POTOMAC

Friday, November 13, 2009

Your Brain on GPS

This is a little off topic perhaps but I include a link to this story I read this a.m. because of the way i feel about using maps (actual maps) as part of an array of logistical tools to aid photography and because it seems to relate to any of the programmatic tools we might employ to augment or shortcut personal experience and experimentation...

http://www.theweek.com/article/index/102501/The_last_word_This_is_your_brain_on_GPS

Some Resources to Note

A few photographers who were in town this week:

Sam Abell ( here you can see the same examples of various versions of pictures that include the published image). His new book is "The Life of a Photograph" Terms he uses are 'composing back to front,' 'microcomposing,' 'giving the picture a top," and 'layered composition.'

http://www.digitaljournalist.org/issue0206/sam_intro.htm

Edward Burtynsky has a show of work from his book "Oil" at the Corcoran:

http://www.corcoran.org/burtynsky/index.php

http://www.steidlville.com/books/968-Oil.html

Paul Nicklin

http://www.paulnicklen.com/

Farid passed along links you may want to explore. I invite you to report on your experience here if you do. Farid says

I was searching around the Canon camera forums for information on a lens my daughter is thinking of getting and stumbled upon two recommendations for sites that people find useful. You may already know of them. The first calculates and provides information on the "golden hours", so one can time one's arrival at locations with a better foreknowledge. It's a wee bit misleading because it speaks of "local time" which seems still to be one hour ahead of "local" time. Making allowances, I found the site reasonably well designed. The "golden hour" time tomorrow will be roughly between 6.20 and 7.30 am.

http://www.golden-hour.com/

The other site I haven't looked at yet - but dozens were raving about it. It's called The Photographer's Ephemeris and can be found here:

http://stephentrainor.com/tools

Apparently it gives lots of detailed information about sunrise and sunset, but additionally combines this with Google topographical maps, and so allows one to locate just where and when the sun will peep over the mountain or tree tops, and just where and when the moon will provide the angle and illumination one is looking for. Sounds rather interesting, if it works, and if one can overcome an inveterate laziness and actually be at the scene.