How to photograph a kaleidoscope of wedding culture
By Jeff Kent       

Internationalization is the initiative of the new millennium. Beyond the meeting halls of the European Union and the world financial markets of Hong Kong , multiculturalism is apparent in every aspect of society. In America , the great melting pot, cultural and ethnic diversity are apparent everywhere, from the Haight to the Heartland to Harlem .

The trend hasn’t skipped over wedding photography. While the concept of traditional wedding photography comes in shades of black and white, in reality, it embraces a kaleidoscope of traditions.

In honor of our diversity, we take a look at some examples of non-Western wedding traditions.

Sophisticated control to conquer noise

By Wendell Benedetti

Electronic noise is one of the inherent problems of digital photography. The larger the sensor chip, the hotter the operating environment, the higher the ISO equivalence, and the longer the exposure, the more electronic noise is introduced into an image. Noise is also a problem with scanned images, especially in the deep shadow sections where the scanner has less light to deal with.

At times noise looks like exaggerated film grain. More often, it appears as tiny blotches in the image. While not as distracting as the jaggy artifacting introduced by excessive JPEG compression, noise can degrade an image to a point where it becomes unusable.

To avoid even minimal artifacting, most commercial photographers don't shoot in the JPEG file format, but it isn't as easy to get around the noise problem. Some solutions do exist. A number of software companies have released plug-ins and stand-alone applications that reduce the distracting effects of noise.

Large storage capacity and a big, beautiful display make Epson’s next-gen viewer a practical piece of equipment
By Ron Eggers

As image resolution increases with the release of new digital camera models and CompactFlash card capacity increases accordingly, portable storage solutions have become more functional and affordable. There's a variety of high-capacity portable devices on the market that cost a fraction of CompactFlash cards when it comes to price per megabyte.
Epson's new P-2000 Photo Viewer, a.k.a. Multimedia Storage Viewer, stands out as one of the sleekest I've seen, and I've seen a lot. It comes with a 40GB hard drive, accepts multiple media types, and multitasks as an image display device and video/MP3 player.

Epson took the popular Stylus Photo R800 and supersized its abilities with the Stylus Photo R1800. This new printer features the same great Epson UltraChrome Hi-Gloss eight-color pigment ink set, but can produce prints up to 13x44 inches and resolutions up to 5,760x1,440 optimized dpi. This ink set also features Epson's Gloss Optimizer, which eliminates gloss differential.

The Wilhelm Research numbers on this product are outstanding. On Epson Watercolor Paper (Radiant White), displayed prints framed under glass reached a permanence rating of 200 years. Epson Premium Glossy Photo Paper hit 104 years and Epson Matte Paper made it to over 150.

Speed increases with this model. 4x6 prints in less than 42 seconds and 11x14-inch photos in less than two minutes.

Looking for a case that's as tough as you are? Or at least as tough as you wish you were? Porter Cases are the Volvos of photo equipment cases. They may not be the prettiest, most styling cases, but they're rugged and they keep all your gear safe from damage.       

The new Stowaway 20-20 W is an ATA 300-style stackable, shippable case designed as part of a "total travel system." It mates with all Porter Case cart style carryons. Male channels on the bottom of the Stowaway lid allows other Stowaway cases to stack and nest on top.

If you're a wedding or portrait photographer looking for an inexpensive way to make a good impression, take a look at the new ArtZ Special Edition Bookmaker. Print your own images on 8.5x11-inch Moab Kayenta Fine Art paper, which is printable on both sides, and bind it into a lovely silky finish book cloth cover to make a hard-bound book with style that you can use as a portfolio to show clients, a leave-behind book for wedding vendor locations, or even as an add-on sale product. The $59 price tag includes 25 pages (the book can hold up to 20) and the silk cloth book cover. Assembly is easy. Visit ArtZ for details and ordering information.

Sekonic and X-Rite now offer the Sekonic X-Rite Digital Suite, a package that combines light metering technology from Sekonic with the monitor calibration of the MonacoOPTIX XR. The goal in offering this suite is to provide digital photographers with an avenue to perfect exposures and proper color, reducing (or eliminating) time spent in post-capture correction.       

The Sekonic X-Rite Digital Suite contains the new Sekonic L-558Rmulti-function, wireless radio triggering light meter, which provides accurate and sensitive light measurements for both incident and reflective light reading. To accurately evaluate the images on a monitor, the suite includes the award winning MonacoOPTIX XR, whichcolorimeter calibrates and profiles CRT and LCD displays.

If you purchase the Sekonic X-Rite Digital Suite before June 30, 2005 , you'll get a free copy of MonacoEZcolor (a $600 value), which provides scanner and printer profiling, direct from X-Rite Photo Marketing. The street price for the Suite is $699.

March 8, 2005 – Scott Kelby, president of the National Association of Photoshop Professionals (NAPP) announced the establishment of the Dean Collins Photoshop World Educational Scholarship at the opening keynote before more than 3,000 Photoshop World Conference attendees in Las Vegas . Opening ceremony images at Photoshop World available at www.photoshopworld.com.

“Through this scholarship, Dean’s legacy of Photoshop education will live on as his influence, gift for teaching, and passion for quality are passed on each year to our nation's most dedicated educators in his name,” said Scott Kelby, president of NAPP and the world’s top-selling computer book author for 2004.

This scholarship will be awarded annually to a high school or college educator (nominated by his or her own students). The scholarship provides the recipient an opportunity to attend NAPP’s annual convention, including round-trip airfare, hotel accommodations, and a full conference pass. This scholarship program was developed to honor Dean Collins’ memory, and his lifetime of contributions to the worldwide Photoshop community.

PHOTO: Dean Collins speaking at the PEI Digital Conference in 2002. Photo courtesy Kevin Ames.