JPG Outtakes
The good folks over at JPG Magazine have posted downloadable PDFs with outtakes from each recent theme featured in the magazine. Well worth the download: The photography is almost universally awesome.
October 30, 2007 #
More Leopard Trouble
More warnings about Aperture on Leopard—this time from the O’Reilly Digital Media Blog. If you rely on Aperture for your work, it would probably be prudent to hold off for a few weeks before upgrading to Leopard.
October 28, 2007 #
Leopard vs Aperture
Keen to pick up a copy of Mac OS X Leopard? I have been running the final release for a day now, and can report that it’s an overall positive experience. It feels much faster than Tiger, and the standard set of applications—Finder, Preview, Mail, Safari, iChat et al—have all seen some great improvements.
However, there are a couple of things to watch out for. I have seen kernel panics when waking up from sleep, so to be on the safe side, don’t leave any unsaved work open. Also, do NOT attempt to run Aperture 1.5.4 on Leopard: It crashes randomly and very frequently, and appears to wreak havoc with workspace settings (although the library itself seems unaffected). So as soon as you’ve upgraded to Leopard, fire up Software Update and download Aperture 1.5.6, which appears to work fine.
October 27, 2007 #
40D Reviews
A couple of new Canon EOS 40D reviews posted today, over at dpreview.com and imaging-resource.com. The bottom line? As expected, it’s a solid camera, but perhaps a little lacking in pizzazz.
October 25, 2007 #
Nick Veasey
Coudal Partners point out Nick Veasey’s amazing work with x-ray photography—but while you’re there, don’t miss his other work.
October 23, 2007 #
Entoptic Phenomena
William Hundley shoots people jumping, covered in sheets, blankets and other pieces of cloth. Creative and funny—and because it’s hard to describe, check it out here and here. Via Photojojo.
October 20, 2007 #
Joey Lawrence
Strobist has posted an interview with Canadian wunderkind Joey Lawrence, who, at the tender age of 17, is already churning out some very impressive work. While you’re at it, check out the portfolio on Joey’s website.
October 18, 2007 #
New Canon Glass
Canon has announced the development of two new high-end telephoto lenses: The EF 200mm f/2L IS USM and the EF 800mm f/5.6L IS USM. Rob Galbraith has more details; but no word yet on ship date or price—which makes you wonder why Canon was in such a hurry to make the announcement in the first place.
October 16, 2007 #
Miniature Photography
Grace Weston shoots cute, humorous and occasionally disturbing miniature scenes. Fun because it’s different: Well worth a visit, despite the yawn-inducing gallery software.
October 14, 2007 #
Shootsac
If you have struggled to find a smart, stylish camera bag for around town, check out Shootsac—a very tidy neoprene bag with interchangeable covers in a range of patterns and colors. Shootsac holds up to six lenses (including a 70-200mm lens) and other accessories, and depending on your chosen cover, it can be a fashion statement too.
Looking for something a bit more conventional, but still civil? I'm a big fan of Crumpler bags. Their 6 Million Dollar Home strikes a good balance between size and comfort: I never leave home without it.
October 12, 2007 #
Thinking-Picture
Via Coudal Partners: Personal photoblog Thinking-Picture sports some inspired photography, with fantastic portraits of both people and animals.
October 9, 2007 #
Essential Rules
You probably all know about the Sunny 16 Rule and the Camera Shake Rule. But how about the Moony 11 Rule and the Anatomical Gray Card? Read about these and a handful of other handy rules of thumb over at PopPhoto.com.
October 7, 2007 #
Nikon Factory
I find it fascinating to see behind-the-scenes coverage of how modern electronic devices are manufactured—and in particular, how much manual labor is still involved. Rob Galbraith has just posted a set of photos from Nikon’s D3 factory in Sendai, Japan. And if you haven’t already, check out Canon’s Virtual Lens Plant.
October 6, 2007 #
50mm
Via Daring Fireball: Gary Voth writes about the venerable 50mm lens. I swear by Canon’s EF 50mm f/1.4 USM. It’s small, light, sharp and, above all, fun to use: Without question the best $300 I have ever spent on photography.
While Gary recommends going with a 35mm lens for cameras with a 1.5× or 1.6× focal length multiplier, I would actually suggest sticking with 50mm, for an 80mm equivalent lens. It’s perfect for portraits, intimate street shooting and even landscape work.
October 4, 2007 #
Seam Carving
From the fascinating-but-disturbing basket: Seam Carving allows you to scale photos by eliminating areas with a low information content. It’s hard to explain in writing, so check out the video after the jump.
October 2, 2007 #