Sub City New York

It's a short film - a visual poem - about that moment in New York when you emerge from the subway and find yourself in a new and sometimes unexpected world.

A film by Sarah Klein and Tom Mason
Concept by Jennifer McClory
Music by Erik Satie

Sub City New York from sarah klein on Vimeo.

A Life on Facebook

The story of a man as told by his facebook activity.

Looking Through the Windshield

I promise this post won't make anyone cry (like yesterday's), unless they have some weird fear of looking through a windshield.

Here are a series of photos called, "In Da Car," by two Russian photographers named Eugene Yarysheva and Ashot Gevorgyan. They are all photos of different situations where the viewer is looking through a windshield in an opposite direction of how one usually does.

Enjoy and, as always, click to enlarge.










More examples can be found here.

Last Minutes with ODEN

I've been sitting on this video for a minute b/c I wasn't sure exactly when or how to put it up. I'm not really even able to watch the entire thing without taking breaks in between because I don't want to cry at work.

Simply put, this is one of the most heart-wrenching and beautiful videos that I have ever had the pleasure to watch. I can't think of a more loving animal than a dog and I can't even grasp the size of the lump that must be crawling out of Jason Wood's throat as he is walking Oden out of the door for the last time. I'm not sure I have the sort of strength to even make a documentary about this. As a dog owner, I find myself thinking about the day when I will have to say goodbye to him...I really can't think of a more difficult period to place myself in ahead of time.

I'm rambling, I know. But, just after having watched this again...I am able to deeply relate to what Jason is going through. Having gone through difficult times, as I'm sure that we all have in this life, there is nothing more comforting than an animal that loves unconditionally. To be able to be so supportive without even knowing so.

Please watch this because it is brilliant, touching, and beautiful.

Last Minutes with ODEN from phos pictures on Vimeo.

From the Original Page:
Thank You Jason Wood for allowing us this moment.
Oden's struggle with cancer finally came to an end.
May he rest in peace and his memory be eternal.

Lego for Adults

Maybe this would help with their adult audience? Ha, I can't get over how silly this is.

As always, click to enlarge

WORDS

The name says it all.



And here is another version that was created, using only youtube clips.

It's been Re: Worded!

Eerie Black and White Photography

Halloween is creeping closer by the day. To stay in line with the ghost photos from yesterday, here are some random black and white photographs that I have come across.

Some of these photos are unnerving. Some are strange. Some are simply, "what the fuck?"

Either way, I can't stop looking at them and attempting to decipher what exactly was going on when these were taken.

Have a look yourself and leave any comments about what you think may or may not be going on.

There is something about a picture in black and white that makes it inherently more surreal. Anyway, on to the photos. As always, click to expand...if you dare!

Oops

This video piece by Chris Beckman is an amazing collaboration of other people's lives. It's a series of seemingly random videos all pieced together at a moment that they all share; the camera dropping while recording. The video was also a winner of the 2010 Vimeo Awards for Best Experimental Video.

I love this video. I found myself waiting, similiar to a horror movie when you know that something is riiiiiiiight about to happen, for the camera to drop. It was as equally enjoyable to see and realize where the camera was off to next and what the situation would entail.

Have a watch.

oops from Chris Beckman on Vimeo.

Here is the description of the video art:

Somewhere between a home-video mixtape and a postmodern travelogue, "oops"—a ten-minute art video composed entirely of appropriated YouTube videos, seamlessly stitched together via a motif of camera drops—serves both as transportative adventure and metaphorical elucidation of YouTube itself (i.e. endless related videos), exemplifying the Internet's infinite repository of "throwaway" social documentation. From suburbia to subterranea, the radically shuffling environs induce a vertiginous yet aesthetically contextual thread—a transcendent, reincarnating POV; our omnipresent Camera—by which, the nature of the ultra-verité videos, eschewing any filmic grounding, plunges the viewer into a relationship of fleeting immediacy w/ its many videographers: a self-portrait at arms length, the digital blur of an obscuring thumb, a disembodied narrating voice. This abstractly voyeuristic portrayal of an ever-filming generation (who won't let the transcendence of being in A Moment inhibit their document-everything impulse) presages a future where every instant of our existence, from the mundane to the sublime, is preserved and catalogued for all to see.

Bioluminescence in the Gippsland Lakes

I'm not even going to attempt to explain this as well as Phil Hart did here on his blog. However, this phenomena is too awe inspiring not to share. If you find this interesting, definitely click on the hyper link to get the whole story behind what exactly is going on here.

The Gippsland Lakes are a network of lakes, marshes and lagoons in east Gippsland, Victoria, Australia covering an area of about 600 km sq. The lakes were formed by two principal processes. The first is river delta alluvial deposition of sediment brought in by the rivers which flow into the lakes. The second process is the action of sea current in Bass Strait which created the Ninety Mile Beach and cut off the river deltas from the sea.

Long story short (again, check the hyperlink in the first paragraph for this amazing story), in the summer of 08/09, there were a series of fires, a low pressure system dumping over 100 mm of rain, and a 1 in a 100 year flood that resulted in ash and soil, rich in nitrogen and other nutrients, washing into the Gippsland Lakes. The rain and flood water also increased the leve of saline in the Lakes as the higher water level facilitated greater mixing with seawater at Lakes Entrance. This lead to concerns over an outbreak of blue-green algae.

Directly from Phil's blog:

Early analysis identified the cause of the green tinge as an algal outbreak of Synechococcus...In contrast to the widespread bright green of the Synechococcus, Noctiluca Scintillans was visible during the day as localised murky red patches, often building up on sections of shoreline facing the wind during the day. At night though, Noctiluca Scintillans produced a remarkable form of bioluminescence (popularly referred to as ‘phosphorescence’) – the water glowing brightly wherever there was movement – in the waves breaking on the shore, in ripples in the water and wherever people played in the water.

All of this, from Phil's experience, resulted in a "Blue Tide" (via ScientificAmerican.com)

When plankton called dinoflagellates grow too numerous near shore, the single-celled algae can stain the water a reddish-brown, causing so-called red tides that are often toxic to people and fish alike. Certain dinoflagellates species also produce bioluminescence, and when night falls at the beach, the teeming algae can make the shallows glow an electric blue, as captured here by photographer Phil Hart in the Gippsland Lakes in southern Australia.Out at sea, dinoflagellates use bioluminescence as a sort of "burglar alarm": when disturbed, the plankton flash or light up, essentially creating a glowing trail that leads right to their assailant. This silent signal alerts predators higher up in the food chain about the dinoflagellates' nemesis. "[The burglar alarm] is a scream for help," Widder says. "The best chance you have when you're getting attacked is to attract something bigger than what is eating you."

Here are some of Phil's photos of this event. As always, click to expand:





If you want to see some more of these photos, here is a gallery from Phil

3 Years at the Same Place

By RAMON

3 Years At The Same Place (english version) from Ramon on Vimeo.

Location: Paris / France

First shot: January 2007
Last Shot: September 2010

Number of images: 45.000

Camera : DSLR Pentax K 110D

Compositing & Editing:
After Effects / Avid Media Composer

Music #1: Motormouth by Lee Groves/Peter Marett
inspiredproductionmusic.com

Music #2: from Danny the dog, Massive Attack "Montage"
itunes.apple.com/​​fr/​​album/​​danny-dog-soundtrack-from/​​id44342129

Zac Freeman - Junk Art

Zac Freeman collects junk, found objects and trash which he combines to create portraits. Up close, the pieces look like crap cobbled together; when viewed from afar, the work is quite compelling.

As always, click to expand.





For more, check out his website.

Ghosts in the Hallow

Jim Lo Scalzo is a new artist that I just discovered...well, about five minutes ago. For a first impression, consider me blown away.

A little background on Mr. Lo Scalzo, from Blue Eyes Magazine: "Jim Lo Scalzo, a Washington, D.C. native, has been a staff photographer with U.S. News & World Report since 1994. He has had assignments in more than sixty countries and won numerous awards in the Pictures of the Year International and White House News Photographers' Association photo competitions. His memoir, Evidence of my Existence, was published in October 2007 by Ohio University Press."

This video posted below is one of the most beautiful videos that I have ever had the pleasure of viewing. I went to college in Western PA, right outside of Pittsburgh, which is a place littered with relics of coal production. The remnants of an entire industry that flourished and now ceases to exist is so interesting and eery to me. I view this video as a look into a life that I don't know and don't fully understand. It's fascinating to take a peek into a life unknown while looking at what has been left behind.


Ghosts in the Hollow from Jim Lo Scalzo on Vimeo.

Fallen Disney Princesses

Dina Goldstein is based in Vancouver, B.C. A renowned photographer, Goldstein is known for her ability to juggle unique portraits with editorial, commercial, and athletic photography that have earned her praise and awards from high-profile magazines and critical praise. However, in my opinion, Goldstein's most interesting and through-provoking work comes from her series "Fallen Princesses." In this series, Goldstein provides a real-world (and cynical) vision of what happens when real life cold cocks the traditional notion of the Disney 'happily ever after' and subsequently occurs thereafter.

In her own words, Goldstein states: "Fallen Princesses place Fairy Tale characters in modern day scenarios. In all of the images, the Princess is placed in an environment that articulates her conflict. The '...happily ever after' is replaced with a realistic outcome and addresses current issues." It is interesting to note that Goldstein never read or was read fairy tales as a child. Therefore, in her opinion, the traditional Disney story archetype does not make sense. Goldstein continues: "The Disney versions almost always have a sad beginning, with an overbearing female villian, and the end is a perfectly happy one. The Prince usually saves the day and makes the victimized young beauty into a Princess...I began to imagine Disney's perfect Princesses juxtaposed with real issues that were affecting women around me, such as illness, addiction and self-image issues."

Whatever your take is on the stories of our youth, it is impossible to argue with the powerful nature of Goldstein's images. Have a look.





I love what Goldstein has done with these photos. It's very strange seeing Snow White, Cinderella, Rapunzel, Red Riding Hood (not so little anymore), Sleeping Beauty, Jasmine, The Princess and the Pea, Ariel, and Belle in more troubled times. Especially when we are predisposed to this image: