RSS
 

Posts Tagged ‘Competition’

These are the winning photographs of the 2019 Nikon Small World photography competition

25 Oct

2019 Nikon Small World photography competition

The winning photographs of the 2019 Nikon Small World have been revealed, showcasing an incredible collection of shots captured in the contest’s 45th year.

Founded in 1974, Nikon Small World aims ‘to recognize excellence in photography through the microscope’ and ‘is widely regarded as the leading forum for recognizing the art, proficiency and photographic excellence involved in photomicrography,’ in Nikon’s own words. Below is a list of the judges for this year’s competition:

  • Dr. Denisa Wagner, Edwin Cohn Professor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School and the head of the Wagner Lab at Boston Children’s Hospital.
  • Dr. Rita Strack, Senior Editor at Nature Methods.
  • Tom Hale, Staff Writer at IFLScience.
  • Ben Guarino, Science Reporter at The Washington Post.
  • Eric Clark (Moderator): Research Coordinator and Applications Developer at the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory at Florida State University.

Over 2000 entries were submitted for the 2019 competition from scientists in nearly 100 countries. After being ‘evaluated on originality, information content, technical proficiency and visual impact,’ microscopy technician Teresa Zgoda and university graduate Teresa Kugler took home first prize for their incredible capture of a turtle embryo that was created using fluorescence and stereo microscopy. The image is a result of the duo taking hundreds of images and stacking them together to create the final image, ‘as the organism’s size meant only very small parts of the turtle could be imaged on the focal plane at a time,’ according to Nikon’s press release.

We’ve rounded up the top 15 images from the contest and shared them in the following gallery to enjoy. Images and information were kindly provided to DPReview through Nikon Small World.

1st Place

1st Place — Teresa Zgoda & Teresa Kugler, Fluorescent turtle embryo

Location: Campbell Hall, New York, USA

Methodology: Stereomicroscopy, Fluorescence, 5x (Objective Lens Magnification)

2nd Place

2nd Place —Dr. Igor Siwanowicz, Depth-color coded projections of three stentors (single-cell freshwater protozoans)

Location: Ashburn, Virginia, USA

Methodology: Confocal, 40x (Objective Lens Magnification)

3rd Place

3rd Place — Daniel Smith Paredes & Dr. Bhart-Anjan S. Bhullar, Alligator embryo developing nerves and skeleton

Location: New Haven, Connecticut, USA

Methodology: Immunofluorescence, 10x (Objective Lens Magnification)

4th Place

4th Place — Jan Rosenboom, Male mosquito

Location: Rostock, Mecklenburg Vorpommern, Germany

Methodology: Focus stacking, 6.3x (Objective Lens Magnification)

5th Place

5th Place — Caleb Foster, Snowflake

Location: Jericho, Vermont, USA

Methodology: Transmitted Light, 4x (Objective Lens Magnification)

6th Place

6th Place — Javier Rupérez, Small white hair spider

Location: Almáchar, Málaga, Spain

Methodology: Reflected Light, Image Stacking, 20x (Objective Lens Magnification)

7th Place

7th Place — Dr. Guillermo López, Chinese red carnation stamen

Location: Alicante, Spain

Methodology: Focus Stacking, 3x (Objective Lens Magnification)

8th Place

8th Place — Garzon Christian, Frozen water droplet

Location: Quintin, Cotes-d’Armor, France

Methodology: Incident Light, 8x (Objective Lens Magnification)

9th Place

9th Place — Andrei Savitski, Tulip bulb cross section

Location: Cherkassy, Ukraine

Methodology: Reflected Light, 1x (Objective Lens Magnification)

10th Place

10th Place — Jason M. Kirk, BPAE cells in telophase stage of mitosis

Location: Houston, Texas, USA

Methodology: Confocal with Enhanced Resolution, 63x (Objective Lens Magnification)

11th Place

11th Place — Dr. Yujun Chen & Dr. Jocelyn McDonald, A pair of ovaries from an adult Drosophila female stained for F-actin (yellow) and nuclei (green); follicle cells are marked by GFP (magenta)

Location: Manhattan, Kansas, USA

Methodology: Confocal, 10x (Objective Lens Magnification)

12th Place

12th Place — Anne Algar, Mosquito larva

Location: Hounslow, Middlesex, United Kingdom

Methodology: Darkfield, Polarizing Light, Image Stacking, 4x (Objective Lens Magnification)

13th Place

13th Place — Dr. Emilio Carabajal Márquez, Cuprite (mineral composed of copper oxide)

Location: Madrid, Spain

Methodology: Focus Stacking, 20x (Objective Lens Magnification)

14th Place

14th Place — Antoine Franck, Femail Oxyopes dumonti (lynx) spider

Location: Saint Pierre, Réunion

Methodology: Focus Stacking, 1x (Objective Lens Magnification)

15th Place

15thPlace — Marek Mi?, Pregnant Daphnia magna (small planktonic crustacean)

Location: Suwalki, Podlaskie, Poland

Methodology: Modified Darkfield, Polarized Light, Image Stacking, 4x (Objective Lens Magnification)

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
Comments Off on These are the winning photographs of the 2019 Nikon Small World photography competition

Posted in Uncategorized

 

These are the winners of the 2019 Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition

18 Oct

Winners of the Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition

The winners of the 55th annual Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition were announced earlier this week during a ceremony at the Natural History Museum, in London, which develops and produces the international event.

Over 48,000 images were submitted from 100 countries. The 19 category-winning images will be on display at an exhibition that opens Friday, October 18th, at the National History Museum before touring across the United Kingdom and internationally to locations including Canada, Spain, the USA, Australia and Germany.

The Grand Title Winner, titled ‘The Moment’ and captured by Chinese photographer Yongqing Baoas, is a humorous shot of a Himalayan marmot being scared by a Tibetan fox determined to find food for its three young cubs.

Open to photographers of all ages and abilities, entries for the next Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition will open on Monday, October 21st and close on December 12th. Find out more, here.

Winner, Wildlife Photographer of the Year

Winner 2019, Grand Title Winner: The Moment by Yongqing Bao

About the photo: This Himalayan marmot was not long out of hibernation when it was surprised by a mother Tibetan fox with three hungry cubs to feed. With lightning-fast reactions, Yongqing captured the attack – the power of the predator baring her teeth, the terror of her prey, the intensity of life and death written on their faces.

As one of the highest-altitude-dwelling mammals, the Himalayan marmot relies on its thick fur for survival through the extreme cold. In the heart of winter it spends more than six months in an exceptionally deep burrow with the rest of its colony. Marmots usually do not resurface until spring, an opportunity not to be missed by hungry predators.

Gear and specs: Canon EOS-1D X + 800mm f5.6 lens; 1/2500 sec at f5.6 (+0.67 e/v); ISO 640; Manfrotto carbon-fibre tripod + 509HD head

Winner, Young Wildlife Photographer of the Year

Winner 2019, Young Wildlife Photographer of the Year Grand title winner: Night Glow by Cruz Erdmann, New Zealand

About the photo: Cruz was on a night dive with his dad when he saw a pair of bigfin reef squid in the shallow water. One swam off but Cruz quickly adjusted his camera and strobe settings, knowing that the opportunity was too good to miss. He shot four frames of the remaining squid before it too disappeared into the inky blackness.

Bigfin reef squid are masters of camouflage, changing their body colour and pattern using their reflective and pigmented skin cells. They also alter their appearance to help them communicate. During courtship, males and females display complex patterns to indicate their willingness to mate.

Gear and specs: Canon EOS 5D Mark III + 100mm f2.8 lens; 1/125 sec at f29; ISO 200; Ikelite DS161 strobe; Aquatica 5D Mk II Pro housing

Winner, Animals in their Environment

Winner 2019, Animals in their Environment: Snow-Plateau Nomads by Shangzhen Fan, China

About the photo: A small herd of male chirus makes its way to the relative warmth of the Kumukuli Desert. These nimble antelopes are high-altitude specialists found only on the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau. For years, Shangzhen made the long, arduous journey to observe them there. Here he drew the contrasting elements of snow and sand together.

Underneath their long hair, chirus have a light, warm underfur called shahtoosh. It grows tightly against their skin and can only be harvested by killing and skinning the chirus. Protection since the 1990s has seen their once-decimated numbers increase, but there is still demand – primarily from Westerners – for shahtoosh shawls.

Gear and specs: Nikon D5 + 600mm f4 lens; 1/1250 sec at f6.3 (+0.3 e/v); ISO 125; Gitzo GT5532S 6X tripod

Winner, Animal Portraits

Winner 2019, Animal Portraits: Face of Deception by Ripan Biswas, India

About the photo: Ripan was photographing a red weaver ant colony when he spotted this slightly strange individual. It may have the face of an ant but its eight legs give it away – on closer inspection Ripan discovered that it was an ant-mimicking crab spider. By reverse mounting his lens, Ripan converted it to a macro capable of taking extreme close-ups.

Many spider species imitate ants in appearance and behaviour. Infiltrating an ant colony can help them prey on unsuspecting ants or avoid being eaten by predators that dislike ants. This particular spider, says Ripan, seemed to be roaming around the colony, looking for a solitary ant that it could grab for a meal.

Gear and specs: Nikon D500 + 18–55mm lens (reverse mounted); 1/160 sec; ISO 200; Godox V860II flash

Winner, Behavior: Amphibians and Reptiles

Winner 2019, Behaviour: Amphibians and Reptiles: Pondworld by Manuel Plaickner, Italy

About the photo: Every spring for more than a decade, Manuel followed the mass migration of common frogs. He took this image by immersing himself and his camera in a large pond where hundreds of frogs had gathered. There he waited until the moment arrived for the picture he had in mind – lingering frogs, harmonious colours, soft, natural light and dreamy reflections.

Rising spring temperatures bring common frogs out of their winter shelters. They head straight to water to breed, often returning to where they were spawned. Though widespread across Europe, their numbers are thought to be declining due to habitat degradation from pollution and drainage of breeding sites.

Gear and specs: Canon EOS 5D Mark II + 17–40mm f4 lens at 20mm; 1/640 sec at f8 (+0.7 e/v); ISO 800; Seacam housing

Winner, Behavior: Birds

Winner 2019, Behavior: Birds: Land of the Eagle by Audun Rikardsen, Norway

About the photo: Audun carefully positioned this tree branch, hoping it would make a perfect lookout for a golden eagle. He set up a camera trap and occasionally left road-kill carrion nearby. Very gradually, over the next three years, this eagle started to use the branch to survey its coastal realm. Audun captured its power as it came in to land, talons outstretched.

Golden eagles typically fly at around 50 kilometres per hour but can reach speeds of up to 320 kilometres per hour when diving for prey. This, along with their sharp talons, makes them formidable hunters. Normally they kill small mammals, birds, reptiles or fish, but they also eat carrion and have been known to target larger animals too.

Gear and specs: Canon EOS 5D Mark IV + 11–24mm f4 lens at 11m; 1/2500 sec at f14 (-1 e/v); ISO 800; Canon Speedlite 600EX II-RT flash; Camtraptions motion sensor; Sirui tripod

Winner, Behavior: Invertebrates

Winner 2019, Behavior: Invertebrates: The Architectural Army by Daniel Kronauer, Germany/USA

About the photo: By day this colony of army ants raided their surrounds, mostly hunting other ant species. At dusk they moved on, travelling up to 400 metres before building a nest for the night. Positioning his camera on the forest floor, Daniel was wary of upsetting thousands of venomous army ants. ‘You mustn’t breathe in their direction,’ he says.

Army ants alternate between nomadic and stationary phases. These ants are in a nomadic phase, building a new nest each night using their own bodies. The soldier ants interlock their claws to form a scaffold while the queen stays inside in a network of chambers and tunnels. During the stationary phase they will stay in the same nest while the queen lays new eggs.

Gear and specs: Canon EOS 7D + 16–35mm f2.8 lens at 16mm + extension ring; 3.2 sec at f22; ISO 100; Canon Speedlite flash

Winner, Behavior: Mammals

Winner 2019, Behavior: Mammals: The Equal Match by Ingo Arndt, Germany

About the photo: The guanaco turns, terrified, his last mouthful of grass flying in the wind as a female puma attacks. For Ingo, this is the culmination of months of work tracking wild pumas on foot, enduring extreme cold and biting winds. After an intense four-second struggle, the guanaco escaped with his life, leaving the puma to go hungry.

Because they are so abundant in Patagonia, guanacos are common prey of pumas. These big cats are solitary and hunt by patiently stalking before they pounce. Their robust hind legs allow them to take on animals bigger than themselves but they can also feed on smaller animals, such as rodents and birds.

Gear and specs: Canon EOS-1DX Mark II + 600mm f4 lens; 1/3000 sec at f4; ISO 1000; Gitzo tripod

Winner, Urban Wildlife

Winner 2019, Urban Wildlife: The Rat Pack by Charlie Hamilton James, UK

About the photo: On Pearl Street in Lower Manhattan, brown rats scamper between their home under a tree grille and a pile of rubbish bags full of food waste. Lighting his shot to blend with the glow of the street lights and operating his kit remotely, Charlie captured this intimate, street-level view.

Urban rat populations are rising fast worldwide and their association with spreading disease in humans inspires fear and disgust. Rats are smart and capable of navigating complex networks such as subway systems. Being powerful swimmers, burrowers and jumpers makes these rodents particularly well suited to city living.

Gear and specs: Sony ?7R III + 16–35mm f4 lens at 24mm; 1/20 sec at f11; ISO 4000; Sony flash; PocketWizard trigger

Winner, Earth’s Environments

Winner 2019, Earth’s Environments: Creation by Luis Vilariño, Spain

About the photo: Red-hot lava from K?lauea volcano instantly boils the cool Pacific Ocean where they meet at the Hawaiian coast. As Luis’s helicopter flew along the coastline a sudden change in wind direction parted the plumes of steam to reveal the fiery river. Quickly framing his shot through the helicopter’s open door, he captured the tumultuous creation of new land.

As the lava boils the seawater, it produces acid steam and tiny shards of glass, which combine to create a lava haze or ‘laze’. This eruption was K?lauea’s largest in 200 years. For three months in 2018, lava spewed from the summit and surrounding fissures, eventually destroying over 700 homes and solidifying to create hundreds of acres of new land.

Gear and specs: Sony ?7R III + 100–400mm f4.5–5.6 lens at 196mm; 1/4000 sec at f5.6; ISO 800

Winner, Black and White

Winner 2019, Black and White: Snow Exposure by Max Waugh, USA

About the photo: In a winter whiteout a lone American bison briefly lifts its head from its endless foraging. Max purposefully slowed his shutter speed to blur the snow and ‘paint lines across the silhouette of the bison’. Slightly overexposing the shot and converting it to black and white accentuated the simplicity of the wintry scene.

Swinging their huge heads from side to side, American bison sweep away snow with their muzzles to eat the grasses and sedges buried beneath. Originally a common sight, their largescale slaughter for meat and hides brought them close to extinction in the nineteenth century. But populations are recovering and wild American bison now thrive in national parks.

Gear and specs: Canon EOS-1D X + 100–400mm f5.6 lens at 200mm; 1/15 sec at f22 (+1 e/v); ISO 100

Winner, Wildlife Photojournalism

Winner 2019, Wildlife Photojournalism: Another Barred Migrant, Alejandro Prieto, Mexico

About the photo: It took Alejandro two years to take the perfect photo of a male jaguar. Under a luminous, star-studded Arizona sky, he projects it onto a section of the US–Mexico border fence to symbolise ‘the jaguar’s past and its possible future presence in the United States. If the wall is built,’ he says, ‘it will destroy the jaguar population in the United States.’

Jaguars are mainly found in South America but historically also roamed the southwest of the United States. Over the past century, hunting and habitat destruction have resulted in the species disappearing from this area. Any hope of establishing a breeding population in this region rests on the contentious border remaining partially open.

Gear and specs: Nikon D850 + Sigma 14–24mm f2.8 lens at 16mm; 30 sec at f2.8; ISO 1600; remote control; Gitzo tripod; Epson projector

Winner, Rising Star Portfolio Award

Winner 2019, Rising Start Portfolio Award: Frozen Moment by Jérémie Villet, France

About the photo: Entwined in each other’s thick spiral horns, two male Dall sheep pause during a fierce clash. For years, Jérémie had dreamed of photographing pure-white Dall sheep against a snow-clad alpine backdrop. Lying in the snow nearby, he battled with strong winds, heavy snow and bitterly cold temperatures, determined to capture this moment of both ‘purity and power’.

Dall sheep thrive in arctic and subarctic regions of the world. They depend on steep, rugged cliffs and outcrops to provide them with places to escape from predators, while using nearby open grass and meadows to feed. In winter they favour areas with strong winds that remove snow and expose forage.

Gear and specs: Canon EOS 5D Mark IV + 400mm f2.8 lens; 1/1600 sec at f2.8 (+1.3 e/v); ISO 500

Winner, Plants and Fungi

Winner 2019, Plants and Fungi: Tapestry of life by Zorica Kovacevic

About the photo: Festooned with bulging orange velvet, trimmed with grey lace, the arms of a Monterey cypress tree weave an otherworldly canopy over Pinnacle Point, in Point Lobos State Natural Reserve, California. This tiny, protected coastal zone is the only place in the world where natural conditions combine to conjure this magical scene.

Though the Monterey cypress is widely planted (valued for its resistance to wind, salt, drought and pests), it is native only on the Californian coast in just two groves. Its spongy orange cladding is in fact a mass of green algae spectacularly colored by carotenoid pigments, which depend on the tree for physical support but photosynthesize their own food. The algal species occurs widely, but it is found on Monterey cypress trees only at Point Lobos, which has the conditions it needs – clean air and moisture, delivered by sea breezes and fog. The vibrant orange is set off by the tangles of grey lace lichen (a combination of alga and fungus), also harmless to the trees.

After several days experimenting, Kovacevic decided on a close-up abstract of one particular tree. With reserve visitors to this popular spot confined to marked trails, she was lucky to get overcast weather (avoiding harsh light) at a quiet moment. She had just enough time to focus-stack 22 images (merging the sharp parts of all the photos) to reveal the colorful maze in depth.

Gear and specs: Nikon D850 + 70–200mm f2.8 lens at 112mm; 1/4 sec at f8; ISO 64; Really Right Stuff tripod + ballhead.

Winner, Under Water

Winner 2019, Under Water: The garden of eels by David Doubilet

About the photo: The colony of garden eels was one of the largest David Doubilet had ever seen, at least two thirds the size of a football field, stretching down a steep sandy slope off Dauin, in the Philippines – a cornerstone of the famous Coral Triangle.

Doubilet rolled off the boat in the shallows and descended along the colony edge, deciding where to set up his kit. He had long awaited this chance, sketching out an ideal portrait of the colony back in his studio and designing an underwater remote system to realize his ambition. It was also a return to a much-loved subject – his first story of very many stories in National Geographic was also on garden eels.

These warm-water relatives of conger eels are extremely shy, vanishing into their sandy burrows the moment they sense anything unfamiliar. David placed his camera housing (mounted on a base plate, with a ball head) just within the colony and hid behind the remnants of a shipwreck. From there he could trigger the system remotely via a 12-meter (40-foot) extension cord.

It was several hours before the eels dared to rise again to feed on the plankton that drifted by in the current. He gradually perfected the set-up, each time leaving an object where the camera had been so as not to surprise the eels when it reappeared. Several days later – now familiar with the eels’ rhythms and the path of the light – he began to get images he liked. When a small wrasse led a slender cornetfish through the gently swaying forms, he had his shot.

Gear and specs: Nikon D3 + 17–35mm f2.8 lens at 19mm; 1/40 sec at f14; ISO 400; Seacam housing; aluminum plate + ballhead; remote trigger; Sea & Sea YS250 strobes (at half power).

Winner, Wildlife Photojournalist Story Award

Winner 2019, Wildlife Photojournalist Story Award: Show Time by Jasper Doest, The Netherlands

About the photo: For 17 years Riku has performed skits three times a day in front of large audiences in a theatre in Japan. The appeal of these traditional and popular performances lies in the anthropomorphic appearance of the trained macaques. It took Jasper a long time to gain permission to take pictures of the performance, and he was appalled that an animal once considered a sacred mediator between gods and humans was now being ridiculed for commercial gain.

Gear and specs: Canon EOS 5D Mark IV + 24–70mm f2.8 lens; 1/160 sec at f10 (-1.7 e/v); ISO 2000

Winner, Wildlife Photographer Portfolio Award

Winner 2019, Wildlife Photographer Portfolio Award: The Art of Conception by Stefan Christmann, Germany

About the photo: Stefan was lucky to find this isolated couple courting – many pairs had already mated by the time conditions allowed him to access this remote spot. The serene backdrop of sea ice and a distant stranded iceberg softly lit by the setting sun gives no hint that the Antarctic winter is about to intensify.

Emperor penguins form a new bond each year and are monogamous for the season. Males perform a courtship call until chosen by a female. The female lies on the sea ice and signals that she is ready before the male climbs onto her back. ‘The male struggled to keep his balance,’ says Stefan.

Gear and specs: Nikon D810 + 400mm f2.8 lens; 1/400 sec at f5.6; ISO 800

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
Comments Off on These are the winners of the 2019 Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition

Posted in Uncategorized

 

The Red Bull Illume Image Quest 2019 competition is open for submissions

09 May

Red Bull has returned once again with its action and adventure sports photography competition, Red Bull Illume. This marks the fifth iteration of Red Bull’s photo competition and with it comes a few changes.

Most notably, the competition will now run once every two years instead of every three years. Additionally, Red Bull has added four new categories, bringing this year’s total to 11 individual categories.

A panel of 50 international photo editors and digital media experts will select the top 55 finalists—five per category—before ultimately deciding the 11 category winners and one overall winner. In November 2019, the winners will be unveiled at a winner award ceremony. Following the ceremony, the 55 finalist images will travel around the world to be showcased in indoor and outdoor exhibitions.

Below are the 11 categories in this year’s competition, with an explainer, provided by Red Bull, of what each category is (the new ones will be marked with an asterisk):

Best of Instagram by SanDisk* — Images submitted on Instagram – photographer’s most gram- worthy moments of show-stopping adventure and action sports. Stuff so cool you have to stop scrolling.
Creative by Skylum — Images that have been enhanced digitally or in the darkroom through alterations made in the production or digital editing process. This is an open category so anything goes!
Emerging* — A fresh approach offers new angles. The up-and-coming category is for rising talents to compete on similar footing – submissions accepted only from photographers 25 years old or less. No video, no image manipulation. Show us your greatest capture!
Energy — Images that demonstrate the force that powers an action and show the energy, speed and strength required for an athlete to perform.
Innovation by Sony — Images that reveal a unique angle, a visual idea, a different format, light and flash effects… something never seen before! It‘s the purely creative image.
Lifestyle — Images that visually capture the creativity of the lifestyle, music and culture that surrounds action and freesports, or represents what happens before, between, and after the action.
Masterpiece — Images that illuminate your artistic skill, your personal best, your unique style – give us your best shot!
Moving Images* — Images are no longer standing still. The Moving Image category is an open playing field for video sequences between 5 and 30 seconds. Ready… set… action!
Playground — Images that showcase the landscapes, locations, platforms, and environments in which athletes play.
RAW* — Shots that are straight out of the camera showcasing the real image. Composition, exposure, lighting done in front of the lens and in the scene, not behind a screen. That’s the Raw category — un-cropped, un-touched, no filter.
Wings — Images that capture the point in a performance in which the athlete jumps, catches air, free falls, soars.

The winners of the eleven individual category prizes will win a collection of prizes valued at that include a Sony a7 III with the 24-105 F4 G Master Lens, a ‘bundle’ of SanDisk memory cards, Skylum Luminar 3 with accompanying presets, and photography apparel/accessories from COOPH. Separately, the winner of the ‘Creative by Skylum’ category will be welcomed on as part of the Global Skylum Ambassador Team and the winner of the ‘Emerging by Red Bull Photography’ category will get a spot at the Red Bull Rising Talent photography workshop in 2020, travel, accommodation and boarding included.

Finally, the overall winner of the Red Bull Illume Image Quest 2019 will win ‘a shooting experience with the SanDisk Extreme Team and take home the Sony Alpha A9 camera with a 24-70mm f2.8 lens from the G-Master range.’

Any image captured after March 31, 2016 is eligible for the contest and submissions are open through July 31, 2019. After signing up for a Red Bull Illume account, you can submit up to 10 images in each of the eleven categories. An image can be used in no more than two categories; photographs must be JPEGs larger than 8MP and videos for the ‘Moving Image’ category must be Full HD (1080p) and between 5-30 seconds.

Red Bull has provided a thorough list of rules and regulations for the contest and the images submitted to it. Red Bull has also shared a video showing how to upload submissions to the contest. You can find the winners from past competitions on the Red Bull Illume website.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
Comments Off on The Red Bull Illume Image Quest 2019 competition is open for submissions

Posted in Uncategorized

 

National Geographic is now accepting entries for the 2019 Travel Photo Competition

29 Mar

Entries are now being accepted for National Geographic’s 2019 Travel Photo contest, with a top prize of $ 7500 on the line for the overall winner.

The competition is broken down into sections for Nature, Cities and People, and those coming out on top for these subject areas will win $ 2500. Second place winners will get $ 1500 and those in third position will come away with $ 750.

Seemingly to encourage photographers to enter now rather than at the last minute, the cost of submitting an image raises every week from $ 10 in week one to $ 35 in week six – which is the final week to enter before the May 3rd deadline.

The competition requires images be taken within two years of the date of entry, and only minor digital manipulations are allowed. The rules also state that anyone identifiable in the images will need to sign a release form:

‘If any persons appear in the photograph, the entrant is responsible for obtaining, prior to submission of the photograph, any and all releases and consents necessary to permit the exhibition and use of the photograph in the manner set forth in these Official Rules without additional compensation. If any person appearing in any photograph is under the age of majority in their state/province/territory of residence the signature of a parent or legal guardian is required on each release.’

Entrants will also need to obtain permissions from the owner of any private property shown in the pictures – ‘each entrant must be prepared to provide (within five (5) calendar days of receipt of Sponsor’s request) a signed written license from the owner of any private property included in the Submission’. Entry requirements can be studied in full on the Rules page of the website. Residents of 42 of the world’s 195 countries are eligible to enter the contest.

For more information, and to see those images already entered, visit the National Geographic Travel Competition website. For inspiration take a look at our coverage of the 2018 Travel Photo Contest winners.

Official announcement

National Geographic Travel Photo Contest Now Open

The National Geographic Travel Photo Contest is accepting entries from March 18 through May 3. Harness the power of photography and share your stunning travel experiences from around the globe. Enter your most powerful photos for a chance to win the 2019 National Geographic Travel Photo Contest. We are looking for images that show us the world: its people, places, and cultures. Photos that tell the story of a place and travel moments that reveal what inspires you.

Need inspiration? See the 2018 winners gallery and discover which photos took home top prizes.

Visit weekly to see photo galleries of the top entries and see if your photo is featured. Think you have the winning picture? Show us your best.

Categories
Submit to three categories: nature, cities, and people.

Official Prizes
The grand prize winner will receive $ 7,500. Their winning image will be featured on the @natgeotravel Instagram account. Individual category prizes include:

  • First place winners will receive $ 2,500.
  • Second place winners will receive $ 1,500.
  • Third place winners will receive $ 750.

How to Enter and Pricing
Starting March 18, visit the entry page to upload your photo and join the competition. Hurry! Enter early—prices increase every Monday. There is no limit to entries.

  • Week 1 entry fee: $ 10
  • Week 2 entry fee: $ 15
  • Week 3 entry fee: $ 20
  • Week 4 entry fee: $ 25
  • Week 5 entry fee: $ 30
  • Week 6 entry fee: $ 35

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
Comments Off on National Geographic is now accepting entries for the 2019 Travel Photo Competition

Posted in Uncategorized

 

Slideshow: World Press Photo announces nominees for its 2019 Photo Competition

25 Feb

2019 World Press Photo of the Year Nominees

Editors note: There are images in the above gallery that are considered graphic and explicit in nature. Keep this in mind while looking through the gallery.

World Press Photo has announced the nominees for its 2019 Photo Contest. The contest, which is in its 62nd year, celebrates the work of photojournalists around the world who have captured profound images that depict defining moments throughout the year.

78,801 photographs from 4,738 photographers were considered and the 43 nominees hail from 25 countries around the world.

The nominated photos fall under two headline awards: ‘World Press Photo of the Year’ and ‘World Press Photo Story of the Year,’ the latter of which showcases a series of images from a particular assignment or project from photojournalists around the world. There are eight additional categories, each of which has its own set of nominees: Contemporary Issues, Environment, General News, Long Term Projects, Nature, Portraits, Sports and Spot News. Each of these categories have the sub-categories of single picture entries and story entires with the exception of Long Term Projects, which is a series.

We’ve rounded up the single picture nominees for each category in the gallery above. Along with the image will be a caption and accompanying backstory provided by the photographers and edited for clarity and brevity by World Press Photo.

The winning photos and stories will be announced at the World Press Photo Award Show on April 11th in Amsterdam. All winners are chosen from an independent jury from a wide range of photo backgrounds.

2019 World Press Photo of the Year Nominees

Victims of an Alleged Gas Attack Receive Treatment in Eastern Ghouta | © Mohammed Badra, European Pressphoto Agency

Victims of an Alleged Gas Attack Receive Treatment in Eastern Ghouta | © Mohammed Badra, European Pressphoto Agency

Caption: A man and a child receive treatment after the suspected gas attack on al-Shifunieh, 25 February 2018.

Story: By February 2018, the people of Eastern Ghouta, a suburban district outside Damascus and one of the last rebel enclaves in the ongoing Syrian conflict, had been under siege by government forces for five years. During the final offensive, Eastern Ghouta came under rocket fire and air bombardment, including at least one alleged gas attack—on the village of al-Shifunieh, on 25 February 2018. Figures are difficult to verify, but Médecins Sans Fronti?res (MSF) reported 4,829 wounded and 1,005 killed between 18 February and 3 March 2018, according to data from medical facilities they supported alone. MSF also reported 13 hospitals and clinics damaged or destroyed in just three days. Reports on the end of the siege in Eastern Ghouta are conflicting, though the Syrian army appear to have recaptured most of the south of the country by July. UNICEF reported the siege of Eastern Ghouta to have ended by late-March, with limited humanitarian access becoming available.

2019 World Press Photo of the Year Nominees

Almajiri Boy | © Marco Gualazzini, Contrasto

Almajiri Boy | © Marco Gualazzini, Contrasto

Caption: An orphaned boy walks past a wall with drawings depicting rocket-propelled grenade launchers, in Bol, Chad.

Story: A humanitarian crisis is underway in the Chad Basin, caused by a complex combination of political conflict and environmental factors. Lake Chad—once one of Africa’s largest lakes and a lifeline to 40 million people—is experiencing massive desertification. As a result of unplanned irrigation, extended drought, deforestation and resource mismanagement, the size of the lake has decreased by 90 percent over the past 60 years. Traditional livelihoods such as fishing have withered, and water shortages are causing conflict between farmers and cattle herders. Jihadist group Boko Haram, which is active in the area, both benefits from the hardship and widespread hunger and contributes to it. The group uses local villages as a recruiting ground, and the protracted conflict has uprooted 2.5 million people, exacerbating food insecurity.

The Lake Chad Crisis was funded by InsideOver.

2019 World Press Photo of the Year Nominees

Being Pregnant After FARC Child-Bearing Ban | © Catalina Martin-Chico, Panos

Being Pregnant After FARC Child-Bearing Ban | © Catalina Martin-Chico, Panos

Caption: Yorladis is pregnant for the sixth time, after five other pregnancies were terminated during her FARC years. She says she managed to hide the fifth pregnancy from her commander until the sixth month by wearing loose clothes.

Story: Since the signing of a peace agreement between the Colombian government and the FARC rebel movement in 2016, there has been a baby boom among former female guerillas. Pregnancy was thought incompatible with guerrilla life. Women were obliged to put war before children, leaving babies with relatives or, some say, undergoing forced abortions—a charge FARC denies.

2019 World Press Photo of the Year Nominees

The Disappearance of Jamal Kashoggi | © Chris McGrath, Getty Images

The Disappearance of Jamal Kashoggi | © Chris McGrath, Getty Images

Caption: An unidentified man tries to hold back the press on 15 October, as Saudi investigators arrive at the Saudi Arabian Consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, amid a growing international backlash to the disappearance of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Story: A critic of the Saudi regime, Khashoggi had been missing since entering the consulate on 2 October to obtain documents. After weeks of rumor and false information, Riyadh announced that Khashoggi had been killed accidentally during an altercation. Turkish authorities and the CIA claimed he had been murdered by Saudi intelligence operatives, working under high Saudi authority.

2019 World Press Photo of the Year Nominees

Crying Girl on the Border | © John Moore, Getty Images

Crying Girl on the Border | © John Moore, Getty Images

Caption: Honduran toddler Yanela Sanchez cries as she and her mother, Sandra Sanchez, are taken into custody by US border officials in McAllen, Texas, USA, on 12 June.

Story: Immigrant families had rafted across the Rio Grande from Mexico and were then detained by US authorities. Sandra Sanchez said that she and her daughter had been traveling for a month through Central America and Mexico before reaching the US to seek asylum. The Trump Administration had announced a ‘zero tolerance’ policy at the border under which immigrants caught entering the US could be criminally prosecuted. As a result, many apprehended parents were separated from their children, often sent to different detention facilities. After this picture was published worldwide, US Customs and Border Protection confirmed that Yanela and her mother had not been among the thousands who had been separated by US officials. Nevertheless, public outcry over the controversial practice resulted in President Donald Trump reversing the policy on 20 June.

2019 World Press Photo of the Year Nominees

Akashinga – the Brave Ones | © Brent Stirton, Getty Images

Akashinga – the Brave Ones | © Brent Stirton, Getty Images

Caption: Petronella Chigumbura (30), a member of an all-female anti-poaching unit called Akashinga, participates in stealth and concealment training in the Phundundu Wildlife Park, Zimbabwe.

Story: Akashinga (‘The Brave Ones’) is a ranger force established as an alternative conservation model. It aims to work with, rather than against local populations, for the long-term benefits of their communities and the environment. Akashinga comprises women from disadvantaged backgrounds, empowering them, offering jobs, and helping local people to benefit directly from the preservation of wildlife. Other strategies—such as using fees from trophy hunting to fund conservation—have been criticized for imposing solutions from the outside and excluding the needs of local people.

2019 World Press Photo Contemporary Issues Single Nominees

Afghan Refugees Waiting to Cross the Iranian Border | © Enayat Asadi

Afghan Refugees Waiting to Cross the Iranian Border | © Enayat Asadi

Caption: An Afghan refugee comforts his companion while waiting for transport across the eastern border of Iran, on 27 July.

Story: UNHCR reports that Iran has almost one million registered refugees, the vast majority from Afghanistan. In addition, more than 1.5 million undocumented Afghans are estimated to be present in the country. Many people fleeing violence, insecurity and poverty in Afghanistan find no alternative but to use illegal traffickers, along routes where they are exposed to robbery, kidnapping and death. Their aim is to pass through Iran and Turkey or Greece to seek a better life elsewhere, but trafficked refugees are highly vulnerable to forced labor, debt bondage, forced marriage, or work in the sex trade.

2019 World Press Photo Contemporary Issues Single Nominees

Male Rape | © Mary F. Calvert

Male Rape | © Mary F. Calvert

Caption: Former US marine Ethan Hanson bathes at home in Austin, Minnesota, USA, after a sexual trauma experienced during his military service left him unable to take showers.

Story: During a boot camp, Ethan and fellow recruits were ordered to walk naked through a communal shower while pressed together. Ethan reported the incident, but was harassed by the other men for doing so. Nightmares and panic attacks later forced him to resign. Recent Defense Department figures show sexual assault in the military to be on the increase. Servicemen are less likely than women to report sexual trauma, fearing retaliation or stigma.

2019 World Press Photo Contemporary Issues Single Nominees

The Cubanitas | © Diana Markosian, Magnum Photos

The Cubanitas | © Diana Markosian, Magnum Photos

Caption: Pura rides around her neighborhood in a pink 1950s convertible, as the community gathers to celebrate her fifteenth birthday, in Havana, Cuba.

Story: A girl’s quinceañera (fifteenth birthday) is a Latino coming-of-age tradition marking transition into womanhood. It is a gender-specific rite of passage, traditionally showcasing a girl’s purity and readiness for marriage. Families go to great expense, often celebrating with a lavish party. The girl dresses as a princess, living out a fantasy and perceived idea of femininity. In Cuba, the tradition has transformed into a performance involving photo and video shoots, often documented in a photobook. Pura’s quinceañera had a special poignancy, as some years earlier, having been diagnosed with a brain tumor, she was told she would not live beyond the age of 13.

2019 World Press Photo Environment Single Nominees

Living Among What’s Left Behind | © Mário Cruz

Living Among What’s Left Behind | © Mário Cruz

Caption: A child who collects recyclable material lies on a mattress surrounded by garbage floating on the Pasig River, in Manila, Philippines.

Story: The Pasig River was declared biologically dead in the 1990s, due to a combination of industrial pollution and waste being dumped by nearby communities living without adequate sanitation infrastructure. A 2017 report by Nature Communications cites the Pasig as one of 20 most polluted rivers in the world, with up to 63,700 tons of plastic deposited into the ocean each year. Considerable efforts are being made to clean up the Pasig, which were recognized by an international prize in 2018, but in some parts of the river the waste is still so dense that it is possible to walk on top of the garbage.

2019 World Press Photo Environment Single Nominees

Evacuated | © Wally Skalij, Los Angeles Times

Evacuated | © Wally Skalij, Los Angeles Times

Caption: Evacuated horses stand tied to a pole, as smoke from a wildfire billows above them, on Zuma Beach, in Malibu, California, USA, on 10 November.

Story: The 2018 wildfire season in California was the deadliest and most destructive on record, burning an area of more than 676,000 hectares. While scientists pointed to the vegetation-drying effects of climate change as a cause, US President Donald Trump blamed forest management.

2019 World Press Photo Environment Single Nominees

Akashinga – the Brave Ones | © Brent Stirton, Getty Images

Akashinga – the Brave Ones | © Brent Stirton, Getty Images

Caption: Petronella Chigumbura (30), a member of an all-female anti-poaching unit called Akashinga, participates in stealth and concealment training in the Phundundu Wildlife Park, Zimbabwe.

Story: Akashinga (‘The Brave Ones’) is a ranger force established as an alternative conservation model. It aims to work with, rather than against local populations, for the long-term benefits of their communities and the environment. Akashinga comprises women from disadvantaged backgrounds, empowering them, offering jobs, and helping local people to benefit directly from the preservation of wildlife. Other strategies—such as using fees from trophy hunting to fund conservation—have been criticized for imposing solutions from the outside and excluding the needs of local people.

2019 World Press Photo General News Single Nominees

The Disappearance of Jamal Kashoggi | © Chris McGrath, Getty Images

The Disappearance of Jamal Kashoggi | © Chris McGrath, Getty Images

Caption: An unidentified man tries to hold back the press on 15 October, as Saudi investigators arrive at the Saudi Arabian Consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, amid a growing international backlash to the disappearance of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Story: A critic of the Saudi regime, Khashoggi had been missing since entering the consulate on 2 October to obtain documents. After weeks of rumor and false information, Riyadh announced that Khashoggi had been killed accidentally during an altercation. Turkish authorities and the CIA claimed he had been murdered by Saudi intelligence operatives, working under high Saudi authority.

2019 World Press Photo General News Single Nominees

Unilateral | © Brendan Smialowski, Agence France-Presse

Unilateral | © Brendan Smialowski, Agence France-Presse

Caption: US President Donald Trump leads France’s President Emmanuel Macron by the hand while walking to the Oval Office of the White House, in Washington DC, on 24 April 2018.

Story: President Macron’s three-day visit to the United States was the first official state visit of the Trump administration. Unexpectedly, the two presidents’ body language went beyond the norm for such visits, bordering on the intimate. The leaders also praised each other effusively. The 2015 international nuclear agreement with Iran was one of the main topics under discussion. Macron aimed to persuade Trump to adhere to the deal, which limited Iran’s nuclear program in return for a lifting of sanctions, but failed. On 8 May 2018, President Trump withdrew from the agreement, breaking with European allies. The relationship between the two leaders appears to have soured, with Trump later attacking Macron on Twitter.

2019 World Press Photo General News Single Nominees

Still Life Volcano | © Daniele Volpe

Still Life Volcano | © Daniele Volpe

Caption: The living-room of an abandoned home in San Miguel Los Lotes, Guatemala, lies covered in ash after the eruption of Volcán de Fuego on 3 June 2018.

Story: Fuego, around 40 km southwest of the capital Guatemala City, is one of Latin America’s most active volcanoes, and has been erupting periodically since 2002. It is monitored by volcanologists, but this eruption came without warning. People living around the volcano, many at Sunday lunch, were surprised by the suddenness of the event, as Fuego spewed red-hot lava, ash, poisonous gases and flaming debris onto villages below. The eruption was one of the deadliest in Guatemala for over a century. Guatemala’s National Institute of Forensic Sciences reported the recovery of 318 bodies, over a third of them unidentified.

2019 World Press Photo Nature Single Nominees

Flamingo Socks | © Jasper Doest

Flamingo Socks | © Jasper Doest

Caption: A Caribbean flamingo inspects the improvised socks created to help heal its severe foot lesions, at the Fundashon Dier en Onderwijs Cariben, Curaçao.

Story: The bird was brought by plane from neighboring island Bonaire, after spending a few weeks in a local rehabilitation facility. Such lesions are common among captive flamingos, as they have very sensitive feet and are used to walking on soft ground. After a few weeks of care the bird was transported back to Bonaire There are around 3,000 breeding pairs of Caribbean flamingos on Bonaire, and a further 200 to 300 birds on Curaçao.

2019 World Press Photo Nature Single Nominees

Glass Butterfly | © Angel Fitor

Glass Butterfly | © Angel Fitor

Caption: A winged comb jelly, Leucothea multicornis, its wings widely opened, propels itself through waters off Alicante, Spain.

Story: Leucothea multicornis, like other comb jellies, is a voracious predator, capturing its prey using sticky cells rather than by stinging. Little is currently known about the biology of comb jellies. Because the creatures are so fragile and fold their wings in reaction to the slightest vibration, they are extremely difficult to study and to photograph.

2019 World Press Photo Nature Single Nominees

Survival Instinct | © Bence Máté

Survival Instinct | © Bence Máté

Caption: Frogs with their legs severed and surrounded by frogspawn struggle to the surface, after being thrown back into the water in Covasna, Eastern Carpathians, Romania, in April 2018.

Story: Frogs legs are frequently harvested for food in the spring, when males and females gather to mate and spawn. Legs are sometimes severed while the animal is still living. Each year, about US$ 40 million worth are sold annually, with countries across the world participating in the trade.

2019 World Press Photo Portrait Single Nominees

Black Birds | © Heba Khamis

Black Birds | © Heba Khamis

Caption: Jochen (71) and Mohamed (21; not his real name) sit in the Tiergarten, Berlin. Jochen fell in love after meeting Mohamed, then a sex worker in the park. They have been dating for 19 months.

Story: Prostitution between consenting adults is legal in Germany, and German aid charities have reported a marked increase in the number of young migrants turning to sex work. While they wait for their documents, refugees are not allowed to work legally or attend school. The German government prioritizes assistance to refugees from countries with an ongoing war; those seeking asylum from countries without war are placed in a second category, where papers take longer to complete. This lack of employment opportunity creates a severe lack of choice for many, with some young men becoming sex workers, sometimes to fund a heroin addiction. The Tiergarten, a large park in central Berlin, is a popular meeting spot for male sex workers and older clients. Mohamed now works in a gay bar, and is quitting heroin.

2019 World Press Photo Portrait Single Nominees

When I Was Ill | © Alyona Kochetkova

When I Was Ill | © Alyona Kochetkova

Caption: Alyona Kochetkova sits at home, unable to face borscht (beet soup), her favorite food, during treatment for cancer.

Story: Alyona shot this self-portrait following surgery and chemotherapy, when, although she knew the vital importance of food, she struggled to eat. Taking photos was not only a way of sharing a difficult and personal story in the hope that it might support others with a cancer diagnosis, it was also a means of accepting her ordeal by doing what she loved.

2019 World Press Photo Portrait Single Nominees

Dakar Fashion | © Finbarr O’Reilly

Dakar Fashion | © Finbarr O’Reilly

Caption: Diarra Ndiaye, Ndeye Fatou Mbaye and Mariz Sakho model outfits by designer Adama Paris, in the Medina neighborhood of the Senegalese capital, Dakar, as curious residents look on.

Story: Dakar is a growing hub of Franco-African fashion, and is home to Fashion Africa TV, the first station entirely dedicated to fashion on the continent. The annual Dakar Fashion Week includes an extravagant street show that is open to all and attended by thousands from all corners of the capital. Adama Paris (who has a namesake brand) is a driving force behind the fashion week, and much else on the design scene.

2019 World Press Photo Sports Single Nominees

Sunlight Serve | © David Gray, Reuters

Sunlight Serve | © David Gray, Reuters

Caption: Naomi Osaka serves during her match against Simona Halep from Romania during the Australian Open tennis tournament, at Margaret Court Arena, Melbourne, Australia, on 22 January.

Story: Osaka, who was born to a Japanese mother and Haitian father is now based in Florida, USA, went on to win the tournament. In September, she won the US Open women’s singles, defeating Serena Williams. Over the course of 2018, Osaka rose from number 72 in world rankings to number one.

2019 World Press Photo Sports Single Nominees

Shields Strikes Back | © Terrell Groggins

Shields Strikes Back | © Terrell Groggins

Caption: Olympic champion Claressa Shields (right) meets Hanna Gabriels in a boxing match at the Masonic Temple in Detroit, Michigan, USA, on 22 June.

Story: Shields suffered a second-round knock down by Gabriels—the first in her career—but went on to win the match by unanimous decision. Shields is the first American woman to win an Olympic gold medal in boxing, and the first (male or female) to win a gold back-to-back in successive Olympic Games. She has had only one loss in her career, against British World Champion Savannah Marshal, in 2012.

2019 World Press Photo Sports Single Nominees

Boxing in Katanga | © John T. Pedersen

Boxing in Katanga | © John T. Pedersen

Caption: Boxer Morin Ajambo (30) trains in Katanga, a large slum settlement in Kampala, Uganda, on 24 March.

Story: More than 20,000 people live in Katanga, crowded together and often in extreme poverty. The boxing club receives no outside funding. From these disadvantaged beginnings, Ajambo, a mother of seven, went on to box in the Ugandan women’s team. Men’s boxing has a long history in Uganda, bur women boxers are often frustrated by the few opportunities to compete at an international level.

2019 World Press Photo Spot News Single Nominees

Warning: the above image is graphic in nature. Click here to see the original photo. The Death of Michael Nadayo | © Ezra Acayan

Warning: the above image is graphic in nature. Click here to see the original photo. The Death of Michael Nadayo | © Ezra Acayan

The Death of Michael Nadayo | © Ezra Acayan

Caption: The body of Michael Nadayao lies in the street after he was shot dead by unidentified men in front of mourners at a wake, in Quezon City, Philippines, on 31 August 2018.

Story: President Rodrigo Duterte began a concerted anti-drug offensive soon after taking office in June 2016, repeatedly ordering increased attacks against suspects. Amnesty International reports that this led to human rights violations, including extrajudicial killings by both civilians and police. A spokesman for the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency said the campaign had led to 5,050 deaths by December 2018, with Human Rights Watch citing over 12,000. In June, 38 UN member states called on President Duterte to end the killings and probe the causes of the drug war.

2019 World Press Photo Spot News Single Nominees

Crying Girl on the Border | © John Moore, Getty Images

Crying Girl on the Border | © John Moore, Getty Images

Caption: Honduran toddler Yanela Sanchez cries as she and her mother, Sandra Sanchez, are taken into custody by US border officials in McAllen, Texas, USA, on 12 June.

Story: Immigrant families had rafted across the Rio Grande from Mexico and were then detained by US authorities. Sandra Sanchez said that she and her daughter had been traveling for a month through Central America and Mexico before reaching the US to seek asylum. The Trump Administration had announced a ‘zero tolerance’ policy at the border under which immigrants caught entering the US could be criminally prosecuted. As a result, many apprehended parents were separated from their children, often sent to different detention facilities. After this picture was published worldwide, US Customs and Border Protection confirmed that Yanela and her mother had not been among the thousands who had been separated by US officials. Nevertheless, public outcry over the controversial practice resulted in President Donald Trump reversing the policy on 20 June.

2019 World Press Photo Spot News Single Nominees

Climbing the Border Fence | © Pedro Pardo, Agence France-Presse

Climbing the Border Fence | © Pedro Pardo, Agence France-Presse

Caption: Central American migrants climb the border fence between Mexico and the United States, near El Chaparral border crossing, Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico, on 25 November 2018.

Story: Refugees who were part of a caravan that originated in Honduras in October 2018, began arriving at the border in November 2018 to find a backlog of some 3,000 people waiting to be processed into the United States, and a potential delay of months. This led to rising tensions, and to people breaking away from the caravan to attempt their own entry.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
Comments Off on Slideshow: World Press Photo announces nominees for its 2019 Photo Competition

Posted in Uncategorized

 

Nikon Z7 AF tested: Tracking lags behind the D850, mirrorless competition

16 Oct

The Nikon Z7 is slated as a mirrorless equivalent to the D850, but it can’t subject track with the same reliability as its DSLR counterpart. AF performance is otherwise good, except in low light where hunting can lead to missed shots.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
Comments Off on Nikon Z7 AF tested: Tracking lags behind the D850, mirrorless competition

Posted in Uncategorized

 

Wellcome international photography competition seeks health and medicine images

16 Aug
Main image: Anne-Katrin Purkiss, Wellcome Image Award winner 2009.

Wellcome, a charitable foundation based in the UK, has launched a new international photography competition seeking images related to health, medicine, and science. Called the Wellcome Photography Prize 2019, the competition is open to submissions until December 17, 2018, with winners announced on July 3, 2019.

The photography competition seeks “pictures that show the importance of health in society and the impact health issues have on people and communities worldwide,” according to the contest Web page. A total of four categories are presented:

  • Social perspectives – explore how health and illness affect the way we live
  • Hidden worlds – reveal details hidden to the naked eye
  • Medicine in focus – show health and healthcare up close and personal
  • Outbreaks (2019 theme) – capture the impact of disease as it spreads.

Photographers and other “image makers” may submit an unlimited number of images, but the same image cannot be submitted under multiple categories. In addition to photography, the competition is open to other techniques, including medical imaging from devices like MRIs, microscopy, data visualization, 3D printing, mixed media, and more.

Each category winner will receive a £1,250 prize; the overall competition winner gets £15,000. All prizes are presented in London on July 3, 2019, at an awards ceremony. As well, all shortlisted entries and winners will be showcased at Lethaby Gallery at the University of the Arts London.

The Wellcome Photography Prize 2019 terms and conditions are available here. Entries can be submitted on Wellcome’s website.

Via: The Guardian

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
Comments Off on Wellcome international photography competition seeks health and medicine images

Posted in Uncategorized

 

Huawei P20 Pro hands-on: 3x zoom lens leaves the competition behind

04 Apr

The P20 Pro is Huawei’s latest flagship smartphone and, at least in the camera department, arguably the most innovative mobile device we have seen in quite some time. The camera module was developed in cooperation with Leica and is the first to combine three sensor/lens modules:

  • A large 1/1.7-inch RGB sensor with Quad-Bayer structure in the main camera is designed to capture as much light as possible and keep noise levels low.
  • A secondary high-resolution monochrome sensor provides depth estimation for the simulated bokeh effect, helps with digital zooming at low magnifications and improves detail and noise levels.
  • A dedicated tele-camera with an equivalent focal range of 80mm springs into action at 3x or higher zoom factors.
The Huawei P20 Pro camera combines three cameras: The main module is at the center, the monochrome camera at the bottom (left in this image) and the tele at the top (right).

So the spec sheet looks impressive but is the Huawei P20 Pro the best camera smartphone money can currently buy? We had the opportunity to shoot with a Huawei P20 Pro for a few days. Here are our first impressions.

Please note that the camera software on our test unit is not final, so some improvements can be expected for the production version.

Key specifications:

  • Triple-camera, 10MP output size
  • Main camera: 1/1.7-inch 40MP Quad-Bayer sensor, F1.8 aperture and 27mm equivalent focal length
  • Secondary camera: 20MP 1/2.78-inch monochrome sensor, F1.6-aperture and 27mm equivalent focal length
  • Tele-camera: 8MP, 1/4.4-inch RGB sensor, F2.4-aperture, 80mm equivalent focal length and optical image stabilization
  • Kirin 970 chipset
  • 6.1-inch Full View display
  • 6GB RAM
  • 128GB internal storage
  • 4,000 mAh battery

Wide-angle

In bright light the P20 Pro’s main camera captures images with good detail and very low noise levels. As you can see in the sample below, there is no noticeable grain in the blue sky, which is unusual for a smartphone, and fine detail is rendered nicely, though almost a touch oversharpened. Dynamic range is excellent as well, with very little highlight clipping for a smartphone camera.

Colors and contrast are definitely on the vibrant end of the scale but if you like things a little more natural you can can set colors to ‘smooth’ in the settings. There is a touch of corner-softness in our sample but overall the P20 Pro performs very well in good light.

ISO 50

The picture below was taken in a dim bar. In these conditions the camera does a very good job at keeping noise levels down. Some fine grain is noticeable in the shadows, but overall the image is very clean.

Some detail is lost on very fine textures but you have to zoom in to full-size view to notice. Edge detail is still very sharp and colors are maintained nicely. This is very good image quality from a smartphone in these light conditions.

ISO 1250

The very dim street lighting in the scene below pushes the P20 Pro camera to its limits. The image is exposed very well and colors are rendered nicely. However, detail clearly suffers and some fine textures are very soft. In these conditions the lack of optical image stabilization also becomes obvious, with some images showing signs of camera shake.

ISO 4000

Zoom

Thanks to the triple-camera with dedicated tele module, zoom is one of the P20 Pro’s highlight features. The series below shows the same scene as the first image in this article, with the camera zoomed onto the stork that is nesting on the church tower.

3x zoom

As you can see when clicking through to the full version of these images, detail is still decent at a 3x zoom factor and a good step ahead of any other current smartphone. Noise is very well controlled as well. At 5x a loss of detail and texture becomes more obvious but the images are still usable at smaller output sizes, for example in social media.

5x zoom

The 10x zoom image shows the typical softness and pixelation we are used to from digital zoom images and is best reserved for emergency situations. That said, while the P20 Pro’s zoom can’t compare to the optical zoom of a compact camera, it’s outstanding for a smartphone camera. Kudos to Huawei for squeezing the technology into the thin body of a mobile device.

10x zoom

The zoom is still usable in indoor light conditions and produces results that, in terms of detail and noise, aren’t far off from images captured in bright outdoor light.

Wide angle 3x zoom
5x zoom 10x zoom

The Huawei’s zoom is not only handy for magnifying elements of the scene, just like the optical zoom on a “real” camera it also helps compress the planes of a scene. In the wide-angle image below the mountain range in the background is so small, it’s hardly noticeable.

In the 3x zoom image the mountains have become a much more important element of the composition, thanks to compression. However, in the zoom image the color response is much less vibrant and the camera tends to be a little more prone to highlight clipping. Hopefully that is something that can be fine-tuned for the final software version.

Wide-angle
3x zoom

While zoom performance is generally pretty amazing for a smartphone camera, we found exposure to be very unstable when zoomed in. Once zoom is activated you can get very noticeable exposure jumps between two images in a series, as you can see in the 3x zoom samples below.

We would expect this bug to be fixed with a software update, hopefully for the final release of the production software.

Underexposure Slight overexposure

Portrait/Aperture modes

Like most current high-end phones, the P20 Pro offers a background-blurring Portrait mode. The feature works very well with head-and-shoulder type portraits. The default blur strength is pleasant and the masking of the subject is quite accurate. Only some minor segmentation artifacts are visible in the hair of the subject below.

Portrait mode

Things don’t look as good with full-body portraits, however. Like in the shot below, on most occasions Portrait mode does not trigger for this type of scene.

Portrait mode

Portrait mode applies a degree of skin tone smoothing to your subject’s face. If you don’t want that, or take an image of an object rather than a person, you can switch to Aperture mode which artificially blurs the background in the same way as Portrait mode.

As you’d expect, the mode delivers similar results as Portrait mode but more complex objects, such as the bicycle in the image below, can cause some trouble, especially when shooting zoomed in. Foreground/background separation in this shot is pretty bad, with a lot of blur applied to areas that should be sharp and vice versa.

Aperture mode, 3x zoom

Video

Video, and particularly video image stabilization, are strong points of the Huawei P20 Pro camera. The clip below was shot hand-held and is very stable and smooth, almost steady-cam-like. No judder, over-compensation or similar kind of artifacts are visible. Other than that, detail is in line with the competition and the color response is similar to still image mode.

Conclusion

We’ve only had a few days with the Huawei P20 Pro but that has been long enough to say it is the most advanced smartphone camera to date. General image quality is very good, with good detail, very low noise levels across all light levels and excellent dynamic range. In terms of those parameters the differences to other flagship smartphones, for example the Google Pixel 2 or Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus aren’t massive, however.

Where the P20 Pro really leaves the competition behind is zoom. The dedicated 3x tele-lens provides a real advantage in the zoom department and makes this device the best current smartphone for zooming. The triple camera is also capable of creating a natural looking bokeh simulation, and in video mode the image stabilization is up with the very best, creating an almost steady-cam like effect.

There are still a few niggles in the camera software but hopefully those will be ironed out for the final release and our full review. It’s still early in 2018, but it’ll be interesting to see what the competition will come up with later in the year in order to counter Huawei’s impressive move.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
Comments Off on Huawei P20 Pro hands-on: 3x zoom lens leaves the competition behind

Posted in Uncategorized

 

Huawei P20 Pro triple-camera receives DxOMark score of 109, smashing the competition

28 Mar

There’s no other way to put it: at least according to DxOMark, the Huawei P20 Pro is far and away the most capable smartphone camera on the market. In fact, with a score of 109, the world’s first triple-cam smartphone ranks a full 10 points ahead of its nearest rival, the Samsung Galaxy S9. And it’s not just the P20 Pro; even the P20, which only has a dual-cam, broke into three digits with a score of 102. That makes the Huawei P20 Pro and P20 the two best smartphone cameras DxOMark has ever tested, and puts them right at the top of our must-review list.

You can read the full P20 Pro and P20 reviews by following those links, but the TL;DR is simple: Huawei cleaned up across the board. DxOMark put it simply enough it the conclusion to its Huawei P20 Pro review:

We are used to every new smartphone camera generation being slightly better than the previous one, but looking at the images and test results from the P20 Pro, it seems Huawei has skipped one or two generations. The results are simply that good. The P20 Pro’s triple camera setup is the biggest innovation we have seen in mobile imaging for quite some time and is a real game changer.

Terms like “game changer” tend to make me cringe, but in this case it might just fit. At least according to DxO’s scores, the P20 Pro leaves competitors in the dust “in virtually every category.” Even if you’re exclusively interested in stills (and not video), nobody even comes close to the Huawei smartphone’s Photo score of 114—its nearest competition comes from the Samsung Galaxy S9 (104) and the Apple iPhone X (101).

Check out the full review, test images, and score breakdown on DxOMark, and let us know what you think of this impressive new smartphone camera in the comments. And, of course, stay tuned for our own review of the Huawei P20 Pro, which we’re hoping to get from Huawei shortly.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
Comments Off on Huawei P20 Pro triple-camera receives DxOMark score of 109, smashing the competition

Posted in Uncategorized

 

Canon interview: ‘increased competition allows us to level-up’

18 Mar
Canon executives (L-R) Yoshiyuki Mizoguchi, Group Executive of Imaging Communications Business Group, Go Tokura, Chief Executive Officer of Canon’s Image Communications Products Operation, and Naoya Kaneda, Advisory Director and Group Executive of Canon’s Optical Business Group.

At this year’s CP+ show in Yokohama, we sat down with senior executives from several major manufacturers, including Canon. Topics covered during our conversation with Go Tokura, Yoshiyuki Mizoguchi and Naoya Kaneda included Canon’s ambitions for high-end mirrorless cameras, and the importance of responding to changing definitions of image capture from the smartphone generation.

Answers from the three interviewees have been combined, and this interview (which was conducted through an interpreter) has been edited for clarity and flow.

How important is it for Canon to add higher-end mirrorless products to your lineup?

At Canon we have what’s called a ‘full lineup strategy’. This means that we want to satisfy all of the demands in the market, so we have mirrorless and also DSLR, which combined makes an EOS hierarchy. We want to fill the gaps to satisfy customer demands across the board.

The new M50 is an entry-level model, because that’s where the high-volume sales are. We want to establish ourselves in this market, and then move forward [from there]. In accordance with the full lineup strategy, we will be tackling [the mid-range and high-end mirrorless market] going forward.

The EOS M50 offers 4K video and Dual Pixel CMOS AF, but not at the same time. Is there a technical reason for this limitation?

With the EOS 5D Mark IV, we do offer 4K video and Dual Pixel CMOS autofocus, so technically it is feasible. But given the position of the M50 in the lineup, we can’t include all of the features available in a product like the 5D IV. Given the position of the product, we wanted to achieve the optimal balance [of features] in a camera in that range. We’ve optimized the M50 as best we can [for its market position], and within those parameters, the combination of 4K video and Dual Pixel CMOS autofocus was not possible.

Canon’s new EOS M50 offers limited 4K video capability, making it the first of Canon’s mirrorless cameras to go beyond HD video capture.

Another manufacturer that we spoke to estimated that Canon would have a full-frame mirrorless camera within a year. Is that realistic?

That would be nice, wouldn’t it?

The Tokyo Olympics in 2020 is coming up – when we look at photographers shooting with Canon at Tokyo in two years time, what will we see?

The Tokyo Olympics is a very important opportunity for us. If we look at the professional camera market, we would like to introduce a professional model at that time. Having said that, we take reliability very seriously. So when we talk about [creating] a model for the Olympics, we’re not just talking about performance. We’re also want to make sure that we can achieve the same level of reliability that we’ve always delivered [in our professional DSLRs].

The Tokyo Olympics is a very important opportunity for us

We also want to raise Canon’s presence overall, with camera products and also events and services. We have been instructed [by our senior leadership] to maximize the opportunity!

Canon’s gear room at the 2016 Olympics in Rio. Major sporting events like this have always been a major focus for Canon, and have often served as showcases for new professional cameras and lenses. The next Olympic Games will be held in Tokyo, in 2020 and is sure to be a major event for Canon.

In your opinion, what is the most important quality for an entry-level camera?

We are always looking for speed, ease of use, and maximum resolution. We’re also thinking about how we can deliver better image quality than a smartphone. So it’s about really focusing on speed, ease of use and image quality. Small size and weight comes into [the calculation] as well, and also the GUI.

Looking beyond the entry-level class towards cameras aimed at high-end amateurs like the 5D class, those customers need even better image quality, and they also want to take more control over operation. They want to expand, and express their creativity. Reliability also comes into play.

The Canon EOS 5D Mark IV offers both 4K video capture and Dual Pixel autofocus – not a combination available lower down in Canon’s ILC lineup (for now).

Do you think that 4K video is a more important feature at the entry-level end of the market, or the enthusiast / professional segment?

We believe that 4K video is important for all market segments, and all users. Given that we have a range of products, we always have to think about how best [to implement 4K] in that class of camera. And you can do more with 4K video in a higher-end camera than in an entry-level model.

Why is that?

The cost required to introduce [features like 4K] into cameras dictates the kind of features that we can introduce [in products of different classes]. 4K is important to offer in all market segments, and in the M50 we’ve achieved 4K at 25 fps, and that’s the best we can do at this time. We can’t introduce all of the features [in an entry-level camera] that we could in a higher-end model. Another point is that consumption of 4K footage in terms of devices to view 4K video – the penetration of those devices in the market, and their adoption, was a little faster than we expected.

In the past, you’ve said that you won’t introduce a high-end mirrorless product until there would be no compromises compared to DSLR technology. Are we getting close?

In the EOS hierarchy we have cameras from entry-level to professional with different features. When it comes to mirrorless cameras, we have entry-level models, and we’ve just about started on the mid-range class. What that tells you is that Canon is confident about mirrorless technology within this range of products.

We still believe there’s work to be done before we can achieve the level of satisfaction that our users are looking for before they could confidently move from DSLR to mirrorless

But if you look at the enthusiast and high-end product class, in terms of both autofocus and viewfinder [experience], we still believe there’s some work to be done before we can achieve the level of satisfaction that our users are looking for before they could confidently move from DSLR to mirrorless. That’s where we are right now. We’re still on the path to development.

So far, the EOS M5 is the nearest thing Canon has made to a high-end mirrorless camera. The M5 is a great product, but a far cry from some of the industry-changing cameras that Canon has been responsible for in the past.

Having said that, it’s not like we don’t have the components required to create a mirrorless model that would be on a par with DSLR models. For example Dual Pixel CMOS autofocus, lenses that can focus quickly, and optical components like the EVF. We have the technology required to create a camera that would be satisfactory. It’s just a matter of combining [those components] together. So you can look forward to our developments in the future.

There’s still a perception among our readers that Canon is a little conservative. Where is Canon innovating right now?

Rather than some of the very novel features that some of our competitors have been introducing, we believe that it’s really important to deliver the basics. Speed, ease of use, and good image quality. Dual Pixel CMOS autofocus is representative of that [philosophy]. It’s not only important for stills photography, but also for video. Only Canon is pursuing this area [of development] right now. We also have Dual Pixel Raw, and we’re looking for new ways of applying [this technology] currently.

Canon’s schematic of its Dual Pixel CMOS AF sensor structure. The top layer illustrates the light-gathering micro-lenses and conventional Bayer-type color filter array. The lower layer shows how each pixel is split into two photo-diodes, left and right, which are colored blue and red respectively. (Note that this does not indicate different color sensitivity.)

With lenses, we introduced the EF 70-300mm [EF70-300mm F4-5.6 IS II USM] zoom lens, and the EF-S 18-135mm [EF-S 18-135mm F3.5-5.6 IS USM] which both have Nano USM focus motors. This makes three focus actuators: ring type, stepping motor and Nano USM. This gives us more options when it comes to optical design. For a super wide lens like the 10-24mm L [EF11-24mm F4L USM] for example, we offer ring-type USM, which provides higher torque. Our optical technology is a strength that we’re proud of.

Maybe Canon lenses don’t look that different to our competitors, but in terms of performance, we’re able to create lenses that are superior

We also have a range of [special] optical materials, and methods to process these materials. If you just look at specs, maybe Canon lenses don’t look that different to our competitors, but in terms of performance, we’re able to create lenses that are superior. It’s also about post-purchase support. Durability, reliability, and the ability to withstand extreme temperatures. Our users are able to enjoy this level of performance and they appreciate that.

We also have a new product – our new Speedlite 470EX-AI flash, for automatic bounce photography. So we believe that we can provide innovation across the system of cameras, lenses and accessories. Our customer base is also diversifying, particularly generations ‘Y’ and ‘Z’. They’re looking for new things. We were just at CES in Las Vegas, where we showed some new concept models. We got a lot of feedback, and we want to turn [the concepts] into a marketable product pretty soon.

When we look at trends in mirrorless technology, we’re considering the technical advancements that are possible.

Clearly, the transition to mirrorless will be a big challenge, technically. When you look ahead to further mirrorless development, are you envisaging a new lens system?

It’s been more than 30 years since we launched our EF lens mount, and we’ve sold more than 130 million EF lenses during that time, so we can’t simply ignore that many lenses in the market. At the same time, when we look at trends in mirrorless technology, we’re considering the technical advancements that are possible. It’s a difficult question to answer, but maybe let your imagination suggest some possibilities!

The move from FD to EF in 1987 was bold but also controversial given the legacy of FD lenses and the lack of compatibility between the two platforms. Do you think that situation will happen again?

That’s a difficult question to answer. There was a lot of discussion and debate about that shift, in 1987, and we’re going through the same thing now. We want to nurture and support our [existing] EF customers and we’re in discussion about that at the moment.

Canon’s recently-announced EF 85mm F1.4L, showing the electronic contacts which are a defining element of the EF lens system, first introduced more than 30 years ago to replace the all-mechanical FD lens platform.

In 1987, the shift was from a mechanical interface to an electronic interface. That [precluded cross-compatibility]. Despite that shift, the change provided significantly more value for our customers, which is why we went ahead. If it turns out that [the introduction of mirrorless] will create a similar situation, this might be a decision that we would take [again]. But we’re not sure yet.

Because we’re already using an electronic interface, the shift will be more gradual [than it was in 1987] so [we would better able to] maintain compatibility.

Looking ahead, what is Canon’s main priority?

We want to improve our product lineup, including lenses. We just released an entry-level model (the EOS M50), and because young people are really getting into photography more actively, the entry-level segment is one that we always need to make sure to tackle.

The entire concept of capturing images has changed over the past couple of years

When it comes to maintaining market share and ensuring growth, what is the most difficult challenge that Canon is facing?

We’ve been producing cameras for a long time, but the entire concept of capturing images has changed over the past couple of years, and we need to engage with this new style of capturing images. The first stage is our new concept cameras. It’s important for us to relax and expand our concepts of image capture.

This is of the several concept cameras that Canon has been showing this year – an ‘intelligent compact camera’ designed to automatically capture images, and intelligently learn about the kinds of pictures you want to take.

Now, maybe the camera can be beside you, or maybe even away from you, and still capture the image that you’re looking for. We need to have the technologies to respond to [these new ways of capturing images] in the way that Canon should.

For a very long time, Canon and Nikon dominated the professional market. There’s a lot more competition these days. Is more competition good for Canon?

More players means more activity in the industry, which is a positive thing. Having said that, of course it’s tough.

Does this pressure generate better ideas? More innovation?

Very much so, and it goes both ways. For all players, to be stimulated by increased competition allows us to level-up across the board.

Is it more important for camera manufacturers to design cameras that behave more like smartphones, or that they communicate the benefits of a dedicated camera to smartphone photographers?

I think we have to do both. We have to continue to evolve the traditional benefits that a camera can provide, and at the same time we have to consider the diversification of image capturing tools, including smartphones, and what they have to offer. Our mission is to pursue both approaches.

Editor’s note:

This interview was the fourth time I’ve spoken to Mr. Tokura in recent years, who has become more senior within Canon since we first met back in 2014. Our conversation at CP+ covered some old ground (the perception among some industry-watchers that Canon is a little conservative, increased competition from the likes of Sony, etc.) but this year I really got the sense from talking to him that Mr. Tokura and his team will have some pretty interesting products to show us in the not too distant future.

We know from previous conversations with both Mr. Tokura and his boss Mr. Maeda that increasing the speed of product development has been a priority at Canon in recent years. Since then, we’ve seen some solid refreshes at the top and middle of Canon’s DSLR lineup (along with some truly excellent new lenses), but a lot of the company’s energy seems to have been directed towards the lower-end, especially within the EOS M lineup. This focus on the entry-level segment of the camera market (‘where the sales are’, as Mr. Tokura said in our interview) makes sense, but I’ve expressed my own disappointment in the past about such a ‘slow and steady’ approach in the face of increasingly fast-moving competition.

Canon has the technology for high-end mirrorless – it just has to put all the pieces together

It’s been a long time coming, but in this interview Mr. Tokura came pretty close to at least hinting that higher-end, perhaps even full-frame mirrorless is imminent – and maybe even within the next 12 months. As he said, Canon has the technology – it just has to put all the pieces together.

Possibly even more exciting is the possibility of a professional model to come by 2020. Back in 2016, Mr. Tokura reminded me that Canon likes to launch flagship models in Olympic years, and the fact that the next Olympiad will be held in Tokyo is likely to present an irresistible opportunity. You heard it here first.

Canon has shaken up the photography market several times in the past, and has the potential to do so again.

Speaking of the future, the Canon executives I spoke to at CP+ were very keen to show me the mockups of a range of concept cameras that were first unveiled at this year’s CES show in Las Vegas, in January. While none are finished, marketable products (yet) it’s clear that Canon is keen to explore products that respond to what Mr. Tokura calls ‘a new style of capturing images’.

Canon is sometimes criticized for taking a conservative approach to product development, and in some cases this is true (although it isn’t always a bad thing). It’s important to remember though that Canon has shaken up the photography market several times in the past, and there’s every chance it could do so again.

Previous interviews with Canon executives:

An interview with the heads of Canon’s L lens factory (2017)

CP+ 2017: ‘We want to be number one in the overall ILC market’

CP+ 2015: ‘Every day I’m saying ‘speed up!’

Photokina 2014: Mirrorless ‘in the very near future’

CP+ 2014: ‘We don’t see the smartphone as an enemy’

CP+ 2013: Interview with Canon’s Masaya Maeda

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
Comments Off on Canon interview: ‘increased competition allows us to level-up’

Posted in Uncategorized

 
« Older Entries
Newer Entries »