Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Yukoner Paul Nicklen piles up photo awards

Yukoner Paul Nicklen piles up photo awards
Yukon photographer Paul Nicklen has had a lot to celebrate this month — even without Christmas.
Full Story:
http://links.cbc.ca/a/l.x?T=jncickhjpedeaolaehldghfhda&M=32

[excerpts]

The Christmas 2010 issue of Outdoor Photographer magazine named Nicklen one of the world's 40 most influential nature photographers; he is featured in the cover story in the January 2011 issue of Photo Life magazine; and earlier this month, Up Here named him Northerner of the Year.

Earlier this year, Nicklen won first prize for nature photography in the World Press Awards, and he had two images selected for inclusion in the International League of Conservation Photographers' 40 Best Nature Photographs of All Time auction.

[...]

Nicklen grew up on Baffin Island in Nunavut, studied marine biology at the University of Victoria for four years and then worked as a wildlife biologist in the Northwest Territories for four years.

He now lives just outside of Whitehorse, but he travels the world, taking photos and writing for National Geographic.

He's passionate about the wildlife he photographs and feels his images are a way of helping to preserve what he loves.

"Recently, we influenced Parliament to vote against oil tankers in the Great Bear Rainforest on the B.C. coast because a team of photojournalists … went in there this summer," he said. "We've been working on a lot of different campaigns."


Posted by at

Sunday, December 26, 2010

My Bolivian photos

The MediaMentor  - View my 'Bolivia' set on Flickriver
Posted by at

My photos of Nunavut

The MediaMentor  - View my 'Nunavut' photos on Flickriver
Posted by at

My photos of the Northwest Territories, Canada

The MediaMentor  - View my 'nwt' photos on Flickriver
Posted by at

Some of my interesting photos

The MediaMentor  - View my most interesting photos on Flickriver
Posted by at

Last lab in the world that processes Kodachrome to close on Dec 31

'Last Kodachrome' end of an era http://ow.ly/3utxK last lab in the world that processes Kodachrome to close on Dec 31 #film #photography

[excerpt]

The photography show is called "The Last Kodachrome" but the last Kodachrome images aren't in the show. They are still in Pat Willard's Nikon camera.

They will have to come out by next week because the last lab in the world that processes the famed color film, Dwayne's Photo in Parsons, Kan., is discontinuing it at the end of the year. The last rolls to be processed must be there by noon, Dec. 30. After 75 years, all that will be left of Kodachrome is the Paul Simon song, and a state park named after it in Utah.

There will still be a sister film called Ektachrome, but Willard, a fine art photographer in Redwood City, is not buying it.

"I'll probably do only black and white," he says, lowering his tone to a funereal whisper. "There's no color like Kodachrome."

When the Eastman Kodak Co announced that the last rolls were hitting the shelves, in June 2009, Willard bought 40 rolls, at $8 apiece, and stuck them in the fridge of his townhouse in Redwood Shores. Then he contacted Ann Jastrab, director of Rayko Gallery, proposing a juried exhibition for Kodachrome prints.

Fifty photographers nationwide, plus a few from Canada, northern Europe and South Africa, sent in portfolios. Twenty-one photographers were selected and 45 prints are in the show, which opened Dec. 17 and, after a Christmas break, will reopen Jan. 4. Included are four prints of Willard's abstract expressionist work.



Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/12/24/DD0C1GOFON.DTL#ixzz19EbB6Jy6

Posted by at

Friday, December 24, 2010

Sizing a Sensor: No Easy Way

Sizing a Sensor: No Easy Way
By DAVID POGUE
Sensor size is important in pocket cameras, but figuring out
that size among various products is baffling.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/23/technology/personaltech/23pogue.html?nl=technology&emc=cta1

Slide Show: Pocketable Cameras for Low Light
http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2010/12/22/technology/personaltech/20101223-pogue-ss.html?nl=technology&emc=cta1

This week, you get two columns in one.

One is about new pocket cameras that take sharp pictures in low light without the flash — a magnificent moment in the evolution of cameras, thanks to an unusually large light-sensing chip.

The other column is about a shady scheme that's being perpetuated by the world's camera companies.

Posted by at

Sunday, December 19, 2010

Portrait of a photographer at the end of an era

Portrait of an artist at the end of an era
Behind The Lens; Mayor's criticism of cost for council photosstings
By Kelly Egan, Ottawa Citizen December 17, 2010

[excerpt]

The mayor may have been motivated by frugality when he criticized a $13,000 bill the photographer submitted to the city, but it sure came out wrong.

An "aghast" Watson told reporters: "These kinds of expenses are the kinds that get my blood boiling and we'll just have to do a better job."

Media being what it is, before long the yammering hordes were yelling "ripoff" and "Walmart, anyone?," the story turning into an attack on Couvrette's professional abilities.

Well, if you know anything about Couvrette, 59, who has photographed more of "official Ottawa" than anybody in 35 years, he's not one to suffer in silence.

In the waiting room of his studio on Gladstone Avenue, Couvrette is firing back. "We had people, literally, saying I was a crook."

First of all, Couvrette has photographed every city council reaching back to Marion Dewar. So, there is some history, not to mention, presumably, satisfaction with his work. And the city signed a contract, which spells out how and how much, before this council was elected. (He also notes his rates to the city haven't gone up in 10 years.)

Secondly, he says he offered the city a price of $2,725 if the councillors and mayor came to his studio on a given day. No go with this busy bunch.



Read more: http://www.ottawacitizen.com/entertainment/Portrait+artist/3990976/story.html#ixzz18aV8HsOS
Posted by at

Thursday, December 16, 2010

Emphas.is: Seeking a new funding model for photojournalism

Emphas.is: can crowd-sourcing work for photojournalism? - Seeking a new funding model for photojournalism
http://ow.ly/3qcFr

[excerpt]

As news organisations make cutbacks, photojournalists, many of whom are freelancers, have been struggling to find enough commissions. Co-founded by Tina Ahrens, a photo editor and consultant, Karim Ben Khelifa, a photojournalist and Fanuel Dewever, a business consultant, http://www.emphas.is/ is seeking a new funding model for photojournalism, an often costly and time-consuming trade. 

Ben Khelifa explained to the Editors Weblog that his inspiration for the initiative came when he was pitching an ambitious project that he wanted to carry out, but despite the fact that everybody he spoke to showed great interest in the project, he couldn't find funding. He had the realization that there was a serious demand for photojournalism, and that if media organisations weren't prepared to fund it, maybe the public would be. The public, rather than editors, would take on the role of information gatekeepers.

Crowd-funding for news has already been experimented with, the best-known example being Spot.Us, a start up based in California's Bay Area, founded by David Cohn with help from the Knight Foundation. Ben Khelifa only discovered Spot.Us after he started researching for his project, however. 

Photojournalists will make their pitches to Emphas.is, often in the form of a video, and a reviewing committee will decide whether or not to accept these, based on their viability. A cost will be set - Khelifa said he anticipates $5000 as an average- and the pitches will be put on the Emphas.is site. The public can then view these, and if they choose to contribute a minimum of $10, they will be invited into a private community where they can communicate with the journalist.
Posted by at

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Festival miroir sur la francophonie nordique


DSC_0558-v2, originally uploaded by The MediaMentor .

"Festival miroir sur la francophonie nordique" celebrating the 25th anniversary of the L'Association franco-culturelle de Yellowknife. The first known hot air balloon flights in the Northwest Territories took place in Somba’Ke park next to Yellowknife City Hall. Aug. 14, 2010 ©2010 George Lessard

Posted by at

Sunday, December 12, 2010

PHOBAR: Urban Word of the Day


December 12: PHOBAR

-adjective, Acronym for "PHOtoshopped Beyond All Recognition." A play on the the more popular acronym FUBAR: "Fucked Up Beyond All Recognition," PHOBAR refers to an image, usually a photo of a person, that has been retouched and airbrushed with digital image manipulation software on a computer so significantly, that the person in the photo is barely recognizable.

Of course she looks perfect in that photo, she was PHOBAR.

Posted by at

Saturday, November 13, 2010

A Roll of Photographic Blogs from Lens, the photography blog of The New York Times

Posted by at

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Protect your image rights online

[Applies to images of your artwork that you put online too!]

Protect your photo rights online

Understand what rights you may be giving up before posting photographs on the Internet

http://www.macworld.com/article/155421/article.html

[excerpts]

A big part of the joy of photography is sharing your images with others. The Internet has made it easy to instantly show your shots to friends, family, and even people you don't know. Many photographers post their work to Facebook, Flickr, Picasa, photography forums, or their own blogs and websites.

But along with the reward of sharing your shots with a wider audience comes the risk that the host for the website you display images on may be able to use your photos in ways you don't intend. Fortunately, you can take steps to protect your photos when posting them on the Internet.

Understand a site's Terms of Service

[...]

Read through the TOS to determine if simply posting your content (a broad term that includes your photos) allows the site to take your copyright, or gives it a broad license to use your work for marketing or advertisements.
[...]

Be smart about photo contests

Another time photographers should exercise caution is when they enter a contest. Photo contests can be a great way to get recognition for your work (and even win some prizes in the process). Unfortunately, many companies use photos contests to collect images cheaply for marketing and advertising purposes.

What these contests do is commonly referred to as a "rights grab." The sponsor designs the contest rules so that just by submitting an image—even if you don't win the contest—you grant the sponsor the right to use your image for any purposes without paying you. Therefore, when you submit your beautiful sunset shot to one of these contests, it can end up in a huge advertising campaign and you don't get a dime for it. Some contests add insult to injury by charging you for entering photos.

Read the rules or terms carefully before entering any contest so that you know what rights you are granting to the contest sponsors. The same language as identified above, such as "copyright transfer" or "unlimited license," are clues that the contest sponsors are taking more rights than you may want to grant to them.

Because these rights grabs contests are rampant, the Pro-Imaging organization has prepared a list of rules that it believes are appropriate and fair for photo contests. You can review Pro-Imaging's "Bill of Rights for Competitions" at pro-imaging.org. Pro-Imaging also maintains a list of photo competitions that meet its Bill of Rights standards and a list of those that don't.

Online sharing sites and contests make it fun and easy to share your photos and to get recognition for your work. Just make sure that you don't take uninformed risks that could ruin those rewards.

[Carolyn E. Wright is a licensed attorney dedicated to the legal needs for photographers. Get the latest in legal information at Carolyn's website, photoattorney.com. These and other legal tips for photographers are in Carolyn's book, The Photographer's Legal Guide, available on her website.]


Posted by at

Sunday, November 07, 2010

"The physical DVD or CD is not a stable, long-term media for preservation."

"The physical DVD or CD is not a stable, long-term media for preservation."
http://ow.ly/35U4W

Don't think that if you've transferred Grandma Sonia's photo albums or Uncle Howard's home movies onto digital files that you've preserved them, says Katie Trainor, head of the Museum of Modern Art archives, a repository of 26,000 films in Hamlin, Pa., just east of Scranton.

"Because of the quick obsolescence of equipment, who knows if new technology will be able to 'play' an old movie in five to 10 years?" Trainor says.

"The physical DVD or CD is not a stable, long-term media for preservation," says Grover Crisp, senior vice president of asset management for Sony Pictures. "One of the few ways to make sure you have files for the future is to constantly access them, make sure they work, and migrate them to newer and, hopefully, better media."

"And don't throw out the original film or photograph," Trainor advises.

In her capacity as cofounder of the Center for Home Movies, Trainor finds that "once people transfer their home movies to digital, they often throw out the original material. But that CD it's stored on might get scratched. So, keep that film or negative, keep it cool and dry."

Posted by at

Saturday, November 06, 2010

In praise of photos that capture life in a flash

In this Pulitzer Prize-winning photo from Sept. 7, 1965, a Vietnamese mother and her children wade across a river, fleeing a bombing raid on Qui Nhon by United States aircraft.

In this Pulitzer Prize-winning photo from Sept. 7, 1965, a Vietnamese mother and her children wade across a river, fleeing a bombing raid on Qui Nhon by United States aircraft.


Newspapers get in trouble for their choice of photos — the Russell Williams front-page pairing in his favourite outfit and then in military uniform is one example — which amazes me, being a wordster.

I notice that the editor asks in the news meeting every morning, "Are we pictured up?" It's terrifically important that a front page be instantly graphically interesting, a punch in the attention gland for the jaded Toronto reader still searching in the morning for his head which seems to have gone missing as the children howl and the bus to work roars past, untaken.

He doesn't say, "Are we worded up?" because he naturally assumes that great clumps of words are already coming out, like a cement mixer with its funnel aimed at a great big empty.

See, I could just have said "hole." But I didn't. Writers are so special.

But the fact is that even as news photographers rage that their profession is disappearing, they are as crucial as they ever were. Before, you had to paint the news. That's why in art galleries, most portraits show people sitting down. Painting and posing, so dreadfully tiring. Then came photos, TV, colour TV, online, and YouTube and beyond. News photographers are panicked that only moving images can win, that if a skateboarder isn't filmed slamming his crotch directly into a concrete pillar, it might as well not have happened. 


http://www.thestar.com/news/article/886852--mallick-in-praise-of-photos-that-capture-life-in-a-flash#article






Twitter Latest Northern_Clips tweet: The rights-media Daily is out - read this Twitter newspaper on http://bit.ly/cpkI5S (72 contributions today)
  Get this email app!  
Twitter Latest MediaMentor tweet: The rights-media Daily is out! http://bit.ly/cpkI5S ▸ Top stories today by @hrw @pressfreedom @Media_Freedom @press_freedom @amnestyOz
  Get this email app!  
Twitter Latest Creative_Radio tweet: The Creative Radio Daily is out - read this Twitter newspaper on http://bit.ly/dfSOK8 (14 contributions today)
  Get this email app!  
Posted by at

Monday, November 01, 2010

Licensing art & design By Caryn R. Leland #stock #photography

Posted by at
Labels: , ,

Thursday, October 28, 2010

FYI: GoPro: Wearable Digital Cameras

GoPro: Wearable Digital Cameras for Sports
http://ow.ly/31gRw

http://www.flickr.com/photos/gopro_photos/

GoPro's HD HERO Naked http://www.goprocamera.com/products/hd-hero-naked-camera.php is the world's highest performance wearable 1080p HD video and still photo camera. Professional quality 1080p / 960p / 720p HD resolutions record at 30 and 60 frames per second (60 fps in 720p). Record up to 2.5 hours on a single charge and up to 9 hours total on a 32GB SD card (not included).

The camera can also shoot automatic 5 megapixel photos at 2/5/10/30 and 60 second intervals during your activity, hands free. Press the shutter button once at the start of your activity and record up to 2.5 hours of poster-print quality photos of you and your friends, living it up.

Included is one mount for attaching the camera to a helmet or other curved surface as well as the quick-release HD housing which protects the camera.

The HD HERO Naked is compatible with all other GoPro HERO camera mounting accessories, so it's very easy to expand the functionality of your camera to suction cup to vehicles, clamp to bike handlebars and seat posts, mount to surfboards, and even be worn on the wrist or chest.

Waterproof to 180' / 60m and protected from rocks and other hazards thanks to its removable polycarbonate housing. Replacement housings and lens kits are available, making repairs or refurbishing your HD HERO camera affordable and convenient. It's a GoPro...go for it.™



New York Times Gadgetwise Blog - "The GoPro Goes Anywhere"





New York, NY - Sept, 2010 - The GoPro HD HERO was put through its paces and featured in the New York Times. The Gadgetwise Blog writer says the HD HERO is "One of the most fun cameras I've ever used.... and "Packs more power than most professional cameras on the market today." Read full story.




HD Cameras: Wide Lens


Standard Def Cameras: Wide Lens


Additional Mounts




Posted by at
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)