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Archive for January, 2016

PIX 2015: A conversation with Devin Allen

02 Jan

When Devin Allen says that photography saved his life, he means it in a very real sense. He describes himself as ‘the oddball walking around with a camera’ in his home of West Baltimore. A 26-year-old amateur photographer with aspirations to make a career out of his work, he has become a viral sensation. His images of protests in Baltimore have amassed thousands of likes and have been shared by international media organizations around the world, including landing the cover of Time magazine.

With some serious credentials on his resume, he’s hoping to in turn inspire young artists in his community to find their own paths away from the streets. Watch his inspiring conversation with filmmaker Eric Becker and learn more about his perspective shooting the events in Baltimore.

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Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Ghostly Floating Farms: Abandoned Rural Buildings of Russia

02 Jan

[ By Steph in Abandoned Places & Architecture. ]

abandoned farm building ukraine

The former USSR boasts some of the world’s weirdest and most hauntingly beautiful abandoned structures, from sci-fi monuments to prison camps and military facilities. Many of Russia’s abandoned wonders are byproducts of the Soviet collapse, including remote stretches of countryside that are no longer feasible to live in due to ill-kept or destroyed roads and infrastructure. Some of the structures that can be found there include intricate hand-carved wooden farmhouses and agricultural buildings that seem to hover in midair.

19th Century Farmhouses in Kostroma
abandoned farmhouse russia 1

abandoned farmhouse russia 5

abandoned farmhouse russia 2

abandoned farmhouse russia 3

abandoned farmhouse russia 4

abandoned wooden farmhouse

abandoned wooden farmhouse 2

These stunning examples of 19th century Russian architectural craftsmanship have sadly fallen into disrepair on the inside, but the exteriors generally look as cool as ever. Some are in better condition than others, looking as if they’re just waiting for their owners to return. Located deep within the forests of Kostroma, the abandoned family homes are likely too far from civilization to support most present-day occupants. Photographer Andrew Qzmn travels through the countryside documenting these forgotten structures, as well as those that are still kept up.

Floating Farm Building, Ukraine
abandoned farm building ukraine
floating potato 2

floating potato

Reportedly located in Ukraine rather than Russia, this farm building might seem like a Photoshop job at first, but a few pictures sent into the blog Curious Places confirm it to be part of a potato sorting facility, with speculation that part of it may have been dismantled since it was actively in use.

Next Page – Click Below to Read More:
Ghostly Floating Farms Abandoned Rural Buildings Of Russia

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[ By Steph in Abandoned Places & Architecture. ]

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Cream of the Crop of Specialty Photography Genres in 2015

02 Jan

In the past week I’ve rounded up some of the most popular and most read articles on various topics here on dPS over the last year including:

  • Most Popular Landscape Photography Articles on dPS in 2015
  • The Top Gear Related Articles from 2015
  • 12 of the Best Portrait Articles of 2015
  • Beginners Photography Tips – Best of 2015
  • Post-Processing Tips of the Year 2015 on dPS
  • The Tip Top Travel Topics of 2015

But there are many more narrow focused topics that slip between those cracks. Let’s take a look at a few that you might be interested in and see what we can learn from these.

Philippe Rouzet

By Philippe Rouzet

Macro Photography

  • 5 Tips for Getting Fresh Ideas for Macro Photography
  • 5 Macro Photography Tricks to Make Your Images Stand Out
  • 5 Creative Macro Photography Ideas that Really Work
  • How to Give Your Macro Photography a Fine Art Touch in Post-Processing
  • Macro Photography Tips – Video Tutorials
  • Lighting for Macro Photography

Street Photography

street-photography-tips-02

From my own trip to Cuba January 2014 (by the time you read this I’ll be preparing to head there for my third time)

  • 39 Street Photography Images That Have Common Threads
  • 7 Tips for a More Anonymous Approach to Street Photography
  • 7 Street Photography Rules That Should Be Broken
  • There is No Bad Light for Street Photography
  • The Importance of Capturing Gesture and Emotion in Street Photography
  • 7 Steps to Create Street Photography Silhouettes

Night and Long Exposure Photography

Andi Campbell-Jones

By Andi Campbell-Jones

  • Tips for Getting Proper Exposure for Night Photography
  • 10 Items You Need for Your Night Photography Kit
  • 13 Great Subjects for Urban Night Photography
  • Tips for Enhancing Night Sky Photography in Photoshop
  • 5 Tips for Geting Sharper Images When Doing Long Exposures
  • 10 Common Mistakes in Long Exposure photography
  • Long Exposure Photography Without a Tripod
  • 5 Reasons You Should Learn Long Exposure Photography
  • How to Improve Your Long Exposure Photography with Photo Stacking
  • How to Shoot a Star Trails Selfie
  • Two Methods for Shooting Star Trails Made Easy
Howard Ignatius

By Howard Ignatius

Business of Photography

  1. 10 Quick Photography Business Tips to Kickstart 2015
  2. 10 Low-Cost Marketing Strategies for Your Photography Business
  3. How to Break Into the Photography Business with dPS Writer Gina Milicia
  4. 3 Questions to Ask Yourself When Starting a Photography Business
  5. 5 Trends to Take Your Photography Business to the Future
  6. 8 Creative Ways to Make Money with Your Photography
  7. The Top 5 Sales Mistakes Costing You Money Right Now

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The post Cream of the Crop of Specialty Photography Genres in 2015 by Darlene Hildebrandt appeared first on Digital Photography School.


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Mountaintop Viewing Walkway Culminates in 300-Foot-Long Slide

01 Jan

[ By WebUrbanist in Destinations & Sights & Travel. ]

mountaintop spiral

After winding their way up a hundred-foot-tall pathway in the Czech Republic set atop a mountain peak (itself located over 3,000 feet above sea level), visitors are presented with two options: walk all the way back down, or take a ride on the slide that shoots back down through the center of the spiralling walkways on all sides.

mountain spiral walkway

mountain viewing net platform

Another feature for daredevils comes in the form of netting suspended from a section along the top. Those who wish to can walk and lay on this mesh, experiencing whatever level of terror they can tolerate.

mountain steel suspended wood

mountain in fog

Fránek Architects designed this massive wooden structure, dubbed Sky Walk and aimed at giving viewers a number of twists, turns and chances to find the perfect vista while they work their way up.

mountain views below

mountain path brave

“It offers an endless amount of views, situations and moments where an indiscernible human being enters the depth and emerges on the outskirts of this natural structure,” said Fránek.

mountain emergency exit

mountain structural supports

The pathways are suspended from a central structural core made up of metal-joined wood trusses, forming a space frame that also supports the stainless steel slide more brave guests will opt to take for their return trip.

mountain central truss frame

Located as it is on top of a tall and exposed mountain, the structure is heavily reinforced throughout and tied to concrete footings buried deep in the ground. It also features an emergency spiral staircase down its center. Travelers can get to this wheel-accessible pedestrian viewing spiral via a chairlift at the foot of the mountain, near Dolni Morava.

mountain architecture distance

mountain side view

“I don’t know of any other timber construction with steel elements of a similar size and purpose,” Fránek said. “There are constructions of a similar size but ours takes on an abstract form that suggests the flight of a nocturnal butterfly whose path is seemingly chaotic.”

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Happy Paddling in 2016 New Year!

01 Jan
Horsetooth Reservoir in winter

Happy Paddling in New Year 2016!

Happy New Year everybody! In the picture above: partially frozen Horsetooth Reservoir just before sunrise on December 29, 2015. Camera: Sony Alpha II with Sony/Zeiss FE 24-70mm lens on a tripod. That was a cold morning! During recent winter days in Colorado I am doing more hiking than paddling.


paddling with a camera

 
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The Tip Top Travel Topics of 2015

01 Jan

Travel and photography often go hand in hand. We get bored shooting in our own neighborhood, city or even country, and we’re more likely to shoot more photos when we head out to a new place. The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence right?

Caroline

By Caroline

Here are some of the top travel topics we had on dPS in the last 12 months:

  1. Video Share – Travel Photography Hacks and Gear Tips
  2. 10 Ways to Improve Your Travel Photography
  3. 7 Travel Photography Tips Your Tour Guide Won’t Tell You
  4. Travel Photography Tips – Photographing the Coast
  5. How to Tell Better Visual Stories with Travel Photography
  6. Safety Tips for Travel Photographers (Particularly Women)
  7. 8 Tips to Help You Come Home with Great Travel Photos
  8. 5 Reasons to Use Flash to Improve Your Travel Photography
  9. Simple Tips for Photographing Waterfalls
  10. 15 Tips for Protecting Your Images While Traveling
  11. The Camera Bag of a Professional Traveler
  12. Simple Tips to Improve Your Travel PortraitsHow to Become a Professional Travel Photographer – Two Paths
  13. Travel Photographers Workflow – At Home and on the Road

Of course, remember that if travel isn’t in your plans or isn’t feasible for you right now – you can still apply many of the tips in the articles to photography you can do near home too! Check out these articles too:

  • How to Find Inspiration Photographing Locations Near Home
  • Put the Fun Back into Your Photography with a Cow Safari

Fun-photography-safari-01

 

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The post The Tip Top Travel Topics of 2015 by Darlene Hildebrandt appeared first on Digital Photography School.


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Tokina announces ultra-wide 14-20mm F2 lens for Canon and Nikon crop sensor DSLRs

01 Jan

Kenko Tokina has launched the Tokina AT-X 14-20mm F2 Pro DX lens for Canon and Nikon DSLRs with APS-C sensors. That’s equivalent to 21-30mm on Nikon bodies and 22-32mm on Canons.

This ultra-wide zoom has a pair of super low dispersion elements in the back and a plastic aperhical element in the second group that promise to reduce flare and ghosting. It also sports nine aperture blades, a one-touch focus clutch mechanism and internal focusing.

Pricing and availability have yet to be announced.


Press release:

Kenko Tokina Co., Ltd. is pleased to announce the new AT-X 14-20 F2 PRO DX

Characteristics 

The fast F2.0 Zoom lens of Tokina
Since the maximum aperture of F2.0 is given this lens, it’s possible to support the low sensitivity photography used ISO64 and ISO100 setting. The maximum aperture of F2.0 shows its power for the photography using the blur feeling and photography with the low brightness (In the room, In the night). 

Adopt highly precise Plastic Aspherical lens
The 2nd lens group in this lens is adopted the plastic aspherical lens which improved surface accuracy, and is given antireflection coat. This lens is designed tough against ghost flare. 

Arrange highly precise Glass molded Aspherical lens
2 pieces of super low dispersion glass molded aspherical lens is located in the back goup of the lens, and various aberration are corrected by these lenses. 

Compact Body and Excellent Operability
Tokina’s exclusive One-touch Focus Clutch Mechanism allows the photographer to switch between AF/MF simply by sliding the focus ring, forward side for AF and back toward the camera for MF. This lens is designed as the fast aperture F2.0 in all focal range, but it is a compact body. This lens has a thread in the front frame, so it’s possible to attach filters of 82mm size. 

The new Tokina AT-X 14-20 F2 PRO DX is an ultra-wide-angle zoom lens for the DX(APS-C) size, and has the maximum aperture of F2.0. 

In low brightness situation, use it demonstrates its preeminent power. 

Specifications 

  • Focus distance: 14 – 20 mm 
  • Brightness: F2.0 Canon 
  • Format : APS-C 
  • Minimum aperture: F22 
  • Lens configuration: 13 elements in 11 group 
  • Coating: Multilayer film coating 
  • Angle of view: 91.68° ~ 71.78° 
  • Filter size: 82mm 
  • Shortest Object Distance: 0.28m 
  • Macro maximum magnification: 1:8.36 
  • Focus method: Internal focus 
  • Number of Aperture blades: 9 
  • Maximum diameter: 89.0 mm 
  • Full length: 106.0 mm 
  • Weight: 725 g 
  • Hood (Attached) : BH-823 

Above mentioned specifications are for a Nikon mount. 


Tokina AT-X 14-20mm F2 Pro DX specifications

Principal specifications
Lens type Zoom lens
Max Format size APS-C / DX
Focal length 14–20 mm
Image stabilisation No
Lens mount Canon EF, Nikon F (DX)
Aperture
Maximum aperture F2.0
Minimum aperture F22.0
Aperture ring No
Number of diaphragm blades 9
Optics
Elements 13
Groups 11
Special elements / coatings 2 super low dispersion + multilayer film coating
Focus
Minimum focus 0.28 m (11.02)
Maximum magnification 0.12×
Autofocus Yes
Full time manual Yes
Focus method Internal
Distance scale Yes
DoF scale No
Physical
Weight 725 g (1.60 lb)
Diameter 89 mm (3.5)
Length 106 mm (4.17)
Sealing No
Colour Black
Zoom method Rotary (internal)
Zoom lock No
Filter thread 82.0 mm
Hood supplied Yes
Hood product code BH-823
Tripod collar No

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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