ElectricSun

Lomo pay homage to the camera that started the lo-fi photography revolution by releasing a 24 carat gold version of the LC-A (Kompakt Automat). The Russian camera became popular for its rich colours, shadowed borders and light leaking and soon gathered a loyal following.
The gold casing is clad in brown leather and simply oozes seventies retro appeal. It will set you back £460 – that’s double the price of a standard black one – but it does come in a nice box! Get one quickly at the Lomo site, as there are only 130 being made.

I’m not usually one for taking an interest in stamps, but January’s edition from Royal Mail definately caught my eye. They’ve released a set featuring ten classic British rock album covers. Each one is specially cut with the vinyl protruding out of the edge of the stamp.
They’ve opened a huge debate with this edition as every music lover will have a different opinion. I certainly don’t agree with some of the choices, but I was particularly pleased to see the inclusion of Primal Scream’s ‘Screamadelica’, which certainly fits the criteria of classic British album and is one of my favourite albums of all time. Timely, too, as Screamadelica is 20 years old this year.
If you can’t stand the thought of having to buy a stamp with Coldplay on it, you can buy individual rows of 5 stamps of just your favorite, as well as postcards, stamp books and presentation packs.
Sadly, the Royal Mail site does not do these stamps justice, so if you want more detailed pics and information, go to Norvic Philatelics.

Carrying on the photography theme from the 26 Gigapixel post last month, here’s a site called 360cities, featuring panoramic views of different locations around the world. We are quite used to sites offering 360 views that are often ’stitched’ together in Quicktime, but this site takes this concept to dizzying extremes (quite literally).
Check out this example, a panoramic view of Lake Tekapo in the south island of New Zealand. If you want things to get a bit trippy, right click and choose ‘Little Planet View’ and watch the landscape curl up into a tiny globe, or unfold into a huge tunnel. Each one is a work of art (and you can actually buy prints online).
They’ve even included a how to get started section, with a list of equipment needed to produce the images.

  
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Autocar have published details of the 4WD Mini ‘off roader’, the Countryman. It veers away from the Mini’s heritage slightly, but will still attract those who are fans of its pseudo-retro styling, but need something a little more spacious. The usual range of engines available, from the economical diesel to the meaty Cooper S version. Expect to see them on (or off) the roads from September this year.

Read the detailed article and see more images at autocar.co.uk.

This is an impressive 26 gigapixel image taken on the roof of the ‘Haus der Presse’ in Dresden.
If you go to the site, Gigapixel-Dresden, and click on one of the thumbnails below the main image – it will zoom in and locate a detail far away in the main picture. As of December 2009, this was the largest digital image in the world, allegedly. I expect that’s already been beaten by now.
Big Brother will be watching, as long as he has a Canon 5D Mark II camera (21 megapixels) with a 400mm-lens like the one used in this example. Scary!

There are a number of colour-based apps available for the iPhone and iPod touch, but it is myPantone that caught my eye.
As well as being able to view Pantone colour libraries, you can extract colours from pictures taken from your in-built camera. It can then calculate the nearest Pantone reference numbers, and allow you to email the colour palette to yourself or friends/colleagues as a .ase file. Import this into any Adobe Creative Suite package and away you go! It caters for those still using Quark Xpress too. Available for £5.99 from the iTunes store – where else?

Fabric release another eclectic mix to add to their impressive back catalogue, this one mixed by Martyn and is their 50th in the series. Martyn is a Dutch born producer whose unique sound skirts around the edges of dubstep and minimal techno inspired 4/4. This year, he released the eagerly awaited ‘Great Lengths’ LP, rated as Mixmag’s second best album of 2009.
The mix has an inspired track list – some are exclusive. Check out the Fabric website for full track listing and audio clips.

Don’t say it with flowers, say it with a pink Lomo Fisheye 2 camera. Give the one you love the gift of fisheye photography this Valentines day, with this special edition pink Lomo 35mm Fisheye 2 camera.
All the same features as the original black version; 180 degree lens, ‘WYSIWYG’ bubble viewfinder, built in flash and multiple/long exposure function. And at around £65, it’s a great introduction to lo-fi photography and a joy to use (if you like pink). Available from the Lomo site. Check out our Lomo photography on Flickr.

Indie record label, Strawberry Recording Co., chose ElectricSun to design their logo and visual identity. Strawberry have been responsible for a number of Sunray releases, the most recent of which is their acclaimed ‘Tomorrow’ LP. The identity will be rolled out over forthcoming releases and we look forward to working with them in the near future.

Disney are to remake the 1982 classic, Tron. A difficult one to beat, as the original was years ahead of its time, using a stylish mix of CGI and real actors. It also tapped into an era when computers and video arcade games were becoming commonplace and were a hint of the future technology.
The new version, Tron ‘Legacy’ probably won’t be as ground-breaking, but is guaranteed to be a visual spectacle. Unfortunately, there will be an agonising wait until December this year to see it in 3-D on the big screen.
Watch the trailer on YouTube (embedding wasn’t allowed) and check out the official Tron Legacy page on Disney’s site.