Digital Shutters

“Emphasize the ideas of abundance,� wrote Roy Emerson Stryker in September of 1940 to one of his photographers, Jack Delano, in the Farm Security Administration, which later quickly morphed into the Office of War Information.

“Pour maple syrup over it - you know - mix well with white clouds and put on a sky-blue platter. I know your damned photographer’s soul writhes, but to hell with it. Do you think I give a damn about a photographer’s soul with Hitler at our doorstep? You are nothing but camera fodder to me.”

These were Stryker’s directives for his photographers to produce propaganda materials to prop up the New Deal or build national pride, an effort later duplicated in Mao’s China via painted canvasses that depicted patriotism during its New Society’s Cultural Revolution.

Stryker armed his photographers with color film cameras and they fanned out in the countryside to capture America’s images in glorious color. What they came up with, however, were more than propaganda images; they were good photographers and they shot good images, whether they served the New Deal or not.

The photographs showed what life in America was really like in 1939 to 1943: a haunting image of black workers on a rented farm in Georgia which depicted hardship and hope; homesteaders in New Mexico; a drive to town in a horse-drawn cart; a square dance in Oklahoma, and many others.

These photos were later misfiled and forgotten for decades. Back then, photographs were routinely taken in monochrome and color was a novelty in 1939. Even when they were discovered in 1978, these photos were largely ignored perhaps because of a notion that pictures before the war should only be in black-and-white.

Today they are the focus of a photo exhibit in London. “Bound for Glory: America in Colour 1939-1943” opens December 8 at the Photographers’ Gallery, Great Newport Street, London WC2.

Thanks to a lucky historian, Sally Stein, who turned out the photos in 1978 from the archives of the Library of Congress, we are witnesses once again to that unique period of American history just before and right into World War II. It was believed that color photography arrived in the US only in the late 1950s; the color photos unearthed from the FSA archives prove that indeed there were pictures shot and printed in color in 1939.

Farm workers on rented land near White Plains, Greene County, Georgia

Faro and Doris Caudill, homesteaders, Pie Town, New Mexico

Going to town on a Saturday afternoon, Greene Country, Georgia

Couples at square dance, McIntosh County, Oklahoma

[Via: Guardian Unlimited]

Photos: US Library of Congress

FSA, color, photos, 1939, america, stryker, delano

No, I don’t mean Pentax, but the so-called “CES Innovations Awards�. Online tech mag LetsGoDigital ran a rehash Sunday (maybe because of a dearth of news on weekends) about Pentax being named as an “International CES Innovations 2007 Design and Engineering Awards Honoree�.

That press release of course was an old rag, having had its day last Nov. 8 announcing that Pentax has joined a suspicious looking and growing list of “honorees� in the grand field of innovations.

But let’s put these aside first: 1) the Pentax K10D certainly has some innovations to offer in its waterproof and dust proof body plus its 22-bit analogue-to-digital conversion (as yet still to be proven if it could really make a difference in image quality); 2) the Consumer Electronics Association which puts up CES has a proven track record in organizing technology trade shows of great magnitude.

However, what do you call an award-giving body that honors non-existent products? There was this piece of gadget that “demagnetizes vinyl and CDs, then there was this Philips cordless phone that looked cool, and an “Atom Chipâ€? laptop that was supposed to feature several terabytes of “quantum RAM” and a 6.8GHz “quantum CPU,” all of which were vaporware, non-existent, and only lived in the minds of their dreamers.

It’s total crap, man.

It now seems pretty clear that you get to that list this way: fill out a form describing your product, attach some pictures, attach your payment of a few hundred dollars, and then a totally clueless three-member judging team will evaluate your payment “product� and voila! You are now in the list of “CES Innovations Awards Honorees.�

It’s total crap, man.

We understand the commercial purpose of the whole exercise, but CEA should at least be discerning enough to recognize vaporware from reality or they could smear legitimate products like the Pentax K10D.

Or totally quit pretending to be an awards body.

ces, cea, innovation, award, honoree, crap

Of course. What were they thinking? Police arrested New Brunswick blogger and political activist Charles LeBlanc last June while covering a protest rally in Saint John.

His crime? Police said he was using an “unprofessional-looking camera,� and so they arrested him, alleging that he was one of the unruly demonstrators. He was tackled to the ground, with a policewoman’s knee on his neck, and cuffed by two other officers - much like a protester. His camera was confiscated, his pictures were deleted and he was charged, put on trial for obstruction of justice. The incident played out in front of TV news cameras.

In a 20-page decision this week, Judge William McCarroll acquitted LeBlanc and said that he was not among the mob of demonstrators during the Saint John protest, but was in a public space taking pictures of the protesters for his website when he was arrested.

He noted that LeBlanc is well-known for his blog, well enough that police officers admitted to consulting it to gather intelligence about the conference. Judge McCarroll said the blogger was merely “plying his trade� and should not have been arrested. He also said the seizure of LeBlanc’s camera was unwarranted and that police had no right to delete his photos.

[Via: CBCNews]
Photo: PhotoPermit.org

blogger, journalist, leblanc, canada, court

Let’s face it: most of us were reared in the image format of JPEG, mostly JPEG. Well, perhaps, some GIF here, some TIFF there, maybe even the occasional PNG. But mostly, we shoot our pictures in JPEG, email our pictures in JPEG, almost everything else in JPEG. And most of the time, that’s just fine, because JPEG even with its lossy quality, is a very friendly format.

Now, comes RAW. With the more capable digital cameras, which have the ability to shoot in the RAW image format, becoming more affordable these days the prospect of eventually shooting in RAW looms large before us.

Just what is RAW? And why is it so compelling? In two words: easier, richer.

Let’s tackle the richer part first: RAW is an image file that contains the complete unprocessed metadata of a picture needed by an image editing software. It is of a higher quality, digitally speaking, than a JPEG file. While JPEG loses some fine details of an image, RAW keeps it all; the metadata is intact so that more information is available. With RAW, finer control is possible for image enhancement, plus you can choose whatever working color space you desire. Thus, it is richer.

The easier part is discussed convincingly by Scott Kelby, editor of Layers magazine (among his many hats). Scott says “you should start shooting in RAW because it’s easier. Not just a little easier—much easier.â€?

“If you shoot in RAW and use Photoshop CS2’s Camera Raw, you will get dramatically better-looking, better-balanced, and better color-corrected images every time. One of the main reasons it’s so easy is because you do all your corrections in one window. You adjust everything tonal—exposure, brightness, shadow, contrast—all within one window. Plus, you don’t have to use Levels or Curves; you’re just dragging sliders, and the adjustments have names that make sense to photographers, such as Exposure and White Balance. Think about it—it’s all in one nice big window—with a better histogram than you can get anyplace else in Photoshop. When you’re in Photoshop itself, you’re using all kinds of different tools—Curves, Levels, Hue/Saturation, filters, etc.—but in Camera Raw, it’s all there, right at your fingertips. And in most cases when you make your adjustments in Camera Raw, you don’t need to make any further tonal adjustments in Photoshop, unless you want to create some artistic effects,” Scott wrote.

Scott’s article is more than a year old, mind you, but it’s still as current as today’s Nikon D40. You can read it here.

The only drawback to shooting in RAW, which is you get files that are 2-6 times larger (because of all the pixel data in there), is no longer a concern. It has been solved by the availability of the larger and cheaper storage space nowadays in memory cards and hard disks.

So, next time you shoot, try RAW. And upgrade that Photoshop to CS2. If you don’t have it, try Adobe’s free Lightroom, or some other image editor that support RAW processing. You’ll find that RAW is indeed easier and richer.

[Via: LayersMagazine]

raw, image, format, processing, photoshop, cs2, lilghtroom. kelby

Photo: AvingKorea

The Pentax K10D digital SLR camera made a formal debut in Korea this week, aided by a splash of gold from a commemorative sibling which also made a grand show in that same news conference in Seoul.

Maybe the gold camera overshadowed the K10D, maybe not. But Donwon Systems, the Korean retailer of Pentax, perhaps thought it wise to add the gold to commemorate the 60th year of Pentax in the business.

The K10D, as you might have known by now, is Pentax’s bet against the Nikon D80, Canon EOS 400D (Rebel XTi), and Sony Alpha 100, the batch I like to call the “Distinguished Class of 2006,� a group of very able entry-level DSLRs that make this a very good year for digital SLR cameras.

Aside from the usual specs of 10 megapixels, 2.5-inch LCD, et cetera, the K10D boasts of a sealed body that makes it waterproof and dust-proof. Its unique 22-bit analog-to-digital conversion still has to prove its worth, though. Whether it makes a difference in image quality will still have to be proved when the production units come out.

But look at this beauty below. It is not digital. It uses film and it’s gold. The Asahi Pentax Gold LX has a newly-minted waterproof and dust-resistant body just like the K10D. It was made specifically to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the company.

Photo: AvingKorea

pentax, k10d, gold, asahi, lx, dslr, camera

[Via: AvingUSA]

What’s with Engadget? Why do they bash German products like that? Voigtlaender introduces its Vitolux XM 7.0 digitale Kompaktkamera and immediately they pounce on it as if were some toy ground hog in a game arcade. Having fun, eh?
My guess is that Engadget does not yet have a production unit in their hands to review but there they go, they stomp on the poor little kamera like some brats. I say, let’s give it a chance in the hands of professional reviewers, kids, or review it yourselves before you pass judgment on a product which took some real investment of time, money and pride to make.

Voigtlaender is a well known photography brand in Germany; the venerable company has been at it since 1756. This modern digital camera, Vitolux XM 7.0 is a continuation of that proud tradition into the 21st century.

It may not be as well known as today’s Nikons or Canons or what-have-you, but the Voigtlaender has every right to take its place in the world market like everyone else. Its XM 7.0 is a decent offering with 7 megapixels, 3-inch LCD screen and video capabilities, so let it take its place in the market for compact digital cameras.

And what if its price is a bit high at €299 ($384)? In the U.S. that might appear to be overpriced, but maybe in Germany that’s competitive enough. Of course, it has to adjust its pricing when it lands on other shores.

So, boys and girls, let’s give it a chance, okay? Remember that there was a time when “Made in Germany� meant the product lasted forever, until the Japanese found out it was bad business so they made flimsy products that you could use for a while until Sony’s Akio Morita showed them the way up market; then it was Taiwan’s turn at the cycle and now we’re seeing China. But so much for the history lesson; it’s time we brought back good manners and right conduct.

The Voigtlaender Vitolux XM 7.0 is a decent camera.

[Via: engadget.com]
[Via: LetsGoDigital.com]
[Site: Voigtlaender.de]

engadget, germany, voigtlaender, vitolux, xm 7.0, camera

Photo: scrapbooking.com

Scrapbooking is as American as American quilt. Deeply rooted but rarely seen. Like American quilt, scrapbooking is a vanishing art among the young, especially in the big cities. But just like American quilt, the young ones appreciate a good scrapbook when they see one.

You may think teenagers nowadays do not bother to make scrapbooks anymore, and you may be right. They don’t want to make them, but they giggle when they see their baby pictures in there. They get a kick out of seeing how they looked as a little kid scared stiff left on a carnival ride alone. The grown ups too are having a blast each time someone points to their pictures in bell-bottom pants and psychedelic art when they were teenagers themselves.

As a treasure trove of memories, a scrapbook is a valuable part of the whole family inheritance. More than just being a photo album, a scrapbook is also a journal of important family events, a history book, if you will, of a family’s passage in time.

That is why it is important to include some notes in a scrapbook. It is a known fact that photos are routinely discarded by the third generation because they no longer recognize those characters in the old photos; such a waste, because photos, like vintage wine, become more valuable with time.

People steeped in the art of scrapbooking recommend writing a few notes, anything to say, whether tivial or grand, and you shouldn’t even mind how your grammar or spelling comes out, don’t worry, it’s a personal scrapbook and it comes out better that way. Words to go with the pictures make the photos relevant even after five generations.

Scrapbooking may be aided by today’s computer and the Internet, to make it easier to produce and share photos with relatives and friends, but the best scrapbook are still made with good old craftsmanship, with pen and paper and scissors and paste. Nothing beats the high resolution display of the written page, and the random access of pages that you can flip by hand.

And don’t worry about your teenagers not making a scrapbook today, make one for them. They’re just being too busy with their youth. In time, they will make one too for their own children.

scrapbooking, memories, family, photos, album

Kodak is highlighting a survey that essentially says a photograph is a gift from the heart. The company made a survey which indicates that gift recipients treasure and save personalized photo gifts. When somebody sends her personalized Christmas card with her photo, it is highly likely that the friend or relative who receives the photo card will keep and treasure it.

This sounds like a commercial ad for photo greeting cards; but if you look deeper, you’ll find that indeed people do treasure photographs like nothing else in the world. Haven’t you heard of the person who cried more for the loss of his family photos than his paintings, appliances, money and other things?

People treasure photographs because they create connections and preserve memories. In the Kodak survey, more than 90 percent believe that sharing experiences through photographs helps them bond with others. Mothers and fathers say it’s important to take photographs of their children to remind them later of their youth. This just proves that photographs are truly the gift that keeps on giving.

So, Kodak tries to highlight this fact when it offers you their products and services for personalized greeting cards. Kodak says more than half of consumers prefer receiving personalized photo greeting cards, with 84 percent saving those cards from family and friends.

kodak, photo, gift, memories

[Via: CameraTown.com]
[Site: KodakGallery.com]

We are indebted to the Nikon D40 for this turn of events. A day after the D40 came out as the cheapest Nikon DSLR, Canon announced a price cut for its newly-launched EOS Rebel XTi (400D) bringing its price to $600 for the body alone, and $700 with the 18-55mm kit lens.

This is a big price cut for Canon, a $300 mark-down from its announced prices when the EOS 400D debuted just 3 months ago.

In turn, the much older but feature-rich Rebel XT (EOS 350D) can now be seen sporting a price tag of about $600, at par with the simplified Nikon D40.

So, how do you express your gratitude to Nikon? I’d buy the D80 if I can afford it; heck, I’ll go straight up and get the Nikon D200 if I really had the money.

But since my budget is limited, I’ll settle for the highly successful EOS 350D instead. Remember that this model set a new benchmark for entry-level DSLRs when it broke into the scene in February 2005. Almost two years later, it’s still as desirable as ever, thanks to the emergence of the Nikon D40 (sigh).

Did Nikon anticipate this response from Canon, like how they had anticipated the EOS 400D and trumped it with the D80? Or was the D40 a bad move for Nikon knowing now that Canon would go down by a hefty $300 price reduction? What will be Nikon’s response to that?

The next few weeks leading up to Christmas will be interesting indeed.

nikon, canon, price, d40, eos, 350d, 400d

Now, now…ain’t this cute? Another kittified object of desire only from Hello Kitty. And only in pink.

Say hello to the Hello Kitty DC500 digital camera, with 5 megapixels of picture goodness in a cute little 1/1.8-inch CMOS sensor. There’s a pretty 2.0-inch LCD display on the back which could give you 2592 x 1952 pixels of resolution, enough for you to print a good 4×6 photo.

There’s 32MB of memory on board in case you want to shoot right out of the box; an SD slot will let you add as much memory as you want so you can also shoot VGA movies aside from photos.

At an inch thick, I say that’s just about right for a cuddly heft in my little girl’s little pink palm. Hmmm…do I see Christmas coming?

[Via: Engadget.com]

hello kitty, dc500, camera, pink, cuddly, megapixel