Pictures of Sprawl
Zoetrope takes pictures of sprawl.
photography
Walmart > China Direct
I wish I knew who made this wonderful bit of culture jamming.
Manufactured Landscapes
Via mongrelmedia.com:
"MANUFACTURED LANDSCAPES is a feature length documentary on the world and work of renowned artist Edward Burtynsky. Burtynsky makes large-scale photographs of ‘manufactured landscapes’ – quarries, recycling yards, factories, mines, dams. He photographs civilization’s materials and debris, but in a way people describe as “stunning” or “beautiful,” and so raises all kinds of questions about ethics and aesthetics without trying to easily answer them.
The film follows Burtynsky to China as he travels the country photographing the evidence and effects of that country’s massive industrial revolution. Sites such as the Three Gorges Dam, which is bigger by 50% than any other dam in the world and displaced over a million people, factory floors over a kilometre long, and the breathtaking scale of Shanghai’s urban renewal are subjects for his lens and our motion picture camera.
Shot in Super-16mm film, Manufactured Landscapes extends the narrative streams of Burtynsky’s photographs, allowing us to meditate on our profound impact on the planet and witness both the epicentres of industrial endeavour and the dumping grounds of its waste. What makes the photographs so powerful is his refusal in them to be didactic. We are all implicated here, they tell us: there are no easy answers. The film continues this approach of presenting complexity, without trying to reach simplistic judgements or reductive resolutions. In the process, it tries to shift our consciousness about the world and the way we live in it."
Mayall Road: Then and Now
Another friend supplies this image of his street, both in 1912 and today. Mayall Road is in Herne Hill, Southwark, London (thanks for the correction, Michelle!). These urban before-and-afters are great - keep them coming!
Los Angeles - Then and Now
Our friend Lou Cabron (not his real name) reports that the Los Angeles Public Library has recently put a very large portion of their photo catalog online. He found this 1924 photo of 5525 Downey Road in Vernon, California - and then looked up the same location using Google Maps.
New York Changing
Photographs show old and new skylines, buildings and city artwork from New York City, through the photographs and rephotographs of Douglas Levere. This link comes from an ancient metafilter post, but since the exhibition is about to end at Museum of the City of New York in less than two weeks, I thought it a great time to put in one last plug. An excerpt from the New York Changing website:
New York Changing, The current body of work by New York City photographer Douglas Levere, is a photographic record of the ever-changing landscape of New York City. Guided by Berenice Abbott’s 1930’s project, Changing New York, Levere revisited neighborhoods and former storefronts, documenting the evolution of the metropolis known for constantly reinventing itself.
Metropolitan Design Center
Looking for exemplary aerial photography for any kind of development (metropolitan US only, sorry). University of Minnesota has opened up their Metropolitan Design Center to the public online. Dozens of great photographs ranging from Sidewalks to Cemeteries. Go to the slide shows for easy categorization.
SmugMaps vs. Geoblogger
See users duke it out on Metafilter.
While I still haven't decided upon which application to use (SmugMaps or Geoblogger), I can't help being awestruck at how others use these applications. It is amazing to be able to virtually follow along on another's journey through their photos and georeferences. I wish I had been able to use this as an archiving tool on my last roadtrip a few years back. Maybe my mum would have slept better at night (on second thought, maybe not).
UC Flickr Group
To add some visuals, we've created an Urban Cartography group on Flickr - that is, a photo pool and discussion center at the (free) photo organizing site Flickr, which I recommend very highly. Flickr was recently bought by Yahoo and I think that once they offer sales/shipping of prints, they will close out companies like Shutterfly and Ophoto in about five seconds. The pro accounts are tremendously helpful - I have one, and it allows near-unlimited uploads, storage, and all sorts of tagging and organization tools. It's also a great companion to weblog publishing, as it allows you to send images directly to your site from your Flickr account (and you can send images directly to Flickr from a cameraphone, email or via a variety of other techniques). I guess it's pretty obvious that I think this is the best thing since sliced bread, at least for digital photographers. Anyway - get on there and join our group!
The Untitled Project
From Matt Siber's project statement for The Untitled Project:
The Untitled Project is rooted in a base interest in the nature of power. With the removal of all traces of text from the photographs, the project explores the manifestation of power between large groups of people in the form of public and semi-public language. The absence of the printed word not only draws attention to the role text plays in the modern landscape but also simultaneously emphasizes alternative forms of communication such as symbols, colors, architecture and corporate branding. In doing this, it serves to point out the growing number of ways in which public voices communicate without using traditional forms of written language.
The reintroduction of the text takes written language out of the context of its intended viewing environment. The composition of the layouts remain true to the composition of their corresponding photographs in order to draw attention to relative size, location and orientation. The isolation of the text from its original graphic design and accompanying logos, photographs and icons helps to further explore the nature of communication in the urban landscape as a combination of visual and literal signifiers.
[via room 116]
Ed Ruscha Beats Amazon's A9
Regarding the post below: apparently Ed Ruscha trumped Amazon by several years; I wonder if they'll be paying him royalties for his intellectual property?
Hotlinking the Yellow Pages
We now have technology that allows us to walk the streets without walking the streets. Amazon's yellow page service slash search engine, A9.com, lets us virtually wander around a few major cities to find the business for which we are looking. Here's a quicktime video where the creators quickly describe the experience. From a data steward's view, I'd have to think that it would be a severely money draining exercise to link real photos to an ever-changing landscape. But try it before they go under, because it is a little fun to play with. For instance, I just took a virtual stroll to an Apple Store in San Francisco. Rad. Thanks to waxy.org for the tip.
Architecture of Density
Michael Wolf's wonderful Architecture of Density series is on display at the Robert Koch gallery in San Francisco through February 26, 2005.
One of the most densely populated metropolitan areas in the world, Hong Kong has an overall density of nearly 6,700 people per square kilometer. The majority of its citizens live in flats in high-rise buildings. In Architecture of Density, Wolf investigates these vibrant city blocks, finding a mesmerizing abstraction in the buildings' facades.
Sleepy City
from Sleepy City's index page:
Sleepy City is a photography site dedicated to the secrets within our cities. Underground tunnels, derelict industrial sites and urban ruins are where I like to play. Discarded by society, these interesting and historic locations wait quietly for the occasional urban explorer. Grab a torch and have a wander.
Not in My Back Yard
Kevin Wehr sends in this image, from a recent issue of The Economist - proof that city incursion into rural space and the displacement of indigenous cultures is a fact of life in many places.
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