Worthy stuff to watch and read - 29

3-minute read
worthy • stuff

Read

  • The Cold Rim of the World - The rise and fall of Pyramiden, a Russian mining town located in the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard
  • UK government’s styleguide on Git commits
  • Roads were not built for cars: how cyclists, not drivers, first fought to pave US roads. Ano in related stories - The forgotten history of how automakers invented the crime of jaywalking.

The National Automobile Chamber of Commerce, an industry group, established a free wire service for newspapers: reporters could send in the basic details of a traffic accident, and would get in return a complete article to print the next day. These articles, printed widely, shifted the blame for accidents to pedestrians — signaling that following these new laws was important.

  • How Motion Picture Film is Made - story of Kodak motion picture film with detailed insights into the Kodak factory and current perspectives of analogue filmmaking.

For the upcoming documentary Everest: Conquering Thin Air, the filmmakers needed a stronger base for the shooting conditions on the mountain. Martin suggested polyester, usually reserved for archival film because of its toughness and higher propensity to cause a camera jam. “When they were shooting in Everest, they wanted something that was going to hold up to the elements so we made them polyester film with our emulsion set from our 500 tungsten camera negative film”

Watch

  • Andrei Tarkovsky: The Essential Documentaries On Russian Master. Impressive collection of documentaries and interviews on making of most films by Tarkovsky, including Solaris, Stalker and The Sacrifice.
  • HD version of my Nordic Prelude short film is now available on Vimeo. It is also available in 3D and 4K on request. Expect timelapses from our roadtrip to Koli, Lapland and rocks of Nordkapp.

Personal notes

  • It is my third day without a phone. Few days ago I tried to clean a lens of iPhone 5S camera from inside, and while the operation went successfully, the phone doesn’t start anymore. This led to an interesting (although forced) experiment when I trying to have a life without reassuring feeling of a phone in my pocket. Going to put all notes into a separate post - it’s going to be an insightful write up.
  • Had an induction in the local photography darkroom. Analog photography is dying, but thanks for places like London there’s still plenty of spaces, interesing people and possibilities to excersise long forgotten craft. Booked my session in April, the plan is to process and print two rolls of 35mm film. The place is crawling with rolls of medium format film, making 35mm look very small in comparison. If all goes well, I’ll get Mamiya camera next year.
  • Stereo pictures from Budapest now processed and uploaded. You will need red-cyan 3D glasses.