China's 60th anniversary celebrations

This is stunning. Not just from the sheer military might but because it’s shot on a DSLR. In High definition. Technical gizmos aside though, the editing and use of stop motion and slow-mo really work. And really liking the pixelated camouflage bedecking the PRC army vehicles.

Very powerful – but is this photography or film making? (not that it matters). The creator is Dan Chung a photojournalist at The Guardian, who has moved away from static imagery into moving image. A photographer’s eye with an editor’s sense of timing.

Watch the video on vimeo.

SE Asia photos

Photos available to view from my trip to Vietnam and Cambodia - with a brief glimpse of Hong Kong and Bangkok at either end.

Robert Capa at the barbican

How very true.

Amazing news!

I really enjoyed visiting the latest Tate Modern photography exhibition Great photos and a really interesting theme, well organised and interestingly arranged. Street photography (of people) isn't something I'm particularly good at or explore so it was lovely to get some stimulation and inspiration.

When I got home I looked at the exhibition's microsite and noticed they were running a competition in conjunction with Flickr. I had a few photos that fitted the criteria so entered the best one.

Didn't think too much about it after that. Fast forward a month or so and I noticed my flickr site was getting a lot of hits. Odd, thought I. Why is this happening? Eventually the penny dropped and I had a look back at the Tate's site which is where the screen shot above was taken.

Wow! I'm very pleased and very, very flattered to be included in the 100 photos the judges selected. Apparently these are now going to be collated into a book and will be shown within the gallery as a slideshow. How cool is that!

Connected post here

Photos that might make you cry

Days with my father is a stunning website put together by Philip Toledano.

Stylistically I love the subtle focusing and soft palette of colours but what moves me more is the obvious affection between son and father. He writes how the death of his mother and his father's inability to record short-term memories compelled him to begin a record of their time together. I admire them both for their honesty, the words and pictures expose a relationship to strangers and invites viewers into an intimate arena. Not sure about the navigation, it's very 'slick' but it's a bit idiosyncratic for my puritan tastes.

Mr Toledano also takes great photos of, among other things, bankrupt business and phone-sex operators. Worth spending a lot of time looking at these. (The photographs, not necessarily the phone-sex operators).

In his biography Philip writes about how a photograph should be "like an unfinished sentence...there should be space for questions", sentiments I'd agree with. Pictures can paint a thousand words but they don't have to tell the whole story. I like the idea that they can stimulate a train of thought and create a connection with the viewer.

Related post: photos and memories

Copenhagen

Back from my hols, pics upoaded here

Fuller write up to follow but in short:
pros: beer quality, sunny sunlight, beautiful people, appreciation of design, proximity to sea, love of outdoor life (cat naps in the sun).
cons: beer prices, open sandwiches.

Phil on Bus

Photo by FuryBoy.

I love this photo. I hate looking at myself in photos so it was a nice surprise to see this on Chris' flickr site. Really like the blurry, energetic hand!

I remember the day but i don't remember this being taken. Too much booze once again?

Spartan photography

Disciplined images from Rasmus Norlander
I really like images with white backgrounds

Blue Jake from Brooklyn

Recent discovery on the photoblogging circuit. Great photos not so much because of the style, more because of the subject matter - the down at heel side of New York. Warehouses, abandoned lots, and light industrial units are all captured by this Brooklyn native.

The well captioned photos suggest a man prepared to get off the beaten path to find the places other photographers just don't reach. And seems to possess a belief in the power of serendipity, always a delightful and rewarding trait.

Shanghai shots

Mega city five? no, Shanghai.
Epic photographs by Horst and Daniel Zielske

Brendan Austin

I've started to recognise the type of photograph I like – landscapes devoid of human existence, dreamlike environments with saturated colours. And those where the photographer has made a real effort to get to a different viewpoint. I guess this collection ticks those boxes.

Brendan says this about his photographs:

"Shot as a series in new zealand. i used a large generator and floodlights to light the scene. all the images are shot at 48 second exposures with reference to my late father. i travelled all around north island new zealand alone, including into deep forest for days at a time, deserts and coastal areas, with a wheel-barrow that my equipment filled. these are edited examples from a large series. they also have not been altered in any way by form of cropping or computer."

New photos uploaded to flickr

Assorted photos added to my flickr account.
Nothing recent, just a few nice ones that perhaps should have been included in the original selection. Locations include China, Australia and California.
Noticed a theme developing so have established this set of images with white background

Sad and moving

This photo and this writing by Duane Michals is pretty awesome (it's the combination of the two together that make the piece, the sum is the greater than the whole). I love the bitter-sweetness of it.



The caption reads: This photograph is my proof. There was that afternoon, when things were still good between us, and she embraced me, and we were so happy. It did happen, she did love me. Look see for yourself!

Fascinating how viewing photographs from yesteryear brings memories flooding back, and the emotions felt at that point in time are suddenly as vivid as they once were. Facebook has brought to light photos of me in my student days – ten years ago, but like only yesterday. My travel photos bring sensations flooding back and awaken experiences from teh back of my mind.

My father and mother separated last year and it's been a painful process for everyone, but as Duane rightly points out the good times will always be there and whether or not there is a photo to document it the important thing is that the good time happened in the first place.

Seeen originally on shanelavalette.com

Recording the mundane and the ugly

I like how Louie Palu has made drab concrete boxes become soaring cathedrals of industry, outwardly presenting the power and energy achieved within. His work focuses on "The Golden Triangle...a geographic area located in the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. Historically, this region has contained some of the richest deposits of gold, silver, uranium, nickel, copper and zinc. A significant number of mines have closed." (via polareintertia)

A more emotional approach to the type of industrial buildings captured by the Becher's – Photographer's who I also like. They obsessively recorded fast disappearing industrial architecture in the Rhur in a consistent clinical manner, travelling around the region in a VW camper van. Less about telling stories, more about taking notes.

Valencia photographs

New photos added to my flickr site.

Taken on a work-away-weekend in Valencia. Great place, great weekend.

Never in the field of debauchery has so much been drunk by so many in so short a space of time.

Good things in little packages

Found this article about using 50mm lens.

Interesting for me because I've recently decided to go back to basics and get to grips with using a 50mm lens. Ever since i began to use SLRs i've only used standard 28-80mm zoom lens, so when I brought my Nikon FM2 from ebay I was intrigued with the additional lenses it came with.

The 50mm lens was, for me, at first an intimidating item. To frame the shot you have to physically move closer or away from the subject. Yet once this characteristic was understood I quickly grew to enjoy the benefits of using this lens.

Low light environments were captured with ease and the depth of field was dramatically different to a zoom lens. A distinctly different aesthetic.

Photographs of people have always been an area i've avoided but this type of lens is ideal for portraits, and as it makes the camera smaller and light it means i have been able to take it down the pub and out and about to capture people in action.

Some examples here. More will be added as shots are developed, nothing wonderful but good to be exploring a different direction.

West Country photos

Fresh from the country, a dose of late summer fun in wales and somerset.

Thanks to Rob and Marty for the organisation. See you soon fellas.

It's all about the numbers

Stunning images by photographer Chris Jordan

In his own words: "As an American consumer myself, I am in no position to finger wag; but I do know that when we reflect on a difficult question in the absence of an answer, our attention can turn inward, and in that space may exist the possibility of some evolution of thought or action. So my hope is that these photographs can serve as portals to a kind of cultural self-inquiry. It may not be the most comfortable terrain, but I have heard it said that in risking self-awareness, at least we know that we are awake. "

I like not only the complex and thought provoking photographs but that last line in his statement also. Feeling something is better than feeling nothing,

Greg Girard

Great photos of China here