Great Photographers: Edward Sheriff Curtis

Edward Sheriff Curtis:
One Man's Obsessive Pursuit Of The Lost Tribes Of America
The Telegraph
June 21, 2008

Excerpt:

"During... 30 years (twice the time he had originally planned for the project), Curtis visited more than 80 tribes, from the Apache to the Zuñi, and earned the personal support of the president, Theodore Roosevelt. He worked 15-hour days for months at a time, spent more than $1.5 million of his benefactor JP Morgan's money, was shot at four times, disowned by his brother, divorced by his wife, and went bankrupt. On returning from one prolonged trip into Eskimo territory he was thrown into jail for failure to make alimony payments.

"Yet Curtis was indefatigable: no amount of adversity could sap his passion for documenting the traditions of a people who didn't always want to be documented. 'I have grown so used to having people yell at me to keep out, and then punctuate their remarks with mud, rock and clubs,' he once said, 'that I pay but little attention to them if I can only succeed in getting my picture before something hits me.'

"He succeeded in taking more than 40,000 pictures, the best of which formed the basis of The North American Indian, a vast ethnographic study, published in 20 volumes between 1907 and 1930. On the appearance of the first volume, the New York Herald declared it 'the most gigantic undertaking in the making of books since the King James edition of the Bible'.

Curtis was convinced that he was capturing the dying days of 'a vanishing race'. Indeed, such was his obsession with recording arcane traditions that, to the indignation of the academic community, he would often encourage his subjects to recreate rituals which they no longer performed, even providing his own props where necessary. In his rather self-important introduction to the first volume of The North American Indian, he stated his concern that 'the passing of every old man or woman means the passing of some tradition, some knowledge of sacred rites possessed by no other'."

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Wikipedia On Edward Sheriff Curtis

The Curtis Collection

National Geographic Photo Tips

Click here to view the National Geographic Photo Tips website.

Gorillapods

Ever wanted/needed a tripod that could be used just about anywhere, for anything? I just ordered one of these puppies. Click here for more information.

Scott Kelby On Nikon D300

Excerpt:

"Q. Scott. If it won’t get you into too much trouble with sponsors, what do you think is the best digital camera under $2,500, body only? I want to take up photography for the first time. So far, from what I’ve seen, the D300 looks best.

"A. My opinion is, of course, going to be biased because I’m a Nikon shooter, and I bought the D300 (no, Nikon didn’t give me one), so I think that pretty much tells you where I’m at. I think the D300 smokes, especially for the money, and (Nikon will hate me for saying this), I think it’s FAR superior to the Nikon D2Xs which was selling for around $5,000, body only, at the time the D300 came out (in fact, I sold my Nikon D2Xs after having my D300 for about two weeks). So, D300 -- that’s what I’d recommend to a friend (and have in many instances, and have gotten nothing but love in return)."

Original Link

PST: Top 25 Photoshop Pictures of May 2008

View PhotoshopTalent.com's top 25 Photoshop pictures of May 2008 by clicking this link.

Greg Haverstock on Matthes Crest

Greg Haverstock on Matthes Crest by Shawn Reeder. Click the photo above to see larger image. For more information: Rangefinder Magazine, June 2998, "Climbing Ever Higher" (pdf)

Review of Ray Flash Ring Flash

Ray Flash: The Ring Flash Adapter Website.
Scott Kelby On Ring Flash harshness, red eye, cost, and other issues.
Where to buy.
Original post on Dave Cross website.

The Mac OS X Leopard Book

HDR Photography Using Lightroom & Photomatix

Matt Kloskowski demos HDR in Lightroom and Photomatix. Writes Matt:

"Lately I’ve really been into shooting HDR images. I bracket just about everything that I can. Why? Not because I like the fantasy-like effect that’s been popular. Honestly, it’s just not my style but I can definitely appreciate it for certain photos. For me though, it’s more about having real world HDR. It saves me time in Photoshop and I’m amazed that I’ve never explored HDR for my landscape and interior photos until now. I’ll explain how, why, and how I’ve incorporated Lightroom into my HDR workflow as well as what I use to process my HDR images in this week’s video..."

Watch tutorial.
Matt's original post can be found here.
Photomatix Website.

Drying of the West Gallery

The American West was won by water management. What happens when there's no water left to manage? Click here to see all the photos in this National Geographic gallery.

Is Your Camera Gear Out Of Control?

From The Boda Bag Blog Website

The Boda Lens Bag

Wedding Photographer, Jim Garner joins Inside Digital Photo TV's host, Scott Sheppard live from the Boda Lens Bag booth at WPPI 2008 to explain some of the bags and the features. Developed by a range of photographers, find out more information at: http://goboda.com

FocalPoint: Delightful New Photoshop Plugin

FocalPoint gives photographers a way to create realistic depth of field control, plane of focus control and selective focus to any image after it is photographed allowing for more control and precision. The focus bug control in FocalPoint has a tangible, hardware feel much like using a lens. It makes it fast for a photographer to define the "sweet spot" either in a round shape or a plane and then control how much and of what kind of blur they would like to add. This has a huge benefit over hardware tools like auxiliary lenses and filters because it allows the photographer to control the focus after the image is taken, giving them more control and requiring fewer shots in camera.

Visit FocalPoint Website (Includes Video Tutorial)

How Do Airport Scanners Affect Flash Cards & Film?

Concerning Flash Cards:

"None of the security equipment -- neither the machines used for checked baggage nor those used for carry-on baggage -- will affect digital camera images or film that has already been processed -- slides, videos, photo compact discs or picture memory cards." -- Transportation Security Adminstration

"Advice from SanDisk about Flash Memory Cards: You can put full or empty flash cards in your checked or carry-on baggage with little risk of damage from airport scanners. The International Imaging Industry Association (IA3) conducted tests last year with security devices used in U.S. airports and found that no damage to the cards resulted with normal travel frequency. As an added precaution, SanDisk recommends that you take the cards out of ALL checked baggage and cameras, and put them in your carry-on before passing them through security devices." -- EcoPhoto Explorers

"Taking Cards Through Airport X-Ray Machines and Metal Detectors: You can put full or empty flash cards in your checked baggage or in your carry-ons with little risk of damage from airport scanners. The International Imaging Industry Association conducted tests last year with security devices used in U.S. airports and found that no damage to the cards resulted with normal travel frequency. As an added precaution, SanDisk recommends that you take the card out of your camera before passing through security devices." -- Business Wire, June 30, 2005

"I have taken my FZ50 through many airport scanners countless times. In New Zealand, Australia, Japan and the United States. I always leave the battery in the camera and a memory card installed. Handy for taking shots at the airport but watch out for restricted areas. Spare cards are kept in the camera bag. I have never had any problem with corupt files." -- Jeff Shep, Flickr

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Concerning Film:

"Never place undeveloped film in your checked baggage, our security equipment used for screening checked baggage will damage your undeveloped film. Place your film in your carry-on baggage or request a hand inspection. Please note that our carry-on security equipment might also damage certain film if the film passes through more than five times.

"If your film cannot be cleared by X-ray inspection, or you desire to have it inspected by hand, you may be required to open the box, canister, or wrapper so our Security Officer can inspect it. We recommend leaving your film in the unopened manufacturer’s packaging. Our security equipment used for screening checked baggage will damage your undeveloped film. Carry undeveloped film with you to the security checkpoint.

"None of the security equipment - neither the machines used for checked baggage nor those used for carry-on baggage - will affect digital camera images or film that has already been processed - slides, videos, photo compact discs or picture memory cards.

You should remove all film from your checked baggage and place it in your carry-on baggage... To expedite the security process of a hand inspection, you should consider carrying your film in clear canisters, or taking the film out of solid colored canisters and putting it into clear plastic bags. Consider having your exposed film processed locally before passing through airport security on your return trip..." -- From the Transportation Security Adminstration