Panning...

It has to said that 'Panning' hasn't been one of our most popular themes so far.....

However, the turnout was high and there were some very interesting discussions regarding ideal shutter speeds, frequency of electric lights and their effects etc...

Bjoern, who presented images for the first time wooed the crowd with his impressive carrot tossing skills coupled with the ability to then pan with the thrown vegetable..!

Forms of transport were favorite subjects, which you can see from Nico's and José Manuel's images above.

But there were also images of kids, horses, fish and supersonic swallows...


As always, please do take the time to visit the gallery page to see all the images presented and leave comments and 'thumbs-up' where ever you deem appropriate.

Our random theme selection technique continues to choose potentially tricky assignments, the next one being 'Triptych',

errrrrrr whats that !!!!!

well for a full definition checkout wikipedia and for some inspiration try this Flickr group.

This theme should be a good one because you get to show off 9 images and your going to have to use some sort of image processing software to create each individual triptych.

So, leaving this one to the last minute is definitely a no no.... ;-)

Underwater in Black and White...

The underwater world is normally presented as a blaze of colours, so its curious to see a body of work which is predominately black and white.

Wayne Levin, a Hawaiian photographer has an impressive range of images on his website that amongst other things, shows not only the normal inhabitants (resident spirits) of the kingdom beneath the waves, but also the underwater people.

I find these images having been stripped of their colour and reduced only to tones to be extremely powerful.

Pulitzer awards

Dear all

The Pulitzer awards were announced yesterday. If you are interested in photojournalism, go to www.pulitzer.org and browse along the past years. I personally found extremely impressive last year winner (there is already a post here about it, or was it World Press Photo... I can't remember).
This year the prize is for Adrees Latif, who shot a photo of a fatally wounded japanese photographer, Kenji Nagai, during the protest at Myanmar in 2007. Google him and you'll find plenty or breathtaking suff, though I cound not find a specific site with his work. I include here the awarded picture and another one that impressed me even more, taken in West Timor in 2006.

Joe Mcnally.. "perhaps the most versatile photojournalist working today"

Joe Mcnally who is well known in the photojournalist world has recently set up a blog and YouTube channel where he is freely sharing his experiences and knowledge.

I recently finished reading his book "The Moment it Clicks" which is a bit different than the normal books on photographic technique, as it concentrates more on what it takes to be a photographer in the commercial world, and written in Joe's unique way, it really is a very entertaining read, plus as an added bonus it's jammed packed full of nuggets of information.

Above you see a video about what was involved to complete of photo shoot of the guy who changes the light bulbs on top of the Empire State Building and I don't mean the ones in the penthouse suite... you have to admit that along with a wicked sense of humor he also has guts..!

Lighthunters...

'Cazadores de Luz' are a group of 100 Spanish photographers who have set up there own private forum in an attempt to create an environment in which their collective talent can grow.

You may have read an article in El Pais or seen them on tve2, but they have been doing a bit of self promotion recently. There is also a book available, produced by National Geographic to showcase their best images.

As I mention earlier, their forums can't be read and are invitation only, so I can't really comment on the content, but there is also a blog and their galleries at Pbase. I have to admit that the watermark they put over all their images somewhat spoils the enjoyment and I think for images of such a low resolution its a bit over the top (comments left by many people are complaining about the same thing).

Are they being elitist by not sharing their forum, are they paranoid because they keep putting watermarks on their images or are they arrogant because they think their images are so good that everyone will want to steal them. You decide... it would be interesting to hear your comments...

Kicking the habit...

I noticed there are two links to photography shops on the web on the list of links on the right. Does any of you had any contact with them in the past? Are they reliable? A few months ago I tried to order some kit from Foto Boom (something pretty standard but they were offering it at a very good price) and after two months and a few phone calls I gave up because it was clear I was not going to get it. One other aspect that is also relevant for me is that of warranty. I have seen places offering kit at very interesting prices but then the situation regarding warranties seems not to be very clear.

So, if you have any positive experiences with this or any other photography shops, web based or physical, I would be very interested in hearing from you.

Whatever you want 2008...

Ten members presented their images for the open theme of 'Whatever you want' in the newly refurbished B.4.

Even though the 'delegation' type set up of tables was a bit grandios for the photoclub we battled on nonetheless trying to take up as much space as possible so we didn't look quite so lost.

As is always the case with this theme images were diverse with a selection of 3D images (like the one above... your going to need some 3D specks to see the effect though)... through to the preparations for the princes visit, underwater images, flowers, landscapes, buildings etc etc.

The club also welcomed Luis and Tim who presented images for the first time... we hope the experience wasn't too traumatic and and look forward to seeing more of your images in the future.

As always, please go and take a look at the galleries, and leave comments if you feel inclined and remember to give the 'thumbs up' to the images you like the most. It helps a lot to see which images everyone thinks are your best ones.

The next theme is 'Panning', which will be a lot of fun because normally you spend all your time trying to keep the camera still, but this time you get to move it around on purpose... anyway if you not quite sure what its all about you might want to take a look here as it gives an idea of the technique.

3 photo exhibitions worth seeing in Madrid

They are :

- Gabriele Basilico. Fundacion Astroc. Paseo de la Castellana, 56.
Architecture photography
- Jose M. Mellado. Blanca Berlin. Calle Limon, 28.
He is considered to be number 1 in digital photo in Spain. Photos of his travels to Cuba and Iceland
- John Baldessari. Pepe Cobo. Calle Fortuna, 39
Combination of human body, painting and sculpture

Hope you enjoy them,

Ruben

Photographic Competition in Madrid...

The Fundacion para el conocimiento madri+d has opened the Fourth edition of its annual Photographic Competition, this year titled "La ciencia en la ciudad, la ciudad en la ciencia" ("Science in the city, the city in Science").

Its open to everyone older than 16 and resident is Spain (i.e. no restriction on nationality).

Prizes go from 1500 Euros to the photo elected by the judging panel, to 600 Euros for the photo voted by the general public, down to 120 Euros for the 20 chosen finalists.

You can enter up to a maximum of 3 images (JPG format between 500kB and 10MB) which have to be sent in, no later than midnight on the 16th April.

The images will then be available for viewing on their web page and public voting will be open between the 23rd April and 19th May (This is where Jose Manuel's voting robot comes into play ;-) ).

Selected images will also be exhibited during the Science Fair at IFEMA between the 24th and 27th April.

The final results will be announced after the 22nd May.

You can find all the finer details here, and also take the opportunity to checkout the winners of previous editions of the competition so you can get at least get an idea of the standard. The image you see above was last years winner.

Sources of inspiration...

Icelandic Photographer Örvar Atli Þorgeirsson combines great landscapes, with impeccable technique and processing, plus oodles of talent to come up with a stunning set of landscape images sure to make all but the most critical go wow..!

If you enjoy landscapes, night photography and aurora borealis don't waste anymore time click here to see Örvars' flickr stream.

Canon launches European wide Photographic Competition...

Being as some of our members have had competition success in the past I thought you may like to know about Canons European photography competition called "The Assignment" which challenges photographers from all over Europe to enter their best images in the categories - Portrait, Landscape, Sport and Macro.

Each participant will be given the choice of competing nationally (only eligible to win Canon equipment) or internationally (also eligible to be selected to participate in the Assignment). Further details can be found in the press release below.

I didn't read anywhere that you could only use Canon equipment so I don't see why the Nikonians amongst us can't participate as well.

Pre-registration is required and has already been open since the18th February and closes on the 17th March after which you can upload your image, the competition itself running until 1st May.

Anyway, as I said before check out the press release below plus the website indicated to get up to date with all the details (and if you prefer it in spanish you can go here).... and above all.... good luck !

... and no, I won't accept entering this competition as an excuse for not presenting images at the club themes ;-)

Canon UK Press Release

United Kingdom / Republic of Ireland, 19 February, 2008: Canon is pleased to announce The Assignment, the European photography competition that is set to take the continent by storm. Pre-registration for the contest – which offers four overall winners once-in-a-lifetime prizes – is now open at http://www.canon-europe.com/theassignment.
Across 19 European countries, Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Ireland, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, UK. The Assignment challenges amateur photographers to submit their best work in one of four categories: Portrait, Landscape, Sport and Macro. In every country, winning images will be selected by a distinguished judging panel from a shortlist created by online public voting; the winners will receive €2,000 worth of Canon EOS kit as a reward.
Each national category winner will also be judged against those from all other competing countries by the expert panel, chaired by award-winning reportage, portrait and travel photographer Vicki Couchman. The top two winners in Europe per category (Portrait, Landscape, Sport and Macro) will then be taken on a trip to Vienna, to experience the thrills of a match at UEFA EURO 2008™ before competing head-to-head in a photographic shoot out.
The final four European category winners will win the opportunity to plan, then follow their own personal ‘dream assignment’ – each of which will be filmed for broadcast across Europe later in the year.
“The Assignment will help amateur photographers across Europe to realise their ambitions,” said Mogens Jensen, Head of Canon Consumer Imaging, Europe. “Canon EOS has revolutionised D-SLR photography, and with this high-profile competition we hope to inspire even more people to take up this rewarding, creative hobby.”
Pre-registration for The Assignment begins on 18 February at http://www.canon-europe.com/theassignment. Each registrant will gain free access to exclusive online video tutorials with head judge Vicki Couchman.
The competition opens on 17 March and runs until 1 May. Public voting ends two weeks later. For more information, visit http://www.canon-europe.com/theassignment.

more "What the Duck"...!

Question on macro lenses

One question:

I am interested in start playing with photography with macro, but the lenses are quite expensive considering it is just a trial. On the other hand I have seen in the web macro-rings, but don't know how easy or dificult to use they are, how they work and, the most importat, how good or bad the results are.

Any one with experience with them, any general hint, any one willing to give away his/her nikon macro?

Cheers

For Night Photography Fans...

Brendan Austin has finished a project called Darkspace which has been shot inside tunnels. A perfect example of how to make an exposure in difficult conditions and then how to present the results for maximum effect.

Should we plan a trip to the M-30 tunnels and give it a go ? ;-)

Anyway, for more Night Photography you could do no better that check out the blog of Andy Frazer who is an aficionado of after hours photography...

Clyde Butcher.. inspirational landscape photographer...

Clyde Butcher is a photographer that I admire not only for the beautiful images he takes, but also for his no nonsense approach to photography.

He never gets weighed down with technical issues, he keeps everything simple.

As you can see from the image above he uses large format camera's (that one looks like a 12x20 and thats in inches !). Only recently using digital technology to scan his negatives to produce inkjet prints along with his hand printed photo's.

If he can't find the equipment he needs, he builds it, he has no problems wading around the everglades completely oblivious to the snakes, mosquitoes and crocodiles. He's straight talking, unpretentious..... a real pioneer...

Have a look at this article over on 'double exposure' which gives a brief insight into the man.

Then if you want to find out more you can visit his own site here.

World Press Photographer of the Year Winners...

This image of a US soldier in Afghanistan was chosen over more than 80,000 other images to win the World Press Photo Contest for 2007.

'This image shows the exhaustion of a man – and the exhaustion of a nation,' said Gary Knight chairman of the judging panel.

Apparently this year more than 5,000 photographers entered.

All the images of all the winners can be found here.

PDN 'World in Focus' Winners...

PDN recently published winners of its 'Ultimate Travel Photography Contest' with more than 80 images showcased.

Images submitted were as diverse as Hammerhead sharks waiting to be groomed near Cocos Island, Costa Rica to a Solar Eclipse in the Libyan desert.

The contest was divided into six categories: Human Condition, Extreme Exploration, Urban Landscapes, Snapshots, Wilderness and Open Series.

As I know a lot of you enjoy travel photography, click here and prepare to be amazed.

Geometry Theme Presentation...

The club members got off to a strong start in 2008 with a total of 12 members presenting images for the 'Geometry' theme set late last year.

As we have come to expect the images presented covered a diverse range of subjects and idea's.

We also welcome Alberto and Raymond who presented images for the first time..



The discussion was lively and jovial and you really must come along even if you haven't presented any images as it really is a lot of fun, to look at, and hear the comments regarding the images, plus the off the cuff anecdotes of Jose Manuel.... and of course to see if I can get through a presentation without messing up the slide show.... :-)



All the images are on the gallery pages and please give your 'thumbs up' to the those that you most like.... remember it all counts towards the Yearbook content. Of course comments left on the gallery pages are also very welcomed.

OK then, next theme is 'Whatever you want 2008', presentation is provisionally set for 10th March... As you may guess this is a completely 'open' theme, the only requirement being that the image(s) must have been taken this year...

Thank you all for your participation, and if the way you all started is anything to judge by... this is going to be a good year for the club... hasta la proxima..!

Report: the ESAC photo club Nikon D80

I had the pleasure to borrow the club's new Digital-SLR, a Nikon D80 over the holiday period. It was my first hands-on experience with a single-lens-reflex (SLR) camera. In principle anyone can start using it without any prior experience by selecting the AUTO mode (or one of the selectable scenes: portrait, macro, night, landscape). For me this worked pretty well in most circumstances. In fact, it became quickly evident that the basic quality of the images is already better than your average point-and-shoot compact.

Compared to a point-and-shoot the Nikon is quite heavy and I was forced to use a tripod in low light situations (which I would normally never have thought about! ;-p.



The focal ('zoom') range for the current lens (18-44mm) is not very large but it is quite sufficient for first use.

After a few hundred pictures (mostly taken in RAW format, which I now need to post-process. more on that experience later) I tried using the semi-manual functions (P,S.A on the program dial). This I found quite a challenge. To get a better feeling for aperture/shutter-speed combinations and the effect on e.g. you depth of field (blurring of background) you can use the depth-of-field preview button located on the front of the camera.