Asian Lily
Photographs of the Forgotten — Tim Kirsch’s Museum of Abandoned Buildings
 |
||
 Have a cool photo product or site? |
||
Tim Kirsch is braver than us.
He lugs his DSLR and hefty tripod over fences, through pigeon poo, across teetering floorboards, and through the dark.
What’s this guy doing, you ask? He’s photographing the heart of the planet’s eeriest abandoned buildings. All in the name of art.
The results are stunning: a million shades of rust, ghostly-lit interiors, broken sinks, mirrors, typewriters, rotting pillows, a red barber’s chair that looks as new as the walls around it look old. Piles of tiles and wallpaper rot next to the room of broken wheelchairs. Birds nesting in a breaker room. Al Capone’s prison cell, just as he left it. (That’s it to the right.)
With so much new (and improved!) around us everyday, seeing the old and forgotten can really give one pause.
We’re inspired to bring our camera next time we’re rooting around that creepy cemetery on the hill. In fact, we’re searching out deserted buildings on our walk home.
p.s. Tomorrow’s the last day for the ’s election-related photo contest! All photos get on the homepage of their national website. Best photo wins $100 at Calumet Photo. Submit your entry on or email
| | Filed under . |
Why Photo Prints Appear too Dark
When it comes to prints being too dark, usually it is a result of an expectation of prints to appear exactly as they appear on a person's monitor and not the printer itself. What this means is that the dark prints are really printing the way the image is but the users monitor is making a dark image look brighter. Being in the , this is the one complaint that I hear the most.
This is most common for people using flat panel (LCD) monitors since they tend to emit brighter imagery than a more traditional and bulky computer (CRT) monitor. Laptops can be the worse culprit in all of this. MAC users may also experience this issue due to differences in the Gamma curve.
The easiest test is to print an image on your desktop printer at home on a decent photo quality paper.* If your print comes out looking dark then most likely your monitor is simply making your image too bright. The solution is usually a simple one if you are able to use a simple image editing program. Most let you adjust your pictures contrast and brightness levels. Run another test print and see if that does the trick. More more on how to test your images before taking them to print can be found if you .
You may also want to consult your monitor or video card settings to see if you can adjust the brightness and contrast of your monitor to match closer to how your printer outputs pictures.
*Note that various factors such as printer, media brightness, texture and size can affect actual color tones and perceived color as a result of color density.
Review roundup: Remember Albelli photo books?
A little while back a new photo book printing service called sprang up. They gave us some coupon codes for a free medium landscape photo book. You used those codes and made your books. And the general consensus? Meh.
Have you used a photo book printing service that you love (or hate)? Please tell us about it in the comments below!
As for Albelli, here’s what some of you thought of the service:
Dan wrote:
I wanted to wait until I received the book before I wrote a review. The review is still in development but I’m glad I waited because the book arrived with some problems in it. The software also has some issues that should be resolved, which I’ll mention in a comment on the blog post.
The real problem I have is that four images printed incorrectly. Two were badly skewed/stretched, one had a handwritten press through from paper on top where I can see a handwritten “43″ (it looks like a ballpoint pen was used with only a thin piece of paper on top of the photo for some reason) — and that’s on the first photo! Also one photo in a collage became nearly completely covered by another photo.
I already sent an e-mail to albelli’s service line with photos of the book and screenshots of the application showing the pages that are screwed up. Here are links to the photos/screenshots I sent them.
I just received the book last night — shipping was fast since I placed the order on Thursday.
p.s. I used the code but ended up getting a L version (8.5″ x 11″) book with over 60 pages in it, so I ended up paying albelli $45. Even if a replacement comes, I’m not sure it’s worth it vs. photobooks I’ve done with Shutterfly and Snapfish in past years.
wrote:
Well, if there’s one thing I can say for Abelli, they’re fast! I ordered my book on Tuesday evening, and it was waiting for me when I arrived home today!
The software for designing the book was simple and quick to use. There weren’t quite as many layout/design options as with Shutterfly or MPix, but the prices are lower in comparison. For some reason 3 of the photos I chose to upload would not go. I have no idea why–they were taken at the same time and with the same camera as all the others. That was annoying, because then I had to go back and choose new photos.
The book is nice. Smaller than I expected for a medium, but the printing is very nice quality and it’s bound well. The one very negative thing was that apparently there is a text limitation on the cover. I was unaware of this and chose the title of “********* Family Vacation” and the front of my book is printed with “********* Family Vac” This I do not like, and if I had paid for the book I would have asked for a reprint. However, since it was free, I’ll keep it :-)
Overall, I’d use them again for smaller sized photo books, especially if I’m in a hurry. The quality is good and they were super speedy and quite simple to use, and the prices are very reasonable—even shipping. For larger, more complicated books I’d probably stick with MPix, simply for the greater variety of design options.
Justin wrote:
I’ve been working with Albelli support since I got the coupon. So far, no luck. The app perpetually uploads my pictures, never finishing. :(
And later…
The latest software updates from Albelli seemed to fix most all of my problems. I was able to upload my photos, and I’ve gotten the book in the mail.
I agree that the book is small then expected. But it is the advertised size. I almost feel like they should warn me when I put four photos on the same page.
The book seems well bound to me, and I must say that I’m happy with it. However, the printing could be a little better. The pictures look a little grainy too me. Either my pictures are too small or the dpi is not high enough. Also, I’d like the option for glossy versus matte.
Thanks again for the coupon!
wrote:
Like a few other here, the software took forever to load. My last email to them was April 24th, and I finally got a reply TODAY - 20 days later!
At least they apologized for the delay.
I’ll try it again as soon as I can, but I’m turned off already.
wrote:
Well finally got around to it, just terrible.
Bad software with very limited options. No option to put a picture on the cover. Cropping and fitting images in the software basically does not work. Integration with flickr and smugmug works good, but that about it. I would not use the site again until the design aspect is beefed up, this does not come close to the other photo book companies I have used.
Thanks for sharing your opinions. There are a few more comments and mini-reviews in the comments section of the .
[caption id="attachment_20" align="alignnone" width="225" caption="My Heart is yours by Jessica"][/caption]
Hogy mit ábrázol a kép? Sokan sokfélét gondolnak, de vajon te ki tudod következtetni a valódi jelentését?
Your Bike? Awesome. Your Camera? Awesome. You Thinking what We’re Thinking?
 |
||
Have a cool photo product or site? |
||
The smell of the road, the wind at your back, infinity miles per gallon…
Riding your bike sure is sweet. But you know what would make it even sweeter? The tried-and-tested, make-it-yourself, $10 + 10 minutes Photojojo BikeCam!
Just don’t assemble it while moving. And stop at all red lights. And stop signs. And use your hand signals. And wear a helmet, for pete’s sake. Your brain’s in there.
Read on to find out how…
p.s. WeSay is running a photo contest — submit election-related photos by the end of the week and they’ll be featured on the homepage of their national website. The winner’s photo will be shown as the ‘hero shot’! Submit your entry on or email
()
| | Filed under , . |