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Photography project ‘Selfie Harm’ tasked teens with editing their portraits for social media

09 Feb

Photography project ‘Selfie Harm’ tasked teens with editing their portraits for social media

Photographs by Rankin used with permission.

A new photography project called ‘Selfie Harm‘ from British photographer Rankin tasked 15 teenagers with editing portraits of themselves until they believed the images were ‘social media ready,’ highlighting their internal ideas of ‘perfection.’ The image editing and filtering was performed with a readily available photo app, one of thousands of similar products offered through popular app stores.

‘Today, more so than ever, people are mimicking their idols, making their eyes bigger, their nose smaller and their skin brighter,’Rankin explained, ‘and all for social media likes.’

Rankin points toward the media and advertising industries’ heavy use of image editing tools, something Rankin has both been involved with as part of his job and has criticized with projects like ‘Flawless Girls’ and ‘Ageless Beauty.’

Though these industries have shifted their editing practices in light of public discussions and backlash, the average person has more access than ever to tools for transforming their own digital appearance. The technology is, among other things, ‘encouraging a disturbing culture of homogeneity,’ the photographer notes.

Speaking about these apps, Rankin said:

They are free, accessible, easy to use, game-like and (I think) much more dangerous. When doing research for this project, I played with these apps a lot to understand the appeal. They’re addictive, very impressive and you can have a lot of fun warping, changing and reimagining your appearance. But it’s when people are making an alternative or ‘better’ social media identity that this becomes a mental health problem.

Rankin has called for public discussion over the growing trend of using the apps to alter one’s appearance for social media:

Instead of simply telling people to stop, we need to accept that this is a complex issue; the technology is here and it’s here to stay. But we need to challenge the way image manipulation is being used and abused in the wider world. Selfie Harm is my attempt to get people to talk about the issues threatening mental health today.

Photographs by Rankin used with permission. You can find more of Rankin’s work on the social media platforms below:

Twitter: @rankinphoto
Facebook: @RankinPhotographyLtd
Instagram: @rankinarchive
Vero: @rankin

Photography project ‘Selfie Harm’ tasked teens with editing their portraits for social media

Photographs by Rankin used with permission.

Photography project ‘Selfie Harm’ tasked teens with editing their portraits for social media

Photographs by Rankin used with permission.

Photography project ‘Selfie Harm’ tasked teens with editing their portraits for social media

Photographs by Rankin used with permission.

Photography project ‘Selfie Harm’ tasked teens with editing their portraits for social media

Photographs by Rankin used with permission.

Photography project ‘Selfie Harm’ tasked teens with editing their portraits for social media

Photographs by Rankin used with permission.

Photography project ‘Selfie Harm’ tasked teens with editing their portraits for social media

Photographs by Rankin used with permission.

Photography project ‘Selfie Harm’ tasked teens with editing their portraits for social media

Photographs by Rankin used with permission.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Researchers recover photos from a USB drive that spent a year frozen in seal poop

09 Feb
Seals at Cape Cross, Namibia — Joachim Huber

A USB flash drive recovered from frozen seal scat has been reunited with its owner, according to New Zealand’s National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA). The organization revealed its findings in a post early this week, when it stated that a functional USB drive with recoverable photos and at least one video had been found in thawed seal poo.

According to the NIWA, seal scat is ‘as good as gold’ for researchers who study the creatures. Volunteers with LeopardSeals.org collect these samples and ship them to the researchers, who then freeze them until they’re ready to analyze the droppings.

In November 2017, the NIWA says marine biologist Dr. Krista Hupman received a sample collected by a local vet. The scat was placed in a freezer, only to be removed last month by volunteers with the organization. The sample was defrosted, rinsed, and then broken apart to study.

Amid the expected findings was one concerning discovery: a USB flash drive. After being left out to dry, the researchers connected the drive and were surprised to recover images of sea lions, as well as a video showing the tip of a blue kayak and a mother and baby sea lion in the water.

NIWA shared the video on its Twitter account on February 4 in an attempt to reunite the USB drive with its owner.

The amusing story went viral, and it only took a day for owner Amanda Nally to claim her property, according to The Project NZ. The hardy USB drive’s make and model remain unknown, but it’s safe to say regardless of official specs the flash drive was indeed weather ‘sealed.’

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Leica launches limited edition versions of three classic M lenses

09 Feb

Limited edition versions of the Leica APO-Summicron-M 50 mm F2 ASPH, Summaron-M 28 mm F5.6 and Summilux-M 28 mm F1.4 ASPH lenses have been announced for the Leica M rangerfinder series, with alternative finishes, red markings and different materials setting them out from the normal production versions.

Each of the limited editions has its distance or aperture markings picked out in red paint, and each comes in a different paint or finish to the standard models.

The lens with the most unique features is the APO-Summicron-M 50 mm F2 which comes in black chrome, and substitutes the regular focusing ring for a ‘scalloped’ version that the company says echoes the design of the 1956 model. There is a lot of brass too, with the components of the barrel made in brass, as is the lens hood and the lens cap.

The Summaron-M 28 mm F5.6 will come in a black matt paint that’s especially hard wearing, according to Leica, making it as tough as the black chrome finishes. The Summilux-M 28 mm F1.4 will come in a silver anodized finish.

Each of the lenses will be technically identical to the standard production models, just with these cosmetic differences. There will only be 700 of the 50mm lens, 500 of the 28mm F5.6 and 300 of the 28mm F1.4 – and all will be available by the end of the month.
For more information see the Leica website.

Leica APO-Summicron-M 50 mm F2 – $ 9,595

Leica Summaron-M 28 mm F5.6 – $ 2,995

Leica Summilux- M 28 mm F1.4 – $ 6,995

Press release:

Leica Camera AG presents three new design options in the Leica M-Lens portfolio.

Leica Camera AG presents new design versions of the Leica APO-Summicron-M 50 mm F2 ASPH., Leica Summaron-M 28 mm F5.6 and Leica Summilux- M 28 mm F1.4 ASPH. lenses for the Leica M-System. The special series of the three lenses are distinguished by unique design highlights and are being offered in a limited number of examples. The performance and technical specifications of the lenses are otherwise identical to those of the serial production products.

The new series of lenses includes a black chrome version of the APO-Summicron-M 50 mm F2 ASPH. standard lens. In comparison to the serial production lens, this design alternative features a characteristically scalloped focusing ring that recalls the appearance of the Summicron 50 mm F2 (II) from 1956. The components of the barrel of this special series are machined from brass. The engravings for the focal length and the distances in feet are picked out in red. The lens is supplied complete with a classic, round brass lens hood engraved with ‘Made in Germany’ and a lens cap turned from solid brass. The edition of the lens in this design version is strictly limited to 700 examples. The APO-Summicron-M 50 mm F2 ASPH. in black chrome is available from 21 February.

The second special series presents a version of the Leica Summaron-M 28 mm F5.6 in matt black paint finish, a lens from the classic line-up of Leica M-Lenses. The Summaron-M is modelled on a screw mount lens produced at the Leitz factory in Wetzlar from 1955 to 1963. With a length of less than 2 centimetres, this extremely compact wide-angle lens is the smallest lens of the M-System lens portfolio. The special paint used for this special series is particularly resistant to wear and lends the lens an appearance almost identical to that of the classic black chrome finishes.

A further feature of the new lens is the engraving of the aperture scale visible from the front, with numbers now picked out in red. This edition of the Leica Summaron-M 28 mm F5.6 in matt black paint is limited to 500 examples for the global market. The lenses will be on sale from 28 February.

The third design option, the Summilux-M 28 mm F1.4 ASPH. in a silver anodised version, offers owners of Leica M-Cameras in silver a further high-performance lens that matches the finish of their cameras. This fast wide-angle lens is an ideal companion for reportage photography and delivers impressive imaging performance in all lighting situations. The lens with the alternative finish will be on sale from 28 February in a limited edition of 300 examples.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Weekly Photography Challenge – Solitude

09 Feb

The post Weekly Photography Challenge – Solitude appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Caz Nowaczyk.

This week’s photography challenge topic is SOLITUDE!

Marc Zimmer

Your photos can include anything has a feeling of solitude. It could be a lone cabin in the woods, a lone animal, a bird in an open sky or sitting on a wire, a lone person, a lone kayak or boat out in the ocean, or a tree in a landscape. They can be color, black and white, moody or bright. You get the picture. Have fun, and I look forward to seeing what you come up with!

Some Inst-piration from some Instagrammers:

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Chiara (@chiarik22) on

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Ocean (@theocean) on

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Jay Vulture (@vulture_labs) on

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Outlook Traveller (@outlooktraveller) on

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Mark Medcalf Photography (@markmedcalfphotography) on

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Rudy Dewatine (@rudy.dew) on

Check out some of the articles below that give you tips on this week’s challenge.

Tips for Shooting SOLITUDE

Finding Your Strength in Isolation – 3 Methods to Make Your Subject Pop!

 

How to Create Silky Split Toned Black and White Photos Using Luminosity Masks

Black and White in the Outdoors: Learning to see in Monochrome

How to Achieve Background Blur or Bokeh

A Guide to Photographing Birds and Wildlife in a Wetland Area

Tips for Shooting Landscapes With a Telephoto Lens

10 Surefire Tips for Photographing Birds in Flight

 

Weekly Photography Challenge – SOLITUDE

Simply upload your shot into the comment field (look for the little camera icon in the Disqus comments section) and they’ll get embedded for us all to see or if you’d prefer, upload them to your favorite photo-sharing site and leave the link to them. Show me your best images in this week’s challenge.

Share in the dPS Facebook Group

You can also share your images in the dPS Facebook group as the challenge is posted there each week as well.

If you tag your photos on Flickr, Instagram, Twitter or other sites – tag them as #DPSsolitude to help others find them. Linking back to this page might also help others know what you’re doing so that they can share in the fun.

The post Weekly Photography Challenge – Solitude appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Caz Nowaczyk.


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Obscura 2 app updates interface, adds new histogram visualizer and keyboard shortcuts

08 Feb

Obscura 2, an iOS camera app developed by Ben McCarthy, has released an update that adds a histogram visualizer, iPad keyboard shortcuts, a redesigned image viewer and more.

The most obvious change in the updated is the new image viewer interface. Now, the various settings, controls and filters are organized into card-style dialogs within the interface. While this does take up more real estate for each setting, it provides a cleaner look and helps to compartmentalize the various settings.

The new histogram integration provides real-time exposure data by overlaying bars on the bottom of the the the app, behind the buttons. It’s nice the histogram is subtle, but it’d be nice to have an option to change the color/opacity on the bars, because the dark grey on black can sometimes be difficult to see.

On iPads, the update adds keyboard shortcuts for taking photos, switching between camera and library modes, applying filters, and navigating through photos that have been captured. Sure, the iPad isn’t a camera-first device in any sense, but it’s nice to see McCarthy add this sort of functionality.

Overall, it’s a solid update with a cleaner UI and a number of functional improvements. Obscura 2 is available on the iOS App Store for $ 4.99.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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How to Shoot Long Exposure Seascape Photography [video]

08 Feb

The post How to Shoot Long Exposure Seascape Photography appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Caz Nowaczyk.

In this video by Landscape Photography IQ, Tom Mackie shares some great tips on how to shoot long exposure seascape photography.

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Firstly, seaspray and salt cover everything! So bring optical wipes or spray to clean your lenses and filters.

Things to consider:

  • Think about your composition. Are there leading lines that you can use?
  • What direction is the wind going, and how is that affecting the movement of the clouds?
  • What are the tides like?
  • How quickly is the light changing?

Camera settings:

  • You may need to use a polarizer, with a graduated ND filter over the sky.
  • Put ISO at the lowest setting (64 or 100 ISO).
  • Stop down to your aperture to around f/14 max (depending on the amount of foreground and background you want in focus). Further than that softens the image through diffraction.
  • Play with different exposure times for varied effects. Try 30seconds or 60seconds.

You may also find the following articles helpful:

Step-by-step Guide to Long Exposure Photography

Recommended Gear for Doing Long Exposure Photography at Twilight and Dusk

How to Avoid Blurry Long Exposure Images with Proper Tripod Setup

How to Choose the Correct ND Filter for Your Desired Long Exposure Photography Effects

Long Exposure Photography 101 – How to Create the Shot

Long Exposure Photography 201 – How to Edit a Long Exposure Seascape

A Guide to Shooting Long Exposure Landscape Photos

The post How to Shoot Long Exposure Seascape Photography appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Caz Nowaczyk.


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Video: UV light brings out the ethereal colors of everyday objects

08 Feb

The Weird Lens Museum seems not only to be interested in odd lenses, but also unusual light sources for still life set-ups. Curator Mathieu Stern has published a video showing experimental work with off-visible-spectrum specialist Pierre Luis Ferrer in which they use a handheld UV light to illuminate fruit and everyday objects, making for strange, ethereal patterns and colors.

The inside of a kiwi seen with ultraviolet light.

With the lights off in the studio only the UV light is used on the subjects, which causes some materials to glow in a spectacular way. Different substances react to UV light and can glow in a range of colors, as seen in the kiwi example above.

UV lights don’t cost more than $ 10-20 for handheld varieties, so head to your nearest hardware store (or favorite online store) and pick one up to see what interesting results you end up with. Remember to pick up a pair of protective UV glasses though to keep your eyes safe; UV flashlights are a relatively weak source of UV light, but it’s better to play it safe, especially when it comes to your eyes.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Fujifilm issues minor firmware update for its X-T3 mirrorless camera

08 Feb

Fujifilm has announced a minor firmware update for its X-T3 mirrorless camera.

Firmware version 2.10 adds the ability to record video files over 4GB in size as a single file. With the new firmware, the file is recorded as a single file so long as the memory card being used is 64GB or larger. If a 32GB card or smaller is used, the filming will continue without interruption, but the files will be separated as the X-T3 has previously done.

The firmware also addresses unspecific ‘defects’ throughout the camera.

To download firmware version 2.10 for the Fujifilm X-T3, head over to Fufjifilm’s download page. More details on how to install the firmware can be found there as well.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Some MacBook Pro owners report speaker damage due to Adobe Premiere Pro audio bug

08 Feb

Some MacBook Pro owners have reported experiencing physical damage to their laptop speakers while using Adobe Premiere Pro. Based on existing reports, the bug appears to impact both Premiere Pro CC 12.0.1 and 12.0.2 users, but the consequences of the problem may ultimately fall on Apple’s side, as software shouldn’t be able to physically damage hardware speakers.

According to online reports, the problem impacts the new MacBook Pro models and arises while users are editing audio settings. One impacted user reported using Adobe Premiere 2019 and, while adjusting settings, being blasted with ‘a loud distorted noise that hurt even my ears.’

The noise allegedly caused the MacBook Pro’s speakers to become ‘unusable.’ Due to the number of components that must be replaced when repairing the damaged speakers, one 2018 MacBook Pro user was quoted a $ 600 repair fee by an Apple Store Genius Bar in Canada.

The Premiere Pro audio bug has been experienced by at least one user while wearing headphones, but they weren’t damaged as a result, according to the user. Adobe allegedly instructed one user to disable the MacBook Pro’s microphone within Premiere Pro under the ‘Preferences > Audio Hardware > Default Input’ menu, but some users report experiencing the audio issue even after troubleshooting.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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