foto Priority

Thank you to all those who have subscribed for our regular updates. We look forward to keeping you photographically inspired!

As promised, we had 2x A2 Canvas prints to give away (valued at $149) courtesy of DigiDirect.

The lucky winners are georgie@greaterdata.com.au and melissajones@aapt.net.au Congratulations to you both!

Now go and decide on an image to print. We’ll be in touch with you shortly.

Visit the DigiDirect Lab

By the way, we’ve had great reports filter in from various students that the guys at Digi Direct have really been looking after them on price and service. If you prefer personal attention beyond the slick website, pop in and check them out in the City or Bondi Junction, and don’t forget to mention SPW or FotoPriority.

Hi all, ok time for some inspiration (said in a heavy French accent) I was recently sent a link to The “Prix de la Photographie, Paris” (Px3) and was very impressed by the images submitted by both professional and amature photographers.

A little about the competition -

The “Prix de la Photographie, Paris” (Px3) strives to promote the appreciation of photography, to discover emerging talent, and to introduce photographers from around the world to the artistic community of Paris. Winning photographs from this competition are exhibited in a high-profile gallery in Paris and published in the high-quality, full-color Px3Annual Book.

Check out the Px3 website for all the latest winners from each category. I especially love the series that came second titled “Aftermath of War in Lebanon”

I, like many others I have spoken to, am yet to master the HD video on my canon 5d mk2 or Canon 7d, so something like this seems to be out of my reach for now. “The story beyond the still” is a HD video contest put on by Canon where photographers have a chance to show off their skills as filmmakers.

Last month the contest kicked off when Canon asked photographer, Vincent Laforet, to interpret a still by telling the story that lived beyond it using the Canon EOS 7D. It was the first chapter of seven, ending with a still photograph of its own for the Vimeo community to then interpret. After 112 entries, Josh Thacker was chosen as the very first winner, the below winning entry was shot using a Canon 7D and 5D Mark II.

Job Security from Runner Runner on Vimeo.

Check out the rest of the videos that have been submitted to the beyond the still contest.

Shutterbug Photography Festival, now in its fourth year, is open for submissions from any photographer earning under $20,000 per year. As well as a prize pool of $10,000, 15 finalists will have their work shown on the big screen at the huge Shutterbug Projection night in July 2010.

Submissions can be made online from until the 30th May 2010.

Check out the shutterbug website for all details of entry…good luck!

Spanish photographer, José Luis Rodríguez, impressed judges with his image, The Storybook Wolf, and was awarded the prestigious title of 2009 Wildlife Photographer of the Year from a record 43,135 entries from 94 countries.

The best of these will be showcased in a visually stunning exhibition of 95 images on show at the Australian Museum from 24 December to 26 April 2010.

My Photo Studio

In an exciting new twist to this year’s exhibition, the cost of entry also includes access to the family-friendly ‘My Photo Studio’ where you can get focused and get a new perspective down the lens of your own camera.

Visitors of all ages are encouraged to bring their camera for the chance to zoom in on some unique museum specimens while getting the chance to:

• Photograph live spiders, snails and insects
• Get up close with micro and macro shots
• Practise your still-life photography
• Learn tips and tricks from inhouse experts

So once you have perfected your new skills, budding nature photographers are encouraged to enter next year’s Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition. Entries open in January 2010 (until March 2010). For details, visit www.nhm.ac.uk/wildphoto.

So don’t forget to bring your own camera for this special opportunity!

Hey all, this looks really cool, Canon have come up with a monthly challenge designed for amateur photographers. Each month Graham Monro from GM Photographics will give you a brief, you then set out and submit your best shot related to that theme.

Once uploaded you have the chance to become the people’s choice winner or the judge’s winner! The winner will receive an A2 printout of their image.

For more info check out the 1wall home page where you can find lots more info including conditions of entry and the “wall” where you can start judging for yourself.

Be quick at this months challenge “emotion” ends in 7 days, get shooting!

This years Canon Photo5 competition brought many challenges. One of those being the pair of cardboard spectacles. Andrew Foo submitted the below image to Canon and has kindly shared his insight to the creation and thought process behind it. Enjoy

© Andrew Foo

Getting creative… creative flash that is!

Thinking up an idea that is both original and witty for a creative portrait is hard. Well, actually I lie. Neither isn’t terribly difficult, it’s executing on the idea where the hard yards are.

The inaugural competition Canon Photo5 competition came and went again this year and there’s nothing better than a good competition to bring out the best in your creative side.

The “portraiture” brief commanded the use of a supplied black spectacles made from thin piece of cardboard paper. How you used it in the shot, was open to the photographer’s interpretation. In keeping with the competition’s judging brief I wanted to create an image that would engage and probe more questions from the viewer. In “Think it’s time for a new pair…”, I played with the idea of a different kind of portrait and uniting fake with reality. Having worn the spectacles, the main subject could not see any better and proceeds to attempt to clean the cardboard spectacles with a lens cloth. This somewhat felt like a surreal moment, so I thought a ‘dreamy’ cast to the image would be a neat idea.

Having had the opportunity to attend one of SPW’s recent Shots @ The Arthouse (Flash Dance night) I felt more equipped to introduce some off-camera flash in getting a bit more creative. Shot inside one of my rooms in my house later in the day I didn’t have much ambient light to play with. I started by exposing for the ambient lighting for the room’s background. The idea was to keep the foreground pin sharp and in focus, so I dialed in a higher ISO to maintain a shutter speed of 1/50th of a second to eliminate camera shake. Using a wide aperture of f/2.8 allowed me to keep the foreground sharp and throw the background out of focus in emphasizing the action and the object in hand.

A radio remote trigger fired off a flashgun placed left of camera through an umbrella for a softer light. Needless to say I had a lot of fun doing this and comps are a great way to focus on a specific theme and get your creative juices flowing!

Camera and Lens: Canon EOS 450D, Canon EF 50mm f/1.8

Off-Camera Flash: Canon Speedlite 430EX II attached to stand and shot through umbrella @ ¼ power

Remote triggered by Speedlite Radio Kit

Exposure: Shot handheld at f/2.8, 1/50sec, ISO800, Flash WB

Cheers,

Andrew Foo

Check out the link to the image – Think it’s time for a new pair

Seven Snaps iPhone photography contest 2009

Have iPhone will click. Let’s face it if you have an iphone chances are you have taken 100’s of photos! I was only looking through my camera roll last night thinking to myself how did I manage to take 850 photos in only the short period that I have owned an iPhone!

Here are some details of a competition that Seven Snaps are holding, exclusively for iPhone users. The contest challenges you to be creative and share the fun of telling a story in a sequence of seven images.

The winning entries will be chosen around Christmas 2009 by a jury made up of diverse creative backgrounds including the writer Paulo Coelho, composer Max Richter and sculptor Jason de Caires Taylor. The winning entries will be used for publication and may be required to take part in an exhibition.

For more information please visit the Seven Snaps website

Happy iPhone snapping

Jose Fernandez

A few weeks back we posted a link announcing the Finalists and Winners of the 2009 Lucie awards, which we hope you’ve had a chance to check out. Well here are the best of show selections, curated by Miss Rosen. Enjoy!

Best of Show 2009 from Lucie Foundation on Vimeo.

view the 2009 Winners Gallery