PHOTOGRAPH: ISSUE THREE

This magazine from Craft & Vision, the third in the current series is jam packed with fascinating articles, for $8 it is a bargain.

A Digital Quarterly Magazine for Creative Photographers

Issue 3 is packed with incredible portfolios and Q+As—this time from: Hengki Koentjoro, Dave Delnea, and Kevin Clark. And there are the usual great columns from people like Martin Bailey, Nicole S. Young, Kevin Clark, and John Paul Caponigro, as well as a featured article from David duChemin about his recent work in Northern Kenya.

National Geographic Photo Contest 2012

As reported in the excellent the Atlantic magazine:

Once again, National Geographic is holding its annual photo contest, with the deadline for submissions coming up on November 30. Beginning on September 1, the society started gathering and presenting galleries of submissions, encouraging readers to vote for them as well. National Geographic was kind enough to let me choose among its entries from 2012 for display here on In Focus. Gathered below are 50 images from the three categories of People, Places, and Nature, with captions written by the individual photographers.

Here is a sample of some of the 50 images in the gallery here

Ninja Kangaroos: Young male kangaroos test their strength with “boxing” matches that mostly occur at dawn. One buck gets in the others face with its forepaws until the second one concedes and hops away, or stands up tall and faces its tormentor. Then the two grapple until an advantage is gained and one rears back onto its tail and kicks out with both its feet. Here the roo on the left clearly has its opponent on the retreat. Photo taken at Lake Cootharaba, Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia. (© raoul slater/National Geographic Photo Contest) #

Yosemite Valley at Dusk: A mist had settled over Yosemite Valley, as automobiles passed through, headlights illuminated the fog. (© Phil Hawkins/National Geographic Photo Contest) #

Chaos: A huge flock of Red-billed Queleas flies in to drink at the same time as an African Elephant in Tsavo National Park, Kenya. (© Antero Topp/National Geographic Photo Contest) #

Butterfly at sunset: Photographer Toni Guetta submitted this macro shot of a butterfly with the sunset in the background near Hod ha’sharon, Israel. (© Toni Guetta/National Geographic Photo Contest)

See the rest of these amazing images here

Pictures of the Week: February 24, 2012

From the ever excellent pBlogs on The Denver Post images from around the world.

Two girls reach for fresh strawberries at the 7th International Strawberry Symposium on February 18, 2012 in Beijing, China. The 7th International Strawberry Symposium is being held in the Changping District of Beijing, from February 18-22. Changping is a well-known strawberry growing district and production base in China. (Photo by Lintao Zhang/Getty Images)

Kenyan army soldier Nicholas Munyanya, wearing a helmet on which is written in Kiswahili “Tea in Kismayo”, referring to a key strategic Somali town under the control of al-Shabab, checks his ammunition belt near the town of Dhobley, currently under control by Kenyan military and Somali government forces, in Somalia Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2012. Kenya’s military has been fighting inside Somalia in an ongoing offensive against militant group al-Shabab since October, when Somali gunmen carried out several kidnappings in Kenya. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

An Afghan man aims a sling shot toward US soldiers at the gate of Bagram airbase during a protest against Koran desecration on February 21, 2012 at Bagram about 60 kilometres (40 miles) north of Kabul. Afghan protestors firing slingshots and petrol bombs besieged one of the largest US-run military bases in Afghanistan, furious over reports that NATO had set fire to copies of the Koran. Guards at Bagram airbase responded by firing rubber bullets from a watchtower, an AFP photographer said as the crowd shouted “Allahu akbar, Allahu akbar” (God is greater). SHAH MARAI/AFP/Getty Images

Gilles of Binche’ dance during a carnival parade in the city centre of Binche, Belgium, Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2012. The Carnival of Binche dates back to around the 14th Century, with the clown-like Gilles performing their traditional dances to the sound of drums to ward off evil spirits with their sticks. (AP Photo/Yves Logghe)

Free Syrian Army fighters stand guard in Idlib, northwestern Syria, near the Turkish border, on February 20, 2012. The Red Cross said it was in talks with the Syrian authorities and rebels to halt the violence so it can deliver aid amid calls to allow women and children out of the besieged city of Homs in central Syria. BULENT KILIC/AFP/Getty Images

To see all the pictures from this Denver Post blog go HERE

Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2011 highly commended images

The Guardian has a selection of images from the highly commended section of this award, as with the winning selection we featured last week these are quite stunning. More can be seen on the Guardian site here

Behaviour: Birds – Taking Flight, Paul Goldstein Paul arrived very early on the shores of Lake Nakuru, Kenya, before the rising sun had burned off the mist. He had returned to photograph the greater and lesser flamingos and used shade, shadow and silhouette to create drama, rather than emphasising their vivid colours with sunlight. He was helped by a combination of circumstances: rain during the night, a rapidly clearing sky, enough time for the cold air to form mist over the alkaline waters, and a hyena hunting for young or infirm birds along the far shore of the soda lake. The predator set up a wave of panic, with those closest to it taking flight and those nearest to Paul standing alert. Ten minutes later, not only had the whole flock lifted up, but the mist had also burned off, completely changing the scene. Photograph: Paul Goldstein/WPY

Behaviour: Mammals – The Charge by Eric Pierre (France) Eric had been tracking Arctic wolves on Victoria Island, Canada, when his guide spotted a herd of muskoxen 3 miles (5km) away. Approaching, Eric could see that the herd was nervous, probably because wolves were also on its trail. He made a detour and stopped about half a mile away upwind. Suddenly, he realised that the herd was now running towards them, oblivious of them. “I’ve seen muskoxen run away,” says Eric. “I’ve seen them react to a threat by forming a circle, and I’ve even seen a male charge. But I’ve never seen a herd spread out into a charging line like this. I could hear the thundering of their hooves. It was one of those situations where it really mattered that I made the right choice between technical accuracy, aesthetics and security.” Photograph: Eric Pierre/WPY

The exhibition information:

Exhibition and tickets

2011 Veolia Environnement Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition
21 October 2011 – 11 March 2012

Open 10.00 – 17.50 daily

Book tickets now

This world-renowned yearly exhibition at the Natural History Museum provides a spotlight on the rarely seen wonders of the natural world.

From 21 October, enter an atmospheric space inside the exhibition gallery and be inspired by this year’s competition winners. The images are selected from 1000s of international entries and are beautifully displayed in sleek backlit installations

Wilfred Theisger at The Pitt River’s Museum Oxford

Sir Wilfred Thesiger took nearly 40,000 photographs during his eight decades of travels throughout Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. Now, to mark 100 years since his birth, Oxford’s Pitt Rivers Museum is displaying some of his most striking images.

 

Wilfred Thesiger in Africa: A Centenary Exhibition
4 June 2010 – 5 June 2011

Marking the centenary of the renowned British traveller and writer Wilfred Thesiger’s birth in Ethiopia, this major new exhibition is the first to explore his lifelong relationship with Africa. Photographs from Ethiopia, Sudan, Morocco, Tanzania and Kenya are accompanied by a selection of objects collected by Thesiger in Ethiopia and later donated to the Pitt Rivers Museum. The exhibition is accompanied by a major new publication, Wilfred Thesiger in Africa, which includes a wide selection of his African photographs, and essays by a number of contributors, such as Alexander Maitland and David Attenborough