Futurephotography.com - Large Light Field Camera Array

We’re a ways off from hand-held cameras that can do it, but the future of photography will involve pictures in which the depth-of-field and focus and camera position each can be adjusted reliably and with quality in post-production. It’s a complex mathematical and computational problem, but the power is within reach.

So you want to influence the future of photography? Well, you gotta build a camera, ’cause this future isn’t for sale, yet.” -FuturePicture.com

Futurepicture.com - Demonstration of modifiable depth of field achieved by DIY light field array

Two enterprising photography enthusiasts have taken a page from MIT’s and Columbia’s and Stanford’s computational photography research labs, and have built their own light field camera arrays, and they’re posting instructions on how to build your own, including a method for achieving the effect with just one camera. Check out much more information and some of the science behind the project at FuturePicture.com.

(via MetaFilter Projects)

In in a thread over at Lightstalkers thanking people for their comments on his (remarkable) video The Dear Leader, Christopher Morris mentioned that he has a new video out (and, probably, more to come as he just finished a two-week video roadtrip around the US). It is a bit more rough than the Dear Leader film, focused on the last days of the John McCain Presidential campaign. And, for those interested, he said it was shot on the new Canon 5d MkII (see the thread for more info)

Here is a direct link to the video. It is also on the TIME magazine site, though no one can seem to get it to play there.

Morris definitely has me more interested in trying video, as a different way of expressing something.. anyone want to lend me a MkII?

From the British Journal of Photography (which describes it as an exclusive): “The return of Polaroid’s instant films?”

Polaroid and unsaleable.com have partnered to offer re-editions of its most popular instant films, as Fujifilm is said to be taking over some of Polaroid’s instant brands, BJP has learnt

Launching on Thursday 27 November, PolaPremium, a joint initiative between Polaroid and unsaleable.com, an Austria-based reseller, will offer end-of-life series of Polaroid films.

Seems possible .. I just wonder how much stock of these dead films the website will have and how long they’ll last. More promising is that Fujifilm might continue to produce some specific films indefinitely. Congrats to those who use polaroid, I know there are a few.

This has been making the rounds (I just watched it on APE’s post) but I wanted to put my recommendation on it and pass it along. Wunderkind David Burnett brings us a charming and interesting behind-the-scenes look at what it is actually like covering the Olympics in Beijing.

If you don’t know his work or his blog, go look at those right now too. I’ve always enjoyed his pictures (I mean, how can you not love a guy who lugs a 4×5, and all sorts of other crazy cameras, around everywhere alongside his digicams?) but this video is the icing on top… this is a fun, creative bit of filmmaking.

In my second ‘fanboy’ post of the night: A youtube clip of Jonas Bendiksen talking about, and walking through, his project The Places We Live that I mention again and again. Still, check this out: Jonas is charming and brilliant and you actually get to see what his remarkable exhibition/installation looks like.. this is the first time I’ve seen it ‘live’ and I’m blown away.

Great quote:

“I think it is really about how to stay relevant (…) The people who will really inherent photography in the future isn’t necessarily whoever takes the best picture, the best composition. I think it is whoever has the best ideas. Who has the most poignant stories to tell.”

Bonus: You’ll get to see the beautiful Oslo harbor … I was there in March, so pretty. Demerit: it is a Canon Europe video and he shills for the 5d a little bit. Oh well, I use the camera too, like it, and would take the sponsorship if it were available!

“Canon EOS 5D Mark II: 21MP and HD movies”. (Rob Gailbraith has something too it seems, but his site is more or less down as of my posting).

I’m not old, but the pace of technology makes me feel old. It even scares me a little. Weird … but I’m certainly interested in seeing more about this camera. Both M.Scott and I use the ‘original’ 5d (to great effect, eh??). I don’t need to get a new camera anytime soon, really, but this is an interesting thing to wait for.

But man, movies on a still camera?? I don’t know what I think about that…

UPDATE (by Scott): Here’s Galbraith’s post about the camera.