Komamura ViewCamera Converter for DSLR

Convert your Horseman, Nikon, or Canon DSLR camera into a View Camera with Komamura's View Camera Converter

details here http://www.komamura.co.jp/digital/VCCpro/index.html

English Press Release here
http://www.komamura.co.jp/e/press/PR090817vccpro.pdf

Pirelli 2010 Calendar Preview NSFW

Eniko Mihalik, Rosie Huntington Whiteley, Catherine McNeil, Abbey Lee Kershaw, Daisy Lowe, Gracie Carvalho, Marloes Horst, Lily Cole, Ana Beatriz Barros, Miranda Kerr, and Georgina Stojiljkovic all appear nude in the 2010 Pirelli Calendar as shot by Terry Richardson, though this is a preview.

http://www.fashionising.com/pictures/s--Pirelli-2010-Calendar-Preview-NSFW-3181-1.html

"It's not who you know, it's who you blow."
--Terry Richardson

Chris Jordan Interview

Digital photographic artist Chris Jordan interview on Bill Moyers Journal

http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/08072009/watch3.html

Snap Pictures in the Dark with Electrophysics AstroScope

US company Electrophysics has two adapters which can make your Canon or Nikon dSLR snap pictures in the dark. Such an application is not new and was previously implemented in surveillance and video cameras for recording footages in the dark. But the AstroScope 9350-series adapters are specially designed to be used with dSLRs.

Electrophysics AstroScope is an advanced night vision module that incorporates a state-of-the-art image intensifier that transforms dark scenes into bright, highresolution images. The AstroScope 9350EOS-P is specifically designed for Canon EOS-type cameras and mounts between the camera body and Canon EOS lenses using the standard Canon bayonet. AstroScope incorporates a high quality optic designed specifically for today’s digital SLR cameras and delivers full frame images with little or no vignetting.


These night vision systems fit between the camera body and the lens. There is a central intensifier unit (CIU) which illuminates the scene dramatically even if there is only a weak light source. What is special is that these adapters maintain the electrical connections required for image stabilizer operation and autofocus by the optics.

http://www.electrophysics.com/night-vision/

NAKED TOKYO: FRIDAY June 26th

Come join me and friends for a group exhibition in Roppongi's SuperDeluxe this Friday.

The Naked Tokyo exhibition presents the work of an international group of photographers focusing on self-portraiture, sex, eroticism, and anonymous nudity.

41 Photographers
50 Photos
One Night Only!


Start Time: Friday, June 26, 2009 at 6:30pm
End Time: Saturday, June 27, 2009 at 2:00am
Location: SuperDeluxe in Roppongi
Street: B1F 3.1.25 Nishi Azabu, Minato-ku,

Phone: 0354120515
Email: nakedtokyo@gmail.com


Naked Tokyoでは、セルフポートレイト・セックス・エロティシズム・ヌードに焦点を置いた国内外の写真家の作品展を開催いたします。
４１人の写真家
一夜限り

June 26th (Friday) from 18:30 @ SuperDeluxe in Roppongi.
1000 yen entry fee

http://www.super-deluxe.com/2009/06/26/
http://www.nakedtokyo.com/

Photo (C) Max Hodges, from NAKED TOKYO Exhibition in Shibuya, December 2008

Ryoji Ikeda’s ‘+/- [the infinite between 0 and 1]’: An Interpretation

Ryoji Ikeda: +/- [the infinite between 0 and 1] is the first major retrospective of Ikeda’s work, presented by the Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo (MOT) and runs until June 21st 2009. The exhibition includes new commissions, large-scale audiovisual projections, sound, and Ikeda’s abstract celluloid landscapes.

Click here for a nicely formatted version of this article as a PDF file.

Ikeda has quickly earned himself an international reputation as a leading electronic composer and sound artist. His work is hailed by critics as the most radical and innovative examples of contemporary electronic music, earning him a Golden Nica prize in the Digital Music category at Prix Ars Electronica in 2001—one of the most important yearly prizes in the field of electronic and interactive art, computer animation, digital culture and music.

Although best known for his sound installations, Ikeda has extended his activities and compositions into the visual arts, and these activities have caught the attention of MOT’s chief curator Yuko Hasegawa. “Previously, we have held exhibitions of veteran and midcareer artists as solo shows,” says Hasegawa, “but we really want to focus on the younger generation and represent them in solo shows.”

Ikeda has been intensely active in sound art through concerts, installations and recordings since 1995. Described as an ‘ultra-minimalist’, Ikeda employs cutting-edge computer technology to develop a unique set of methods for sound engineering and composition. His works feature computed, mathematically pure ‘microsonic’ tones, frequencies and noise that sometimes exists at the edge of perception.

These intense, exhilarating sounds are integrated in audiovisual installations, projected at cinematic scale in his concerts, in which each pixel is precisely calculated by mathematical principle. The vast scale of the projection heightens and intensifies the viewer’s perception and immersion in a world of pure objectivity. Acoustics and sublime imagery—derived from pure mathematics and from astronomy, genetics and other real-world data—are employed to create an experience of time that and be sped up, slowed down and frozen for analysis. Space too is like a field that can be traversed at high-speed, or sliced up for scrutiny.

Time and space, the vast universe of precision numeric data representation, and the limits of human perception are explored with precisely correlated and synchronized audio and video rhythms that sound and image fuse and become indistinguishable—resulting in a synaestheia-like experience.

Although usually described as an electronic composer, this retrospective demonstrates Ikeda’s talent as a visual artist too with large-scale photographic work and a 35mm x 10m abstract celluloid landscape known as data.film [nº1-a].

“My intention is always polarized by concepts of the ‘beautiful and the sublime’”, writes Ikeda, “To me, beauty is crystal, rationality, precision, simplicity, elegance, delicacy. The sublime is infinity, infinitesimal, immensity, indescribable, ineffable. The purest beauty is the world of mathematics.”

Consider how these sentiments are expressed in a pair of Ikeda’s artworks shown in his ‘V≠L’ exhibition. The work was inspired by his dialogue with Harvard mathematician Benedict Gross and explores the idea that perhaps nothing in the universe is random. Consisting of two horizontal panels, one is etched with a prime number consisting of over 7.23 million digits; in counterpoint, the second panel presents a random number generated by computer algorithms, also consisting of over 7 million digits. From more than a few inches away, the panels appear as a random, concrete-like grey texture. But close-up they reveal a mind-boggling array of 0.8mm-high digits, daunting in their vastness and precision. For comparison, consider that the estimated number of atoms in the observable universe is a number only 80-digits long. Unlike the random sequence, this prime number is like a jewel, a mathematical diamond that can be contracted into the sum of two squares and expanded. Its endowed with special properties which make it vital to data security. But change a single digit and this whole, delicate, seven-million-two-hundred-thirty-five-thousand-seven-hundred-and-thirty-three unit long system of perfection becomes unstable and collapses.

Such expressions of point and counterpoint abound in +/- [the infinite between 0 and 1]. Other examples include the white-light of SXGA projectors within the perfect black room. The 10 screens itself a play on the nature of the number 10 as representing the both the on-and-off of binary logic. The notion of [+/–] polar-opposites are found in the contrast of signal vs. noise as individual instances of discrete data and moments in time are plucked from the vast oceans of endless random data. Light and sound is used to freeze certain moments in time like unique snowflakes, only to dissolve back into a sea of data on the next beat.

Review and description of Ikeda’s work tends to stop short of interpretation. Indeed, with regard to the meaning of Ikeda’s work, curator Hasegawa’s says that Ikeda’s art, “doesn’t have any particular symbolic meaning; it is nonsignifying. He just wants to create a kind of matrix, or give the idea of the universe and infinity, for the visitor to simply enjoy. You can read whatever you like into the work.”

But while Hasegawa seems to believe the exhibition amounts to little more than audiovisual eye-candy, this writer found many clear, masterfully crafted messages, and believes that taken collectively, Ikeda’s work has the same power and potential as any work of great art to be a catalyst for profound personal transformation.

Spoiler alert: if you’re planning to visit the exhibition, I suggest you experience it for yourself before reading further.

The flash of revelation happens once you make your way down to the basement where a second level of the exhibition has been constructed. Here a through-the-looking-glass counterpoint to the entire exhibition upstairs has been ingeniously constructed. This alternate exhibition is identical in size and layout, but whereas the former space was set in pitch black darkness, we now face a negative-image in the form of a pure white room, Great care is taken to make it work. The expansive floor is covered in delicate white felt, and visitors don fabric slippers so as to not scuff the floor with their shoes. The felt doubles as an acoustic absorption material, helping to create an anechoic-chamber-like silence in the room. The entire room is lit from above by a grid of large panels which produce a soft, uniform and continuous light source.

Instead of 10 video projections, we find ‘the irreducible [n_1-10]’: 10 static, black panels composed of a large—but finite—set of numbers. These numbers of so tiny, they are barely visible to the naked eye. Whereas before we explored the unbound vastness of space, the limitless expanse of discrete moments of time, and the infinite range and precision of data representation with god-like objectivity, now we arrive at the polar opposite: the single, here-and-now subjective experience of the only one true universe. Here all the hypothetical possibilities collapse into a single instance of the world having a specific form and state. Our subjective perception of this particular place, the one-and-only world in which we inhabit, is enriched and is much more reified by its contrast with the inverse, counterfactual world of pure objectivity[1].

The experience is supplemented by ‘matrix [5ch version]’, a 5-channel audio installation composed of five Meyer Sound Laboratories SB-1 parabolic long-throw sound beams. Exploiting the directional behavior of a parabolic reflecting surface, the SB-1 provides the ability to propagate precisely focused sound waves while maintaining a narrow beamwidth.

Listeners who traverse, and disrupt, the soundscape created by these 5 speakers, encounter a highly-subjective hearing of the work. There is no objective position, only one vastly entangled system as the act of observation itself disrupts the sound waves and the acoustics are highly dependant on the position and direction of the listener’s body, head and ears within the field. This further solidifies our conception of space as a uniquely subjective experience.

Venue details:
http://www.ryojiikeda.mot-art-museum.jp/

-----
[1] The ‘White Room’ mise-en-scene in the movie “The Matrix” plays an analogous role. The stark white, horizonless background, and anachronistic setting reinforce the emptiness and artificiality of the Matrix. By contrast, the subsequent transition, made without physically leaving the ‘white room’, to a scene on the outskirts of New York City, reinstates the theme of simulation versus reality in the film.

One is also reminded of the “white room” scene in “2001: A Space Odyssey”, in which Dave Bowman ages rapidly. Devoid of doors and windows, this room too plays counterpoint to the ordinary perception of space and time.

Canon puts new Japanese camera factory on hold

Notice regarding delay in construction, start of operation of Nagasaki Canon

TOKYO, December 17, 2008—Canon Inc. announced today that it would delay the construction and start of operation of Nagasaki Canon Inc., the manufacturing base in Higashi Sonogi-gun, Nagasaki Prefecture, established in July this year.

Since 2000, demand for digital cameras has continued to increase rapidly. As demand is expected to continue growing in the future, Canon recognizes the need to expand its production capacity for both digital SLR and compact digital cameras.

Upon newly establishing Nagasaki Canon, original plans had called for starting construction in January 2009 and commencing operation in December 2009, carrying out production operations in collaboration with Oita Canon Inc., also located in Kyushu.

Recently, however, growth in demand for digital cameras has rapidly declined compared with original projections due to the global economic downturn triggered by the failure of major U.S. securities firms, which has necessitated a revision of earlier production plans. This serious drop in demand is expected to continue for a period of time. These factors led to the company's decision to delay the start of construction and operation of the new manufacturing site.

With regard to future construction and operation plans for Nagasaki Canon, Canon will watch market developments for the time being and announce a revised schedule once the timing has been determined.

This decision will have no impact on the hiring of individuals that have already received employment offers and are scheduled for hire from January 2009, including new graduates in April 2009. These individuals will undergo training at Oita Canon as originally planned and will be assigned work at Nagasaki Canon sometime following the start of operations at the new site.

The construction was originally announced in July and was to be called Nagasaki Canon Inc. The site is located in Hasami-cho, Higashi Sonogi-gun, Nagasaki Prefecture. The cost of setting up the 41,700 square meter facility would be 17.4 billion yen (US$198 million) with a completion date in 2010. Over 1,000 staff would be required to run the facility.

Three Point Lighting Tutorial

Nice basic three point lighting tutorial

Google gives online life to Life mag's photos

Google gives online life to Life mag's photos

Google gives online life to Life mag's photos
8 hours ago

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. (AP) — Google Inc. has opened an online photo gallery that will feature millions of images from Life magazine's archives that have never been seen by the public before.

The new service, available at http://images.google.com/hosted/life, debuted Tuesday with about 2 million photos. Eventually, Google plans to scan all 10 million photos from Life's library so they can be viewed on any computer with an Internet connection.

About 97 percent of Life's archives have not been publicly seen, according to Life.

The photos can be printed out for free as long as they aren't being used as part of an attempt to make money. Time Warner Inc., Life's parent company, hopes to make money by selling high-resolution, framed prints. The orders will be processed through Qoop.com.

Life's archives include photos from the Civil War as well as some of the most memorable moments from the 20th century, including the Zapruder film capturing John F. Kennedy's assassination.

Google has been indexing a wide variety of information that previously wasn't available online as part of its efforts to lure even more traffic to its popular search engine. For the past four years, Google has been scanning millions of books stored in dozens of libraries around the world.

The Life partnership represents Google's biggest undertaking in professional photography. Google hopes to work out similar arrangements with the owners of other large photo archives, said R.J. Pittman, a director of product management.

Photo Exhibition : Kwon Choul, photojournalist

Kwon is a friend of mine who contributed some images to my recent TOKYO REALTIME: Kabukicho project

Photo Exhibition : Kwon Choul, photojournalist
Time: 2008 Nov 01 11:00 - 11:00
Summary:

Living in Kabukicho (Main Bar)
Kokoro-chan, a homeless girl in Kabukicho (Sushi Bar)

Description:

FCCJ Main Bar & Sushi Bar
November 1-November 29, 2008
Kwon Choul, photojournalist

I come from Korea, and a relatively peaceful part. Perhaps that's why Kabukicho, Japan's biggest entertainment district, was at first too much to fit into my viewfinder. But soon, recording the fleeting moments of the town became an addiction.
The women of Kabukicho summon all men's dirty desires. Bloods and violence are daily visitors. Sometimes I want to turn my face away from Kabukicho and its tourists, students and drunken salarimen. But if you want to really see people’s lives you have to conquer fear and surrender yourself to violence and desire. That’s why I live and shoot in Kabukicho. Within the Kabukicho district, the Koma Theater Plaza is crowded with people throughout the day. Ten years ago cardboard houses started to concentrate in the area. In one of these houses I met a small girl living with her father.

"What is your name?"
"Kokoro!"
She held up four fingers to tell me her age and smiled.
"Who are you living with, Kokoro?"
"Hmmm... With my daddy."
"What about your mom?"
"I don't know!"

After Kokoro was born in Asakusa her father took her to Omiya, Shibuya, Ikebukuro, and finally to Kabukicho. Now she lives in a child welfare facility.

Kwon Choul, photojournalist.
Born in South Korea, 1967.
Kwon is well known for his work on Shinjuku Kabukicho, Hansen's disease, North Korean escapees, US military base issues, and minorities in Japan.

Publications:
"Kabukicho Jihen (Kabukicho Affairs) 1996~2006" (Wani Magazine)
"Kokoro-chan, a girl in Kabukicho" (Kodansha, will be published December 2008)

Ninagawa X LaChapelle

Couldn't help but noticed the similarities between this photo by Mika Ninagawa above, and this shot of my sister Avalon by DAVID LaCHAPELLE (Avalon Fallen in Shrubbery, 1995) below:

cevin key X dj oto

Web gallery of shots I took at a skinny puppy dj set at Shinjuku Kabukicho's MARZ on Oct 25th '08

all shots created in-camera (no photoshop)

You can hear some of Elliot's (DJ OTO) tracks here:
http://djoto.com/

Canon 40D Hacked to Record Movies

http://www.crunchgear.com/2008/09/23/canon-40d-hacked-to-record-movies/

Death of the historic war photograph

Photojournalists around the world agree that the monumental snapshot of war, epitomised by pictures like Robert Capa's Falling Soldier from the Spanish Civil War, and Vietnamese Nick Ut's children running from a napalm attack in 1972, has lost its power on contemporary internet-using audiences.

Internet viewing figures show a shift in attitude towards pictures of war. People no longer trust old style current events photography, and appear to be losing interest in it.


continues on Telegraph

Tonchidot: Sekai Camera

Canned demo vaporware, or possibly the greatest advance in the integration of mobile location-based contextual video-driven telephony with user contributed content the world has seen?

http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/09/17/tonchidot-madness-the-video/

Thanks Haru-chan!

Leica S2 with 56% larger sensor than full frame

Photokina 2008: Leica has unveiled a brand new autofocus DSLR system designed for professional users, which is configured around a 30x45mm sensor (i.e. 56% larger than 35mm full-frame).

Details at dpreview

Get to know WeeGee the Famous

He captured tenement infernos, car crashes, and gangland executions. He found washed-up lounge singers and teenage murder suspects in paddy wagons and photographed them at their most vulnerable -- or, as he put it, their most human. He caught couples kissing on their beach blankets on Coney Island and the late-night voyeurs on lifeguard stands watching them. And everywhere he went, he snatched images of people sleeping: drunks on park benches, whole families on Lower East Side fire escapes, men and women snoring in movie theaters. He was the supreme chronicler of the city at night. --bio continues at http://www.soundportraits.org/on-air/weegee/

Selected Works online at the Weegee's World courtesy of the International Center for Photography Midtown

more biography here:
Weegee: Paparazzi or Social Documentarian?

Thanks Koga-san!

Nice article on Araki by Andrew Lee

And the Japanese art scene certainly
differs from other countries. Takashi
Murakami and other Japanese artists
argue that there is no distinction between
high and low art in Japan because “art”
was a concept introduced from the west.
Araki agrees. “In my mind there is
absolutely no hierarchy. Just like all
women are beautiful. I really don’t like
the idea of what is right and what is
wrong. What is sacred, what is profane.
What is art and what is obscene. I don’t
want that kind of categorisation.

http://homepage.mac.com/a.lee/main/writing/araki221005.pdf

TED Talk: Photography connects us with the world

David Griffin: Photography connects us with the world

SLR camera shoots high-def movies, too

When I first got my Canon 5D DSLR I was disappointed to discover that it couldn't shoot video. Why could my $750 Panasonic LX1 with Leica lens shoot 640 x 480 video at 30 frames-per-second, but my $2500 Canon can't I wondered.

Enter the Nikon D90



New Nikon SLR camera shoots high-def movies, too
By PETER SVENSSON – 1 hour ago

NEW YORK (AP) — Nikon Corp. on Wednesday launched the first digital still camera with interchangeable lenses that also shoots movies.

The D90 single-lens reflex camera, or SLR, takes 12.3 megapixel stills, but can also shoot movies in the high-definition 720p format. It will be available in September for $1,000 without a lens.

Compared to a consumer digital movie camera, the D90 will provide extra versatility for a videographer, since different lenses have different looks and applications.