You’ve probably seen countless photographs already of the devastating earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan back in March, but they were likely captured by professional photographers looking to have the images published in news outlets. What, then, would photographs look like if they were taken by ordinary people who were directly affected by the disaster? Aichi Hirano found out the answer to this question by distributing 50 disposable cameras to survivors at a number of shelters with a note that read,
Please take photos of things you see with your eyes, things you want to record, remember, people near you, your loved ones, things you want to convey… please do so freely. And please enjoy the process if you can, even if it’s just a little bit.
The stock prices of major camera equipment manufacturers took a major — and expected — dive after the earthquake on March 11, 2011. Though they made a brief recovery afterward, they’re continuing to fall due to the risk that gear prices may soon skyrocket soar once decreased production isn’t able to meet demand.
Andrew Lathrop came up with this novel way of building a simple radiation detector using an old compact camera, plastic scintillators, some reflective material, and black tape. A scintillator is material that lights up when exposed to radiation, and might be a little difficult for you to get your hands on unless you work in a science lab. Lathrop sent his idea to newspapers in Japan after the recent earthquake, but none of them decided to publish it.
If you somehow got your hands on a Fujifilm Finepix X100 already but don’t mind waiting a little longer to use one, you can double or triple the money you paid by selling it to desperate buyers on eBay. Fujifilm was already experiencing extremely high demand and possible shortages, but then the tragic earthquake in Japan completely halted production of the camera after Fujifilm’s factory 20 miles from Sendai was damaged.
There are a few of the cameras being sold on eBay right now, with one auction for a used X100 — with a scratched LCD screen, no less — at $2,300 already with nearly 3 days remaining. This is for a camera that will be selling for $1,200 new when it’s available.
After last week’s devastating earthquake and tsunami in Japan, Canon and Nikon have been forced to shut down major camera and lens manufacturing plants due to damage and injuries to employees. At Canon’s Utsunomiya plant — which contributes to much of the company’s lens output and appears as the letter “U” on the date code — 15 workers were injured and operations have been suspended indefinitely. Nikon’s Sendai plant — which has produced all of Nikon’s pro-level DSLRs including the D3S, D3X, and D700 — has been shut down as well after an unspecified number of workers were injured. No word on when operations at the plants might resume.
The two companies are also doing their part in contributing towards the relief efforts: Nikon is making a cash donation of 100 million Yen (~$1.25m USD) to the Japanese Red Cross, while Canon is donating 300 million Yen ($3.7m USD).
The massive 8.9-magnitude earthquake that devastated Japan today was located just east of the city of Sendai, which subsequently suffered major damage due to the resulting tsunami. What you might not know is that the city is home to Nikon’s flagship manufacturing facility — the plant that produces Nikon’s professional DSLRs (e.g. D3s, D3x and D700). Fortunately, Nikon reports that there have been no reports of injuries among its employees in that city, and the plant seems to have escaped serious damage as well. Read the rest of this entry »
The past two days have been filled with increasingly grim news following the catastrophic magnitude 7 earthquake in Haiti. If you had a chance to catch MSNBC’s coverage of the aftermath in the video above, there are some very powerful images.
Boston’s Big Picture also has some extremely moving photographs, which, without words, speak to the devastation and dire need in the small island country.
How to Help
Consider a compassionate donation to reputable charities — but a word of caution: donate DIRECTLY to charities and be wary of scams.
Red Cross: Text “HAITI” to 90999 to donate $10 to the Red Cross in Haiti — via phone bill.
Update: Photographer Lane Hartwell (@lanehartwell) has created a magazine containing powerful photographs from various photojournalists have documented Haiti in the past. It’s being sold on MagCloud, and all proceeds will go to the Red Cross.
