I bet you never knew who created the world’s first digital Camera. It was Kodak. I also bet you can’t guess when it was created. 1975. Crazy, eh?

So it wasn’t the most beautiful camera you ever saw.  And it didn’t have a comfortable hand grip.  But it’s a prototype, it’s not supposed to be so refined.  Besides, you haven’t seen anything until you’ve seen the pictures of the import hardware (you’ll have to read the article for that gem).

A patent was issued for the technology, but it was decades ahead of its time. Sasson kept the prototype as he moved around the company, but Kodak didn’t publicly acknowledge the creation of the world’s first digicam until 2001.

Read the complete article, Kodak’s First Digital Camera, at Retro Thing.

The refinement of an art form requires a bit of humility on the part of the artist. Mistakes will be made and errors will arise. The average artist will be quick to erase any trace of a bad photograph, or at least not give it a second glance. But a great artist is one who will analyze and scrutinize these works, sometimes more than a great photograph. A great artist is one who realizes there is more to be learned from one’s mistakes than from their greatest works. I hope to help you analyze your own failed attempts.

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Mixed media has always been an incredible way to express yourself. With the advent of the digital world, the term mixed media is used loosely. Artists can now mix photography with digital paint and pencil in an array of textures. One of the best artists in the modern world of mixed media is Alberto Seveso. Abduzeedo has a an exclusive interview with the artist. An excerpt from the interview:

Alberto Seveso is a graphic designer and illustrator from Italy who has simply created a fantastic style by mixing colourful vectors with black and white photos known as “sperm shaping”. It’s very hard to look at his work and not say WOW.

Read the full interview: Interview with Alberto Seveso (abduzeedo.com)

If you like Alberto Seveso’s work, be sure to check out the work of my friend, Jennifer K. Mulcahy.

A Bell Tower separates the Herb Garden from the formal Gardens at Temple University Ambler Arboretum.

I have seen many people use the subjectiveness of art, in all forms, as an excuse for dismissing allegedly bad criticism, touting phrases like “they don’t really know what they’re looking at…”. Usually, this is followed by some sort of claim that the person has been doing said art for many years, or they studied under a certain person. At least the more modest will state that their work isn’t for everyone. But even then, you are still making excuses.

Criticism is a difficult thing for us humans to accept. It is our goal as artists to please the general public, so it is very difficult to accept that someone doesn’t like our work. Especially considering the amount of time we all know we spend on our art, and photography is no exception. But all criticism, regardless of how skilled the source, should be taken into consideration. We can separate our sources into two types: Skilled and Unskilled. Below I will discuss why each is important and how you can utilize it.

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