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A Bug Book, BBC DVD, and a Modofly Moleskine Walk Into a Bar…

Filed Under graphic design, photography

Today felt a bit like Christmas with two separate orders arriving on the same day. I received a box from Amazon after waiting patiently for three weeks. It contained the book Closeup Shooting: A Guide to Closeup, Tabletop and Macro Photography by Cyrill Harnischmacher and the BBC-produced documentary 2-disc DVD, Life in the Undergrowth. I watched a bit of the DVD last night and was astounded by the quality. One thing I immediately enjoyed was how the host would point out how big some of the “undergrowth” creatures were by comparing it to the head of a pin. The cameras and angles they used had were extraordinary, able to focus on an insect the size of a fingernail and then on the host, standing in the background. I hope the DVDs have a “making of” featurette.

I also perused the book a bit and it seems like an excellent purchase. Every beautiful photo has data about the shot (f-stop, speed, light source, etc.) as well as comparisons with slightly different settings (higher/lower speed, flash/no flash) showing how it changes the shot. Just a skim of the book tonight gave me some great ideas to improve my insect macro skills.

A package from Modofly also came today and in it was my newest travel journal. The company is an “artist collaborative piloted by a couple of jack-of-all trade artists/designers that go by the names of Jordan and Kevin.” When I discovered their site through Moleskinerie, I was immediately drawn to “the Elephant Trot” journal. I’ve been a fan of woodcuts and this one is exceptionally well done. It reminded me of the work of Albrecht Dürer. An e-mail to Modofly asking how the books were made introduced me to Jordan, who obviously lives up to his “jack-of-all trade” title. He shared with me how the books are etched using a laser into the cover of a Moleskine journal using the designs of a handful of artists associated with them. I would learn that “the Elephant Trot” was done by the artist Tristan Brando. Based on her photo, she’s obviously a supermodel filling in the time between fashion shows by creating amazing works of art.

Here are some horrible macro shots I snapped quickly after getting home today. I’ll be using this journal in December for a very special occasion: my annual international backpacking trip.