I’ve finally found enough time in the day to completely re-design my other personal site -:- http://www.markgoldstein.co.uk. You can view a selection of my photographs. You can leave your comments on them or sign the guestbook. You can buy a photograph as a print or for use in graphic/web design.

I’ll be gradually adding more photographs from my archives during the next month or so. If you find any bugs or have any questions, then don’t hesitate to email me (shameless plug now over…).

Website: markgoldstein.co.uk

As usual ePhotoZine have published a number of new digital photography articles and techniques. This month includes “Photoshop Masterclass 1”, in which the site’s editor improves a reader’s picture beyond all recognition, and “Tree time!”, which offers fresh angles on photographing trees.

Website: ePhotoZine - May Techniques

Completing the updates for the month of May, Phototexels’ “May Editorial” is a long, rambling but very enjoyable personal look at a number of digital photography issues, including the difference between a professional and amateur photographer (what category do you fall into?), and what the future may hold for 5-megapixel consumer digicams like the Canon Gx series.

Website: Phototexels - May Editorial

During Easter I “visited” a partly-derelict factory building that I had previously noted down as being a good photographic opportunity. I tend to make these mental notes all the time, and then forget about them a few hours/days later, but I couldn’t forget this location as I frequently drive past it. And it is a pretty imposing building. After taking the first 15 or so shots on manual focus without realising and without actually focusing, I think the remaining 40 images managed to capture some of the spirit of the place. Here are 6 of my favourites:

Dereliction #1	Dereliction #2	Dereliction #3
Dereliction #4	Dereliction #5	Dereliction #6

If you’ve reached the stage in your photography where you’re looking to sell your work, then Photoconnect.com may be the answer. Here’s the official press release:

A new way for photographers to sell images online

Photoconnect.net is a new affordable option for photographers wanting to sell online who want flexibility but do not wish to go as far as building their own website or hand over commission on sales. Compared to other options, photographers with confidence in the market for their images should find substantial time and cost efficiencies - there are illustrations on the site.

In designing its features, photoconnect.net surveyed the varied participants of the UK stock photography listing in Yahoo. As an example of its findings, the survey suggested that in web searches only one in fifteen sites stood any chance of having one of their images found directly in a search for a subject featured in the photography.

The features of photoconnect.net which emerged that differentiate it from online alternatives are:

- Individual images may be found directly and prominently by buyers from the major search engines or through two structured search options on the site
- It provides a collaborative non-exclusive environment which promotes participation and structured links to independent photographers and libraries
- Photographers may link images directly to their images at other websites - for example an agency such as Alamy or a fine art fulfillment outlet such as Caf? Press.
- A photographer’s work may be promoted by Photoconnect submitting mailings that feature highlights their work to buyers selected by the photographer

As an example of costs, a showcase of 100 images will cost ?80 (US$120), with a charge of ?24 pa (US$36) after the first year.

Website: Photoconnect

...who are unsure whether their shiny new camera is suffering from the now legendary front/back focus issue, Bob Atkins has posted a quick guide to checking the focus. I’l be testing my camera later today - fingers crossed that it’s OK…

“There are many reports of focus problems with the EOS 10D. There are also many examples where the reported focus errors turned out to be user errors rather than camera errors. For a lot of users the 10D seems to be their first serious camera, their first SLR and their first exposure to the Canon AF system, so operator error isn’t unexpected. However the possibility does exist, and there certainly does seem to be some evidence to support the hypothesis, that some EOS 10D bodies have a problem which manifests itself as focusing in front of the intended subject. It’s also possible that in some cases the 10D has no worse errors than those in film bodies (Canon, Nikon or other), but the ability to do “free” tests in digital reveal those errors! It’s also possible that after being told that there is the possibility of the 10D focusing in front of the desired focus point, some users will find just that, whether or not an objective test shows it to be the case!”

Website: Photo.net - Focus Testing

The second RAW conversion contest over at Outback Photo has just finished. This time a Nikon D100 RAW file was used as the source, and once again the range of different looks and effects that have been achieved are quite eye-opening. I particularly like entry #3 by Magne Nilsen, but then I do like bold colours having used Kodak EBX 100 and Fuji Velvia film for so long…

Website: Digital Outback Photo - RAW Conversion Contest #2

There are 2 new reviews of the Pentax Optio S, this time from DCResource and ePhotozine. Here’s what DCResource had to say:

“In terms of design, you can’t beat the Pentax Optio S. It’s a stunning work of engineering that gets attention wherever it goes. That’s nice and all, but what about photo quality? In general, it’s good, but it has one big flaw: blurry edges and corners. The Minolta DiMAGE X—which also has a unique lens design—had the same problem. Every picture didn’t have the blurry edges, but most of them did. Whether it’s a deal breaker is up to you. I see the Optio as more of a “second camera”, which you can take anywhere, rather than your primary camera. “

Website: DCResource - Pentax Optio S Review

Website: ePhotozine - Pentax Optio S Review

A new version of the popular alternative to Adobe Photoshop, Paint Shop Pro from Jasc Software, has just been released. Version 8 includes several features aimed squarely at photographers, including the Perspective Correction, Straighten, One Step Photo Fix and Scratch Remover tools. There’s a free trial version available to download so that you can try before you (maybe) buy, although at a whopping 54Mb this is perhaps only an option for broadband users!

Website: Paint Shop Pro 8

iView Multimedia Ltd. have just released iView Media - “essential software for managing your digital photos, music and videos. It’s a cross-platform solution, suitable for all who need a way to manage their growing inventory of digital media.” Retailing for $29.95 and now available for both MAC and Windows, this new software product competes with the likes of Adobe Photoshop Album and IMatch. There’s a free, time-limited download (2.5Mb), so there’s no reason not to try out iView.

Website: iView Media

DPReview have posted their 3rd review so far this week, looking at the Canon Powershot S400 (called the Canon Digital IXUS 400 in Europe), a 4-megapixel camera that retails for ?500. Phil Askey seemed to like it, awarding it his “Highly Recommended” rating and saying:

“The PowerShot S400 is a stylish ultra-compact, it follows in the tradition of previous ultra-compact PowerShots in being functional, of very good build quality and producing excellent images. The new ‘Cerabrite’ material used for the S400’s case is a bit of a revelation, it looks far brighter and cleaner than the older stainless steel, doesn’t show finger prints and is harder to scratch. It will I’m sure look great on the shelves and in the shop windows.”

Website: DPReview - Canon Powershot S400 Review

Here are a couple of websites that offer informative lessons in digital photography techniques, such as sharpening and creating custom borders. Definitely worth bookmarking and browsing during a coffee-break or two (found via digicamera.net and Photexels).

Website: Petteri’s Photo Lessons
“By popular request, here is the web version of Petteri’s Photography Classes. These lessons were first published on the Minolta Forum at Digital Photography Review. For the web work, I’ve edited the texts, cleaned up some of the graphics, and set up this framework into which to plug them. Enjoy!”

Website: Russell Brown - Tips and Techniques
“Welcome to the official, and experimental, Russell Brown Tips and Techniques page. This is your one stop shopping location for the latest in hot new tips right off the silicon wafers. In the effort to stay on the cutting edge of technology were offering QuickTime movies of some of my favorite tips. In some cases we will also offer a PDF document to accompany the movie. Beware, the movies are large and will take time to download when using a slow connection. These movies have been optimized to download as fast as possible and still look good in most cases.”

I think Steve’s Digicams is the first website to review one of Fuji’s new fourth-generation Super CCD HR (High Resolution) cameras, the FinePix F410 Zoom.

“As always the bottom line is image quality and price. The FinePix F410 delivers well saturated color images that are very true to the original colors. There’s a little confusion with the maximum image size because of the SuperCCD imager. The F410 uses a 3- megapixel imager but can deliver a 6-megapixel image in its highest resolution setting. These 6-megapixel size images are optimized for making larger prints. The problem with the images is that Fuji has used too high of a compression level.”

Website: Steve’s Digicams - FinePix F410 Zoom Review

Phil Aksey over at DPReview has taken his usual in-depth look at two 5-megapixel compact digital cameras - the Olympus C-50 Zoom and the Pentax Optio 550.

“The Optio 550 sports a wide range of manual controls, flexible settings and a powerful Lithium-Ion rechargeable battery which puts it up at the prosumer end of the market, a street price of around US$600 means it’s a very attractive proposition for anyone considering a five megapixel prosumer compact digital camera.”

Website: DPReview - Olympus C-50 Zoom Review

Website: DPReview - Pentax Optio 550 Review

Digital Outback Photo have been busy of late posting some very interesting articles. You can vote for the winner of the first RAW Conversion Contest, have a go at Contest #2 and catch up with Uwe’s experience with the Kodak 14n DSLR. There’s also an impressive monochrome entry to the RAW Conversion Contest #1, with details of how the overall effect was achieved.

Website: RAW Conversion Contest #1 - Monochrome Entry

Website: Outback Photo

DCResource has reviewed the Contax Tvs Digital “boutique camera”. Available in silver or black, at $895 the 5-megapixel camera is aimed at the more expensive end of the market.

“The Contax TVS Digital is a nice camera that would be a whole lot nicer if it was about $300 less in price. With a price of $899, you’re paying a big premium for the Contax name on the front of the camera, which is evident when you see how many features this camera shares with the $599 Finecam S5. The fact that Contax charges $100 more for a black-colored body doesn’t help matters.”

Website: DCResource - Contax Tvs Review

Inspired by a Salgado photograph of Mumbai train station that I saw a couple of weeks ago, I decided to try and replicate the blurred crowd effect that he achieved, albeit a little closer to home. Liverpool Street Station has an upper balcony with good views of the main concourse below, so I thought this would be an ideal venue for shots with a static station clock and timetable and blurry people rushing by. I planned to use digital and film - the images on film would be used for the “Photography of Movement” module in the City and Guilds course that I’m doing.

So, picture the scene - I’ve found the ideal spot, set up the tripod, mounted the camera, checked the settings, taken the first picture - then “Excuse me Sir, what are you doing?”. I felt like saying “What do you think I’m doing?”, but instead decided to be polite to the British Rail employee. Good move, as John the team leader quizzed me about why I was daring to take photographs in a train station. I explained that I was a photography student, whilst waving a Jessops Student Discount card in his face. Another good move, as it turns out that all commercial photography is completely banned, unless you pay for some kind of licence. Even so, I had to sign a form saying that I wouldn’t use the images for commercial gain, and I was allowed 30 minutes maximum in the station.

I went back, set up again, took what will hopefully be some effective images for my course, before being interrupted by another BR employee. “What are you doing?”, “I’ve spoken to John and signed the form”, “How long will you be?”, “15 minutes tops”, “Make it 10 sir”. Power-mad.

And I originally thought that it would be fine to take pictures in what is one of the most public places I can think of. Silly me.

Imaging Resource have reviewed the Olympus Stylus 400, a stylish 4 megapixel digital compact camera.

“Besides its user-friendly interface, compact design and good picture quality, its excellent (and unusual) water sealing makes the Stylus 400 a very appealing choice for a “take anywhere” camera. Battery life is excellent as well. Overall, the Stylus 400 shoots as good as it looks (slightly better than the Stylus 300, in fact), and is rugged enough to stand up to knocks and the occasional rain storm: A combination deserving serious consideration by anyone in the market for a compact, stylish digicam, and one of the better compact digicams out there.”

Website: Imaging Resource - Olympus Stylus 400 Review

Website: Read my review of the Olympus Stylus 400

Here are a few more early examples of what the Canon 10D and myself can do, this time coupled with the Canon 20-35mm USM lens (which equates to 32mm-56mm on the 10D). These shots were taken after visiting the Salgado exhibition at the Barbican in London on April 17th.

Barbican Tower	Barbican Church	City Reflection

As well as the many informative equipment and software reviews that Luminous Landscapes publishes, there are often interesting articles about the process of photography, such as this new one called “On Reflection - An Essay on Seeing Photographically”. Now, I don’t personally like the photograph that Michael Reichmann has chosen to illustrate his point, but nonetheless the article gives a good insight into what makes a particular photograph successful.

Website: Luminous Landscape - On Reflection