So apart from skiing the Rocky Mountains what else was there to do in the Canadian town of Banff? I’m not usually the greatest sports fan, but even I couldn’t help get excited over the winter Olympics. With the Canadians winning their fair share of gold medals the country was buzzing. Despite this great sporting event I still needed some downtime so I went in search of some culture.  I came across The Banff Centre whilst taking a stroll through Banff National Park. The locals later told me cutting through the forest to get there wasn’t the best idea due to the bears that roam around. Anyway Goldilocks and the Three Bears this isn’t so I will continue….

The Banff Centre is one of Canada’s leading institutes in arts and culture.  The arts program is at the core of The Banff Centre. The centre supports the creation of new work by individual artists and provides resources for collaboration and research in more than a dozen art forms including photography, music, theatre, dance, opera, literature, ceramics, print-making, painting, papermaking, sculpture, audio engineering, digital film and video and new media. The kind people at the centre let me have a look around their photography lab. This professional facility made up of nine darkrooms, a print-finishing area and a lighting studio. The facility supports a great variety of photography projects and allows artists 24-hour access. The goal of the photography studio is to promote interest and foster learning in the medium of photography. There is also a great gallery ‘The Walter Phillips Gallery’ showcasing some interesting canadian photography. My favourite being a feature called ‘The End’ taken by Laura Vanags.

Even Snaps made an appearance. So fear not photography lovers if you are ever in Banff and have had enough skiing get yourself over to The Banff Centre, but watch out for the bears.

For more information contact:
Sarah Fuller, Photography Facilitator
Email: sarah_fuller@banffcentre.ca 

No, this isn’t a bad photography joke; and to most of us the answer would be seemingly nothing; but not to the brains at Oxford University. Dr Gil Bub, an imaging expert studying heart cells, has invented a camera that could render conventional photography obsolete. The camera shoots top quality video and single images at the same time. The user then has two options to either display the groups of pixels together as one high-resolution image, or they can be played one after the other as a movie. The Telegraph reports that plans are already under way to compress the technology into an all-in-one sensor that could fit inside normal cameras. This could open new opportunities in the world of photography and media, which in the current and somewhat stagnant environment could be a welcomed change.  I can feel the calcium levels in my heart bubbling at the prospect. Welcomed or not, please let us know what this new invention does to your photography heart rate.

moodboard recently visited Berlin, and I must say I was extremely impressed with the creativity that is on show in this vibrant City. Following the anniversary of the fall of the Berlin wall, many artists have returned to this infamous wall to retouch their paintings. The whole area was buzzing and smelt of fresh paint. There are some great photo opportunities around the city such as the Brandenburg Gate which is superbly lit on a clear night. Alexanderplatz one of the busiest squares in the city which captures the hustle and bustle of modern Berlin, and the Holocaust memorial which creates a far quiet and sombre vibe.  If you have a camera and are looking for a great city to visit and shoot, Berlin is perfect for you!

One the way out of the city, moodboard’s very own model Craig spotted himself on a giant billboard. They had taken image (no.10150019), cropped it, intensely airbrushed the shot and given both models a fake tan. This style of re-touching is supposedly very popular in Germany.

Dear all, 

After an exciting year of blog posts here on the factory,  I am taking some time off to have my first baby in January.  I've been thrilled to feature some of my favourite artists and photographers on the blog and would like to thank all the contributors who spent time with the factory and everyone that took time to read the posts. It's been a really great year!

Whilst I'm away my colleagues Craig and Lauren in Sales will be running the show and I'm sure they will keep you entertained in my absence.

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas!

Deb H x

I arrived back in Hertfordshire last night to be greeted by a rather fierce showering of snow which continued all night long.  This is what I saw when I looked out this morning, so pretty (luckily I get to work from home today!).

I'm told it's not quite so snowy in London (only a 30 min train ride away) but a friend of moodboard has sent in these pics from Kent, where it's looking rather picturesque too .....

We don't see much of the old snow, so if you have a snowy pic to share from around the UK, email it to deb.henderson@moodboard.com and I'll put it up.

Thanks to Hilary for sharing her pics from Kent.

Deb H 

I recently came across these rather delicious looking knitted food items by Ed Bing Lee and was completey taken with them.  Check out the artists website for more interesting pieces and the rest of this series titled 'Delectables'.

All images appear courtesy of the artist.

Deb H

Our favourite daily photo blog Flak Photo run by Andy Adams is currently showcasing the work of winners from this year's Photography.Book.Now, a photography book competition launched last year by Blurb.  The competition gives photographers the chance to submit their own self-published book into the one of three categories, Fine Art, Editorial or Commerical. This year's grand prize winner was Rafal Milach, for Black Sea of Concrete which is available to purchase at the Blurb bookstore.  Sign up to Flak Photo to receive your daily dose of beautiful imagery and see the rest of the winners from this competition. 

Multan

I'm thrilled to hear that artist Brad Woodfin has a new body of work entitled "The Holy Goats".  Once again Brad has created a wonderful series of oil paintings capturing the spirit of these beautiful animals. I'm still entranced by one of his previous paintings Donkey which has stayed with me since I first saw it.

If you are in the Vancouver area then check out this new exhibition at Jacana Gallery from November 28th. 

A Shiny Shiny Mourning

Puula

All images courtesy of the artist.