links for 2009-02-10

Without the benefit of a gallery how does one distinguish Fine Art photography from an advanced Flickr user? The easiest way is to recognize and understand its conventions. Staged pictures of unsmiling people, arranged still lifes, and frozen landscapes all suggest an artist is behind the camera as opposed to an enthusiast. Ideally, artists find ways to transcend these stereotypes, but even the best can fall prey.

Another Ikea laptop stand hack (though much more involved than the €4 spicerack one).