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Digital Photography Tutorials

I’ve been asked where from can someone purchase a good lighting kit. There are many places and not even I can know them all. I suggest that you first star by looking in some local shop: it will spare you the cost of delivery.
However, here’s what I’ve recently found out:

JP Distribution announced the arrival a new All in One Umbrella Kit from award winning manufacturer Lastolite. This Kit can be used as a silver or white bounce, a silver and white bounce or shoot through, and it is available in two sizes featuring either an 80cm (34”) or 100cm (40”). This is accompanied with a 4 section stand, hotshoe flash tilthead and a padded shoulder bag for quick and simple transportation. The kit is compact, it features removable covers on the All in One Umbrella and internal pocket in shoulder bag for hotshoe tilthead.
You can buy Lastolite All in One Umbrella for £95.99 and £105.99 respectively:
All in One Umbrella Kit 80cm (34”) LAS Code: 2475 SRP £95.99 Inc vat
color temperature:5600/5450k
shoot through -0.6f
silver white bounce -0.2f
white bounce -0.1f
silver bounce -0.2f
All in One Umbrella Kit 100cm (40”) LAS Code: 2476 SRP £105.99 Inc vat
color temperature:5600/5450k
shoot through -0.6f
silver white bounce -0.2f
white bounce -0.1f
silver bounce -0.2f

If you are interested: marketing Tel: 01782 753304 and email: info@johnsons-photopia.co.uk.

The competition, launched under the Royal Photographic Society, is known as IRIS-25 (The International Review of Images with Soundtrack for Under 25 year olds) and it is designed to promote and encourage the interest and growth of Digital Audio Visual photography among young people. The deadline for entries is 21st April 2008 and free software to assist in creating the increasingly popular sequences has been kindly provided by Igor Kokarev of the Pictures to Exe Software company . Entry forms can be downloaded from http://www.iris-25.org .
The entry categories are:
· Single author under 16 years old (prize – £100)
· Single author aged 16 to 24 years (prize – £150 + Pollock Medal)
· Group entry – by young people aged under 16 (prize – £100)
· Group entry – by young people aged 16 – 24 years (prize – £150)

A Special Prize will also be awarded to the school or college with the maximum number of entries.

“The production of AV sequences involves many skills useful in modern life, and can benefit the workers and leaders of tomorrow, teaching them to communicate, not only visually but also verbally; to look, listen and understand; and to express their ideas creatively with skill and sensitivity.” – Maureen Albright, Organiser.

London-based photographer Cat Vinton has become the first female overall winner of the international Travel Photographer of the Year competition (TPOTY), winning a stunning prize which includes the opportunity to photograph the Dalai Lama in India.

Amateur and professional photographers from 51 countries competed for the £50,000+ prize package, and entrants from Australia, Canada, Finland, India, Poland, Switzerland, the UK and USA are amongst this year’s prizewinners. The winning images will be on display at the Exposure Gallery in London (dates to be confirmed) and the TPOTY exhibition at Focus on Imaging at the NEC in February 2008. Also, the very best images from the previous four years of Travel Photographer of the Year are available in two stunning books – Journey One and Journey Two.

Overall Winner

Cat’s beautiful panoramic images of the snowy Norwegian landscape and evocative shots of a Nomadic family captivated the judging panel, which included the editors of Germany’s fotoMAGAZIN, British Journal of Photography, Hotshoe International and Professional Photographer, the travel editor of Tatler, Photography Director of Condé Nast Traveller, and photographers Charlie Waite, Nick Meers and Jeremy Hoare.

Cat Vinton wins the title of Travel Photographer of the Year 2007 and a remarkable prize. As well as having the chance to photograph His Holiness the Dalai Lama, in an unforgettable journey to Dharamsala, India, organised by High & Wild, she will receive an Apple MacBook with Aperture software, Adobe CS3 Web Premium software, a £2,500 TPOTY bursary, and a Plastic Sandwich leather portfolio book.

New Talent

This year, TPOTY introduced a new category – New Talent – designed to help support a fledgling career. The first New Talent award winner is American photographer, Charlie Mahoney. For his prize, Charlie will work alongside the Adventure Ecology Expedition Team, who conduct field missions to the most environmentally challenged parts of this planet. His images will feature on the Adventure Ecology website and also at an exhibition London’s Exposure Gallery. In addition, he will receive three days of photography and digital imaging tuition from photographer and tutor Chris Coe and digital imaging expert Terry Steeley of Iridius, plus Adobe Photoshop CS3 Web Premium, a Plastic Sandwich leather portfolio book and a £1,000 TPOTY bursary. And Charlie will also have the opportunity have his work represented by the Axiom and Photoshot image libraries.

Young TPOTY
Cat Vinton is not the only female photographer to enjoy success in TPOTY this year. The Young TPOTY category (for photographers aged 16 and under) has been won by 14 year-old Luna Malka from Canada. Luna’s imaginative images on the theme ‘Fragile Earth’ immediately caught the judges’ eye. Her prize is a £500 TPOTY bursary, a Wacom Intuos3 A5 wide pen tablet, Adobe Photoshop CS3 + Lightroom and a Plastic Sandwich leather portfolio book. And her winning images will be displayed at a TPOTY exhibition hosted by Adventure Ecology at The Exposure Gallery in London.

One Planet, Many Lives
British photographer Timothy Allen’s colourful images took the honours in this category. As a reward, he and a companion can choose between three different Intrepid Travel trips to China. He also wins an HP Designjet Z2100 large-format printer plus inks & media, and Adobe Photoshop CS3 and Lightroom software.

Second place in this category went to Larry Louie of Canada, with Gary Wornell of Finland Highly Commended and Jean-Claude Louis (USA) Commended. Larry Louie and the second-placed entrants in the Sense of Place, Thrill and One Shot categories each win £200 to spend on LEE Filters, plus a Sekonic L358 meter from JP Distribution. Commended entrants in these categories win Giottos MT 9242 tripods from JP Distribution and copies of the TPOTY Journey One and Journey Two books

Sense of Place
American amateur photographer Jean-Claude Louis’ haunting black and white images of Berlin won first prize here. His prize is a Tanzanian Wildlife Adventure with African Safari Roots, a superb Wacom Cintiq 21X and Adobe Photoshop CS3 and Lightroom. Philippe Gueissaz (Switzerland) was second, with Ashok Sinha (India) Highly Commended and Luke Duggleby (UK) Commended.

Thrill
Black and white landscape images topped what was otherwise a colour-filled Thrill category, with Polish photographer Maciej Duczynski’s atmospheric portfolio depicting European mountains securing the highest marks. Rather fittingly, he’ll be returning to the mountains – his prize is a photographic tour of the Swiss and French Alps with YokmoK Adventures! He will also receive a Fujifilm S5 Pro camera with lens and two 4GB memory cards, plus Adobe Photoshop CS3 and Lightroom. Felix Hug (Switzerland) finished second, with Andrew Watson (Australia) and James Hill (UK) Highly Commended and Commended respectively.

One Shot
The single image category had two themes this year, Special Places, and Amazing Faces, with entrants having the choice of meeting either – or both – of those briefs in their image. The winning image, taken by American photographer Richard Murai, shows a truly amazing face – an 84 year old snail gatherer in Cambodia. Richard’s prize is a Mamiya 7ii camera & two lenses, Peli 1510 case, Sekonic L758 meter and Giottos MT9371 tripod (all from JP Distribution) plus Adobe Photoshop CS3 and Lightroom. Tony Baker (UK) was second in this category, followed by Larry Louie (Canada), who was Highly Commended. Robert Moore (UK) and Leslie Rosenthal (USA) were both Commended.

Cats are cute and funny and everyone who has a cat and a camera will make tons of photos with the pretty pet. As a result, the Internet gets filled up with photos of all cats in the world and “professional” photographers avoid this subject (the newest concept among photographers is that they must seek originality).
However, the days of cats are not yet over. I can still find really good images of cats, images are certainly more than just a point-and-shoot moment, images that were well thought and with some interesting techniques behind them.
Let’s see what I’m talking about (you may notice that the main reason why these pictures are special is the perspective and second, the story behind the picture):

And here’s a list of what you should avoid in order not be lame:
1) large DOF
2) cat stupidity
3) playing cats
4) yawn of cats
5) lazy cats
6) cat’s eye
If you are about to do a cat portrait, pay attention at lighting. The “rules” are the same as for people portrait photography.
The above images belong to a group of artists from deviantart.com: MT-Holy, gilad, scab-lab, wazabees (my favorite cat artist), Joffi, chochweets (must see), mordoc, illugraphy, beethy, SubterfugeMalaises, ssilence, dissentinthestreet, ayaspiralout, DivineError, hoschie and salihguler.
Here’s my personal best image of my cat:

Nikon D40 and D40x digital cameras are only fully compatible with AF-s and AF-I lenses. This means that the lens must have it’s own focusing motor. So far, there were not too many such lenses to choose from, but, here’s the big news:

Tamron Announces the Launch of the Popular AF18-250mm F/3.5-6.3 Di II with Built-In Motor for Nikon (Model A18N II)

A Compact, Lightweight and Ultimate High Power Zoom Lens Boasting the 13.9X Zoom Power Designed Exclusively for APS-C Sized Digital SLRs

Mr. Morio Ono, of Tamron Co., Ltd., announced that the company will release the AF18-250mm F/3.5-6.3 Di-II LD Aspherical (IF) Macro, a lightweight, compact and ultra high power zoom lens designed exclusively for digital SLR cameras with APS-C sized image sensors with a built-in motor for Nikon (Model A18N II).

Product Name
AF18-250mm F/3.5-6.3 Di II (Model A18N II) for Nikon

Date of Launch Schedule in Japan
December 13, 2007

The AF18-250mm F/3.5-6.3 Di-II LD Aspherical (IF) Macro is the ultimate high power zoom lens boasting the world’s greatest zoom ratio(*1) of 13.9X, a milestone that Tamron, the pioneer of high power zoom lenses, has achieved by commanding its technologies to further expand the capabilities of high power zoom lenses.

Soon after Nikon D40x was launched and brought to Romania, I received this camera with a lot of joy. However, there was no printed manual in the package and the informations on the CD were not enough to fully understand the hidden features of this SLR and it’s compatibility.
Now, I’m glad to announce that website photo-i has launched a Nikon D40x DVD user guide in association with Nikon.
Written and presented by Vincent Oliver, photographer and editor of http://www.photo-i.co.uk, this DVD user guide is visual, practical and presented in a user-friendly way. It shows how to get the best from the Nikon D40x without having to wade through hefty manuals. The subjects covered include: setting up, features and controls, the menus, custom settings, white balance, flash photography, using lenses, exposure and more.
The DVD runs for 1 hour and 25 minutes
The Nikon D40x user guide is now available to buy online at: http://www.photo-i.co.uk.
Running time: 1 hr, 25 mins.
Price: £12.00
Language: English
Format: 16:9 PC and Mac and PAL TV all regions
Publisher: photo-i in association with Nikon

HP Digital Photography offers free online photography classes. These classes are easy to sign up for, and you can take them online on your own schedule. Some classes currently available include:
· Professional Digital Photography Made Simple
· Beginner’s Guide to Saving, Printer and Sharing your Digital Photos
· Telling a Story with Photos
· Creative Holiday Gifts from Photos

With photography classes, you can learn how to get better results from proper use of your digital camera, find out how to work with perspective, angles and light, and also how to share your digital photos with friends and family.
I kindly recommend to enter this classes if you are a complete novice, or, get your kids into the photography hobby. It would make them happy and keep them busy during the holly days.
Photography classes are available online, or at your local community college.

More information: http://tinyurl.com/y37×8t

Featuring Wallpapers by National Geographic.

Repetition of shape and colour can add an engaging motif to your scene without making an ugly busy composition. Finding pattern and symmetry for your shot need not constrain you to photographing your grandparent’s carpets and curtains.

Spot the Patterns

Patterns of all kinds occur at all scales throughout nature, but also throughout human constructs too – and this is what I’m focusing on now.
If you live in a big city and don’t feel too attracted to street photography, then you probably think about abstract photography. By looking for patterns around your home you train you eye to see in a more abstract way.
However, note that abstract art not only includes textures and patterns, but also minimalistic lines and color spots/shapes. The keyword for a successful urban pattern photography is repetition.

Accentuate the Pattern in Your Photo

Try to zoom in close enough to the pattern so that it fills the frame and makes the repetition seem as though it’s bursting out. In some rare cases you can brake this rule to give the viewer a comparison for the patterned object.
One of the most commonly seen pattern in a city is made by the arrangement of the windows. You can photograph this scene normally (horizontal view) or in diagonal, from different angles. (examples sourse)

Stairs also create interesting shapes: different spirals, curves and lines.

Example by Yitzhak Avigur

Alex Wasilewski from Springfield, Illinois and his image ‘A Record in Stone’:

Night lights: dots from the standing reflectors and lines from the moving vehicles.

Any other objects that come together in a group in public places: like baskets in shopping malls, sits in an empty room, boxes and books on shelfs, the same product repeated in a shop, dishes, wheels and wheel patterns, bricks and so on.

Original Image

Industry (not just construction industry that I mentioned at the beginning) and agriculture (however, this goes under rural patterns) present activities which have as a result a man-made work full of patterns. Some of these are only visible from a plane or some high building.
One of the most famous picture of this kind illustrates parked cars (by Alex MacLean).

And one last note: you can also try some macro shots on electronic circuits (and any other man-made little objects) and include them as urban patterns.

Last one by arhitectural photographer Ross Langdon.
More:
Charles Webster Patterns:

Hello my dear reader!
I am kind of busy at work these days, but soon the “storm” will be over and I got new interesting tutorials waiting for you. Meanwhile, there are 2 things I want to tell you:
First, don’t forget about the photojournalism contest (write your story and win a book).
Second, I’ll leave you a gallery from my latest winter shooting session in the mountains near my town. There is a lake there and I had the chance to shoot during a snow fall. Enjoy!