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8 Great Reasons to Enter a Photo Contest

06 Feb

The post 8 Great Reasons to Enter a Photo Contest appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Simon Bond.

Do you want to take your photography to the next level? Are you look for a focus to your work? There are many ways to achieve those aims in photography. One of the best ways is to enter a photo contest. That competitive edge is a really good way of driving your photography on by that extra few percent. In this article, you’ll discover some great reasons to enter a contest. Then you’ll find out some great contests to enter, and some of the potential pitfalls that some contests present.

1. A photo contest gives you direction

A decent level of creativity and a well-executed photo are two things needed to win a contest.

There are times as a photographer that you’ll drift a little bit. Whether that means you photograph less, or when you do photograph there’s not too much cohesion to it depends on you as a photographer. Even those with clear ideas about their photography benefit from a clear direction to head in, and a photo contest is one great way to achieve this. Not all, but many photo contests have themes, and it’s this theme you concentrate your mind on as you look to compose the best photo.

2. Pushes you out of your comfort zone

In the same way that a themed contest can give you direction, it can also push you out of your comfort zone. Of course, if the contest is too far out of your comfort zone, you might choose not to enter for a variety of reasons. However, with enough time before the final entry date, contests provide the perfect opportunity to hone your skill in another area of photography. Contests also allow you to adapt the way you take photos to fit the theme of the contest. Do you enjoy landscape photography? A contest theme set to crystal ball photography could be the perfect chance to learn this new photographic technique while applying what you already know about landscape work.

This photo ranked number 1 for the daily interesting contest on flickr.

3. Focuses your mind on being perfect

Do you always photograph all your photos at the correct aperture? Was the ISO left too high, from the last time you photographed indoors? While you’ll almost certainly get those camera settings correct when you’re out photographing when it comes to a contest you definitely will. The smallest advantages you can gain by perfecting your technique can all stack up, and you’ll need every advantage you can get to win a contest.

4. Is a great way to gain exposure

There are several ways you can gain exposure through a photo contest. However, there is no doubt your photo needs to stand out because most contests gain thousands of entries. It’s in the interests of a contest to engage its audience though, so how can that benefit you? Those contests that run for a couple of months may well have a weekly top ten. Photos from this ten may not end up winning the prize, but it can put eyeballs on your photo if you make the ten. In addition to this, typically photo contests have a winner, as well as a raft of commended photos. Once again, this gives you a significant chance of more exposure, should your photo be commended.

This photo won a contest in South Korea a few years ago.

5. There’s the potential to win a great prize!

The bigger the contest, the bigger the prize! Of course, it is incredibly difficult to win the grand prize of any contest, and that’s certainly the case with photography. Those that win often gain a photographic opportunity that is a once in a lifetime chance. The national geographic contests often have prizes that involve traveling to exotic locations, and the chance to learn from established photographers.

6. See other peoples entries, and be inspired

There are plenty of places you can see other photographers work. More or less, any form of social media allows for this. Photo contests are the place people place their very best. Seeing how other people have interpreted a contest theme can lead to inspiration in your own work. Of course, plagiarism isn’t a good idea, but looking at style, technique and execution might lead to an adaption in the way you take photos yourself. Adapting other peoples ideas, and incorporating them into your work is a great way to improve.

Photo contest sites like Pixoto are a great way to see how well your photography level is progressing.

7. Doing well validates you

All that exposure and a potential prize is not the only benefit you get from a photo contest. Having a winning entry, be that the overall winner or a top ten photo gives your photography validation. There is nothing that beats this when it comes to things like growing your photography business. The ability to call yourself a prize-winning photographer can go a long way. Does the size of the contest matter? From the perspective of calling yourself a prize-winning photographer, entering a smaller contest where there is a greater chance to win might be the way to go.

8. Gain feedback

If you’re lucky, you might get direct feedback from the person judging the contest. Those contests that allow comments may also lead to fellow contestants commenting on your work. Getting feedback on what you do is a great way to grow as a photographer. Contests are one platform where you may be able to receive some of this vital information.

The really big contest to win is National Geographic’s. It’s of course incredibly difficult to do so.

Photo contests to be wary of

There are, as you may have read, a great many good reasons to enter a photo contest. That said, there are a few contest types to be wary of.

Large entry fee

The majority of photo contests are free or have a nominal entry fee. Some contests charge large entry fees though. It’s up to you, but sometimes these contests are best avoided. There is no justification for a large entry fee. A good contest has many contestants, so they should only need to charge a nominal entry per person to cover their costs.

Loss of photograph rights

It’s always worth reading the terms and conditions of a photography contest carefully. That’s because some contests claim rights to your photo when you enter it in the contest, even if your photo is not one of the winning entries. Contests like this are essentially looking to use your work for their commercial advertising. Instead of paying for a stock image, they’ll instead run a photo contest to get their advertising material that way. This is why you’ll lose rights to your photo by entering this type of contest.

The Photocrowd website offers two prizes: A Judges Award, and a Peoples Award.

Which photo contest is for you?

The rise in the number of photographers has also led to a rise in photo contests. There are now many choices. You could choose a local contest, contests that run weekly, or perhaps you’ll go for one of the big yearly ones. Those looking to try their luck with a weekly contest should look no further than digital photography school, which runs a great themed weekly challenge to get you out with your camera (though it is not a contest, just a challenge). Sony and National Geographic run two of the biggest yearly photo contests, though search the web and you’ll find more. Finally, there are now websites dedicated to photo contests throughout the year. You can look to Photocrowd or Gurushots for these types of website.

Improve your chance of winning

Of course, improving your photography, and going to the best locations to take photos, are great things that can improve your chances. An excellent tip is to find out who the judges are. Do your research on these people, and visit their websites. See what kind of photos they enjoy taking, and channel your own work through the prism of the judges work. It’s not certain you’ll win, but it’s likely to improve your chances.

Go out and win the prize!

Do you enjoy entering photo contests? Are you new to this, and keen to dip your toe in the water? Have you got prize-winning photos, which you’d like to share with the digital photography community in the comments section? We’d love to hear from you, and having read this article we hope you’ll want to join a photo contest yourself! So pick a contest you like the sound of, and start planning how you’re going to take the winning photo!

The post 8 Great Reasons to Enter a Photo Contest appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Simon Bond.

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Fujifilm GFX 50R vs full-frame: how big is the difference?

06 Feb

The Fujifilm GFX 50R is the most affordable medium format digital camera ever, but how much of an advantage does it offer over the best of its full-frame mirrorless peers? We shot it alongside the Nikon Z7 so you can decide for yourselves.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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Understanding and Unlocking the Power of the Lightroom Vignette Tool

06 Feb

The post Understanding and Unlocking the Power of the Lightroom Vignette Tool appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Simon Ringsmuth.

The Lightroom vignette tool is like adding a bit of spice to your favorite meal. Without a bit (but not too much) garlic, basil, thyme, or other even salt, your food might taste bland. Add too much, and it can ruin the whole thing. In a way, the vignette effect does the same job. It adds a bit of spice, flavor, and panache, to give your photos that little extra push over the cliff. It turns them from mediocre to magnificent. If you want to unlock its full potential, it’s important to understand what it does and see how, when applied to different pictures, it can dramatically affect the final output.

You and the Lightroom Vignette effect: A match made in heaven.

About Vignettes

Vignette effects are nothing new to photography. The word itself has French origins. It refers to the wavy lines that would appear like vines (or in French, Vignes) drawn around page edges marking the beginning or end of a book chapter. Over time the word was adopted by artists and photographers to refer to the gradual fade or darkening of an image near its edges.

While vignettes can be distracting if implemented poorly, they can result in a pleasing artistic effect when applied like spices when cooking. The outcome is akin to laying a reverse darkened oval across an image so that the corners and edges of the picture are a little darker. This method also serves to draw the viewer’s attention to the center. You’re basically trying to achieve the Goldilocks balance where it’s not too much and not too little, but just right.

Understanding the Vignette Options

The first step in using Vignette is simply locating it. You’ll find it in the Effects panel on the right-hand side of the Lightroom Develop module. You’re presented with an option to choose a particular style along with five sliders that help you fine-tune the vignette to taste. All of this happens after your image cropping has been applied, so if you use a vignette and then re-crop your image the vignette changes to suit your new crop.

There are three options for the Style of vignette:

Highlight Priority – Ensures that the bright areas of the image blend more smoothly with the darker areas. The downside here is it can make areas of the image with a lot of colors appear a little strange.
Color Priority – The opposite of Highlight Priority, this style makes sure that color is preserved across the vignette. However, it can make the bright areas have some jarring shifts.
Paint Overlay – This is a blunt instrument. It just darkens the image where the vignette is applied, with no attention paid to highlights or colors.

If you’re not sure which of these to use, I recommend sticking with Highlight Priority. Both that and Color Priority produce similar results which are not unlike the Burn option in Photoshop (which itself mimics the process of selectively over-exposing parts of an image when developing film in a darkroom). These two also let you use the Highlights slider at the bottom which helps you recover some of the brighter portions of the image that are darkened with a vignette, whereas Paint Overlay disables the Highlights slider entirely.

Additional options:

In addition to the style of vignette, you have additional options that allow you to precisely control how the effect is implemented.

Amount – How much vignette is applied. Moving this to the left adds a dark vignette while sliding it to the right adds a white vignette.
Midpoint – The degree to which the vignette reaches the middle of the image. All the way to the left results in much more of the vignette reaching the center, whereas all the way to the right keeps the vignette at the most extreme edges and corners. If you’re not sure what to do, just leave this in the middle.
Roundness – All the way to the left makes the vignette into more of a rectangle. Leave it in the middle for an oval-shaped vignette. Slide it all the way to the right to make your vignette a circle.
Feather – How smoothly the dark areas blend with the light areas. All the way to the left results in a harsh edge and all the way to the right gives you a nice smooth blend.

If you don’t want to over-complicate things you can leave all these sliders at their default values and you’ll be fine. However, they are fun to experiment with over time to get just the right look you are going for.

Visual explanations

This tool is easy to explore on your own but looking at how it affects a black and white grid may give you a better understanding of what is happening. I used the Paint Overlay instead of Highlight or Color Priority because in a simple black-and-white grid Paint Overlay gives the clearest visual representation of how the vignette is applied. The left side of each is the original un-edited grid while the right side is the same image with a vignette applied. The settings used for each one are described in the caption.

Amount -50, Midpoint +50, Roundness 0, Feather +50

Notice how the vignette gradually fades from dark to light, with the center portion of the image on the right being the exact same brightness as the grid on the left with no vignette applied.

Amount -50, Midpoint 0, Roundness 0, Feather +50

With the midpoint set all the way to 0, the unaffected portion of the vignette is concentrated in the middle with the edges and corners being uniformly dark. This highlights the center portion alone but there is very little fade-out between that and the vignette.

Amount -50, Midpoint 0, Roundness 0, Feather +100

The midpoint here remains the same but there is now a more gradual fade-out to the darkened portions thanks to an increase in feathering.

Amount -50, Midpoint 0, Roundness 0, Feather 0

Reducing the feathering to 0 makes the vignette clearly visible with virtually no gradation in how it is applied. I would never use this on an actual photo, but it is useful to understand how the vignette function operates.

Amount -40, Midpoint +25, Roundness +100, Feather +30

Setting the roundness to +100 gives you a vignette that is a perfect circle instead of a more oval shape. It’s important to remember that vignettes are applied after cropping, so if you start with a square image then you will have a circular vignette even with the roundness value set to its default value of +50.

Hopefully, these graphics give you a better understanding of how the vignette effect works. However, to really see it in action, it helps to look at what happens when it’s applied to actual photographs instead of just a blank grid.

Vignette examples

Almost any photo-editing app will let you apply a vignette, but with the extensive tools available in Lightroom you can customize your vignette to do precisely what you want and shape your viewers’ perception of an image in a very specific way. If you control parameters like midpoint and feathering, in addition to the amount, you can create vignettes that impart certain overtones and even emotions and transform your humble images in to works of art.

No vignette applied.

The above image looks fine on its own, and the viewer’s attention is meant to be drawn to the droplet of water right in the middle, but there are other portions of the image competing for attention. Adding a vignette completely changes the mood of the scene and makes the viewer feel like they are in a much more intimate setting. Notice how, with the darkened corners, your eye gets immediately drawn to the center and not to the edges at all.

Highlight Priority. Amount -30, Midpoint +50, Roundness +20, Feather +40

Vignettes can be used to eliminate distractions in the edges of the frame as well, and in doing so draw the viewer’s attention to the subject in the center. In this image below, there is a fence on the top-right and a black climbing rope on the top-left. They don’t really add much substance to the image and instead can take your attention away from the rabbit in the middle.

One way to solve this is by adding a vignette. Through some tweaking of the parameters, the end result is an image that still contains the fence and the rope but makes them far less prominent while focusing your attention squarely on the bunny.

Highlight Priority. Amount -42, Midpoint +50, Roundness 0, Feather +70

I do a lot of family pictures for clients in my city, and one of the final touches I’ll add to most of my pictures is a simple vignette. It’s often very subtle, usually only -10 or -15, but depending on the Style (Highlight or Color Priority), I might need to add more and then tweak it with the sliders. Below is an image with no vignette applied. While it’s fine on its own, the subjects are competing with the bright edges and corners for your attention.

A Color Priority vignette helps maintain the integrity of the colors while darkening them a little, and then I brought back some of the highlights particularly in the top-right corner by adjusting the Highlights slider to 10.

Color Priority. Amount -53, Midpoint +55, Roundness 0, Feather +45, Highlights +10.

Positive values

One thing I didn’t mention in this article is positive Amount values, which make the edges of the frame brighter instead of darker. In my years as a photographer, I can’t think of a single instance in which I have used this option, and I don’t know anyone else who uses it on a regular basis either (editor’s note: it may be used it in high-key photography). You may find instances in which you want to make the outer portions of your image brighter instead of darker and, if so, then positive Amount values would do the trick. Just know that it’s easy to overdo it and the results can sometimes come across as a little cheesy and forced.

Conclusion

These examples and explanations are designed to give you a better understanding of what the vignette effect does and how it impacts an image. I encourage you to try it out for yourself. Use the different sliders and style options and notice how they affect the vignette which, in turn, can have a profound impact on your image as a whole. Just remember the cooking analogy: you don’t want too much vignette, nor do you want too little. Strive to get it just right, and your pictures could take on a whole new life.

Feel free to share your thoughts and comments below.

The post Understanding and Unlocking the Power of the Lightroom Vignette Tool appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Simon Ringsmuth.

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How to Move from Auto to Manual Modes Using Camera Semi-Automatic Modes

06 Feb

The post How to Move from Auto to Manual Modes Using Camera Semi-Automatic Modes appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Ana Mireles.

Are you tired of the auto mode of your camera but don’t feel confident enough to go full manual? In this tutorial, you’ll learn how exposure works and how to use your camera semi-automatic modes to make the transition easy and smooth.

William Bayreuther

The Exposure Triangle

The first thing you need to know is that you control exposure by three factors: aperture, shutter speed, and ISO. They are all interconnected, meaning when you move one of them, you have to adjust the others to compensate. This connection is known as the exposure triangle.

So, if the correct exposure can be achieved with many different values, as long as it’s compensated, what’s the problem with letting the camera choose those values? Because they control more than just the exposure. Let me show you with a visual explanation. Below is the same photo shot with different settings:

This photo was shot in Auto Mode meaning the camera decided what shutter speed to use, what aperture and what ISO. I had no control whatsoever about which would take priority:

Here I decided the shutter speed so I could control how long the light would come into the camera, which translates into freezing moving objects or capturing movement. The aperture and ISO were then automatically decided by the camera.

Left image – SHUTTER PRIORITY:1/250, f/3.5, ISO 800 = Freeze Subject. Right image – SHUTTER PRIORITY:1/30, f/10, ISO 800 = Motion Blur.

In this case, I chose the aperture because this controls how much of your photo is in focus. This technique is called Depth of Field. Shutter speed and ISO were then automatically decided by the camera.

Left image – APERTURE PRIORITY:1/200, f/2.8, ISO 800 = Shallow depth of field. Right image – APERTURE PRIORITY:1/6, f/22, ISO 800 = Deep depth of field.

In this last one, I changed the ISO, and the result gets reflected in the amount of noise you find in your photo, especially in the darkest areas. I’ll show you a zoomed in comparison for you.

Left image – AUTO ISO:1/200, f/16, ISO 6400 = Much noise. Right image – AUTO ISO:30, f/2.8, ISO 200 = No noise.

Now, if you go from Auto Mode into Manual Mode, suddenly you’re changing from no control into full control, and that can be difficult at first. Especially if you’re shooting scenes where you might lose the perfect shot if you take a long time figuring out the correct exposure. Fortunately, camera manufacturers know this, and they’ve created different semi-automatic programs for you to choose from.

Aperture Priority Mode

Aperture Priority Mode is marked as A or Av. It’s the same thing, but it changes according to the brand. With this setting, you can manually choose your ISO and your aperture number, which leaves the shutter speed up to the camera. This setting is handy when you are photographing still objects or landscapes. Just make sure to use a tripod if there’s low light because with a low shutter speed even your own movement can be recorded. However, if you don’t have a tripod, you can increase the ISO. But be mindful that the higher the number, the more noise you’ll have. Why would you want to control the aperture? Because it controls the depth of field.

Left image – APERTURE PRIORITY:1/60, f/2.8, ISO 200. Right image – APERTURE PRIORITY:1/50, f/22, ISO 4000.

The smaller the aperture number is, the wider the plane of focus becomes. However, most lenses have a sweet spot around f/8 that gives you the sharpest image of all. You can use this Aperture Priority Mode to experiment with your lens.

Shutter Speed Priority Mode

Shutter Speed Priority Mode can be marked as S or Tv, again depending on the brand. You control the shutter speed and ISO, while the camera takes care of the aperture. You’ll want to use this setting when there’s movement involved in your shoot, such as sports photography. In this case, you need a high-speed value if you want to freeze the moving object, or a slower speed if you want the moving object to leave a trail. Another situation in which this is useful is night or dark scenes, and you don’t have a tripod. In this case, you need to make sure to put your shutter speed fast enough so that the natural movement of your body doesn’t register with the camera.

Top image – SHUTTER PRIORITY:1/8, f/2.8, ISO 200. Lower image – SHUTTER PRIORITY:1/30, f/2.8, ISO 800.

Auto ISO

Finally, automatize the third factor of the exposure triangle, Auto ISO. There’s no program mode on the mode dial as such, but there is a setting. While being in Manual Mode, adjust your ISO sensitivity to AUTO so that you can decide the other two factors (aperture and shutter speed). However, you can also pair Auto ISO with any of the semi-automatic modes listed before, and then you only have to think about one factor. What you have to consider in this case is that the higher the ISO, the more noise you’ll have in your photo.

*A couple of extra considerations:

-Always check the results as your camera may misread the scene, especially in scenes with high contrast.

-When using the priority modes, the settings values start to flash if you’re out of reach (if it doesn’t have a way to compensate what you’re adjusting.) In this case, depending on what your shoot requires, you may have to solve it by adding a flash, raising the ISO or adding a filter.

Have fun using the semi-automated modes and remember to switch to full manual once you feel more comfortable with the entire exposure triangle. That way you’ll always keep learning!

The post How to Move from Auto to Manual Modes Using Camera Semi-Automatic Modes appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Ana Mireles.

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This music video is a lesson in why you pay the people who create your content

06 Feb

Editorial note: The music video contains strong language that may be NSFW.

Video company Ridge Production recently released a video it shot for American rapper Sheck Wes, who is accused of failing to pay the company for its work. The video’s publication resulted in a cease and desist letter from Universal Music; though Ridge Productions owns the footage, it doesn’t own the music. That has resulted in a second video release, this one with spoofed audio over the video.

In an interview with Highsnobiety, the company claimed it was informed Wes didn’t like the music video they had shot. Soon after, both Sheck and Universal Music reportedly stopped responding to Ridge Production’s messages. After weeks allegedly without payment, the company decided to publish the video regardless.

According to the interview, the original video resulted in a cease and desist letter from the label, prompting Ridge Production to take the video down. However, company owner Pat Ridge decided to replace it with an edited version that features amusing sounds and lyrics applied to the same video.

When asked what he hoped the outcome of publishing the video would be, Ridge said:

Last night I got some real traction by being authentic, doing what I believe, not succumbing to the fear of Universal [and] these corporations. There was a lot of fear in what I did, it was kind of scary […] I have a lot of artists on my team, and we’re having fun, but we should be getting paid for our work.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K update adds pixel remapping, better battery life, more

06 Feb

Blackmagic Design has released Blackmagic Cameras 6.1, the latest firmware for its Pocket Cinema Camera 4K camera. The update includes better audio recording, improved battery performance, a new pixel remapping feature and other updates.

On the audio front, Blackmagic has implemented a new audio processor that ‘analyzes incoming audio from the dual microphones on each side of the camera to dramatically lower the noise floor, resulting in quieter recordings than possible before.’ Audio latency has also been reduced for more accurate syncing with video footage and improved real-time monitoring.

Screenshot of the menu area dedicated to the new pixel remapping feature.

A new in-camera calibration tool has also been added that lets users recalibrate pixels in the camera to fix brightness variations that can occur over time. ‘The new pixel calibration feature allows the camera to realign the light output of each pixel resulting in a smooth clean image under changing environmental conditions,’ says Blackmagic.

Other features and improvements include more accurate autofocus, a new media formatting interface designed to prevent accidental formats, 2:1 monitoring frame guides, and new power savings and efficiency fixes that Blackmagic claims improves battery life 10-15%.

Blackmagic Cameras 6.1 is available as a free download for existing Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K customers on Blackmagic Design’s website.

Blackmagic Design Announces Blackmagic Cameras 6.1 Update

Major update adds new features for Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K including better audio recording and improved battery performance.

Fremont, California, USA – February 4, 2019 – Blackmagic Design today announced Blackmagic Cameras 6.1 which is a new update for the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K. This update adds quieter audio recording, a new pixel remapping feature, new 2:1 monitoring frame guides, improved battery performance and much more.

Blackmagic Camera 6.1 update is available now as a free download from the Blackmagic Design website.

The new Blackmagic Cameras 6.1 significantly improves audio recording when using the built in microphones on the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K. The new processing now analyzes incoming audio from the dual microphones on each side of the camera to dramatically lower the noise floor, resulting in quieter recordings than possible before. In addition, latency has been reduced for audio monitoring, audio and video synchronization has been fine tuned, and the 3.5mm audio input selection interface is now more intuitive, making it faster to use.

Blackmagic Cameras 6.1 also improves auto focus performance. Auto focus now responds quicker and more accurately so that lens hunting is greatly reduced when the camera is locking on to the focal point. There’s also a new media formatting interface that helps prevent customers from accidentally formatting media cards. Once the camera is updated, customers will need to tap and hold the media format confirmation button for 3 seconds before a card will be erased and reformatted.

This update also includes a new in-camera calibration feature which allows customers to recalibrate pixels in the camera. Over time some pixels can change in brightness and create small variations across the sensor. The new pixel calibration feature allows the camera to realign the light output of each pixel resulting in a smooth clean image under changing environmental conditions. Blackmagic Camera 6.1 update also features 2:1 monitoring frame guides, which is another creative composition tool for filmmakers to frame shots. In addition, new power savings and efficiency enhancements improve battery runtime by 10-15% and give customers a more accurate indication of remaining battery power.

“The Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K is an incredible success and it’s been very exciting watching the adoption of digital film workflows by a much wider range of people,” said Grant Petty, CEO, Blackmagic Design. “This update is exciting because it adds even more great new features to the camera and it’s an exciting way for us to say thank you to all the people who have purchased a Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K and who have taken the time to discuss ideas for the future with us. We can’t wait to see what customers will produce next!”

Blackmagic Cameras 6.1 Update Key Features

Adds support for pixel calibration in camera. Improves auto focus performance. Improves signal to noise ratio performance of the camera’s internal microphone. Improves power efficiency for improved battery life. Adds 2:1 monitoring frame guide. Improves media formatting user interface. Improves audio monitoring latency performance. Improves 3.5mm audio input selection interface. Improves AV sync performance.

Blackmagic Cameras 6.1 is available as a free download for all existing Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K customers from www.blackmagicdesign.com/support.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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Kodak Alaris is actively looking to sell off its paper and film unit for an estimated $34M

06 Feb

A surprising report has revealed that Kodak Alaris, specifically its film unit responsible for bringing back Ektachrome 35mm film products, is up for sale. The business move was revealed by Inside Imaging, which reports that at least part of Kodak Alaris may be split off and sold as soon as next month.

Though the company had not publicly revealed its plans, some details emerged from a recently discovered financial report lodged with the UK’s Companies House in December 2018. According to the report, which covers a time period of January 1 to March 31, 2017, Kodak Alaris’ Paper, Photochemicals and Film (PPF) unit has been up for sale since January 2018 following the board’s decision to ‘actively divest the business to a buyer with greater market synergies.’

The report indicates the unit has a conservatively estimated value of $ 34 million and that ‘advanced discussions with a bidder’ for the PPF unit are currently underway. Kodak Alaris, at least based on the financial report, anticipates the sale will happen by March 31, 2019, but with the potential for spilling over to a later date.

Kodak Alaris’ sole shareholder is the Kodak Pension Plan, a UK pension fund referred to as KPP2 that acquired Kodak Alaris from Eastman Kodak for $ 325 million in 2013. With Kodak Alaris came £1.5 billion / $ 2.7b in debt, and though Kodak Alaris is a profitable business, its bottom line after taxes has seen huge losses.

Kodak Alaris CEO Marc Jourlait confirmed to Inside Imaging that the company has ‘privately briefed’ potential customers on its intention to ‘explore sale of some or all of our assets.’ The PPF unit is already ‘at an advanced stage of negotiations with a potential buyers [sic].’

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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We go racing with the Fujifilm X-T3 and Haley ‘The Comet’ Constance

06 Feb

The X-T3 is Fujifilm’s flagship hybrid camera, offering a powerful feature set for both stills and video imaging. Weather-sealed and equipped with an advanced autofocus system, the X-T3 is just as comfortable shooting fast action at 20fps as it is portraiture and landscapes. For video shooters, the X-T3 is perhaps Fujifilm’s most interesting mirrorless camera yet, offering 10-bit 4K/60 footage, and a range of useful video-focused features including focus peaking and adjustable zebra warnings.

We put the X-T3 to the test shooting speeding stock cars, and the petrol-heads that work on (and in) them.

For this video, we wanted to try out the X-T3’s complete feature set, from 4K/60 to high-resolution stills and fast frame-rate action. Starting at the Evergreen Speedway in Monroe, Washington, we put the X-T3 to task, shooting speeding stock cars and the petrol-heads that work on (and in) them. After Carey and Barney got a feel for what it means to throw a stripped-down Acura around a track, 13 year-old driver Haley Constance showed us how it’s really done.

So how does the Fujifilm X-T3 stack up as a ‘do everything’ camera? We asked our director, Lou Karsen for his thoughts on how it performed.

Lou Karsen, director

Lou Karsen has directed several of our long-form videos, and for this shoot he used the Fujifilm X-T3 with a range of lenses, in a custom shoulder rig.

For the past several years I have worked as a cinematographer with DPReview, taking new cameras into the field. We began these videos focused on camera performance and specs, but have increasingly shifted our focus to storytelling. I think in many ways this is a truer test of the viability of these tools, especially with an increased focus on video performance.

For this story with the Fujifilm X-T3 we began with the idea of two DPReview editors, Barney and Carey, learning how to race ‘hornet’ cars, which are stripped down Acura Integras. We filmed them training and competing in time trials for a day, and had a lot of fun, but left feeling that we didn’t really have a complete story. As luck would have it, one of the drivers who worked with us at the track mentioned that he coaches a group of youth racers, and in particular, he was working with a 13 year-old girl who was the cream of the crop, and we should meet her. As is often the case in filmmaking, this chance encounter led us to the story of Haley Constance.

Essential for me is a system that is user friendly, which gives good results, reliably, without throwing me any curveballs

As DP, my goal for this project was to shoot the entire video on the X-T3. My expectations were somewhat tempered heading in because I knew the X-T3 was designed primarily for stills, with the X-H1 as Fujifilm’s flagship camera for video. The interesting thing about DPing these shoots is we are constantly being thrown in at the deep end with new camera systems. Essential for me is a system that is user friendly, which gives good results, reliably, without throwing me any curveballs. It is not uncommon for me to pick up gear for the very first time just before a shoot – it’s all part of the fun.

For this kind of run n’ gun, doc-style shoot I need a clean 4k image with good dynamic range, an editing-friendly codec, solid lenses, stabilization, and audio outs. I record to an Atomos when possible, so good HDMI out is key. Having shot on the X-H1, I knew I’d have access to great lenses and the Fuji picture profiles.

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I started off shooting with the XF 16-55mm F2.8 WR thinking it would be my primary lens. That quickly went out of the window when I realized it wasn’t stabilized. I was wary of the 18-55mm F2.8-4 because of the variable aperture, but it worked really well. Fujifilm’s optical stabilization is great. You can even handhold the 18-135mm all the way zoomed in and get a decently stabilized image. I am also a big fan of Fujifilm’s picture profiles. I shot this story with the Eterna profile, which gave it a punchy, cinematic look without being overly stylized. And we didn’t have to grade much in post.

I used the two Fujinon cine lenses for some locked off shots at the racetrack, but run n’ gun-style work, chasing people around, I really just ended up reaching for the 18-55mm most of the time.

Overall, I was very pleased with how the X-T3 performed. This is a legitimate video camera.

Overall, I was very pleased with how the X-T3 performed. It was also cool to mount the X-T3 to both the inside and outside of the cars. With a fairly inexpensive suction mount, and the Fuji 10-24mm wide-angle, we got an action cam look. It helps that the camera is small and lightweight, and it withstood the fast and bumpy ride pretty well.

This is a legitimate video camera. A bigger battery would be nice, but I’m not sure I’d want that at the cost of a bigger body. In all, I probably shot about five full days with this rig, and it didn’t take long for me to get the hang of it. I was able to focus in on capturing Haley’s story, confident that the camera was getting great footage.

Learn more about the Fujifilm X-T3

This is sponsored content, created with the support of Amazon and Fujifilm. What does this mean?

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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Insta360 launches desktop software for One X 360-degree camera

05 Feb

Insta360 has officially launched Insta360 Studio for ONE X, a desktop editing application for its ONE X 360-degree camera. The software had previously been available as a beta version but is now in full production, giving One X users a new reliable editing option in addition to the Android and iOS mobile apps.

Insta360 Studio for One X version 3.2.1 has been designed for editing the One X 5.7K 360-degree footage and comes with a comprehensive editing feature set, including keyframes for creating cinematic pans, real-time FlowState Stabilization for smooth and stable footage, preset perspectives, such as Tiny Planet, Crystal Ball or Natural View, and support for the MP4 file format.

You can download the latest version of the software for Windows and Mac on the Insta360 website. More information is available on the Insta360 blog.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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How to Turn a Photography Technique into a Series

05 Feb

The post How to Turn a Photography Technique into a Series appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Simon Bond.

Photography is a truly diverse art form. There are so many ways you can express yourself through a photograph. The photos you take are often a reflection of your personality, and it’s your personality which leads you towards your photographic style. There are a number of photography techniques you can learn to express this style. In this article, you’ll learn how to go beyond a few photos using a particular technique, and find out how you can turn this into a series of photos. So read on and find out how you can boost your creativity, by using one technique to create a photographic series.

Look to take as many interesting photos as you can, with your chosen photo technique.

Choose the photography technique for your series

With so many photography techniques to choose from, it can be tricky to home in on just one. Perhaps you already have some go-to techniques you regularly employ? If so, it’s a good idea to choose one of these. On the other hand, perhaps there is a new technique you’d like to try, and you have a raft of creative ideas to go with it. If you need a little help, below are some ideas that lend themselves to making a series.

Light painting – A genre with a massive amount of potential, and creativity is almost endless. Will you try your hand at kinetic light painting? How about using a programmable LED light stick?
Crystal ball photography – Explore the world through a glass ball, and discover that your lens is not the only optic you can use in your photography.
Minimalism – Photography is the art of subtraction, and the appeal of minimalism is always there. Why not turn this into a series?
Silhouettes – An easy photography technique to master is silhouettes. Get down low to the ground, and photograph against the light! You’ll need a strong compelling shape to aim at though.
Low-key light – A series of portrait photos always looks nice, and using low-key light is a great photography technique to produce them. Why stop at portraits though? There is a whole world of still life to work with.
Shadows – Like silhouettes, shadows can be an interesting subject matter. Look to photograph early morning, or late evening when the length of shadow is long.
Headshots – A series of portrait photos is a great idea, and if you travel it’s a great chance to show the diversity of the world. In this case, the overall theme is the composition of a headshot, but within that, there is huge potential to be creative.

Creating a story through a sequence of photos works well. In this case, the concepts of water, earth, and fire are displayed.

Have a narrative

Having a photograph technique that is consistent throughout your series is great. However, thinking of an overall narrative to describe your work makes it that much stronger. Think about how you can describe your technique. If your technique is on light painting, you could be exploring dynamism, the future, or energy flows. The crystal ball might allow you to explore themes like dreams, the world in a globe or environmentalism. Those themes can be used to form a title for your body of work. Now you’re not just working to a photography technique, but also to a creative concept. It’s this creative concept that can push you to produce more work in the photography genre you’re exploring.

In this photo, a portrait photo has been taken, but within the ball is a landscape image.

Combine techniques

Now, of course, there is no reason you shouldn’t combine techniques. It’s a great way to expand your series of work. You can use many of the techniques listed earlier in this article in combination. In fact, there are lots of techniques not listed here that you could also incorporate, such as contrast. The crystal ball is just one example of a technique that you can combine with others. Below you can see a few ideas for how you can combine techniques with a crystal ball.

Light painting – Light paint around the crystal ball gives it a more mystical feel.
Headshot – Use the crystal ball as a prop for your portrait photography.
Minimalism – Use the ball as a focal point in your image, and make the rest of the image as minimal as possible.

This photo displays both refraction photography and light painting.

Look to themes

A popular type of photography is to photograph the same scene but at different times of the year. In this way, you can use the seasons as your theme, and repeat the composition and technique you’re using. That means you’ll get four great photos, and you’ll have a mini-series within your overall set of photos. There are lots of ways you can apply this. Below are a few ideas that you may use to expand your work.

The seasons – Look to produce images that show spring, summer, autumn, and winter. They don’t have to be taken from the same location, but repetition does create a stronger feel to the set.
Elements – Can you use your technique to portray earth, fire, water, and air? Using these elements as a starting point can be a great creative exercise to make you think about how you’ll photograph your idea.
The senses – Once again, another popular mini-project could be portraying touch, smell, taste, sight, and sound. Will you also look to portray the sixth sense?

This set of images uses the same technique to display the 5 senses.

Take a mixture of photos

One of the keys to producing a successful series of photos is to mix things up. If your photos all look virtually the same, you’ll eventually run out of room to create. Ahead of changing the way you apply a photography technique you should maximize a particular way of photographing. You could well return to a particular concept and composition, especially if you travel somewhere new. That said, there are some simple, and effective ways of adding variety to your work, without the need to travel.

Composition – A change in how you compose your photo can give your photography technique a new twist.
Portraits – Using a technique like light painting or silhouettes? Think about how you can add some portraits to the set.
Landscapes – Are you doing low-key portraits? Is there a way to incorporate a landscape into the portrait photo? Crystal ball photography is a technique that lends itself very well to landscapes.
Macro – Get some closeup macro photos, and change the perspective of the viewer entirely.

With crystal ball photography, adding another ball can add to the variety.

Collaborate

Finally, you could look to collaborate with other photographers who are working in a similar area to your work. This can take the form of a joint project, where at the end you pool your work together. You could do a project where you make a title for the photo, and each person goes and interprets the concept in their own way. It’s also possible that by sharing work with each other, you’ll get ideas to progress your photography technique and concept even further.

Using alternative compositions adds an extra dimension to the crystal ball photography.

Turn your photography technique into a series!

Have you turned a particular photography technique into a series? What was your experience of this, and what did you do with your series once you produced it?

Are you thinking of creating a set of images focusing in on one particular technique to do this? What technique do you plan to use for your project? Hopefully, this article helps focus your mind on some of the things you can do to create a series of images.

As always, at Digital Photography School, we’d love to hear your thoughts, and see your images in the comments section! So please share your photographic series, either old or new.

The post How to Turn a Photography Technique into a Series appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Simon Bond.

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