If you want to know more about night photography, look no further than the latest free podcast from O’Reily and Harold Davis…

Press release: In a letter to his brother Theo, the great artist Vincent van Gogh wrote, “It often seems to me that the night is much more alive and richly colored than the day.” The advent of digital photography has revolutionized the practice of night photography because a digital sensor can record the spectacular colors of the night. These colors are created by light waves in spectrums that are invisible to the naked human eye. For the first time we can truly “see” the world of the night around us.

In this webcast, professional photographer Harold Davis, author of Practical Artistry: Light & Exposure for Digital Photographers (O’Reilly) and creator of the Photoblog 2.0and Digital Night web sites shows why night photography has become increasingly popular among digital photographers. He demystifies exposure techniques at night, and explains how he post-processes night photos. Following Harold’s presentation, there will be time for a Q&A in which he’ll answer your questions about night photography.

Attendance is limited, so register now. We’ll send you a reminder before the webcast. And please feel free to share this invitation with others.

Date: Tuesday, Dec. 2 at 11am PST
Cost: Free
Duration: 60 minutes
Audience: Digital photographers of all levels
Meeting link: oreilly.com/go/nightphotos2
Questions? Please send email to webcast@oreilly.com

Park Cameras now offer extremely popular courses, seminars and lectures catering for the needs of all photographers across a broad range of photographic disciplines. Our new facilities offer a dedicated training suite providing classroom learning, seminar presentations and hands-on studio opportunities all in one location, meeting the needs of every photographer. The upcoming courses are as follow;

Understanding Your Canon EOS 450D - Level 2 - 26th November 2008
Explains how best to use your Canon EOS 450D; to navigate the comprehensive menu display and to give the photographer more confidence in exploring the wide range of manual controls available.

Understanding Your Canon EOS 40D - Level 2 - 5th December 2008
Explain how best to use your Canon EOS 40D; to navigate the comprehensive menu display and to give the photographer more confidence in exploring the wide range of manual controls available.

For a full list of the latest courses in December and January, please visit www.ParkCameras.com/Training

Three new Lensbaby lenses – The Composer™, The Muse™ and The Control Freak™, – make up the new line of Lensbaby products.  Each features the new Lensbaby Optic Swap system. The new Muse and the new Control Freak replace the current Lensbaby lenses, which will be phased out immediately.

All Lensbaby lenses provide photographers with a new way to control depth of field by bringing one area of a photo into sharpest focus with that Sweet Spot™ surrounded by graduated blur. By bending the Lensbaby lens, the photographer moves the sharp area around the photo for customized creative effects.

The new Composer retains its position after being bent and is easy to use even with one hand.  Photographers can simply tilt the lens to a desired angle and then focus with a barrel focusing ring.  The Composer stays in the desired bent position without requiring a locking mechanism and features the new Lensbaby Optic Swap System.  The Composer’s unique barrel focusing ring automatically dampens the movement of the optic (requiring greater rotation to move the optic in and out) as you approach infinity, making it easer to focus on subjects from 10 feet to infinity.

The Muse replaces the Original Lensbaby and Lensbaby 2.0 lenses while being very similar in appearance and functionality. Photographers will still focus by compressing the lens and move the sweet spot by bending the flexible lens tubing.  The key update for the Muse is its new Lensbaby Optic Swap System.

The Control Freak updates the Lensbaby 3G by adding the Lensbaby Optic Swap System.  With The Control Freak, photographers compress to focus, bend to move the sweet spot, and then push a button to lock the lens in place.  Once locked, photographers can adjust the fine focus with a barrel focusing ring and fine tune the tilt by rotating its three metal posts.

All three lenses - the Composer, Muse, and Control Freak – feature the Lensbaby Optic Swap System and will come complete with one optic installed. Additional optics are available as optional accessories.  When a photographer wants to change the optic in their Lensbaby, they will simply pop the optic out and drop in a different optic using an Optic Swap Tool supplied with the new optic.  Each optic has different features and image qualities, allowing photographers to choose the look that fits their creative style.

The Lensbaby Optic Swap System will include four interchangeable optic options:

•    Double Glass: A 50mm multi-coated optical glass.
•    Single Glass: a 50 mm, updated, uncoated optical glass singlet. At f/2, the Single Glass Optic is one full stop brighter (2x as bright) than the previous Original Lensbaby Optic.
•    Plastic: a 50 mm f/2 plastic singlet that maximizes blur and diffusion in a dreamy way that Holga™ and Diana™ camera lovers will especially appreciate.
•    The Pinhole/Zone plate: an optic cup with an f/177 aperture hole to allow for pinhole photography and an f/19 Zone plate opening.  Users can slide a toggle inside the optic to change to back and forth between Pinhole and Zone plate mode, allowing further artistic exploration.

The Composer – Smooth and Precise
Suggested retail price £164.99

•    Complete with the Double Glass optic installed (a multi-coated optical glass doublet)
•    Features the Lensbaby Optic Swap system
•    Focal Length: 50mm
•    Focus Type: Manual
•    Features a unique barrel focusing ring that becomes more sensitive (requiring greater rotation to move the optic in and out) as you approach infinity, making it easier to focus on subjects from 10 feet to infinity.
•    Aperture Type: Interchangeable levitating aperture disks
•    Apertures: f/2, f/2.8, f/4, f/5.6, f/8, f/11, f/16, f/22
•    Minimum Focus: about 46cm / Maximum Focus: Infinity

The Muse – Fast and loose
Suggested retail price £99.99 with double glass optic
Suggested retail price £64.99 with plastic optic

•    Complete with either the Double Glass optic installed or the Plastic optic installed.
•    Features the Lensbaby Optic Swap system
•    Focal Length: right around 50mm
•    Focus Type: Manual…Fingertip, actually
•    Aperture Type: Interchangeable levitating aperture disks
•    Aperture: f/2, f/2.8, f/4, f/5.6, f/8
•    Minimum Focus: approximately 30 cm / Maximum Focus: Infinity and beyond

The Control Freak – Methodical and Step-by-step
Suggested retail price £170.00

•    Complete with the Double Glass Optic installed
•    Features the Lensbaby Optic Swap system
•    Focal Length: 50mm
•    Focus Type: Manual/Fingertip, with barrel fine focus
•    Aperture Type: Interchangeable levitating aperture disks
•    Aperture: f/2, f/2.8, f/4, f/5.6, f/8, f/11, f/16, f/22
•    Minimum Focus: approximately 30 cm / Maximum Focus: Infinity

All 3 new Lensbabies will be available in the UK from late November.
Suggested Retail Prices as follows:

•    The Composer        £164.99
•    The Muse            FROM £64.99
•    The Control Freak        £170.00
•    Optic Swap System        FROM £22.99

With the imminent arrival of the much-anticipated EOS 5D Mk II Park Cameras, in partnership with Canon UK, is able to announce a truly unique photographic event taking place at their newly opened Showroom in Burgess Hill, West Sussex.

On Wednesday 3rd December photo enthusiasts visiting Park Cameras will not only have the chance to purchase and own one of the first EOS 5D Mk II’s in the UK* but also take advantage of an exclusive instore event focusing on this long-awaited model.

During the course of the day, Canon’s Professional Centre Team will descend upon Park Cameras to promote the virtues of both the EOS 5D Mk II and EOS 50D. Our brand new ‘Touch and Try’ Showroom will showcase both models along with dozens of lenses and accessories accompanied by the expert advice of the Professional Centre Team.

Taking centre stage will be two talks, held in conjunction with Park Cameras’ School of Photography, focusing on both models delivered by the respected photographer, David Newton. David, with the assistance of model Claire Guest, will take delegates through both cameras, focusing especially on the added features and benefits of the EOS 5D Mk II, highlighting exactly why Canon’s latest DSLR offering has been well worth the wait.

In addition, members of Canon’s European Professional Team will also be on hand to conduct Q+A sessions throughout the day on both the EOS 5D Mk II and EOS 50D, ensuring that this event lives up to its unique billing.

For more information please visit the Park Cameras training pages, www.ParkCameras.com/Training or call a member of the Park Cameras sales team on 01444 23 70 70.

A justification of helping thousands of photographers over the last 20 years is how some people might see the recent extraordinary double awarded to Ray Lowe.

At the recent annual professional photographic awards in Newcastle, Ray Lowe was presented with his second unprecedented Honorary Fellowship by the MPA (Master Photographers Association) this follows the BIPP (British Institute of Professional Photographers) awarding Ray their Honorary Fellowship a couple of months ago.

The last recipients of the BIPP Honorary Fellowships were Lord Puttman, Lichfield and Snowdon, as Ray said ‘to follow a trio of names that are at the pinnacle of our profession is indeed a humbling experience.

These remarkable achievements of double Honorary Fellowships has never before been awarded to anyone in the photographic industry, and come with a citation that says, ‘awarded in recognition of outstanding service and contribution to the photographic profession of Great Britain’.

Ray is now running a series of wedding and portrait Masterclasses from his studios in Hertfordshire and will continue in his efforts to improve the standards of people entering our profession. www.rayloweseminars.co.uk

For further details contact Ray on 07703273087 or ray@raylowe.co.uk

With Christmas just around the corner, we’re sure to see a wealth of innovative new products to tempt you to part with your cash. Sony have launched two new digital photo frames to excite the gift buying masses…

Sony’s new Digital Photo Frames offer a stylish way of displaying images that are often forgotten about and stored on a PC, camera or memory card.  Take a trip down memory lane by displaying favourite pictures from unforgettable holidays, family celebrations and lively nights out.

The Sony DPF-D80 and DPF-D100 are great Christmas gifts for any photo lover, both frames are available in glossy black or chocolate brown finish, and boast an impressive 8 inch and 10.4 inch screen respectively.

Images are displayed on a high quality screen and thanks to the smart orientation sensor, images are automatically rotated according to whether the frame has been positioned in a portrait or landscape position.

No need to be selective - a massive 500 images can be displayed on the D80 and D100 thanks to the internal 256mb memory.  Large files are automatically re-scaled so that they don’t take up too much memory, but are large enough to look fantastic in the frame.  The frames support a range of memory cards, including; MS, MS Duo, SD, CF and Xd so compability isn’t a problem.

Operation is easy, there are no fiddly menus - just press the ‘View’ button and choose your preferred viewing mode. The frames come with a wireless remote for switching easily between a choice of 10 slideshow modes allowing you can show off your pictures exactly the way you want.  Alternatively select the clock and calendar display modes and have a different image displayed for every day of the week, month or year.

The D80 and D100 digital photo frames will be available from October 2008 on www.sonystyle.co.uk.

The Sigma Corporation is pleased to announce the acquisition of Foveon Inc and Foveon is now a Sigma company. Sigma has acquired 100% of the stock of the company that developed the original three-layer image sensor. Foveon will continue its sensor development operations in San Jose, CA, USA.

Foveon made history when it developed and patented the world’s first three-layer image capture technology, placing a stack of RGB pixels in each pixel location. As a result, Foveon sensors detect all three primary colours in every pixel location, producing images that are sharper and have significantly reduced image artifacts compared to competing image sensor technologies.

Since Sigma first worked with Foveon in 2000, both companies have enjoyed a cooperative working relationship directed toward developing highly-efficient DSLR cameras and compact digital cameras which take the best advantage of the X3 sensor technology. Sigma Corporation has employed Foveon’s technology in its entire digital camera line, producing images which are acclaimed by both amateur and professional photographers all over the world for their high resolution and for their three-dimensional look. Both the latest DLSR, the SD14, and the compact DP1 camera have met with similar acclaim. Two additional Sigma camera products based on Foveon’s image sensor technology have been announced for 2009.

The acquisition of Foveon will not only enhance the development of new types of image sensors for high quality digital cameras, but will also create a synergistic effect with Sigma’s camera and lens business by improving the integration between the camera and sensor. This will result in camera products which will uniquely meet the widely ranging functional and image quality needs of demanding photographers.

As the digital camera market continues to expand, Foveon and Sigma will continuously evolve and improve the X3 sensor technology, thus expanding the company’s photography-related business. In addition, Sigma remains firmly committed to preserving and nurturing the culture of photography.

More information about Foveon, Inc. can be found at www.foveon.com.

This Christmas, why not light up those happy faces (or create your new eBay business), with the new Elinchrom D-Lite 2/4 studio flash kit.

Swiss quality and precise control are key features, and the Lighting Guide DVD and super price are your guarantee of lasting value.
£349 including Vat — see www.theflashcentre.com or visit your nearest dealer.

The DPOTY Awards are now closed for entries. Judges will be busy for the next two weeks making some hard choices, with winners being announced at the end of the year…

Watch this space!

A dramatic image of a blood-splattered model draped in fake fur, created by students Daniel Jon and Jessica Baek at Kingston University, has scooped two prizes in Design Against Fur, a competition with a conscience…

Press release: It was designed to shock – and it certainly caused a stir, scooping second place in Design Against Fur, a competition with a conscience.

Kingston University students Daniel Jon and Jessica Baek’s dramatic image of a blood-splattered model draped in fur has beaten off competition from more than 500 students at universities and art colleges around the United Kingdom.  Organised by the campaign group Respect for Animals, the contest challenged entrants to produce a poster with a strong animal protection message, aimed at raising awareness about the fur trade.

Setting up the shoot at one of Kingston University’s photographic studios, using a professional model draped in fake fur, took several hours. “We wanted to provoke the viewer,” Daniel, 24, said. “At first glance, our image looks like a cinema poster with a model reclining in an elegant pose. Then the blood on her body becomes more evident and the full horror of the image sinks in. Our message is that if people were in their fur instead of their own skin, they would be feeling a lot of pain in that situation.”

The pair also carried off the Persula Award, which is given each year to a single entry by national charity The Persula Foundation.  Judges from the Foundation viewed all the entries without knowing whether they are winners in the main competition. They collected their prizes from MP Vernon Coker at an awards ceremony held at London’s Dreamspace gallery.

“Daniel and Jessica’s design communicates an important message – that the overwhelming majority of people do not want to buy real fur, and retailers need to take this message on board,” Nicki Brooks, Respect for Animals director, said.

Senior lecturer in graphic design, Marion Morrison, said it was no surprise that her Kingston University students had caught the judges’ eyes. “Both Daniel and Jessica have the energy and drive to solve design problems in an informed and inventive way. They especially enjoy the debate around challenging topics – as demonstrated by their work for the Design Against Fur campaign,” Ms Morrison said. While Daniel has remained at Kingston following his graduation to continue his studies with an MA in Screen Design for Film and TV, Jessica has now returned home to her native Korea.