Unbelievable images by Dutch photographer/designer Jaap Vliegenthart. Not all of his work samples are surreal like the ones above, but these stood out to me in particular because of their surreal qualities. I could totally get into doing work like this because I love to do composite work in Photoshop. Obviously no where near as easy as it looks, but I’d really enjoy the challenge.

Can someone tell me why our present day doesn’t look anything like these old depictions of “the future”? I mean, what happened? How could we have such amazing visions for how the future could look with the sleek vehicles and homes and end up with the Ford Explorer and David Weekly? 

In all seriousness, how cool are these illustrations? Aside from their visual awesomeness, they are all so beautifully done. Reminds me of the work of artist Ralph McQuarrie.

I’ve recently been introduced to Portishead’s music, recent meaning in the last 2-3 days, so I have a lot more listening to do before I make up my mind about the band. My first experience with Portishead is from their latest album titled Third which is their first release in 10 years and their third album to date. They have a big following and are widely respected by fellow artists such as Radiohead.

I don’t have much to say about the band, but I do really like the single “The Rip” from Third and the album cover is also pretty rad. This song is haunting and has been stuck in my head over the past couple days. I love when the song picks up around 2:12.

Portishead - “The Rip”

An additional treat is this video of Thom and Jonny of Radiohead performing “The Rip” acoustically backstage at one of their shows. I think Thom is the only one who possesses a voice capable of covering this song.

While browsing my usual feeds today I found this post by Jason Santa Maria about the website he did for Gary Hustwit’s new film Objectified. Hustwit is the man behind last year’s documentary Helvetica, a film dedicated to the life and influence of the famous typeface. I found Helvetica to be a fascinating film and the synopsis behind Objectified looks like it will be just as interesting.

Objectified takes a look at the world of industrial design and explores the creativity behind the everyday objects we use in our lives. The film will feature interviews with some very famous industrial designers such as Dieter Rams, IDEO, and Jonathan Ive, the Sr. Vice President of Industrial Design at Apple Inc….think iPod, iPhone, iMac.

The film is scheduled to release in early 2009. Check out some of the production stills on the site for a sneak peak.

Recently I’ve been browsing through my favorites on Flickr and thinking about all of the various photographic styles my collection contains. I’ve found that most of them have been post processed like having their colors tweaked or altered and in some cases textures added (note the 3rd photo above). Some of these tweaks are minor and probably were done to clean up the photo and give it more “punch” (such as the 1st photo above) while some have completely altered the entire mood of the photo (note the 2nd photo above). With these different examples of post processing, I’ve been asking myself the following question:

“Where is the line between photography and graphic design in regards to post processing?”

Since launching out into photography I’ve spent countless hours viewing the work of other photographers. Not all of those photographers are professional photographers. Some are designers first with a love of photography as an extension of their creative outlets, which is where I would place myself. I’ve found that the majority of photos these designers produce are highly stylized and processed. To me it looks like they extend their skills as designers to their photographs, which I’ve found is a natural extension for myself as well. 

I have also viewed numerous portfolios by professional photographers and I’ve often found the opposite to be true. While these photographers have visual styles that make them unique, their photos tend to have a more natural look. 

What I’m starting to wonder is if I’m seeing the differences between the kinds of photographers there are. While these designers are not professional photographers, they are still artists and could possibly categorize themselves as art photographers. Since they don’t make their living as professional photographers, they have complete freedom to create what they like. In contrast most professional photographers obviously have to sell their work to live and so maybe that’s why their portfolios are more natural or truer to life, a reality I face myself with my client work.

I’m still curious as to the line between photograph and design, because obviously my natural tendency is to design something. I look at the 3rd photo above, which definitely is very stylized and I see how close it could be to crossing that line. At first glance it’s just a photo, one that looks like it could be quite old and possibly printed on paper that’s faded and changed color over the years. As I look closer I can tell that it’s been processed, that textures have been added, colors changed, and the contrast adjusted. So okay, that’s arguably “safely” within the lines of photography, but what would happen if I added a single line of text, a small illustration or slightly skewed the image? Have I not then stepped over the line into graphic design?

Maybe that’s where the answer lies. Adding elements to a photo, is that when a photo ceases to be just a photo? Are you safely on the side of photography if you’re only adjusting what’s already there in the image regardless of how far those adjustments go? If the first question proves true, then maybe the addition of texture to the 3rd image disqualifies it from still being a “photo”. I don’t know.

If you have any thoughts about this issue, I’d love to hear them. I’m still processing it all myself.

I’m a big fan of the haunting look of vacant spaces, especially those that are normally packed with people. There’s something about viewing a manmade space when it’s not being used, there’s an awkwardness that I find appealing for some reason. The stillness and silence is almost overpowering.

This morning I came across the work of photographer Daniel Everett and I was reminded of these feelings as I browsed his portfolio. He has some great shots on his site and I especially like the compositions he creates from multiple photos of the same scene. Definitely worth heading over to his portfolio and having a browse.