Rangefinder Magazine
June 2005

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Focus

Industry News…

Ernest H. Brooks, Sr., founder of Brooks Institute of Photography

Brooks Institute of Photography Celebrates 60th Anniversary
The Montecito, California-based Brooks Institute of Photography is planning to celebrate the school’s 60th anniversary throughout the remainder of 2005. As part of the celebration the school is seeking alumni participation.

Dr. Greg Strick, school president, said Brooks is “really proud” of its 60-year history. Brooks has graduated more than 7000 photographers and graphic artists who are now working nationally and internationally. “We are not in touch with all of these alums,” Strick said, “and we want to be. They are part of this school’s very unique history, and we want them to be with us to celebrate our past and be part of our evolution into Brooks of the future.”

The institute hopes to reconnect with some of its original students, using a new alumni web site that’s located at alumni.brooks.edu/. The site includes profiles of successful graduates as well as information about what’s happening at Brooks today. The new site also lets alumni link their own sites and share their own stories.

Part of the celebration involves Brooks sponsoring the Santa Barbara Ocean Film Festival, in which it will display the school’s long tradition in undersea photography. The anniversary year will culminate October 21 at the Fess Parker Doubletree Resort and Hotel in Santa Barbara, with a celebration of photography of the 1940s, when Ernest H. Brooks Sr. founded the school. The institute also plans to host an event October 21 at the 2005 PhotoPlus Expo in New York.

Adobe Acquires Macromedia
Adobe Systems (www.adobe.com), which markets Photoshop and other imaging applications, recently acquired Macromedia in an all-stock transaction valued at $3.4 billion. Adobe made the acquisition so it would be in a position to provide content for mobile phones and other devices. It sees the acquisition as a major step in the process of getting people to change the ways they experience and interact with information.

Macromedia’s line of products includes Studio, Dreamweaver, Flash, Fireworks and FreeHand, ColdFusion, Flex and JRun. Adobe markets the well known Photoshop, Premiere, After Effects, Illustrator, InDesign, GoLive and Page-Maker, as well as Acrobat (PDF file format) and the Job Definition Format (JDF) workflow format.

Santa Fe Center Honors Rose Marasco
The Santa Fe Center for Photography (www.santafecenterforphotography.org) recently announced that Rose Marasco, a professor at the University of Southern Maine (USM) in Portland, is this year’s winner of the Excellence in Photographic Teaching Award. The award recognizes and rewards a high school, college or post-graduate level educator for “dedication and passion for photographic teaching.” More than $22,500 in prize money has been granted since the award was started in 1997.

Marasco, an associate professor of art, will receive a $2500 cash prize and the Adobe Photoshop Creative Suite of imaging applications. A photography teacher for 31 years, Marasco joined the USM faculty in 1979 and then designed its accredited photography curriculum. In addition to USM, she’s taught at the Maine College of Art, Bowdoin College and Colby College. She’s also been guest artist at Harvard University, Massachusetts College of Art and Parsons School of Design. Marasco’s photography projects value the significance of the everyday and address how meaning is created in our daily lives.

Honorable mentions went to Juan Carlos Castro, who teaches at Towson High School in Towson, MD, and Maxine Payne, who is on the faculty at Hendrix College in Conway, AR. They will receive Adobe Photoshop CS software. Lauren Shaw, who directs the photography program in the Department of Visual and Media Arts at Emerson College in Boston, MA, judged this year’s contest.

Nathalie Boisvert and Bent Edwardson

Nathalie Boisvert Wins Competition
Nathalie Boisvert, a professional photographer from Calgary, Alberta, was named the Specialist Photographer of the Year at the 2005 national print competition, which took place at the annual convention of the Professional Photographers of Canada (PPOC). She also won the award for negative retouching.

Boisvert had four images accepted and exhibited in the national print salon that were judged by a panel of master photographers from across Canada. Her recognition in the salon furthers her chances of being awarded the Craftsman of Photographic Arts. Nathalie also won the 2003 Specialist of the Year award and has been Joseph and Louise Simone’s retoucher for the last 10 years.

Portrait Photography Loses Legend
John Howell, portrait photography’s legend and internationally recognized photographer, died March 30, six weeks after celebrating his 90th birthday. A long-time resident on Chicago’s North Shore, Howell passed away at a retirement home in Deerfield, IL.

Born and raised in Chicago, Howell, who earned a Bachelor of Commerce degree from Northwestern University, served as a U.S. Naval photographic officer in World War II. Following the war, he started a portrait studio in 1946 that eventually became well known throughout the Chicago area.

He received the Master of Photography recognition by the PPA in 1956, before becoming a Fellow in the Royal Photographic Society of Great Britain in 1967, and in the British Institute of Professional Photographers, also in 1967. He also received a special plaque of honor from the British Institute of Professional Photographers for “Contributions to Great Britain and International Professional Photography.”

Howell was also a member of the prestigious Cameracraftsmen of America.

Photogenic Completes Relocation to Illinois
Photogenic Professional Lighting (www.photogenicpro.com) has recently completed the relocation of its operations to a new 96,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art manufacturing facility located near Chicago.

Since its inception in 1903, Photogenic was located in Boardman, OH, and operated out of two facilities that were 90 miles apart. The move to Chicago brings the manufacturing operations under the same roof as sales and marketing, engineering and other administrative departments. Smith-Victor Corporation, which is under the same ownership as Photogenic, is a 131-year-old photographic lighting manufacturer and was also relocated to the new Illinois facility from Griffith, IN. Photogenic Professional Lighting is now located at 1268 Humbracht Circle, Bartlett, IL 60103-1631, (630) 830-2500, fax (630) 830-2525.

The United Nations Issues Photography Awards
The International Photographic Council (IPC), a non-governmental organization of the United Nations, has announced the recipients of its 7th annual Professional Photographer Leadership Awards. The winners were recognized at a luncheon, May 11, during the IPC’s International Professional Photographer’s Month.

IPC leadership winners are selected each year by five professional photography organizations. They include the White House News Photographer’s Association (WHNPA), the American Society of Media Photographers (ASMP), the Professional Photographers of America (PPA), the Wedding Portrait Photographers International (WPPI) and the Advertising Photographers of America (APA). Each organization has the responsibility of choosing which of its members will be given the annual award.
The 2005 IPC award recipients include Peter Souza (WHNPA), Gary Gladstone (ASMP), Marvel Nelson (PPA), Tony Corbell (WPPI) and Jeff Sedlik (APA). Karen A. Smith-Pilkington, the chair and president of the greater Asia region for Kodak, was the keynote speaker.

New CEO at Canon USA
Canon USA (www.usa.canon.com) has appointed Yoroku Adachi as its new president and CEO. He has also been selected to be a managing director on Canon’s board of directors. Canon USA’s current president and CEO, Kinya Uchida, will return to Japan to serve as advisor at the company’s Tokyo headquarters. Adachi joined Canon in 1970 and worked at Canon USA from 1978 through 1992.

AgfaPhoto’s Annual B&W Photo Contest
AgfaPhoto (www.agfaphoto.com/bw-competition) recently announced the theme for its annual photo competition will be: “Body Language.” This is the third Annual International Multicontrast Black-and-White Photo Competition that AgfaPhoto has sponsored. The rules are simple: Both professional and amateur photographers have until August 12 to explore, photographically, the full range of human emotions. First, second and third place will receive cash prizes of 5000, 3000 and 1500 euros (around $6400, $3800 and $1900). The next nine winners will each receive 500 euros (around $640). Additional details and a PDF entry form can be found at AgfaPhoto’s web site.

Muench and Dykinga Lead Photographic Expedition
Master landscape photographers David Muench and Jack Dykinga will lead a once-in-a-lifetime photographic expedition to Patagonia, February 18–March 3, 2006. Muench and Dykinga chose Patagonia because it is a perfect location for would-be landscape photographers to hone their skills. Located at the extreme southern tip of South America, it’s a land of rugged mountains and massive glaciers.

The trip, which starts in Buenos Aires, Argentina, includes visits to Parque Nacional Los Glaciares in Argentina, the spectacular Torres del Paine National Park in Chili, and the Straits of Magellan, visiting a penguin rookery and staying at a typical estancia (ranch) en route.

The two-week expedition, which is limited to 12 participants, includes private coach transfers and touring, accommodations and meals as specified, and photographic instruction by David Muench and Jack Dykinga. It costs $5580 per person based on double occupancy. Additional details are available at www.distinctivejourneys.com or (888) 419-6677.

EPIC School of Evidence Photography and Imaging
The Evidence Photographers International Council (EPIC) (Honesdale, PA, (800) 356-3742, www.epic-photo.org) will hold its 2005 School of Evidence Photography and Imaging November 3–6, at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Atlanta, GA. George Pearl, one of top civil evidence photographers in the country and recipient of the 2004 Nikon Evidence Photographer of the Year Award will chair the four-day series of seminars. Directing this year's course of study will be renowned forensic pathologist and evidence photographer Patrick Besant-Matthews, M.D., former chief medical examiner of Seattle-King County, WA, and former deputy chief medical examiner of Dallas County, TX. Besant-Matthews serves on EPIC's Board of Directors.

Product News...

Eventpix.com Introduces New Packages and Privileges
Eventpix.com (Santa Monica, CA, www.eventpix.com), a premier online event and proofing service, is offering a new two-pronged sales support for its members. First, Eventpix is partnering in Bride’s, Modern Bride and Elegant Bride magazines’ Platinum Privileges Program. These programs are designed to support bridal consumers as they make those all-important quality buying decisions.
The promotion, through “VIP Awards,” directs the bridal consumer through the three magazines’ web sites directly to the Eventpix “Platinum Studios” online searchable photographer list. Participating Eventpix members will then offer brides and grooms a complimentary 30-minute engagement photo session, and one 8x10 print. Bride’s, Modern Bride and Elegant Bride are advertising the promotion in their March through December issues, as well as on their web sites. Photographers must be Eventpix members to participate.

The second new program is the Internet Success Package, offered through Marathon Press. This complimentary ($61 value) marketing kit, available to Eventpix members, is designed to direct consumers to locate, view and purchase wedding-day images. Given as a gift to the wedding client, the marketing kit puts the photographer’s studio name, phone number and web site in the hands of potential customers. The gift for a 200-guest wedding includes: 200 elegant photo bookmarks, 100 5x5-inch tabletop cards imprinted with a personalized thank you from the bride and groom, and a date and web site for viewing images. Also included are 40 e-mail registration sheets for guests.

Nikon Introduces the D70s DSLR
Nikon’s (www.nikonusa.com) new 6.1-megapixel D70s digital SLR features several improvements that make it an even better buy than the D70. Changes include an improved autofocus (AF) system, a larger LCD screen, a remote cord port and an easier-to-read graphic user interface.

The improved AF system, in particular, guarantees better performance, especially in the Dynamic Area AF and the Dynamic Area AF with closest subject priority modes. Its 5-area AF system also has an all-area search priority that complements the camera’s single area, dynamic area, and close subject priorities. The combined technologies give the camera the ability to acquire focus on fast- moving subjects within the frame.

Other new features include seven Automated Digital Vari-Program selections, which are accessible from the Mode Dial. Vari-Program selections automatically optimize the white balance, tone, color, saturation and hue while applying the appropriate amount of sharpening.

The camera’s F-mount makes it compatible with all AF Nikkor lenses and Nikon’s DX Nikkor lenses, which deliver a wider picture angle, higher performance and outstanding center-to-edge image quality.
The D70s supports shutter speeds from 30 to 1⁄8000 second and flash sync shutter speeds up to 1⁄500 second. Its Dynamic Buffer technology supports up to 144 frames at three frames per second. The Nikon D70s is available as an Outfit (camera body, rechargeable battery, charger, new Nikon PictureProject software, neck strap and high-performance AF-S DX Nikkor 18–70mm f/3.5-4.5G IF-ED lens) or a Set (everything but the lens). The D70s Outfit has an estimated street price of $1199.95; the Set, $899.95.

Sinar Bron Limited Edition x3 View Camera
Sinar Bron Imaging (800/456-0203, www. sinarbron.com) is introducing the Limited Edition x3 View Camera. Using the company’s gear-driven movements, self-arresting precision drives and asymmetric tilts and swings, the new view camera delivers both speed and accuracy.

The x3 features the company’s focusing technique, which uses built-in scales to accurately determine depth of field, tilt and swing angles. In fact, pixel accuracy focusing is possible via Live Video and any of the Sinar high-res digital backs. Additionally, the x3’s integrated contacts and electrical bellows give photographers the ability to control the electronic between-the-lens shutters of the Sinaron Digital CMV lenses without additional cables.

Available as part of a limited production kit, the x3 and Quick Clamping Adapter are included at no additional charge when purchased with two Sinar CAB Lenses and the Sinar m camera.

Defining the Moment by Joe Buissink
In this DVD, Joe takes you on a journey exploring the concepts that have made him one of the most sought-after photographers and instructors in the world of professional wedding photojournalism. With an introduction by acclaimed wedding photojournalist Denis Reggie, this DVD takes you step by step through several of Joe’s weddings as he discusses his focus and thought processes during the event. The DVD is priced at $129. Also, soon to be released is Joe Buissink: A Portfolio 1995–2004, a portfolio of Joe’s best work from that period. The portfolio ($39.99), set to music, is pleasant to view and features many of Joe’s never-before-seen images. For more information, visit www.joebuissink.com/.

Bentley Studios Educational Products
David and Susan Bentley now offer a series of learning CDs and a 45-page book of informative articles called Ready for Anything ($55), which offers a range of fully illustrated topics, including lighting ratios, outdoor site selection, fill-in flash, barebulb flash and subtractive lighting, to name a few. Also available from the Bentleys is Patterns, 52 instructional mini-articles on lighting tips and theory. Each plate includes a photograph and description of how the lighting was created, as well as a lighting diagram in most instances. Patterns sells for $135. “Wedding Gallery Collection” and “Portrait Gallery Collection” are individual CDs each offering 185 expert examples of contemporary wedding and portrait photography, from groups to details. Each CD is available for $55. “Dollar$ and Sense” is a $40 CD that details the nuts and bolts of what holds a studio together, including wedding and portrait price lists, digital art enhancement pricing, display and advertising ideas, client forms, refined marketing and promotional ideas and much more excellent information derived from over 30 years of experience. All four CDs and the book, Ready for Anything, are available in the Master Set for $340. For more information, visit www.bentleystudio.com or call (314) 991-2505.

Kinetronics Clean Air Bags
Kinetronics (Sarasota, FL, 800/614-3204, www.kinetronics.com), an industry leader in static and dust control, is marketing the Clean Air Bag (CAB). Designed to keep dust and dirt off of digital SLR camera imaging sensors when removing lenses. The new CAB inflates a clear vinyl air chamber using an air pump that draws air through a special dual air filter system. Once the chamber has been inflated, it becomes a positive-pressure clean room and is ready to use in the studio or on-location. The CAB bag has a dual zipper front panel for easy camera and lens loading. Once the camera has been loaded into the bag, the chamber is pressurized and hands can then be inserted on each side for lens changing.

The CAB, which only requires four “D” batteries, is packaged in a durable padded bag with grip for easy storage and transport.

Intemos ICloth
The new Intemos ICloth is a specially treated cloth that can be used for cleaning lenses and optics of all types. It features special fibers that remove all dust, without scratch or smear. The new 12x14-inch cloth can be washed over 500 times. Intemos is also marketing the DSLRClean, a revolutionary cleaning stick for removing dust from digital SLR camera sensors. The Icloth and the DSLRClean are available at the company’s web site (www.intemos.com).

Epson Introduces New PowerLite S3 Multimedia Projector
Epson America (Long Beach, CA, www. epson.com) is marketing a new multi-purpose digital projector designed for office, classroom and home applications. Using the company’s 3LCD technology (a three-chip design), the new 5.6-pound PowerLite S3 features 1600 ANSI-lumens of brightness and a native SVGA resolution of 800x600 pixels.

Operation is simple: When the power button is pressed, a verification tone lets users know the power is on, and in just five seconds the projected image will begin to appear on screen. The projector also automatically recognizes when a cable from a computer or video device has been plugged into one of its input ports. Instead of asking for directions, it immediately displays the signal without requiring the user to press any buttons.

The PowerLite S3’s power-efficient, 135-watt lamp is rated up to 3000 hours and is replaceable for $199.

The projector, which is extremely quiet, can project a 60-inch image from only 5.9 feet away, and it has color adjustment tools not available on most entry-level projectors. The Epson PowerLite S3 has a suggested list price of $899.

The Masters of Wedding Photography DVD Features Five Top Photographers
Taking over two years to film, the Masters of Wedding Photography DVD ($195) features world-renowned photographers Denis Reggie, Joe Buissink, Jeff Ascough, Martin Schembri and Yervant working in real life situations. The DVD includes a segment in which Joe Buissink presents his prints, describing the remarkable story behind the images. It also features Denis Reggie speaking about his passion for the medium in addition to a segment showing how Martin Schembri works with a bridal party. The DVD presentation also follows Yervant through the streets of downtown Sydney and Jeff Ascough as he travels through England using only rangefinder cameras. Visit www.mastersofweddingphotography.com/.

nik Multimedia Announces Sharpener Pro 2.0
The long-awaited nik Sharpener Pro 2.0 (www.nikmultimedia.com) upgrade provides 16-bit compatibility, a larger preview area and new tools offering more control of where sharpening is applied to the image. A powerful new feature of nik Sharpener Pro 2.0 is the Selective tool, which allows users to apply sharpening to any part of an image with selective brush strokes. The sharpening can be selectively brushed into the image, or the sharpening can be applied to the whole image and selectively brushed out.