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The First-Ever Photo of an Albino Giant Panda http://bit.ly/30U4JYE China has released the world’s first-ever photo of an albino giant panda. It’s a panda with all-white fur and reddish eyes. The photo was captured by a motion-activated camera trap placed in the Wolong National Nature Reserve in the southwestern province of Sichuan on April 20th, 2019. Scientists estimate that the young panda is likely between one and two years old. The sex could not be determined from the snapshot. “This is the first time a fully albino wild giant panda has been caught on camera, indicating there must be a gene mutation in the giant panda population,” says Peking University researcher Li Sheng. “Judging from the photo, the panda is physically strong and taking steady steps, suggesting the gene mutation is not affecting its normal life.” The nature reserve says it’s planning to install additional camera traps in order to keep its eye on the ultra-rare albino panda and track whether it bears any offspring. Since the albinism gene is recessive, though, it’s highly unlikely that the offspring would also be albino. Image credits: Photograph by the Wolong National Nature Reserve Photography News via PetaPixel https://petapixel.com May 29, 2019 at 10:58AM
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Moment launches new sling bags, wallet cases for mobile photographers http://bit.ly/30U2R24 Moment has introduced a new range of sling-style bags and a series of wallet cases for photographers who like to travel light. Described as part fanny-pack, part sling the bags are intended to look good and be functional at the same time. The bags are designed to hold a mobile phone as well as Moment’s accessory smartphone lenses and even a small compact camera, as well as the usual travel essentials like passports. The bags can be worn over the shoulder like a sling or around the waist like a fanny pack, and come in a range of materials and colors. Smaller wallet cases are aimed at those who want to carry only daily essentials along with their phone, while a new line of phone cases come with pockets for credit cards for those who really want to travel light. The Fanny Slings costs $69.99 and the Crossbody Wallets cost $74.99. To purchase either or for more information visit the Moment website. Photography News via Dpreview http://bit.ly/i0r8o5 May 29, 2019 at 10:36AM
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Sports Illustrated Sold for $110M, To Be Milked via Brand Licensing http://bit.ly/2X8PtF4 Sports Illustrated is going the way of Polaroid and Kodak. Once known for its cream-of-the-crop sports photography, the iconic magazine was just sold in a $110 million deal, and the new owner has big plans to make money by licensing out the brand. Bloomberg reports that Meredith Corp. agreed to sell the sports magazine to the New York-based brand management company Authentic Brands Group. As part of the deal, Meredith will license the brand from Authentic Brands and continue serving as publisher of the magazine for at least the next two years. Time Inc. was acquired by Meredith in 2018 after it was spun off from Time Warner in 2014. Meredith then announced that it would be selling a number of magazines, including Time, Fortune, Money, and Sports Illustrated. Time magazine was sold in September 2018 for $190 to Salesforce.com founder Marc Benioff. Authentic Brands owns and manages the rights to tens of brands and celebrity likenesses, including Muhammad Ali, Elvis Presley, Marilyn Monroe, Aéropostale, Nine West, and Volcom. It says it will leverage the Sports Illustrated brand in ways that “stay close to the DNA and the heritage of the brand.” Bloomberg reports that it could soon be slapping the famous brand name on everything from consumer goods to sports-gambling services. “As one of the most iconic brands in sports media, SI is a cultural centerpiece with massive opportunities for growth across its burgeoning digital, TV and social platforms and industry-leading print magazine,” says Authentic Brands CEO Jamie Salter in a statement. “SI’s trusted name and fiercely devoted following set the stage for the brand to become a leader in lifestyle and entertainment.” Sports Illustrated may be a “trusted name” in the general public, but a number of controversies over the past few years have left a sour taste in photographers’ mouths. Time Inc. sparked a photographer boycott back in 2015 with its photography contract. It also let go of all its staff photographers in 2015 and then its top 3 photo heads the following year. Photography News via PetaPixel https://petapixel.com May 29, 2019 at 10:36AM
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Elgato announces Stream Deck XL and Stream Deck Mobile http://bit.ly/2JMeT8G Elgato, now a subsidiary of Corsair, has announced Stream Deck XL and Stream Deck Mobile. Stream Deck XL is a new, larger version of its original Stream Deck, while Stream Deck Mobile is an iOS app that emulates the Stream Deck experience on your iPhone or iPad. Stream Deck XLThe Stream Deck XL features 32 keys (8x4), more than double that of the 15 keys (5x3) the original Stream Deck had. Like the original Stream Deck though, the Stream Deck XL features the same functionality, with the ability to almost infinitely customize various shortcuts and macros needed to streamline your video or photo editing workflow, thanks to built-in support for various post-production applications including Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Premiere and more. The unit measures 182cm x 112cm x 34cm (7.17in x 4.41in x 1.34in) and fixes two of the biggest complaints we had in our review of the original Stream Deck: it now has a much more sturdy stand and it features a detachable USB-A to USB-C braided cable that measures 1.5m (60in). Not only is the 45-degree stand more robust, it's also magnetic, making it an easy snap-on, snap-off for when you want to move it around and lay it flat on a desk. The Stream Deck XL is available to purchase for $249.95. Stream Deck software updateElgato has also announced an update to its Stream Deck software (version 4.3) for macOS and Windows. The update now adds support for new programs, additional customizability options and overall addresses various bugs. It can be downloaded directly from Elgato's download page. Stream Deck MobileIf you don't want to purchase a physical Stream Deck, you can now have similar functionality using your iOS device. Elgato has taken the custom shortcut experience and brought it to iOS via a new app called Stream Deck Mobile. As its name suggests, the app effectively brings the Stream Deck experience to your smartphone by creating a collection of shortcuts that can be accessed and triggered via your iOS device. There's no word on whether or not Elgato plans on making an Android version, but on iOS, the app can be downloaded and used for free as a three-day trial. After the trial, you can opt to pay either $2.99 per month or $25 per year for the full experience. Photography News via Dpreview http://bit.ly/i0r8o5 May 29, 2019 at 10:07AM The Freedom Of Smartphone Photography http://bit.ly/2wo2UW3 I have just completed a five-week travel stock shoot around Europe. In that time, I did 25 different shoots mainly at dawn and dusk. As many regular readers will know, I am a big advocate of the mirrorless system. Primarily for its compact dimensions and lightweight. However, most of my stock media these days is video, and the added paraphernalia needed, such as tripods and gimbals, significantly increased that weight. Another aspect of shooting video that is hard work is that I tend to shoot everything manually. Manual focus, manual exposure and even manual white balance. This combination of equipment and technique can be tiring and more importantly can stunt your creativity. Especially when you are doing it day in and day out at pretty anti-social hours. To counter this, I made sure that I had a few down days and times in the middle of the day when I could relax in the various locations I was visiting. Like most people reading this, I own a smartphone with a decent camera. In the past, I have not used the camera much other than for occasional snapshots. This trip, I found myself using it more and more, but not only that, I found it enhancing my creativity. Today we are going to take a look at the freedom of smartphone photography. Getting Past The Snobbery.Let’s be honest, many of us, myself included, often look down at the humble smartphone as not really a photographic tool. We pride ourselves on our ability to read the light, nail the exposure and to make every last pixel in our shot a winner. And that’s a good thing; it’s the sign of a true photographer, a person that knows their craft and has mastered their tools. It can, however, also be a bad thing, in terms of our creativity. We can spend so much time fussing over the details that we can quite easily miss the big picture. The light could have changed, the subject moved, so many things could have changed while we pondered the settings, that the opportunity is lost. Don’t Be Shy Of Automatic Modes.Here’s the thing. In the last section, I mentioned how we pride ourselves on our abilities. If you already have those abilities, then you have nothing to be afraid of when using automatic focus and exposure. Using them does not diminish your ability as a photographer. Smartphone cameras are designed to be used in automatic modes. Most default to an intelligent program mode, area autofocus and automatic white balance. They tend to be extremely good at it too. In reality, those modes are designed to flatter the non-photographer. They will often use HDR to push details into skies, increase the saturation of the images, enhance sharpness. But these are often things we will do in post-production anyway, so why not let your phone do it for you. Why Smartphone Photography Can Increase Your Creativity.Our best creativity comes when we are relaxed. Our mind has the freedom to interpret the scene in front of us without other thoughts popping into our heads. Our eyes will wander around a scene “seeing” new possibilities for a photograph. When we ditch our main cameras and just wander a locale with a smartphone and no plan, and more importantly, no plan to photograph, we will often see more photographic opportunities. In the past, this would have had you running back to your car or hotel to grab your camera. By the time you returned, the scene had changed, or you were more stressed and could no longer see that great shot. Now, when a shot suddenly appears in front of you, you can simply swipe up to open your camera app and shoot away. It’s liberating; it allows you to be spontaneous. Even if the scene looks too dark or bright, you can slide the exposure up or down by merely touching the screen. No need to think about what to adjust, shutter speed, aperture, ISO, the smartphone does it for you. You Can Be Comfortable Outside Your Comfort Zone.Most photographers have one or two genres that they are most comfortable with. For me, it would be travel and cityscape photography. It’s what I know. I struggle with portraits or street photography because I don’t do them very often. This brings into play one of the enormous advantages of shooting with a smartphone — the ability to experiment in different genres without the fear of failure. You can practice your portraits using a smartphone with a loved one. The lack of a big fear-inducing camera between you and your subject can lead to much more relaxed looking shots. You can get close; many smartphone cameras will allow you to get very close to a subject, shooting details or abstracts without the need to stick on a macro lens. If something amusing happens in front of you, you have the perfect street photography camera. A fast focusing, moderate wide-angle discrete camera. That moderate wide angle combined with a small sensor gives smartphone cameras a deep depth of field, great for landscape or cityscape photography. Of course, that same small sensor is going to give noise in low light and relatively low dynamic range, but sometimes we should aim to shoot the moment for what it is, and not for technical perfection. Smartphones give us that ability. Get ShootingAs we mentioned at the top, there is a certain amount of ingrained snobbery about smartphone photography, and that’s a shame. Smartphones, when used by a talented photographer, can give some amazing images. They can also:
During this last trip, I found myself using my smartphone a lot. As I looked back through the timeline of images, it was clear that I was enjoying my photography, and that showed in the creativity of the photos. Would I print any of them 30×40? Almost certainly not. Would I go back to admire them on screen in the future? Without a doubt, yes. What shooting with a smartphone teaches most of all is that photography is as much about creativity as it is about technique. Photography News via Light Stalking http://bit.ly/2kwTW5i May 29, 2019 at 10:01AM
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Photographer Gets Nailed in the Lens by ‘Worst First Pitch Ever’ http://bit.ly/2QuxJBy Before the baseball game between the Chicago White Sox and Kansas City Royals last night, a White Sox employee was tasked with tossing the ceremonial first pitch. She threw the ball in the wrong direction, striking a photographer in the lens with what’s being called the “worst first pitch ever.” It appears the baseball bounced off the lens hood and that both the photographer and his gear escaped without any damage.
The ball was left with a dark scuff from the camera:
White Sox Talk caught up with the photographer and found out that he still managed to get the shot:
“The pitch will go down as one of the worst in baseball history,” writes the Chicago Tribune, adding that the White Sox wouldn’t name the employee in order “to save her further embarrassment.” Back in late 2017, a different badly thrown first pitch missed the mark and nailed a photographer in the groin. That pitch perhaps wasn’t as bad as this latest one, but the damage was arguably worse. Photography News via PetaPixel https://petapixel.com May 29, 2019 at 09:55AM
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We’ve mentioned a few times previously that there would be no follow-up to the EOS 7D Mark II. We’re again hearing more about the demise of the EOS 7D series in favour of an EOS R solution. We may be beating a dead horse a bit here. Will it be an APS-C EOS R? We have been told that a few dealers and distributors are a bit worried about what Canon has in store for the replacement to the popular EOS 7D Mark II, as those buyers also buy lenses, more than EOS 80D buyers do. Canon has apparently told a couple of dealers that this concern will be addressed sometime later in 2019. There has also been talk that an EOS R replacement for the EOS 7D Mark II will require the RF mount to meet target focusing speed and accuracy. Apparently, there’s more to come with the RF mount that has yet to be revealed to the world. We were given no additional insight into what we haven’t been told. We expect an EOS 80D replacement to come sometime in 2019 that may cover EOS 7D Mark II shooters with improvements. More to come… Photography via Canon Rumors http://bit.ly/2CsmGDw May 29, 2019 at 09:16AM Mastering Color Series The Psychology and Evolution of the Color ORANGE and its Use in Photography5/29/2019
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The post Mastering Color Series – The Psychology and Evolution of the Color ORANGE and its Use in Photography appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Megan Kennedy. Situated between yellow and red on the visible spectrum, orange has a long history in visual culture. Dubbed the “happiest color” by Frank Sinatra, we’ll take a look at the color orange and its significance from antiquity to contemporary art. The psychology of orangeNamed after the citrus fruit, the word orange is derived from the old French phrase orenge. The earliest use of the word orange in English dates back to the 1300s. However, orange’s use as the name of a color didn’t occur until the early 1500s. Before that, orange was simply called yellow-red. The distinctive orange color of many fruits and vegetables comes from carotenes, a photosynthetic pigment. As a result, the orange pigmentation has fostered associations between orange and nourishment, refreshment and energy. Autumn leaves also get their orange color from carotenes, forging links between the color and Autumn, beauty, preparation, and change. Orange cultivates optimism, enthusiasm, cheerfulness, and warm-heartedness. Orange’s boldness denotes confidence and creativity. Manifested in fire, orange can be associated with heat and destruction. Eye-catching and vibrant, orange is often used to direct attention. Furthermore, as the complementary color to azure, orange has the greatest contrast against sky blue tones. This means orange (or safety orange as it’s known) is often used in marine safety devices like life rafts, life jackets, and buoys. In European and Western countries, orange is associated with harvest time, frivolity and extroversion. For Indian cultures, orange is considered to be lucky and sacred. In Japanese and Chinese cultures, orange denotes courage, happiness and good health. Buddhist monks’ of the Theravada tradition and Hindu swamis wear orange robes. Orange is the national color of the Netherlands, but in many Middle Eastern countries, orange can be associated with mourning. The evolution of the color orangeOcherThe history of orange pigment begins with ocher. As a family of natural clay earth pigments, ocher ranges in color from yellow to red, sienna and umber. Orange ocher is composed predominantly of limonite. Thanks to the pigment’s excellent light fastness, some of the worlds best-preserved cave painting sites still feature orange ocher today. The pigment continues to see application within modern art, in both traditional and contemporary practice. VermilionMade with ground cinnabar, the use of vermilion pigment dates back to 8000–7000 BC. Produced artificially from the 8th century, the orange-red pigment was used by painters up until the 1800s. However, the cost, poor light fastness, and toxicity of vermilion led to it being superseded by modern synthetic pigments like cadmium red. Realgar and orpimentAn arsenic sulfide, realgar is an orange-red mineral that saw artistic use in ancient Egypt, China, India, and Central Asia. Prized for its richness in color, realgar most commonly occurs as a low-temperature hydrothermal vein mineral. Highly toxic, realgar was the only pure orange pigment available until modern chrome orange. Orpiment, also a sulphide of arsenic, was found in the same locations as realgar. Producing a golden yellow-orange pigment, orpiment was just as toxic as realgar and was also used as a fly killer and to taint arrows with poison. An important item of trade in the Roman Empire, orpiment was ground down and used in paintings up until the 19th century. Chrome and cadmium orangeIn 1797, French scientist Louis Vauquelin discovered the mineral crocoite. This led to the invention of the synthetic pigment chrome orange. Ranging from a light to deep orange, chrome orange was the first pure orange pigment since realgar. And while it’s no longer in production, chrome orange can be viewed in Renoir’s Boating on the Siene. As a by-product of zinc production, cadmium, was discovered by Friedrich Stromeyer in 1817. While heating zinc in his laboratory, Stromeyer observed a sample of zinc carbonate that formed a bright yellow oxide. Stromeyer realized the results of his experiment could prove useful to artists, but it wasn’t until the 1840s that cadmium pigments entered production industrially. Quickly becoming popular among the Impressionists and post-Impressionists, the scarcity of cadmium meant that the availability of cadmium pigments was fairly limited up until the 1920s. Today, pigments like cadmium orange set the standard for coverage, tinting, and light-fastness. Orange in visual artsPrehistoric to pre-raphaeliteFrom prehistoric periods to the present day, orange has had a continuing presence in visual arts. Figures sketched into rock by neolithic artists were often filled out in orange ocher. Orange was present in the elaborate art and hieroglyphics of the ancient Egyptians. In ancient Rome, the orange-red vermilion was used to paint frescoes, decorate statues and color the faces of victors in Roman triumphs. Vermilion was also used by North and South Americans to paint burial sites, ceramics, figurines and murals. In medieval art, shades of orange were used in the coloring of illuminated manuscripts. During the renaissance, orange was featured in lustrous drapery. Creating dramatic contrasts between brightness and shadow, Baroque artists used orange to illuminate detail and light. For instance, in The Abduction of Ganymede, Rembrandt centered on the boy Ganymede’s orange tassel as a visual pendulum, indicating momentum and resistance. Depicting lush landscapes and well-to-do inhabitants, rococo art featured light, airy oranges. And the red-orange hair of Elizabeth Siddal, model and wife of the painter Dante Gabriel Rossetti, became a symbol of the pre-raphaelite movement. Impressionism to abstractionIn 1872, Claude Monet painted Impression, Sunrise. Featuring a luminous orange sun sprinkling light onto a hazy blue landscape, the painting lent its name to the impressionist movement. Post-impressionist Paul Gauguin used vivid oranges for backgrounds, clothing and skin color. And Vincent Van Gogh balanced rich blues and violets with bold oranges saying “there is no blue without yellow and without orange”. Fauvists believed color should operate free from physical reality. Mountains at Collioure by André Derain expresses a landscape made up of patchwork oranges, an active contrast against the blues, greens and deep pinks that complete the image. Expressionist Edvard Munch used the visual activity of orange to suffuse his paintings with density and crowded movement. Later, abstract artists like Wassily Kandinsky and Robert Motherwell took advantage of orange’s internal buzz, generating movement and emotion within their canvasses. Orange in contemporary artAs the possibilities of art have evolved, so has the application of color. As a color of great visual density, orange continues to have a significant role in contemporary art. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, painting in both traditional and contemporary styles, continue to use orange ocher in their artworks today. Wilhelm Roseneder’s Orange Expansion uses orange to exaggerate a separation between art and setting. Roelof Louw’s Soul City (Pyramid of Oranges) invites viewers to take and eat one of the oranges that make up a pyramidic sculpture of citrus fruit. With each orange taken, the sculpture changes form and is eventually consumed in its entirety by the sculpture’s participants. Anish Kapoor’s Mirror (Pagan Gold to Orange to Pagan Gold) is a large concave dish that reflects the viewer within the orange haze of the artwork itself, re-expressing the self through materiality. And artist Alexander Knox chose orange as the prevailing color in his Moth Ascending the Capital, capturing the energy of a Bogong moth bursting into flight. Orange in photographyOrange’s associations conveys a rich photographic landscape. Photojournalist Ozier Muhammad’s photograph Marines Move through Sandstorm is an insight into the nature of war. The density of orange, though natural, significantly dampens visibility, creating a palpable tension. Depicting humans and objects as things to be studied, Martin Parr’s ultra-saturated oranges pair with his inquisitive photography. And Uta Barth’s …and of time series documents the quality of light and the passage of time, an orange hue feeling out the dimensions of a room with ephemeral softness. On the bucket list of many a photographer, Antelope Canyon, located just outside of Page, Arizona, is a natural photographic wonder. The warm orange tones of the canyon are captured in countless images online. Nevertheless, photographers still flock to the spot to make their own photographs of the beautiful eroded Navajo Sandstone. Occurring during the golden hour, orange-to-yellow light floods the atmosphere, creating ideal opportunities for landscape and portrait photography. Often manifested in steel wool photography, photographers can create effervescent trails of burning orange light with a few kitchen items. Orange filters are also a popular general-purpose tool for black and white photography. Balancing out the extremes of red filters and the subtlety of yellow filters, orange filters add a moderate degree of contrast to an image, darkening skies and emphasizing clouds. Furthermore, orange filters deliver a warm, smooth skin tone, reducing the appearance of freckles and blemishes. ConclusionWassily Kandinsky once said, “orange is red brought nearer to humanity by yellow.” Energizing the viewer, orange conveys optimism, enthusiasm, and cheerfulness. Capturing attention, orange imparts vibrant emotion and illuminates detail. Found in food, orange also communicates nourishment and health. And reflected in nature, orange can be a signal of seasonal change, fire, and heat. A color of tenacity, endurance, and impact, orange reflects bold emotions, its historic presence and versatility inspiring and energizing audiences at the same time. We’d love for you to share with us and the dPS community your photos that make use of the color orange in the comments below. See other articles in the Mastering Color Series here.
The post Mastering Color Series – The Psychology and Evolution of the Color ORANGE and its Use in Photography appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Megan Kennedy. Photography via Digital Photography School http://bit.ly/29wB9CX May 29, 2019 at 09:12AM
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Ricoh announces minor 1.11 firmware update for its GR III camera system http://bit.ly/2JGNOU4 Ricoh has released firmware version 1.11 for its GR III camera. It's not a major update, but if you own a GR III, it's still worth your time to update it. According to the changelog, firmware version 1.11, an upgrade from 1.10, corrects an issue where playing back a movie on the camera caused the frame rate to drop, as well as an issue where the incorrect firmware was displayed when the GR III was plugged into a macOS computer. Additionally, the update smooths out a number of under-the-hood problems for improved stability. To update the firmware on your GR III, follow the following steps, as shared by Ricoh: [1] Provide a formatted SD memory card for the update software. The download file is self-extracting. The following file is extracted. fwdc239b.bin: This is the updated firmware Copy the above Firmware file [fwdc239b.bin] to the root directory in the SD card. You can download the firmware update (28MB) for macOS and Windows computers on the Ricoh GR III download page. Photography News via Dpreview http://bit.ly/i0r8o5 May 29, 2019 at 08:55AM
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DPReview TV: Fujifilm GFX 100 first impressions review http://bit.ly/2VYEM6u Fujifilm's latest camera is a 100MP medium-format flagship, built to appeal to enthusiasts and professionals alike. Chris and Jordan were at the GFX 100 launch in Tokyo where they've been shooting with it for a couple of days. What do they think if this big, bold camera? Will Jordan embrace medium format for shooting video? Hit play to find out. Get new episodes of DPReview TV every week by subscribing to our YouTube channel!
Photography News via Dpreview http://bit.ly/i0r8o5 May 29, 2019 at 08:05AM |
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