ShootSmarter DVD Outlines Digital Exposure Control
Crockett explains light meters and discusses how to integrate digital cameras, studio strobes, light meters and on-camera flashes for reliable results...
Schulz Photographs Yellowstone, Yukon
Mountaineers Books has published “Yellowstone to Yukon: Freedom to Roam,” with more than 200 full-color images by Florian Schulz (see Portfolio, page 12) and a foreword by Robert Kennedy Jr. Schulz documents the landscape, plants, animals and people of an ecosystem that exists along the spine of the Rocky Mountains. Although the wildness is still untouched by man, it lies in the path of encroaching development.
Contributing essayists Karsten Heuer, David Suzuki, Rick Bass and David Quammen describe...
Microtek Expands Scanmaker Line
Microtek has released two scanners, the ScanMaker i800 and the 3,200-dpi ScanMaker 1000XL, a tabloid-sized flatbed scanner.
The high-resolution i800 can handle multiple film sizes, including 24 frames of 35mm film strips, 12 mounted 35mm slides, two 4x5 transparencies, and medium-format panoramas up to 6x17cm. It features 4,800 by 9,600 dpi optical resolution, allowing users to create poster-size images from photos and film, and an 8.5x14 reflective scanning area to accommodate legal-size documents and batch scanning of photos or film...
IN THE LOUPE: Louie Psihoyos
Equipment: Almost exclusively the Canon EOS-1Ds Mark II, what he calls "the Porsche of digital cameras." He sold all his film equipment on eBay in the summer of 2005. "I was actually surprised you could still get money for your film cameras," he says.
Major influence: The mid-20th century imagery of W. Eugene Smith. "He hits on a lot of cylinders for me," he says. "He's got a great sense of light, and he's passionate about his subjects." Psihoyos' favorite Smith pictures include "The Country Doctor" and "Spanish Village," but most meaningful to him are Smith's photographs showing the aftermath of a mercury-poisoning incident in Minamata, Japan.
Advice for up-and-comers: "If there's anything specific that's come out of the digital world, it is that it's become easier and easier to take bad pictures," he says. "In photojournalism school, they don't teach you how to take great pictures; they don't tell you how to light. Most of what I learned about lighting and taking pictures in general came from reading books and watching films shot by great cinematographers."
Website: psihoyos.com
Playing the Stock Market: How to Make a Living in the Stock Industry
Can I make a living in stock photography in 2006 and beyond? What business model is right for me? Which agents should represent my work? How many images should I produce?
How do I shoot for international markets? How much time should I spend on post-production?
These are only a few of the questions posed by professional photographers, and those who aspire to that status, in today's rapidly changing and very confusing image marketplace.
ACDSee Releases Pro Photo Manager
ACD Systems has introduced ACDSee Pro Photo Manager, the new version of its photo management software. Developed for professional photographers, ACDSee Pro lets photographers view, process, edit, catalog, publish and archive photographs with speed and ease.
Nondestructive RAW processing allows photographers to adjust white balance, exposure, sharpness and noise without altering original files, and then save the settings to apply repeatedly to multiple RAW images. To ensure viewing and printing accuracy, ACDSee Pro also features...
Tamron Introduces Digital SLR Zoom
Tamron has released its AF55-200mm F/4-5.6 Di II Macro LD (Model A15), a new telephoto zoom designed for digital SLR cameras with image sensors smaller than 24mm by 16mm. The zoom covers the focal length range equivalent to 85-310mm when converted to a 35mm format. The lens will allow owners of digital SLRs fitted with standard zoom lenses to produce the pulling and compression effects particular to telephoto lenses.
Because the optical system is designed for digital cameras, the image circle is smaller. The new 55-200mm zoom lens has...
Digital Foci Launches Media Buddy Storage
Digital Foci has introduced its Media Buddy portable digital photo storage with hard drive and card reader. The built-in memory card slots allow users to copy and store photos directly from digital camera cards.
Media Buddy’s 30GB to 80GB hard drive versions free up memory card space. The backlit, text-based LCD screen lets users view file information and operation status including copy progress and confirmation. Images can be saved to specific folders or files from the card, or the entire contents of the memory card can be saved with the one-touch auto copy button. When connected to a computer, Media Buddy functions as...
Promaster MacroLume Offers Versatility
The Photographic Research Organization has introduced its Promaster MacroLume TTL Digital, the digital version of its Promaster TTL Macro Flash. The MacroLume TTL Digital features individually controlled dual flash tubes, each with a built-in variable diffuser. For maximum versatility, it mounts to virtually any lens using Cokin P Series adapter rings. The MacroLume TTL Digital uses all Promaster 5000 series flash modules for fully automated operation with most digital and traditional cameras available today.
Other features include...
Albert Normandin: Might As Well Jump
What do you get when you mix together a group of modern ballet dancers, a barren landscape and a freelance photographer who doesn't take himself too seriously? If that photographer is the itinerant Albert Normandin, the answer is "Jump," an image that sums up his kinetic style and love of spontaneity.
The shot was taken in August 2000 ("It seems like so long ago," Normandin says) outside of Las Vegas. "We just went out to the desert, and I let them jump around and shot about 150 rolls," he says. "I like to work that way, just let them go with it...