Monday, June 15, 2009

New music and my beef with bloggy photos

As tends to happen, Joel said I ought to listen to a band called Parachute because I would like it and... I did. (They sound like a more palatable Gavin Degraw, but anyhow). The video for "She is Love" is VERY cute (watch here), but I prefer the acoustic version on the album. So here's today's pretty picture and song post!


She Is Love - Parachute


two paths
I think this is pretty!
But it does contain obviously "bloggy" elements: tree, sky, blurred edges, birds



On an unrelated issue: why are balloons such a popular item in bloggy photos here lately (Exhibits A, B, and C?) I am not gonna lie, I like bloggy photos (you know, the ones that are arty and original and blurred on the edges with the saturation down and the focus on one specific and usually ironic thing?) and I have even posted arty photos, because they are bloggy. And arty. Anyhow.
There is just some typical subject matter in bloggy photos (flowers, sky, trees, lens flares, birds, skinny girls with flawless skin, disheveled hair and billowy short dresses), I just was mildly curious how balloons got into the mix. And typewriters? And cameras.
It's also funny to me how formulaic some bloggy photos are. I can make a bloggy photo in about 3 steps: reduce saturation, up contrast, add blurred edges/vignette. Ready? Here it is:

Photobucket
This is actually a photo from a college with a degree in landscape design. Truth be told, it was hard to find a landscape photo that wasn't already bloggy.

Photobucket
Blogified. Caption possibilities:
"My heart is here..."
or
"silence breaks me"

(Create your own!)





Well, this was longer than I expected it to be... (THAT'S WHAT SHE SAID!!!)

Ok, enough harping on the bloggy world. As is obvious, I like 'em, too, but that doesn't make them any less predictable. :)



photo here

3 comments:

Pop and Ice said...

I don't do *bloggy* photos. Mine are either bad or just acceptable. But wait till I get a *real* camera and editing stuff.....nah, that's not happening for while. The world will just have to put up with my terrible iPhone photos.

But your stuff, well it's GREAT, of course.....:)

Mary Ellen said...

Maybe the edges are blurry, etc., because people are using cameras that don't do a good job on landscape detail - that's what's happened to me. I like my little pocket-sized Nikon but it has some real limitations, which I keep stumbling upon. But perhaps I haven't viewed enough blogs to have a concept of bloggy picture.

Unknown said...

@Pop and Ice - I don't really DO bloggy photos, either. I just seek them out and post them so I look legit to the other bloggists in the world.

@Mary Ellen - I have a sneaking suspicion that the blurry edges and hipster content are the result of trendiness as opposed to being a functional problem. If it IS a functioning issue, there are a lot of camera recalls in order. To get an idea of good examples of the "bloggy" photos I'm talking about, Paper Tissue and Restart my heart have a lot of the style of photography I'm talking about.