Progress
Sigma announces revolutionary lens 18-35mm f1.8 DX
Most constant aperture zooms, even those targeted at pros, peak at F2.8 – with exceptions including the Olympus 14-35 mm F2. This is why many photographers also have faster prime lenses in their kit bag for when they need those extra light gathering properties or an ultra-shallow depth of field. With its constant F1.8 aperture, the Sigma 18-35 mm F1.8 DC HSM lens could mean you don’t need to carry as many lenses with you.
This is a pretty exciting new development and a first in the photography industry. Never before has any one Nikon, Canon, Olympus etc. made a standard zoom lens with a fixed aperture of a stunning 1.8. But this results in the lens being quite large and pricey for the average joe, who are typically the targets of the DX or APS-C lineup of cameras.
LightRoom 5 Beta is revealed by Adobe
In my tests this week, the Lightroom clone and heal tools were almost as effective as Photoshop — about 95% there. As a photographer who brings 1,000 plus images into Lightroom every weekend, I will greatly appreciate the ability to do this sort of work within the app.
Digital photographers rejoice with the latest significant update to Adobe’s LightRoom editing software. One of the coolest new features for me is the “advanced healing brush”. This tool acts like the clone stamp, but allows you to brush over an area of the photo and then paste a cloned image from another more appropriate area of the image. It actually looks like it works pretty nicely.
Pictures: 2013 Pulitzer-Winning Photos Feature Syrian Conflict
“It means that history won’t forget them.”
Winners of the Pulitzer prize are always top-notch. Javier Manzano is no exception with his photos of the Syrian conflict. I have always been drawn to the grittiness of war-photography and am sometimes jealous of brave these men and women can be.
Protecting the Right to Photograph, or Not to Be Photographed
“As a rule, I’d say it would be common courtesy to ask people whether you can take their picture,” he said. “But, then again, if you’re doing street photography and you see something going on, you don’t want to alter that dynamic.”
I love street photography and understand how some or many pedestrians absolutely hate having a picture of them taken without their consent. The issue is that technically, if the place the shot is taken is in a “public area”, then anyone can legally take a photograph of anything. What needs to be done is for street photographers to show some more class by learning how to “flow” with their work better. Learning how to “charm” your subjects will make you a better/stealthier photographer overall.
Austin Kleon on stealing like an artist via John Paul Caponigro
“Stealing from one person is called plagiarism, stealing from many is called research.”
This is a revisited talk by Mr. Kleon. But in essences, nothing we do today is completely and 100% “original”. Everything we do is built upon previous generations. And this is NOT a bad thing. This is called progression and an evolution into something even better. Having your work “stolen” or modified should be highly sought after by everyone as it builds on their own legacy.