iPix 365: iPhoneography for February 2010
Posted by Devon Akmon | Filed under Art & Design
It’s hard to believe that February has already come to an end. Speaking to that, here is my collection of iPhone photographs for February.
All of the images in the following collection were photographed using an iPhone and edited, toned and processed with the device as well.
If you missed January’s collection, point your browser to iPixs 365: iPhoneography for January 2010.
Tags: Art & Design
The Implosion of J.L. Hudson’s Flagship Store in Detroit
Posted by Devon Akmon | Filed under Art & Design
At 5:47 PM on October 24, 1998, the iconic J.L. Hudson’s flagship department store in downtown Detroit was imploded. As I recall, there was much controversy surrounding former Mayor Dennis Archer’s decision to bring down this _______ (eyesore; historically significant structure; reminder of better days in a tired city; etc.). Sadly, to this day, nothing has been built upon this massive footprint in the city. Almost twelve years have passed and I can’t help but wonder what could have happened had that magnificent building been restored, rehabilitated and/or adaptively reused.
As a young art student with a love for the city – most of my creative work focused on Detroit – I made a point of attending the destruction of this icon. In hindsight, it probably wasn’t the smartest move I’ve made in my life. Who knows what I inhaled in the plume that engulfed the city following the implosion that day (I’m sure I lost a couple years of my life). I remember feeling both exhilarated and depressed, simultaneously. I documented the destruction I saw with my 35mm SLR camera. My goal was to eventually do something with the series of images.
Originally, I planned to print a series of nine images showing the collapse of the structure. However, after further thought this didn’t seem appropriate. Later, I thought about screenprinting the series on Hudson’s store bags. The name of the series was to be 13 Hour Sale! (yeah, it’s satire for those familiar with Hudson’s). In the end, my ambivalence and personal confusion over the building prohibited me from finishing the series.
Today, I’m snowed in and feeling a bit nostalgic. I recently located some scans of the images on an old Zip disk (yes, the quality of the scans is poor). I thought I’d share them here with you today. Only a handful of friends and family have ever seen these images. If you have recollections of the building or old Detroit, please do share your thoughts in the comment section below (or email me if you prefer to be private).
Hudson's Implosion 01
Hudson's Implosion 02
Hudson's Implosion 03
Hudson's Implosion 04
Hudson's Implosion 05
Hudson's Implosion 06
Hudson's Implosion 07
Hudson's Implosion 08
Hudson's Implosion 09
Other resources:
- Here is a video of the implosion.
- The Detroit News: How J.L. Hudson changed the way we shop
- Check out the book Hudson’s: Detroit’s Legendary Department Store (Images of America)
- And, if you can find a copy, check out Gary Glaser’s documentary The Hudson’s Building
- Devon Akmon
Tags: Art & Design
Hipstamatic iPhoneography Photo Contest
Posted by Devon Akmon | Filed under Art & Design
It’s time for another iPhone photo contest. This one is for images taken with the Hipstamatic application and it’s brought to you by iPhoneography.org. Entries will be accepted through March 2, 2010.
Contest details:
The Hipstamatic iPhone app is creating quite a buzz in the world of iPhoneography. Do you have a hot Hipstamatic shot? Submit your Hipstamatic images for a chance to be one of three featured iPhoneographers on iPhoneography.org.
You know the drill: check out the rules and then enter as many images as you want. Be aware that the option for voting on images requires you to create an account.
Here are the two images I submitted. If you get a chance, please vote for Downtown A2 and Campesino. Thanks!
Campesino
Downtown A2
- Devon Akmon
Tags: Art & Design
Digital SLR Pinhole Camera, Part 1
Posted by Devon Akmon | Filed under Art & Design, Maker
I recently checked out the handbook Hacking Digital Cameras from the Ann Arbor District Library. I was happy to find within this book instructions for building a pinhole lens for a digital camera. I’ve been wanting to build a quality pinhole for quite some time. However, I didn’t think I’d be making a digital pinhole camera.
The project was really quite simple. I ordered two new body caps for my Canon EOS digital camera (the second was in case I screwed up the first!) from B&H Photo. In addition to the body cap, the only other supplies you’ll need for this project are a very small drill bit, a cordless drill and a needle or shirt-pin.
The first step is to measure the body cap to locate the center. Once marked, grab you’re drill and small bit and slowly start creating the hole. Don’t drill all the way through the cap! Go slowly until you have created a small dimple on the opposite side (front) of the cap. Finally, create the pinhole using the needle. Be sure to carefully run the needle through both sides of the cap. I used some 1000 grit sandpaper to gently clean up the hole.
Pretty simple, eh? Below you will find my first pictures taken with the pinhole. Yep, they’re pretty unremarkable. Currently, I’m taking things one step at a time. My next few experiments will focus on varying the size of the pinhole, trying to build a “closed pinhole” and maybe even working with some zone plates.
As a side note, if you’re looking for analog pinhole cameras, check out Eric Renner’s Leonardo cameras or this handmade wooden pinhole camera from Zero Image. Also, here’s instructions to other digital pinhole projects: $0 digital pinhole camera via Make or this one from Instructables.
I think I am going to finish one more project from the book before returning it to the library: hacking an old point-and-shoot digital camera so that it can create infrared pictures!
DSLR Pinhole Image 01
DSLR Pinhole Image 02
- Devon Akmon
Tags: Art & Design, Maker
Ice House Detroit
Posted by Devon Akmon | Filed under Art & Design
This afternoon a colleague and I took a break from our work to check out Gregory Holm and Matthew Radune’s art project, Ice House Detroit, on the city’s east side. Holm (a photographer) and Radune (an architect), both of Brooklyn, acquired the abandoned house at 3926 McClellan from the Michigan State Land Bank in exchange for paying the back taxes on another area home. In short, the project was an attempt at drawing attention to the mortgage foreclosure crisis.
For more info on the Ice House art project, visit:
- Ice House Detroit blog
- Village Voice article
- Detroit Free Press slideshow
- Detroit News article
Today the temperature was a warm 38 degrees Fahrenheit, the sun was shining and there was not a cloud in the sky during our visit. Yeah, you guessed it, the Ice House was melting. In fact, I was really surprised to discover that a substantial portion of the project had already melted away. Here are some photos I took of the Ice House using my DSLR. I also shot a role of film using my Holga, which I’ll share soon, and some images with my iPhone. The whole collection can be viewed on Flickr. I wish I would have gotten over to the Ice House this past weekend before it began to melt. Oh well.
Ice House Detroit 01
Ice House Detroit 02
Ice House Detroit 03
Ice House Detroit 04
Ice House Detroit 05
Ice House Detroit 06
Ice House Detroit 07
- Devon Akmon
Tags: Art & Design
iPixs 365: iPhoneography for January 2010
Posted by Devon Akmon | Filed under Art & Design
I began the year with a small but ambitious creative project: to take at least one photograph per day using my iPhone. The goals for this project are 1) to inject some much needed creativity into my day; 2) to get me back into the groove of photography; and 3) to examine the world with a curious eye. So far, the project has been both challenging and fun. It’s really hard to stop and find time for photography during the course of a hectic day. However, I look forward to these creative moments. I am hoping to see some personal and creative growth over the course of this project.
All of the images in the following collection were photographed using an iPhone and edited, toned and processed with the device as well. No cleaning or toning using Photoshop CS4!
As mentioned in my previous post, Photographic Goals for 2010, I plan on sharing these images each month. Here are the photographs for January 2010. You can also check out the set at Flickr.
I’ll leave you with this passage from Henri Cartier-Bresson’s book, The Mind’s Eye:
For me, the camera is a sketch book, an instrument of intuition and spontaneity, the master of the instant which, in visual terms, questions and decides simultaneously. In order to “give a meaning” to the world, one has to feel oneself involved in what one frames through the viewfinder. This attitude requires concentration, a discipline of mind, sensitivity, and a sense of geometry – it is by great economy of means that one arrives at simplicity of expression. One must always take photographs with the greatest respect for the subject and oneself.To take photographs is to hold one’s breath when all faculties converge in the face of fleeing reality. It is at that moment that mastering an image becomes a great physical and intellectual joy.
To take photographs means to recognize – simultaneously and within a fraction of a second – both the fact itself and the rigorous organization of visually perceived forms that give it meaning. It is putting one’s head, one’s eye and one’s heart on the same axis.
- Devon Akmon
Tags: Art & Design
Photographic Goals for 2010
Posted by Devon Akmon | Filed under Art & Design
Christina over at poor man’s hobby recently wrote a list of 30 Photographic Goals for 2010. I’ve decided to borrow a few of her goals and make them mine as well. Here goes:
- Don’t leave your camera.
- Shoot a photo a day.
- Compete!
- Create a photo book a month.
- Take a workshop.
I miss the days when I worked as a photojournalist. My camera was always glued to my side. Some of my favorite pictures were created at the most random, unexpected moments. Yes, it’s hard to carry around a camera at all times. However, my recent fascination with iPhoneography should make this a reasonable goal. Yes, it’s not the best camera and there are some serious limitations. However, it beats having no camera at all. I’m hoping to soon purchase a new DSLR camera (anyone want to buy a Canon EOS 1n SLR?!!). Once I acquire this I will have a more “professional” camera on hand as well.
I’ve already been doing this, albeit with an iPhone. Yes, if it is still not completely obvious, I am obsessed with iPhoneography. This daily goal is both a fun challenge and a nuisance. It’s hard to find time in our busy days to stop and force ourselves to be creative . However, it’s the challenge that makes this goal so damn fun. I look forward to watching this project further unfold over the coming months.
The title for this goal is a bit odd. However, I buy into the premise. Competition forces us to constantly improve. It also places our work up in a position for critique, which is good. Through the goal of competing, I am going to try to have my work placed in more exhibitions both online and in physical gallery spaces. I used to exhibit my photographic and printmaking work a lot. I’ve even been fortunate to win a few awards. I miss showing my work. I miss the challenge of the critique (something we all dreaded as art and photo students!). Time to grow some thicker skin.
OK, a photo book a month is a bit too costly given all of my other goals for 2010 (and let’s not forget travel!). However, to meet this goal I will create a short movie each month utilizing my photos for the day. I’ll share those movies here on my website. This is a great way to celebrate meeting goal 2 every month.
There are several workshops I’ve been wanting to take part in for years. Unfortunately, I do not qualify for a few of them given I am no longer a working photojournalist/professional photographer. At a minimum, I plan on taking at least one or two classes through our local community college. I’ve been using Photoshop for over 13 years and I still feel like a novice. I think it’s time to improve on my digital imaging as well.
Several of the other goals listed were excellent and worth pursuing, but these are the five that most interested me. In addition, I have an additional goal of creating several small portfolios over the next year. This includes a series on the roadside attractions along the historic Michigan Avenue from Detroit to Chicago.
Do you have any photo or other creative goals for 2010? If so, what are they?
- Devon Akmon
Tags: Art & Design
iPhone Photography Exhibit
Posted by Devon Akmon | Filed under Art & Design
In my last post I shared what I think are Five Great iPhone Apps for Photography and Design. Lately, I’ve been really loving the iPhone photo applications. I’m becoming more and more interested in how the iPhone can be utilized as a tool for creating fine art.
I just learned of a recent exhibit, called Everything is Accessible: An iPhone Photo Exhibition, at the Studio 101 Gallery in Chicago. This exhibit explored the changing ideas of what can be considered professional photography. The following statement from the exhibition overview succinctly captures how I feel about the medium:
The world of digital photography is indeed changing. With new technology available to more people, art is becoming less intimidating and more inviting. To put it simply, camera phones make photography fun again.
Although the exhibit is now closed, I am learning of many others popping up around the country. Last night I submit three images for the forthcoming exhibit, iPhontography: Pixels At An Exhibition. Submissions are being accepted through January 10, and the exhibit is set to open at the Giorgi Gallery in Berkeley, CA in February 2010. This exhibit will feature 200 images in the gallery for the month of February. Images will be sold as individual works of art. A book will be published that will include all of the images along with names and a short bio of each “iPhontographer.”
Interested in participating? Here are the submission guidelines. Be sure to visit the iPhontography website after January 15 to cast your vote for images you feel should be included in the exhibit!
Here are the images I submitted:
Snowy Commute
Flight
Untitled
- Devon Akmon
Five Great iPhone Apps for Photography and Design
Posted by Devon Akmon | Filed under Art & Design, Technology
Whether you’re an artist, designer, photographer or creative hobbyist, there are many excellent iPhone apps for you to use when inspiration strikes. Here are my top five recommended applications for creativity.
Color Expert
By Code Line, $9.99
This is a great tool for building color palettes when you have those moments of inspiration throughout your day. Did you see the foliage on a tree during peak Fall colors? Or was it the peeling paint on a building that got your creative ideas percolating? With Color Expert you can take a snapshot with your iPhone camera and get a color reading from the photograph. It’s easy to create a custom color palette when you’re on-the-go and inspired by what’s around you. The price tag on this app is a bit hefty, but having used the application for the past year I am confident it was a good purchase.
Features:
- Color Expert’s exclusive “snap & tap” technology. Just snap a photo and let your finger select that perfect color. From your eyes to the screen.
- Powerful, interactive color wheel with multiple color schemes including Monochromatic, Analogous, Complementary, Split Complementary and Triadic.
- Quickly search through PANTONE® solid coated, PANTONE® solid uncoated, PANTONE® Goe™ coated, PANTONE® Goe™ uncoated, Web Safe Colors, HTML Colors.
- Email your palette ideas to friends, colleagues and clients. Color Expert provides a rich, HTML based email you can send from your iPhone or iPod touch.
Brushes
By Steve Sprang, $4.99
Did you catch the cover art on the June 1, 2009 issue of the New Yorker? If so, you were looking at Jorge Colombo’s artwork, which was created using the Brushes application. This is another great app for creating artwork when you’re out and about. You can start with a photograph or you can begin creating finger sketches from scratch. Either way, this application let’s you create a digital canvas whenever you want. Be forewarned, this application is highly addictive. I should note that I liked Colombo’s cover piece so much that I purchased another print from him shortly after I saw the cover of the New Yorker!
Features include:
- Three different brushes ranging in style from smooth to bristly. Choose any brush size from 1 to 64 pixels in diameter. Erase with adjustable transparency.
- Each painting can have up to four layers. Layers can be rearranged, deleted, merged, and copied between paintings. You can also adjust their opacity.
- Select virtually any color (with transparency) using the familiar hue/saturation color wheel. Quickly choose black or white via the preset swatches. Fill the entire painting with any color (use a semi-transparent color to tint your painting).
Photoshop.com Mobile
By Adobe, Free
It’s what we’ve all been waiting for! Now you can edit and tone those iPhone photos. While this is a very stripped down app for those familiar with Photoshop, there are still several important features that make PS Mobile useful. Don’t despair photographers, you need to get this app if you haven’t already done so! Your iPhone photos will look that much better.
Features:
- Edit exposure, saturation, tint or convert to black and white
- Includes sketch and soft focus filters
- Ability to crop photos
- Includes several effects, such as vibrant, pop, border, vignette blur, warm vintage, and rainbow
QuadCamera
By Art&Mobile, Free
I was a huge fan of the Nickelodeon Photo Blaster. Do you remember it? This fun toy camera would break-up a 35mm negative into four frames so that you could compose funny, segmented photographs (144 images on a 36 exposure role). It was a fun way to tell a story.
QuadCamera is a digital version of this fun camera. This app allows you to adjust both the exposure speed and the number of exposures. For $2, this application is a steal. It’s a lot easier and much cheaper than searching for a Photo Blaster (but, it shouldn’t stop you from it either!)
Features:
- Custom layouts (2×2, 4×1, 4×2, and 8×1)
- Color (vivid, bright, dull, hi-con) or black and white mode
- Adjustable timer
CameraBag
By Nevercenter Ltd. Co., $1.99
Another great $2 camera application. Similar to QuadCamera, CameraBag is a digital version on many popular toy cameras. Take a picture and choose which effect you want to use! “Cameras” include: Helga, Lolo, Instant, 1962, Cinema, Fisheye, Colorcross, Magazine, Mono, 1974, Infrared and Original. With so many choices there’s bound to be a “camera” for each image you compose.
I should mention that I have been using all of the applications in this review for a least a few months. I know there are many other great photo and design applications in the App Store. Speaking to this, I plan on exploring several of these newer applications in the near future. However, the ones listed above are tried and true, and I recommend them all without reservation. Have fun! Create something!
- Devon Akmon
Tags: Art & Design, Technology
Logo Theft! Or not?
Posted by Devon Akmon | Filed under Art & Design
Lately I have been noticing that a lot of small businesses have logos that resemble larger corporations. Some are suspiciously close in terms of the design – color palette, font, etc. Others completely rip of the integrity of other business’ brands. Below you will find three examples of businesses that I have stumbled upon over the past couple of weeks. You be the judge. What are your thoughts on “borrowing” from other brands? Let me know in the comments section below, or send me a 140 character note on Twitter (@snugglecore).
This store in east Dearborn has a completely stolen logo. In the past the business was called Hudsons. Apparently they decided to skip Marshall Fields in between their re-branding initiatives.
This one here is from San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Lastly, I found this one in east Dearborn. It’s not a completely stolen logo, but the color palette and name allude to the popular web browser! And, yes, they do sell computers!
- Devon Akmon
Tags: Art & Design
