Put away the Star Wars action figures and set your phasers to stun, the PRC is not hosting a Sci-Fi convention. BUT, we did recently receive a very generous gift of lil’ mimobots (thanks mimoco) for use in our youth education programs. I’m not generally a “Tech Geeking Out” poster but these little guys were just too cool so I thought a blog entry was in order.

So what exactly is a mimobot? When all is said and done, a mimobot is a designer USB storage drive. mimoco, the company that produces the toy/drive, commissioned a variety of artists and designers to develop the identity and design for each individual mimobot. The result, cute and cuddly mass storage devices that truly demonstrate the new convergences between art and commerce. The roster of artists commissioned by mimoco include some heavy hitters in the creative field such as artist/illustrator/ cartoonist/all-around madman Gary Baseman. And for all you sci-fi folks, they even have a new Star Wars series. Now if they could only hook up my floppy disks.

Since the “name all the photo songs you know” post a couple of weeks ago went over so well, I thought you all would enjoy this too.  Although this quiz has been circulating a bit and it’s not too deep or rigorous, it’s still a perfect Friday post.

Answer questions such as this, “Which activity would interest you most?” and the quiz will spit out your photo doppelganger.  I took it and was deemed Henri Cartier Bresson; Bruce took it and was dubbed Ansel Adams, go figure.  Please share your photo-mate in the comments!

Click here or on the above banner to take the 7 question quiz.

Do they include any from this excellent list of 10 songs with photographic themes courtesy of Photo Shelter’s most excellent Shoot the Blog?

Besides Outkast’s Hey Ya! and their iconic “shake it like a Polaroid picture” chorus, what else, pun intended, develops? (Be sure to also check out the above post’s comment section for even more photo songs and photo punniness.)

A mix of such tunes might just be the perfect soundtrack for the next PRC PhotoSLAM!  What do you think?

While you contemplate, you can listen to Jack Jackson’s F-Stop Blues!

Above is just one of the many images featured on the hilarious blog photoshopdisasters.blogspot.com. Check back daily and be sure to browse their older posts, accessible at the bottom of the page. Do give yourself enough time to browse, you’ll be sucked in!

Below is their ode to post modernism that accompanies the above classic from Mexico’s Maxim as well as their open call for erased furniture, missing belly buttons, elongated body parts, and cloning gone wild.

“By renormalizing the model’s waistline, Maxim Mexico takes a bold socio-political stance in the ongoing battle of the politics of representation, clearly referencing the oppressive reification of male-gaze heteronormative modes of synthesis in a semiotic blancmange of post-structural teakettle barbecue hatstand fishmonger.”

We hope all photo friends enjoy the long weekend and celebrate in your respective ways! The PRC will be closed the 4th and through the weekend.

Today, I begin to take down the PRC Juried Exhibition (a great run! - but all good things must come to an end). The gallery will soon be given over to Summer Photo Camp, so there will be no exhibition on display until early September. Make no mistake, we’re still here, busy prepping for the next year and our upcoming 2008 PRC Benefit Auction!

Above is a Flickr montage for your enjoyment and here are some tips for photographing fireworks from the Boston Globe. Have a safe and happy 4th!

ABOVE: A montage from Drumnwhistle’s flickr stream created with a flickr toy

Before we go any further let me just say that I am not the world’s most tech savy person-far from it!  However, even with my meager understanding of printing processes, I was pretty impressed when Eric Luden, owner and operator of the brand spanking new shop Digital Silver Imaging, showed me examples of work shot digitally and processed using traditional gelatin silver chemicals. How is this possible…well, I’m not exactly sure. It involves some very cool machines, old school chemistry and new school papers and technology. I do know that it presents some interesting options for folks out there who shoot digitally but want an actual gelatin silver print. If you want to learn more why don’t you head out to Digital Silver Imaging’s grand opening tonight and ask Eric yourself. The event goes from 4-7 p.m.  You can also check out the article Eric wrote for teachingphotography.com or see him at the Photographic Resource Center’s Annual Portfolio Review Day this Sunday, where he will have a booth and tons of samples.

Teaching Photo is a wonderful resource for photographers, photo educators, and students. It’s run by Henry Horenstein whose no-nonsense approach to topics like post-grad life options, lesson plan ideas, current trends, etc., is refreshing and helpful. Be sure to check it out.

Local is the new global.  The internet lets you communicate with people around the world, but most people use it to find things in their own backyards - weather, movies, restaurants, art shows, dates…  We’re all about local at Boston Photography Focus and the PRC, although we consider local to be all of metro Boston, all of Massachusetts, and all of New England, which sometimes includes New York City.

So we’re happy to acknowledge links and shouts from Universal Hub and Dan’s flickr list of regional groups.  Dan’s list includes our own New England Survey Online, and lots of other fun local flickr communities, such as the always artsy Union Square 02143, my hometown Cambridge, MA, our buddies at Massart (digital_Massart), Boston Photo Nerds and (I wonder if there is a lot of overlap?) Boston’s Single Flickrites, and the always popular Lomo it Boston.  And don’t forget to check out the PRC’s own little corner of flickr.

So there’s not really much of an excuse not to share your photos with like-minded folks.  Drop us a line and let us know about your favorite photo groups, online or off!

CALL FOR PHOTOS!

The PRC invites you to share your photographs with our new Flickr group, “New England Survey Online.” - www.flickr.com/groups/newenglandsurveyonline

Can’t make it physically to see the exhibition New England Survey at the Photographic Resource Center? Or, you did see it, were inspired, and want to respond artistically? Or even, have you scads of wonderfully poetic photographs of and about the New England landscape?

Well then, you are in luck… we have launched a topical PRC flickr group. Help us test the waters of this new idea in the hopes that we can do it with other topics in the future. Share your work with us and the world! To date we have over 100 photos, 40 members, and an active discussion. Browse the photographs in the pool here and see how to add yours below.

This is an open opportunity for all to share and discuss photographs which resonate with our current exhibition and asks “What is New England about New England landscape?” We are hoping to gather together images that explore a state of mind and a sense of place that is unique to this region. We invite you to post your thoughts about this issue as well as any information on your images (and even poems too!).

To share your New England photographs and get started, first you must have a Flickr account (free!). After you do, sign in as yourself first, then go to the PRC’s group page by clicking here and to the right you’ll see “Join this Group” link. Click on it, read the rules and if you agree, and then join the group! (The rules are very minor but will help to keep the group running smoothly and a joy to all.) After you’ve joined, return to your Flickr page, click on the picture you want to share and along the top of it you’ll see “Send to group.” Click on that, select our group’s name, and then presto you are all set! If you have any issues, first visit these Flickr group FAQs, or send us an email.

[The following is an excerpt from the current issue of the PRC's newsletter, in the loupe]

Do you photo blog?

Like many of you that are on the shady side of thirty years old, I tend to embrace any and all new technologies reluctantly and with a lugubrious attitude. A good example: my refrigerator still houses a substantial amount of 35mm film even though I have been shooting digitally for several years. But, in the case of the photo blog phenomenon, I have to say that I embraced the blogosphere - as a reader, not a publisher - early and with great enthusiasm. Why? Simply because a large number of the better blogs present an amazingly good selection of emerging talent. Over the last several years, I’ve become familiar with the work of photographers that I would not get to know by any other means. If you haven’t visited a good blog lately, here are a few killer photo blogs that reside on the Fitts favorite list:

• LensCultureWeblog
• Aphotoeditor
• Magnum Blog
• Conscientious
• Avisualsociety
• iheartphotograph

The following is inspired by a recent post on the most excellent “State of the Art” blog courtesy of American Photo magazine.  (If you don’t know about “State of the Art” considering subscribing or visiting often, as it is a true font of photo news.)  Honoring the Academy Awards this coming weekend, AP aptly points out that a movie camera-adapted Lensbaby was used in the Oscar-nominated film, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly.  Photo author and AP Editor Russell Hart has a great discussion of the mechanics of this fun photo little tool here and its new use in movies and video. If you are not familiar with the Lensbaby, it is a selective focus lens.  Think of it as your own mini bellows with a “tilt-shift” lens, but for your 35m analog or digital camera!  Read more at their web site.  I’ll be rooting for the film, director/painter Julian Schnabel, and his cinematographer this coming Sunday.  Will you? - Leslie