Tips to shoot fireworks

1. Use a Tripod – It will make a world of a difference.
2. Use Low ISO – The low ISO will make sure the everything is not over exposed
3. High F/Stop – The High F/Stop will help keep things sharp, and will control the exposure of the crowd.
4. Focus on distant object, manually if easily done
5. Long exposure time, try 2 to 8 seconds – The long Exposure with get you nice fireworks trails. With a long exposure, you can start the exposure when the previous fireworks fizzle out, and before the next one begins.
6 . A medium to wide angle lens works really well.

Leica annouces the M9 Neiman Marcus Edition

Leica announced the limited edition of the M9 Neiman Marcus Edition (Only 50 to be sold) recently. The rugged looking Leica M body and the matching Summicron-M 35mm f2.0 ASPH lens are finished in classic chrome and costs $17,500.00!!

The high-resolution 2.5-inch LCD screen is protected by sapphire cover glass and each lens and body are uniquely numbered. The $17,500 price tag covers a three-year warranty covers accidental damage, s full suite of Adobe® Photoshop® Lightroom® 3 digital editing software, a personal letter from Leica CEO Alfred Schopf and a certificate of authenticity.

Call 1.877.9NM.GIFT if you want to buy one of these.

Lensbaby launches the Composer with Tilt Transformer

Lensbaby launched the new addition to their Lensbaby Creative Effects camera products line, the Composer with Tilt Transformer. The Composer with Tilt Transformer will be available for the Panasonic Lumix G Micro System and the Olympus PEN digital cameras.

Lensbaby expects the Composer with Tilt Transformer to be available for the Sony ? NEX cameras in Q4 of 2010.

The Tilt Transformer allows photographers to mount any Nikon mount lens onto their Micro Four Thirds or Sony ? NEX camera and tilt up to twice the amount of standard tilt-shift lenses, delivering photos that have a slice of focus through the image, bordered by a soft blur.

Check out the How-To video for Lensbaby Tilt Transformer.

Camerabag for iPhones

Ever wanted to jazz up your iPhone pictures? Camerabag lets you change the look of your pictures by emulating styles and processes from some of the most interesting cameras of the past to enhance the mood of an image.

Some of the camera styles you can choose from are:

“Helga” – Square-format toy camera with washed-out highlights and old-school vignetting.
“Colorcross” – Hazy, chemical color-swapping straight from the darkroom.
“Instant” – No need to shake this instant-developing film.
“Magazine” – Rich tones for glossy pages.
“1974″ – Your father’s camera: faded, tinted, and hip.
“Lolo” – Shoot from the hip and take life as it comes with vibrant, colorful shots.
“Plastic” – Sweet honey tones like these could only come from the cheapest of cameras.
“Cinema” – Dramatic, moody coloring with a widescreen aspect ratio.
“Silver” – From the earliest days of photography, when taking a shot was a much larger production than it is now.
“1962″ – Dynamic, high-contrast black and white from the photojournalism of a bygone era.
“Mono” – Smooth, refined, balanced black and white.
“Infrared” – Simulation of the popular landscape photography technique.
“Fisheye” – Go ahead, get too close to the lens.
“Original” – Just in case you got it right the first time.

So how do you use Camerabag to apply these filters?
1. Buy the app from here ($1.99)
2. Select. Take a new photo from inside the app(iPhone only) or choose one from your library (iPhone or iPod Touch).
3. Filter. Quickly swipe between CameraBag’s cameras to view your photo in the various styles.
4. Save. You can save the same photo in multiple styles to the Camera Roll.
5. Share. Email your photo to friends or you favorite photo sharing service.

Image credit: Camerabag

A Burlesque shoot

When Brian Smith became a professional photographer more than 25 years ago, he started as a newspaper photographer. About 14 years ago, what began as stepping-stone into celebrity photography has grown into a life-long passion. Brian Smith, an X-Rite Coloratti and Sony Artisan, has photographed the superstars of the burlesque world throughout his professional career for a book project.

Years ago with the transition from film to digital, he was faced with the same challenge recognized by many photographers, how to ensure the color, look and feel of the images match over such a long time period. Watch as Brian explains his process during a real burlesque shoot (with Angie Pontani).

Leica’s new V-Lux 2 Superzoom camera

Four years after the V-Lux 1, Leica has released its next iteration of superzoom compact cameras, the V-Lux 2. Here are some of its features followed by their press release.

Leica V-Lux 2 Features

Ultra-wide focal-length range
The Leica DC Vario-Elmarit 1:2.8-5.2/4.5-108 mm ASPH.

Continuous shooting at high speed
The ultra-fast consecutive burst capability of the Leica V-Lux 2 is 11 frames per second at the full resolution of 14.1 MP or 60 frames per second with a resolution of 2.8 MP.

Fold-out LCD display
The V-Lux 2 offers entirely new viewing perspectives when shooting.

Videos in Full-HD-Quality
The V-Lux 2 shoots videos in 1080i-AVCHD Full HD.

Comprehensive software options: Two image processing software packages from Adobe
The V-Lux 2 is supplied with Adobe® Photoshop® Elements 8 and the Adobe® Premiere® Elements 8

Press Release

Photokina, Cologne, 21 September 2010: Leica Camera AG has announced the LEICA V-LUX 2, combining a high-performance 24x super-zoom lens and outstanding image quality with a sleek and compact body. Equipped with a LEICA DC VARIO-ELMARIT 4.5 – 108 mm f/2.8 – 5.2 ASPH. lens, a 3’’ rotating LCD display and a wide variety of video functions in 1080i-AVCHD Full HD, the V-LUX 2 is ideal for almost any photographic situation.

The V-LUX 2’s 24x optical super-zoom lens offers an enormous range of focal lengths equivalent to 25–600 mm in 35mm format. Whether shooting expansive landscapes, finely detailed macro studies at short distances, or far-away objects, people or animals with a super-telephoto setting, the Leica lens captures them all in breathtaking quality.

Peter Kruschewski, product manager for Digital Compact Cameras at Leica Camera AG, said, “The V-Lux 2’s versatile lens and compact form make it the ideal camera for the ambitious travel and wildlife photographer. In certain shooting situations, having to change lenses can be frustrating, especially when a quick reaction is required. Thanks to the V-LUX 2’s large range of focal lengths, this compact camera has the ability to capture almost all moments of life. The V-LUX 2 is an interesting alternative to comparable SLR systems. Compact and lighter, it also significantly reduces the weight and volume of photographic equipment when travelling.”

A newly developed 14.1 MP CMOS image sensor tuned to perfection enhances the high-performance LEICA DC VARIO-ELMARIT 4.5 – 108 mm f/2.8 – 5.2 ASPH. zoom lens. In combination with the camera’s electronics and firmware, the sensor guarantees brilliant, high-contrast images with natural colour rendition and superb sharpness.

The LEICA V-LUX 2’s 3” LCD display has a resolution of 460,000 pixels and can be twisted and turned in almost any direction, making it easy for photographers to compose pictures from even the most unusual or challenging angles. When shooting stills or videos from over their heads or close to the ground, photographers using the V-LUX 2 are always in full control.

In addition to offering an integrated stereo microphone with an electronic wind noise filter that guarantees a crystal-clear soundtrack, the entire 24x zoom range is available during video recording. The LEICA V-LUX 2 is the first Leica digital compact to feature video capture in 1080i-AVCHD Full HD.
One of the world’s fastest consecutive-shooting cameras, the LEICA V-LUX 2 features high-speed burst shooting capability: bursts of 11 frames per second at the full resolution of 14.1 MP, or 60 frames per second with a resolution of 2.8 MP.

Characterised by a compact design and extremely simple handling, the V-LUX 2’s integrated handgrip and light weight allows photographers to shoot one-handed. The camera controls are clearly laid out, ensuring fast and simple operation. For instance, video recording can be started quickly and easily at the touch of a button on the top plate of the camera.

Software
The LEICA V-LUX 2 is supplied with a comprehensive suite of software. Adobe® Photoshop® Elements® 8 provides users with a comprehensive and versatile image editing solution that offers viewing, organisation, administration and a wide range of processing options for still images and video recordings. Also included is Adobe® Premiere® Elements® 8, an easy-to-use package offering video processing for movies recorded by the V-LUX 2 in AVCHD format, and also enabling the creation of professional audio and video effects.

Pricing and availability
The LEICA V-LUX 2 will be available in the UK from October 2010 from authorised Leica dealers including the Leica Store Mayfair: www.leica-storemayfair.co.uk, tel: 020 7629 1351. A full list of authorised UK Leica dealers is available at www.leica-camera.co.uk. The suggested retail price of the LEICA V-LUX 2 is £675 including VAT. An outdoor case will be available for the V-LUX 2 at an SRP of £135 including VAT.

Found: Wollensak 35mm F5.0 Cine-Velostigmat Lens

Timur Civan, who is a Director of Photography for movies, came across the Wollensak 35mm F5.0 Cine-Velostigmat lens which was given to him by a Russian Friend. His Russian friend, who is a lens technician, found the 102 year old lens hidden inside another lens in some box of random parts.

After 6 hours of work, this Russian lens technician was able to fix the lens on a Canon 5D MK II and then Timur took it for a spin. Check out a couple of the pictures below:

Images Credit: Timur Civan

Via Wired

I’m a Photographer, Not a Terrorist!

Photographers in the UK claim that they are being harassed by the police and that they are being targeted as potential terrorists, whether amateur or professional, whether landscape, architectural or street photographer. Hence, they have come together to create a campaign called “I’m a Photographer, Not a Terrorist!” and they co-ordinate a collective response to the restrictions on photography across the country.

They also organize events where photography is restricted to show how pointless these restrictions are.

Click here to visit their website.

Question: As a photographer, do you face the same issue in your country?

Robots for Product Photography

FotoRobot, a company based out of the Czech Republic, have developed a system of machines that automatically move the photographed object and camera, in order to get series of images from pre-defined angles.

There are a total of four robots that are used to shoot products. Three robots (Robotic Turntable, Turning Platform, Cube) are designed to to photograph products along the vertical axis and one robot, Robotic Arm, is designed to shoot the product along the horizontal axis.

The robots and the camera are controlled by a special software named Basip which enables to control the whole process directly from the PC.

Check out their video below

Visit their website at http://www.fotorobot.cz/

Advice for photographers

I came across this great article in EpicEdits – 10 Things Photographers Should NOT Do.

Here is the list:

1. Do not expect results overnight
2. Don’t lust for new gear
3. Don’t be afraid to fail
4. Don’t get cocky
5. Don’t ignore the critics
6. Don’t make it complicated
7. Don’t steal ideas
8. Don’t neglect your gear
9. Don’t ignore the rules
10. Don’t stop learning

Click here to read the full article

Brian Auer, who runs the Epic Edit website, is a photography enthusiast and also operates the Fine Art Photo blog where he sell fine-art prints of his work along with 8 other photographers.

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