Posts filed under 'Photography'
November 13th, 2008
RED, makers of the digital video camera RED ONE, have announced their new camera system: the RED DSMC (digital stills and motion camera).
As the title of the system suggests, we’re not just looking at another video camera here, the specs on the higher end sensors promise to rival those of current DSLRs. As with the Nikon D90 and the Canon 5D Mark II, digital stills and digital video are converging, but this particular thrust comes from the video side.
The infinitely-configurable system from RED is so different, it’s almost confusing. The RED Scarlet and RED Epic sensors (with funny names like Mysterium Monstro) can be combined and interchanged with different lens mounts (including Canon and Nikon mounts), batteries, recording modules, lenses (of course) and so on. The idea is that the camera can be configured and tailored to your needs in a myriad of ways. Further, as technology advances and new components become available, they will integrate into this system and you won’t have to upgrade the entire camera.
All of this, of course, comes at a price. A lot of it is pretty costly stuff, but perhaps the less expensive options will allow budding filmmakers to buy into the system and upgrade into the more high-end options as their needs may advance. The lighter weight versions, however, do seem fairly affordable for the ability to get good quality HD video.
On the photography side of things, I’m not sure the specs / cost will win over too many DSLR shooters. The higher-megapixel options are a lot more pricey than their DSLR counterparts. What we have here is the reverse of a camera like the 5D Mark II. RED’s system will allow filmmakers to branch out into still photography where the Mark II will give photographers the option to try their hand at making some moving pictures.
Though it will likely be a long while (if ever!) before I get to play with one of these (especially since it doesn’t an official release date yet) it’s still fun to watch the technology blossom and to imagine where things may go next.
October 6th, 2008
Boston.com’s The Big Picture has done it again with this gallery of images from famed aerial photographer Yann Arthus-Bertrand. His images always impress and the body of work he has assembled over his career always makes me jealous.
Any helicopter pilots want to be my friend?
October 2nd, 2008
In praise of assistants, today brings a small group of links for and about photographic assistants.
- This exceedingly detailed article by digital assistant Patrick Lavoie explains the workflow he uses when he works with fashion photographers. I’ve used a very similar workflow on shoots and Patrick’s piece will give you more info than you will likely be able to digest in one sitting.
- A post from Vincent Laforet discusses a photo of Michael Phelps from the Beijing Olympics in Sports Illustrated and the fact that it is credited to both Heinz Kluetmeier and his assistant Jeff Kavanaugh. As Laforet states, “it’s incredibly rare for photographers to give their assistants any credit for the images they take while on assignment with them,” but in this case, the photographer acknowledged the work of his assistant by sharing the credit for a great photo.
- And lastly, PDN has two interviews with photographers relating how they made the jump from assistant to photographer here (PIper Carter) and here (Sherry Loeser). The short answer: once your work and confidence are good enough, just do it and commit to it.
September 29th, 2008
Thanks to online friend and illustrator extraordinaire dro, I learned that one of my photos was used as the inspiration for a piece for an indie comic called Grunts in which WWII soldiers battle the undead.
I took the photo at the Howarth 1940s weekend, one of the re-creationist festivals that seem to be popular here in the UK. It has now found it’s way into a new form thanks to Urban Barbarian in this post.
Here is the original:
And here is the new, slightly-more-angry version:
September 23rd, 2008
Boston.com’s always-inspiring The Big Picture today has a batch of images from India.
The Big Picture is consistently full of great photos and is a great site to visit on a regular basis, but this gallery, in particular, caught my eye. It makes me eager to head back to Asia. Fingers crossed that I might get to do so sooner than later…
September 22nd, 2008
The post from DIY photography has a couple of helpful hints about reducing the amount of plugs, adapters and wires you need to bring along with you the next time you are taking your camera on the road.
Depending on the amount of gear you take with you, it can be a bit of a hassle to have to tick off a dozen trinkets on your packing list just to keep your gadgets charged. This tip aims to minimize that clutter.
August 11th, 2008
A short trip from Riga lies the small hills and valleys of Sigulda. A nice spot to get away from the big city, this countryside locale hosts a the ruins of Sigulda castle and also the much more impressive (and much more intact) Turaida castle.
The valley is also home to a charming but tragic legend of a young maiden who refused to submit to the whims of a Polish soldier. Though she was in love with a local commoner, she was lured to a cave by the soldier. When she realized what was happening, she presented him with her “magic” scarf which she said protected the wearer from all injury. To demonstrate its effectiveness, she donned the scarf and coaxed the soldier to swing his sword at her. The end result was an ignorant soldier chopping her head off and an enduring legend of everlasting love.
The caves where the maiden met her end and where she also spent happier times with her love are both popular spots near the Gauja river. Neither of them, however, is going to be too exciting for anyone that doesn’t appreciate the legend - without the tales, the caves are relatively small holes in the side of a low cliff. So, just remember to pack the fable along with you and you should enjoy yourself.
Have a look at my photos of Sigulda here.
July 20th, 2008
Continuing on with my photography of the Baltics, I have just uploaded a gallery of photos of Kaunas, Lithuania.
It’s small old town is scenic and on the other side of the city, the St Michael the Archangel church is impressive. It was in Kaunas, that I had one of my more memorable adventures in the Baltics which involved me poorly planning a route up a hill, hopping a couple of barbed wire fences, narrowly escaping potentially-nasty falls then crossing paths with a drunken member of the Russian mafia (I’m pretty sure!) and having to politely refuse a trip to a strip club with him where who knows what would have happened! The whole thing got my adrenaline going just a wee bit…
If my photos are at least half as exciting, I will have done my job. Check them out!
July 9th, 2008
After a couple of marathon processing sessions, last night, I put up my photos of Tallinn, Estonia. This gorgeous medieval city was almost too wonderful to be real. At times, it felt like I might have stumbled into Disneyland, but it was always much more fantastic than any theme park.
These photos join my shots of Vilnius, Lithuania and my images of Riga, Latvia from my trip through the Baltic states. Please have a look!
July 8th, 2008
It was bound to happen sooner or later. Flickr’s massive collection of photos has already received plenty of attention from photo buyers, but there has never been any official system in place for the completion of transactions.
It looks like that’s about to change. On this short FAQ page, Flickr has announced that it will partner with Getty to “build a platform that will enable the creation of a first class collection of royalty free, rights ready and rights managed photographs that will debut later this year.”
Details are scant at this point, but it’s safe to assume that the images of regular flickr users will soon be seen side by side with the work of established Getty photographers and the line between amateur photographers and pro stock shooters is all but obliterated.
It will be interesting to see how the two businesses will integrate with each other, but it may be something as simple as: Getty editor sees flickr image he/she likes. Getty editor contacts photographer and asks if they want to sell the image and under what rights system. Photographer opts in and on that image’s flickr page, there is now a “License This Image” button. Presumably, photo buyers will be able to limit flickr searches to images that are on sale. And a new kind of stock agency is born.
I can only hope that the photographers end up being treated well and get a fair payment for their work.
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