Our man in Tokyo

September 3, 2008

Photosynth

Microsoft Live Labs have (finally) released their much-anticipated 3D photo viewer Photosynth. A web-based application which 'stitches' photographs together, Photosynth allows users to create 3D environments which others can then walk through.

Take a look for yourself. Below is a 'synth' I made from 87 snaps taken the other morning in Tokyo's Shibuya district:

The interface takes a bit of getting used to. Clicking on the left/right or up/down arrows won't always take you where you expect. Similarly, clicking the 'next' buttons takes you to the next photo in the catalog and can result in sudden (and sometimes surprising) changes in perspective.

There are already some very interesting 'synths' on the site. My favorites are Piazza San Marco and the amazing Boxer.

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August 31, 2008

Dear Adobe

While Adobe publishes some of the most useful software around, applications such as Lightroom, Illustrator, Photoshop and Acrobat (especially Acrobat) can be a real pain to use. Whether it's high foreign pricing, slow loading times or endless update reminders, it seems Adobe's users have a lot to gripe about.

Dear Adobe is a site where users can vent their frustration at Adobe's shortcomings. It allows people to nominate things they dislike about Adobe and its software and then vote on the things that annoy them them most. At the time of writing, the top three complaints were:

1. Why does the Acrobat Reader take two minutes to launch, and require updates twice a month, just to display PDF pages?

2. Stop creating new features and make your software fast, stable and straightforward.

3. Please cut out the DRM crap, and price your products reasonably.

Dear Adobe was put together by two self-proclaimed 'design nerds' who wanted to create a forum where people like themselves could complain about applications like Photoshop. Aside from being a good way to 'let it all out', Adobe employees have been known to read the site. On their blog, the site's creators write, "The site hadn’t been up for 48 hours when staff from Adobe first contacted us and the response has been very positive. We’re currently in touch with a couple of people at Adobe and working with them to craft all the gripes here into something they can use and hopefully take to heart."

So who knows? Perhaps Dear Adobe will result in better products and happier customers.

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Potsdam Redux

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August 29, 2008

I'm a model, you know what I mean?

Anyone who has browsed the back pages of Tokyo's English language magazine Metropolis will be familiar with its mix of mundane classifieds and salacious personal ads. But if you are like me you might also have noticed that there has been a big increase in the number of 'Models Wanted' ads in recent months. It's seems more and more photographers are turning to the magazine's back pages to find suitable people to photograph.

Not surprisingly there are going to be models and photographers who feel uncomfortable advertising their services alongside 'Single Japanese female seeks tall handsome American businessman for relationship leading to marriage'. Thankfully, there's now an alternative to posting modeling ads alongside the anguished cries of the desperate and dateless.

TokyoModeling.com bills itself as "Japan’s premier bilingual community for the modeling industry." The idea is simple enough: photographers, models and others with an interest in the process upload their portfolio to the site. Once completed, registered members are able to browse user profiles and contact those people the are interested in.

The site is easy to use, helped by a clean design and 'image first' philosophy straight out of the Flickr playbook. There's also a search engine which allows agents and photographers to search for models based on hair color, eye color, etc. as well as exhibition listings.

Naturally, like any social networking site there's a danger here that personal information may fall into the hands of unscrupulous types. I for one, however, think the benefits of this kind of internet-based networking far outweigh the risks. Anyone who has a problem uploading headshots and contact details should think twice about signing up. In fact, models who have a problem sending out this kind of information are probably in the wrong business...

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Look mom... video!

Pity the poor people over at Canon. No sooner do they announce the new 50D than Nikon responds with the groundbreaking D90

Not only does the latest Nikon release have the same high ISO/low noise technology found in the Nikon D300, D3 and D700 cameras, but it is the first DSLR to shoot video.

From Nikon's site:

A new idea for D-SLRs, the D90 offers a movie function, allowing you to shoot movies in three different motion JPEG formats: 320 x 216 pixels, 640 x 424 pixels and 1,280 x 720 pixels. Now you can capture life’s moving moments with added drama by using many of Nikon’s NIKKOR lenses, including the AF DX Fisheye 10.5mm f/2.8G ED and the Micro-NIKKOR lenses.

You'll find Chase Jarvis' sample videos here.

Continue reading "Look mom... video!"

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August 19, 2008

Excuses, excuses!

Remember those computer gremlins I mentioned back in May? Well thinking that the problems were virus related, I reinstalled Windows and enjoyed a trouble free few weeks before my computer started crashing again. After a lot of frustration, I finally came to realize that the endless error messages and dreaded blue screens were in fact signs the hard drive was in it's death throes. I replaced the drive, and I'm pleased to say that so far everything seems to be back to the way should be.

Naturally, all these tech issues have meant that this blog hasn't been updated for far too long. Don't worry-I fully intend to get back on the horse and start posting a lot more often.

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August 9, 2008

Thank you for coming

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August 3, 2008

Maiko

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June 26, 2008

Heavy Light: Recent Photography and Video from Japan

Anyone in New York in the coming months should consider stopping by The International Center of Photography for their exhibition of new Japanese photography and video. Entitled "Heavy Light: Recent Photography and Video from Japan", the show presents a range of work from Japanese photographers who have come of age since the end of the bubble economy in the late 1990s.

Here's how the ICP's website describes the exhibition:

"Heavy Light: Recent Photography and Video from Japan will present the exciting and highly individualistic work of a new generation of Japanese artists who have come of age following the Asian economic crash of 1990. For the last several years, China has been the focus of attention for contemporary Asian art, while the remarkable and distinctive younger generation of Japanese artists who are working today has been largely ignored. This ICP exhibition will be the first major U.S. presentation of contemporary photo-based artwork from Japan in over ten years. Heavy Light will present the work of thirteen artists and will fill most of the ICP gallery space. The exhibition will include both photographs and video, many of which are large and dramatic pieces."

While the show has received mixed reviews (Roberta Smith of the New York Times described the exhibition as "... just average, or a little less, by the center’s own standards.") any criticism has been directed more at the way in which the show was organized, and less at the work itself. It remains an excellent opportunity to chart where Japanese photography has been in recent years, and where its headed in the near future.

The show runs until the 7th September.

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June 23, 2008

myname.com

I'm pleased to announce marcuslovitt.com, a new website showcasing the best of my photography. Here you'll find galleries dedicated to travel photography (images taken on trips to Cambodia, China, Cuba and Spain) music photography as well as a selection of my favorite portraits.

Many of the images can be purchased as prints by clicking on the shopping basket icon in the frame of each photograph. For now I'm accepting both Paypal orders as well as those made by email.

From time to time I'll update the site adding new galleries and other features. Suggestions welcome!

And dedicated readers of this blog needn't fear - I'll continue to post updates and the best of my photography will then find its way to the new site.

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June 21, 2008

World Press Photo Exhibition 08

Every year, the World Press Photo organization awards prizes for great photojournalism. It is claimed that their annual photo contest is the largest and most prestigious of its kind anywhere in the world. Following the announcement of the winners, the images go on display in an exhibition which tours a number of major cities.

From now until the 10th August, the Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography is playing host to the show.

As you would expect, the quality of this year's winners is stunning. I'm particularly impressed with Brent Stirton's photo (above) which shows rangers removing the body of a mountain gorilla found shot by poachers in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Then there's Platon's portrait of Vladimir Putin which graced the cover of Time magazine. Whether its true or not, one gets the feeling that Putin isn't the easiest of portrait subjects.

You'll find more information on the Tokyo exhibition here (currently only in Japanese).

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May 29, 2008

Mark

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Stereo Lynch

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Gremlins

After a week spent attempting to boot my PC, I finally bit the bullet yesterday and reinstalled Windows, loosing a few hundred photos and a half a dozen applications in the process.

Yeah, it sucks.

Nevertheless, I'm happy to have my computer working again. Despite being unable to do any editing or posting to the site, I didn't stop taking pictures and I'll be posting the best of them in the coming days.

And now to our regularly scheduled programming...

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