Untitled. Unplugged. Unknown.

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

Untitled, photo by jenny murray.

Jenny says that this photo was taken using a yellow filter (an actual one, not Photoshop).

I say that I apologize on the behalf of Charter for the lateness of today’s post. My office is quite tidy after the 8 hour outage though!

No word on what the pilot says.

Ken Rockwell has some interesting things to say about the use of filters, yellow and otherwise. Here’s a little excerpt:

The more you learn about photography the more you’ll also learn that artificial filters and manipulation are required to make a natural looking image. Ansel Adams realized that human perception and the photographic processes are quite different. Therefore one needs to use a lot of filtration, manipulation and burning and dodging to compensate for the human eye and brain’s image processing to create an image on paper that looks natural. (You can read this in his books.) This is why most snapshots don’t look like the original scene. Artificial processes and image manipulation are needed to make a photograph look natural.

Armchair photographers like to play a stupid game that prohibits anything creative and requires they just play forensic photographers blindly Xeroxing nature without filters. I only judge people on the final image, not the process.

Something to consider for sure.

two lights

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

two lights

two lights, photo by The Real Ferg.

Ferg writes the moon and a flashlight, having some fun with lightpainting. no editing at all. This photo is part of a cool set of night shots (slideshow).

Wikipedia has something to say about light painting. Flickr’s lightpainting tag has some cool examples as well.

Ideal

Posted on by farlane

Ideal by Voxphoto

Ideal, photo by Voxphoto

Ross writes:

Theater marquee on the main street of Clare, Michigan.

I’m really falling in love with my Autocord TLR again.Too bad about that lens flare (as an old SLR guy, this always trips me up). Still, the amount of detail in the original 6×6 Provia transparency just tickles me to pieces. In the jumbo size note the sign-maker’s badge, “Artkraft Lima Ohio.”

That Autocord link is my addition (autocord slideshow).

Photos of Arts & Culture in Michigan

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

Art Museum

Art Museum, photo by I am Jacques Strappe.

Over at the Ann Arbor Area Crappy Camera Club, Matt Callow posted an announcement from ArtServe Michigan. They are seeking:

…quality photographs that capture and document arts and culture in Michigan: the buildings where arts and culture takes place, artists at work in their studios or participating in festivals, community arts projects, arts and cultural activities indoors and out, arts educators in their classrooms, individuals of all ages engaged in arts and cultural activities, art festivals, audience moments, performance pieces, etc.

They hope to gather photographs from every county of the state to be included in a photo montage during the ceremony of the 2007 Governor’s Awards for Arts and Culture and for use in the event program. Photographs are due by September 14, 2007. Please click through for details on format and where to send the photos!

Marjorie says that this photo (which I think you should check out big) of the University of Michigan Museum of Art was taken during the Ann Arbor (likely in 2004) and that the kids of Ann Arbor are missing a slide as the sculpture has been dismantled. It was taken with a Holga, one of the many fine toy cameras, trash cams, cheap plastic point-and-shoots, pinholes, dollar store disposables, and junk store cameras wielded by the Crappy Camerians. Heck, they even discussed the merits of a Pop Tart Camera!

ArtServe MichiganArtServe Michigan is a statewide organization that builds support for the arts, artists, arts education, and cultural activities. They champion the arts across the state through advocacy and education programming and services to individual artists and cultural organizations and seek to support artists and arts organizations by increasing cultural audiences, linking businesses and the arts, and standing up for arts in education and state arts funding.

supersampler: Watermelon umbrella

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

Watermelon umbrella

Watermelon umbrella, photo by caterpillars.

The Lomographic Society International presents the Queen of All Multi-Lensed Cameras, the Supersampler

Who doesn’t want the Lomographic Society International’s Queen of All Multi-Lensed Cameras, the Supersampler?

View caterpillars’ supersampler slideshow.

Telling the story of the Great Lakes

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

_DSC0179_8x8_toned

_DSC0179_8x8_toned, photo by kcephoto.

Healing Our Waters – Great Lakes Coalition is looking for stories (500 words or less) and photos about people and the lakes that fill folks with laughter, sadness, nostalgia, or wonder, and maybe even inspire us to think about the Great Lakes in a new way.

The story categories are Fishing, Camping and General and there’s also a photo category. In addition to grand prizes with two outdoor adventure packages (kayak, tent and sleeping bag and two photography packages including a digital camera) there will be monthly prizes (backpacks, fishing gear, digital cameras) for children, high school student and adult age groups.

The contest runs through August 20, and you can get all the details and view some of the submissions at healthylakes.org.

Protect the Great Lakes - before it’s too late

Field of Dreams

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

Field of Dreams

Field of Dreams, photo by tenfrozentoes.

One of the first photos with a new lens (Canon 10-20 mm) … not a bad beginning.

I also have to note that Saline seems to be a good place to take photos of trees and fields.

Taken by the RenCen colors

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

RenCen

RenCen, photo by DetroitBikeBlog.

DetroitBikeBlog says: This weekend I pulled my broken old Sony Camera apart and then carefully put it back together again. Amazingly this cured the C13 fault that’s had it on a shelf for 2 years. So I went out to today to try a few shots with its toy-camera fisheye! This is the east aspect of the RenCen, I’ve always been taken by the colors along here.

Gotta see it bigger … or on black … or bigger on black. ;)

The Argus Camera Company of Ann Arbor, Michigan

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

Hey Argus fans – here’s a post with information about the Argus Museum and an event they are having!

Old Foundation by Mark O’Brien

Lighthouse ruins at Cheboygan State Park, MI, taken with Argus C3 by Mark O’Brien

It’s apparently O’Brien week here on Michigan in Pictures. Yesterday we had a photo from Marjorie and then I received an unrelated email from her dad. He was passing along a request from Bob and Mary Kay Berg of Palindrome Productions:

Our production company, Palindrome Productions, is working on a short film about the Argus Camera Company, originally based in Ann Arbor, MI. To supplement our video footage, we are currently looking for still photos taken by Argus cameras models from 1936 to 1960.

If you have family photos (everyday events, family vacations, recitals, holidays) or photos of Ann Arbor, please contact us no later than Friday, April 13, 2007 at palindromevideo@aol.com.

I’ve never been one to look a gift blog post in the mouth, so without further delay – and with copious thanks to Mark for the links – I bring you:

About the Argus Camera Company of Ann Arbor, Michigan

Argus C3 by Luke HWikipedia’s very much incomplete entry on the Argus Camera Company says:

Argus is an American maker of cameras and photographic products, founded in 1936 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Argus originated as a subsidiary of the International Radio Corporation (IRC), founded by Charles Verschoor. Its best-known product was the C3 rangefinder camera, which enjoyed a 27-year production run and became one of the top-selling cameras in history. The company’s Model A was the first low-cost 35 mm camera in the United States.

The link above for the Argus C3 (aka “The Brick”) is much more complete and says the simple design and ready availability of the C3 makes it widely used even today. While that entry says the C3 was responsible for establishing 35mm, Stephen Gandy of CameraQuest hands that title to the first camera Argus made – the Argus A, declaring:

Argus SS Notches by ReyGuyIn MY always not so objective mind at least, the Argus A is undoubtedly the 2nd most important 35mm camera of all time– second only to the Leica A. If you think about it, that’s a pretty amazing legacy for a simple little Bakelite camera from a Michigan USA radio factory. It really is.

How does Argus deserve this impressive ranking? Easy, they bribed me. Unfortunately, not with money. Argus paid me off in Photographic Heritage. Building on the astounding sellout success of the Argus A, Argus sold MILLIONS of Argi, thereby establishing 35mm as the serious Amateur’s film format of choice in the largest photography market in the world, America.

If you are interested in repairing, collecting or just learning more about any of the Argus camera models and their accessories, look no further than the Argus Collectors Group. You can get a quicker overview of the Argus line over at Mark’s Argus Cameras Page. Mark also took visit to the Argus Museum located at the old Argus Factory in Ann Arbor and (go figure) he took some photos.

There are a TON of very cool Argus camera advertisements (I learned that Galileo was a 17th century Argus and am definitely going to get an Argus A to take to the next World’s Fair), some detail shots of the cameras on his projects page and the results of a Spring Fever Argus photo contest over at Alexander Rawles argoflex.com. Speaking of photos , you can see some shots of the camera and from the cameras in the Argus Rangefinders Group on Flickr.End of the gumshoe's day by Olivander

You might also want to check the local bookstore for a copy of Argomania: A Look At Argus Cameras And The Company That Made Them by Henry Gambino. The promotional copy explains:

Argus’ founder, Charles Verschoor, did not establish an empire, as did George Eastman. Nor did he enjoy a particularly long tenure as the head of the company he founded. Unlike Oscar Barnack, he did not invent anything particularly new, yet he had a tremendous impact on the photographic industry. He revolutionized the scope of the industry, not only from a technical standpoint, but even more so from a marketing perspective.

Additional photo credits:

Argus C3 by Luke H

Argus SS Notches by ReyGuy (part of a great set of detail shots of Argus cameras)

End of the gumshoe’s day by Olivander

Pinorama & The Silver Dreams of Plastic Cameras

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

Michigan Theater Pinorama

Michigan Theater Pinorama, photo by Voxphoto.

Pin-o-rama Painted HouseIf you’re going to be in the Ann Arbor area next Friday (March 23) or any time through April 6, consider taking in the Cheap Shots Photographic Exhibition at Gallery 4, 212 Nickels Arcade in Ann Arbor. It is the first-ever exhibition by the Ann Arbor Area Krappy Kamera Club and is intended to celebrate the messy unpredictability and dreamlike imagery that only a truly rotten camera can provide. In addition to the Friday opening, there will also be talks on toy camera history, “orphaned” cameras (Argus, Brownies, old SLRs) and a free pinhole camera workshop taught by Vox (Ross Orr) and Matt Callow.

Now that we have that bit of business out of the way, how about the pics produced by Ross’s Panoramic Pinhole Camera? Ross has an article on building the pinhole cam used to take these photos in the latest issue of MAKE: Magazine. You can see more shots from his camera at the pin-o-rama tag, and be sure to click the links to make them bigger.