Wow, we thought we had a serious jones for photo bags. Check out this hilarious video where Magnum photographer and apparent bag hoarder David Alan Harvey continues his quest for the ultimate photo satchel.
Bag World from Stephen Alvarez on Vimeo.
Long-time National Geographic contributors Cary Wolinsky and Bob Caputo have just launched PixBoomBa.com, a web site of photographic tips delivered in a humorous, self-deprecating style through video, illustrated text and blog formats.
The goal of the site is "to make both technical and aesthetic elements of good photography accessible to anyone interested in making better images, no matter their skill level, equipment, or budget," the two photographers explain in their press kit.
"PixBoomBa is a family business with Italian/Jewish roots," Wolinsky tells PDN. "It is never just the two of us. We have an insanely dedicated team of freelancers and volunteers working around the clock."
The demo version of the site was geared primarily to beginner/intermediate level photographers, with a tutorial on white balance, basic portraiture, and depth of field. The videos are intended to be as entertaining as they are informative. Wolinsky and Caputo ham it up in one video about how not to photograph strangers (a corresponding "Actual Info" article provides the useful tips).
To support the site, Wolinsky says he and Caputo will run advertising by the artisans and institutions that support PixBoomBa. They are also looking for partners interested in licensing PixBoomBa content.
To paraphrase George Costanza, worlds have collided!
Microsoftie Josh Weisberg, the guy we wrote about earlier this year who rose to fame when he secured a coveted Canon lens mug at the Vancouver Olympics (sorry, that original post was destroyed when our blog went down), recently celebrated his 40th birthday with, get this, a birthday cake in the shape of a giant Nikon digital SLR.
Josh's friend Mia made it for him, basing it on an old D200 he loaned her. (Ok, so maybe he's not a Canon guy, after all.)
Josh reports that the entire cake is edible, including the printed labels which are made of edible ink; the plastic on the LCD panels; the lens; and the back cover which are made of sugar.
Happy birthday Josh! And maybe for your next one Mia can make a cake shaped like a Canon lens mug. Talk about worlds colliding.
We're a fan of the classic 24 Hours of Le Mans car race and classic Leica cameras, so add the two together and you should have a winner, right? Um...no.
Leica's special limited edition Le Mans version of its X1 digital camera -- reviewed here last February -- is underwhelming to say the least. Basically it's a Leica X1 with what looks like a sticker placed on top.
The Le Mans X1 was released back in June to commemorate the race and has a limited edition run of 50.
Not clear if all 50 have sold out yet but it's still up for sale at the Leica Store Paris.
On the bright side, the mark-up for the Le Mans version of the X1 is pretty slight. It's selling for 1590 Euros which converts to about $2035. So, in other words, that Le Mans sticker adds about $35 to the list price. Oh, there's also a version sold with a leather case for 1690 Euros or approximately $2163.
We say skip it and save up your pennies for something more extravagant like this gold-plated Leica MP.
(Via Leica Rumors.)
Last summer when Kodak announced it was discontinuing its once popular Kodachrome film, Steve McCurry requested the last 36-frame roll manufactured by the company.
For nine months he planned a nostalgic journey to places he shot in the past. Followed closely by a National Geographic Channel TV crew, McCurry ventured this past June on a six-week global trip that brought him from Brooklyn to southern Asia, Italy and Turkey, and finally to Parsons, Kansas, where Dwayne’s Photo, the only Kodachrome-friendly film processing facility left in the world, processed McCurry’s roll.
Those who still have unused and/or unprocessed Kodachrome should take note: Dwayne’s will quit processing the film at the end of this year.
National Geographic Channel is planning on broadcasting a documentary about McCurry’s journey sometime in 2011—Cameron Handley
Yes, it had to happen. Earlier this year we broke the news on the Canon White Lens coffee mug that was being distributed at the Winter Olympics in Vancouver and the Internet nearly exploded. Now a Nikon version has surfaced.
(Gulp.)
Don't know if it's an "official" Nikon release, but this simulated Nikon AF-S 24-70mm F/2.8 lens thermos coffee cup looks pretty sweet. We especially like the gold box treatment and the drawstring carrying bag.
It's selling for $23 here where they've got a few more choice photos of it.
Get 'em while they last!
First we had the case of the missing caddie. Now one of the stars of MTV's Jersey Shore -- the prosaically named JWOWW -- appears to have lost her belly button to a clumsy Photoshop job.
Check out the nearly buttonless shot to the left from Maxim; and the "before" photo to the right with strategically placed religious ornamentation dangling.
(If you ask us, they both look like disasters...waka waka.)
First we had the case of the missing caddie. Now one of the stars of MTV's Jersey Shore -- the prosaically named JWOWW -- appears to have lost her belly button to a clumsy Photoshop job.
Check out the nearly buttonless shot to the left from Maxim; and the "before" photo to the right with strategically placed religious ornamentation dangling.
(If you ask us, they both look like disasters...waka waka.)
The freelance photographer we told you about yesterday who was dropped by Getty after one of his images of a golf tournament was found to have been digitally altered has offered an explanation of what happened.
Marc Feldman, whose freelance status with Getty was terminated over the altered photo, told the Dallas Morning News he made "a fatal mistake."
"There was absolutely no intent to pass this off as a real image," Feldman explained to Dallas Morning News photo editor Guy Reynolds for the paper's Photography Blog. "Only a moron would have sent both."
A photo Feldman captured of golfer Matt Bettencort was distributed by Getty Images even though a caddie had been digitally removed from the background. Getty, which has a strict policy against altering its news images, later put out a "mandatory kill" notice on the photo after Reynolds alerted them to it, and dropped Feldman from its roster.
Feldman, 61, told Reynolds that he was in the press tent processing the images when Bettencort and his caddie stopped by to look at the photos. The caddie then suggested the photo would look better without him in it.
"So I showed them how easy I could do that," Feldman told Reynolds. "I thought I just saved it to the desktop not to the send folder. I certainly did not mean to send both of them to Getty."
What do you think about Feldman's explanation? Does it sound like a plausible, honest mistake? Have you ever done anything similar? Please leave your thoughts in the comments below.
Oops!
Panasonic's PR department must be kicking itself for releasing this behind-the-scenes video of the making of a new commercial for the Panasonic Lumix G2.
Watch the clip below and you'll see the Canon 5D Mark II with Canon L-series glass being used frequently throughout the filming of the spot even though the G2 shoots 720p HD.
Truthfully, most consumers -- who this camera and the commercial are primarily aimed at -- aren't going to notice (or care) but camera geeks will and the behind-the-scenes footage is already turning up far and wide in the tech blog-o-sphere.
Doh!
UPDATE: Looks like the behind-the-scenes video has been removed. Wonder why.
(Via Photography Bay & CrunchGear)