Archive for category inspiration
Big is beautiful
Posted by Michal in inspiration, photography, photojournalism on 27/04/2010
Although you wouldn’t know that, if you looked at most online picture galleries.
It’s been bothering me for quite a while: why is it that so many online publications seem to be proud of their picture galleries and attach so much importance to the visual aspect of news, yet completely ruin the experience by presenting the images in a very unattractive way?
Yes, I know that page impressions count and if you reduce the gallery size, cram a few ads on the page and make people click forever you may even earn a few bucks. But will the same people come back?
I may look at the galleries on Times Online, The Guardian, The Daily Telegraph every now and then, but usually only when I get sent a link to one. I hardly ever look at the BBC galleries, although I have to admit that I like the fact their home page has become flexible and can easily accommodate a large(ish)-format gallery to illustrate a big breaking news story.
I know that not everybody uses huge screens and enjoys a fast broadband connection, and I’m fully aware of the fact that most news outlets need or want to appeal to the widest audience. But how about making the images bigger, the gallery visually more appealing and likely to be shared easily? At least try?
That’s exactly what boston.com did and subsequently conquered the social media world with its Big Picture gallery – massive, bold, carefully selected images focused on a single theme.
Ask any Twitter user whether they’ve heard of Boston.com and they will probably say no. But ask them about The Big Picture and they’re more likely to remember it.
In a relatively short space of time The Big Picture has become an institution – a place to go to to see carefully selected examples of photojournalism, extreme photography, some quirky and unusual images – all in big format.
And, unlike most online galleries, this one needs to be scrolled rather than clicked through. That’s possibly its biggest unique selling point: no thumbnails, no individual pages, no pop-ups. Just a long list of visually stunning and often poigniant images. A big win for both photography and for journalism, but not just because of the big format. The images are always carefully selected to guarantee the most logical narrative or simply the biggest visual impact, or both.
Another exemplary use of big format photographs can be found on the brilliant Pictory site, where users are invited to submit just one image on a specific theme. Laura Brunow, who runs the website, then picks twelve best images and publishes them as brilliant image-led ‘stories’. See this Danger showcase for example. A clean, uncluttered and easy to navigate page, where images are able to speak for themselves and grab our attention. Each comes with a short intro or caption submitted by the contributing photographer and with the photographer’s bio.
The fact that many Twitter users – not necessarily photographers – shared a link to the recent London showcase, and had nothing but praise for the site, suggests Laura Brunow (and The Big Picture) got it right.
The big boys should really take notice.
Horsetail firefall
Posted by Michal in inspiration, photography on 20/03/2010
I saw a similar image to this one on Twitter yesterday when someone posted it there – and found it fascinating. This is a phenomenon known as Horsetail Firefall and it can only be seen during the last two weeks of February in Yosemite National Park. And only if the conditions are right.
First of all you need the water, which at this time of the year can still be frozen. There are also years when there’s simply no water as it’s too dry.
Then you also need sunlight. The sky needs to be clear and the setting sun needs to be in the right position for its golden glow to hit the falling water.
And obviously the photographer needs to be there at the right time in the right place.
Absolutely fascinating. And I didn’t know about that until I read what others had to say about it on Flickr. When you search for ‘horsetail firefall’ there you can also see how others have approached the same phenomenon.
I think I know when I’m going next February.
Image: Horsetail Firefall© Daleberts via Flickr, used under CC licence
26-gigapixel picture of Paris
Posted by Michal in inspiration, photography on 13/03/2010
It would seem 26-gigapixel panoramic websites are all the rage. You may remember my earlier post from December 2009 on a similar site offering some mind-blowing views of Dresden, but it looks like this latest site takes the whole experience to a whole new level.
Not least because of the beauty of the next city which got the 26-gigapixel treatment: Paris.
Like their German counterparts, the French photographers – led by Arnaud Frich, “the most famous panoramic photographer in France” – also used Canon 5D Mark II. But to speed the process up they used 2 cameras to capture 2346 single images, which they then stitched together to create what they claim is the biggest ever panoramic image. For comparison, the Dresden project used ‘only’ 1600 images.
They shot the image from the top of Saint Sulpice tower using 300mm f4.0 lenses with tele converters and used manual focus. During the shoot one of the lenses started producing blurred images, so they finished the project with just one camera.
When you compare the two processes, the French one is much less complicated, and possibly less perfectly executed (there are some image quality issues here and there), but the result is stunning. You can zoom in on some of the French capital’s most popular buildings, track down pedestrians on the narrow Parisian streets or count the tourists on top of the Eiffel Tower.
Like with the Dresden project, you can also click on some thumbnails and let the screen zoom in on a particular detail. Clicking on any of the info points on the screen will bring up a short description of what you are looking at. And luckily you can mute the slightly annoying Amelie music.
As always, it’s best viewed on a relatively fast machine and definitely go full screen.
The accompanying blog gives more details about the project, there’s also a short behind-the-scenes video.
We’ll no doubt see more gigantic panoramic pictures soon. The question is – which city is up next?
New York? Tokyo? Or, hopefully, London.
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Prepare to be amazed
Posted by Michal in inspiration, video on 07/01/2010
If you haven’t seen the video yet, please watch it before you continue reading this post.
And preferably go full screen if you can.
Did you like it? I thought it was one of the most beautiful things I’ve seen on Vimeo in a long time.
But what’s really striking about this video is the fact that it’s fully computer-generated. None of it is real. It’s all animated.
As the author of the video, Alex Roman, says: “The Third and The Seventh is a full-CG animated piece that tries to illustrate architecture art across a photographic point of view where main subjects
are already-built spaces. Sometimes in an abstract way. Sometimes surreal.”
The website for the project, www.thirdseventh.com, describes it as “the visual fusion between the third and the seventh arts.”
Alex Roman is an artistic alias of a 30-year-old Spanish artist Jorge Seva, who studied traditional painting, then worked for a visual effects company in Madrid before developing an interest in architectural visualisation.
In one interview he explained the concept and the title:
I realized that there was a huge aesthetic difference between most clients’ commercial demands and photography of already-built structures. The lack of respect for the architecture itself in some “pure” commercial illustration was very frustrating to me. (Well, this is just my opinion, of course.)
Then, I decided to start a personal journey: to experiment with a more cinematographic and/or photographic oriented point of view of some of my favorites architects’ masterpieces.
Hence, the “TheThird&TheSeventh” project…
You can read the rest of the interview here – he explains some technical details regarding the video.
You have to admit, the video is simply stunning. I can’t begin to imagine the amount of effort and patience required to put the whole thing together. I think I’ll stop moaning about my RAW workflow now.
It also shows what is possible in 2010 and actually when you think about it – it makes you wonder how much of what we see is real – and when it matters. If at all.
I went to see the new Sherlock Holmes and half of the movie was computer-generated, but it didn’t bother me at all, it was good fun.
There might be situations however when this sort of CG footage might be problematic – factual or news footage springs to mind. Sooner or later it will happen.
But I guess this is just the beginning – in five year’s time Avatar and Wall-e will look dated. And I’d rather celebrate the fact we’re able to create such amazing things.
Alex Roman, I salute you!
London photography from the upper deck
Posted by Michal in inspiration, photographers, photography on 03/01/2010
Every now and then I’ll be chatting to photographers who inspire me or do something unusual with their cameras. This is my first quick chat with a London-based photographer, Przemek Wajerowicz, who some time ago set out to create a project called From the Upper Deck.
Here he talks to me about in more detail about his project and the inspiration behind it:
The project started soon after I arrived in London in 2005. I’m a street photography fan and From the Upper Deck is weird version of street photography. The view from double-decker buses fascinated me from the moment I arrived in London. I’ve always taken pictures from buses, sadly I lost the very early ones when my hard drive died some time ago. (Three low-res images survived here http://plfoto.com/730749/zdjecie.html http://plfoto.com/765776/zdjecie.html http://plfoto.com/777852/zdjecie.html – these were my first pictures from the upper deck.)
After a while the whole idea grew into a project and in 2007 I decided to ride every bus route in London from the first to the last stop. The following year I started my photo blog.
What camera are you using? Do you stick to just one lens or do you change them?
Currently I’m using Canon 5D and a Canon 50mm f 1.8 lens. The 5D allows me to take good quality pictures at very short intervals, which is a great bonus when photographing the street from a moving bus. Plus it’s a full-frame camera too. 99% of all my pictures were taken with the 50mm lens. In my opinion the 50mm focal length manages the task best and is ideal for me. And besides the 50mm is like cheap wine. Why is cheap wine is good? Because it’s cheap and good.
I agree, I love my 50mm f1.8 lens. Incredible quality for such low price. Which aspect of this project do you find difficult, what’s the biggest challenge for you?
I don’t look at it this way. It’s difficult to say what the most difficult thing is. Most things about taking pictures are exciting. The most boring – and therefore the most difficult aspect – is not getting lost in all the information: when and where I’ve been, which route I’ve covered… All that admin stuff (two spreadsheets, calendar) is very ungrateful, but I need to remember where and when I’ve visited. The biggest challenge is getting on every single double-decker route in London from the beginning to the end.
Have you ever met with a negative reaction? Or do people prefer to pose for pics?
Usually people don’t see me. But when they do, they react in various ways – they’re surprised, they smile, they seem reluctant. But there has never been a negative reaction – maybe just surprise. Here are some examples:
http://www.ftud.net/p/494
http://www.ftud.net/p/87
http://www.ftud.net/p/357
Has this project changed the way you perceive London and its inhabitants?
No, although I’ve seen places I never knew existed, mainly on the outskirts of London – places like Purley, Biggin Hill or Hillingdon.
How was the project received by other photographers and the general poblic?
I think the feedback was positive. The project was picked up by the BBC website and other blogs/online publications, including a prominent German site I never knew existed 
How many routes have you got left to cover and how are you planning to cover those without double-decker buses?
I don’t know exactly how many as not all of them have double-deckers. I think I’ll simply ignore those.
What’s the next step for the project?
The main aim is to publish an album then to re-edit and rebuilt the website to allow for easier picture browsing.
You can follow Przemek on Twitter and check his site www.ftud.net
All images © Przemek Wajerowicz, used with author’s permission
26-gigapixel picture – the biggest in the world
Posted by Michal in inspiration, photography on 18/12/2009
Woah! Have I already told you that I’m in love with Canon 5D Mark II? Have I?
Just like Canon 350D made DSLRs more accessible to millions of users worldwide a few years ago, last year Canon 5D Mark II ushered in a new era of high-spec, mid-range DSLR hybrids, capable of taking stunning images up to 21MP in size – even in low-lighting conditions – and producing some superb HD videos at the same time.
Now we have another proof – as if one was needed – of how stunning this camera is.
A German agency AFB Media in association with Dresden-based newspaper Sächsische Zeitung produced what they claim is a record-breaking, 26-gigapixel panoramic image of the city. Done using Canon 5D Mark II, obviously.
How did they do it? It took them almost three hours to produce the picture. Well, not just one picture. The camera – linked directly to a laptop, as there are no memory cards big enough to store such an amount of data – captured over 1600 individual full-format images. Altogether, they’ve recorded over 100Gb of data.
They’ve used a 400mm lens and a special engine to ensure precise movement and timed the whole process to produce a consistent image which reflects the movement of the sun.
If printed, this photo would measure 105×35 metres. That’s almost the size of a football pitch. A great achievement indeed.
You can read all about the process here (the amount of geeky detail is a bit scary). You can obviously see and play with the enormous picture there too.
To really experience the awesomeness of the whole project, make sure you’re fully zoomed out and then click on one of the 11 thumbnails on the page.
Of course, to break this record they could’ve used any other high-end camera, but I think the fact they’ve opted for Canon 5D Mark II says a lot about its status as the most versatile and powerful DSLR on the market now.
If only the price made it more accessible.
Here’s a video from the shoot:
UPDATE (13/03/2010): It looks like this is no longer the biggest picture – see my post on a 26-gigapixel picture of Paris.
Thinking outside the Wall
Posted by Michal in inspiration, photographers, photography on 16/11/2009
Today I read a blog post by one of my favourite news photographers, Leon Neal, who describes his experience on an assignment in Berlin, working for the local AFP bureau covering the Berlin Wall celebrations.
His blog shows just why you should – if possible – get off the beaten track to capture the real spirit of the moment.
The main event (in this case the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall) produced a number of similarly looking images from the Branderburg Gate area. We’ve seen the giant domino shots and the fireworks in all papers and on all websites last week.
Leon however recorded the ‘extra-curricular’ activities – people walking across the line marking the former site of the Wall, old Trabants taking tourists along the route of the former wall, kids chasing giant bubbles or people crowded on the bridge which years ago was the original gateway to the West.
And this is the exciting bit. Photographing a major event is always thrilling, but you also run the risk of producing images which are similar to everyone else’s.
The best Glastonbury shots I’ve seen didn’t feature a single musician or a stage, but gave me a brilliant idea of what it’s like to be there. The most amazing New York martahon shots I’ve seen didn’t show the usual masses of people, but featured single runners photographed with a flash on a bridge.
I find such pictures much more interesting, particularly when, as Leon says, what you see on TV never really gives you the full picture:
While dignitaries, leaders and celebrities congratulated each other on their success in ending Communism, the public were kept at a safe distance, behind twin layers of security barriers. While I totally understand the need for this during the speeches by Sarkozy, Merkel, Medvedev and the rest of the political heavyweights, once they were tucked up in their bunkers again, the public should have been allowed in to celebrate in their own way, under the famous gates. As is the way with nearly all of this kind of event in current times, the whole evening left the feeling that it was created to be enjoyed at home on tv, with the spectators that did make the effort used as a backdrop for the cameras.
Read the rest of his post and see his brilliant pictures here.
Image © abhijeet.rane via Flickr, used under Creative Comons licence
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