By Ellis Vener

If you regularly use a tripod you know the value of a good quick-release system that speeds up connecting and disconnecting a camera or lens from the tripod head and very securely holds the mass of the camera and lens combination to the tripod head. There are two common QR designs used today, Arca-Swiss’ open ended design and the various fixed cavity shape Manfrotto designs. The Manfrotto design features clamps and plates of various shapes. Arca-Swiss’ mechanically simpler, more ergonomically hand friendly designhas been copied by a broad range of manufacturers.

The newest addition to the Arca-Swiss based QR system comes from the Switzerland-based Sinar Broncolor Foba coalition, the Bron Imaging Group. Designed for photographers and videographers who regularly work with a camera tethered to a computer, the Foba BALTE plate’s unique feature is a pair of channels in the body of the plate that can carry either a USB, Firewire 400 or 800 (and presumably soon an Intel “Thunderbolt”) cables. The body of the camera (or perhaps a lens with a tripod mount foot) is the channels’ ceiling.

The design works well whether the camera is tripod mounted or hand held. It removes the stress and tension of a cable’s weight from the port on the camera and keeps the cable gathered neatly directly under the main part of the camera’s body. The body of the plate is hard black anodized black aluminum. To tighten the plate to a camera body requires a simple flat blade screwdriver or in a pinch, a thin coin like a U.S. dime. The plate is no thicker than a current standard QR plate from Really Right Stuff, In fact it has a lower profile than the base of a Really Right Stuff "L" plate.

By Kim Larson

Today there are many items available for you to speed up your workflow. Just look at all the great keyboards that come pre-programmed with shortcuts to your favorite software programs such as Motobodo, X-Keys, and RPG Keys. If you own an iPad, you might already have one of these great time-saving keyboards in your hand. The KeyPad Pro app ($4.99 in the iTunes App Store) allows you to turn your iPad into an extra keyboard with your own customized buttons. It allows you to make your own “keypads” for any software program, with each keypad having its own set of custom shortcut buttons. KeyPad Pro communicates with your computer via your local wi-fi network.

Part of the power of KeyPad Pro is the ability to customize and share your keypads. You’re free to create your own keypads from scratch, and the developers of KeyPad Pro provide some pre-made keypads for $0.99 each. I highly recommend purchasing the Photoshop keypad, not only because it’s a great starting point for customizing your own Photoshop keypad, but it’s also a great way to learn advanced ways to setup keypads for other software programs. I purchased the Photoshop keypad as a starting point and added buttons to run my favorite actions. Any keypads you make can be shared on the KeyPad Pro forum, where you can also download keypads from others. Or e-mail your favorite keypad directly to a friend—it can all be done from within the KeyPad Pro app itself.

There are so many options for creating your own keypad, it’s easy to get overwhelmed. The help menus within the app itself are a must-read—they will explain each type of button and how it functions. There are buttons for sliders (great for managing Photoshop brush sizes), buttons that will perform a bunch of steps (great for Photoshop Actions with multiple steps!), and buttons that will display a menu. Each button can have multiple keystrokes assigned to it as well: one for tapping the button once, one for holding down the button, and one for double-tapping the button. The possibilities are endless!

By Betsy Finn

As portrait and wedding photographers, it's important we understand how to retouch our subjects’ skin in a realistic manner, and that we understand the concepts behind achieving believable skin tone. "Skin: The Complete Guide to Digitally Lighting, Photographing, and Retouching Faces and Bodies," by Lee Varis, is a book that sets out to help photographers achieve this goal.

While Varis covers the techniques he uses to achieve a color balanced workflow (and how to get realistic color), he does note that “accurate color is often boring color … most people say they want ‘accurate’ color, but what they prefer (and what clients buy) is ‘pretty’ color.”

While the writing was somewhat technical, I stayed interested and followed along easily. If you’re the type who learns best by doing rather than just reading about something, you will find Varis’ companion website resources to be invaluable. Varis has graciously made available a number of image files that he uses as examples in the book, so you can experiment with the techniques yourself after reading how Varis achieves a particular look. Varis’ website also offers video and PDF tutorials, which may be helpful if you need further instruction.

The book includes a review of the basics in order to set a good foundation for Varis’ theories on color managing skin tones, but unlike some other books I’ve read, this book was able to do so without losing my interest.

I appreciated Varis’ discussion of the digital zone system, managing skin tones via RGB and CMYK, and how he uses the eyedropper tool to gauge what specific adjustments need to be made to an image. As he notes in the text, the eyes tend to compensate for adjacent colors, so relying on hard numbers in addition to your intuition is the best way to achieve the desired color.

From September 21 to 26, 2010, all the leading names in the international photography and imaging sector will be represented at the 31st Photokina. In the halls of the Cologne exhibition grounds, the “who's who” of the international photo and imaging sector will once again present the entire spectrum of products and services in the areas of modern image technology and image applications for consumers and professionals.

If you plan to attend, representatives and organizers of the event offer the following tips to make the most of your travel and Photokina experience.

Flights: Book your flight early enough. Best rates are available when you book before Early August. Economy class tickets from the East Coast should start with $ 800. Fly into Frankfurt – Germany’s largest and most centrally located airport. Most major cities in the US service direct flights to Frankfurt. The airport has its own train station. Take a high speed “ICE train” which will reach Cologne in 58 minutes – trains race safely along the “Autobahn” and leave even the fastest cars behind. Alternatively you might also consider flying into Duesseldorf and take the RE trains to Cologne. Use discount offers available to North American attendees of Photokina. From September 14 - October 3, 2010, discounted air fares are available to Photokina attendees at lufthansa.com in the Meetings and Events portal by using event code "DEAPQ". The German Railway (DB) offers discounted train rides to Cologne. Tickets can be purchased at photokina-cologne.com  or by calling +49 1805-311153 and mentioning Photokina.

"Faces of Survivors" Exhibit by PPA Photographers Features 25 Ohioans Fighting Cancer

Twenty-five cancer survivors and patients are the subject of a new portrait study by Kevin Mears, M.Photog.Cr., and Amy Mears, M.Photog., CPP, of Mears Photography in Chillicothe, Ohio. Called “Faces of Survivors,” this photographic exhibit will hang from June 8-13 at the Pump House Center for the Arts.

Above, parents Leighanne and Aaron Johnson with
their cancer-survivor daughter, Caroline. 

Working with Southern Ohio Survivors, the Mears Photography duo put out a call for subjects. Featured participants in this cancer awareness project range in age from 14 months to 70+ years. The situations for the participants are as diverse as the class of diseases called cancer. Some of the subjects are still in treatment; many have been in remission for some time.

“We asked the survivors to invite one or two people to take part in this photography event with them,” explains Amy Mears, co-owner of Mears Photography. “We also asked them to share words of encouragement that symbolize the part this support person or team played in their fight against cancer.”

The two portrait artists photographed each cancer survivor, along with their support person or people. The Mears then incorporated the words of encouragement—from quotes to Bible verses—into the final image production, creating a one-of-a-kind portrait study in black and white.

“We all know people who are battling cancer: family members, friends, neighbors. So, my husband and I wanted use our time and talent to support the people in our community who are fighting this disease. Our discussions inspired the ‘Faces of Survivors’ project and Southern Ohio Survivors was an ideal partner for this project,” Amy Mears says. Mears Photography contributed the photographic talents of Kevin and Amy to this project, along with studio time and design work.

“We couldn’t have done it without the overwhelming support of Southern Ohio Survivors and the Pump House Center for the Arts,” Mears says.

“Faces of Survivors” will hang from June 8-13. The exhibit will be a featured stop in the Historic Downtown Chillicothe Gallery Stroll on June 12, including a “Faces of Survivors” Meet the Artists and Survivors reception at the Pump House Center for the Arts in Yoctangee Park from 7-9 p.m.

Following the exhibit, the wall portrait size photographs will be gifted to the cancer survivor featured in the image. “We didn’t expect so may volunteers to step forward to become part of the project. Thanks to the overwhelming support we have received for this project, we plan to make this an annual event,” Amy Mears concludes.

Join Sarah Petty and 27 other industry leading photographers for The Joy to the World FREE Marketing Websummit on December 28, 2009 . We'll each share our best money-making ideas for your business in the new year. From promotional ideas, to earning a larger investment from each wedding client, workflow improvements and more, you'll learn so much in these 14 FREE hours to substantially grow your business in 2010. At the same time, we'll be helping fund smiles for children in need of cleft lip and cleft palate surgeries through PPA Charities.

Over 10,000 professional photographers registered for our Master Photographers Free Marketing Telesummit in September. Now they're doing it again to help you get off to a strong start in the New Year … and it's BIGGER and BETTER! This time, you can learn from David Jay, Sam Puc, Julia Woods, Jerry Ghionis, Scott Crosby, Will Crockett and more! The Joy to the World Websummit promises to provide you with serious money making ideas for your business. All you need is a computer with an Internet connection to join us December 28 (and the latest version of Adobe Flash —It's free, too). The Websummit will be available for 24 hours beginning at 12:01 CST on December 28. Listen to only those speakers you like best or watch all 28. You can start, stop and pause each speakers' presentation to learn at your leisure within the 24 hour window. Simply REGISTER NOW for FREE!

If you're not available on December 28, 2009 or want to get a head start on 2010 planning for your business, you can purchase the Adobe Flash files of all 14 hours for $89 and receive access to the speaker presentations IMMEDIATELY. A pre-websummit special price of $59 is available until December 27. Just register before December 28, 2009, and you'll receive this special offer!

By Mark Levesque, CPP

The digital age has brought with it the benefits of rapidly improving technology that simultaneously becomes more capable and less costly. As a consequence of more and better megapixels, photographers are generating ever increasing quantities of data. The recent trend in DSLRs to add HD video capability compounds the problem: how to contend with all the data generated on a shoot. The solution has been to take advantage of a similar trend in the flash memory market: more memory for less money. Larger memory cards notwithstanding, photographers often find themselves on location and running out of memory, or simply looking to quickly create the peace of mind that having your data safely backed up can bring.

Enter the Nexto eXtreme ND-2700 from Nexto DI. Touting “on the go” backups, this device is the essence of simplicity. Plug in your card, and press the button. The embedded hard drive springs to life and the copying of your data commences. It’s that easy to create reliable backups. In short order you have a copy of your data, along with status indicating its integrity.

Press Release—Wacom has unveiled the long anticipated Intuos4, a new professional pen tablet for photographers, designers and artists. Inspired by members of Wacom’s professional community, the next generation Intuos is anchored by the Intuos4’s amazing new pen performance, capable of capturing the slightest nuance of pen pressure against the tablet surface, as well as offering 2,048 levels of pressure sensitivity. Other innovative product enhancements include a refined and intelligent industrial design that provides real advancements in looks, comfort and control. Specific workflow and productivity tools include the customizable shortcut and modifier keys with accompanying OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diodes) displays, which allow users to see, via the displays, what the keys are currently set to.

Workflow, Productivity
With its ergonomic design, the ultra-slim Intuos4 pen tablet is the ideal creative instrument for working with digital content in comfort. Available in four sizes, small, medium, large and extra large, all wide-format, the Intuos4’s new asymmetrical design puts all of the customizable ExpressKeys and Touch Ring on one side of the tablet, making them all available to the users’ non-dominant hand. The application-specific ExpressKeys are instrumental in helping improve workflow and boost productivity by placing commonly used commands right at the fingertips. The close proximity of these tools to the actual work area is efficient and comfortable and helps save valuable time by minimizing dependence on the keyboard without taking focus away from the pen hand. New to the Intuos4 are illuminated (OLED) displays (not featured on the Intuos4 small) that provide a helpful reminder as to the current function of each ExpressKey. With past Intuos versions, users had to rely on their memory to recall the position of their specific settings. As these settings can be application specific, the displays will update immediately as the user changes between applications. To switch the tablet from right-handed to left-handed use, simply rotate the tablet 180 degrees and change the orientation of the illuminated icons within the Wacom Tablet driver software.

“Wacom’s new Intuos4 provides Adobe Photoshop CS4 and our latest Creative Suite products with an approachable interface, enhanced pen performance, elegant design and new non-dominant hand features,” said Julieanne Kost, Senior Digital Imaging Evangelist for Adobe. “For me, the Wacom pen tablet has always been particularly beneficial when working on photo compositing projects within Photoshop and it did not take long to discover the vast improvements in workflow this new pen tablet delivers. By combining the super-accurate pen with OLED-displayed keyboard shortcuts, I am able to navigate and complete Photoshop work sessions quickly and efficiently.”

Also new to the Intuos4 is the introduction of a user-defined Touch Ring capable of controlling up to four different functions in any application. A button located in the center of the ring “toggles” the ring between functions such as zoom, scroll, brush size adjustment, canvas rotation and layer selection. The position of the illuminated LED located along the perimeter of the Touch Ring indicates the current function.  

Press Release—Canon has announced it will release the Canon EOS Rebel T1i, an entry-level DSLR with HD video capture capability, in May for less than $1,000 (body only). The new Rebel T1i will will have a 15.1 megapixel APS-C size CMOS sensor and inherits some of the technologies from the EOS 50D and EOS 5D Mark II models. Video capabilities are 16:9 720p HD video capture at 30 fps, Full HD 1080p video capture at 20 fps, and 4:3 standard TV quality (SD) video capture at 640 x 480 pixels at 30 fps. The EOS Rebel T1i will use the  DIGIC 4 Imaging Processor with 14-bit analog-to-digital conversion.

The video capture mode is part of the camera's Live View function, using the Picture Style that has been set for Live View still image shooting. Photographers can adjust image sharpness, contrast, color saturation and white balance, and have those settings apply to the movie image. When recording video, the camera's rear LCD screen is letter-boxed by a semi-transparent border to match the aspect ratio of the movie recording size.

Like the EOS 5D Mark II model, the EOS Rebel T1i camera will record video up to 4GB per clip equaling approximately 12 minutes of Full HD video, 18 minutes of 720p HD video, or 24 minutes of SD video depending on the level of detail in the scene. Video clips are recorded in .MOV format using an MPEG-4 video compression and sound is recorded using linear PCMii without compression. The camera features a built-in monaural microphone to record sound and an HDMI (High-Definition Multimedia Interface) output.

The Canon EOS Rebel T1i Digital SLR Camera is scheduled for delivery by early May and will be sold in a body-only configuration which includes a rechargeable battery pack and charger, USB and video cables, a neckstrap, an EOS Solutions Disk CD and a 1-year Canon U.S.A., Inc. limited warranty at an estimated retail price of $799.99. It will additionally be offered in a kit version with Canon's EF-S18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS zoom lens at an estimated retail price of $899.99.

Canon Speedlite 270EX
The new Canon Speedlite 270EX, the successor to the 220EX Speedlite model, is a compact, lightweight external flash option for Canon cameras including select Canon PowerShot models. Ideal for use with the new EOS Rebel T1i, the new Speedlite 270EX uses two AA batteries and enables bounce flash shooting with four position steps from 0 degrees to 90 degrees. Like Canon's high-end Speedlite flash models, the 270EX allows users to control flash functions and input settings using the camera's LCD monitor on compatible camera models. The flash also features a quick-lock mechanism and a metal mounting foot for secure and easy attachment and reliable contact.

 

Press Release—Digital imaging master and unlikely crooner Deke McClelland tenders an original new love song to kick off the next round of his popular video podcast series, dekePod. Titled "The Droplet Song (A Love Song to a Lost Feature in Photoshop)," Deke's goofily romantic new tune honors one of Photoshop's most arcane but useful automation features.

Why devote a romantic ballad to Photoshop?

"I wanted to kick off the new round of dekePods with a kinder, gentler Deke. And what better way to do that than with a love song? A love song that just so happens to be about a Photoshop automation feature called droplets," explains Deke, author of over 80 books and a popular lecturer on Adobe Photoshop and the larger realm of computer graphics and design. Sponsored by O'Reilly Media and lynda.com, Deke's all new, sentimental yet laugh-out-load music video not only entertains, but also captures the intense enthusiasm essential to most (if not all) creative endeavors.

"The thing about droplets is that they're actually really useful, but there's virtually no documentation about them, which makes our music video one of the rare training pieces on the topic. And even though it's wrapped up in this over-the-top love song, the way you make a droplet, my recommended settings, and how you use the finished product are all there," adds Deke, the creator of O'Reilly Media's bestselling One-on-One book and video series. "I wrote the melody and lyrics, and my buddies at The Jellybricks put together the music. Someone showed me a few videos from 1960s folk singer Rod McKuen, and everything fell into place."

Dallas Photographer Kimberly Wylie and BWC Photo Imaging teamed up to donate fine art photography and multiple Photographic Art Master Pieces valued at $50,000 to  the ABC hit TV Show “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.” The episode will air on ABC at 7pm CST on March 15, 2009. 

According to the Extreme Makeover Team, this episode is one of the first to feature the personal touch of the family portrait through out every room of the home. Photographs are regularly in a family home but never to this extent. 

Wylie, a PPA member, photographed the Ruiz family and then worked with the BWC team to convert the images into art masterpieces for the home decor. Her talent is clearly demonstrated in the Ruiz Family portraits. She captured the heart and soul of the family group, as well as each member individually.

According to Danielle “Lou” George, President of BWC Photo Imaging, no one knows how many art pieces and photographs were actually produced for the home. "Not one of us had time to count the pieces. The production was done so fast and so many people were working around the clock to create the perfect output for the artful images Kimberly had captured we can only guess that well over 50 portraits line the walls of the family home and every other usable space for display,” she said. “In my 34 years with BWC, I have never experienced such an innovative use of photographic art than Kimberly Wylie and our team members at BWC were able to bring together for the Ruiz family.”

Escalates Full-Frame Digital SLR Photography to the Next Level with HD Movie Recording Capabilities

Press Release—Canon today announced the highly anticipated EOS 5D Mark II Digital SLR camera, the successor to Canon's highly popular EOS 5D, introduced in 2005. Canon has coupled the creative power of a full-frame CMOS sensor with groundbreaking HD video capture that opens the door to a much wider range of imaging possibilities for photographers. Along with the ability to capture full HD video clips at 1,920 x 1,080 resolution, Canon's EOS 5D Mark II Digital SLR camera features a 21.1-megapixel full frame 24x36mm CMOS sensor, DIGIC 4 imaging processor and significantly lower noise, with an expanded sensitivity range from ISO 50 to ISO 25,600.

Advances in the new EOS 5D Mark II include Canon's proprietary DIGIC 4 Imaging Processor powering the camera's fast 14-bit analog-to-digital conversion for smooth color tones and exceptional gradation. Capture rate is stated at 3.9 frames per second (fps) of continuous shooting for an unlimited number of full-resolution JPEGs to the capacity of the memory card or up to 14 RAW images in a single burst when using a UDMA CF card. The camera includes a 15-point Autofocus (AF) sensor with nine selectable AF points plus six additional Assist AF points (three center AF points sensitive to f/2.8 lenses) with enhanced light source detection and AF microadjustment for greater autofocus performance. The EOS 5D Mark II camera also features a large, clear 3.0-inch Clear View LCD screen with 920,000 dot/VGA resolution, four times the pixel count of the EOS 5D camera's 2.5-inch screen, for enhanced clarity and color when viewing images. The new camera is equipped with a high-performance, high-magnification optical viewfinder providing 98 percent coverage, giving a new dimension to the saying, "what you see is what you get." Professional photographers will also appreciate the enhanced 150,000-cycle shutter durability of the EOS 5D Mark II camera.

The Canon EOS 5D Mark II Digital SLR camera is compatible with Canon EF lenses and is scheduled for delivery by the end of November. The EOS 5D Mark II will be sold in a body-only configuration at an estimated retail price of $2,699. It will additionally be offered in a kit version with Canon's EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM zoom lens at an estimated retail price of $3,499.

Press Release—September 11, 2008—SanDisk today announced the 32GB SanDisk Extreme III CompactFlash (CF) card, the latest addition to its award-winning SanDisk Extreme III line. SanDisk’s new memory card is designed to meet the demands of professional digital videographers and photographers with read/write speed up to 30MB/s (200X).

All SanDisk Extreme III CF cards from 4GB to 32GB, as well as the new SanDisk Extreme III SDHC and SanDisk Extreme III Memory Stick PRO HG DUO, recently received a 50-percent speed increase from 20MB/s to 30MB/s.

The 32GB SanDisk Extreme III CF card has a manufacturer’s suggested retail price in the United States of $299.99. Worldwide availability of the card is targeted for October 2008.

Press Release: September 9, 2008—Lexar Media today announced the Lexar Professional UDMA 300x 16GB CompactFlash (CF) card, a new memory card that provides an ideal combination of increased capacity, professional-level performance and reliability. Designed for professional photographers and photo enthusiasts, this lightning-fast card is UDMA-enabled (Ultra Direct Memory Access), resulting in exceedingly fast performance. Speed-rated at 300x, which represents a minimum sustained write speed of 45MB per second, the new Lexar Professional UDMA 300x 16GB CF card dramatically reduces post-production time thanks to an improved card-to-computer transfer rate when working in conjunction with a UDMA-enabled device. In addition, the very high capacity of the card allows photographers to store more images and shoot for longer periods without interruption.

When paired with a UDMA-enabled device, such as the Lexar Professional UDMA FireWire 800 Reader or the Lexar Professional UDMA Dual-Slot USB Reader, the Lexar Professional UDMA 300x 16GB CF card significantly improves the digital imaging workflow by accelerating the download of captured images to a destination computer.

Available later this month, the new Lexar Professional UDMA 16GB CF card includes a limited lifetime warranty, free dedicated technical support, and the full version of Lexar Image Rescue 3, Lexar’s award-winning image recovery software.

Professional Photographer was able to test a pre-production unit. Read the review here.

Also introducing Nikon SB-900 Speedlight with expansive zoom and user-applied firmware updates and new PC-E Micro Nikkor 45mm f/2.8D ED and PC-E Micro Nikkor 85mm f/2.8 lenses

Press Release—Nikon, Inc. has introduced the new D700 digital SLR camera featuring a 12.1-effective megapixel Nikon FX-format sensor (Nikon's full-frame) that measures 23.9 x 36mm, which is nearly identical to the size of 35mm film.  

The D700 incorporates Nikon's EXPEED Image Processing System, Nikon’s renowned 51-point auto focus system with 3D Focus Tracking and two Live View shooting modes that allow photographers to frame a shot using the camera's three-inch high-resolution LCD monitor.  The D700 also features Nikon’s sophisticated Scene Recognition System and a new active dust reduction system.

D700 Synopsis

Compiled by Ellis Vener

A 12.1 effective mp FX format (AKA Full Frame) DSLR capable of up to 8 fps when using the optional MB-D10 Multi Power Battery Pack.

Pricing and availability (USA): The FX-format Nikon D700 D-SLR camera will be available late July 2008, and will have an estimated selling price of $2,999.95* (body only).

Imaging pipeline: A 12.1 (effective – meaning image making) megapixel 23.9x36mm Nikon FX-format CMOS using 8.45 micrometer (micron) pixel pitch cells with a low signal-to-noise ratio and wide dynamic range (about 12 stops in the D3). A 12-channel readout for faster information transfer allows for a 5 to 8 full size, full resolution FPS rate (see more details below).

ISO range: nominally 200-6400 + down to ISO 100 (Lo-1) and up to ISO 25,600 (Hi-2).

Viewfinder: a bright .72x magnification eyelevel viewfinder utilizing a high refractive index pentaprism  (I assume made of glass elements) wit ha 95% frame coverage. A framing grid can be super imposed on the finder screen per a photographer’s preferences of format size.

Shutter:  Shutter curtains are formed of a Kevlar and carbon fiber composite hybrid material. This shutter has already been tested on full y assembled cameras through at least 150,000 cycles. Shutter unit has a self-diagnostic unit, which constantly monitors shutter performance to maintain precision.

Body Construction:  The camera body, rear body and mirror box are made from a high-strength magnesium alloy. Connection points in the body are weather sealed with precision O-rings to keep out dust and moisture.

Start up, shutter lag times, buffer size and write speed: Start up from off is accomplished in .12 seconds. Shutter lag response time is 0.40 milliseconds. Nikon claims these makes the D700 currently the fastest in its class.

Full Resolution JPEGS: up to 5 frames per second (FPS) or up to 8 FPS with the optional MB-10D for up to 100 frames.

NEFs 17 14 bit per channel lossless compressed NEFS.

With the new high speed UDMA CompactFlash cards camera to media write speed is up to 35 megabytes per second.  

Auto-focus: The D700 uses Nikon’s Multi-CAM 3500FX autofocus sensor module with 15 cross-type sensors and 36 horizontal sensors that can be used individually or in groups. In Single Area or Dynamic AF modes, users can select groups of 9, 21, or all 51 focus points. The system also utilizes 3D Focus tracking with automatic focus point switching using all 51 points in conjunction wit h the metering systems 1,005 pixel RGB sensor to accurately track moving objects using color content and light information.
 

Press Release—Come and learn to see light as you never have before. Join Master Photographer Don Chick, M.Photog.Cr., CPP, D.C.Ph., for a daylong workshop to deepen your understanding of the art and craft of studio portraiture. This class will immerse you in the qualities and characteristics of light and shadow through a series of creative and easy-to-understand object lessons and demonstrations.

You will see the various classic lighting patterns, step-by-step, as they unfold before you on a “human” form, and then experience the transformation of light on a real human face for yourself through hands-on studio practicum.

Open your eyes, challenge your intellect, and stir your heart with determination to return to your studio as a more confident portrait photographer.

July 19, Fort White, Forida
9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
592 South West Steadman Glen
Fort White, FL 32038

July 27, Tarpon Springs, Florida
9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Hampton Inn
39284 US Hwy 19 North
Tarpon Springs, FL 34689

Seating is limited. Early bird registration: $175
Ft. White $200 after June 30
Tarpon Springs $200 after July 12

To register, or for more information call 603-335-4448 or write don@donchick.com. 

PPA C/E: PPA members will receive one PPA service merit for attending. 

David Jay and guests will showcase successful solutions to improve photographers' marketing, workflow, and product fulfillment in "Free To Succeed" tour

Press Release—David Jay, joined by special guests including Jasmine Star, will host one-day training sessions for wedding photographers to offer proven techniques to reach greater business success in less time. Backed by Showit, Adobe, and Couture Book, these training sessions will also reveal powerful tools to improve marketing, streamline workflow, and improve quality and efficiency in product fulfillment.

After being named one of the top 15 Wedding Photojournalists in the world by the WPJA and the #1 Portrait photographer in the world, David Jay created a wedding business that gave him freedom and fulfillment and now he's sharing his secrets with others. David was the first photographer to use a "FreeStyle" approach to marketing while using a "Hands-Free" workflow that allowed him to grow a business charging $15,000 per wedding and shooting weddings all over the world, all in less than four years.

The training sessions will last a half day and will cover the following topics:

• Freedom Packet - David Jay's step-by-step formula on how to set up your business in a way that serves you.
• Three P's of Pricing - How to ensure your pricing structure doesn't put you out of business in the years to come.
• FreeStyle Marketing - Tested techniques used by the top industry leaders that will gain you credibility and get you the dollars you deserve - fast!
• Scale yourself with Webonomics - Creating your unique web identity with the powerfully simple Showit Sites to get yourself in front of thousands of clients!
• Lightroom 2.0 - Be the first to see how to use the power of Lightroom 2.0 and "Find and Fix" correcting to edit your weddings in less than two hours!
• The Final Product - Providing your client with the revolutionary new Couture Book without lifting a finger!

The "Free to Succeed" tour will span three months and hit 21 cities in 16 states across the U.S.

Jul 29, 2008   Houston, TX
Jul 30, 2008   Austin, TX
Jul 31, 2008   Dallas, TX
Aug 3, 2008   Phoenix, AZ
Aug 4, 2008   San Diego, CA
Aug 6, 2008   Los Angeles, CA
Aug 7, 2008   Santa Barbara, CA
Aug 11, 2008   San Francisco, CA
Aug 13, 2008   Salt Lake City, UT
Aug 14, 2008   Denver, CO
Aug 18, 2008   Kansas City, KS
Aug 19, 2008   Chicago, IL
Aug 21, 2008   Indianapolis, IN
Aug 25, 2008   New York City, NY
Aug 26, 2008   Boston, MA
Aug 28, 2008   Washington D.C.
Sep 2, 2008   Charolette, NC
Sep 3, 2008   Charleston, SC
Sep 4, 2008   Orlando, FL
Sep 8, 2008   Atlanta, GA
Sep 9, 2008   Nashville, TN

Travel photographer Bob Krist uses his photo viewers to secure backups and gain access to locals' lives in rural Transylvania.

All images ©Bob Krist 

What do a freelance travel photographer and a Transylvanian count have in common? Both are making sure that Transylvanian culture does not vanish into thin air. As Count Tibor Kálnoky preserves his family’s 13th century ancestral home seized during the communist regime, photographer Bob Krist is busy making “backups of backups of backups,” archiving his many digital photographs to document the story for future generations.
 
The count and photographer recently crossed paths when Krist stayed on assignment at a luxury guesthouse on Count Kálnoky’s estate in Miklosvar, Romania, a remote spot in the foothills of the Carpathian Mountains. Miklosvar is only an hour’s drive from the tourist trap known as “Dracula’s Castle,” but this little village of 500 souls seems frozen in time.
 
During his many trips abroad, Krist has had a variety of interesting adventures, including being stranded on a glacier in Iceland, knighted with a cutlass during a Trinidad voodoo ceremony, and nearly run down by charging bulls in southern India.

Krist found himself on yet another adventure on the eastern edge of Transylvanian countryside. Despite the thrill of the chase, Krist admits that a travel photographer’s life has its challenges, with inevitable airport delays, lonely hotel rooms, weeks away from his family, and constant worry about how to effectively save the digital images he shoots on the road. He readily confesses that he is a “maniac” about backing up his photographs. “After years of shooting chrome, I know that the slides in my storage cabinets will be there, short of a flood or fire," he said. “But I didn’t have the same confidence when it came to digital media.”

Kodak CCD Image Sensors used on both Space Shuttle and International Space Station for Key Imaging Applications

Press Release—On the current mission of space shuttle Discovery, scheduled to dock with the International Space Station today, Kodak Digital Technology will again be instrumental in capturing critical images and helping to safeguard the well-being of shuttle astronauts during re-entry back to earth.

Kodak CCD Image Sensors are a key component of the Orbiter Boom Sensor System, an in-flight imaging system attached to the end of a 50-foot robotic arm that is used by shuttle astronauts to scan the underside of the orbiter for possible damage before landing. The resulting high-resolution images are then analyzed to assess any potential spacecraft damage that may have occurred during lift-off or while in flight. This system is now available throughout the entire shuttle fleet to examine critical external surfaces before re-entry.

Kodak CCD Image Sensors are also routinely used in other camera systems operated by astronauts during shuttle missions and on the International Space Station. The handheld digital cameras used by astronauts to capture images from space use Kodak Image Sensors, as does the recently launched Earth Viewing Camera located on the International Space Station. Surprisingly, these space-based products all use image sensors that are unmodified from those available from Kodak for use on earth.

Press Release—PPA Certified photographer Carol Lundeen will appear on The Learning Channel premiere of “Running of the Brides” Sunday, June 1st, 8 p.m. The show follows three Boston area couples as they prepare for their weddings, including scenes from the famous annual wedding gown sale at Filene's Basement, popularly known as The Running of the Brides.

In addition to covering the Filene's Basement sale, each of the three couples was filmed for the show during their initial consultation with a local wedding professional. Boston photographer Carol Lundeen will appear on the show with Watertown couple Mandie Fox and Jason Fine during their initial meeting and also as she photographs the couple’s wedding.

Additional showings of "Running of the Brides" are scheduled to air Sunday, June 1, at 11:00 p.m. and June 18, at 8 and 11 p.m.

Six years in the making, ‘On Feathered Wings’ features the work
of seven extraordinary action photographers

American Museum of Natural History to host year-long photo exhibition

Barred Owl photo taken with a Canon EOS-1D Mark IIn and Canon EF 300mm f/2.8L IS USM lens for 1/1,250 second at f/7.1, ISO 400, hand held. ©Richard Ettlinger 

Press Release—Nature photographer and author Richard Ettlinger is being honored by the American Museum of Natural History for his 6-year project photographing and collaborating with professional photographers on five continents to capture the beauty of birds in flight. “On Feathered Wings: Birds in Flight” (Abrams Books, $40) will be on sale in May, and the American Museum of Natural History will feature 35 images in a photo exhibition June 21, 2008–May 25, 2009.

“The work I did with six of the world's greatest action photographers took hours of study and endless patience,” said Ettlinger. “Our dedication paid off, and I am delighted to be recognized by both Abrams Books and the museum.”

Through 175 color images, the photography delivers amazing images of hunters, migrators, waterfowl and songbirds living on the wing—hunting, feeding, fighting, traveling and gliding.

The international group of photographers includes Ettlinger, David G. Hemmings, K.K. Hui, Miguel Lasa, Ofer Levy, Jim Neiger, and Rob Palmer, all specialize in capturing birds in flight, each striving to outdo the others. But the indisputable stars of “On Feathered Wings” are the birds themselves, seen in vivid sharp focus and amazing detail: a Peregrine Falcon in a 100-mph dive; two Black Skimmers fighting in mid-air; a Snowy Owl keying on dinner; an Atlantic Puffin coming in for a landing; an Arctic Tern fishing; and a Barn Swallow feeding her young. 

Adobe has released updates to the Photoshop Lightroom and Photoshop Camera Raw plug-in to correct for issues found in Lightroom 1.4 and Camera Raw 4.4. 

The Lightroom 1.4.1 and Camera Raw 1.4.1 updates are available immediately as free downloads at http://www.adobe.com/downloads. Senior Photoshop Lightroom Product Manager, Tom Hogarty, has included a complete list of the corrections on his blog.

The following list from Hogarty's Lightroom Journal blog post details the issues found in Lightroom 1.4 and Camera Raw 4.4.

Lightroom

• Lightroom 1.4 incorrectly modified the EXIF time date field of images that had a metadata update applied.  This incorrect modification does not appear in Lightroom or Bridge and is only viewable through third party EXIF tools.  This error has been corrected in Lightroom 1.4.1 and all files in a Lightroom catalog that have been incorrectly modified will be corrected on their next metadata update. (Metadata can be updated by selecting the files in the Library grid view and choosing Command or CTRL + S to save and update the metadata.)

• Olympus JPEG files could render incorrectly in Lightroom 1.4, displaying an artifact in the exported file.

• Any conversion to DNG in Lightroom 1.4 (Windows Only) would cause the DNG file to become unreadable by Lightroom’s Develop Module or Camera Raw 4.4 in Photoshop.  The issue has been corrected and files can be converted to DNG again in order to resolve the issue for existing files.  Returning to the original native raw files is not necessary.  The affected DNG files can be selected and converted again using the DNG • Converter 4.4.1 available at www.adobe.com/dng/.  This process is not required but recommended to ensure that a correct validation value is stored within the DNG files.

• Lightroom 1.4 provided degraded import performance relative to Lightroom 1.3.

Camera Raw

• Camera Raw 4.4 incorrectly modified the EXIF time date field of images that were saved as TIFF or JPEG files from the Camera Raw dialog.  This has been corrected in Camera Raw 4.4.1

• Olympus JPEG files could render incorrectly in Camera Raw 4.4, displaying an artifact in the exported file.

From April 2 to 14, star photographers from across North America, Germany, Great Britain, and Australia—including O'Reilly authors Mikkel Aaland, Katrin Eismann, and Peter Krogh—will train their digital cameras on beautiful Tasmanian island vistas to road test Photoshop Lightroom 2.0 beta. 

Anyone with Internet access can find out what's happening in Tasmania by going to digitalmedia.oreilly.com/adventure. That's where the photography team will be blogging daily about their experiences, posting their images, and discussing what worked and what didn't. Everyone is encouraged to participate by offering their comments as the Tasmanian journey unfolds. Visitors can also find a link for entering a sweepstakes to win a free trip to Tasmania courtesy of Qantas and Tourism Tasmania.

Trip organizer Aaland and his crew of pro shooters aim to test Adobe's digital imaging workflow solution under a wide variety of conditions in unfamiliar territory. Plans call for shooting by day and using Adobe Lightroom 2.0 beta to import, select, develop, and showcase their large volume of digital images each night.

As many know, Aaland journeyed to Iceland a few years back where he and a tireless crew of pro shooters tested the beta version of Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 1.0 during the long midsummer days suffused in the most dramatic light on the planet.

"Lightroom Adventure Tasmania is a celebration of learning through collaboration," said Aaland. "I've worked with a network of amazing photographers through the years, and the adventure is also a true collaboration between artists and Adobe. They're supporting our in-the-field testing of Lightroom, and will use our feedback will help make Lightroom an even better tool for photographers."

Press Release—April 2, 2008—Adobe Systems Inc. has announced Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2.0 beta, a public preview of new and improved functionality to be delivered in the next major release. Lightroom is an application for managing, adjusting, and presenting large volumes of digital photographs. Lightroom 2.0 beta will feature enhancements such as dual-monitor support, localized dodge and burn correction and will be the first Adobe application to support 64-bit for Mac OS X 10.5 Intel Macs and Microsoft Vista 64-bit operating systems.

"Photoshop Lightroom 2.0 beta provides early access to requested improvements over version 1.3 and continues our ongoing dialogue and open communication with the photography community," said Tom Hogarty, senior product manager for Photoshop Lightroom and Camera Raw. "We're excited not only for our existing customers, but also for the general public who will have an opportunity to take Lightroom 2.0 beta on a test run."

New in Lightroom 2.0 beta

An improved layout in the Library module allows for a more intuitive approach to image organization by simplifying the location of the features needed to find and filter photographs. A new feature called Smart Collections automatically updates collections with images that match desired criteria such as star-rating, keyword or other metadata. "The Suggested Keywords feature eases the task of keywording by making recommendations based upon keyword associations across a catalog as well as the use of keywords in neighboring images."

Photoshop Lightroom 2.0 beta includes improved memory handling through 64-bit support for OS X 10.5 Intel Macs and Vista 64-bit operating systems. Additional enhancements in Lightroom 2.0 beta include support for a dual monitor configuration that maximizes a photographer's workspace and can be easily adjusted to meet a particular workflow. Additionally, the Develop module has been updated to provide the ability to correct specific parts of an image without affecting other areas. Now, fundamental photographic techniques such as dodge and burn can be performed using the same non-destructive approach, allowing unprecedented control within the Lightroom program.

Beta Availability

Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2.0 beta is available as a 30-day trial for free download on Macintosh and Windows platforms at http://www.labs.adobe.com/downloads. Existing Lightroom 1.0 customers will be able to test the beta for an extended period until Aug. 31, 2008 and can invite friends to take part in this trial period. Recommended system requirements are Macintosh OSX 10.4, 10.5 1 GHz PowerPC G4 or G5 or Intel-based processor, or Microsoft Windows XP SP2 or Windows Vista Home Premium, Business, Ultimate, or Enterprise, Intel Pentium 4 processor, 1 GBRAM and a 1024x768 resolution screen.

Press Release—At the Colorado Imaging Workshops, Sara Frances’ Creative Album Design Mini Session, May 18-20, will teach you to be a Photo Hero. The evolution of computerized design and album manufacturing have catapulted our job as documentarians into chroniclers of relationships and emotions that touch every age group. Suddenly we are novelists, telling stories with the poetry of light and feelings. Just like learning to see the light, Sara will lead you to previsualize how any collection of photographs can become an impactful photo story, with rhythm, grace, chapters and details. Differentiate yourself from typical dependence on graphics and preset devices with unique image flow that reads with meaning from start to finish. Everyone will applaud you as the hero, preserving memories that would otherwise remain hidden on the hard drive. Whether you prefer templating or free-form design in Photoshop, this class will bring out your inner artist on the happy way to higher earnings and recognition.

Cost: $495 for PPC, PPA or WPPI members. $595 for non-members. (Balance due 30 days prior to event.)

Press release—LiveBooks, Inc., provider of customized portfolio websites and marketing software for professional photographers, has launched Luminance, a new online solution that combines a personalized website created by liveBooks with a custom promotional video that is professionally-produced by Cinematic Studios, Inc. (See example video featuring Gene Higa.) This unique combination creates a rich online experience that enables photographers to build an emotional connection with potential clients while differentiating themselves from their competition.
 
“LiveBooks is continually looking for new, innovative ways to help professional photographers connect effectively with potential clients. We understand the personal nature of the photographer-client relationship and see video within a well branded site as a great way to enable photographers to engage their audience,” says Tricia Gellman Holmes, Vice President of Marketing at liveBooks.

Luminance offers professional photographers a cost-effective way to create a branded, multimedia presence online that can integrate into a photographer’s existing web presence, or as a standalone site. The Luminance package brings together two primary components:
 
1) A custom liveBooks Flash website with:
    • design time from the liveBooks in-house design team
    • one portfolio of up to 64 images
    • one uploadable contact page designed by the photographer
    • one promotional Video page created by liveBooks
      - includes the promo video and links to outtakes
      - optional downloads of video in QuickTime and iPod formats
 
2) Custom Promotional Video(s)* produced and edited by Cinematic Studios
    • one 3 to 4 minute video
    • one or more out-take videos
 
* All videos are formatted to play on the photographer’s site in a Flash version, with QuickTime and iPod-compatible versions available as downloads from the site.

Professional Photographer’s cover photo contest kicks off March 1.

Have you always wanted to see your work on the cover of a magazine? Well, here’s your chance! Beginning March 1, 2008, you’re invited to submit photographs for a chance to have your image featured on our cover. Just one talented photographer will see his or her image published on the cover of a 2008 issue of Professional Photographer (mailing to almost 50,000 readers monthly).

Images will be judged on technical, artistic and compositional merit. You may submit as many images as you wish, provided they are representative of the work you sell to your clients. What we’re seeking are real-world examples of portrait, wedding, commercial and event photography.

All work submitted must be previously unpublished and original, with written releases on file from any subjects pictured in the image.  

Helping Professional Photographer magazine editors choose the best entries will be guest judge Helen K. Yancy, M.Photog.M.Artist.MEI.Cr.Hon.M.Photog., CPP, F-ASP, Hon. F-ASP, currently serving as the chairman of PPA’s Print Exhibition Committee.

In addition to landing the cover of a 2008 edition of Professional Photographer, the winner will receive generous prizes from our contest sponsors, Bogen, Canon, Kodak, Microsoft and Miller’s Lab.

Prizes will be awarded to 2nd-, 3rd-, 4th- and 5th-place winners, and as many as 25 entrants will receive prizes for honorable mention.

How to Enter
Go to www.ppmag.com to enter. Only digital files uploaded at www.ppmag.com will be accepted. Mailed print images and e-mailed electronic images will NOT be accepted.

Format/Specifications: Submit low-resolution images only, in standard digital formats (.jpg, .pdf). Images should be 525x700 pixels; file size should not be more than 250k. A high-resolution, print-quality version (300ppi at 9x12 inches) must be available for each image. The submission deadline is Saturday, May 31, 2008.

Don’t miss your chance to show the world your talent! Head over to www.ppmag.com to learn more.

Press Release—Canon Explorer of Light and author Jack Reznicki is on tour, presenting a full day of “Need to Know” lighting and digital information. If you have ever wanted to work with studio lighting but didn’t know where to start, or you are a pro looking for new ideas, this seminar will be perfect for you.
 
L O C A T I O N S

New York, March 3
Philadelphia, March 4
Atlanta, March 6
Kansas City, March 8
St. Louis, March 10
Portland, March 12
Irvine, March 14

TOPICS

• Creating “natural” light with strobes
• Basic one-light Portrait lighting with live model
• Histograms, camera white balance, and other camera essentials
• Importing, processing, and printing files
• Masking and professional Photoshop techniques
• Copyrights and copywrongs

Full day of live photographic training: $99
Click here for more information and to sign up for the Jack Reznicki Lighting and Digital Training Camp from Software Cinema.

Press Release—Air travel has never been easy, but today’s ATA requirements can strain the limits of even the most seasoned traveler—particularly when it comes to carry-on luggage. 

Hardigg Cases, the company that revolutionized the protective case industry more than half a century ago has risen to the challenge with the new iM2500 Utility Organizer. On its own, the ATA-approved iM2500 is the perfect travel companion: an unbreakable, water-tight carry-on case that can transport clothes, cameras and laptops safely and securely—no matter your destination. However, when you add the new Utility Organizer, the iM2500 is transformed from merely a great protective case into the ultimate carry-on luggage solution. To take the pain out of air travel, we designed this organizer to comply with all ATA requirements—including strict 3-1-1 regulations. Multiple pockets keep papers, 3-1-1 regulated liquids, plane tickets and small electronics like iPods and cameras safe and separate. The Utility Organizer fits neatly into the iM2500’s lid—allowing the case to close securely, encasing its contents in an impenetrable, indestructible shell. Slide a new Utility Organizer into the iM2500, and you’ll have the ultimate carry-on solution: unmatched protection for your gear with unparalleled convenience for you.

To get a look at the iM2500 Utility Organizer, visit Hardigg Storm Case at www.stormcase.com, call us at 800-542-7344 or stop by a local retailer for a demonstration.  

Pricing: iM2500 with Utility Organizer (no foam), $220
iM2500 with Utility Organizer and foam, $252
Utility Organizer only, $26 

Press Release—Miller’s Professional Imaging, the leader in professional imaging labs, has announced the Miller’s $100K Charity Program. During the 2008 tradeshow season, convention attendees can register at the Miller’s booth, and if their name is drawn, Miller’s will give $1,000 to donate in their name to the charity of their choice. Miller’s will be awarding 100 different giveaways throughout the season, amounting to $100,000 in charitable contributions.

“Philanthropy has always been an important part of the Miller’s culture. This year, we decided to add to our charitable giving with the Miller’s $100K Charity Program. We’re able to help photographers make a difference in their own communities with donations that will be given in their name,” said Richard Miller, CEO of Miller’s Professional Imaging. “All are encouraged to come by the Miller’s booth to register. What a better way to say ‘thank you’ for visiting us!”

Miller’s will give $15,000 at Imaging USA, January 6 - 8. For a comprehensive list of all convention contributions, visit http://www.millerslab.com/about/charities/.

Miller’s Professional Imaging was founded in 1968 and offers a full line of professional products and services.
Miller’s is the largest professional lab in the United States and has production facilities in Pittsburg, Kansas and
Columbia, Missouri.

Press Release—Adobe has released updates to Photoshop Lightroom and the Photoshop Camera Raw plug-in, both available immediately as free upgrades for existing users. The Lightroom 1.3 update provides added support for Apple Leopard Mac OS X 10.5 and includes a technology preview of the Lightroom Export SDK, available as a separate download on the Adobe Labs site. The Lightroom 1.3 and Camera Raw 4.3 updates also include raw file support for seven additional digital cameras including the Nikon D3, Nikon D300 and Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III.

The Lightroom Export SDK preview allows for the development of third-party plug-ins that will enable communication from the Lightroom 1.3 Export Dialog to third party tools, Web sites or devices.

"Once we get feedback from the developer community we will evaluate how to expand the SDK to other aspects of workflow outside of image export," said Tom Hogarty, product manager for Photoshop Lightroom. "The end result will allow photographers to further customize and streamline their workflows.  This technology preview will give developers an opportunity to provide feedback and shape the way Lightroom's architecture will be utilized. While we have received numerous requests to provide an SDK that allows for image manipulation plug-ins similar to those available for Photoshop, our current focus is to continue to enhance the digital photography workflow by improving the connection to tools, functionality and services not available in Lightroom."

The Lightroom 1.3 update and Camera Raw 4.3 plug-in add support for seven additional digital cameras including the Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III, Canon PowerShot G9, Nikon D3, Nikon D300, Olympus E-3, Olympus SP-560 UZ, and Panasonic DMC-L10. Lightroom 1.3 provides improved support for Apple Leopard Mac OS X 10.5, fixing known compatibility issues.

Pricing and Availability

The Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 1.3 update is available as a free download for existing customers on http://www.adobe.com/products/photoshoplightroom/.The Photoshop Lightroom Export SDK technology preview is available as a separate download on the Adobe Labs site: http://labs.adobe.com/. Photoshop Lightroom can be purchased in the United States and Canada through the Adobe Store at www.adobe.com/store and at major photo and software retailers for a price of US $299. Recommended system requirements are Macintosh OSX 10.5, 1 GHz PowerPC G4 or G5 or multicore Intel processor, or Microsoft Windows XP SP2 or Windows Vista Home Premium, Business, Ultimate, or Enterprise, Intel Pentium 4 processor, 768 MB RAM and a 1,024x768 resolution screen. Adobe Photoshop Lightroom is a Universal Binary application that will run natively on PowerPC and new Intel-based Macintosh systems.

Press Release—Legion Paper has announced its Moab brand will unveil its most unique product yet, Moenkopi Japanese Washi.

Brought to market in conjunction with the Awagami Factory of Tokushima, Japan, Moenkopi is the newest
product introduced by Moab and continues its tradition of developing and supplying the most innovative and
unique inkjet papers available today.

Moenkopi is a line of traditional Japanese Washi designed and coated for digital photographers and artists. Washi is literally Japanese Paper and has been part of the Japanese tradition for over 14 centuries. Unlike most papers, Washi is made from sustainable and environmentally friendly fibers like Kozo (mulberry) and Hemp.

All three of the Moenkopi papers incorporate the use of Kozo fibers. These fibers are harvested from live shrubs which continue to grow and produce after the harvest. This method of paper making is the most environmentally responsible today and is a driving force for the introduction of the Moenkopi line. Going one step further, the line incorporates a 100% handmade sheet, Bizan which utilizes the power of the sun to dry the sheet. Drying paper is traditionally the most energy intensive process in papermaking because of the large continuous heat ovens required.

The Moenkopi suite of products consists of three archival grades:

Kozo 110 has the smooth surface of a hot press art paper without losing the sensual nature of traditional Japanese Washi. Machinemade in Tokushima, Japan using the Kozo fiber. This white 110gsm sheet is available in A4 and A3+ (13x19) sizes in quantities of 10 sheets with rolls available as special order.

Unryu 55 is made by adding long course fibers to a wet layer of Kozo on the mould. A highly decorative sheet which is perfect for adding depth to a print. The name Unryu literally translates to ‘cloud dragon paper’. This natural white 55gsm sheet is available in quantities of 10 sheets of A4 and A3+ (13x19) as well
as 44”x15m rolls.

Bizan 300 are individually handmade sheets produced by Japanese artisans at the Awagami mill in Tokushima, Japan. Made from environmentally friendly Kozo and Hemp fibers featuring four naturally deckled edges then dried beneath the rising sun. Moenkopi Bizan represents the ultimate in Japanese craftsmanship. This natural white 300gsm paper is available in single sheet quantities in the A4 and A3 sizes only.

This backlit image of Moenkopi Unryu 55 shows the Kozo fibers that give the paper its character. 

One Laptop per Child’s mission is to provide a means for learning, self-expression and exploration to the nearly two billion children of the developing world with little or no access to education. While children are by nature eager for knowledge, many countries have insufficient resources to devote to education—sometimes less than $20 a year per child. Imagine the potential that could be unlocked by giving every child in the world the tools they need to learn, no matter who they are, no matter where they live, no matter how little they may have.
 
Our answer to that challenge is the XO laptop, a children's machine designed for “learning.”

A donation of $200 will pay for and deliver one XO laptop to a child in a developing nation.
 
Starting November 12, One Laptop Per Child will be offering a Give 1 Get 1 Program for a brief window of time. For $399, you will be purchasing two XO laptops—one that will be sent to empower a child to learn in a developing nation, and one that will be sent to your child at home.

For more information on the Give 1 Get 1 Program, visit xogiving.org.

Editor's note:  While researching products for a holiday wishlist for photographers, I decided I would also like to provide information about opportunities to give. It's easy to get wrapped up in the stresses of personal and professional demands, but it helps bring things into perspective when you think of people in need and causes worthy of support.

The One Laptop Per Child organization caught my eye in particular because the designers and organizers have a forward-thinking goal with longterm benefits: to bring something to children around the globe to help them learn, connect, teach others, and develop on their own. The laptops are designed to withstand harsh conditions and rough use. They're tough, the screen is still viewable in bright sunlight, they require little power to run, and can even be recharged by hand methods in areas where there is no electricity. It uses only open-source software, the interface is designed for children and fosters learning and connection to others, and the laptop itself includes a video camera, audio and wi-fi connectivity.

The more I read about it, the more amazed I was. I believe that education is one of the greatest means to help people help themselves, and so this cause appeals to me, personally.

Please consider giving to a charitible fund or aid group this holiday season. I urge you to contribute more suggestions for giving opportunities in the Comments area below. Tell us about your favorite cause or charity.

—Joan Sherwood, Senior Editor 

The First Online Marketplace To Provide Professional and Amateur Photographers An Opportunity to Sell Their Images to Commercial Buyers

Press Release—PhotoShelter Inc, a trusted provider of state-of-the-art online archive and e-commerce solutions to more than 16,000 professional photographers, has announced an open call for all independent photographers—professionals and amateurs alike—to submit images to the PhotoShelter Collection. For photographers, the PhotoShelter Collection presents direct exposure to active buyers, as well as a completely transparent sales system that pays 70% of the transaction. For buyers, the PhotoShelter Collection will provide what the company calls "edited diversity," an ever-growing collection of fresh imagery from unexpected sources, with the benefit of professional editing.
 
“The rapid proliferation of high-quality digital cameras has made it easier than ever to produce stunning imagery. But photographers, whether pros or not, have been limited in their abilities to sell because the existing outlets are either too exclusive, artificially cap the image values, or have pay-to-play schemes,” said Allen Murabayashi, CEO of PhotoShelter. “The PhotoShelter Collection is an open marketplace that embraces the ethos of the web, while maintaining the integrity of the professional photography industry.”

Extending PhotoShelter’s Professional Services to All Photographers

PhotoShelter’s legacy service, the PhotoShelter Personal Archive system, organizes the customer-facing aspects of a photographer’s business, including image archiving, distribution, pricing and sales, into a single online hub. With the PhotoShelter Collection, the company is using its technology and expertise to create a much-needed platform for independent photographers at all levels to engage in online sales without sacrificing the value of their work, or the integrity of their profession. The company has also launched a set of community tools that enables both professional and aspiring photographers to foster a culture of online photography that inspires creativity while maintaining industry standards in pricing and licensing.

“This is an exciting step for both the individual photographer and the industry as a whole,” said 20 year photography veteran, Brad Mangin. “We’ve watched the price of stock photography decrease as more and more images are practically given away by amateur photographers simply because they don't know their true worth. PhotoShelter gives photographers the tools and information needed to be competitive and successful, without degrading the industry.”

Press Release—Legion Paper, the leading supplier of fine art paper in North America, launches a comprehensive eco-friendly paper classification system as part of their website, www.legionpaper.com. This new tool is the first of its kind within the paper industry to provide a powerful ‘green’ search engine.

“We have a very different take on green than most paper companies,” says Joshua Levine, CEO Legion Paper. “The majority of the papers we supply contain an eco-friendly story so we developed a system to highlight these green characteristics, which has turned into a valuable educational tool.”   
 
Most of the "green" discussion in relation to the paper industry has focused on wood-based and/or recycled products. This leaves out many important products including 100% cotton papers, papers made from cork, mulberry, and handmade papers—all of which do not require the cutting down of trees in the first place. The new Legion Paper eco-friendly website organizes each paper into five categories: Alternative Energy, Chlorine-Free, Handmade Papers, Mill Certification and Tree-Free.  
 
“Many of our customers rely on legionpaper.com for their projects and we are continually asked about the specific ‘green’ qualities of our papers,” added Levine. “With our new 'green' interface, we are able to offer this extraordinary search tool so anyone can easily find all the eco-friendly characteristics of our papers instantly.”
 
The new Legion green site was developed in direct response to customer demand with online traffic to legionpaper.com substantially and consistently increasing over the past 24 months. Legion Paper prides itself on outstanding customer service and this new online feature demonstrates their commitment to outstanding service and education. Additionally, Legion’s digital imaging division, Moab by Legion Paper, runs on 100% wind energy and is located in the heart of the west's national parks system where there is an emphasis on living green.

Press Release—Epson America Inc. has announced that John Paul Caponigro and Mac Holbert, two of the preeminent leaders in digital photography and fine art printing, are joining forces to conduct the “Fine Art of Digital Printing” workshop for a second time in the state-of-the-art digital printing labs of Brooks Institute of Photography. Offered due to the overwhelming response to their first joint session in June, the encore workshop Oct. 29-Nov. 2 in Santa Barbara, Calif., will provide one-on-one instruction with access to today’s leading digital printing technology.

“This workshop format is so unique in that it gives Mac and me the chance to work one-on-one with attendees throughout the week—something that isn’t usually seen with traditional workshops,” said Caponigro. “The first workshop was such a great experience for everyone involved, we couldn’t wait to do it again.”

Caponigro and Holbert created the Fine Art of Digital Printing workshop to foster growth and creativity among professionals and serious advanced amateurs. The workshop covers topics impacting the entire printing workflow and employs innovative techniques with the industry’s leading printing technology. Committed to producing the finest digital photographs, as well as teaching with the highest quality products in the industry, Caponigro and Holbert have arranged again for students to work with Epson’s award-winning Epson Stylus Pro printers, inks and media.

Press Release—As part of an ongoing and comprehensive program of company-wide environmental initiatives aimed at significantly reducing the wide-format and photographic industries' environmental impact, LexJet announces its expanded Inkjet Cartridge Recycling Program.

The program builds on LexJet’s extremely successful recycling program for HP 5000/5500 Series printer cartridges, through which more than 100,000 cartridges have been recycled since the program’s inception in 2005.

The Inkjet Cartridge Recycling Program gives wide-format and photographic print providers a convenient method for returning used inkjet cartridges that will then be re-used or processed into recycled raw materials for use in consumer products. The program currently supports 18 cartridge models for both wide-format and desktop inkjet printers manufactured by HP, Canon and Epson, and will continue to grow to support the recycling of a variety of aqueous- and solvent-based inkjet printer cartridges.

Press Release—Karen Sperling, the original Corel Painter expert, is pleased to announce that Pepperdine University in Malibu, Calif., will serve as the new home for her Artistry Retreats and The Artistry GARTEL Marketing Seminars, beginning with the upcoming Artistry Retreat and The Artistry GARTEL Marketing Seminars September 24-28.

Photographers will not only learn techniques for creating paintings from photos and marketing them, but will also enjoy the opportunity to bask in the spectacular views of the Pacific Ocean from the world-class luxury of the Villa Graziadio Executive Center at Pepperdine University, nestled in the tranquil Santa Monica mountains of Malibu.

Sperling has also created a new seminar, The Artistry Painting Faces Retreat, to be held in Malibu, October 10-12. While the Artistry Retreat covers faces, portraits and landscapes, the Artistry Painting Faces Retreat will focus completely on faces and portraits.

In the Artistry Retreat you learn to paint facial features, hair and other parts of the portrait.

The Artistry Painting Faces Retreat includes the foundation of portrait lessons from the Artistry Retreat and then delves further into learning about other artists' styles with the goal of developing your own, unique portrait style. Participants study the distinguishing characteristics that separate a John Singer Sargent portrait from a Mary Cassatt portrait. They also learn how to develop the skills to paint a portrait with an Impressionist look or a contemporary style.

In both the Artistry Retreats and Artistry Painting Faces Retreats, find out the art concepts and Painter steps so that you can paint professional-level portraits yourself.

Malibu photo and painting in Corel Painter by Karen Sperling.  

Press Release—Phase One today announced the beta release of Capture One 4, the next generation of Capture One 3 LE raw workflow software that helps professional photographers achieve superior image quality.

Capture One 4 is a new application building on cutting-edge technology, a new architecture, and what users found best from previous generations of Capture One.

The first look at the newly architected software is available now at no cost until November 1. All existing customers can benefit from Capture One 4, both the beta version and the final version will be available to LE and PRO customers free of charge.

Capture One 4 is available for Windows XP (SP2) and Vista and Mac OS 10.4.8 (or higher) platforms. Please consult the beta release notes for information on known limitations and how to provide beta feedback.

For download instructions, beta release notes, list of cameras supported and to learn more about Capture One 4, please visit the company web site at http://www.phaseone.com/4.

Stores Big and Small Now Offer Photo Accessories ‘Designed by Women for Women’

Press Release—jill-e designs, maker of camera bags and other photo accessories for the professional and advanced amateur female photographer, has introduced a national network of photo retailers, Web sites and catalog houses now carrying its high-quality, high-style products that appeal to the heightened sense of fashion women enjoy while delivering the rugged functionality serious female photographers require.

The company’s wide array of sturdy, sassy camera bags and versatile lens cleaning cloths can now be found at the following retail locations: 

Adorama, New York City
Apertures, Tulsa, Okla.
Baker Photo & Video, Yukon, Okla.
Cal’s Camera, Newport Beach, Calif.
Calumet Photographic, 10 locations across the U.S. 
The Camera Werks, Providence, R.I.
Crick Camera Shop, Kansas City, Mo.
Dan’s Camera, Allentown, Pa. 
Dodd Camera, 5 stores in metro Cleveland, Ohio
Heather Fritz Photography, Kitchener-Waterloo, Ont.
Jack’s Camera, Muncie, Ind.
Keeble & Shuchat Photography, Palo Alto, Calif.
Paul’s Photo, Torrance, Calif.
Pro Photo Supply, Portland Ore.
Ritz Camera, selected locations across the U.S.
Ritz Interactive, www.ritzcamera.com
Showcase, Atlanta, Ga.
 

See how easy and beneficial it can be to use a wide-format inkjet printer in your photography studio. Learn how to reduce annual lab expenditures while gaining the flexibility to create new products and promote your work.

Brought to you by primary sponsors LexJet and Epson, the Great Output Seminar is designed to make in-studio printing easier, more efficient, and more profitable.

Instructor Tom Hauenstein will demonstrate his One and Done method of streamlining the production of professional-quality prints for your portrait, wedding, event, fine art, or commercial photography business.

Registration is only $49, and includes lunch, presentation and educational materials, giveaways, media samples, special sponsor discounts, and more. Great Output’s Printing for Profitability one-day seminars will be presented in 16 cities starting in September and running through February.

Miami, FL – Sept. 10
Charleston, SC – Sept. 17
Austin, TX – Sept. 24
Atlanta, GA – Sept. 26
Seattle, WA – Oct. 8
Denver, CO – Oct. 10
Phoenix, AZ – Oct. 22
Minneapolis, MN – Oct. 24
San Francisco, CA – Nov. 12
San Diego, CA – Nov. 14
Chicago, IL – Jan. 21, 2008
Kansas City, MO – Jan. 23
Richmond, VA – Feb. 11
Philadelphia, PA – Feb. 13
Boston, MA – Feb. 25
New York City, NY – Feb. 27

Visit the Great Output Seminar Tour for information on venues and the seminar schedule and to register online.

Press Release—Nikon has introduced 12.1-megapixel D3 digital SLR with a new FX-format CMOS sensor, measuring 23.9 x 36mm, which is "nearly identical to the size of 35mm film." Nikon boasts the D3 has the fastest startup time, shortest viewfinder blackout time and shortest shutter lag of any DSLR and can achive a 9 frames per second capture rate at full FX-format resolution.

Designed with sports photographers and photojournalists in mind, the Nikon D3 introduces new features and technologies that include Nikon’s new EXPEED Image Processing System that is central to the speed and processing power needed for many of the D3’s new features.

The D3's normal ISO range spans 200 to 6400. By setting the camera to its built-in options of Lo-1 or Hi-2, the ISO range of the camera can be expanded to the equivalent of ISO 100 or ISO 25,600.

The D3 also features an entirely new 51-point auto focus system with Nikon’s 3D Focus Tracking feature and two new LiveView shooting modes that allow photographers to frame a photograph using the camera’s high-resolution LCD monitor. The D3 uses the world’s first Scene Recognition System to enhance the accuracy of auto focus, auto exposure and auto white balance detection in the camera by recognizing the subject or scene being photographed and applying this information to the calculations for the three functions.

The DX-format the D300 is a 12.3 effective megapixel digital SLR camera that combines brand new technologies with advanced features inherited from Nikon’s new D3.

Similar to the D3, the D300 features Nikon’s EXPEED Image Processing System that is central to driving the speed and processing power. The D300 features a new 51-point auto focus system with Nikon’s 3D Focus Tracking feature and two new LiveView shooting modes that allow users to frame a photograph using the camera’s high-resolution LCD monitor. The D300 shares a similar Scene Recognition System as found in the D3 that promises to greatly enhance the accuracy of auto focus, auto exposure and auto white balance by recognizing the subject or scene being photographed and applying this information to the calculations for the three functions.

The D300 is capable of shooting at a rapid six frames per second and can go as fast as 8 fps when using the optional MB-D10 Multi-Power Battery Pack. In continuous bursts, the D300 can shoot up to 100 shots at full 12.3 megapixel resolution.


 

Press Release—On August 20, Canon U.S.A., Inc. announced the upcoming release of the Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III and the EOS 40D for the professional photography market, as well as two new Canon lenses, the EF 14mm f/2.8L II USM Lens and the EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS.

The new 21.1-megapixel, full-frame Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III Digital SLR camera is housed in a compact, lighter-weight magnesium alloy body. According to Canon, the camera will be able to achieve a five-frame-per-second (fps) shooting rate for bursts of up to 56 Large/Fine (21-megapixel) JPEGS or 12 RAW images.

The Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III is scheduled to begin shipping in November and will have an estimated selling price of $7,999.

The Canon EOS 40D debuts numerous design improvements over its predecessor, the 30D, which it replaces. Scheduled to be available in stores in September, the 40D features a 10.1-megapixel APS-C size CMOS sensor, a redesigned autofocus sensor, and a motor drive that can achieve 6.5 frames per second.

The EOS 40D has live view capability, including autofocus with the press of the AF-ON button. Live view delivers 100 percent field view on the LCD screen, allowing for more accurate composition. 

While the EOS 40D SLR maintains the nine-point wide area AF coverage first introduced on the EOS 20D camera, Canon states it has made significant improvements to its speed, precision and functionality, minimizing subject recognition problems in the process. The EOS 40D camera’s redesigned nine-point AF sensor provides cross-type AF measurement at all nine focusing points for maximum apertures up to f/5.6, and for the first time in any EOS camera, the central AF point offers enhanced precision for both vertical and horizontal subject contrast when using EF or EF-S lenses featuring maximum apertures of f/2.8 or faster. AF calculation speed with the EOS 40D camera is 30 percent faster than the EOS 30D model. 

The new EOS 40D also features the Digic III processing engine, the EOS Integrated Cleaning System, a new sRAW recording format that records smaller file sizes than the standard RAW capture, which is still available, and the Highlight Tone Priority function introduced in the EOS-1D Mark III.

The Canon EOS 40D Digital SLR will be sold in a body-only configuration at an estimated selling price of $1,299. It will additionally be offered in a kit version with Canon’s EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM zoom lens at an estimated selling price of $1,499.  

Press Release—Image Trends has released SensorKleen Pro, a software application that allows the user to automatically erase the dust and debris in a set of Digital SLR camera images. The SensorKleen SmartBrush product (included with SensorKleen Pro) allows you to correct defects on individual images.  

PearlyWhites: The Digital Teeth Whitener and ShineOff: The Digital Face Powder plug-ins are now available for the Mac OSX platforms. As with the previously announced PC versions of the cosmetic plug-ins, they whiten teeth and remove unwanted shine from the face and can be run in batch mode using Photoshop actions.

Initially, SensorKleen Pro, a stand alone application, will be available for Windows based machines. Similar to the other Image Trends products, the Mac versions will follow as market demand dictates. The new SensorKleen Pro application will be priced at $99.95 (US). SensorKleen Pro replaces SensorKleen with SmartBrush, and owners of the SmartBrush version will be contacted and provided with a no-charge upgrade; a $50 customer loyalty benefit. The Mac versions of the ShineOff and PearlyWhites Plug-In’s are priced at $49.95 (US). All ITI products are available now for a free “try before you buy” download at www.ImageTrendsInc.com.

New York Historical Society to premiere powerful, original exhibition commemorating the 6th anniversary of September 11. More than 1,300 remarkable photographs, oral histories and artifacts create a new remembrance of the World Trade Center Attacks.

Press Release—Here is New York: Remembering 9/11/01, a haunting new exhibition commemorating the sixth anniversary of the World Trade Center terrorist attacks, featuring more than a thousand stirring photographs, together with a bold display of artifacts pulled from the rubble and hundreds of oral histories, opens Friday, August 31 and runs through January 1, 2008 at The New-York Historical Society, 170 Central Park West (at 77th Street).

Photograph taken by Christopher Hubble, Franconia, NH

Press Release—Software Cinema Training announces the release of Compositing Exposures to Light Architecture & Landscapes by author Bob Coates. In this CS3 Photoshop tutorial DVD, Coates highlights some of the new features that make extending the dynamic range of images through capture and blending multiple images of the same scene.

“It’s definitely made it easier for me to do my real estate photography,” says Coates. “With the new Align tool in Photoshop, it’s not the disaster it once was if the tripod gets bumped a little while capturing multiple exposures. Used to be if there was even a tiny movement of the pod, that meant extra time allotted to aligning the images in Photoshop in post-production. Now, it’s a breeze. I capture exposures from outside the window, in the shadows, tungsten lamps, flash and more, then blend them all together for a look the eye can see but the camera could never capture in just one exposure without a LOT of extra work on the site. It’s cool!”

Canon shares a real-world testimonial from photographer John Sexton, who chose the Canon REALiS SX6 to use on his lecture tour

Kingston Technology’s Icons of Photography Web Site Features 20 Questions Interview

Press Release—Kingston Technology Company, Inc., has posted an interview with legendary photojournalist Harry Benson on its Icons of Photography microsite. A witness to history, Benson shares what it was like to be standing next to Robert F. Kennedy when he was assassinated, how he got his first big break as the only journalist allowed to interview a mass murderer in prison, and how it felt to march with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. In addition to his photographic exploits, Benson expresses personal goals such as his longtime desire to become a professional football (soccer) player.

The interview marks the second in a series called 20 Questions, which gives site visitors an up-close-and-personal look at some of the world’s most respected photographers. Kingston encourages photographers who visit the Icons of Photography microsite to take an active role through features including Ask the Icon, which gives photographers an opportunity to pose their own questions and Critique My Image, which invites photographers to submit a photo to be constructively critiqued by one of Kingston’s Icons.

Press Release—Software Cinema has announced a seven-city one-day workshop tour featuring Jack Reznicki, "Lighting and Digital Photography Training Camp." This is your opportunity to learn the secrets and techniques of the legendary Jack Reznicki. PPA President Jack Reznicki is one of the busiest commercial photographers around, and this is your only chance to see him reveal how he works from shoot to finish. You will learn the nuances of lighting, how to get great images in the camera, and how to protect those images. Learn how Jack increases productivity using Photoshop Lightroom. Rarely do you get to learn and ask questions of someone like Jack, and this is his only tour this year. We invite you to sign up early. The seats are limited, and the information is awesome.

Topics include …

• Histogram, white balance and other camera essentials
• Lighting overview
• Basic one-light portrait lighting with live model
• Pro lighting techniques with live model
• Importing, processing, printing files in Adobe Photoshop Lightroom
• Masking in Photoshop
• Copyrights & ‘Copywrongs’

Cities on the tour:

• Seattle, WA - Mon, Aug 06, 2007
• South San Francisco, CA - Tue, Aug 07, 2007
• Los Angeles, CA - Thu, Aug 09, 2007
• San Diego, CA - Sat, Aug 11, 2007
• Phoenix, AZ - Mon, Aug 13, 2007
• Dallas (Irving), TX - Wed, Aug 15, 2007
• Washington, DC - Sat, Aug 18, 2007
   

The one-day seminar is $99. Go to Software Cinema for more information.

Lightroom Update Offers New Functionality, Improved Raw Processing and Support for Windows Vista

Press Release—Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 1.1 is now available as a free upgrade for existing users, with added functionality and support for Windows Vista. Lightroom 1.1 adds a flexible image management system for multi-computer workflows, improved noise reduction and sharpening, and raw file support for 13 additional digital cameras from leading manufacturers including Canon, Nikon, Olympus, and Phase One.

“Although the beta period has ended, we are happy to say that Photoshop Lightroom continues to incorporate user feedback with this latest update,” says Tom Hogarty, product manager for Photoshop Lightroom. “We are committed to continuing this partnership with our customer base by working together to make a program that best suits their digital imaging workflow needs.”

Lightroom enables professional photographers to import, manage and present large volumes of digital photographs helping them spend more time behind the lens and less time at the computer. Improvements in Lightroom 1.1 include a new image management system that allows flexible multi-computer workflows. A catalog-based system means photographers now can move images and information quickly between their computers. Lightroom 1.1 further streamlines the digital photography workflow with the addition of a convenient way to synchronize folders in the program with new or changed photos. Other changes include improved noise reduction and sharpening functionality, utilizing customer feedback and technology from industry-standard Photoshop.

One-day seminars designed to make photographic and fine-art printing easier, more efficient, and more profitable

Press Release—The Great Output Seminar: Printing for Profitability in the Digital Darkroom, will travel to 16 cities across the nation, beginning in Miami on Sept. 10, and wrapping up in New York City on Feb. 27. Primary sponsors for the one-day color-management, printing, and marketing seminars are LexJet and Epson.

LexJet’s technical support director, Tom Hauenstein, will teach attendees his One-and-Done method of color-managing the workflow to ensure top-quality prints while cutting lab expenditures by more than 80 percent.

Hauenstein will also provide in-depth education on making prints look like the images prepared on-screen, how to obtain and use the right profiles for different types of print materials, proven marketing techniques for using prints to bring in more business, and more.

Fashion photographer Drew Gardner weighs in on workflow solutions

Top pro photographers customize their workflow in a manner that best suits their work style and requirements. Just as there are no two photographers who shoot alike, so there appears to be no one-size-fits-all software solution. Photographers instead prefer to choose what works for them.

“In my experience, the all-in-one solution does not provide the in-depth toolset and breadth of features that a professional needs and that I’ve found by using the best available tools for a given job,” said Drew Gardner, British fashion photographer who was recently nominated for the AOP awards, and whose work for the BBC primetime series Roman’s Empire has drawn critical attention. “It’s no different from choosing cameras or lenses; I’m not going to compromise on quality.”

Gardner’s choice for his digital workflow includes RAW capture and processing tool Capture One PRO, from Phase One, and MediaPro, the digital asset management software created by iView Multimedia.

From the Alice in Wonderland series ©Drew Gardner; Designer: Kirstimairie

Press Release—Kingston Technology Company has posted questions submitted by visitors from around the world to its Icons of Photography microsite as part of its Ask the Icon interactive feature. Each question was answered by one of Kingston’s four Icon photographers: Harry Benson, Colin Finlay, Gerd Ludwig and Peter Read Miller. Through Ask the Icon, visitors are encouraged to submit questions on any topic to the photographers.

Press Release—Canon U.S.A. has unveiled two new large-format printers, the imagePROGRAF 12-color pigment ink large format printers, the imagePROGRAF iPF6100 and imagePROGRAF iPF5100, which replaces the iPF5000. The most significant changes introduced are a built-in printer calibration system, reformulated black inks, and a print driver feature that allows users to create proofs that take ambient light viewing conditions into consideration. 

Capable of 24-inch wide and 17-inch wide prints respectively, the imagePROGRAF iPF6100 and iPF5100 printers represent the next generation of Canon large format technology. Each comes equipped with a 12-color pigment inkset, using new formulations and better ink drop control for improved dot patterns and reduced dot graininess. The new formulations also reduce bronzing and provide better ink adhesion for improved scratch resistance.

Both new imagePROGRAF models support next generation Kyuanos color management technology for Windows, to deliver output color suitable for different viewing conditions such as fluorescent lights, incandescent lights, or sunlight. Each model also includes easy-to-use color calibration to help ensure output color consistency and accuracy. The combination of Kyuanos and Canon’s color calibration aims to provide users with an easy solution to achieve consistent and accurate color output from print to print, and machine to machine, and to provide suitable output color for different lighting conditions.

Canon imagePROGRAF iPF5100

Professional senior and family portrait photographers in particular may find useful applications for Canon's new enhanced poster creation software, PosterArtist 2007. With PosterArtist 2007, an Auto Design feature allows users to  designate images to be incorporated into a poster, and the PosterArtist automatically uses the images to create professional-looking posters for immediate use. The Auto Design feature significantly cuts down on the time it takes to go from design to output. Also PosterArtist 2007 allows users to take advantage of Kyuanos technology for advanced color management of their poster output from Canon 12-color models, to be viewed favorably under various light sources. A template filtering feature allows users to source and apply a pre-loaded template quickly and easily from a library of hundreds of templates. PosterArtist 2007 will be available through authorized Canon U.S.A. dealers in July 2007 with a manufacturer’s suggested retail price of $799.

Press Release—Tenba has introduced a new collection of specialized, highly-protective cases for carrying and shipping portfolios and mounted prints. The new series, called Airbook, is based on the same time- and travel-tested framework as Tenba’s equipment shipping cases, used by photographers and other creative professionals to transport photo, lighting, and computer equipment for over twenty years.

The core of the Airbook is Tenba’s patented Air Case frame—a multi-layered skeleton of air-channeled plastic panels, high-density foam, and specially-molded framing components—all wrapped with soft, brushed tricot to protect, cradle and elegantly present the contents. The Airbook interior has two special modifications specially suited for portfolios: corner cutouts, to protect mounted prints and delicate books (leather, Lucite etc.) from shipping damage or accidental drops, and hand cutouts on each side that allow easy removal of the contents. A variety of additional storage compartments inside the lid provide space for comp cards, cover letters, return shipping documents and business cards.

Press Release—Sinar is bringing to market its much-anticipated Sinar Hy6 medium-format digital camera system. The Sinar Hy6, which received the Photokina Star 2006 award for most outstanding new product, is the result of collaboration between Sinar, Jenoptik and Franke & Heidecke (Rolleiflex). Designed to capture images using both digital and conventional film backs, the Hy6 offers photographers a true 6x6 cm medium-format size with the flexibility of a 4.5x6 cm camera. 

“The Sinar Hy6 embodies the technological know-how, precision engineering and manufacturing of three world-renowned companies whose single objective was to create a medium-format camera system that is intuitive in design and second to none in performance,” said Cathy Strobel, President, Sinar Bron Imaging.  “A fully integrated digital system, the Sinar Hy6 will support the entire Sinar digital product line-up.”

The Sinar Hy6 is based on an open system design and can easily adapt to advancements in future chip technology by allowing the insertion of larger (higher-resolution) image sensors of up to 56x56mm.

Press Release—My Life Designs and Gina Alexander have partnered to deliver custom photo bag charms to Gina Alexander customers. For photographers in the My Life Designs Professional Photographer Program who struggle with not being able to customize photo handbags, this is a great way to put your studio logo on the back of the tag, and a photo that complements the bag's image on the front. For the Professional Photographer Program, the bag tag is $38 for a one-sided tag, $48 two-sided. Your customers can not only add a new photo to their bag, but collect and carry various photos with their custom photo bag.

Designed by My Life Designs and sold under the Gina Alexander brand, the new photo bag charm uses My Life Designs proprietary manufacturing process to preserve the photo and makes it resistant to water and sunlight, enabling it to last for generations. The charm is made of solid pewter, measuring 2x1.5 inches, and attaches to any bag with a black grosgrain ribbon.

Press Release—Professional Photographer magazine, the official magazine of Professional Photographers of America (PPA), received 10 “GAMMA” awards and an honorable mention for its website design from the Magazine Association of the Southeast (MAGS) on April 26, 2007.

Of special note was the Service Journalism Gold award won for the Studio Management Services (SMS) Benchmark Study, made possible through months of research, writing, and editing by PPA's CFO and Director of Studio Management Services Scott Kurkian; Ann Monteith, M.Photog.Cr.Hon.M.Photog.,CPP, ABI, past chairwoman of the board of PPA; Professional Photographer Features Editor Leslie Hunt; and the entire SMS team. The judge described the special report as “compelling, focused, specific, impeccably researched and relevant to its audience.”

For 100 years, Professional Photographer has striven to help readers advance careers in the photographic industry through innovative reporting on the artistic, business, and technological sides of photography. Professional Photographer was awarded four gold awards, three silver, three bronze, and one honorable mention in the GAMMA Awards competition, which recognizes editorial and design excellence in magazine publishing.

2007 GAMMA RESULTS

GOLD
Best Feature: "Senior Style, 3 Ways" by Jeff Kent (Sept. 2006)
Best Service Journalism: "How You Can Make More Money” (Nov. 2006 )
Best Single Cover: Photographed by Greg Gorman/Imaging USA issue. (Jan. 2006)
Best Photography: "Action Packed” Paul Aresu (Dec. 2006)

SILVER
Best Design: November 2006 issue
Best Photography: "Pupil Becomes Master" John Russo (April 2006)
Best Service Journalism: "Hot One Awards" (Jan. 2006)

BRONZE
Best Single Issue: January 2006
Best Feature: "Tough Customer" by Jeff Kent (March 2006)
Best Single Cover: Photography by Matthew Jordan Smith (Nov. 2006)

HONORABLE MENTION
Best Magazine Website

Sports Illustrated photographer Peter Read Miller answers 20 Questions to kick-off the new microsite that encourages visitor participation with Ask the Icon and Critique My Image features

Press Release—Kingston Technology Company, Inc., has launched a series of interviews with photographers on its Icons of Photography Web site. The first interview is with award-winning Sports Illustrated photographer Peter Read Miller. The 20 Questions interview series provides visitors with an up-close and personal look at some of today’s most respected photographers. With this new series, Kingston also debuts a newly-designed Web site created to encourage visitor participation and interaction with Kingston’s Icons.

Kingston wants visitors to its Icons of Photography Web site to take an active role through new features including Ask the Icon, which gives photographers an opportunity to submit their own questions and Critique My Image, which invites photographers to submit their favorite photo to be constructively critiqued by one of Kingston’s Icons.

“The ‘Icons of Photography’ Web site was originally created as an educational forum where photographers—professional and enthusiast—could learn helpful tips from some of the world’s most respected photographers,” says Jaja Lin, Flash marketing manager, Kingston. “The fact that our customers now have an opportunity to interact with the Icons, either by asking them a direct question or having one of their images critiqued, provides even greater educational value because it promotes the sharing of ideas.”

Press Release—Publishers O'Reilly, Peachpit, and Wiley have announced a slew of current and upcoming titles and free educational resources related to Adobe Photoshop CS3 and Photoshop Lightroom.

O'Reilly will release Mikkel Aaland's "Photoshop Lightroom Adventure" in early June.  The book is subtitled "Mastering Adobe's next-generation tool for digital photographers. We'll post an excerpt here in Web Exclusives.

O'Reilly's Dynamic Learning Series has five titles for Adobe CS3 applications: "Learning Photoshop CS3," "Learning Dreamweaver CS3," "Learning Illustrator CS3," "Learning Flash CS3," and "Learning InDesign CS3." Each book comes with a DVD with video tutorials, lesson files and review questions. Free PDF Instructor Guides are available for download.

Upcoming releases include Deke McClelland's "Photoshop CS3 One-on-One" and "Eddie Tapp on Digital Photography: Controlling Color and Tone in Photoshop" in June.
 

New book releases from Peachpit Press include "The Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Book for Digital Photographers," by Scott Kelby, $39.99; and "The Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Book: The Complete Guide for Photographers," by Martin Evening, $40.00.

Upcoming releases include "Adobe  Photoshop CS3 Classroom in a Book" in April from Adobe Press, "The Photoshop CS3 Book for Digital Photographers" by Scott Kelby in May, and "Real World Camera Raw with Adobe Photoshop CS3" by Bruce Fraser and Jeff Schewe in the fall.

The 10.4.9 Update is recommended for PowerPC and Intel-based Mac computers currently running Mac OS X Tiger version 10.4.8 and includes general operating system fixes, as well as specific fixes or compatibility updates for the following applications and technologies:

• RAW camera support (including medium-format cameras)
• Handling of large or malformed images that could cause crashes
• Image capture performance
• Mouse scrolling and keyboard shortcuts
• Font handling
• Playback quality, and bookmarks in DVD Player
• USB video conferencing cameras for use with iChat
• Bluetooth devices
• Browsing AFP servers
• Apple USB Modem
• Windows-created digital certificates
• Open and Print dialogs in applications that use Rosetta on Intel-based Macs
• Time zone and daylight saving for 2006 and 2007
• Security updates

The update is available for download at: http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/macosx1049updateintel.html

Press Release—Adobe Systems Incorporated announced at the Photo Marketing Association (PMA) show that it will expand its digital imaging product line, offering two editions of Adobe Photoshop CS3. In addition to the highly anticipated Photoshop CS3 software for designers and professional photographers, Adobe will also deliver Photoshop CS3 Extended, a completely new edition of Photoshop which allows cross-media creative professionals to stretch the limits of digital imaging. Photoshop CS3 Extended includes everything in Photoshop CS3 plus a new set of capabilities for integration of 3-D and motion graphics, image measurement and analysis. Photoshop CS3 Extended also simplifies the workflow for professionals in architecture, engineering, medical and science.

Both Photoshop CS3 and Photoshop CS3 Extended software will be formally introduced on March 27, 2007  as part of the company's launch of Creative Suite 3, when further details will be disclosed. The software is expected to ship in Spring 2007.

Press Release—Quantum Instruments has introduced the Mini Folding Softbox QF69, allowing photographers to shoot up-close and personal without the worry of overexposing the subject. Replace the reflector of a Qflash 4d, 5d or 5d-R with the included Hot Spot Reducer and then slip on the Mini Folding Softbox QF 69 for very soft, diffused lighting.

The Mini Folding Softbox QF69 gives close to a 180-degree light spread for use with wide angle lenses. Its placement on the flash head of a Qflash 4d, 5d, or 5d-R allows for Automatic (using Qflash Sensor), Manual and TTL shooting modes with Qflash.

With the QF69 attached to a Qflash, you can mount this combination to a camera bracket or fasten it to an umbrella bracket for placement on a light stand. The QF69 folds up neatly into its carrying case for your convenience.

This new Mini Folding Softbox QF69joins the Qflash family of specialized reflectors that include 12x12 Softbox (QF68), Wide Angle Diffuser (QF67A), Bare Bulb Enhancers (QF62Bs/g), Telephoto/Portrait (QF63B) and Snoot (QF63B).

World’s dastest sigital SLR*, EF 16-35 mm f/2.8 L II USM lens and Speedlite 580EX II flash

Press Release—Canon celebrates the 20th anniversary of its top-selling EOS single lens reflex camera system by announcing the EOS-1D Mark III Digital SLR, the world’s fastest digital SLR camera. At 10 frames per second, the 10.1 megapixel EOS-1D Mark III digital SLR can fire huge motor-driven bursts of 110 Large JPEGs or 30 RAW files because it employs the new Dual DIGIC III image processor engine, providing enough computational horsepower to do parallel processing at a rate unmatched by any other digital SLR. The all-new 10.1 megapixel, APS-H size CMOS sensor which is designed and manufactured by Canon, is the most light-sensitive and innovative sensor that Canon has developed to date. It features a new microlens array and a more efficient pixel structure for ultra-low noise, resulting in exceptional image quality and an amazing ISO range of 100 to 3200 with extensions to ISO 50 and ISO 6400. Canon also unveiled several new accessories, including the EF-16-35mm f/2.8L II USM Lens and the Speedlite 580EX II Flash.

Professional Photographer Technical Editor Ellis Vener helps The New York Times' David Pogue bust the megapixel myth

Pro photographers have known for years that megapixels alone do not make the image, but most casual consumers and many enthusiasts make the assumption that more is always better. Still, it's difficult to explain to a client or friend that not only the number of pixels, but the sensor quality and construction, the size of the sensor pixels, the camera's image processor, lens optics and other contributing factors all work together to construct the technical quality of a digital image.

David Pogue, the technology columnist for The New York Times and host of an upcoming TV series "It's All Geek to Me" [beginning in April on Discovery HD and Science Channel], had attempted to  bust the myth for his show. But when he described how he conducted the test on his New York Times blog, many readers pointed out the flaw of his methodology. He had used Adobe Photoshop to down-res the images that he used for the lower-resolution comparison. The test effectively said more about Photoshop than camera sensors.

Ellis Vener, who along with Andrew Rodney serves as a technical editor for Professional Photographer magazine, wrote to Pogue with his suggestion for a test that could isolate the variables to only the number of pixels in the file. Pogue describes Vener's proposed test in the February 8 column: "Using a professional camera (the 16.7-megapixel Canon EOS-1Ds Mark II) in his studio, he would take three photos of the same subject, zooming out each time. Then, by cropping out the background until the subject filled the same amount of the frame in each shot, he would wind up with nearly identical photos at three different resolutions: 7 megapixels, 10 and 16.7."

Press Release—Lensbabies has introduced its new Lensbaby Creative Aperture Kit for use with the Lensbaby 3G and Lensbaby 2.0 Single Lens-Reflex (SLR) lenses. Each Lensbaby Creative Aperture Kit contains one star-shaped aperture disk, one heart shaped aperture disk, and five blank disks.  Photographers can fashion the blank disks into their own custom shaped apertures using a shaped paper punch (available at craft stores) or a sharp knife.

With the Lensbaby Creative Aperture Disks, points of light in out-of-focus areas of the photo take on the shape of the hole in the aperture disk. If the photographer uses the star-shaped aperture disk, points of light behind the subject appear as glowing stars, giving photographers one more creative tool. 

Caption: Image taken using the Lensbaby Star Aperture. ©Keri Friedman

Next-generation art studio delivers a natural painting and illustration experience unmatched by any other software

Press Release—Corel Corporation has announced that Corel Painter X, the world's most powerful painting and illustration software, is now available for pre-order from www.corel.com/painterx. The latest version of Corel Painter continues its focus on giving professional artists, designers and photographers a natural painting and illustration experience that is unmatched by any other software.          

Delivering the next-generation art studio, Corel Painter X blurs the line between traditional and digital art like never before. Working closely with professionals including photographers, entertainment artists and commercial designers, the Corel Painter team explored the relationship between the artist's hand and the canvas. As a result, Corel Painter X sets the standard with the introduction of unparalleled performance, new composition tools and the revolutionary RealBristle Painting System that provides an organic painting and illustration experience—right down to the individual bristles on the brush.

ProShow MediaSource collections provide photographers with royalty-free content, including audio, images, templates and more, that can be used in ProShow slide show presentations.

Press Release—Photodex Corporation has release the all-new ProShow MediaSource, created specifically for photographers who use ProShow software for their image presentation. Finding and attaining rights to use appropriate, professional sounding music for digital image presentations is a time-consuming chore. ProShow MediaSource features professional content that is easy-to-use and versatile, decreasing slide show production time and increasing the production value of every show. By eliminating the need to create and search for quality content that compliments their photography, photographers can spend less time creating slide shows and more time behind the lens.

Staples Copy & Print Centers has launched its first nationwide “Hometown Views” Photo Contest. The grand prize winner will be selected by Staples with the assistance of the Professional Photographers of America (PPA). Staples is offering amateur photographers a chance to have their photos viewed and sold to countless customers in Staples stores throughout the country.

Professional photographers are prohibited from entering, but you can encourage friends, relatives and clients who are photography enthusiasts to enter. Each contest entrant will receive a coupon for one free big color poster redeemable at any Staples Copy & Print Center inside every Staples store. Approximately 40 regional finalists will be selected and will receive prizes, which may include Staples gift cards and royalties of up to $5,000 from photos sold in over 1,300 Staples stores. One grand prize winner will receive an “Ultimate Photo Vacation to Iceland.”   

Log on to www.staples.com/hometownviews for contest details, how to submit an entry and a complete list of rules and eligibility requirements. The 40 finalists and grand prize winner will be announced in May. The deadline to enter Staples “Hometown Views” Photo Contest is March 15, 2007. 

Press Release—Extending the appeal of the H3D DSLR camera system to a new professional photographic audience, Hasselblad has launched the H3D-31, a 31-megapixel version of the H3D-39, the world’s first 48mm full-frame DSLR camera system. With near full-frame capture, the H3D-31 uses a 44x33mm sensor enhanced with micro-lenses to boost ISO rating one stop to a new maximum of ISO 800. The system’s new high-speed capture architecture, which is common to all H3D models and enables the fastest possible operation, also gives the H3D-31 an impressive capture rate of 1.2 seconds per image in either mobile or tethered mode. These features give the H3D-31 the highest burst rate of the H3D family.

If you purchased qualified Canon cameras and lenses between October 15, 2006 and February 19, 2007, you are eligible for rebates up to $300.

Press Release—Canon U.S.A., Inc. is extending its popular “Cash In With Canon” rebate program that offers consumers the chance to build or expand their EOS camera system. With this extension, consumers who purchase qualified products between now and February 19, 2007 are eligible to receive rebates of up to $300 on select Canon Digital SLR Cameras, such as the full frame EOS 5D.  What’s more, consumers can double rebates when purchasing two or more different eligible EOS Digital SLR Cameras, Canon EF or EF-S Lenses and EOS system accessories. The “Cash In With Canon” rebate program has also been extended through February 19, 2007, on Image Stabilizer binoculars.

Press Release — Kubota Image Tools is pleased to announce its return to Italy for its third creative photography workshop for professional and advanced amateur photographers. This seven-day photography workshop includes several photo excursions, classroom instruction, photography critiquing and more.

Meeting in Florence, the workshop group will be driven to the nearby village of Chianti to begin the Tuscan part of the adventure. Here photographers will spend two nights at the incredible hilltop villa Hotel Radda (www.hotelradda.com).During the stay here there will be photo excursions to surrounding Tuscan villages.

CS3 Learning Center Offers Tutorials, New Feature Overviews, Interviews and More for the Newly-Released Adobe Photoshop CS3 Public Beta Preview

Press Release—The National Association of Photoshop Professionals (NAPP) has announced the launch of their online learning center in conjunction with the release of the Adobe Photoshop Creative Suite 3 public beta preview. The CS3 Learning Center is now live and available at http://www.photoshopuser.com/cs3.

"Adobe did the right thing by releasing this first-ever public beta preview of Photoshop CS3,” said Scott Kelby, NAPP president and editor-in-chief of Photoshop User and Layers magazines. “This is a huge boon to Mac users because CS3 is optimized to run on Apple's Intel-based machines. They included the Windows users too, so everybody gets a chance to take this amazing new upgrade for a spin. This free public beta preview is a big risk for Adobe, but I applaud them for taking that risk and doing what's right for their customers on both platforms."

Photoshop CS3 beta includes a pre-release version of a major upgrade to Adobe Bridge, as well as a preview release of all-new Adobe Device Central

Press Release—Adobe Systems Incorporated introduced a beta version of Adobe Photoshop CS3 software on Friday, December 15. Adobe is delivering a widely available Photoshop CS3 beta to enable customers to more easily transition to the latest hardware platforms, particularly Apple's new Intel-based systems. The beta is available as a Universal Binary for the Macintosh platform, as well as for Microsoft(r) Windows(r) XP and Windows Vista computers. The final shipping release of Adobe Photoshop CS3 is planned for Spring 2007. The software can be downloaded at: http://labs.adobe.com, in the early hours Pacific Standard Time on December 15.

Improvements of interest to professional photographers include an automated alignment feature, useful for quickly compiling the best expressions from group photos into one image. Bridge has a whole new look and a lot more flexibility in organization. And new edge-detection advances speed the process of making selections.

Packed with new features, Photoshop CS3 beta also includes a pre-release version of a major upgrade to Adobe Bridge, as well as a preview release of the all-new Adobe Device Central. Photoshop customers can use Adobe Device Central to design, preview, and test compelling mobile content, created specifically for smaller screens. This new tool, integrated in the Photoshop CS3 beta, simplifies and accelerates the creation of mobile content through a preview environment and built-in device profiles.

New Release Includes Chroma Key and Masking Tools, Keyframing Controls, and Expanded, Popular Output Options Like Adobe, Flash,QuickTime and HD Video.

Press Release—Photodex Corporation has announced the release of the next generation of its slide show software for professional photographers. The all-new ProShow Producer 3.0 expands upon the impressive list of creative features and production control options. Now photographers can create polished, professional-grade slide shows with advanced, high-end artistic effects previously achievable only through using third-party professional photo and video editing software.

From digital proofing to high-end multimedia slide shows, ProShow Producer has introduced photographers to a new way of presenting their images to the world. With Producer, photographers can create multimedia slide show presentations and output them to their choice of 14 different formats, including DVD, CD and the newly-added HD Video, Flash and QuickTime output options.

Photoshop Legend Recognized for a Lifetime of Contributions to the Development, Advancement and Education of the Digital Imaging Community

Press Release –The National Association of Photoshop Professionals (NAPP) has announced that Bruce Fraser – best-selling author, internationally recognized Adobe Photoshop expert, Photoshop Hall of Famer, and co-founder and principal of Pixel Genius LLC – has been named as the recipient of the first NAPP Lifetime Achievement Award.

According to Scott Kelby, president of NAPP, “I don't think there's a Photoshop professional out there, that doesn't owe a significant chunk of their expertise, and a big debt of gratitude, to Bruce Fraser. He almost single-handedly shaped the way we work with color, how we process RAW images in Photoshop, and even how we sharpen our photos. I think it's safe to say that this industry wouldn't be where it is today without Bruce's input, advice, and guidance. He's a gifted and talented instructor who has dedicated his life to taking the mystery out of digital imaging technology, and that's why we're proud to honor him as the first recipient of NAPP's Lifetime Achievement Award.”

Bruce Fraser was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer earlier this year and, according to a Dec. 13 posting on PhotoshopNews, his condition has worsened in recent weeks.

Everest Climb for Peace Takes Epson Multimedia Storage Viewer to New Heights

Can Epson technology survive in the midst of extreme sub-zero temperatures, fierce winds, avalanches and oxygen deprivation? Epson’s P-4000 Multimedia Storage Viewer met the challenge with ease as it aided climbers on their trek during the treacherous 60-day Everest Climb for Peace expedition. The team reached the pinnacle on May 18, 2006.

Features Interviews with Mikhail Baryshnikov, Tina Brown, Graydon Carter, Rosanne Cash, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Whoopi Goldberg, Mick Jagger, Bette Midler, Demi Moore, Mark Morris, Yoko Ono, Keith Richards, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Patti Smith, Gloria Steinem, Jann Wenner, Anna Wintour,  and family members

Press Release—It’s 1972, the year of Watergate, "The Godfather" and Exile on Main Street. On a suburban Maryland lawn, a young Anna-lou Leibovitz peers into her Nikon as members of her family scramble into place.  As they pose, an ever-present Super 8 camera captures the scene. Although Leibovitz is a Rolling Stone magazine photographer, this event—her first turn as the official family photographer—is as important to her as any arena concert or movie shoot.

Flash forward 34 years to 2006. This time, the now-famous photographer is on the other side of the lens. And this time, her younger sister Barbara is pointing the camera, documenting the life and times of Annie Leibovitz for AMERICAN MASTERS.  "Annie Leibovitz: Life Through A Lens" premieres Wednesday, January 3 at 9 p.m. (ET) on PBS (check local listings).

Caption: Café Flore, Paris, 1997; photo by Martin Schoeller

4-Minute videos debut the December 1 in the Tamron Pro Learning Center

Press Release—If a picture is worth 1,000 words, a how-to video must be as good as a book, especially if it compresses the knowledge contained in a 45-minute lecture into a concise, well-focused, viewer friendly 4-minute format you can download to your iPod or computer. That’s the exciting concept behind the incisive, entertaining, and informative new podcasts posted in the Tamron Pro Learning Center at www.tamron.com.

Hosted by leading photographers, each one gives clear step-by-step pointers on shooting everything from surfing to portraits to macro in Central Park. The information is presented in simple, direct language with verbal hints and tips immediately illustrated by concrete visual examples. Watching one of these podcasts on the screen feels more like being at a hands-on photo workshop in the field than sitting in the classroom. And by mixing video footage with outstanding still photographs, each technique becomes crystal clear. It’s easy to hook up with this incredible learning experience—just make sure you’ve got QuickTime on your 'pod or PC, click on podcasts at the Pro Learning Center and take a few minutes to download the videos.

Press Release—Macworld Conference & Expo 2007, taking place at the Moscone Center in San Francisco January 8-12, brings together creative professionals from a wide array of disciplines to see and experience the latest in Mac technologies. The 2007 show offers attendees an unprecedented number of world-class interactive exhibits, educational/training sessions and speakers.

For photographers, Macworld presents the Digital Photography Experience where novices and professionals alike can experience the latest tools, hands-on demonstrations, training, tips and techniques and learn from others who use Mac technology for business and for pleasure.

Press Release—Olympus intends to introduce a successor to its Olympus E-1 "designed-for-digital" SLR camera, launched in 2003. The Olympus E-System currently includes five camera bodies and 17 Zuiko Digital lenses. Olympus has stated that future plans include a flagship model aimed at working professionals.

Mock-up images of the new professional model have been released.

Press Release—Fujifilm has announced plans to re-introduce an ISO 50 Fujichrome Velvia professional film, tentatively named Velvia II. Fujichrome Velvia (RVP 50) was the first high color saturation, high contrast transparency E-6 compatible film when it was introduced in 1990 and was a favorite among photographers. Its discontinuation was announced last year due to difficulties in procuring some of the raw materials used to produce the emulsion.

“Since we announced the discontinuation of Velvia 50, we have been inundated with requests from photographers worldwide to continue production,” said Christian Fridholm, Director of Marketing, Picture Taking, Imaging Division, Fujifilm USA. “They had used Velvia for many years and consider it unmatched in terms of quality and character. One of Fujifilm’s main priorities is to nurture the culture of photography, so we took those requests very seriously.”

As a result, Fujifilm research and development teams have developed substitute raw materials and new manufacturing technologies that enable the company to restart production. The new film is expected to be available in late spring 2007. The characteristics of the new emulsion will mirror that of the previous product.

“We are pleased to, once again, demonstrate our commitment to photographic film and to our photographer customers,” concluded Fridholm. Specific details, including naming, pricing and shipment dates will be announced when they become available. 

Features an all-new, visually intuitive interface, in-camera editing and built-in help features; around $599.95 with a 3X Zoom-Nikkor lens

Press Release—Nikon today unveiled its new D40, the latest addition to its comprehensive line of digital SLR cameras. Designed to bring the picture performance, excitement and experience of Nikon’s digital SLR cameras to more customers than ever before, the D40 is an ultra-compact, lightweight 6.1-effective megapixel D-SLR that offers simplified new features, exceptional speed and a redesigned, visually-intuitive menu system that brings consumers a whole new level of simplicity in a digital SLR.  The D40 also incorporates handling and performance advantages that eliminate the frustrations often associated with compact digital cameras, making it ideal for anyone who wants to capture spectacular digital pictures without complication. 

Press Release—Kingston Technology's ‘Icons of Photography’ Web site this month features award-winning documentary photographer Colin  Finlay, offering tips on making the most of existing lighting. “As a photojournalist I’ve learned to use whatever is available to me to capture my images—this includes lighting. I rarely have the luxury of bringing portable strobes on assignments, even my commercial advertising jobs,” Finlay notes. “Keeping the lighting simple is something I always tell students, whether in the studio or on location. Doing this minimizes complications and forces you to look at your subjects from varying angles and perspectives. Many of my best shots were produced because I was forced to move around a subject and change my perspective; the light was stationary and I was the one that needed to move. It is a great exercise and one I am constantly sharing with students.”

O'Reilly Media announced today the winners of the Photoshop Cook-Off Contest at PhotoPlus Expo 2006. Grand Prize Winner Suzanne Pitts and 10 additional winners in five categories were selected from hundreds of submissions created by Photoshop aficionados.

"What's so wonderful about the Cook-Off contest is that everyone's a winner," says Betsy Waliszewski, who organized the contest along with Cookbooks editor Edie Freedman. "The O'Reilly recipes used to manipulate the images stirred the creative visions of photographers at all levels, from enthusiasts to seasoned professionals."

A panel of 15 A-list photographers chose the winning entries. The winning images range from Pitts' arresting black-and-white photo of a ballet trio to a fancifully surreal image of a flower budding from a peeled orange.

©Suzanne Pitts

New company Image Trends, Inc. harnesses skills and knowledge of former Applied Science Fiction talent

Press Release—Image Trends, the provider of innovative digital imaging tools, has announced the Fisheye-Hemi Plug-In. This Adobe Photoshop Plug-in filter renders an aesthetically pleasing and natural view of people. Human faces and bodies are natural and undistorted, even on the edges.  Fisheye-Hemi corrects the extreme distortion of people that is common with rectilinear methods. Fisheye-Hemi preserves more of the original resolution, displays the intended composition and framing as seen in the viewfinder, and straightens vertical lines.

Left: original fish-eye lens capture; Right: typical rectilinear correction.

Above: Fisheye-Hemi image correction.

PPA constantly strives to increase and improve benefits for members, so we are excited to announce a great new find: BrokenJoeyRecords.com, one of the best sources for emotional, lyric-based music for photographers.

This site is custom-built around the needs of photographers by allowing searches for music based on type of photography. For example, type in the words “portrait / child” and you’ll be directed to music specifically designed for families with young children. Looking for wedding music? Type in “wedding / ceremony” and you will get music written with the ceremony in mind.

The music on BrokenJoeyRecords.com is high quality, and with the purchase of an affordable one-year license you maintain legal rights to use your chosen songs as many times as you want during that year.

Press Release—Power Marketing 101 is proud to announce the dates for the 2007 Power Marketing Super Conference at The Resort at The Mountain in Mount Hood, Oregon. The dates for the four-day event are June 10-13 and will feature over 30 hours of programming, three days of trade show, a marketing exchange, early bird sessions, evening bonus programs plus many other activities. The all-star line-up includes Bruce Hudson, Tim & Bev Walden, Michael Redford, Calvin Hayes, Jeff & Kathleen Hawkins, Louis Tonsmeire, Kent Englebert, Luci Dumas and Mitche Graf.

The PMSC was created to provide professional photographers of all concentrations the opportunity to come together once a year and immerse themselves in quality sales and marketing education.   

The $449 registration includes all programming, all meals, social activities, bonus programs, and $25 of "Trade Show Bucks." For more information or to register log onto www.powermarketing101.com or call Power Marketing 101 at 888.544.4149 extension 2.

Press Release—Toyo has introduced a new state-of-the-art view camera that is designed exclusively for digital photography. The new Toyo 23D has been developed from the ground up to meet the needs of today’s discriminating photographer.

Compatible with all current digital backs, the camera is available with either a Graflok adapter for use with backs featuring Live Video (such as Leaf) or a sliding adapter for those digital backs that do not. The Graflok adapter allows a digital back to be securely attached to the Toyo 23D just as if it were being attached to a roll-film camera. The sliding adapter offers two positions: one for focus and one for recording the image. Simply make your camera movements in the focus position and slide the back into the capture position to take the shot.

The Toyo 23D works with all view camera lenses, as well as those designed for higher resolution of digital backs. Standard lens boards will be available #0 & #1 shutters. There are also future plans for additional lens boards to support Hasselblad and Mamiya lenses.

Virtual backdrops designed by Laurence Gartel and Karen Sperling with step-by-step instructions for combining figures with the backdrops in Adobe Photoshop or in Corel Painter

Press Release—Corel Painter expert Karen Sperling, founder of Artistry magazine online, has introduced Artistry Backdrops for Photographs CDs. Designed by Sperling and renowned artist Laurence Gartel, the Artistry Backdrops for Photographs provide photographers with something new and different to offer to their clients. Just open an Artistry backdrop in Adobe Photoshop, Corel Painter or any other image editing software, drop in the figure.

Included on the Artistry Backdrops for Photographs CDs are step-by-step instructions for combining photos with the backdrops in either Adobe Photoshop or Corel Painter. You don't have to own Painter to use the backdrops on the Artistry CDs. The tutorials include step-by-step instructions and illustrations for selecting the figure to be combined with the backdrop; changing the backdrop colors to suit the photos or a color scheme; masking hair using brushes; and adding drop shadows.

Caption: Photos by Mary Wynn Ball. Backdrops by Laurence Gartel and Karen Sperling.

New round of enhancements in latest Adobe Photoshop Lightroom beta unites feature set for Macintosh and Windows versions

Press Release—Adobe Systems Inc. today announced an update to the public beta of Adobe Photoshop Lightroom software at the Photokina tradeshow in Cologne, Germany. Available immediately for download from Adobe Labs, this update unites the product feature set for Windows and Macintosh platforms, giving professional photographers a new way to import, manage and showcase large volumes of digital photographs. More than 325,000 people have opted to try Lightroom during the beta period and feedback has been fueled by over 3,400 of them sharing input in Adobe online forums. The final version of Adobe Photoshop Lightroom is expected to ship in early 2007.

School will travel to five more cities offering updated tracks for both professionals and advanced amateurs featuring the Epson Stylus Pro 3800

Press Release—Based on the ongoing success of the award-winning Epson Print Academy traveling school, Epson added new dates and cities to the schedule. Additionally, the program’s content will be updated to reflect Epson’s newest breakthrough in printing technology with information about how to get the best results from the Epson Stylus Pro 3800, announced worldwide at Photokina.

The new expanded schedule includes:

• Phoenix: Oct. 28, 2006
• Salt Lake City: Nov. 11, 2006
• Atlanta: Dec. 2, 2006
• Los Angeles: Jan. 20, 2007
• New York: Jan 28. 2007

O'Reilly author Eddie Tapp takes his digital photography know-how on the road, stopping at 18 cities across the county starting early next month. Well-known portrait and wedding photographer Monte Zucker joins him on this educational journey. The seminars give serious students, enthusiasts, and professionals an opportunity to learn from the experts who have influenced successful photographers for over five decades.

Press Release—Dalsa Corporation, an international high performance semiconductor and electronics company, announced that its custom designed CCD image sensor chips and support electronics have been successfully incorporated into a new series of extremely high resolution professional camera products being unveiled this week at the Photokina trade show by Swiss camera manufacturer Seitz Phototechnik AG.

The high performance image sensors, which are based on Dalsa’s Time Delay and Integration (TDI) technology, allow the Seitz cameras to take highly detailed medium format, 6x17 panoramic, and 360 degree panoramic images, all at record-breaking speeds and exceptionally high light sensitivity. The Seitz 6x17 Digital, one of several models being launched at Photokina, can capture a stunning 160-megapixel, 16-bit, panoramic image in one second, with an equivalent ISO rating of 500 to 10,000.

17-Inch format printer features new print head with breakthrough screening technology, auto-sharing black inks and new sleek, space-saving design for $1,295

Press Release—Epson has introduced the Epson Stylus Pro 3800, incorporating a compact, 17-inch wide printer design, a new screening algorithm and award-winning Epson UltraChrome K3 Ink technology. According to Epson, this printer delivers print quality and longevity unsurpassed by any other inkjet printer. As many professional photographers have wished for, a new auto-sharing black ink technology allows for automatic switching between photo and matte black ink modes to maximize image quality on a wide variety of media types. Available (December 2006) for an estimated street price of $1,295, this sleek and sophisticated printer is engineered to mark another turning point in the history of printing technology for professional photography, graphic design and prepress proofing.

Free update adds additional functionality and support for Mac and Windows versions of Portfolio 8.

Press Release—Extensis, a division of Celartem Inc., today released free updates to Portfolio 8, the digital asset management (DAM) solution for creative professionals. The updates bring improved stability and performance, updated RAW camera file support, added InDesign CS2 support, and a QuarkXPress 7 Drag-and-Drop support filter for Mac users. Registered owners of Portfolio 8 are eligible to receive the free upgrades immediately through the Extensis website at http://www.extensis.com/portfolio.

PHOTOKINA, Cologne, Germany (Press Release)—Today Lensbabies, LLC launched its third generation selective focus Single Lens Reflex (SLR) lens, Lensbaby 3G, introducing new features that dramatically expand the Lensbaby product family’s capabilities.

The Lensbaby 3G SLR lens allows photographers to lock the Lensbaby in a desired bent position simply by pressing a button. Then, using a traditional barrel focus mechanism, photographers can do fine focusing and precisely place the sweet spot of sharp focus before pressing the shutter release.  The Original Lensbaby lens and the Lensbaby 2.0 lens require the photographer to manually hold the Lensbaby in a bent position while pressing the shutter release.   

Professional Photographer was fortunate to get to try one of the prototypes, and the new design works wonderfully. Simply move the barrel of the lens to the position you want, push a button to lock it into place, and then you can fine tune with the focusing rails (which we like to call the Swedish Furniture Legs) and focusing ring. With this new design that moves the focal point where you want it and locks it in, you can create gorgeous, reliable effects with a camera mounted on a tripod.

Lensbaby selective focus SLR camera lenses take photos with one area in sharp focus, with that ‘sweet spot’ surrounded by graduated blur.  Photographers can move the sweet spot of sharp focus anywhere in the photo by bending the flexible lens tubing. 

Updated Camera Raw Plug-in and DNG Converter Provides Support for Over 125 Camera Models with New Cameras from Kodak, Nikon, Panasonic and Sony

Press Release (Sept. 19, 2006)—Adobe Systems Incorporated today announced an update to the Camera Raw plug-in for Adobe Photoshop CS2, extending RAW file support to five additional camera models. Available as a free download from Adobe's Web site, the Camera Raw 3.5 plug-in builds on the RAW file support integrated in Photoshop CS2 for digital cameras from leading manufacturers including Nikon, Kodak, Panasonic and Sony. Adobe today also announced that the DNG Converter is available as a Universal Binary, allowing it to perform natively on Macintosh Intel-based computers. The free Adobe DNG Converter, which translates all Photoshop-supported RAW photo formats into the universal .DNG file format, gives photographers a single unified file format for archiving RAW files.

The camera RAW functionality in the Adobe digital imaging software line provides fast and easy access to the RAW image formats produced by many leading professional and mid-range digital cameras. Camera Raw 3.5 allows professional photographers to easily manipulate RAW files without sacrificing any image quality. Professional photographers can more quickly and easily import and manipulate RAW data, saving time while increasing artistic control and flexibility.

With this update, Camera Raw 3.5 and the DNG Converter now support more than 125 different cameras. New cameras supported by Adobe Camera Raw 3.5 plug-in and DNG Converter include Nikon D2Xs, Kodak EasyShare P712, Panasonic DMC-FZ50 and DMC-L1, and Sony A100. 

Availability

The Adobe Camera Raw 3.5 plug-in requires Photoshop CS2, Photoshop Elements 3.0, Photoshop Elements 4.0 or the recently announced Photoshop Elements 5.0.  The plug-in is available with the purchase of Photoshop Elements 5.0 or can be downloaded for free by going to the Adobe Web site at www.adobe.com/products/photoshop/cameraraw.html.  The updated Adobe DNG Converter is available today as a free download at www.adobe.com/dng.

Press Release—A new cable management device called TetherGRIP Pro is designed to support the cables of your tethered camera system, thus alleviating stress on the camera’s ports. Not limited just to digital cameras, TetherGrip has benefits for film camera users as well. TetherGRIP can be used for PC/sync cords, remote release cables, and camera power supplies.

The device’s camera-side quick-release connector loops through the camera’s L-bracket, D-ring or hand/neck strap mount, while the adjustable grip holds cables in position. It offers a refined and portable solution ideal for on-location carts, studio editing suites and laptop-to-camera tethers.

Look for an upcoming review of TetherGRIP Pro in Bonus Content.

Press Release—Canon’s PowerShot G7 digital camera, the new flagship of Canon’s popular fleet of PowerShot digital cameras will be available in stores beginning in October, with an estimated selling price of $599.99.* 

The 10-megapixel PowerShot G7 harks back to the look and feel of classic Canon cameras. From its retro “wet black matte finish,” leather-toned grip and the detailed knurling and analog-style “click-click” of the camera’s top side ISO Speed Dial and Shooting Mode Dial, to the  metallic accents of the body’s aluminum-finish parts and metallic-finish bayonet ring, this PowerShot G7 conveys a sense of “camera-ness” rarely encountered in the world of digital photography. Photo panache and feel appeal not withstanding, the PowerShot G7 remains true to the G-Class tradition by offering an array of the industry’s advanced photographic features.

Press Release—Eastman Kodak Company is extending its partnership with Leica Camera AG to provide image sensors for the newly announced Leica M8. The new Kodak KAF-10500 image sensor was developed specifically for use with the M8, and marks Kodak’s second collaboration with Leica, building on the success of Kodak’s interaction with Leica on the Leica Digital-Module-R.

The first digital camera to use the Leica viewfinder system, the Leica M8 extends the Leica M series into the digital world. By working closely with Leica, Kodak designed and optimized the new image sensor to meet the demanding needs of Leica photographers.

Ehanced films have "finer grain, spectacular skin tones, vivid color and ideal scanning permormance"

Press Release—Eastman Kodak Company today introduced enhanced versions of its iconic Kodak Professional Portra color negative film family, comprising 160 VC, 160 NC, 400 VC and 400 NC film. These films help professional photographers create stunning images with finer grain, spectacular skin tones, and improved scanning performance for greater enlargement capability. Plus, Portra 160VC and Portra 400VC films now provide a more ideal combination of higher color saturation and lower contrast for optimal performance in high-color applications. 

Press Release—The School of Visual Arts (SVA) has been authorized by the New York State Education Department to offer a Master of Professional Studies (MPS) in Digital Photography beginning in the fall of 2007. The new one-year degree program addresses the technical needs of experienced photographers who are looking to advance their skills in digital image capture, management and high-quality output, or make a career change into the field of digital photography. The program will be chaired by Katrin Eismann, who is currently on the faculty of the BFA Computer Art Department and the MFA Photography, Video and Related Media Department at SVA. Eismann is a computer artist, author and educator specializing in digital photography.

Press Release—The National Association of Photoshop Professionals (NAPP), founders of the Photoshop Hall of Fame, is proud to announce that Eddie Tapp, Jeff Schewe and John Paul Caponigro—three prominent leaders in Photoshop and digital photography—will be inducted into the 2006 Photoshop Hall of Fame. Their official induction takes place during a special ceremony at the upcoming Photoshop World Conference & Expo at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in Las Vegas on Sept. 7th.

Press Release—Phase One and SanDisk Corporation have announced that all SanDisk Extreme III CompactFlash cards now include a full and free edition of Phase One’s Capture One LE RAW Workflow software. Capture One LE normally retails at $99.

The bundle of the two products will enable photographers who shoot in JPEG to easily join their professional peers in working in RAW. Extreme III users who already shoot RAW images can now process their images in Capture One at no additional charge.

Purchase of Extreme III CompactFlash cards also offers upgrades from Capture One LE to Capture One PRO at a 15-percent discount. Upgrades can be purchased through Phase One’s on-line store at www.phaseone.com.

Automatic image enhancement software introduces advanced color features, new optical corrections, improved workflow and speed as well as plug-in compatibility y with Adobe Photoshop

Press Release—DxO Labs has announced availability of a free, Windows PC public beta release of DxO Optics Pro v4 for all digital photographers to download from the DxO Labs Web site.  DxO Optics Pro software improves the image quality of Digital Single-Lens Reflex (SLR) cameras and advanced digicams. DxO Optics Pro is the award-winning digital image enhancement tool incorporating revolutionary optics, noise and exposure corrections in an easy-to-use, feature rich application for Mac and PC users.

Press Release—GTI (Graphic Technology, Inc.) has introduced a new PDV “e” series of Professional Desktop Viewers with a sleek new look. All models come pre-assembled with a unique hinged design that allows quick and easy set-up for viewing, and equally fast fold-up for storage and/or transport. 

Press Release—Once again, studios across the country will join together this October to benefit Operation Smile, a nonprofit organization that works to provide free reconstructive surgery to children with facial deformities such as cleft lips and cleft palates. Professional Photographers of America (PPA) has designated October as Family Portrait Month. Professional photographers who pledge to donate a portion of Family Portrait Month sales to PPA Charities will benefit charatible partner Operation Smile.

More than $15,000 was raised during last year’s drive and more PPA member studios have pledged to contribute a portion of this year’s October sales to the cause.

PhotoPlus Expo 2006 Photography & Design Conference, a comprehensive photography expo and eduational conference, is set to open at the Jacob Javits Center in New York on Nov. 2. This is one of the biggest photo industry shows of the year, with a trade show featuring more than 200 manufacturers, speakers and an exhibition of winning entries in an ultimate travel photography contest. 

Press Release—Sinar Bron Imaging announced that it has inked an agreement with Calumet Photographic to add the major photo retailer to its dealer network. Five Calumet stores in Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia, and San Francisco will begin carrying a full line of high-end Sinar cameras and camera backs, Broncolor professional lighting equipment, and Foba studio accessories. The sixth Calumet store in Cambridge, MA, will be added at a future time. Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Boston are new markets on the Sinar Bron Imaging dealer map.

Twice the speed of current SanDisk Extreme III cards, ideal for medium-format digital cameras and backs, high-performance and high-resolution DSLRs

Press Release—SanDisk Corporation today introduced the new SanDisk Extreme IV line of CompactFlash digital film cards for professional photographers. The line is targeted at photographers who require the highest possible performance and the largest capacities for their medium-format and high-end digital SLR cameras. The SanDisk Extreme IV cards are available in capacities of up to 8GB and deliver minimum read and write speeds of 40MB per second (based on SanDisk internal testing), making these the fastest flash memory cards in the world. This exceptionally fast card speed is critical when shooting large numbers of high-resolution images.

SanDisk also introduced the new SanDisk Extreme FireWire reader that can transfer images from the SanDisk Extreme IV cards to a computer at up to 40MB/sec. for significantly improved workflow efficiency. These new products were announced at a press conference held today at the NASDAQ Market Site in New York City.

Automatic image enhancement software introduces advanced color features, new optical corrections, improved workflow and speed as well as plug-in compatibility with Adobe Photoshop

Press release—DxO Labs today revealed details of the next version of its flagship application DxO Optics Pro software which improves the image quality of Digital Single-Lens Reflex (SLR) cameras and advanced digicams. DxO Optics Pro is the award-winning digital image enhancement tool incorporating revolutionary optics, noise and exposure corrections in an easy-to-use, feature-rich application for Mac and PC users.

Features interviews with photographers Arnold Newman, Eve Arnold And Elliott Erwitt

There is an oft told tale of Marilyn Monroe walking down a New York City street, incognito, turning to her companion and saying, “Do you want to see her?” With that, she threw off all vestiges of Norma Jeane and miraculously transformed. There were no grand gestures, no change of clothes, no make-up.  It was a simple shift, a slithering out of one skin into the other. Arguably the most photographed person ever, the “outing” of Marilyn is something she looked at with both skepticism and awe. She once said, “I carry Marilyn Monroe around with me like an albatross.” In a new film, American Masters offers a unique take on one of the world’s first superstars by turning to the still photographs that captured Monroe’s beauty, her complexity and, ultimately, her own complicated relationship with the star side of herself.  AMERICAN MASTERS Marilyn Monroe: Still Life premieres Wednesday, July 19 at 9 p.m. (ET) on PBS (check local listings).      

Caption: Marilyn Monroe during a photo shoot for The Seven Year Itch, 1954, © George S. Zimbel 2005

Fire up Adobe Photoshop This Summer and Get Cooking

The 2006 O’Reilly Photoshop Cook-Off is underway. Just take up to three of your own photos and manipulate them with Adobe Photoshop, using recipes from any of the five O'Reilly Photoshop Cookbooks (no purchase necessary). Adapt the recipe as necessary for your creative vision. Then use the online entry form to reveal which recipe(s) you used, and submit both your original, unmanipulated digital image and the "cooked" image you've created. Submission deadline: August 15.

Grand Prize

• Adobe Web Bundle (Creative Suite 2 & Macromedia Studio 8)
• Epson Stylus Photo R2400 printer
• Pentax K100D Digital SLR and DA 18 - 55mm Lens Kit
• Pantone Reference Library
• GretagMacbeth Eye-One Display 2 Pro monitor calibrator
• Nik Software Nik Sharpener Pro
• Premium Subscription to Lynda.com online
• iView Multimedia iView Media Pro3
• JupiterImages 1-year subscription to Photos.com
• Shutterstock.com 3-month subscription
• Lensbabies Lensbaby 2.0
• Software Cinema DVDs:
  - Working with Adjustment Layers
  - Photoshop Fundamentals and Advanced Techniques
  - Advanced Masking Techniques;
  - Image Restoration, Repair & Enhancement;
  - Pro Techniques I & II Plus Color Management;
  - Best of Photoshop CS2
• Total Training DVD: Advanced Photoshop CS2
• O'Reilly Media Gift Certificate
• iStockPhoto Gear & Free Credits
• Lowepro Rolling CompuTrekker Plus AW Bag
• Wetzel & Co. Backgrounds/Textures 6 CD Bundle
• Pexagon Technology 1.8" 20 GB Store-It Portable Hard Drive

Press Release—With a flip of the flap, the new Skooba Skin converts from a sleek, padded laptop sleeve to a handled carry bag, or vice-versa. The latest introduction from Skooba/RoadWired, the Skooba Skin is designed to protect a computer while carried inside another bag or suitcase, or to be used on its own for meetings, classes or other times when the laptop alone is all that needs to be carried.

Four new models designed for adventure, sports, journalism and studio photography

Press Release—Lowepro is introducing four new camera straps—Speedster, Transporter, Voyager S and Voyager C—designed for unique photography applications while taking every photographer’s needs into consideration.

Caption: The Transporter, designed for studio photographer for ease of use with multiple cameras.

While on the run, photojournalists will appreciate the lightweight and simple design of the Speedster. Studio photographers will value the Transporter’s adjustability and ease of use with multiple cameras, while nature photographers enjoy the soft, breathable neoprene construction of the Voyager on long hikes. Reflecting the unique needs of photographers, these camera straps provide the perfect upgrade to customize any photographer’s equipment needs.

Press Release—Adobe Systems Inc. today announced an update to the public beta of Adobe Lightroom, a digital imaging workflow solution for professional photographers that allows them to import, select, develop and showcase large volumes of images. The latest version adds features suggested by beta testers that allow greater control over export size and resolution, refined metadata selection with print output and RGB value readouts for greater editing precision.

New to the Develop module are Before and After preview tools and History features that allow a photographer to quickly preview and track changes, more control over the size and resolution of exported photos. A new dedicated Web module provides a rich web content editing experience and live previews of HTML and Flash output. Other features include resolution control in the Export module, an additional Straighten tool to correct camera angle issues, Keyword import and export, the ability to save module settings with collections or shoots. Auto Import or Hot Folder support allows photographers to automatically add images to the Lightroom Library from a specified directory.

Registration opens with $100 advance sign-up discount

Press Release—Photoshop World Conference & Expo, the largest Photoshop educational event in the world, held Sept. 7-9 at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, Las Vegas, is offering an advance registration discount of $100 now through Friday, Aug. 4th. Registration is open at http://www.photoshopworld.com or by calling 800-738-8513, Monday-Friday, 8:30 AM – 7:00 PM EST.

Press Release—Back by popular demand, Sekonic has redesigned and re-launched the classic Studio Deluxe light meter as the L-398A Studio Deluxe III.

Earlier this year, Sekonic stop using selenium photocells in their light meter manufacturing, to support the new manufacturing standards and environmental safety measures. As a result, all light meters that utilized the advantage of selenium photocell technology, (battery-free operation) were discontinued including the L-398. For a brief moment, photographers around the globe thought that the discontinuation of the L-398 meter marked the end of battery-free light meters.

Sekonic responded to the needs and demands of these photographers by re-engineering the L-398.

EPIC training to feature documentation of terrorist activities and underwater crime

Announcing its 2006 School of Evidence Photography and Imaging, to be held in Long Beach, Calif., Nov. 16-19, Evidence Photographers International Council (EPIC) reveals the addition of new timely  and relevant classes, such as how to photograph terrorist activities for evidence. 

The seminar, “Preparation for and Documentation of Terrorist Activities and the Aftermath of Disasters and/or Weapons of Mass Destruction,” will be taught by Leonard Reed, who is qualified as a general instructor in Weapons of Mass Destruction by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and certified in Weapons of Mass Destruction Law Enforcement Protective Measures.  He also holds certification as an instructor on environmental crimes from the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center and is a certified law enforcement photographer.

12.4-megapixel successor to Nikon's flagship D2X includes internal and external refinements

Press Release—Nikon today introduced the new D2Xs professional digital SLR camera, incorporating a range of refinements that improve overall camera performance and enhance the user experience. The D2Xs shares many performance and design innovations with the current D2X camera, including the 12.4 million pixel DX format CMOS image sensor that renders images with high resolution and sharp detail.  The D2Xs also hosts a range of upgraded features that make operation more responsive: refined viewfinder performance that makes for easier composition when shooting in Nikon's High-Speed Crop mode; a new 2.5-inch LCD with a 170-degree wide viewing angle, individually calibrated at the factory to ensure consistent color fidelity; significantly increased battery life; and a number of firmware enhancements.

Fire up Adobe Photoshop This Summer and Get Cooking

All-Star Judges Includes Katrin Eismann, Deke McClelland, Bert Monroy, Eddie Tapp, Vincent Versace, and more

O'Reilly Media today announced The 2006 O’Reilly Photoshop Cook-Off, a contest featuring eighteen top Photoshop experts as judges, including Mikkel Aaland, Katrin Eismann, Harris Fogel, Tim Grey, Deke McClelland, Bert Monroy, Eddie Tapp, Vincent Versace, and John Beardsworth, among others. O'Reilly is aiming to inspire creativity and discover new and promising talent from the ranks of the 4,000,000 plus Photoshop users. The winners will be recognized with awards and fabulous prizes which will be presented at an event at PhotoPlus Expo in New York on November 2, 2006.

California-based Gyroscope Interactive Photography is a leader in TV show virtual tours, and has produced countless QTVR tours for shows such as; The West Wing, Beverly Hills 90210, That 70s Show, 7th Heaven, Charmed, Pasadena, 3rd Rock From the Sun, The Young & the Restless, and The OC. Founded by Tim Petros in 1996, many Gyroscope projects have been with the entertainment industry, for clients like Warner Bros., Disney Online, Fox Interactive and Buena Vista Pictures.

Photo: Tim Petros of Gyroscope Interactive Photography

"A primary goal of Gyroscope Interactive Photography,” explains Petros “is to develop useful commercial applications for interactive images, beyond the simple capability of just being able to look around 360º;  i.e. using a 360ºinteractive image as a visual ‘browser’ or selection tool to trigger further events, such as selecting a product in a store, or an item on the set of your favorite TV show, in order to purchase that item or get more information about it.”

Updated Camera Raw 3.4 Plug-in Now Supports Over 120 Camera Models

Adobe Systems Inc. today announced an update to the Camera Raw plug-in for Adobe Photoshop CS2, extending raw file support to eight additional digital camera models. Available as a free download from the Adobe Web site, the Camera Raw 3.4 plug-in builds on Photoshop CS2 RAW file support for digital cameras from leading manufacturers such as Canon, Epson, Leaf, Olympus, Pentax and Samsung.

New cameras supported by Adobe Camera Raw 3.4 plug-in and DNG Converter include Canon EOS 30D, Epson R-D1s, Leaf Aptus 65 and Aptus 75, Olympus EVOLT E-330 and SP-320, Pentax *ist DL2 and Samsung GX-1S.

The Adobe Camera Raw 3.4 plug-in requires Photoshop CS2, Photoshop Elements 3.0 or Photoshop Elements 4.0 (Macintosh or Windows) and can be downloaded for free by going to the Adobe Web site at www.adobe.com/products/photoshop/cameraraw.html.

On May 5, Apple released Aperture 1.1.1 Update, reported to fix "several issues related to performance, stability, color correction, and display compatibility." This update is recommended to all Aperture users. 

According to Apple, fixes included with the Aperture 1.1.1 Update are as follows:

- White balance and Tint value controls have been fixed to deliver more accurate results.
- Import from iPhoto has been updated so that you can browse and select specific images from iPhoto Library for import.
- Addresses a bug that was causing Aperture to get the wrong results in a minimum display hardware check, thus preventing users with certain VGA displays from being able to use Aperture.

Note: You must first update to Aperture 1.1 and Mac OS X 10.4.6 or later before installing Aperture 1.1.1.

By Mark Garber,  PEC Chair

Beginning at the International Print judging in July 2006, album competition entrants may submit their Album entries on CD. This exciting change in the International Print Competition will simplify the submission process and greatly reduce the cost of producing and shipping physical albums.

In response to the growing demand for a superior fiber-based digital fine art media with the look and feel of a traditional darkroom photo paper, the Hahnemuhle Mill has introduced the newest member of its digital FineArt media collection.

As with all Hahnemuhle papers, FineArt Pearl has been developed to the highest standards using only the finest raw materials and manufacturing techniques. FineArt Pearl 285gsm is a triple coated, lignin free, 100% alpha-cellulose paper. The result is a surface that is remarkably similar to a traditional silver gelatin double-weight photo paper. In a side-by side comparison to similar papers from competitors, Hahnemuhle FineArt Pearl proved to be significantly superior in D-Max, white point and surface structure.

In the summer of 2004, armed with cameras and press credentials, Canadian photojournalist Steve Simon moved in and out of Madison Square Garden, capturing the essence of the 2004 Republican Convention. The arrangement of his images in "The Republicans" (Charta, $35.00) delivers an outstanding visual narrative of iconic opposites and shrewd observations, a recording of an unprecedented moment in American politics, power structure and media predominance.

"I knew this would be both an important political convention and an ironic portrait of the Republican Party against the interesting choice of New York City as its backdrop," said Simon. "With 15,000 accredited media covering 5,000 Republican delegates, I understood how powerful the media's role would be in presenting the convention to Americans and to the world. That's why I elected to focus my cameras not only on the delegates inside and the protesters outside, but on the media participants themselves."

Apple has announced an upcoming upgrade to Aperture that the company says will resolve many of the issues revealed in reviews of the first release. Aperture 1.1—the first Universal version of Aperture—offers increased computer and camera compatibility. The upgrade allows photographers to run Aperture on both PowerPC-based and Intel-based Macintosh computers, including MacBook Pro. Developed in consultation with pro photographers, Aperture 1.1 is scheduled for release in March. Current owners of Aperture 1.0 can upgrade via Software Update. Aperture 1.1 will be available for $499.

Performance and feature enhancements to the new version include improved RAW image quality, RAW fine tuning controls, noise compensation for high ISO or long exposures, a built-in color meter to sample the pixel values anywhere in an image and display them in RGB, LAB, or CMYK, and the Export Versions command will now include a “Fit Within (Inches)” option and allow you to specify a resolution in dots-per-inch.

Visit Apple's Aperture 1.1 Update page for more information.

Adobe Systems has announced an update to Camera Raw plug-in for Photoshop(r) CS2, extending RAW file support to 17 additional digital camera models. Available as a free download from Adobe's Web site, the plug-in builds on the raw file support integrated in Photoshop CS2 for digital cameras from leading manufacturers such as Canon, Fujifilm, Kodak, Mamiya, Nikon, Olympus, Pentax, and Sony.

With the addition of the new plug-in, Camera Raw functionality in Photoshop CS2 now supports more than 113 different camera models and allows professional photographers to easily manipulate RAW files without sacrificing any image quality.  Now professional photographers can more quickly and easily import and manipulate RAW data, saving time while increasing artistic control.

New cameras supported by Adobe Camera Raw 3.3 plug-in and DNG Converter include Canon EOS 5D, Canon EOS 1D Mark II N, Canon EOS 20Da, Fujifilm FinePix E900, Fujifilm FinePix S5200/5600, Fujifilm FinePix S9000/9500, Kodak EasyShare P850, Kodak EasyShare P880, Mamiya ZD, Nikon D200, Olympus E-500, Olympus SP-310, Olympus SP-350, Olympus SP-500UZ, Pentax *ist DL, Pentax *ist DS2, and Sony DSC-R1.

10.2-megapixel D200 digital SLR delivers outstanding image quality with blazing speed, rugged construction and intelligent features

Melville, NY— Nikon today introduced the highly anticipated new D200 – a precision-engineered, high performance digital SLR camera designed to satisfy the requirements of passionate and demanding photographers. Combining brand new technologies with advanced features inherited from Nikon’s venerable D2X professional digital SLR camera, the D200 incorporates more must-have features than any other camera in its class, enabling photographers to capture images in a way once reserved only for professionals.

The D200 promises an extremely satisfying shooting experience, with a winning combination of quality, performance, construction and advanced system features.  Employing a newly developed 10.2 effective megapixel Nikon DX Format CCD image sensor, the D200 captures images with remarkable resolution and clarity.  Its sophisticated 1,005-pixel 3D Color Matrix Metering II system ensures ideal exposures while an advanced Nikon image processing engine renders images with superb clarity and smooth color gradations.  The D200 reacts with lighting speed, powering-up in a mere 0.15 seconds, and firing in an imperceptible 50 millisecond shutter release lag time.  It can shoot five frames per second with a drastically shortened viewfinder blackout time of just 105 milliseconds between shots.  Its large, bright viewfinder offers 0.94X magnification for comfortable and precise composition while a new 2.5-inch LCD screen provides ultra-wide 170-degree viewing angle from all directions.  With an all new 11-area Autofocus system, robust control of Nikon’s  i-TTL Creative Lighting System and advanced Wi-Fi image-transmission options*, the D200 is a perfect fit for discriminating photographers and a natural choice for wedding, event and action photographers.

Rapid shift to digital SLRs by Bronica’s core customer base prompts move to terminate Bronica medium-format business

October 14, 2005, Commack, New York — Tamron USA, Inc. announced today that it has discontinued the production of the Bronica RF645 6x4.5 range finder camera model along with its relevant interchangeable lenses and accessories. The discontinuation of this last Bronica model marks the termination of the Bronica brand business. Bronica withdraws from the medium format camera business after 47 years since its first model, the Zenza Bronica D, was introduced in 1959.

In a four-day series of lectures and workshops, Evidence Photographers International Council will hold its 2005 School of Evidence Photography and Imaging in Atlanta, Georgia, November 3-6.

This year’s curriculum offers the opportunity for participants to learn a new technology that captures 360-degree panoramic images of crime scenes, study the intricacies of lighting and photographing ballistic wounds, and go away with a complementary kit to build a portal axial apparatus for shooting in low-contrast lighting.

Karen Sperling is pleased to present a one-day workshop with pioneer digital artist Laurence Gartel as part of her November 2005 Artistry Corel Painter Retreat.

Laurence Gartel has been creating art with digital tools since before there was a Painter and a Photoshop. And he has had successes internationally with his art, as reflected by his list of accomplishments: http://gartelmuseum.com/resume.html/.

Laurence Gartel's 'Mozaic Lady Land' (right)

Professional Photographers of America (PPA) introduces www.OurPPA.com as a place where photographers can chat, ask questions, share ideas and post image galleries in a robust community that serves PPA members, as well as the photography community at large.

"We're very proud of this exciting new resource," comments PPA President Ann Monteith. "OurPPA.com was created in specific response to members' requests for an online community where they could interact and build a sense of oneness with other photographers. In the process of building the site, we recognized the greater benefit of making the online community available to everyone in the industry, not just PPA members. This means photographers will have instant access to more information, more creative ideas and more photographer friends than any other place online."

To commemorate its 40th anniversary, the International Photography Hall of Fame and Museum is offering a free gift to renewing and new members. For a $50 membership fee, you will receive a copy of "The Pictorial Artistry of Adolf Fassbender," a $49.50 value, along with all of the other benefits of IPHF membership.

The International Photography Hall of Fame and Museum is the result of a project begun in 1965 by the Photographic Art and Science Foundation. Members of Professional Photographers of America originally created the foundation to promote photographic history by inducting historically significant photographers and inventors into a Photography Hall of Fame.

The IPHF is now located in the west wing of the museum complex called the Kirkpatrick Science and Air Space Museum at Omniplex in Oklahoma City. There IPHF houses more than 3,000 photographs in its permanent collection and displays in its galleries one of the world's largest collections of cameras, photographic equipment and memorabilia. For information, please visit www.iphf.org or call 405-424-4055.

IMAGE: The White Night by Adolf Fassbender

New digital camera models combine record pixel strength with Fujifilm's breakthrough Real Photo Technology for sharper high-resolution pictures with less noise

VALHALLA, NY, July 28, 2005—Harnessing the technology excellence of Fujifilm's superior Real Photo Technology and answering the advanced needs of today's skilled digital camera user, Fujifilm today introduced three new models to its digital camera portfolio. Fujifilm unveiled the FinePix S9000 and FinePix E900 digital cameras—the world's first consumer level cameras with 9-megapixel sensors. In addition, Fujifilm's popular S-series line now features the new FinePix S5200, offering 5 megapixels of shooting power, with a fully automatic point-and-shoot feature set.

Kodak will honor warrantees and service agreements for these Kodak Professional DCS models through the end of 2008.

According to Madhav Mehra, director, digital capture business strategy, Kodak remains committed to the professional photographer market and will concentrate on developing its highly regarded line of CCD sensors, which are now employed in digital SLRs and digital backs created by other camera manufacturers, as well as Kodak's printer and substrate products and lab solutions.

The Kodak representative would not go so far as to say that Kodak is not developing any professional digital cameras for the future, only that they plan to discontinue the DCS Pro SLR/c and SLR/n.

Kodak will continue to supply black-and-white papers to cover current demand through the end of 2005.

Tim Ciranni, Kodak's worldwide product manager for pro lab media, told Professional Photographer that a steep decline in demand over the last four years spurred Kodak's decision to discontinue its line of black-and-white papers. According to Ciranni, most pro labs now scan black-and-white negatives and print on color paper. The discontinuance applies to any black-and-white paper sold by Kodak.

Kodak will continue to offer black-and-white film and processing chemistry.

Infrastructure to enable custom, personalized, one-of-a-kind trading card created online

DigiProofs, Inc. (www.digiproofs.com), a leading provider of online proofing services, has launched Custom Online Trading Cards. The trading cards are professionally designed to create an elegant and unique look that will be great for one’s own collectibles or memorabilia for friends and family. It is ideally suited for sports and other theme events. Visitors to the online events view proofs online, select the card design, position the photo by pan and zoom, enter the personalized text, proof the final and order the cards, all by themselves. All that the photographer members have to do is set the retail prices to enable the feature.

Vancouver, BC, Canada (May 31, 2005)—Creo Inc. is pleased to announce the immediate availability of the new Leaf Aptus digital camera back system. This next-generation digital camera back is being introduced in two models: the Leaf Aptus 22 and the Leaf Aptus 17, with resolutions of 22 million and 17 million pixels respectively.

The Leaf Aptus was designed to accommodate the needs of professional photographers. A user-friendly and intuitive 6x7cm touch screen display allows photographers to shoot up to 1000 frames without interruption. Images are shot at a speed as fast as 1.2 seconds per frame, and can be evaluated and edited on the spot. A unique user button is customizable and enables the photographer to quickly access vital image information and perform tasks without removing his or her hands from the camera.

For decades, artists have used photographs as reference sources for their paintings. Some artists attach a photo to their easel as they paint. Others have gone so far as to project a photo against a wall and to draw on paper or canvas, following the projection as a template.

So it isn't that surprising that one of the most popular uses of Corel Painter today is using photos as the basis of paintings. This includes everything from adding painterly touches to a photo to completely transforming the photo into a painting in Painter.

The practice spans many creative fields, too, from traditional artists who use the photo as a springboard for their art to professional photographers who sell painted portraits of their photographs to their clients. And today, with the popularity of digital cameras and archival inkjet prints, more people than ever are getting into turning photographs into paintings.

It's in this atmosphere of excitement that Karen Sperling is happy to announce that she has completed updating her Artistry Painting for Photographers tutorials for Painter IX.

"I've been getting emails begging me for the update," says Karen. "I'd like to think it's because I'm so much in demand, but the truth is, it's the subject that gets people excited. After all, there are lots of Painter tutorials and books out there nowadays, in addition to Painter classes. But there's that much interest in the subject that people can't get enough information about it."

The Artistry Painting for Photographers tutorials are available in Acrobat format, downloadable from the Artistry web site at http://www.artistrymag.com and also on CD. Discounts are being offered for ordering the CD along with the other Artistry tutorials that are available for Painter IX, including a CD with the first six months of the Artistry Tips and Tricks newsletter and an Artistry Beginners CD.

Epson Stylus Pro 4800, Epson Stylus Pro 7800, and Epson Stylus Pro 9800

New professional wide-format printers use color and unique three-level black ink system to create highest-quality archival black and white images

See additional information about the new Epson Stylus Photo R2400 featuring the new UltraChrome K3 inks

Long Beach, Calif.—May 10, 2005—Epson is once again advancing its printing technology into new territory for professional photographers and graphic artists with the launch of the Epson Stylus Pro 4800, Epson Stylus Pro 7800, Epson Stylus Pro 9800, and new Epson UltraChrome K3 ink technology.  The combination of these new printers and archival inks not only gives today's most demanding professionals the widest gamut of archival color ink jet printing to date, but an almost infinite degree of black and white image control that rivals all other forms of photographic printing.

All three printers introduce several new and advanced features and technologies, most notably Epson UltraChrome K3 inks - a new archival technology that uses eight individual colors to create even better exhibit-quality output on a wide selection of media.  The Epson Stylus Pro 4800 replaces the award-winning Epson Stylus Pro 4000 for printing images as wide as 17 inches, while the Epson Stylus Pro 7800 and Epson Stylus Pro 9800 replace the Epson Stylus Pro 7600 and 9600 for printing up to 24 inches and 44 inches in width, respectively.

April 25, 2005: OpenRAW Web site confronts issues crucial to quality digital photography and archiving of photographic images

The OpenRAW Working Group launched a website today at http://www.OpenRAW.org designed to solve issues crucial to the future of photography.

Digital technology is revolutionizing the photography industry, and an emerging part of that technology is the set of RAW camera file formats. Most professional photographers prefer using RAW image capture because it offers the highest quality and the greatest creative control.

The grass roots OpenRAW group arose out of photographers' frustration with camera manufacturers' refusal to openly document their proprietary RAW file formats. That lack of file format information inhibits innovation, limits image processing choices, and endangers the long-term accessibility of millions of photographs. The goal of the new website is to obtain complete documentation by manufacturers of their RAW file formats.

"Our primary strategy is to educate the public and the manufacturers," said Juergen Specht, the Japan-based German photographer who is spearheading the OpenRAW group. Specht also founded the highly regarded D1scussion mailing list for Nikon dSLR photographers, and hosts a similar 1Dscussion group for Canon photographers. Specht continued, "Once photographers understand what's at stake, and once digital camera manufacturers understand how their profitability will be enhanced by the release of the RAW file format specifications, our goals will be realized."