But that peace was shattered a few days ago.

It’s been four days since the tornado ravaged Oklahoma. Now that the rubble has settled, residents are beginning to pick up the pieces. In the American Heartland, families are struggling to answer one of the most difficult questions— “What do we do now?”

Photographer Katie Hayes Luke has gathered a few portraits of people in the neighborhood of Heatherwood, just east of Moore, Ok. during her recent assignment for NPR. Sobering and raw, the fragility of life and the power of nature dominates as the unspoken figure in each image.

“I’d never seen destruction like that before,so walking into a wasteland at first was kind of overwhelming. … They all seemed kind of dazed. … What was even more surprising, was how upbeat people are.” ~ Katie Hayes Luke

For some reason, I am not surprised at all.

Faces And Places The Tornado Left Behind

Damon and Kristi Mabry and their dog, Daisy. They were both at work when the tornado struck and came home to a house destroyed and a neighborhood in chaos. Roughly 100 dogs were loose in the street and neighbors were outside their homes crying. The Mabrys have lived in Heatherwood for three years, and Damon has lived in Oklahoma his whole life.

Sara Hock, 11, poses for a portrait in her bedroom window. Sarah was at school during the tornado, while her father, Brian Hock, took shelter.

Siblings (from left) Alan, Sylvia and Ariel Trillo. The Trillo home is one of the few in the subdivision that is still standing, although everything inside is damaged. Sylvia was amazed at the outpouring of help the community received from strangers after the tornado.

Stephanie and Scott McKinney. Stephanie credits Gary England, the chief meteorologist at KWTV-DT in Oklahoma City, for saving her husband’s life: Scott fled the house after hearing England’s warnings on TV. Stephanie fears that insurance won’t pay out enough money. “I am scared,” she says, “and they can’t get back to you fast enough to tell you it’s OK.”

So what now? We all continue on, pick up the pieces, and strive forward with the force of the human spirit that cannot be dulled by shock or loss. We rebuild, brick by brick, our communities and our homes.

“It’s just stuff. The memories are in our heads and in our hearts.” ~ Matt Claxton, resident

To see more images from this series, click here.

Until Next Time . . .

Stay Inspired ~ Jules

[via NPR/Katie Hayes Luke]

The post Tornado Seen Through the Faces and Places Left Behind appeared first on Free Photography Tips Tutorials Reviews and Wordpress Themes.

The GIF-TY camera allows you to record up to 5 seconds of video, and then it prints out so that you can bind each frame and create your own flip book style animation. Think of it sort of as a child concept of Polaroid Cameras and GIF Animations. Obviously there is no professional application here, at least to the camera in its current design, but it sure could be fun.

After watching the video above it actually reminds me a lot of Vine. Only in physical form and with no sound. Anyways, the camera itself is not available for purchase, and the only working copy is in the hands of its designer. But it has been hinted that a Kickstarter campaign may be in the products future.

Depending on the price, I could see this being a pretty popular kid’s novelty toy. Price would be a huge factor for something like this though.

What do you think? Is this something you would purchase?

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Dada’s official description on his site, translated via Google Translate (so excuse any errors), says:

“Limbo is a type of male portraits that revolves around the notion of border transition tunnel. The subject fleet amid a mass of water to the boundary between reality and dream, between peace and violence. Seeking to explore the transition, say goodbye to a stage and find a new one with the freshness of a first breath. I am interested in the fragility, the confusion and indecición: sink or swim.”

At any rate I thought it was a really neat concept and wanted to share. What do you guys think of the concept? Let us know in a comment below.

[via Laughing Squid]

The post Limbo – Sink or Swim: Portraits of Men in Water appeared first on Free Photography Tips Tutorials Reviews and Wordpress Themes.

Dear (new’ish) Model,

My name is Other Model. I have spent the last couple of years finding out a few things that I wish I’d known from the start. Please don’t think I’m patronising as I mean this only in goodwill, as there is absolutely no gain for me by sharing these cheats. Not all of my points will be valid for you as posing varies in each genre. Just take what you can and ignore the rest. If only one suggestion helps your future career then my time has been well spent…

- Rule one, the mirror is your BFF. Stand there, perfect your poses and learn how your body shapes. The mirror is a perfect tool to show you what the camera can see – try to imagine it behind your photographers head when shooting and always consider what can be seen from that angle. For example, if your foot is closest to the lens, it is worth remembering that your foot is going to the largest thing in the picture….and nobody wants to be remembered as Bigfoot…

- Create separation between your limbs from your body. Not only does it prevent the arm/leg from being squashed against you spreading out any fat, it is also an optical illusion for a slimmer appearance in terms of overall width. A basic cheat that makes a massive difference.

Fat arm to thin arm:

Body width shrunk by optical illusion: 

- Have a basic understanding of light. For example, if you raise an arm to the light, it could be a whole F-stop brighter in camera than your face (being the object closest to the source of light according to the inverse square law). It will also cast a shadow across you. You can counteract this by using your other arm (!)…or, move your arm a fraction backwards, away from the direct beam of light. Learning how lighting falls is invaluable. Ask which is your key light and then work towards it.

- Be aware of ‘mothing’. If the light has been metered to an exact spot, try to stick to it, or at least notice when you’ve crept closer to the light so you can rectify it if required.

A Bug’s Life: “No harry, don’t fly into the light!”…”I can’t help it, it’s so beeeeautiful…” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TTUQyEr-sg0 

- Recognise when your eyes are over-rotating. It is always advisable to follow the line of your nose to keep your sight central. This stops you from looking bog eyed from too much white of the eye showing.

- Know how far you can turn your head before your nose ‘breaks your cheek’. Go back to the mirror to see what angle becomes too far. This is perhaps a dying rule, but one that many competition judges still take into account so worth being aware of.

- Elongate your neck to simulate height and poise. Possibly one of the hardest things to remember because it genuinely feels unnatural. Stand in front of the mirror and look at yourself…stand normally, then roll your shoulders back allowing your face to come forward…notice the difference in the width of your neck? An instant slimming trick.

- Go one step further by popping your jaw towards camera if you want a strong line created by the shadow.

- If the photographer is at a 12 o’clock angle, then standing angled at 1:30 rather than 3 o’clock will lose inches to your overall width.  When you do, make sure it is shadow you are turning into and not the light. Always one rule: hide what you don’t want seen in shadow. Forget Weight Watchers, it’s all about tactical posing!

- If you want to appear slimmer you can create a ‘false waist’. You can do this by positioning yourself to camera, then creating the waist you want seen with the positioning of your hands on your ‘hips’. See…crafty huh :)

- If you’re like me and you don’t have natural curves, then fake them! And I don’t mean plastic surgery. As shown above, learning how to pop your hip is not something everyone can do but can be a big advantage if you can for great shape. Allowing your knees to cross slightly will emphasise that ‘S’ figure with it.

- Keep your hands loose and fluid. The term ‘ballet hands’ is often thrown around…but if you’re like me and the only dancing you do well is the truffle shuffle, then keep your index finger lower than the others whilst relaxing them with a slight curve. Don’t clump your fingers together and avoid showing the back of your hand. Why? Because backs of hands are big and ugly…sides of hands are small and dainty. This was drilled into me from the start of my career by friend and photographer Gary Hill.

See how much longer and larger my hands look when left straight:

- Play with what is available. If you are wearing a flowing dress, play with it by tossing it into the air or working the movement in the bottom. Remember if you are wearing trousers then your legs don’t need to be so clamped together.

Putting theory into practice in Paris, photograph by Andrew Appleton (MUA Donna Graham & assistant Vicki Head):

- You should have knowledge of what you are wearing and why. If you have been hired to sell a specific product, make sure you are pulling poses that are commercially complimentary and not hiding the product.

- Own a ‘modelling kit’ and take it on all shoots. These are the things you will need, but may not be directly mentioned in pre-shoot communications. They are; outdoor/studio shoes, nude/black underwear, face wipes, moisturiser/oil for your legs, a plain vest top, safety pins/clamps, a straw for drinks (as not to ruin your lipstick), your own water with a sugary snack to keep you going (your shoot location may be far away from shops), spare stockings for lingerie shoots….and also hairspray, a top up lipstick, hair grips, brush and eyelash glue (in case the MUA can’t stay). If you have been booked for a specific job such as bridal, it is also well received if you bring appropriate accessories i.e. a pretend wedding ring.

- Please be honest about your size and measurements. Nobody minds how tall or small, big or slim you are…but they do need to know in advance for obvious reasons. You may be sent home unpaid if you have exaggerated the truth and wasted time by not fitting the casting criteria. Save yourself and others the embarrassment.

- Talk to other models, check references and don’t ever assume anything. Despite many people thinking models are the bitchy ones, it’s actually very untrue most of the time. We look after each other and the best out there are very supportive. I was terrified to talk to the people I admired, but then I realised they’re only human, we are all the same…and they’re pretty damn awesome guys and girls when it comes to helping you out.

- Most of all be fun, easy going and willing to go that extra mile! If you are genuinely a delight to be around, you are 100% more likely to be rebooked. You are part of a team so pull your weight, diva’s are so 2010.

Fun times to get the shot despite being in the cold rain, creating ‘I bleed colours’ from my personal Dreamcatcher Project with Richard Powazynski, Lauri Laukkanen and Donna Graham: 

I hope this letter has been of some use to you and that you can take something from it. As I said, not all of this will work for you, it’s just tricks I wish I’d known when I began modelling. But then again look at Kate Moss, she breaks all of the ‘rules’…and still looks amazing – that’s fashion darling.

The day you stop enjoying your job is the day you need a new one. Work hard and love your life!

Kindest regards,

Other Model.

x x x

*** Please like my page at www.facebook.com/jenbrookmodelling and follow me on Twitter @Jen_Brook_Model ***

(NOTE: all pose examples are unedited for a true representation – taken by Jon atwww.benthamimaging.co.uk )

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YouTube user Brad Josephs had this to say about his footage and the experience:

“When using a GoPro to capture unusually close footage of grizzly bears for the Great Bear Stakeout for BBC, I had a young bear actually chew on the camera. Amazingly there was no damage to the camera!”

You can check out the video here, or via the embed below. If this inspires you to go out and grab a GoPro you can get a good deal here.

[via CBS]

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