HAPPY NEW YEAR, 2012

My resolutions for 2012

1. Make more photographs
2. Make better photographs
3. Have more fun while making more and better photographs
4. Organize my photos (I would say organize better, but organizing my photos has never been my strong point. What can I say, I can not tell a lie.)
5. Present my photos in a more interesting way (creating more folios, and expanding into books - this should force me to actually do #4)

Well, these few items should keep me busy for the next 12 months, don't you think?

Have a wonderful New Year, my friends. Good shooting to you all.....

Limited Edition Photo Prints?

The Online Photographer has a discussion going on 'limited edition prints' that is quite useful. If you are thinking of doing 'limited editions', check it out before you trap yourself.

Layne Kennedy at REI

Local photographer and lecturer Layne Kennedy is scheduled to give a free presentations at REI in Bloomington on January 21, 2012.  The title of his presentation is "Photographing the Wild".  It is scheduled to be delivered between 2:00 - 4:00 p.m. 

You can get more information at: REI.www.rei.com/event/33237/session/41599

Master of Photography Series

National Geographic is producing a series of episodes called "Master of Photography."  Each is an audio podcast that can be heard and viewed in I-Tunes.  The series covers a variety of interesting subjects related to photography, and best of all, each episode is free.

You can see all of the episodes produced to date (29) by going to the I-Tunes store and typing in the category "I-Tunes U", or you can view them here: NAT GEO.

CNN Fires Photo Journalists

No one disputes the fact images often times make a news story.  Images attract a viewer and can convey a sense of "being there" at the source of the news.  Well composed images often times lend impact to a story that mere words alone could not convey.  

News outlets traditionally employed professional photojournalists who are dispatched to the news scene to "get the images" needed to support the news being reported.  But recently CNN has fired some of its photojournalists in favor of developing what it calls I-Reporters.  The move raises an interesting debate on the value of photography and the ethics of news reporting.

On its website CNN has for sometime encouraged viewers to submit images of news in the making.  The initial theory being news occurs randomly everywhere and no news organization can possibly cover it all, or anticipate which stories will be published.  In addition, news organizations recognize that nearly everyone carries a smartphone or other device capable of taking images whose quality can be acceptable for use in news coverage.  By soliciting images from viewers a news organization can get the benefit of potentially having millions of photojournalists on the ground covering potential news stories.  And in fact CNN reportedly does get many images regularly from I-Reporters it can potentially use in news stories.  CNN also does not pay for the images submitted to it even if they are used in a news story.

At the center of the debate is the decision to rely on what is described as "user generated" content versus original content developed by professionals.  This can raise ethical issues about the use of images that can and may in fact have been manipulated by amateur I-reporters, rather than an eyewitness image produced by a trained journalist.  It also involves a "cost of coverage" issue for news organizations.  Clearly it is cheaper in theory to have free news photos and stories to publish to save the costs associated with sending journalists to the scene of the news.  But there are costs associated with handling and reviewing the thousands of images submitted by I-reporters, not to mention the investigation that may be required to put the images into a workable news story.  

Finally, there is an issue regarding the quality of the news.  Trained photojournalists produce professional content, but so can some I-reporters with the advantage they may happen to be at the scene of the news, whereas a professional may not.  Photographers have this discussion all the time: What is better, getting a lower quality shot with a cheap point and shoot camera that is easy to carry, or not getting it at all because it is too difficult to carry expensive and heavy professional equipment around all the time?  The move to rely more on I-reporters rather than professional photojournalists is much the same debate and the outcome does affect the type and quality of the news the public will ultimately receive. 

To view the article go to CNN.

Images of the Year - 2011

The Atlantic is featuring its images of the year for 2011.  The article features a great collection of images taken this past year on topics ranging from the tragic Japanese tsunami to heartwarming human interest stories, to images of political change and unrest that made headlines during the year.

Below are examples of some of the featured images.  You can view the entire set of images in three parts at: Atlantic.  You can view the images of parts #2 and #3 by clicking on the link at the bottom of the page.

Hunts New Specials for the Holidays

Check out the camera specials here at HUNTS. 

Scroll to the bottom of these specials and check out the Nikon and Canon coffee mugs and thermos shaped like actual manufacture's lenses.  

Free Online Courses with Creative Live

Creative Live Free Courses - iPhone photography is one of many free courses available, and a whole host of pay courses. Well worth checking out.

A Short guide to Street Photography

Russ Borud sent in a link to a website that discusses street photography.  It contains a lot of information on the main topics involved with such shots such as: "Overcoming Shyness", "Locales", "Legality" etc.

To visit the website and view its content go to: STREET PHOTO.

The Best Advice for Photographers

This is great advice for new photographers, but we all learn a lot from our photo mistakes. 

Whats Inside a DSLR

There was a recent article in Popular Mechanics that featured disassembled DSLR that shows the working parts of the camera. Click on the image below for an expanded view.

You can view the article at: PM.

National Geographic Photography

National Geographic showcases amazing photography on its website including the "photo of the day" like the one below from November.
 

To view the photos submitted go to: Nat Geo Photography.

New 12 Ink Pixma Pro 1 Printer from Canon

John Ringquist of the Crosstown club mentioned that Canon has just come out with a new printer that features 12 ink cartridges for better color resolution in prints up to 13" x 19" in size.  Below from Adorama TV is a video of this amazing new printer that lists for $999.99.


Canon Pixma Pro-1 Printer: Product Reviews: Adorama Photography TV from AdoramaTV on Vimeo.

Sony A77 & NEX 7 Cameras

Sony has introduced two new cameras to market the semi-pro A77 with a non-moveable translucent mirror, and the mirrorless NEX 7.  Both contain a 24mp APC sensor and a new OLED viewfinder. 

Here is a video that introduces the new cameras and their features:
PhotoPlus 2011 – Sony NEX-7 and A77 from AdoramaTV on Vimeo.


Note that the NEX 7 is both popular (due to its size and features), and delayed due to flooding that took place in Thailand earlier this fall.

Russ Borud, Japanese Flower Show

Night Photography

A recent article in Wired Magazine featured the night photography of Scott Martin.

The article gives some basic information about how to take night shots, but is more notable for the excellent shots taken by Mr. Martin.

To view the article and see the photos go to: Night Shots.

Title your image, by Rikk Flohr

Below is an interesting article featured on Rikk Flohr's blog about an image he judged recently and the importance of titling your images for competition.  Click on the images below to enlarge them:

The image featured in the article is a fine art piece offered for sale at the ridiculously low price of $44.95.
To purchase one, or to read more informative articles on photography go to Rikk's Blog.

The Artistry of Youth

Surfing a 90 foot wave

Here is video of an American surfer riding a record setting 90 ft. wave in Portugal. 



What was also astounding was that the action was supposedly caught on a small GoPro HD Hero2 camera.  See below:





It has become the camera of choice for participants in active sports because it records hi-def 1080 video, is waterproof, shockproof and wearable. The model is also continuing to evolve in quality and function as people find new uses for it in their activities. to learn about this video camera go to: GoPro.

Upgrading to CS6? better have CS5 first.....

"Starting with Photoshop CS6, which is anticipated to ship in 2012, Adobe will be enforcing a new upgrade policy. The existing practice is to allow customers to purchase the newest version at the upgrade price if they own an existing version up to three major releases back." (robgalbraith.com)

==================================

The upgrade policies for Adobe has changed. So, if you have PhotoShop(PS) CS4 and want to upgrade to CS6 in 2012, you can only do it as an upgrade discount if you currently have CS5, before they release CS6. They must have the same upper management team as Bank America.

Looks like anyone buying new photo editing software is better off with Corel's Paint Shop Pro. Which I usually recommend to people beginning their photo editing adventures. For photographers it is as good as PhotoShop. In fact, it is the top seller in Europe and other parts of the world. So far, Corel is customer focused rather than stockholder focused.

You can get Paint Shop Pro x4 (PSP) now on sale for only $59.95 instead of PhotoShop for over $600. I buy PSP even though I use PhotoShop knowing that Adobe will soon exceed my tolerance level for their greed.

Corel Paint Shop Pro site:

http://www.corel.com/corel/product/index.jsp?pid=prod4220093&storeKey=us& trkid=NASEMGglDM#tabview=tab1&LID=59882446

See below for Adobe's new policies:

<http://www.robgalbraith.com/bins/content_page.asp?cid=7-11667-12100>
http://www.robgalbraith.com/bins/content_page.asp?cid=7-11667-12100

- John Olson

I have spent some $1000 to-date on Photoshop (not counting filters - that is totally different issue!), and expect to pay another $199 for the next upgrade (if I choose to buy). And this is with skipping one version! However, I also bought PSP over the same period and spent less than $300. Hummmm, $1199, vs $300 - is it time to rethink my bottom line? Good question, indeed. Thanks, John - Barb

Print Circuit Competition

Below is information about the upcoming Print Circuit competition, including the rules and entry forms.  (Click on an image below to enlarge it)

Lens Genealogy (Where did your lens come from?)

There is an article on the Canon Rumors website that discusses the lineage of camera lens.  The piece states that all lenses produced today can be traced back to six basic designs, four of which were produced prior to 1900! That is because modern lens designers don't start with a new design, rather they work to improve existing ones.

The article then describes in historical and technical terms the basic designs that have formed the foundation of all of the lenses we use today.  To read the article go to: Canon Rumors.

New DSLR from Nikon?

Nikon rumors has posted several pieces about a new camera from Nikon to be called the D800.  This would be a successor to the D700 introduced in 2008.  It is a full frame camera that has 12mp and no video capability.  However, the new camera is rumored to have a 36mp sensor and shoot HD video at 30fps. The specs on the camera (just guesses at this point) are:

This would be a significant step up for what is generally thought of as Nikon's "semi-pro" model.

I Pad in Business

Speaking of webinars, Apple has offered some related to doing business on an I Pad.  Although the webinars have already been held, they do offer replays on demand.

 You can go to the Apple Store to watch this webinar on demand. 

Kelby Training

Kelby training is offering a free webinar with professional photographer Joe McNally on November 16th.  It is scheduled at 5 p.m. central time.

To register go to: McNally.

A Steve Jobs quote

Olympus financial meltdown

Olympus meltdown intensifies...  the question is how will this affect the camera business.

Interclub Competition Video

Here is the first draft of a video for club members on how to submit images to the individual competition of Interclub:

Audubon Photo Contest

I received word that the Audubon Society of Greater Denver is holding an international nature photo contest that has a $1,000.00 cash prize among others.  Below are the details for this contest (click images to view larger size):

Go to AUDUBON to learn more details and to enter the contest.

Venice Carnival Photo Tour

If you ever wanted to travel to Venice, February is a good month to go. It is generally carnival time when residents dress up in wild and colorful costumes that create a tremendous amount of photo opportunities.

Professional photographer David Nightingale is conducting a week long workshop in Venice called the Carnival Photo Tour.  It is scheduled for February 2012 from the 14th thorough the 19th.  It includes a single occupancy room (double occupancy can lower the price) and a few event dinners.

Below are some of the images on David's website to whet your appetite for the tour.  To learn more about this photo tour go to: VENICE.

CHIMPING

Chimping is defined as the activity of "continually looking at your LCD to view every image you shoot to make sure you got it right".

But maybe it is the art of "letting your chimp look at the images you shoot to get a professional opinion".

Beautiful Timelapse of Iceland

Iceland among other countries is called the land of the midnight sun for its long summer days. I suspect together with Norway, Sweden and Finland it is called something else less flattering in winter, maybe just "dark". Below is a time lapse that showcases the beauty of that country:

Table Top Tripod as "Chest-Pod"

Another interesting idea from one of our readers, Russ Borud:

The classic table top tripod, "by twisting it around into a novel configuration, you can brace the camera against your chest and get much of the stabilizing power of a tripod on the floor - but the flexibility to move around quickly with fast moving subjects."

Free online classes - photography, wordpress, social media

Join Matthew Jordan Smith for a LIVE ONLINE workshop as he delves into three days dedicated to fashion and beauty. This weekend is going to be amazing.

Enroll: Beauty and Fashion Photography (November 11-13)

NEW: WordPress for Photographers.

Update your online photography portfolio with WordPress. In this 3-day course you'll learn how to get your photos online quickly and easily using WordPress. Justin will cover the basics, help you get your site up and running, and looking great.

Enroll: WordPress for Photographers (Nov 29 - Dec 1)

NEW: Designing for the Social Web.

Clean up your act on Google+, Twitter and Facebook! This special one-day workshop focuses on hand-on design and branding secrets for today's most popular social media sites.

Enroll: Designing for the Social Web (Dec 2)

ACLU sues Sheriff's Department in LA for harassing Photoogs

Photographers are being stopped more frequently and we can only hope that the courts will continue to side with us. Since most of these so-called targets have been photographed for decades by millions of tourists and published in every possible medium - stopping photographers is a huge over-reach.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2011/10/aclu-sues-.html

The article states: "Photography is not a crime. It's protected 1st Amendment expression," said Peter Bibring, senior staff attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California. "It violates the Constitution's core protections for sheriff’s deputies to detain and search people who are doing nothing wrong. To single them out for such treatment while they’re pursuing a constitutionally protected activity is doubly wrong." Bibring said the policy and practices of the Sheriff's Department reflect a widespread misuse of "suspicious activity reporting" under the auspices of Homeland Security and counterterrorism. Similar suits have been filed in several other states.

2011 NorthStar Judging

The TCACCC and Minnesota nature Photography Club sections of the NorthStar Nature Circuit will be held on Saturday October 29, 2011. Judging will start at 9AM. We could always use a few more people at the judging, either to help with the score records or just to watch the wonderful images. There will be in excess of 1000 images total from the three categories (Open Nature, Wildlife and Botany). If you or your club members are interested in attending, we have plenty of space available.

The session will be held at the Risen Christ Lutheran Church, Judging starts at 9AM, the doors are open by 8AM.

A second session will be held on Saturday November 5, 2011. Same time, same place (Holy Batman!). This session will be hosted by 3M Club Camera Club

Risen Christ Lutheran Church
9050 60th Street North
Stillwater, MN

The church is located on the north frontage road of state highway 36 about 1.5 miles east of I-694. Take highway 36 east from I-694 to Demontreville Road, exit north (left) on to the frontage road and then immediately east (right) up the frontage road about 1/3 mile. The church is on your left (north side) and has parking in the rear.

We hope to see you there!

Mike Prokosch

Lytro light field camera

Here is a video of the new Lytro light field camera. It doesn't take very high resolution images, nor can it do video. However, it is very simple to use, and of course requires to focusing.

It is expected the technology behind it will steadily increase in the capability in the coming years so that the sensor will likely support high resolution images. The ability to take pictures without focusing makes this technology a natural for smartphones in the future, once the resolution technology catches up.

Time Lapse Video

Below is a beautiful time lapse video called Canyons and the Cosmos. If you click on the arrows on the lower left you can view it full screen.


Landscapes: Volume Two from Dustin Farrell on Vimeo.

Images from Rikk's Roadtrip

Rikk Flohr followed up with just this small sample of the many amazing images he got on his road trip.  Remember these were taken as he traveled from tourist locations on the fly and not the result of research and taking the time to be in the right place at the right time.

Great job Rikk!

Road Trip

I asked Rikk Flohr to give a presentation to the Crosstown Camera Club thinking he might help enlighten our group on one of his favorite subjects, Lightroom.  Fortunately for the group, Rikk and I met to discuss his presentation and he told me about a road trip he had just taken.

He was scheduled to attend a relatives wedding in Las Vegas and a week or so later teach a class in Austin, Texas.  He decided to make a road trip of it that ultimately covered over 6000 miles from Minneapolis to Las Vegas/Austin and back.  He also made the choice to stop at many well and lesser known national parks to take some shots while out camping.  His goal was to take the shots from the same locations as a tourist might, but with the hope he could produce some good work with the limited time he had to shoot at each location.

Although Rikk hadn't gotten through most of his images yet, he was able to show our group many from each location that he shot.  Most of the images were spectacular despite the circumstances under which they were taken.  Also, the stories behind each location made for an interesting program.  I have emailed Rikk our club's thanks for the wonderful night, and hope he can send us some images for posting here later on.  In the meantime, if Rikk decides to give a similar presentation at another club we'll let you know the time, date and location.  It really was an interesting and entertaining program you should see.

To view more of Rikk's work, or register for one of his upcoming workshops, go to: fleetingglimpse.  As of last night he had only one space available for the December Badlands tour, but a member of our group may already have snagged it by the time you read this.  Otherwise, I understand space is still available for Rikk's workshop in Costa Rica.  I've been there and would highly recommend it if you have the time and inclination.

Flooding in Thailand affect camera makers

Flooding in Thailand affects camera makers, some plants unrecoverable. We are linking to a post on "theonelinephotographer" that may be of interest to our members and readers. Mostly Nikon and Sony, but other Japanest companies have plants in the area that have been compromised.

79th Wilmington International Exhibit

The Delaware Photographic society holds an annual competition it claims is one of the oldest and largest juried events of its kind in the USA.  It is a member of the PSA as is our council.  It is both a well known and well respected photography competition.

Click on the image below for more details, or go to WIEP.

Alex Johnson Art Exhibit

Alex as you may know is a popular local area photographer who has been both a speaker and judge at some of our member clubs.  He teaches a workshop on the North Shore in August (that I have personally attended and would highly recommend), but he also travels there a lot to shot personally as well.

Alex announced he is having his first ever photo exhibition that will include 16 of his best B & W images of the North Shore.  Proceeds from it will go to the benefit Designwise Medical that designs medical solutions for children with unmet needs.  The exhibit will be one night only, November 5th from 6-8pm at Alec's studio in Edina. 

Below is the announcement.  (Click on the image to enlarge the information)

You can also read more about the exhibit here: ACJOHNSON.  I am already signed up and will see you there!

Light Field Camera to Debut in Early 2012

You may have read our prior blog piece on a new type of camera that takes images as a "Light Field".  The technology was developed over 15 years ago at Standford.  The developer was working on bringing the technology to market under the name Lytro.

I had expressed an interest in the technology and signed up to test the camera when it became available.  However, I was never contacted by the company to test their camera, and assumed it was still under development.  I just received an email that indicates the cameras are going to be sold to the public early next year, but I can order one now and receive priority delivery.  I guess that the companies interest in having people sign up to test it was to create of list of people who were willing to buy it instead! Despite that I signed up to buy one anyway.

In past communications Lytro wouldn't give any hint about how the camera would look, work or even how much it would cost.  I now have that information, so here it is hot off the press:

(Click on an image below to enlarge it)

It doesn't appear that the camera does video and I am not sure how you get the images off of the camera yet.  It also doesn't seem to have a place for an SD or CF card.  It is being marketed like an Ipod or Iphone in that it comes with 8GB or 16GB, and as the memory increases so does the price. 
It is small, but the use of a square camera seems odd, and the LCD on the back looks very small. 

It will be interesting to see if this is merely an interesting toy, or the start of a new type of camera technology.

Throwable Ball Camera

A Throwable Ball Camera: Consisting of 36 mobile phone cameras and a layer of advanced protective foam, a simple toss in the air gives breathtaking perspective. What else can all these clever people think up?

Audubon Society Photo Contest (Denver)

Audubon Society of Greater Denver Photo Contest: Entry period: October 15 - November 30, 2011
Judges: George Lepp, Helen Gilks and Jeff Foott.

Minneapolis-St Paul International October 15, 2011

Visitors are welcome to drop in and watch the judging! A great opportunity to see an International Competition at its best.

Drop by for the day or for an hour.

Twin Cities Area Council of Camera Clubs
2011 78th MINNEAPOLIS-ST PAUL INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION OF DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY
 
        TCACCC and SPCC Judging October 15, 2011, starts at 9 a.m.

at the Church Of The Risen Christ
9050 60th St North
Stillwater, MN
 General Chairmen:
Michael Prokosch Vijay Karai

40 Medals

Judging

Each of the four sections of the Circuit will present 10 Medals designated as follows: 

PSA Gold Best of Show
Best Creative
Best Nature
Best Landscape
Best Child

Best Portrait
4 General Medals
Honorable Mentions
Additional Medals may be added at the decision of the judges 

FALL 2011 SAINT PAUL ART CRAWL

FALL 2011 SAINT PAUL ART CRAWL STARTS TOMORROW!

Friday October 7, 6:00 until 10:00 pm
Saturday October 8, noon until 8:00 pm
Sunday October 9, noon until 5:00 pm

St Paul Art Crawl (link)

Photography Releases

Mike Waterman is an attorney and a member of the Western Wisconsin camera club.  Recently he gave a presentation at the Crosstown club concerning photographer's rights.  It was very informative.  In addition, he was kind enough to give the club copies of standard model and property releases.  Attached are the releases he provided.  You certainly can feel free to use these as circumstances dictate, but bear in mind these are standard forms provided by Mike and not legal advice given by him.  However, they are a great starting point to use when you need something signed to protect your right to photograph and publish. 

(Click on each release for a larger view)

Gary Hallman at the MPC

During and after high school you tend to think you know it all.
If you move onto college your mind is exposed to so much knowledge on such a variety of subjects that you actually start to believe you do know it all. 

If you then venture into a professional degree program, all that knowledge becomes irrelevant, if it is not related to your "advanced degree".  I chose law school (although I suspect all doctorate level programs maybe the same) and became so immersed in "the law" nothing else mattered.  It was more than a full time endeavor.  

Law school subsequently squeezed out all of the knowledge I had accumulated in college and replaced it with "the law".  The law was a source of all knowledge and way of life.  I felt I had learned a lot, but I had forgotten a awful lot more.  

So while practicing law I tried to broaden my horizons again and decided to take college courses on the side.  I decided to try fine art classes and gravitated to night extension courses in photography.  My instructor was Gary Hallman.  I remember not producing much in the way of memorable photographs, but I did learn my way around a darkroom, the basics of composition, and yearlong courses laid the groundwork for jumping back into photography at the dawn of the digital age.  (I also remember spending a lot of time in beer joints with a fellow student Richard Copely who has gone onto become a well-known local B & W street photographer.  But that is another story).    

So I was surprised to learn that Gary Hallman was still teaching at the U of M until just last spring.  I admired his teaching style and the dedication to students he exhibited while I was in the program. (I also like the fact he didn't pan my awful images to death).  I am happy to report Gary is giving an artist's talk at the MPC on November 15th.  If you happen to be available, I would recommend attending to hear him speak on the evolution of photography and his own work.