News / Other News

Take Better Photos has published an insightful look at the iPhone5, from a photographer's perspective. In keeping with the site's maxim that photography should be a joy, not a science exam, the article looks at how the latest handset behaves, compared to its predecessor (and compared to cameras including the Nikon D3). However, this photographic focus doesn't preclude some more technical detail about the new camera's program line and just how effective its 'dynamic low light mode' is. Click here to read more.

The tech-elves over at iFixit.com have published a complete teardown of the new iPhone 5, barely hours after the handset first became available. Obviously, we're most interested in the camera, which according to Apple, will give improved image quality over its predecessor. Although a teardown doesn't reveal much about how the new device will actually perform, it's interesting to see everything reduced to its component parts. Click through for more information and a link to the complete teardown. But be warned - the more squeamish among you may prefer to look away.

Apple unveiled the highly anticipated iPhone 5 featuring an updated 8-megapixel backlit CMOS sensor, durable sapphire glass lens cover and larger, 4", 16:9 screen. A more powerful A6 processor allows improved noise reduction, 40 percent faster capture and improved low-light performance through a 'dynamic low light mode' that Apple isn't giving further details of. Now that it’s here, you probably want to know: is it worthy of the hype? Read on for more news on that larger screen.

Sigma UK is running a photographic competition, with the prize of a DP1 Merrill and a two day photo workshop in Cornwall with landscape photographer Lea Tippett. To enter, simply email in your favourite landscape photograph, along with a short paragraph saying how you would benefit from a weekend’s landscape photography tuition. The competition is open to UK residents only, and the closing date is 23rd September 2012. Click through for a link with full details on how to enter.

Arnold Newman, who died in 2006 was a master portrait photographer who captured many of the most iconic figures of his day, from artists and actors, to presidents. 'Masterclass', a handsome new book of images by Newman, the first published since his death, contains more than 200 images. Many will be familiar, but several have never been published before. Adam Koplan takes a look at this extraordinary collection. 

The BBC has published an interesting article examining the life and work of British photographer Giles Duley. Duley, a documentary photographer, lost both of his legs and one arm in an explosion near Kandahar, Afghanistan, in 2011. He survived, and is currently covering the Paralympic Games in London. The article describes Duley's protracted recovery and the ways in which he has adapted to his new life as a triple-amputee in order to return to photography. Click through for more details and a link to the full article. 

Nokia has announced the Lumia 920, the next generation of its phones to wear the 'PureView' branding but, despite the name, the camera technology isn't up to the standard of the 808 PureView. Rather than the 808's 41MP, 1/1.2" sensor, the 920 has a slightly oversized 8.7MP CMOS. Nokia is still making big claims about the 920's camera capabilities, it has a Carl Zeiss-branded lens featuring ‘floating lens technology’ image stabilization, prompting claims of better low-light performance than other smartphones. The Lumia 920 and the co-announced Lumia 820 both run on Microsoft's Windows Phone 8 operating system – an improvement over the Symbian model on the Nokia 808, which we gave our Gold Award to in our July review. 

The British Journal of Photography has published an interesting article on its website entitled 'The New Economics of Photojournalism: The rise of Instagram'. In the article, author Olivier Laurent addresses the significance of services like Instagram for photojournalists, and investigates how these photographers are adapting to a platform where interactivity and immediacy are paramount.  Click through for more details and a link to the full article.

The discontinuation of Polaroid film in 2008 led to much despair among its fans. The Impossible Project, founded in the same year, set out to recreate the out-of-production films that Polaroid users had come to depend on. In advance of a new 8x10 monochrome emulsion becoming available to the wider public, The Impossible Project shared it with some of their test users - photographers they call their 'Pioneers', and has created an exhibition in New York City, from the resulting images. Adam Koplan takes a look. 

Wikipedia has launched what it calls 'the world's largest photo contest' to increase the number of images of 'historic sites' in its image database - Wikimedia Commons. The contest, called 'Wiki Loves Monuments 2012' will run throughout September 2012, with the best entry receiving a photo tour of Hong Kong, coinciding with the Wikimania 2013 conference. Wikipedia has run photographic competitions before, but this is the biggest yet, and will involve volunteers from more than 30 countries. Click through for more details.

When Neil Armstrong passed away this weekend we lost someone who was not only a a hero to millions, but also one of the most important photographers in history. Armstrong's photographs from the moon, taken during the Apollo 11 landing in 1969, are among the most iconic and inspirational ever captured. In response to the death of Armstrong, photographer Chase Jarvis has written an article in which he examines the photos taken on the moon, all those years ago. Click through for a link to the full article.

Kodak has announced it will sell two of its business divisions, ending its role as a consumer-facing photographic company. The Personalized Imaging business includes print kiosks and consumer film, while the Document Imaging business includes scanners and commercial document management. Both businesses will be sold as going concerns. Meanwhile the Wall Street Journal has reported that many of the world's biggest technology companies, including Samsung, Apple and Google, have formed a consortium to bid for Kodak's digital imaging patents, significantly lowering the price the amount the sale is likely to raise.

Hipstamatic denies that the layoffs of five employees signifies the death knell for the longtime mobile photography favorite. Yesterday the Hipstamatic team was reduced from a team of 11 to a mere six employees through a restructuring effort and questions quickly arose about the future of the app known for its toy camera capabilities. 'We're still moving full force ahead -- the original team that built Hipstamatic is still here, and remains deeply committed to continuing to make great products that inspire our community and the world,' said Molli Sullivan, Hipstamatic's director of communications.

A gallery of images shot with the three-lens Olloclip iPhone accessory gives a taste of what's to come what organisers are saying is the world's largest 'mobile arts' festival. The L.A. Mobile Arts Festival begins this Saturday at the Santa Monica Art Studios in Los Angeles, California. The nine-day event will encompass not just camera phone photography, but also video, sculptural and performance art related to mobile devices. The event will showcase upwards of 600 individual works created by more than 240 artists from over 30 countries around the world, with further work showcased online during the event.

The latest version of Instagram is now available for both Apple and Android devices. Version 3.0 adds several optimization features that should make the popular photo sharing app easier and faster to use and allow users to report abusive comments and spam, but its new photo mapping display will be what fans notice first. In fact, the first time users open the app after updating, they’ll be guided through the new Photo Map feature and asked which previously geotagged images they’d like to add to their map. Users can then track their own and other users’ Photo Maps via their profile. 

Irish photographer David Hunt has found a great way of extending the capabilities of his camera - by attaching a single-board computer to it. Hunt has installed a Raspberry Pi, Linux-based credit-card-sized computer in an old battery grip. He's not got as far as programming the computer yet but has blogged about the possibilities (hard drive backup, control across the Internet or sophisticated interval shooting, for example). Powered by a standard Canon battery, the idea helps open-up the options for camera hacking, without having to get past the firmware encryption (as a resourceful user has done for the Sony SLT A55 recently). (via Petapixel)

Photo library and licensing giant Getty Images is to be bought by its founders and investment company The Carlyle Group for $3.3bn. They will buy-out existing private equity firm Hellman & Friedman, which purchased Getty for $2.4bn four years ago. Carlyle, one of the world's largest private equity companies, will gain a controlling share of the company, while co-founders Mark Getty and Jonathan Klein, along with the Getty family, will also increase their stakes in the business.

Popular LA-based street photographer Eric Kim has posted an interesting article on his site, entitled '5 things Stephen Shore can teach you about street photography'. According to Kim, Shore - an American photographer best known for his 1970s color studies of American landscapes - has a lot to teach today's street photographers. Lessons include 'shoot color for visual accuracy and realism' and 'go against the grain' as well as more prosiac advice such as 'date your images'. Click through to read Kim's article in its entirity.

Looking for something to photograph this weekend? How about the Perseid meteor showers (which should be visible over the next few evenings and nights)? Perseid meteors are debris from the comet Swift-Tuttle, and are particularly visible around August 12th, so it's worth thinking about the shot you want to capture them in. Click here for a couple of links to help you plan the timings and your camera setup, to get the best shots.

Moments after becoming the first man to win back-to-back Olympic 100m and 200m sprints, Jamaican runner Usain Bolt decided he wanted to capture the moment from his own perspective. The ever-ebullient sprinter grabbed a camera from Swedish photographer Jimmy Wixtröm and started snapping away - showing, in wide-angle, what it's like to be center of the press' attention. The BBC has put together a gallery, both of Bolt's images and those of the press corps' shots of one of athletics' great showmen.