Saving Photography

Photography has been on mind lately but it seems rare when I find new artistic images I am really interested in. Probably because there are now a lot more amateur photographers around with the coolest new digital gadgets. And, clearly, photos of friends and your pets photoshoped to look “distressed” or “vintage” is just getting really old and boring. However, in a positive way it has forced the more advanced photographers to get more creative with the process of making images. It is not just about film vs. digital anymore. Below are some of these techniques I have come across which are certainly clever and have lots of creative potential.

First up is Matt Schwartz of she hit pause studios who has been creating large format polaroid images for the past 8 years. The images are then transferred to create a whimsical, watercolor, vintage feel. Some of my favorites are below.

The next one might be an old technique but these photos by Richard Mosse taken with Kodak Aerochrome infrared film are just absolutely terrifyingly beautiful (it’s the only way to describe this series from the eastern Congo).  I think it is using the film style with a modern clarity, certainty, and brutal honesty that I find so facinating.

A new technique for digital photography is called Freelensing. It is basically when you detach the lens from your camera to create really nice lens flares and blurs. You can read more about it here with diagrams and all. Below are a few images from the Flickr Freelensing Group.

Then there is the very innovative Electronic Instant Camera by Niklas Roy. I want one of these for sure.

And lastly, I couldn’t post the images here because they move just ever so slightly in the best of ways. So please check out these images at From Me To You. The only way to describe is to show a bit of my dorky side and relate them to the Harry Potter photos.  And yes the beer is poured in!