Adam Pretty

Adam Pretty is a world-recognized professional photographer.
Although he is now working in advertising, he is more famous for his sport photographs.
Adam Pretty has won numerous awards from international contests, such as World Press Photo and Pictures Of The Year International, and it is no accident.


Visit his website, you will understand what I'm talking about!

A fencing duel, great example of motion blur by Adam Pretty

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What The Duck

« What The duck » is a comic about photography, which is published as a daily strip of three panels. A moment of humour, comic and photo in a single strip every morning!

Digital reprography by Aaron Johnson

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Vincent Munier: Wildlife photographer

I visit a lot of photographers websites for the purpose of this blog. Sometimes I find websites with gorgeous photos.
Vincent Munier's website is different. It is filled with magnificent pictures, but there is more. The photographs, and the website itself are an invitation to quietness, nature respect and listening.

Vincent Munier is a wildlife photographer whose photographs radiates passion. I highly recommend you visit his website.

Red fox by Vincent Munier

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Hraunfoss við Fimmvörðuháls!

Lavafall in from a vulcano in Iceland
Hraunfoss við Fimmvörðuháls! by Kristján Freyr Þrastarson

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Accessory guide: remote

Whether you like it or not, Christmas time is coming! Happy time for receiving, but it's also a time for giving.

If you want to offer a present to a photographer (maybe yourself!), these "Accessory guide" articles might come in handy. I know photography equipment is often very expensive, so I'll start with unexpensive yet very useful accessories.

Today: remote controllers. They start at a really affordable price (a few dollars!), and they are essential in some situations:

• self portrait or group portrait in which the photographer wants to appear
• long exposure shots (especially bulb shots)
• any case in which it is crucial that the camera does not shake while taking the picture

Usually they are categorized by communication type: wire, infrared, radio. You could also categorize them by functionality: only shutter release for the simplest, or advance controls such as timer settings, exposure length or zoom. And some can do a lot more.

Wired remote controllers do not allow self-portrait, unless you use a timer in which case you don't really need the remote... But in general they are the cheapest, and they are a good choice for light painting and motion blur.

Infrared remotes let you take self-portrait, the problem is then to hide the remote, as you need to point it to the camera!

And then, there are radio remotes which are more expensive, but easy to use and more practical.

Last but not least, onOne software presents... the iPhone app! Yes, that's right! This application only works for Canon and Nikon (sorry), and is not free, but it lets you perform many operations. The counterpart is that you need a computer with WiFi connection to the iPhone, and USB connection to the camera to use it (you'd better have a laptop...).


Remote controllers are great for the price, I am sure not every photographer has one, but all could use it!

01/52 In between by .lisakimberly. taken with a Canon RC-1

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365: one photo a day

One photo a day; this is how many photographers have challenged themselves. It's called a 365. flickr has many of these galleries, and there are even websites specialized in hosting this kind of project.

I was very curious about this concept, how it started. After some research on the Internet, bingo!

It is time for this blog to have its first thread: each thursday from this day on, I will post a 365 you can follow.

In tribute to Stephen Poff, let's see what he can do!

Sometimes you just have to dance by Stephen Poff

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National Geographic Photo Contest 2010

If you have ever had a National Geographic magazine in your hands, you must have noticed how it is filled with magnificient photographs.

Do you dream of showing one of your greatest work in the National Geographic? Now is your chance!! National Geographic is running a photo contest which ends Novembre 30. Submit your photographs here.

Results are to be published in early december; the lizard will keep you posted. Meanwhile, browse previous years winning shots!

Manatee and fish by Yusuke Okada

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Gigapixel

The race for megapixels has begun with digital photography, to build sensors capable of higher and higher resolutions. Marketing speech or real need, I'll let each reader decide for themselves.
More recently, a race for gigapixels has been running. This time, it is not about each camera's datasheet, it is about building enormous pictures out of hundreds or thousands of photographs, often taken by a few cameras. A flash or silverlight plugin lets you navigate the picture, zoom in or out to admire the precision of each detail.

The most recent of these pictures is 360° view of London, regrouping 7886 photographs!

London 80 Gigapixel, Image by Jeffrey Martin, www.360cities.net

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Yoga fire!

Remember Dhalsim from Street Fighter 2, fire breathing and yelling "Yoga fire!" (yes, at the same time!)? I have no doubt many of you have, even once, wished they could one day master fire just like him.
Well people, this day has come! Not exactly, actually, for you will not master fire yourself, but you can experience the feeling through these fire photographs: Hongkiat - 30 captivating fire dancing photos

Playing with fire by Matthias Fahsold

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Image Deblurring

Yes, I know. A few days ago I was praising blur on photographs, and now I am talking about deblurring! Blur is not always the result of the willing of the photographer to introduce a motion effect. In many cases, it happens when you unintentionally move while taking the picture.

The Microsoft research lab has been working on an interesting method to undo this effect and get a sharp image instead.
It requires measurement sensors to be implemented on the camera, so it will not work with your current camera, but it might inspire manufacturers for new models.

Microsoft Research - Image Deblurring using Inertial Measurement Sensors

Result of image deblurring by Microsoft Research

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Fireworks photograph tips

Fireworks are gorgeous. They are a powerful ballet of sounds and lights. And what make them so special to me, is that they remind me of holiday, no matter what time of the year it is.

I want to share two links of ten tips each. Why sharing two links this time? Well, I found it funny to come across two articles of ten tips each and have so few in common!

Photofos - 10 fireworks photograph tips
Digital photography school - How to photograph fireworks

Singapore new year 2009 fireworks by Souvik Prometure

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Motion blur

When first learning about photography, we believe we should always avoid blur. What a terrible mistake!

Through blur you can add an important missing information into a photograph: motion.

Digital photography school has published an article that will illustrate motion blur and give you advice to take your own photos: 13 places to practice taking beautiful motion blur images.

Beatnik by digitalpimp

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HDR Creme

You have probably seen HDR images (High Dynamic Range), maybe without knowing it. You know, these pictures with so many colors and so much contrast that you think they are paintings.
As wikipedia explains, "this wide dynamic range allows HDR images to more accurately represent the range of intensity levels found in real scenes, ranging from direct sunlight to faint starlight".

Find out about HDR Creme, "the reference website for HDR photos".

Delicate Arch by Darryl Stair

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All eyes

Lights on a profession today: reporter photographer.
Photographs report news in a very personnal way, they are the printed version of what the reporter sees.

Following news on the photo blog All eyes is an interesting way of keeping up with worldwide information.

Hajj by Hassan Ammar (AP Photo)

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Photojojo Store

The Photojojo Store is a webstore made for gadget lovers.
If you are looking for a present for a photographer, search no more, this site is for you ! Mug made out of a lens, miniature camera or spy lens are a few examples of products you can find in this store.

Happy shopping!

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Toronto in the fog

A few days ago, Toronto was covered with fog: many photographers did not miss the chance capture the moment!

blogTo, a blog dedicated to the canadian city, posted an article compiling pictures of the weather event: Photos of Toronto engulfed in fog.

A tale of one fog by Natta Summerky

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A few answers for beginners

Did you know about 5 millions digital camera have been sold In France last year? Even though this statistic includes mobile phones with embedded camera, the digital photography market is expanding.

As a beginner, it is difficult to enter that world made of electronics, optics, computer science.
To help you understand the basics of digital photography, the lizard suggests the article 20 questions and answers for new photographers from photo tuts+.

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Outdoor photos

I believe Nature is the greatest artistic inspiration. Poetry, architecture, cinema and of course photography are deeply influenced by Nature, its power, its wonderful landscapes.

Today the lizard brings you to a website which compiles amazing "outdoor photos" of all continents.

At the head of the Yellow Dragon by pm4you

Visit http://www.outdoor-photos.com/.

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Toys

Who has not kept a little part of their child's soul? Dreamed about toy stories with their toys they have left in a closet at their parents?

Well some photographers turn these dreams into reality; you can find very funny photos including Star Wars toys, Lego, and even... squirrels chipmunks!

OMAGOSH by powerpig

Follow these crazy stories on Flickr Star Wars Toys group!

UPDATE: Powerpig pointed out these are not squirrels but chipmunks. Thanks!

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