From time to time, we’ll be posting some sneak-peaks into some of the things we’re working on in the TechLab, both here and in our Flickr Pool.

One of the things that we are looking at in this project are the myriad relationships between images. Some of these relationships are clear – photos taken by the same artist, images from the same town, or with a shared tag. Other relationships are hidden a bit deeper. Over the last few weeks, I’ve been working with software (Processing, Flash, PHP, C++) to make some tools that can help us explore these unseen links. Here are some early sketches from this work – showing some ways the links and pathways within the Glocal Pool can be explored:

flickr.com/photos/blprnt/sets/72157606955337736/

If you look hard enough, you may be able to see your own images in the networks! With 1,200+ images, I had to pick some photos at random to be the ’seed’. Hopefully soon you’ll be able to try this out with your own images. This is a similarity map, with a fairly high tolerance. The ring around the center image is made up of the images that are most similar to the seed. From those images, the offshoots represent more similarity chains. The farther you get from the center, the less similar the images are to the seed:

 Here’s the same map with a lower tolerance:

 This is a colour map, showing images with similar overall colour to the central image:

 And one more: 

You can see the full photoset here.

Photo Challenge #3: Tunnel Vision
Challenge Ends: Tuesday September 2nd

Brief: Shoot an image using a toilet paper roll as a vignetting device.

Instructions: Tag your image with ‘glocalproject’ and ‘photochallenge’, and add it to this our Glocal Flickr Pool. Need help? E-mail us.

In April, we posted an interview with Irish artist Peter Marley. For the Glocal Project, Peter shot a series of unique images using iris-in and iris-out effects. These images were shot using a surprisingly simple peice of photographic technology – a toilet paper roll. This week, we are asking you to create your own toilet-tube enhanced images.

The technique is simple – hold a toilet paper roll (or a paper towel roll) in front of your lens… and shoot! The resulting image will be not quite whole. As Marley explains:

“I am fascinated by the question and process of, ‘What is being excluded in the frame?’ The goal of this alternate method of taking photos was to playfully twist cinematic methods and as a result challenge the viewer to reassess common scenes and scenarios when they appear with intensified focus.”

The results of toilet-tube photography suggest vignetting, an effect that you may be familiar with from both photographic and film history. Originally, this vignetting effect was not intentional – instead, it was a result of limitations of lens optics, incompatible camera parts, or poor projections. American photographer Emmet Gowin used a 4×5 lens on an 8×10 camera to achieve a dramatic vignetting effect:

Vignetting is also a frequent result in photographs taken by toy cameras such as the Holga and the Diana. Similar to Gowin’s images, this vignetting usually results from the negatives being slightly smaller than the camera lens.

Wonderwall, by Flickr user wlwarner, shot with a Holga

Some of our Glocal Pool photographers are already using tube-vignetting. This photo from Eduardo Nasi uses tangible vignetting to excellent effect:

As always, feel free to post your comments and questions here. We’re looking forward to seeing the results!

Last week, we asked Glocalites to re-create this famous photo by Henri Cartier-Bresson. As usual, you were up to the task, and we received a number of excellent submissions. Our pick this week is from Flickr user lesbru, titled ‘descending’:

lesbru writes:

“[The photo] recreates the elements of spiral and motion out of frame and spirit of Bresson, without literally recreating the image itself…”

Thanks to everyone who participated in our photo challenge this week – stay tuned for GPC#4, coming up later this afternoon!

Henri Cartier-Bresson, The Var Department, Hyères, France (1932)

Photo Challenge #3:

Brief: Recreate the photo above, using whatever techniques necessary. Submit your image by uploading it to to Flickr and tagging it with ‘glocalproject’ and ‘photochallenge’. Need help? Don’t have a Flickr account? E-mail us.

Challenge Ends: Monday August 25th

Throughout the history of photography, artists have used the medium to re-stage scenes from history, to reference famous works of art, and to re-examine moments in time that may not have been originally captured. For this week’s photo challenge, we’re asking you to recreate the (???) above. You can choose to reconstruct the scene as accurately as possible, or you can re-imagine it in any way you see fit. As usual, we’ll select our favourites and send off a Glocal prize pack to each of our winners.

In the 19th century, staging scenes for photography was more of a necessity than an artistic choice. With exposure times of up to 12 seconds, subjects had to pose and remain still for long periods of time. In the 1840s, photographers like David Octavius Hill staged fairly elaborate scenes for their photographs. In 1857 British photographer Oscar Rejlander used composites of several staged images to create his well-known allegorical work, The Two Ways of Life (pre-dating the idea of ‘photoshopping’ by more than 125 years).

David Octavius Hill & Robert Adamson Scottish Fishwives, Washaday Group (1843-1848)

Oscar Rejlander, The Two Ways of Life (1857)

More recently, a number of contemporary photographers have used similar techniques. Canadian artist Jeff Wall, in particular, has made extensive use of staged photography in his work. in A Sudden Gust of Wind) after Hokusai, he recreates a classic Japanese woodblock print:

Jeff Wall, A Sudden Gust of Wind) after Hokusai (1993), and Katsushika Hokusai Ejiri in Suruga Province (1830-33)

Wall’s recreations are meticulous and typically involve an extensive system of casting, set-up, shooting, and digital postproduction, contrasting starkly with our typical understanding of the photographic process. Similarly, Israeli artist Adi Nes’ Last Supper recreates the famous painting in careful detail – using young Israeli soldiers in the place of the apostles:

Photographer Mike Stimpson makes even more drastic substitutions in his recreations – he uses lego to pay homage to some of his favourite photographers:

As you can see, re-creation in photography can take many forms – so it is up to you how to decide how to complete this week’s challenge. Realistic or non-realistic, perfect or imperfect – we are lookig forward to seeing the results!

Last week we asked you to head out and take photos from a low-down perspective. We received a lot of good submissions, and have picked two favourites this week who will receive fabulous prizes, and, of course, fame. Here are our picks:

Spire of Dublin, by Remko van Dokkum:

Untitled, by 一庆:

Our two chosen photographers receive a free Digital Camera Hack Kit, which will let them set up a digital camera to take photos triggered by sound, or by an intervalometer. 

You can get involved in our photo challenges – we’ll be starting a new one later today. In the meantime, you can join our Flickr pool, which is getting larger every week.

 

Navy Pier Ferris Wheel, originally uploaded by peterlo72.

Two weeks ago, we asked people to take photos from unique perspectives – and to submit them to the Glocal Flickr Stream. The artists behind the selected photos would win our Digital Camera Hack Kits – everything you need to hack a digital camera.

Our winner, Flickr user peterlo72, took a photo from a unique perspective indeed: from the top of the 46 metre tall Navy Pier Ferris Wheel in downtown Chicago. The resulting shot is surreal – the saturated colours and sharp edges make the photograph feel more like a miniature scene than a real life setting. Thanks to Peter for a great contribution, and an excellent starting point for our Photo Challenge Series.

Which leads us to Photo Challenge #2! Our first selected submission was taken from a high-up perspective; this week we are asking for your photos taken from the down-low. Under tables, below cars, beneath the waves, from ground-level – be creative! Again, selected contributers will receive a free Digital Camera Hack Kit, and will be featured here on the blog.

So, to sum it all up:

Photo Challenge #2: Down-low

1) Take a unique photo from a low perspective

2) Upload your photo to Flickr and tag it with ‘glocalproject’ and ‘photochallenge’

3) Stay tuned to this blog to see our picks! If you are one of our winners, we’ll mail you your prize ASAP.

This screenshot from Glocal’s Motion Sequence Application (MSA) is an anonymous portrait of a tree in Holland Park – one of the many trees that were being showcased at Surrey’s Fusion Festival!

 Hello Glocal Blog Readers!

This Summer season has become an extremely prolific one for the info-crew at Glocal… 

In addition to the Canada Day festivities, the Glocal project was also represented by the Fusion Festival in Surrey (July 19-20, 2008), another Cultural Capitals of Canada initiative.

Computers in the tent were used to allow visitors to get creative with a web-cam. An additional computer provided access to the glocal website and blog so that visitors could see first hand how to download the software applications and contribute to the project.

Here are some more pictures from this culturally diverse summer blockbuster event…

(Read more…)