Toluu

A Photography Blog.

Tilt-Shift Maker, I Have Mixed Feeling About You.Yesterday

There's a new machine on the market that will make you into an instant Laforet (not really. it's hard to be that awesome), and it makes me uneasy. It's called tilt-shift maker and this is what it does:



=



Whoa, my little divers turned into littler doll-like divers! I want to do another!



Hmm, that one didn't work as well. I should do another.

Fernwood Camp We'll Ever Loyal BeJanuary 7

You really do learn things from Facebook. Today I learned about the fan group for my beloved all-girls camp in Maine. My mom went there too. I'm obsessed with it in a very healthy way.

After joining said group, I scrolled down a bit further, and was reminded of Daniel Cooney's igavel art auction, which is a super way to pick up some affordable, relevant photography. Some real gems in here.

Of course, as I was already humming camp songs, it was Jennifer Loeber's image that stood out to me-- the one above, entitled Camp Photo Day, 2008. It's from her brilliant series Cruel Story of Youth, which documents the camp that she loved. You can sense her own memories of perms, Reeboks and braces in these.

I had a real twinge of indentification when i first saw these images last year; I'm so glad Facebook and Mr. Cooney reminded me of them.

Here are two more. See the whole series here.

Richard Kalvar, Maine and Me.January 6

excuse the crummy iphone picture quality

I went home to my mom's house in Maine last week and saw an old friend: a postcard that has been tucked in her mirror for a good long while. I think I sent it to her the summer I was a maid on Martha's Vineyard in college.

I did not know who took the picture at the time, and was delighted to turn it over now and see that it was Magnum's own Richard Kalvar.

Richard Kalvar/Magnum Photos

Here's the caption info:

Warsop Vale is one of England's largest mining towns. Between 1973 and 1974 it led several strikes protesting against British Prime Minister Edward HEATH's conservative labor policies. 1974.

Smile for your Official White House PortraitJanuary 6

Whoa, is that a cat in the White house?!  I stopped short the other day at this formal portrait of Socks that accompanied an article about his waning health. Barbara Kinney took the shot. I did a little research and found Barney in a similar pose:




Barney looks distracted. Photographer Alex Cooney should have thrown a shoe (or something) to get his attention.

Just kidding. I'm psyched to see which flavor animal they hoist onto the White House podium next. My guess is that it's going to rhyme with fabazoodle.

My Wikipedia wanderings taught me a lot about presidential pets. And presidential pet names. Really, this record of first dogs can keep you and your friends occupied for hours. Highlights include Calvin Coolidge's impressive roster:


Rob Roy and Prudence Prim - White collies
Paul Pry - Airedale TerrierCalamity Jane - Shetland Sheepdog
Boston Beans - B

Christopher Anderson and the Delicious FoodsJanuary 5

Short list of things I love, off the top of my head:

photography
lobster
cheese
sasha obama
glitter
planets
riflery
astronaut ice cream

Seeing as four out of eight of my my favorite things (1/2!) involve food and photography, I appoint myself an expert on food photography. And as said expert, I crown Magnum photographer Christopher Anderson's illustrations for New York Magazine's Where to Eat story the best I've seen in 2009.

Narrative, intriguing, even spooky at times, these images are about more than just the food.