No one will notice — by Joe Reifer

• Marvel at Jon Haeber’s night photos of Michael Jackson’s Neverland Ranch
• Cringe as you explore Photoshop Disasters
• Stroll through a virtual walking tour of Manhattan’s photo booths
• Chortle as Timothy Archibald bashes Edward Burtynsky’s Manufactured Landscapes
• Rock out to the incomparable sounds and incredible story of Tubby Boots

(bottom right by D. Ross Cameron, other photos by Alan Tubbs — via InsideBayArea)

• First there was Riki Feldman’s Moon Halo Jets, then S. Walsh’s Bomb Garden, and finally my own Bombs Over Flowers – a little over a week ago, the plane blew down!
• The Darkness, Darkness exhibit of contemporary night photography opens on March 18th – please help spread the word. The press release (PDF) is now available online.
• Night photographer Troy Paiva’s schön automobile fotokunst in Der Spiegel (mit 12 bilder)
• If your German is rusty, you might enjoy Troy’s 2005 article, driving 4360 miles in 126 hours
• The amazing Red Castle at 519 Fair Avenue in Santa Cruz is for sale for $3.8 million. A 1993 Ross Eric Gibson article called Court of the Mysteries provides an interesting history of this long neglected architectural marvel.

in between — by Joe Reifer

• Today’s digital lifestyle can place a lot of demands upon photographers. Sometimes it’s a good idea to stop and ask yourself…What Would Richard Avedon Do?
• If you’re a fan of directors Jim Jarmusch and Aki Kaurismäki, I highly recommend a film from Uruguay called Whisky. A superb, subtle, deadpan character study.
• Randy at Holgamods has created another monster — the Stereo Holga!
• I’ve found the Bogen 175F Justin Clamp to be very useful ever since ace photographer Joe McNally turned me on to this handy piece of gear at a workshop back in 2004. Joe has a new blog, and his book The Moment It Clicks is selling like hotcakes. To see the Justin Clamp in action, have a look at Carmen Miranda’s excellent setup shots.
• This video of Nels Cline and Greg Bendian playing Leo from their tribute to John Coltrane‘s Interstellar Space makes me wish I had a guitar.

Can you see the chair? — by Joe Reifer

• Quite possibly the most overlooked, least talked about component of the digital darkroom is where you sit. The official chair of Joe Reifer Photography is the Steelcase Think Chair. Yes, it’s expensive, worth every penny, and just as good looking as the chair pictured above.
• I’ve made it easier to subscribe to this blog — on your right is a link to sign up in your favorite feedreader, or via email.
• Mark Hobson praises the fuzzy edges of naturalistic photography over on The Landscapist
• Curves is one of the most powerful, versatile tools in Photoshop. Charles Cramer goes over his combination of tonal curves combined with layer masks on Luminous Landscape.
• Recently picked up two amazing albums, both from 1974: Taj Mahal Travelers psych masterpiece August 1974 is beyond Pink Floyd at their weirdest. Like a mellow version of the out parts of Can’s Tago Mago. Essential for NNCK fans. And Harmonia’s Live 1974 is a must for fans of Neu! and Popol Vuh. Check out Aquarius Records in San Francisco for the hard to find pysch and noise releases.

A White Elephant — by Joe Reifer

• The Shen Hao TZ45-IIB 4×5 camera is now being imported to the U.S. by Badger Graphic. At a retail price of $695, the TZ45 looks like an economical alternative to the Ebony SW45.
• I really enjoyed Richard Mosse’s air disaster simulation photos on BLDGBLOG, and also the related story on muse-ings that Richard used an 8×10 camera sold to him by Tim Atherton.
• Rich Moreno continues to do some great writing about Nevada history over on Backyard Traveler.
• Pause | to begin linked me to Andrew Bush’s Vector Portraits – photos made while traveling 50 to 70 mph in Los Angeles and other parts of the Southwest.
• New Books of Note: Robert Adams Time Passes, a new Bill Owens book comes out on March 1st, and Gregroy Crewdson has a forthcoming book called Beneath the Roses.