Deh Cho Bridge under construction March 1st 2011

Deh Cho Bridge under construction March 1st 2011, originally uploaded by The MediaMentor .

Deh Cho Bridge under construction March 1st 2011
©2011 George Lessard htpp://mediamentor.ca
DSC_0792-v2.jpg

Locked in a Vegas Hotel Room with a Phantom Flex (video)

Locked in a Vegas Hotel Room with a Phantom Flex

http://www.tomguilmette.com/archives/1986
[excerpt]

Violating the laws of nature. Playing God. Capturing stuff we are not supposed to see. Potentially opening up a wormhole in the fabric of time.

These are a few of the things I think about while shooting with a Phantom High Speed Digital Cinema camera. The above video is a bunch of test footage I shot to get familiar with the new "Flex" version. I shot inside my Las Vegas Palms Casino hotel room between the hours of 2am and 6am. If you had a Phantom in your bedroom, you would stay up too!

This past weekend, I worked in Las Vegas for FOX shooting the World Championships of Ping Pong (WCPP). Yea, Ping Pong.

The Digital Eye: Shooting Snow

The Digital Eye: Shooting Snow

[excerpt]

The days are getting longer and the sun brighter, but you still have time to get out there and photograph the frigid Yukon wonders.

Winter brings unique challenges in capturing this splendour effectively - challenges you can overcome.

Your mind and eye adapt to each portion of the landscape as you gaze over the vista before you.

Not so for your digital camera.

http://whatsupyukon.com/index.php/2011-02-08-22-32-49.html

Norm Hamilton is a freelance writer and photographer in Whitehorse. Learn more at http://www.normhamilton.ca/blog

Covering Strife: What Not to Bring to Tahrir Square

What Not to Bring to Tahrir Square:
No matter how many precautions journalists take in Egypt, it is mostly about luck.

http://lens.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/02/08/what-not-to-bring-to-tahrir-square/?ref=media

[excerpt]

It is rare that the most important piece of equipment in your bag is the bag itself, even more rare for that bag to be a black plastic trash sack slung over your shoulder as you walk past pro-government thugs on a bridge over the River Nile. The trash bag's purpose, of course, is to conceal your large nylon camera bag, which is likely to get you grabbed off the street by the aforementioned thugs.

Sometimes the hardest part of a story is getting there. Sometimes it is getting around. Sometimes it is obstructive intelligence agencies and soldiers. Sometimes it is lawlessness, sometimes overattentive law enforcement. Sometimes it is lack of transport, poor communications, power blackouts, accreditation difficulties or a hostile local population.......

Yanik's Photo School YouTube videos and blog

Yanik's Photo School http://yanikphotoschool.com is Yanik's personal blog with the mandate to teach fellow passionate photographers as much as possible through tutorials, tips, tricks, reviews and interviews.
http://www.youtube.com/user/TouchPhoto

Yanik Chauvin
http://www.yanikchauvin.com/
http://www.touchphotography.com/


About Me:
My name is Yanik Chauvin, professional photographer http://www.yanikchauvin.com/ and photography teacher.

I enjoy working with publishing houses that focus on educational books and materials.
Nature photography is a pure pleasure and is a big part of what I capture.
I also have a passion for massage therapy and created TouchPhotography http://www.touchphotography.com/ specializing in massage therapy fine art prints and stock images.

My professional journey gave me to opportunity to be a judge at the prestigious International Photography Competition hosted by the Canadian Association for Photographic Art. http://www.capacanada.ca/

I invite you to check out my BLOG at: http://yanikphotoschool.com for regular tips and tutorials on anything related to photography.

2011 Getty Images Grants for Good competition is now open

Call for Entries: The 2011 Getty Images Grants for Good competition is now open. Proposals from photographers and creative agencies, to create compelling new imagery for nonprofits they support, are due by March 1.

We proudly support photographers and communications professionals who use imagery to promote positive change in our world. To that end, we've launched our Grants for Good.

Nonprofits need imagery to tell their stories effectively, which is why our Grants for Good provide two grants of $15,000 annually, to cover photographer, filmmaker and agency costs as they create compelling new imagery for the nonprofit of their choice.

Grants recipients may use the entire award to offset shoot expenses, or choose to donate all or part of it directly to their charity and contribute their own time and resources. The photographer and the nonprofit as well as the communications agency involved will be showcased to the media and to our customers..

Feel free to contact us with questions about our Grants for Good at grants2@gettyimages.com.

Read more about the requirements at 
http://imagery.gettyimages.com/getty_images_grants/overview.aspx

NatGeo photographer Paul Nicklen to talk about Arctic, polar bears

NatGeo photographer Paul Nicklen to talk about Arctic, polar bears

http://www2.tbo.com/content/2011/jan/24/241223/natgeo-photographer-to-talk-about-arctic-polar-bea/life/

[excerpt]

In a telephone interview Friday, he said he was already in Florida swimming with and photographing manatees at Crystal Springs. "Some of the other divers here are complaining about how cold it is, they should try diving in the Arctic," he joked.

He says this National Geographic Live! series is a first for Florida. "Most people will never see a polar bear in the wild so here's a chance to look at these magnificent animals," he says.

Some of Nicklen's other encounters include an amazing face-off with a female leopard seal, a powerful animal that could have easily killed him. But instead, she started offering him food, bringing him penguins that she had killed, This encounter and others can be seen on YouTube.

Nicklen, who is one of about 50 freelance photographers that work for National Geographic, says he is "not a tree-hugging environmentalist" but he does believe that the planet is warming up and the wildlife in Arctic is in danger.

"I want people to go away with a sense of appreciation for the wildlife that may disappear some day if the ice continues to melt," he says.

Nicklen, who lives in Whitehorse, Yukon, with his wife, has tracked Stellar sea lions in the Aleutian Islands and dived with minke whales off Australia's coral reefs.

X-pire! Software Adds a Self-Destruct Feature to Your Digital Photos

X-pire! Software Adds a Self-Destruct Feature to Your Digital Photos
http://ow.ly/3Gsdw
X-pire:
http://ow.ly/3Gsfo

Welcome to the web page of X-pire! - the innovative software that adds a digital expiration date to your images.

A short overview so that you quickly become familiar with this site:

• X-pire! will be released in the third week of January 2011. (Please note: The prototype is no longer available, the prototype-server will be deactivated soon)
  
  
• Additional information about X-pire! can be found here. (Link is in German.)
  
  
• The coverage of X-pire! in the public media (press, TV) can be found here

"Help! I've Been Infringed!" Photo copyright

"Help! I've Been Infringed!"
http://www.photoattorney.com/2009/05/help-ive-found-infringement.html

[excerpt]

You're sitting in your easy chair and surfing the web. You're not paying much attention, until you see it. It's your photo, but you did not post it there. You can't believe they used your photo without your permission. Now what do you do? The steps you take may limit your ultimate remedies so be sure to first understand what your options are.

Make Copies of the Infringement
If you think that the use is likely an infringement, make copies of it - both in electronic and print forms. Once the infringer realizes that she is caught, she will do what she can to get rid of the evidence of the infringement. You may need that evidence later.

If the infringement is in print, then take a photograph of it, scan it, photocopy it, and/or show it to another person who would be willing to testify about it. If the infringement is on the Internet and/or in electronic form, make a paper print of it and/or copy a screen capture of it; both are better! (Snagit by TechSmith is a great program to copy web pages.) Determine whether your copyright management information (CMI) is included in or has been removed from the infringing use. Read more about why and how to include your CMI in your photos in one of my blog entries here and here.

Make Sure That the Use Is an Infringement
Not all uses of your photographs are infringements. Do you use a licensing agency that may have authorized the use? Could the user be related to an entity to which you authorized the use? Is the use a fair use? While only a court can ultimately decide what fair use is, the law gives us guidelines as to what may qualify. Read more about fair use in my blog entry here.

Research the Infringer
Next, find out what you can about the infringer. Research the infringer's website to find his name and contact information. If the infringer is a corporation based in the United States, you can find information about it on the website of the Secretary of State for the state where the infringer is based. To find the Secretary of State's website using an Internet search engine such as Google, search the corporation's state's name (such as "Georgia") and the words "secretary of state." The extension of the URL will be ".gov" or ".us." Be careful - some sites attempt to appear to be the state's website so that they can charge you for the information. Once on the proper Secretary of State's website, look for "corporations search," "business search" or similar language. You then will find the company's registered or resident agent, officers, and/or official address.

You also may be able to find a contact name by searching the website's "who is" information. You first do a "whois" search on the website name. Several websites provide free "whois" services, such as http://www.whois.net/. Conduct an Internet search to find them. After you enter the website name there, you may be able to find contact information for the administrator of the website.

FYI Roy’s Audiotronic – Digital Photography Class with Lee Sacrey

RT @arlenehache: RT @ykonline: Roy's Audiotronic – Digital Photography Class.
http://bit.ly/funJEO #yzf

Roy's Audiotronic, Yellowknife's local electronics store, is organizing its first Digital Photography course. Robin and the Staff at Roy's are working hard to support local and northern Photographers (from Beginners to Pros) and are constantly improving their products and services. I, for one, appreciate their efforts. So much so that I have joined with them to lead a class on Digital Photography. The class will run through the basics, Aperture, Shutter Speed, ISO, White Balance, etc. There will be some discussion on Camera Equipment and Accessories and some time for topics from the attendees. There may be some new equipment to view as well (the equipment will be available to purchase from Roy's Staff after the class). The class will be held on January 22, 2011. Contact Roy's Audiotronic at (867) 873-5441 or stop in to their store to sign up, do it quickly as class size is limited. Here is a poster and a pdf file for the event. Thanks for stopping by, I hope to see you at the class and as always Happy Shooting.

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."

My Bolivian photos

My photos of Nunavut

My photos of the Northwest Territories, Canada

Some of my interesting photos

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

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.

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

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.

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