Simple, yet powerful, the above photo is all about making a choice that decided the future of a nation… It’s funny how black text on a white background is still the ‘go to’ way to communicate despite all the technology and different ways we can share information and communicate. Sure, there’s instant messaging, facebook-ing, tweeting, and who knows what else, but the simple act of writing or printing a few words on a piece ... Read more →]]>

Simple, yet powerful, the above photo is all about making a choice that decided the future of a nation… It’s funny how black text on a white background is still the ‘go to’ way to communicate despite all the technology and different ways we can share information and communicate. Sure, there’s instant messaging, facebook-ing, tweeting, and who knows what else, but the simple act of writing or printing a few words on a piece of paper is still so powerful.

Google's Doodle for May 6 - the 2nd round of elections in France

The same goes with signs – they are practical, useful, yet simple in helping us understand and make decisions. You’ve seen them in shops, at the airport, when you’re driving and there’s a science and art behind these everyday things that help you live your life. Ever heard of “wayfinding”? Check out this article for a brief intro into the “The Surprisingly Complex Art of Urban Wayfinding“.

Voting stations during 2012 French Presidential elections

I’ve noticed people fumbling with the phones and/or other hi-tech gear to take someones phone number. There’s plenty of ways to take down someone’s digits – Bluetooth data transfer, digital signatures, manual entry into your phonebook, calling a person so they have your number – actually we’re pretty creative when trying to save a phone number! BUT it’s just so much easier (and faster) to have a pen and a piece of paper. Here’s an experiment: the next time you’re talking to someone, ask them for a pen and see if they have one or if they turn to their mobile phone or tablet to take down notes!

A fisheye lens is a weird thing. It gives a very different perspective to a photo. While it’s requires a bit of adjustment to use (i.e. like shooting in black and white), the feeling you get from the photo is something extraordinary (i.e. like black and white photos). Maybe it’s because of the 180 degree space it creates on a two-dimensional surface that reveals a lot about life and the environment ... Read more →]]>

A fisheye lens is a weird thing. It gives a very different perspective to a photo. While it’s requires a bit of adjustment to use (i.e. like shooting in black and white), the feeling you get from the photo is something extraordinary (i.e. like black and white photos). Maybe it’s because of the 180 degree space it creates on a two-dimensional surface that reveals a lot about life and the environment we’re not use to seeing or noticing. The extreme curvature of the lens and the photo captured creates an almost surreal feeling. It’s been two months since I bought a Bower 7.5mm f/3.5 fisheye lens. Here are some photos!

Volkswagon sign from Geneva car show

Lausanne train station

Dinner

View of Lac Leman (Lake Geneva) from Mont Pelerin

I wonder if there’s a way to photograph the curvature of life on a round planet? If you’re interested in understanding other aspects of the dichotomy of life, check out this video from Cambridge’s danah boyd and her talk on the “Culture of Fear + Attention Economy = ?!?!”. It’s basically about how social media and the way we now communicate and recieve information is affected by the balance between “fear” and “attention”. Here’s a description of her talk:

We live in a culture of fear. Fear feeds on attention and attention is captured by fear. Social media has complicated our relationship with attention and the rise of the attention economy highlights the challenges of dealing with this scarce resource. But what does this mean for the culture of fear? How are the technologies that we design to bring the world together being used to create new divisions? In this talk, danah will explore what happens at the intersection of the culture of fear and the attention economy.

Conceptualized and designed this infographic that shows the Economic and Human Impact of Disasters in the last 12 years. The data is sourced from the Brussels-based Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters (CRED) and their International Disasters Database (EM-DAT). The idea was to take global disaster statistics and visualize three key variables that UNISDR wanted to convey to ... Read more →]]>

Conceptualized and designed this infographic that shows the Economic and Human Impact of Disasters in the last 12 years. The data is sourced from the Brussels-based Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters (CRED) and their International Disasters Database (EM-DAT). The idea was to take global disaster statistics and visualize three key variables that UNISDR wanted to convey to the public – the economic and social impacts from natural hazards in the last 12 years. The infographic also includes key disaster events that correspond to the annual figures. The billion and trillion figures have been used by the media and referenced in numerous publications. To download the infographic, visit UNISDR’s Flickr account.

Conceptualized and designed this infographic to highlight one of UNISDR’s key activities with the media between 2010-2011. Given the global scope of the project, a map was chosen to best represent this scale and breadth of the trainings. A scale is used at the bottom of the graphic to provide more details to compare the organization’s project target audience, it’s work and ... Read more →]]>

Conceptualized and designed this infographic to highlight one of UNISDR’s key activities with the media between 2010-2011. Given the global scope of the project, a map was chosen to best represent this scale and breadth of the trainings. A scale is used at the bottom of the graphic to provide more details to compare the organization’s project target audience, it’s work and what the number (i.e. 193) it would like to reach. To download the infographic, visit UNISDR’s Flickr account.

The UN’s disaster risk reduction office (UNISDR) conducted a media training program to educate journalists and media-related government officials about DRR issues. Organized by UNISDR in collaboration with Thompson Reuters, the project was funded by the European Commission’s Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection Directorate General (ECHO). According to UNISDR, the media have an important role to play in creating awareness and distributing information before, during and after a disaster. By exploring the root causes of disasters and their social dimensions, the media are a key ally for disaster risk reduction (DRR).

This photo was awarded 2nd prize – that’s not too bad considering this is the first time I entered a photo competition. So I guess I have some bragging rights until next year. It was quite a surprise to find out that my photo titled “Solemn Guards Standing Tall” was awarded second place Club Photo International 2011 Competition around the theme of trees, to celebrate the international year of forests. ... Read more →]]>

This photo was awarded 2nd prize – that’s not too bad considering this is the first time I entered a photo competition. So I guess I have some bragging rights until next year. It was quite a surprise to find out that my photo titled “Solemn Guards Standing Tall” was awarded second place Club Photo International 2011 Competition around the theme of trees, to celebrate the international year of forests. It was taken with my brothers Nikon camera when we wanted to get above the fog and clouds in Vancouver – the photo was taken on Burnaby mountain just in front of Horizons restaurant.

The exhibition area with the three award winners in the background

I even missed the award ceremony because the judges didn’t tell me I had won. I only received an email asking me if I was coming to the ceremony, so I figured it was just a general invite to people who had entered the competition. The ceremony was held in an exhibition area in the UN in Geneva. If you have a chance and are in Geneva, the exhibition will go on until 17 February on the third floor of the Palais des Nations, in the passerelle between the old building and the E building.

The photos were judged on their technique, creativity and relevance to the contest theme by a jury composed of Sergio Da Silva, president of the CPI, Kristian Skeie, teacher of photography at Webster University and Régis Colombo, president of the Swiss Professional Photographers Association. In addition to a certificate and gift voucher, I also received a medal. Check it out!

Medal - front

Medal - back

The Club has put up all the exhibited photos – see the Flickr Gallery below – there are some really fantastic shots!