Digitising slides and negs

If you have a stock of slides, transparencies and negatives that you would like to get into digital form but don’t have a decent scanner then this idea might be exactly what you need. From a very good article from BJP you can get the idea As the article says…….”

It is getting difficult to find transparency scanners in the affordable bracket between entry-level, five-megapixel frame grabbers and the few surviving higher-end desktop machines such as the Nikon Coolscan 9000. Epson’s V600P is one solution, but most flatbed scanners do not offer anything close to the basic quality required for 35mm slide and negative digitising, or for higher-grade rollfilm conversion.

With some DSLR cameras now matching or exceeding the resolution of most 35mm scanners, and medium-format backs of up to 65 megapixels, the demand for forgotten optical duping systems has surged. Photographers are discovering that, if you have pristine film originals still in their lab sleeves, a device like the old Bowens Illumitran or Elinchrom Dia Duplicator can team up with a Nikon D3x, Canon 7D or similar higher-resolution body.”

Canon pulls out of Focus On Imaging

In a shock announcement, Canon has decided to pull out of the UK’s largest trade show – Focus on Imaging – two weeks before its start  Read more:

No point going there to see the new 600D then

Thinking of buying a decent compact camera?

This BJP article is not an exhaustive evaluation of four of the best compacts on the market but it does reveal details about the cameras you may have missed from full review such as you might get from DP Review. I know when I was buying a compact I was interested in having a viewfinder, having enough pixels to enlarge the image to a decent size and having aperture and shutter priority, I chose the Canon G10, now replaced by the G12. I must say that I hardly ever use my compact because I prefer the experience of shooting with a dslr. The thing is a dslr is making photographs for me whereas the compact is making pictures. Any way the four of the best are here

HDR Tutorial – Everything you need to know about HDR Photography

OK so many HDR (High Dynamic Range) images look really awful but a breeze through these numerous tutorials, tips and links makes this a great place to start. ”

Who is this tutorial for?

• New photographers and those just getting started and want to make prettier pictures
• For advanced photographers ready to add new and improved HDR techniques

I am constantly evolving my techniques. HDR (High Dynamic Range) is still a young art form. I’ve been lucky enough to travel around the world and meet some of the greatest HDR Photographers. We share techniques, shoot together, post process together, and all work together to drive the art form forward. I am happy to share the latest and greatest.” This set of links came from the Stuck in Customs site, good name, here is the link to all that HDR usefulness

How to Know When Not to Shoot

Many professional photographers get asked the same question over and over by people who want to know how to get better results: “How would you shoot X?” Many professional photographers also have the same answer to that question: “I wouldn’t.”….more…..

Lyndale

Lyndale Avenue is the longest street in Minneapolis; the only street extending from the northern city limits to the southern city limits. It cuts through the center of town, offering the harried commuter a curious blend of strip malls, motels, laundromats, and dive bars. There’s houses too…….The backyard is our fortress, a sanctuary away from the river of noise, fenced in by our neighbor’s yards. This project is a portrait of my family, and our modern life, on Lyndale.

David Bowman

pictures here

 

V&A Inside Out (Victoria and Albert Museum London)

The V&A is one of my favourite places along with the British Museum and the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, the last two being places you can still photograph. I love wandering the vast galleries watching the light change, watching the people, just looking and of course photographing. These images are from parts of these museums I have never gained access and must admit to jealousy.

I can’t tell you who these are by as the gallery site where you can see more says multiple owners (what’s wrong with calling them photographers?) anyway go and have a look at the rest

Tom Hunter – Saatchi Gallery

Tom Hunter was recommended by our friend and photographer Ella Cobert, his work is personal and intense do have a look at his gallery on the Saatchi site

Hunter photographs the people and places of his immediate community. Woman Reading Possession Order, is part of a series of work he made of a group of squatters living in Hackney. In this photo, Hunter borrows his composition and colours from Vermeer’s A Girl Reading At An Open Window. Like Vermeer, Hunter portrays quiet, everyday scenes which give his ‘outsider’ subjects a visible presence and quiet nobility.

Free Portraiture e-Book & Newsletter Signup

I mentioned Ed Verosky last week and this week he is giving away a free e book when you sign up for his useful newsletter here You may also be interested in our Portraiture Course, details are here

Shots of Running Water

Two things are for certain when you start photography: You will shoot train tracks and you will do long exposures with water.  Running water can create some beautiful images when you put the time into setting up your gear and picking the location along with angle and exposure.  Here’s 27 great, yet eerie shots of running water to get you excited about dusting off your tripod and hiking into the woods looking for streams, rivers and waterfalls. I am sure the two examples of every new photographers preferred subject matter are correct, in my experience graveyards are high on the list as are ducks!  These examples of running water might inspire you