The Heads of State

The Heads of State

Ansel Adams: The Mural Project Opens at Interior Department

Ansel Adams: The Mural Project Opens at Interior Department

Presentations

The good, the bad, and the ugly. Enjoy this post about presentations. 11 ways to use images poorly in slides

Dmitriy Polyakov

I was searching for mosaic backgrounds on websites when I happened to find Dimitriy's portfolio website. Enjoy!

Guido Mocafico

Check out this post from the Designer's Club. Also, here's a link to the artist's website.

The Auto Industry in 2010

I have been living in the United States for 16 years now, and I have missed three of Chicago's yearly Autoshow. I was looking through the box that I store all these posters and brochures that I collect, and this particular pamphlet caught my attention. The reason for this is that 2010 is almost here and it makes me think about how the American auto industry has been a victim of its own greed, successes and failures. It also makes me ponder about the fundamental changes the "Big Three" are gonna have to make in order to stay relevant and finish the 21st century. Enjoy Ford's brochure of the 2010 Synergy concept.

It's Been a While . . .

Since I have posted anything. Here are some updates of my evil and not so evil doings. I finally graduated from Chicago State University F. I. N. A. L. L. Y.! I'm selecting/refining/redoing images and work to put up on my website as well as thinking how to come up with a mobile version of my website. Mobile will be the way to go. Updates are coming soon, so in the mean time enjoy a presentation of my Senior Show.

CTA Garbage Can Flowers

CTA Garbage Can Flowers
Originally uploaded by Thadeus Maximus

I'm not a big fan of these garbage "cans", but I do like the idea that it shows what they will up with.

Paul Shambroom

I am not sure what is all the media pandemonium about the swine flu, but enjoy the photography work of Paul Shambroom.

Michael Wolf

I'm back! I have been busy in school. I have my presentation due on the 15th so I won't be posting as much. I saw this small poster about Michael Wolf in my Documentary Photography Class. Enjoy!

Bus Stop Conversion

During my search for bus stops I found this very interesting set.

Bus Stops

Here's a few images of bust stop inspirations. Enjoy.

Including Images in your Blog Article

If you are including images in your article, think about the number of images that will be in it. I was reading a posting that read 99 Images of Amazing Websites. I tried to look at as many as possible, but I stopped at number 25. Split the article in two, even three postings if you want to include that amount of images. Make the article more concise so that people will read/look through it.

It seems the blogosphere is going for quantity over quality postings. This is very easy to do, due to the massive amount of information the internet holds.

Shephard Farey

I really think that he did not know that the poster was going to be so popular. Regardless, this is not the first time he has done it. I heard the NPR interview and he did not answer if he had made a financial gain from doing the poster, because of the pending trial with the Associated Press. He is walking a real fine line in terms of fair use and appropriation. These pieces of work are in different mediums, but their context are very similar.

"I don't get permission. I just do it." Shepard Fairey. You probably don't need permission, but you're gonna have to start citing your sources.

For more look alikes visit this flicker set

Google Docs is the Best

Couple reasons why I like Google Docs:

1. Imports MS Word, Powerpoint, and Excel format files, PDFs and many other formats as well. (No MS Office 2007+ compatibility yet)
2. E-mail interface for browsing documents.
3. No folder hierarchy to documents. (My favorite feature. Documents shouldn't be stuck to one category)
4. You can enable offline use by installing Google Gears.
5. The best feature of any product: It's free!

Eric Schmidt at Morgan Stanley Technology Conference

Eric Schmidt CEO of Google Inc. had an interview at the Morgan Stanley Technology Conference. It's forty one minutes long, but one quote did catch my attention. It is about monetizing on new technologies, and a new business model that the internet is introducing and forever changing. It shows that they are a different type of company and has an understanding of the nature of the internet.

"You won't get there by suing your users, you won't get there by preventing this technology from happening. It's going to happen" - Eric Schmidt

Google Start Button

Google has a new toolbar for Internet Explorer (version 6 beta). What caught my eye after the installation was the taskbar. It installed a Google 'Start' button so that when you press it, a little search box appears in your desktop. The search box is not new, it was included in Google Desktop, and the user is able to open it by pressing the CTRL key twice.

Where do you want to Google today? Google is sure bent on annoying Microsoft. It's not the first time and it will not be the last time.



If you are wondering why the taskbar looks like the old Windows 95 start button, it is because I have disabled themes and a whole bunch of hidden "RAM thieves" from Windows XP SP3.

You can download the Google Toolbar 6 (beta) here.

Spare Computer Parts

Do you have computer parts that you are going to recycle, but they are still working properly? If you live in Chicago, join this Yahoo Group called ChicagoFreecycle. It is a group where you can trade for computer parts. There are over 17,369 members, so it is very active. One person's garbage is another person's treasure!

If you need to recycle electronics, Chicago is still expanding it's recycling program. If you have electronics that are not functioning anymore, don't throw them in the garbage. There's a lot of hazardous materials in electronics that you will be putting in the landfills.

Here's more information about the only place in Chicago where you can drop off paint and electronic materials:

The facility is located at 1150 N. North Branch Street, which is two blocks east of the Kennedy Expressway at Division Street.

The facility is open for drop-offs on the following days:

• Tuesday (7:00am - 12:00pm)
• Thursday (2:00pm- 7:00pm)
• The first Saturday of every month (8:00am - 3:00pm)
• If a holiday falls on one of those days, the facility will not be open.

For more information visit Chicago's Recycling and Sanitation page.

Currently Working On . . .

I am currently photographing a couple of former steel mill sites around the South Side of Chicago and here's a couple of images that I have been working on. Enjoy and have a great weekend!

Acme Steel Coke Plant on 112th Street and Torrence Avenue



One out of four buildings left on site



Office Space

Useful HDR Trick

After Adobe Photoshop has processed your images to create an HDR composite, don't forget to go to the Edit menu, and click on Step Backward. Interesting tip in episode 92, from Ben Willmore who was a guest on Bert Monroy's Pixel Perfect Podcast.

P.S. Don't forget the tools of the trade for HDR manipulation:
HDRSoft Photomatix and LucisArt 3

HDR Food Photography

Some HDR food photography I found on Flickr Enjoy!


From Era Trendy


From askegg


From Jay Gunz

Satolas TGV Station

This probably shouldn't be in YouTube, but it's a very good video. This is Santiago Calatrava's Satolas TGV station located in Lyon, France. Enjoy!

Happy Belated Birthday Grant Wood

Happy belated birthday Grant Wood! (February 13, 1891-February 12, 1942)

Walmark Identity Contest

At first I thought it was an excercise, but it's not. Walmark is a pharmaceutical company in Europe. It's a shame he did not win, this is really great work from patlejch.

From Russia With Pepsi

Russian Pepsi Ad from the 1970s. Courtesy of patlejch