Bill Cunningham New York

Must.see.this.now.

Caroline

Unreal timelapse of the Northern Lights

The Aurora from Terje Sorgjerd on Vimeo.

Landscape photographer Terje Sorgjerd spent four years looking to create a timelapse of the aurora borealis (aka northern lights), then finally flew two hours north from Norway and spent a week capturing one of the biggest displays in recent years. The final result is absolutely jaw-dropping.

In case you’re wondering, the stills were shot with a Canon 5D Mark II along with the Canon 24mm 1.4, Canon 16-35mm 2.8, and Sigma 12-24mm lenses.

Caroline

Untitled

Caroline

Xylophone of the Forest

Japanese mobile operator DOCOMO made a commercial for the Touch Wood SH-08C (a limited edition phone). By combining lord knows how many pieces of wood, they made a long, downhill track that was able to reproduce Bach’s Cantata 147, Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring. This was a Herculean task; my mouth was hanging open in disbelief for most of it. Huge props to Invisible Designs Lab’s Kenjiro Matsuo for making this crazy idea a reality. The again, I'm not surprised the Japanese would come up with something this creative and meticulous.

English translation: Title: Xylophone of the Forest



Caroline

Untitled

Caroline

A Surreal World Seen Through Puddles

“Pavement Trees” is a series of photographs by photographer Ingrid Nelson that captures a surreal glimpse of the world through puddles in a parking lot. I'm sure we've all caught glimpses of the world reflected and refracted in a puddle, but never as beautifully documented as these.

"Last summer I started shooting concrete and parking lots and dividing lines, fading paint and patterns. Alongside my compulsive inclination to take a photo of every tree branch I see, this contrast to the natural world was a break from the norm. With all the rain this winter, my eye was drawn into the glistening cement and of course…puddles. I am fascinated how my two worlds seem to magically intersect and become one dimensional galaxies both in reflection and in print. It’s almost like tree trapping … yet transient as we know that summer is just around the corner and these accidental worlds will exist no more." - Ingrid Nelson

To look at more, go here.

Caroline

Social Media & Me

Yeah, I know. Time for flagrant self-promotion. But hey, if you think the stuff I throw up on this blog is cool, imagine the off-beat news stories I find interesting? As most of you probably know, I'm a journalist in real life. I love art and design, but I also love international affairs, human rights and social issues. And menswear. So, if you like any or all of the above, Like me on Facebook and you'll get a carefully curated list of headlines I find important and/or ridiculous that you may/may not find interesting. Your gamble.

Also, I'll take this time to remind you of my Pinboards on Pinterest if you're still curious and want to know my aesthetic.

And that's it! I'm done! Now I'm going to go crawl in a hole so I don't feel completely exposed. And tweet about it.

Caroline

My Modern Story

FINAL UPDATE: Thank you to all my friends and family for your support. Over the weekend I learned that I did not receive the fellowship. While I am disappointed, I ultimately know that things happen for a reason and when one door closes, another opens. I am already planning new and exciting things and know I will get to India and/or work with youth teaching multimedia one day somehow! Love and light, Caroline

UPDATE: I was contacted by the fellowship yesterday! I made final round interviews! So excited! Also, since writing this post, I read the amazing and inspirational back-story to how the fellowship came to be. Read it here.

What a hectic past couple of days! I am applying for a fellowship in India called The Modern Story which would have me teaching multimedia skills to high school students in Andhra Pradesh for six months. Even though the application only asked for written essays, I decided to create a music video to demonstrate my multimedia skills and also show a little of my personality (I'm spinning poi at one point haha!)

I worked very hard with my friend Adam Welton because he had written and produced an amazing music video as his audition to live at the Field Museum for a month. You can (and should) watch it here.

We wrote the song over a course of two days and on Sunday filmed and recorded the song. Then I watched as Adam's brother Joshua produced the song for me at his house in Aurora.

Quick aside: I'm continually amazed by the talented people I know. Even if I don't get this fellowship, the creative process alone of writing, shooting and recording this song has made it a memorable and rewarding experience. That is one talented family. Look out for Joshua Welton--he is going to become famous (more famous than he already is).

So without further ado, here is my modern story:

My Modern Story from Caroline Smith on Vimeo.

Caroline

INSIDE OUT: Artocracy in Tunisia

Fresh off his TED Prize win, JR has begun an even-more-revolutionary project titled "INSIDE OUT: Artocracy in Tunisia". His effort features a hundred ordinary Tunisians, posting their images where only those of dictators once hung. The portraits were taken by six Tunisian photographers in collaboration with the renowned French street artist and other international artists. Not surprisingly, the project has been met with resistance by many who either question the motives of the project or simply don't understand its meaning. Nevertheless, the photos are serving their purpose to promote a dialogue about the purpose and meaning of art in this politically volatile region. Read the entire article on Al Jazeera for a more detailed summary of the project and its importance.

Caroline

Spaceshuttle launch

Stunning. Go here for the original size.

Caroline

Hypothetical letters

Hypothetical letters from Sapling Press and Dear Blank, Please Blank. Happy April Fool's Day!

Caroline