[Video] 175 Years of Photography
Photo by AngieStar Photo
In 1839, the world was enlightened with the invention of Photography, and today marks its 175th anniversary. In celebration, people from around the world are sharing some of their favorite photos, old and new, to honor this very beautiful and important art form. Since its discovery, photos have told stories, marked history, celebrated special occasions, and much more. Photography has become so popular in the current world of social media that millions of photos are shared everyday. From daguerreotype, film, to digital and everything in between, photography has revolutionized the way we see the world... even the universe.
For some brief history, the coining of the word "Photography" has been attributed in 1839 to Sir John Herschel based on the Greek words "phos", (genitive: ph?tós) meaning "light", and "graphê", meaning "drawing, writing", and together meaning "drawing with light". After years of experimenting in Paris, scholars Nicéphore Niépce and Louis Daguerre led the way to the invention of photography. And finally, on January 7th, 1839, this first complete practical photographic process was announced by the French government as a gift “Free to the World”. Sequentially, the first complete instructions to the process were published on August 19th, 1839. Since then, the process has spread and evolved into new forms all over the world.
To commemorate this grand day, www.worldphotoday.org/ wants help in creating a photo book titled, World Photo Day 360, compiling a collection of photography captured by photography lovers across the globe. Get involved with World Photo Day 2014 and share a small part of your world here. Also be sure to follow them on Instagram, where they share daily photos and photo challenges for all to participate.
Check out the following non-profit video dedicated to world photography day, celebrated each year on August 19th.
[vimeo id="47773073"]
"You don't take a photograph, you make it." -Ansel Adams (American photographer, 1902-1984)
Tumblr to Scan Photos For Brand Information
More than a year ago, Yahoo! bought Tumblr for an astounding $1.1b. At the time, I speculated the deal would mean more ads would be displayed on the dashboard, which has come to pass, although not to the level I thought it would approach. New Yahoo! CEO Marissa Meyer kept to her word on not messing with what made Tumblr so popular, which is invigorating in this age of tech business acquisitions and maneuvering. Starting this week, however, some behind-the-scenes changes are being implemented to help brands better understand Tumblr and its users... and it's not as bad as you may think.
Tumblr is signing a deal with Ditto, a tech company that has created a system that can scan photos for brand-related data and logos to send to said brands. As an example, I used a header from the Ditto website that shows exactly what happens: Ditto scans photos for logos, then sends the photos to the proper brand to show popularity and affiliations amongst a demographic of people. Tumblr head of business development T.R. Newcomb has said the deal has nothing to do with ad-related content, stating, "If Coke wants to understand the nature of the conversation [about them on Tumblr] Ditto can sift through and deliver it to Coke." However, this doesn't mean targeted ads won't be implemented in the future.
As somebody that has dabbled more in the tech/ad side of things for the past year, I think the system is really cool and innovative. Why shouldn't companies know how their brands are being represented? At the same time, it could come at the cost of privacy invasion for users simply sharing their content with friends. It's a bit of a slippery moral slope; what do you think?
[via Mashable]
The Boryeong Mud Festival in South Korea
Photos by Kim Hong-Ji
Every summer millions of tourists are attracted to a small beach town named Boryeong, in South Korea, and it's for the mud. Specifically, for the 2 week long Boryeong Mud Festival that began in 1988, now attracts 2.2 million visitors a year, and most famously for its final weekend, which usually falls on the second weekend in July. For all who missed it or never heard of it, notable Reuters South Korean Photographer Kim Hong-Ji, covered much of the excitement, quite different from much of his other work.
Although it does seem that mud festivals and mud runs have been increasingly popular across the western world in general, this one actually serves to be beneficial for your skin. In 1996 a range of cosmetics was produced using mud from this area in the world. Beneficially, the cosmetics were said to be full of minerals, bentonites, and germaniums, all of which occur naturally in this mud. In order to promote these cosmetics, the Boryeong Mud Festival was conceived, and offers plenty of mud massage programs set to remove impurities, to fun events such as mud wrestling, a mud fireworks fantasy, survival games, zipline rides, and a lot more. On the mudflat there is also the chance to participate in Marine style training.
Check out Hong-Ji' photos, and find more photos from the Festival here.
"Photographers from around the world need to do their best to capture what has not been captured before." - Kim Hong-Ji
[Via RUETERS]
Apple Hires Former Tag Heuer VP, Potentially Hinting at iWatch Development
Apple has succeeded in swinging a third LVMH executive over to their team, welcoming their newest member Patrick Pruniaux, the former vice president of sales at the luxury Swiss watch industry Tag Heuer. While he’s coming into the company serving an unspecified role, the New York Times reports that it’s most probable for Pruniaux to contribute his wisdom to the newest Apple gadget, the iWatch, expected in stores in the fall of 2014.
The two other fashion executives Apple has lured over with its forbidden fruit include Angela Ahrendts, former CEO of Burberry, and Paul Deneve, former CEO of YSL. Both Ahrendts and Deneve have previously been executives at LVMH.
It seems that Apple is coming to terms with the main message The Next Black has been trying to communicate to wearers of attire worldwide: that advances in technology will have no choice but to ultimately integrate themselves with advances in fashion. Autumn of 2014 will be a telling step in our developing world of wearable technology.
[via dazeddigital]
The Battle of the Bulge Photos Prove to Be a Hoax
Last week, we shared some photos that were purported to be 70-year-old footage from World War II's The Battle of the Bulge. However, they have since been debunked, proven to be a hoax. As it turns out, the photos still depict The Battle of the Bulge, but not from a long-lost camera only recently unearthed. In fact, some of the photos were already published in a book entitled Images of War: Battle of the Bulge. The source where we initially came across the photos, PetaPixel, was alerted to the false nature of the photos from one of their readers. There's no word on whether the entire backstory involving Chicagoan Louis J. Archambeau and his family was falsified as well, but there's a good chance that it was.
I sincerely apologize for misleading anybody. The internet is full of jokesters, and I'm definitely not above admitting when I've been duped. Carry on, internet.
[via PetaPixel]
[Documentary] Empowerment Remembers Dr. Donda West
[youtube id="S7HRUWcAxYk"]
In remembrance of Kanye West’s late mother, Dr. Donda West, Donda’s House Inc. has released a short documentary titled Empowerment. The documentary is commemorating what would have been her 65th birthday on July 12th 2014, and shines light on the impact Donda’s House Inc. has made on 14-24 year olds in Chicago since its establishment in 2013.
The non-profit organization focuses on delivering a quality arts education to Chicago youth in order to keep them out of the streets, and presents them with a team, or a potential second family, that they could depend on. The organization has been especially gathering momentum in recent times, now that arts and music programs are quickly the first to be put on the back-burner in schools and institutions in at-risk communities that are facing budget crises.
Donda’s House Inc. has been collaborating with the ARK of St. Sabina youth center to launch “Got Bars,” a program teaching students how to write and record music, helping release an EP at the end of the participant’s recordings, and teaching lessons on exercise, yoga, nutrition, media-literacy, and etiquette training. Kanye has said, “My mom spent her life as an educator, and I am happy that Donda’s House can pick up her torch and honor her life’s mission.” Happy early birthday, Mrs. West.
Lollapalooza Introduces Lolla Cash, a Digital Way to Make Payments
Crowds are the absolute worst at music festivals. What's more annoying than being stuck in a crowd of screaming, drunk people? Being stuck in a crowd of screaming, drunk people while waiting in line to purchase something. Usually, lines are so long because people have to fuss with wallets or purses to find their credit cards or cash, then you have to swipe and sign or get change for your bills, and it's just a time-consuming, tedious process that most festival goers must go through if they want some food or drinks. However, C3 Presents, Lollapalooza's promoters, want to revolutionize the festival experience with a new initiative.
Referred to as Lolla Cash, the initiative involves implementing a chip within the Lollapalooza wristbands that can be used to purchase food and drinks from vendors. Lolla attendees simply have to register a credit card with their wristbands to take part in the Lolla Cash program. If all goes accordingly, it should help expedite the process at vendor stands while also ensuring attendees won't lose their wallets along the way. The wristbands use radio frequency identification (RFID) similar to how Ventra cards work, and considering how rough the CTA's new system launch was, there are bound to be bumps in the road for Lollapalooza this year. The wristbands will also store purchase information in case a clear signal can't be made at the moment of purchase to ensure transactions go through properly.
Lolla Cash represents the festival's full embrace of new technology that could find use amongst other major music festivals like South by Southwest, Electronic Daisy Carnival, Bonnaroo, and more. Disney launched a similar initiative last year, My Magic+, that allowed visitors to use their bracelets to make purchases, access their hotel rooms, fast entry into amusement and water parks, and more. It's only a matter of time before we go completely cashless in all areas of our lives.
For now, tell us what you think about Lolla Cash, and if you're going, will you actively use it?
[via Adweek]
Photos from World War II's The Battle of the Bulge Found 70 Years Later
World War II historians, prepare to be astonished. 70 years after WWII's legendary Battle of the Bulge (when the Axis prompted an offensive attack on the Allies over the course of almost a month from December 1944 to January 1945), U.S. Navy Captain Mark Anderson and historian Jean Muller searched the location of The Battle of the Bulge near Luxembourg armed with metal detectors to find any remnants from the battle. What they discovered was better than anything they could have imagined.
Included with some personal possessions from Chicago native and 317th Infantry Regiment rifleman Louis J. Archambeau was a camera with a partially-exposed roll of film still inserted. The photos reveal some shots during the Regiments down-time in between harsh battles with German forces. Anderson and Muller took an extra step by teaming up with The Trouble Shooters to find a descendant of Archambeau's to bequeath the photos and other possessions, which have been made public recently.
While the photos are washed out (most likely due to their exposure over the past 70 years), they still share a clear look at life as a WWII soldier. With photography, the power and importance isn't always linked to the image quality and fidelity, but what the photos capture and express. Check out Archambeau's photos below, and be sure to visit The Trouble Shooters for the full story behind his life.
[The Trouble Shooters via PetaPixel]
