Why do they look like this?

For another “Frivolous Friday” edition of the blog, I came across photographer Robbie Cooper’s work called ” Immersion”.  Here are a few photos from the collection:

So what exactly do the pictures portray?  Cooper took photos of kids immersed in various video games and you can see how focused they are.  If you’ve ever played a video game of any kind (and my sister will attest to a sore lip all because she stuck her tongue out during an entire afternoon of Super Mario), you’ll know that it is not only body language that gets used.  Facial expressions are also high on the list and Cooper captures it brilliantly.  You can see more of the photos here, as they appeared in a feature for the New York Times.  Keep in mind that some of the work that Cooper does is VERY controversial, but this collection of photos is brilliant.  You’ll get a chuckle out of them.

Read a book….take a nap!

We talk a lot to patrons about the size of their books and the fact that so many of us read in bed.  Many people don’t like to take out large books because of that fact…they are simply too heavy to read in bed.  One other common complaint is that people often fall asleep when reading.  Combine these two problems and you have this great photo by Rebecca Miller.

What are you doing with your pictures?

I take an awful lot of pictures at the library, mainly during storytime or other events with the kids who visit our library.  I’m not a professional photographer and sometimes the pictures don’t turn out as great as I’d like them to, so I need a little help editing.  We do have a photo editing program on one of the computers at work, but I would have to go and work on that computer, edit the pictures, then come back to my computer to finish my work, so I opt for online photo editors.

I must say that recently, there have been some wonderful free sites to pop onto the web to help people edit photos and I really don’t know why anyone would spend money anymore to purchase photo editing software.  These sites have some options of purchasing upgrades to allow even more options for your photos, but really, the average person can create without the need to spend anything.  Here are a few of my recent favourites:

#1.  Picnik

This site is especially easy to maneuver and it has a HUGE array of options to edit your pictures.  It allows you to do all the usual things like cropping, colour editing, fixing red-eye and rotating your photos.  But it also has wonderful, creative editing features like creating vignettes, making mock Polaroid shots and adding different focus lenses on your photos.  The whole layout is really beautiful with lots of green grass, just like a real picnic and I especially love the loading icons which tell you the site is growing grass, blooming flowers or mowing the lawn while you are waiting for a photo to load.

#2. Pixenate

Pixenate was my first favourite for editing pictures at work (until I found Picnik) but I still is one of the easiest photo editors to use anywhere.  The pictures upload quickly and they show them in almost full screen mode so that you can really see what you are trying to edit. (Nothing worse than a thumbnail sized photo to edit!)

#3.  TiltShift Maker

This is a new one for me and one that is so fun and creative I had to share it!  It takes your regular pictures and uses a creative technique to make your photo look like everything is miniature.  Take this picture of mine, for example.  I took this photo in Appleton, Ontario.  Picture number 2 is the tiltshift version.

And here is my tiltshift photo:

#4. PhotoFunia

Or how about putting your picture into another in a variety of crazy ways.  You’ll have a fun time with this site and it is well worth visiting if you are looking for some creative gifts!

So have a little fun with your pictures and find your inner photographer!

Mornings and evenings

With all of the fantastic online options of posting your pictures, Flickr has really provided so many people with the opportunity to show off their photography skills, whether they are professional or just having fun. And while many people just post randomly, some are very regimented in posting pictures, known as visual blogging.  Like writing, photography is something that many people feel they need to do everyday in order to practice their skills.  Two such women, 3191 miles apart have been doing just that and recently published a book of their photos.

On the morning of December 7, 2006, Maria Alexandra Vettese and Stephanie Congdon Barnes each took a digital photo of everyday objects randomly arranged on their kitchen tables and, unbeknownst to one another, uploaded them to the website Flickr.   And the rest is history, so to speak.  Each day, these women would post a photo taken before 10am that showed the little details of their lives.  Kindred spirits, they have only met once, but their book entitled A Year of Mornings : 3191 Miles Apart showcases their gorgeous shots.

Each woman continues to take photographs and they now both contribute to websites about their ideas.

http://3191ayearofmornings.com/

http://3191.visualblogging.com/

(A few of their photos taken on various mornings…..3191 miles apart.)

Why not start your own visual blog?

Librophiliac Love Letter

Libraries inspire people in more ways than you can imagine. Sure, we’ve all felt compelled to share a life-changing book with others, or maybe it is just the people at your local library who always encourage and guide you in directions that you never even knew you needed to go. Many times, though, it is the library itself that inspires, and there is a wonderful site that I came across that has compiled its own list of the world’s most beautiful libraries. Curious Expeditions is worth visiting, if not to see the libraries they have posted, then to see what other little gems they have on their site. Looking for something about mummies, museums or astronomy? You’ll find it here for sure. You can visit their great library photos here:

http://curiousexpeditions.org/?p=78

Biblioteca Geral University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal

Boston Copley Public Library, Boston, USA

On another quick note, today is our summer student’s last day. Thanks, Kelsey, for all your hard work! Have a great year at school!

The sequel to Where’s Waldo?

This is just one of the great photos in a photoshop contest that challenges people to hide the elephant. Okay, so Waldo has nothing to worry about, but you might like to look at the rest of the photos here.