“There is no algorithm to define cool, you just know it when you see it“. – Anonymous hipster.

I have been meaning to digitalize a selection of analog photos for a while now. This is one of the first scans I got sent to see if I was happy with the result. Cracks me up every time I see it and looking forward to see the full collection. I’m betting its gonna be priceless.

I have said it before and I will say it again, a lot is happening in Ghent lately and with the opening of the A&Gallery another spot gets added to the list. Not just any opening as Moby will be opening this new gallery with his DESTROYED exhibit.

The Belgian exhibition, which starts on on Wednesday May 18, serves as the official opening of A&Gallery – run by Ben Van Alboom and Wouter Van Vaerenbergh, the creative duo behind the renowned photography project Angels & Ghosts. Moby will not only attend the opening but also play a DJ set at a still secret and very exclusive location.

Most of us mainly know Moby as a music artist, yet photopgraphy and other visual artwork has always been an interest of his. Once a film and photography graduate student, Moby’s been a keen SLR lens man ever since his uncle, a photographer working for The New York Times, presented him with a camera at age ten. To this day, Moby carries a camera wherever he goes.

A photography book (55 photographs taken by Moby while touring the planet) will accompany Moby’s new album Destroyed by the way.

A&Gallery, Schepenhuisstraat 17, 9000 Gent

I first really read about JR with his 28mm project a couple of years back. Saw stuff popping up on the interwebs and loved the way it made people think about situations time and time again. Its that subtle form of social criticism that makes JR one of those artists that keeps drawing peoples attention and I reckon you ought to watch the clip below. Its an introduction on the TED prize winner.

and if you want to find out more I suggest you also read this piece in the NY Times on the man’s life & work. Or how one man has one wish to change the world.

Urban exploration is the act of going places you’re not supposed to go. It acts as an umbrella phrase for other terms like infiltration, draining, buildering and other actions which take place in an urban setting. Often the act of urban exploration is illegal, as trespassing is usually necessary. However, the majority of urban explorers do not intend to vandalize property. One of the cardinal rules of urban exploration is “Take only photographs, leave only footprints”.

Well, the following clip is a nice urbex example. I reckon a couple of you might have already seen this one through  LaidbackRadio, Mom’s place or Vandalog (seems they beat me to it ), but its too good not to share it here also.

Andrew Wonder follows Steve Duncan, who as an urban historian & photographer tries to peel back the layers of a city to see what’s underneath. “From the tops of bridges to the depths of sewer tunnels, these explorations of the urban environment help me puzzle together the interconnected, multi-dimensional history and complexity of the great metropolises of the world.”

For more info on it all you can always visit UnderCity or follow twitter.com/andrewwonder.

I remember as kids, we would find our way into abandoned houses, warehouses, … Trespassing for many, curiosity for others. Remember once threading onto military terrain a couple of years back. Nothing harmful, curiosity and stupidity mainly. Walking around, looking at training grounds, fire ranges, … and suddenly hearing/seeing a vehicle approach. This followed by the fatest 100m dash ever. Could have qualified for the Olympics

Anyways, closest we have come to urbex the past months must have been the Doel visit we did, but that’s ages ago. Maybe we should consider picking it up.

If this kind stuff interest you, there are several sites you can follow for locations (forbiddenplaces or UEF for instance)  if you want to go out yourself but I also have to mention Wim’s latest project urbanexploration.be here. Kudos for that!

UNDERCITY NYC - through Vandalog, thanks for that!

Over the weekend I spent a couple of days in the motherland: Malta. Quick visit for some season greetings and I also had to became mayor of Mdina, the ancient fortified city where my father was raised and my grandmother still lives to this day.

Was able to snap some pictures with the 50mm I had taken along for the ride. For those of you who ever consider a trip down, do not hesitate to contact me for further information on activities, sightseeing tips, … Always willing to help out where I can.

Triq Inguanez, Mdina

The Bicycle Portraits project was initiated by Stan Engelbrecht (Cape Town, South Africa) and Nic Grobler (Johannesburg, South Africa) early in 2010. Whenever they can, together or separately, they’re on the lookout for fellow commuters, and people who use bicycles as part of their everyday work, to meet and photograph. They’re finding out who rides bicycles, why they ride bicycles and why they love their bicycles.

This project really sparked my attention and with the World Cup going down in South Africa I though it was a nice feature on the country that is not football centered You can find all the extended info over here on the what, how and what not.

They are working towards a full-color hard-cover book btw and it seems you can pledge and pre-order through their Kickstarter initiative. Follow the project on twittah. Out.

Kim Jong-il is North Korea’s commander in chief,  part-time resident evil and each time I hear his name I wonder who this mad man really is.

The Boston Globe often features great pictures sets its Big Picture category. Kimmy is the subject this time and might I say a nice example of some good old propaganda. An authentic Kimmy visiting the grocer in his short sleeve shirt while sporting a pair of sunglasses as true fashion icon. Very casual I might ad.  Kimmy in the army, Kimmy playing at the cotton plantation, Kimmy at the energy plant, and so on. Somehow sounds like a comic strip with a new adventure every day for our little Korean (It is said he wears platform shoes and favours a bouffant hairstyle in order to appear taller than his 1.57m), but really its a 31 piece photo set to exhibit their nations greatness.

By the way, did not know Adidas had a factory in Korea? Oh right, they are North-Korea’s interpretation of the iconic 3 stripes At least we know Kim can dig a good pair of sneakers! We also get to learn that they got corn, apples, fish, … in the land of nuclear threats it seems. Amazing I might ad.

Anyways, the guy has always fascinated many as there are a lot of legends/rumors surrounding him. I once read he has the biggest movie collection in the world for instance. A true Hollywood addict it seems. It is also rumored that he is a vain & paranoid womanizer who guzzles down cognac like no other.

The cult & legends really become marvelous when you dig into those surrounding his birth. According to official North Korean accounts, he was born in a log cabin at his father’s guerrilla base on North Korea’s highest mountain Mount Paektu back in 1942. This was reportedly marked by a double rainbow with a bright star in the sky!

The unoficial version is rather dull, as his birth is placed somewhere in Siberia in 1941 when his father Kim Il-sung, was in exile overthere. Strange how stories can differ dependig on the source All I can say is: whatever?! For as long as I live, I’ll always be reminded of his part in Team America. Wonder if his collection has a copy. If not, send me his address and I will be more then happy to send him a copy. Out.

Strolling through Nerdcore a while back, I came across a great photo set by Niall O’Brien. This photographer (and indeed I had never heard of him) has been able to capture punks in a great set of pictures it seems. An ongoing project he finds himself in as you will read further on.

Right now some are even featurd in an exhibition entitled ‘GOOD RATS’, which opened on February 1st 2010 (at ART WORK SPACE – a new independent gallery, recently launched in The Hempel Hotel, London). This marks the first substantial exposition of work from the ‘Superheroes’ series – an ongoing project that has seen O’Brien living alongside, and observing the lives of, a group of young punks from South-West London over the last three years.

During this time, the artist has seen the group begin to grow from adolescents to young men, following them on their adventures from Brighton to Berlin and documenting their exploits. O’Brien has created a series of photographs so strikingly beautiful that, at first glance, they might belie their raw, uninhibited and primal content. Gradually earning the trust of the group, who to others may seem entirely impenetrable, has enabled him to gain access to some particularly personal and poignant moments in the lives of his subjects.

I could not have said it any better So, if you find yourself in London I guess you should have a look. Out.

(pictures through CreativeReview)

This is probably one of the coolest time lapses I’ve seen in a while. It features Dabe Alan, who is getting a full sleeve tattoo with cameras and photography as theme done by Tony Touch. As we’re huge fans of time lapses and the art of tattooing, this is a win win for us all.

Music is Helen of Troy by Telefon Tel Aviv. You can find all extra info on sitting hours for the sleeve, camera details, … overhere and here. And there is also a part two… Out.

The members of LICHTFAKTOR use light to give expression to their creativity. They take advantage of a variety of light sources to produce photos and videos in cities by night. The Cologne artists’ collective experiments with the possibilities yielded by bulb (long-term) exposure and painting. Their aim is to explore all aspects of “lightwriting” and to develop it further. They intentionally use the entire space in which a particular work is produced and integrates it into their photos and animated films in such a way that it’s not just a backdrop but a part of the work itself.

Now I’ve always wanted to experiment with light graffiti and instructables can show us how. Seems that to get the best results you need a tripod and the exposure should be around 10-30 sec. or longer if needed. Stay in front of the camera and do your writing. To not overexpose set the camera to about iso100, and close your aperture as much as possible. If there is still too much light, you might have to use a nd-filter. it is always nice to integrate the surrounding into your picture. Now this is all Chinese for me so let me know if you like to try out some stuff.

Definitely check out these clips of lichtfaktors work and overhere you’ll also find some great examples. Out.

Lightstrom from LICHTFAKTOR on Vimeo.

Starwars V Startrek from LICHTFAKTOR on Vimeo.

ARS ELECTRONICA Lightwriting Workshop from LICHTFAKTOR on Vimeo.

“Your daily dose of inspiring photography from around the globe”

The Black Snapper promises to become a great project, based from Amsterdam. Its is the brainchild of Frank Kloos, an interactive media designer, and  Diederik Meijer, a documentary photographer. (One of his projects, amongst many other, was a photo documentary on Dutch women working in the adult film industry by the way.)

Now, their concept might sound simple, but it ain’t when wanting to implement is. The Black Snapper wants to become an online magazine for young talented photographers from all over the world, but at the same time it “aims at creating an online community that will inspire photography professionals and photography enthusiasts worldwide.“ the guys state. Their scope is to stage a new young and talented artist each and every day of the year. “Presenting one photographer each day sets our project aside from many others, it is a unique feature and one, we believe, is very important to younger viewers.”

These photographers work will be presented in a slideshow comprising of no more than 8 to 14 images and caption text. On the other hand weekly selections will also be made by guest curators who “will motivate/explain their selections  and will present themselves in seven questions and answers. They will discuss their taste, trends important to them and the kind of photo talent they are interested in.“

The project has already been picked up by a wide and yet expanding community of photography professionals (photographers, photo editors, museum curators, art gallery curators, photo festival curators and commercial art buyers) throughout the world. I’ll spare you the entire list, but the Kiyosato Museum of Photographic Arts (Japan) and the Photo Museum Antwerpen (Belgium) are just a few amonst others.

As I said, this project is like music to our ears. It can become a stage for emerging talent from around the world and as it is just starting to get shape we thought it was the right time to put The Black Snapper in the picture. (got some play on words goin’ on overhere).

photo: Diederik Meijer

OOTB: Where did the idea & name for ‘the black snapper’ originate from?

For some time we sensed that there is room for an online photomagazine that is released on a daily basis. From the start we wanted it to be truly international. From this came the idea to invite guest curators from all over the world. These people have excellent networks and very good knowledge about what photographers are up to in their countries. Much better than we would have. In addition, to have so many people participate in selecting content helps the magazine to stay objective. Nobody is president or editor in chief, at least not for longer than seven days

As to our name: Snapper is a slang word for photographer, the black snapper is a fish. We wanted a name that has a ring to it, that stands out in a sentence and immediately attract a reader’s attention. In addition, it should stick when you hear it spoken. The Black Snapper has these features.

OOTB: How did you manage to get the support of such an extensive global community?

We are still building the community. We believe that the Black Snapper is based on strong and positive ideas. To create a daily photo magazine that brings creative work from all over the world to global viewers is one of them. To emancipate artists from developing countries (allowing photography developments in Africa, Asia and South America to be seen) is another, as is our aim to support young talent. We believe people are supporting us because they sense we are creating this out of genuine passion and curiosity. We somehow manage to infect most people we talk to with our enthusiam.

OOTB: When should the website be up and running?

We will go live on August 1, 2009. We will then be running at full force immediately.

OOTB: Where do you see yourself and the black snapper in a years time? What are the short & long term goals?

In a year’s time, the Black Snapper will be recognized as a professional photography medium and will be seen daily by thousands of photography professionals and photo-lovers worldwide.

OOTB: Any other worthwile photographers, artists, phenomenons… you wish to share with us? Things you spotted passed months?

Diederik: I like http://mediastorm.org a lot for their mix of photo, audio & video, and their contributors always telling a good story! And Natascha Libbert, a student graduation from the Arts Academy of The Hague. She has kindly allowed us to post her work on our preview homepage while we are building our website. Natascha graduates with a beautiful book and exhibition. She is a rising star.

Frank: I just discovered Fotodok which was a nice surprise to me, and I always have some nice discoveries via http://triangletriangle.com, but then again, my list can go on and on.

OOTB: We wish you both & The Black Snapper all the luck. Keep us posted. Out.

The  concept is rather simple. You buy a cheap memory card, put it in your digital camera and take some authentic pictures. Once you’ve chosen what to keep on the card, you name it and leave it behind somewhere in a public place with a note explaining the concept. The person who finds the memory card then has to take some pictures himself (using the same card) and drop it elsewhere once he’s finished. He should also post the images he found on the card to PhotoChaining.com so everyone can see them and include a tip with the whereabouts of the memory card in order that other people can find it and contribute their creations.

So to wrap up this piece about PhotoChaining:

1. Take funny/original/humoristic/creative photos with your own camera and use a cheap memory card

2. Write a note in which you explain in few words the PhotoChaining concept to the “finder” of it and provide a name for the memory card (check PhotoChaining to ensure that the name has not already been used)

3. Put the memory card and the note in a transparent plastic bag

4. Leave the plastic bag in a public place

5. Help other people to find your memory card by giving them indications on the website

Over on facebook there’s also a group for the PhotoChaining project. It’s a rather simple concept and the success of it totally depends on the people who find the cards off course. I recon with summer in sight I’ll buy myself a couple of cheap cards and start a chain of my own in Ghent…