Archives for General Photography category

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year Photo

With the ubiquity of digital cameras as the first decade of the 21st century comes to a close more moments than ever before are being captured.  Both professional photojournalists and amateur shutterbugs now have the opportunity to capture and immediately publish to the world images of events as they are happening.  That means the “best of” lists are likely to be plentiful as the year and decade comes to an end.  One that I think has done a particularly good job of finding some very noteworthy images for 2010 is from TotallyCoolPix.com.

REUTERS/Goran TomasevicAfrican Gold Miner
REUTERS/Goran Tomasevic

Merry Christmas

OK, so you waited until the last minute to buy the photographer in your life a Christmas present.  No need to panic.  Presents can still be had right up to the last minute and no one but yourself will be any the wiser.  Here are some great last minute gift ideas for photographers.

1) Photography magazines – a magazine subscription is the perfect gift for the procrastinator to give.  Not only can you order it online right up to the last minute, but it keeps coming all year long reminding the recipient of your generosity month after month.  Here are a few suggestions to send to the mail boxes of the photographers on your list:

Popular Photography – filled with tips, product reviews, great photography and advice for photographers at every level Popular Photography is a great choice all the way around.

B&W: Black & White Magazine – If you want to go with a bit more of an artistic magazine, B & W is great way to go.

Shutterbug – Like Popular Photography, Shutterbug is a diverse photography magazine with everything from tips to product reviews.  It is geared more towards the advanced amateur photographer.

2) The Gift of Sharing – Most digital photographers I know are using Flickr now to share their photos and view the photos of their fellow photographers.  But not everyone has a Flickr Professional account.  But what does Pro get you that the free account doesn’t?

  • Unlimited photo uploads
  • Unlimited storage
  • Ad-free browsing and sharing
  • And then some…

3) The Old Standby– When all else fails there are always gift cards.  With everything under the sun Amazon is a great option for gift cards.  A photographer can get everything from the camera to accessories to books to camera bags depending on how generous you are with your gift card.  With amazon you can send an actual physical gift card by mail (with free one day shipping) or go for the email option or even one that is delivered via Facebook.

I may be a bit late to the party on these, but I only recently came across them and think they are awesome.  I’m even willing to over look the fact that they only have Canon and Nikon versions and no Sony.

Coffee mugs in the shape of a camera lens!  How cool is that? There is a Canon version at 4″ tall and $24.00 and a Nikon version at 6.5″ tall and $30.00.  And to take it even further the Nikon version actually “zooms.”  Now your coffee mug can keep you entertained during those long boring meetings.

It is too late to get these under the tree for Christmas this year but there is nothing wrong with a New Year’s present.  The Photojojo Store has both versions available.

Photo of the camera lens mugs

The clock is ticking and time is running out to finish up your Christmas shopping.  If you have a photographer on your list here are 5 great gift ideas under $50 that any photographer would be happy to find under the tree.

1) You can never go wrong with a camera bag.  There are a lot of options in bags now and it can get confusing however.  I have a couple different bags and I switch between them depending on what I am going to be doing and where I am going.  But one bag you generally can’t go wrong with is a sling bag.  I gives easy access to your camera and is pretty generous in what it will hold. The Caselogic SLR Camera Sling Bag is only $49.88 at Amazon and a great bag.

2) Tripods are one photography necessity.  But they can be pricey for a top quality one.  Gorillapods however are only about $15 to $40, depending on the size you get, and are a great little tripod for those situations where a full size tripod isn’t appropriate.  Go with the Joby Gorillapod Flexible 6″ Tripod at $14.95 for lighter weight cameras or  the Joby Gorillapod Flexible 10″ Tripod for Digital SLR Cameras with Bubble Levelfor $39.95.

3) Digital photographers can never have enough memory for their cameras.  So a memory card is the perfect gift.  You will want to make sure you know which type of card your photographer’s camera takes, the smaller SD card or the larger Compact Flash card will cover most cameras out there.  You can get a decent SanDisk 8GB CF Card for about $34 or a little better quality and faster one for $48.  If your photographer is using a camera that takes the smaller SD card you can get a 16 GB SDHC Flash Memory Card for just over $25.  Might as well get two at that price.

4) For the photographer who already has every gadget imaginable or if you are at a loss when it comes to what will work with the camera they have books are a great idea.  You can either go the “how-to” route with some thing like Scott Kelby’s Digital Photography Boxed Set, Volumes 1, 2, and 3 for about $45.  Or a book featuring the work of a celebrated photographer is also a great idea such as Ansel Adams: 400 Photographs or Ansel Adams in Color for the Ansel Adams fan.  Not sure which photographer your photographer admires?  A compilation such as Through the Lens: National Geographic Greatest Photographs will definitely be appreciated.

5) Finally, this one might seem a bit odd, but how about photography gloves?  These gloves will keep your hands nice and warms while giving your essential shooting thumb and finger freedom to handle the camera.  Trust me, these are great for anyone shooting in cold weather and for under $20 you can’t go wrong.

As you can imagine the photography collection at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City is quite extensive.  The collection spans the history of photography from early silver prints of the 1800’s to Polaroids (the first time around) to digital.  But you don’t have to go to New York City to see it.  Given the chance however, that really is the preferred way to see it for so many reasons.  When getting to NYC just isn’t possible though and you need a great photography fix and that is where the online photography collection of MoMA comes in very handy.  With thousands of images available to search through and view you can easily get an online lesson in the history of photography.

In addition to being full of great images, the collection is really well organized.  You can search or just browse.  When you find an image you like all of its vital stats are right there and you can easily find other works by the same photographer.

So next time you’re surfing the internet a stop at the online photography collection of MoMA is well worth it.

When local businesses support local artists it is a win-win situation for both parties.  One business in my area that frequently supports local artists is Bergie’s Coffee Roast House in downtown Gilbert.  They offer up their wall space to display and sell the work of artists of all mediums.  I had the photograph below hanging in Bergie’s for about a month.  They called yesterday to let me know it had sold.  So this is my first photograph that I have actually sold for real money.

Photo of El Presidio in Tucson, AZ

El Presidio
Tucson, AZ

I am participating in a 365 photo project from Faded & Blurred and am a bit surprised that I am still going.  As of yesterday there have been 160 days in the year so we are almost half way through.  Admittedly, my Flickr set only has 151 photographs in it; meaning I missed 9 days.  But it is a lot more difficult than you might think to work photography into your schedule every day.  I find myself scrambling sometimes at 9 o’clock at night to find something to photograph.  And some days I just don’t have it in me to shoot.  So I am going to look at missing only 9 days as more of an accomplishment than a defeat.  I’ll try to keep the total number of days missed under 15 (being realistic that I am bound to miss a few more).

Although just a sampling, as you can see, my images have run the gamut from food to my dogs to everyday random sightings.  The great thing about a project like this is that it makes you think about photography everyday (or virtually everyday).  By doing so you are constantly viewing your surroundings as the next great photograph and hopefully improving your photography day by day.

My Faded & Blurred 365 Photo Project Images

Every so often I come across a photographer whose work I connect with.  Phillip Toledano’s photo essay, Days With My Father is one such work.  I have done very little portrait photography and am drawn much more to non-human subjects such as nature and architecture.  But Phillip Toledano’s portraits of his father in the last years of his life are an amazing collection that represents the type of portrait photography I would love to do if I did portraits.  They are not conventional studio portraits, rather they are visual stories of the subject that draw you into their life.

In addition to the website, Days With My Father, Mr. Toledano has also published this collection in a book of the same title, Days With My Father.  Check out other Photography Books by Phillip Toledano too as his work is very thought provoking and well done.