3 standouts from CES

The world's biggest tech show, CES 2012, wrapped up a few weeks ago after displaying all the newest tablets, TV's and cameras to a huge crowd hungry for the latest gadget news. It's kinda like being Tim the Tool Man Taylor at a Binford Tools convention – but for tech geeks. One day I hope to make the trip in person, but for now I'll have to be content to monitor it from the wings on the internet. This column is a little short to cover all the exciting products unveiled – but I wanted to focus on the cameras that caught my eye.

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Working in Style

Had to pleasure to produce this multimedia piece for The Chronicle-Herald on Jon Gray, a local shoemaker. Reporter Bill Spurr and I were lucky to grab a few hours of Jon's time so he could walk us through the shoemaking process.

The video was a true collaborative effort....Bill did all the interviewing and weaved the narrative - I concentrated on the visuals and the editing. Our multimedia developer, Jayson Taylor, also helped with some editing suggestions. I love working in a team like this - your work only gets better the more people that you have to bounce ideas off of.

Make Impressive Panoramas On Your Phone With Photosynth

Seems like Apple gets all the attention and glory these days – iPhone this, iPad that, richest company in the world, yadda yadda.. It's true that Microsoft, the once popular tech giant, that was the go-to solution for everyones computer needs, hasn't actually done much to keep up these days. That's why I was surprised that the latest photography innovation that has been blowing my mind recently has had Microsoft's name attached to it.

(Click through for the full article)

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Inspirational Webinar: Ami Vitale

I usually spend a lot of the winter backing up my catalogue and also thinking of bigger projects for the coming year.

I stumbled across this great video from photojournalist Ami Vitale where she talks to Photoshelter about how to get inspiration for projects and how to pitch those projects to editors.

She also talked about ways for photographers to generate original story ideas:

• Read voraciously
• Talk to many different kinds of people
• Localize and humanize bigger issues
• Think visually about an idea
• Write a lot. Put your ideas on paper
• Be an observer of life
• Trust your own instincts!

I hope you have time to watch the entire video and get some inspiration for 2012!

Fuji X-Pro 1 - First Look [VIDEO]

Part One:

and Part Two:

I generally don't get too excited by camera equipment - I learned early on in photography that understanding how to make a good photo - rather then relying on the latest gear and equipment - is paramount. Lately though I have been getting really excited about the new style of interchangeable lens cameras that forgo the bulky mirror system employed by digital SLR cameras.

The Fuji X-Pro 1 (due to be released in March 2012) is the latest of those cameras, and looks like it was designed with the serious photographer in mind. As a working photojournalist I have been looking forward to a camera like this for a few key reasons: 

• After 10+ years of lugging DSLR gear and lenses around, I prefer a minimal amount of gear.
• Smaller cameras generally put your subject at ease, as they are not focused on your gear ("Wow, look at that camera!"). You'd be surprised at how quickly your large DSLR cameras become the focus of conversation.

These seem like small points, but they are huge for me personally. Yes, there are pro cameras like the Leica M9 that will do this already - but I need something a little more affordable. In the golden olden days of Leica, you didn't mind plunking down top dollar for a premium camera that you will use for entire career. I can't say the same with digital cameras. Spending $7,000 CDN on a rangefinder that will be outdated by next year, isn't a good business decision.

So new cameras like the Fuji X-Pro 1 that could potentially help me do my job better, are the future for many photojournalists and documentary photographers. Of course will have to wait to see how the Fuji actually performs in the field, but it looks very promising.