LensWork Daily

2:46 - Aftershocks

2:46 - Aftershocks

The news has moved on; the relentless 24-hour news cycle cannot afford to dwell too long on any given story, even a momentous one. The Tohoku tsunami of last March has been long forgotten by those whose job is to tell us what is happening. But, is there nothing happening in Tohoku? I can't help but believe that the real story is unfolding now, manifest in the strength of character of the people in Tohoku — at least those I know from my travels there.

I want to call your attention to a book/project of interest. I've been reading a publication called 2:46: Aftershocks: Stories from the Japan Earthquake. It is a volunteer effort that has collected short comments from ordinary people who experienced the events of that tragic day. These are not professional writers, but rather just ordinary folks. I find it of interest on several levels: obviously, it is interesting to read people's reactions and emotions to about the event; it is also a fascinating use of no-cost publishing and distribution; it is an example of citizen journalism and, beyond that, what I would call "citizen publishing." There are photographs, too, so it is even of interest to us photographers. It is a paradigm that I think stands out as an example of something we might just see more of in the future.

Here is an excerpt from the Amazon description:

In just over a week, a group of unpaid professional and citizen journalists who met on Twitter created a book to raise money for Japanese Red Cross earthquake and tsunami relief efforts. In addition to essays, artwork and photographs submitted by people around the world, including people who endured the disaster and journalists who covered it, 2:46: Aftershocks: Stories from the Japan Earthquake contains a piece by Yoko Ono, and work created specifically for the book by authors William Gibson, Barry Eisler and Jake Adelstein.

   

The book is available as a $12 paperback here, but interestingly also available as a free Kindle download here. If you don't own a Kindle, you can also read it using the free Kindle Reader for your PC or Mac. See what you think, not just of the events it relates, but also the paradigm of citizen publishing. My mind cannot help but wander into a brainstorm about this type of publication for photography. What potential exists for such a project on a variety of topics?

Brooks' books on photography and the creative process are available in print from Lulu.com, and as eBooks for Kindle or EPUB readers. As one of the membership benefits, these eBooks are available in their entirety to members of LensWork Online via download.

Handwritten Input

Handwritten Input

For the most part, technology is a matter of getting things out — we read the Internet, we listen to music, we watch a movie. But, the input side of technology is where we are most productive — writing perhaps is the best example. For most of us, for most of the time, that means a keyboard and some typing abilities. (Who knew back in high school that typing would be such a useful skill?) But there are times when typing is painfully slow and cumbersome, for example on a tablet device. It's possible, but damn. You may quote me on that.

With it, you can do simple handwriting, keyboard text input, freehand drawing (think rough sketch on a bar napkin type of drawing), and even insert an audio note. These call all be mixed in a single note. Notes can then be emailed, "shared" over to Evernote, or stored in FreeNote. Shared notes are simple JPG images.

FreeNote's chief weakness is that the resulting handwritten note is only as legible as one's handwriting is. My handwriting is, of course, perfectly legible. To me. I have to write carefully if I have any anticipation that I might send the note to others. And, of course, the handwritten note is not editable like keyboard input text is. In spite of these two serious limitations, I find it a very handy app for quick notes to myself and even quick email responses. When I'm on the go and mobile, a handwritten note quickly scribbled is often far more convenient — and accurate — to capture than trying to type in a hurry.

Although the handwritten aspect of FreeNote is its chief attraction, it is pretty powerful beyond this. A note can include links; FreeNote can search for keywords across pages of notes; sizing typewritten text is done with pinch zooming; a photo can be input and handwritten notes can be applied on top of the image. I haven't tried it, but it could be interesting for making printing or cropping notes in the field.

FreeNote is an Android app, but DukePen, Notes Plus and others do the same thing in the iPad world.

External Docking for Your Old Hard Drives

External Docking for Your Old Hard Drives

Here a slick little idea I didn't know was possible until just recently. Not long ago, I upgraded the hard drives in one of our NAS units. It was a simple swap out of the old 1TB drives to new 2TB drives thereby doubling our NAS storage capacity. That left four 1TB drives that were perfectly good but I had no use for them. What do you do with old internal hard drives? Enter the world of external USB docking stations.

I stumbled across a Thermaltake Black X USB Docking Station over at Amazon.com. This is a small box that attaches to the computer via USB connection. The slot in the top is a receptacle for an internal hard drive — in my case a SATA HDD slot for my left over hard drives. Just plug it in and its ready to go — no installation, no fuss.

Essentially, this makes an internal hard drive that's supposed to be used inside your computer accessible as a USB extra storage location outside your computer — with simple plug and play connection. It's ideal for back ups or, in my case, secondary back ups. I though, why not use my old internal drives to back up my backups and then store them offsite? Seemed like a good idea and for $35, certainly worth a try.

It works just as advertised and I have the comfort of knowing that in the remote chance my regular back ups should happen to fail, I have a second back up tucked away — on re-purposed hard drives that were essentially free. Better than tossing them out!

If you have any old hard drives sitting around or are contemplating an upgrade to a larger hard drive, this might be a way to put your old drives to good use. Because there are different versions of this device for different types of internal drives, just be sure you get the model that's compatible with your drives.

Yangtze Remembered by Linda Butler

Yangtze Remembered by Linda Butler

From Yangtze Remembered by Linda Butler
From LensWork #56
© 2005 Linda Butler. All rights reserved.
Reproduced with the permission of the photographer.

Commentary
No doubt, one of photography's greatest strengths is its ability to communicate beyond verbal language. We may not speak Mandarin like the people Linda Butler photographed, but we can communicate with pictures. This is a dual-edged sword, however, that must be acknowledged. I'd venture a guess that most of you, looking at this image for the first time, would have assumed that this pig on the back of the motorcycle was dead, probably being taken to market. I'd bet big money that very few of you would have thought, "I'll bet that pig is drunk." But read Butler's text and it all makes sense.

So here is the photographer's dilemma in a nutshell: Do we allow the photograph to stand on its own even if it means that so many viewers will come to the wrong conclusions? Or do we expand the context of the image by providing deeper understanding of the truth when it is required?

In this case, Butler chose text to expand the image. I'm not sure in this instance how she could have done so in any other way — some things simply cannot be photographed. Be that as it may, the choice she made plays an incredibly influential impact on how we interpret the photograph.

This leads me to another question: What do to in the gallery setting? This is a lovely photograph, and perhaps it would be of interest to collectors. I could easily see this image in a gallery, hanging on the wall, waiting for a prospective buyer. But in the gallery setting, do we include the text so the image can be interpreted correctly? If so, how? In a placard on the wall, or as part of the artwork itself? When does the text become so important that it is actually part of the work of art, and when is it merely background information to be kept in the marginal notes. Where do we draw the line between the artwork and the background to the artwork? This is such an important consideration and not always an easy answer.

The portfolio can be seen in its entirety in our back issues — print (while still available) and our PDFs for computer, iPad, Android, and other devices. Plus, bonus audio commentary about this image is available to members of LensWork Online.

Discussion
Add your comments and observations to the discussion by using the "Comments" link at the bottom of this post.

LensWork Extended #97 Downloadable Editions

LensWork Extended #97 Downloadable Editions

LensWork Extended #97 is now available for purchase and immediate download to your computer, iPad, or Android devices from our online store.

All of the audio interviews from this issue are also available for purchase and immediate download.

If you're a LensWork Online member this issue has been posted for download. Login here.

I'm Not Alone

I'm Not Alone

Seems others are making some of the same observations I've recently had. I'm not sure this makes me feel any more accurate, but it does seem a little less lonely over here in my corner of the non-artworld.

Brooks' workshop Finding an Audience for Your Work is available on disc for $99 plus s&h. As one of the membership benefits, this workshop is available in its entirety to members of LensWork Online via streaming video.

Beyond the Medium

Beyond the Medium

Part 1: When we began LensWork Extended way, way, way back-when in 2005, we produced it on CD discs. Well, actually, we didn't produce it on CDs, some outside service produced it for us from the master disc we sent them. The 700mb capacity of CDs seemed more than enough.

Part 2: Fast forward few years and we found it necessary to fast forward to an advanced generation in media. We started producing (they started producing) LensWork Extended on DVDs with 4.2 gigabyte capacity. That it required 3 weeks for them to proof, press a master, duplicate and print our complete order, and ship the discs to us seemed adequate and normal.

Part 3: We then discovered the marvelous Epson Discproducer, an automated, self-regulated disc printer/duplicator that runs unattended. We were able to bring our production work in-house and cut 2½ weeks off our delivery time. Wow. From the time we finish the master disc to finishing the duplication/printing is about 3 days. Add a week for assembly and mailing time and our customers have it in hand in less than 2 weeks from our wrap-up date.

Part 4: Enter LensWork Online and digital distribution. We now finish a PDF, within minutes post it at LensWork Online and immediately start seeing customers downloading it from all across the globe. To quote Arnold, "Unbeeweevoeboe."

So, what is the lesson?

On the surface, this looks like a tale of advancing technology and production logistics. It certainly is, but that's not the whole story. I think there is an even deeper lesson to learn from this example: medium and content are not the same thing.

For years, I thought of my photography as a thing of prints — gelatin silver prints, at that. That's what I did, that's what I produced, that's who I was. And then I realized that W. Eugene Smith's great images had transcended their medium — from silver print, to magazine print, to book print, to images on the Internet. The medium may have changed, but the power of his imagery carried forward through all media. I quickly realized that the same could be said of Billie Holiday's music — from 78 records, to LPs, to reel-to-reel, to 8-track, to cassette, to CD, to MP3, to streaming media. Or Charles Dickens' novels — from serial publication, to book form, to Kindle ebook documents. Art is always manifest in some medium, but media are a product of their times and clearly there is something in art that is not.

Without a medium, art is impossible; it is a thing of media. But, it is also a thing that is independent of media — or should I say, beyond its medium of the moment. True, part of what makes art such a seductive thing is its luscious, tactile, molecular reality.

But it seems that if art does not also transcend these qualities and live beyond the medium, it fails to connect on a different, non-corporeal way that is its essence beyond the medium. As much as the craftsperson within me resists the idea, I can't help but think that it's the part of art that transcends beyond the medium that is the important part and should be the true center of our artmaking activities. This is not an excuse for sloppy craftsmanship, but if LensWork Extended, Eugene Smith, and Billie Holiday have taught me anything, it is that content is the thing that makes artwork survive the onslaught of technological change. Indeed, it is of the essence of worthy art that it can survive technological change. A book (or iPad slideshow) of the Sistine Chapel will never replace the painting, but the fact that we can and do appreciate the images of those paintings in book form (or iPad slideshow) demonstrates the power of the non-molecular part of Michelangelo's creation that exists beyond the medium.

Memory and Molecules

Memory and Molecules

I am not a physicist, so I have no idea how memory chips work. For example, I have a 32gb capacity Compact Flash card, a 32gb capacity SDHC card, and a 32gb micro SD card. The first is the size of a matchbook, the last the size of my thumbnail. How is this possible? I know technology is shrinking, but certainly physics must come into play here eventually. When should we expect the 32gb nano-card that is the size of the head of a pin?

I suppose when it arrives, we will at long last at least be able to answer the question, "How many images of angels will fit on the head of a pin?" Answer: roughly, 8,000 — depending on the JPG compression ratio.

Against the Grain by Mark Maio

Against the Grain by Mark Maio

From Against the Grain by Mark Maio
From LensWork and LensWork Extended #90
© 2010 Mark Maio. All rights reserved.
Reproduced with the permission of the photographer.

Commentary
This project is a classic one where the photographer tells us a story about the world. In this case, Maio brings us access to the world of grain — the simple product that is (at least for us in the West) the beginnings of the staff of life. But like all stories about some thing, it is also a story about some people. Maio brings us them, too. These are hard-working guys (mostly) whose back breaking work would pulverize most of us. Harsh conditions, unfathomable weights, dangerous equipment — all for bread and cereal, English muffins and cake. It all starts with gigantic piles of tiny grains.

Maio is an accomplished photographer and his images in this project show it. But one of the best aspects of this project is how he recognized the importance of the human factor in his telling of the story. The image below is included in the project. Strictly speaking, it is not a photograph in the artistic sense. Many photographers would not think to include it, therefore, because it is not "art" made by them. Maio understood the human touch this graphic brings to the project — and beyond that an historic human touch. It reinforces that this is not just about today's workers, but extends back for generations.

Storytelling is not about photography, but clearly photography can be the basis for storytelling. I think it behooves us photographers to be aware of the non-photographic components of a story that can amplify our images and bring the story to life. Think artifacts, documents, audio, video, news clippings, handwritten notes — the list of potential contributors is endless. If telling the story is important, then perhaps telling the story with whatever best communicates it is more important than our restrictive definition of our chosen art medium. Be open to what else there is beyond the camera that can add to the story and make your photographs even stronger.

The portfolio can be seen in its entirety in our back issues — print (while still available) and our PDFs for computer, iPad, Android, and other devices. Plus, bonus audio commentary about this image is available to members of LensWork Online.

Discussion
Add your comments and observations to the discussion by using the "Comments" link at the bottom of this post.

Cloud Data

Cloud Data

I can't remember the last time I listened to music on the radio, from a CD, or a cassette. I can hardly believe I am writing this, that's how important tape recorders — and, later, CDs — were in my life. I would have defined myself as a hard-core recording audiophile. I believe I was the very first person in my home town to own a battery operated reel-to-reel tape recorder and I know I was the first kid in my high school to own a cassette recorder. The first thing I did with every LP I purchased was transfer it to cassette so I wasn't tied to the turntable to listen to my favorite tunes. I was so passionate about audio recording and tape recorders that I pursued it as a career.

That was then, but we now live in an entirely new world. Now, all my music lives in the form of MP3 files. Furthermore, up until the last couple of weeks, they lived on my computers' or servers' hard drives, on various and assorted MP3 players, or — ahem — my smartphone. Whichever device was the player du jour, my music was physically stored there, toted around with me, little electronic molecules within arms reach. I recognize, however, the winds of new paradigm on the horizon — the Cloud.

A couple of years ago, I learned about Pandora, the Internet-based music service that feeds each listener a customized selection of music based on a "station" that is constructed on the fly from a root artist. Want to listen to a bunch of music like Mel Tormé? Build a station based on Mel Tormé and Pandora feeds you music from him and similar artists. It's the ultimate mood-defined listening. What a fascinating idea! And for a small fee, it's all commercial-free.

More than that, Pandora has proven to be a technology that is almost flawless in it's implementation. As long as I'm connected to the Internet, the music streams perfectly and sounds great — on my computer, on my smartphone, on my TV (via our Roku box), from my iPad or Transformer. It's a proven paradigm, so I was predisposed to have faith in Amazon's new cloud service and the Amazon Cloud Player that was touted as part of the Kindle Fire's ecosystem. Amazon's Cloud Player is sort of a cross between Pandora's ethereal sourcing and my personal MP3 library. Essentially, you store your music on Amazon's cloud computers, listen on your Kindle Fire/computer/iPad/Android device via streaming Internet feed.

After a couple of weeks of using it, I can report it is flawless. No hitches, no dropouts, no buffering glitches. I'm sure there are some who will resist the idea that their music storage is not under their control, but I haven't seen any issues yet that would give me pause. I still have all my MP3 files stored on my computer hard drives, too, so I'm not turning over complete control to Amazon. For a device with limited storage like the Kindle Fire (and every device has some limit to its amount of available storage), it appears to be an idea that really works.

The obvious caveat in the ointment [insert smiley face of your choice here] is that it only works if you have connection to the Internet. I still have lots of music on my device's memory card, but I own so much music that I can never have it all with me at any given moment. The Kindle Fire allows me to download to the device any music I want to listen to while I'm away from an Internet connection (traveling or flying, for example). If I happen to hear something I don't already own, Amazon is more than happy to instantly take my money and instantly load the music onto my cloud drive, thereby making it available, ahem, instantly. No more extra memory cards with additional music; no more constant upgrading to larger and larger capacity cards as I expand my music assortments; no more compromises about which music to take and which to leave behind — who knows what mood I'll be in and what song will be floating around in my pea-brain that demands attention? The Amazon Cloud Player and Cloud Drive are an answer I didn't really know I needed until it plopped into my lap with the Kindle Fire.

For us photographers, the paradigm translates to images and slideshows almost on greased skids. Hmmmm . . .