Welcome
to
Welcome to FocalPoint f/8, an experimental design and
production group for new digital and democratic journalism on the World Wide
Web.
Our goal is to develop and present a new kind of
interactive photojournalism, utilizing the newest in digital and communications
technologies and some of the best photographic and journalistic talent around.
Antonin Kratochvil, Miguel Luis Fairbanks, Ed Kashi, Bobby Neel Adams, Darcy
Padilla, Stella Johnson, Gary Matoso, and Ann Summa are just a few of the names
you'll be seeing here at FocalPoint f/8 in the months ahead.
Even more importantly, we at FocalPoint f/8 hope to
present stories which will allow you, our friends and site users, to communicate
and dialogue directly with the photographers, journalists, and subjects in the
field.
The Russian Chronicles

The
Russian Chronicles, our
first experiment in realtime, online, interactive photojournalism began September
11th, 1995 in Vladivostok, Russia, when Contact Press Images' photographer Gary
Matoso and writer Lisa Dickey embarked upon a 5,000 mile, two month journey
across the Russian heartland. They are traveling with a high resolution Kodak
420 DCS digital camera and two laptop computers, recording their digital stories
as they go and relaying them back to FocalPoint f/8 in San Francisco via
SprintMail's international email network every two to three days, where they are
being posted here at FocalPoint f/8 in The Russian Chronicles. You can follow
along with them on their journey there, and even communicate with them directly
via the MailBox section, too.
This "first of its kind" project, a photo-based and totally digital
Trans-Cyberian journey, is being co-produced by FocalPoint f/8 along with World
Media Network in Paris, France.
Announcements of Upcoming Photographic
Events
What you'll find at FocalPoint
f/8 in the months ahead:
Documentary
Projects - In addition to developing "realtime" stories at
FocalPoint f/8 like The Russian Chronicles, we also hope to provide an outlet
for unpublished or
underpublished works of exceptional value from a wide variety of photographers
and photojournalists. You'll soon be able to view the first of these, noted
photojournalist Ed Kashi's SAIGON ON WHEELS, here in the weeks ahead.
Resources
- Need an E-6 lab that will do an overnight run in Vladivostok? Or a safe
and secure place to store your equipment in Morgodishu?
This is the place for working photographers to share tips based on their real
life experiences.
You can email your tips to "resources@f8.com".
Forum
- This is where issues confronting the photographic community can be discussed
and aired, such as the growing debate about electronic
and intellectual property rights in cyberspace. This area will be opening soon.
Portfolios
- A showcase for the portfolios of selected photographers and
photojournalists. And our own "Best Promo or Mailer of the Week Page." Email
your latest to "promo@f8.com" or mail to "FocalPoint f/8, PO Box 192244, San
Francisco CA 94119-2244."
W e're anxious to hear from you, so be sure to visit
the Forum soon and let us know
what you think. We are particularly interested in developing and ongoing
projects in photojournalism, photo-narrative, or just plain ol' good photography,
and of course,
suggestions on how to make this site better. We're also glad to support
other experimental photo and journalistic sites on the Web by
cross-linking between our respective sites.
If you're interested in submitting work or a portfolio, please contact us at
"focalpt@f8.com".
This is a non-commercial site created for the benefit of its users. Help make it
a success.
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For the best viewing of page layouts please adjust your window size to be just
wider than the FocalPoint banner located above. The
images at this site are optimized for monitors calibrated to a gamma of 1.8.
Click on the
FocalPoint logo to enter the site.