@cxcart

When Facebook bought Instagram, the photo app that makes images look vintage yet picture perfect, for $1 billion, the tech world was stunned. Not because Instagram is a two-year-old startup, but because no one realized that this young app—which simply consists of taking pictures and that surely anyone with a smartphone has downloaded—had that much power.

Now, the W Times Square, in partnership with Instagram NYC, will exhibit images from some of the most talented Instagram photographers in the first-ever Instagram photo exhibition, which opens tomorrow. We couldn't help but wonder whether an Instagram image qualifies as art. But we caught up with Brian DiFeo, curator and founder of Instagram NYC, who hand-selected photographers ranging from professionals to multimedia artists and asked him what an Instagram exhibition actually entails. He says artists were asked to capture New York's most fascinating structures and urban creativity. From what we've seen, the images themselves are pretty remarkable, considering they were taken with a phone. No wonder Kodak went bankrupt. More >>

Eugene de Salignac, Department of Bridges/Plant & Structures

From October 7, 1914. Brooklyn Bridge showing painters on suspenders.

Hundreds of thousands of photos that offer snapshots of more than a century of New York City history are now publicly available online for the first time ever.

Together, they offer a close-up, gritty picture of the city's history and development, from detective photos of gruesome crime scenes to Depression-era shots of everyday life to the construction of the Brooklyn Bridge.

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During Armory Arts Week, Casa De Costa gallery in the Financial District is kicking off Bronx based photographer Kevin Amato's show "F*ck the Golden Years" with an opening reception this evening. We caught up with Amato last month, a friend and sometime collaborator on stories we've reported together, at his gallery for a preview of the show. Watch the above video to hear us chat with Amato about a few of his works, the unlikely source for the title phrase of his show, and his take on portraiture, photography, and life shooting in the city.

@steven_thrasher | sthrasher@villagevoice.com

Photos with the vignetting effect, a signature of the Holga camera

It is ironic, considering today's technological advancements, that sharing faded photos with saturated colors, known as vignetting in technical photography term, has become something of a trend--browse through your Facebook or Twitter feed and you're bound to come across a photo that's been altered to look like a vintage, low-fidelity photo taken in the 70s.

Most of these photos achieve its looks through iPhone filter apps such as Instagram or Lomography. But others are taken by this cheap ($15-$30), plastic camera named the Holga. Much like an audiophile's claims that vinyl sound better than digital music, there's a group of photography enthusiasts who insist these clunky, toy-like cameras capture superior photos.

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For many Occupy Wall Street Day of Action participants, the highlight of the evening was a series of "bat signal" pro-OWS messages projected on a building bearing Verizon's name.

Yesterday, the Voice's Steven Thrasher wrote about the series of Occupy Wall Street related messages on a building bearing Verizon's name after our own Nick Pinto tweeted about the sighting near the base of the Brooklyn Bridge. Projected messages included "99%" "Mic Check," "Occupy Earth" and "Love."

While some have speculated that Communications Workers of America were behind the projections on the building, located at 375 Pearl St., a group of visual artists affiliated with OWS are the creators. And while many New Yorkers refer to the structure as "the Verizon Building," it is not owned by the large communications company, but rather to a company called Sabey Data Centers, John Bonomo, director of media relations at Verizon told us in an e-mailed statement today.

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Nick Pinto

This is pretty amazing. Our Nick Pinto just tweeted out this picture of the Verizon Building near the base of the Brooklyn Bridge, where he's covering the Occupy Wall Street march. The march includes workers from the Communications Workers of America, who were out on strike at Verizon and have been working without a contract for some time. We can't imagine Verizon is very happy about having the CWA's message seen on the side of their building. (We must admit, however, that the scary, largely windowless part of the building seems to have a better purpose now as a screen.)

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The deification of recently deceased Steve Jobs continues apace. A 1982 portrait of the Apple chief by Diana Walker is now being displayed on the first floor of the National Portrait Gallery at the Smithsonian. It's a pretty amazing photo:

by Diana Walker. via Smithsonian

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Photography by Michael Premo

Michael Premo

On Friday, August 19, 82-year-old Bed-Stuy resident Mary Ward faced eviction from her home of 44 years in a foreclosure proceeding. Her neighbors and activists from around the city created a human shield to discourage marshalls from getting to her. As a result, there are ongoing negotiations happening this weekend between Ward and the entity foreclosing on her to try to keep her in her home. At least through Monday, the marshall is not scheduled to appear. Here is the story of Friday's action in pictures by photojournalist Michael Premo.

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"Park Avenue," by Stephen Wilkes

When we first saw the photographs making up Stephen Wilkes' "New York: Day to Night" series, we gasped. We have long loved Magritte's "Empire of Light" painting, which plays with simultaneous experiences of darkness and light (you know, the one with the blue, day-like sky, the dark house, and the glowing lamppost?). And Wilkes' new offerings do that, but on the backdrop of New York, with so much detail and energy...not to mention, they're photos. Truly, they are so cool. We spoke with him recently to find out how he did it, and what inspired him.

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jennifertzar.com

On Friday morning, fire marshals reportedly discovered 10 lbs. of marijuana while searching photographer Jennifer Tzar's SoHo apartment. The Daily News says that Tzar, who has been featured in Rolling Stone, Spin and LIFE, "was arrested at the scene." The search originally commenced in an effort to discover the cause of a 3-alarm fire at 68 Thompson Street, but instead it yielded a head stash weighing as much as a cesarean-delivered baby.

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