Gallery: This Week in Photography: Naked Skiing, Real-World GIFs, and a White House Wedding
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Boy do we have a froofy, 10-layer burrito of photo happenings this week. GIFs you can hold in your hands, dog-slobber GIFs, naked skiing, a Tim Page tell-all about his time in Vietnam and much much more. We hope you saved room. __Above:__ Shaking Dog GIFs ---------------- Earlier this week [we wrote about Carli Davidson’s](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/rawfile/2013/10/shake/) new book *[Shake](http://www.shakethebook.com/)*, which features high-speed photos of dog flinging slobber and water everywhere. Along with the book, Davidson also released a [video](http://vimeo.com/77111226) that shows the dogs in action. Because the internet is great, right after the video was published someone chopped it up and turned each shaking dog into its own GIF. Here at Raw File we’re always down for a good GIF and we’ve admittedly spent too much time watching them. That said, we’re still loving the photos because of the way they nail the dogs in peak action and capture the intensity and absurdity of the shake.
02HALLOWEEN
Still the Best Camera Halloween Costume Ever -------------------------------------------- Remember [this guy](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/gadgetlab/2011/10/happy-tech-y-ween-costumes/)? His name is Tyler Card and he's the dude who put the rest of us camera aficionados to shame in the Halloween costume department. His getup, which he made back in 2011, actually took pictures using an embedded DSLR and flash. Those pictures were then transferred to an old laptop screen on the back that looked exactly like the image screen on a camera. He says it took a week to build the damn thing so if you’re going to try and copy it, your better get going because Halloween is this Thursday. Chop Chop.
03TimPage-4
Tim Page on War, Opium, Life, Death, and Crap Assignment Rates for Today's Photographers ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Veteran photojournalist [Tim Page](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_Page_(photographer)) gave a [wicked interview to VICE this week](http://www.vice.com/read/vietnam-had-good-food-and-beautiful-women). Highlights would be bong rips with Laotian jungle-clearance crews, getting busted by the cops (while high) with Jim Morrison and going to Woodstock as an inpatient after having a hole blown in his head in Vietnam. Oh, and he was the inspiration for Dennis Hopper's drug-addled shooter in *Apocalypse Now*. Page wouldn't want to, nor would know how to, survive on a photographer's pay these days. Much of his time is spent on projects tracing the deaths of many of his war-photog colleagues. War's a different game too. > "I shouldn’t really say this, but Vietnam was fun. We would go to the gun range, shoot M-60s out of helicopter doors and twin machine guns off the front of swift boats, smoke great opium and could get a cold beer. It was dangerous when you got fucking hit, you shat yourself and pissed yourself, but the rewards were quite reasonable. In terms of a place to have a war, Vietnam was a great place. If you look at Iraq, it’s awful. Afghanistan is a beautiful place but what a horrible place to fight a war. Vietnam had good food and beautiful woman, \[in Iraq or Afghanistan\] you can’t see the women or get a beer. Bosnia was worse … Unpronounceable people in unpronounceable places; freezing cold in the winter, hot as fuck in the summer and shit food." 21st century war is a tightly controlled public relations game. Page reckons any time of any day in Vietnam offered up good photographs. And they had a political effect: > "Any war picture is an antiwar picture. I think Vietnam was the first and last war that has ever been reported totally openly. It was the first war with television, the first war in color. It was the first with live radio and the first time your pictures were transmitted virtually the same time they were taken—not quite, but within 24 hours. There had never been that kind of instant coverage of conflict. I’m not saying photography stopped the Vietnam War, I think it contributed to swaying public opinion. It seemed to have a creeping effect on the American psyche when virtually every small town had somebody coming home in a coffin. It forced it to an end or helped it come to an end." *Photo: Choppers arrive to evacuate casualties after a convoy was ambushed on its way to relieve the Duc Co Special Forces camp. By Tim Page.*
Charles Dharapak04pete-souza
Obama's Photographer Gets Hitched at the White House ---------------------------------------------------- Remember, in 2009, when President [Obama launched a Flickr account](http://www.flickr.com/photos/whitehouse/sets/) and we all felt really included? Remember, the day after, when it dawned on us that it was just a clever way of shaping his administrations' visual narrative? Remember, throughout Obama's first term, when we still loved his Flickr feed because propaganda had never tasted so good? Remember, in the summer of 2013, when the NSA's PRISM program came to light and we found out that Obama loved our photos as much as we loved his? From campaign micro-contributions to volunteer mobilizing; from slick social media to straight-talking, Obama's presidency has been about appearing open, grateful, of-the-people. Maybe he's not quite "the man next door", but he is at least the fellow on the block everyone likes. [Pete Souza](http://www.petesouza.com/), the official White House photographer has played a key role our impression of Obama; feet up on the Oval Office desk, playing with the dog on the White House lawn, fun and games with the kids. At this point, every person in America must have seen a Pete Souza photograph. He's middle-man between Obama and us. Often we forget that. Obama and Souza's working and personal relationship is one of ease and trust. And it's been well-talked about. Last Saturday, Obama hosted Souza's wedding to Patti Lease in the Rose Garden. It was a small affair with only 35 guests. Special day, special venue. Quite the perk of the job! *Photo: Pete Souza works as Obama speaks during an event in the Rose Garden of the White House on the initial rollout of the health care overhaul on Monday, Oct. 21, 2013. By Charles Dharapak/AP.*
05capa
Capa's 100th Birthday and the Launch of *Get Closer* ---------------------------------------------------- The legendary photographer [Robert Capa](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Capa) would've turned 100 this week and to commemorate the milestone Magnum is launching an interactive project, [*Get Closer*](http://getcloser.magnumphotos.com/). For 100 days Magnum will be posting a Capa photo along with a contemporary photographer's photo response side-by-side. Readers are also encouraged to post their responses via social media by tagging their photos with #GetCloser100. *Screenshot: Magnum*
06gifpop
GIFs Jump Into the Real World With Lenticular Printing ------------------------------------------------------ Now you can hold your [favorite GIF in your hand](http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/sha/gifpop-custom-gif-cards-for-everyone) through the miracle of custom [Lenticular prints](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lenticular_printing). Remember those old baseball cards or holograms whose images move as you tilt them in front of your eyes? Yeah, the geniuses behind Gifpop are building a site that lets you order Lenticular prints of GIFs that you upload. Their Kickstarter has blown past its goal. For us this proves that not only does God exist, but he's been listening to our prayers in minute and careful detail. Hat tip to [the *Atlantic*](http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2013/10/you-can-now-liberate-gifs-from-the-web-with-an-old-weird-technology/280804/) for making our lives. *Image: Gifpop*
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Moriyama Love-In at Kassel Art Book Fair, Germany ------------------------------------------------- On Thursday night, the [Kassel Art Book Fair](http://2013.fotobookfestival.org/events/) kicked off. This year's festival is a look from all angles at legendary Japanese photographer [Daido Moriyama's life and work](http://www.moriyamadaido.com/english/). Book-signings, film screenings, panels, lectures by John Gossage, Markus Schaden and others all serve to applaud Moriyama's half-century of pioneering practice. Moriyama will be there too. Known for his gritty images of Tokyo streets, naked folks, isolated characters and urban existence, Moriyama's grainy B&W images pioneered an identifiably Japanese photography aesthetic. His experimentation began in the '60s with the Provoke Group and continues today across media in screen-printing, Polaroids, film and installation. Moriyama also transformed the way many thought of the distribution -- and the preciousness -- of photobooks. He is prolific; over 150 photobooks and still counting. But quantity has never meant a sacrifice to quality, *Japan—A Photo Theatre* (1968) and *Light & Shadow* (1982) stand as testament to his contributions to the bookform. It is therefore fitting that the [Photobook Award](http://2013.fotobookfestival.org/project/photobook-award/) and the [Dummy Awards](http://2013.fotobookfestival.org/project/dummy-award/) are announced at the Kassel Art Book Fair. The Dummy Award is for a photographic artist with a kickass body of work but not the deal or logistics to get it made. The Issuu files of the 40 shortlisted entries don't make for the best viewing experience but the names, concepts and approaches contained therein are worthy of your attention. *Photo: Daido Moriyama, Stray dog, Misawa, 1971*
08instructables
Turn Your Phone into a Digital Microscope for Under $10 ------------------------------------------------------- Instructables user Yoshinok has created a $10 method of converting your [smartphone into a digital microscope](http://www.instructables.com/id/10-Smartphone-to-digital-microscope-conversion/?ALLSTEPS). The design is surprisingly simple, and according to his post, its magnification levels can reach up to 175x, “powerful enough to reveal plant cells and their nuclei.” As an added bonus, the rig supports a shared viewing experience. Unlike traditional microscopes, which utilize eyepieces, the specimen is viewed live via your phone’s touch LCD screen, so there’s plenty of room for people to gather 'round. For the cost of some plywood, plexiglass and a few nuts and bolts, you can open up a whole new world into recreational photomicroscopy ¬– or just sate your own curiosity. Also check out: [Turn Your Cellphone Into a High-Powered Scientific Microscope](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/wiredscience/2011/03/diy-cellphone-microscope/) [Tweet Your Blood Cells With New Microscope Smartphone Adapter](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/rawfile/2012/01/tweet-your-blood-cells-with-new-microscope-smartphone-adapter/) *Photo: Instructables*
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First North American Receives Prestigious BBC Wildlife Photography Award ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Connor Stefanison, a 22-year-old biology student from Burnaby, Canada, won the Eric Hosking Portfolio Award, [the first North American to do so](http://globalnews.ca/news/915859/burnaby-photographer-wins-prestigious-bbc-wildlife-photography-award/). The award, co-owned by BBC Worldwide and the Natural History Museum, recognizes aspiring wildlife photographers between the ages of 18 to 26. The photos in his winning portfolio are visually striking in both their technical acuity and natural beauty. He manages to get remarkably close to his subjects –- as all great wildlife photographers do –- capturing moments of serenity as well as the natural behaviors that would otherwise be impossible for the average person to witness. To view more of Stefanison’s work, visit [his website](http://www.connorstefanison.com/). *Photo by Connor Stefanison*
10VALHALLA
Narrative and Nakedness Make the New Ski Film Valhalla a 2013 Standout ---------------------------------------------------------------------- [Valhalla](http://www.sweetgrass-productions.com/films/valhalla/), the new ski film from [Sweetgrass Productions](http://www.sweetgrass-productions.com/), has gotten a lot of attention lately because it tried something new. Instead of just cramming ninety minutes of straight skiing down the viewer’s throats (like most ski films), the directors made a movie that has a central character and tells a story. There’s still plenty of skiing, but kudos to those in charge for breaking out of the boring box so many ski flicks get stuck in. The film is also getting some love because it has an entire segment of naked skiing; men and women riding the chair lift, slashing through fresh powder, and occasionally eating shit in nothing more than ski boots, hats and an occasional avalanche beacon. It’s pure silliness, but keeps with the rebel theme the film is going for. *Photo courtesy of Sweetgrass Productions*
