When Mandy and I were living in Boston, we’d make frequent late night excursions to spots around the city with our D200 and tripod in tow. It was fun and it often produced great results. Tonight is one of the first nights since we moved to South Carolina that we did likewise. My wife takes pretty pictures, doesn’t she? The upcoming Canon EOS 5D MKII also shoots full resolution 1080p video. Photographer Vincent Laforet took a prototype out for a spin and the results are stellar for a $2700 camera, especially in low light conditions. With Canon and Nikon both moving into this space, it’ll be an interesting next few months.
For the most consistently well-edited (and I mean that in an editorial sense) collection of current news and events photography on the web, make a habit of visiting The Boston Globe’s The Big Picture. Alan Taylor does an amazing job of making it the go-to spot for great imagery. For example: Hurricane Ike and the 2008 Summer Paralympic Games.
The upcoming Nikon D-90 SLR will shoot 24 frames per second at 720p resolution. The thought of being able to use lenses I love (like my 50mm ƒ/1.4 or 135mm ƒ/2.8) to shoot decent video on a $1000 camera is quite attractive. Wired has a write up and video of Chase Jarvis and crew testing the D-90.
Aw, crap… those WERE the droids I was looking for…
Pretty much the best from-an-airplane-window photo I’ve ever seen.
Mrs. Blankenship standing inside Richard Serra’s 25-ton steel sculpture My Curves Are Not Mad in the garden of the Nasher Sculpture Center in Dallas. Photographer friend Jeremy Cowart has a new website. Flash-heavy and a lot more agency-friendly in terms of getting the work in front of potential clients. An understandable change of pace and UI, based on what I know of the industry. Oh, and my lovely bride makes an appearance in the Life section.
Quote, “If you can guess how much money is in this bottle, I will send you an 11×14 print of your choice.” — Noah Kalina
LiveFreeLiveLoud Wrap-Up, Photos, Etc.
NewSpring Church sponsors a benefit concert (and fireworks display) every year called LiveFreeLiveLoud. All the donations and proceeds from vendors go directly to a few local non-profits: Anderson Interfaith Ministries, Haven of Rest and the Anderson Care Pregnancy Clinic.
This year, we raised $20,900 and NewSpring matched that dollar-for-dollar for a total donation of $41,800 to support these ministries that are on the ground-level of helping marginalized, poor, underprivileged and in-need people in our community. We also rocked out, had a lot of fun, watched some pretty fireworks and ate a snowcone and a hotdog (or two.) I’ve got a few concert and fireworks photos on Flickr for your perusal.
This has been my desktop for a few weeks now. I miss cities. And I don’t. It’s complicated. 
I found an old Brownie Hawkeye camera last week and thought I’d try this “Through the Viewfinder” thing. I got some interesting abstract stuff that’s appealing to me for whatever reasons. Basically the best wedding cake ever.
Photographer and friend Jeremy Cowart is blogging now, and getting off to a great start with lots of travel videos from the Passion World Tour. Photographers are a notoriously secretive bunch, especially when it comes to gear, so I look forward to a (hopefully) very transparent JCo.
Wouldn’t you love to be a part of the outside cleaning crew pressure washing Seattle’s Space Needle? I mean, it’s only about 600ft up. No biggie.
Coming soon: gentrification!
I doubt any future photographic excursions or learnings will ever stop my love for abstract images of lights and pretty colors. Super-moody night photography from Kristopher Grunert.
I made a small fisheye-esque adaptor using part of the lens of my old Canon G5 Powershot, some wrapping paper cardboard, and athletic tape. It’s pretty much the most fun thing ever, especially at gatherings/parties. More bobblehead craziness in this Flickr set. Robert Randolph, Campbell Brothers, and Sacred Steel
Robert Randolph (pictured) and The Campbell Brothers are a part of a musical style called “sacred steel*”. Born out of the House of God (Which Is the Church of the Living God the Pillar and Ground of the Truth Without Controversy) denomination (I kid you not), it leans heavily on the use of the pedal steel guitar in church services instead of an organ.
Watch Robert Randolph getting funky with I Need More Love and a short clip of Purple Haze or The Campbell Brothers makin’ church folk dance here and here.
*Sacred Steel is also German metal band.
Photo via the unstoppably amazing Danny Clinch
Old Photos on Flickr
Cameron Daigle takes us on a walk down (his) memory lane with a variety of old pictures and insightful commentary. Great editing and timing all around.
Regarding Flickr video: I’m curious to see how useful/cluttery it is after the first few weeks of new-toy-syndrome wear off and people start using it “normally” as a part of their Flickr uploading process. Also: the fact that I can’t comment without the video stopping and reloading is annoying.