Hi Galina, just got back from Melbourne now... looking at these compared with the grid below (from Flicker), my initial reaction is that something has been lost? And I think it's in your sizing of the images here? The fact your sort of priviliging some over others (via size and format), whereas the flicker grid renders everything equal... although that's not quite it. There's also the issue of cropping... and that some of the ones on this page look more like 'photos' (in the snapshot sense) than 'details' (in the noticing sense). Do you know what I mean about the importance of 'noticing'? Someone once told me that the difference between good and bad design was the ability of the designer(s) to 'notice' (in fact I think there's a book called The Discipline of Noticing... which sounds nice). Anyway I guess the thing here is that you are trying to up your level of awareness of, and reciprocally your engagement with, the city and your surroundings. It sounds easy but it's not... it's quite abstract, and you sort of have to learn to look at things again. Think about how many people never look up. I noticed this in New York (a lot of the old buildings have gargoyles about halfway up them, and I got interested in that), and I was watching people in Melbourne this weekend and nobody ever looks up! Somehow that reminds me about your glasses that tracked the viewers eye movement etc, and so I like the idea that what you're doing is a more personal, and more importantly 'intuitive' version of that. Hope this helps? Talk soon anyway...
I made some photos bigger than others to try and capture/communicate a better understanding of some of the surroundings/environment...
Are you saying the flickr ones look more like 'detail' shots, or do they too look like 'snapshots/photos' ?
You are right about me trying to up my level of awareness and engagement with the city, etc. and it's not easy. I understand your idea of people not looking up, and even having a camera in my hand makes me 'look' at things differently, and take notice of things more cos i'm on-the-look-out-for-that-next-thing-to-photograph/notice/document that's of interest...
focus more on detail rather than 'capturing the environment'? (cos i'm not a photographer, yet the detail is what I notice most, you know... the type on the posters, the signage...) the journey is still of interets... hmmm will talk soon. g
5 June 2007 at 07:51
Hi Galina, just got back from Melbourne now... looking at these compared with the grid below (from Flicker), my initial reaction is that something has been lost? And I think it's in your sizing of the images here? The fact your sort of priviliging some over others (via size and format), whereas the flicker grid renders everything equal... although that's not quite it. There's also the issue of cropping... and that some of the ones on this page look more like 'photos' (in the snapshot sense) than 'details' (in the noticing sense). Do you know what I mean about the importance of 'noticing'? Someone once told me that the difference between good and bad design was the ability of the designer(s) to 'notice' (in fact I think there's a book called The Discipline of Noticing... which sounds nice). Anyway I guess the thing here is that you are trying to up your level of awareness of, and reciprocally your engagement with, the city and your surroundings. It sounds easy but it's not... it's quite abstract, and you sort of have to learn to look at things again. Think about how many people never look up. I noticed this in New York (a lot of the old buildings have gargoyles about halfway up them, and I got interested in that), and I was watching people in Melbourne this weekend and nobody ever looks up! Somehow that reminds me about your glasses that tracked the viewers eye movement etc, and so I like the idea that what you're doing is a more personal, and more importantly 'intuitive' version of that. Hope this helps? Talk soon anyway...
L
5 June 2007 at 11:22
I made some photos bigger than others to try and capture/communicate a better understanding of some of the surroundings/environment...
Are you saying the flickr ones look more like 'detail' shots, or do they too look like 'snapshots/photos' ?
You are right about me trying to up my level of awareness and engagement with the city, etc. and it's not easy.
I understand your idea of people not looking up, and even having a camera in my hand makes me 'look' at things differently, and take notice of things more cos i'm on-the-look-out-for-that-next-thing-to-photograph/notice/document that's of interest...
focus more on detail rather than 'capturing the environment'? (cos i'm not a photographer, yet the detail is what I notice most, you know... the type on the posters, the signage...) the journey is still of interets... hmmm
will talk soon. g