of the World

Gallery of the winners of the World Press Photos of the Year for 2005.


De-Touch lets you step through how photos

De-Touch lets you step through how photos of models are retouched for publication. Announcement here. Made with Processing, source code is available.


Interview with photographer Ryan McGinley about his work.

Interview with photographer Ryan McGinley about his work.


Alternative photography (pinhole cameras, daguerreotypes, gum bichromate

Alternative photography (pinhole cameras, daguerreotypes, gum bichromate prints) is making a small comeback in the midst of the digital photography revolution. Here’s some of Adam Lubroth’s work and an exhibition in Austin, TX of “historical photographic approaches in the digital age”.


This Flickr user really likes photos of

This Flickr user really likes photos of people at the dentist. This one’s my favorite. (via janelle)


Cool composite photo of playing in the

Cool composite photo of playing in the snow. Take a look at the large size for the full effect.


“Preliminary construction” will begin on the High

“Preliminary construction” will begin on the High Line Park in mid-February. Protective fences will be put up south of 20th Street, so it might be your last chance to see the High Line as it is and once was. Here are some photos I took of the High Line from a February 2004 excursion. (via gmist)


A big dog on the subway with

A big dog on the subway with a fur-coated owner and a brick in its mouth. And I believe it’s a “pit bull-type” dog.


Judith lost her camera (and most of

Judith lost her camera (and most of her pictures) on her trip to Hawaii, so she’s using other people’s photos from Flickr to produce a trip journal.


The Folk Typography Pool contains photos of

The Folk Typography Pool contains photos of type made by people who are not designers, typographers, or calligraphers. (thx, paul)


Photos of the Shipbreaking Yards in Bangladesh

Photos of the Bangladesh shipbreaking yards by Brendan Corr. Strict environmental laws in the Europe and the US make “recycling” these ships there difficult, so US and European companies outsource the salvage to Bangladesh, where laws are looser. Compare with Edward Burtynsky’s photos of the same. (thx, malatron)

Update: Article from The Atlantic about shipbreaking (thx, john) and a soon-to-be released book called Breaking Ships (thx, john #2).


Some interesting photomosaics. This one of Steve

Some interesting photomosaics. This one of Steve Jobs is made of OS X icons and this woman is a collage of Macs and other Apple products.


Recolored is a software program that helps

Recolored is a software program that helps colorize black & white photos. Just specify some borders and colors and it does the rest.


Olivo Barbieri’s tilt-shift aerial photography

Aerial photos of cities taken by Olivo Barbieri with a tilt-shift lens look like scale models. I’m familiar with the tilt-shift (Jake noodled around with one awhile back), but didn’t imagine you could use it to achieve such a convincing optical illusion. (via bldgblog via waxy)


Giant jellyfish invade Japan STOP Creatures 2 meters

Giant jellyfish invade Japan STOP Creatures 2 meters wide and 450 pounds STOP Killing fish, fishing industry, and even humans STOP Run for your lives STOP


Photos of pool hustlers in NYC. (via

Photos of pool hustlers in NYC. (via coolfer by way of the actual janelle)


A pair of photoessays from Time magazine:

A pair of photoessays from Time magazine: Martin Luther King in His Own Words and The Last Days of Martin Luther King.


In 1998, six newspapers profiled the streets named

In 1998, six newspapers profiled the streets named after Martin Luther King in their respective cities. Along Martin Luther King is a collection of essays and photographs documenting life along the nearly 500 streets named for MLK. In 2003, Rob Walker took some photos along MLK Blvd in New Orleans).


“no sampling, please”, a photoset depicting binge-sampling

“no sampling, please”, a photoset depicting binge-sampling of nearly everything in sight, contrary to posted signage.


Pareidolia: “The erroneous or fanciful perception of

Pareidolia: “The erroneous or fanciful perception of a pattern or meaning in something that is actually ambiguous or random.” Here are hundreds of examples on Flickr…light sockets that look like faces, etc.


Some fans of The Matrix films went

Some fans of The Matrix films went to Sydney and photographed various locations that were in the first film. Photoset on Flickr.