Asgemi

Here’s an interesting article (”Take Better Pictures by Treating Your Still Camera Like It’s Video”) via Lifehacker:

People often lament that they “just missed it!” upon seeing they failed to capture a pivotal moment in the action. You can avoid missing the action by treating your still camera like a video camera.

One of the hallmarks of good photography is capturing moments. The difference between an average shot and an amazing shot can be a fraction of a second. I often joke that my love of insect macro photography translated well to becoming a wedding photographer, the moods of butterflies and brides are equally as fickle. The New York Times interviewed Li Ward of Fat Orange Cat Studio to get the scoop on how she managed to get such dynamic and expressive photos of animals. Since animals aren’t much for following explicit posing instructions it’s up to Li to make sure she’s ready for every interesting moment.

I’ve long since ascribed to the technique of viewing the world through my viewfinder in a the fashion of shooting video and can’t heartily suggest this tip enough. Once you get in the habit of actively tracking your subject and taking photographs as if you’re video taping and searching for that perfect frame, you’ll always be ready to catch the moments everyone else misses.

For more photography tips and tricks check out the rest of the interview at the link below. She focuses her tips on photographing pets but many of the tips are just as well suited for adding interest to other kinds of photography like varying your shooting height and angle.

From a press release:

Deadline: 30 September 2009

As springtime rolls in, Canon U.S.A. is encouraging Americans to visit their national parks and photograph their beauty with its fourth annual Canon Photography In The Parks Photo Contest.

The contest invites photography enthusiasts, from May 15 to September 30, 2009, to enter by submitting their ‘Inspirational Nature Images,’ the theme for this year’s contest.

Photos taken at any park or monument in America can be entered through the Canon Digital Learning Center website at: www.usa.canon.com/parks.

New this year, Canon will have two contest divisions for photographers between the ages of 13 and 17, and a separate division for adults ages 18 and older. This will enhance the contest experience by allowing aspiring teen photographers to compete amongst their peers.

“Through our Photography in the Parks Photo Contest, we have seen a great number of awe-inspiring outdoor images submitted from around the country. It is during these beautiful spring and summer months that we all should take the time to go outside and enjoy all that nature has to offer,” said Yuichi Ishizuka, SVP and general manager, Canon U.S.A.

“As an environmentally conscious organization, we encourage everyone to enjoy the beauty of nature, and work to protect it.”

After entering their photos through the Canon Digital Learning Center, potential contest winners will have the opportunity to forward an e-postcard of their submitted images to friends and family as a fun way to share their photographs. Winning photographers from the Photography in the Parks Photo Contest will receive some of Canon’s hottest photographic equipment. Along with some of Canon’s hottest equipment, the Grand Prize winner will receive a trip to a National Park.

As part of Canon’s Parks Program, a team of photographers will be touring four National Parks from June through August. At each park, the Canon team will host free photography workshops and provide Canon’s top-of-the-line camera equipment for participants to use at no charge. Each class will teach various photography techniques and explore many of the camera functions as participants take a walking tour of the park.

Visit www.usa.canon.com/parks for details and a schedule of workshops.

From First Person America: In These Hard Times:

A national competition seeking the best videos, photographs, and stories describing how individuals, families and communities are managing during these hard times.

One of the unexpected outcomes of the Great Depression was a decade of creative outpouring that covered the U.S. map. Under the auspices of the Works Progress Administration (WPA), thousands of artists fanned across the country documenting the experiences of everyday Americans as they worked to maintain their families, their communities, and their way of life in the face of a national economic crisis.

Now, as Americans are again experiencing financial hardship and uncertainty, First Person Arts invites artists to document how this generation of Americans is coping.

Inspired by the artists of the WPA, who documented the experiences of Americans in every part of the country, First Person Arts is asking artists to help craft the first draft of the history of our era by capturing, in photographs, on video, or in writing, the stories of America and its people during these difficult times.

Our goal is to gather stories from all 50 states.

Artists:
We are looking for short memoirs and essays, documentary films, and photographs that depict Americans from all walks of life. We are especially interested in stories that are unique to your family, your community, your town, your region – that capture the idiosyncratic things that are happening where you live - the slices of life that, taken together, will give us a First Person picture of America in 2009 – the good, the bad, the ugly and the beautiful.

Guidelines:
Writing submissions – up to 2,500 words.
Film and video submissions – up to five minutes, excluding credits.
Photography submissions - may include up to five photographs, with or without accompanying text of up to 100 words per image.

Submission deadline: June 30, 2009

Finalists in each category (writing, film, and photography) will be featured on the First Person Arts website (www.firstpersonarts.org) and at the First Person Festival of Memoir and Documentary Art, November 4-8, 2009. First place winners in each genre will be invited to Philadelphia to participate in the festival. A $500 cash prize will be awarded to the best story overall.

Entry Fee: $10

I wanted to welcome you to asgemi.com, a BuddyPress/WordPressMU powered photography website. There’s going to be a lot of construction to the page over the next six months, but hopefully, when everything is done you’ll like what we’ve done with the place.