Category: Inspiration & Showcases

Review roundup: Remember Albelli photo books?

By John Watson
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A little while back a new photo book printing service called Albelli sprang up. They gave us some coupon codes for a free medium landscape photo book. You used those codes and made your books. And the general consensus? Meh.

Have you used a photo book printing service that you love (or hate)? Please tell us about it in the comments below!

As for Albelli, here’s what some of you thought of the service:

Dan wrote:

I wanted to wait until I received the book before I wrote a review.  The review is still in development but I’m glad I waited because the book arrived with some problems in it.  The software also has some issues that should be resolved, which I’ll mention in a comment on the blog post.

The real problem I have is that four images printed incorrectly.  Two were badly skewed/stretched, one had a handwritten press through from paper on top where I can see a handwritten “43” (it looks like a ballpoint pen was used with only a thin piece of paper on top of the photo for some reason) —

… Continue reading Review roundup: Remember Albelli photo books?

Five Photography Projects to Get You Motivated

By Ray Davis
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Unlike most people my age summer is actually a busier time of year for me than the school year is. Often one of the first things to fall by the wayside when I get busy is my photography. Even though I love it it’s time consuming to get out and shoot photos and then do something more than just dump them in an unnamed folder on your hard drive. I don’t want to miss out on one of my favourite hobbies this summer so I’m planning to set myself a fun, non-work related, project to work on and hope it inspires me to keep snapping away through the warmer months. In an effort to get myself and anyone out there like me motivated this summer, here are a few photography project ideas:

1. 365 Days Project – we’ve all heard of this one. You take one photo each day and you have a pretty cool way to look back on a year of your life. You may also get some insight into the things that are important to you, and you’ll be photographing the ordinary, everyday aspects of your life not just the exceptional. I have wanted to try this project before but a whole year is just too daunting to me (I am not a forward planner,

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Competitions For You and Your Kids

By Ray Davis
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If you’ve been making photography a family affair and you’re a competitive bunch check out these competitions which all feature categories for adults and under 18s:

Travel Photographer of the Year – Always has exceptionally high standards of work entered, this one is open to amateurs and professionals and features a special category for under 17s. This year they’ve created the “first shot” category to give less experienced amateurs a chance to compete against each other while the more experienced compete in the other categories. The entry fee for adults are from £10 to £15 per category and the Young TPOTY category is free. There are some awesome travel and photography equipment prizes up for grabs.

Environmental Photographer of the Year – Features four categories for any age (both amateur and pro photographers) and one specifically for under 21s. This one is free to enter and has the aim of raising awareness of our environment. There are no physical prizes but winning work will be published on the website and displayed in a roving exhibition.

National Wildlife Photo Contest – In it’s 38th year this competition from the National Wildlife Federation has pro,

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Review: Images: Jack Dykinga’s Grand Canyon

By John Watson
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Images: Jack Dykinga’s Grand Canyon is another photography book in a series from Arizona Highways. Unlike the Arizona Highways Photography Guide (reviewed here) which is instructional, this book is a work of art.

This 11-inch square book begins and ends with essays by non-fiction writer Charles Bowden and geologist and author Wayne Ranney, respectively.

Bowden’s opening essay describes the canyon with an almost holy reverence. It’s a beautiful tribute to a place the author describes as timeless. A place not for worship but for exploration and meditation that nourish the soul.

The closing essay by Ranney gives us a geologist’s view of the Canyon. It’s less poetic than Bowden’s but no less interesting (at least to me) as he shares insights into the formation of the canyon that made me marvel at the time and energy, virtually beyond human comprehension, required to form it.

And in between these short essays the book is filled with beautiful color photographs of the canyon by Jack Dykinga. From snow-covered plateaus, storms, and sunrise vistas, to gorgeous sunsets casting bright orange and red hues onto ancient canyon walls,

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Orphan Works bill introduced in US

By John Watson
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There has been a lot of discussion and a lot of fear among photographers regarding potential orphan works legislation.

A major problem with current copyright law is that it does not provide a way to use a creative work that has been abandoned (no entity can be found to claim ownership). The premise behind an “orphan works” addition to copyright law is that it would provide a means for anyone to make use of copyrighted material that no longer has an owner.

It works by limiting damages that can be claimed if the work truly falls under orphan works protection. If a person wants to use a work they must ask permission from the copyright holder just as they do now. Under the current law, if they can’t find the owner they are out of luck. With the orphan works bill in effect, they could use the work after conducting a diligent search and failing to find the copyright owner. Later, if the original owner shows up, he must be paid fair royalties for the use of the work. It does not limit or change Fair Use.

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Poll: How would you classify yourself as a photographer?

By John Watson
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Let’s get to know each other a little better. To me, a beginner is someone who is just starting out or who doesn’t have a solid grasp of the fundamentals of photography (shutter speed, aperture, depth of field). We were all beginners once.

Intermediate photographers have mastered the basics and have started to explore more advanced topics like lighting and composition. Advanced photographers are at a stage where they are refining their craft and possibly specializing in specific disciplines.

{democracy:2}

… Continue reading Poll: How would you classify yourself as a photographer?

Review: Arizona Highways Photography Guide

By John Watson
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Arizona Highways Photography Guide

The Arizona Highways Photography Guide was written by the editors and contributors to Arizona Highways magazine. It’s broken down into three parts of about 100 pages each: The Basics, Types of Photography, and Places for Photography. Read on for a short review and how you can get a free copy.

This book covers a broad range of photography topics and, while it doesn’t go very deeply into any of them, it does provide a lot of very practical information. Every single page is filled with beautiful color photos that are used to illustrate a point and are each accompanied by a useful tip.

For example, page 40 includes this tip under a photo of a fast-moving motorcyle rider: “By using a slow enough shutter speed and panning with the motocross rider’s movement, the photographer was able to blur the background to heighten the sense of speed,” and it includes the shutter speed, ISO, and aperture settings.

Page 78 discusses depth of field and hyperfocal distances with helpful and clear diagrams. The tip on page 138 explains how color plays an important role in the composition of a photo of a bobcat at the top of the page.

… Continue reading Review: Arizona Highways Photography Guide

Photographers are visual liars

By John Watson
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Maybe not all of them and maybe not intentionally (in some cases) but, more or less, almost every photograph is a lie of sorts. I’m not even talking about post-processing. We portray what we want the world to see. Each one is a view of the world from the photographer’s viewpoint. The only photos I can think of that might be totally honest are documentary and clinical in nature like, perhaps, crime scene photos. But I even wonder about those.

Bachelor pad

… Continue reading Photographers are visual liars

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