Inspired – Page 4 – Phogotraphy

The Incredible Astrophotography of Rogelio Bernal Andreo

December 20, 2014May 11, 2015Phogotraphy3 Comments

With no less than 33 images attributed to him on Astronomy Picture of the Day Rogelio Bernal Andreo is one of the most respected astrophotographers on the planet. In fact, his images are so beautifully clear, it’s hard to believe he’s taking them from inside our atmosphere.

Recently this image of the constellation Orion has been receiving a growth spur and deservedly so as a meticulous amount of work was required to capture it. Amongst other things you can see the Witches Head nebula, the Flame nebula, the Horsehead nebula, Barnard’s Loop, the Running Man nebula and of course the Orion nebula. It is, as anyone in the Northern hemisphere will recognise an absolutely enormous part of the sky and to have such an incredible amount of detail there is breathtaking.

Orion Constellation | Rogelio Bernal Andreo

Of course you can’t see these gas clouds with the naked eye, although you would have some limited success with Orion’s nebula found in the middle of the sword with a pair of binoculars. To bring out more detail Rogelio made use of a narrow hydrogen alpha-filter and exposed for a total of 28 hours stitching together 32 images. Take a look at a detailed section of the top right revealing the ever spooky Witch Head nebula.

Witch Head Nebula | Rogelio Bernal Andreo

Rogelio began his astrophotography career like many of us; experimenting with is DSLR camera. Rogelio calls this his ‘introductory stage’ and has since moved on to dedicated CCD sensors to capture his images of the dark skies. Don’t worry though, ‘RBA’ as he’s known online still uses his DSLR to compose magnificent landscapes.

Take a look at just a small selection from his incredible portfolio starting with this stunning image of Simeis 147 and its surroundings. Continue reading →

Microwaved Polaroids, Because Why Not?

December 18, 2014May 11, 2015Phogotraphy3 Comments

You know what it’s like. You’ve just taken a fantastic photo with your latest instant camera but there’s something missing, it just hasn’t got that spark…

Enter the very strange world of ‘Microwaved Polaroids’ an old photography group on Flickr that has reared its head and come to my attention. Call it art, call it dangerous, call it inspiration but just don’t call it boring. From just this handful of images a microwaved Polaroid (or Instax) has a certain appeal to fans of the LOMO movement and abstract photography. It’s hard to deny that by damaging a photo this way isn’t adding an extra physical layer of meaning.

Even defunct frames that haven’t quite managed to develop properly can suddenly become startling beautiful. It’s difficult to judge exactly where the cracks, burning and bubbling will occur, so serendipity plays a roll in some of the more interesting pieces.

The group blurb gives some simple instructions:

Q: I want to join in with the fun, but I’m scared I’ll burn the house down. Will this hurt?

A: 5 seconds will be ample time to turn your reject Polaroid into a work of art. Make sure the room is well ventilated as it’s a little bit smelly. There will be sparks, but in 10 years I’ve never split an atom. Good luck.

And as an added bonus, a short instruction Gif Video:

Enjoy this small selection and then head over to the group’s pool to explore a bit more. Continue reading →

Moment Mile: 138 Photographers Join Together on One Street to Create a 1-Mile long Panorama

December 17, 2014December 17, 2014Phogotraphy1 Comment

It’s wonderful when photographic communities get together and create something special, and that’s just what the project Moment Mile did on November 1st 2014.

#MomentMile Exhibition Installation Takes Place.

Organised by conceptual photographic artist Sean Busher, the plan was to gather 138 local photographers together in the Charlotte NC area to create a gigantic 1.2 mile long panorama of Tryon Street. Then at a specific time, to the second, every single photographer lined up along the street would take a single frame and create what may possibly be the largest, seamless moment in time panoramic photograph ever.

Sean says “There was so much that could’ve gone wrong with this project, I was fearful there would be holes all along these two massive panoramics…” [sic] however as it turned out all 138 photographer’s cameras worked (phew.)

Sean Busher at inspecting the Panorama at the Moment Mile Exhibition

The project was put on to celebrate the reopening of The Light Factory a contemporary gallery of photography and film in Charlotte. On display during tonight’s opening (17th December 2014) will be two 100 foot long panoramas, which you can see in part towards the end of the ‘Making of’ video uploaded to Youtube below.

If you’re desperate to see an online version of the panorama, you’ll have to wait for the time being as an exclusive unveiling at the Mint Museum, 500 S. Tyron is happening right now. There have been a few frames ‘leaked’ to Twitter, like this unusual image by Jeff Cravotta outside of the Centre for Dance.

Jeff Cravotta's Submission to Moment Mile — Jeff Cravotta’s Submission to Moment Mile

You can also get a sneak preview of the exhibition in this video by the Charlotte Observer which gives away some details including the wonderfully placed ‘double yellow line’ (that’ll confuse the British folk) running between both East and West facing panoramas.

We’ll update this post as soon as an online version of the Panoramas are available.