Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Image Values

The Online Photographer (click here) is a stickler for the authentic in photography. He doesn't care about specific cameras, although he has his favorites (note the plural), film or digital (he has done both), but is quite sure about the what he thinks about the results. He is unhappy with 'colorization', as well he should be (check out his Oct 30, 2012 article which correlates well with this discussion).  And yesterday he added a particularly interesting discussion on 'Image Virtues' that might be a motivating event for our readers - or at least something to think about. Your comments after reading would be interesting. I hope to see some.

If you are not a regular reader of The Online Photographer, you should be, or just hang around here and you will see links to his thoughts from time to time.

Monday, October 29, 2012

Street Photography and Publishing

Eric Kim has a site on street photography for those interested in attempting a challenging genre. He has a recent article on Diane Arbus's techniques, whose style is a bit different but quite interesting. Ms. Arbus is not my favorite street photographer, but there is no denying that she had a unique eye and took interesting chances. Eric Kim's suggestions are worthwhile and his site is dedicated to the genre.

Eric also linked to a magazine dedicated to street photography called Radiate Magazine. The actual print version is $15.75 an issue but the digital version is free if you sign up [I did and nothing bad happened :)]. The sign up is via HP MagCloud where anyone can create a magazine - which is something new to think about!

Happy Halloween!


Tuesday, October 16, 2012

NorthStar International Nature Competition


NorthStar International Nature Competition

 

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.

NorthStar International Circuit of Nature Photography

Open Nature, Wildlife and Botany categories will be judged.  Over 1000 images from photographers in greater than 20 countries will be shown.

        TCACCC and MNPC Judging on  November 10, 2012, starts at 9 a.m and the 3MCCC 
Judging on November 17, 2012, both days start at 9 a.m

Later judging sessions will be held in December.

at the Oak Hill Campus of Woodbury Lutheran Church
9050 60th St North
Stillwater, MN

 General Chairmen:
Michael Prokosch

103 Total Medals will be awarded between the 13 sessions.


Minneapolis/St Paul color competition


Minneapolis/St Paul Color Competition

 

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.

79th Annual Minneapolis/St Paul Color Projected Image Circuit

Open projected color image category will be judged.  Over 500  images.

        TCACCC and SPCC Judging on  October 20, 2012, starts at 9 a.m and the 3MCCC and NMPC 
Judging on October 27, 2012, both days start at 9 a.m.

at the Oak Hill Campus of Woodbury Lutheran Church
9050 60th St North
Stillwater, MN

 General Chairmen:
Michael Prokosch

103 Total Medals will be awarded between the 13 sessions.


Loss of Thelma Beers

Thelma Beers, who passed away at 9:30 am Monday,the 15th, was a long time member of the Women's Photo Club. She was a well known member who fought for the right of women photographers to compete: "We at WCPC were so fortunate to have her as a life long member not to mention we would not even exist if Thelma hadn't forged the way for woman photographers to compete in the then exclusive male arena."

It is good to remember that there was a time when only men photographers were taken seriously and women were not welcome to compete in camera clubs. We honor and remember those who made serious photography an option for women.

A toast to Thelma, and all those who forged the way for the rest of us, thank you.
 

Monday, October 8, 2012

Red Wing Club offers photo classes


Our fall classes have been firmed up and are now available for registration.  If you've been thinking about joining the club, this is a great time to do it. 

To sign up for any of the classes requires only two things.  You must be a paid member of the club, and you need to sign onto the club website.  If you have not joined the club yet, you can do so on line and register on our website.  There is a small "register" button on the lower left hand corner.  You can safely pay the dues using Paypal.  If you have any issues registering, send us an email just by hitting "reply" to this email.   Here's the schedule.
October 20th  
Basic Photography 10 am to noon
Photo Composition 1pm - 2:30pm

October 27th  
Portrait Lighting Workshop 9am noon, Bring your camera
Intermediate Photo class/workshop 1 pm - 3pm, Bring your camera

November 3rd.  Advanced exposure 9 am  noon, possible workshop after lunch, bring your camera

November 10th  Intermediate Off-Camera Flash 9 am noon, bring your camera and flash

November 17th  Photo Critique 9:30 am 11:30 am  

All classes and workshops to be held at the club?s newly remodeled studio at the Anderson Center.  (Anderson Center main entrance, follow signs).  

You can review the description of each class on our website listed under classes to determine the best classes for you.  All classes are 100% free to paid club members.  Once a paid member of the club, feel free to take as many classes as you wish.  However, there is a limit of 20 people per class, so sign up early.

If you need to cancel a class, please send us an email so others can attend. 

Your RWPC education team.
"Focused On Our Members"

Red Wing Photography Club
A registered Non-Profit Club
Member: Twin Cities Camera Club Council
Member: Photographic Society of America 

Hunt's - Free Webinar on Color Monitoring


Free webinar
Simply Amazing Color.
Take control of your monitor, printer and camera!
Hunt's Photo Video

X-Rite
ColorMunki Family Camera Club Webinar October 9th!
This special invitation only webinar for camera club members is brought to you by X-Rite and Hunt Photo Video. Are you tired of wasting time and money? Want to see your photos in all the brilliant color you remember? Do you want your prints to bring back that feeling you had when you snapped the shutter?

The ColorMunki Family of color management solutions provides advanced control for your digital workflow. This webinar will review the individual ColorMunki solutions including software demonstrations and discussions of how each solution is used.

From monitor and projector to printer and camera, the ColorMunki family gives you choices and solutions for your needs. All options are small and portable for travel keeping your workflow in control no matter where in the world you find yourself.

This live webinar gives you the opportunity to ask your questions and understand each solution in detail so you can make the right decision on what ColorMunki family solution is for you.

Register today to secure your seat. Attendees will enjoy special discounts and instant rebate opportunities to purchase from Hunt Photo Video so don't miss your opportunity to adopt your own ColorMunki. Stop guessing. Start knowing. Get your color workflow under control with ColorMunki by X-Rite.
Tuesday, October 9, 2012 at 7pm EDT
START TIMES: 7 PM Eastern, 6 PM Central, 5 PM Mountain, 4 PM Pacific
Register today for this great educational opportunity!
   Register Now
Share this newsletter:
share on Facebook
share on Twitter
Join our communities: Facebook | Twitter | Blog | Website

Hunt's Camera Special for Council Members!


Camera Council Blog Special for October 2012

X-Rite Passport Color Checker
Special $90.00

For Specials Contact: Keith Patankar
781.462.2340
Patankar@wbhunt.com


X-Rite ColorChecker Passport
Keith Patankar
Hunts Photo and Video

Color accuracy and consistency is one of the most important things to get right. In today’s digital world we are using multiple devices to output, sending images through different sources, all interpreting color in different ways. Every camera’s sensor is different and light consistently changes from scene to scene. One tool to get accurate color every time is the X-Rite ColorChecker Passport. The Passport is a 24 patch color chart that is designed to create a custom profile for your digital camera. It includes a white balance card and warming and cooling swatches. The ColorChecker is the size of a passport you would carry to travel internationally. You can fit it in your pocket and have it to use as a custom target any where any time. Just don’t get it stamped by customs.

            How it works. The first thing you do before you start shooting is to use the white card to create a white balance for the lighting you are shooting in. Once you create a custom white balance you will take the target color chart and place it in your scene to take a photo. The ColorChecker does not need to fill the frame. You just need to see all the patches in the photo. If the light changes you will re-shoot the passport in the scene. After you are done shooting you then can import the images either to Lightroom or Adobe Camera Raw. The software allows you to go into the profiles in both these programs and change the profile to the custom profile you setup by shooting the passport in your scene. From there you can sync multiple images with the same lighting to match your custom profile. You can even use the eyedropper to click on the warming or cooling patches if you would like to warm or cool the scene.


            This tool helps to create a foundation of accurate and consistant color thoughout your images. I found the biggest changes to be in tones of greens, blues and purples. I shoot a lot of fashion and designers create garmets with color tones  that just don’t look the same in my camera as they do in real life. The ColorChecker Passport changes that and brings out the correct colors that are visible to the eye. Fall foliage and fruits are another example of colors that may not look the same when shot regularly with your digital camera. By creating this custom profile we are getting exactly what we see and can duplicate it even if we shoot other images with a different camera. For under $100 this tool should be a staple in everyone’s camera bag.

Keith Patankar works in outside sales, marketing and specialty market at Hunts Photo & Video in Melrose MA. Please feel free to contact Keith directly at 781.462.2340 with any related questions.

And you think you have calibration issues?

Lincoln Penny used to calibrate Mars Rover camera - click on the link to read the rest of the story.


Sunday, October 7, 2012

Faking It: Manipulated Photography Before Photoshop

Before Photoshop (click here for more information), there were faked photographs.

"The Metropolitan Museum of Art is the first major exhibition devoted to the history of manipulated photography before the digital age. Featuring some 200 visually captivating photographs created between the 1840s and 1990s in the service of art, politics, news, entertainment, and commerce, the exhibition offers a provocative new perspective on the history of photography as it traces the medium’s complex and changing relationship to visual truth. "

Sponsored by Adobe, this should be interesting. There is a catalog for sale on the exhibition, at $60 a bit much for many but not bad compared to other photo books in publication.



Thursday, October 4, 2012

St Paul Art Crawl coming up......


IT'S THE 20TH ANNIVERSARY CRAWL!!!

Saint Paul Art Crawl 20th Anniversary
October 12, 13, & 14, 2012
Friday 6–10 PM
..
http://www.stpaulartcrawl.org/