webcomics
print
inventions
presentations
consulting

Archive for ‘Photography’


Polaroid Swan Song

Photographer Reluctantgod writes with news of a cool project:

It is a sequential narrative composed of 73 Polaroids.  I utilized Autoviewer technology (from Simpleviewer.net) to create a Flash gallery where the photos are arranged in a continuous row, with no page breaks. Each new photo in the sequence is advanced from left to right in front of the viewer, by way of non-intrusive buttons and/or the arrow keys on the keyboard. Each time an image is centered, its corresponding caption is revealed in clear text, below the image.

When I found myself running out of Polaroid film (as it has now been officially discontinued by the Polaroid Corporation), I decided that I should do something “bigger,” something that was more intriguing and powerful, with my remaining film supply. I have always had a love for sequential art (that your books have truly re-enforced and strengthened), so I decided to undertake a challenging project that would be unique among works of instant film photography.

It’s called A Garden Not Lost to Us and it’s a spooky, interesting read. I especially like the idea of new tech being used to transmit the swan song for a dying tech.


Dude, Why Doesn’t Everyone Do This?

Our friend Robynne has been photographing low-tech re-creations of her dreams! Such a cool and improbable idea. Check out her “I Dreamed…” section on Flickr to see the latest.

(Of course, for all I know, this is a giant meme and they already have clubs for this in middle schools, but hey, it’s new to me!)


Drawing with Light and Time

Warren Ellis points us to a real gem this morning. An elaborate new mutation of the old idea of “drawing with light.”

From the Light Art Performance Photography site description: “LAPP originates on a real-time basis directly in front of the camera. Created between opening and closing the shutter. The pictures shown here are in each case one single photo, not a result of working on the computer…”

A very different kind of “temporal map” to explore.



Checking Back with Live Labs

Artists have continued to toy with the Infinite Canvas engine from Microsoft’s Live Labs since we last checked in. In the current “featured”category is “Amhot” by Tam, a cool set of Vignettes worth checking out.

Also of interest, below the fold, is a long list of other recent comics, art projects, and random screwing around which use the engine.

As before, the comics themselves are a mixed bag, using a smattering of navigational models, some of which work better than others, but they point in interesting directions.

I’ll be curious to see what surprises might emerge from the slushpile in the future.


Kane Lynch

Kane Lynch has a lot on his mind. His site features comics, videos, and photocomics, each section with its own oddball set of sensibilities. It’s hit-and-miss, but I liked several bits for different reasons which is always refreshing in a sea of mono-talents.

Of special interest to comics fans is his ongoing long-form comic The Relics. The figure drawing is pretty raw, but the story feels solid and well-planned, and you can see the art gradually improve as it runs to catch up. Given enough time, (and life drawing courses) you could see Lynch developing in a similar fashion to Jeph Jacques (compare: early JJ vs recent JJ).

Or he might just make music videos. The guy is obviously restless.

Either way, another one to keep an eye on.


A Couple of Photo Comics

As long as I’m a bit distracted this week by humongous, wonderful graphic novels , here’s a German photo comic you may not have seen that’s kind of cool.

And while we’re at it, a Canadian photo comic many of you may already know about, but that’s always worth a visit.


Toronto à la Will Wright

From the top of the CN Tower (click for big version).

I noticed how from high up and far away, crossing perspective lines resolve to almost parallel, giving an eerie Sims-like quality to the surroundings in photos when zoomed in and cropped. I especially like the people:

I mean, geez. Where are the little floating diamonds, Dude? And yet… as real as you and me.

Life imitates art, example #387,941,229 for your consideration.


Headshots

Cartoonists are visual artists. We should all have better headshots. Everybody’s been enjoying the great photos of NYC comics artists that Seth Kushner has been taking, but I think my favorite is this one from a recent interview with James Kochalka. If anyone out there has a better headshot than that, I’d love to see it.