My friend Elise sent me a link to this eye-popping 360° panoramic photo of Tokyo. It’s 150 gigapixels and zoomable. Best viewed in full resolution mode (not in the tiny version in this post):
[LINK]
Is this cool or what?!
[The reason she sent me the link is because I’m trying to put together a much simpler zoomable map of the 1858 Boulton Atlas of the City of Toronto]
More info: io9 spoke with Jeffrey Martin, the creator.
Showing posts with label photography. Show all posts
Showing posts with label photography. Show all posts
Beyond The Pink: The Subversion Of Barbie
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| Barbie: “A modern doll with a classic sensibility” |
Ubiquitous, and evocative, she is an inscrutable Mona Lisa for our times. Her pink-themed branding aggressively colonizes entire sections of every mainstream toy store.
Critics have decried the doll’s image for the 50 years of her existence. Yet her glamorous power endures within our cultural topography.
“Women my age know whom to blame for our own self-loathing, eating disorders and distorted body image: Barbie.”
- Amy Dickinson, Time Magazine
The Iron Maiden of The Beauty Myth?
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| Barbie for President: ‘Iron Maiden’ or aspirational? |
, Naomi Wolf describes the pernicious effects emanating from a widespread societal obsession with a coercive ideal of feminine appearance.In Wolf’s view, the mis-proportioned figure of Barbara Millicent Roberts almost certainly embodies this malign ideal -- an unrealistic ‘iron maiden’ from which young women struggle to escape.
Meanwhile, Mattel, the maker of the doll, brightly and optimistically casts Barbie as an empowering, aspirational model -- a toy manifestation of the American dream where any identity is possible.
Which view is correct?
Iconoclasts and Subversion
Tom Forsythe was famously sued by Mattel, for his absurdist Food Chain Barbie photographic series. His challenging legal journey opened the path for other artists to freely experiment with Barbie-themed images, without fear of litigation. |
| Fondue For Three - Tom Forsythe This series sparked a 5 year legal battle with Mattel over fair use, free speech and artistic expression |
I want to mention and share the work of several such artists, each of whom leverages and re-mixes the standard portrayal of Barbie in some way. The sequence progresses from coy and conventional, through to a much darker world view.
These images form entry points for reflection on our deeply persistent cultural relationship with Barbie. Our understanding of her turns out to be as mutable as the clothes she wears.
Barbie’s Wedding
Beatrice De Guigne captures “Barbie and Ken’s Wedding” through the ironic lens of an actual wedding photographer... |
| Beatrice De Guigne’s Wedding Photography Click here to view series |
This series is kind of cute, even saccharine, and is more of a playful take on stereotypical wedding photos, than it is a commentary on the Barbie universe. But this naturally leads to the question, “What happens after the wedding?”
The next two photographers suggest some possible, not entirely happy answers...
in the dollhouse
Dina Goldstein’s ‘in the dollhouse’ series features real-life models posed as Barbie and Ken.It purports to examine ‘the less than perfect life of B and K. B is a super doll, the most successful doll in the world. Her partner K is grappling with his sexuality and finds himself in a loveless marriage. He struggles with his position in the household and faces his lack of authenticity.’
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| Dina Goldstein’s ‘in the dollhouse’: an unhappy marriage? Click here to view series |
Check out Dina Goldstein’s ‘in the dollhouse’.
Goldstein is most well known for her Fallen Princesses project, which creatively imagines less-than-idyllic scenes of post-fairy-tale life.
Mariel Clayton: Disturbing Yet Funny
Mariel Clayton’s work takes the Barbie aesthetic, and corrupts it. The results are disturbing, incorporating elements of sexuality and grisly force.Ontario-based Clayon’s meticulously arranged dioramas often show the aftermath of violence. Barbie exists, in this world, as a smart, sexy, psychotic -- in control of herself and the situation -- rather than as a vapid materialist concerned solely with clothes and fashion.
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| Mariel Clayton: Grim humour amidst banal clutter Click here to view more |
WARNING: SCENES OF VIOLENCE AND SEXUALITY.
I particularly appreciate the careful detailing of each photograph. Clayton’s rooms are filled with the banal clutter of domesticity, a mundane backdrop to the turbulence elsewhere in the scene.
We are drawn into a fantastic and gruesome world where Barbie has taken matters into her own hands — a world where she has liberated herself from the drudgery of her consumer existence. The message is anarchic. Irreverent. And, I think, delightful.
Mariel Clayton’s work on Facebook
Mariel Clayton’s website
Barbie: She Is Us
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| Barbie: a fascinating figure |
500 years from now, historians and anthropologists will study the doll, and her endless accessories, as valuable indicators of our fashions, social institutions, customs and mores (A visit to Barbie’s Facebook page or her YouTube channel is remarkably instructive).
What is your opinion of Barbie? If you are a woman, did you play with Barbie as a child, and how did you interact with the doll? If you are a man, to what extent did Barbie shape your impression of feminine beauty? What role, if any, did Barbie have in forming your expectations of gender norms?
If you are a parent -- are you going to buy Barbie for your children, or will you attempt to shield them from ‘princess’ culture?
[LINK: Aqua - Barbie Girl]
Bonus Barbie: What would Barbie look like as an average woman?
Nickolay Lamm recently released a short set of of photos depicting a normally proportioned Barbie that he fashioned using a 3D printed model (based on CDC measurements of an average 19 year old American woman). The contrast is striking. |
| Nickolay Lamm's 'average Barbie'. Click here to view more. |
Lamm discusses the process he undertook to create this version here.
See Also
Barbie.com (Official Barbie site)Barbie History
Life In Plastic (The Economist)
'Oh How Love' - Lisa Conway
Using photographs from the City of Toronto Archives, Lisa Conway gives us this wistful video of our city’s past, directed by Marc de Pape. See if you can recognize the photo locations! Looks fantastic in full screen mode...
[LINK]
(h/t to: Spacing)
[LINK]
(h/t to: Spacing)
Easily compare cameras with Snapsort
A short while ago, I needed to buy a compact digital camera to take with me on my trip to Spain. My previous camera was kludgy, old, and I wasn't generally happy with the output quality, so deciding to upgrade was easy.
However, choosing a new camera to purchase was not so simple. Digital photography and feature sets have advanced considerably in the past few years (perhaps spurred by competitive innovation in the mobile-phone camera space?), and manufacturers now offer a wide plethora of different models with varying capabilities.
In 2004 Barry Schwartz wrote a popular book called The Paradox of Choice: Why More Is Less
. In his book Schwartz argues that too much choice can be inimical, leading to decision paralysis and second-guessing. In modern Western economies, we celebrate the number of choices available to us in the marketplace as being a testament to our freedom and autonomy. Unfortunately, reveals Schwartz, this overwhelming swathe of choices contributes to psychological tension and unhappiness.
The disturbing prospect of possible buyer's remorse weighs heavily on consumers: We worry that we might choose non-optimally; there might have been a better product available, a more satisfying option. Our expectations are set too high and we stress out about possible opportunity costs.
This phenomenon vigorously manifests itself in the world of digital cameras. There are hundreds of models to select from. The accompanying marketing verbiage makes each one sound like the most incredible technological artifact you could possibly imagine -- until you read the next description. How could I pick out the camera that was right for me?
I didn't have a lot of time to make my decision: the trip was coming up fast and I needed to act. Comparing camera technical specifications and reading dozens of reviews on the internet was melting my brain into a hazy fog of insensibility. The paradox of choice was exhausting.
I happened to stumble across a handy product-comparison site, Snapsort.
Summary: Snapsort is a great site for comparing cameras. *
It has a simple, succinct, clean layout (almost too clean -- some pages look a little sparse). It works quickly. It highlights the relative strengths and weaknesses of selected cameras, in an apparently neutral fashion. It lets you compare any camera to any other camera. It has discussion areas for each camera, and useful articles about digital photography topics (e.g. understanding resolution).
A recently added feature is a 'Videos' section, where links to video samples as well as external video reviews and tutorials for the selected model are posted. Users can also suggest or contribute related video content from YouTube. It's a clever idea which works well for most cameras.
There are a couple of areas which could be improved.
The price comparison feature is presently weak: it doesn't seem to aggregate data from a significant number of sources -- at least not in Canada (I can garner broader results from shopbot or photoprice, which often come up in google searches for camera names). Their biz dev guy should get working on building some more relationships with local vendors that also ship.
The other area relates to the aforementioned Videos section. As I said it's a clever idea, but honestly it wasn't what I was expecting. It needs to leverage more content. I should give them the benefit of the doubt I suppose; maybe they just haven't had a lot of time to populate the database with videos.
If I were to speculate as to the design intent for the tab, confining the content to videos allows Snapsort to keep users on the site, and to summarize and present the content in an attractive manner. However, what I kept thinking I was looking for, was a curated set of links to external in-depth reviews from major third parties, e.g. CNET, dcresource.com, Engadget, and so forth. Not just videos. Stickiness in user navigation shouldn't override the value of linked content. In any case, they should consider partnering with other sites for access to additional external data sources and reviews. Perhaps a separate 'Reviews' tab?
In short I found Snapsort to be excellent for comparing and contrasting the technical specifications and quantifiable metrics of different cameras -- but less obviously useful for discovering expert qualitative opinions and assessments.
I'm curious to see whether in the future they'll expand their offering to cover other product types, like cars or televisions or mobile phones and tablets. Roughly speaking the underlying engine would be the same, just the field labels (and obviously the content!) would be different. I'm not sure what their ultimate business model is going to be like; right now it seems to be affiliate partner driven, as well as sporting the occasional advertisement. But I hope that they succeed. Maybe they'll stick to the photography niche -- it depends how big their vision is.
To end the story, I used Snapsort to help winnow down the field to a manageable set of candidate cameras. It was a huge time-saver. And the shots I took in Spain, from the camera I eventually bought, weren't too shabby either.
Trundling down to the local store and physically handling camera models should still be part of a disciplined evaluation process, but if you're doing research online, Snapsort is a solid, handy tool for comparing cameras -- and for battling the paradox of choice.
--
* Snapsort also happens to be a Waterloo startup housed in the Accelerator Centre. I grew up in that town, and my present company maintains an ongoing relationship with the University of Waterloo, so I feel a strong affinity for companies based in that region. Go Waterloo!
However, choosing a new camera to purchase was not so simple. Digital photography and feature sets have advanced considerably in the past few years (perhaps spurred by competitive innovation in the mobile-phone camera space?), and manufacturers now offer a wide plethora of different models with varying capabilities.
In 2004 Barry Schwartz wrote a popular book called The Paradox of Choice: Why More Is Less
. In his book Schwartz argues that too much choice can be inimical, leading to decision paralysis and second-guessing. In modern Western economies, we celebrate the number of choices available to us in the marketplace as being a testament to our freedom and autonomy. Unfortunately, reveals Schwartz, this overwhelming swathe of choices contributes to psychological tension and unhappiness. The disturbing prospect of possible buyer's remorse weighs heavily on consumers: We worry that we might choose non-optimally; there might have been a better product available, a more satisfying option. Our expectations are set too high and we stress out about possible opportunity costs.
This phenomenon vigorously manifests itself in the world of digital cameras. There are hundreds of models to select from. The accompanying marketing verbiage makes each one sound like the most incredible technological artifact you could possibly imagine -- until you read the next description. How could I pick out the camera that was right for me?
I didn't have a lot of time to make my decision: the trip was coming up fast and I needed to act. Comparing camera technical specifications and reading dozens of reviews on the internet was melting my brain into a hazy fog of insensibility. The paradox of choice was exhausting.
I happened to stumble across a handy product-comparison site, Snapsort.
Summary: Snapsort is a great site for comparing cameras. *
It has a simple, succinct, clean layout (almost too clean -- some pages look a little sparse). It works quickly. It highlights the relative strengths and weaknesses of selected cameras, in an apparently neutral fashion. It lets you compare any camera to any other camera. It has discussion areas for each camera, and useful articles about digital photography topics (e.g. understanding resolution).
 |
| Easily compare and contrast camera models with Snapsort |
A recently added feature is a 'Videos' section, where links to video samples as well as external video reviews and tutorials for the selected model are posted. Users can also suggest or contribute related video content from YouTube. It's a clever idea which works well for most cameras.
There are a couple of areas which could be improved.
The price comparison feature is presently weak: it doesn't seem to aggregate data from a significant number of sources -- at least not in Canada (I can garner broader results from shopbot or photoprice, which often come up in google searches for camera names). Their biz dev guy should get working on building some more relationships with local vendors that also ship.
The other area relates to the aforementioned Videos section. As I said it's a clever idea, but honestly it wasn't what I was expecting. It needs to leverage more content. I should give them the benefit of the doubt I suppose; maybe they just haven't had a lot of time to populate the database with videos.
If I were to speculate as to the design intent for the tab, confining the content to videos allows Snapsort to keep users on the site, and to summarize and present the content in an attractive manner. However, what I kept thinking I was looking for, was a curated set of links to external in-depth reviews from major third parties, e.g. CNET, dcresource.com, Engadget, and so forth. Not just videos. Stickiness in user navigation shouldn't override the value of linked content. In any case, they should consider partnering with other sites for access to additional external data sources and reviews. Perhaps a separate 'Reviews' tab?
In short I found Snapsort to be excellent for comparing and contrasting the technical specifications and quantifiable metrics of different cameras -- but less obviously useful for discovering expert qualitative opinions and assessments.
I'm curious to see whether in the future they'll expand their offering to cover other product types, like cars or televisions or mobile phones and tablets. Roughly speaking the underlying engine would be the same, just the field labels (and obviously the content!) would be different. I'm not sure what their ultimate business model is going to be like; right now it seems to be affiliate partner driven, as well as sporting the occasional advertisement. But I hope that they succeed. Maybe they'll stick to the photography niche -- it depends how big their vision is.
To end the story, I used Snapsort to help winnow down the field to a manageable set of candidate cameras. It was a huge time-saver. And the shots I took in Spain, from the camera I eventually bought, weren't too shabby either.
Trundling down to the local store and physically handling camera models should still be part of a disciplined evaluation process, but if you're doing research online, Snapsort is a solid, handy tool for comparing cameras -- and for battling the paradox of choice.
--
* Snapsort also happens to be a Waterloo startup housed in the Accelerator Centre. I grew up in that town, and my present company maintains an ongoing relationship with the University of Waterloo, so I feel a strong affinity for companies based in that region. Go Waterloo!
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