Single-Serving Photo

It is probably clear to you by now, my gentle (and oh, so loyal) readers, that I’m making up for lost time today. I have been sitting on piles of article ideas and photography news items to share with you all but unfortunately at times life can get the better of you, as it has me over the past couple of months.

Please rest assured that I have no forgotten you all, nor have I given up on this “blogging” endeavor of mine. Regrettably, many of the things that have occurred in the photography world during my absence are no longer relevant or current, but fear not, for there is much, much more to share.

Now, to the point.

Clearly this is a photography website and I try to limit my ramblings and reflections to the world of photography, but occasionally something comes around that is only tangentially related to photography, such as a video or a piece of news, and it behooves me to let you decide whether you think it’s interesting or not.

In this case, we have 560,000 photos of a firecracker exploding. I apologize for the perhaps somewhat misleading title; these are not 560,000 individual photographs, but rather the result of recording 56 seconds of a firecracker exploding on a high-speed camera at 10,000 frames per second. I ask you, is there anything in the world that doesn’t look amazing at 10,000 frames per second? Don’t answer that.

One of the most compelling capabilities of photography, which I have featured prominently in my own artist’s statement, is that of enabling us to see something we cannot perceive with our own bare eyes. What is hidden from us may be the unique perspective of another individual in a philosophical or social sense, or something that is literally invisible to the naked eye. In my humble opinion it is photography’s highest calling to reveal it. In this case it is a “moving picture,” a video if you will, but nevertheless photography’s calling is answered triumphantly.

Without further ado, a firecracker exploding at 10,000 frames per second:

For fans of the hit AMC series Mad Men, or for fans of the ’40s and ’50s in general, here is a splendid little video called “The Girl on the Magazine Cover” that briefly investigates the world of modeling and magazine advertising photography around the 1940s.

Not only is it a glimpse into the harrowing business of commercial photography in those days when view cameras were the best you could get and subjects were all shot under hot lights, but also an entertaining look at the male-dominated professional world familiar to anyone who lived through those decades (or at least watched Mad Men).

So you guys know that the Canon EOS-5D Mark II can shoot video, right? It seems like video is the latest “must-have” feature for DSLRs, and although I remain skeptical of its utility when it comes to the core function of a DSLR (to make photographs, last I checked), it turns out that there is something to be said for it.

As you read here not too long ago, the season finale of the hit Fox show “House” (which I watch religiously) was shot entirely with 5D Mark II cameras, proving that although it may not be as convenient or feature-rich as a purpose-built digital cinema camera, it gets the job done.

You don’t need to be a technology Nostradamus to see into a future where tools of even the most complex trades trickle down to the masses. Already, software capable of advanced video and music production are within the grasp of any Joe (or Jane) Q. Public. The 5D Mark II is just another example of the ever-increasing accessibility of truly capable media creation tools.

Lest you doubt my words, watch this short film from Philip Bloom called “Sofia’s People.” Shot entirely handheld with the 5D Mark II and a Nikon-mount Zeiss 50mm f/1.4. According to Bloom, there was no post-production other than massaging the frame rate (no image modification at all).

When I say that the 5D Mark II’s video is absurd, I mean absurdly awesome.

View Sofia’s People on Vimeo to see more of Philip Bloom’s work, participate in discussion, etc.

If there is anything in the world I like more than slow motion, it’s… I have no idea, I love slow motion so much. I am completely addicted to that Discovery Channel show Time Warp and I frequently search for slow motion on YouTube and just watch everything that comes up (anything from Brainiacs is usually awesome).

For your daily dose of photography-related slow motion, I bring you a video of the Canon 5D shutter shot at 2,000 frames per second using (allegedly) a Phantom HD high speed camera.

Part One: Kites

Chris Benton is a professor of architecture at the University of California, Berkeley. He also straps his digital SLR onto a kite string and takes some of the most amazing aerial photographs I have ever seen. Chris combines a truly gifted eye for composition with a an engineer’s savvy for mechanical problem solving.

Using kites and remote-controlled camera rigs built by hand in his basement, Chris captures the world top-down, photographing everything from people and buildings to the patterns of nature. Watch this video from Make Magazine and be stunned!

Kite Aerial Photography on MAKE: television from make magazine on Vimeo.

Chris is quick to humbly share his experience and tips for aerial kite photography on his website (graciously hosted by Berkeley!)

I was blown away by the evolution of Chris’s camera rigs, which grew from fixed harnesses with rudimentary mechanical timers based on elastic bands, Silly Putty, and disposable cameras, to what he now uses, a remote-controlled, servo motor-driven, three-axis robot.

It’s definitely not commonplace for someone to possess both a grasp of electronic and mechanical engineering and a hawk-eye for artistic composition. Chris Benton has both.

Part Two: Cars

Aside from being an avid photographer, I admit to a streak of BMW fanboyism. When it comes to sports cars that are still solid daily drivers that make you feel like you’ve personally discovered the center of the universe and you’re sitting directly within it, nobody does it better than BMW.

To hype the release of their latest creation, the Z4 Roadster, BMW hired artist Robin Rhode to dip the Z4’s tires in multi-colored paints and drive it around like a fingerpainting on a warehouse scale. This was one of the most indulgent marketing campaigns I could think of.

I realize this isn’t strictly photography-related, but it is certainly art-related. If you feel gypped, go look at these photographs from the event

And here is a pretty cool video of how they put this thing together:

The next time you’re out shooting, or sitting around the house thinking about how next to use that studio space you set up in the basement, or the garage, or the attic… Think about breaking out of the box and doing something completely different. Robin Rhode did, and I think it came out pretty well.