Welcome to The Proof Sheet, where each week I'll post some of the more notable photography news in sweet, chewy, bite-sized, easily-digestible morsels. Click the Read More for this week's stories.
Cinematographer John Brawley posted the first frames shot using Blackmagic’s new 4K URSA camera this week. This is the one Blackmagic announced at NAB in April that has a 10-inch, 1080p pop-out display, shoots 4k at 60fps, and comes in a camcorder form factor for a fraction of the price of the RED. Uh…yeah! Needless to say, the footage is drool-worthy. Click here to see it.
Petapixel reports that the New York Police Department has sent out a memo to it’s officers reminding them that so long as they don’t interfere with police operations, “members of the public are allowed to record police interactions” and any attempts to stop it “constitutes censorship and also violates the First Amendment.”
A team of researchers from Japan's University of Tokyo and Keio University have created the world's fastest camera. It's so fast in fact, it can record a chemical reaction in a single shot. That is 1000 times faster than the previous best, and is essentially 1/6 the speed of light. "Its optical shutter shoots images consecutively in less than one-trillionth of a second," Gizmodo reports.
Don't know how I missed this one earlier this year, but just in case you did too, Digital Photography School posted "15 of the Best Cheat Sheets, Printables, and Infographics for Photographers."
And because, just because, I haven't said anything yet here about Robin Williams, but it's taken a bit to sort of soak it in. It wasn't until listening to Marc Maron's interviews over the past 4 years with just about every comic under the sun that I've truly realized that all good comedy come from a dark place. It's the most transparent and vulnerable way of dealing with life's insecurities and, well, constant bullshit. I think Robin Williams was one of the ones that seemed to resonate with me most. I'm not sure why, but something about him...it was always apparent he was deeper than what he chose to show on the surface, and it seemed subconsciously obvious that a vein of pain fed that deeper part of his soul. I did not see this coming. And it hurts. I don't think I can really say anything that will trump how Marc Maron opens his tribute to Robin Williams earlier this week:
"Depression is real.'
And the dialogue surrounding this awful disease needs to be louder and more profound and in everyone's face. If the day soon comes that depression and mental illness becomes an integral part of the public dialogue, and the shame surrounding them crumbles away, Robin would not have died in vain. Let's do our part to give back to Robin a fraction of what he gave to us. Rest in peace Mr. Williams. You've definitely earned it.
Anyhow, it's a tribute worth listening to, as is the interview with Robin that Maron reposted following his tribute. Click here or on the picture above for transcript and the interview link