Photos: February 2013 in Afghanistan

A large selection of images gathered by the always excellent Denver Post

Afghan villagers attend a protest against U.S. special forces accused of overseeing torture and killings in Wardak province February 26, 2013. More than five hundred men marched through the capital of Afghanistan’s restive Wardak province on Tuesday in an outburst of anger against U.S. special forces accused of overseeing torture and killings in the area. A U.S. defence official in Washington said a review in recent months in cooperation with Afghanistan’s Defence Ministry and National Directorate of Security (NDS) intelligence agency found no involvement of Western forces in any abuse. REUTERS/Mirwais Harooni #

In this Monday, Jan. 14, 2013 photo, female members of Afghan special forces, first row, pose for a picture after attending in a practicing a house raid on the outskirts of Kabul, Afghanistan. Afghanistan’s army is training female special forces to take part in night raids against insurgents despite cultural taboos as foreign combat troops take the backseat ahead of their eventual departure at the end of 2014. In a country where women traditionally are expected to stay home, their participation in the special forces is breaking new ground in ultraconservative Afghanistan. (AP Photo/Musadeq Sadeq)

An Afghan refugee, center, stands while a group of men make their way along a muddy path of a slum during a rainy day, on the outskirts of Islamabad, Pakistan, Monday, Feb. 4, 2013. Pakistan has been hosting hundreds of thousands of Afghan refugees dating back to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan three decades ago, thousands of them still live without electricity, running water and other basic services. (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen) #

Afghan farmers work at a vegetable field in the outskirts of Jalalabad on February 17, 2013. The economy of Afghanistan can be categorised as poor and unstable as it lacks proper industrialisation, there is a lack of well-developed manufacturing and infrastructure facilities, and it is dependent on foreign aid and assistance. Noorullah Shirzada/AFP/Getty Images #

An Afghan man flies his pigeons over a rooftop in Kabul, Afghanistan, Monday, Feb. 25, 2013. (AP Photo/Ahmad Nazar) #

An Afghani woman walks in front of the Sakhi shrine during a snowfall in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Monday, Feb. 4, 2013. Kabul has been experiencing below freezing weather and snow for several days. (AP photo/ Ali Hamed Haghdoust) #

See all of the images from the Denver Post here

15 of the Worlds Most Famous Photographers

I think we could all put together a list that might contain some of these but as a stab at one person’s list I think it is OK. From Tripwire magazine

What makes a world’s famous photographer noticed or well-known? Is it the number of years he or she has been in this profession, the experience they have gathered, or a particular field of photography that he or she has chosen? None of these; the most important reason behind any of the world’s most famous photographer is the pictures he or she has taken.

World’s most famous photographers do keep a low profile a lot of times. A by-line in their photo is enough to acknowledge their work. Some famous photographers would rather not reveal their own faces for personal reasons. These reasons can be to stay mysterious to their growing audience in particular or they are just too shy, plain and simple. World’s most famous photographers are celebrated because they have made a particular shot of a bizarre or amazing moment that can only happen in a millisecond. People admire how in so little time, they have captured such an astonishing event or happening. .………….MORE

well Steve McCurry would be on most people’s list

 

New Nikon D7100 digital SLR

The arrival of the 24MP D7100 comes two-and-a-half years after the announcement of its predecessor theD7000, and it’s a pretty serious upgrade. Significantly, Nikon Europe’s presentation of the camera describes the D7100 as the company’s ‘flagship DX model’, and omitted mention of the D300S in the company’s DSLR lineup. Certainly, the gap between the D7100 and D600 now leaves little obvious room for a ‘D400.’

It was only a matter of time before 24MP resolution became standard across Nikon’s entire range of DX-format APS-C DSLRs, and lo and behold – the 24MP D7100 is the latest in the series, but this isn’t just the sensor from a D5200 packaged a newer body. In fact, this would be a fundamental misunderstanding of the new camera.

The critical thing here is that despite the fact that the D7100 is Nikon’s third DX-format 24MP DSLR, its sensor is new, and unique in Nikon’s stable. In a first for Nikon, the D7100’s sensor lacks an optical low-pass filter (OLPF). The D800E, Nikon’s highest-resolution DSLR has the effect of its OLPF ‘cancelled out’, but the D7100, like the Pentax K-5 IIs, omits it altogether. The result should be higher resolution than is possible from the conventional 24MP sensors in the D5200 and D3200, and Nikon clearly feels comfortable with the associated higher risk of moiré in fine patterns – one of the few black marks against the 36MP D800E when we tested it last year. Read more here

The 7 Common Habits of Remarkably Talented Photographers

From that other excellent antipodean photography blog, Lightstalking, we get this article by

Tiffany Mueller,  a professional music and fine art photographer. She has been published in various publications including magazines, art journals, as well as photography books. She blogs at Life Is Unabridged.

I think I probably agree with everything here so read on

One of the best ways to improve yourself is by observing the habits of those you find to be inspirational and talented. In doing so, we hope to learn what it is they have done that helped them achieve success. Of course, there’s no set route to the top of the photography game, but if you were to do a case study on the habits of some our favorite photographers chances are you’d find some very similar habits among them.

Here are some of the greatest photographers ever just in passing ©Magnum photographers

Click Here: The 7 Common Habits of Remarkably Talented Photographers

 

30 Things you Should Know to Help you Start a Photography Business

2 of my favourite photography blogs are based in Australia, in some ways I am not surprised by this as down under photography is taken seriously. You see photo galleries even in small towns and professional photographers seem to be genuinely interested in the craft of photography rather than it just being a means of making money. Does that mean I don’t think photography is taken seriously in the UK, well maybe. Not amongst the people who read our blog or come to us as students to learn but I do find many commercial operations are satisfied with the pictures that ‘Sarah’ from accounts can take because she has a good camera. Yes I exaggerate but the idea that making good pictures is just about having a decent camera does seem prevalent. The concept that a photographer with an understanding of communicating through images and experience of different situations and knowledge about the technical aspects is not one that many organisations take to heart when requiring images for a web site or brochures. So it was with pleasure that I found this from Digital Photo School in Melbourne suggesting that being a photographer requires more than just owning a camera.

©Keith Barnes

So here is some of the article from Digital Photo School by Gina Milicia that I suggest you read if you are thinking of becoming a photographer

1. Find the best photography course or workshops that work for you. try OSP as a start

If you are going to invest in a photography course/workshop do some serious research first.

It’s a huge investment so find out who the teachers are. Are they industry professionals that are going to be teaching you relevant styles and techniques?

Is the style of teaching suited to your personality and photography?

Who are the ex students that have gone on to create successful careers?

Consider weekend workshops and online courses held by experts in their fields.

2. Find a great mentor

3. Get as much industry experience as you can

4. Be Flexible when looking for an internships

The details of these points and the other 26 can be found here

 

 

Composition in Photography Tutorials

Well finally we get to see some sun and very welcome it is. Of course the shoot I had to do today was indoors in a church, so low light and candles but at least the walk back to my car lifted my spirits.

We are soon starting our Composition In Photography – Seeing Pictures course (06.03.2013) but some of you who don’t live in Oxford might find the commute rather long so here are some online tutorials that might be interesting

http://digital-photography-school.com/digital-photography-composition-tips

http://photo.tutsplus.com/tutorials/composition/master-the-art-of-photographic-composition/

http://photoshoptutorials.ws/other-tutorials/photography-tutorials/10-important-tips-improve-composition-photos/

https://oxfordschoolofphotography.wordpress.com/2011/04/05/4-rules-of-composition-for-landscape-photography/

https://oxfordschoolofphotography.wordpress.com/2011/02/01/how-to-use-natural-frames-to-enhance-photographic-composition/

http://www.lynda.com/Photography-Photo-Assignments-tutorials/Foundations-of-Photography-Composition/80299-2.html

Videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_VRwyZ2CPQw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMTRQjAl-m0

 

 

Wildlife photos: How to take the best shots

From the BBC website we have this

Even though the latest digital cameras can take dozens of photographs within a matter of seconds, and reveal instant results, it is still not as easy as you might think to snap a winning image.

The Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition – run by the Natural History Museum and BBC Worldwide – receives thousands of entries. With the 2013 entry deadline approaching, what could you do to make your images stand out? Watch this slideshow – click here – to get some expert tips.

Enter Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2013 now and take part in one of the world’s most prestigious photography events. The competition is open to professional photographers, amateurs, young and old, worldwide until 25 February 2013. Full details here

Adults may enter up to 20 images for £20.00.  Entrants aged 17 and under may enter up to 10 images FREE.

Here are some other great tutorials that will help you to get great shots

12 Great Online Tutorials on Wildlife Photography

10 Tips for Improving Your Wildlife Photography

 

 

Lightroom Tutorials and Tips

We have recently started our first Lightroom course and it is going really well. What we have learned from our students is that many, prior to the course, hadn’t realised the vast array of processing options available through this wonderful program. Lots of people assume it is good for sorting out a bit of exposure problems or to correct colour vagaries but have not comprehended how much improvement both technical and creative Lightroom offers. I have gathered here some tutorials available on line that you will find interesting. Often, because of the space available, the tips and tutorials are more a bit, ‘do this and you will improve your pictures’ whereas when we teach we explain how and why there will be an improvement. Understanding the process is important because it gives you much better creative control and that is what we all seek.

3 Easy Lightroom Adjustments to Add Drama to a Landscape from Lightstalking

An old adage of photography is that you should try to create the image you want with the camera rather than relying on post-production. And that’s good advice. The less post you need to do on a photograph, the easier your life will be (as post-production throws up an extra set of challenges). But sometimes, for one reason or another, you might want to make your landscapes shots pop a little more by applying a little well-considered post production to them. Here are a few ways you add the drama you are looking for.

Play With the Blacks Slider – Lightroom has a convenient little slider called “Blacks” in develop mode that allows you to have more control over the contrast in your images. Dragging the slider to the right to increase your blacks will usually result in a slightly more dramatic image in landscapes owing to an increase in contrast. Be sure not to clip too much (you can see exactly how much clipping you’re doing by holding down the “option” key on a Mac or “alt” key on a PC as you use the slider with your mouse). For a great little video on using the black slider, check out this tutorial.

“Sacrifice” (Explored #23) by Luke Peterson Photography, on Flickr

Click Here: 3 Easy Lightroom Adjustments to Add Drama to a Landscape

Using Lightroom 4 to Recover Almost Unusable Photos from Lightstalking

Adobe Lightroom 4 has some significant changes within its develop module that gives us photographers several new impressive tools when post-processing images. Adobe came out with a new image process version (2012) which is basically the image processing engine behind Lightroom and Photoshop’s Adobe Camera Raw plug-in. This new process version provides many significant updates, including more options when making local adjustments and the new highlights and shadows sliders (which essentially replaces the recovery slider in Lightroom 3). Because of these new powerful features in Lightroom 4 we can now, with much greater ease, recover those photos which we may have thought were unusable.

Tumihay the Hunter (before Lightroom 4 post-processing and then after) by Jacob Maentz

Click Here: Using Lightroom 4 to Recover Almost Unusable Photos

How to Import Photographs into Lightroom By Chase Guttman on Lightstalking

Before you can truly harness the power of Adobe Photoshop Lightroom, the most essential thing you must know is how to import your digital photography files into a catalog. As mentioned in the previous tutorial, Lightroom is a modular based program where you can organize, develop, print, share and display your photography, among many other things. In order for Lightroom’s vast number of features to be useful to you, you must first import your images into a catalog so you can work on them. The importing process is done via the “import dialogue box.” There are two ways to quickly access the import dialogue box:

Click Here: How to Import Photographs into Lightroom

There are endless numbers of site offering advice as well as the excellent Lightstalking here are some of my favourites  you might like to check out:

Adobe Tutorials

Lightroom Queen

Presets Heaven

A Killer Collection of Adobe LightRoom Tutorials

Lynda.com

 

Amensty International Media Awards 2013

The Amnesty International Media Awards were established in 1992 to recognise the best in human rights journalism.

They celebrate the breadth and quality of human rights reporting across the media – including broadcast, digital and print.

Over the past two decades the awards have grown in prestige, recognising excellence in human rights reporting and acknowledging journalism’s significant contribution to raising public awareness of human rights issues.

There are 10 categories in total, including the Photojournalism category for photographers. Entrants may submit a series of up to six photographs from a single portfolio, some or all of which must have been published on a UK website or in the UK press.

Photographers have until 01 March to submit their entries online or by post. There is a reduced entry fee for images submitted before midnight on 01 February.

There are 11 categories in the awards, recognising newspaper, magazine, radio, TV, digital and student journalism. Each is judged by an independent panel.

Further details here

Magnum City to Sea Workshop

This spring, Magnum Photos are delighted to be partnering with Goldsmiths, University of London in organising a truly distinctive photography workshop with icons of the British holiday industry, Butlins.

The workshop is inspired by Goldsmiths’ 2011 international symposium ‘City to Sea’, which brought together artists, photographers and social scientists to develop visual projects and sociological research exploring culture, tourism, coastal regeneration and the heritage of the British seaside.

Following on from the symposium’s success, British Magnum photographer Peter Marlow will lead a four day workshop in the seaside resort of Bognor Regis in West Sussex, assisting participants with the production of new exploratory projects whilst developing photographic identity and visual narratives. During the workshop, participants will work alongside Marlow and the City to Sea curators, artists Rebecca Locke & David Kendall, in a daily program of shooting, reviewing, critiquing, mentoring and editing, hosted by Butlins.

The workshop program is accompanied by presentations and discussions with Goldsmiths, University of London researchers and artists, including Paul Halliday, Course Leader of the international MA in Photography and Urban Cultures and Bognor Regis historian Sylvia Endacott. Peter Marlow will also present his work in a public lecture.

Workshop by Peter Marlow

When: Mar 11 – Mar 15 2013

Where: Butlins Ocean Hotel Bognor Regis Resort West Sussex, PO21 1JJ United Kingdom

Costs: £950
Includes tuition and 4 nights’ accommodation at Butlins Ocean Hotel with breakfast. Also includes a welcome dinner.

Further details here