low resolution photography by davin risk

thumb piano

Photos taken with an Olympus D-460

I love the sound of the thumb piano. Played under different names and forms throughout Africa, this instrument is highly portable and can be played handheld with your thumbs and/or index fingers.

I don’t really know how to play my thumb piano but it’s still quite a bit of fun to play around with.

You’ve probably heard loads of thumb piano variations on recordings like the Six Feet Under theme by Thomas Newman. Here’s some incredible pan-african music that features amplified and modulated thumb piano — Konono No.1 (auto playing Ouicktime warning).

You can also learn the basics of thumb piano playing at PBSKids’ Africa for Kids.

diorama

Photo taken with an Olympus D-460

St. Augustine is reported to be the “Oldest City in North America” and is the self-professed home of Ponce de Leon’s fabled “Fountain of Youth”. Ponce de Leon is said to have ‘discovered’ Florida on an Easter Sunday in the early 16th century and named it “Pascua de Florida” or “Feast of Flowers”.

I’m always fascinated by museum and architectural dioramas done in the style of HO Scale railroad scenes. The attention to detail in building and mini faux finishes is always amazing. I try and take photos of the tiny aerial view immersive scenes when I can but it’s often hard becuase they are always in glass display cases. The diorama above was photographed in one of the museum houses which makes up part of Old St. Augustine Village.

Dioramas date back to 1821 when Louis Daguerre (known more widely for his huge contributions to photographic history) partnered with Charles Bouton to create a very different kind of public spectacle. Daguerre’s dioramas were huge translucent double-sided paintings which when lit in alternate ways showed different scenes. There’s a load of historical information at this site.

former location

Photo taken with an Olympus D-460

vulnerable

Photo taken with an Olympus D-460

format

I’ve vacillated so much internally about what low resolution should or could be. I’ve made so many plans with no follow-though that I realized that the best thing for me to do was to start with something dead simple.

Inspired by what Gayla has been doing recently, I have changed the format of this site to act as a simple journal with little or no interface flourishes.

I may eventually post some archival documentation of what has previously been on low resolution but for now I’m happy just to treat it casually.