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Canon EOS 1Ds MKIII
2007-08-20 09:52:00
It seems that following the rumours earlier in the year, Canon are finally to announce the arrival of a new top-of-the-range Pro camera. Amazon have apparently revealed a page showing off the new camera?s specs before the embargo was lifted.I have a suspicion that these things are carefully orchestrated, Amazon didn?t take the page down before some blog owners had managed to take screen shots showing the camera and its specifications. Anyway, it all helps with the hype and it?s interesting to see the spec of the new camera.It?s suggested that the camera will be released before the end of 2007. At 21.1 megapixels, it?s almost 4.5 megapixels greater resolution than the current 1Ds MKII and may well tempt those currently using medium-format gear. I can?t see it making its way into my camera bag in the near future although I can see how it might tempt photographers working in advertising.UPDATE:As Nic mentions in his comment, Canon have now officially announced the arrival of the1Ds MKI...
More About: Anon

British Mac
2007-08-19 09:54:00
When I first moved across from a PC to a Mac I went in search of information to help me make the transition. I picked up a book from Amazon, read through a few web sites and downloaded three or four podcasts. I find the podcasts really useful because I can listen to them when I?m on the train or whilst I?m doing something that doesn?t require all my concentration - like removing dust spots from digital files!Most of the Mac podcasts are well written, well presented and informative. But let?s be honest, it?s a pretty dull subject. Mac users talking about how to use a Mac! And I thought I was a bit of a geek.However, amongst the podcasts I downloaded was one called British Mac. Created by Will Green, it?s completely unlike all the other Mac podcasts. He punctuates Mac news, hints and tips with clips from Carry On and St. Trinians films and the occasional bit of Status Quo. It?s quirky to be sure but carries on a fine tradition of British eccentricity. There aren?t many podcasts where ...

HDR
2007-08-18 19:25:00
I can?t help but like the effects created in High Dynamic Range images. They seem to have a painterly feel that is part Photography and part Science Fiction. A lot of HDR images look like they?ve been created by a very patient artist with a wonderful airbrushing technique. Whilst they probably won?t start making their way into mainstream newspaper and magazine articles in the near future, given that they do look quite artificial, they do work really well from a Fine Art perspective.This weekend?s Guardian Guide picks out stuckincustoms.com as one of their recommended web sites of the week. As well as producing some really eye-catching images, Trey Ratcliff has taken the time to put together a tutorial where he explains how he makes his HDR images using Photomatix. Although Trey suggests the tutorial is ?poorly worded and meandering? I found it really informative.I?ve made a few HDR images in the past but am still learning how to get the best out of the process. It?s not an effect th...

AOP Open
2007-08-17 16:11:00
The shortlisted entries for this year?s AOP Open competition are now online and votes are invited from the public.I?ve had an images shortlisted in previous years but didn?t manage to find time to send an entry this year. It seems that it would have been even more difficult to make the shortlist this year, only 84 images were selected from 1700 entries.Looking through the 84 shortlisted images, I have to agree with the web site introduction, it?s a really ?eclectic? selection. Every year the AOP shortlist prompts some raised eyebrows this year is likely to be no exception. There are some lovely images amongst the selection but there are certainly some curious choices too.There are certainly images that break all of the usually accepted rules of photography. No concerns about ?correct? exposures or the ?right? composition here. Far from it in fact.It will be interesting to see which photograph ends up being selected as the winner from the public vote. I?d predict that it won?t be one...

Photo Workshop
2007-08-16 09:25:00
I?m delighted to announce that I?ll be running a Photo graphic Workshop in April ?08. I?ll be joining up with landscape photographer Jason Friend to take a group for a day around one of my favourite locations, the Isle of Purbeck.Starting in sunny Swanage, we?ll walk along the coast to Corfe Castle, stopping to photograph the wonderful scenery on the way. We?ll return to Swanage from Corfe at the end of the day with a trip on the steam railway, which should be an excellent way to conclude the walk.Apart from the great views along the way (and the engaging company of course), we?ll visit the ?best pub in the world? and I?m sure it will be a really good day out. What could be better than joining up with a group of like-minded people for one of the best walks in England, all of whom want to talk about photography all day long? I?m really looking forward to it.Purbeck photo galleryView workshop details onlineDownload pdf guide (1.2Mb)View Terms and Conditions

Lake District
2007-08-12 15:28:00
The Lake District has been a favourite destination of mine since our first family holiday there when I was nine. Although there are some impressive cliffs on the Isle of Wight there is nothing to compare with the drama of the Lakeland mountains so it was like another world to me on our first visit.I?ve returned to the Lakes a number of times since then and walked the fells in all weathers. Nobody who has spent any time walking in the Lake District will be unfamiliar with the name Alfred Wainwright. 2007 is actually the centenary of his birth and there are various memorials planned by the Wainwright Society. He was the author of the wonderful Pictorial Guides, seven volumes dedicated to the Lakeland fells, each including painstaking precision and sketches drawn with meticulous attention to detail.On this trip to the Lakes I was hoping to walk some of the Wainwright Memorial Walk. About 120 miles in length but with a height gain and descent equivalent to climbing up and down Everest f...
More About: Strict

Auntie Extraordinary
2007-07-23 19:24:00
This is my Auntie Elsie. She?s quite extraordinary. She?s 94 years old, lives on her own, does all her own cooking and cleaning and maintains a very colourful and productive garden. Talking with her is always an uplifting experience and I caught up with her at a family get-together this weekend.  I know her next-door neighbour suffers from MS  and is wheelchair-bound and so I asked after her.?Well dear, she likes to get out when she can but her husband pushes her around so quickly that she doesn?t have time to look in all the shops.??Oh dear??Yes, so I took her out last week and we had lots of time so she was able to see all the shops she wanted??Really? Excellent. In her wheelchair???Yes dear??Is it an electric one???No, but it?s very light?
More About: Extraordinary , Xtra , Ordinary

The giggling schoolgirls of the Ura Valley, Bhutan
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One of the highlights of our recent Bhutan Photo Expedition was a day trip to the Ura Valley. The Lonely Planet describes Ura Village as "Forty closely packed houses along cobblestone streets...giving it a medieval atmosphere". Jackie Rado and I had left the main Lakhang and were walking through the village, ...

Bhutan: Tourist photo theft and Gangrithang Primary School
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One of the main aims of my photo workshops and tours is to encourage participants to appreciate the culture of the location that they are visiting. If travel photography, for want of a better term, is about anything, it must surely be about communicating an experience. Travel broadens the mind, ...
More About: Photo , School , Primary , Theft , Bhutan

Home from Bhutan. And now it’s time to give thanks.
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I'm home in Bangkok, savouring the memories of the last two weeks in Bhutan . Jackie Rado and I were blessed with the company of a delightful group of photographers who made the trip memorable for all the right reasons. There are naturally some concerns when you start to organise a ...
More About: Time , Home , Give

Catalogue People
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By way of a small distraction from the serious business of photographing Bhutan and the autumn tsechus, members of our group would occasionally descend into the kind of eccentric behaviour that can seem wildly amusing - at the time. On this day, we found that adopting the poses of models ...
More About: People

Free Desktop Wallpaper, Oct ‘09: Wangdichholing Dzong, Jakar, Bhutan
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The free desktop wallpaper for October comes from Wangdichholing Dzong in Bhutan . By the time this appears our group will be in Jakar, enjoying the annual festivals (tsechus) and photographing the enchanting temples (dzongs). We'll be hoping to find opportunities like this, where a novice monk invited me to see ...
More About: Desktop , Wallpaper , Free

Colourful India
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Shot in locations within a few minutes' walk of each other, these photos illustrate my theory that a great number of India 's population are involved in a conspiracy to provide visiting photographers with the most eye-catching, colourful photo opportunities possible.

Free Google Wave Invitation giveaway
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Tim Humble, aka fotofugitive, has kindly shared an invitation to get a Google Wave account. Each account comes with the opportunity to invite eight more people to use Google Wave and I'm offering a couple of invitations to you, dear readers. However, as I'm still learning exactly what Google Wave can ...
More About: Free , Invitation

Postcards from Delhi
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Here's a couple of pictures that I took yesterday in Old Delhi . Chandni Chowk is inevitably high on the photographer's list of "must-see" places in Delhi, as is the Djamaa Masjid, the largest mosque in, I think, the Indian sub-continent. Of course, I can't resist the panning technique in places like ...

Delhi: Exuberance in the monsoon rain
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Exuberant: adjective, filled with or characterized by a lively energy and excitement I don't think you could find a much better visual definition of "exuberance" than when the school children of Delhi were set home earlier this week after constant rain left floods across much of the city. Whilst the rest of us ...
More About: Rain

“Catching Colour� photo exhibition in Bangkok
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If you live in Bangkok then you may be interested in attending the opening of an exhibition of some of my travel photos this week. Numbers are limited so please let me know if you would like to attend and I'll make sure we have space for you. The exhibition, on ...
More About: Photo , Exhibition

Catching-up and a December Desktop Wallpaper Double Bonus
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Now, where did I put that blog? Ah, here it is. Festive Greetings Firstly, I would like to wish you all the very best for the festive season and for the new year. I hope that you're entering the final month of the year within reach of whatever goals you may have set ...
More About: Desktop , Wallpaper , Double , Bonus

Matt Brandon’s “Depth of Field� interview with Ami Vitale
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Young Matt Brandon's "Depth of Field" interviews are becoming something of a "must listen" for anyone interested in learning about the lives of professional travel photographers and photojournalists. Matt's library of interviews are growing steadily and now include Yours Truly, Bob Krist, Nevada Wier, David duChemin, Mario Mattei and, most recently, ...
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Thailand Photo Tour: The brochure, including dates and prices
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The nice people at Diethelm Travel have produced a brochure, detailing our forthcoming photo tours. You may want to click the "Full Screen" button to appreciate the brochure in its full glory. Thank you to all of you who have already expressed an interest in photo tours. If you are ...
More About: Photo , Thailand , Dates , Tour , Brochure

Photo Expeditions and Workshops: Kanchanaburi
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This is perhaps the time of year when we begin to take stock, to review what we've achieved in the preceding months and to begin planning for the year ahead. It's very convenient that our time should be divided into such tidy blocks. Twelve months, fifty two weeks, three hundred ...
More About: Photo , Kanchanaburi

Free Desktop Wallpaper for November 2009: Bhutan Masked Dance
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November's free desktop wallpaper comes from the Wangdue Phodrang Dzong in Bhutan and was taken during this year's annual tsechu (festival). Masked dances play an important part of the annual tsechus and the traditions associated with them vary from village to village. The dances, or Chhams, are often performed with the ...
More About: Desktop , Wallpaper , Dance , Free

Bangkok Photo School: November Classes Announced
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We announced our November schedule of classes at the Bangkok Photo School this afternoon and the response has exceeded our expectations. We will be running three classes on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday evenings. There will be two 'Beginners' courses for those new to photography and an 'Intermediate' course for photographers with ...
More About: Classes

Mitchell Kanashkevich: Seeing the Light eBook
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I've always found that the difficulty of using flash, or strobe, lighting in the field is that it can be difficult to achieve a look that isn't artificial. Natural light is everything in the work that I do and I'll base my working day around the times of day when ...
More About: Ebook , Light