Everything Was Moving: Photography from the 60s and 70s

The autumn is a great time for the arts, creative endeavour always finds it’s feet between September and November. In the summer we get the main players, blockbuster exhibitions, new albums by established artists and the big summer films but it is the autumn when things really matter.

This autumn there are a number of exhibitions hitting London and the first to bring to your attention is this show of documentary photography at The Barbican.

Phil Coomes on the BBC website has a review of the show, here is some of what he has to say

It could be argued the photography came of age in the swinging 60s. The men and women behind the cameras became household names and amateur photographers enjoyed access to affordable high quality cameras and film.

This photographic prosperity progressed into the next decade as photographers pushed the boundaries and began to explore new methods of working, and news photographers were able to document a world re-shaping itself at the height of the Cold War.

A new exhibition at the Barbican in London, Everything was Moving: Photography from the 60s and 70s explores the shifting political and social landscape of that time through the work of a number of photographers.

The exhibition is a must see for anyone remotely interested in documentary photography with large bodies of work from photographers like Bruce Davidson, David Goldblatt, Li Zhensheng, Ernest Cole and Raghubir Singh.  Read more from Phil here

Malick Sidibe, A Ye-ye posing,1963 (© Malick Sidibé. Courtesy Fifty One Fine Art Photography, Antwerp)

Raghubir Singh, Pilgrim and Ambassador, Prayag, Uttar Pradesh, 1977

Bruce Davidson, Black Americans, New York City. From the series New York (Life), 1961-65. (© Bruce Davidson / Magnum Photos)

The exhibition details are 13 September 2012 – 13 January 2013 Barbican Art Gallery

Further information can be found on the Barbican website here

 

Nikon D600 Released September 18th

New cameras come along at an alarming rate, is it true that we are expected to buy a new camera every three years, I am sure I read that somewhere. There is no doubt that as technology improves daily it is very tempting to want the latest and best, not because it is the latest but because we can produce better images under more difficult conditions. One thing I don’t particularly like about the march of technology is the way that the camera manufacturers always seem to want to wrest control from us, the photographers, and have us use their, the cameras, automatic functions more. The idea seems to be that the camera knows best and can make better judgements about the picture we are about to take. WRONG. A camera that delivers better quality, images with smoother tone, less noise, better colour, able to handle subject brightness range better, all the things that make an image just better are to be applauded but e.g. some auto focus gizmo that means it is harder for me to focus where I want is not a help, it is a hindrance.

There is a new Nikon camera that will no doubt have many salivating. It is a full frame dslr 24 megapixel with HD video, sounds like a competitor for the Canon 5D.

Here is a bit from a Nikon website The D600 is a new model added to the Nikon FX-format digital SLR lineup with a smaller size and lighter weight–approx. 141 x 113 (H) x 82 (D) mm, 760 g*¹ for excellent portability, yet offers the superior image quality and rendering performance, operation, and durability of high-end FX-format D-SLRs. The D600 is a compact and lightweight camera that offers excellent cost performance. In addition to a new FX-format CMOS image sensor with an effective pixel count of 24.3-million pixels and the same EXPEED 3 image-processing engine built into high-end models, the D600 inherits a number of advanced features from its high-end cousins, including an optical viewfinder with frame coverage of 100%*², a large and clear, 3.2-inch LCD monitor with a wide viewing angle for superior visibility, and the same dust- and water-resistance as the D800

The best go to site for camera reviews DP Review only has a preview so far but anything they have to say is always worth reading, you can find that here

Nikon D600: Key Specifications

• 24.3MP Full-frame CMOS sensor (10.5MP DX-format crop mode)
• ISO 100-6400 (expandable to ISO 50-25,600 equivalent)
• Maximum 5.5fps continuous shooting
• 39-point AF system with 9 cross-type AF points
• 3.2in 921k-dot LCD screen
• 1080p30 full HD video mode with stereo sound recording
• Headphone jack for audio monitoring in movie mode
• Uncompressed video recording via HDMI
• Single-axis electronic level in viewfinder, duel-axis (pitch and roll) in live view
• Dimensions: 141mm x 113mm x 82mm (5.5 × 4.4 × 3.2 in).
• Weight: 760 g (1.6 lbs) (camera body only, no battery)
• Calumet here in the UK say the camera will be released on September 18th the price listed in the US is about $2100 so expect to pay about the same in pounds here