World Press Photo Awards Announced
Posted on March 6, 2008 - Filed Under News, Photo | Leave a Comment
UK photographer Tim Hetherington’s image of an exhausted U.S. soldier in a moment of respite after intense fighting in Afghanistan has won the 2007 World Press Photo Contest, one of the most prestigious prizes in photojournalism.
Hetherington made the photo of the unnamed soldier last September while on assignment for Vanity Fair. The shot was taken at the so-called “Restrepo” bunker, named after a soldier from his platoon who was recently killed by insurgents. The soldier depicted in the photo is a member of the 2nd Battalion Airborne of the 503rd U.S. infantry division, a unit deployed in the Korengal Valley in the Eastern province of Afghanistan. According to the World Press Photo Website, the valley is infamous as the site of downing of a U.S. helicopter and has seen some of the most intense fighting in the country.
“This image represents the exhaustion of a man — and the exhaustion of a nation,” jury chairman Gary Knight, a photographer with the VII agency, said of Hetherington’s winning image. “We’re all connected to this. It’s a picture of a man at the end of a line.” Time magazine’s director of photography MaryAnne Golon, who also served on the jury, commented: “I use all my energy to have people notice bad things. There’s a human quality to this picture. It says that conflict is the basis of this man’s life.”
An international jury chose the photo from among a total of more than 80,000 that were entered from 5,019 photographers from 125 countries.
Hetherington’s photograph is part of a picture story that was also awarded 2nd Prize in General News Stories. Several Americans were among the 59 winning photographers representing 23 nationalities. Getty Images’ John Moore took first prize in the Spot News Singles category for his recent photos depicting the chaos that emerged in Pakistan immediately following the assassination of Benazir Bhutto in Rawalpindi. An edit of Moore’s pictures from the blast scene also took first place in the Spot News Stories category.
Book Review: Digital Nature Photography – The Art and the Science by John and Barbara Gerlach
Posted on March 5, 2008 - Filed Under Culture, Photo | Leave a Comment
John and Barbara Gerlach have been known for years as instructors in nature workshops that have trained over 50,000 students. John Gerlach is the associate editor of Nature Photographer and columnist of "Field Notes." His photos have been featured in magazines such as Natural Wildlife, Sierra, and others. Barbara Gerlach is a skilled nature photographer whose work has been featured in National Geographic, Outdoor Photographer, and many others, and has been running workshops with her husband since 1988.
Digital Nature Photography: The Art And The Science is the book that their workshop attendees have been asking for. The goal of this book is to help you take some of the best nature shots you have ever taken. They would like you to master those techniques to take consistently good images. This is not a fix-it later book, and as such, it stresses field techniques. Digital Nature Photography is 208 pages and is divided into 12 chapters.
Chapter 1, "The Excitement over Digital Photography," examines the point where digital photography overtook film technology and it became more practical to shoot digital. Along with reusable digital memory cards, the ability to switch ISO without changing film, and the instant feedback provided by the digital SLR's display, it is much more practicable to use digital in the field. Chapter 2, "Developing your Photographic Skills," shows you that it is necessary to acquire skills if you want to become a good photographer. Many of their former students have gone on to be good nature photographers, and some have become highly successful professionals in a tough field to succeed in, but all have had to learn and hone photographic skills.
Chapter 3, "Choosing your Digital Camera," will assist in choosing the right camera for you. The explosion of quality advances in digital technology has been nothing short of phenomenal. Here they explain the differences in cameras and other equipment that you will need to create outstanding photographs. Chapter 4, "Exposure Essentials," reminds you that proper exposure is critical to shooting quality images. With the new technologies this has become much easier with digital, but you still have to understand the fundamentals.
Chapter 5, "Using Lenses Effectively," will show you how lenses work, what focal length is, and what it means to you as well as what aperture and depth of field means to you. You will be shown different features that can come with a lens. Aspects are introduced, such as Image Stabilization, the difference between zoom and prime lenses are, as well as a whole host of topics relating to lenses and what are available. Chapter 6, "Shoot Sharp Images Consistently," is all about being successful and producing consistently sharp images that can be sold or entered into contests. This is something that many photographers find is hard to do. Here you will find the techniques to create sharp images over and over.
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British Foreign Office won’t confirm reports of photographer’s release
Posted on March 5, 2008 - Filed Under Digital, Photo | Leave a Comment
The Foreign Office is continuing to investigate reports that a British photographer kidnapped in Iraq on Sunday has been released, a spokeswoman told this lunchtime (Thursday).
The photojournalist and his interpreter, who work for US television station CBS, were reportedly snatched by ‘eight armed gunmen’ outside their hotel in Basra on Sunday.
The Foreign Office would not confirm reports of the photographer’s imminent release, telling us: ‘We are aware of the reports and investigating further.’
Canon interview
Posted on March 4, 2008 - Filed Under Digital | Leave a Comment
Canon interview at PMA : Despite a very busy schedule Bas de Meijer has interviewed some of the exhibitors during the PMA 2008 show in Las Vegas. One of the interviewees was Richard Trestain, Digital camera product specialist of Canon. Before the Photo Marketing Association 2008 kicked off, Canon introduced a number of new digital compact camera models and one new digital SLR camera for the upcoming season. Canon have been a leading brand for years in relation to worldwide sales of digital cameras. This is not something to take for granted. To apply high technical innovations or to integrate novelties into a product at the right moment is the key to successfully sell products. Richard Trestain answers a number of questions.
Question : It was expected that the compact camera market growth would come to a halt. However; at Canon’s press conference we were told that this market is still showing clear signs of growth. Can you explain that?
Answer : I’m not sure but perhaps people are becoming keener on photography. I suppose there are many users shooting with a cam-phone now realizing that these devices are not really the best of cameras. They will switch over to a compact camera and hopefully to Canon for the best possible pictures. Besides that a large amount of users is willing to take pictures but unwilling to carry around heavy equipment. So there is a large group of users, from people who just want to take pictures on birthday parties to people who want to make almost professional pictures. I must say I don’t know why people want to make more pictures. It might be the internet age.
Question : Not only compactcamera sales numbers are increasing, this also goes for the DSLR. Do cheaper DSLRs threaten sales numbers of compact cameras?
Answer : The SLR takes up a part of the market. They will become cheaper. Compact cameras will also become cheaper but there will always be people demanding more from their cameras and they will step over to the DSLR. Canon offers some sort of overlap so we can serve both groups. But surely if you want flexibility and exchangeable lenses, you have to go for a digital SLR. If size is more important you should go for the Canon PowerShot G9. We don’t want to compete with our own products, that’s for sure.
Question : A while ago we had semi-pro Megazoom cameras such as the Pro90. Why do Canon not offer more of these kinds of cameras?
Answer : We offer a Megazoom camera; the Canon PowerShot S5 IS but I know what you mean with the top class. We try to offer a choice on every level. If someone wants extreme zoom, he can purchase the Canon S5IS. If someone wants an operation similar to an SLR, he can go for the Canon G9. We have sort of divided it.
Question : So you don’t suppose a semipro Megazoom would be too much of a competition for the cheaper SLR cameras?
Answer : No, I don’t think so.
Question : About the PowerShot G9. When the PowerShot G7 got introduced, first thing we noticed was the lack of RAW support. You called it a compact camera for the pro, but most professionals don’t want a camera without RAW. Then the Canon G9 arrived including RAW but at the same time the amount of pixels increased. There was no demand for more pixels and my experience is that it did not enhance the quality. So, why did you add more pixels?
Answer : First RAW; when the Canon G7 was developed it was a well-considered decision. Canon did a lot of market research and discovered that the target group for the PowerShot G7 did not understand or need RAW. It wasn’t until sales had started the demand for RAW started. I think it is one of Canon’s strongest points that we do listen to the consumer and therefore we did equip the PowerShot G9 with RAW support. Megapixels; Canon do not compromise on image quality. We do believe strongly in this policy. If we didn’t find image quality that important, we would not be where we are today. The number of Megapixels is the market trend. Thorough research shows that people go for Megapixels. It’s the first thing they look at. I can show you numerous studies confirming this.
Question : But is it really what the consumer wants or is it what the market orders? When I talk with consumers they often ask me if they really need more pixels. They seem to think that more pixels equal more quality.
Answer : I know exactly what you mean. It’s like the question of the chicken and the egg. What came first, the market or the marketing strategy? Fact is that you can do so much more with a larger amount of pixels. What we are trying to tell the consumer is that you can enlarge pictures to a great extend, that you can crop small details and print A4 sizes. However, we will not compromise. We will not just go along with the Megapixel race just for the sake of it. Our concern is image quality. We also look at the background such as the DIGIC III processor. I don’t know if the demand for pixels will remain the same in the future. At the moment, there is still a demand for more and we cannot and will not ignore that.
Question : A few years ago Canon claimed that six Megapixels would be the limit. One year later no more mentioning about it and the eight Megapixel models appeared. That is kind of a contradiction. And the number of pixels makes me wonder of what to do with the large files.
Answer : A large group of the most dedicated users does not want more Megapixels; they just want to keep it simple. But as I said, the market demands more. And all we can do is offer it to them and ensure excellent image quality. Ensuring large prints and crops for users, which is the only thing we can do.
Question : More pixels on a sensor usually happens at the cost of the quality. Why do Canon not start using larger sensors?
Answer : I cannot comment on future products. But if you take a look at the Canon PowerShot G9 and PowerShot G7, the pixel sizes do not differ that much. It’s not that pixels are getting gradually smaller. And yes, one of the advantages of the DSLR is the larger sensor, offering better quality. But we would not be selling compact cameras if the image quality weren’t good.
Question : Compact cameras still disappoint when using high ISO. Using a higher sensitivity than ISO 400 is not advisable. What is your opinion?
Answer : The only thing we can do is offer a choice. Maybe a consumer is determined to take a picture of an object and we offer that possibility. It all has to do with physics. Higher ISO causes more noise, no way of preventing it. So you can select a lower ISO value. We limit ISO sensitivity to 800 at motion detection on purpose. So for those who want more, they will have to make a conscious choice. Of course it affects the image quality. We are still trying to improve the quality. The limitation is merely found in physics. And you have to keep in the back of your mind what it is people want to do with their pictures. ISO 1600 can look good on a 10 x 15 cm print.
Question : You don’t offer a real wide angle in your series. One manufacturer, originally into electronics, offers and promotes wide angle. Many users request it too. Why didn’t Canon equip the PowerShot series standard with wide angle?
Answer : It has to do with image quality. We have a long tradition concerning optics. And it is vital that light beams fall straight onto the sensor. We don’t want to compromise; not on the field of optics either. We want to equip a camera with a lens that works perfectly.
Question : Face detection is nearly standard nowadays. What are the developments on face detection? Because at the moment also the white balance is taken into account. Do you think we can expect a slideshow in the near future of all the pictures on the memory card with a certain face, for example my daughter’s face?
Answer : In my opinion that is very well possible in the future. But it is not something our models are offering just yet. We offer perfect face detection and we also have face tracking now. I cannot say anything about future features but it sounds good.
Question : What are the limitations of innovations in cameras, such as face detection, cropping etc.? Is it the hardware or the software?
Answer : Hardware is more important in our cameras. Our face detection is entirely placed on the chip and calculations mainly happen through the DIGIC III. We are convinced that this is the only way it works fast. Most of these kinds of processes work through the DIGIC III. It is a fast processor. And we are very proud of it; that is why we keep on mentioning it. You cannot expect to pack more features in a processor without it slowing down. We are always developing processors. Yes, I think it is mainly the hardware. The software plays a small role too, but then again, in combination with the hardware.
Question : DSLR cameras are more and more equipped with Live View and a vari-angle monitor where as they disappear from compact cameras.
Answer : We wanted the Canon PowerShot G9 first and for all to be a compact camera. A vari-angle monitor influences the design a great deal. Instead we chose the PureColor LCD which is a quite impressive monitor.
Question : They are less flexible. You offer only a few models with vari-angle monitors.
Answer : That’s correct; we don’t offer it on DSLR cameras and not on all models. It is a well-considered decision. If we develop other models and we find it useful to apply a vari-angle monitor, we will do so. It’s not that we waved them goodbye, it is just a matter of applying them strategically.
Question : Geo-tagging is becoming more popular every day. A separate GPS will do the trick but is rather complicated. Can we expect a built-in GPS?
Answer : I have seen many GPS ideas. But I cannot say if we are planning to integrate it. We have done some market research and we think GPS is very new. We follow the market developments very closely and we will respond accordingly. If there are not many of such cameras available, we decide if there is a demand for them. An additional functionality might increase sales of course. And although GPS is already quite small, it is not sufficiently small to be integrated in a camera.
Question : I have seen a very small module that can be integrated.
Answer : Oh, really? How big is it? This is interesting. Every addition adds to the size of the camera. And if it is possible why not, I cannot comment on it. It sounds really cool. And it seems an interesting future technique.
Question : You have gotten rid of WiFi? Why?
Answer : After the release we have studied how it worked and how users used it and then we decided the consumer wasn’t ready for it yet.
Question : But consumers need time to get used to it. There might not be a large market for it now, but that can change in weeks. And someone has to take the initiative. You are a huge company and there should be room for innovations.
Answer : We were certainly innovative with Canon IXUS wireless. It was one of the first cameras with built-in WiFi. However we always rely on market research to see where we are heading.
Succulent Days
Posted on March 3, 2008 - Filed Under Photo | Leave a Comment
“Exactly 2467 different registered succulent plants from all over the world under the open sky”. Taken by Herman and Yvonne
Lens Test: Pentax DA* 16-50mm f/2.8 SDM AF
Posted on March 2, 2008 - Filed Under Cameras, Photo, Reviews | Leave a Comment
Pentax DA * 16-50mm f/2.8 SDM AF
This pro-caliber, standard-range, bright digital zoom ($900, street) is the second Pentax to use sonic-wave autofocusing for very smooth and quiet AF. It works with newer Pentax bodies that accept the KAF2 mount. On older bodies such as the K100, it defers to the noisier, body-housed AF motor. A 24-76mm equivalent, it has three aspheric and two optically pure, low-dispersion glass elements. Special lens coatings resist dust and smudges, and suppress ghosting off the sensor.
Hands On: Its gold accents signal that this is a Pentax DA * lens, with superior construction and extra-tight weather and dust resistance. Like most fast lenses, it’s large, casting a shadow at all focal lengths when used with built-in flash. Its manual-focus ring is more than twice the size of its zoom collar, great for manual-focus fans. Both rings are rubber-clad and attractively ribbed, and their turning actions are extremely smooth.
IN THE LAB: Excellent SQF numbers promise satisfyingly sharp, contrasty images. Likewise, well-controlled distortion bodes well for photographers tackling subjects that have parallel or perpendicular lines — especially along the image edges and at or near infinity. Our DxO Analyzer 2.0 tests found Visible barrel distortion at 16mm (0.60%), average performance for the class. Distortion improved at 35mm and 50mm, though, with Imperceptible (0.10%) pincushioning at 35mm and Slight pincushioning at 50mm (0.12%).
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