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prior listings
prior listings
- Margot Knight 3/31/03
Description: a gallery of 30 artistic photographic creations (Flash)
Comments: Pakke at caffeine artworks (see 2/21/03) lists a few select inspirations and today's pick is one of them. While most photographers take pictures, it seems Margot's approach is more to make pictures. Capturing reality is one thing. Creating it is something entirely different. I don't mean to be cryptic, but further description on my part may diminish the experience. Check out this gallery of unique visions, and you'll see what I mean...
- icanphoto 3/28/03
Description: gallery of abstract, city, and people photography (Flash)
Comments: Besides needing "lots of colours" and Flash to view the site, Aidan says you'll also need "a big monitor." Don't have a big monitor? That's okay. Just "buy a Porsche and sleep with 18 year olds to compensate" says the photographer with the slightly whacked sense of humor, known in some circles as "Sir Untitled." Actually, the site fits neatly in an 800x600 window, which is a good thing, 'cause who can afford a Porsche anyway (speaking of whacked)! Today's pick, a gallery of photos with three sections, sports a pleasing, simple design. The content is all good, but I particulary liked Aidan's "people" pics... [Newstoday®]
- deluxe Inc. 3/27/03
Description: experimental Playground of Thomas Baert from Belgium (Flash)
Comments: If you wanna learn a little about Thomas, click on "info" but be prepared to be patient. He offers up random tidbits, some bouncing faster than others, but you'll eventually get that factoid that came and went too fast the first time around. A 24-year-old designer living in Belgium who's inspired by his environment, Thomas is in love with his "sweet girl Sophie" and likes a drink called the "Havanna Club." So, what's the site about? "Just some flash experiments." Though the name sounds a little corporate, it's actually a personal playground where Thomas shares his interesting explorations... _eOF. [linkdup]
- blogjam 3/25/03
Description: weblog and other "crap stuff" of Fraser Lewry
Comments: Fraser supports his friendly "penguin cousins" and hopes his donations aren't going to feeding the cows or some other non-penguiny critters. The "photographic evidence" of his last visit to the zoo was the subject of his most recent post. Further evidence of his affection for our little tuxedoed friends can be found earlier in the month as well. It's not all penguins, though. Fraser writes about (and points to) all kinds of amusing things and the archives go back to December, 2000. And it's not all weblog, either. Some of Fraser's "crap stuff" is neat, like a recently added feature called "vent" (thanks Steve!) and the "about" page is very humorous. Look! An even fresher attraction just appeared on the crap stuff list as I was wrapping this up. You're on your own now... ;~))
- secondbanana 3/24/03
Description: brushes, backgrounds, and wallpapers
Comments: When it comes to favorite colors, Jade's not picky. She loves "all of them." Jade's site has been in my bookmarks for a long time now. She offers some free, unique brushes for Photoshop and her style is fresh and cheerful. So, I've checked in now and then and was tickled to see she redesigned earlier this month. I just love the new tiled background and see that she's also got a list of backgrounds you can download, including the one she's using on the site. Very retro in a way, but very cool and nothing like those tacky backgrounds we used to see all over the web. These backgrounds are clean and light. There's cheery wallpapers, too. Jade invites you to "have your way with the brushes, backgrounds, and wallpapers" while she's working on "something bigger." Hmmm. Looks like I'll have to keep checking in now and then...
- sumo lounge 3/20/03
Description: motion, photo, and audio
Comments: I have yesterday's pick to thank for this gem. I hit the site and went for audio first. A short piece called "falling old women" was so good, I listened to it 3 times. Then, I look up and see the same title on the list of motion works. It's a Quicktime movie with the same soundtrack in the background, but also telling the story in visuals and words. An outstanding narrative. Young Finnish designer Jukka Koops is a talented guy who just happened to make my morning... thanks Sumo!
- randomentality.com 3/18/03
Description: telling of no word stories - photos plus lomos
Comments: Kevin recently announced that his site has Lomobility, a fact I discovered at Photoblogs.org. His lomos are great and so is the presentation. The lomo subdomain was gonna be today's pick until I decided to see if there was more content at www. Indeed, there was, so consider the lomos just part of the bigger picture. The old family photos in the "Where I Began" series and another daily assortment called "Larger Than Life" are among the ones I liked the best. And if you want some great color, check out "Subculture Art." There's about 40 series, dating back to last September, so move along, photo lovers... ;~]
- MyOwnSelf.com 3/17/03
Description: dismal sanctuary of Asya Schween
Comments: I first became aware of the site thanks to a post I read on my friend Robert's weblog on the 13th (isn't that eerie, Robert?). All I could think, after spending just a few minutes there, was "Unbelievable! How creative!" How am I gonna describe a site that left me speechless, except for a few words? I'm not. Robert is, thank you:The home page itself is simple and clean, a mix of darkness (the scratchy, block cut "dismal sanctuary") and light. With only a few short sentences to describe herself, there is little choice but to select one of the many tiny thumbnails that provide the only visible links. It would be just as easy to click in the middle of the grid, but I started with the first. Keep in mind that my own attempts at a self-portrait either involved a picture of me taking a picture of me, flash popping in the bathroom mirror, or something late night and clumsy, drinking buddies, visibly holding the camera an arm's length away. Even Asya's first few photographs, simple, again, with different angles and mixes of color, black and white, and sepia, are more creative than 90% of the self-portraits I've seen. But then she starts photoshopping, and adding props, and makeup, and, still without any text to explain each self-portrait, you begin to see themes emerge, and patterns to her experimentation, and the collection becomes like nothing I've ever seen before. All of this, I needed to remind myself, from a 22 year old. Impressive. I'd love to see the kinds of images she captures when her camera starts to face outward.
Thanks Robert, not only for pointing me to the site, but for taking over the helm today. And thanks, Asya, for your magic. Unbelievable! How creative!
- robot frog 3/16/03
Description: icons, pixellated images for your desktop, 3D tutorials, and games
Comments: Today's pick, on the web since 1999, definitely has its place among the many pixel sites listed here at coolstop. Besides some great, downloadable icon sets for the Mac and PC and cool desktops, the resident pixellator (have I just coined a word?) created a Shockwave game similar to Space Invaders (a blast from the past) called "Retro Blaster." I'm amazed at how well it plays. Fun. There's also an interesting tutorial on 3D "Terrain generation" along with downloadable code ("do whatever you want with it except hold me responsible") for the C++ class Bob wrote to generate terrains. Of course, if you're not a C++ programmer, you'll just have to be content with his tasty, pixellated offerings and other "misc" things that may "suck up your free time like a new Hoover." So, why does Bob give all this stuff away? "Because I love you that much. I do. Honest." Coolstop loves you, too, Bob, in a pixel-kinda way... [GUI Galaxy]
- nirvana.blue 3/14/03
Description: creative photography gallery
Comments: Like yesterday, today's pick is a gallery featuring the works of a Portuguese photographer. She calls herself "nirvana blue" and I call her work creative photography. "We are not separate from spirt, we are in it." A series called "the pain" combines poetic thoughts with what appears to be self-portraits, talking of a "broken soul" in "desperate hours." Quite moving. If you like Lomography, there's several outstanding series for you in the "lomos" section. Add a section of "landscapes" plus several other series, which are just as creative/emotive as "the pain." I like the simplicity of the design and the navigation, too. Thanks Sónia!
- zilmer.com 3/10/03
Description: Digital media newsletter. Published weekly, updated often.
Comments: Priidu Zilmer's digital media newsletter is full of information that's both useful and interesting to those involved in commercial design, though the site itself appears to be totally non-commercial and free of self-promotional gimmicks. The current "Design Spotlight" talks about Harley Davidson's "polite" company website. It's a well-written article about the site's interface, photography, and typography plus "cool stuff" like its completeness of content and "brilliant" design. In Priidu's mind, a "perfect 10!" Besides the Design Spotlight, there's also four different columns (literally) in the news. "Published weekly, updated often." Talk about a well-designed site that's easy to navigate, looks great, and provides plenty of fresh information... oh... I just did, ;~] [linkdup]
- Matthew Chapman 3/9/03
Description: showcase of graphic design/illustrations (Flash)
Comments: To borrow a line from what had to be the funniest episode of that old TV show WKRP in Cincinnati, and modify it, of course, to fit my schtick, "As God is my witness, I thought kitties could fly!" Okay, so that has nothing to do with today's pick except that I love Matthew's "image of the moment" that currently appears on the splash page. I also liked all the other illustrations in his graphic design showcase plus the nifty zoom in and out feature in the interface. Meow...
- Beta-X 3/8/03
Description: Photoshop graphics and experimental work of Shane Waldeck
Comments: Though Shane warns that "Netscape will NOT work," I checked out his site in the latest version of Phoenix (Mozilla based) and everything worked fine though the (cool) horizontally scrolling page transitions seem to work smoother in IE. Shane's an 18-year-old who wants to study graphic arts and pursue a related career. For now, he's been working with Photoshop for less than 2 years and says his "images aren't exactly top notch." Maybe so, but I found all kinds of interesting (and inspiring) stuff among the dozens of pieces in his "portfolio." I like some of his Flash experiments, too. So, I'm thinking, if young Shane is this good without training and just a few years of experience, can you imagine how good he'll be a few years down the road? Go for it Shane... ;~) [Designers Hub]
- wonk 3/7/03
Description: Photo portfolio of a graphic designer from Colombia. Urban and experimental photos in Bogota. (Flash)
Comments: There's something about close-up, black & white photos of classic cars that I find really appealing, especially when the photographer has an eye for composition. Color shots of buildings, street posters and signage unique to a given geographical area are cool, too. Add a few striking black & white portraits, among other things, and you've got a great photo site. Jorge, a graphic designer, takes pictures in an around Bogota, Columbia. An interesting window...
- pleix.net 3/6/03
Description: a virtual community of digital artists (Quicktime) (some mature content)
Comments: The most recent work in this collection of 6 Quicktime movies is a "symetrical composition of shapes, colors and objects" called "Bleip: Clicks." Everyday objects take on "a new existence" and the "dynamic music" track seems the perfect accompaniment for the dance of the "beings." The work really is amazing and beyond the above description, using some of their words, I'm not sure what else I can say. You have to experience art like this first hand. The "virtual community" of 3D artists, musicians and graphic designers has some bigtime talent. The 4 movies I've viewed so far were totally enjoyable... (some mature content) [linkscape]
- BlentWell 3/5/03
Description: the blended music authority, devoted to finding the freshest mixsets, music and dj news online
Comments: I don't know about you, but I'm supporting Spooner's efforts to eliminate "wack compilations." If it's "blended music" and "fresh new tracks" that please you, only "superior quality links" will do. He says the site is "required as a roadmap to the ever fragmenting world of mixed music" and after checking out a few of the many links in the news window, I'm impressed. It looks like Spooner is out there on the prowl for the non-wack stuff and adds his finds daily. The archives go back almost a year and he's only missed a few days here and there. If you like mixsets, dj-related news, and related site links, this may be the perfect place to get your blenducation...
- poppoo.com 3/3/03
Description: Shockwave games and downloadable iconpacks
Comments: I'll just say pixels first to make sure this purveyor of tasty iconpacks shows up in one of my favorite searches. There's 4 packs to choose from for PC or Mac and the icons are great. The real attraction, though, may be the cool Shockwave games plus the monthly chance to be "immortalised in the Hall of Fame" and receive your very own, limited edition "highscore elvis." If you're like me and don't have a prayer of winning one of those cute "soon-to-be legendary" badges by being the month's high scorer on one of the games, they say "the highscore badge will also be awarded to a very select, special bunch of [their] friends. So get scoring or get friendly." Did I win? Did I win? ;~))
- way to blue 3/2/03
Description: photoblog of Stephen Mefford
Comments: Stephen posted 2 photos last December 11th called "First Snow." Below one of the shots, a very cool picture of a tree (or is that, a picture of a very cool tree?), there's a "5 weeks ago" link to another shot of the same tree, taken from an identical vantage point. What a difference a few weeks can make and how cool to have so effectively captured the change in seasons! That second shot is part of a series of 6 taken in early November. Superb color! Stephen lives in Washington, DC, but he's also documented some days spent in places like Manhattan, Boston, Portland, and Paris. My guess is he's always got at least one of hisfivesix cameras with him wherever he goes (almost forgot the watch camera). His photoblog has few words, but the pictures form an interesting diary from one man's unique perspective. Another shot I really like reminds me a shadowy pic taken by a guy named Denis, whose site was a daily pick back in December. There's plenty of other great photos and I really like the simple site design and navigation scheme. It's easy to see why Stephen's currently at the top of the list at Photoblogs.org...
- Color-People™ 3/1/03
Description: Daily Design Digest for world wide designers and Indian sub-continent
Comments: I've been watching for Baiju's new version and am tickled that it finally launched yesterday. The old site sported a top-notch design but, aside from the news column, hadn't been updated for quite a while. Baiju had been traveling for several months and when he returned, he mentioned that a new design was in the works. So, I've been watching. Baiju's just launched Version 2 is a "daily design digest" promising covers, news and links to "top articles" updated daily, links to featured articles, websites, and dowloads updated weekly, and featured books and "global events" updated monthly. Like the old version, this one's got a great design that lives up to the "color" in its name. If you're a designer, go submit a cover or wallpaper and help Baiju get his new thing going! From what I can see, this new alternative portal has great potential and I'm wishing Baiju the very best...
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