Think Tank Photo’s “About A Photograph™”

About A Photograph : Saul Loeb from thinkTank Photo on Vimeo.

Santa Rosa, Calif. – Think Tank Photo today launched “About A Photograph™,” a free video series that features some of the world’s leading photographers recounting the stories behind their images that captured global attention.  Narrated by the actual photographers who took the photos, each short video focuses on the forces that led up to that perfect moment in time when subject, story, setting, equipment, and photographer converged.  

The series can be found at http://blog.thinktankphoto.com/about-a-photograph/

The first video in the series features Agence France-Presse photographer Saul Loeb.  In it he narrates the events that led him to capturing the iconic “Presidential Hug” image from the 2012 United States presidential campaign.  His photo captures a Florida pizza shop owner lifting and bear-hugging a surprised President Obama.  At that moment Loeb felt, “This could end up being the defining photo of the campaign season.”

“About A Photograph” is being produced by Kurt Rogers and Deanne Fitzmaurice, Think Tank Photo’s co-founders and award-winning photojournalists.   The video series will feature current as well as classic and historic photographs that span a range of styles, including documentary/photojournalistic, fine art, nature/environment, sports, and politics.

“When we photojournalists go out on assignment we never know what awaits us,” said Rogers.  “It is through our training as experts in sensing when and where events will unfold that we are able to capture images that best convey the story.  ‘About A Photograph’ allows photographers, students, teachers, historians, and others to get inside the heads of these expert photographers at that fleeting moment of creation.

“The images being featured range from the beautiful to the tragic, from the humorous to the informative,” said Rogers.  “The one trait they share is that all are memorable and capture the essence of visual storytelling.” 

Think Tank Photo will release new “About A Photograph” videos every three weeks. 

About Think Tank Photo

Think Tank Photo is a group of designers and professional photographers focused on studying how photographers work, and developing inventive new carrying solutions to meet their needs. By focusing on “speed” and “accessibility,” we prepare photographers to Be Ready “Before The Moment,” allowing them to document those historic moments that reflect their personal visions and artistic talents. We design products that help photographers travel easier, take pictures faster, and organize their gear more efficiently.

Canon Sends Out Invites For March 22 Event; Canon 70D Inbound?

There have been rumors suggesting Canon might announce a new product—possibly the 70D—this month, and low and behold, press invites have gone out for an event on March 22. These aren’t your ordinary invites, either.

Recipients were sent a secretive black box containing a nondescript silver pen. So? So, the pens actually contain a hidden message one can only see in a dark room. That’s some Bond-level spy stuff right there.

The pen is actually branded PowerShot, so perhaps in addition to the possibility of the 70D, Canon will announce one or two other shooters for the spring season. It’s unclear what time the announcement begins, but we do have a date, so we’ll keep an eye out leading into next Friday.

[Source: TechnoBuffalo]

Nikon Coolpix A: Point-and-Shoot Body With DSLR Dreams

The Nikon Coolpix A looks like any old point-and-shoot: compact, attractive and handy as a possible vacation camera. But this is far from your typical shooter, and in fact further blurs the line between gear for professionals and the average consumers—at a cost, both in literal and figurative terms.

In the Coolpix A, Nikon managed to cram a DX-format sensor—16.2-megapixel APS-C—inside of a 4.4 x 2.6 x 1.6-inches body. Consider, if you will, how large a comparable professional DSLR is, and there’s reason to scoop this up for casual street photography, or maybe some easy landscape shots. The results, as you can see below, look pretty fantastic, showing off the Coolpix A’s range in different lighting situations.

The first downside is that the 18.5mm (equivalent to 288mm on a full frame) lens is fixed, and doesn’t zoom. That might not jive in a lot of shooting scenarios, but it’s a sacrifice. The max aperture of f/2.8 will be great for low-light situations when coupled with an ISO range of 100 to 25600. That black and white profile is an example.

Users will get plenty of advanced settings and manual modes, including a manual focus ring and multiple Scene Modes. There’s also a 4 frame-per-second burst mode to better capture action, and a dashboard menu on the LCD, along with additional body controls.

There’s no optical viewfinder, interchangeable lens support or zoom, but it’s compact, produces high quality results, and creeps toward what you’d expect in some of today’s entry-level DSLRs. But it’s also $1,100, which is a hefty price tag for something that sacrifices on features for size. Look out for the Coolpix A when it grops next month.

[Source: TechnoBuffalo]

Instagram Hits 100 Million Active Monthly Users

Instagram is feeling no ill effects following its terms of service nightmare from last year. Instead of seeing a “max exodus,” the company is actually still growing, on Tuesday announcing the app sees 100 million monthly active users—10 million more than last month. TechnoBuffalo added to that tally.

On Instagram’s blog, co-founder Kevin Systrom reminisces about the company’s humble beginnings, and the amazing community that has shaped the app’s success. “It’s easy to see this as an accomplishment for a company, but I think the truth is that it’s an accomplishment for our community,” Systrom said.

It’s quite the accomplishment for a company that still has such a small team, and shows the community is an integral part—you, me, friends, family. Instagram has never been about the filters, but the sharing. And it seems more and more people each month are finding what a joy it is to share their experiences from around the globe.

[Source: TechnoBuffalo]

Samsung launches Wifi-only Galaxy Camera, promises better affordability

Samsung has added another device to its ever growing portfolio, and this time it's a minor -- very minor -- change to the Galaxy Camera. Until now, the Galaxy Camera has only been available to purchase with a cellular radio inside, and cellular radios always add something to the price of a device. Today Samsung announces the launch of a Wifi-only variant of their connected camera. 

Other than the lack of a radio, everything else about the Galaxy Camera remains intact. You still get a pretty impressive 4.8 inch HD display on the back, with Android 4.1 Jelly Bean and Touchwiz Nature UX on there, and a quad-core processor inside making everything hum along just nicely. Samsung promises that the Wifi-only Galaxy Camera will be more affordable than its LTE capable counterpart, but fails to provide an actual price at this time. Or any availability information. But, we're sure we'll see this appear in the coming days and weeks.

[Source: AndroidCentral]

Instagram now has a full web feed to compliment its mobile app

Since its launch in 2010, Instagramhas remained an almost entirely mobile-only experience, only recently bringing a profile page component to the web. That changed today with the now Facebook-owned company introducing a full web-based image feed, including commentating and sharing options, for viewing your photos and those of your friends from within any browser.

Instagram co-founder Kevin Systrom announced the admittedly major step for his brand via its official blog, stating that it comes as the result of user demand. While the web feed mimics its in-app counterpart very closely -- particularly when viewed in mobile Safari or Chrome for iOS -- it most notably lacks the option to upload photos from within your browser. Systrom remarked that the feature was left out because the core of Instagram remains "about producing photos on the go, in the real world, in realtime."

[Source: TUAW]

Lynx A Camera

It's the world's first point-and-shoot 3D camera. It's not a conventional camera, but it's like a camera - particularly when it comes to learning curve and ease of use. If you can use a point-and-shoot Nikon, you'll find the Lynx even easier to use. Instead of outputting 2D images, it produces 3D models of whatever you point it at.

It's a light, plastic device shaped like a tablet. It has specialized, front-mounted optics including a 640x480 color camera and a 3D sensor. On the front, there's a large, 14" color LCD screen for an instant and accurate view of imaging results. You can navigate your captured models using joysticks, just like a videogame controller. The device has a powerful graphics card for capture/render and high-capacity storage. The battery is good for four hours. It fixes the annoying stuff (bad battery life, small screens, costly storage) of conventional cameras.

Capturing with the device is really cool. From the startup screen, you can select from three features: scene modeling, object modeling, and motion capture. Each starts instantly and has a simple start/stop interface. 

Scene modeling is more like a paintbrush. Scan surfaces around you and watch the 3D model get painted in the viewfinder. Scene modeling is more appropriate for large scenes because it stores the models in an extremely efficient manner.

Object modeling is like sculpting with a chisel. You walk around the object of interest and it slowly carves out a watertight 3D model of the object. 

Motion capture is like having a motion volume in front of your camera. Point the camera at an actor, press record, and just have the actor start moving around. When you press pause, the results are instantly ready.

With all 3 of these features, you can immediately output the files into the formats you currently use in your workflow including PLY, OBJ, STL, XYZ, JPS, BVH, and more.

One of the most disruptive features of the device is the price. If you cobbled together all the hardware and software you would need to accomplish these tasks, you'd end up dishing out a couple hundred grand. That's not accessible at all. The Lynx device sells for about the same price as a full-framed DSLR, making it a serious value for small outfits and innovators trying to break into these technologies.

[Source: Kickstarter]

Pentax shows NERV, flashes Japan-only Evangelion-flavored Q10s

We've seen Neon Genesis Evangelion-branded devices for quite awhile now, and as a testament to the garish-hued series' longevity, Pentax has announced a special edition, show-themed Q10 series of its own. It'll release a mere 1,500 of the models in Evangelion heroine shades, starting with the Eva-01 model shown above at a price of 59,800 Yen ($660 or so). Besides showing your love for '90s anime, that sum will get you a 12.4-megapixel, mirrorless interchangeable shooter capable of Full HD video, while filling out the already-bounteous Q10 color choices from the hue-loving outfit. Stateside fans of the show will likely be disappointed though -- it'll only be sold in Japan, starting in April. Check the source to see the other colors.

[Source: Engadget]

New Kodak Branded Micro Four Thirds Cameras

ROCHESTER, N.Y., January 07 -- Eastman Kodak Company and JK Imaging, Ltd. today announced that they have entered into a multi-year agreement for JK Imaging to license the Kodak brand name for certain consumer products, including digital cameras, pocket video cameras, and portable projectors. JK Imaging plans to launch its first products in the second quarter of 2013.

“Kodak remains a strong and trustworthy brand in the consumer space and this agreement reinforces how valuable our brand is,” said Laura Quatela, President of Kodak and Personalized Imaging. “When we announced our plan to exit the digital camera business last year, we said we would explore licensing opportunities for the brand in this category. The JK Imaging team has global experience and expertise in the industry.”

JK Imaging’s CEO, Joe Atick, is chairman of JA Capital Holdings, a global supplier specializing in consumer imaging and electronics products. Atick said, “Our decision to license the globally-recognized Kodak brand from Eastman Kodak Company was a natural fit. With more than a century of imaging firsts, there is great significance and value in the Kodak name. We intend to continue this legacy and bring to market the next generation of ‘must have’ portable, personal electronics that enhance the lives of consumers worldwide.”

Terms of the agreement are not being disclosed.

Samsung Rolling Out Update to Galaxy Camera, Brings New Smart Modes

The jury is still out on Samsung’s Galaxy Camera. It’s a very exciting concept that demonstrates—very well, I might add—where the point-and-shoot market could shift to. But it still needs a bit of work, some fine-tuning. This update is a step in the right direction.

The most significant part of the update to Android 4.1.2 is the elimination of any perceptible lag. Despite the device’s pedigree as an S III cousin, the Galaxy Camera still had frustrating moments of stutter. But according to AndroidCentral, lag has all but been exterminated after the update.

Additional improvements include four new smart shooting modes, including Dawn, Snow, Food, and Party/Indoor, and support for Samsung’s Remote Viewfinder app. As the first major update for the company’s camera experiment, Samsung is making the device even more irresistible. Now if only the price would come down.

[Source: TechnoBuffalo]

Kickstarter Project Adds Canon L-Series Level Environment Protection To Any DSLR Lens

I’ve got a lot of Canon gear, but only one L-series lens of my very own, and that’s also the only one that features a rubber gasket where the lens mounts to the body to keep out dust and moisture. It’s a shame that it isn’t included in any other lenses (including some pricey Sigma glass I own), because it’s a relatively inexpensive component and one that can really help prolong the life of your body and lens. That’s why a new Kickstarter project called Dust Donut is such a great idea.

The project, from Joshua Tree, Calif.-based photographer Tyler Sterbentz, adds basic weather sealing to any Canon EF Mount lens (including third-party offerings from Sigma, Tamron and the like) starting at just $20 for a single unit pre-order pledge. That covers about 75 percent of the lenses available from Canon itself for EF-mount bodies, according to Sterbentz, and gets rid of the need for photographers to use lens covers and skins to achieve the same effect.

[Source: TechCrunch]

Polaroid iM1836 Mirrorless Camera is Real and it Packs Android 4.1; Starts at $399

Polaroid is still a company that makes stuff and things, and that rumored mirrorless camera with Android is the real deal. The company officially unveiled the iM1836 on Monday, and when you stop and think about everything this device is trying to do, it’s not the worst deal imaginable. The Galaxy Camera just got some major competition.

Here’s what it’s packing: 18.1-megapixel, 1080p HD video recorder inside of a mirrorless body. And it doesn’t have some janky early version of Android, either—version 4.1 is packed under the hood, according to Engadget, meaning we should (potentially) get a nice sweet, smooth experience. Instant Instagram posts all day, assuming you’re near a Wi-Fi connection. Is no 3G a big deal? Probably not.

Polaroids new gem is smaller than the Galaxy Camera, with just a 3.5-inch display, but that’s all in the name of keeping things tight and compact. What’s really great is that optics can be swapped at will (there’s an optional adapter for Micro Four Thirds lenses), along with a pop-up flash. A 10-30mm lens is included, so you’re sure to get a nice wide perspective of all those vacations and birthday memories.

But you’re asking yourself, “How much is this thing going to cost.” Well that smaller screen and lack of data certainly keeps things low(ish); the cam is going to be available in the first quarter of this year for $399, which is smack in the face to the Galaxy Camera for sure. But is it better? We’ll have to wait and see.

[Source: TechnoBuffalo]