State of the Art

Annie Griffiths Belt on Cameras and Diapers

If you missed hearing the interview with National Geographic Photographer Annie Griffiths Belt (above) on NRP  NPR last Sunday, you can go here to listen. It’s really a terrific insight into the working life of a photographer. And the whole thing is absolutely charming, since it’s about Annie.
    The interview coincides with the release of Belt’s new book, “A Camera, Two Kids, and a Camel: My Journey in Photographs.”  The book tells of how Belt, one of the first female photographers at National Geographic, managed to combine her professional life and her personal life. In the interview, she talks about how she learned to pack in order to take her two young children with on assignments. She found that diapers could fill dual uses—for her kids’ bottoms and to wrap about fragile photo gear. She says diapers are in fact the best cushioning material she’s ever found.
     That’s very practical advice. It got me to wondering what other everyday items people repurpose to make their photographic lives easier...let's start a list. —David Schonauer

Science as Art: Stereo View of Mars Moon

That super-camera on the Mars Reconnaisance Orbiter has done it again. This time in 3-D, almost. What you see here is a stereo view of the Martian moon Phobos. The Orbiter is equipped with a camera what scientists call the HiRISE camera (it stands for High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment) which is a ridiculously long name for a camera, no matter how good it is. But we’ll forgive them, because some scientist at the control has the soul of an artist.
   The HiRISE made two different snaps (scientists call them “observations”) of the Martian moon on March 23. The two images were made ten minutes apart and show roughly the same features, but from slightly different angles. They were then combined to made a stereo view.
    As my colleague Russell Hart points out, that’s essentially how stereo aerial images used to be made. But in this case we’re talking about vastly greater distances. Go here for more information, and to see a short video clip of both HiRISE observations.—David Schonauer

Burt Keppler, Man of Action, Remembered

The irreplaceable Burt Keppler was warmly remembered at a memorial held last week at Manhattan's New School, fondly emcee'd by Keppler protegee and former Popular Photography Editor Jason Schneider. Family, friends, and colleagues such as Popular Photography Editor-in-Chief John Owens, Hachette Filipacchi CEO Jack Kliger, and Canon tech maven Chuck Westfall spoke about Burt, who shared his knowledge with generations of readers at Pop and before that at Modern Photography, as a man of kindness and -- though seemingly unperturbed by tumultuous events in photography -- of action. Which gives me the opportunity to run pictures of the Herbert Keppler semi-posable action figure.

The Little Lens That Could

The Lensbaby, an ingenious optic that brings view-camera style selective focus effects to digital, 35mm, and medium-format photography, just keeps on rockin'. The new movie-camera version of the lens, which we've covered in this space before, has been used by director Eric Schmidt to shoot a new music video for Bruce Springsteen's "Girls in Their Summer Clothes." Watch it (below) and you may long for something sharp!
--Russell Hart

The High Cost of Printing: A Liquid Comparison

Everyone complains about the cost of inkjet printer ink, but have you ever sat down and figured out what you’re really paying? How does ink, as a commodity, compare to other valuable liquids? If I asked you how much you pay for a gallon of gas, I bet you’d know. Can you guess what a gallon of inkjet ink costs?
     My coworker Russell Hart and I sat down with our pencils to do the math. Now, this was a pathetic sight, because Russell and I are decent writers and editors, and Russell is also a very good photographer, but at math we are, um, rusty. We worked hard at it, though, and we were only dealing in rough approximations anyway, but feel free to check our findings.
     Russell checked the price of a 13ml cartridge of color ink for a Canon Pixma printer, which was about $15. That means a full liter would be about $1,170, which means a gallon of the stuff would cost roughly $4,000. 
    “Yikes,” is what I said when we figured that out. When you pay that much for ink, it gives you a whole new perspective on things—like crude oil.

The Lensbaby and the Diving Bell

Our Photography and the Movies issue, just out, proves that there’s a happily thin line between still and moving pictures—at least for the artists who ply both media. The respective technologies of film and photography have certainly crossed over in many ways. Canon’s D-SLR lenses borrow optical tricks from their video and film counterparts, for example. And going the other way, the Lensbaby (below)—which started life as an innovative still-photography tool—has now played a starring role in an Oscar-nominated French-produced film, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly.
 

After the Land Camera, What Next?

On this day in history: Edwin Land demonstrated his new Land Camera on February 21, 1947. The camera became better known by the name of Land's company, Polaroid. It produced black-and-white photographs in 60 seconds, which at that time was considered "instant." Cultural and artistic impact would follow. (Go here for the story.) We can celebrate this anniversary while considering the news, recently reported, that Polaroid Corp. will shut down its remaining film plants.  It probably won't take another sixty years before some new technology wipes out digital photography as we now know it. Some people say it will be 3-D photography. Other forward-thinkers are betting on some kind of holographic imagery, so we see can see our friends and family literally walking and talking in front of us, like Princess Leia in Star Wars. And it will really be instant, of course.--David Schonauer

Olympus's New-Age Firmware (and a word of advice to E-3 users running Mac OS X Leopard)

Olympus E-system users may have heard that their cameras' maker has issued firmware updates for the E-3 and E-510 D-SLR bodies. Go here to find out what the upgrades will do for your particular model. Unique to the "digital-specific" Olympus system is that accessories such as lenses and flash units can receive firmware upgrades too, and in fact the most recent batch included enhancements for the Zuiko 12-60mm and 100-300mm lenses. If mounted on the camera (keep the flash unit on), they are automatically detected in the update process.

We decided to update our in-house Olympus E-3, a camera we raved about in a recent review. In that writeup I mentioned that I'd shifted autofocus activation and operation from the shutter button to the AEL/AFL button on the back of the camera. I push the button with my thumb to make the camera focus, and release it to lock the focus. (Below, Olympus E-3 product manager Toshiyuki Terada demonstrating the new camera's capabilities.)

Break it like a Polaroid picture

In yet another sign that digital photography is killing off film, the inventor of the instant picture, Polaroid Corp., will shut down its remaining U.S. film plants in March, according to the Wall Street Journal. (The move follows Polaroid's discontinuation of instant cameras last year, as outlined by this NY Times blog.) The company will lay off hundreds of jobs and focus its energies on digital technologies, printers, and flatscreen TVs. 

Where will those longtime fans of Polaroid instant cameras turn? "The company is shopping its technology and a sale could result in a third party making film for Polaroid products," said spokeswoman Amanda Schuneman in the WSJ story.

While most snapshot enthusiasts have apparently long ago made the switch to digital, we have to wonder what this development will mean to larger-format shooters who have relied on Polaroids for instant demos. The tools they are a-changin. — Jack Crager

Hard Sex: Western Digital's My Book desktop drives

Now that I have your attention, you know as well as any other photographer that digital storage devices are as essential as they are unsexy -- by and large just boxes with a few plugs and a light or two. And external hard drives big enough to back up the contents of your computer become all but invisible when attached, doing their own thing with automatic backup software. You hardly know they're there -- until your computer crashes.

Western Digital's My Book external desktop hard drives are a different story, pun intended. They are sexy, in the sort of industrial-chic way that Apple has perfected. Upright and, well, booklike in shape -- though with a beautifully rounded spine --  they have an elegant satin-metal finish. In fact the My Book Studio Edition I've been testing comes in a silver tone that perfectly matches my G5 tower. (Now if only my socks matched.)

Why We Needed Henry Froehlich

The photographic realm has just lost two giants with the deaths of Popular Photography's Burt Keppler and, now, of Henry Froehlich, former head of medium-format mainstay Mamiya America. Though less visible than Burt to readers of photography magazines, Henry was just as influential in the photo industry, and in some of the same ways. Influence aside, he was a lovely, kindhearted man.

Hands On: Zeiss ZF Macros for Nikon

I've been shooting lately with two new Nikon F-mount Zeiss lenses, the ZF 100mm f/2 Makro-Planar T* and the ZF 50mm f/2 Makro-Planar T*. (I love it when they spell macro that way.) As you'd expect from a Zeiss-made optic they are both simply razor sharp, and are also impressively heavy, in these days of featherweight zooms, due in part to their full-metal barrel. No, they don't have autofocus--nor do any of the other "premium" manual-focus lenses Zeiss is making for Nikon F, Pentax K, and M42 (threaded) mounts--but I haven't really missed it.

What Angelina Gave Brad for His Birthday

The tabloids had it that Angelina Jolie planned to give husband Brad Pitt a motorcycle for his birthday, which was on December 18. But we’re pleased to report, on this first day of Christmas, that Brad’s true love gave to him a camera. And not just any old digital SLR, but perhaps the most exotic camera in production today: the Littman 45 Single.

Apple in the Big Apple

Stepping into an Apple store is the closest thing in retail to heaven--not just all the cool hardware but a bright, comforting whiteness like that described by the near-dead. Apple’s new Big Apple megastore, which opened on Friday night, combines this experience with Manhattan chic. Its location should make New York City photographers especially happy: It’s on the corner of 14th Street and Ninth Avenue, right on the edge of the meatpacking district our ilk has taken over.

Camera Envy

I have a Nikon D3 on loan from Nikon, and need to get the camera into FedEx by the end of the day. I'm loathe to return it, as all-knowing Nikon product manager Lindsay Silverman predicted. Fitted with Nikon's big new 14-24mm f/2.8G ED AF-S zoom, it is a massive rig—so heavy that I found myself wanting a tripod mount on the lens, a weird idea for a wide-angle. But if you can't hold it, you don't need it.

Pack Your Bags

A few weeks ago when I was at the APA's Assistants Hexathlon I had a lengthy discussion with a few professional photographers about vital skills assistants need (and often lack). An indispensable one is being able to identify and properly pack equipment. Great idea for a story, I thought...especially for the new college edition of Popular Photography I'm editing (fyi).

Leave it to photographer Chase Jarvis to beat me to the punch (which I forgive him for, since now I can make him help me with the story). He has not one but two new videos up at his blog (a 30-minute advanced one and a shortened "basic" one) that explain the ins and outs of packing, shipping, and protecting your equipment while shooting around the world (as Chase is wont to do).

Chase (we're on a first-name basis, if you hadn't noticed) also now has an iTunes podcast of his videos, which include behind-the-scenes looks at his shoots, his speeches and interviews, and something called "Frames" where he takes every single image from a shoot and makes them into a ridiculously watchable slideshow.

Not surprisingly, this multimedia investment has paybacks not only for Chase's fans but also for his business, which is now regularly shooting both still and motion for clients. To get all the details, you'll have to check out our special feature on photographers as directors in the upcoming Hollywood issue (March/April) of American Photo.

~Miki Johnson

A Mouth Camera--Why Didn't I Think of It?

Wow, this was a no-brainer, but of course I didn't think of it--a pinhole camera that goes into your mouth. I got the tip from Photojojo, which is full of this kind of entertaining stuff. The Smiley-Cam, invented by Justin Quinnell, is a pretty great idea, for a few different reasons. One: It allows you to get that oft-neglected "soft-pallet" perspective that we all want to see. Two: You can easily check for signs of gingivitis. Three: It requires you, as a photographer, to not speak. Four: It's cheap--only $23! (Go here for details.)

Ode to the Leica: The Camera as Sex Object

This week's issue of the New Yorker has a special treat for photo enthusiasts: An ode to the Leica M series by critic Anthony Lake. This is not a piece about the history of wonderful images taken by Leica photographers over the years (though there is plenty of photo history).  It's a love-struck appreciation of the hardware itself. It is unselfconscious Ludditism in its disdain of digital technology.

Everything still ran sweetly, including the knurled knob with which you wind on from frame to frame, and the simplicity of the design made the Leica an infinitely more friendly proposition, for the novice, than one of the digital monsters from Nikon and Canon. Those need an instruction manual only slightly smaller than the Old Testament, whereas the Leica II sat in my palms like a puppy, begging to be taken out on the streets.

In other words, this article is everything that is infuriating and exceptional about the camera of everyone's dreams. In fact, what else does the Leica represent nowadays, except the dream of a perfect world that is no more?
--David Schonauer

Ambicam Debuts

Here's one camera you wouldn't want to throw: the Canon EOS-1Ds Mark IIIA. The A stands for ambidexterous, because as you can see it has a grip and shutter button on either side. On first look, no one in this office could quite figure out why it looked so oddly massive. Left-handed photographers, rejoice.

Building a Better Snapshot

Face-detection autofocus -- a system in which the camera can actually identify one or more faces in a scene, then focus on them rather than an arbitrary, fixed point -- has become the must-have feature in digital point-and-shoots. I just learned, though, that Japanese engineers are taking this notion a step further. They're reportedly developing technology that won't let you shoot until no one in your picture is blinking, and all eyes are open. They're also working on a similar system in which the camera won't let you take a picture until the face or faces in your scene are all smiling.

Why Your New Cameras fight Inflation

I ran across an interesting idea on techdirt, which is fast becoming a favorite blog for me. I've been talking to a lot of photographers lately who are complaining about how  much it's  costing them to stay technologically current--new D-SLRs, new lenses, computers, new everything! What really ticks people off is when they buy some new piece of high-tech, only to see the price of that item slashed after a couple of months when version 2.0 arrives on the scene. (Lots of unhappy iPhone early adopters out there...you know who you are.) Techdirt points out that technology is a "constant deflationary force"--not just because prices keep dropping, but also because the quality of the products keeps rising over time. I urge you to read this and remember it the next time you get crazy about replacing equipment.
--David Schonauer

Nikon and Canon Step Up Pro DSLR Wars

This week has been a busy one for new camera announcements, with Canon and Nikon both unveiling new pro-level digital SLRs as well as new “prosumer” models. The biggest news so far is that Nikon has finally joined Canon in the full-frame digital SLR market with the Nikon D3. The D3 features Nikon’s new FX format sensor, a CMOS sensor measuring 36 x 23.9 mm, the equivalent to a frame of 35mm film.

Is This What Every Sports Photographer Needs?

A Dutch company is introducing a personal transportation device like the Segway, except you control it with your knees rather than your hands. That, says the company, means it's perfect for photographers, especially sports photographers. Hey, a roving camera platform? How long until some company realizes that someone could operate this remotely...a kind of photo drone snapping away on the sidelines, or in battlefields for that matter? Hmmm....
--David Schonauer

Breakthroughs in Photo Technology

There"s been quite a bit of important photo technology reporting done recently--the kind of reporting that everyone should know about. I'm just glad that years of research by engineers have brought us to this point. The first story has to do with a new kind of clothing that contains subliminal messages visible only to digital cameras. Go here for the details. The second story, even more interesting, comes from Wired magazine. Apparently (and this is news to me), pervy photo geniuses in Japan have figured out how to use camcorder night-vision mode to see through fabric! But what technology gives, it can take away. A company is now marketing panties that impervious to such spying. The company plans to bring out an impervious bra, too. Go here if you don't believe me.
--David Schonauer

Essential Reading

When we put together American Photo's annual Editor's Choice Awards feature—now in its eighth year—we always seem to be adding or subdividing categories, as the photo marketplace finds new ways to innovate. This year the luxury of Web space has allowed us to include separate sections for tripods and camera bags. And now, so as not to leave out the best of the many items that defy categorization, we've just put up our Imaging Essentials category.

Touring Italy's Top Tripods

As Gitzo and Manfrotto tripods were named two of our Editor's Choice top tripods of the year, I thought this would be the perfect time for me to talk about a press junket I was part of last month to visit their production headquarters near Venice, Italy.

Now I have to start by saying that this trip happened after the Editor's Choice judging was done. And, also, I had almost nothing to do with the judging of this or any other category, so our Editor's Choice ranking is in no way a result of my trip, only a coincidence.

If you're not already familiar with Manfrotto and/or Gitzo, the two companies are now part of the British Vitec Group and are well described and distinguished by their entrepreneur founders. Lino Manfrotto was a photographer in Bassano del Grappa, Italy, in the 1960s and began by designing lightweight, user-friendly equipment for himself and friends. Gitzo was founded in 1917 in France by Arsène Gitzhoven, who was a skilled inventor. Although the two companies are now housed in the same production facilities in Italy, they are purposefully kept separate and often compete in the market. The research and development teams especially, although they are friendly with each other, adhere to their own philosophies: Manfrotto's of working closely with photographers to give them what they want, and Gitzo's of listening to photographers and then inventing a product that serves their needs.

World's Biggest Photo Revisited

We stand corrected: A couple of days ago we posted a blog about the traveling exhibition of the World's Biggest Photo (which goes to Art Center in Pasadena, California, in September, as reported here). But this image was for a time a work-in-progress, and we didn't show the latest version of it (below).

Thanks for the correction to Mr. Douglas McCulloh, who writes: "You might like an up-to-date pic of the world's largest photo. And yes it is that -- a one piece gelatin silver BW image three stories high by eleven stories wide (31'-5" x 101'-5") made by transforming an F-18 jet hanger into the world's largest camera."

We previously said "it ain't much to look at," but actually, it is! And we have to wonder: How are they moving this baby to Pasadena? World's largest truck? Pray tell. -- Jack Crager

World's Oldest Camera Fetches $800K

Photographer Matthias Bruggman tipped us off to this story about the world's oldest camera being auctioned off in Europe for 600,000 euros, or about $800,000.

The daguerreotype camera, made by French firm Susse Freres no later than 1839, was found in a German attic and sold at a Vienna auction house.

Bids came from around the world for the daguerreotype, said by an expert to be the only remaining Susse Freres model.

The daguerreotype process, only perfected in 1839, was judged the first viable form of commercial photography.

The head of the Vienna auction house said he was convinced the piece was from the earliest years of popular photography.

"I was of course shocked because every camera dealer dreams of one day owning a daguerreotype camera," said Peter Coeln.

Tiger, Tiger, Hopping Mad

In the May/June issue of American Photo, now on newsstands, you'll find our exclusive On Location account of National Geographic photographer George Steinmetz's quest to photograph the elusive and solitary mountain lion, North America's biggest cat. Working in Arizona's Sonoran Desert, Steinmetz set up self-triggering infrared camera "traps" to capture the creature at a watering hole.

The Simple Photo Life

As we begin work on our annual "Editor's Choice" survey of new photo products (see the 2006 installment), I'd like to register a formal complaint. I have already tried a number of this year's contenders—I won't name names, yet—and while they mostly perform as advertised, it has been a pain in the neck to get some of them to do what they're supposed to do.

FOR SALE

My Omega D2V enlarger is a beautiful machine. Circa 1976, with an extra-long rail that lets you make bigger prints, it is immaculate because I kept it covered with a garbage bag whenever I wasn't printing. It's going on ten years since I last used it.

So I'm selling it, or trying to. Nobody wants it. I offered to drive it up to Classic Enlargers in Stamford, Connecticut, and they declined, citing lack of demand. I listed it on eBay, and when it didn't sell, listed it again. I offered the enlarger to a nearby high school, which said no because it was retiring its wet darkroom and going digital. So my Omega D2V still sits behind the sofa in my living room, waiting for a new home.

Camera as Appliance

Here's another measure of how mainstream digital cameras have become: General Electric is getting into the business. Now you can buy your point-and-shoot from the same company that made your refrigerator. GE will be selling models ranging from seven to 12 megapixels, all with the image stabilization and high ISO settings that make it more realistic to turn off that ugly frontal flash.

The California-based creator of the line, a new outfit called (of course) General Imaging, is chaired by a former president of Olympus, and its chief designer is the man who brought you the good looks of Sony VAIO computers and Olympus Stylus point-and-shoots. So we're hopeful that the GE cameras will be better-looking than our office microwave, though the company is also promising a snapshot printer that's bound to resemble a toaster. If Panasonic and Samsung can do it, then so can GE.

--Russell Hart

Photo: A sample from the "G" series of new GE digital camera line.

Show and Tell

Slate's top story today dissects the ways that cellphone cameras have changed our collective lives for the better and for the worse—although mostly for the worse. Michael Agger's piece includes several insightful musings, although I wish a few of them had been drawn out into complete thoughts. Like this intriguing idea:

"The more difficult question, the one that lurks outside the media glare, is how the cell phone camera is altering our private lives. In the perceptive book Kodak and the Lens of Nostalgia, Nancy Martha West writes how Kodak, with the introduction of the personal camera, taught Americans to both conceive of their lives in terms of fondly remembered events and to edit out unpleasant memories."

For one thing, Agger himself notes that most events captured in cell phone pictures (and more often video) are negative. Street assaults, overzealous police officers, celebrities breaking the law. In this way, the cameraphone's ubiquitousness has the potential to reverse the trend of "editing for happiness" that the introduction of the personal camera invited. And I think the creation of digital cameras has impacted this trend even more. Individual photographs were once precious: labor-intensive and relatively expensive. Now they are an unlimited resource. And that has led people—ordinary people, not just professional journalists whose job it is to record life's unpleasantness—to take pictures of the sad as well as the happy.

Tennis Now and Then

It has become self-evident how much photography has changed in the face of the digital revolution. And this shift is probably nowhere more apparent than on the wire service battle ground. I met with a few of the Getty Images veterans at the U.S. Open on Friday (in between women's semifinals) to talk about how the industry has changed and the end of the Agassi era.