The Outcomes Have Been In! Photo Contest Those who win Introduced for that ThinkTank Giveaway

Thanks everybody for that overwhelming response and participation within our Street Photography contest. We'd a great time searching with the 1000's of records and also have finally handled to wittle them lower to the three favorites….plus five honorable mentions that people felt compelled to shine a spotlight on. Have a look!
[Those who win - champion! We are in contact with you regarding your ThinkTank awards.]

The Those who win

Wojtek Lesiak

This photo brings together the spirit of street photography. Out on the planet, traveling, fun and spontaneous. What causes it to be good would be that the digital photographer saw something which nobody else did. You will find great parallels within the frame. Out in excess of 2,000 photos that one caught me unawares making me laugh aloud. The photo looked back at me.

Jeremy Givens

The digital photographer merged fashion and street with this photo. Wearing down the obstacles between two genres inside a “candid-posed” moment. Genre-bending. I really like the response from the lady searching back while everybody else is attempting to disregard the model.

Adrian Wozniak

The digital photographer saw an chance for any unique moment – one that might be super easy to miss. The expression is gritty and raw. I couldn’t determine in which the guy is even standing!? I love the shallow depth of area using the tack sharp face – it’s a very impressive technical photo while still achieving some mystery and question.

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Turn Love Into Money — Matt Schwartz’s 8×10 Polaroids Kick Instagram towards the Back Chair

The saying “Old school” no longer can do justice to New You are able to digital photographer Matt Schwartz’s methodology. Carrying an 8×10 Polaroid camera to shoot stylized surf-designed photos (which are pretty easy around the eyes) that may pass as faded stills from unused Endless Summer time clips, Schwartz has eschewed the conveniences from the modern camera and wise phone camera applications to have an approach which has never allow him to lower. He will it without commercial motivation might be precisely why he's had a lot commercial success.

Matt’s story is not to love. When his first attempt for selling his try to an advertisement agency unsuccessful, he went completely DIY and hired their own models and purchased their own props to understand his vision. That vision has since caught the attention of Billabong, Levis and Surfrider, to title a couple of. He's maintained exactly the same process and elegance without conceding to more commercial demands (signal my always-running speech about personal work). It continues to repay.

I arrived at to Matt to express all a little about his work and the vision.

Your projects has lengthy been famous because of its trademark style. What’s the procedure behind that style?

MS: I take 8×10 Polaroids, pull apart the film and rub the disadvantages onto watercolor paper. The operation is known as Polaroid transfer.

Your subjects are mainly female. What’s the storyline there?

MS: They're more attractive than boys. '. I really shoot women in my fashion/fanciful shoots, but shoot males for many of my surfing images. There should be a place of interest of some kind (face, hair, clothes, aura, etc.) that i can be motivated to photograph someone.

What exactly are a couple of of the influences?

MS: I'm affected by the good thing about surfing, ballet, yoga and music. I really like traveling all over the world to surf cities and submerging myself in everything.

Exist artists whose work you have to pay extra focus on?

MS: I love Chaz Ray Krider (erotic photography), Leroy Grannis (surf digital photographer) and a lot of random illustration (juxtapose). I be more conscious of music than photography or any other artistic representations. I'm so submerged within my own work which i require an escape through seem.

How can strike an account balance between personal and commercial work?

MS: Presently our work created is with regards to creating. Images that should be taken. After I fall deeply in love with a picture I finish up including it within the assortment of work being offered. A couple of companies for example Levis and Anthropologie have bought work with their stores. I've also labored with a few surf companies on commercial work. I'm branching out in to the commercial world increasingly more every year, though I'm very specific regarding who Sometimes with. I've been fortunate with my work where I'm able to say “no” to offers. It’s strange when you are getting to some extent and you may just refuse, while someone is providing lots of money, though simultaneously it might block out who I had been basically did any job.

Why is these not the same as other Polaroids?

Everything, as each artist differs. I have not pressed the shutter on my small camera considering selling my work. I shoot because I must capture beauty. When my work began selling I had been playing music inside a band. All images were and will always be obtained from the center. With music there is always pressure to jump on a little record label or fall into line shows, etc. There is no goal with my photos. These were only a hobby. I suppose that's why they labored.

Take a look at much more of Matt’s work here.

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Kickstarter each week – Stop Motion Love Story: Interview using the 11 Years Old Director

I do not understand what you had been doing whenever you were 11, however i know I wasn’t pointing movies. Hell, I wasn’t even waiting in front of this pool. Trinity Anderson, however, has leaped in to the deep finish and appears to controlling all right, thanks.

The 11-year-old and her father, Craig Anderson, are overall production on her behalf latest stop-motion film (a genre she’s been at since she was 4) and also have released a Kickstarter campaign to assist cover the relaxation of production costs. The film is entitled Me

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chasejarvisTECH: Packing Photo Gear For Hiking [whether for any excursion or as much as 19,030 ft on Mt. Kilimanjaro]

A couple of several weeks ago I had been lucky enough to participate an expedition to create greater awareness towards the scarcity of fresh h2o felt by many nations all over the world. Known as Summit around the Summit, the expedition would be a 60 mile hike up Kilimanjaro and incorporated some artists, teachers and guides who shared my curiosity about this awareness project, including Mark Promote, Justin Chatwin and Love Garrett.

I come up with this short video to provide y’all a peek at the apparatus I packed for that trek. I stored it pretty light and stuck to 2 primary camera systems:

_Nikon D4 platform
_14-24mm
_24-70mm
_70-200mm
_Other Nikon Contacts

_Olympus OM-D platform
_12mm
_14-42mm
_40-150mm
_75-300mm

Other Gear:
_Manfrotto Support
_Mac laptop Professional Mac laptop Air
_GTech Exterior Hard Disk Drives
_LowePro Bags
_Dakine Photo Brick

Watch the vid for that full deets on my small tech options with this amazing journey.

Individuals clever beats beneath the video are compliments from the one, the only real mr Large CHOCOLATE…here on iTunes.
Large Chocolate Facebook
@bigchocolate

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Nikon D7100 — A Definitive Review with Meaty Particulars [photo comparos spec highlights]

Although gear isn’t even close to the most important part of photography, it’s still important. And choosing the best camera for your particular needs can be a daunting task – which is why I often get new gear to bang around with and it’s also why I associate with smart gear guys like my pal Sohail. In this review, Sohail puts the new Nikon 7100 through its paces in a way that I haven’t got the patience for…the details, with side by side photo / setting comparo’s and the like. Me? I just shoot the thing and feel it, take a peek at the files. But Sohail goes deep. So sit forward and read the good word below. Feel free to holler with questions – we’ll pick em up as best we can. Take it away Sohail…
__

Thanks Chase. Nikon’s D7100 has been an eagerly-awaited-upon update to the enormously popular D7000 (remember back when Chase launched that camera for Nikon with this bts video + campaign + blog post…). Now crowned as the flagship of Nikon’s DX-format lineup, the D7100 brings some pretty cool features to an already solid camera — though what it leaves out may disappoint those users waiting for a D300s replacement.

Like its little siblings the D5200 and the D3200, the D7100 boasts a 24MP sensor. Unlike pretty much all of Nikon’s cameras (the D800E is an exception), it does away with the Optical Low-Pass Filter (OLPF) that is present on the vast majority of DSLRs. That filter, which is designed to reduce moiré in digital images, softens the image up a bit in the process. Leaving it out means that the camera can now resolve more per-pixel detail, though images can be a bit noisier at higher ISOs.

Autofocus has also been improved in this update. We go from 39 AF points with nine cross-type sensors to 51 points, 15 of which have cross-type sensors. One nice surprise is that the center AF point will autofocus at up to f/8, which means that you can now use a 2x teleconverter with an f/4 lens and still autofocus.

There’s plenty more. Liveview now has two modes for still and video, and the dedicated movie record button has been moved to the top of the camera, near the shutter. The LCD is of a higher resolution, and there’s a stereo microphone built into the camera. Other features include: a new 1.3x crop mode that creates small (about 15MP) files and bumps the max framerate from 6 to 7 frames per second, exposure bracketing is now increased from 3 frames to 5, and the camera is a hair lighter overall.

While the D7100 is lighter than the D7000, it actually feels more dense. The handgrip feels more rounded and less angular, giving my fingers a more comfortable grip on the body. The shutter button is angled a bit more, letting your index finger lie very comfortably on it.

The new arrangement on the D7100 (right) is more ergonomic than the D7000 (left).

On the back, the 8-way rocker switch has been moved higher, which adds to the ergonomics of the camera. It’s much more comfortable to move that focus point around now. The AE-L/AF-L button doesn’t get recessed when you push it — which seems like a small thing, but when you use it for back-button-focus like I do, it’s not such a small deal anymore.

The fine detail tweaking on the D7100 makes it a much more comfortable camera to use, especially for longer periods of time. Nikon seems to have put some more serious thought into this body, and the fit/finish feels more high-end to me than the D7000.

Here’s where I was both disappointed and delighted in somewhat equal measures. When Nikon crowned the D7100 the “flagship” of the DX-format line, there was a contingent who hoped that it would be a replacement for Nikon’s previous flagship crop-sensor body, the D300s, a model that’s pretty long in the tooth.

Wildlife shooters, for example, would love to have an APS-C sensor body that will shoot up to 8 frames per second, as the D300s does, but with an updated sensor and processing engine. Canon users have the 7D, which brought them a weather-sealed, fast frame rate body, but Nikonians have been without an update to their equivalent for some time now, even as Canon allegedly prepares an update to the 7D.

Canon's 7D is the main competitor to the new D7100

Well, those Nikon fans are going to have to wait just a bit longer. While the D7100 does improve on the D7000 in many ways, it isn’t a replacement for the D300s, at least not in the area of frame rates for fast-action photography. Those eying the 7D on the Canon side still don’t have a fast-action camera with a decent buffer they can get on this side of the aisle, at least not until you hit the D4 range. Nikon really needs a camera that delivers for wildlife and sports shooters that doesn’t cost $6000.

True, 6 fps isn’t something to shake a stick at, but the problem factor here is the buffer. As you can see in Nikon’s specs, shooting at RAW, you get exactly 7 frames in the 12-bit lossless compressed format. That’s about a 1-second burst. Not exactly ideal when you’re trying to capture, say, birds in flight.

The new 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6 II from Nikon pairs wonderfully with the D7100.

Dropping down to JPEG improves things a lot, as you get a 33-shot buffer in this mode. Drop it down to JPEG Normal mode and you get 100 shots in that buffer. But compare this to the 7D, the Canon body that the D7100 goes up against, and you have a 25-shot buffer for RAW images at an 8 frame-per-second burst. I’m not sure why the D7100 dropped the ball a bit on the buffer, but there it is.

Still, I wanted to shoot some fast action with the D7100 to give its autofocus a workout. I chose the new 80–400mm f/4.5–5.6 II lens for this test, and fortunately managed to secure one from my buddies at BorrowLenses.com (it’s back-ordered already, and with good reason). I dropped the file quality down to JPEG, and went off to shoot.

Let me say this pretty definitively now. Here’s the part of the D7100 that absolutely delighted me: it just plain rocks in the AF department. Shooting with a tight cluster of 9 AF points around the center, I was nailing focus far more than I ever did with the D7000. In fact, short of the D4, I don’t know if there’s a current Nikon out there with a better AF system.

Take the image below; these little blackbirds are ridiculously quick, and getting one in focus is, well, not easy, to say the least. It’s not a great picture, but for me it’s something of a minor miracle, as I’ve rarely gotten a shot of them in flight.

Blackbird in flight. Image © Sohail Mamdani

The other pleasant surprise was the D7100’s metering system. I usually set my camera to manual mode, then fire away, chimping every few minutes to monitor light changes. This time around, as a test, I set the camera to shutter-priority mode, set it to 1/2000 (or, occasionally, 1/1600 to compensate a bit for shadows), and enabled auto-ISO on the D7100.

To my great delight, the 2016-pixel RGB sensor that the D7100 inherited from its predecessor, combined with whatever else Nikon has baked into this new body, metered the situation very, very well, adjusting aperture and ISO as needed. In fact, in the cases where I did see clipping, it was minimal, and often restricted to highlights, as you can see below.

The built-in metering system does a great job, with minimal clipping. Image © Sohail Mamdani

Detail was another area in which I was very pleased with the D7100. Remember, Nikon has chosen to leave out the OLPF filter, which means that images from this new body are going to be a bit sharper than a camera with the same sensor. In-camera, with the “Landscape” picture style set, the results, as you can see below, were extremely good for a camera in this price range.

The D7100 holds detail really well. Image © Sohail Mamdani

All in all? While it’s not exactly D4-style sharp, it’s not bad at all. Given a RAW file, I’d have teased out some more detail and sharpened it selectively — another reason I missed having a larger buffer.

Everyone wants to know how the newest camera does at high ISO. Here’s your answer: Not bad, but not great.

Starting at ISO 800, the noise starts to reveal itself. The file is still pretty clear, however, and needs but the slightest of noise removal in Lightroom or Aperture.

At ISO 1600, it’s pretty apparent, though the images are still usable. There’s some smearing in the shadows, but it’s there only if you pixel-peep at 100%. Noise reduction in your software of choice will get rid of it.

At 3200, it’s not that much worse, surprisingly. Compared to the D7000, there’s less color noise, more luminance noise. What’s apparent, as well, is the the D7100 is holding on to a greater dynamic range at that ISO, while the D7000 is showing just a hair more sharpness in some areas (but not in all).

ISO 3200 comparison, with D7000 on the left and D7100 on the right

By ISO 6400, the noise in the file is obvious and pretty bad, and applying noise reduction tends to blur the image noticeably. Nikon has nonetheless done a great job of controlling color noise, and most of the noise is luminance-based. Compared to the D7000, the dynamic range at ISO 6400 is still better in the D7100, and the RAW file holds up pretty well in post. The images below are DNGs in Lighroom.

ISO 6400 comparison, with D7000 on the left and D7100 on the right

If you’re wondering why the D7000 controls noise slightly better than the D7100, the culprit can likely be found in that OLPF — or rather, the lack thereof. Without it, images are naturally more noisy.

But if you look past the pixel-peeping, the fact is that the D7100 (and its predecessor) are incredible machines at high ISOs for the price. Is it D4-good? No. But it’s also a fifth of the cost of a D4. For what you’re paying, you’re getting an awfully good machine.

Okay, this is where I admit to making a goofball of a mistake. I shot portraits of my friend Ben right after shooting birds in the wetlands around San Francisco. If you recall, I’d set the camera to shoot JPEG for that… and that’s where I left it. Accidentally.

Yes, you may now proceed to call me a moron. It is well-deserved.

Yet the JPEG files from this shoot actually held up pretty well through Lightroom and Photoshop edits. The image below is the JPEG output from a TIFF file that Photoshop created from the original JPEG file exported to it with edits from Lightroom.

Yeah, my head hurts thinking of that too. But it worked. The original out-of-camera JPEG is on the left.

JPEGs from the D7100 hold up pretty well in post. Image © Sohail Mamdani

Now, this may be old news to you JPEG shooters out there, but for someone who’s been shooting RAW for the majority of his digital photography career, I didn’t think you could get away with this kind of torture on a JPEG. It’s a bit amazing how much we tend to depend on RAW without giving JPEG a chance.

For those of you interested in seeing an un-tortured file from a RAW image, with no camera/Lightroom/Photoshop interference, the image below, taken of my friend Courtney, is straight-out-of-camera RAW, exported from Lightroom with the 2012 process and Adobe Standard profile.

Processed RAW, no adjustments, exported from Lightroom. Image © Sohail Mamdani

I have no complaints about the images — RAW or JPEG — coming out of the D7100 when it comes to portraiture. The white balance was set to Auto for this shot, and the lighting was two Profoto 2X3’ softboxes, with Elinchrom Ranger Quadras shooting through them. The D7100 rendered gorgeous skin tone and color, with just outstanding detail, even at 200% (below).

Courtney's portrait at 200%. Image © Sohail Mamdani.

The D7100 is not the camera all Nikonians were hoping for. I wanted faster frame rates and a bigger buffer. I’m sure there are many who wanted more megapixels, or fewer. We all have our notions of what the next camera from Nikon/Canon/Sony/Olympus/Fuji/Pentax/whatever should have.

I do think Nikon needs a solid competitor to Canon’s 7D, and the D7100 isn’t it. But if you put that notion aside, and look at the D7100 on its own merits, what you have is an absolutely outstanding camera that’s just packed with bang for your buck. At $1299, this isn’t a body that can be called underpowered or anemic in any way. Rather, it’s an extremely capable and well-rounded body that will be a worthy upgrade to anyone using a current Nikon DX-format DSLR — including D7000 owners. The additional resolution, the lack of an OLPF, the great detail and color, autofocus, and metering all combine to make this worth every penny of the $1299 it costs, and then some.

For what it’s worth, I would have no hesitation using the D7100 as a secondary body to my D800E.

—

Gear provided by BorrowLenses.com - where still photographers and videographers can rent virtually everything.

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Moving Your Camera Pays Large: New Gyro Game-Changer utilized by “Disney of Action Sports” Teton Gravity Research [interview video]

Teton Gravity Research Aerial Reel – The San Francisco Bay Area in 4K from Teton Gravity Research on Vimeo.

Fancy gimbals would be the rage nowadays and that i love ‘em all. Not enduring some homies of mine from my action sports days, Teton Gravity Research, lately introduced a partnership with Gyro Stable-Systems and released the GSS C520, a game title-altering 4K camera platform which makes that footy that we shoot seem like sh*t in contrast. Getting labored with one of these felines a lot (see here – that’s me hanging from the heli with Todd…) and getting seen a sneak look from the San Francisco Bay Area aerial footage video above, I needed to understand more. And So I sitting lower with TGR founder Todd Johnson to obtain the scoop and find out the brand new work behind this aerial gimbal game changer.

I understand the particulars obviously, but tell the visitors your production company Teton Gravity Research.
Rapid version is… TGR is definitely an action sports brand founded in 1996. Our company specializes on television creation and distribution. The core aspects of our organization are films, television, advertisements, film tours, and our digital platform, world wide web.tetongravity.com.

From the creative perspective exactly what does this crazy awesome GSSC520 do for you personally like a filmmaker?
From the creative perspective the GSS enables us to capture the greatest quality footage we are able to. Previously, whenever using 16mm film and DSLR’s, we'd amazing tools, however they had their restrictions too. Our push now is by using exactly the same tools and cameras the most much talked about films on the planet are shot on. We feel the ultra hd/4k movement is here now and it is necessary use a certain quality level delivery towards the audience. Irrrve never bought in to the HD cameras and distribution space. It simply wasn't equal to film. I had been always impressed using the cineflex footage because of its stability, it had the HD video edge too it. The C520 enables us to obtain individuals super stable motion shots at true cinema resolution. We happen to be getting calls from some large movies that are curious about utilizing it on their own films. It's pretty awesome to consider that Hollywood has become calling us to assist them to create their films with this camera systems. In the end, 18 years back i was just a few kids who wanted to create a ski and snowboard film from your perspective.

Break it lower for me personally and also the people…what’s the main difference between this camera gyro and just what you’ve used previously?
This technique may be the first 4k resolution system available. Her most highly sophisticated stabilization technology which has have you been launched. You will find a lot of creative uses of this technique. We film highly visual action in stunning locations. To have the ability to have this camera in individuals situations is really a dream.

Yeah, but how can this be a game title changer?
I believe I had been referring to it above, but it's your camera system for the future. We be capable of place the latest cameras on the planet inside it. We're presently focusing on putting the The new sony F55 inside it and can follow using the new 4k Phantom. The truth that we are able to quickly integrate the latest cameras on the planet into this technique is big.

Provide us with a glimpse in to the future… Performs this technology indicate more/something totally new in the future?
It does. To begin with it suggests the Ultra HD/4k movement. That's coming at us fast. If you are likely to rent helis and shoot aerials you may as well shoot them in cinema resolution if you're able to afford it.

Ok, handwaving and-fiving is great, but produce a particular illustration of where this camera produces a benefit for you…
Around the above point, any footage shot with this system is going to be relevant because the Ultra HD movement gets control. We're already in times in which the 16mm film we shot for a long time has hardly any stock value beyond historic pieces or even the TGR brand story. It will have to be presented as archival footage in individuals situations. We can’t even put a number of individuals super epic shots on reels any longer. I'm really psyched the stuff we've been shooting is much more future proofed – a minimum of for the following iteration of technology.

I understand the solution on that one, as well as the advantage of individuals who might now, why is your TGR team so distinctively capable of create with this particular tool? Hollywood ideas come?
We've been filming aerials for 18 years. We've labored with limited assets until recently making them work. Shooting with this particular product is crazy. The standard of shots is much like nothing we've taken also it opens doorways for all of us. I simply spent the final three days dealing with it in Alaska which is good footage up to now. We can’t wait to exhibit it around the world.

And that we can’t wait to determine it. Thanks Todd.

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A Great Interview. Photography Entrepreneurialism [ Tearing Lower Walls - A Podcast with Jenni Hogan]

I'd the distinct pleasure to be a guest on Jenni Hogan’s “Next Large Thing” podcast a few days ago to speak a little about my existence path(s), pivot points and exactly how that creativeLIVE is methodically re-shaping accessibility best education.

For individuals who have no idea Jenni, she’s an excellent wise, sharp journalist with a desire for hooking up with like-minded individuals who impact, inspire and inform. Equally in your own home within the mobile phone industry's of tech, media and fashion, Jenni pressed me on my small roots like a creative, from my early pivots from school and PhD’s in philosophy of art to my career like a digital photographer and entrepreneur.

In nowadays of media seem bites, individuals people who're sufficiently fortunate to get a stage rarely reach give extended accounts in our encounters. This can be a more extended account.

What we should discuss:
-beginning like a digital photographer
-how “making it” is actually not “making it” whatsoever – yet another chapter
-my #1 iTunes application from 2009 (Wired, Macworld, NYT top application) Best Camera – and just what I learned
-how creativeLIVE found be
-how creativeness may be the new literacy and cL is really a large a part of that future.

Large because of Jenni for getting me on the program. This is actually the complete podcast, below:

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