Photography Week(s) in Review - June 17-30

Sorry for the lack of a post last week and the delay this week.  It was a slow week and I didn’t feel that I had a great deal to report.  So, I decided to combine the last two weeks into one post.  Here are the last two weeks in review.

Lumu Light Meter for Smart Phones - Kickstarter
We wouldn’t have photography if we didn’t have light.  Cameras interpret the light and create the exposure based on the amount of light in the scene.  The image is then captured digitally or burned onto a film negative.  Those of us that use completely manual cameras know the importance of a light meter.  Without it, we wouldn’t be able to properly measure the light in a scene (unless you’re using the Sunny 16 rule or you’re Mat Marrash, the human light meter).  If you own a smart phone and are a photographer, you’ve probably heard of the Lightmeter app.  It’s a great app to use (that’s surprisingly accurate) and is always in your pocket.  A group of individuals are taking smart phone metering to the next level with the Lumu Light Meter.  It’s an actual light meter (and accompanying app) that fits into the jack on your phone.  It’s a slick device and I may have to pick one of these up.  The team at Lumu Labs have nine days left on their Kickstarter and have already reached their goal.  Support Lumu Labs and pick up your light meter for less than launch price here.

Instagram Adds Video
Last week rumors were swirling about an upcoming announcement from Instagram, the popular, mobile phone photography app.  It was rumored that the company would introduce a video feature to compete with Twitter’s Vine app.  That rumor came to fruition on June 20 when Instagram announced that video capabilities were added to version 4.0 of Instagram.  The capabilities include 15 second video capturing (9 more seconds than Vine), image stabilization and seamless integration in your Instagram feed.  It also includes 13 filters to add to your video along with the ability to edit and choose your “cover” video shot.  Unlike Vine, the video plays only once.  The Internet seemed to think this would be the “death” of Vine, but I personally think that’s quite an exaggeration.  Vine shares on Twitter have dropped off quite a bit since the introduction of the app, but Instagram shares have stayed about the same.  Adam Goldberg, king of Vine, has made his allegiance clear and even stated that a few accessories he uses for his videos don’t work on Instagram.  I will be staying with Vine, but use whatever app makes you happy.  Read more about Instagram’s video capabilities here.

Voigtlander Discontinues Rangefinders
On one hand, we have a company expanding its’ offerings (in the case of Instagram); on the other hand, we have a company shrinking its’ product line (in the case of Voigtlander).  Even though the announcement was made a few weeks ago, it just started hitting some photography forums within the past week.  On June 10, Voigtlander announced that the Bessa A series of rangefinders is being discontinued and the 2M, 3M and 4M series of cameras were decreasing in price by $100.  This leaves the Leica M7 as the only new auto exposure, rangefinder, film camera on the market.  Read the Pdexposures blog post on the announcement here.

Impossible Project Black Frame Film Back in Stock
Perhaps my favorite piece of news of the past couple of weeks was that the Impossible Project restocked their shelves with my favorite film - PX600 UV+ Black Frame.  This film produces great tones, develops extremely fast and is framed by a beautiful black border.  When it ran out the first time, I stocked my fridge with a number of packs and I can’t wait to pick more up.  For those interested, don’t wait too long - they had just under 1,000 packs in stock at last check.  They also have a short supply of PZ600 UV+ Black Frame for Spectra cameras as well.  Pick up a few packs here and here.

Pdexposures Podcast #12
The Pdexposures gang was back with another podcast.  This time they tackle thrift stores, thrift store finds and overlooked gems.  Check out Nate, Simon and Tony delivering film photography goodness in their very unique way here. 

Lomography for Beginners on Japan Camera Hunter Site
Over at the Japan Camera Hunter site, a new article popped up regarding Lomography.  The article, presented as a Q&A session with a panel of experts, gives advice about the ins and outs of Lomography, their lifestyle and cameras.  It’s a great read for someone new to film photography and Lomography.  In addition, Simon and Tony from Pdexposures lend a helping hand by being part of the Q&A panel of experts.  Check it out here.

Toby Deveson Article
Speaking of articles, I came across this great article from a retweet by a photographer I follow on Twitter.  It was a blog post from a photographer about the first exhibit (in 15 years) that he put together.  He produced all of his black and white images by hand in the darkroom and he included some writings and vignettes on his process.  The post was an ode to slow photography and the serenity (in a world of hustle and bustle) that spread across the exhibit viewers as they took in the images.  What he’s talking about definitely strikes a nerve with me and he mentions a few reasons why I shoot film.  Give the post a read here and let me know what you think.

And that’s it for the past two weeks.  Have a great July 4th holiday and I’ll see you all back here for this week’s review.  

Photography Week in Review - May 27-June 2

Upcoming Leica Announcement

There has been a lot of buzz this week about an impending Leica announcement.  The mysterious “Mini-M” is set to be announced on June 11.  There have been a few teaser images floating around this week.  See them here and here.  What do you think the “Mini-M” is?

Pdexposures Kickstarter Article and Intermission Challenge
It wouldn’t be right of me if I didn’t follow-up a Leica post with a Pdexposures post, right?  Nate from the Pdexposures team posted a great article on signing up for Kickstarters that you’re interested in early.  For one, the money won’t be withdrawn from your account for a specified number of days and that’s only if the project is successful.  Perhaps the best thing is that you usually have an early bird option to pick up the project at half of the cost of what it would be when it launches to the general public.  Read the article here and see what great deals Nate has gotten on some exciting projects.

Continuing on with the theme of saving money, Pdexposures released an intermission podcast this week featuring a new project/contest – The $20 Challenge.  The object is to buy a camera, a roll of film and have it developed for no more than a $20 bill.  Listen to all of the details here.  

Nashville Community Darkroom on Kickstarter
There’s currently a great community darkroom Kickstarter project in need of funding.  This is a project that was started by John Haubenreich, a lawyer and amateur photographer, and Katie Sampson, a recent graduate from Louisiana State University and professional photographer.  They have all of the items for a great analogue photography center in Nashville.  All they need is money for the building materials.  This darkroom project will serve as not only a working space, but a gathering place for like minded photographers as well as a community learning center for schools.  They also have a killer "Wes Anderson style" video to introduce the project.  The deadline for backing this project is June 19 and at the time of this post they were still about $16,000 from their goal.  Read more and back the project here.

Aperture Tremont’s New Issue of Anie
From one darkroom to another, it’s time to talk about the owner of Aperture Tremont’s most recent project.  Aperture Tremont is a photography variety store (as well as studio space, gallery space and community darkroom) owned by Scott Meivogel.  You can check out all of their film goodness here.  About a month or two ago, Scott and his constant collaborator, Anthony Zart, released a great analogue zine entitled Anie.  The first issue was great and the second issue is hitting the store and newsstands on June 1.  I highly recommend checking this out.  Pick up your copy here.

Light [ ] Squared Article on Shooting Both Analogue and Digital
There are a number of photographers that shoot both analogue and digital; I’m one of them (even though most of my output is analogue) and so is Scott Meivogel from Aperture Tremont.  Patrick J. Clarke, the creator of the blog Light [ ] Squared, produced a great piece this week about shooting both analogue and digital side by side.  He made some very valid arguments for carrying both cameras to the same shoot and it’s worth a read.  Check it out here.

KEH Expands Purchasing Hours
If the previously mentioned article has you itching to get some new gear so you can shoot both analogue and digital, the great used camera emporium, KEH, just expanded their purchasing hours this week.  The purchasing department can be reached at (770) 333-4220 or (800) 342-5534, Monday-Friday, from 8:30 a.m. – 9 p.m. EST.  That’s three additional hours.  Visit KEH here.

International Photography Awards Deadline Extended
The International Photography Awards, a prestigious, annual, photography competition extended their deadline to July 15, 2013 at 11:59 p.m.  This is almost two additional months to get your best images ready to be seen by some of the most influential individuals in the photography world.  $22,500 in prize money is up for grabs in addition to the notoriety that winning can bring to your work.  Learn more or submit your entries here.

Ilford Obscura Pinhole Camera Gets Official Release Dates
I discussed this camera in my first week in review post and this week Ilford officially announced the availability of this camera.  It will be available next week in the UK; the second week of June for the rest of Europe; and the second week of July in the U.S.  Find out more here.

FPP Releases New Pod cast
The FPP gang were broadcasting again from Findlay, Ohio and this podcast features a brief overview of the upcoming Photostock Celebration, listener letters, Nikon F/Nikon F1 camera discussion/review, FPP gang featured on analogue photography blogs and a lengthy copyright discussion.  Check it out here.

Chicago Sun-Times Lays Off Photography Staff
Perhaps one of the biggest stories and most shocking was the news that the Chicago Sun-Times laid off their entire full-time photography staff, including a Pulitzer Prize winner John H. White, due to the consumer shift towards online video.  According to Amar Toor of The Verge, the remaining editorial staff will be trained on iPhone photography, video and basic editing.  Running a photography blog, it's pretty obvious which way I lean in this discussion.  Regardless of the increased reliance on cell phone photography, the mobile photography art movement and the use of it in photojournalism, you can't replace the years of photojournalistic experience with reporters using iPhones.  The reporter's main focus is to get the story and crank out column inches; their mindset is different from the photographer trying to capture the essence of a story.  Sure, we live in the days of lean business tactics, but you can't honestly tell me that a reporter with an iPhone is going to generate the same quality as John H. White.  Read the New York Times article here, The Verge article here and the PetaPixel article here.  What do you think?

For Ohioans
The Cleveland West Art League, in conjunction with the Ohio Art League, is holding the "Cleveland Connection" Juried Exhibition.  Entries will be accepted June 1-July 5.  Learn more here.

Well, that does it for this week.  Keep shooting and stay tuned for part three of my series on process.

Photography Week in Review - May 13-19

Over a year ago I decided to add a few feature posts to the blog.  I didn’t really follow through with that plan, but I have decided to do something different.  This new series of posts will serve multiple roles:  (1) contain photography related news and information; (2) keep new content on the blog every week and (3) allow me to get to a point where I can share new work again.  This series of posts will be a sort of photography week in review, where I’ll post news and other interesting pieces of photographic information that I come across over the course of the week.  The majority of the news will be film related, but I will mix in mobile and digital news, when I find it interesting.  So, without further ado, here is the Photography Week in Review for May 13, 2013!

Ilford Set to Release Obscura Pinhole Camera
A few months ago, Ilford announced that it was releasing another pinhole camera.  However, unlike the Harmon Titan 4x5 and 8x10 models, this model is a simple box with a magnetic lock pinhole design, perfect for use with 4x5 film or paper.  The camera is due to launch the first week of June in the UK, the second week of June throughout Europe and the second week of July in North America.  Individuals attending the Photographica Fair in London this weekend will have a chance to get the camera before anyone else.  The wonderful crew over at Filmwasters just posted a review of the camera here.  For more information, visit Ilford.

ONDU Pinhole Camera Kickstarter
While on the subject of pinhole cameras, another great camera project was launched on Kickstarter this week.  Elvis Halilović is a photographer that has been making and shooting custom pinhole cameras for the past seven years.  He’s also an industrial designer and wood worker; he’s put those skills to use and created these beautiful pinhole cameras.  Elvis’s project hasn’t been on Kickstarter for a full week and he’s already tripled his funding goal.  He was kind enough to answer questions on the Pdexposures group page on Flickr and provided an interview to Simon of the Pdexposures podcast.  Fund these fabulous pinhole cameras here.

Podcast Love
Speaking of podcasts, the Pdexposures gang put out a great podcast about shooting film on a budget.  While it was released last week, the topic is very relevant and Nate, Tony and Simon cover a lot of ground and make valid points and observations in a manner in which only they can.  Check it out here.

The Film Photography Project released their new episode this week.  Mike, Leslie and Mat recap the FPP Walking Workshop that took place in Findlay, Ohio in April.  Hunter White, FPP’s “Man on the Street,” had a great interview piece with the International Center for Photography regarding their recently completed Chim retrospective exhibit.  Leslie talks about her Olympus Ecru camera and the gang talks about Kodak BW 400CN 35mm film.  Listen to the podcast and get the show notes here.

Richard Avedon
Since a great photographer was mentioned in the brief on the FPP podcast (Chim), I thought it only fitting to follow it up with talk of another great photographer.  This past week, on May 15 to be exact, Richard Avedon was born 90 years ago.  While Avedon passed away in 2004, his work is magnificent and is still inspiring photographers all over the world.  Avedon was an American fashion and portrait photographer with a brilliant minimalist style that incorporated shooting his subjects with an 8x10 view camera and a white background.  The black and white negatives, framed by the markings of the film holder, captured the intense emotions and feelings of individuals as diverse as the Chicago Seven and Allen Ginsberg.  I highly recommend his book Murals and Portraits.  Check out more of his work here.

“And if a day goes by without my doing something related to photography, it’s as though I’ve neglected something essential to my existence, as though I had forgotten to wake up.  I know that the accident of my being a photographer has made my life possible.”

-  Richard Avedon, 1970

Ross Brothers “The River” photo book
Another great photography book to recommend is one that I came across while watching a documentary by the uber talented Ross Brothers.  The filmmakers, Bill and Turner Ross, along with brother Alex and best friend Kyle Rouse, traveled by boat from Cincinnati to New Orleans.  They filmed every minute of the journey and cut it into eight 20 minute episodes that they released online last year.  The entire 160 minutes were recently shown in their entirety at Toronto’s Hot Docs film festival a week ago.  Kyle Rouse, the co-captain of the journey, took a Canon AL-1 camera along and shot some stunning black and white images.  The images, along with excerpts from Turner’s journal are bound in a gorgeous, minimalist photo book.  Watch the episodes here and purchase the book here.

The Importance of learning your craft and equipment
Scott Meivogel of Aperture in Cleveland put out a wonderful blog post regarding the importance of learning your craft and your equipment.  He’s frustrated with the number of individuals that purchase a fancy DSLR and then think they are automatically a photographer.  All it means is that you take pictures.  He provides some very valid points and examples and I highly recommend giving it a read here.

Hipstamatic
Regardless of how you view the mobile photography phenomenon, it’s been steadily gaining traction and is something to take seriously.  Magazines have been dedicated to the subject, conferences have been taking place surrounding mobile photography, photojournalists are starting to use it in their work and galleries are starting to curate exhibits of mobile photography.  Hipstamatic is a lomo style mobile app that allows you to switch lenses, films and flashes on a “camera.”  They just released an app called Oggl.  It’s a photography/social media app that is currently by invitation only.  Hipstamatic is trying to cultivate a community of photographers and creatives.  The app is free but will require a subscription and features all Hipstamatic lens/film choices as well as viewing different filters and effects after a shot has been taken, a la Instagram.  Read more about it here and here.

Spring Contest
Photographer’s Forum just extended the deadline for their 33rd Annual Spring Photography Contest.  Winning photos will be featured in the November 2013 issue of Photographer’s Forum Magazine and exhibited at Brooks Institute Gallery 27.  Learn more or enter here.

For Ohioans
The Ohio Art League (OAL) Spring Juried Exhibit just ended it’s first full week on display at the State Library of Ohio.  If you haven’t had time to check it out, it will be on display until June 12.  Learn more.  (P.S.  If you check out the exhibit, you’ll see one of my pieces on display.)

Well, that’s it for this week.  Check back next week for more happenings in the world of photography.  Cheers and keep shooting.