So, yours truly finally got himself an iPhone, the brand spanking new iPhone 4s which features quite an impressive 8-megapixel camera with a f/2.4 aperture, certainly impressive for what is essentially a mobile phone (OK sure, the iPhone is a lot more than just a phone but you get my drift).

If you are interested in seeing what the camera in the new iPhone 4s is capable of, you can check out this article over at www.funkyspacemonkey.com where you can also see how the iPhone camera has improved with each new iteration over time. It is quite amazing stuff.

Day 1: “Piazza”

Anyway. I know, I know, I’m sometimes a late adapter of new technology. It takes me a while sometimes to join the latest craze. In fact the shop assistant in the local Telstra shop smiled when he saw my old Palm Treo and said with what seemed like a hint of genuine pity in his voice “I haven’t seen a Palm phone for years…” Oh well, oh well, but I’m glad I jumped on the iPhone band-wagon. In fact it was the best smart phone offer in the shop compared to brands like HTC, Samsung, Nokia etc.

Day 2: “Flight in the clouds”

Of course I had also noticed all the hype about Instagram which also attracted me to the iPhone as a choice for my new camera phone since Instagram currently only works with the iPhone (as of November 2011), with no news on when the app might become available on other platforms. Instagram seemed like a fun and easy way to share pictures with other iPhoneographers.

Instagram

So I downloaded the free Instagram app as soon as I got out of the store (well, second after the awesome Endomondo sports app so I could track my walk back home from the store and see how many calories I had burned) and I was up and running with Instagram in no time (it’s great to receive a phone that works and is 50% charged straight out of the box).

Day 3: “Patina”

For those of you who might have been sitting on the fence with regards to Instagram, I can say that my initial impressions of Instagram are quite positive. The app is very simple, easy and fun to use which is probably core to the incredible success it has enjoyed since being developed by Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger.

Day 4: "Turner"

Instagram comes packed with 16 different filters (or effects if you will) in addition to the normal setting if you don’t want to mess with your image, but just share it via Instagram. The filters will add a lomo/retro/vintage look to your images, and you also have the ability to switch on/off some cool border effects (though you only get one choice of border effect per filter).

In a matter of a few seconds you can transform the look and feel of your pictures and share it with your friends and followers on Instagram as well as on several other social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Flickr and Tumblr.

It’s simple, easy and quick! Some people have referred to Instagram as “Lomo and Twitter meets photos” which is quite descriptive to a certain extent.

Day 5: "Silo"

While you can happily play around with Instagram on its own, I was soon curious to explore other apps and within a few hours I had also downloaded PS Express by Adobe, Pano by Debacle Software, CrossProcess and ShakeItPhoto by Banana Camera Co., LightTrac by Rivolu Pte Ltd, Snapseed by NIK Software, PhotoForge2 by GhostBird Software and Instant110 by youthhr.

Day 6: “Happy Halloween”

One still needs to be careful not to become lazy and compromise on the fundamentals of good image design though. Yes, Instagram and all the hundreds (if not thousands) of other cool photo apps can work wonders on your images and transform somewhat ordinary images to good, cool-looking images. However your results will still always be better if you look for good compositions, beautiful light and interesting subjects.

The iPhone is definitely a great tool to help you exercise your vision on a daily basis. In fact I started my first ‘one photo a day for a year’ project the day after I got the phone and I’ve been going for a week now (see the seven images in this post). I have considered a year-long daily photo project for a while now, and with the iPhone and the ease of sharing the results via Instagram, it seems like a somewhat easier commitment to make (though no doubt still a challenge to find new images every day).

Day 7: "Green, Brick and Red"

At the end of the day the best camera is the one that is with you and chances are that your iPhone (or other mobile camera phone) is going to be with you more often than most other cameras. So make sure to use it as a tool to exercise your vision on a daily basis!

If you want to follow my “365 Project” you can see daily images at www.folkeandersen.tumblr.com (from 26 October and 365 days forward) or follow me on Instagram: @folkeandersen.

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If you like making great natural light portraits Steve McCurry is clearly one of the great masters to study. He is a master at capturing the unguarded moment and showing us the soul of his subjects.

In fact he published a book titled The Unguarded Moment in 2009, ten years after the brilliant Portraits published in 1999 (a must-have for portrait photographers).

Steve McCurry is of course best known for his “Afghan Girl” photograph, the beautiful Afghan girl with the stunning green eyes and a piercing gaze. After the photograph gained worldwide recognition when it was featured on the cover of the June 1985 issue of National Geographic Magazine, several attempts were made by McCurry to identify the girl during the 1990s. However the identity of the “Afghan Girl” would remain unknown for over 17 years.

In 2002 a National Geographic team travelled to Afghanistan and finally located the girl in a remote region of Afghanistan. She was identified as Sharbat Gula and determined to be around the age of 30, which means she was around the age of 12 when the picture was made. Incredibly Gula had not seen her own famous portrait until it was shown to her in 2003.

In this five minute video clip Steve McCurry talks about how he created the photograph and shows some of the few outtakes from what was a relatively short photo session:

In recognition of Sharbat Gula (“Afghan Girl”), National Geographic set up the Afghan Girls Fund, a charitable organization with the goal of educating Afghan girls and young women. In 2008, the scope of the fund was broadened to include boys and the name was changed to Afghan Children’s Fund.

You can donate to the fund by visiting this link: http://www.nationalgeographic.com/donate/afghan-childrens-fund.html

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• Hear It From the Man Himself
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Calling on all Shutterbugs!

I have some exciting news to share with you today.

Over the past many months a creative film crew headed by Kate McIntyre and Dave Collins have been planning and filming a new comedy web TV series about photography.

This new web TV series is set to invade the world of photography when Shutterbugs debuts on the 27th September.

At the set of Shutterbugs

The show is set in Melbourne’s creative heart, Fitzroy. Shutterbugs centres on analogue photographer Chloe and her socialite best friend Samantha. Together they get into trouble as they trespass, steal and bend the truth during their various photography exploits. Trying to keep them under control is Isaac, an OCD portrait photographer who secretly harbours a crush on Chloe. Rounding out the crew are unhinged video blogger Bo and malicious time-lapse specialist Trent, who takes joy in tormenting the others.

Chloe on Brunswick Street

The show follows the gang as they undertake crazy and dangerous adventures, all in the name of taking a good photo.

From the analogue to the high-tech, DSLRs to phones, if it takes a photo then it’s part of the world of Shutterbugs.

The Shutterbugs Gang

The internet has become a breeding ground where photography communities can thrive and writer / director Dave Collins is keen to provide something unique to this audience and says:

“The internet is great for letting us upload photos to the world as well as discussing and critiquing the photos we take through blogs and photo sharing sites, but until now there hasn’t been a fictional series catering just for photographers.”

Watching Trent's time-lapse video

Whilst the cast and crew of Shutterbugs are photography fanatics, they’re also wrangling the talent of some photography professionals and obsessives. Each week on the website, a guest photographer will pay homage to the current episode by providing a unique set of photos inspired by that week’s action, and also discuss their photography practice, tips, and insights into their creations for Shutterbugs in a video interview.

“We set out to make a series that understands photographers and mimics the passion that people have for capturing the perfect photo, but the series is also a really good comedy that non-photographers can enjoy as well.” Collins says.

The Shutterbugs web series launches on the 27th September and new episodes will be airing every Tuesday.

The series can be seen at www.shutterbugs.tv and is entirely web-based, so you can tune in from anywhere in the world. So be sure to mark your calendar with a big fat X on the 27th September.

Here is a little promo video:

Enjoy and have fun!

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G’day everyone and Happy New Year from Sydney, Australia!

I hope you had a good Christmas and that Santa was good to you. Hopefully Santa put one of two photographic gifts under the tree for you this year?

Speaking of photographic gifts, I’ve been busy with a new project which I’ve been working on in what little spare time I have in between juggling work, photography, blogging and family. I hope to be able to reveal a lot more about this new project in a a few weeks time. For now it’s still work-in-progress.

Today is of course good a time to reflect on the year that passed and 2010 was a great year for Photography 24/7 with over 15,000 people visiting the website from 129 different countries. I’d like to thank all of you who has supported Photography 24/7 in this past year. Your support is much appreciated. Keep linking to us, keep telling your friends about us…

photo credit: Wiborg

We’re still only a very small site though and you can help by spreading the word about Photography 24/7. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter. You may even want to send your friends a good ol’ email and tell them to subscribe to our RSS feed. Feeling extra social? Go ahead and join the Photography 24/7 Flickr Group and share some of your photos (and your photo will be rotated on the Photography 24/7 website).

If you like a post use the big social buttons at the bottom of each article and let people know.

So What Was Popular on Photography 24/7 in 2010?

As I was looking at the visitor statistics today for this post, I also took a little peek at what articles had been read the most times in 2010. So here is a quick little top list of the most read articles in 2010:

1. Two Basic Steps to Promote Yourself as a Photographer

2. Choosing Your Photography Portfolio Website

3. Split Toning a JPEG File in Photoshop CS4 in Three Easy Steps

4. How To Photograph Silhouttes

5. André Kertész: The Polaroids

6. How to Do Polaroid Emulsion Lifts

7. The Top Five Best Books on Composition in Photography

8. The Impossible Project Reveals New Monochrome Instant Film For Polaroid Cameras

9. National Geographic Photographer Bruce Dale: 30 Years of BAD Pictures

10. Sally Mann Revisited

Not surprisingly some of the ‘how-to’ articles have been popular, but I’m also really pleased to see that my review of The Polaroids is on the list along with my recommendation of Sally Mann’s awesome DVD What Remains.

New Year’s Resolutions

One of the most powerful things you can do with any resolution or goal you’d like to set for yourself is to write them down, so here are my New Year’s resolutions (goals) for 2010:

1. Organise my life to have more time for family and photography (a work-in-progress).

2. Keep my desk and workspace clutter-free!

3. Write at least 100 new articles for Photography 24/7.

4. Write at least 50 articles for Black and White Photo Magazine.

5. Shoot a lot more film and start developing my own B&W film at home.

6. Attract more submissions to QwertyPics.

7. Launch PhotoMoti.

8. Shoot at least two new personal fine art projects – one of them on black and white film.

9. Weigh in on the scales at 78kgs.

10. Ask at least one stranger if I can take their photo.

So there you have it – I’ve put myself out there. That’s my New Year’s resolutions for 2011.

What are yours?

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One of the most important marketing tools for photographers today is a well-designed photography portfolio website (see also Two Basic Steps to Promote Yourself as a Photographer).

You can be taking the most amazing pictures with the world’s best camera, but if no one knows about you and your images (your brand), then all the time you have invested into photography is without much purpose.

photo credit: thom?

Establishing your presence online is one of the most powerful ways to get your work seen.

Whether your goal is to sell fine art prints, stock images or perhaps promote yourself as a portrait photographer, a good photography portfolio website is vital to promote yourself and your photography.

So how should you go about creating your photography portfolio website? Good question. I have been around the block on this one.

• I have used HTML-based photography templates.
• I have built and designed my own photography website from scratch in HTML code.
• I have run my own photoblog.
• I have used a Flash-based website.

In fact I have now come full circle by changing back to a HTML-based photography template again.

Recently I quit my Flash-based website and signed up for a Photoshelter account. I will explain why I chose Photoshelter for my personal photography portfolio website at the end of this post.

Considerations to Make

In my opinion the first consideration you’ll need to make is how much time you want to spend on creating your website. While setting out to build your own website can be a lot of fun, it can also be very time consuming. By contrast you can literally be up and running in 5 minutes with a great looking website by choosing a template-based website.

If you decide to build and design your own website, Adobe Dreamweaver CS5 is probably the leading web design software on the market today (November 2010). If you have little or no coding experience consider getting Dreamweaver CS5: The Missing Manual by David Sawyer McFarland or Dreamweaver CS5 For Dummies by Janine Warner.

If you decide coding is not for you, the next consideration to make is how much flexibility of design a template-based website offers you and does it meet your requirements?

There is nothing worse than ending up with a template-based website only to discover that you can’t change and tweak it the way you want.

It is therefore also a good idea to check if you can sign up for a free trial period which allows you to “test drive” the website before you open your wallet.

Here is a quick list of things to consider before deciding on how to create your website:

• Overall appearance
• Flexibility of design
• Blogging capability
• E-commerce functionality
• Print services
• Storage space
• Password protected client area
• Search engine optimization (SEO)
• Cost and fee structure
• Free trials and cancellation policy

Comparison of Four Photography Portfolio Websites

When I decided to quit my Flash-based website I considered four different template based photography portfolio websites; Zenfolio, SmugMug, PhotoShelter and Photocrati.

As I already mentioned above I ended up choosing PhotoShelter for my personal photography portfolio website.

I decided to compare the four photography portfolio websites and here is how I scored them on the various considerations I made:

SmugMug and Zenfolio represents excellent value for money and are both solutions which are very rich in features.

PhotoShelter is a slightly more expensive option. It’s also very feature rich and at the same time very focused on helping photographers with their search engine optimization. It also comes with a very good e-commerce solution.

Photocrati is a WordPress-based solution offering a stylish way to display your work and blog about it at the same time. However it does not come with as many of the features included in the above solutions.

Why I Chose PhotoShelter

I decided to quit my Flash-based website primarily because it offered me no e-commerce options to sell my work. It was also a fairly expensive solution at around US$600 per year. PhotoShelter’s standard plan costs US$329 per year in comparison.

It also weighed into my decision that my Flash-based website was quite slow in loading up (around 15-20 seconds) whereas my new PhotoShelter website loads up in less than 5 seconds. I had several visitors commenting on the slow nature of the Flash-based website and Google Analytics indicated that many visitors abandoned their visit as a result of the slow loading of the Flash-based website.

While I think Flash-based websites are often much more stylish than HTML-based websites, some of the points mentioned above are quite important to the success of your website. Likewise search engine optimization (SEO) of your website is also an important consideration when you’re weighing up a Flash-based website against a HTML-based website.

The PhotoShelter website

OK, to the point now – why PhotoShelter? Well, it’s probably easiest to list the reasons, so here is a list of my main reasons for choosing PhotoShelter:

• PhotoShelter offers professional, good looking websites with just enough customization options for my needs.
• I can very easily switch themes at no cost if I wish to get a new “look” after a while.
• In my 14 days $1 trial period I directly interacted with PhotoShelter’s CEO Allen Murabayashi through their community forum inquiring about a small design change for the Crisp theme which was then implemented only a few weeks later along with a string of other improvements (some of which had been on the cards for a while).
• PhotoShelter’s e-commerce solution is very good and incredibly flexible which was an important factor for me.
• I have the ability to use my own domain name.
• PhotoShelter is very focused on helping photographers with their search engine optimization (SEO) and this is evident throughout the entire solution that they offer. I think this shows that they “care”.
• I like the fact that PhotoShelter’s product is aimed at “serious photographers”.
• PhotoShelter’s help documentation is excellent.
• PhotoShelter also works as an archive for my most important photos.
• The product is constantly evolving, but it also seems to me (from reading the forums) that new changes are not implemented without having been thought through with careful attention to detail on all levels.
• The online community of serious photographers associated with PhotoShelter is huge and very supportive.

You can see my PhotoShelter website at www.folkeandersen.com (please note my site is still work in progress at the time this post is published)

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The Craft & Vision team has released yet another beautifully designed eBook today. Close To Home (Finding Great Photographs in Your Own Backyard) is the latest in the Craft & Vision eBook line-up.

This inspiring ebook by Stuart Sipahigil is about the challenges of finding the extraordinary in what we’ve come to see as mundane. Taking great photographs does not require traveling to an exotic place. By digging a little deeper and seeing things around you more clearly you can reinvigorate your photography and find new images in familiar territory.

Through practical insights and creative exercises you’ll discover that the grass is not always greener on the other side.

This ebook provides photographers of all levels with the tools and encouragement you need to help you get out of the ruts we all fall into. Your city, your neighborhood, and even your backyard are all full of opportunities for great photographs. Close to Home is 37 spreads of photographs, insights, and exercises that will inspire as you develop your own craft.

“Close to Home” is available (along with lots of other great titles) from the Craft & Vision website for just $5.

For a limited time only Craft & Vision has a special offer on PDFs: for the first five days only, if you use the promotional code HOME4 when you checkout, you can have the PDF version of Close to Home for only $4 OR use the code HOME20 to get 20% off when you buy five or more PDF ebooks from the Craft & Vision collection. These codes start at 1:00am PST, October 28, 2010 and expire at 11:59pm PST November 1, 2010.

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Mon Dieu! Usually I enjoy every day, I think we should, but really I wouldn’t have minded doing a time warp that had skipped the last 5-6 weeks altogether.

I didn’t manage to write a single entry for the blog, let alone make any new photographs.

After going through a period of extreme stress in August my immune system decided to let its guard down and I ran head on into not only one, but two very nasty viruses at the end of August which saw me bedridden with prolonged fever, lack of appetite, night sweats and extreme fatique for almost three weeks. At first I just thought it was a very persistent influenza, but a blood test proved otherwise.

My liver and blood index figures were off the chart and doctors warned me that I could be in bed for as long as six weeks provided there were no complications! As if boxing with these viruses wasn’t enough, I also contracted pneumonia and was diagnosed with a partly collapsed lung.

For a while it felt as if I was 72 and not 36.

Unfortunately this whole drama also meant that I wasn’t able to catch up with Mike from Phowto who was in Sydney at the end of August which I really regretted, but it just wasn’t possible.

It is only now, about five weeks later, that my energy levels are starting to return to somewhat more normal levels, so now it’s time to catch up!

Now, there may very well be several things I have missed in recent weeks, but here is at least a brief list of noteworthy highlights from recent weeks (make yourself a good cup of coffee, this post is going to be a little lengthy):

• Canon Announces Powershot G12
• Fuji Announces a Beauty
• New DVD by Tony Sweet: Flower Photography Artistry
• Photocrati Releases New WordPress “Super Theme”
• The Impossible Project Reduces Shipping Costs
• Journey Through Java

Canon Announces Powershot G12

A couple of weeks ago Canon unveiled their successor to the Powershot G11.

I have been a fan of Canon’s very successful G-series line for a while now and have been shooting quite extensively with the Canon Powershot G9. My August Snaps series was shot entirely with the G9.

Most of the G12′s key features remain the same from the G11, however Canon has added some nice improvements to make the Canon Powershot G12 stand out.

Some of the main improvements include their newer Hybrid IS system (adapted from the S95) which compensates for both shift and angular camera movement, in-camera HDR mode, plus an addition of a new front dial which provides quick and convenient access to settings during shooting. Partcularly noteworthy is also the addition of 720p HD recording which makes this camera quite an afforable and attractive video camera.

Fuji Announces a Beauty

In an industry that cranks out new camera models at a very fast pace, I don’t often pay a lot of attention to these announcements, but this one made me look twice. It’s sure to turn a lot of heads!

Inspired by the beauty and form of classic cameras from the past, the Fuji X100 combines all the latest technical digital innovations in a beautiful, traditional chassis which oozes class and prestige. The ergonomics of the design offer the perfect balance between compact convenience and user-friendly operation.

The camera is styled like a film rangefinder camera, with a leathery covering surrounding the body and a magnesium alloy top and base plate. Reports from people who has handled this camera also states that while this is a truly compact camera, it’s also remarkably heavy – an indication of a well-built, quality camera.

The new Fuji X100 is a high-grade digital compact camera based around an APS-C CMOS sensor, a Fujinon 23mm f/2 fixed focal length lens (equivalent to a 35mm f/2 in 35mm terms) and a newly developed Hybrid Viewfinder.

So what on earth is a Hybrid Viewfinder? Well, apparently it’s an optical viewfinder (OVF) and an electronic viewfinder (EVF) combined into one. Talk about the best of both worlds! Notice the little lever with the red mark at the upper left of the lens in the picture above? This lever allows you to switch between the OVF and the EVF. For more details about this new type of viewfinder watch the video below.

The Fuji FinePix X100 is aimed at the professional photographer or keen enthusiast looking for exceptional quality pictures from a compact camera. It is designed to appeal to the millions of DSLR users who need a slim back-up camera for high quality in-fill shots when the use of a bigger SLR system is either inconvenient or impractical. I’d imagine that this camera will also appeal to quite a lot of street photographers. In fact this where I would see this camera fit into my camera collection.

And if I haven’t quite convinced you that you really must have another camera, perhaps take a look at this video and your knees might become even softer!

Oh boy, oh girl. You’d have to agree that this camera is one heck of a temptation! The Fuji Finepix X100 is due for commercial release in early 2011.

Enough said already…

New DVD by Tony Sweet: Flower Photography Artistry

I’m a big fan of Tony Sweet and his photography. He is also a great teacher and instructor.

Flower photography is one of Tony’s specialities and now he has released a brand new DVD titled Flower Photography Artistry.

In this DVD Tony demonstrates many techniques from the traditional to more creative options that has given his flower images such a distinctive look. You will follow along in a private workshop as Tony shoots in the field at Longwood Gardens, then takes you back into his studio for a demonstration on some of his favorite post-processing techniques. Finally, Tony reviews an extensive gallery images, discussing the methods he used to achieve some of his favorite flower photographs.

Tony Sweet also teaches some excellent online photo classes over at BetterPhoto.com which I can highly recommend. When I first started out in photography I attended 8 different classes over at BetterPhoto.com and they all helped propel my photography forward. Check them out.

Photocrati Releases New WordPress “Super Theme”

Just updated and with the price dropped to just $79 the folks over at Photocrati has released what does look like quite a “Super Theme” for any photographer who might not already have a website, gallery or blog. In fact in this new Super Theme from Photocrati gives you all three in one package which means you will get a website, gallery and a blog all in the one place. As such this new theme may also be of interest if you’re looking at bundling your web presence into one place.

Of course Photocrati offers all the bells and whistles with the theme such as great SEO, customization options, theme options, easy set-up etc. You can watch this little video to learn more about the Photocrati “Super Theme”:

What’s also to like about Photocrati is that The Photocrati Fund gives $5000 grants to emerging photographers working on important humanitarian and environmental projects.

The Impossible Project Reduces Shipping Costs

Regular readers of this blog will know that I’m a big admirer of the challenge that The Impossible Project has taken on, but less of an admirer of how they seem to have hyped what I regard to have been ‘too-early-to-market-products’ through clever marketing, and even less of an admirer of their shipping costs!

For more details see my somewhat critical article Is The Impossible Project Shrouding a Mediocre Product in Clever Marketing? where Jay also made some interesting and detailed comments today. I found it particularly interesting to read Jay’s comment on the new PX70 colour material.

However with regards to the shipping costs there are some good news for Impossible fans. The Impossible Project has lowered their shipping costs on small shipments within the USA and Europe making it somewhat more reasonable to buy a couple of packs of film.

Sadly, if one wants to buy a pack of Impossible film for shipment to Australia you still have to fork up US$50 in shipping (even for just one or two packs!)

Journey Through Java

The good people over at Craft & Vision have released yet another great eBook – this one by travel/documentary photographer Mitchell Kanashkevich.

Journey Through Java is the fifth in The Print & The Process series.

Mitchell Kanashkevich is a curious world wanderer and a travel/documentary photographer who works passionately and skillfully to create exceptional images of some of the most amazing places in the world.

This eBook is built around a series of images from his journey around East Java, predominantly Ijen Crater, Mount Bromo and the Island of Madura. By exploring the idea of photographing in iconic/famous places Mitchell delves into the heart of what it takes to find your own voice and story. He’ll unpack the processes behind his creative decisions and he doesn’t shy away from practical topics; such as natural lighting, off-camera flash in a softbox, and choosing the right angles. Mitchell doesn’t stop there. He goes beyond surface-level impressions and shares his insights into how to create deep and meaningful photographs.

Journey Through Java – The Print & The Process is 46 spreads of photographs and insights that will inspire as you develop your own craft. The downloadable PDF sells for the usual “crazy” Craft & Vision price of just US$5.

Pheeeewww, allright I think that was all for tonight. Hopefully I’ve caught up and hopefully all of the above is not all old news to you.

I’ll be resuming the “How to do Advanced Toning in Photoshop CS4″ series in the next two posts, so stay tuned.

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“There are 1440 minutes in a day. In these minutes photographers capture a moment. These moments make up a day which lasts forever.”

This was the introduction to a recent exhibition held at the State Library of New South Wales where I have also had the pleasure to give a presentation of some of my own photography.

You can watch the five Sydney Morning Herald photographers behind the exhibition talk about their craft in these five separate and excellent videos giving a glimse into what it’s like to be a working newspaper photographer today.

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In March 2010, as part of the Mardi Gras festival in Sydney, Australia, more than 5000 people stripped down for the official shot by the American photographer Spencer Tunick.

Tunick said the aim was to create a human base for the Sydney Opera House, but an article in the Sydney Morning Herald today discusses whether Tunick was successful or not, with suggestions it looks more like a pizza base, or a carpet of crushed prawns or shrimps.

People lining up for the Spencer Tunick shot at Sydney Opera House

Successful or not what’s somewhat more surprising to me is the number of people who find the Sydney Opera House shot more gimmick than art. As of the time and date of this post 44% out 7,207 people voted the shot more gimmick than art according to an online interactive poll published in the Sydney Morning Herald today.

I must admit I’m among the 44%. What about you?

What do you think of Spencer Tunick’s photography?

If you missed the Opera House shot here is a brief video from the morning of the shoot:

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The team at Craft & Vision has released a new eBook and this one I’ve really been looking forward to with great anticipation!

I have reviewed some of the previous releases from Craft & Vision over the past couple of months in these posts:

• Ten Ways to Improve Your Craft. None of Them Involve Buying Gear
• Vision Is Better. Free the Mind, Free the Camera.
• The Magic of Black and White
• VENICE

The Craft & Vision eBooks are fantastic because they represent such awesome value at just $5 each for beautifully designed eBooks. And if you buy around the release dates of new books you can usually pick up a 20% discount making them just $4 each (you can hardly buy a large latte for that kind of money!)

The new photography eBook released today is the third in the series ‘The Print & The Process’ and is titled Chasing Reflections by Eli Reinholdtsen.

Eli Reinholdtsen is a creative photographer who, through her unique and skillful approach to reflections, captures moments and juxtapositions that are truly an art form at its finest.

Reinholdtsen digs deep and shares tangible ways to scout, setup, and shoot complex and magical photographs that push the envelope of visual poetry. Her playful descriptions aren’t shy of digging deep into the techniques required to capture movement, timing and contrast.

Quiet frankly this book is almost worth its price just for the cover shot!

It’s an amazing photograph. It’s the type of image you can come back to again and again and it sets the tone for the rest of the book.

As the title indicates this book is all about reflections. I must admit I personally have a soft spot for reflection images. Therefore I’ve also looked forward to this release and I wasn’t disappointed.

The book is divided into the following sections:

• Introduction (The Premise)
• Photographs – 37 pages with one reflection image per page (The Print)
• Subjects, technique and tips (The Process)
• Thumbnails of each of image including technical settings and a brief of discussion of how each image was created.

Overall the 37 reflection photographs included in this book are dazzling and above all very inspiring. As with any large body of work though, you’re likely to like some of the images better than others, particularly because Reinholdtsen spoils us with such a varied selection of images.

Personally I think the selection of images could have been edited just a tiny bit tighter with two or three images letting the rest of the group down a little bit. When that’s said though I still find the overwhelming majority of the images incredibly inspiring and very well executed. As you’ll learn if you buy the book, some of these images have taken hours if not days to plan requiring a good amount of patience.

“I can walk around town for days on end with my camera. If I find a good backdrop with great light I can easily wait for an hour or so for the ‘right’ person to pass by and complete the image” Reinholdtsen writes.

In ‘The Process’ section of the book Reinholdtsen discusses her creative process and generously shares tips and techniques on how you can create powerful reflection images including topics like:

• Combining images
• Good light for reflection images (this one might surprise you)
• Mannequins and posters
• Layering technique
• Depth of field
• Angle of shooting
• Focus issues

You’ll also learn how the human form is a very powerful element in reflection images. For someone who tends to often leave the human form out of my images, this was an important lesson in itself. I find myself drawn to many of the images in this book where there is a strong presence of the human form.

I find this book to be an excellent – and very inspiring – resource on reflection images specifically. It’s a book I know I’ll return to again and again for inspiration.

You’ll notice that many of the images in Chasing Reflections are images where Reinholdtsen takes you on a small visual journey. The layered information contained in many of the images means that you can spend quite a bit of time with each image and discover new details or connections each time you return to an image. This is what is particularly wonderful about so many of Reinholdtsen’s images in this eBook.

At just $5 there really isn’t too much else to say than buy it. You won’t be disappointed!

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Once in a while you stumble upon stories that seem almost too good to be true. This is one such story. And at the center of it all is the grand master of landscape photography himself, the legendary American photographer Ansel Adams.

It all started in a small garage in Fresno, Southern California in year 2000. Rick Norsigian was attending a garage sale looking for antiques when he noticed two old boxes in the garage. He opened them and pulled out some old glass negatives with black and white landscape photographs.

“As a young man, I worked at Yosemite quite a bit. So, right away I recognized it as Yosemite” Norsigian said.

He decided to buy the glass negatives and started negotiating with the seller, finally negotiating the price down from US$70 to US$45 for the two boxes. The owner told Norsigian he had bought them in the 1940s at a warehouse salvage in Los Angeles.

In Glacier National Park, Montana. Photo by Ansel Adams.

Rick Norsigian kept the two old boxes under his pool table for two years before he realized the photos may be Ansel Adams photographs. This is when he started doing some more research. After four years he had done enough research to realize the plates could be valuable, so he decided to move them from under his pool table and placed them in a bank vault.

This proved to be a very wise decision.

Now the glass negatives have been authenticated and are valued at $US200 million, Norsigian has told a press conference.

Several experts, including a former FBI agent and a U.S. attorney, “came to the conclusion that, based on the evidence which was overwhelming, that no reasonable person would have any doubt that these, in fact, were the long-lost images of Ansel Adams,” Arnold Peter said, the lawyer who led the effort to authenticate that the negatives were made by the man known as the father of American photography.

Michael Nattenberg and Marcel Matley, two independent handwriting experts have stated that handwriting on the envelopes in which the negatives were found belonged to Adams’s wife, Virginia.

George Wright, a meteorological expert, has concluded that one of the pictures found in the Norsigian negatives was taken on the same day and time as one of Adams’s more famous images.

Evening, McDonald Lake, Glacier National Park. Photo by Ansel Adams.

Ansel Adams died in 1984, and was believed to have lost many of his negatives in a 1937 darkroom fire. It is estimate that the blaze destroyed as many as 5,000 negatives, and many of the negatives had never been developed into photographs.

Ansel Adams was one of the foremost nature photographers of his era, known for his images of the American west, especially Yosemite National Park.

Norsigian, who is 64, still works for the Fresno school system, but may retire this year putting a family high on the list of priorities after the valuation of his garage sale buy.

He’s not spoken with the man who sold him the two boxes a decade ago.

“If he’s still around, I’m afraid he may come looking for me” Norsigian said in an interview with CNN.

Books by Ansel Adams

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On the 7 July 2010 I wrote a post titled Attacks on Freedom of Expression which included a video detailing how photographers Carlos Miller and Stretch Ledford were banned for life from the Miami-Dade Metrorail in the U.S.

Now the British Home Secretary, Theresa May, has said that the British government is making street photography rights a priority in its review of anti-terrorism legislation.

This comes after several British photographer groups and advocates – including the I’m a Photographer, Not a Terrorist! campaign – have been lobbying for photographers’ rights since broad and far-reaching anti-terrorism laws have been introduced in many countries post 9/11.

In a recent statement, May said:

“National security is the first duty of government but we are also committed to reversing the substantial erosion of civil liberties. I want a counter-terrorism regime that is proportionate, focused and transparent.”

The review will look at what counter-terrorism powers and measures could be rolled back “in order to restore the balance of civil liberties and counter-terrorism powers.”

Photo by lewishamdreamer

The review will focus on six areas – one of them being “stop and search powers in section 44 of the Terrorism Act 2000 and the use of terrorism legislation in relation to photography,” said the British Home Secretary.

Section 44 was suspended last week. This is the controversial and broad provision that allowed authorities to stop and search anyone, and to seize property that could be used in connection with terrorism.

The I’m a Photographer, Not a Terrorist! organization commented on their website:

“We are delighted at this news of the suspension of Section 44. We are sure photographers across the UK are looking forward to freely photographing in a public place without the being bullied by the police and corporate security guards.”

but continues:

“Unfortunately there are still a swathe of laws that police can and will still use to harass photographers, most notably Section 43, which is similar to Section 44 but requires an officer to suspect that you are a terrorist and Section 76 which makes it illegal to ‘elicit information about a police officer’ which includes photographing them.”

Here in Sydney, Australia world-renowned landscape photographer Ken Duncan is spearheading a Sydney rally to raise awareness about the eroding rights of photographers in Australia.

The details of the Sydney rally are:

Date: 29 August 2010

Time: 10:00am – 12:00 noon

Location: Near Campbells Cove on Sydney Harbour

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It seems us photographers (professional, part-time and amateurs alike) are slowly losing our rights to the freedom of expression.

Photographing in public places is becoming increasingly difficult post 9/11 and often means you’ll be subjecting yourself to questioning or even harassment by people in authoritative positions.

While taking pictures in public places for commercial purposes usually requires a permit is fair enough, what about taking pictures for your own personal enjoyment, personal projects, editorial purposes or simply for the sake of art and documenting life in general?

Sadly, it seems, every person who has a camera can be threatened with unjust laws and regulations these days.

Recently photographers Carlos Miller and Stretch Ledford were banned for life from the Miami-Dade Metrorail in the U.S..

Ironically the ban came after the two photographers had planned to ride the Metrorail through three stations to see if anybody would try to stop them from taking pictures of the trains.

They didn’t even make it inside the first station!

You can watch the video from their ‘metro adventure’ here or you can read Carlos Miller’s version of events on his blog or take a look at Stretch Ledford’s version of events on his blog.

Protest Rally in Sydney, Australia

Here in Sydney, Australia world-renowned landscape photographer Ken Duncan is spearheading a Sydney rally to raise awareness about the eroding rights of photographers in Australia.

You can read the Press Release about this rally below…

PHOTOGRAPHERS TO PROTEST ATTACKS ON FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION

Australian photographers are losing their rights to freedom of expression. And it doesn?t matter whether they are full-time professional, part-time or strictly amateur, as every person who has a camera can be threatened with unjust laws and regulations.

“However the bureaucrats who have drafted the new regulations restricting photography have clearly forgotten that”. Mr Duncan said that landscape photographers such as Olegas Truchanas and Peter Dombrovskis helped to instil a pro-conservation mindset amongst Australia?s people, while other photographers such as Max Dupain had produced iconic images that would be treasured for many decades to come. But he said that unless the draconian laws that were currently in place were not rolled back that all types of photography would be affected and that our society as a whole would be diminished as a result.

Date: 29 August 2010

Time: 10:00am – 12:00 noon

Location: Near Campbells Cove on Sydney Harbour

Photo by lewishamdreamer

How About You?

Have you ever encountered difficulties, been questioned or even harassed while photographing (or trying to photograph) in a public place?

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This year the New York Institute of Photography celebrates having educated photographers for 100 years.

The New York Institute of Photography was founded in 1910 and is the world’s largest and oldest photography school. NYIP offers affordable home-study courses to students all over the world who want to learn the skills needed to make great photographs.

If you’re thinking about taking your photography to the next level then take a look at these three different courses offered by the New York Institute of Photography:

1. Complete Course in Professional Photography

In this course you can learn what it takes to become a professional photographer. NYIP will train you on both digital and film-based cameras. You’ll learn about lighting, using a darkroom and all secret techniques that the pro’s use. If you truly love photography and want to learn all about it, then this is the course for you.

2. Digital Photography Complete Course: Adobe Photoshop for Photographers

This is a complete course in digital photography and will teach you everything there is to know about Adobe Photoshop. You’ll learn how to retouch photos, post pictures on the web and how to take better digital photographs.

3. Short Course: Fundamentals of Digital Photography

If you’ve just purchased your first digital SLR or are making the switch from film to digital, this course will show you how to take great photos. Designed for the digital SLR beginner, this program will cover the basics of digital photography.

For more details about these courses you can request a free NYIP course catalogue or you can head over the NYIP website to browse for more information. I would also recommend that you visit the NYIP Student Center where you can find a long list of interviews with past NYIP students along with student success short stories.

NYIP as a Free Photography Resource

In addition to the professional photography courses offered by NYIP, you can also find a whole lot of great free photography content on the NYIP website.

The website is a great photography resource packed full with informative and instructional articles about everything from sports photography, air show photography, flower photography, macro photography and everything in between as well as more specific articles about topics like model releases, hyperfocal distance, camera cleaning etc.

For more details about NYIP and the professional courses they offer request your free NYIP course catalogue today.

Photo by onesevenone

In the interest of full disclosure please be advised that at the time of writing this post NYIP is an advertiser on the Photography 24/7 website, sponsoring a 125x125px ad space. However it should also be noted that this post has not been paid for in any way by NYIP. Photography 24/7 is also not being paid any commissions from users clicking on any of the links included in this article, nor is Photography 24/7  being paid any commissions if users buy a NYIP photography course after clicking on any of the links included in this article.

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Yesterday Makoto Kimura, President of Nikon Corporation, announced that entries for the Nikon Photo Contest International 2010-2011 will be accepted between 1 September to 30 November 2010.

You can submit up to two images to either of the two categories – one with the theme ‘Energy’ and the other an open category.

There is a Nikon D3S digital SLR with two lenses up for grabs for the grand prize winner and with each of the two category winners receiving a Nikon D300S with flashgun and lenses. However there is a total of 53 prizes to be awarded in the contest.

So be sure to mark your calendars to remind yourself about this photo competition and get your entries in from 1 September 2010.

Entries will be judged by an impartial panel of well-known photographers currently active on the world stage.

Winners will be announced by the end of June 2011 on the Nikon Photo Contest International 2010-2011 website.

You can find out more about the contest here.

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Over the week-end the folks at The Impossible Project announced they had encountered yet another challenge to overcome.

The so-called “problem” was somewhat dramatically referred to as the “the attack of the killer crystals.”

In a long and detailed newsletter to its customers the founder of The Impossible Project, Dr. Florian Kaps, addresses the problem of crystallization in the PX 600 Silver Shade film, and to his credit he discusses the latest unfortunate development in quite an open manner.

Alarmed by reports from the community and customers regarding the stability issues, Kaps went on to review his personal collection of Silver Shade pictures and found that one of his favourite images had been affected by the crystallization issue. Obviously this finding stroke a chord with Kaps.

It’s good to see that at least this latest stability issue has not been ‘marketed’ as another beautiful characteristic of the film, asking customers to embrace the unpredictability of the killer crystals as an artistic trait that adorns your pictures.

Instead it has been acknowledged as a “problem we have to face, analyze and fight.”

Anything else would also have been commercial suicide if you ask me.

At 20 Euros for 8 pictures the PX 600 Silver Shade film is expensive and while being promoted as “experimental material that will produce changing results depending on light conditions and temperature” I have always been of the view that there is a natural limit to how experimental and how changing results photographers want to accept at such a price level.

Photo by Andy Wilson

I’m very passionate about photography in general including all kinds of instant film, but I must say I personally reached my pain threshold with The Impossible Pricing and The Impossible Cost of Shipping as I also wrote about in this post.

At 2.5 Euros per picture (plus the high cost of shipping) I’m not prepared to lose too many frames due to stability or sensitivity issues in the development of the film.

Nor am I prepared to accept an attack by killer crystals after I might have been lucky with a stable development of the film – provided I:

• shot in just the right temperature range (17-24°C / 63-75°F); and
• made sure to shield my picture from light immediately; and
• developed the picture upside down for 60 – 90 seconds; and
• let my image dry properly before storing them in a cool place protected from light

If – in an effort to try and avoid the crystallization – I then also have to:

• cut another central vent in the middle of the upper lamination on the backside of the developed picture to help to fight the humidity; or
• peel the image apart by turning my image over to the back, using scissors or a knife to stick the blade under the upper white sealed foil and then opening it along the edge and repeat the action along the sides so that I can remove the positive from the negative while making sure that I peel gently but not too slowly; and
• put silica gel into my storage box to ensure a controlled humidity below 40%.

By then I think my acceptance threshold has been way exceeded.

A very different story, though, if the film wasn’t so incredibly expensive. Then I could understand and better relate to the arguments that The Impossible Project is “an experiment you can be a part of” and “you have the chance to be at the forefront of the development of a brand new instant film.”

But when I’m hit hard with marketing hype that – at least to me – is trying to sell me a product at 20 Euros for 8 pictures which has multiple stability issues and which – in my opinion – is not ready for commercial mass distribution then I back off.

Mounting Frustrations

If you look outside the hard core group of Impossible fans more and more people are getting increasingly frustrated about the product and its stability issues. It seems to me that most people just want a better, more stable product and less marketing hype.

There’s a definite consensus that photographers are feeling users are paying a large premium for testing an unfinished product.

Photo by Andy Wilson

Fact is: most photographers don’t want to “experiment”. Most photographers want reliable and predictable results. Most photographers want a film they can use whether it’s 10°C, 20°C or 30°C.

And fact is: most photographers – myself included – admire the challenge The Impossible Project has taken on and most photographers want them to succeed.

So the question beckons: Is The Impossible Project shrouding a mediocre product in clever marketing? Did they rush an unfinished product onto the market prematurely?

If you ask me the answer to both of the above questions is “yes.”

It’s almost as if the used car salesman put on an Armani suit and tied his tie in a loose trendy style, got rid of the balloons and tacky flags, then had the car with a transmission problem painted and polished, changed the sales sign to feature a cool new font and then increased the price by 50%! All in an effort to sell the car here and now instead of getting a mechanic to take a second look at that transmission problem.

It’s understandable though; the eagerness, the excitement, the pressure and the anticipation. It’s easy to see how it happens. Is it excusable though? Not really.

At the very least a strategy should have been devised whereby the so-called “First Flush” was sold at a much more reasonable price –  an “Experiment Price” – which might have avoided many disappointed customers.

The Twist

And just as the tone changed slightly to one of a more straight forward acknowledgement of a serious problem it seems like TIP just can’t help themselves.

They have deployed yet another clever marketing push: The Pioneer Card.

TIP writes this about the new Pioneer Card:

“If you are one of our essential supporters who purchased our films from the very start, curious enough to dive into the First Flush, strong enough to continue the adventure after the LLP, brave enough to support us also in our fight against the Killer Crystal, you will be rewarded with your personal Pioneer Card. This will qualify you for a lifetime discount on all Impossible products that we will develop in the following decades.”

Read between the lines and it’s pretty obvious what TIP is really trying to say.

Oh, and by the way, the Pioneer Card isn’t quite launched just yet, but “more details will be available within the very next weeks.”

Come on guys! People just want a product that works and less of all the marketing hype. It’s simple.

There is Always Hope

Let’s just hope, though, that TIP will jump over this latest hurdle, hear the cries to turn down the volume of the marketing hype button and manages to create an instant film that is stable, can be used in various temperatures, is reasonably affordable and commercially successful to the mutual benefit of TIP investors and instant film consumers.

Less hype, better instant film…

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I’m not quite sure what David duChemin eats for breakfast, but he sure is a productive guy!

Today David releases yet another one of his great eBooks under the Craft & Vision umbrella which is based on the premise “underpromise, overdeliver”.

duChemin’s latest release is titled VENICE (The Print & The Process) and is a monograph of over 30 photographs that duChemin created along themes of loneliness and solitude over a 5-day period in Venice in May 2010.

So the question beckons, does duChemin overdeliver again this time around?

At first glance it looks a bit ‘thin’ on content. Sure, I understand it’s a monograph, and it includes 30 really beautiful images, but do you really want to part with $5 to view 30 beautiful images in an online book format? Isn’t that what we have websites for? After all $5 buys you one or two good lattes!

However duChemin drives it all home at the end of the book where he discusses the creative process followed by a discussion of the Why and the How behind the images in the book. It’s the kind of excellent and thoughtful writing we have come to expect from David duChemin.

To me this discussion at the end of the book (in combination with the beautiful collection of images of course) is well worth the sacrifice of another couple of lattes, and so the answer to the question is “Yes, he did it again!”

In my opinion anyone can read and enjoy duChemin’s new eBook, but it has particular relevance for photographers interested in learning more about the process behind creating a group of images unified around a common theme. I can highly recommend it.

Scroll down for a three-day special offer.

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If you’ve followed Photography 24/7 for some time now, you’ll know that one of my big addictions is photography books.

In fact I have a confession to make. I have several photography books in my bookshelf which I’ve only just skimmed through. They’re standing there, tall and new, waiting for me to find the time to sit down and take some proper time to look through them in more depth.

However I like the thought of always having some new inspiration to go to when I need it and when time permits. Such is my addiction to photography books.

Here are a few new and upcoming digital photography books which might interest you:

1. Adobe Photoshop CS5 for Photographers

With the new edition of this proven bestseller, Photoshop users can master the power of Photoshop CS5 with internationally renowned photographer and Photoshop hall-of-famer Martin Evening by their side.

In this acclaimed reference work, Martin covers everything from the core aspects of working in Photoshop to advanced techniques for professional results. subjects covered include organizing a digital workflow, improving creativity, output, automating Photoshop, and using Camera RAW. The style of the book is extremely clear, with real examples, diagrams, illustrations, and step-by-step explanations supporting the text throughout. This is, quite simply, the essential reference for photographers of all levels using Photoshop.

More details on Adobe Photoshop CS5 for Photographers.

2. Creative Black and White: Digital Photography Tips and Techniques

Black-and-white photography poses unique challenges; without color to guide the eye, contrast, lighting, and composition take on even more importance. Renowned photographer Harold Davis explains these elements and demonstrates the basic rules of black and white photography as well as when and how to break them. He breaks through the complexity of this photographic medium, explores opportunities for black-and-white imagery, and shows how to capitalize on every one.

More details on Creative Black and White: Digital Photography Tips and Techniques.

3. Rick Sammon’s HDR Secrets for Digital Photographers

High Dynamic Range (HDR) photography is a process in which a photographer shoots multiple shots of the same subject at varying exposure settings and then “stitches” the images together with photo-editing software into a single photo that presents sharper color and focus than a single image. World-renowned digital photographer and Canon Explorer of Light Rick Sammon reveals his most amazing HDR tips, tricks, and techniques for creating the best possible HDR images.

More details on Rick Sammon’s HDR Secrets for Digital Photographers.

4. Adobe Photoshop CS5 One-On-One

Master the fundamentals of Photoshop CS5 and make all of your images come alive. With Deke McClelland’s unique and effective learning system, you get step-by-step tutorials, hours of DVD-video demonstrations, and lots of hands-on projects to help you improve your knowledge and hone your skills.

More details on Adobe Photoshop CS5 One-On-One.

5. Vision & Voice: Refining Your Vision in Lightroom

David duChemin, author of the bestselling Within the Frame, believes there are three images that go into making a photographer’s final image: the one she envisions, the one she shoots, and the one she develops. Vision and Voice is about this third and last component, as the photographer brings the image into the Develop module of Adobe Photoshop Lightroom – today’s most popular digital darkroom.

More details on Vision & Voice: Refining Your Vision in Adobe Photoshop Lightroom.

6. The Digital Eye: Photographic Art in the Electronic Age

Taking readers from the earliest experiments in digital photography to the latest innovations, Wolf offers a historical perspective and points to future trends.

More details on The Digital Eye: Photographic Art in the Electronic Age.

Enjoy your reading!

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Today Andrew S. Gibson publishes part two of his ‘The Magic of Black and White’ two-part eBook series which is available through Craft & Vision.

The Magic of Black & White

Part one of Andew S. Gibson’s ‘The Magic of Black and White’ series is about ‘the vision’ and looks at the process of seeing and capturing in monochrome. It includes subjects like ‘The Art of Black & White’ and ‘Learning To See In Monochrome’ and focuses on the many compositional elements relating to black and white photography.

The Magic of Black and White (Vision) is an excellent introduction to black and white photography, covering a wide range of subjects and is illustrated with many of Andrew’s beautiful black and white photographs over a total of 60 pages.

It’s a great eBook which, I think, can serve as a good source of inspiration for photographers of any skill level.

The Magic of Black and White – Part Two – Craft

Part two of ‘The Magic of Black and White’ series is about ‘the craft’. This second book focuses on the craft of converting your captured image into black and white in the digital darkroom. It looks at the tools needed to turn a colour digital negative into a spectacular-looking black and white image using the software of the digital darkroom, specifically Adobe Photoshop.

‘The Magic of Black and White’ part two is a 51 page downloadable PDF.

The layout has been forced into a landscape format to make viewing on the iPad even better. Using a good PDF reader like GoodReader, this eBook retains the rich layouts found in all of the other eBooks created by Craft & Vision as well as allowing non-iPad users the same great experience they’ve always had.

The Magic of Black and White (Craft) sells for the usual and ridiculously low price of USD$5.00.

Special offer for the early bird:

For the first few days only, if you use the promotional code MAGIC4 when you checkout, you can have the latest eBook for only USD$4.00 OR you can use the code MAGIC20 to get 20% off when you buy 5 or more books from the Craft & Vision collection.

These codes expire at 11:59pm PST June 1, 2010 – so don’t delay!

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Lynda.com is an excellent place to learn and enhance your Photoshop skills (and your skills for I don’t know how many other software programs as well).

I subscribed to the Lynda.com courses for a period of time to build up my Photoshop skills and the courses certainly propelled my somewhat limited Photoshop skills forward, so I can recommend the site from personal experience.

These video courses are simply excellent. They are detailed and follow a step by step method and you can watch them as many times you like.

When I subscribed to the course I was particularly impressed with Chris Orwig’s ‘Photoshop for Photographers’ course. Chris is an amazing teacher and a great (and very passionate) photographer. Subscribing to Lynda.com for a month or two just so you can watch Chris Orwig’s course is well worth your money if you ask me.

Chris has updated his course to include the latest version of Photoshop and I have found this little YouTube clip which is an introduction to his new Photoshop CS5 for Photographers course:

If you don’t already know about Lynda.com the site is a great place to learn about new software programs.

Check them out today.

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When I first saw the announcement of the Lensbaby Soft Focus Optic I fell in love head over heels immediately. The images that accompanied the announcement earlier this year sold me straight away. They were dreamy and velvety soft and had a very beautiful quality to them.

While I have had the Soft Focus Optic for a while now, it wasn’t until today that I finally got around to make some images with this new optic.

And I can tell you that I wasn’t one bit disappointed. I’m still very much in love…

The focal length of the Soft Focus Optic is 50mm which is ideal for portraits (although you can of course use this optic for virtually any subject matter) and since I had my 21 month old daughter within arms reach, she became the subject for my ‘first impressions’ of this lens baby (pun most definitely intended!)

Contrary to the Double Glass, Single Glass, and Plastic Optics the Soft Focus Optic does not have the sweet spot of sharp focus and dramatic blur outside of that spot. The optic comes with three special soft focus multi-hole apertures that combine one large opening over the optic’s sharp center with small openings over the optic’s soft edges. This hole pattern creates a sharp underlying image with a soft overlay. This effect is shown in the image above where Laura’s hair appears fairly sharp, but there is still a lovely soft overall quality to the image. 

For me it was very much just a matter of installing the Soft Optic into the Composer (it also works with the Muse and Control Freak) and then just start shooting away. The design of the optic takes care of creating the soft focus for you, and the learning curve is therefore not as steep as with the ‘sweet spot optics’.

The image above was only my fifth out of a total of 35 images for this ‘first impressions’ article and it’s probably my favourite of them all.  Although I must say I have wondered about the somewhat uncomfortable lack of eye contact, but it leaves the image open for interpretation.

In this next image Laura started fooling around with her Teddy’s blanket, putting it over own head, so I snapped a few more and as you can see the soft focus is quite apparent.

I find the Soft Focus Optic is very easy to work with and if you shoot portraits from time to time I’m inclined to say this is a ‘must have’ in your gear bag.

I will be using the Soft Focus Optic a lot more and on a variety of subjects in the coming weeks and will be sure to share my further impressions in a couple of weeks/

Here is the Soft Focus Optic product specification:

• Focal Length: 50mm
• Multi-coated optical glass doublet
• f/2 optic with aperture disks that range from f/2.8 to f/22
• Creates images that are overall soft and diffuse
• Creates a flatter field of focus than the other Lensbaby optics. Suited for variety of soft focus applications such as portrait, landscape, urban, and botanical photography
• Magnetic disk aperture system
• Degree of softness can be controlled by changing the special apertures, or stacking them with regular Lensbaby aperture disks
• With the soft focus multi-hole apertures, bright, out-of-focus points of light take on the hole pattern’s shape.  Photographers can control this creative effect by using standard Lensbaby apertures or choosing a low contrast background

The Soft Focus Optic costs US$89.95 and can be purchased directly from the Lensbaby website.

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Rarely is a great photograph based on one single key ingredient.

A great picture is often a mixture of several ingredients such as beautiful light, the right moment, a particular expression, subject matter, timing, luck, being in the right place at the right time, mood, a specific combination of colour (or a wide range of tones in between black and white), personal vision AND composition.

Composition is like the foundation for a building. You need a good solid foundation to build your house on.

Good image design and a well-crafted composition, however, will not make for a great photograph in and of itself (just a like a foundation is not much of a house in and of itself) – so you will always need one or several of the other ingredients to make a great photograph.

Learning the skill of how to make an image, how to design your image by teaching yourself composition will lay the foundation for creating great and beautiful images.

Teaching yourself composition to the extent that it becomes second nature will leave you free to concentrate on the other ingredients that need to go into your image to make it great.

I therefore decided to compile a list of the top five books on photography composition on the market today.

The list has been compiled using a very complex and very secret algorithm that takes things like customer reviews, Amazon sales rank, star ratings and personal opinion into account. However I cannot reveal too much about my secret algorithm as otherwise I might have all the other top list makers calling me all the time for some insight.

The top five best books on photography composition are:

Drum roll…

#01: ‘The Photographer’s Eye’ by Michael Freeman

The Photographer's Eye by Michael Freeman

Praise for The Photographer’s Eye:

“The best book I have read on composition. This should be on every photographer’s desk, well-studied, underlined, and highlighted. I can’t recommend this one highly enough.” – David duChemin

Let me start by saying that even though I write photo books for a living (including The Joy of Digital Photography), I don’t know Michael Freeman and have never communicated with him. That said, this is easily the best composition and design book that you’ll find — and that goes for professionals as well as hobbyists. This is the first book, in fact, that I can recall that covers these topics with such depth and clarity of thought. – Jeff Wignall

#02: ‘Learning To See Creatively’ by Bryan Peterson

Learning To See Creatively by Bryan Peterson

Praise for Learnng To See Creatively:

This book is very easy to understand. There are many colorful photos with examples. As an amateur photographer who is looking to create photos this is THE book to have in your library! – Terri Bell

I bought this book to help me take better pictures. Wow… was I surprised. It has given me a whole new way to look at making pictures! – Shawn M. Herne

#03: ‘The Photograph’ by Harald Mante

The Photograph by Harald Mante

Praise for The Photograph:

This may seem to be a mutual back-scratching club, as I’m following a review by Tom Campbell, who also reviewed my own book, The Photographer’s Eye. Nevertheless, I’m compelled to say that this is the welcome return of one of the classics of composition in photography. And excellently updated and revised, too. Mante methodically and sympathetically presents an exhaustive account of the formal elements, from points and lines, through colour, to purely photographic forms such as time sequences. His painter’s training allows a refreshing and rare cross-discipline analysis. An essential read for anyone with an interest in design in photography (and any photographer SHOULD have just such an interest). – Michael Freeman (author of The Photographer’s Eye)

One of the best books I’ve read related to composition… Explained in a clear language, theory is supported by very good photos… – Manuel Vazquez Muñoz

#04: ‘Take Your Photography to the Next Level’ by George Barr

Take Your Photography To The Next Level by George Barr

Praise for Take Your Photography to the Next Level:

Wonderful book! The images and layout are excellent and the text is very readable. But most important, I feel as if the author is talking directly to me – simple, clear, friendly, and using the many images to illustrate the useful tips he is trying to convey. – Laurie

This is the perfect book for those who have technical competence but could use some help with their “eye. George does an excellent job of communicating his thought processes. It is not about camera control. It’s about capturing ones vision. It is a great read and I highly recommend it. – Mark Green

#05: ‘Creative Composition’ by Harold Davis

Creative Composition by Harold Davis

Praise for Creative Composition:

I have read dozens of books that attempt to deal with the very difficult subject of photograph composition. Many of them rely too heavily on the author telling the reader how to “look” at things differently. What this book does throughout is very different – it actually helped me “see” things with a much clearer eye. – Jeff R. Clow

I’m not a professional photographer, and don’t have that natural “eye” for photos, so I am always looking for books to at least help me technicaly get better photos. I really like this book because it is written in plain english and is very clear for those of us who aren’t seasoned professionals. – Barbara K. St John

I own each of the above five books and have found lots of inspiration in all of them. In fact these five books are all books that you’re likely to come back to again and again as your photography develops or when you’re just looking for a litte bit of inspiration. Needless to say the photography in each of these books is breathtakingly beautiful.

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Recently I wrote a mini review of David DuChemin’s Ten which was David’s first, very popular eBook.

I highly recommend ’Ten’. Save a latte and go and get it. I believe it’s still his most popular eBook to date.

However that might be about to change.

David has just released a brand new eBook titled Vision Is Better – and it’s absolutely fantastic!

I have to warn you though. You could have read this whole book already…

Over the past 5 years David duChemin has been writing about the photographic life on the Pixelated Image blog. Vision Is Better is a compilation of the 50 most popular articles from the Pixelated Image blog, covering a range of topics, all of which share one common theme – the photographic life and craft.

Becoming a better photographer is not only a matter of learning which buttons to press and in which direction to point your camera. It’s a matter of knowing why to do those things, where to look for inspiration, how to handle the distractions, and how to avoid getting sucked in by the lesser concerns.

If you like David’s writing (and it’s hard not to) and you want more of it, well then this is an awesome deal. It’s worth the money many times over. You get 116 pages for US$5.00. But it’s not about the quantity really, this book is just as big – if not bigger - on quality.

The book is beautifully designed as you can see from these excerpts. It includes 50 of David’s most inspiring articles in a great-looking offline portable format (PDF). Read it on your desktop, laptop or put it on your new iPad and read it wherever your iPad takes you… (if you have one of those fancy devices).

Vision Is Better is a 116 page downloadable PDF ebook and costs US$5.00.

If you liked this article, you may also like these:

• Ten Ways to Improve Your Craft. None of Them Involve Buying Gear
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Every now and then it happens that a new product with a twist hits the market. In the case of the new RS1-W1 camera strap for women the twist is a quite literal.

A new camera strap, made for women, designed by women and decorated for women.

Or rather as Black Rapid describe it:

While maintaining the traditional “Built For Speed” design, our designers have added a sleek curve highlighted with an elegant but slight pattern accent. The RS1-W1 is the world’s first camera strap that focuses on the perfect fit for the female.

So is this a fashion meets camera gear situation? Hardly.

But in what’s a fairly male dominated industry, it’s definitely refreshing to see a product launch with a specific female twist.

Personally I think Black Rapid could have gone a step further and given their new product a better (more feminine) name than the rather technical and somewhat non-descript ‘RS1-W1′.

What’s wrong with ‘Black Rabit by Black Rapid”?

But, hey, Rome wasn’t built in a day, and the boring, technical naming issue is one that the whole industry suffers from.

Whether the camera strap also functions in the comfortable and practical way claimed by Black Rapid, I’ll leave that for the ladies to decide.

The new camera strap is still in production and is scheduled to hit the market in the northern hemisphere summer of 2010.

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• Canon EOS-1D Mark IV
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It’s amazing what you can do with a computer and an internet connection today.

You can register an email free of cost. You can start your own blog free of cost. And you can start a public photography project that brings together photographers from all over the world.

This is exactly what Eva Sáenz from Bilbao in Spain has done with her “From My Window” (Desde Mi Ventana) project.

You don’t need a big, fancy and expensive website with all the bells and whistles. All it takes is a good blend of passion, dedication, hard work and then a good idea.

And if the idea is good enough, then it will take off, become a thing of its own and evolve into some bigger. Two plus two becomes five.

I think Eva’s idea is very good, and very creative.

“From My Window” is an artistic project with a very simple, yet very interesting mission. The aim is to collect daily scenes from people around the world by means of photographs taken out of their window, in their country, their home town.

© Diego Suarez Taibo from Oviedo (Asturias, Spain)

Eva says the following about the project:

It means a new way of creation, a mind-opening experience and a proposal of connection and information exchange among the members of a global community.

Everybody has taken pictures from the window once or twice…

“From My Window” will be the result of your actions: you take the pictures, you are the protagonist.

It’s simple. Just take a photograph from your window as the outside landscape and view is shown.

From my window, why?

Because, apart from the simplicity and ease of the proposal, it contains interesting information about ourselves: our way of life, our likes or dislikes, our particular vision of things… contrasting with many others, it generates a dialogue of differences and afinities.

I really love ideas like this and I’m grateful that Eva contacted me about the project, so that I can share it with you here and encourage you to collaborate with the project.

So your photo assignment is easy:

TAKE A PICTURE FROM YOUR WINDOW AND SEND IT TO: desdemiventana2010@hotmail.com in JPG format.

The result of the project will be shown in different exhibitions.

You can find out more about the project here (click the image to go to the “From My Window” blog):

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• VENICE
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Ten Ways To Improve Your Craft Without Buying Gear is a 32 page PDF eBook by photographer David duChemin and it’s all about becoming a better photographer.

While much of the online education about photography is full of fluff TEN has received enthusiastic reception all over the world for being passionate, insightful, and full of real-world wisdom for creating compelling photographs.

David duChemin is an international cultural and humanitarian photographer, and the author of the best-selling Within The Frame and VisionMongers.

David’s popular photography blog, Pixelatedimage.com/blog is a connecting point for photographers all over the world who together celebrate a common mantra: Gear is Good, Vision is Better.

The TEN eBook presents excellent value and is a great source of inspiration for photographers of all levels. David writes in a down-to-earth and very engaging way which makes this book a great and easy read.

It should come as no surprise that the book is organised into 10 inspirational sections all of which are designed to improve your craft without you spending a cent on new gear:

1. Get Pickier
2. Better Contrast Makes Better Stories
3. Change My Perspective By Changing Yours
4. Create Depth
5. Get Balanced
6. Pay Attention to the Moment
7. Look to the Light
8. Use the Best Lens
9. Expose for Aesthetics
10. Put a Great Foreground in Front of a Great Background

In addition to the ten main chapters this fantastic eBook also includes several creative exercises which are sure to get your creative juices flowing (should you need to get them flowing).

Originally meant to be priced at $10, TEN remains priced at just $5 as David never had the heart to raise the price!

Ten is available via the Craft & Vision website along with several other great Ebook titles all of which, in fact, are priced at just $5 per title.

Talk about value for money… $5.00, that’s about the price for a tall latte these days!

Save a latte, get an eBook.

If you liked this article, you may also like these:

• Chasing Reflections by Eli Reinholdtsen
• The Magic of Black and White
• Vision Is Better. Free the Mind, Free the Camera.

Yesterday The Impossible Project held its long-awaited press event in New York which was delayed with one month due to “some unexpected problems with production”.

After 17 months of research and development, The Impossible Project has announced that it succeeded in its task of re-producing a new analog Instant Film for traditional Polaroid cameras. Two new monochrome Instant Films – the PX 100 and PX 600 Silver Shade – were introduced as the first products scheduled to go on sale Thursday the 25 March 2010. The new films will start shipping to customers at the end of March 2010.

The PX 100 are manufactured for use with Polaroid SX-70 cameras and produce a sepia tone, and the PX 600 Silver Shade is designed for use with Polaroid 600 cameras, which produces a truer black and white image. The films will be available for sale online as well as at select retailers in the United States, Europe and Asia, and at The Impossible Project store in Berlin.

The new films introduced by The Impossible Project are built from the bottom up, containing more than 30 new developed components. The film begins its development with a bright blue color – an indication that the film was constructed completely differently from the old Polaroid instant films.

One of the interesting features of the new PX instant film is that it can be manipulated, and it’s also reported that artists can use the new film to create transfers.

Executive Director for Marketing & Business Development, Florian Kaps, noted that the group plans to produce films in different “flavors,” and that rather than an expiration date, the new films will carry a date of production, like wine, because the film changes characteristics as it ages.

What About Colour Instant Film?

Certainly this new PX instant film looks interesting and complex (if perhaps rushed to market a bit too early), but for many of us the real attraction about the old Polaroid instant film is colour.

So what about colour instant film?

Well the good news is that it’s coming, the bad new is that we’ll have to wait a little while longer.

The Impossible Project plans to introduce their first color film packs already this summer (that’s this northern hemisphere summer) and have a goal of producing 1 million instant film packs by the end of the year. Florian Kaps projects they would grow the total production to 3 million next year, and between 10-15 million packs per year in the near future.

As an interesting side note The Impossible Project also has plans (although secondary in nature to the integral film) for a comeback of Peel-Apart film. The Impossible Project purchased the last 8×10 production machine available from Polaroid in 2009 and carefully re-located this unique equipment from Waltham near Boston to the factory in Enschede in the Netherlands.

Impossible Prices and Impossible Shipping Costs

I’m afraid it’s not all good news from The Impossible Project though. The price for the two new PX films remains sky high.

PX 100 and PX 600 will sell for USD 21 each.

One film pack contains 8 photos which works out to be USD 2.63 per shot which is a lot more than I had expected (and no doubt more than what most of us had hoped for). Personally I would have expected a retail price point around the USD 12-14 mark.

But what’s even more disconcerting is the absolutely exhorbitant shipping costs (at least to the ‘rest of the world’) on top of that already hefty film price. The Impossible Project ships their film as follows:

• EU countries: EUR 15 / GBP 14
• non-EU European countries: 20 EUR
• USA: 11 USD (shipped from MA, USA)
• USA: 25 USD (shipped from Europe)
• Japan: 3000 JPY
• Rest of the World: 50 USD

Yes, that’s right, a whopping USD 50 in shipping costs for those of us living Down Under, in Asia or in ’the rest of the world’.

Yikes!

You definitely want to make sure you order more than a couple of packs of film at those shipping prices! But hang on, then again at USD 21 per film pack I guess there is a limit to how many packs you want to order. Hmmmm…(scratching my head here)

If you ask me, the pricing strategy of The Impossible Project got lost somewhere in amongst what has been some excellent marketing efforts. Not so good as the price is essential to the ultimate success of the project. Sure, clever marketing can command a premium, but still, I worry…

Of course I have no insight into the actual production costs (I’m sure they’re not exactly low), but obviously The Impossible Project is the single player in this market, competing only with the remnants of expired film sitting in a few people’s fridges around the world.

They created this market and introduced themselves as the saviours of instant film and millions of Polaroid cameras in danger of becoming obsolete. Don’t get me wrong here. I think it’s both honorable and brave what the team behind The Impossible Project has done. I just really hope they don’t price themselves right out of the very market they have just created. That would be a real shame. After all the cost of a digital picture is zero in comparison to film.

Film costs aside I’m at a complete loss to understand the reasoning behind the way The Impossible Project has decided to distribute their films.

I have bought numerous packs of instant film in the past which have all been shipped via regular air mail or another reasonably priced shipping service without problems. I put them in the fridge as soon as I receive them and the films develop fine without incident.

How sensitive is this new film one might ask?

The Impossible Project explains their high shipping costs on their website as follows:

Due to the very special setup of making a very limited quantity of selected Polaroid products accessible worldwide, many of them very sensitive to storage conditions, Impossible runs a high security warehouse with climate control facilities in Hungary in the heart of Europe. We did our very best to keep your shipping costs within a reasonable range, but decided to only offer traceable premium express services as all our products are highly fragile and should reach you the best and fastest way possible. Thank you for your understanding.

Anyway, we can hope this is just the initial pricing strategy for the launch and what is another clever marketing ploy, the “First Flush”, with its terminology borrowed from the world of high quality tea. Hopefully if and when the production of Impossible film hits 10-15 million units per year, prices will also come down to a more acceptable level.

Right now, I’m afraid, it still very much feels like a luxury to make pictures with the beautiful SX-70 at a cost of USD 2.63 per picture plus shipping costs (and shipping costs alone for the ‘rest of the world’ could work out to as much as $6.25 per picture if you buy just one pack, USD 3.13 if you buy two packs and 2.08 if you buy three packs). It just doesn’t feel like a pricing strategy that will sell millions of film packs, but let’s see…

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While today’s digital cameras are getting increasingly better at dealing with noise issues in digital images, noise is still very much part of everyday digital photography. Noise typically occurs when you photograph at high ISO settings such as 400, 800, 1600 etc. 

I will not bore you with all the details of what noise is, how it occurs and the technical explanation of noise which includes difficult terms like sensor, signal, photosite, electron, matrix etc. Just google it and you’ll find lots of good explanations of noise.

Luckily there are several good software programs on the market which offer the tools required to limit the unsightly noise in your images (and this is really all you need to know about noise). One such program is Topaz DeNoise.

If you have read some of my recent posts you’ll know that I have been experimenting with the Topaz Photoshop Bundle over the past three weeks (which also includes the DeNoise plug-in).

I’ve mainly focused on the more fun and creative plug-ins which are part of the Topaz Photoshop Bundle, but today I thought I would share an example of what Topaz DeNoise can do to improve quality of your images. As you will see in the image example below, it’s quite astounding what you can achieve.

Topaz DeNoise

This image is an outtake from the 18 August of my August Snaps project. The picture was taken after dark with the Canon G9 and at ISO 200 and as you can see from the enlargements there is quite a lot of noise apparent in the original (left).

As the enlargements also show Topaz DeNoise has done a really fine job at significantly reducing the amount of noise in the image (right). I have to say I’m very impressed by this plug-in.

Topaz is running a two-week promotion until the 15 March 2010. You can get the Topaz Photoshop Bundle for just $143.99 if you use the coupon code “newadjust” when you check-out. This represents a 20% discount on the normal bundle price of $179.99.

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I’m continuing to run more and more images through my new Topaz Photoshop Bundle of plug-ins and having a lot of fun in the process. Tonight I took a trip down memory lane and re-visited some images from a trip to Paris a couple of years ago.

The plug-ins included in the Topaz Photoshop Bundle are a lot of fun because they include a whole bunch of presets which you can experiment with. These presets range from subtle photo improvements to more pronounced effects and through to very artistic or even psycedelic effects.

In the following I share a few more examples from my latest play in the Topaz sand pit. 

Paris Door - Topaz Detail Plug-in (strong detail preset)

Bridge Study - Topaz Detail (interior strong detail preset)

Inside Arc de Triomphe - Topaz Detail (creative feature accent preset)

Paris Apartments - Topaz Adjust 4 (original RAW image)

Paris Apartments - Topaz Adjust 4 (psycedelic preset)

Balloon - Topaz Adjust 4 (mild color pop preset)

Centre Pompidou - Topaz Adjust 4 (original RAW image)

Centre Pompidou - Topaz Adjust 4 (psycedelic preset)

Parisian Flower Bed - Topaz Simplify (original RAW image)

Parisian Flower Bed - Topaz Simplify (watercolor preset)

The Topaz Photoshop Bundle is available from Topaz Labs for the price of $179.99.

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At the beginning of this month Topaz Labs released an upgrade of their popular Adjust plug-in for Photoshop. The latest version features a redesigned interface, new presets and upgraded image processing algorithms.

Today I decided to run a couple of images through the new Adjust 4 and here are some preset examples.

Sunset at the Lake:

Original RAW image

Photo Pop Preset

Color Stretch Preset

Enhance Contrast Preset

Feeling Lucky Option

Somewhere in Lamington National Park:

Original RAW image

Color Blast Preset

Painting Venice Preset

Charcoal Preset and a Photoshop Curves boost

As you can see from the few examples above there are lots of different options with the presets included with Adjust 4 but to me one of the real strengths of this powerful plug-in is the ability to season to your images to taste by using the various sliders available within the new interface to really fine tune your image.

Often I will choose one of the presets as a starting point and then work my way through the various sliders and make further adjustments as requried or depending on my mood and where I want to go with the image.

Once you become more familiar with the various sliders you can also go straight to the sliders and make your adjustments from scratch.

So really this plug-in is equally suitable for people who are new to post-processing their images as well as people who are more experienced in post-processing their images.

If you liked this article, you may also like these:

• Around Paris with Topaz
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