Shutter Mike Photography

I love the perspective Marek Troszczynski captured of the Natural History Museum in London.  The use of black and white also really makes this image stand out.  Marek’s photograph is the architecture category winner in the 2011 Sony World Photography Open Competition.  He will now be competing for the $5000 top prize in London next month.

This is the 4th of the ten Sony World Photography 2011 contest winners.  Edina Csoboth’s photograph is in the fashion category and she did an awesome job incorporating the urban scene into her fashion shoot.  I love the motion from the traffic and the lighting.

The next winning entry in the Sony World Photography 2011 contest is also from Indonesia.   Andiyan Lutfi’s photograph is in the Nature/Wildlife category and is a great macro photograph.

This is the next winning entry from the Sony World Photography contest for 2011.  Taken in Indonesia, photographer Chan Kwok Hung explains that this action photograph was shot during the annual buffalo race held at the beginning of the farming season.  It is believed that a winning buffalo will bring the farmer good luck during that year’s season.

For those of you in the Phoenix area there is an exhibit of the photography of John Schaefer at the Desert Botanical Garden that is definitely worth seeing.  Although this spring’s wildflower crop does not appear to be as promising as last year, Schaefer’s photographs of desert cacti blooms in the A Desert Illuminated exhibit is a very close substitution.  His photographs have been compared to “…Renaissance- era illuminated manuscripts.”  The technique used for capturing the rich colors of these beautiful cacti flowers of the Arizona desert involves placing a piece of black construction paper behind them to isolate them from the background make them really pop.  The end result are some spectacular works of photographic art. The mesmerizing colors of the images and incredibly rich detail will keep you engaged with each photograph in the small exhibit of 30 images and is in and of itself worth a trip to the garden.

A bit about the photographer, John Schaefer is the President Emeritus of the University of Arizona; along with Ansel Adams, the co-founder of the Center for Creative Photography at the University of Arizona; an author of several photographic technique books including The Ansel Adams Guide: Basic Techniques of Photography – Book 1 and The Ansel Adams Guide: Basic Techniques of Photography – Book 2 ; as well as the founder of the Nature Conservancy in Arizona.

A Desert Illuminated runs through May 27th in the Ottosen gallery at the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix.  It is open from 10 am – 5 pm 7 days a week and is included in the price of admission to the garden.

Although I don’t utilize it to its full potential as I should, I think Twitter is a great resource for connecting to other photographers.  You can find fellow photographers whose work you may never have had the opportunity to even be aware of before.  For me, as I continually try to define and improve my style, the chance to see the work of other photographers of all styles and levels in invaluable.  So as I come across photographers that I particularly find myself drawn to I think it is a good idea to share and spread their art.  My most recent Twitter discover is Dastodd Photography.  He is a Chicago based photographer that has some fantastic night scenes as well as travel photography from India that showcases the country’s colors and culture very well.  Check out his online portfolio.

I discovered while in New York City a handy app for my Droid that put the subway maps right at my finger tips.  Then there is the iPad app that puts NPR and all its newsiness right in my hands on demand.  I can get the weather, search for a new job, do my banking, or find a new vegetarian recipe for dinner all with an app.  So why not an Ansel Adams app? Well now fans of the photography of Ansel Adams have an app for that too.  Created by Hachette Book Group, Inc. (publishers of Ansel Adams 400 Photographs) in collaboration with the University of Arizona’s Center for Creative Photography, the world’s most extensive archive of Adams’ work and writings, the Ansel Adams app”…provides a multi-tiered introduction to the life and work of the most honored American photographer of the twentieth century.” Here is what you get with the Ansel Adams app which sells for $13.99 through the iTunes Store:

• A slide show of 40 Ansel Adams photographs with your choice of audio narration, written commentary or music.
• The ability to run the photographs as accompaniment to your own music.
• The ability to send the photos as e-cards via email.
• Video clips from Ansel Adams documentaries.
• Letters between Adams and many famous people.
• A time line of key moments in Adams’ life.
• Web links to site that would be of interest to any fan of Ansel Adams.

So it is a bit like a coffee table book on the work and life of Ansel Adams that you get to interact with.  For the die hard Ansel fan it is probably worth checking out.

John Hyde is a “natural” photographer with some spectacular images to his credit.  His site Wild Things Photography is a showcase of the beauty of nature through images of wild life and wild lands.  It is well worth a visit.  I also find his philosophy on photography and the “perfect picture” to be a great way to approach my own photography.

“The perfect picture is the one that drives you to make another.  Each image should be viewed as a stepping stone to the next.

~ John Hyde

The Eastman Kodak Company introduced Kodachrome color film in 1935.  It has been the film used for many iconic photographs over the last 75 years including Steve McCurry’s photograph of an Afghan girl at Nasir Bagh refugee camp in Peshawar, Pakistan, in 1984.  When Kodak produced the last rolls of Kodachrome film some were donated to the George Eastman House’s photography museum and one was given to Steve McCurry to shoot.  McCurry shot part of the roll in New York City and part in India.  NPR has a slide show of some of McCurry’s last Kodachrome images here.

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.