Several months ago I received an email from Lomo going on about this mysterious new camera they were coming out with soon, and being the consummate consumer and photo geek that I am, I decided to take the bait. After a few days of waiting, the official announcement was made about the Lomo Sprocket Rocket – and I was instantly intrigued. Although it would be more than a little while before the camera graced my collection, it has since become an instant favorite.

One of the draws of the camera is that it is dead-simple to use. With two shutter settings, N (1/100) and B (bulb), and two exposure settings, Cloudy (f/10.8) and Sunny (f/16); the Sprocket Rocket is a joy to use in a world of a bajillion settings, dial, buttons and beeps. You can also choose to use the standard insert, if for some strange reason you don’t want to expose over the sprocket holes in the film. Mine is still in the box, having never been used.

After only a couple of rolls of film, this thing has become a standard participant in my photographic outings, and I don’t see that changing any time soon. Did I mention that it’s dead-simple to use? Oh, right, sorry. But it is. I have lots of cameras, and several lenses, and the Sprocket Rocket is just plain fun. I have the Lens Baby Composer for my Nikon digital, and it produces great results, but it’s fussy, and consequently I bring it along more than I actually use it, whereas I’ve used the Sprocket Rocket every time I have taken it with me.

But it’s a toy camera you say, and yes, you’re right. It is. But since when does photography have to be serious? Damn-it Jim, I’m a photographer, not a Banker!

The images produced are a lovely mix of sharp and soft, and gloriously wide. Its 30mm lens sports a 170 degree field of view and shoots a 72mm x 33m image without the insert. The only downside is that I don’t have my scanner setup right now, so the scans I get from the local photo shop only gives me the standard film size of 72mm x 24mm without the sprocket holes. The shutter speeds are fast enough that I don’t have to drop it on a tripod, and I can just shoot pictures while I’m doing other things with my other cameras.

What else can I say, I love it, and I know you will too. Go now, make yourself happy, make Lomo happy, and get a Sprocket Rocket – you won’t regret it. Scouts honor.

What makes something art?

Anyone who has ever been around artists, or is an artist has had this discussion at least once. What is the difference been an artist and a craftsman? This conversation has a tendency to become very pedantic, and often times makes the one arguing for art come across as a pompous, self-important dill hole.

So how do we define the difference between an artist and a craftsman?  What is it that separates art and craft?

As a photographer, web designer, and code monkey, I find this subject very interesting. Art is a badge that has been affixed to a great many things, and it is the single most subjective idea that can be loosed upon the world. This subjectivity is one of the things that fascinates me about the idea of art and craft being different – and yes, to get to the meat of it; there is a difference. According to Webster’s it’s as simple as this:

Craftsman: a worker who practices a trade or handicraft.

Artist: one who professes and practices an imaginative art.

So is it really this simple? What defines an imaginative art? Painting, drawing, sculpture; these are very easy to look upon and see an imaginative art.

What about photography? Surely there are examples of abstract photography that can lead to this simplified definition, but what of landscape photographers such as Bradford Washburn, Carleton Watkins, William Henry Jackson, Ansel Adams (or portrait photographers like Chuck Close, Annie Leibovitz, or Yousuf Karsh)? They shot what they saw and printed it. Granted, that is a huge over-simplification of their process (and in no way meant to be demeaning towards their art), but where is the imagination in shooting landscape? Their images reflected their personality and unique vision, and that’s what makes them standout. Their artistic vision fused with a mastery of their craft, producing exceptional images that stand as iconic examples of artistic photography. But is their work art, as Defined by Webster’s? I believe it is. All of the before mention photographers were pioneers in photography, and made huge strides in bringing the art of photography to the status it currently enjoys. Adams created stunningly beautiful and emotionally stirring images through an intimate knowledge of his chosen landscape, in particular Yosemite. His attention to detail in all aspects of image creation culminated in the perfection of a process (the Zone System) transcending craft in ways that most photographers could barely imagine.

Part of the challenge in separating art and craft also stems from that many artists are skilled craftsman; having mastered their craft and surpassed simply being able to wield their tools. Still, this is an ephemeral idea, not really lending itself to a clean delineation. That being said, does everyone who practices an art form such as painting, drawing, sculpture or print-making instantly become an artist? What it boils down to is what is being created within the given craft to push the boundaries of what has been created and how. Does the work transcend the tools used to create it or is it a reflection of the tools and subject matter?

On a personal level, I have a degree in Photography, have used dozens of different cameras and film sizes to create images. I have shot portraits and landscapes for personal and monetary reward, but do I consider myself an Artist? Probably not.

10 years ago, I took this image along the banks of the Klickitat River in Washington along the Columbia River Gorge. If you are familiar with that region of the Pacific Northwest, you know it to be one of the most magical places on this Earth. I know it as one of the few places that I truly consider home.

Starting in 1997 I began spending a substantial portion of my life in the Gorge photographing, hiking, getting Poison Ivy, throwing rocks and getting lost. My introduction to the Gorge didn’t come from the countless times I had driven through it as a teenager, but as a recommendation of my friend Terry Toedtemeier. Terry was a gifted photographer, geologist and an amazing person – one whom I owe an amazing debt of gratitude. He setup a trip to the Gorge for our class one day, and due to weather, and other conflicts I ended up going out alone, and spending the entire day in the rain taking pictures at Catherine Creek with an old Bronica S-2 that was a good 20 years my elder. I shot more than 10 rolls of film that day, and this image remains one of my favorites from that trip.

Over the course of the next few years, I exposed thousands of frames of film, guzzled hundreds of gallons of gas in my primer-black 74′ Chevy pickup, and walked countless trails, cliff edges, log flumes and river banks searching for something. The few times Terry joined me were… interesting to say the least. We always found something interesting, and we always got into some sort of mischief.

Terry passed last year while giving a lecture in Hood River on Wild Beauty. I have thought about him often over the last year, and how he influenced my education, career, and photographic course. The majority of images in this grouping would not have been taken had I not met him, or the hundreds of others that are either unprinted, or just not shown. Even though we hadn’t talked much in the last 7 years after I moved back East, his work, teachings, and ideas influenced the way I went about things, and there isn’t much a time that goes by that I don’t think about my friend.

Thanks Terry.

Yesterday morning Kidrobot launched a digital scavenger hunt with Dunny Hunt 2009. The premise is super easy, follow the clues to find hidden promotional items and scan them. For every one you collect, you get a chance to win free stuff; the grand prize is a complete 2009 Dunny collection. The execution is a bit more complex, and is the best use of QR Codes that I have in the US to date.

Kidrobot and We Are Plus are executing the 5 day promotion using Facebook, twitter and scanning apps such as BeeTagg reader for the iPhone. Once you have registered with the Dunny Hunt website, your scans are tracked so you can see how you stack up against everyone else in the leaderboard. So far there are 26 pages of registrants on the board, with the leader having 18 of the possible 22 scanned, me being dead last at 146 with none scanned.

This great news for anyone interested in using QR Codes, but has been put off a bit by the lack of ubiquity. It’s a great idea, and can generate a lot of interest in Kidrobot and Dunny. For those who don’t don’t know what a Dunny is, check out the Kidrobot website – they’re pretty cool vinyl designer series toys, like the Nightmare in Jeremyville Dunny.

For more information, read the Dunny Hunt press release from We Are Plus.

It’s good to see companies and agencies in the US finally coming around to a technology that has been in Japan for years. I have been writing about QR codes for over a year now off and on, having seen some cool applications in Canada as well as Australia. I even have a couple Commando Nerd patches that link back to my site – one of which is attached to my laptop bag. The largest campaign in the states that I know of is what Ralph Lauren did last year with mailings, in-store posters and graphics, and magazine ads tying it all back to their mobile site.

In the release, the idea of expanding the promotion to multiple cities is broached – which could be really cool in some of the more densely packed areas. You could start to get participants from one area participating in multiple cities, and really create something cool, and interactive in a big way.

The newly updated version of the Ruby Fractal Library lets you get your fractal geek on while simultaneously getting your web geek on with Ruby. I haven’t had a chance to get into this yet, or even Ruby for that matter, but I have it added to the long list of things that I will be getting to if and when I win the lottery.

The most interesting part about tools like these is auto-generating things that can be classified as art, or used in the creation of art. Creating artwork by manipulating code; something which many people consider to be a form of art all unto itself; is an idea that I find completely intoxicating. Here are a few examples:

Jared Tarbell created Invader Fractal back in 2003 using ActionScript, and wisely made prints available (something which seems to have vanished). The patterns created here are very interesting and would make a nice edition to just about any cube wall….

Eric Natzke is another amazing artists who utilizes code to facilitate his creative process. Check out his latest work on flickr for an upcoming show in Toronto. Unfortunately I will be in the city about 3 weeks too early to see the opening.

Joshua Davis is another one too. His development, coding, and artistic ability is a trifecta of awesome. I have seen and followed his work since I first heard of him back in the day at a FlashForward conference.

Fractals artwork isn’t hard to find, nor is it hard to figure out why people find it fascinating. A simple Google search reveals a wealth of imagery and some spectacular examples. One of my favorites landing spots is Fractal World Gallery and naturally there’s good stuff on Deviant Art. Here’s a flash app to build and layer fractals as well, it totally aced Firefox a minute ago – so be warned, but it’s pretty cool.

Oops. I sort of went off on a tangent there. For more information on the Ruby Fractal Library, head over to CrunchLife and check Ryan’s post.