Dirkon ... What?!?

So just what is a Dirkon?  Well, its a pinhole camera made completely out of paper.  It is photography at its most basic.

History

Where did the Dirkon originate?  It was first printed in Magazines.

"During the 1970s, magazines published in Communist Czechoslovakia were controlled by the state, like the majority of other enterprises. Very few good magazines were available and were difficult to get hold of, so people would borrow and exchange them when given the opportunity. This also applied to magazines aimed at young people, which was probably one of the reasons why almost everyone from my generation, when we get on to the subject of pinhole cameras, has fond memories of the cut-out paper camera known as Dirkon, published in 1979 in the magazine ABC mladých techniků a přírodovědců [An ABC of Young Technicians and Natural Scientists].

Its creators, Martin Pilný, Mirek Kolář, and Richard Vyškovský, came up with a functional pinhole camera made of stiff paper, designed for 35 mm film, which resembles a real camera. It may not be the most practical of devices, but it works!"  ~ Pinhole.cz

So where can you get your hands on one of these great pinhole cameras?  Well, you have to build it you can download everything you need from this website pinhole.cz.  However, if you are not up to creating a paper camera then you can be lazy and buy the plastic version from Photojojo by clicking here.  So go build or buy your pinhole camera and go give film a try!

Want to get better at photography?

Of course you do! How do you do it? There are many ways ... one of those ways is to do a 365 or 52 project. What is that you ask? Well, I am going to tell you all about it.

We will start with the 365 project. This is a project that lasts a whole year. The goal is to take at least 1 picture a day and upload it to flickr.com (if you don't know about flickr.com check out next weeks post on flickr). You can also join a group and put your picture in to the group as well. There are many groups supporting the 365 project with many different themes. Themes range form a self portrait a day or allowing you to upload any picture you like or some even give you a theme for the day ... it is all about personal preference. The purpose of the project is to help you become a better photographer by forcing you to see the world using "photographers eyes". The more pictures you take the easier it is for you to see photo opportunities everywhere.

However, if the 365 project sounds a bit too ambitious for you there is another option ... the 52 project. As it sounds it is 52 pictures a year instead of 365 or 1 picture a week. The purpose of the project is the same as the 365 project it just requires less photography per week. If you are interested in a 52 weeks group check out the group I created by clicking here.

As you can see I have given you 2 new ways to help you become a better photographer ... so go out and take some pictures! Next weeks topic "flickr".

Jacob's Photography Blog is Back!

So after taking almost a year hiatus I have decided to get back to blogging ... lucky you! lol. I have some great new material planed for this year (2010). I have been teaching photography classes, working on my street photography, and getting my business off the ground. All of this has helped me gain new insight on photography. I hope to be able to share some of my knowledge with you as well as some of my mistakes so that you hopefully won't have the same problems I have had.

I hope to create a new blog entry once a week but they may come more often depending on my work load. So check back often to keep up with all of the new posts. All of that to say ... the first new post will be published tomorrow at 9:00 AM EST.