New test

Posted on by

I started poking around the menus on my Elph 100 HS, and noticed that it’s got a “Toy Camera” mode – looks like it vignettes the shot. I’m torn – there’s a lot more flexibility with an iPhone and the dozens of applications available for it, but sometimes you can’t beat 12 megapixels, 3200 ISO, a decent flash and HD video. And a f/2.8 lens. And a shutter BUTTON.

Wabi-Sabi

Posted on by

Wabi-sabi is the art of finding beauty in imperfection: it values simplicity, uncluttered, underplayed, and modest surroundings. Authenticity is key to wabi-sabi philosophy: the presence of cracks and scratches in things are considered to be symbolic of the passing of time, weather, and loving use–and should be embraced.

Complaining about the iPhone’s camera?

Posted on by

Kyle Cassidy’s take on the iPhone’s camera, from his iPhonetography site:

THE CAMERA THAT COMES WITH THE iPHONE IS TERRIBLE

Many people decry it’s smallish megapixel count (3), but really, as any serious digital photographer will tell you, size doesn’t matter. The most frustrating thing about the image that comes from the iPhone is the noise. Not audible noise, but digital grain. That, and it’s slow response time, and of course, the lack of control: apart from aiming the camera and depressing shutter button, the user doesn’t have any control over aperture (fixed at 2.8) focal length, shutter speed, or even ISO, which swings from ~70 into the 1000+ range as it wants. The 3Gs has a “press here to focus” option that does adjust the exposure, but seems to refocus as it sees fit afterwards, more taunt than feature.

 

Read More →

Nostalgia for the Now

Posted on by

(Here’s a great article by Peggy Nelson about nostalgia, memories, and how digital media allows us to interpret memories independently of what we capture on media…)

Photographs give us the ability to capture what we see, more or less. And apps give us the ability to capture what we wish. So what do we wish for? The seventies or a reasonable facsimile? More beautiful memories? A more beautiful everyday? …Nostalgia is a tricky thing.

Read More →

The Day My Grandmother Exploded, by Kyle Cassidy

Posted on by

[via Kyle Cassidy’s Livejournal ]

Two weeks ago I got this crazy idea in my head to find a ten year old 1.3 megapixel Leica Digilux and make a series of images with it based on lines people sent me from novels. Well, it’s done. It’s a 24 page booklet called The Day My Grandmother Exploded, a quote from Iain Banks “The Crow Road” suggested by Craig Zeni.

Three hundred people emailed quotes, I picked the first twenty. (Ed: Note – Me! Me! Me! I was one of the 20!)

Read More →

Camerabag, More iPhone Camera Fun

Posted on by

I had a lot of fun with Hipstamatic, the iPhone camera application that’s taking my Facebook friends list by storm. It does feel odd to buy a $1.99 app to turn my $199 cameraphone into a $2 plastic camera, but there <<are>> benefits to going digital – for less than the cost of a roll of 120 film, I can shoot endless square format pictures.

I tried CameraBag, another fun photo manipulation app. This app doesn’t have the mind-mangling number of unintuitive film/lens combos that Hipstamatic has. I think I like it better.

The Camerabag filter names make more sense, at least – helga, lomo, 1974, fisheye.

Buy it at the iTunes store, or follow them on Twitter

First Shot, Third Canonet

Posted on by

This is a medium-res scan from a test roll out of my third Canonet QL 17 GIII. It’s been one of my favorite cameras over the years, and one of the best deals out there if you’re looking for a cheap rangefinder. Canon sold lots of them, so there’s spare parts galore. It’s easy to take apart, so DIYers can buy spare bodies and tinker. (See above)The dedicated flash is dirt simple – tie the aperture to the distance setting and change the aperture when it senses a flash.

This was taken with a skylight UV filter on, I had to correct a serious yellow/green cast. Or, maybe that was my 10 year old, $.99 film? Or maybe this is the Matrix?

I want to be a photographer someday. Any advice?

Posted on by

Originally posted by kylecassidy:

A Reader Writes: I want to be a photographer someday. Any advice?

Yes, lots.
Photography is a mixture of Artistic Ability and Technical Skill — the magic of the mix isn’t written in stone. The world is filled with technically proficient but artistically uninspired photographers, there seem to be a smaller number of artistically gifted but technically unsavvy artists, but they’re out there as well. But the most successful people have a mixture of both — they have an artistic vision, and they posses the technical skills to know how to make that a reality. The technical skills are the easy part, you can learn them from a book — f-stops and shutter speeds and light modifiers, etc. The difficult thing to come up with is an idea.
0) Possibly the most important thing of all: Find creative people and make them part of your world. They don’t have to be photographers. They can be writers, or musicians, or actors or puppet makers. Have a peer group of people who are doing things. They’ll be your inspiration, your facilitators, your idea makers, your artistic partners. Do this for the rest of your life. Artists rarely survive in a vacuum.

Read More →

iPhonetography, a new Kyle Cassidy project

Posted on by

http://www.iphonetography.net/


THE CAMERA THAT COMES WITH THE iPHONE IS TERRIBLE

Many people decry it’s smallish megapixel count (3), but really, as any serious digital photographer will tell you, size doesn’t matter. The most frustrating thing about the image that comes from the iPhone is the noise. Not audible noise, but digital grain. That, and it’s slow response time, and of course, the lack of control: apart from aiming the camera, selecting a focus area and depressing shutter button, the user doesn’t have any control over aperture (fixed at 2.8) focal length (fixed at 5.9mm), shutter speed, or even ISO, which swings from ~70 into the 1000+ range as it wants.

iT’S A PHONE FOR CRYING OUT LOUD

Quiet Carnival

Posted on by

 

Check out Amy’s post, Quiet Carnival.

Last Thursday night as I drove home from work, I passed the park during golden hour. Buttery light filtered through the trees and lit up the rides. No more lame reasons. I raced the last few blocks to the house to grab my camera (I had my point and shoot with me, but I wanted my DSLR) and the boy and raced back.