iPhone Photography

http://lens.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/05/02/ben-lowy-virtually-unfiltered/

Because we keep talking about it in our digital class, heres another article from NY Times Lens about iPhone photography.

"Breaking into Prison," Sean Kernan

http://lens.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/04/19/breaking-into-prison/

I saw this series on the NY Times Lens blog this week and thought it was amazing. From the way the project formed to the photographs themselves, the article and series are definitely worth a good look.

Gregory Crewdson's Band

I'm pretty sure Mark mentioned that Gregory Crewdson had a band. Well, here they are.

The stars of intstagram

This might just be a funny story for Olivia in response to her lamenting that she only has 24 followers on instagram.

One of my assistants, Sasha, is addicted to instagram.  When we are on shoots and there is downtime she is always either shooting or checking her account.  She had about 200 followers until this afternoon.

Today another person on instagram (with 2500 followers) recommended Sasha's feed and on our drive home from today's shoot she blew up, getting over 500 new followers within 45 minutes.   I have to admit, it was kind of exciting

On the Legitimacy of Instagram

There is a certain stigma that has become associated with digital photography, following the sudden boom in iPhone photography. I thought this would be a perfectly appropriate thing to post, seeing as iPhone pictures are all I have been bringing to critique lately.

While not the most legitimate news source, I know, the Huffington Post Arts Section now includes a weekly feature, "Instagram Spotlight." The app, they believe, "turns amateurs into artists with the click of a button. Instagram reminds us that even those who aren't working artists have a vision worth sharing."

I know quite a few of you are divided on this issue. I am admittedly a member of Instagram, and find all of the filters and tilt-shift options fun to fool around with. However, I have recently given new life to my previously archived photos by sharing them in critique, which is strange considering that I am of the school that feels as though Instagram, while a great experimental tool, does not suddenly make someone an artist, especially one who merits universal, online recognition--I can't even get over 23 followers.

Read the article here: The Art of Instagram

It's Halftime in America

I wanted to share one of my favorite commercials of last night's Super Bowl, a Chrysler commercial called "It's Halftime in America." I have loved Chrysler's recent string of commercials despite the fact that I think they appeal more to the 'American spirit' and Detroit as a city being 'reborn' rather than Chrysler itself. This commercial has caused quite a political controversy, and you can read about it on almost any major news site. (Here is MSNBC's article and here is one from CBS).

Some highlights from the articles:

• "Your take on the ad? And do you think Coke’s polar bears pose a threat to our northern borders? And is GoDaddy.com not the paragons of feminism they may have been previously thought to be?" (the MSNBC article)
• "Saving the America Auto Industry: Something Eminem and Clint Eastwood can agree on." (White House communications director Dan Pfeiffer) (the CBS article)

This year's commercial: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pGMOhOYvcw4

Last year's Super Bowl commercial: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKL254Y_jtc

Awesome example of successive contrast

Stare at her nose for at least 30 seconds then look at a white wall