Month: July 2015

Common Sense Prevails – Freedom of Panorama Saved

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In what may come as a surprise to most cynics, a photography based petition has actively changed a political debate and prevented a further erosion of photographers’ rights. The Freedom of Panorama has been saved!

480kFOP

Nico Trinkhaus handed over the petition which as of July 8th stood at 480,000 signatures in favour of the Freedom of Panorama. For a bit of background a draft law was due to be passed in the European courts which restricted the right for photographers, both amateur and pro to snap photographs of cities and landmarks without repercussion. Julia Reda had championed an expansion of the freedom of panorama to countries which don’t allow it like France, however this bill was turned on its head to threaten us all.

Today, Change.org confirmed that the mumblings of our elected oligarchs in the courts of Brussels had changed significantly in tone after receiving the petition approved by half a million people. Nico Trinkhaus said:

When I handed over the petition to MEP Julia Reda, she was “overwhelmed by the responses to the petition” and stated that “the petition has changed the debate in the parliament considerably and a lot of the parliamentary groups that originally voted for a restriction of Freedom of Panorama are clearly changing their mind about this.”

We’d like to extend a huge thanks to Nico and Julia whom without their support, go getting attitude and optimism for making this happen and protecting out rights as photographers!

#SAVEFOP ! ! !

Criminal on Run asks for Better Mug Shot. Police Promptly Reply.

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Social media conscious man on the run Daniel Damon was less than pleased when he saw a Facebook user post an unflattering photograph of him. The twist – It was a mugshot by Victoria Police of Australia appealing for his whereabouts.

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According to Victoria police, Damon is currently in hiding after a no-show at a bail hearing relating to traffic and drug matters. However like any self-respecting criminal he didn’t want his moment in the limelight tinged with a badly lit, dazed looking picture.

So he politely asked the police if they could use a better one:

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The canny officer in charge of the Facebook account was quick enough to respond with a witty  message suggesting he visits a local law enforcement station to have his mug shot renewed. Unfortunately for the officers though, Damon isn’t that naive and says he needs to sort out some personal matters as well as arrange a lawyer first – ah, the leisurely life of being on the run.

Other mugshots have made the news recently, most notably the handsome Jeremy Meeks who wooed hearts globally before being offered a modelling contract off the back of his naughty past. Somehow I don’t think Danny Damon is going to be afforded the same luxury with his, although his social media prowess may open other doors.

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The front lighting on the subject is particularly bad, so I guess Damon does have a point.

Experimental Video: Projecting Moving Images on to Clouds.

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In what has been hailed as the first of its kind, scientists have embraced the old art of the moving image to project an image of a galloping horse onto clouds from a plane.

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The horse and rider, an obvious reference to Eadweard Muybridge’s photographic studies of motion appears as a ghostly green shadow in the clouds courtesy of a modified zoopraxiscope by artist Dave Lynch.

Here in the video you can see the contraption’s internal workings prior to scenes shot from a plane. If viewed from the ground it’s unlikely you’d see anything but flashing random lights dancing within the clouds.

Despite the feat of imagination it will have taken to achieve, the final product is still somewhat shaky and basic in design. We really look forward to seeing what advances in visual technology are made as a result. It’s worth taking a trip to Dave Lynch’s website to learn more about the collaboration involved in ‘Project Nimbus’ and the three years of documented effort that went in to its creation.

via Gizmodo via New Scientist.