Ok, I admit - this is barely, tangentially related to photography. BUT - they do say ‘photo’ a lot…and it is really fun to watch (although I can’t say I understood all that much).

Ryan McVay/Getty Images

Have you ever wondered how a photographer captured that second in time, or how a filmmaker managed to secure that footage?

Check out our behind the scenes video of how one Getty Images photographer and one filmmaker came together to capture images of over 200 people.

Motoyuki Kobayashi, a Getty Images contributing photographer in Tokyo, is included in the 2007 Art + Commerce Peek Festival, which recognizes outstanding emerging photographers.
The Peek website has video clips relating to each of the selected artists’ work. On the Peek site, click on this part of the collage of images to see the video for Motoyuki:

Pangea Day is a global event on May 10, 2008, conceived by documentary filmmaker Jehane Nouhaim (”Control Room”), that aims to tap “the power of film to strengthen tolerance and compassion while uniting millions of people”. Various cities around the world will be “videoconferenced live to produce a 4-hour program of powerful films, visionary speakers, and uplifting music”. Not exactly clear what’s gonna happen, but here’s the trailer, all the footage in which is courtesy Getty Images:

Really cool video of a presentation by Dr. Ariel Shamir at this year’s SIGGRAPH conference where he demonstrates a new image resizing software application

Seems like this will give heightened meaning to “photoshopping” an image, or at least make it that much easier to perform certain potentially shady operations. Are photos even allowed as evidence in courtrooms anymore? If so, probably not for long.

The latest TED talk release includes an understated but amazing demo by Blaise Aguera y Arcas of some new technologies that are sure to have an impact on the way we use and view digital images, photo-sharing, and the web in general.  It’s only 7 minutes and you should definitely see it.

To any non-design-aware types, the fact that the new documentary Helvetica, about a Swiss typeface that is turning 50 (a fact also celebrated in a new exhibition at MOMA, “50 Years of Helvetica”), is enjoying sold-out screenings basically everywhere it goes may seem a little odd. But designers and design-o-philes on whom the ubiquity and, well, hegemonic rule of that little font for almost all of those 50 years is not lost probably don’t think it so strange.

Smart, sharp, elegant, reserved, refined…the quiet type (n.p.i.) - understated yet profoundly powerful. Typography is sexy. Typefaces, ligatures, kerning, positioning, descenders and ascenders….hot stuff. Finally it seems that typography is having it’s day in the sun, getting the long overdue recognition it deserves on the silver screen. Be sure that many more will be jumping on the bandwagon of appreciation now that it’s ok to admit you like it without being jeered into quiescence and castigated to the corner with the other freaks & geeks. In fact I wouldn’t be surprised if font-knowledge and appreciation becomes a status symbol, the new calling card of sensitivity and sophistication, like ordering a Ketel One was about 7 years ago.

And for those already hip to the nerd hotness quotient, I would suspect that these screenings (assuming you can get into one - the upcoming screening at USC sold out in 1 day at $25 bucks a pop), will be a hotbed of nerdy hotties. Get your nerd on.

The folks over at TED* have been releasing videos of past presentations, most recently including a fascinating talk by the photographer Phil Borges who documents endangered indigenous cultures around the world.

It’s a potent reminder of the power photography can wield in the service of social awareness and change, as well as the sublime extent to which technology allows us to document ourselves and world. It’s great to see this power being utilized more often in recent years through projects such as G.I.’s own “Change Me” campaign, the FiftyCrows Foundation, and the excellent documentary Born Into Brothels.

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*an annual cluster-think of “more than 1000 thought-leaders, movers, and shakers” (or anyone else willing & able to pay 6 G’s to be in such company for a couple of days) who meet up in Monterey California to discuss “not just the latest ideas in Technology Entertainment and Design [the namesake], but also Business, Science, and the Arts…in fact ANY subject offering something fresh and important” via a 4-day-long series of presentations by a consistently impressive roster of speakers. The idea being that by “bring[ing] together extraordinary people from every area of thought, work and culture…lo and behold, astonishing connections are made, excitement and inspiration follow.”

As an interesting (or maybe not) sidenote, on the heels of Tim’s previous post, the intro to this year’s TED conference features another photo of Norma Jean.

Now there’s an astonishing connection. Way to go, TED. (Unfortunately not a connection that’s likely to earn me an invitation. Guess I’ll have to content myself with the videos.)

Not sayin’ any of these would be contenders, but here is a link to a bunch of video clips taken with a very high-exposure-rate camera that are pretty neato (and laughable at times with the over-the-top clichéd fetishizations), and apropos of the bullet-thru-jack-of-diamonds photo in the running for ‘most iconic image’.

Fashion designer Thom Browne worked with artist Anthony Goicolea on this haunting, hypnotic video:

Thom Browne

Anthony Goicolea