A ‘Tank’ of a Camera: Panasonic’s Lumix DMC-FT5

It's always the same: no sooner has a new champion been crowned than a gaggle of young pretenders are challenging him for his title, whatever it may be.  A scant month back we had blogged about TIPA crowning Pentax's Optio WG-2 'The Best Rugged Camera'.  The latest contender who wants to lance the WG-2 off its saddle is Panasonic's Lumix DMC-FT5.

In his review...

Tim Flach Presents the Animal as an Individual

In his extended and brilliant parable The Island of Dr. Moreau, H.G. Wells tells the story of a scientist who performs vivisections on animals so as to make human beings out of them; to 'improve' the animals.  Tim Flach wants to achieve the same purpose though he certainly does not go as far as did Moreau; he only uses his camera, not a scalpel.  Furthermore, he does not try to...

The London Street Scene

Is this deeply private photograph – almost an intrusion – posed?  Just what is the couple doing?  All we can tell is that an intense human drama is playing out at a picturesque setting.  Apparently it is not posed and is a spontaneous exposure, for Stewart Marsden is a 'street shooter' who documents life in London.  His images were published in The Telegraph earlier this year.

Cartier-Bresson's "fleeting moment"...

Photography’s ‘Old Masters’ and ‘Beat Generation’ plus an Art Deco Kaleidoscope

Two photographs each by Laura Gilpin, Robert Mapplethorpe, Andre Kertesz,...

Indoor Photography With Directional Sunlight

DP School recently published an 'exercise' that encourages you to take indoor photographs using natural lighting from a window, and learn by experimenting.  It's a very useful skill to develop; instead of using flash, ambient light pouring in through the windows makes for a pleasing, natural appearance for photographs of, say, family members playing indoor games or having coffee at the kitchen table.

The crux of A Simple Exercise on...

A Medley of Photos from the Past 24 Hours!

Easter Traditions

One holiday, so many traditions.  Contrasting photographs in the Baltimore Sun Darkroom show that Easter, associated with eggs and bunnies in the West, means something rather different in Eastern Europe.  It is more traditional, religious, and even 'pre-religious' – a pagan rite of splashing cold water on women is alive and well in Slovakia.  

Wouldn't photographs illustrating "Easter Traditions Around the World" make for a wonderful...

A Fujifilm ‘Bridge’ and a Nikon ‘Superzoom’

Fujifilm X20

If you're looking for a compact camera to carry around 24x7 whose looks won't make you feel sheepish and which takes more than serviceable photos, Fujifilm's new X20 could be for you.

In a review posted earlier today, PhotographyBlog raves about its chic design and solid build quality.  It ticks all the boxes for the expected core features and adds a few to the mix.  

Though a spec of...

The Rock, the Pyramid, and the Survivor

A Meaty Tutorial on Flower Photography

Floral Photography is often a great draw to novices and amateurs . . . who are equally often disappointed by the results they achieve.  Anyone interested in this field can raise his/her game a few notches by following the suggestions in a meaty new tutorial by Jose Antunes on photo tuts+.

Antunes begins his how-to by disabusing readers of the notion that expensive equipment is essential; he...