Picture Envy for June 14, 2004

This is my trial attempt at Picture Envy. If it works out and I feel that there's sufficient response, I'll keep doing this. If not, I'll set the idea aside. In the meantime, if you're interested in taking part in next week's Picture Envy, follow the rules written here, and drop me an email at this address (note the anti-spam provisions taken).

The Photos

1. Will Burnham, The Girl With The Blue-Green Hair, on You Lite 'Em is my first pick for this week's Picture Envy. It's a brilliant shot, really bringing out, through photoshopping, the subject's character.

2. Sam Javanrouh, Townhouse Alley, on Daily Dose of Imagery is my second pick for Picture Envy this week. I like that the picture is so colorful, yet ordered and slightly stifling.

3. Kath-leen, Dinghy Envy, on Unsettled. Someone told me that Kath-leen was afraid of sending in her links, so they took it upon themselves to send this in. I think that's a good thing, since this shot of New England's rustic beauty is excellent. Kath-leen has an interesting photo project, devoted to the "potty."

4. From the public realm, this picture was sent to me by my friend Julius, of the late, great Lost In Mirkwood blog, from the funeral of President Ronald Reagan, a ceremony I watched closely (click on the picture for a larger view). It was fascinating, to see this example of American pomp and circumstance, something not often seen. Julius has a gallery of digital images that he has created, Fake Rendered Love, that is worth checking out.

5. Kevin Murphy, Little Man in Big Shot, on Funmurphys: the Blog, which is a great shot, because it has a certain air of being an old picture, because of the lack of light in the outer regions of the shot (much like what happens when photos are taken on a Lomo camera). Kevin asked, in an email, if this is the sort of shot I'm looking for. My answer: absolutely, but it's more about what you think is worth considering.

6. Kristen Beam, of Sigh Club, has submitted a number of shots for this week's Picture Envy. First, we have a shot from South Holyoke's St. Patrick's Day, called Parade Ennui.

7. Kristen's next shot – 'cause it's all about Kristen today – is of a cat, entitled Snorri on the Inside. Kristen explains that "Reykjavik, Iceland, is a very cat-friendly city."

We all have our faults.

Nonetheless, I'd like to make my way up to Reykjavik someday. The wild and the snowy appeal to me.

8. The third shot sent in by Kristen is entitled One-eyed Girl. It's of a St. Bernard and a camouflaged figure from Provincetown, Massachusetts. Why one-eyed? How did that happen? Did Scheherazade have anything to do with it? [Yes, I know I'm going to get in trouble for that one.]

9. I like Kristen's last shot the best. Blue Lagoon is a shot of the Blue Lagoon geothermal spa, in Reykjavik, Iceland. It's a dramatic shot of something that is largely exotic to the US (outside of the Yellowstone area, I presume).

10. Joanie, of Da Goddess, sent in this great shot of an alligator (click this link, right, to enlarge).

Joanie has been busy encouraging people to join up with Spirit of America, but still manages to do a lot of interesting, colorful photography.

Tips

There weren't any tips submitted this week; hopefully, we can build on this in the future.

Discussion

No one submitted any invitations to debate on photography this week, so I'll open the discussion myself. I'm looking to pick up either a new camera, somewhat of the novelty sort, or lens/effect/filter to play around with my photography. I've been taking a lot of straight-forward shots, and I'm somewhat bored with this. What are your thoughts on the Holga? The Horizon 202? The Lensbaby? What do you use to take shots that defy the normal range of what is expected by a film camera?

I'm going to continue Picture Envy, as of right now. I think this is a slow start, but I'm confident that it can gain momentum with your support. For those interested in being considered for next week's Picture Envy, please send me a link to your photos/tips/debates/discussions on photography (or those of someone else's). I hope that, through this little project, a bit more can be done to encourage photography and the publication of photography on blogs.

/s,

tpb

Comments

[tokyoredhed]

Love the Blue Lagoon shot, mainly because I lived in Iceland for a year. I can almost smell the sulphur...

[Jerome du Bois]

I like it, and hope you keep it up.

As for unusual cameras, you could add pinholes to the list. They can be made from practically anything, and they have more emotional range than you might expect.

JdB

[TPB, Esq.]

Thanks, TokyoRedHed & Jerome.

That's true, pinholes are very cool. There's an interesting one out there on the Lomography website.

http://shop.lomography.com/shop/main.php?cat=Special%20Format%20Cameras&pro=phd

[TPB, Esq.]

By the way, just to be clear, with all Lomo cameras, www.bhphotovideo.com is cheaper than the actual Lomo website.

[Da Goddess]

I love this idea and really do encourage people to submit shots to you....in fact, I see at least one person I know who came from my site.

Keep up the good work!

[Da Goddess]

And, just for Kath-leen....here:

http://gallery.dagoddess.com/Odds/Chicago104

[Kathleen]

da goddess, i love those!