by Jerry O’Neill

Back in 1975 there was a landmark exhibition of photographs called New Topographics: Photographs of a Man-Altered Landscape. It became the second-most-cited photography exhibit in history, beaten only by The Family of Man, curated by Edward Steichen, which opened in 1955 at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.

Mobile Homes, Jefferson County, Colorado, 1973, by Robert Adams

But where The Family of Man was humanistic and warm, many visitors to New Topographics felt it was cold and impersonal, and well, maybe even a little weird. After all, by the standards of the day, landscape photography might include Nicholas Nixon’s excellent, perspective-corrected view-camera photo of the Boston Public Library. But what about photos of an empty parking lot, or a motel where each room was a separate “teepee” (with a TV antenna on top), or a trailer park, even if it’s raked by dramatic light?

So, back in 1975, New Topographics (mounted by the George Eastman House International Museum of Photography and Film in Rochester, New York), drew comments both positive and negative. But whatever one’s opinion, it was an important show that Eastman House says “signaled the emergence of a new approach to landscape photography, ultimately giving a name to a movement and style.” As an example of its far-reaching effects, today— 34 years later—there’s an active New Topographics group on Flickr, showing “work that shows human activity and interaction within the landscape.”

View of the Boston Public Library, 1974, by Nicholas Nixon

So the show is being recreated for an international tour by the Center for Creative Photography at the University of Arizona (www.creativephotography.org) and George Eastman House, with a selection of more than 100 works from the original show. The 10 photographers featured in 1975, and again in the new show, are Robert Adams, Lewis Baltz, Bernd and Hilla Becher, Joe Deal, Frank Gohlke, Nicholas Nixon, John Schott, Stephen Shore, and Henry Wessel Jr. Eastman House says, “The current exhibition demonstrates both the historical significance of their photo­graphs and the continued relevance of this work in today’s culture.”

New Topographics is at Eastman House through September 27, meaning it closes there shortly after you receive this issue. But it will travel to eight venues in the United States and Europe: Los Angeles County Museum of Art (Oct. 25, 2009–Jan. 3, 2010); Center for Creative Photography, University of Arizona, Tucson (Feb. 19–May 16, 2010); San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (July 17–Oct. 3, 2010); Landesgalerie Linz, Austria (Nov. 10, 2010–Jan. 9, 2011), Photographische Sammlung Stiftung Kultur, Cologne, Germany (Jan. 27–April 3, 2011); Jeu de Paume, Paris (April 11–June 12, 2011); and the Nederlands Fotomuseum Rotterdam, the Netherlands (July 2–Sept. 11, 2011); and Bilbao Fine Arts Museum, Bilbao, Spain (November 2011–January 2012).

by Jerry O’Neill

Front and back views of the DXG-579VS HD underwater camcorder .

It sounds hard to believe, but there’s a new high-definition video camera on the market, complete with underwater housing, for less than $150. It’s from DXG, “one of the fastest growing camcorder manufacturers in the U.S.”—the DXG-579VS Underwater Value Pack. (Normally the camcorder by itself lists for $129.99, plus $49.99 more for the housing.) The camera allows shooting down to 15 feet. I haven’t seen sample footage yet, but the specs are pretty impressive: Video resolution of 1280¥720 at 30 frames per second; recording time up to 4 hours (using optional 8GB SD memory card); and 32MB of built-in flash memory—all powered by four AAA batteries.

by Jerry O’Neill

It’s no surprise that the field of “high-speed movies” is now  “high-speed digital imaging,” used for applications that include defense, automotive, engineering, science, medical research, industrial manufacturing and packaging, sports and entertainment, and digital cinematography for television and movie production. One of the latest entrants in this specialized field is the Phantom v710 from Vision Research of Wayne, New Jersey—“the world’s fastest CMOS-based digital camera, with a maximum recording speed of 1.4-million frames per second (fps),” says the company. There’s an asterisk on that 1.4 million fps, though—the v710 gets that fast by sacrificing resolution. At its full resolution of 1280×800 (just over 1 megapixel), the camera reaches “only” 7,530 fps—some 250 times faster than normal video, meaning that anything occurring in 1 second will take more than 4 minutes to play back. Lots more info at www.visionresearch.com.

by Jerry O’Neill

Some years ago, Eastman Kodak—which was still the rich, easy-going company that it had been for decades—announced it was considering dropping Kodachrome films from its line-up. Kodachrome sales were low, the company said, and advances in the quality of Kodak’s Ektachrome films (Process E-6) meant there were other Kodak films just as good as Kodachrome that photographers could use instead. Making Kodachrome and processing it required chemicals and equipment not needed for any other films, so it would be a sensible business decision for Kodak to simplify its product line by no longer manufacturing Kodachrome.

What a howl went up from photographers! Professionals and amateurs alike protested the decision, pointing out that Kodachrome had its own unique color rendition, that it responded to over- and underexposure in specific ways that were different from other films, and—most important of all, for many users—that in dark storage Kodachrome images would last for many, many years, far longer than the other color films of the day. Marketing experts pointed out that it was a risky step for any company to abandon a well-loved product that was so closely identified with the company itself.

So, to the surprise of many, Kodak relented and continued making Kodachrome. It even extended the line with a 200-speed film, pushable to 500, and many pros really liked the unique look it had at 500.

But all that happened a good many years ago, before digital technology changed the entire face of photography. Today, if you want the Kodachrome look in your photos, you can shoot digital and just use Photoshop. Or, some cameras will even let you set the “look.” All film sales are down drastically, and color slide films are only a small fraction of the total. Kodak says Kodachrome accounts for only a fraction of 1% of Kodak’s total sales of still-picture films, but we’ll all be sad to see it go.

These days the Kodachrome line consists of just one film, Kodachrome 64. In recent years the company dropped Kodachrome 25, Kodachrome 200, and Super 8 Kodachrome for home movies. (I always felt Kodachrome 25 had the loveliest color palette of any color film I’ve used.)

Introduced in 1935, Kodachrome— then a humble ISO 8, later ISO 10—was the world’s first commercially successful color film and an iconic product. Why else would Paul Simon have sung “Kodachrome”? Not to mention Kodachrome Basin State Park in Utah. (It was designated a state park in 1962, but concern about legal action by Kodak led them to name it Chimney Rock State Park. A few years later, with Kodak’s permission, the park was renamed Kodachrome Basin.)

Kodachrome’s history includes filming President John F. Kennedy’s assassination in Dallas, via Abraham Zapruder’s 8mm movie camera, and photojournalist Steve McCurry’s evocative portrait of an Afghan refugee girl, the cover photo on a 1985 National Geographic issue.

Mary Jane Hellyar, retiring as president of Kodak’s Film, Photo­finishing and Entertainment Group, told the press, “Kodachrome film is an iconic product and a testament to Kodak’s long and continuing leader­ship in imaging technology. It was certainly a difficult decision to retire it, given its rich history. However, the majority of today’s photographers have voiced their preference to capture images with newer technology—both film and digital.”

A different view came from John Larish, a photo writer and consultant who at one time worked for Kodak—he told the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle that “Kodak ending Kodachrome is akin to ‘if tomorrow 3M Co. stopped making Scotch tape.’”

Kodachrome film should be available until “early this fall,” Kodak says—though I wonder whether they’ve allowed for all the photographers who will buy some out of nostalgia, as this online commentator suggests: “I think I will buy a few rolls of Kodachrome 64, though, just for old-times sake and to say goodbye properly to an all-time classic.”

After you shoot your last roll, send it to Dwayne’s Photo in Parsons, Kansas, for processing—it’s the only lab in the world that still develops Kodachrome, and has promised to keep its processing line running until the end of 2010.

As part of a tribute to Kodachrome, Kodak’s Web site is showing a gallery of iconic images shot on the film. (Go to www.kodak.com and search for “Kodachrome.”) The company will donate the last rolls manufactured to the George Eastman House International Museum of Photography and Film in Rochester, home of the world’s largest collection of cameras, film, and related artifacts.

Other people also are commemorat­ing Kodachrome. Daniel Bayer, a professional photographer in Aspen, Colorado, has created what he calls the Kodachrome Project, “to celebrate the film and use it to document modern life.” (www.kodachromeproject.com) Bayer has stockpiled nearly 900 rolls of Kodachrome—but will he be able to shoot it all before Dwayne’s shuts down its processing?

by Jerry O’Neill

Here’s a unique book about Barack Obama’s presidential campaign—it lets you customize the book specifically for you and your family, adding personal messages and photographs. It’s the creation of Rick Smolan, best known for the popular Day in the Life book series. Smolan says Obama Time Capsule is like the scrapbook his mother made for him when President Kennedy was elected. Purchasers of the book can write a dedication or post their own photograph on the back cover, but Smolan points out they can’t actually put themselves into the pictures—for example, on stage with Obama—it’s not like Woody Allen’s 1983 movie Zelig, he said. Price of the customized book at amazon.com is $64.95, and note there are no returns or cancellations, since each copy is unique. There’s more info at www.theobamatimecapsule.com.

by Jerry O’Neill

It started with a bit of true Americana: Danielle Smith, her husband Jeff, and their two kids posed for a photograph that the family used on their Christmas card. A bit later, imagine their surprise when Danielle got an e-mail from a college friend living in Prague, the Czech capital, saying he had seen a huge blow-up of the photo in the window of a Prague grocery store. Danielle was skeptical, so to prove it, her friend took a picture and e-mailed it to her. That convinced her—“Not only is that my family,” she told National Public Radio, “that is my family life-size.” She had posted the photo, in high resolution, on her Web site and “a few social networking sites,” and obviously somebody had downloaded a copy. Meanwhile, the Smiths haven’t received much of an apology from the grocery store. “I think at this point, our apology is that they are willing to take the photo down,” says Danielle.