Me - by Christina
It was a good trip.
Brandon Vogel
A reckless number of interests carefully considered.
Filed under Photos …
The Return of Polaroid
At our wedding reception my wife decided to set up a make-shift Polaroid photo booth in place of the traditional guest book. Cool idea but, of course, in the hustle and bustle of preparing and then driving from Massachusetts to Pennsylvania for the event we forgot to bring the camera and backdrop she had hoped to use. This lead to one of those day-before-the-wedding scenario’s where some unlucky but gracious family member is dispatched to “fix this.” After a few calls around to the local photo shops asking if they still carried Polaroid cameras and film–most of which were met with a snort and a laugh–we found one. The cheapest bed sheet available at Target–no time to iron it– became the new backdrop and it all worked splendidly. (My favorite portrait is featured above. Favorite action shot below.)
Now, Polaroid is “back” in the US market. The Boston Globe has two interesting takes on the subject, one from the tech point of view, the other from the view of the art critic.
I like both takes. Each is right in their own way, but the most telling line came from Sebastian Smee:
Part of what makes photography in the digital age so different from photography in the fast-receding age of negatives, darkrooms, chemicals, and prints is that, with digital cameras, there is nothing at stake. You can click away incessantly, and know that you will never feel depleted.
And yet some kind of law of diminishing returns seems to be at work, because you never quite feel satisfied, either.
Be sure to stick around in that Smee piece for the quotes from Walker Evans.
European Fields
Budapest, Hungary - Hans van der Meer
I had a telling moment a few weeks ago in my football/futbol development. While watching television a friend who is a Philadelphia Eagles fan sent me a text message that read “So long, Donovan.” Not more than ten minutes prior to that message I had seen along ESPN’s bottom line that Donovan McNabb had just been traded to the Washington Redskins. Despite that, when I read the message devoid of any other context my immediate thought was, “The US just lost Landon Donovan for the World Cup.” That was my gut reaction.
So have I become more of a professional (and world) soccer fan than professional football fan? Probably. My interest in the former seems to grow weekly while my interest in the NFL seems to wane with each passing year. College football is a different matter entirely. That will always be my bread and butter, my area of so-called expertise, but I keep finding intriguing angles in soccer that I don’t see anywhere else.
One such angle is that of lower-level football. I’m intrigued by the small town teams of Europe, part-time professionals who, through most association’s open cup competition, have the occasional opportunity and permanent dream to take on the giants of the sport but mostly they play one another on whatever space is available. It’s soccer far removed from what we’re able to see here in America and that’s where the Dutch photographer Hans van der Meer comes in.
Favorite Xmas gift? Grandpa’s folding ruler.
Got a lot of great gifts this Christmas. A great hat from 10 Engines, a card case from Billykirk (above), a cool Filson vest, a Wii, and (as usual) a bunch of home runs from my wife. She’s a world class gift giver.
But my favorite gift from my parents was easily my grandfather’s folding ruler (pictured above). I’d seen a ton of these online and had often considered buying myself one, but this one is so much better. According to my mother, my grandpa–born in 1908–inherited this from his uncle. With that in mind, we could easily be looking at over a century of use. More detailed view after the jump…
Things I love about Nebraska #3: A rogue’s rookery
“If you want to find a rogue’s rookery, go to Omaha”
That’s a quote from an unnamed Kansas City newspaper that I saw at the Durham Museum (pictured above).
I like it.
Things I Love About Nebraska #2 – Highway 2
Forget I-80, this is the way to actually enjoy a drive through the Cornhusker State.
Some photos from a recent Hemingford to Grand Island drive.
