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Archive for the ‘News’ Category

28 June, 2010 – Leica S2, First Impressions

25 Aug

The Leica S2 has been out for many months, and there have been a number of reviews (including my own First Impressions report from Germany last September).

Now my associate, Mark Dubovoy, has had a chance to use the S2, and to compare it with his current primary systemS, the Phase One DF with P65+, and also a Leica M9. How does the S2 shape up against the world’s highest resolution digital back and also the S2’s littler brother? Find out in Mark Dubovoy’s Leica S2 – First Impressions.

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NOW AVAILABLE

The Luminous Landscape Guide
to Capture One Pro

Thank´s for one of the best tutorials I´ve seen so far!
It´s much easier to listen and learn when there is an educated discussion going on
between two very knowledgeable guys!

Find out more and watch our sample training video.


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3 July, 2010 – LuLa Gallery in Toronto Closing & Print Sale

24 Aug

The Luminous Landscape Gallery is closing as of July, 2010. It’s been a fun three years since it opened, and I thank everyone who visited for your interest and support.

The gallery has served primarily as a teaching space and print studio. It also has functioned as a gallery whenever I was working there and in town, but given my travel commitments this hasn’t been often enough to justify keeping it open.

On next Saturday, July 10, 2010, from 11am until 3pm I will be having a print sale. This will consist of approximately 30 large matted and framed prints that are currently on display on the gallery walls, as well as a number of large format unmatted and unframed prints.

For those that are interested, I will be continuing my print studio and teaching activities out of my new studio space near Creemore, Ontario. Details to be announced. I may also have gallery shows from time to time at other Toronto area galleries, as I would in the days prior to my Carlaw gallery.


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23 March, 2010 – Lightroom 3 Public Beta Two Released

11 May

Adobe has today released a second public beta of Lightroom 3. There’s a lot that’s been improved behind the scenes, and quite a few new features – and of course it’s still free – at least until it ships as a commercial release some time later this year. You do not need a serial number or to have owned a previous version of Lightroom.

My colleague Ian Lyons has just published an in-depth preview of Beta Two, and since Ian knows the product just about as well as anyone I know, this is the place to go for a look at what’s new in the download of Lightroom 3 Beta 2.

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This site is about the art and craft of photography, and I rarely if ever use it as a platform for social or political commentary. But I can’t help but congratulate the U.S. on the passage of its historic national health care bill.

The U.S. now joins just about every other country in the developed world in having (at least the beginnings) of a national health care program for its citizens. This is a day of significance for the American people, and I for one am very pleased to finally see it come to pass.

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Readers who purchase our current Lightroom 2 tutorial
will be eligible for a discount on our future Lightroom 3
tutorial.


The Luminous Landscape – What’s New

 
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25 March, 2010 – Worthwhile Workshops

07 May

http://www.luminous-landscape.com/workshops/podas.shtml

As regular readers know I am taking 2010 off from teaching field workshops – a sort of sabbatical year to concentrate on my own personal projects and travel.

But I am frequently asked about workshops and seminars that I can recommend. That’s what my Workshops page is about. It provides links to those educators and companies with whom I am familiar, who I’ve personally worked with in the past, and who I can recommend with confidence.

Two new ones, which were announced today are the Phase One Digital Artists series (PODAS) and also Art Wolf’s lecture series on The Art of Composition, taking place this year in major U.S. and Canadian cities.

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The new Canon 17mm tilt-shift lens is quite remarkable. I used it with the Hartblei Cam late last year, and was knocked out by its performance.

Sean Reid at Reid Reviews has recently published extensive reviews of the two new Canon tilt/shift lenses – the 17/4.0 L TS-E and 24/3.5 L TS-E II.  Reid Reviews is an independent review site which accepts no advertising but instead is subscription-based. Recommended.

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When you’re ready to really learn Lightroom, here’s the most painless way to do so. Purchase and download our Lightroom 2 video tutorial and automatically receive a discount on our Lightroom 3 tutorial when it becomes available.

You will also be automatically entered in our latest contest and win one of 10 weekly prizes.

"If a picture is worth a thousand words, a video must be worth a thousand pictures.
 
Just to let you know that I found your Lightroom Tutorial most helpful in understanding, not only which buttons to push, but the gestalt behind the program.  Especially helpful was the orgainzation.
 
All in all the best .00 I have spent recently".

– Jim Cassatt

 


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31 March, 2010 – Arca Cube, Take 2

30 Apr

If you’re a serious landscape photographer better lock up your Visa card before reading our latest review. It is titled Arca Cube – Take 2.

In my experience everyone that reads about the Cube says "Oh, ya, nice, but too expensive". Then when they see and handle one they say, "Why didn’t you tell me about this before? Damn; I have to have one."

You’ve been warned.

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If you’ve been looking for a 56MP medium format back that will fit almost any camera system, and which has the ability to rotate the sensor internally, have a look at the just-announced Leaf Aptus II 10-R.

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The winner of this week’s Lightroom 3 contest draw is Larry Rezka, Ontario, Canada. Congratulations Larry.

Maybe next week it’ll be you.

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"Video Journal 19, one of the best. Interesting and relevant topics, knowledgeable engaging guests, and a host that gently guides the conversation through terrain I want to explore. And more, it’s beautifully shot in a clean, no tricks style that keeps the conversation in focus. Well done all! This one is worth twice the price".

– paul b. kramarchyk

 


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7 April, 2010 – Constructing the Composition: Angkor Wat

29 Apr

Our new columnist, Art Wolfe, provides us today with an essay titled Constructing The Composition: Angor Wat.

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The Apple iPad arrived this weekend along with the Easter Bunny and chocolate eggs. Rabbits and eggs are pagan fertility symbols that have somehow become intertwined with the Christian holiday, but there was something of an appropriate irony in Apple choosing this particular weekend to launch the iPad, since it is in many ways a harbinger of things to come.

I’ve been becoming familiar with mine for the past few days and continue to believe that it’s going to be a game-changer, especially for professional photographers, because of what it implies for the publishing industry. Print media will never be the same again.

There are also some new iPad specific apps that are either paticularly cool, or that may appeal to nature and landscape photographers, and one of these that I quite enjoy is Emerald Observatory.

Whether you’re an astronomy buff, a time freak, or a photographer looking for information about sunrise and sunset times, as well as the moon’s phase and position, Emerald Observatory will be the best .99 cents that you’ll spend this week.

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19 April, 2010 – Photographing the Aurora

04 Apr

Have you ever photographed an aurora, or even seen one?

Mark Dubovoy travelled to Northern Canada a couple of months ago for just this purpose, and came away with shots of a quite spectacular display.

As a physicist by profession he can’t resist explaing what causes the aurora, as well as how best to photograph one when you have the opportunity. His new tutorial is titled, naturally enough, Photographing The Aurora.

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Fancy a photographic workshop in Tasmania this coming December? If so consider this one being put on by my friend (and frequent contributor to this site) Nick Rains. Nick is the Editor of one of Australia’s leading photographic magazines, and a very fine photographer and teacher.

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"If a picture is worth a thousand words, a video must be worth a thousand pictures.
 
Just to let you know that I found your Lightroom Tutorial most helpful in understanding, not only which buttons to push, but the gestalt behind the program.  Especially helpful was the orgainzation.
 
All in all the best .00 I have spent recently".

– Jim Cassatt

 


The Luminous Landscape – What’s New

 
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14 April, 2010 – Imageprint 8 Review

02 Apr

It’s been a while since I’ve had a review of the Imageprint RIP on this site. Two version ago, in fact. Now, Imageprint 8 is here, and contributor Markus Zuber has his exclusive review available.

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Looking for your next great photographic adventure? How about a NAMIBIA PHOTOGRAPHIC SAFARI with John Paul Caponigro.

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The great convergence is now starting to gather steam. Both Panasonic and Sony, two major forces in the broadcast as well as prosumer / consumer video fields, announced large sensor video cameras at the NAB show this week.


Panasonic AG-AF100

Panasonic’s AG-AF100 is based on its Micro Four Thirds still camera format while Sony’s as yet unnamed entry has a full 35mm sensor and and Alpha lens mount.

Let’s hope that Panasonic’s design engineers are better than their illustrators – because what they’re showing above looks like a camcorder from 1975.

What both of these entries (due late 2010 / early 2011) bring to the market is cinema style depth of field because of their large sensors, something that current 1/4" , 1/3" and 1/2" video cameras can’t offer.

One of the reasons that movie makers tolerate the horrendous ergonomics and woeful feature set of today’s video DSLRs is the wonderfully shallow DOF which they offer. I believe that once this new generation of large sensor cameras become available over the next 6-12 months, the days of Combocams being used in professional production will be numbered.

Speaking of which, if you’re a fan of the popular Fox TV series House, you might want to watch the season’s finale episode on May 17 as it was shot entirely with a Canon 5D MKII.

And on the subject of Canon, with the Panasonic and Sony large sensor video camera announcements this week, Canon is left as the only major company in the field to not have announced an entry. Let’s hope that they don’t take as long as they did with their first solid state video camera offerings (3 years late), the just announced HPX 370/371.


Sony’s 35mm Alpha Camcorder

Update:

FreshDV has an interview with the Pansonic product manager, shot on the floor at the NAB show. It provides insights into the new AF100 Micro Four Thirds video camera (delivery December – ,000) and a better though still brief look at the camera’s design.

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"Video Journal 19, one of the best. Interesting and relevant topics, knowledgeable engaging guests, and a host that gently guides the conversation through terrain I want to explore. And more, it’s beautifully shot in a clean, no tricks style that keeps the conversation in focus. Well done all! This one is worth twice the price".

– paul b. kramarchyk


The Luminous Landscape – What’s New

 
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23 April, 2010 – Ricoh GRX. Where Does It Fit?

02 Apr

Ricoh has always made fascinating if somewhat quirky cameras. Today, Sean Reid gives us his take on where the GRX-A12 fits in the current camera taxonomy.

Sean has also just published a comprehensive user review of the GRX-A12 on his subscription site, which I can highly recommend.

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The most recent winner in our Lightroom 3 contest is Jenny Sampson of Berkeley, CA . Congratulations Jenny. She wins a boxed copy, once it ships, of LR3 worth 0.

How did she win? Simply by purchasing one of our tutorials or Video Journals. Find out more.

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Readers who purchase our current Lightroom 2 tutorial
will be eligible for a discount on our future Lightroom 3
tutorial.

 

 


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25 April, 2010 – Leica S2 Review Update : iPad Reads Raw Files

29 Mar

My friend, and well known Australian photographer, educator and magazine editor Nick Rains, has just completed his tests of the Leica S2.

Leica has also just announced a firmware upgrade for the S2, and Nick kindly provides us today with his brief impressions of the S2, what the firmware upgrade has accomplished, as well as what has been left unresolved.

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Another friend, well known London photographer and lecturer Drew Gardner has just completed working with kids in the townships of South Africa, teaching them about photography. Drew asked if I would link to his blog, which I am more than happy to do, as this appears to be a very worthwhile undertaking.

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A small number of iPad Camera Connection Kits (USB adaptors and SD card readers) became available over the past few days, and to everyone’s amazement (at least mine) the iPad is able to read all raw camera files that the Mac (OSX / iPhoto / Aperture) can handle.

This is great news, and makes the iPad an ideal travel / storage / backup / review device for photographers working in the field.

The only bad news is that the main shipment of these adaptors won’t be available for another couple of weeks.

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