The new photographers of news organizations

Reference
Chicago Sun-Times Lays Off All Its Full-Time Photographers (nytimes)
This Might Not Work: Chicago Sun Times Fires All Its Photographers To Replace Them With iPhones (forbes.com)

According to a leak from Sun-Times Robert Feder, Sun-Times' new strategy seems to rely on having their journalist shoot video and photos with their iPhones.

I work in a news organization and I've tried that: covering a story myself with a notepad and a camera (not iPhone). It's not easy, and it defeats of the purpose of news reporting.

When you're multitasking, writing notes and taking photos, you will be distracted. When you see a photo opportunity, your notepad is in hand. When you hear a newsworthy quote, your iPhone or camera is in hand. So you can switch your tools. Try switching them countless of times. You are going to miss capturing some crucial info or shot.

So all that multitasking basically will just result in sub-par news reporting. Don't believe me? Just try it yourself, it's that simple. Go out and get a story with pictures by yourself.

By the way, you're not going to get many good photos at night with your camera phone.

Future of photo journalists at news organizations

The future is not bright.

If I'm in charge, I probably would do the same and fire the photographers.

I would run a big blurb everyday on the papers asking people to submit their photos for print, and I'll pay them.

It's not too expensive. But more important, those photos are going to be timely. If there's an explosion at some place, someone there will bound to take a photo. That photo is going to worth more than the one the photo-journalist that minutes or hours later. You cannot go back in time to take photos.

News organizations can just hire photographers based on where they are located. Call upon them to cover stories that happen instantly.


http://laidofffromthesuntimes.tumblr.com/

Leica Mini M photo leaked

Looks like Mirrorless Rumors has gotten a photo of the rumored Leica Mini M.

These are the specs so far:
- Leica Elmar 28-70mm f/3.5-6.4
- 16.1 MP APSC sensor
- External electronic viewfinder can be used
- Full Aluminum body
- Full-HD recording
- Bundled with Photoshop Lightroom

The official launch date will be on 11 June 2013. Leica is unboxing the camera slowly on their website in a tease.

Not sure how much it's gonna cost. The Leica M cost around $7000, X2 compact about $2000.

It's going to be expensive, that's for sure. With the same amount of money, why not just get the Sony RX1, Fujifilm X100s or even the XE-1?

Olympus 17mm f/1.8 or Voigtlander Nokton 17.5mm f/0.95

Source: Sami Paju, Olympus 17mm f/1.8 lens

These two lens might share almost the same focal length, but they have characteristics that make their usage different.

If you have difficulty choosing between the two, you're probably distracted by the advantages the the Olympus lens.

Alright, let's look at what they offer.

Olympus 17mm f/1.8 lens:

• Smaller
• Lighter
• Cheaper
• Autofocus
• With EXIF data

Voigtlander 17.5mm f/0.95:

• Faster at f/0.95
• Soft wide open
• Sharper when stopped down
• Physical aperture ring
• Manual focus

When it comes down to getting the picture, there's only one key differentiating point: The Voigtlander shoots at f/0.95.

The Voigtlander is made for shooting in extreme low light situations.

If you need to shoot at night, get the Voigtlander. The Voigtlander is almost 2 stops faster than the Olympus. For places lit by just lamps, the f/1.8 of the Olympus is oftentimes not adequate.

Just for example, say the threshold of unusable noisy photo is ISO1600 (or whatever), the Voigtlander will give you a less noisy photo because you can shoot two stops faster. So if you're shooting at ISO 1600 with the Voigtlander, it means with the Olympus you have to shoot with the usable ISO 6400. That's where the f/0.95 becomes absolutely necessary.

In other words, when you're in a situation that requires f/0.95 for the exposure, you will get no usable shots a f/1.8, assuming of course you've maxed out the ISO.

Yeah, the Olympus is cheaper, smaller, lighter, yadda yadda, yadda...

The resolving power, or even the bokeh or rendering, do not come into the argument at all. All those factors are not related to getting a picture.


Source: 夏天, , Voigtlander 17.5mm f/0.95

Fat cat in deep sleep

Didn't even flinch when I tapped her ear.


GH3 & Olympus 17mm f/1.8 at ISO 200, f/2.8, 1/800s

Moove cows with heart

The Moove cows are back and this time with a heart. This one's seen in Queenstown at Strathmore Ave.


Saw a squirrel too.


Leaf prints on concrete


Bottled ink.

All shot with the Fujifilm X-Pro1 and 35mm f/1.4 lens.

Eric Kim on WIlliam Klein

10 Lessons William Klein Has Taught Me About Street Photography

Shadow Patterns

Shadows creating unexpected patterns.

Rooftopping at the Top of the World

I hope you're not afraid of heights.

Rooftopping is the photography movement where you go up to highest building and shoot vertigo-inducing photos. The wider your lens, the further away the ground looks. Throw in a pair of shoes and you get the sense of danger.