elasticlimit

Of all the readings, the Benson readings got under my skin and agitated me the most. I have to ask; IS photography the capture process, the printing process, the distribution process, or is the whole bundle under the category “Photography”? Benson discusses the 4 Stages of Photography, yet each stage has a capture method associated with a print method, as so to say that photography is nothing without printing. Sure, he briefly mentions the computer screen, but its all of 5 words, not the lengthy chapters dedicated to even the most esoteric of print methods.

The answer to the question I initially pose seems obvious to me. I feel that photography is the art of the capture. I feel that the rendering process is something else. Intimately related to photography, of course, but an entirely separate entity. Perhaps I am to literal in my derivation, but there are Wedding Photographers, and Sports Photographers, and News Photographers. Yet, they may all go to the same lab to have their results applied to paper by a technician (read: walmart) who may not understand the difference between an F-stop and an F-mount. While at the same time, their photos may never see paper at all. Does that mean they are NOT participating members of the Photography community? I sincerely believe that Benson should revise his thinking. Photography is no longer directly associated with physical hands on final results. Nay I say, results come in forms that have not only surpassed paper prints, but have transcended them.

To illustrate this, I would like to point out my chosen “photo”. Below you will see a link to my QTVR (QuickTime Virtual Reality) movies of the UH Manoa campus at night. It is a fully interactive 360° environment, complete with hotspots (may take a minute to download). To move the view, use your arrow keys, or click and drag left/ right/ up/ down to pan in the respective direction. Zooming can be accomplished with the CTRL and Shift keys. To “show hotspots” click the little arrow (house like icon with a question mark in it) in the control bar. Also note, when you do move the mouse over a hot spot, the cursor will change to an arrow, and the name of that hotspot will be displayed in the control bar. I’ve also included a frame to the left so that you don’t have to search for hotspots to jump to the different locations on campus (I suggest visiting Student Services).

Click here to view the movies

Perhaps, photography is akin to a family. The photographer is much like a “father” where in the whole family assumes its name. We then have the printing/viewing methods (be it screen, or paper) which is analogous to the “mother” whom is able to produce the offspring “photo”.

Posted by David Baker.

“I always hated flash films, they didn’t ever move me at all, I hated the low frame rate and I hated the fact they always seemed to be unfunny computer game parodies or digs at Metallica and Eminem. So I guess that’s all I ever expected to see when I clicked on a flash film. I avoided flash for ages but no one wanted to spend 25 minutes downloading an AVI. I guess people expect a flash movie to make it’s point in around 1-3 minutes, maybe they expect to laugh or see some cool violence all rounded off with either a punchline or an ending, so I made sure that with episode 1 they got none of those ingredients and as I expected it got ignored and mocked.”

Don’t miss the entire series of David Firth’s Salad Fingers. He’s odd, quirky, and a bit off his cake. All seven episodes can be found along with some other of David’s animations at his web site
fat-pie.com. LINK

Also don’t miss the fascinating interview with him at semantikon. LINK

The Alcor Life Extension Foundation is the world leader in cryonics, cryonics research, and cryonics technology. Cryonics is the science of using ultra-cold temperature to preserve human life with the intent of restoring good health when technology becomes available to do so. Alcor is a non-profit organization located in Scottsdale, Arizona, founded in 1972.

http://www.alcor.org

Holy Moley!
Wow that is a BIG PLANE!

Click on the pictues link that lives in the text. The cabin mockup images are incredible. Good thing the gap between the middle class and the upper class is increasing, so all the movie stars can have their naptime on the plane, while Joe American gets paid 4.75 hour to wipe down the bar.

Awesome!

LINK to video

This photgraph seems like its a bit out of context to me and makes the situation look much worse than it was. The video which was also posted at the LA Indy Media website seems to reveal much more of the situation. Keep in mind I DO NOT support the war in Iraq in any way, however, in my opinion, this looks more like two armored vehicles stopping at a traffic light to turn a corner where there just happens to be a VERY SMALL group of demonstrators. A few of the demonstrators decided to get in the street to “BLOCK THE TANKS” (which by the way aren’t tanks they are simply armored vehicles), the cops move the folks out of the street, the light changes, and the AV’s move on. This is no big deal. If it were an attempt to overpower a group of demonstrators with tanks…the tanks would have been accompanied by a few hundred guys with RIOT GEAR and plastic bullets. “Tanks” are NOT just simply sent to a situation without additional ground support. This is not another mini Tiananmen Square. I think the most interesting element of this story is how the photograph differs from the video in terms of revealing the context of the event. AND how indy media, although crucial to our web information rebellion, can sometimes foster a radical paranoia feeling when members post unmoderated, unverified, articles. My guess is these AV’s were simply moving from point A to point B getting ready for a veterans day parade which would have taken place the next morning. Check out the video…YOU be the judge. I am of course in support of the demonstrators and find this NOT to be a reason to support a war which is illegal and immoral. Be careful….in the words of Ozzy Osbourne….“Paranoia will destroy ya!”

Bill and his dog. Together at last.

This is the Blog for Clinton’s book.
LINK to the blog

Plastic surgeons around the world are being given the chance to show off their talents, in a new artificial beauty pageant in China.

Natural beauties like Miss China Qi Guan will not be eligible

YIKES! This was picked up off BBC Asia Pacific. This is a prime example of Chinese culture over-the-top!
SG.

BBC ASIA PACIFIC ARTICLE::::::::::::::
A contest will be held in October among women who have undergone cosmetic surgery, according to state media.
It will be open to any woman who can prove her beauty is man-made. Plastic surgery is on the increase in China, China Daily newspaper said, with around
20bn yuan ($2.4bn) spent yearly on beauty treatments. The idea for “Miss Plastic Surgery” was reportedly born after a woman was barred from a
traditional beauty contest after spending $13,000 on 11 cosmetic operations. The paper said China now had a million beauty salons, employing six
million people. Their clients range from body-conscious teenage girls to women in their 30s seeking facial jobs and breast implants, it added.
The rise of the salons is based on the assumption that beauty is a route to success, China Daily said, citing findings by US economists which indicated
that good looks increased overall hourly income by 5%. China recently lifted a 54-year ban on beauty pageants, which the authorities used to see as bourgeois and decadent. But the explosion of economic growth and the loosening of social controls of the past few years has led to a growing preoccupation with how people look.

The Miss World contest was held in China for the first time in 2003.

china.org article on the same issue!
Dr. Sha’s Cosmetic Plastic Surgery and Dental Clinic in Shanghai