Baron Dave Romm
On Photography
By Baron Dave Romm
Shockwave Radio Theater podcasts
On Photography: Definitions
I've been meaning to write an essay about photography for some time. Much has already been written about the subject, and much of it is quite good. I hope this adds to the field, or at least clarifies some of the terminology as I'm using it.
Image
The word photograph is no longer useful as the generic term in photography. With the rise of digital photography, the file that is displayed on your computer screen is no different than a drawing or a .pdf. I try to use the term image for the raw data file. You push a button, and an image is stored on the chip. Later, the image is transfered to your computer, for editing and/or printing.
Old habits die hard, and I still use terms like shot or pic for a photographic image, in sort of the same way I "tape" a tv show even though it's actually being recorded digitally on a DVR.
Many terms from chemical photography are still in use, and still apply to digital photography. Here are three aspects of an image, allowing the viewer to apply criteria as warranted.
Snapshot
By far the most number of images are snapshots. A snapshot is a recording of an event and the people at the event. The technical quality and artistic composition are rarely a major consideration. You want to know who was at the party. You want to see Uncle Morty back when he had hair. You want to remember the people around you at your birthday. You want to remind yourself of your vacation.
Snapshots don't have to be good pictures or good photographs, but it helps.
Picture
A picture tells a story. Within a single image, the viewer understands what is going on. The story can be an action, a mood, a time, a location or any combination. What makes a good picture is largely subjective, much like any art form, and not all pictures work for everyone. However, most good pictures are widely recognized as being great shots. The technical aspects of the image are secondary to the moment being captured.
Pictures don't have to be good snapshots or good photographs, but it helps.
Photograph
A photograph is judged on objective criteria: Lighting, clarity, composition, etc. You don't have to be a camera geek or a Photoshop expert to produce a really fine photograph, but the skillset necessary to produce consistently great work is more than just an expensive camera. Some great photographs are pretty to look at but boring outside of their didactic milieu.
Photographs don't have to be good snapshots or good pictures, but it helps.
Most images are a combination of snapshot, picture and photograph. You can compliment a good picture of a friend without implying anything about the snapshot or photograph aspects.
Nonetheless, the distinctions have value. It is better to have a grainy and static snapshot of your grandmother than none at all. It is better to have a really interesting picture that stays with you even if you don't know anyone in the shot and the lighting isn't so hot. It is better to have an accurately detailed photograph that's worth looking at even if you don't care about the subject matter and it doesn't do much but look pretty.
Comments welcome.
A great image
This is only vaguely related to the above, but I have to pass it on:
Stunning photo: Earth and Jupiter in the same shot. An image taken on Mars!
The smaller jpg, and the larger image plus diagram, take a while to load, but well worth it. Now, I want to go to Mars with camera in hand!
The War on Silent Christmas
Vikings vs. Steelers: Gravitational Homeopathy
A new study has confirmed what sports fans have known forever: During a live game, if you lean to one side you can affect the play. Grunting and tensing up helps. The effect is not great and can be cancelled out by many factors, notably fans of the other team leaning the other way. Football is a game of inches, and unquestionably, a small amount of desire can influence larger events. This Gravitational Homeopathy even extends to television watchers and, perhaps most surprisingly, radio listeners.
Gravitational Homeopathy loomed large in the Vikings-Steelers game. An impossible catch was made by Sidney Rice when his feet whipped back to come down inbounds. All those fans pushing him back were clearly advantageous. When the Vikings threatened, a Brett Favre fumble and a bounce off the usually sure hands of Chester Taylor must have been urged on by the fans in the stadium.
Eventually, Pittsburgh won 17-27. Since I predicted a Minnesota loss in my picks this week, I was satisfied. The Vikes are now 6-1, which is better than they deserve and still on top of their division. In those close moments, guess which way I was leaning.
Baron Dave Romm is a conceptual artist and a noble of Ladonia who produces Shockwave Radio Theater, writes in a Live Journal demi-blog maintains a Facebook Page, plays with a very weird CD collection and an ever growing list of political links. Dave Romm reviews things at random for obscure web sites. You can read all his music recommendations from Bartcop-E. Podcasts of Shockwave Radio Theater. Permanent archive. More radio programs, interviews and science fiction humor plays can be accessed on the Shockwave Radio audio page.
Thanks to everyone who has sent me music to play on the air.
Recommended Reading
from Bruce
James Rainey: Harvey Levin stands for a principle (latimes.com)
'Beach Bums' and Mini-Me's sex tape notwithstanding, the man behind TMZ is a champion of the 1st Amendment.
Froma Harrop: Social Security: Every Politician's Toy? (creators.com)
Caution: To read this essay, you may have to undergo annoying and intrusive advertising from the Community Union Credit Union.
Susan Estrich: Parents Behaving Badly (creators.com)
Caution: To read this essay, you may have to undergo annoying and intrusive advertising from the Community Union Credit Union.
Rosanna Greenstreet: "Q&A: Alan Johnson" (guardian.co.uk)
'My most embarrassing moment? Wetting myself in class.'
Bassey is back (guardian.co.uk)
Her first new album in 20 years has shot Dame Shirley into the limelight again. But fame, she tells Simon Hattenstone, has a dangerous flipsideŠ
Roger Ebert: Review of "AN EDUCATION" (PG-13; 4 stars)
"An Education" tells the story of a 16-year-old girl who is the target of a sophisticated seduction by a 35-year-old man. This happens in 1961, when 16-year-old girls were a great deal less knowing than they are now. Yet the movie isn't shabby or painful, but romantic and wonderfully entertaining.
Josh Levin: How to Fix the WNBA (slate.com)
Why the NBA's plan for selling women's basketball will never work-and what might.
Greg Beato: In Defense of Lingerie Football (doublex.com)
It didn't take long for the Lingerie Football League to live up to the low expectations of its critics.
BOB HERBERT: Pricing the Kids Out (nytimes.com)
Baseball was called the national pastime not only because it's a great sport but because it was a sport that was affordable for nearly all American families. Alas, no more.
Joe Weider: Failure and Beyond (creators.com)
Tip of the Week: How much food you eat is important, but not more than the quality of the food you eat.
Hubert's Poetry Corner
Maple Leaf Mail Enhancement
Bigger is ALWAYS better - or is it?
The Weekly Poll
Current Question
The 'Ham-demic' Edition
USDA Confirms H1N1 in Minnesota Pig - CBS News
Will you get an H1N1 (swine) flu inoculation, if it's made available to you?
Send your response to
Results Tuesday
wrote:
From The Creator of 'Avery Ant'
Link from RJ
Devil's Town
Hi there
Another possible link.... and what a strange place. Had neve rheard of this one before!
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Foggy night, sunny day.
Today is the kid's birthday.
He's been campaigning for some DVDs - but I wasn't expecting such an eclectic list.
Fritz Lang's 'M' and 'Metropolis'.
F.W. Murnau - a 6 disc compilation that includes Nosferatu, auf Deutsch.
And 'anything' by Monty Python (a very recent discovery).
He saw 'The Life Of Brian' for the first time last week, and 'Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life' is now his favorite punchline.
He's getting Murnau & the Pythons - Fritz will have to wait for Christmas.
Stand Up For Rupert
MSM News Bureau Chiefs
The Obama administration allowed a Fox News Channel reporter to interview Treasury Department "pay czar" Kenneth Feinberg after other network news executives said they wouldn't use a pool arrangement to speak to him unless Fox was included.
The dispute over the interview on Thursday comes in the midst of an ongoing battle between the White House and Fox over the network's coverage of President Barack Obama.
The White House said it had received requests from TV networks to speak to Feinberg and had asked that the interviews be recorded through the networks' pool arrangement. The pool is set up and paid for by ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN and Fox to save time and resources, so a single camera crew can record interviews done by separate network correspondents.
The White House said Fox had not asked for an interview and the White House sent its request for a pool reporter without including Fox. Bureau chiefs held a quick conference call and decided that their networks would not do the interviews unless Fox was given the opportunity, said a network executive who spoke on condition of anonymity because the person did not wish to be a part of the White House-Fox tiff.
MSM News Bureau Chiefs
Havana Bound
Sean Penn
Oscar-winning actor and political activist Sean Penn flew to Cuba hoping to interview its revolutionary icon Fidel Castro, entertainment news website TMZ reported Sunday.
"Sean (Penn) is going to the land of Fidel as a journalist, writing a story for Vanity Fair (magazine) about how the (Barack) Obama administration has affected Cuba," TMZ reported.
Penn was traveling with Diana Jenkins: "Actually ... it's her plane ... she's married to the head honcho at Barclays bank," TMZ added, noting the pair set out from Las Vegas on Saturday.
"Barclays sources say Sean and Diana are going to meet (Fidel) Castro -- presumably because that's what Diana told them," the website reported. Penn's representative also told TMZ a meeting was possible.
Sean Penn
Returns To Malawi
Madonna
Madonna arrived in Malawi Sunday to visit the girls school she is building in the impoverished country where she adopted two children, an official for the star's charity said.
The official who could not be named because he was not authorized to speak on the matter said Madonna arrived at about 2:30 p.m. (1230 GMT; 8:30 a.m. EDT) on Ethiopian Airlines.
The 51-year-old celebrity was accompanied by her four children - Lourdes, 13, Rocco, 9, as well as her two adopted children. Madonna adopted the Malawian-born Mercy, 3, this year and David, 4, in 2008.
The official said Madonna would take part in a groundbreaking ceremony for the school on Monday.
Madonna
Hollywood Walk O'Fame
Peter Graves
TV and movie veteran Peter Graves is to be honoured with the 2,391st star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
The actor will unveil his star, a block away from where he once lived as a struggling actor, on 30 October.
As well as starring in the Mission: Impossible TV series, Graves also starred in the movies Stalag 17 and comedy Airplane.
Next year marks the 60th anniversary of his acting career. He'll also be honoured with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Ojai Film Festival next month.
Peter Graves
World Record Attempt
"Thriller"
Dancers have launched a worldwide attempt to be listed in the Guinness Book of World Records for the greatest number of people simultaneously dancing to Michael Jackson's hit song "Thriller."
Some 230 people donated food or money to the food bank in this western Canadian city for the right to contort themselves into the zombie poses of Jackson's song, which blasted out of loudspeakers Saturday as howls reverberated off surrounding high rises in a downtown Vancouver plaza.
Although separated by thousands of miles, the celebration in Vancouver mirrored a similar event in a park in the Argentine capital where about 400 Michael Jackson fans shook to the beat to the singer's 1982 hit.
The dance party in Buenos Aires brought together adults, teenagers and children, who were not even born when "Thriller" first hit the record stores.
"Thriller"
Hospital News
Andrew Lloyd Webber
Composer Andrew Lloyd Webber has been diagnosed with prostate cancer, his spokeswoman said Sunday. The 61-year-old Lloyd Webber's condition is in its early stages, a statement from his publicists said. "Andrew is now undergoing treatment and expects to be fully back at work before the end of the year," the statement said.
Lloyd Webber recently announced plans for a sequel to his phenomenally successful musical "Phantom of the Opera." Called "Love Never Dies," it is scheduled to open in London in March and follow on Broadway in November. Rehearsals begin in the new year.
At a media event for the new musical earlier this month, Lloyd Webber said that while the story picks up where "Phantom" left off, he doesn't regard it as a sequel - "it's a standalone piece."
But Lloyd Webber said he was inspired to write the musical because "there's unfinished business."
Andrew Lloyd Webber
Released From Hospital
Morrissey
Former Smiths frontman Morrissey was released Sunday from a hospital where he was held overnight after collapsing on stage during a concert.
A spokeswoman for the Great Western Hospital in the English city of Swindon said the singer was "much improved."
Morrissey was performing at the Oasis Leisure Centre in Swindon, about 100 miles (160 kilometers) west of London, on Saturday night as part of his "Swords" tour when he was stricken. Two band members rushed to his side and dragged him offstage.
He has rescheduled several shows this year, and is due to play a string of European dates through the rest of October and November.
Morrissey
Worldwide Protests
Climate Change
Kicking off with thousands gathering on the steps of Sydney's iconic Opera House, global warming protests took place around the world Saturday to mark 50 days before the UN climate summit.
From Asia to Europe via the Middle East, activists staged lively events addressing world leaders and to mobilise public opinion around climate issues.
Many waved placards bearing the logo 350, referring to 350 parts per million (ppm) of CO2 in the atmosphere which scientists say must not be exceeded to avoid runaway global warming.
Protesters who met in a central square had set their alarm clocks and mobile phones to ring at 12:18 pm (1018 GMT) in reference to the closing date of the summit, which lasts from December 7-18.
Climate Change
Lebanese Sets World Record
Hummus
Lebanese chefs prepared a massive plate of hummus weighing over two tons Saturday that broke a world record organizers said was previously held by Israel - a bid to reaffirm proprietorship over the popular Middle Eastern dip.
"Come and fight for your bite, you know you're right!" was the slogan for the event - part of a simmering war over regional cuisine between Lebanon and Israel, which have had tense political relations for decades.
Lebanese businessmen accuse Israel of stealing a host of traditional Middle Eastern dishes, particularly hummus, and marketing them worldwide as Israeli.
Hummus - made from mashed chickpeas, sesame paste, olive oil, lemon juice, salt and garlic - has been eaten in the Middle East for centuries. Its exact origin is unknown, though it's generally seen as an Arab dish.
Hummus
MSM Sucks
Non-News
A balloon racing across the Colorado sky without a 6-year-old boy inside. A major lobbyist not changing its position on climate change. A shootout with terrorists on the Potomac River that never happened.
The recent spate of hoaxes and premature stories exposes a dangerous fault line for journalists in the world of second-by-second news.
Each situation was unique. But they all diminished the credibility of news organizations at a time when the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press has reported that 63 percent of Americans believe news stories are often inaccurate - the worst report card it has ever seen.
In all the cases, a desire to push the story out fast took priority over a phone call to double-check.
Non-News
Walks 10,000 Miles In Husband's Memory
Martha Michel
An 88-year-old woman in Colorado Springs who walks laps around a nursing home in memory of her deceased husband has hit a major milestone: 10,000 miles. Martha Michel walks laps daily around the lake at Namaste Alzheimer Center. Michel started walking the lake with her husband, Lester, who was a patient at the center. After Lester Michel's death in 1998, Martha Michel kept up the walking in his memory.
The two were married 56 years and enjoyed hiking Colorado peaks until Lester Michel got too sick. Martha Michel keeps meticulous records of her walks around the lake, and on Saturday, she hit 10,000 miles. That's about the same as walking across the United States three times.
Martha Michel
Weekend Box Office
'Paranormal Activity'
Paramount's upstart chiller "Paranormal Activity" went into nationwide release and took over the No. 1 spot with $22 million. That compares to just $14.8 million for the debut of "Saw VI," a franchise that has been an annual Halloween fixture since 2004.
It was the worst opening ever for Lionsgate's "Saw" series, whose previous low was $18.3 million for the original movie. Subsequent installments of the "Saw" franchise all opened at $30 million or better.
The previous weekend's No. 1 movie, the Warner Bros. tale "Where the Wild Things Are," fell to No. 3, just behind "Saw VI" with $14.4 million. Spike Jonze's adaptation of the beloved children's book by Maurice Sendak raised its total to $54 million.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Hollywood.com. Final figures will be released Monday.
1. "Paranormal Activity," $22 million.
2. "Saw VI," $14.8 million.
3. "Where the Wild Things Are," $14.4 million.
4. "Law Abiding Citizen," $12.7 million.
5. "Couples Retreat," $11.1 million.
6. "Astro Boy," $7 million.
7. "The Stepfather," $6.5 million.
8. "Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant," $6.3 million.
9. "Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs," $5.6 million.
10. "Zombieland," $4.3 million.
'Paranormal Activity'
In Memory
Lou Jacobi
Actor Lou Jacobi, who was known for comic roles and won praise in dramatic ones over a long career in the theater and movies, has died. He was 95.
Jacobi made his Broadway debut in 1955 in "The Diary of Anne Frank," playing one of the occupants of the Amsterdam attic where the Franks were hiding. He played the same role in the 1959 film version.
He was in nine other Broadway plays, including Paddy Chayefsky's "Tenth Man" in 1959 and Neil Simon's "Come Blow Your Horn" in 1961.
Jacobi was in some two dozen other movies, including the Dudley Moore comedy "Arthur," Woody Allen's "Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex" and Barry Levinson's "Avalon."
His last movie was "I.Q." in 1994. He played the logician Kurt Godel, one of Albert Einstein's professor friends at Princeton.
He also appeared in many TV shows, including "The Man From U.N.C.L.E." and "That Girl." He was a regular on "The Dean Martin Show" on NBC for two seasons in the early 1970s.
Jacobi was born Louis Harold Jacobovitch in 1913 in Toronto and began acting as a boy.
He married Ruth Ludwin in 1957. She died in 2004. He is survived by a brother, Rabbi Avrom Jacobovitch, and a sister, Rae Gold, both of Toronto.
Lou Jacobi
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