This prestigious South African photography award was initiated under the auspices of the University of Cape Town Libraries, and offers a unique opportunity for photographers to complete an existing project. The winning photographer will receive R150 000, with which to complete the project, have exhibitions during 2013 and publish a book thereof.
This week has been a little quiet on the website this week. Apologies for that, but it has been worth it as the March issue of PhotoComment Magazine is out on regional delivery at this very moment and subscribers, your copies are on a postal truck today as well. We are working to have the magazine ready a week in advance every month so everyone gets the magazines by the first of each month. Read on for a catch up on some interesting things happening across the web.
(This article was featured in the February 2012 issue of PhotoComment Magazine)
Ever wondered what the outside world thinks about photographers? Face it you do live in your own world of observation, f-stops and fill flash – some words I have heard you use numerous times.
Here is some humour that can brighten up your day… though it will hit a very truthful and tender spot for most of us as well. It is a great video about the things people say to photographers that drive them a little wild. The most famous one is that of “Wow that is a great photograph, you must have a great camera”. This video actually ties in really nicely with a post from another photography site (Improve Photography) that we tweeted out yesterday. You can check that article here. Enjoy the video and share your thoughts or other lines you have heard in the comments.
This is Friday post to wrap up things I wanted to share with you in terms of news and cool videos I have seen on the web. Take some time to check it out and then pack up to go home and relax. Tomorrow you can go out shooting and have some fun with your photography.
Artwell Nwaila is the Editor of SA Creative Network “a platform where creatives, thought leaders and idea engineers network”
This is my challenge to all publication managers and editors: to break away from the pack with a ‘photographic revamp’.
The state of photography in the commercial world – namely: magazines – is at its lowest. That is not to say that the photographers have lost their skill, but that the requirements and briefs have suppressed the art form. It is all about formula these days and it is pretty basic. Celeb + over-processing = sales. This formula may have been hugely successful in the mid-1990s, but not anymore.
Inside this Web Pick. Take a tour of B&H in New York using Google Street View. A short documentary about Kodachrome and Bruce Dale shares his story about shooting for National Geographic over the past 30 years.
30 Years of BAD Pictures from Bruce Dale on Vimeo.
Some of you may recall some time back that we used to have a Website of the Week feature. As time went on we focused on other areas and gradually the feature phased out. Today I want to try a new feature and get your feedback on it. Some ideas on what to call it would also be good. For the time being I am going to call it “Web Picks” and it will serve as a post to share with you some of our favourite stories on the web. Feel free in the comments to link to other great stories you may have found and want to share.
Wet Plate Photographer
Dana Geraths – Wet Plate Photographer from Kia Geraths on Vimeo.
I became interested in photography towards the end of my primary school years. I would sit in the media centre during several break periods a week and page through the National Geographic magazines that were there admiring the images… and possibly even more so, the camera ads. I took my first “real” pictures on an old Pentax Spotmatic and sold my old 486 PC to buy my first camera, a Canon A1. Even though I had been bitten by the photographic bug I was still a long way off from having the drive of this 8 year. Check it out.
By now most of you are familiar with the story or Joao Silva are you not? A brief recap, he was one of the members of the Bang Bang Club and is a highly celebrated war photographer who stepped on a landmine in Afghanistan in Oct 2010. He lost both of his legs as a result of his injuries. This past November Joao completed the New York Marathon and is obviously recovering well, all things considered. In the video interview below you get to hear his account of what happened and the journey he has been travelling since that day.
Joao Silva The biggest fight of the photographer from Alfredo Leite on Vimeo.
(via PetaPixel)
I spotted this video up on Nikon Rumors website and had to share. I just love these kind of creative works. I do wonder though, are there people out there that we snap so much they could have nightmares from it?
It is just great when South Africans get international recognition. Today is Guest Blog Wednesday on Scott Kelby’s Photoshop Insider blog and today the blog post comes from Jon and Tina Reid. Originally based in East London, South Africa they now call London their base. Check out their post on the Kelby site here and see their work on their own website here.
Rob Galbraith shared an article from The Photo Society website about some of the hazards faced by photographers on assignment for the National Geographic. There are some scary things like having a viper in your camera bag or having the seatbelts of a helicopter come undone while tipping over a volcano. But let me not give away more, check it out for yourself at Rob Galbraith’s site or go directly to the article on The Photo Society’s website.
I love these kind of stories. Recently a Canon EOS 1000D washed up on a beach in Canada and the pictures on the SD card showed the camera had been lost at sea about a year ago. Now the camera has been recovered and the owner is identified. For the full story check this link to the Engadget story. Great advert for SanDisk Extreme SD cards now that I think of it.
Just spotted this on Engadget this morning. Not sure if there is a Vivitar agent in South Africa any more but I am sure you could make a plan to get it online if you wished. While I have been tempted to play with 3D video the cost at the moment is still to high for a “just for fuse” purchase. Vivitar are looking to change that with their new DVR 790HD which is a 3D video camera for under US$100. Check it out at Vivitar’s site or get the story at Engadget here.
Louis-Jacques-Mandé Daguerre was born this day, November 18, 1787 and recognized as one of the founding fathers of photography through the invention of the daguerreotype process of photography. To learn more at Wikipedia about the French inventor head to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Daguerre
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