Scott Fisher

I really enjoyed this presentation -- more for the nostalgia I felt when looking at his "old fangled" large format camera than for the notion of large format displays.

I was pretty serious about photography in high school; spent my summers locked in the darkroom, experimenting with the zone system, and playing at alchemy. There is something incredibly magical about the chemical process of old school photography. You never knew what you had until you rushed home and developed the roll. And the printing "dance" of dodge and burn ... I think I feel about that prehistoric imaging process the way Rick feels about looking at code!

And yet, I completely disagree with the notion that digital images are somehow "less real" than the alignment of silver-halide crystals on a celluoid negative. They are different, yet equal, forms of mediation in my mind.

I also have an issue with the notion that "more information" equals more emotion in a photograph. Selection of subject is clearly more important (especially in these large scale images) than any measure of information.

Overall a realy interesting speaker, though. I left pondering the fate of my old enlarger and wondering which room of my house might make the best darkroom these days.

I wonder how many of us had closet (literally) dark rooms. I parted with my enlarger about ten years ago.

I wasn't quite sure what to expect for seminar last Wednesday. I knew that it had something to do with big cameras and high resolutions, but that was it. The times that I have gone into the ZML and seen those beautiful panoramas up on the screens are among my favorite times in that room. Even though I know that I'm inside, a part of me feels a bit freer.

So... put up those beautiful pictures, crank up the airconditioning, and let my spirit SOAR! :D

I enjoyed Clifford's presentation. I strongly related to points he made about what it meant to be an artist in this project, especially when there was this much techological hurdles that could distract from the objective of expressing the feeling of awe when viewing such sights. I have to say the a 4 X 8 print of the Grand Canyon wouldn't do it justice. But what Clifford has accomplished would.

re. tracy's comments i would like to correct what seems to be a very important misimpression:

1) tf: "I completely disagree with the notion that digital images are somehow "less real" than the alignment of silver-halide crystals on a celluoid negative. They are different, yet equal, forms of mediation in my mind."

i would never argue that any medium is inherently better than another in its ability to up the "reality quotient". it's like saying chocolate ice cream is better than vanilla. to whom? and which brand?

rembrandt and piero della francesca convince me every time with oil paint and fresco, two different media. and in the right hands, pixels are just another medium to be deployed with great artistry. just like silver-halide crystals.

i used film in my capture because it was better suited to my own creative process, my then existing knowledge, and at the present time far outstrips digital media in matters of quick image capture. true, like many cinematographers, i feel that the intervention of film, with its random internal structure, somehow coincides with the natural disorder that i believe exists in the real world, in spite of civilization's continuing pursuit of proof that there is an identifiable order and structure to the universe. i think a poet like wallace stevens, when writing a poem like "the emperor of ice cream", hits the reality quotient better than stephen hawking through the intuitive and openness of his presentation. but please note: i am now working to create an array of 11 4k video cameras running at 60fps generating 60gb /second of digital information to fill the cyclorama. and i'm deploying all those bits to push the reality quotient. i am, in effect, trading in the silver-halide for pixels. i feel confident that somehow i will scramble the digital structure or the presentation of all those bits in the final cyclorama, to make it open enough to the viewer's interpretation rather than confront people with a hermetic visual statement of the "truth in a grid" - my underlying fearful vision of the digital world.

2) tf: "I also have an issue with the notion that "more information" equals more emotion in a photograph."

i never meant to suggest that more is more. i do think that it can be, for example if your goal coincides with issues of the romantic sublime that kant lays out in his "analytic of the sublime". see http://www.cliffordross.com/writings/writings_wave.html

please note that i was creating the most abstract and minimal, lowest information photographs in the world when i was building the r1 camera as part of my continuing creative dialectic that ensures i don't get stuck in one approach to the art making process. in truth, i think i packed as much emotion into the grain series as the mountain series. why? because the job of the artist is to tap emotion inherent in the viewer by any means necessary, even the least means possible. see http://www.cliffordross.com/grain/grain_i.html

i'm glad my visit stirred up some dialogue and look forward to more. and tracy, i promise to be more clear in any subsequent presentation! tracy, you are dead on.

Many of us starving creatives are always looking for a way to come up with something new. We then find the technology that will support the vision. Clifford said something different and for some reason, it left an impression with me. He said that he was looking to best find a way to create new art within a chosen medium. What can we do within a specific medium to create a spectacular experience. He has successfully done so and now I wonder why I’ve never given serious consideration to creating anything starting from what the medium can provide, not from the vision. I feel like I’ve gained three levels of intellect. Thanks Cliff!!

I'd agree with Garrett here.
I was inspired by Cliff's work at creating the camera he wanted for the vision he had.
Not allowing the medium to cramp his style and vision and expanding and exploring what could be done.

Umm...Perhaps I should talk with Clifford about my vision for a Multiplayer On-Site & On-Line Augmented Reality Game.
I will work in the translation so I can feel lost in the multisensorial immersion instead of in the translation... Or actually what about a High Resolution Videogame Experience based in interactive media language without the use of any verbal barrier. Jump the linguistic barriers through the HD ultimate Videogame!

It's also nice to see the seminar speakers participate in the blog...

I am an early adopeter of HD. I bought the best HDV camera I could afford last year and at work we've gone full-blown HD but have been drooling over some new super-uber-HD that we saw at NAB last week.

Pictures more real than real, is what it feels like. I'm not kidding, the feeling was like worrying about whether or not I was in the matrix.

The whole thing fascinates me.

the piece that clifford presented us continues in a long tradition of what tom gunning of nyu calls the "cinema of attractions". though weighed heavily towards gaming by student interest, this department is nonetheless strongly represented in this department. I am thrilled to have the opportunity to work on projects which carry on this important tradition. i wish i could have helped clifford set-up the maquette of this project at TED. may be next time.

For a long time I wasn't a fan of the direction tv, film and games were going with HD. But after investing in a HD television (with Mr. Tuters), and experiencing my television connected to the internet through my PC- I've been able to experience high resolution digtal photos blown up to life sized proportions. Mighty neat indeed! And its made me think about the television as virtual frame for photos and art. Also pretty neat stuff. Bring on the giga pixels!