Photoworld #1 2008 magazine issue

WE trialled a ZMags version of the January 08 issue of Photoworld here. We then looked at Uniflip. However, all these places want a few hundred dollars to leave a slightly adjusted Flash or Java version of a PDF we create, on their server for 12 months. The ZMags trial is now removed and after testing Uniflip, it was clear we had no reason at all to use this service either.

You can simply download a modest sized PDF (72 dpi screen res) of the January08 Issue here instead…

– David


Eyepiece magnifiers for the Alpha DSLRs

The launch of the Alpha 350, with its small 0.74X viewfinder, makes a proper eyepiece magnifier attachment an essential addition to the Sony accessory range. Olympus, Nikon and Pentax all have such magnifiers, which permit a full view of the screen for most wearers and make all the difference to the manual focusing and general comfort in composing shots. We tested two devices, one of them the highly affordable Seagull 1x-2.5x right angle finder, and the other Olympus’s ME-1 1.2X ocular magnifier. Continue reading »

AdobeTV tutorials now on-line

Adobe Systems Incorporated today announced Adobe TV, a free online video resource for expert instruction and inspiration about Adobe products, including the company’s Creative Suite 3 family of world-class creative tools. With multiple channels, original series programming, and content from Adobe, leading training organisations and the world’s leading subject matter experts, Adobe TV delivers a virtual library of entertaining and instructional videos. Designers, photographers, video professionals, and developers will find product deep-dives, innovative tips, techniques from luminaries, and behind-the-scenes tours of the hottest creative shops and Adobe product teams.

Designed to educate, inspire, and entertain the creative community, Adobe TV is immediately available online from the Adobe Web site at http://tv.adobe.com. “Adobe TV is the online video source for anyone with wants to see how Adobe tools are being used to create stunning work,” said Bob Donlon, executive producer for Adobe TV. “It brings together experts from Adobe and the creative community to inspire and teach how to get the most from the software that is empowering the delivery of high-impact print, online, video and mobile communications. It’s also the perfect showcase for Adobe’s broadcast video technologies in action.”

Videos on http://tv.adobe.com can be sorted by Most Recent, Most Popular and Top Rated to see what others in the community are watching. Additionally, viewers can easily share their favourite programs with others by posting them to their blogs or Web sites, or e-mailing links to friends. Adobe TV videos come with lightweight links that make it easy to spread the word about interesting content.

Rich Library of Video Content
Adobe TV features four channels, each targeting a specific audience: Photographers, Designers, Video Professionals, and Developers. Each channel features programming from Adobe evangelists, leading trainers, subject matter experts, and luminaries who pull in the crowds at industry events around the world. More than 200 videos are currently available on Adobe TV, with programming that mixes how-to information, case studies, personality-driven shows, and workflow deep-dives. The first set of videos offers secrets about Photoshop software, podcasts and design tips for Creative Suite, techniques for Photoshop Lightroom, tips on Adobe Flash Professional software for beginners, approaches to taming the Web, and information about video and audio production.

“The creative community instinctively turns to the Web as a primary resource for tutorials and information on how to use Adobe products, but before now this content was scattered and difficult to find,” said Joseph Princz, CEO of the interactive agency, Wrecking Ball Media Group. “Adobe TV makes it easier than ever to search for and subscribe to Adobe video content that not only inspires new creative ideas, but also helps us to refine our skill sets and dive further into the essential tools our business depends on every day.”

Creating and Delivering a Complete Online Video Experience
Adobe TV demonstrates the power of Adobe’s leading video technologies from creation to playback. Using components of Adobe Creative Suite 3, Adobe TV programming is scripted and storyboarded, and the graphics and imagery are developed. During production, Adobe OnLocation software monitors quality and records directly to disk. Visual effects are produced in Adobe After Effects software, the audio is cleaned up or created in Adobe Audition software and Adobe Soundbooth software, and then the programming is edited and output from Adobe Premiere Pro. Adobe’s Emmy-award-wining Flash technology, the most widely used platform for delivering interactive experiences online today, and Adobe Flash Media Server then package and deliver Adobe TV.

Welsh National Trust photo contest

Picturesque pastel coloured seaside cottages; cows lazing in summer haze; soaring mountains; a red kite gliding elegantly; weathered stone walls… just some striking images of the Welsh countryside that would be enough to inspire anyone to reach for the camera!

A new photographic competition is being launched by The National Trust in Wales on the theme “The Welsh Countryside” – on one of the following subjects: wildlife / landscape / farming / buildings. The photograph doesn’t have to be of a National Trust building or on Trust land (which is just as well as the NT does not allow photography for commercial reasons, including stock or editorial, on its property – Editor).

Entrants will compete in one of three categories – Open; Under 18; or National Trust Tenants – and will have the chance to win £1,000 worth of prizes, supplied by the UK’s leading photographic retailer, Jessops.
Entrants will also be able to take advantage of 30 free photo reprints at Jessops stores.

The photographs will be judged by Chris Lacey, Manager of the National Trust’s impressive photo library. He offers some hints on what makes a great photo: “By thinking creatively and looking at things in a different way, you can really bring things to life in a photo. I’ll be looking out for the correct exposure (so images which show details in the darkest and lightest areas); that the subject is of interest, which is eye-catching; that the focal point of the image is sharp; colour balance, and that the image provokes an emotion or feeling.”

The winners will be announced at the National Trust’s stand during the Royal Welsh Show (21 – 24 July), where a selection of the best photographs will be displayed.

Digital pictures need to be 7” x 5” at 300dpi

The closing date of the competition will be 9 July 2008, and entries can be sent digitally to: [email protected] or posted to: The National Trust, Trinity Square, Llandudno, LL30 2DE.

Epson 40th anniversary photo contest

Epson, the inventor of the first ever electronic micro-printer in 1968, has today launched a pan-European competition to celebrate its 40th birthday. Designed to spark the imagination of Europe’s image makers and mark four decades of innovation and inspiration, the competition is open to all, setting a challenge to design an image to be used on Epson’s birthday card. The overall winner will receive ‘the trip of a lifetime’ worth €5,000 (circa £4,000) whilst all entrants will have their work displayed within an impressive online gallery.

Barbara Kuhr, Head of Strategic Marketing at Epson Europe commented: “Over the past 40 years, we have witnessed a quantum leap in the quality and capabilities of digital printing. To mark the occasion, we’re asking imaging enthusiasts of all capabilities to exceed their vision and provide a lasting image that will help us to celebrate Epson’s 40th birthday in style.

“Entrants need to capture the essence of 40 years of innovation in a single image; it’s not an easy task but we are confident that the competition will provide some exceptional and powerful pictures. There are some great prizes on offer, and we will display 40 entries in a prominent position at the Photokina exhibition in Cologne this September – providing exciting and valuable exposure.”

Entrants to the competition must submit an original image, which can be a photograph, illustration, montage or any other image that encompasses the theme: ‘celebrating 40 years of innovation’. A gallery of entries will be displayed at www.epson-europe.com/40, which also contains an online entry form and an interactive timeline chronicling the significant technological advances pioneered by Epson over the past four decades.

All age groups and levels of ability can participate, giving everyone the chance to have their work displayed within an online exhibition and to gain inspiration from one another, unbound by geographical or social boundaries. Images will be judged on relevance to the theme, composition, technical quality and creativity. Winners will be chosen by an independent group of judges selected from Europe’s community of elite photographers.

Isabel Muñoz, a leading photographer and one of Epson’s bespoke judging panel commented: “Epson has set a tough challenge with this competition, and it will be fantastic to see how innovation and progression is translated artistically by image makers throughout Europe. It is a fantastic concept and I am looking forward to the exciting and eclectic entries.”

Aside from their image being used on Epson’s birthday card, the overall winner will receive a ‘trip of a lifetime’[2], whilst second place will receive €1,000 (circa £800) worth of Epson products. €500 (circa £400) worth of Epson products is on offer for third place. All three finalists will also receive a certified Digigraphie® print of their work – a large format, professional, authenticated quality print using Epson UltraChrome™ K3 inks with Vivid Magenta and printed on certified paper.

Entries must be submitted to Epson before 24.00 on July 31st 2008. Digital entries need to have a resolution of 360dpi and can be submitted via the dedicated website. Hard copy entries can be posted to Epson at: Epson, PO Box 49793, London WC2A 1WA, England. All entries must fit within 150mm x 215mm in either landscape or portrait format.

Sightsavers International photo contest

From waves crashing on a beach to freshly cut grass, or someone dancing to a tune on their ipod, students across the UK are being invited to take a photo that best evokes the senses. The i:click awards are a brand new national photography competition, aimed at students aged 11-18, being launched by leading blindness charity Sightsavers International.

By focusing on the theme of the senses, Sightsavers hopes that students will be encouraged to think about what it might mean to live without a sense such as sight. Sightsavers works in over 30 developing countries to treat and prevent avoidable blindness and to also improve life for those who are irreversibly blind. 45 million people in the world are blind, yet a staggering 75% of all blindness can be prevented or cured.

Well-known photographer Mary McCartney is supporting the i:click awards and explains why sight is so precious to a photographer: “It’s a way of communicating ideas with other people. We all see things from different perspectives. If ten people took photos of the same vase of flowers, the chances are that the resulting images wouldn’t look anything like each other.”

Mary had this advice for students wishing to enter: “It helps to choose a subject you’re really interested in that you can explore and learn more about. Take some time to think through the end result so that you don’t waste time and have to reshoot.”

Three national winners, one from each category (11-14 years, 14-16 years and 16-18 years), will be selected from a list of regional winners. The three lucky winners will each receive an SLR camera and enjoy a day out at an awards ceremony in London in the autumn, where their winning image will be the focus of an exhibition showcasing the best photos. In addition, the winners’ schools will receive a visit from a professional photographer who will give a teaching session for aspiring snappers.

The judging panel is headed up by Graeme Le Saux, former England and Chelsea footballer and himself a keen photographer. According to Graeme: “I wouldn’t say I’m any good at photography, but I’ve always been interested in the story a picture can tell. I love the fact that you can be creative when taking pictures. From my point of view it’s the composition that’s important as well as the subject – it’s all about balance.”

Schools and colleges interested in participating in the awards can find more information at www.sightsavers.org/schools or by contacting the i:click awards helpline on 01444 446727 for a free entry pack. Entries can be sent in on disc, as prints or via email and must be submitted by 12th September 2008. Winning photos will be exhibited at the.gallery@oxo on London’s South Bank from 22-26 October 2008.

Gary Friedman photo trip to Latvia

We are announcing a very unique trip for budding travel and reportage photographers out there. This is a “Photo Expedition” – different from a traditional tour package – put together by professional photographer and camera system e-Book manual author Gary Friedman (who runs the stock photo website www.FriedmanArchives.com ).

Latvian Church

Says Gary: “Photo Expeditions are guided travel programs which cater to the unique needs (some people might say “eccentric needs”) of photographers. Getting up at 4:00am in order to catch the sunrise is not out of the ordinary. Taking you to landmarks only when the light is right makes perfect sense to us. Taking you to places off the beaten path and leave you free to roam and photograph a fishing village is exactly our itinerary. And you’ll be with fellow photographers who love to travel, make new friends, and tell the story via pictures. The whole tour is based on the premise that nobody ever took a National Geographic quality photo from the window of a moving bus.

“The event will be taking place in the beautiful Republic of Latvia on July 13-20, 2008. UK readers can book low-cost flights from Ryanair, typical costs for the return journey from Stansted and various other airports to Riga are around £130-£200 on the dates involved, including taxes.

“Where…? Not many people have heard of Latvia, but it was one of the most beautiful of the Soviet Republics. You can see pictures and read a detailed itinerary at
http://friedmanarchives.com/expeditions/latvia/ .
“The trip is all-inclusive – once you get your self to Riga, we take full care of you from start to finish. We have room for only 14 people, so if you’re thinking of going, signing up sooner is better than later!

“I feel especially proud that we were able to secure as our “home base” one of the best retreat properties in Latvia. From the website:

This property was once an exclusive retreat for KGB VIP’s where satisfaction was guaranteed for the Soviet elite: Deer were tied to a tree so old Generals could shoot it, and divers would secretly hang fish onto submerged fishing hooks to please their high-ranking vacationers.

“The new facility built to European standards and situated on Valguma lake where you can sit at breakfast and enjoy the view of the hills and woods.

“If you’re even thinking you might want to join us, please send me an email at [email protected] to let me know your intent and I can let you know when spaces are about to run out. This is going to be a fun trip!

“Check out the details at www.FriedmanArchives.com/expeditions/latvia and let’s hear from you!”

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