Diana F+
10 January 2009 by Josh Ames
My favorite gift for Christmas this year has to be my Diana F+ Lomography camera. It is the first film camera I have ever owned. Yes, really. I’ll admit it. I am a newbie when it comes to film photography. I’m getting used to loading the film, manually adjusting everything, and getting much delayed gratification when it comes to seeing the results of my exposures. It has been quite the learning experience to say the least.
The Diana F+ camera is a reproduction of the original Diana camera that was introduced in the 1960s in Hong Kong by the Great Wall Plastics Company. It was an all plastic, low cost camera designed as an affordable camera for the Chinese middle class. Many clones followed, and in the 1980s a similar camera, the Holga became hugely popular all over the world. In the 90s Lomographic Society International recreated the original Diana. They also added new features such as pinhole and panorama functionality and flash support.
Although I view Lomography as a bit of a gimmick, (it is a market basically created by a single company) I think it’s a great introduction to the analog world of photography; a world that is quickly getting lost to the digital age. Lomography basically allows one an experience that completely contrasts with digital. Lo-Fi and unpredictable, it’s given me a flavor that screams analog!
I was disappointed with my initial run of photos, but I saw them improving with each of the three rolls I initially developed. I look forward to more experimentation with my Diana F+ camera.
Camerabag
2 November 2008 by Josh Ames
I’ve had my iPhone since it first debuted in 2007 and I love it. I use most, if not all of the main functions of the phone but have really stopped using the camera function very often. The quality of the iPhone camera is lacking; it takes poor photos in low light and you have to be very careful to hold the camera steady or the motion blur is out of control. That said, it can still take decent and interesting pictures in the right situations.
A few weeks ago this all changed. I discovered a great little app in the iPhone App Store called CameraBag by NeverCenter. Camerabag allows you to simulate the look and feel of other cameras or lenses using the built in camera on the iPhone without having to edit individual photos in Photoshop later. The following modes are included on Camerabag:
Helga
The Helga setting is based on the Holga series of cameras that were introduced as a low cost camera for middle class China in the early 1980s. Holga cameras were known for their imperfect saturation, vignetting and unpredictable focus. This setting is great for a retro “street camera” look.Lolo
The Lolo setting is based on the poplular Lomo toy cameras and feature high color saturation. Use this setting to make your photos look bright and colorful.Cinema
Dramatic widescreens shots with a cinematic flair.Ansel
Shoot Ansel Adams style in this mode for black and white photos with a full gradation of black to white.1962
This mode will allow you to take photos that look like a professional black and white photographer from the 60s.1974
This mode will make your photos look like discolored old color photos you took back in the 70s.Fisheye
The fisheye mode simulates a fisheye lens.Infrared
One of the most intersted modes on Camerabag is the Infrared mode. This will simulate an infrared lens. The results aren’t perfect, but it’s great to have an “instant” infrared camera at your fingertips.
This little $5 app has added new life to my iPhone and I would recommend it to anyone who wants to get more out of their iPhone camera. I’m looking forward to new modes that NeverCenter adds in future updates. They have already added the Fisheye mode since I’ve downloaded it.
Facebook and Effective Advertising
24 October 2008 by Josh Ames
The ads are real, but you can’t click on them. I know, I’m such a tease.
In the world of online advertising, Google is king. While Google is a great way to advertise online, most people forget about other opportunities to get their business seen and heard. I’m going to talk about Facebook. Millions of people use Facebook, many of them everyday. There are over 60,000 people in the Lansing/East Lansing Network alone. That is nearly as many people who subscribe to the Lansing State Journal on a daily basis. The great thing about Facebook advertising is that advertisers can effectively target specific demographics in an amazingly accurate way. I, personally have clicked on many ads on Facebook and I’m amazed at how interested I am in many of them. This is the true power of Facebook as a platform. Users voluntarily submit their interests so that they can connect with others. Advertisers can then use this information to target the specific people they know will be more interested in their product or service than the average person.
I will be using Facebook ads in the upcoming months and will specifically express my thoughts in greater detail and document the results of this advertising.
A New Move
17 October 2008 by Josh Ames
The beginning of September brought a big change to my life. I bought my first home and now live right smack dab in the center of Lansing. My new home is located in the recently organized Greencroft Park Neighborhood, which is located just south of Reo Town. I’m enjoying my new home a lot, although the past month and a half has been quite the learning experience with a whirlwind of home improvement projects, leaky everythings and getting myself settled into day to day life again. Now that I’m at least somewhat settled in to the new place, I thought I would document my goals for my creative life for the next few months.
My first goal is to actually start writing for this blog. I want to write at least one posting a week. This will help me to stay accountable to myself and keep my creative work on target. Look for postings on my involvement with the neighborhood and the city at large, projects I’m working on and topical writing about marketing, advertising and design.
One of the first projects on my plate is to design and develop a website for the Greencroft Park Neighborhood Association. I’m excited to be a part of the neighborhood and look forward to helping improve the area. Look more posts on the subject in the near future.
Photography is one of my passions and improving my skills is another one of my goals. One of the best ways to do this would be to join a photography club. It would be great to meet a group of like-minded individuals, share tips and plan photo walks. If I can’t find an already established group, I plan on starting my own. I’ll be adding a gallery of my best photos on this site in the next couple of months.
I am committed to this blog and have great plans for it. If I get behind on my goal of writing a blog post a week (at minimum) please call me on it! Feel free to send me a message. You can email me at josh@constructcreative.com. I look forward to hearing your comments, words of encouragement, or even some constructive criticism.
Rebel
9 December 2007 by Josh Ames
In the next couple weeks I will be buying a brand new camera. For the past few years I have been using a simple Canon PowerShot S410, a point and shoot camera. I am finally ready to dive into a digital SLR system and have chosen the Canon Digital Rebel XTi. I have chosen to stick with Canon as I have been impressed with their performance and reliablility, with both their cameras and their printers. The Rebel XTi is a great entry level camera that will give me a lot of bang for my buck. The next year will be a huge learning experience!
Taming the Perfectionist Within
12 December 2006 by Josh Ames
I am a perfectionist. A good designer has to be. This obsession for perfection, however, causes its problems. When I am working for a client, or at my full-time day job, I know that I have deadlines and I can work within those parameters and get things done… as perfectly as possible of course. But when it comes to doing my own personal projects, my perfection runs rampant. Developing the Construct brand has been the worst. Is the logo good enough? Versatile enough? Does it convey the essence of what I want the company to be? I agonized over every detail, not just the logo. (I won’t even get started on the code) Eventually, I realized that a lot of my worry was actually fear. I was afraid to take the leap and expose myself creatively. Sure, I do it all the time for work, but this is different. This is personal. I had to admit that this website is not the peak of my career, I am still growing and learning new things every day. In fact THAT is what makes me a good designer. I can look at what I’ve done and learn from it; improve on it in the future. But in the meantime, my current design is a great stepping stone in the process.