Emotion Capture, Fanatic, and Bird’s-Eye View
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contents
50 Fanatic
66 Bound
The Objects That Define Us
By Robyn Cumming
The Intersection of Passion and Weird
Shades of fanaticism are infinitely
photography in the theme Bird’s-Eye
Check out seven photos of people
varied: “Normal” to one person may
View. It’s an amazing selection that
celebrating in our first installment on
be oddball or downright shocking to
gives us quite literally a different
page 112.
the next. In this issue we explore the
perspective on things we see every day.
Perhaps the most rewarding aspect
world of the fanatic, from Civil War
Alexander Heilner explores the abstract
of publishing JPG is seeing the world
re-enactors to stuffed animal collectors.
geography of the world beneath us,
through the eyes of the community.
We present a cross-section of passion,
and—in perhaps what is best described
JPG is a window into your world—our
obsession, and a just a little bit of weird.
as the ultimate bird’s-eye view—NASA’s
world—in a way no other magazine
Robyn Cumming’s photo essay “Bound”
Warren Harold tells us what it’s like
can be. So to reflect this focus, we’ve
highlights the price of obsession.
working with images from the Moon.
updated our tagline: “Your World in
Encapsulating emotional stories
Beginning with this issue, we’ve
Pictures.” The photos and stories you
entirely within a single frame is the
evolved the “JPG Sightings” page
share provide an insightful view of our
essence of photography, and the photos
(opposite) into a section we call “What’s
evolving cultures directly, honestly, and
in our Samsung-sponsored theme
New,” to show off what’s going on in the
beautifully.
Emotion Capture tell fascinating ones.
JPG community and out in the world:
So get out there and show us your
We also feature six photographers with
events, news, etc. We’ve also retooled
world. No one knows it better than you.
six portrait studies titled “About Faces.”
our “Photo Challenge” section to feature
Also in this issue we showcase aerial
compelling and personal challenges.
– Paul Cloutier, Publisher
08 Brownie Hawkeye
14 Lith on My Mind
16 emotion capture
Flash Model
How to Lith Print with Your Negatives
Think Inside the Box
By Scott Sandler
IssUe 14 stAtIstIcs 10,866 photos submitted by 7,011 people. 721,327 votes cast by 18,669 people in 145 countries.
By Polly Cole
37 About Faces
10 Zorki 4
Portraits from Six Photographers
Russia’s Answer to Leica
By Tim Smith-Laing
98 Aerial Wonder
HoW JPG WoRKs
JoIn Us At JPGMAG.coM
Abstract Earth by Alexander Heilner
JPG
JPG
JPG
11 Leica D-Lux
76 Bird’s-eye View
Eight Great Megapixels
106 Inside nAsA
By Karen Curran
Todd Lappin Talks to Warren Harold
12 Pin Prick
108 the Project
DIY Pinhole Photography
Diorama and Everyday Aerial Shooting
1. shoot, Upload, submit
2. Peer Review
3. Final selection
4. Publication
By Darren Constantino
Maoya Bassiouni and Struan Oglanby
JPG members upload photos
The community votes on
Editors create the issue
Contributors get $100
and stories to themes.
each photo and story.
JPG
with the best of the best.
and a free subscription.
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MY PRECIOUS
Think Inside the Box
Brownie Hawkeye Flash Model
By Polly Cole
8 Great Megapixels
The Brownie Hawkeye, a classic point
New Mexico. When I got back home
eBay I found a seller in Georgia who
and shoot camera, was introduced by
to Los Angeles, I took my new jewel
had my desired film and I purchased
Leica D-Lux
The Eastman Kodak Company in 1949
apart. The Brownie was covered in
two rolls.
and was discontinued in 1961. With its
five decades of dirt and grime, and I
When the film finally came (three
By Karen Curran
cheap and simple plastic design, the
meticulously wiped and cleaned every
weeks later!) I ripped open the package
Brownie was the ideal candidate to be
crevice of it. Next, I set out on the task
and loaded my Brownie right up. The
the photo tool of choice for the Baby
of finding the required 620 film—a
620 film only has 12 exposures, so I
My Precious is a less-than-22-gram-gem of an eight megapixel
Booming families of that era. It has a
format which is no longer produced. In
chose my subjects with the utmost
digital camera. My Precious is my Leica D-Lux 2, powerpacked
rotary shutter, a ‘brilliant’ viewfinder
my Internet research I found out that
discrimination—my husband, the cat,
with features and great glass, and it’s a pleasure to use.
(a convex piece of glass on top of the
620 film is basically 120 film wound
the alley down the street, etc. You hold
Having been educated in the old school, I still like having
camera), a manual film advance knob,
onto larger spools. I had the option of
the Brownie at hip level and look down
the option of being able to control the aperture and the
and requires 620 film.
purchasing 120 film (which is pretty
into the viewfinder—so cool! I felt like
shutter speed. My preference is for aperture priority. When
I was given my Brownie Hawkeye as
easily found) and respooling it myself,
such a badass until I got the first roll
the shutter speed gets too slow for even the image stabilizer, I
a gift by my Uncle Danny in Portales,
but I opted for Option B, aka eBay. On
developed. The manuals I found online
have the option of choosing a higher ISO, and still maintaining
said that my pictures would be sharp
my aperture, which is usually set for F/8. The D-Lux 2 also has
from five feet to infinity. This was not
metered manual and exposure compensation. These come in
so. The only photo that had any degree
handy when I choose to expose for aesthetics rather than what
of sharpness was the alley—a long
the camera tells me is the correct exposure. For example: an
expanse of far away-ness.
orange flower with yellow in it. By manually controlling the
So as I loaded up my next (and
exposure, I can avoid a deep orange flower all over and obtain
last) roll of film, I kept this in mind.
the orange and the yellow. The camera has normal autofocus,
Only take pictures of things far away.
macro autofocus, and manual focus. The D-Lux 2 has three
Hmm. Where could I do this and get
aspect ratios: 16:9, 3:2 and 4:3. I usually use the 16:9 because
interesting and antique-seeming images
it uses all eight megapixels. This little gem also has three
at the same time? I know! Downtown.
metering modes: multiple, center-weighted, and spot.
Downtown Los Angeles is a cornucopia
The D-Lux 2 does not have a traditional viewfinder. Initially
of amazing old art deco buildings—a
I was concerned with using the LCD screen in bright sunlight,
perfect place for a Brownie Hawkeye
however, Leica has done such a fine job with the screen
adventure. Later, as I stood on the
that bright light almost never interferes with your ability to
crowded city streets, looking down into
compose a scene on the screen.
my hip level box camera, I kept the wise
The D-Lux 2 is the last of the series to offer TIFF format,
words of the camera’s manual in mind:
as well as JPEG and RAW.
“Always stand steady, hold your breath,
Most of what I use the D-Lux 2 for are abstracts and
and release the shutter.”
flowers. It fits into a small camera bag, with charger, spare
batteries, and a spare card. One of the reasons that this camera
is My Precious is that it is almost always with me and ready to
Polly Cole is a multi-hyphenate
capture my vision.
(photographer-writer-actor) who lives
in the small desert town of Los Angeles.
Karen Curran goes by “doglady” as she has two passions in life: fine
Although she is an atypical Angeleno, she
+1 more My Precious product review and +2 How To sart phot
t
ography and dogs. Her educ
ories on pinhol ation is in medic
e phot al phot
ogr ography.
aphy and lith printing
does prefer Raymond Carver to Dashiell
jpgmag.com/people/doglady
Hammett.
jpgmag.com/people/funkiepj
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Theme eNTROPY
THEME
Emotion Capture
Joy, regret, pride, love, sorrow: the most complex
human feelings can sometimes be captured perfectly
in a single frame. JPG photographs show us those
emotions that need no explanation.
Sponsored By Samsung
+16 more Emotion Capture images submitted and voted on by you
Shhhh...I’m Having a Moment
By Leslie Andrews
jpgmag.com/photos/186499
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Bad News
By Ian Aleksander Adams
What went through your mind when you were first told that
their pain, trying to make out their individual stories from the
horrible news? What did you first think? Feel?
soft cacophony? Or do you exit the room, either from a desire
Were you young? Barely an adult when you first really became
to move on towards the better things in life or an inability to
aware of the harsh reality of life?
deal with the minor and major tragedies of others?
Imagine entering a room with faces peering from the darkness
The installation is intended not as something to burden
on every wall, the floor, and the ceiling. You hear whispering
people, but as a way to help us deal with the pain in our life.
coming from behind the portraits, all slightly bigger than a
+34 more portraits of the faces of strangers, family, musicians, and everyone in between
normal face, in gritty detail, every pore visible, every beautiful
Ian Aleksander Adams is a NYC kid escaped to Savannah, Georgia.
imperfection there in front of you.
Find more at www.ianadamsphoto.com.
Do you go closer, trying to sympathize with their shock or
jpgmag.com/people/iaaphoto
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Theme eNTROPY
THEME
Fanatic
You name it, and somebody loves it. JPG photographers sought out
those enthusiastic individuals who take their hobbies to the next
level. You may call it crazy, but you can’t call it boring.
A while ago, I bumped into the “San Diego Star Wars Fan Club”
(someone online suggested it may be the 501st Legion). There
were around 20 to 30 people and all were dressed up and posing
for some trading cards pictures. For some reason they also
brought their surfboards with them. Thanks for posing and
enduring the heat in those costumes.
+14 more Fanatic theme photos that showcase the quirks and passions of us all
Stormtrooper
By Simon Christen
jpgmag.com/photos/178764
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PHOTO ESSAY
Bound
This series is an exploration of our
a shell—constant hindrances
styles. Our relationship with these
Robyn Cumming is a photo-based artist working
in Toronto. She has been described as “the most
binds. The objects we collect and
masked in comfort and familiarity.
items is contradictory; we attempt
deadpan funny artist using film since French director
The Objects That
consume believing that they make
I chose the objects for this
to control and contain, organize,
Jacques Tati” (Peter Goddard, Toronto Star) “with an
us more likeable, attractive, func-
series carefully; each is symbolic
label, alphabetize, and categorize
Define Us
uncanny ability to conjure up entire short stories in a
single image.” (David Jager, Now Magazine) She has
tional, and bearable. These binds
of something beyond their physi-
them. When plucked from our nar-
upcoming exhibits in 2008 at the Macdonald Stewart
By Robyn Cumming
surround us and wear away with us
cal presence whether it is faith
ratives and witnessed in one small
Art Centre in Guelph, Ontario and in the Contact
+8
and decay. They become run-down or beauty, time or health. The
more portraits y
from Robyn
moment the
Cumming’s y produc
Phot e an image
o Essay, Bound
Photography Festival.
and consumed. They help us piddle
are manifest in a variety of forms
of life that is strange, melancholy,
jpgmag.com/people/rcumming
along while containing us within
and often a variety of colors and
and littered with doubt.
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Theme eNTROPY
THEME
Plough
By Ednaldo Alves Paulino
Bird’s-Eye View
jpgmag.com/photos/260248
There’s something thrilling about seeing a familiar world from a new perspective.
Bolivian Soy
Taken from balconies, rooftops, planes, and bridges, these aerial photographs show us
By Daniel Beams
the beauty of the bigger picture and the patterns in the everyday.
jpgmag.com/photos/351922
+18 more photos from Bird’s-Eye View theme that will leave you in awe
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INTERVIEW
Found in Space
Warren Harold Brings New Life to the Cold Landscape of Lunar Photography
Interview by Todd Lappin
JPG contributor Warren Harold has had photos pub-
What kind of cameras did they use?
lished in JPG issues 7 and 9, but when I learned about
The imagery used for the panoramas was captured using a modified
all the original Apollo film. The new scans look as though they were
take for granted. But working with these new scans at this level
70mm Hasselblad EL Data camera that was bracket-mounted to the
taken yesterday! We’ve also received requests to stitch together the
of detail really brings the experience close to home. What strikes
his day job at NASA, I had to know more. At NASA,
front of the astronaut’s spacesuit.
lunar panoramas. After trying a few automated methods, I decided
me the most is the sense of scale. Piecing these together frame by
Warren is working on a special project to create vast
that doing it manually in Photoshop is the best way to go. As an
frame, I often get lost in the details. Yet when I step back to look at
panoramas that depict the Apollo moon landings in
How are the photos archived at NASA?
extra challenge, I also have to work around the Reseau reticles or
the overall image it’s really overwhelming.
exquisite detail. How does he do it? That’s just what I
The original flight film is stored in a freezer at 0° F. The freezer itself
“crosshairs” that exist on each frame—NASA used these to calculate
is in a refrigerator, which is kept at 55° F. To remove the film from
accurate distance measurements between points. So far we’ve put
Is there one image that’s become your favorite?
wanted to find out.
the vault, a 48-hour, two-stage procedure is required to acclimate
together 24 panoramas of the landing sites from Apollo 11–12 and
It would have to this one (shown below) from Apollo 17. It was one of
the film to room temperature.
14–17, as well as a few of the geological stations.
the first panoramas I put together, and it portrays just how surreal
Where do these pictures come from?
man’s presence looks in such an uninhabited and foreign space.
The images were captured by the Apollo astronauts on the lunar
What are you doing with the photos?
Has working with these photos changed the way you think of the
surface. With no viewfinder, they simply stood in place and turned,
Until now, all of the images from the Apollo missions were second
moon landings?
capturing intermittent frames. The camera would occasionally be
and third generation dupes, so a joint-project is currently in progress
I was born in September of 1969, so I only know a world where man
Todd Lappin is fleet management officer for Telstar Logistics.
tilted up or down to account for changes in the landscape.
with Arizona State University to produce high-resolution scans of
has had a presence on the moon. It’s something that people my age
jpgmag.com/people/telstarlogistics
+1 Photo Essay featuring the distinction between what is Nature and what is man-made
16 PHOTO FROM NASA
17
THE PROJECT
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By Struan Oglanby
There’s an odd balance between honesty and trickery in a
good diorama. Carefully crafted life-sized models and props
are placed in front of a painted backdrop, designed to offer a
glimpse of a scene most will never encounter.
When I photographed these dioramas the first time, I
included the frame around each, and came back with a rather
static result—one that spoke more of the confines of the pieces
than the scenes themselves. I went back and shot each as if I
were walking through the depiction, framing the pictures as I
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would the real thing. This removed the museum from the com-
position and left me with a view of a world that at first glance
seems plausible, but not quite right.
$5 off a year of JPG
The shadows of trees, falling on faraway mountains, didn’t
obey the rules. Forests were impossibly clear at great depths.
Colors remained bright, even at a distance. And the animals
EXPIRES 1 APRIL 2008
roamed boundless around a semi-flat landscape that was born to
be still. I have to give credit to three groups of people for mak-
ing these pictures what they are. First the model makers, with
their remarkable eye for detail. Every feather and eye-twinkle
and craggy branch is there, living and breathing. Second, the
backdrop painters, who provided amazing colors that look
like nature in its Sunday best. And last, the glass cleaners, who
fight an avalanche of face smudges and nose-soiled fingerprints
that allowed me to get such clear pictures. All of this made for
simple post-processing, with minimal levels and curves adjust-
ment to do these dioramas the justice they deserve.
+1 more The Pr Struan Oglanby is a designer and phot
oject of glassware
ographer who liv
aerials
es in New
York, where he avoids the L train at all costs. In a previous life, he
toured with bands as a technician and stage manager.
jpgmag.com/people/zunto
Sneak Peek PDF cover art uses parts of photo “Lost World” by David Lazar, featured in its entirety on page 83 of Issue 14.
18 Got a great photo project? Share it at: jpgmag.com/write/project