Look folks-- it moves!



From Design42day:

"Celebrating its 75th anniversary, american men's magazine Esquire comes with a very special cover. A limited number of copies (100,000 of the total 720,000 print run) will feature an experimental cover that was built using electronic ink. The price, although undisclosed, is prohibitive, and Ford has been brought in as a 'sponsor': A moving car ad appears on the inside cover. Esquire even had to design a battery (a 'six-figure investment') that was small enough to fit into a magazine and keep things running until the mags are sold. The batteries will last for 90 days."

I hate to hate in the face of jaw-dropping technology, but I wish they'd chosen a more interesting graphic. Something with a pretty lady, maybe.

Like you know, Blade Runner:



Oh Los Angeles, 2019. I can hardly wait for you.

Good thing you shall actually be a reality.

Ooh, an eventful trip to Ads of the World this morning; looks like Lexus picked up on a little photographic trend, and Microlamp found a Creature in the Abyss. Not to be smug, guys, but we found these first: 1. wee planets; 2: into the deep.

I AM glad that advertising is using interesting imagery. Gone are the days of apoplectic dudes holding up oak board signage on car lots, promising re-financing beyond your wildest dreams.

right?

Zoom!

A man modeled a Burberry umbrella in Vogue that costs about $200. Some 456 million Indians live on less than $1.25 a day.

From The Times:

"Vogue India's August issue presented a 16-page vision of supple handbags, bejeweled clutches and status-symbol umbrellas, modeled not by runway stars or the wealthiest fraction of Indian society who can actually afford these accessories, but by average Indian people.

Vogue India editor Priya Tanna's message to critics of the August shoot: 'Lighten up,' she said in a telephone interview. Vogue is about realizing the 'power of fashion' she said, and the shoot was saying that "fashion is no longer a rich man's privilege. Anyone can carry it off and make it look beautiful," she said.

'You have to remember with fashion, you can't take it that seriously,' Ms. Tanna said. "We weren't trying to make a political statement or save the world," she said."

In Vogue India magazine, a child from a poor family modeled a Fendi bib, which costs about $100.

"The editorial spread was 'not just tacky but downright distasteful' said Kanika Gahlaut, a columnist for the daily newspaper Mail Today that is based here, who denounced it as an 'example of vulgarity.' "

Read the whole article here.


What say you, reader?

Yup, Casio releases two new cameras today-- the Exilim Zoom Z300 and Z250. And they come with a "makeup" function.

Yes, you heard that right.

Now THIS is a much better form of copycatting. Well done, Saatchi & Saatchi.

Things that make you go hmmm....

file this one next to Why Photographers Need Insurance.

Photographer Mark Tucker has finally gotten into the blog business; check out some of his first posts, and some behind-the-scenes images from his recent shoot for Jack Daniels.

Beautious:

Assistants Joel Hood, Casey Brooks, and stylist Shannan Shepard trying to dodge Rodney Irvin, as he dove off the Rope Swing, off Kitchen Hollow Road.

I heard today from the very cool Lou Mora about a new kind of photo agency that seems almost like a collective. I'm psyched about the name-- Wonderful Machine (!), and I'm psyched about the very simple interface. Photo Editors- you know when you need a photographer in Missoula on one day's notice?

Problem solved: just call Heath or Anne.

Aspen, Cleveland, and Tampa are also covered. Not to mention Edmonton.




We got some insider info on how the agency hopes to position itself:

"Ultimately, we intend to be a full-service, global photo agency with a web site that will be a primary destination for art buyers seeking high quality commercial and editorial photographers. We expect to max out at 50 cities in North America by the end of the year, then expand to other major markets around the world. We will have a select number of photographers in each location and no two alike. Though we will be as exclusive as possible with the photographers we choose, we will not require that our photographers work with us exclusively. Striking the right balance - in quality, quantity, specialty, and geography - will make us a logical first stop for clients.

We've created a business model that is unique in the industry, and it's one that we think will provide our photographers with the best possible bang for their marketing buck. It's a hybrid, combining elements of a web portal with those of full-service artist representation. What makes us different from other portals, is:

•  We have a limited number of photographers in each city/specialty, so your name will always stand out.

• We maintain a high standard of talent, so your photography will only be associated with other good work.

• Your photography will be actively promoted to a wide range of qualified prospects.
  

• We can assist you with estimating, production, and other consulting services."
  

It's fast and loose and consumer-ish in here today. I think even more than those Keds, I want a moon picture on my furniture.

I learned from Amy Stein all about customizable Keds, and I got really excited; I'm not someone who likes to put photos on everything, but Keds are IN for fall, so, you know, that changes everything.

I've been waiting for Obama all morning to tell me that he and Al are going for the big one, but he refuses to text me. I thought the two of them hugging would make a good photo for the shoes. Instead, I'll go with a campaign classic: the fist pound.

Which came first?

I don't know about you, but I don't handle change well. So when I went to PDNOnline this morning, I was a little taken aback. It's all different! It's grayer! There's a community section!

I calmed down a little when I got playing with the new "Compass" feature, which has a rad map situation that zooms in and out on other members' locations. I do like a map.

Anyhoo, Haggart's talking about it, and it seems like the future. I nailed down my buddy Daryl Lang, News Editor and all-things-awesome over at PDN, to tell us what's what.



This is Daryl Lang. Photo by Danny Tsui.

Hey Daryl! What made PDNOnline decide to change its look?

It was time. Web sites have changed a lot since PDNOnline's last redesign. To take one thing, people have gradually migrated to higher-resolution computer screens and faster Internet connections, so we have more freedom to play with wider layouts and bigger photos. Also, our readers have become much more comfortable with nontraditional formats like blogs, forum posts and videos. The new site is better organized to wrangle all this extra information. There are also a lot of technical improvements that might not be obvious. For example, we have a new search engine that's much better. This is a good place to mention that the new site was a team effort involving many people from PDN and Nielsen Business Media's digital media group.

What new features has the site added?

This site brings together a couple of PDN sites that were previously isolated from one another. It's easier for readers to find information from the PDN Gear Guide site, our PhotoServe directory, our Photo Source guides and our PDNedu publication for students and educators. We have a slick new events calendar that's going to be jammed full of exhibitions, contests and photo shows. Our forums are a lot better. And we have just launched PDN Compass, which is a community site for photo professionals.



What purpose is the community section intended to serve? Is it sort of like Facebook meets a photo forum? Is it aimed primarily photographers, or industry professionals, and will it be able to connect the two?

We looked around and saw a couple of excellent social networking sites for photographers who specialize in one thing or another. And we saw lots of photographers active on LinkedIn and Facebook, which are much more generalized. What was missing was a community site for everybody who works in photography-- photographers, editors, creative directors, assistants, techs, retouchers, curators, educators, you name it. We decided to build one and connect it to our forum, which has gotten increasingly lively in the last few months. Communities like this are only as good as their members, so it was important that we make it welcoming and easy to join. It's free, of course. You don't have to subscribe to our magazine. As it grows, our tech team plans to build on more features. To start, the killer ap is the map.

I'm psyched about the map function, Daryl! Tell me about that!

We hope it works as a simple, visual way to bring photo professionals together. You can search the map by location and specialty. So if an editor wants to find, for example, a photojournalist in Florida, they can locate everyone who meets that description, check out their Web sites, and get in touch. Or if you're planning a trip and want to talk to somebody who's familiar with where you're going, you can find that person and ask for advice. The more people who join, the more useful the map becomes. Did I mention it's free?

In what other ways is PDN planning to take over the world?

I'm thinking reality television. America's Next Top Photo Editor?

__

You heard it here first, Bravo TV.

Check out the new site here, and click on community to add your profile to the mix.

A double-dose of Juergen today: first a profile and discussion of his W Magazine fashion shoot in New York Magazine, and second, the pictures and parse in W itself.

It's a bit confusing, I admit. We'll do it by numbers:

1. New York Magazine piece (accompanied by the cutest JT picture I've seen yet)



"Juergen Teller, the photographer, has spent much of this summer Tuesday editing a shoot commissioned by W Magazine about the art world in New York. The star of the shoot is the 47-year-old actress Tilda Swinton, who has been dressed up as everyone from an artist to a gallerist to an insecure collector mid-Botox procedure. She's accompanied by artists like Rachel Feinstein and collectors like Renée Rockefeller. The whole thing looks fairly dark; the lighting is not gentle or flattering, and if any of the subjects has a pore, or a sagging breast, well, there it is.

'Most fashion photography is done by gay people finding women sexy,' Teller says, 'which is sort of not sexy at all, at least to a heterosexual man. She's so retouched, so airbrushed, without any human response at all, and, well, you don't really want to fuck a doll.' "


2. The W fashion piece; Tilda Swinton, Rachel Feinstein, Heather Mnuchin, Renee Rockefeller, Yvonne Force Villareal and more of W's favorite fashion icons slip into fall's best looks.



"Looking one moment like a Park Avenue matron and the next like a punked-out artist, Tilda Swinton is doing what she commonly does when she alights in a city from her home in the Scottish Highlands: gallery hopping.

But on this particular weekend in New York's Chelsea, she is portraying an assortment of über New York women for photographer Juergen Teller. Inside Barbara Gladstone's gallery, wearing seven-inch stilettos and a silk miniskirt, she gets down on the floor and raises herself into a shoulder stand, jackknifing her legs so that they dangle precipitously. At Andrea Rosen, her 5-foot-11-inch frame skyrocketing another 10 inches atop platform wedges, she pokes her head between the hairy legs of one of David Altmejd's colossal sculptures of giants."

__

OK, UM... hmmm. You know, I just don't see these pictures and think "oooh, let me pick up Fendi's 24k gold-infused mink jacket (in the picture on the left) or ooh, I must have Ralph Lauren Black Label's lambskin pants" (in the picture on the right).





I mostly just think: "good god, these are some ugly and unfortunate images. What a waste of a good Tilda."

I think Juergen may have finally gone too far. Am I wrong?

I hate to be repetitive and reference The Times twice in a row, but the Women's Fall Fashion 2008 Style Magazine was out this weekend, and I learned some things:

• Penny loafers are back. It's best to actually put pennies in them.

(This fine loafer is by Cole Haan)

• Penny-colored hair is in. My guess is that Joan from Mad Men had a hand in this.

Weatherproof Garments on left, Catherine Maladrino on right

• Rachel McAdams is better off in 2008 than 1988, with all due respect to Raymond Meier. Et voilà:

• And most importantly, Coppi Barbieri can shoot a beautiful eye. I would point out that even beauty shoots are now referencing animals, but I think we've been through that. In any case, these are beautiful beautiful. They lose a little at 522 pixels, but you get the point. My favorite's the goldfish-- it matches our penny theme.

Hed: Dreamstates
Dek: Where the Eye Collides with the Natural Order