Photographic
Google Sky
If you have tired of revisiting all the places you have ever lived in or traveled to on Google Earth, the time is ripe to take an uncharted journey into space with Google Sky. Typical of Google’s grandly ambitious and well executed projects, Google Sky partners with the experts in this field, namely astronomers from some of the largest observatories in the world, and features images captured by the Hubble Space Telescope. Like its Earth brother, Google Sky offers many inventive ways of exploring the universe. One can see the sky through infrared and microwave wavelengths as well as a fascinating overlay of historical maps of the heavens, not to mention that you can receive podcasts about the goings on in the night sky.
Imaging Famine
A fascinating and provocative investigation into how stories of famine (particularly in Africa) are brought to us in images. This broad topic is broken down into 20 themes that explore what role “disaster photography” plays how in famine is portrayed today, with video commentary from photographers, journalists, and academics. Imaging Famine means to establish debate about how we look at and understand the suffering of others by presenting historical images of famine alongside current photography. This is an in-depth yet accessible and enlightening research project on the political side-effects of photography.
PhotoQuotes
For all those people out there who love photography and love quotes! Serious dedication has gone into making this an endless site of infinite affirmation. Words of wisdom from the greats of photography.
Roger Fenton's Letters from the Crimea
Roger Fenton (1819-69) was one of the most influential and important photographers of the mid-19th century, exhibiting more widely and prolifically than any other of the period. Unlike his contemporaries, Fenton never felt constrained to stick to one distinct photographic genre. Instead he moved freely from portraiture, narrative tableaux, documentary sequences, landscape and topographical studies, and elaborate still-life studies made in his studio. Documenting the Crimean War was as wrought with technical and logistical problems as the armies were wrought with division and disease.
Scream Online
Reflecting the frustrations (horrors even!) of getting good work seen and talked about, The Scream takes full advantage of the web’s possibilities and has built a showcase for all kinds of artistic enterprises. Photographers and photo enthusiasts will find a wonderfully eclectic range of postings including found photos, work from news-making up and comers, wide-ranging discussions on established photographers, news from photo organizations and reviews of photo events, often accompanied by essays and other contextual information. There is a lot to see here and because the site’s authors clearly have a sense of humor, some it is hilarious and/or truly weird.
Silverbased
An intelligent, thorough and very funny blog that is based on the premise that “film is cooler.” Blog writer Vox lays out all kinds of do-it-yourself projects, geeky technical reports and up to date news on the sadly diminished world of film photography. Want to know how to hack your old Polaroid instant camera? Silverbased provides wonderfully illustrated step-by step instructions, and will even tell you where to find the last packages of film for what is likely to become a museum piece. We can credit the digital age for bringing us this wonderful hardcore analogue wisdom.
The Letters of William Henry Fox Talbot
The Correspondence of William Henry Fox Talbot Project has prepared a comprehensive edition of the nearly 10,000 letters to and from Talbot (1800-1877). An incredible legacy; an indispensable research tool for anyone interested in the life and work of the man who invented photography.
The Visual Economy of HIV/AIDS
The Visual Economy of HIV/AIDS project sets out to analyze, in an almost scientific fashion, the way HIV/AIDS have been presented to the world through photography since the virus first appeared in 1981, in order to determine if the pictures we are seeing are telling us the whole story. The site lays out the systematic guidelines for analysis, looking at front page photos from major UK and American newspapers and publications as well as documentary series by particular photojournalists, looking to see if, among other things, the HIV/AIDS pandemic is more often being portrayed using the recognized “African disaster” iconography, or is it being shown in terms of threat to global human and economic security? This is site is based on a 2008 report for the AIDS, Security and Conflict Initiative, and with its academic language and text-heavy pages, it is not designed for the casual web surfer. It is, however, a serious resource for anyone interested in knowing more about how the evolving story of the HIV/AIDS pandemic is being presented to us.