Rémi Thériault | Alumni Update

A sweet magazine cover shot done by Alumni Rémi Thériault, lately Rémi has been kicking ass and taking names in the Ottawa photo scene.

For all those looking to see more of his great work take a look at his blog and website, you will not be disappointed.

Sacha Goldberger's Super Mamika

Thanks to Bowie for sending us this amazing and unique website for Sacha Goldberger, he is a photographer who loves his Grandmother.

Recently to cheer up his Grandmother he created a series of photos of her as a superhero, he has also incorporated her into his website in a unique way.

Take a look at his book and his site for some great images and cool web content, and by the way his site is done in Adobe Flash.  For all those working on their websites for Multimedia I this is some good inspiration.

Buying Photo Gear?

In the process of buying photo gear, want to know what kind of lens to buy for your camera?  

Well DXO Labs has a great site that offers a free comprehensive review of lenses and cameras and specific camera lens combinations.  

This site will tell you everything you want to know about the gear you are interested in and then some.  

Presidential Photography

Watch the full episode. See more The Presidents Photographer.

PBS is airing a new photo documentary this weekend, The President's Photographer.

It covers the 50 year history of Presidential photography, and also focuses on Pete Souza Obama's photographer.

Avedon Is Still The Man

Our first year students are just finishing up their History of Photography class and here is something for the history books, Avedon's Dovima with Elephants just sold at Christie's in Paris for $1.2 million.  The auction raised money for the Avedon Foundation and ultimately raised $7,495,600.

Proving once again that Avedon is still the man!!

Thanks to David Hassar from first year for sending us this info from PDN.

Interesting Distractions - Monoface

Click here for another piece of cool Adobe Flash content sent to us by Josh Reyes in second year.

This was a promo piece done by Mono a Minneapolis based company that designs innovative communications for clients like Apple and MSNBC.  It is also another cool bit of Flash fun from a very cool design company.

Interesting Distractions - Hello Enjoy

Our Second Year Students are learning Adobe Flash in Multimedia I this semester and although it is frustrating to learn at times it can also create really interesting websites, video games and other interesting web distractions.

This link is just some Flash fun and this is one of the reasons why we love Flash, Hello Enjoy.

This was created by Hello Enjoy Interactive Designers.

App - What The Font

Beginning this semester and continuing on into next semester our Second Year Students will be learning the basics of graphic design and layout.  This is to prepare them for creating their own promotional material, blog and website.  

Choosing the right font is always an important choice when designing and WhatTheFont from My Fonts is a great iPhone app that allows you to photograph any font in a magazine or online and then it tells you exactly what font it is.  

It works quite well and it is free which make it a great design tool and very cool app.  

Nikon Bob | Nikon D3S Popular Science Winner

Thanks to Nikon Bob for sending us this press release, Popular Science's Best Of What's New 2010 has awarded the Nikon D3S the Best Of What's New in the Gadget Category.

The D3S won for having innovation in low-light sensitivity for both HD video and stills and just for being an all around cool piece of photo gear.

Stylish Lens Apparel?

Thanks to Erin from first year who sent us this interesting link for rubber lens bracelets, these are designed by Adam Elmakias and can be purchased from his site for $10 a piece or this set above for $50.  They can also be purchased from Photojojo.  

For those who want something a little more environmentally friendly and a little more high end check out re:vision's lens cuffs.  These are made from actual lenses and cost $206 and up, they do have a nice retro look.

The Genius of Photography Now On Youtube

The great BBC series The Genius of Photography now has their own Youtube channel.  This six part documentary is now available to watch legally and for free online and covers the history of photography from its birth to its present incarnation.

The series looks at photographer like:

Abelardo Morrell
Martin Parr
Jacques-Henri Lartigue
Nadar
William Henry Fox Talbot
August Sander
Bernd and Hilla Becher
Alexander Rodchenko
Joel Meyerowitz
Cindy Sherman
Nan Goldin
Larry Clark
Araki
Wang Qingsong
Edward Steichen
Alfred Stieglitz
Paolo Ventura

The list above is only a fraction of the photographers covered in this series, we would strongly recommend all our students and anyone interested in photography to watch this series.

Fashion Photography Degree

The School of Visual Arts in New York City is now offering a Master of Professional Studies (MPS) in Fashion Photography.

This is going to be a one-year degree program so for all of our current students and alumni if you want to further your education and specialize in Fashion Photography this would be the place to go.

Lomography Gallery Store Toronto

We are big fans of the Lomography movement here at the Program and we are overjoyed to hear that there is now a Lomography Store in Toronto. The grand opening was on November 5th, 2010 and we wish we were there.

The store is located at:
536 Queen Street West
Toronto, CA M5V 2B5

Besides the cool gear for sale they will also be holding workshops, very cool. If you don't know what all the fuss is about take a look at their site and just for fun read the Lomo Timeline Section.

Reuters Best of the Year

Reuters showcases their Best of The Year images, these are some of the best photo-journalism and documentary images from around the world.  The photographers not only give the back story of the images but they also give you technical specs on the images too.

Reuters has an interesting history with a Canadian twist, Reuters was started in 1850 by Paul Juilus Reuter who used the relatively new technology of the telegraph to transmit news stories through-out Europe.  Reuter is now owned by The Thomson Corporation which was started by a Canadian, Roy Herbert Thomson who's father was a telegraphist of all things.

Roy Thomson owned the Timmins Daily Press and Toronto's Roy Thomson Hall is named after him, after a sizeable donation was made in his honour.  

Abelardo Morell Raises The Roof

Abelardo Morell who I am sure most of our students will remember from History of Photography class has once again created great works of art using a camera obscura.  His new series of images are created using a camera obscura tent projected onto the roof tops of New York.

For more info on Morell's current work read this New York Magazine article, and of course check out his website to see more of his amazing images.

For those interested in more info on camera obscuras check out the Magic Mirror of Life site.

Top Fifty Inventions of 2010

Time magazine has released their list of the top 50 inventions of 2010, topping the list at number one is of course the iPad.

However, a DSLR camera has made the list too, the Sony A55 that uses a translucent shutter mirror enabling it to fire without raising the shutter mirror.

This technology has been used before but not quite like this.

Krappy Kamera Competition

Do you think you are a Krappy Photographer well then enter this Krappy Kontest.  All images must be shot with a Krappy Kamera.

What is the definition of a Krappy Kamera well a Diana, Holga, Ansco or any Pinhole Camera, this means it has to be shot on film.

For all those interested in entering this contest download the details here, for all those who want to enter but don't have a kappy camera ask Jason to borrow his.

Alex Prager

Alex Prager's photographs are lonely, mysterious and very intriguing.

They are reminiscent of Philip-Lorca diCorcia's series on drifters in Hollywood and Cindy Sherman's Untitled Film Stills.

She has made the leap into motion with her short film Despair above, check out her website to see her still portfolios, Week-End 2010 is very interesting.

Interesting Distractions - Stop Motion Polaroid

We have been going a little stop motion crazy here at the program due to the Digital Flipbook exercise in Multimedia I.

So here is another great stop motion video using Polaroids, thanks to Yannick from first year for sending us this link.  This stop motion video was done by Jordan C Greenhalgh an RIT film student.

OK Go - Stop Motion

The new music video from OK Go is another great stop motion video.  The video was shot using a very large amount of toast and a lot of patience, there are 15 still shots for every second of video

This video was shot with a Samsung NX100 point and shoot hybrid digital camera.   Take a break and have a look at some more of OK Go's unique music videos White Knuckles, End Love and This Too Shall Pass.

OK Go have been producing and disturbing great viral video for sometime now and are a great example how the internet can be effectively used for promotion and marketing.

Nikon Launches NPS Website

Nikon has launched a website for its Nikon Professional Services.  This site will have links, technical docs, info and more.

Nikon Professional Service is a Nikon organization that supports professional photographers using Nikon products, for more info and how to join click here.

App - Instagram

Instagram is an new photo-sharing app for the iPhone, it has gained a huge following over the last month with over a five-hundred thousands users signing up.

The app has an very unique interface and syncs with your Address Book, Twitter, and Facebook page.  The app also has a very cool retro icon and logo based on the Polaroid Land Camera 1000.

Taylor Wessing Winner - David Chancellor

The Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize was awarded to David Chancellor this year for his image above.

The Taylor Wessing Portrait Prize is open to emerging young photographers, photography students and professionals.

Interesting Distractions - The Long Haul

Sit back and watch some cool Canadian content by Dumais best known lately for his Subway commercials, The Long Haul has been one of our favourites for a long time.

Watch the end credits for the behind the scenes of the set and S1 a great rental house and lab in Toronto.

Interesting Distractions - Do You Have PSD?

As things get busier around the Program we all need a little something to help us de-stress.

Here is a great video by the design firm Hyperakat to help you do just that, watch it to see if you have PSD.

Food Photography Interview

Quentin Bacon, Francesco Tonelli & Andrew Scrivani on Heritage Radio Network, thanks to Terrell for letting us know about this interview with three amazing food photographers.

Check out the photographer's websites for some more inspiration Quentin Bacon, Fancesco Tonelli and Andrew Scrivani.

Food Styling Book

Thanks to Jen Allison for sharing this book with us, Food Styling: The Art of Preparing Food for the Camera by Delores Custer.  For those interested in pursing a career in Food Photography or Styling this is a great resource.

Take a look at this video of Delores Custer at one of her workshops.


Have a listen to this interview with Delores Custer on American Public Media too, her interview starts 14:45 minutes into the show.

Check out her website for more info, to all our students this book is now on order at the LRC.

Nikon Learn & Explore App

For those with an iPod touch, iPhone or iPad this free app Learn & Explore from Nikon is a must have.

Thanks to Dave from Headshots for letting us know about this great app.

Food Landscapes

Still on the theme of food here is an image by Carl Warner, he uses food to create realistic landscapes.

Visit his website and in the Still section take a look at more of his amazing food landscapes, and take a look at his Moving section to see his animated food landscapes.

Watch the videos below to see how he creates his amazing images.

Food Styling

Our Second Year Students are shooting their last assignment before Christmas Break, Food Photography. So for a bit of inspiration and to wet your appetite here is a little video on the art and craft of shooting and styling food.

This video is from Adorama TV and is an interview with food phographer Rick Gayle and food stylist Kim Krejca.

iPad Lighting?

We here at the Program have all fallen in love with the iPad and here is another reason why every photographer should have at least 9 of them....what?

Sebastien Guindon

Our second year student Sebastien Guindon has one of his concert shots of Dev up on her blog, congratulations buddy.

How Multitasking Affects Human Learning

As instructors issues of students not paying attention in class and specifically surfing the web while in class usually comes up every year.

Many students defend such behaviour because they believe they are effect multitaskers.   However, recent studies have shown multitasking actually hampers the brains ability to learn and in the end makes one less productive.

A recent NPR interview with Russel Poldrack, a UCLA Psychology Professor talks about how bad multitasking is especially in a learning environment  Listen Here.



Ultimately what confounds us the most is why students who choose to surf the internet or work on other things in class seem to care very little for their instructors and more importantly their fellow students who find their behaviour distracting.

So when you are working on other things in class just remember this you are wasting your money and someone around you is looking at you and wishing you would start being more respectful toward others.

Feel free to leave a comment to this post below.

F8 Magazine

Great new online Photo Magazine recently launched, F8 Magazine.

There are great articles on documentary photography, photo-journalism and photographic education plus some great photographs.

The article on Alicia Rius - Discovering the Magic of Abandoned Places and the EFTI Photography School are great reads.

What We Are Reading

For months now we have been posting interesting articles in our Interesting Reads and of course posting new and current Books from our LRC in the Books section of our index.

Within the Program we are always trying to promote our students, grads and alumni to read and stay current on trends and issues in photography.

To help further promote this we have added a WHAT WE ARE READING section in our sidebar.   This is directly linked to our Google Reader account and will have the articles we think you should be reading right now.

TED Talk Winner JR

Photographer JR is the TED Prize Winner for 2011.

image © JR

JR is best known for posting his large scale his images in urban environments to bring awareness to social issues.

Originally his photo pasting projects were unauthorized and mostly done in slums to shed light on poverty, since then he has moved through different social issue most recently focusing on the plight of women in Africa.



For more information on JR visit his website and read the article in the New York Times and on the TED blog.

In February 2011 JR will announce his TED wish.

Stop Motion Multimedia I 2010

Every year in the Program our second year students start their study of Motion with an assignment we call Digital Flipbook. The students must shoot a minimum of 30 still images and using Adobe Flash create a stop motion video.

Much like Eadweard J. Muybridge's early motion studies help pave the way to early motion pictures we hope our students are looking forward to full motion capture next semester.

Below are some of their motion experiments.


Tom Oliver Stop Motion


Danielle Myres Stop Motion


Kelsey McFarlane Stop Motion


Matt Usherwood Stop Motion


Brittany McElroy Stop Motion


Ariane Pilon Stop Motion