an antidote to winter

Need a little something to take your mind off the wet and cold of February? Here's Francesco Zizola's take on beach culture in Rio de Janiero:

The beach plays a big part in the minds of the people in Rio de Janeiro. It's not merely a place to absorb the sun's ray. It's a social circus, an important venue for sports and even business dealings. It's a people-watcher's paradise.

t's not easy for a casual visitor to understand the complex beach culture in Rio, but with a keen eye it is possible to pick out the different cliques and crowds that inhabit the acres of sand, that change according to the time of day or the day of the week.

Every beach in Rio is a scene for fashion and trends. Also people from the "favelas" reach the beach with their surfboard. Surfing is a very popular sport for "cariocas", although they don't have the best waves for it. The whole concept of catching waves and hanging out on the beach is a perfect fit with their mentality, based on the art of flirting and the joy of living.

More images from Zizola's Rio project are here. His website is here.

stop-motion animation from PES

(Seen first on LaughingSquid.)

{gear} analog gauges on a digital camera

Samsung has announced its new TL 320, and it has gauges on the top that show how much memory and battery power you have left. Cool.
It also has a 5x optical zoom range that starts at a nice-and-wide 24mm. The wider, the better. Some other stats: 12 megapixels, 3-inch screen, 720p HD video. More official details here.
It's listed at $379 at Amazon, but isn't available yet.

$15,000 getty grant for editorial photography

From Getty's website:

"We believe that photojournalism is a powerful tool for telling compelling social, political and cultural stories. We also understand that creating and managing world-class photography assignments requires time, freedom, support and considerable resources.

Since 2005, we have awarded five Grants for Editorial Photography annually to professional photojournalists. Each grant provides $20,000, plus editorial, logistical and promotional support. We also award four student grants of $5,000 per year to photojournalism students at accredited schools."

The deadline to apply is May 15. More info here.

some wonderful street photography

My friend Cory Mervis called the photography of London-based Nils Jorgensen some of the best street photography she had ever seen. "Great eye, great catch, complicated patterns, and so funny!"