This link was first posted on the RFF – the official pdf for the new Leica Summilux-M 35mm f/1.4 lens (Update: the PDF file was removed): The new SUMMILUX-M 35mm/f1.4 ASPH. is setting new standards in the important class of high-speed wide angle lenses. T
the new lens is equipped with a Floating Element, which keeps the outstanding imaging performance at a very high level even at closest focusing distance.
His blog now serves as a sort of oracle into the process of picture editing, and it’s full of practical advice. The posts are varied–there are interviews with photographers he’s worked with (here’s one with Matt Slaby on creating long term bodies of work (Slaby previously interviewed on dvafoto)), discussions of compositional theory, ideas behind how bodies of work should be edited, career advice, and on and on.
Link: Worth a read: Picture editor at large Mike Davis’ blog | dvafoto
The initial responses of 13 invited participants to the symposium’s central question: Is photography over? The discussion begun here will continue on April 22 and 23, when the participants will convene at SFMOMA for a series of public and private conversations on the current state of the medium.
I am featuring the same series, A Place so as to Stay, about people and the ways in which they relate to, and are defined by, their environment. Jess’ brilliant use of segregated spaces animates traditional portraits in a way that invites the viewer to explore not only the person, but the place and creates visual storytelling.
travel photographer
Link: http://thetravelphotographer.blogspot.com/2010/04/pov-marco-vernaschi-child-sacrifice.html
Here’s another story that is guaranteed to make your stomachs churn. It involves Marco Vernaschi an Italian photographer/photojournalist who worked on a project documenting the phenomenon of child witches, human sacrifice and organ trafficking in Africa, and the Pultizer Center For Crisis Reporting.
Photographer Chase Jarvis sheds some light on how to–and how not to– photograph Moby and other celebrity musicians.
via Chase Jarvis Photography: http://blog.chasejarvis.com/blog/2010/04/photographing-moby/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+ChaseJarvis+%28Chase+Jarvis+Blog%29
I’ve shot in what feels like every place on the planet under crazy-tight circumstances, with 80 people on set, with celebrities, with no margin for error, client breathing down your neck, 120 degrees, uphill both ways, blah blah, you get the story… so much so, that you could say that you get numb to it. Except every once in a while…
If you can trust anyone to come up with a great camera hack, it’s a research engineer from SFX superstar Industrial Light and Magic. And luckily for us, that engineer, aka Bhautik Josh, spends his spare moments putting together things like the Fisheye Tin Cam, a fisheye lens in a soda can.
Link: Fisheye Tin Cam: 180º Lens in a Soda Can | Gadget Lab | Wired.com
I can hardly argue whether this picture would have been done/published if the boy would have been American, or European. I can only say that to me this makes no difference, and that when I was taking this pictures I was there with Mukisa’s father and aunt, who were desperate and worried about the future of the child. I’m currently looking for some foundation that will be able to follow and support Mukisa through the next years …
The old way to define “documentary” and “photojournalism” has changed – and not to the better in my opinion. Photographers add props into their frames to make their story “better”. And it seems the new ways are accepted by the people judging these “documentary” photographs in the competitions. If we do not stop this trend we will for sure kill photojournalism. Our audience will with good reason start to NOT believe our stories.
Representatives of the photography departments at Christie’s, Phillips de Pury and Sotheby’s touted results of the spring photography auctions last week as positive. The sales signaled an improving economy and confidence in the value of photography, they said in interviews with PDN.
we see a lot of photo websites as we bring you dvafoto, and looking at work online is often a frustrating process. Here are a few things that I think every photo website needs. Each one of these is something that has prevented us from easily linking to work online, and if it’s made the process difficult for us, you can be sure an art buyer or photo editor won’t put up with it
Link: Things every photographer’s portfolio website needs | dvafoto
Lightroom 2.7 (Mac | Win) and Camera Raw 5.7 (Mac | Win) are now available as final releases on Adobe.com and through the update mechanisms available in Photoshop CS4 and Lightroom 2.
Link: John Nack on Adobe: Camera Raw 5.7, Lightroom 2.7 now available
The photographer dropped out of his senior year at the University of Chicago in 1940 to work for the fledgling Life magazine as a freelance photographer, first through the Chicago bureau. When Davis was hired in 1941 he was the youngest photographer on the Life staff.
It transpired that before being acquired by the wire service, the photograph had been in the possession of an Icelandic newspaper and it was there that some fairly liberal digital dodging and burning took place. When a comparison was made with the original, it became obvious that post production had been applied to sufficient extent that it violated Reuters’ very firm position on digital enhancement
Link: Wade Laube » Blog Archive » When a picture seems too good to be true
MW What inspired you to start taking photographs, and what is the primary inspiration for you to keep working in this field? AS From an ear…
Link: http://2waylens.blogspot.com/2010/04/aline-smithson.html
The two biggest problems that beginning photographers face are learning how to edit, and making high quality prints. Beginning photographers forget that it’s not just the image that is for sale, but the print. Many students have never produced prints, even though they have made thousands of photographs, and perhaps the fact that they have thousands of photographs, doesn’t allow them to commit to a single image!
In 2005 David Bathgate, a teacher, writer, and visual storyteller, started an online program to teach visual storytelling in a way that worked for people with busy schedules in any part of the world. Keep an eye out for more informative posts from The Compelling Image’s topnotch instructors coming up.
Link: Professional photo education when/where you want it | RESOLVE — the liveBooks photo blog
Leica M9; the Marmite of the camera world You either get it or you don’t! “You’re so lucky”. This was the greeting I got from a wedding …
Link: http://edmondterakopian.blogspot.com/2010/03/leica-m9-full-review.html
“You’re so lucky”. This was the greeting I got from a wedding photographer; someone I had never met. Alas she didn’t seem to be talking about me, my dress sense, my personality or my photography. She was talking about the fact that I had a Leica M9 around my neck. There are occasions when cameras spark off conversations between complete strangers in the field, but I have to say that none have induced more talking and question asking than the Leica M9. It seems to be a magnet for chatty photographers from all spectrums of the profession.
The iPad has the potential to save the magazine industry, may become an important marketing tool for photographers but is a complete waste of time (good for consumers, bad for work). A lot of ink has been spilled over the anticipation, launch and criticis
via A Photo Editor: http://www.aphotoeditor.com/2010/04/20/ipad-magazine-savior-portfolio-replacemet-or-a-complete-waste-of-time/
The iPad has the potential to save the magazine industry, may become an important marketing tool for photographers but is a complete waste of time (good for consumers, bad for work).
Leica V-Lux 20 is now listed on Leica’s website. More sample shots are available here and here. Brochure download link (pdf). Amazon is taking pre-orders @ $699. Detailed specs and full press release after the break: Lens: Leica DC-Vario-Elmar 4.1–49.2 mm
via Leica Rumors: http://leicarumors.com/2010/04/20/leica-v-lux-20-announced.aspx/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+LeicaRumors+%28LeicaRumors.com%29
April 20, 2010: Leica Camera AG has announced the LEICA V-LUX 20, a 12.1 effective megapixel digital compact camera with a powerful 12x optical zoom lens and built-in GPS tagging*, making it ideal for recording special memories when travelling – wherever you are in the world.
Journalists are often at their worst when trying to predict the future. But it seems safe to say that many hundreds — if not thousands — of shutters will be released simultaneously on Sunday, May 2, as photographers around the world help Lens create “A Moment in Time”; one single moment in the life of the planet.
Link: Photographers Prepare for a Moment in May – Lens Blog – NYTimes.com