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34,/5)3 -/s0/24,!.$ /2s/2,!.$/ &, Volume XX Numberco 4 July/August 2009ntents 57 27 portfolio 57 LIFE’s Lost Treasures When a new website, never been published. LIFE.com, launched this Here’s an exclusive spring, the world began look at what we found. to get a glimpse of the vast, grand archive 78 The of the late, great LIFE Photographers magazine. We went A snapshot of searching for images 22 LIFE photographers from the likes of Margaret who helped deﬁne Bourke-White and Alfred photography in the 20th Eisenstaedt that had century, and beyond.

ASCHEN BOOKS adventure photographer shark-infested waters. Bobby Model. 22 AP Interview 6 Editor’s Note South African photog- Why LIFE magazine’s rapher Roger Ballen photography still matters talks about capturing in a post-print world. his dark dreams. © BUNNY YEAGER/COURTESY T 11 Inside 27 Witness Photography Bobby Model’s photo 12 A historic look at legs career was ended with © LESLIE THOMSON from the ground up, and a terrible injury, but On the cover: much more. don’t count him out. The Sony Alpha 900, 35 Nikon D3X, and 12 New Books 35 State of the Art Canon EOS 5D Mark II The lure of legs, Our 11th annual according to Taschen’s Editor’s Choice special “sexy book” editor awards for the best Dian Hanson. new photo products… including the AP 16 Flickr Artist Cameras of the Year. Spotlighting talent from the world’s biggest 88 Skills photo community. Photographer Joe McNally tells how 18 See It Now to create sophisticated The newest illumination with

RUSSELL HART photo exhibitions. a single light source.

Subscriptions If you have a problem or question American Photo (ISSN 1046-8986) (USPS 526-930), July/August 2009, volume XX, Publications Mail Agreement about a subscription, call (386) 597-4375; fax (303) issue 4, is published bimonthly by Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S., Inc., 1633 Broadway, Number: 40052054. Canadian 604-7644; or write American Photo, Box 52616, 43rd Floor, New York, NY 10019. Periodicals postage paid at New York, NY 10001 and Registration Number: Boulder, CO 80321-2616. One-year subscription rate (6 at additional mailing offices. Authorized periodicals postage by the Post Office 126018209RT0001. Return issues) for U.S. and possessions, $15; Canada (includes Department, Ottawa, Canada, and for payment in cash. POSTMASTER: Send address undeliverable Canadian 5% GST) and Foreign, $29; cash orders only, payable in changes to American Photo, P.O. Box 52616, Boulder, CO 80322-2616; (386) 597-4375; addresses to: P.O. Box 503, U.S. currency. Two years: U.S., $30; Canada and Foreign, Fax (303) 604-7644. If the postal services alert us that your magazine is undeliverable, RPO West Beaver Creek, Rich- $53. Three years: U.S., $45; Canada and Foreign, $76. we have no further obligation unless we receive a corrected address within one year. mond Hill ON L4B 4R6 Canada. 5]Sfb`S[S BVS`S¸a\]bc`\W\UPOQY

G]cU]b]Sfb`S[Sab]USbXcabbVS`WUVbaV]bO\RAO\2WaYU]Sab]Sfb`S[Sab][OYSac`Sg]cUSb bVObaV]bSdS`gbW[S3\UW\SS`SRb]^S`T]`[T`][bVS<]`bV>]ZSb]bVSAOVOÒ2SaS`bbVSaSQO`Ra O`S`WU]`]caZgab`SaabSabSRT]`Sfb`S[SaV]QYdWPÒbW]\bS[^SÒbc`SO\RVc[WRWbg>ZcaPZWabS`W\U `SORe`WbSa^SSRa]Tc^b]"#;0aSQ]\RS\ac`SbVS[]abRS[O\RW\U ^V]b]UÒ^VSàO`S`SORgT]Ò\gbVW\U

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AO\2WaYO\RbVSAO\RWaYZ]U]AO\2WaY3fb`S[SO\R1][ÔQb4ZOaVO`SbÒRS[O`Ya]TAO\2WaY1]`^`SUWabS`SRW\bVSCAO\R]bVS`Q]c\b`WSaA261Z]U]WaObÒRS[O`Y]TA2!1::1 'AO\2WaY1]`^]ÒbW]\ [SUOPgbS;0+ [WZZW]\PgbSaf+ #YPaSQ0OaSR]\AO\2WaYW\bS`\OZbSabW\U)^S`T]`[O\QS[OgdO`gRS^S\RW\Uc^]\V]abRSdWQS UWUOPgbS50+ PWZZW]\PgbSaA][SQOÔQWbWSa\]bOdOWZOPZST]`RObOab]ÒUS INSIDE AMERICAN PHOTO

Vice President/Editor in Chief David Schonauer Art Director Deborah Mauro Executive Editor Russell Hart Associate Editor Lindsay Sakraida Copy Editor Judy Myers

Contributing Editors: Jonathan Barkey, Vicki Goldberg, Dirck Halstead, Eliane Laffont, Jack Crager

Vice President/Publisher Jeffrey Roberts Associate Publisher Anthony M. Ruotolo

Senior Account Executive Sara Schiano Flynn Business Development Manager Phil Mistry West Coast Ad Director Bob Meth Account Executive Tara Weedfald Classiﬁed Ad Sales Chip Parham Group Billing Director Irene Reyes Coles Director of Special Events Michelle Cast Senior Promotion Designer Lindsay Krist Senior Promotion Designer Erin Friedmann Bobby Special Events Producer Erica Johnson Model by Special Events Coordinator Vanessa Vazquez Rich Workshop Coordinator Athos Kyriakides Clarkson Editorial Director, PopPhoto.com Gene Newman Editor, PopPhoto.com Stan Horaczek Assistant Editor, PopPhoto.com Krista Soriano Web Producer Adam Christie Assistant to the Publisher Karen Persaud he news about Bobby Model spread transferred to Craig Hospital, a renowned Sales Assistant Lauren Brewer T Vice President of Operations Michael Esposito over the Internet quickly. It was June center for brain trauma treatment. Clark- Production Director Diane Arlotta 2007 when Model, a man who enjoyed son visited him there and saw that Mod- Production Manager Vicki Feinmel Prepress Technician Annie Andres the risk and rewards of climbing moun- el’s spirit was fully intact, despite his pain General Manager Bill Frank tains and taking pictures, sustained severe and difﬁculties in moving and speaking. VP, Director of Corp. Marketing Al Silvestri head injuries after a chunk of concrete Our story about Model on page 27 fea- VP, Consumer Marketing Philip Ketonis Group Circulation Director William Carter was thrown through the windshield of a tures a photo that Clarkson made in late VP, Retail Sales & Marketing William Michalopoulos pickup truck he was riding in while vis- February when Model visited his mother’s Newsstand Sales Director John Kayser iting South Africa. His friends read blogs, home in Wyoming. The piece was writ- John Owens, Senior VP, Group Editorial Director

e-mailed each other, hoped for the best, ten by Stephen Singular, a Denver-based Advertising Inquiries: Anthony Ruotolo, 1633 Broadway, 43rd and prepared for the worst. author of 17 books, including When Floor, New York, NY 10019; (212) 767-6397. Classified Ad Sales: (800) 445-6066. Detroit Ad Representative: Melissa Homant, 1585 One of those friends was Rich Men Become Gods, the story of Mormon Eisenhower Place, Ann Arbor, MI 48108; (734) 205-1104. Corporate Clarkson, the former director of photog- polygamist Warren Jeffs. Singular says that Direct Response Sales Manager: Peter Brevett, (212) 767-5702. Member Audit Bureau of Circulations raphy at National Geographic, who had during his reporting he came to under- COPYRIGHT © 2009, HACHETTE FILIPACCHI MEDIA U.S., INC. AMERICAN PHOTO® IS A REGISTERED TRADEMARK OF HACHETTE met Model a few years earlier when stand how profoundly Model always FILIPACCHI MEDIA U.S., INC., PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES. the young photographer interned at his needed to prove himself, whether the Alain Lemarchand, President and Chief Executive Officer; Philippe Guelton, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer; Denver-based production company. In challenge was scaling a cliff or shooting Catherine R. Flickinger, Executive Vice President and General Counsel; October of 2007, Model was taken to an Third World slums. “He overcame every- Deborah Burns, Senior Vice President, Chief Brand Officer, Luxury Design Group; Carlos Lamadrid, Senior Vice President, acute care hospital in Denver, to be thing,” says Singular, “and that’s why we Chief Brand Officer, Woman’s Day Group; Carol A. Smith, Senior Vice President, Chief Brand Officer, ELLE Group; nearer to his family in Wyoming, and later can’t count him out now, either.” Philippe Perthuis, Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer; Tom Donohue, Senior Vice President, Chief Technology Officer; Bennett Theimann, Senior Vice President, Chief Procurement Officer; Thomas Masterson, Senior Vice President, Consumer Marketing & Manufacturing; Todd Anderman, Senior Vice President, Digital Media; Anne Lattimore Janas, Senior Vice President, Corporate Communications; Eileen F. Mullins, Vice President, Human Resources. HFM U.S. is part of Lagardère Active, © MARK DAIL a division of Lagardère SCA (www.lagardere.com) Didier Quillot, CEO, Lagardère Active; Jean de Boisdeffre, CEO International of Magazine Division, Lagardère Active.

CONTRIBUTORS Y

MODEL’S SPIRIT Editorial contributions should be sent to American Photo, 1633 Broadway, 43rd Floor, New York, NY 10019. Submissions must be accompanied by WAS FULLY INTACT, return postage and will be handled with reasonable care; however, publisher assumes no responsibility for the safety of unsolicited original artwork, photographs, slides, or manuscripts. Subscriber address changes should be sent to American Photo, P.O. Box 52616, Boulder, CO 80321-2616. DESPITE HIS PAIN Customer service: Back issues (386) 597-4375; fax (303) 604-7644. are $8.95 each ($10.95 in Canada; $15.95 other countries) in U.S. funds. Send check or money order to: American Photo Back Issues, P.O. Box 50191, AND DIFFICULTIES Author Stephen Singular Boulder, CO 80322-0191; (800) 333-8546. For information on reprints and eprints contact Brian Kolb at Wright’s Reprints, (877) 652-5295 or [email protected]. American Photo, July/August 2009, Vol. XX, No. 4. Entire contents © 2009 Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S., Inc. Occasionally we share our information with other reputable companies whose products and services might interest you. If you prefer not to participate in this opportunity, 4 popphoto.com please call the following number and indicate that to the operator: (386) 597-4375. . NC N I I N KON IKON N N 9N 09 N 0 0 20 2 ©0 ©20 ©20 ©20 . ON ION T ORA OA ORP C

KON I N F O

KS EMAR E D RA T

ED R ISTE IST IS G EG E REG RE R

E RE ARE

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and others, so we’re pretty excited. (On pages 67 and 71 you will also find rarely seen contact sheets—old- timers will remember what those are—featuring a couple of iconic LIFE images.) The history of LIFE represents much of the history of American photography in the 20th century. No one has told that story better than John Loengard, a former LIFE director of photography who has published a number of books about the magazine and its photographers. (Much of our research for our portfolio was based on those volumes.) John told us he is happy to see that well-crafted, well-edited still images can hold up in the modern YouTube world; LIFE photos were built to last, and they continue to impress and inspire photographers today. LIFE may have been your father’s photo magazine (or your grandfather’s, or even great-grandfather’s), but it has a lot to teach us all today. The original editor of this magazine, Sean Callahan, was once a photo editor at LIFE, and when he started American Photographer in 1978 he said he wanted to continue to write the literature of photography, as LIFE had done before it folded as a weekly in 1972. THE CLASSICS Today, the story of photography is being told in ways unimaginable then. As you’ll see in our annual Editor’s Choice product guide (page 35), the evolution of the OLD AND NEW digital SLR continues at a blistering pace. These cameras have transformed the art and business of photography, blurring the lines between pros and amateurs. (We added a new category this year to highlight what we call “Semi-Pro” D-SLRs.) Along these same lines we single out another talented photographer whose work can be found on Flickr, and we’re happy to Above: From ur big portfolio in this issue of American Photo announce that our Flickr showcase will be a regular the LIFE.com O comes from a new website that is in large part American Photo feature. As usual, we also go behind archive, based on an old magazine. LIFE.com launched in April the scenes with several top pros to see how they make Francis Miller’s 1951 shot of and has already become a locus for photography enthu- their remarkable pictures. a family at a siasts. It features new and archival images from Getty Some things don’t change, no matter what technol- drive-in movie Images, as well as work from the grand LIFE magazine ogy is being employed to create photographs. American archive. On page 57 you’ll find a sampling of that LIFE Photo has always focused on telling the stories of the material—images that were never printed in the maga- people behind the cameras, and on page 27 you will zine but are now being made available through the find the compelling tale of Bobby Model, a passionate wonder of digitization. It’s not every day that we get to young photographer whose career was ended by a trag- run unseen pictures by Margaret Bourke-White, Alfred edy. If you want to understand what inspires people to Eisenstaedt, Carl Mydans, Cornell Capa, George Silk, be photographers, read this story.

David Schonauer, EDITOR IN CHIEF 6 popphoto.com BF;8BGIF=

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PETER GOWLAND/COURTESY T INSIDE PHOTOGRAPHY

t used to be that when I newspaper editors wanted to boost circulation, they would assign a photographer to shoot some “leg art.” That’s all it took. But consider the leg: Ladies aren’t supposed to keep theirs hidden, as they used to, yet the erotic appeal of great gams remains a constant. It’s all discussed in Taschen’s new The Big Book of Legs, a sequel to the publisher’s immensely popular The Big Book of Breasts and The Big Penis Book. In all those years of making leg art, photographers have managed to perfect the art of the leg, as you see in this undated image of model Joan Webb by famed glamour photographer Peter Gowland. You’ll ﬁnd an exclusive interview with the book’s author, Dian Hanson, on page 12.

Model Joan Webb, by Peter Gowland, date unknown popphoto.com 11 Models Charlotte Stewart and Margot Sweet, photographer unknown

or those who value artful, F well-produced erotica, Dian Hanson is a celebrity. As the so- called “sexy book” editor of Taschen Books, she has produced two best-selling volumes, The Big Book of Breasts (2006) and The Big Penis Book (2008). Her newest entry in the series, The Big Book of Legs ($60) examines a subject whose appeal is more complicated. “There was a study done in England that showed that men who like breasts tend to be out- going and sporty,” says Hanson. “Men who like legs and butts tend to be more bookish and shy and intelligent. They were more obsessive and successful.” Pop wisdom aside, the insights are typical of Hanson, who approaches her subjects with scholarship and enthusi- asm. Her previous work, as editor of magazines such as Juggs and Leg Show, provided her with ﬁrst-hand knowledge of her

NEW

BOOKS ASCHEN BOOKS LEG ART COURTESY T

12 INSIDE PHOTOGRAPHY Left: Betty Grable by Frank Powolny. Below: Photog- rapher and date unknown.

readers’ desires. (She also edited a magazine called Big Butt, so there may be another sexy book

© FRANK POWOLNY/COURTESY TASCHEN BOOKS © FRANK POWOLNY/COURTESY TASCHEN on the way soon.) Hanson says there was never a plan to do a series of books on body parts—it just sort of hap- pened. “I knew the breast book would do well, just based on men’s reactions to the photos,” she says. “I showed them to guys around the office, and they blushed and became giggly and turned into 12-year-old boys. We’re now into our seventh printing, and Benedict [Taschen] said we should do all kinds of body parts. Penises are popular—but they have to be big, like breasts.” Legs are different, Hanson notes. You might say they’re more of a specialty item that attracts a more fetish-friendly crowd. “It all started with Elmer Bat- ters,” says Hanson. Batters first experienced the lure of pinup photography while serving on a U.S. Navy submarine. His first magazine, Man’s Favorite Pas- time, was launched in 1957. “Elmer told me that men who love legs had cold mothers,” says Hanson. “They were left on the floor and they clung to their mothers’ legs.” The leg has been a staple of erotic photography dating from ASCHEN BOOKS the turn of the century. Hanson says the loosening morals

COURTESY T of the 1960s made that decade the heyday of the leg. By the 1970s, it was all over. “Once magazines started showing [women’s private parts], everyone focused on the crotch. Legs are the only female body part that is more erotic when it’s dressed up.” —MICHAEL KAPLAN

For the full interview with Dian Hanson, go to PopPhoto.com.

popphoto.com 13 IMAGES OF THE YEAR COMPETITION O9

TO ENTER VISIT: WWW.IOTYCONTEST.COM CATEGORIES: Photojournalism/Documentary Commercial Work: Advertising/Editorial Personal Work Student Work Portraiture Nature Extreme

NEW CATEGORY: EXTREME This category highlights the passion of photographers who are active participants in life’s adventures. We’re looking for extreme art; extreme sports; extreme travel; extreme people... It’s a new kind of photography and a new kind of lifestyle in which every moment is a memory. ABOUT The annual American PHOTO Images of the Year event is an international competition that is a definitive showcase of the very DEADLINE best of contemporary photography. This juried photo contest offers Sept. 12, 2009 unmatched exposure to both established and emerging photographers in a wide range of fields, from documentary/ photojournalism to cutting-edge commercial work and will provide an unprecedented opportunity for peer review of your work by professional photographers, museum curators, art critics and influential editors. Winners will be selected on the basis of originality and the overall quality of concept execution.

ONLINE SUBMISSIONS You can enter all of your images online. Please visit www.iotycontest.com and follow the easy upload instructions. If you prefer to mail in your entry please visit www.iotycontest.com for detailed instructions. Note all payments must be made online.

DEADLINE Entries must be postmarked no later than midnight, September 12th, 2009.

PRIZES Enter now and you just might win an incredible prize package from our sponsors. One Grand Prize winner and 7 category winners will be selected. The winning imagery will be featured in a special January/February 2010 issue of American PHOTO magazine, as well as on www.PopPhoto.com. Visit www.iotycontest.com for more information.

ENTRY FEE Single Entry: $25 | Series: $40 | Student Work: $10 Extended Entry (September 17th): $50 An entry can be either a single image or a series of images. A series includes multiple images or pages that make up a cohesive related story. A series is limited to a maximum of 10 images. To enter the student work category you must currently be enrolled in classes.

JUDGING/WINNERS The judging will be done in two stages: The initial stage will be done by the American PHOTO staff. The second stage will be done by a jury of outside experts. The criteria for judging will be threefold: 1. Originality of concept 2. How well the concept fits the category 3. How well the concept is executed Winners will be notified via email or mail. Winners will be required to sign and return an affidavit of eligibility, grant of rights, and a publicity and liability release within 14 days of notification, or alternate winners will be selected (alternate will be next highest entrant).

ROW 1: DAMON WINTER, MONA KUHN, CIG HARVEY; ROW 2: JIM SHOEMAKER, ASH LAROSE; ROW 3: SIMONE SBARAGLIA, MARK ZIBERT; ROW 4: JIM REED, ART STREIBER, CHANG KYUN KIM

Special thanks to our sponsors: ® © LESLIE THOMSON

“Snow Day,” Thomson’s photo of tobogganers in her Toronto backyard

lickr photographer Leslie aged print. “I’m strongly influ- hectic life and inspired by other F Thomson was enjoying a enced by the Italian Renaissance Flickr artists. “Especially the ones snow day with her daughters and 17th-century Dutch paint- who specialize in taking the when she noticed a “rosy, ethereal ing,” Thomson explains. “Part of everyday and finding the beauti- FLICKR glow” in the ravine of her back- my fascination with these eras is ful in the mundane,” she explains. yard in Toronto. Thomson quickly the patina created by time.” “My life is often chaotic and clut- snapped the scene and created a Thomson’s desire to apply a tran- tered, so photography allows me ARTIST photograph that—after some deft quil, antiqued finish to her photo- to create the world I daydream ICE, AGED postproduction—resembled an graphs is both symptomatic of her about.” —LINDSAY SAKRAIDA

16 popphoto.com INSIDE PHOTOGRAPHY With 21.1 megapixels and Full HD video, it·s time to think bigger.

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PRESENTS SEE IT NOW IINSTANTNSTANT PORTRAITS, CASH PUNKS,

GIVEAWAY AND PAN- Chuck Close’s ORAMAS portrait, “Lorna $350 INSTANT CASH Simpson,” 2006 AWARDED EVERY MONTH! 1st Prize: $10,000 Close Up From August 22 until November 2nd Prize: $5,000 8, the Austin Museum of Art will display Road Trip What began as a query about 3rd Prize: 3 winners of $1,000 daguerreotype portraits by Chuck Close in the construction of our nation turned into a 4th Prize: 70 runners-up of $100 the exhibit A Couple of Ways of Doing Some- full-blown photography project as Bruce thing. The ultrasharp detail of early photog- Myren traveled along the 40th Parallel, the THE BEST PHOTOGRAPHY raphy’s daguerreotype is in line with Close’s baseline for developing towns across the IN THE WORLD. hyperrealist approach in his painting, and United States. Myren explored this arbitrary That’s what we specialize in, and that’s why we the exhibit’s name specifi cally refers to the division of our country, which has fascinated want your opinion. Join the American Photo various media that Close then used to dupli- him for years, by photographing its longitu- Preferred Reader Survey Panel, cate the daguerreotype images—including dinal points of intersection. The resulting and share your thoughts on a range of topics. As photogravures (one of the fi rst instruments large-format, panoramic photographs will be “Thank you!” our way of saying we are giving for image reproduction) and tapestries. on display, in all their highly detailed glory, away $25,000 in cash. And each time you at the Hallmark Museum of Contemporary participate in an online survey, you increase your chances of winning additional prizes. God Save Photography From June 17 Photography in Turners Falls, Massachusetts until November 30, the Museum of Modern from July 2 until September 20. To enter visit: www.popphoto.com/dreams Art in New York explores the relationship JOIN OUR PREFERRED between art and underground music during Set Pieces The J. Paul Getty Museum in READER SURVEY PANEL the 1970s, and photography with a punk, Los Angeles is delving into its collection to DIY sensibility is prominently displayed. present an expansive exhibit on photogra- AND ENTER TO WIN! Looking at Music: Part 2 exhibits both docu- phy’s history of creating staged, fi ctional NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER. The “Instant mentary and fi ne-art photos—some of which events with a medium that is traditionally Cash Giveaway” Sweepstakes is open to legal resi- are found in their original “zine” and fl yer accepted to be truthful. Running from June dents of the 50 United States (including Washington, layouts—from the likes of Nan Goldin, Dan 30 until October 18, In Focus: Making a DC) and Canada (except the province of Quebec) age 18 or older at time of entry and who have a valid email Graham, Richard Prince, and Cindy Sherman. Scene presents both early-day and contem- address. To view complete Official Rules (including all entry deadlines) governing this Sweepstakes visit www.hfmus.com/mysweepstakes. Starts 12:01 AM Nan Goldin’s Eastern Time (“ET”) on 11/11/08. Ends 11:59 PM “Nan and (ET) on 12/31/09. Void in the province of Quebec Brian in Bed, and where prohibited by law. Sponsor: Hachette New York Filipacchi Media U.S. Limit: One entry per person City,” 1983 or email address per calendar month entry period. JOHN R. ADAMS SHEMARA PURDO ANDREW ECCLES JERR © NAN GOLDIN Y WYSZATYCKI INSIDE PHOTOGRAPHY

18 KEVIN OU © BRUCE MYREN

Bruce Myren’s photos from Meeker, Colorado

porary photographers, including Man Ray, Ralph Eugene Meatyard, Lucas Samaras, and Henry Peach Robinson.

All in the Family On July 4 the Portland Museum of Art will debut For My Best Beloved Sister Mia, a series of intimate family photos Holds up taken by Julia Margaret Cameron. Perhaps to a 17” England’s most famous 19th-century ama- screen teur photographer, Cameron helped set the laptop. style for modern portraiture. In addition to family photos, the museum will feature some of Cameron’s celebrated pictures of Victorian- era intellectuals, the historical value of which Top Compartment for has solidiﬁ ed the importance of Cameron’s personal stuff photography through the years. The exhibit runs until September 7. —LINDSAY SAKRAIDA

Lucas Samaras’s Adventure 9 “Photo- model 5549 Transfor- mation, Photo/Computer 1976” Backpack

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www.tamrac.com PHOTO, LUGGAGE & COMPUTER CASES Model Denni Parkinson catches a ride with kite- surﬁng tycoon Sir Richard Branson. STEPHANE GAUTRONNEAU

20 INSIDE PHOTOGRAPHY IN PRINT CAPTURING THE GOOD LIFE OF SIR RICHARD BRANSON

s you can see from the A picture at left, Sir Richard Branson, founder of Virgin Atlantic Airways, is not sitting around waiting for the end of the global economic downturn. The picture, shot by French photographer Stephane Gautron- neau, has appeared in several European magazines, such as Vanity Fair in Italy, Stern in Ger- many, and Paris Match in France. This marks its first publication in the United States. Now we too can be envious of Branson’s action-packed lifestyle. Gautronneau, who shoots regularly for French Vogue and other magazines, did not have an assignment when he approached Branson about doing a portrait session on the millionaire’s private Caribbean getaway, Necker Island. He brought along South African model Denni Parkinson to add some flair to the images. It was Branson who came up with the idea of kite-surfing. At first, Parkinson refused to do the photo nude. She later changed her mind, though she remained concerned about sharks. Gau- tronneau shot from a dinghy, using a Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III with an EF 85mm f/1.2 lens.

PHOTOGRAPH BY STEPHANE GAUTRONNEAU

popphoto.com 21 This page: “Concealed,” 2003. Opposite page, top: “Predators,” 2007; bottom: “Bite,” 2007. © ROGER BALLEN (3)

22 INSIDE PHOTOGRAPHY PHOTOGRAPHS BY ROGER BALLEN

ver the past two decades, ORoger Ballen has developed a style of image making that is firmly rooted in the documentary tradition of the great midcentury storytellers. But Ballen consistently takes the notion of a photographic “doc- ument” as a mere starting point for an ever-deepening explora- tion into the human subcon- scious. His images come from the realm of dreams. Ballen grew up in New York under the influence of the Mag- num circle of photographers; his mother ran the New York office of the famous agency for many years when he was a child, and as a youngster Ballen considered Henri Cartier-Bresson, Bruce Davidson, and Elliott Erwitt as uncles and tutors. He later studied geology and settled in South Africa, where he continued to make photographs, especially in the backcountry around Johannesburg. His well-received 2001 book, Outland, documented the under- privileged residents of rural South Africa. His follow-up book, Shadow Chamber (2005), wan- dered into an imaginative middle ground. He began photographing complex, fictional scenes filled with symbolism. In his introduc- tory essay for Shadow Chamber, the late Robert Sobieszek wrote that Ballen’s “art tests our very conception of the reporting photographer creating tableaux that speak to, and not just about, our human condition.” Ballen’s new book, Boarding House (Phaidon, $70) contin- AP I NTERVIEW ues this rich, penetrating vision. Mark-making, sculpture, theater, and photography are all deftly BEHIND THE MYSTERY woven together to create a cast OF ROGER BALLEN’S ART

popphoto.com 23 Left: “Eulogy,” 2004. Below: “Vase and Skull,” 2005. © ROGER BALLEN (2) companion volume or a natural a one-man school of photogra- outgrowth of that earlier work? phy. One is hard-pressed to ﬁnd RB Well, I think that if you’re somebody doing what you’re an attuned person and artist, doing, which is such a fascinat- you’re writing your own diary ing combination of photography, all the time. Your work is grow- drawing, and sculpture. What ing as you grow. The images in do you consider as your break- Boarding House are in many through stylistic changes? ways much more complex RB The most important stylistic visions of reality than the images change was adding the draw- in Shadow Chamber. Likewise, ings and sculptural pieces during Shadow Chamber was a more the period at the beginning of complex vision of reality than Shadow Chamber. Those sculp- Outland. In Boarding House, tural pieces and drawings, I think, in some way at least, I’ve come add a very particular and pecu- into my own style. liar level of meaning and com- plexity to the work. I’m looking AP Kathy Ryan, the picture edi- into my own psyche and deliver- tor of the New York Times Maga- ing that in a very formalistic and zine, has commented that you’re clear (continued on page 82)

“I LOOK INTO MY OWN PSYCHE.”

of characters—animals as often as humans—that stand ﬁrmly before the camera, in real space and time, and yet somehow shimmer on the edge of imma- teriality, leaping out from fan- tasy for a brief moment, only to recede into the unconscious the next. He has transformed a technical vocabulary and drafted a dark poem infused with all of the struggles and turmoil of our modern lives. As Sobieszek mused, “little more can be expected of art.” Recently, American Photo contributor Darius Himes spoke with Ballen about the evolution of his work.

AP Roger, does Boarding House pick up from where Shadow Cham- ber left off? Do you see this as a

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Enter: May 15 to July 15, 2009 Categories: Professional, Amateur, Youth (ages 13-17) Deadline: July 15, 2009 Details: www.audubonmagazinephotoawards.org 9 © BOBBY MODEL W ITN ESS THE EXTREME JOURNEY OF BOBBY MODEL

A TRUE STORY OF RISK AND REWARD

Model’s famous shot of photographer Bill Hatcher on Trango Tower in 1995 popphoto.com 27 Climber Ty Mack bouldering in the Fitz Roy range in Argen- tina, 2000

rom the start, Bobby Model F tested his limits. When he was eight years old PHOTOGRAPHS BY and living on Mooncrest Ranch AP outside Cody, Wyoming, he built BOBBY MODEL EXCLUSIVE an elaborate, two-story tree house with glass windows, indoor HE WAS ONE OF plumbing, and a shower. As a teenager, he was constantly in Model’s eagerness to test him- THE FINEST motion: hiking in the backcoun- self was natural, given the con- try, alpine skiing at 70 miles an text of his life. Like other young hour, or spending the night men and women who are drawn ADVENTURE PHOTOG- alone at a cow camp while griz- to extreme adventures on the far zlies roamed outside the bunk- edges of the world, he wanted to RAPHERS OF HIS TIME. house and pawed at the walls. know who he was and how he He once made a parachute out would act under great pressure. A TWIST OF FATE of bedsheets and jumped off the Would he falter and let others roof of his house. down or ﬁnd a reservoir of physi- ENDED HIS CAREER, Scott Bragonier, a Cody friend, cal and emotional strength? Was called Model “Wild Man” because he capable of more than he’d BUT NOT HIS SPIRIT. he was “always pushing the imagined? He answered all these edge in everything he did, beyond questions with uncommon per- BY STEPHEN SINGULAR what I was comfortable with.” sistence, focus, and passion, no

28 WITNESS © BOBBY MODEL (4) Nomadic yak herder boy, Bhutan, 1998

Winter camping in the Wind River Mountains, Wyoming, 1998

Steve Bechtel descending Mount Poi in Kenya, 1999

matter where they led him. and busting loose in the moon- even in good weather, but Model’s ribs and a bad cough. He lost 25 Though dyslexic, he graduated light, but he was usually the first group faced deadly conditions; pounds, but he was, as Skinner with honors in environmental one up at dawn, Leica in hand. wind blew 30-pound chunks of later put it, “un-killable.” Model economics from the University of When Model was 22, Todd ice off the summit—chunks that made the final pitches to the Wyoming in Laramie. That’s where Skinner put together a team of fell on the climbers as they clung summit as the group completed he hooked up with a group of four Wyoming “cowboys” to climb to the side of the mountain. its mission, and all the while he young men who loved freestyle the sheer 20,469-foot face of For the last six weeks of the kept taking pictures. rock climbing. Their guru was northern Pakistan’s Trango Tower. two-month ordeal on Trango, “About halfway up the Tower,” Todd Skinner of Lander, Wyo- The ascent is nearly impossible Model carried on with bruised says Steve Bechtel, who went to ming, and Model became a reg- Pakistan with Model, “our origi- ular at “Todd Skinner’s Lucky nal photographer, who was shoot- © MICHAEL MCRAE Lane Hangout,” where climbers Bobby ing the expedition for National from all over the country would Model in Geographic, left, and Bobby fin- meet for informal conclaves. Burundi, ished the story. Before this trip, He also took up photography 2004 Bobby was basically an amateur, about that time, and he never but he was about to become one stopped shooting. He took pic- of the most sought-after adventures as other climbers were just ture photographers in the world.” waking up in their sleeping bags in the Grand Canyon, or party- ountain climbers and ing late into the night in the M photographers both rely Wyoming hills. Bobby liked on a kind of luck applied Scotch, cigars, irreverent humor, within a framework of talent

popphoto.com 29 A Balti porter faces Mecca above the Baltoro Glacier in the Kara- koram Range, northern Paki- stan, in 2004. Model hung this photo in his bedroom in Denver as he recovered from his injury. © BOBBY MODEL

30 WITNESS and discipline. Sometimes they get the good luck they deserve. A photograph of Model climbing Trango appeared on the April 1996 cover of National Geo- graphic, while his own pictures were published inside the magazine. One image, taken with a point-and-shoot camera, shows climber Bill Hatcher snapping a photo while dangling 18,000 feet in the air. The picture was later featured on the cover of the publication’s ﬁrst image-sales catalog and on the National Geographic Society credit card, becoming an icon of adventure photography.

odel moved to Colorado M and interned for several months at the Denver-based photo-production company of Rich Clarkson, a former director of photography at National Geo- graphic. He made the decision to become a professional photographer, and Clarkson encour- aged him. “He had it all,” says Clarkson. “He was organized, serious about his work, and he had a great eye.” To ﬁnd his niche in the photo world, Model focused on what he knew best: High Adventure. As the popularity of extreme sports and exotic travel grew throughout the 1980s and 1990s, adventure photography became a thriving sub-genre of image making that combined aspects of sports photography, documentary photography, and commercial travel photography. Successful adventure photographers have very specialized skill sets. Model was a natural. He began organizing and photographing complex expedi-

“HE WAS SERIOUS AND HAD A GREAT EYE.”

popphoto.com 31 Model, photo- graphed in Feb- ruary by Rich Clarkson, has © RICH CLARKSON begun spending more time visit- ing his mother in Wyoming.

tions that took him around the northern Pakistan to photograph imagined seeing. “He was very much time together as his busy globe—South America, Libya, the people of Baltistan. affected by the suffering he life would allow. Greenland, and Southeast Asia— “He was very patient as a pho- encountered in other cultures,” In 2004 he needed to leave but he was particularly drawn to tographer, especially in Pakistan,” says his sister Faith. “Bobby had Kenya briefly and fly home to Africa. He shared a house in says Peter Mallamo, a North turned away from the early phase Cody on business. His girlfriend Kenya with his younger sister, Carolina documentary film- of his career and was becoming drove him to the Nairobi airport, Faith, who was working on sus- maker who traveled and climbed a human rights advocate with and they kissed good-bye. tainable development issues in with Model. “I watched him one a camera.” When he touched down in Wyo- central Africa. During this period time as he just stood on a street He was also increasingly aware ming, his mother, Anne Young, he traveled again and again to corner, waiting for this honest that his work abroad was risky. told him that shortly after he’d expression to come into the eyes “Before leaving for some- departed, the girlfriend had been of the old man he wanted to where on the other side of the run over by a car and killed. shoot, and when it did, Bobby world, Bobby would say to me, was ready. Just one shot.” ‘I need a hug, because I may not isk in all its forms offers the The adventure photographer be coming back,’” recalls Sha- R possibility of great satisfac- “ I NEED A was heading into something ron Miller, his assistant in Cody. tion or great sorrow. he’d never planned on back in Amid all this—amid the pas- Following his loss, Model HUG. I MAY Wyoming—shooting refugee sion and the travel and the dan- engaged in some quiet soul- camps, scenes of Third World ger—he also fell in love. He met searching, and that led him to a NOT COME poverty, and quiet moments in a young woman in Kenya, and deeper appreciation of what he BACK.” places he once couldn’t have they were soon spending as could (continued on page 84)

32 popphoto.com WITNESS ®

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Bogen Imaging Inc. 201 818 9500 www.bogenimaging.us [email protected] OF STATE THE ART EDITOR’S CHOICE

JULY/AUGUST 2009 Nikon very year, the task of narrowing down photog- D5000 E raphy’s newest tools to the relatively small number that appear in the Editor’s Choice issue is a bigger challenge—one that forces us to exclude many deserving products. (Fortunately we’re able to cover a wider range of products at our website, PopPhoto. com.) Even in a time of PRO D-SLRs 36 economic woe, the introduc- SEMI-PRO tion of new equipment D-SLRs 38 continues unabated. Photographers don’t Sony ADVANCED consider their craft a Ericsson C905a D-SLRs 40 luxury, nor the money Cyber-shot they spend on it ENTRY-LEVEL D-SLRs disposable income. 44 For them, photogra- LENSES 48 phy and its tools are one of life’s necessi- COMPACT ties—something it CAMERAS 50 would be impossible CAMERA to live without. PHONES 52

Panasonic IMAGING Lumix SOFTWARE 54 TZ50 FINE-ART Pentax PRINTERS 55 SMCA DA* 55mm f/1.4 SDM macro popphoto.com 35 CAMERA OF PRO D-SLRs THE YEAR

NIKON D3X

• 24.4 MEGAPIXELS/CMOS IMAGE SENSOR • 1. 0 X FOV CROP (full is offset by superb ergonomics. sons also showed no significant frame) • 3.0-INCH LCD SCREEN The D3X’s traditional control differences in noise up to ISO (920K dots) • IMAGE STABILIZATION: logic, distilled from three gener- 400 among our full-frame sensor ations of Nikon pro D-SLRs, easily D-SLRs, the Nikon exhibited IN-LENS • 5FPS (7FPS in DX mode) bests any competitors’. Dozens superior shadow detail that of gaskets seal it against the dust could be further brightened with • TOP ISO: 6,400 • LIVE VIEW: and moisture that threaten sophis- much cleaner results than the oth- ticated electronics out in the real ers. At higher ISOs, the D3X is no YES • VIDEO: NO • ABOUT $8,000 • world of photography. match for the Nikon D3, which At 100 percent magnification owes its low-light performance in in Lightroom, the Nikon’s RAW part to fewer and therefore bigger files appeared only slightly pixels. The EOS 5D Mark II also mong new digital SLRs, the Essentially a higher-megapixel sharper than those we shot with bests the D3X in that respect. But A 24.4-megapixel Nikon D3X twin of the fast D3, the D3X offers the 21.1-megapixel Canon EOS we found D3X’s tighter, filmlike is simply in a class by itself—and nearly infinite configurability, 5D Mark II, despite its three- “grain” more pleasing than the it costs at least $5,000 more than not to mention the best autofocus megapixel advantage. (See D-SLR blotchier noise and linear band- the full-frame cameras in our and overall responsiveness of Shootout, May/June.) But the ing sometimes visible in the EOS new semi-pro D-SLR category. So any full-frame D-SLR. Its built-in D3X’s superb JPEGs were nearly 5D Mark II’s deep shadow areas. what do you get for its breath- vertical grip makes it larger and identical in fine detail to its RAW Current full-frame D-SLRs are taking premium? At the moment, heavier than other full-frame files, while the Canon’s were less than ideal for action photog- the best D-SLR money can buy. models this year, but that weight slightly soft. And while compari- raphy, trading off speed for a massive file size. That said, the Nikon D3X can move its RAW files more quickly than any of its full- frame competitors—about 23 RAW frames at 12 bits-per-color. The Nikon D3X is more camera than most of us need, but its To keep pace, the D3X has light- phenomenal image quality, robust construction, and nearly ning-fast, supersmart AF, with 51 points and 3D focus tracking that infinite configurability—not to mention its lofty price—make it uses subject color information. this year’s ultimate professional digital SLR. —JONATHAN BARKEY AND RUSSELL HART

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CAMERA OF THE YEAR

CANON EOS 5D MARK II

So many full-frame without sacrificing sharpness— • 21.1 MEGAPIXELS/CMOS IMAGE D-SLRs now sell for assuming your optics and technique are up to the task. The SENSOR • 1.0 X FOV CROP (full frame) under $3,000 that camera is also supremely light- sensitive: It let us capture beau- • 3.0 -INCH LCD (920K dots) • IMAGE we had to give tiful noise-free images under them their own virtually any illumination, with STABILIZATION: IN-LENS • TOP less noise than either its prede- new category. But ISO: 25,600 • 3.9FPS • LIVE VIEW: YES cessor or the EOS-1Ds Mark III. Canon’s successor Unlike the first EOS 5D, the EOS 5D Mark II incorporates • VIDEO: 1080p HD • ABOUT $2,700 • to the EOS 5D Live View mode, allowing you to compose shots on the back-of- would break new camera LCD. It’s also Canon’s ground in any first full-frame model with Live View autofocus. Its Live View is istory will remember this shape, size, and weight, the class—as the first simpler to activate, ready quicker, H 21.1-megapixel model as new model features a weather- still camera to and quieter in operation than the first still camera capable protected magnesium-alloy any of its full-frame competitors. of capturing full 1080p, 30fps body, updated controls, and a shoot broadcast- All that said, we wish the high-definition video, with new three-inch LCD that’s super Mark II would follow-focus in stereo sound. The hybrid cam- sharp. Onscreen we found a quality HD video. video mode. Once you’ve locked era has arrived, yes? Even better, more stylish menu system and in the AF, you have to refocus shooting video with a full-frame the new joystick-adjusted Quick manually if you or your subject D-SLR and lens lets you create Control interface. changes distance during the clip. much shallower depth of field, The Mark II’s 24x36-millimeter But at 2.1 million pixels per and nicer-looking out-of-focus CMOS image sensor achieves the price. In our estimation its frame, our “footage” was visibly areas, than you can get with stan- same ultrahigh 21.1-megapixel image quality rivals the clarity of sharper than the 720p of the dard camcorders. resolution as Canon’s much big- 6x4.5cm medium-format film, earlier Nikon D90, with more A near-twin of its 12.7-mega- ger EOS-1Ds Mark III flagship, allowing huge prints and, if nec- fluid motion and smoother real- pixel, midsized predecessor in and at 40 percent of that model’s essary, considerable cropping time autoexposure response.

38 popphoto.com STATE OF THE ART ransplant the 12.1-megapixel, T full-frame CMOS image sensor used in last year’s heavyweight Nikon D3 into a medium-sized chassis NIKON nearly identical to that of the Nikon D300, and the result is the less- D700 obtrusive Nikon D700. Eliminating the D3’s built-in vertical grip slims the D700 by 1.4 inches in height and • 12.1 MEGAPIXELS/ 8.5 ounces in weight, but its rubber- clad magnesium-alloy body felt like CMOS IMAGE SENSOR an indestructible solid block • 1.0X FOV CROP (full in our hands. Extensive O-rings and seals provide protection from dust frame) • 3.0-INCH LCD and moisture on par with the new SCREEN (920K dots) Nikon D3X. The super-bright, razor-sharp • IMAGE STABILIZATION: as ISO 800 on the D300. Even ISO view through the D700’s eyepiece IN-LENS • TOP ISO: 6400 is perfectly usable on the D700, is at least 20 percent larger than Although and a staggering top speed of ISO the D300’s, though it doesn’t offer 25,600 • 5FPS • LIVE the D300 has essentially equivalent 25,600 allows available-light shoot- the D3’s 100 percent subject cover- VIEW: YES • VIDEO: NO resolving power at low ISOs, the D700’s ing essentially anywhere, anytime. age. It’s perfect for manual focus larger pixels gather light much more None of the foregoing exacts a com- with nearly any Nikkor lens back to • UNDER $3,000 • efﬁciently. As a result, ISO 3200 on promise in start-up time, shutter lag, 1959—and you get the lens’s full, the D700 looked nearly the same to us, or framing rate, the latter a brisk 5fps intended angle of view. in terms of noise, clarity, and tonality, in all modes, including 14-bit RAW.

OTHER TOP SEMI-PRO D-SLRs MODELS

hen it arrived earlier this year, Though the Alpha 900’s squared-off is enhanced by a unique mechanism W the Sony Alpha 900 boasted magnesium-alloy body is comfortably that slides the reflex mirror in as it more megapixels than any other shaped and solidly constructed, it swings it up, which shortens blackout 35mm-style digital SLR before it. It lacks the extensive weatherproofing and allows a downsized mirror box. now shares that distinction with the found in some competitors. However, The Alpha 900’s 24x36-millimeter Nikon D3X. But it is still the first full- the Alpha 900’s viewfinder, which chip beats the like-sized sensor and edging into medium format frame D-SLR to stabilize images by takes user-interchangeable screens in Canon’s EOS-1Ds Mark III by 3.5 territory. Fortunately, Sony keeps shifting its sensor rather than lens and shows 100 percent of subject megapixels. The A900’s pixels are introducing more high-resolution elements—an in-camera system that coverage, is the big- slightly bigger than those in the 12.2- Zeiss lenses to keep pace with that lets you handhold the camera at gest, brightest, megapixel Sony Alpha 700, and so, resolving power, and their AF is swift shutter speeds up to four stops and clearest with the help of image-processing and sure, ably supporting the Alpha slower using any Alpha-mount in its class. It improvements, produce less noise. 900’s 5fps framing rate (as fast as lens, including old Minoltas. The level of detail we saw in our the way costlier Nikon D3X) and A900 images was dazzling, equal- ample burst depth (up to 12 RAW ling that of the $8,000 Nikon D3X files or 285 JPEGs). —J.B. AND R.H.

SONY ALPHA 900

• 24.6 MEGAPIXELS/CMOS IMAGE SENSOR • 1.0X FOV CROP (full frame) • 3.0 -INCH LCD SCREEN (922K dots) • IMAGE STABILIZATION: IN-CAMERA • TOP ISO: 6,400 • 5FPS • LIVE VIEW: NO • VIDEO: NO • ABOUT $2,700 • BESTY BU

STATE OF THE ART popphoto.com 39 ADVANCED D-SLRs

CAMERA OF THE YEAR

PENTAX K-7

• 14.6 MEGAPIXELS/CMOS The K-7’s 11-point AF system IMAGE SENSOR • 1.5 X FOV CROP gets a dedicated assist lamp and for now uses color data to improve • 3.0-INCH LCD (921K dots) • IMAGE vertical its accuracy. And the exposure composition. The CMOS sensor meter gains 61 segments, for an STABILIZATION: IN-BODY • TOP and 14-bit A/D conversion (up ample total of 77. Also new are from 12 in the K20D) are all new, the higher capacity (980-shot) ISO: 6,400 • 5.2FPS • LIVE VIEW: YES as is a four-channel processor that battery and weatherproof vertical reduces shadow noise and raises grip. The K-7 comes packed with • VIDEO: 720p HD • ABOUT $1,200 • shooting speed to a swift 5.2fps. postprocessing options, includ- (Burst rate is 40 best-quality JPEGs ing new digital effects filters. The or 15 RAW/PEF frames.) The K-7 coolest of these, in our opinion, shakes dust off its sensor with automatically combines three quieter piezo-ceramic vibrations, bracketed exposures into one while the camera’s sensor-shifting high–dynamic range JPEG. As Shake Reduction (which steadies you might expect, the new cam- he brand-new K-7 retains the weatherproofed, with 77 seals the image with any K-mount lens) era shoots video (30fps) at a T 14.6-megapixel resolution of and improved cold resistance. now corrects for unintended rota- standard 720p or a unique, not- Pentax’s top-of-the-line K20D, The K-7’s viewfinder is cer- tional movement. And get this: quite-1080p 1536x1024 (4GB but overhauls nearly everything tainly the biggest in this class, and You can manually shift the sen- limit per clip), and allows man- else. Its tough, magnesium-alloy- it’s also the only one to offer pro- sor sideways or up and down, to ual aperture control. There’s no over-stainless-steel body is level 100 percent subject cov- fine-tune composition (and avoid continuous focus, but you can smaller, more squared off, and erage. The three-inch LCD is upsetting your tripod) or to make reset one-shot AF while you’re more professional looking, with sharpened by 921,000-dot resolu- small corrections in perspective! shooting simply by pressing the an excellent contoured grip. Like tion and has a snazzier menu dis- There’s even a level gauge on the shutter button. There’s even an the K20D it is massively play, which rotates automatically top-deck status panel. external microphone jack.

We couldn’t decide whether the Nikon D90 or Pentax K-7 should win Advanced D-SLR of the year, so we chose them both. Yet each has different strengths: The Nikon is a low-light champ, the Pentax an affordable pro-spec workhorse.

40 ADVANCED D-SLRs

CAMERA OF THE YEAR

t looks a lot like Nikon’s long- I running D80 digital SLR, but this groundbreaking successor to that model adopts most of the new technologies found in Nikon’s more expensive D-SLRs. Its 12.3-megapixel CMOS chip is lifted straight from the advanced-level Nikon D300, model under $1,000 to offer upping resolution and shifting Live View. It’s a dream to use, in technology from the D80’s 10.2- part because of the big LCD megapixel CCD. screen but also because it’s At low ISO settings, our com- quickly activated with a de- parisons showed that the D90 NIKON D90 dicated button, not hidden in delivers image quality essen- the release mode dial. And its tially identical to that of the 24fps refresh rate is smoother 12.1-megapixel full-frame sen- • 12.3 MEGAPIXELS/CMOS IMAGE than in Nikon’s more expensive sors in Nikon’s professional D3 models. You may find yourself and D700. Though it’s under- SENSOR • 1.5 X FOV CROP sticking with the optical view- standably noisier than those two finder, though: With 96 percent models at high ISOs, its output • 3.0-INCH LCD SCREEN • IMAGE coverage and 0.94X magnifica- looked excellent to us all the tion, it’s one of the biggest in its way up to ISO 3200. That, plus STABILIZATION: IN-LENS • TOP class, and a pleasure to see. a usable top ISO of 6400 and The D90’s headline feature adjustable noise reduction, ISO: 6,400 • LIVE VIEW: YES • VIDEO: is its 720p high-definition movie make the D90 best for low- mode—the first to appear in a light work among D-SLRs with 720p HD • 4.5FPS • ABOUT $1,0 0 0 • D-SLR. Top resolution is APS-C–sized sensors. 1280x720 at 24fps; sound is The camera’s LCD display, mono-only. Our biggest gripe is much better than its predeces- that autofocus doesn’t operate sors’, is in fact identical to the when you’re shooting video— super-sharp LCDs on the D300, too bad given the impressive D700, D3, and new D3X. At still-image performance of the three inches (diagonal) and along with a very wide (170 ing) and superb legibility with D90’s 11-point, 3D-tracking AF 922,000 dots, it offers double degree) viewing angle. The the D90’s menu system and system. But this important new the resolution of the D80’s 2.5- screen provides ultra-detailed shooting information display. camera is certainly a step on the inch, 230,000-dot version, playback (with up to 27X zoom- The D90 is the first Nikon way to our hybrid future.

STATE OF THE ART popphoto.com 41 CANON The faster imaging engine also EOS 50D means the EOS 50D can shoot at 6.3fps, virtually the same as the 40D, despite its larger files. And it captures • 15.1 MEGAPIXELS/ more continuous JPEGs with a fast UDMA CompactFlash card. The new CMOS IMAGE camera also offers two smaller RAW SENSOR • 1.6X FOV sizes, which let you make space- saving files with the wider tonal and CROP • 3.0-INCH color range of 14-bit postprocessing. LCD (920K dots) • The 50D inherits the 40D’s large viewfinder and super-swift diamond- IMAGE STABILIZATION: pattern AF system, which we judge IN-LENS • TOP top in its class for both low-light focus acquisition and continuous tracking. ISO: 12,800 • LIVE The 50D’s live view is also supe- VIEW: YES • rior to competitors’ because the one stop less noise than the mirror stays up when you’re shoot- VIDEO: NO • 6.3FPS his 40D’s. The improvement is the result ing, allowing for much faster, • ABOUT $1, 200 • T new of both bigger microlenses (which quieter operation. And the view on model boosts focus more photons on each pixel) and its 920,000-dot, three-inch LCD is the short-lived EOS 40D’s pixel count smarter DIGIC 4 processing. The new dazzling—twice as sharp as the by 50 percent, to 15.1 megapixels, camera even quadruples the 40D’s top 40D’s. That makes it easy to check for roughly 25 percent higher reso- sensitivity, from ISO 3200 to ISO minute details and critical focus and lution. Higher pixel density usually 12,800, and offers four JPEG high-ISO adds clarity to the 50D’s more ele- means more noise, but in our tests noise-reduction settings, for more gant menu system and new joystick- the 50D’s JPEGs delivered about control of sharpness vs. smoothness. operated Quick Control interface.

OTHER TOP MODELS ADVANCED D-SLRs

he Four Thirds–format Olympus give up a certain amount of rugged- is actually superior to its big brother infinite custom configurability, one T E-3 tied for 2008 Camera of ness and weatherizing, and the in its sensor resolution (12.3 mega- of the E-3’s best qualities; an external the Year in this category, an honor it E-30’s pentaprism finder provides a pixels vs. the E-3’s 10.1) and the white balance sensor; the ability to earned for its solidly built weather- somewhat smaller view (98 percent size of its versatile tilt-swivel LCD control strobes wirelessly, straight from proof body; its huge, best-in-class coverage and 1.02X magnification, (2.7 vs. 2.5 inches). It even adds its LCD panel; and best of all, access viewfinder; its fast 11-point biaxial versus the E-3’s 100 percent and new features such as a dedicated to superb Zuiko Digital lenses, many autofocus; its swift 5fps capture 1.15X). But that viewfinder still mode dial; contrast-detection AF of which have no equal in competing speed; and its fully articulated live trumps the tunnel-vision pentamirror (with face detection) that we found full-frame systems. —J.B. AND R.H. view LCD screen, a D-SLR first. finders in most Four to be a third faster than that in the You get the better part of all that in Thirds D-SLRs. Canon EOS 50D; a new image sta- the smaller, lighter, and more And the E-30 bilizer mode that disengages verti- affordable Olympus E-30. You cal sensor shift, for panning up or down; and in-camera Art Filters, OLYMPUS including Grainy Film and Pinhole effects, among many others. E-30 The Olympus E-30 offers seemingly • 12.3 MEGAPIXELS/ LIVE MOS IMAGE SENSOR • 2.0X FOV CROP (four thirds format) • 2.7-INCH TILT/SWIVEL LCD • IMAGE STABILIZATION: IN-BODY • TOP ISO: 3200 • LIVE VIEW: YES • VIDEO: NO BESTY BU • ABOUT $1,050 • 42 STATE OF THE ART 4UVEJPT &RVJQNFOU3FOUBM $(*GPS1SJOU "OJNBUJPO 3FUPVDIJOH %JHJUBM$BQUVSF 3FUBJM &$PNNFSDF1IPUPHSBQIZ /FX:PSL .JBNJ TQMBTIMJHIUDPN TQMBTIMJHIUDSFBUJWFDPN ENTRY-LEVEL D-SLRs

Live-view screens are the norm on these models because they attract compact camera users, and because they can double for video. The Lumix GH1 is the class standout.

CAMERA OF THE YEAR

PANASONIC LUMIX DMC-GH1

• 12.1 MEGAPIXELS/ LIVE MOS IMAGE SENSOR • 2.0X FOV CROP (Micro Four Thirds) • 3.0 -INCH TILT/SWIVEL LCD (460K dots) • IMAGE STABILIZATION: IN-LENS • TOP ISO: 3,200 • 3FPS • LIVE VIEW: YES • VIDEO: 1080p HD • ABOUT $1,300 (with 14-140mm kit lens) •

t looks like the smallest D-SLR The GH1’s color EVF is excep- peting D-SLRs are the speed and or your subject the freedom to I ever, but Panasonic’s elegant tionally good, which it has to be precision of the GH1’s contrast- move in and out without the Lumix GH1 is really an entirely to compete with D-SLRs. It has detection autofocus, with its worry of manual refocusing. In new breed of digital camera. 1.44 million-dot resolution uncanny focus tracking of mov- video mode, the GH1 offers Based on the Micro Four Thirds (sharp enough for manual focusing subjects across the frame. useful manual control of aper- standard, it substitutes a high- ing) and a 60fps refresh rate (fast Perhaps the first successful ture, shutter speed, ISO, and quality electronic viewfinder enough to keep most moving hybrid camera, the Lumix GH1 more, and unlike “clip”-based (EVF) for the optical viewfinder subjects from smearing). In low is just as adept at capturing D-SLRs the recording duration is used by SLRs—that “pentaprism” light it’s brighter than an optical high-definition video (at broad- limited only by the size of your you see is just for show, since screen, though you get some cast-quality 24fps 1080p or memory card. there’s no need for a reflex mir- motion smear and pixel noise. ultrasmooth 60fps 720p) with The GH1’s video finesse ror. Losing the mirror makes the What’s more, the viewfinder Dolby stereo sound. And unlike makes its horizontally unfolding, GH1 considerably quieter than offers 100 percent coverage— all other video-capable D-SLRs, swiveling LCD all the more a D-SLR, and because it allows something ordinarily found only it can focus continuously and valuable. OK, so it isn’t techni- a reduced distance between lens in pro D-SLRs. It is also nearly silently while you’re shooting, cally a D-SLR. Depending on your and image sensor lenses can be as big as viewfinders in full- just like a regular camcorder—a needs, it might be something more compact and much lighter. frame D-SLRs. Also rivaling com- huge advantage that gives you even better.

44 popphoto.com STATE OF THE ART NIKON his newly minted model raises D5000 T Nikon’s entry-level prowess by adopting the same 12.3-megapixel CMOS sensor found in the Nikon D90 along with that camera’s ability to • 12.3 MEGAPIXELS/ capture 24fps, 720p HD video. Aided by advanced image processing, its CMOS IMAGE chip produces moderate-ISO out- SENSOR • 1.5 X FOV put indistinguishable from that of Nikon’s full-frame D3, which costs CROP • 2.7-INCH TILT/ six times as much. And images shot SWIVEL LCD • IMAGE at higher speeds (up to ISO 6400) are less noisy than from Canon’s STABILIZATION: IN-LENS entry-level and advanced models. • TOP ISO: 6,400 focus, Though it’s hardy, the D5000 is the most lighter and more compact than the • 4 FPS • LIVE VIEW: YES advanced D90, with a smaller pentamirror • VIDEO: 720p HD in this class. And its 4fps viewfinder and no top-deck status shooting speed is almost as fast as the panel. Also trimmed are the D90’s • ABOUT $730 • D90’s 4.5fps. The new model offers depth-of-field preview and wireless many features that are unique to this strobe control from its pop-up flash. category. Our favorite: the ability to The D5000 has a slightly smaller correct perspective distortion LCD too—but that’s a good thing, low- and high-angle live-view shooting. in-camera by tweaking the displayed because it makes room for a flip- The D5000 inherits the D90’s image with the four-way controller and-swivel design that’s great for superb, color-tracking 11-point auto- until everything is neatly squared up.

OTHER TOP ENTRY-LEVEL D-SLRs MODELS

eave it to Olympus to create L the smallest-ever D-SLR with in- body image stabilization. At just over a pound, the E-620 is lighter than any competitor except for the mirrorless Panasonic GH1, yet it ﬁts in most of the features and the same 12.3-megapixel sensor found in the advanced E-30. BESTY BU

OLYMPUS E-620

• 12.3 MEGAPIXELS/ SSW dust reduction, shadow LIVE MOS IMAGE SEN- It can shoot five RAW frames at 4fps. optimization, vignetting compensa- There is a bright TTL autofocus is quick, relying on tion, multiple aspect ratios, and spe- SOR • 2.0X FOV CROP 2.7-inch, 230,000-pixel articulated seven points (five of them cross- cial-effects Art Filters. It can even (Four Thirds format) screen, which unfolds horizontally type); Live View has three AF modes, command three groups of wireless and swivels 270 degrees and is fully including 11-point contrast detection strobes from its built-in pop-up flash. • 2.7-INCH TILT/SWIVEL usable on a tripod. The body has a that is faster than most competitors’. Customization options are exten- LCD • IMAGE STABILI- deeper grip than on previous It also offers a Face Detection mode. sive. And, in a first for an entry-level entry-level E-series models, plus a Like the bigger Olympus E-30, this Olympus, the E-620 gets its very own ZATION: IN-BODY • TOP slightly bigger viewfinder, though it is new model gives you a lot for your accessory grip, for extra power and ISO: 3,200 • 24FPS • still small compared with competitors’. money: direct-access control panel, more comfortable vertical shooting. LIVE VIEW: YES • VIDEO: NO • ABOUT $700 •

STATE OF THE ART popphoto.com 45 SONY changes in f-stop and shutter speed— the f-stop slider has a sharp mountain ALPHA 330 icon on its small end and a blurry one on the wide end, while the shutter speed slider has a static ﬁgure on its slower end and a running ﬁgure on • 10.2 MEGAPIXELS/ the faster. The screen is brighter, too, CCD IMAGE SENSOR and adjusts to ambient light for better image readability. (You can make the • 1.5 X FOV CROP menu’s background pink or brown if • 2.7-INCH TILTING LCD black or white don’t suit, and the camera itself is available in copper brown.) • IMAGE STABILIZATION: We choose the 10.2-megapixel IN-BODY • TOP ISO: Alpha 330 rather than the less-expensive companion Alpha 230 or the 3,200 • LIVE VIEW: Alpha 380 because the former has no ith this entry-level D-SLR, company has focused on size, ease YES (from secondary tilting screen and the latter has higher W one of three new models, of use, and system affordability. The (14.2-megapixel) resolution that costs Sony shows that it is paying close new models are indeed smaller, sensor) • VIDEO: NO more but may not make much visible attention to the wants and needs of lighter, and less complicated. In • ABOUT $650 (with difference to the typical user. The sav- beginning and budget-minded ama- rethinking and restyling them (hand- ings can be spent on a second lens teurs. Rather than increasing mega- somely we must say) Sony has moved 18-55mm kit lens) • from these cameras’ new companion pixel count over previous models, the nearly all the control buttons to the optics, which are based on the same right of the LCD screen. Every one of user-friendly agenda as the bodies. them is in reach of the right thumb. The 30mm f/2.8 macro, for example, To further simplify matters, the before, for higher and lower angles in accesses the fun-loving world of close- screen in the Alpha 330 (and new Live View mode. The screens display up photography for less than $200, Alpha 380) can be tilted more than scaled sliders to clarify the effect of far cheaper than other good macros.

OTHER TOP MODELS ENTRY-LEVEL D-SLRs

anon’s new top-tier Digital Rebel The camera is also tops for low-light processor even lets you set three lev- to that in the semi-pro EOS 5D Mark C looks just like the 12.2-mega- shooting because of better micro- els of high-ISO noise reduction. II, is its ability to shoot high-defini- pixel Rebel XSi, last year’s Entry- lenses and DIGIC 4 processing—a At 3.4fps the T1i is slightly slower tion video. In its 30fps, 720p Level D-SLR of the Year. But the T1i one-two that gives it a three-stop than the XSi, but it ups bursts to nine (1280x720-pixel) mode we judged borrows the 15.1-megapixel image boost in sensitivity RAW frames. Its nine-point AF, same it to be smoother than the 24fps sensor found in the more advanced over the XSi, to a as in the XSi, remains the fastest Nikon D5000. (It also does 1080p EOS 50D, which gives it the night-loving among its peers in achieving at 20fps.) There’s no manual expo- highest resolution ISO 12,800. focus lock, though its focus tracking sure or focus tracking, but as with in this class. The new is less savvy than the Nikon D5000’s. other video-capable D-SLRs the What’s new are a super-sharp T1i offers big advantages over con- 920,000-dot LCD screen and fully ventional camcorders—including interactive Quick Control interface, a better low-light quality and the abil- Rebel first. But the most significant ity to achieve beautifully shallow new feature on the Rebel T1i, similar depth of field. —J.B. AND R.H.

CANON EOS REBEL T1i

• 15.1 MEGAPIXELS/CMOS IMAGE SENSOR • 1.6 X FOV CROP • 3.0-INCH LCD (920K dots) • IMAGE STABILIZATION: IN-LENS • TOP ISO: 12,800 • 3.4FPS • LIVE VIEW: YES • VIDEO: 1080p HD • ABOUT $800 •

46 popphoto.com STATE OF THE ART {Point &} shoot that breathtaking sunrise through the early morning light.

High Sensitivity and Low Noise High Resolution Wide Dynamic Range

Didn’t think you could point ‘n’ shoot successfully in those impossible low light situations? Think again. The Super CCD EXR sensor features unique 3-way capture technology that gives you high sensitivity with low noise as well as extended dynamic range and high resolution. For details, {point &} click fujifi lmusa.com/exr

The Genius Behind the Image.TM LENS OF THE YEAR LENSES Lenses get more hits on PopPhoto.com than just about any other category in our annual Editor’s Choice feature. Pixels notwithstanding, photography is still about making light perform tricks—and t justiﬁes its long name by squeezing more focal lengths than ever before into an all the new TAMRON I interchangeable lens for still photography. Starting at a true wide-angle 27mm (35mm equivalent for Nikon D-SLRs), the digital-only Tamron zooms to a supertele 405mm. Yet its optics we’ve 18-270mm compactness and light weight invite handheld shooting, which is in turn made practical chosen by Tamron’s built-in Vibration Reduction (VR) system. VR maintains the 15X zoom’s sur- f/3.5-6.3 prising optical quality not only with slower shutter speeds, but also with higher speeds at do just that. Di-II VC LD which shake combined with high magniﬁcation can still reduce sharpness. About $630.

Panasonic Lumix G Vario HD In addition to putting an unusually There’s no wobble when it’s the competition’s typical 28mm- 14-140mm f/4.0-5.8 ASPH For wide 28-280mm (35mm equivalent) extended, and zoom and focus rings equivalent wide-angle limit by roughly the moment this impressive zoom range into a very small package, the are nicely damped. AF is extremely five degrees of coverage. While the comes only as part of the “kit” for metal-bodied optic’s fit and finish are smooth, quick, and quiet. (That’s new Tokina’s 200mm long end may Panasonic’s Micro Four Thirds-format excep- especially noticeable when its follow- not offer enough magnification for Lumix GH1. But what a kit lens it is! tional. focusing in the GH1’s 1080p HD wildlife or sideline sports, its interven- OTHER TOP video mode.) Sharpness is main- ing focal lengths suit everything from tained throughout the 10X range by tight portraits to still lifes. In fact, its LENSES two ED and four aspheric elements, closest focusing distance is under 20 backed up by built-in optical image inches, for a maximum reproduction stabilization. Owners of the older ratio of almost 1:5. Yet the lens stays Lumix G1 should soon be able to small (three inches long by 3.5 buy the lens separately. inches in girth) and light (21.5 ounces) even with 15 elements, two Tokina AT-X 16.5-135mm of them super-low dispersion and f/3.5-5.6 DX Its unusual range of three of them aspherical. 25-200mm (35mm equivalent) bests Lensbaby Composer Though it’s optically old-fashioned, the manual- Panasonic focus Lensbaby is one of photography’s Lumix G Vario HD Lensbaby most interesting recent innovations, 14-140mm Composer f/4.0-5.8 ASPH bringing to 35mm and digital SLRs the graduated-blur effects that could once only be obtained with a view camera. The expanded line now includes several versions and dedicated accessories, including an Optic Swap System that turns any model into an interchangeable-lens Lensbaby. The newest of these, the Lensbaby Composer, is a brilliant departure from the previous models’ bendable, flexing-tube lens barrel BESTY Tokina AT-X Sigma BU 16.5-135mm 50-200mm f/3.5-5.6 DX f/4-5.6 DC 48 popphoto.com OS HSM Sony 70- Canon 400mm TS-E Pentax SMC f/4-5.6G 17mm f/4L DA* 55mm f/1.4 SDM

design. It substitutes a ball-and- Sony 70-400mm f/4-5.6G Sony’s Canon’s APS-C-sensor models to socket system that eliminates the growing line of Zeiss optics has set a produce a still-wide 28mm. An need for physical bending of the bar- very high standard of image quality. OTHER TOP improved mechanical system allows rel. The design also keeps the lens in But this beautifully-made G-series tilt and shift to be adjusted in parallel the desired position without holding lens, which has a focal-length range or at right angles. About $2,500. or locking. (You can even vary the Zeiss would never attempt, main- LENSES resistance of the lens’s movement.) tains top performance throughout— Pentax SMC DA* 55mm Focus is adjusted not by manually even when used wide-open. Distortion f/1.4 SDM Prime lenses are good extending or compressing the barrel is well-controlled even on the full- discipline for photographers spoiled but with a helical collar. About $270. frame Alpha 900 and better still by zooms, which is why we like the with small-sensor models such as Pentax 55mm f/1.4. (We were Sigma 50-200mm f/4-5.6 DC the new Alpha 330, on which the tempted to single out the new Pentax OS HSM Sigma’s own optical image 18-element ED zoom delivers the 60-250mm f/4 ED for its 35mm- stabilization makes this next-genera- equivalent of a remarkable 105- equivalent range of 90-375mm, not tion digital zoom a much more versa- 600mm—with no loss of speed. to mention its constant f/4 aperture, tile optic—especially at the long end, (Take note, sports and wildlife pho- but no matter.) The nine-element, where blur due to hand movement is tographers who are always moving weatherproofed 55mm f/1.4 features more likely. Unlike sensor-based stabi- forward and backward to frame a moderate-tele focal length that’s lization, the in-lens system takes jig- a distant subject.) SSM autofocus is about equal to 35mm’s classic gle out of the viewfinder image as quiet, smooth, and almost inaudible, 85mm portrait length—and it brings well, and it supports the new lens’s and there’s a focus limiter to speed an unusually fast maximum aper- other image-sharpening qualities. things up further (a good thing take in a very large structure even ture to the world of APS-C D-SLRs, These include internal focusing (which given the five-foot closest focusing from the farthest practical camera in which shallow depth of field can also keeps the lens front from rotating, distance). Variously-placed focus- position. The problem is much worse be hard to achieve. Used at wide a plus with polarizing filters); a 14- hold buttons let you lock in AF at with small-chip D-SLRs, which turn a apertures, this ultrasonic-focusing element, laser-coated formula that any time. About $1,600. 24mm focal length into the equiva- lens produces lovely out-of-focus focuses to 1:4.5; and super low dis- lent of a barely-wide 36mm or 38mm backgrounds, especially at close persion (SLD) glass. There are also Canon TS-E 17mm f/4L Users of lens. The good news: Canon’s distances (CFD is 1.5 feet), while the both hypersonic motor AF and inter- perspective-control optics are often impressive TS-E 17mm perspective- main subject is sharpened by extra- nal focusing, making this a good buy cramped by these lenses’ shortest control lens produces a 104-degree low dispersion glass. It’s a natural for small-sensor Canon, Nikon, Pen- focal lengths, either 28mm or 24mm, angle of view on 35mm or full-frame for portraits, but don’t stop there. tax, and Sigma D-SLRs. About $300. which can be insufficiently wide to D-SLRs, but can be mounted on About $730. (continued on page 85)

BESTY BU

Nikon PC-E Olympus Zuiko Digital Nikon AF-S DX Nikkor Micro-Nikkor ED 9-18mm f/4-5.6 10-24mm f/3.5-4.5G ED 85mm f/2.8D

STATE OF THE ART popphoto.com 49 COMPACT CAMERAS

SONY Cyber-shot DSC-G3 COMPACT CAMERAS OF THE YEAR his 10.1-megapixel model T is, for now, the ultimate Wi-Fi compact. In addition We’ve merged compacts into to providing AT&T hotspot a single category this year—and access and home hub con- nectivity, it has an onboard just as well. These new models Web browser that lets you visit YouTube, Photobucket, blur the boundaries of digital and Dailymotion, among , offering features other sites. You can also use technology it to upload photos and from Wi-Fi to high-speed video. videos, then e-mail referrals to friends and family. Whether shot with the DSC- G3, browsed, or downloaded, pictures are a pleasure to amsung brings a rare view to the superzoom compact—and we mean behold on the exquisitely SAMSUNG S that literally. The starting focal length on this 10X, 12-megapixel sharp 3.5-inch touchscreen. model is equivalent, in the 35mm format, to 24mm. That’s wider than And speaking of shooting, HZ15W the 28mm on other wide-angle models, and better for both big views and the new Cyber-shot has a cramped interiors. And it seems to suit the HZ15W’s HD video, which 35-140mm (equivalent) is, after all, a wide-screen format. You can output video directly to an zoom, lens-based stabiliza- HDTV by plugging in an HDMI cable. Another rare feature for a compact: tion, and four gigs of built-in manual control of both f-stop and shutter speed. About $330. storage. About $500.

Nikon Coolpix P90 Nikon came longest in still photography, ranging let’s not forget, for a photo-quality Panasonic Lumix TZ50 Panasonic late to EFV superzooms, but the from a commendably wide 26mm 8x10 print. Worried about jiggling the elevates the concept of the “travel 12.1-megapixel P90 is (35mm equivalent) to a supertele camera at such long focal lengths? zoom” with this nine-megapixel hardly a me-too 624mm. Burst rates scorch along The P90’s Motion Detection mode model, adding built-in wireless LAN model. Its 24X zoom at 15fps if you’ll accept a automatically senses your level of capability that lets you connect to is one of three-megapixel image shake and optimizes settings to keep the Internet via a T-Mobile hotspot or the —fully adequate, pictures sharp. About $400. home wireless hub. Once connected,

OTHER TOP COMPACT CAMERAS

Nikon Coolpix Panasonic P90 Lumix TZ50

50 popphoto.com Fujiﬁlm Canon FinePix BESTY PowerShot F200EXR BU SX200 IS

Pentax Optio P70

you can upload photos to Google’s (available in white, red, and silver). fans will like the convenience of the Composition is a special pleasure with Picasa Web Album, as well as browse The P70 has smile capture and blink mini-HDMI output, for direct screen- the camera’s 920,000-dot LCD—one and delete photos already there. detection to improve your photo- ing on an HDTV. About $350. of the best monitors we’ve seen on a Basically a Wi-Fi-enhanced Lumix graphic odds, and while it lacks optical compact. All the better for viewing pic- TZ5, it has the same long-range, image stabilization it has Pixel Track Olympus Stylus Tough-8000 tures made in its HDR mode, which optically-stabilized wide-angle zoom Shake Reduction, which uses re- Tough is an understatement. You can merges shadows and highlights from (28-280mm equivalent), HD video, sampling to reduce blur. About $200. safely drop this 12-megapixel, sensor- two separate shots made in rapid and more. About $330. stabilized Stylus sequence. Sophisticated multipattern Canon PowerShot from over six feet. auto white balance can make localized Fujifilm FinePix F200EXR As with SX200 IS The OTHER TOP You can dunk it to color adjustments in an image. There’s previous Fuji chips, high-sensitivity SX200 IS is a new 33 feet deep. You an electronic level, sensor-shift and low-sensitivity pixels are sprin- take on superzooms COMPACT can freeze it down to image stabilization, and selectable kled evenly across the surface for Canon, which 14 degrees F. And aspect ratios—including square, for of this 12-megapixel model’s new until now has put you can squash it erstwhile TLR users. About $370. Super CCD EXR image sensor. That electronic viewfind- CAMERAS with up to 220 unique design improves dynamic ers (EVFs) into these pounds of pressure, Casio Exilim EX-FC100 Casio range in Fuji cameras. But the high-magnification important when you stunned us with its high-speed EX-F1 FinePix F200EXR repurposes the models. With this forget you’ve stashed and EX-FH20, which can fire at phe- technology to capture two different 12.1-megapixel, 12X the camera in your nomenally fast capture rates for both exposures simultaneously—then camera, you view back pocket and sit stills and video—the latter perfect combines them in-camera into a and compose strictly on it. Zooming is for super slo-mo. Those Exilim models single, six-megapixel high–dynamic on the LCD moni- limited because the are the size of D-SLRs though, so range image. The F200’s zoom is tor—and the lens must be totally forget about pocketing one. Enter the a satisfyingly wide-angle 28-140mm absence of an EVF encased within the Exilim EX-FC100: At less than an inch (equivalent), the screen an ample has allowed Canon camera body, but thick, it puts high-speed capture and three inches. About $400. to scale it down to fit the 28-102mm super slo-mo—not to mention HD a medium pocket. (equivalent) range video and a respectable 37-185mm Pentax Optio P70 At less than an Shooting with the SX200’s three- provides the best focal lengths for (equivalent) zoom—into your shirt inch thick, this new Optio shows that inch screen can make for unsteady most photo purposes. About $400. pocket. Full-res still capture goes up to thin is still in. We like it for its wide-to- handholding, so it’s good there’s a remarkable 30fps at six megapixels, tele 27.5-110mm (equivalent) zoom, optical image stabilization in the lens, Ricoh CX1 It’s not much larger than while one second’s worth of 1,000fps which retracts flat into the camera; especially for the SX200’s blur-prone an ultrathin, but the CX1 accommo- video stretches (at normal playback its generous 12-megapixel resolution; long focal lengths (which reach the dates a near-superzoom focal-length speed) to an ultrasmooth 33 seconds. and its very cool aluminum body equivalent of 336mm). HD video range of 28-200mm (equivalent). About $350. —DAN RICHARDS

Casio Ricoh CX1 Exilim Olympus EX-FC100 Stylus Tough- 8000 STATE OF THE ART popphoto.com 51 CAMERA PHONE OF THE YEAR CAMERA PHONES

Along with ample resolutions, autofocus lenses, and built-in flash units, this year’s camera phones offer improved camera interfaces and photo-sharing tools. And of course they’re more affordable.

quipped with a 2.4-inch LCD and useful photographic features such E as face-detection autofocus and digital image stabilization, this 8.1- SONY megapixel slider phone also comes loaded with photo and video blogging software. Its BestPic mode takes seven shots in one second so that you ERICSSON can save the one you like, while its Smart Contrast and Photo Fix features optimize image brightness, contrast, and color. All that makes the C905a C905A an able substitute for a good compact. Meanwhile, built-in GPS and geotagging tools let you attach location data to your shots, and Wi-Fi allows Cyber-shot wireless display on a DLNA-capable TV. Under $250 (with contract).

Motorola Motozine ZN5 exposure and image optimization abil- and sharing. The N97 supports smile-, and blink detection, a top Motorola designed this five-mega- ities work well, and it also offers Nokia’s versatile new Photo Browser, light-sensitivity setting of ISO 1600, pixel bar phone with the help of burst, macro, and panorama modes. as well as Nokia Photos for manag- digital image stabilization, and burst Kodak—a great idea, since Kodak’s About $100 (with T-Mobile contract). ing your mobile photo and video and panorama modes. Its video longstanding emphasis on ease of collection on a PC and syncing it with mode shoots 120 frames-per-second use, automatic image enhancement, Nokia N97 Combining a 3.5-inch the phone. Installed memory offers for slow-motion playback or 5fps for and integration with other devices touchscreen, a full swing-out key- an ample 32GB of storage for media a time-lapse effect. You can even has been sorely needed in the world board, and a five-megapixel camera files, and there are built-in tools for select an AF point by touching its of camera phones. The Motozine with a Zeiss lens, this model amounts geotagging images and easily three-inch LCD screen. And here’s ZN5 combines those to a powerful device uploading and broadcasting them something camera makers might virtues with an intuitive for mobile image online. About $800 (unlocked). want to note: The shutter fires when camera interface, dis- OTHER TOP capture, viewing, you remove your finger from the played on its 2.4-inch LG KC910 Renoir An eight-mega- touch screen, eliminating the blur- LCD, and preinstalled CAMERA pixel bar phone with a Schneider lens, inducing shake that pressing down photo sharing tools. The the Renoir incorporates advanced can cause. About $350 (unlocked). new model’s automatic PHONES BESTY camera technologies such as face-, BU Samsung SGH-T929 Memoir Samsung has lept forward with the Memoir, endowing it with a 3.1-inch touchscreen LCD that lets you control everything through an intuitive, widget-based TouchWiz interface. The eight-megapixel bar phone also offers advanced features such as face-, smile-, and blink detection; spot metering; and ISO settings to Motorola 1600. Modes include Motozine burst, macro, ZN5 panorama, and Wide Dynamic Range. About $250 (with T-Mobile contract). —AIMEE BALDRIDGE

LG KC910 Renoir Samsung Nokia SGH-T929 N97 Memoir

52 popphoto.com STATE OF THE ART CHECK OUT THE NEW

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WWW.SOUNDANDVISIONDIRECT.COM IMAGING SOFTWARE IMAGING SOFTWARE OF THE YEAR ADOBE PHOTOSHOP CS4

n the eve of its 20th anniversary, the world’s most powerful digi- O tal imaging program gets a radical new interface that’s easier and faster to use. Adjustment tools that were menu-bound in previous versions are now centralized on an Adjustments panel. With these tools—Levels, Curves, Hue/Saturation, and others—you now actually create or change non-destructive adjustment layers that never affect original pixels. Shown in the Layers panel, they can be stacked, turned on and off, or modified using layer masks. Designers borrowed that idea from the workflow-oriented Lightroom, as they did with CS4’s on-image “click-and-drag” color and tone control and its brush-based Photoshop CS4’s capabilities far exceed local correction of RAW files. There is also a Vibrance adjustment that intensifies hues without distortion. The Dodge and Burn tools are what was possible with million-dollar smarter too, altering brightness without affecting color. CS4’s auto- blending even lets you increase apparent depth of field by combining workstations just a few years ago. And pictures taken with different focus settings, while Content-Based Scal- these other programs? They brilliantly ing lets you alter a photo’s aspect ratio while preserving the dimensions of important elements—including human figures! About $700. simplify what once took arduous work.

Imagenomic Portraiture 2 This compatible with Adobe Lightroom. It inch fine-art inkjet print. Compared ing pictures to Flickr, Facebook, speedy retouching plug-in for Photo- gives you sophisticated yet easy-to- with Photoshop’s standard bicubic and Apple MobileMe accounts. Its shop and Aperture puts a mask on use tools for converting your RGB sharpening, Blow Up’s results were new Places feature automatically your subject’s face—not the Hallow- files into monochrome, plus an intui- cleaner and sharper. Credit that to its imports data from a GPS-enabled een kind, but an automatic selection tive alternative to complex masks vector-based processing algorithm, camera or an iPhone so that your that isolates skin tones from the rest and selections called U Point: You which rendered smooth edges and no library is searchable by place names of your photograph. The standard simply drag pop-up, on-image sliders “jaggies.” Blow Up 2 can also remove or an interactive map. Cooler still is setting minimizes blemishes and to adjust brightness, contrast, and JPEG artifacts from low-quality origi- Faces, which uses face-detection imparts a pleasing glow to your sub- local contrast, both in amount and in nals and add natural-looking texture and face-recognition technology to ject’s complexion. You can further the size of the area affected. The pro- and grain to really big “enlarge- scan your iPhoto library for pictures of fine-tune smoothness relative to detail gram’s “grain engine” convincingly ments.” There are 100-plus print-size a particular person. You highlight a size or final print dimensions, and mimics silver halide film by essen- presets, with adjustable sharpening photo containing the person, click the mask itself can be refined using tially rebuilding image detail with an actually based on paper type, as well the Name button, and type a name various tools. About $200. intelligent algorithm. About $200. a Batch tool for resizing dozens of into a pop-up text field. A crop box Nik Silver Efex Pro A brilliant Alien Skin Blow Up 2 This Photo- images in a single step. About $250. zeros in on the face, which is saved black-and-white plug-in for Photo- shop plug-in became our resizing Apple iPhoto 09 A souped-up so that in the future you just click shop and Apple’s Aperture, Silver tool of choice after we used it to up-res version of iPhoto, it has dedicated but- on it to retrieve pictures of that per- Efex Pro was recently made a 12-megapixel D-SLR file for a 17x22- tons for upload- son. About $60 (in iLife 09 suite). —J.B. AND R.H.

OTHER TOP IMAGING SOFTWARE

BESTY BU

54 popphoto.com STATE OF THE ART FINE-ART FINE-ART PRINTERS PRINTER OF THE YEAR EPSON STYLUS PRO 7900

he most annoying thing about Epson T pro printers has been the need to manually swap out black cartridges whenever you wanted to switch from glossy to matte paper, and back again. That task wasted time and expensive ink. The company’s latest pro printers solve the problem with an extra ink channel. Epson calls it “auto sharing black ink channel technology,” a complicated way of saying that the 24-inch Stylus Pro 7900 (and companion 44-inch Can photo-quality inkjet SP9900) can simultaneously accommodate photo (glossy) and matte black ink cartridges—and that the printer printers really get any switches between them on the ﬂ y, from sheet to sheet. better? Epson’s artful new The ability to switch blacks automatically actually ﬁ rst appeared in the Stylus Pro (continued on page 86) model says yes—and it might just be perfect.

HP Designjet Z3200 The next- feed tray, for better support of large printer if loading paper from the rear. between photo (glossy) and matte generation HP Designjet Z3200 offers sheets. We’d also like a roll-feeding All in all, though, this is an impressive black—plus the colors, including red better paper handling, faster print procedure that’s as simple as the one machine. About $3,500 (24-inch). and green, that made its predecessor speed, and a larger internal hard for sheet media. Canon Pixma stand out. While the Pro9500 Mark II drive than its groundbreaking prede- The Z-series roll Pro9500 Mark II does an excellent job with color cessor, HP’s Designjet Z3100. Most feed on either the OTHER TOP This second- images, even the color inks contrib- notably, though, it introduces a new 24- or 44-inch generation version ute to the exceptionally rich, smooth HP Chromatic Red ink that substan- model is not as of Canon’s fi rst tonality of its black-and-white output. tially extends the color gamut of its user-friendly as in FINE-ART pigment-based Thousands of nozzles in its replace- pigment-based prints. In our tests Epson’s competing 13x19-inch printer able printhead, plus a three-picoliter we found that bright colors printed 24- and 44-inch PRINTERS is a fairly modest droplet size and 4800x2800dpi with excellent saturation and detail, printers, because upgrade of the resolution, make prints breathtakingly and that skin tones were very natu- it requires a back- original, but that sharp as well. ral. Black-and-white output from the bending reach- means it’s a terrifi c With front and rear slots, the Mark II Z3200 is outstanding, whether made over if you try to printer. It uses the is able to handle very heavy papers— with a standard profi le or the driver’s load the paper same archival over a millimeter thick (front) and/or grayscale option. Either way, or in from the front. (We Lucia pigment ink- up to 300gsm (rear). Paper feeding is color, our images were superbly sharp were also asked to set, which features not the easiest or quickest in its class. and detailed on all the HP-branded re-feed the roll three grays—light And for some reason the new model and third-party media we tried. paper a few times.) gray but no light is slightly slower than the original, What could be improved? We’d like And you will need light gray, with auto- though we don’t think that’s a big deal an extension for the single-sheet paper to get behind the matic switching when you’re (continued on page 86)

Canon Pixma HP Designjet Epson Stylus Pro9500 Z3200 Photo R2880 Mark II

STATE OF THE ART popphoto.com 55 IkXiYh_X[jej^[ FefFêje$YecD[mib[jj[h WdZ:_iYel[hj^[MehbZe\Fêje]hWfô

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With the help of LIFE.com, a new website featuring classic imagery from LIFE magazine, American Photo has uncovered a number of images from many of the greatest photographers of the 20th century, none of which has been published before. We invite you to browse through a stunning piece of photographic history.

Models wearing hats, New York, circa 1947, *'&§4-04553&"463&4 by Gjon Mili

Satchel Paige, 1941, by George Strock Max Kalish working on a statue of Senator Harry S. Truman, 1944, by George I t started as a humor magazine founded by Harvard alumni, but Skadding in the mid-1930s Henry Luce acquired the name for $92,000. When it was launched as a weekly photography magazine on November 23, 1936, it changed the way people saw the world. LIFE magazine was born at a time when photographers equipped with small, portable cameras were able to present to Americans the great leaders and great events of their time, as well as the everyday world populated with common people, who were revealed as anything but common in the magazine’s pages. The photographers who shot for the magazine—Margaret Bourke-White, Alfred Eisenstaedt, Peter Stackpole, and Carl Mydans in the early

PORTFOLIO

Even as the age of print fades, it is thrilling to view work that

“Ladies Outside” in the 20th century. rule, Garden City Golf Club, New York, 1936, by Alfred Eisenstaedt Text by David Schonauer

THE GREAT PHOTO MAGAZINE,

days, Hansel Mieth, Gjon Mili, Leonard McCombe, George Silk, Andreas Feininger, Loomis Dean, Gordon Parks, and so many others over the years—continually redrew the boundaries of image making. The magazine ceased publication as a weekly in 1972, a victim of television and the economics of mass publication. From 1978 until 2000 it was published as a monthly, never with its original cultural vitality. Throughout much of that time, the magazine’s archive languished in metal ﬁle cabinets in the base- ment of the Time-Life Building in Manhattan. Later they were moved to safer storage facili- ties, and since 2006 some seven million of the images have been digitized. And that brings us to the latest chapter in the long life of LIFE. On March 31, much of that material, long Gas-attack buried, became available to viewers once again preparations on a new website, LIFE.com. The site will be a test in Lon- deep and satisfying resource for both photo don, 1941, by Hans Wild historians and photographers. It may ultimately be even more important for younger generations of photographers: An understanding of photography today—from documentary to portrai- Cowboy at the ture to ﬁne-art—would be incomplete without Matador Ranch, Texas, 1940, by an understanding of how LIFE shaped the art. Hansel Mieth For everyone, the new site offers some wonderful surprises. About 97 percent of the images in the LIFE archive were never published and essentially never seen. In this exclusive portfolio we highlight some of those treasures. It’s a legacy we can now all share.

rafting the DNA of the quintessential G 20th-century American magazine onto a 21st-century medium is something of a genetic experiment. The new website is more than a trip down memory lane: It is being produced in partner- ship with Getty Images, which supplies a steady stream of up-to-the- (continued on page 65)

60 popphoto.com Margot Fonteyn at the Covent Garden Royal Opera House, London, 1946, by David E. Scherman © DA VID E. SCHERMAN/LIFE Swimming pool in Las Vegas, 1955, by Loomis Dean

popphoto.com 63 © MARGARET BOURKE-WHITE/LIFE Bourke-White by Margaret at home,1946, moneylender A wealthyIndian POR TFOLIO © FRANCIS MILLER/LIFE A circus vet treats an orangutan, The magazine 1951, by humanized big Francis Miller and little issues.

(continued from page 60) minute imagery from photographers around the globe, along with archival material of its own. A slick interface allows viewers to search for contemporary images in a number of categories, from news and sports to celebrities and pets. For viewers of a certain age, however, the main attraction will be the ability to sift through the grandeur of LIFE. The archive serves as a visual reminder of the particular way LIFE looked at the world. LIFE photographers and editors had an uncanny ability to humanize the world’s big and little issues. The world they captured was big, sometimes exotic and sometimes corny, but always rationally composed © ANDREAS FEININGER/LIFE and emotionally vibrant. It was a world that New York “browns could be understood as a narrative—an encom- out” as defense passing and reassuring story told in words but against enemy mostly with pictures. Above all, LIFE’s per- attack, 1943, by Andreas Feininger spective was immutable: The magazine was unmistakably American in its values at a time when America’s values seemed unmistakable.

he magazine itself became an icon, the T ultimate symbol of media power, its reporters and photographers demanding and getting access to the high and mighty. The still photograph never had a more profound platform than the one LIFE provided by applying ink to paper. Now its images are available in the form of electrons. It is worth noting that the magazine itself was born as a result of technological changes akin to the evolution we are seeing today. The halftone printing process, which came into use in the 1890s, allowed illustrated magazines of the era to easily publish photographs. In her World History of Photography, Naomi Rosenblum ﬁnds a turning point after the turn of the century, when editors began to send out photographers with smaller, lighter cameras than those used during the American Civil War and the Crimean War to cover stories of national interest—what The Illustrated American called “the picturesque chronicling of contemporaneous history.” European publications like Berliner Illustri- erte Zeitung often (continued on page 73)

66 here were thousands of anybody, you know, kiss- PORTFOLIO “T people milling around, in ing…I had Leica cameras… side streets and everywhere,” focused from 10 feet to recalled Alfred Eisenstaedt inﬁnity…I didn’t even know of his most famous image. what was going on, until he “Everybody was kissing each grabbed something in white. ICON other…And there was also a And I stood there, and they Navy man running, grabbing kissed. I snapped ﬁve times.” VJ DAY, 1945

POR TFOLIO © CARL MYDANS/LIFE The Dublin Horse U.S. Marine Show, 1954, by Jesse Goin at Carl Mydans Kwajalein Atoll, the Mar- shall Islands, 1944, by George Strock © GEORGE STROCK/LIFE

isa Larsen was one of a bad wedding photogra- cheon through cake, but in L the overlooked masters pher, either, when she one instant she caught of LIFE magazine—the covered the nuptuals new Mrs. Kennedy in per- ﬁrst American journalist to of Jacqueline Lee Bouvier fect composition—not just ICON report from Outer Mongolia and Congressman John F. a bride, but the princess during the Cold War; the Kennedy. The wedding bride. A little more than 10 vice president of the United took place at St. Mary’s years later, President Ken- Kennedy States, Alben Barkley, posed Church in Newport, Rhode nedy would be assassinated. for her in his pajamas; Island, with a reception Larsen did not live to wedding, and Ho Chi Minh, whom she following at Hammersmith see that tragedy. In 1957 was photographing, told Farm, the childhood she was treated for breast her, “If I were a young man, home of the bride. Larsen cancer. Her cancer later Newport I’d be in love with you.” worked her way through the returned, however, and in 1953 Larsen proved she wasn’t lavish event, from lun- 1959 she died, at age 34.

70 popphoto.com

A Spanish Loyalist girl whose home was bombed,

A pro-French sign in Algeria, 1958, by Loomis Dean © LOOMIS DEAN/LIFE Here: “Heff’s” drive-in, Corpus Christi, Texas, 1940, by John Phillips. Below: Rolls-Royce Owners Club, Montreal, 1958, by Walker Evans. © JOHN PHILLIPS/LIFE

(continued from page 65) led the way. hen Henry Luce launched LIFE, after At ﬁrst little thought was given to layout or W the success of his earlier publica- pacing. Later, editors like Stefan Lorant of tions, Time and Fortune, the maga- the Muncher Illustrierte Presse (MIP) injected zine could be seen as the culmination of all dynamic pacing and picture selection. these earlier developments. Its success led By 1928 a 42-year-old German lawyer- to other American photo magazines, such as turned-businessman-turned-photographer Look and Holiday, as well as European mag- named Erich Salomon began using a small azines like Paris Match. plate camera with a fast lens, the Ermanox, The golden age of all these publications to photograph scenes in low-light condi- encompassed the most important stories of tions. Often, his subjects were unaware he the 20th century—the Great Depression and was shooting. The Leica, introduced in World War II—and LIFE’s photographers met 1925, allowed photographers to shoot with the challenge with profound imagery. The convenient 35mm roll ﬁlm. These technol- cultural impact of still photography was ogies unleashed the creativity of a new unmatchable. By the 1950s, however, televi- generation of photographers such as Alfred sion was bringing the living, moving world

Eisenstaedt—then a photojournalist with ALKER EVANS/LIFE into living rooms. TV spoke loudly, while

The social upheaval of the 1960s seemed to stand the Americanism of LIFE on its head. (Ironically, the magazine reached a journalis- tic high point in its coverage of the Vietnam War, featuring work by photographers like Larry Burrows, whose 1965 “Yankee Papa 13” essay about the mission of one American heli- copter crew on a dangerous mission remains a touchstone of photography.) New magazines like Twen in Germany and Playboy in America captured the cultural and sexual revolutions of the time. The glamour of Margaret Bourke-White, a globe-trotting photojournalist, gave way to the glamour of Thomas, the swinging fash- ion photographer of the movie Blow-Up.

IFE’s demise as a weekly in 1972 had L as much to do with economic factors of mass circulation as it did with culture issues. Photography of the kind that LIFE invented continued to thrive throughout the 1980s and 1990s in magazines like Vanity Fair, the New York Times Magazine, and even-

painting in in painting Park, Central by 1961, Leonard McCombe An artist An artist in painting Park, Central by 1961, Leonard McCombe An artist © GJON MILI/LIFE by GjonMili and Bess,1959, in theﬁlmPorgy Sammy Davis,Jr . Coney Island, Brooklyn, New York, 1951, by Margaret Bourke-White © MARGARET BOURKE-WHITE/LIFE

These days, of course, it seems that all searchability, easy distribution—are stun- Alberto print is being threatened by economic, tech- Giacometti ning. Perhaps, given the pace of technologi- nological, and cultural change. Newspapers in his cal change, it isn’t even worth considering have fared the worst, so far, with closings Paris what has been and will be lost for photogra- and bankruptcies becoming more and more studio, phy in a world without print. But it is worth 1952, by common. A number of magazines have also Gordon exploring LIFE’s new online archive, espe- disappeared, while disheartened publishers Parks cially for those who never held the maga- wonder if there is a role for print in the future. zine in their hands. John Loengard, a former director of photography of LIFE and perhaps ertainly there are those who lament the preeminent historian of the magazine, C the passing of print and what it repre- says simply, “What surprises me about LIFE. sented to photography—meaningful com is that a well-edited still photograph graphic design, careful editing and pacing, accompanied by well-chosen words can still

thoughtful perspective—just as there were ARKS/LIFE be telling about contemporary events and those who once lamented the passing of revealing about the past. You contemplate LIFE as a weekly, and then a monthly. The for a moment what you see. In a day of whiz-

PORTFOLIO popphoto.com 77 THE PHOTOGRAPHERS © ALFRED EISENST Alfred Eisenstaedt Lisa Larsen AEDT/LIFE © RODNEY WILLIAMS/LIFE

Cornell Capa © CARL MYDANS/LIFE Alfred Eisenstaedt 1898–1995 He gave © NA up selling buttons to T FARBMAN/LIFE AEDT/ LIFE become a photographer and ended up as Margaret Bourke-White one of LIFE’s original staffers. 1904–1971 Shot the first “I see pictures all the time,” Dmitri Kessel cover of LIFE; first woman he said. “I could stay for © ALFRED EISENST photographer in World War hours and watch a raindrop.” II; first woman authorized Yale Joel 1919–2006 Nat to fly on a combat mission; Walker Evans 1903–1975 He began his photo career at Farbman Margaret last person to interview The product of a wealthy East age 19, covered the fighting in Bourke-White Mahatma Gandhi. Coast family, he earned fame Italy during World War II, then shooting sharecroppers in the came back to the U.S. and Cornell Capa 1918–2008 South. He worked frequently spent the next 25 years shoot-

Kornel Friedmann followed for Henry Luce’s magazines. ing for LIFE around the world. © HARRY REDL/LIFE Loomis Dean his older brother, Robert, by changing his name and Nat Farbman 1907–1988 Dmitri Kessel 1902–1995 becoming a photographer. He He came from Poland at age Arriving in America in 1923 later changed the art forever four and took up photogra- after having served in the by founding the International phy while studying electrical Russian army in World Center of Photography. engineering in college. During War I, he eventually roamed his 15-year career at LIFE he the globe shooting news Yale Loomis Dean 1917–2005 was known for his versatility. stories and essays. Joel Before starting at LIFE in 1947, he sold Bibles and Andreas Feininger Lisa Larsen 1925–1959 worked for Ringling Bros. 1906–1999 A former archi- The German-born photogra-

© EDW sorts of things tographing things, not people. Khrushchev—no wonder she Walker Evans they didn’t want His work was incisive: was known as the “Glamour © LIFE ARD FORMAN/COURTESY OF THE PHOTOGRAPHER to do,” he said “Realism and surrealism is Girl” of press photography. of his LIFE work. what I am after,” he said. Leonard McCombe 1923- Born in England, McCombe Andreas Feininger grabbed the attention of LIFE editors with his war coverage and started at the BEHIND THE magazine in 1945, at age 22. Hansel Mieth 1909–1998 CAMERA As a teenager, she and boy- friend Otto Hagel ﬂed to 22 Legends America when Hitler rose to

of LIFE © LIFE

78 popphoto.com PORTFOLIO

Francis Miller © ALFRED EISENSTAEDT/ LIFE © ALFRED EISENSTAEDT/ © HANK W © HANSEL MIETH/ LIFE Carl Mydans power, and both became Carl Mydans 1907–2004 David E. Scherman famous LIFE photographers, He and his wife, Shelley, a 1916–1997 Traveling with marrying only to appease the LIFE reporter, were captured his lover, the model and magazine’s editors. by Japanese forces in the photographer Lee Miller, Philippines. Both were freed he traipsed through Europe Gjon Mili 1904–1984 in a prisoner exchange; in World War II, famously Raised in Romania, he stud- Mydans continued his war photographing Miller ied at MIT and in 1937 met work in Italy and the Paciﬁc. in Hitler’s bathtub. He later Dr. Harold Edgerton, who became a LIFE editor. David E. Scherman introduced him to the stro- Gordon Parks 1912–2006

© GEORGE SILK/ LIFE boscopic lighting technique The youngest of 15 children, George Silk 1916–2004 he would use he overcame poverty and Born in New Zealand, he George Strock George so creatively. racism to become a noted served in World War II with Skadding photographer, writer, musi- the Australian army, which Francis Miller cian, and ﬁlm director. He tried to suppress a photo 1905–1973 shot street gangs and the he shot of a blinded soldier. Best known for streets of Paris with grace. LIFE printed it, and he stayed his utterly clan- on with the magazine. destine photogra- John Phillips 1914–1996 phy, Miller often Born in Algeria, he was George Skadding concealed cam- best known for his coverage 1905–1976 Covering the

eras in cigarette of World War II for LIFE. He White House, he often shot © LIFE cases, neck- once rented a car and put Harry Truman in casual

© LIFE made Franklin D. Roosevelt Hansel John Phillips look haggard. Mieth George Strock 1911–1977 His photo of three dead American soldiers in the George South Paciﬁc ran afoul of Silk censors. FDR himself © ALFRED EISENST allowed the picture to be Gjon published. Mili

Hans Wild 1914–1969

A onetime bookkeeper, he AEDT/ LIFE started by working in the darkroom of LIFE’s London ofﬁce, but during the devas- tating Nazi bombing of the

80 popphoto.com PORTFOLIO THE ULTIMATE IN PHOTO SHOPPING: www.adorama.com

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NEW! THE PHOTOGRAPHY PEOPLE NEW! NEW! 42 West 18th Street, NYC | 800.223.2500 920 918 917 919 901 www.adorama.com FOR A COMPLETE SELECTION SEE OUR WEB SITE THE ULTIMATE IN PHOTO SHOPPING: wwwwww.adorama.com.adorama.com ROGER BALLEN ON THOUSANDS OF PRODUCTS (continued from page 24) way. I don’t see SEE OUR WEB SITE any point in being introspective and not being able to express it. HOME THEATER AP You seem extremely concerned with mark-making. Not only the marks in front of you on the walls and windows and doors of the photographs, but the photographs themselves. The camera-mounted ﬂ ash ﬂ at- tens everything in front of the camera— hands and feet, kittens and birds, branches, wire, mattresses and scribbles on the wall— to a highly potent and outlined gesture. There also seems to be an element of collab- oration going on between you and the people in your photographs. RB There is a small measure of collabora- tion with the people. But don’t ever under- estimate the animals. They play a large role in my photography, and even I am not quite sure what they represent. The metaphor or symbolism of an animal is quite different from that of a human being. Animals have endless mythology and metaphor wrapped up with them. There are probably more animals than humans in my photographs.

AP It doesn’t seem like you’re working with any particular cultural mythology in your work. Are you creating your own mythology? RB The pictures are of a psychological culture, a Jungian culture, if you will. It is diffi cult trying to defi ne my work because I feel like I’m trying to defi ne myself. Perhaps a poetic way of putting it is that I’m trying to defi ne and place where one’s dreams are coming from. It’s a hard place to get to, honestly. It has taken me many years to get to that place and to defi ne it visually.

AP You allow the imagination to play in an unguided way, yet the structure of the images is so reﬁ ned. It’s a nice balance between structure and total freedom. RB I feel that I’ve got to provide the road for the viewer to travel. That’s why I don’t like

“I PUT YOU IN THE PLACE I WAS IN AS I MADE THE PHOTO.”

42 West 18th Street New York, N.Y. 10011 www.adorama.com • 800.223.2500 INC. 82 INSIDE THE ULTIMATE IN PHOTO SHOPPING: wwwwww.adorama.com.adorama.com ON THOUSANDS OF PRODUCTS most photography I see—because it’s com- positionally chaotic. My job is to get you on SEE OUR WEB SITE the right road. I want to put you in that PRINTERS particular place, the one I was in when I was photographing. I want to immerse you in that photograph. I’m not going to let you sort of sit outside the photograph and ﬁ gure out what it’s about. I’m going to put it right in your stomach for you. Stylus Pro 9800 AP What about the humor in the work? • All New 8-Channel Print Head Technology RB • Maximum Resolution of 2880 x 1440 dpi All my work over the last 10 to 15 years • Variable-Sized Droplet with AMC™ Technology has black humor to it. It’s funny, but there is • Epson PreciseColor™ Technology an element of tragedy and disturbance • Automatic Print Head Alignment/Cleaning Technology mixed in with the comedy. There are a lot of • Epson UltraChrome K3™ Ink Technology • New Advanced Black & White Printing Technology opposites in the work. For example, the • Professional Media Handling places that I’ve been photographing in, from • True BorderFree® Printing a content point of view, are extremely chaotic but, as you mentioned, the photographs are well managed and well composed. This creates a tension that I like.

AP There’s also a certain stability that comes about through the square format. You pro- imagePROGRAF iPF9100 vide a very stable place for all of the chaos. • 12-Color Pigment Ink System - New LUCIA inks RB Nothing is a more stable form than a • Built-in Calibration • Dual Print Head System square or cube. • L-COA Controller - New Print Controller • Print Plug-in for Adobe Photoshop and Digital Photo Professional AP Let’s talk specifi cally about the work in • Printer Driver 2007 • Digital Photo Front-Access Boarding House. Are you shooting in the • PosterArtist 2007 (Optional Software) - Poster creation software same physical locales as in the previous work, • Energy Star Qualified or are you in new locations? RB Boarding House is mostly from another location, another place entirely. This new place inspired me and partly led me to create these images. I guess I was ready to be led there. Designjet Z6100 Printer series AP And tell me about your relationship to • SHORT TURNAROUND TIMES black and white. Have you ever done some • Print at extremely high speeds. of this work in color? • Benefit from unattended printing. RB I can’t separate this work from black • Skip the interruptions. • OUTSTANDING IMAGE QUALITY and white because I don’t think in color. I’m • Produce prints fast without sacrificing quality. 58 years old, and I’ve been doing black and • BREAKTHROUGH COLOR ACCURACY white since I was fi ve years old. I don’t • EASY-TO-USE JOB MANAGEMENT TOOLS really like color. I like color paintings, but color pictures give you a wrong impression about reality. Most people think the camera ADORAMA PROJET INKJET ROLLS is a factual instrument to duplicate reality, ADORAMA 17"X100' ROLL IPRPG17100 $79.95 or objectify reality in some way, which is PROJET 24"X100' ROLL IPRPG24100 $109.95 PHOTOGLOSS 36"X100' ROLL IPRPG36100 $149.95 completely wrong! A color photograph leads 44"X100' ROLL IPRPG44100 $189.95 you to believe that whatever you’re seeing is the real color, when in reality it’s photo- ADORAMA 17"X100'ROLL IPRRS17100 $89.95 $ graphic color. In very few cases, artists can PROJET 24"X100' RL IPRRS24100 119.95 ROYAL SATIN 36"X100' RL IPRRS36100 $145.95 manipulate color to create meaning the way 44"X100' RL IPRRS44100 $199.95 a painter does. But with painting we never ADORAMA $ start with the assumption that reality is being 17" X 100' IPRDS17100 49.95 PROJET 24" X100' IPRDS24100 $69.95 duplicated. What worries me about color 2-SIDED MATTE 36" X100' IPRDS36100 $96.95 is that there is something artifi cial about it, 44" X100' IPRDS44100 $129.95 but it won’t admit to its artifi ciality. ■

42 West 18th Street New York, N.Y. 10011 www.adorama.com • 800.223.2500 INC. BOBBY MODEL WITNESS

(continued from page 32) do to help Medi-Clinic in Somerset West, east of Cape out at any time in the past 18 months, but people with his camera. He had an eye for Town. He was in a coma, and doctors gave he’s kept fighting tooth and nail to stay alive. the aesthetics of extreme human condi- him virtually no chance of surviving. The I really think he’s in control of what’s hap- tions and was getting an increasing num- greatest threat was the buildup of fluids pening to him and what will happen next.” ber of magazine assignments. In 2006, the inside his skull, but what saved him was the National Geographic Society named him nature of his injury: The concrete had broken n June 2008, a selection of Model’s pho- one of seven Emerging Explorers, a presti- open a hole in Model’s head when it had I tography was presented at Look3 Festival gious award. hit him, relieving the pressure on his brain. of the Photograph in Charlottesville, Virginia. But there were always reminders of how Bobby said he was honored, but wished he’d delicately balanced life is. In 2006, Model he doctors kept Model alive, but he been able to attend. learned that his rock-climbing mentor, Todd T emerged from several operations with In the past, he’d never gone anywhere Skinner, had been killed in a fall in Yosemite severe brain trauma and no prognosis for without a camera or two. Rehabbing in National Park. any kind of significant recovery. Denver, he began gravitating toward his In June 2007, Model returned to Africa Faith refused to accept this. As a young- equipment, holding his cameras and feeling with ideas for new projects. He intended to ster, she’d watched her brother build com- their familiar surfaces. His shooting eye, the go into the bleakest parts of Nairobi and plicated dogsleds and sit in a library for left, was undamaged, and by mid-2008 he take pictures of people who were surviving 12 hours straight, despite his dyslexia, pur- was starting to take pictures again from the against great odds—not the kind of survival suing one of his interests. She’d heard what back porch of his home. that he knew from mountaineering but the he’d gone through on Trango Tower. “Photography is like a muscle memory,” kind that comes from persevering against On July 4, Model was transported to New says Faith. “His fingers know exactly how to poverty and misfortune. He was inspired by York City’s Mount Sinai Hospital. He had find the shutter button on each camera.” people who triumphed through inventive- one major surgery for a brain infection and ness—those in Nairobi ghettoes who could, another to transfer a piece of his skull from obby Model sleeps in a room off the for example, turn leftover pieces of wire the left side of his head to the hole that had B back porch of his Denver home on an into lightbulbs. been made in the right side. He remained expensive, mechanized mattress. Years ago, That month he met up with Faith in South semi-comatose for months, but he showed he’d prepared himself for a medical disaster Africa. One afternoon they were riding in a small signs of progress. by having an excellent health insurance Nissan twin-cab pickup truck, going from In October 2007, Model was taken to policy. (His mother says she now realizes the picturesque city of Stellenbosch to an acute care hospital in Denver, and two how troublesome the American health care Scarborough, a suburb of Cape Town. This months later he was transferred to the city’s system is for those with major problems and stretch of beach road is officially called Craig Hospital, a world-renowned rehabili- how few resources are devoted to people Baden Powell Drive, but locals have dubbed tation facility specializing in spinal cord with disabilities.) it “N2 Hell Run” because it passes by some injuries and brain trauma. A bedsore he’d In his Denver bedroom, Model displays of the region’s most notorious and danger- developed flying from Africa to New York only one of his pictures, an enlarged ous slums. City now put him into septic shock and he 2004 black-and-white image of a Baltistan Faith was driving through a hard rain was again near death, but, after another sur- porter alone on the Baltoro Glacier, facing when a melon-sized piece of concrete gery, he pulled through. Mecca as he starts his evening prayers. crashed through the windshield. The un- In March 2008, he nearly died after a Hands at his sides, the man has slipped out tempered glass in the vehicle blew apart, shunt designed to drain fluid from his brain of his tennis shoes and stands on a prayer and the concrete slammed into the right stopped working. Recovering, he wrote a rug, gazing out toward the jagged, cloud- side of Model’s skull. The road was known note to his family: “Bobby is here.” covered mountains. The solitary figure for such random attacks, after which the It was a turning point, and by April he dominates this harsh landscape, looking victims were often robbed of anything of was strong enough to start rehab. Last July, lonely and almost overwhelmed, yet deter- value; the year before, a driver had been he left Craig and moved into a Denver home mined and prepared as he stares out into killed on the N2 Hell Run, but the culprits fitted for disabled people. His sister, mother, the unknown. The photo captures an indi- were never found. and father rotated coming to Denver, stay- vidual ready to engage in a sincere act of Within a few hours of the attack, Model ing with him and charting his progress, as humility and faith. was on an operating table at Vergelegen he began to form words with his lips and “A very important part of Bobby is revealed whisper or nod yes or no. Parts of his mem- in that photograph,” says his mother, as she ory were returning. He started writing on walks into her son’s bedroom and studies a pad and drawing images, and then began the image of the porter. “What I find amaz- swimming in a pool at Craig. By the fall ing is that Bobby isn’t unhappy with the situ- of 2008, he was taking a step or two out of ation he’s now in, or at least he doesn’t express “A LESSER his wheelchair with the help of a walker. that unhappiness to us.” “When Bobby used to talk about getting “A lesser person,” says his father, Bob PERSON seriously injured on one of his adventures,” Model, senior, “would have given up long says his photo assistant Sharon Miller, “he ago. Bobby was always looking for the WOULD HAVE said that he’d want somebody to pull the plug next challenge, and now his challenge is on him so he could die, but this isn’t at all to live and discover what will define the GIVEN UP.” what’s occurred now. He could have checked next part of his life.”

84 popphoto.com THE ULTIMATE IN PHOTO SHOPPING: LENSES wwwwww.adorama.com.adorama.com ON THOUSANDS OF PRODUCTS (continued from page 49) SEE OUR WEB SITE Nikon PC-E Micro-Nikkor 85mm f/2.8D Perspective-control lenses are more useful than LIGHTING ever: Mount one on a high-res D-SLR and you access not just view camera-style image-control movements but also a good measure of the big camera’s image quality, with much greater ease of use. This manual-focus PC lens is optically and mechanically similar to the 85mm PC Micro-Nikkor released a few years ago, but it MONOLIGHTS offers one very important improvement: automatic diaphragm control. If you’re shooting with Where Pro Power and Quality Nikon D3X, D3, D700, or D300 D-SLRs, you no Meet At An Incredible Price. longer have to manually stop the lens down before shooting. (That step was easy to forget, and its omission could result in serious overex- Great lighting: Adorama Flashpoint II posure.) As before, this lens combines its tilts Monolights deliver-at an astonishingly and shifts with macro focusing. Aside from high level of exacting control over sharpness and linear per- sophistication and quality and at spective, that combination lends itself to inter- remarkably low cost. Flashpoint esting out-of-focus effects not just with Monolights deliver all the power you architectural subjects but in still lifes too. Sort of need--more blitz for the buck than any like a very expensive Lensbaby! About $1,750. competitive units on the market Flashpoint II Monolights are the real deal-pro-caliber Olympus Zuiko Digital ED 9-18mm f/4-5.6 units you can rely on the give your images a Last year’s top lens honors went to the Olympus competitive edge. 7-14mm f/4, a gorgeous but costly chunk of glass. ST This wide-angle ED zoom could be the next best $ ARTING AT thing for Four Thirds-format photographers, and FLASHPOINT MONOLIGHTS 99 is even a couple of hundred dollars cheaper than 95 the less-wide (though faster) Zuiko 11-22mm Model GN Recycle Weight Sync Price $ 95 f/2.8-3.5. It is the equivalent, in 35mm, of 18- FLASHPOINT 320 118 1.2 Sec 3.00 lbs. 6v 99 $ 95 36mm, more or less the classic wide-angle zoom FLASHPOINT 620 192 1.2 Sec 4.6 lbs. 6v 189 range. While that’s not quite as wide as the 16mm $ 95 FLASHPOINT 1220 252 2.6 Sec 5.25 lbs. 6v 279 or 17mm starting focal lengths of current 35mm $29995 $ 95 zooms, it is several degrees wider than the angu- FLASHPOINT 1820 282 3 Sec 5.75 lbs. 6v 129 $ 95 lar coverage produced by the 10mm or 11mm FLASHPOINT 2420 320 4.5 Sec 6.20 lbs. 6v 389 starting focal lengths of competing Four Thirds lenses. The 9-18mm is light and compact, with a BUY A BUDGET KIT AND SAVE Buy a Flashpoint Kit & Save relatively small variable maximum aperture—yet is Flashpoint II kit sharp from corner to corner, with minimal vignett- BUDGET 160 STUDIO FLASH KIT #1 Includes: 1 Monolight, 10’ Air Cushion ing. Fortunately, sensor-based image stabilization Stand & a 40” Umbrella 2 – Budget Studio Flashes (White w/Black Cover) lets you safely compensate for the smaller f-stop $ NEW 2 – 7" Light stands 320 Kit...... 129.95 $ by setting slower shutter speeds. About $540. 1 – 33" White Umbrellas with Black Cover 620A Kit ...... 219.95 $ 1 – Deluxe carrying case 1220A Kit ...... 299.95 $21995 1820 A Kit ...... $329.95 Nikon AF-S DX Nikkor 10-24mm (FPBK1) 2420 Kit ...... $419.95 f/3.5-4.5G ED In a world of 10X, 12X, and now Portrait Wedding kit 15X zooms for interchangeable-lens D-SLRs, a BUDGET 160 STUDIO FLASH KIT #4 Includes: 2 Flashpoint II 2.4X magniﬁ cation range seems paltry. Yet in Monolights, 2-10’ Air Cushion Stands, 2-40” Umbrellas, wide-angle territory a mere millimeter makes a 3 – Budget Studio Flashes 1 – Snoot Snoot, & Carrying Case. real difference in angle of view. Nikon’s digital- 3 – 7" Light stands 1 – Set of 4 Color Filters 320 Kit ...... $324.95 only 10-24mm offers focal lengths that are 2 – 33” White Umbrella 1 – Deluxe carrying case 620A Kit ...... $499.95 with Black Cover $ 95 1220A Kit ...... $679.95 equivalent, in 35mm terms, to 15-36mm—six or 1 -- Barndoors (FPBK4) 319 1820A Kit ...... $799.95 seven degrees wider than the company’s 17- 35mm for 35mm and full-frame D-SLRs. And FLASHPOINT BUDGET STUDIO FLASH 160 while even the best pro-level wide zooms can be • This economically priced AC strobe will allow you to create professional lighting results. softer than you’d expect, the new Nikon is crisp • The 110 volt unit plugs into any standard household socket. throughout, due in part to two ED and three • It has a user replaceable circular flash tube that is daylight balanced at 5600 K, a guide number of 150 at ISO 100 & a recycling time of 4 seconds. It also comes w/a 60 watt aspherical elements among its total of 14. A vari- modeling lamp. able aperture and internal focusing keep the 10- • The Budget Studio Flash can be triggered through its 12’ sync cord, by another flash being fired and activating the built-in photo slave or through its open-flash test button. 24mm compact, SWM autofocus keeps it quiet, • Specs: 6-1/2” long, 3-1/2” diameter. Weighs only 15 ounces. and its closest focusing distance of under ten 95 $ 95 inches allows you to create dramatic near-far ( FPBF160) 69 59 effects. About $900. —R.H. NEW

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EPSON STYLUS PRO 7900 (continued from page 55) 3800, a scaled- down 17-inch model, and in the massive 64-inch SP11880. Those models use an inkset called Ultrachrome K3 with Vivid Magenta, which required eight and nine channels respectively. But the two newest pro models use an inkset dubbed Ultrachrome HDR, for high dynamic range, which features new orange and green inks, for a total of ten channels. (There’s an eleventh cartridge slot for the black not in use.) The green and orange inks are designed to further expand the color gamut of prints, and on paper (so to speak) they do. Whether the overall improvement is visible or not, the green and orange inks can make a real difference in the rendition of skin tones because both contain a measure of yellow, an inkjet nemesis. There are other improvements: New heads and better dithering algorithms deliver even greater dot consistency, though only the most practiced eye will notice. Print speed has essentially dou- bled. Paper loading is greatly simpliﬁ ed—made painless compared to the competition’s with a new, spindle-free system. The printers’ front panel now has a color LCD that makes ink information easier to read, and controls are less confusing. You can even get an add-on X-Rite spectrophotometer, an option aimed at the built-in one on HP’s Z-series printers. Last but certainly not least, you can mix and match cartridge sizes, including new high-capacity 350ml and 700ml ones, for better ink econ- omy—and serious sticker shock! About $4,000.

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(continued from page 55) printing at this level of quality. Besides, if you’re using Windows Realize the unlimited potential of Vista, the Canon software even has an ambient- each image! A fine arts lab, focused on light adjustment feature that ﬁ ne-tunes color to customized jobs to meet the immedi- OMNI-BOUNCE ate needs of the artist, as well as in- suit your anticipated illumination. About $800. Used by Professionals around Epson Stylus Photo R2880 We loved the suring the archival life of prints. Visit the world, to achieve soft natural 13-inch Epson Stylus Photo R2400, but it drank ink us at www.autumncolor.com or call lighting with most of the popular like water and never seemed as well-built as Epson’s 800-533-5050. brand flash units. Ideal for wide pro models (though lots of pros were and still are angle shots, macro work, portraits and news coverage. Custom using it). The SP R2880 addresses those issues, mounting with no Velcro required. and then some. It uses Epson’s UltraChrome K3 Specify your strobe when ordering. inkset—yes, the one with Vivid Magentas—and as Only $19.95 + $2.50 shipping, a result improves the rendition of purplish colors Visa, MasterCard & AMEX and smooths transitions in hue. STO-FEN PRODUCTS The R2880 still requires wasteful manual swap- ping of matte and photo black inks, a problem ﬁ xed 800-538-0730 in at least four of Epson’s newer printers. It seems P.O. Box 7609, Santa Cruz, CA 95061, USA www.stofen.com a shame to burden a 13x19 printer—one likely to be used as much by serious amateurs as pros— with this shortcoming. A printer this size is in fact the perfect tool with which to experiment with different media, from so-called baryta paper to heavy, raggy stocks, some of which will require matte black Learn from the experts at and others glossy black. The Stylus Photo R2880 invites that kind of experimentation with its ability to Brightscreen® is celebrating 28 years of handle both thick sheets and roll paper. Bitching producing the largest variety of custom aside, though, the R2880 makes gorgeous prints. focusing screens in the world. ® About $700. —MARVIN GOOD AND ANDREW DARLOW Our optional patent pending Crop Lines save time and money by cropping the images in the viewfinder. We offer a large variety of cameras and accessories. www.DigitalDaysPhoto.com 86 popphoto.com CaCaCppuureedaapappturedtutu with wurreett w thha a KokonorK KttiiKokonorkkoko

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www.forcameraﬁlters.com Y McNally’s evoca- tive portrait was shot with a Nikon D3, 14-24mm

the pavement. I didn’t have a water truck in my budget on this shoot, so I left it to fate and got lucky with rain. The raindrops on the window give that scattering of light and shadow over Risa’s face, which is not something I thought about up front, but which I loved instantly when I saw it—and, of course, I would tell any editor who asked that I planned it that way. The neon burns its way into the exposure, being the brightest thing in the frame, and I told Risa to look out the window like she was hidin’ from a no-good man. The light catches her face and, being pretty punchy, throws a really clean, hard cheek shadow, and gives her face some drama and edge. hotographers love seedy ensconced inside a Ziploc bag- The lesson: On a rainy night ONE P motels. Lots of character, gie, as it is pouring outside. I in a cheap motel, umbrellas are usually a bit of neon, rooms couldn’t have ordered this up just for the rain. —JOE MCNALLY with an if-these-walls-could-talk better from Noir Films central LIGHT kind of disrepute. Great photo- casting. In the movies, the streets Excerpted from The Hot Shoe graphic fodder. And there are in night scenes are often glis- Diaries: Big Light from Small STAND always rooms on the ground ﬂoor. tening and wet, which increases Flashes (New Riders, $40), by Perfect for the light-in-the-park- reﬂections and light pickup off Joe McNally. ing-lot approach. HOW This is simple stuff nowadays. I moved a Nikon Speedlight TO SHOOT SB-900 about 30 feet away from the window and gelled it warm, WITH so it would not be screamin’ white light in the midst of a A SINGLE bunch of fairly warm sources, all of which I’m blending into the FLASH exposure. The D3 (with a 14- 24mm lens set to 24mm) is doing the heavy lifting for me here. It is looking both inside and outside the window, seeking exposure zones. It reads (no surprise here) the world as being dark, so I countermand the impulse to go bright by programming in –1.3 EV. I don’t want daylight here, or

88 popphoto.com S K ILLS

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