More than anything, this space is a conduit for Jorge to share and reflect on things pertaining to the web, life, current events, photography and anything of interest. Feel free to or learn more about him.
Iconpaper is an amazing site that shares the love of customization for both the Mac and the iPhone by featuring carefully picked and well-crafted elements to enhance every aspect you can think of changing.
Navigating through the catalogue, you can get a sense of the quality of each piece and that’s what sets it apart from any other repository where you’re forced to sift through the rough to find a gem. Even the Mac-like interface of the site adds excitement to the browsing experience. Pure UI galore!
Joshua Longbrake is 26, a photographer and a student at Mars Hill Graduate School in Seattle, WA. His writing and storytelling photographs can be found at thelongbrake.com but you can also find him participating in the Twitterverse.
The detail in the everyday is always what catches my eye. There’s something beautiful about documenting one’s own simple experiences. Simple details more than anything draws me to photography. I think it helps me remember that I exist, that I feel and sense things.
I enjoy getting jobs and projects from clients, and I really love photo-journalism where I get to travel, but no matter where I am I still tend to take a photograph of my cup of coffee every morning. I think more than anything I want to be authentic and honest, to convey life as I see it with the hopes of connecting with other people. In some ways I’m saying This is my story. Do you see me? Is this your story too?
I primarily shoot with a Hasselblad 500C/M, using Kodak 120 Portra NC film as well as Polaroid 660 film for my Polaroid back. My secondary camera is a Canon AE-1, and mostly I try to get expired film, but it’s not as easy to come by as I would like it to be.
I also shoot with a Canon 5D and sometimes a Polaroid SX-70, but not often. I have a few lenses for the Canon cameras (50mm, 135mm, 16-35mm). I have some basic lighting gear but I hate lugging it around, so I don’t use it very often. Also, I’m terrible at using lighting gear.
Photoshop for the computer and a darkroom when I can manage. I plan to build my own darkroom if I ever buy a house. Right now I live with 5 other guys and I doubt they’d want their bathroom smelling like chemicals.
But here’s an idea that’s a bit off topic: What if someone made a perfume based on the smells of the darkroom…can you imagine walking down the street and passing by a girl who not only catches your eye but also smells of developer? I’d get on one knee then and there.
I want to get a 220 magazine for my Hasselblad, but I’m not really into gear all that much. I use what I have and try to get by as best as possible. All of my money goes towards film, printing and processing. I’d love to get a digital Hasselblad, but, you know, I don’t really have $20,000 in my dresser drawer. Wait let me check nope just old socks.
I took this photograph outside of Uptown Espresso on Westlake in Seattle. There’s an emptiness to the photograph, but there’s also evidence of someone’s existence. Someone was there, sitting, working through things, smoking and drinking as time passed by. And what I love most about it is that it’s important to me, that I bring my own story to the image and draw meaning out of it for myself.
Maybe you see it differently, and I’m sure you do. We all bring our own experience to a piece of art when we interpret it, and everyone’s own experience has value. Maybe that’s why simple images draw me in so quickly; they leave so much room to draw out meaning and significance.
I came across this very funny comic strip over at What The Duck, intended towards photographers where it accurately outlined the current state of the photography landscape.
The fact that equipment and marketing cost has become inexpensive, it opened the doors to almost anyone claiming to be a professional photographer but in reality the title has less to do with having all the equipment and more on the competency you have with it.
The debate as to what differentiates a good photographer from a great one is endless but Peter for me has absolutely nailed in describing what separates both.
The great photographers have wittled down the infinite number of possibilities into an even smaller group of conditions that suit their inner vision and they work so much at shooting it that they refine their technique into a personal style, something that is identifiable as theirs, not just as a copy of someone else.
These are the ones who can express why they shoot in just a few words and you can see the passion in their photography when you look at a group of their images. They have a continuous thread that runs through them.
It’s become a habitual task for me to view, learn and gather inspiration from so many great photographers on Flickr and I can’t advise you to do the same and while your doing that, keep in mind Peter’s statement and only then will you be able to really tell apart a snap-shooter from an amazing photographer.
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