Holland America Line and Microsoft Introduce Onboard Digital Workshops

Guests learn digital photography and video editing, blogging, and Web skills while cruising.

Guests on Holland America Line ships will be able to “show and tell” their vacation memories when the companies launch Holland America Line Digital Workshop powered by Microsoft Windows on the ms Amsterdam and the ms Oosterdam, followed by the ms Westerdam in June and the line’s new Signature-class, 2,104-passenger ship, the ms Eurodam, in July, expanding fleetwide within 18 months. Free workshops led by Microsoft-trained “techsperts” will show even the most novice camera or computer user how to take better vacation photos, make movies, edit pictures and create scrapbooks using a variety of Microsoft Windows and Windows Live services. Guests will learn how to share all their digital memories through e-mail, blogging and social networking — so friends and family can see where they’ve been cruising even before they return home.
“Holland America Line is constantly looking for ways to enhance our enrichment offerings to our guests,” said Richard D. Meadows, CTC, executive vice president, marketing, sales and guest programs. “It was a natural fit to team up with the world’s software leader to provide this interactive ‘edutainment.’ Not only will guests have fun learning how to document and share their memories, they’ll take home new knowledge and confidence in technology.”
“We are excited to be working with the Holland America Line, the highest-rated premium cruise line in the world, to provide this innovative and immersive program,” said Debbie Anderson, director of Windows Consumer Marketing, Microsoft Corp. “With the Holland America Digital Workshop, cruise guests will be able to use Microsoft Windows and Windows Live to share their experiences with friends and family in a relaxed setting as they sail to exotic destinations around the world. It’s thrilling to see that even in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, Windows can help people make memories and stay in touch in fun new ways.”
The program, which is complimentary and has its own dedicated space on each ship, kicks off with a 50-minute session. Called “Just Shoot Me,” the session provides tips and tricks on how to take the best pictures, and introduces passengers to onboard editing and movie-making resources available on the cruise, including Windows Live Photo Gallery and Windows Movie Maker.
The “Just Shoot Me” session will be followed by jargon-free interactive sessions, also 50 minutes in length, designed for smaller groups to try out the technologies themselves in a hands-on environment. These workshops include the following:
•
On the download. How to move images between a digital camera and a Windows-based personal computer, with basic instruction.
•
Put your best face forward. How to crop and color-correct digital photos and easily create panoramic pictures by stitching photos together using Windows Live Photo Gallery.
•
Your “home away from home” movie. How to add music, special effects and titles to your videos and publish to a DVD using Windows Movie Maker.
•
Show and tell. How to create and upload photos to a personal Web page, invite friends to view the Web page, and e-mail photos using a variety of Windows Live services.
•
Your 15 minutes of fame. How to turn your vacation journal into a blog by creating a basic Web page and blog entries using Windows Live Spaces and Windows Live Writer.
•
A click ahead. How to design a photo card and a basic scrapbook, as well as how to order notepads, stickers, posters and other photo-related items from the Internet using Windows Live Photo Gallery.
The digital workshop showcases state-of-the-art technology provided and maintained by Microsoft — including Windows Vista-certified computers, servers, printers, scanners and a wireless network. The workshops will also feature flat-screen TVs for easy viewing of videos and “techspert” demonstrations.
Guests can choose to attend all or just some of the workshops, each which will be offered at various times and days throughout each cruise. Multiple workshops will be held every day. In addition, one-on-one coaching, called “Techspert Time,” will also be available for over 20 hours each week.
About Holland America Line (a division of Carnival Corp. and plc (NYSE: CCL and CUK))
Holland America Line’s fleet of 13 ships offers nearly 500 cruises to 314 ports of call in 97 countries, territories or dependencies. Two- to 108-day itineraries visit all seven continents, including Antarctica, South America, Australia/New Zealand and Asia voyages; a Grand World Voyage; and popular sailings to ports in the Caribbean, Alaska, Mexico, Canada/New England, Europe and Panama Canal. A 14th ship, ms Eurodam, sails its Maiden Voyage in July 2008.
Fleetwide, the company features Signature of Excellence enhancements, totaling more than $425 million, that showcase the Culinary Arts Center presented by Food & Wine magazine — a state-of-the-art onboard show kitchen where more than 60 celebrated guest chefs and culinary experts provide cooking demonstrations and classes — Explorations Café powered by The New York Times, teens-only activity areas and all new stateroom amenities highlighted by flat-panel TVs and plush Euro-top Mariner’s Dream Beds.
World’s Leading Cruise Lines
The highest-rated premium cruise line in the world, Holland America Line is a member of the exclusive World’s Leading Cruise Lines alliance, which also includes Carnival Cruise Lines, Princess Cruises, Cunard Line, Seabourn Cruise Line and Costa Cruises. Sharing a passion to please each guest and a commitment to quality and value, these lines appeal to a wide range of lifestyles and budgets. The World’s Leading Cruise Lines offer exciting and enriching cruise vacations to the world’s most desirable destinations.
About Microsoft
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.
Note to editors: If you are interested in viewing additional information on Microsoft, please visit the Microsoft Web page at http://www.microsoft.com/presspass on Microsoft’s corporate information pages. Web links, telephone numbers and titles were correct at time of publication, but may since have changed. For additional assistance, journalists and analysts may contact Microsoft’s Rapid Response Team or other appropriate contacts listed at http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/contactpr.mspx.

More at microsoft.com/

Picture of the day:

Local Sports Events

Steer Wrestling at the Rodeo

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Lost cameras "phone home" to catch thieves

Alison DeLauzon thought the snapshots and home videos of her infant son were gone for good when she lost her digital camera while on vacation in Florida.

Then a funny thing happened: her camera "phoned home."
Equipped with a special memory card with wireless Internet capability, DeLauzon's camera had not only automatically sent her holiday pictures to her computer, but had even uploaded photos of the miscreants who swiped her equipment bag after she accidentally left it behind at a restaurant.
"I opened up the Eye-Fi manager on the computer and, lo and behold, there are the guys that stole our cameras," said DeLauzon, a native of New York's Long Island suburb. "Not only is it the guy who stole our camera ... but the guy took a picture of (his accomplice) holding our other camera."

Read Franklin Paul's full article at NEW YORK (Reuters)

Photo of the day:

Beautiful Scottland

Scottish Highlands in Fog

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Kodak Uses Its Document Imaging Solutions to Manage Sales Information at drupa

Duesseldorf, GERMANY, June 5—KODAK i1220 Scanners with KODAK Capture Pro Software are being used to quickly and conveniently capture, store and manage data on prospective customers at Kodak’s drupa stand.

Document imaging solutions streamline the process of capturing and storing sales information, leading to more effective and efficient follow up by sales representatives. The i1220 scanners digitally capture information from documents such as forms and business cards, and convert it into user friendly formats, such as TIFF and JPEG. Digital data can be used immediately to easily create lists of sales leads, contact management reports, and other sales related activities.

“An automated system for managing sales leads plays an important role in accelerating the overall selling process, from making a contact to signing the contract,” said Dolores Kruchten, General Manager, Document Imaging, Vice President, Kodak’s Graphic Communications Group, and Vice President, Eastman Kodak Company. “Document imaging solutions, such as the i1220 scanners, can serve as a key component of a company’s comprehensive sales strategy at events such as drupa by allowing front office business processes to be directly initiated from the show floor.”

Advances in document capture and content management technologies are making customer response management more effective by keeping critical information current and accessible for a wide range of services and users. New digital tools and applications immediately allow access to digitized content for use in implementing electronic and web based marketing campaigns and measuring customer responses.

KODAK Products are backed by KODAK Service and Support. KODAK Service and Support is made up of more than 3,000 professionals reaching more than 120 countries. It is a leading multi-vendor integrated services provider, delivering consulting, installation, maintenance and support services for the commercial printing, graphic communications, document imaging and data storage industries. KODAK Service and Support professionals are uniquely qualified to provide services that control costs, maximize productivity, and minimize business risk.

About Kodak

As the world's foremost imaging innovator, Kodak helps consumers, businesses, and creative professionals unleash the power of pictures and printing to enrich their lives.

To learn more, visit http://www.kodak.com/, and our blogs: 1000words.kodak.com, PluggedIn.kodak.com, and GrowYourBiz.kodak.com.

More information about KODAK Document Imaging Scanners is available at www.kodak.com/go/docimaging.
(Kodak is a trademark of Eastman Kodak Company.)

Credits: outputlinks.com/

Image of the day:

Miscellaneous Things on the Street

Fireplug

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Light is the essence of photography

Light is the essence of photography. It’s not things that we photograph, but the light they reflect. Without light, there is no photography and the way things look to us and the camera is entirely dependant on the light that reaches them.People talk about the “quality” of light, but in fact this is a combination of four different things that all light sources possess.

Every light has a level, a colour, a direction and can either be hard or soft. Unless you are working in a studio, where you have total control over the lighting, the first thing any photographer should do is to make an assessment of the light in terms of these four aspects

Colin Aiken is a professional photographer based in the United Kingdom. You can view his photographs and get tips at: Love the Pictures - A site for people who love photography

He now published "Light for Photographers".
Click over to Picture Correct to read and learn about the combination of four different things that all light sources possess.

Image of the day:

Christmas Holiday Decoration

Hand-Crafted Christmas Balls

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4305 Cullmann Grounder/Macro Tripod

Manufactured of high-strength, super light aircraft alloy, the black anodized leg segments feature a unique octagonal profile which enhances the rigidity of the tripod. With a leg spread of nearly 6 ft., it provides maximum stability for nature, macro, architectural or portrait photography. Each leg segment is independently adjustable so that the tripod can easily be locked on uneven terrain. The center column is easily removable from the main body of the tripod via a spring-loaded locking screw. Once removed, the center column can be inserted “upside-down” with the tripod collar, facilitating close focus/macro photography. Large easily,adjustable lever locks enable fast height adjustments. Weighs less than 4 lbs. MSRP $179.

Since 1955, Cullmann GmbH has been manufacturing professional tripods and accessories for both still, digital, and video applications. In each system of tripods available, there is a variety of tripods for every purpose and every pocket. The individual tripods can be constantly extended with the many variable system accessories. Cullmann tripods are noted for their outstanding stability and ease of handling. The " quick release " system of allowing the photographer to put on and take off his or her photo equipment from their tripod was invented by Mr. Cullmann, and is now a universal system of camera mounting. Many other innovations, such as built in carrying handles, hexagonal shaped legs ( for greater stability and support ) top lock adjustment levers, and center columns which can be removed from the tripod body to be used as monopods, all add up to the most extensive line of advanced amateur and professional tripods and accessories available today.

R.T.S. is the exclusive U.S. distributor of Cullmann photographic accessories. http://www.rtsphoto.com/

credits: Shutterbug

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Hardy Shade Flowers

Canda Thistle

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The war on photography

What is it with photographers these days? Are they really all terrorists, or does everyone just think they are?

Security expert Bruce Schneier examines the war on photography in more detail in his latest blog post.

"Since 9/11, there has been an increasing war on photography. Photographers have been harrassed, questioned, detained, arrested or worse, and declared to be unwelcome. We've been repeatedly told to watch out for photographers, especially suspicious ones. Clearly any terrorist is going to first photograph his target, so vigilance is required.
Except that it's nonsense. The 9/11 terrorists didn't photograph anything. Nor did the London transport bombers, the Madrid subway bombers, or the liquid bombers arrested in 2006. Timothy McVeigh didn't photograph the Oklahoma City Federal Building. The Unabomber didn't photograph anything; neither did shoe-bomber Richard Reid. Photographs aren't being found amongst the papers of Palestinian suicide bombers. The IRA wasn't known for its photography. Even those manufactured terrorist plots that the US government likes to talk about -- the Ft. Dix terrorists, the JFK airport bombers, the Miami 7, the Lackawanna 6 -- no photography.
Given that real terrorists, and even wannabe terrorists, don't seem to photograph anything, why is it such pervasive conventional wisdom that terrorists photograph their targets? Why are our fears so great that we have no choice but to be suspicious of any photographer?
Because it's a movie-plot threat.
A movie-plot threat is a specific threat, vivid in our minds like the plot of a movie. You remember them from the months after the 9/11 attacks: anthrax spread from crop dusters, a contaminated milk supply, terrorist scuba divers armed with almanacs. Our imaginations run wild with detailed and specific threats, from the news, and from actual movies and television shows. These movie plots resonate in our minds and in the minds of others we talk to. And many of us get scared.
Terrorists taking pictures is a quintessential detail in any good movie. Of course it makes sense that terrorists will take pictures of their targets. They have to do reconnaissance, don't they? We need 45 minutes of television action before the actual terrorist attack -- 90 minutes if it's a movie -- and a photography scene is just perfect. It's our movie-plot terrorists that are photographers, even if the real-world ones are not.
The problem with movie-plot security is it only works if we guess the plot correctly. If we spend a zillion dollars defending Wimbledon and terrorists blow up a different sporting event, that's money wasted. If we post guards all over the Underground and terrorists bomb a crowded shopping area, that's also a waste. If we teach everyone to be alert for photographers, and terrorists don't take photographs, we've wasted money and effort, and taught people to fear something they shouldn't.
And even if terrorists did photograph their targets, the math doesn't make sense. Billions of photographs are taken by honest people every year, 50 billion by amateurs alone in the US And the national monuments you imagine terrorists taking photographs of are the same ones tourists like to take pictures of. If you see someone taking one of those photographs, the odds are infinitesimal that he's a terrorist.
Of course, it's far easier to explain the problem than it is to fix it. Because we're a species of storytellers, we find movie-plot threats uniquely compelling. A single vivid scenario will do more to convince people that photographers might be terrorists than all the data I can muster to demonstrate that they're not.
Fear aside, there aren't many legal restrictions on what you can photograph from a public place that's already in public view. If you're harassed, it's almost certainly a law enforcement official, public or private, acting way beyond his authority. There's nothing in any post-9/11 law that restricts your right to photograph.
This is worth fighting. Search "photographer rights" on Google and download one of the several wallet documents that can help you if you get harassed; I found one for the UK, US, and Australia. Don't cede your right to photograph in public. Don't propagate the terrorist photographer story. Remind them that prohibiting photography was something we used to ridicule about the USSR. Eventually sanity will be restored, but it may take a while."

This essay originally appeared in The Guardian.

Join the discussion ...

Photo of the day:

Sunset over Arches National Park

Silhouette of The Three Gossips, well ... one of them

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Does anyone out there still use film in his camera?

Refocusing on Digital Cameras
Digital cameras are increasingly easy to use. They've gotten a lot cheaper, too—a boon to consumers, but not to camera companies.

Photo film, like typewriter ribbon, television antennas, and leaded fuel, has been reconciled to the dusty storage room of history where all once-cutting-edge technology seems eventually to land. Some diehards still insist on clattering away on their old Remingtons or tooling around the countryside in their vintage Packards, but the rest of us have moved on.
In fact, the digital camera conquest of the consumer photography business has been near-total, as the numbers demonstrate. An April, 2008, report from Forrester Research (FORR) claims more than 6 out of 10 individuals in the U.S. owns a digital camera. There are several reasons behind this rise. First, digital cameras have become easier to use; second, thanks to broadband Internet penetration, more users are able to upload and share their photographs online; and lastly, digital cameras have become a lot cheaper.

Sales Level Off
That's good news for consumers, but it presents a problem for camera makers. Like the computer, another popular device whose success eats into its profitability, digital cameras are in an increasingly mature market, as it nears maximum penetration and its rate of growth slows. (Not to mention increasing competition from constantly improving cell-phone cameras.) The trick now is to enter new markets as well as develop new technologies that will keep existing users coming back.
According to Chris Chute of research firm IDC (IDC), we will "see a gradually maturing market where sales growth gradually levels off—at about 35 million units per year in the U.S., as opposed to 38 million in 2007." He also points out that in 2007, 131 million units were shipped worldwide. This represented a 24% growth rate, compared with 15% in 2006. However, this was a reversal of the trend that has seen the digital camera market experiencing a slowing rate of growth over the previous three years.
He attributes the unexpected jump in sales growth in 2007 to a higher churn rate than anticipated—it seems a consumer digital camera's life span is probably about two years, a lot like the mobile phone, and people replace them on a regular basis. He doesn't expect this to change much, "because at these prices the cameras won't be robust enough to last more than a couple of years anyway."

DSLR Growth
But one subsector of the business has picked up the slack from the now-ubiquitous digital compact camera and is providing the double benefit of stellar growth and fatter margins for the producers—digital single lens reflex cameras, or DSLRs.
Although DSLRs capture only 8% of the global market, according to IDC, their sales grew at a 41% clip last year, almost twice that of digital cameras as a whole.
This is being driven by second- or third-time buyers who are upgrading from point-and-shoot cameras to these more sophisticated models, what the industry calls "prosumer" DSLRs. With an average price of about $800, fatter margins, and a healthy accessory market, DSLRs have really been a boon to manufacturers, particularly Canon (CAJ) and Nikon (NINOF).
Margins are helped by the fact that Canon and Nikon do not need to develop new technology for consumer DSLRs—they just adapt technology originally developed for their professional DSLRs, so these $750 to $1,500 cameras represent a very lucrative business, even if the number of total units shipped is still relatively small.
Shifting Demographics
Originally, it seemed men were pretty much the only ones sporting these status symbols around their necks. But according to IDC's Chute, in the last year the demographics have started to shift toward women as manufacturers have put a lot of effort into producing smaller and lighter models, such as the Nikon D60.
As the compact digital market has matured, cameras have become more alike, boasting the same features that vendors have figured out users want. As Brian O'Rourke, an analyst at Phoenix-based high-tech market research firm In-Stat, points out: "As sales have grown, the photographic knowledge of the typical user drops. It's not the hobbyist area it was six years ago."

Narrowing Choices
So with summer arriving fast, if you're thinking of buying your first digital camera, replacing that old four-megapixel number with the balky flash, or even upgrading to a fancy DSLR, take a look at the accompanying slide show—there is something for everybody there.
We looked at and tested a wide range of cameras from entry-level compact to consumer DSLRs and picked the best, in terms of image quality, features, and usability at a range of price points.
So, whether you're looking for a rugged point-and-shoot to take on the Appalachian Trail (the Olympus Stylus 1030SW) or a DSLR that can capture your kids' sporting achievements at three frames per second (the Panasonic Lumix DMC-L10), you will it find in the slide show.

Credits: Nick Passmore at businessweek.com
Click here to see a roundup of the best digital cameras for the buck.
Passmore is a writer and photographer living in New York City.

Picture of the day

Travel - Vacation Destination

Stirling Castle, Scotland

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Nikon Introduces Upgraded Capture NX 2 Photo Editing Software

Nikon Extends U Point to Masking In Capture NX

A new twist on U Point technology plus a slick retouching tool highlight the new Capture NX 2.
It's a crowded world on your hard disk. A lot of competent programs are competing to be part of your workflow solution. But workflow is still more work than flow.Nikon has revamped Capture NX, its image editing software, to make it about as easy (and fun) as it can get to make either global or local corrections to your favorite images. By extending U Point editing technology to masking, you can now apply 26 different adjustments to any part of an image.But the company didn't stop there. The new NX includes a retouching tool that can easily erase blemishes and dust with just a stroke of the mouse.Add configurable workspaces that are multi-monitor aware and you've got a little more flow to your workflow.

Read the review and the Original Source Press Release at imaging-resource.com/ or at pdn-pix.com.

Picture of the day

Wildlife Photograpy

Long-tailed White Weasel

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Kodak to Raise Prices for Paper, Ink Up to 20%

Eastman Kodak Co., the photography company reshaping itself in the digital age, said it will raise prices as much as 20 percent on products including paper, film and printing plates to counter higher raw material costs.

The prices take effect July 1 and will vary by product and region, the Rochester, New York-based company said in a statement May 30, 2008.

read more at : bloomberg.com

Photo of the day:

Recreation and Sports

Bull Riding at the Rodeo

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Extensis Portfolio

Extensis, a division of Celartem Inc., today announced highly respected professional photographers that trust their image collections to Extensis’ digital asset management solution Portfolio.
Extensis Portfolio Server 8.5 provides powerful Mac and Windows clients a complete web publishing solution and integration for CS3® applications.

About Portfolio
Portfolio 8.5 is the perfect software solution for marketing and creative workgroups—it streamlines workflows through efficient organization, viewing, routing, archiving and distribution of creative assets. A surprisingly affordable solution, Portfolio Server 8.5 ensures proper use of a brand’s creative assets across all internal and external teams, partners and vendors, while eliminating the guesswork involved in hunting down and tracking creative assets. Portfolio—trusted by IT; approved by creatives.
Individual creative professionals can also power up their workflow with Portfolio 8.5; the surprisingly affordable, easy-to-use desktop version is a top choice of graphic designers and photographers.

About Extensis
Extensis is a software developer that allows creative workgroups and professionals to streamline their workflow and secure their brand by efficiently and effectively managing their creative assets and fonts. Extensis’ award-winning client/server and desktop products are used by hundreds of Fortune 5000 companies and include Universal Type Server, Suitcase, Suitcase Fusion, and Font Reserve for font management and Portfolio for creative assets management. Extensis was founded in 1993 and is based in Portland, Oregon, and the United Kingdom. Extensis is a division of Celartem Inc., which is wholly owned by Celartem Technology Inc., (Hercules:4330). For additional information, visit http://www.extensis.com/ or call 1-800-796-9798.

About Celartem
Celartem Technology Inc. develops and sells innovative technologies for storage, access and distribution of rich media content. Celartem has developed technology in the areas of digital image compression, scalable image viewing and secure content distribution and management. Celartem is listed on the Osaka Securities Exchange, Hercules:4330. Established in 1996, Celartem is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan and has a wholly owned subsidiary, Celartem Inc. with headquarters in Seattle.

more at: Extensis

Picture of the day:

Breathtaking Scenery

North and South Window - The Arches National Park, Utah

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Workshop with Kevin Kubota - Secret Italy

For photographers who have never had the opportunity to travel to Italy, this is the perfect way to experience it and photograph it. For those photographers that have been to Italy before, then they already know why they want to go back. This time husband and wife team Kevin and Clare Kubota will share some of the undiscovered gems of this beautiful country that they know so well.

Daily photo excursions will include escorted trips to:
• Pompeii
• The island of Capri
• Amalfi Coast
• Adriatic Coast
• National Park of Abruzzo

There will be brief daily classroom time (1-2 hours) to discuss photo projects that will be assigned, talks about creativity followed by creative exercises, and the opportunity for participants to apply fine art Photoshop skills on their images. Class size is limited to 20 participants.

The cost of the 7-day trip is $2,995 for class attendees and $2,550 for non-class participants. Single participants will be partnered in gender specific rooms unless requesting a private room for an additional $300. (Actual costs are based on currency exchange rates and are subject to change.)

Partners will be able to join attendees for all of the group outings except the classroom time. The price includes lodging, all ground transportation (attendees are responsible for airfare to and from Rome’s Leonardo da Vinci international airport), 8 meals, guided tours, classroom instruction, photography review and a DVD of the class images and experience. The tour is organized and guided by native Italians, Max and Cristiana, who live in Umbria and have an incredible zest for sharing their culture and a unique insight into what the essence of Italy really is. This is not a typical tourist trip. It’s a photographic and cultural adventure!

Kubota Image Tools announces that there are still spots available for professional and advanced amateur photographers that would like to attend Kevin Kubota’s 4th creative Italy photography workshop. This inspiring 7-day photography workshop (October 5-11, 2008) includes several exciting photo excursions, classroom instruction, photography critiquing and more.

See the Kubota Image Tools Web site for up-to-the-minute details: http://www.kubotaimagetools.com/ or call 877-330-4330

credits: Shutterbug.com

Photo of the day:

Arts and Crafts

Stained Glass Window St Giles Cathedral Edinburgh Scotland

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8-Megapixels On Your Camera Phone?

OmniVision's new image sensor wants to increase the number of pixels on your cell phone without increasing its profile.

OmniVision Technologies on Tuesday introduced a new image sensor technology that they claim will pack more pixels in camera phones while retaining a sleek and skinny form factor.
Conventional CMOS image sensors utilize front side illumination technology, but the company's new OmniBSI architecture utilizes backside illumination. This allows manufacturers to deliver more pixels in a smaller package and deliver a higher resolution image in low-lighting settings, executives said.
Backside illumination technology isn't new -- it has been utilized in aerospace and military applications for years, but often in larger devices. But OmniVision credits its partnership with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation with making this technology manufacturable in high volumes.
"Although backside illumination concepts have been studied for over 20 years, up until now nobody has been able to successfully develop the process for commercial, high-volume CMOS sensor manufacturing," said Dr. Ken Chen, senior director, mainstream technology marketing, at TSMC.
While a megapixel race can be exciting, it can be a moot point if the image quality and resolution aren't up to snuff. OmniVision's new architecture will provide sharper images and more vibrant colors, particularly in situations with low lights, said Michael Hepp, product marketing manager, camera technologies group at OmniVision.
"In the public's mind, viewpoint quality has been equal to the number of pixels," said Hepp. "But with the next wave of products I believe you're going to see a larger emphasis on the camera's sensitivity."
OmniVision's client list includes all the major handset makers, but the company cannot disclose specific customers. While most phones currently have 3-megapixels or less, OmniVision is demonstrating an 8-megapixel OmniBSI CameraChip sensor and expects to start sampling the first products before the end of June.

Credits: Marin Perez InformationWeek
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Picture of the day:

From the Seasons collection

Birch Tree on a sunny winter's day

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Arabian Nights

Arabian Nights : Film Art from the Collection of the Kunstmuseum Bonn

"Every artist is a narcissist. This does not mean that he is vain; it only means that he is hopelessly self-absorbed." - Leo Rosten Arabian Nights : Film Art from the Collection of the Kunstmuseum Bonn Bonn, ...

Bonn, Germany - The Kunstmuseum Bonn has at its disposition one of the most important video collections in Germany. Its special significance comes not least of all from the fact that it is comprised of important and rare video works, above all from the 1970s, which the museum took over from the Ingrid Oppenheim Collection. In the seventies and early eighties Ingrid Oppenheim was a central figure in the Rhenish art scene, whose gallery became a platform for media art in ist infancy. After her sudden death in 1986, her collection was donated to the Kunstmuseum and became the basis of the museum’s video collection.

The upcoming exhibition presents films and slides from the mid-seventies, illustrating the media landscape in which video art evolved at that time. Two of those films, by Katharina Sieverding (born 1944) and Klaus Mettig (born 1950), also remind of the vibrancy of the brisk super 8 scene. Another important artistic format of those years is the dia projection, which sometimes acoustically accompanied, dominated the display of large-sized photography in exhibitions long before the present day formats. Dia art was less concerned about the aesthetic statement of a single picture, but rather about the evolution of visual stories. In the cases of Buthe (1944 – 1994) and Kohlhöfer (born 1942), they tell stories about journeys to foreign countries that serve as projection space for phantasy and inspire the artists’ work through the encounter of the foreign. This especially applies to Michael Buthe whose diary of a trip to Persia and Afghanistan shows alternatives to the aesthetics of the modernistic western world.

The exhibition aims to introduce a series of these video rarities and thus thematizes the very beginning of this visual medium.

The Kunstmuseum Bonn is a museum of modern art of the 20th century. The collection’s centers of gravity are “August Macke and the Rhenish Expressionists” and “German art after 1945”. In hardly any other German museum it is possible to track the development lines of German art as good as here. Both centers of gravity of the collection are discussed internationally and have been expanded by works of Robert Delaunay, for example, in the Macke department, in order to illustrate the changing influence of the national and international flow of art. With its changing exhibitions the museum concentrates on the international art scene of the 20th century, which is reflected in subject-related exhibitions, as well as individual representations.

Visit :
The Kunstmuseum Bonn:
www.kunstmuseum.bonn.de
and
artdaily.org

Photo of the day:

Living together peacefully

Sheltie and Black Cat

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Model Releases In-depth exploration

You may think that model releases aren't necessary for photos used in editorial contexts, but the truth is actually much more complex.
Here are some examples that came up in discussions, all of which share a common theme:

- You're a wedding photographer and you're shooting the bride and groom during a ceremony at their home.
- You're an equestrian photographer on a "farm call" to photograph a horse at the owner's stable.
- You're an art photographer and you're at an artist's studio to shoot a few pictures of his latest sculpture that he will send to his agent, who will then send them to magazines for a press release.
- You're a portrait photographer and own a studio at the local mall. A client comes in to have pictures taken of him so he can distribute them to potential modeling agencies.
- You're a press photographer, and develop a special relationship with a congressional candidate, who invites you to the family estate to photograph the clan for a memoir they intend to publish about the personal tolls that political life can have on a family.

Though there are contracts associated with each of these assignments, none of them include model releases by the subject for the photographer. Here's the question: can you license any of these photos for EDITORIAL use to a newspaper that is doing a story on the individual who is the subject of any of these given photos?

Most people would say no, and would guess that it's because of the lack of model releases. True, but the more important (and harder) question to ask is: why?

Read Dan Heller's in-depth exploration and you'll know exactly what to do to sell your shots without worries.

Picture of the day:

The Sunsets Collection

Sunset over Monument Valley, Utah

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Eastman Kodak Co. and Xerox Corp and Drupa 2008

Eastman Kodak Co. and Xerox Corp. will be showing off their latest commercial printing gear and services next week at the world's largest print industry trade show.

Drupa 2008, being held in Dusseldorf, Germany, begins May 29 and runs for more than a week, with attendance expected to reach 400,000.

Drupa's importance has grown to the point where print companies now time and tailor their product development cycles for the quadrennial event, said Kevin Joyce, a Kodak vice president and chief marketing officer of its Graphic Communications Group.

"We really look forward to Drupa,” said Valerie Blauvelt, vice president of Xerox's Production Systems Group. “It’s a huge opportunity for us to talk about how our technology, how our workflow can help customers be successful.”

credits: Matthew Daneman at Democrat and Chronicle.com

Picture of the day:

The Sunsets Collection

Sunset over Edinburgh, Scotland

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