New York High Dramatic Range Images

For quite sometime now I'm amazed by HDR (High Dynamic Range) architecture photography . I used to work in Real Estate Consultancy and one of my colleague, a graphic designer, was a passionate architecture photographer. He used to make HDR magic. High Dynamic Range (HDR) is a term used when speaking of images and image processing that makes images look like viewed through 3D glasses. You can use the processing carefully to create natural looking photos but you can use your creativity to create intense, dramatic and even apocalyptic images. In any case images will be more detail in the highlights and shadows than normal photos. For that reason HDR is popular in architecture photography because architecture requires very deep details, shadows and color range. What's interesting, the film industry uses HDR to create special effects.
I found some New York City HDR photos to share.

All photos from: http://abduzeedo.com

Polaroid's FAILURE

Polaroid founded in 1937 is one of the great iconic 20th century brands. Thanks to photos developed in your hands a while after the photo was taken, the Polaroid personality became “live for the moment” sort of brand. Unfortunately it’s also known as a failure band. Polaroid lose in touch with their customer and its market since the technology were shifting more rapidly than ever before. Other day I read “Polaroid could have been a major force in digital photography today... They just never went there.”
In 2001 Polaroid bankrupted and in 2008 closed their instant film factory. This spring the Polaroid Corporation is about to sell their unique collection of nearly 1300 photographs (out of 16,000) most of them taken by Andy Warhol and Chuck Close.

There are hundred thousands of Polaroid cameras still in use, stored on garage shelves, or put on sale on eBay, that could’ve never been used again. Fortunately a group called The Impossible Project decided to restart production of the actual film at a factory in Amsterdam. They re-engineered from the beginning the expensive instant film. Each piece of film is its own dark room. It has 6 distinct layers and it’s made up of 6 to 10 components, each of which must be used very precisely. It was indeed the Impossible Project.

View online Andy Warhol's Polaroids at the Paul Kasmin Gallery in New York. In this post you find a selection of my personal favorites.
If you like this post check the previous one -> Polaroid LOVE

Polaroid LOVE

Everyone must remember Polaroid instant photos. My first Polaroid memory is a photo of me taken when I was 5 sitting on Santa’s lap. Polaroid is magic. I love it’s softness, imperfections, incompleteness, nostalgia. It’s like a moment, a memory that you just caught, and you will always remember it exactly this way. The sound when you press the shutter button. The anticipation for the result, the surprise… it’s personal. You made a memory tangible. The will not be any more reprints. You are the artist. This one photo is what you get. No more repetitions. It’s life. It’s real.

For Polaroid fans who don’t have Polaroid camera, I recommend familiarise yourself with Poladroid™ application. You can easily create high resolution Polaroid-like pictures from your digital photo. All you have to do is to download Poladroid™ application start it, than drag and drop your photo. You will even hear the typical shutter sound and you will need to wait for the picture.

I converted my regular digital photos taken in Rio de Janeiro with Poladroid and facebook them. Got a good feedback from my friends.

Swedish Crystal Design

Since I saw this intriguing Bertil Vallien’s crystal sculpture in one of Stockholm’s museums I became fond of Swedish glass handcraft. This art work is magical to me. I have no idea how it's possible to achieve this spectacular optical effect in glass. Must be sort of magic, right? Although Bertil Vallien is probably one of the best and most famous glass artists in the world today, I realized there are more tallented Swedish designers who make artistic glass that is sold and displayed at galleries around the world.
Two biggest glass factories have an exciting history - Kosta was founded in 1742 and Orrefors 1898. The heart of the business is the Kingdom of Crystal in the province of Småland. Among standardised products like bowls, vases and glasses, you can get limited edition objects and pieces of glass art. My very favourite are “Make up”  limited series by glass artist Åsa Jungnelius. I adore her oversized, almost half meter high, colourful nail polish bottles and lipstick sculptures. Her works are fun and cover subject like fashion, shopping, decadence, consumerism.

                                                                                             

Åsa Jungnelius also designed perfume flacons for Agonist fragrance brand. Agonistis a Nordic fragrance brand inspired by the melancholy and beauty of film, poetry and literature from Bergman, Boye and Garbo and other iconized characters from Swedish Culture.

One more decadent piece by Asa Jungelious:

I also found this gorgeous crystal handbag designed by Lena Bergström for Orrefors. A limited edition of 100, only for looking not wearing accessory will cost you $700.

Fashion Soup, Designer: Kjell Engman

Ducks , Designer: Ernst Billgren

You can download Kosta Boda 2010 Collection by clicking here.

The Art of Losing...

Loosing, missing, looking for, looking forward to... home, a family, a country, a friend, a boyfriend... In this sort of moments I read a poem by Elizabeth Bishop. It gives me strenght, and hope, makes me think rationalaly and brings sort of optimism...

One Art

by Elizabeth Bishop

The art of losing isn't hard to master;

so many things seem filled with the intent

to be lost that their loss is no disaster.

Lose something every day. Accept the fluster

of lost door keys, the hour badly spent.

The art of losing isn't hard to master.

Then practice losing farther, losing faster:

places, and names, and where it was you meant

to travel. None of these will bring disaster.

I lost my mother's watch. And look! my last, or

next-to-last, of three loved houses went.

The art of losing isn't hard to master.

I lost two cities, lovely ones. And, vaster,
some realms I owned, two rivers, a continent.
I miss them, but it wasn't a disaster.


--Even losing you (the joking voice, a gesture
I love) I shan't have lied. It's evident
the art of losing's not too hard to master
though it may look like (Write it!) like disaster.

From The Complete Poems 1927-1979 by Elizabeth Bishop