The Ultimate Guide for Buying Your First Digital SLR

“Let’s assume that you’ve been shooting with your “point and shoot” for a while now, and you’ve taken some pretty nice snapshots. But maybe you are starting to feel a little limited by what the camera is capable of doing. You’ve read up on photography, and there are things you want to work on. You feel it is time to step up!

This guide will help you to understand some of the basic features of Digital SLR cameras (DSLRs), and hopefully help you find one that fits both your needs and budget.”“…..more

Pictures of the Week: October 21, 2011

Our ever popular Denver Post blogs brings another set of remarkable images, the full set of images are here

An Irish traveler resident holds up a cross for the media, in front of a burning barricade during evictions at the Dale Farm travellers site, near Basildon England, 30 miles (50 kilometers) east of London, Wednesday, Oct. 19, 2011. Police in riot gear used sledgehammers to clear the way for the eviction of a community of Irish Travellers from a site where they have lived illegally for a decade. A large force of police and bailiffs faced resistance from several dozen residents and supporters who threw bricks and struggled with officers. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)

Two Red Deer stags ‘rut’ in the early morning mist in Richmond Park on October 15, 2011 in London, England. Autumn sees the start of the ‘Rutting’ season where the large Red Deer stags can be heard roaring and barking in an attempt to attract females known as bucks. The larger males can also be seen clashing antlers with rival males. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

Novice Bhutanese monks Sangey, 6, and Tenzin, 7, and Tandin, 4, and Pembar, 10, rest after hours of prayer at the Dechen Phodrang monastery October 18, 2011 in Thimphu, Bhutan. About 375 monks reside at the government run monastery that also doubles as a child care facility for under privileged and orphaned males. The monks average about 10 hours of study a day waking up at 5:00am. Mahayana Buddhism is the state religion, although in the southern areas many citizens openly practice Hinduism. Monks join the monastery at six to nine years of age and according to tradition many families will send one son into the monk hood. They learn to read chhokey, the language of the ancient sacred texts, as well as Dzongkha and English. (Photo by Paula Bronstein/Getty Images)

 

Magnum Photos to hold contact sheets symposium

“To coincide with the release of its Magnum Contact Sheets book, Magnum Photos is organising a high-profile symposium in London

Magnum Contact Sheets “presents an unparalleled wealth of unpublished material, revealing the story behind many iconic and historical images of modern times taken by the world’s most celebrated photographers,” says Magnum Photos. “The book shows their creative process and also acts, in the words of Martin Parr, as an ‘epitaph to the contact sheet’ as it marks the end of the analog era as we move to a digital generation.” writes Olivier Laurent in the BJP

 

To coincide with the launch of the 508-page book, Magnum Photos is organising a symposium with the photography department of London College of Communication. The one-day event, held on 26 November, will see editors, curators and photography experts discuss the importance of contact sheets in understanding a photograph’s meaning and context.

Read more: http://www.bjp-online.com/british-journal-of-photography/news/2119099/magnum-photos-hold-contact-sheets-symposium#ixzz1c4EFwEjo
Subscribe to BJP and save money. Click here to save 29% today.

Foto8 Seminars – Business seminars from the makers of Foto8

Foto8 runs a programme of seminars for photographers, in which speakers share experience and production in particular areas, such as creating a photo book or putting together a photo story.

With a mix of speakers, several important aspects are covered, and attendees are limited to a small number to keep the event as intimate and informal as possible. And with our new series of seminars, participants are able to receive direct feedback on their work from the prominent industry professionals involved.

“Foto8 is holding three day-long seminars between November 2011 and March 2012, inviting industry speakers to give photographers an insight into the business of image-making.

Making It Happen, on 26 November, will explore practical business models for those with work to publish, while New Documentary Forms, on 28 January, will examine the intersection of aesthetic and testimonial concerns in documentary photography. Different Contexts, on 03 March, will consider the demands of editors, agencies and NGOs, and how photographers can best meet them while creating work with its own integrity. ” As reported in the BJP

26 November 2011

Read more: http://www.bjp-online.com/british-journal-of-photography/news/2119461/business-seminars-makers-foto8#ixzz1c4CccFBZ
Subscribe to BJP and save money. Click here to save 29% today.

90 Photography tutorials, links and great images

Thanks for this listing to Toad Hollow via Lightstalking

“Check out the Toad’s photo blog and gallery of Canadian Fine Art and Landscape Photography.

What a huge week we’ve had here in the wide world of photography, and Toad Hollow Photography has been very busy compiling this very comprehensive list of tutorials, great photography and interesting blogs to share.  You will find some great links here taking you off to see some fabulous works by some truly talented people.  We hope you enjoy visiting these links as much as the Toad did in bringing them to you.”

Here are some tasters for you

TUTORIALS

Getting The Perfect Portrait Every Time – a great piece from master photographers outlining tips and tricks on how to achieve that perfect portrait, every time you get behind the lens.  David Ziser hosts this fabulous tutorial, making it widely available for everyone to enjoy and gain some behind-the-scenes information from.

Make Your Own Canvas Portrait – a short but awesome post on how to create your very own canvas portraits.  Even if this is something you don’t have an immediate plan for, this great post is highly informative and left me personally with a lot of new creative ideas.

Lighting Basics: Hard Light and Soft Light – an absolutely detailed and highly informative article on different lighting, how it effects photography and how best to employ it.  This is an in-depth article, sure to shed some light on this subject for most photographers, if you’ll pardon the pun.

GREAT PHOTOGRAPHY

Learning to See (Part 3) – seriously profound, this series of pictures and accompanying story will leave you feeling something, no doubt about it.  Master photographer and writer Tom Dinning shares a personal story that is punctuated with the most incredible imagery, sure to move all those who take it in.  As the story unfolded, I had a strong sense I knew where we were going with it, but each and every word, each and every picture, was taken in like the finest square of chocolate or a sip of the finest whiskey.

Pyestock – The Gates Of The River Styx – easily one of my picks of this week, Mark Blundell roars onto the photography scene with this picture that will leave you with as many questions as answers.  Incredible photography and processing merge to create this absolutely incredible piece.  A great accompanying write-up explains the setting, leaving the viewer yearning for much, much more.

If you want to see all of them go here

Here is a picture of the beautiful city OSP towers calls home, freshly baked for you this morning