As promised earlier this month, Nikon has made its ViewNX-i software available for download today today. Building on the camera maker’s previous View NX 2 software, the new application works in conjunction with Nikon’s NX-D photofinishing software for editing photographs, and bundles Nikon’s ViewNX-Movie Editor for editing videos. Read more
Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
A new filter manufacturer called Novo is promising a range of filters that will be made from super-durable sapphire crystal and Gorilla Glass, which should have enhanced scratch resistance. The company also claims its filters will have extremely thin brass frames, and will feature ‘superior coatings’. Read more
Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
Wedding and Portrait Photographers International (WPPI) holds an annual conference and trade show. It’s a massive photography convention with over 10,000 attendees converging on Las Vegas, Nevada each year. I’ve personally attended it over 12 times – both as photographer and trade representative. This year I decided to go just to see some old friends I haven’t seen in way too long, meet some others I’ve only ever seen online, and to make some new contacts.
In this article I’ll share with you my top 10 things I discovered at the trade show this year at WPPI 2015, and how you could apply some things to your photography:
This seemed to be the hot ticket item of the show with constant line ups just to see and order one. Weighing in at just 1.3lbs (0.58kg), The Ice Light is an ultra-portable, battery operated, LED light you can take anywhere. It’s not cheap though – while the light itself is light, the price is a bit heavy at $ 450 USD.
This finn promo video will give you an idea what it’s all about:
Will it help you take better photos? Probably not – educating yourself will do that. But it might be a fun tool (aka toy) in your arsenal if the budget allows.
From Wikipedia: Ignite is a style of presentation where participants are given five minutes to speak on a subject accompanied by 20 slides. Each slide is displayed for 15 seconds, and slides are automatically advanced.
Photographer’s Ignite started in 2006 and has become really popular. As the last event at WPPI 2015 the large room was filled pretty much to capacity. You can see some sessions from their archives which I shared the other day.
There were some really great five minute talks, many of which inspirational. A great way to end a conference and head home – with ideas in your head. But remember, only taking action will move you forward. So watch as many of the sessions as you want – then get moving and DO something.
Sorry guys there were man-style bags too, lots of them – I just didn’t scope them out this time around. One of my favourites (unisex) are ThinkTank – check those out!
This were literally flying off the shelves at the show, I even saw men purchasing them for their wives and people arguing over the last one of a particular style. They were that hot.
What’s so great about Kelly Moore bags? Well, they don’t look like a camera bags – they look like purses. The inserts come out too so you can put in lots of camera gear and fill them, half gear and personal stuff, or just use it as a purse without inserts. I know many female pro photographers that swear by these bags. Some can even double as a diaper bag for mom photographers.
They look pretty well made and stylish, I have to say.
I found these online a while ago but hadn’t seen one in person. One of the booth’s had some on display and they lived up to my expectations.
Well made, high-quality materials, and you get to pick all the materials and colours so you can make a totally unique bag that only you own. You can even play with their Bag Builder tool online to see your bag virtually before you order. Select your bag size and style, leather color, accent color, the interior lining material and the strap and see your bag built in front of your eyes. With over 30 leathers and 100+ accent colours – you can be conservative or go crazy and show your style!
As Editor of dPS I also took some time to stop in and meet some of our trusted vendors and suppliers like Tamron (who will be supplying one of our writers with their new 15-30mm f/2.8 lens to review for you), B&H Photo Video, and Adorama (more than a camera store). If you’re even in New York City, stop in and visit both of those stores. They are massive and you can get lost inside – but I do forewarn you – you may want to leave your credit card behind for safety!
I also found some new companies and make a few connections with some third party brands to see if we can get some items to review for you. Stay tuned to the Cameras and Equipment section for more when that’s available. Two products I found particularly interesting were the Nissin flashes and Sirui tripods.
No the photo above has nothing to do with storage but photos of hard drives is a bit boring, so it’s a the token photos of an Elvis impersonator singing the Beach Boys instead. Only in Vegas!
How to save, backup and archive your images can be a big issue. I’ve been researching (okay my tech husband has) solutions for a while. One we’ve been looking at is the Synology system. I found three others I hadn’t heard of before at the show as well. Here is a list of them – keep in mind this is not a recommendation only a list as I know very little about them. Before purchasing and setting up any backup system do your due diligence and research to find the one that’s right for your situation.
All of these are available on Amazon, but remember, please do your research before buying anything.
Attending a photography workshop or conference is a great chance to make new friends, or see old ones. I did a little of both on this trip.
One of my past incarnations, and why I’ve been to so many WPPI conferences, was the role of client support (North American representative) with Queensberry albums in New Zealand. They make some of the best wedding albums for professional photography studios (for wholesale resale to clients only). I worked with them for over nine years and made lifelong friends with my fellow workers and the company owners. Above you see Sonya (company director, used to be my boss), and Raktim (he’s my brother from different parents, mine in Canada, his in India).
It’s been six years since we have been in the same room together and we all agreed it’s been too long. Have you made friends at a conference or event in the past? Did you keep in touch? It’s a small world now – there’s no excuse not to – reach out to your “old” friends now.
I also got to see my friend, photographer Renee Robyn speak for the first time. She does amazing work with models, Photoshop and light. She’s travels regularly and does workshops all over the world. If this style is up your alley check out her work. I will warn you she’s not G-rated though (her images and her language), so enter with caution if you’re sensitive.
Along with connecting with some longtime friends I also met some of my online or virtual ones for the first time. That included Mr. Frederick Van Johnson who’s podcast This Week in Photo I’ve had the honour of guest hosting several times. We even recorded an episode from a hotel room in Vegas (it was me and about nine other guys in the room, could have used dPS writer and another TWiP host Valerie Jardin for some extra female energy).
Don’t you just love the high-tech lighting going on here for the video? They had every lamp in the room in front of us. It was a lot of fun as we discussed the show, where photography is going, what’s hot and more. You can watch or listen to the episode here.
I was also honoured to be interviewed by Frederick in the Panasonic booth for a women photography entrepreneurs Q&A session, with Catherine Hall.
There were LOTS of choices opportunities for learning including: books, workshops, DVDs, online courses, and more – an almost overwhelming number of choices are available. The best plan is to pick one or two sources for education and stick to those – we hope you pick dPS – and then focus on doing and putting it into practice. We even discussed this on the podcast (link above), that learning + action is one of the keys to doing better photography.
Just days before I left for Vegas my much anticipated Amazon shipment arrived with a new Rokinon 8mm fisheye lens, for my Fuji X-T1 mirrorless camera (APS-C sensor). On the cropped sensor it’s equal to about 12mm and man is it cool.
It’s completely manual (manual focus and exposure) and the camera doesn’t even recognize it. I have to shoot in a mode that tells the camera there is no lens on the front. But the camera does still adjust the exposure. Focus is a bit tricky but using the focus peaking feature on my camera helps. I have more than a few out of focus shots, so more use of the lens and practice is required yet.
Notice how wide the angle of view is; I had the lens touching the fence in this image and it’s still in the shot.
If you’ve never tried a fisheye lens give it a go, you can be super creative. But learn to use it wisely. You must put something in the frame close to the lens as the subject or you’ll just have a wide mess of nothing. See if you can borrow or rent one, or perhaps even pick up an old film lens and adaptor.
An obligatory selfie in the car’s reflective surface.
A few months ago I invested in a mirrorless system and chose the Fuji X-T1. I admit I’ve had some issues with it, including it completely quitting on me in Nicaragua and having to be shipped back to Canada. But it’s got a new motherboard now and that seems to have been the issue (I got a dud – great!) as it has had no further issues.
The whole reason I added this camera (I didn’t switch, I still use my Canon 5D MkIII for portraits) to my lineup is for travel. I’ve been doing this a long time and I’m getting tired of hauling around so much heavy gear all the time. On this occasion I just grabbed the camera, 35mm f/1.4 lens (super light-weight and small) and the Rokinon 8mm. With the camera and lens around my neck, I was able to walk around every day carrying just my purse and extra lens inside. It was awesome!
Not convinced – read some dPS articles on mirrorless cameras and you decide if it’s right for you. It may be – it may not be.
You’ve probably heard this before, but getting away from home – if even only for a couple days – can be a great energy reboot and boost for your creativity. You don’t even have to go far – a neighbouring town, a drive in the country for the afternoon even, just a change of scenery and routine can be just the thing you need.
So that’s what I discovered at the 2015 WPPI show. Have you attended WPPI or any other photography conference? What were your take aways?
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The post 10 Things I Discovered at the WPPI 2015 Trade Show by Darlene Hildebrandt appeared first on Digital Photography School.
[ By WebUrbanist in Art & Drawing & Digital. ]
The world of future-focused artwork tends to examine extreme outcomes, but this artist’s visions represent a compelling range of possibilities from catastrophic to optimistic, Dystopian to Utopian with other shades of gray in between.
First consider the range of negative outcomes and what they would do to villages, towns and cities around the world (as illustrated in this first round of images above and below) – built environments afflicted by surprising climatic changes like heat waves, ice storms and droughts.
On the one hand, Evgeny Kazantsev considers these disaster scenarios, from dust storms in Barcelona and villages in the Alps without snow to Venice gone dry and oceans overrunning desert cities. But this is only half of the story.
What if we filled the world with nothing but cars, or skyscrapers, or if we simply started building an industrialized mountain (like a modern-day Tower of …
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Shipping containers are ideal for commercial buildings. Stores, offices, shopping malls, and more are using recycled cargo containers for low-cost construction.
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Adding to its existing collection of over 800,000 seeds, the Svalbard Global Seed Vault has just received a series of 4 deliveries representing species from …
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[ By WebUrbanist in Art & Drawing & Digital. ]
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You might have already heard about Defrozo, a free multi-tool business app for photographers as it has been mentioned in the media quite a lot lately. Today the Defrozo Kickstarter went live, and it’s become a Staff Pick in less than 1 hour after the launch! With a working Beta, over 2000 users on board, and some quite ambitious goals, the Continue Reading
The post Kickstarter Project That Will Change Your Photography Career Forever (Exclusive Freebie Inside) appeared first on Photodoto.
Sometime in your life as a photographer, you might be lucky enough to get the chance to photograph an event that is so special, so sacred, so personal, that all you can do is be grateful that you have been invited to be part of that unforgettable moment.
My photos and words will focus on photographing the birth of a brand new baby, but there are many other events, some happy, some sad, that you might be asked to photograph, and these suggestions may help you with those times too.
Above all else, be respectful. This moment isn’t about you. It isn’t about your amazing sparkling personality. It isn’t even about making sure you “set up a perfect shot”. My goal at each birth is that ultimately, they won’t even remember that I was there. They will have beautiful photographs that help them remember all the delightful details of that moment, but they won’t have memories of a photographer barking orders, or pushing their birth coach to the side to get a better shot.
I have a rule for myself that I don’t disturb anything that is going on. I try not to move anything, and I don’t give any suggestions to anyone about where they should be or what they should do. I have stood on a chair for a better vantage point, but I want to capture what would happen if I wasn’t even there.
Make sure that you have permission, and that the hospital, or wherever you are photographing the event, is okay with you being there. You might want to mention to the nurse, midwife, or doctor, that you have no intention of getting in their way, and that they can let you know if you are, and you will move.
Make sure you know exactly how much they want photographed. Especially in a situation like a birth, there are many different comfort levels. Sometimes I photograph everything, and sometimes I photograph only what they’d want to show friends and children later. Make sure you know what they’re hoping to get, and make sure they know what you are willing to deliver. Birth stories can be very unpredictable, so make sure you are both prepared for things going differently than how you planned.
Every single birth story I have photographed has been vastly different, but that’s one of the things that makes them so amazing to photograph. I am photographing events as they unfold, not knowing when or exactly how everything will happen. I even photographed two births in the same night one time, one right after the other, and they were both their own unique, perfect story. I was a bit tired the next day, but it was so worth it!
Since you won’t know how long you will be there, and what might happen, be prepared for anything. Make sure your batteries are fully charged (I will admit that I had a bit of learning curve on this one. I had three batteries in my bag, all at one bar. As I checked one after the other, I couldn’t believe that I had forgotten to charge my spares. Luckily one battery lasted the entire time, (and it wasn’t a big deal, but it could have been a tragedy), make sure you have extra memory cards, and have your camera ready to go at a moment’s notice.
I give the parents my cell phone number, my home number, and my husband’s cell phone number. I tell them to keep me updated as we get closer to the due date, and let me know about any labor, even if they think it might be false labor. It’s a guessing game to know what time to be there, but I try to be there around one or two hours before delivery, erring on the side of being there too early rather than too late (I missed a delivery by five minutes one time. The hospital was 30 minutes away, and neither I nor the parents expected labor to go that fast. It was one of my saddest days as a photographer).
You might even want to bring water, a snack, and a book or magazine to read. If things are progressing slowly, you will be glad you brought them. You don’t want the laboring mother, or her birth coach to feel like they need to worry about feeding and entertaining you. Remember, they shouldn’t even remember that you are there.
Watch carefully so you don’t miss any emotions. Be aware of what could be coming, so you can position yourself in the right place at the right time. In the above photo, I knew that the mom didn’t know if she was having a girl or a boy, and I also knew that she had four boys already. I knew the moment she found out would be a very emotional moment. When she heard, “It’s a girl!” and had that baby placed in her arms, there was no holding back the tears of joy for any of us. Yes, I cry during births. It hasn’t hurt my camera yet.
Be sensitive about emotions that they may not want to remember in a lot of detail later. Some moments during labor are very intense, and sometimes a mom might not be as in control as she hopes to be. I had a friend tell me once that she had a photographer at her birth, and she was disappointed later when she got the photos and saw herself. Her good memories of the experience were overshadowed by seeing pain and loss of control on her face in the photos.
The story that you are telling with your photos will be a big part of the memory that will stick with them, long after that day. The moments of pain can be captured by photographing the support and love: a hand held, a shoulder to lean on. Tell the story true, but focus on the strength, love, joy, wonder, and amazement.
Have you ever had the chance to photograph a birth or other special event? I’d love to hear about your experience in the comments.
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The post Photographing Special Events Like the Birth of a Baby by Melinda Smith appeared first on Digital Photography School.
Bag manufacturer Lowepro has introduced a pair of new backpacks to its Fastpack range, with added weather-proofing and a compartment for a laptop or tablet. The Fastpack BP 150 AW ll and BP 250 AW ll are basically the same bag in two sizes, and each is divided into three sections that allow storage of camera equipment as well as other everyday items for photographers on the move. Read more
Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
Ein Beitrag von: Thomas Meinicke
Sie sind der ganze Stolz ihrer Besitzer, Statussymbol und Einnahmequelle: Die Oldtimertaxis von Havanna. Amerikanische Oldtimer sind in Kuba überall zu finden – und längst zu einer Art Kulturgut des Landes geworden. Sie sind ein Relikt des US-amerikanischen Einflusses aus der ersten Hälfte des 20. Jahrhunderts.
kwerfeldein – Fotografie Magazin | Fotocommunity
Lytro has announced the launch of Lytro Studio in Tokyo. The studio is open to the public so that anyone can visit to learn about light field imaging and the technology behind it. This includes training on how to use Lytro’s platform and software, as well as demonstrations of how its cameras and related technology work. Read more
Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
It hasn’t even entered production yet, but Samsung’s S 300mm f/2.8 ED OIS telephoto lens is certainly shaping up to be a very nice addition to the NX line. We were fortunate enough to be allowed access to a pre-production engineering sample of this new lens for a few hours. As a result we’ve put together a small gallery of images which should give some idea about the lens’s likely performance once it becomes available. See gallery
Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
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