Photo Life October/November 2015 sample

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YOUR GUIDE TO EVERYTHING PHOTO

GET SPECTACULAR STREET SHOTS CHOOSE THE BEST MESSENGER BAG ACE YOUR ARCHITECTURAL IMAGES

WHAT’S AHEAD FOR PHOTOGRAPHY?

TAKE THE CHALLENGE! ENTER OUR BIGGEST ANNUAL PHOTO CONTEST

Buying and Collecting Fine-Art Prints

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW TO GET STARTED A NINE-MONTH FAMILY PHOTO TRIP (SPOILER: THEY SURVIVED!)

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Photo club members across Canada, send in your 3 best shots, and your images will be considered for publication in the Best of Canadian Photo Clubs feature in the June/July 2016 issue of Photo Life and on photolife.com.

We can’t wait to show off your excellent work!

Visit photolife.com/bestofphotoclubs for more details.

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EXPOSURE PHOTO LIFE

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CONTENTS October/November 2015, Volume 40, Number 6

Cover photo by David Giral

4 6 10 66

Contributors Editorial Exposure Close-up

VISION 22 Nine Months of Sundays

by Wayne Kaulbach On December 2, 2013, we left Vancouver on a 6 a.m. flight that took us far from our home and comforts to our first destination: Tokyo, Japan. We were a travelling family of four: my wife, Michelle; our two children, fourteen-year-old Chloe and twelve-year-old Noah; and me.

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28

28 Buying and Collecting Fine-Art Prints

by Véronica Gill The fine-art photographic print market is ready to take off in Canada. We had the opportunity to speak with three specialists who have been working in this expanding field for several years. They spoke with us about their passion and this universe waiting to be discovered.

34 Without the Frame Street Life Photography

by David duChemin I do not consider myself a street photographer, in part because I photograph in so many places, and in part because even when I do spend time on the streets of a city photographing, it is not the streets themselves that are my subject. It is life.

36 Showtime B&W Landscapes

36

TECHNIQUE 38 Level Up

by David Giral Ever since I was a child, I’ve been fascinated by how architecture has evolved throughout history. Architectural photography, however, is always a challenge.

Here are a few tips to help you improve your architectural images.

46 FAQ A Brief Guide to Technology

38 PHOTO LIFE

by Jean-François Landry We are living in the future of our childhoods. Technology moves forward nonstop and, in photography, the limits are constantly pushed further back. Allow me to describe not the future, but the present…or the almost-present.

OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2015

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PHOTO LIFE OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2015 Volume 40, Number 6 171 St. Paul Street, Suite 102, Quebec, QC Canada G1K 3W2 418-692-2110 1-800-905-7468 info@photolife.com

GEAR 48 Utility to Go

by David Tanaka Couriers through the ages have sought an ideal carryall: a bag that can hold items of different sizes, shapes and weights; is comfortable to wear while on the move; and gives ready access to the contents while protecting them. That checklist also works for photographers.

54 Digital World What Lies Ahead?

Inevitable and Unpredictable Mashups

by David Tanaka In my last column I traced some highlights of the past 25 years of digital photography. What will the next 25 years hold, and what will we be using to capture images in 2040? I’m not willing to peer that far ahead, but there is plenty to come in the near future.

58 Gadget Guide

by Jean-François Landry

60 Imaging Products Review

by Peter K. Burian

CONTRIBUTORS AND EDITORIAL STAFF Peter K. Burian

is a technology writer and freelance stock photographer. He is the author of several Magic Lantern Guide books on DSLR systems. He is also a digital photography course instructor with betterphoto.com. peterkburian.com

facebook.com/photolifemag

@photolifemag

SUBSCRIPTIONS 1-800-461-7468 subscription@photolife.com EDITORIAL Editorial Department editor@photolife.com Editorial Director Valérie Racine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .vracine@photolife.com Administrative and Editorial Assistant Jenny Montgomery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .info@photolife.com Contributing Editors David Tanaka Peter K. Burian Art Director Guy Langevin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .glangevin@photolife.com ADMINISTRATION Publisher & Media Sales Director Guy J. Poirier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .gpoirier@photolife.com 418-692-2110 or 1-800-905-7468 Ext. 101 Advertising Consultant Stephen Stelmach . . . . . . . . . .advertising@photolife.com 416-996-1822 Accounting Emmanuelle Champagne . . . . .accounting@photolife.com

PHOTO LIFE (ISSN 0700-3021) is published six times a year (December/January, February/March, April/May, June/July, August/September, October/November) by Apex Publications Inc., a Canadian-owned company. All rights reserved. The contents of this publication may not, under any circumstances, including Cancopy, be reproduced or used in whole or in part without the written permission of the publisher.

PHOTO LIFE is indexed in Canadian Magazine by Micromedia Limited. Back issues of PHOTO LIFE are available in microform from Micromedia Limited, 20 Victoria St., Toronto, Ontario M5C 2N8.

We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Canada Periodical Fund of the Department of Canadian Heritage.

David duChemin is a Vancouver-based photographer and adventurer. His bestselling books on the art of photography have been translated into a dozen languages. davidduchemin.com Véronica Gill is a freelance journalist from Montreal with writing interests as varied as the outdoors, sports, yoga, green subjects (food, tourism, buildings) and, of course, photography.

Originally from France, David Giral has lived in Montreal since 1997. He works mostly in Montreal and Toronto, specializing in travel, lifestyle, architectural and interior photography. davidgiralphoto.com

Wayne Kaulbach is a travel, editorial and street photographer. With his wife, Michelle, he has operated a natural-light portrait business, Skylight Images, for the past 20 years. He also presents photography tours around the world. wkaulbach.com

Jean-François Landry

has been providing advice to photographic equipment buyers in Quebec City since 1989. He also shares his passion with amateur photographers through courses and magazine articles. cylidd.com

Guy Langevin has worked as a graphic designer in the photo industry for many years. You don’t collaborate with and befriend some of the best photographers in the country without learning a few tricks of the trade, so he became a photographic designer.

Jenny Montgomery is a theatre director and writer who first learned her way around a darkroom in 1998. Photography runs in her family, so it was probably inevitable that it would be a part of her life.

Valérie Racine began working for Apex Publications in 2002. She currently serves as Editorial Director for both Photo Life and Photo Solution magazines. Her background includes studies in art, art history and communications, and she is passionate about photography.

David Tanaka

is a technology writer based in Lethbridge, Alta. His work as a photographer includes magazine assignments, fine-art printmaking and stock. He also teaches multimedia communication at Lethbridge College.

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OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2015

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COPYRIGHT © 2015 APEX PUBLICATIONS INC. No material from the magazine may be reproduced without the written consent of the publisher. Despite the care taken in reviewing editorial content, Apex Publications Inc. cannot guarantee that all written information is complete and accurate. Consequently, Apex Publications Inc. assumes no responsibility concerning any error and/or omission.

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EDITORIAL October/November 2015, Volume 40, Number 6

ities are fascinating. All the people living together in relative harmony within a densely populated space are like a huge tribe with countless subgroups.

Individual people are as busy as worker bees, night and day, and the combined demands on the infrastructure—housing, sewers, roads and public spaces—are massive.

Creative architectural innovations from compact homes to large-scale projects respond to these needs, as do community endeavours like the green alleys in my neighbourhood and in many cities across the country. The challenges of city life can bring out the best and the worst in people, but I believe that one of the most positive benefits is all the creativity born from urban necessity.

C

Valérie Racine Editorial Director

COMING UP Classic Rock Photography

by Barrie Wentzell Are You a Hunter or a Gatherer?

Winter Photography Destination: Home © DAVID GIRAL

A city is like a gigantic organic being— breathing, growing and continuously changing. Some are slowly dying, to the point of becoming ghost towns after major industries are shut down, while others are reborn through the ingenuity of a bunch of folks who repurpose and reclaim these spaces for the community.

With the care of engaged inhabitants and dynamic city regulations, cities can be beautiful places to live with oases of nature amid the inevitable concrete. Of course, they also have rough edges, harsh realities and heartbreaking stories. Urban environments include the good, the bad and the ugly. Perhaps it is this variety that makes them so photogenic.

© DAVID GIRAL

With this issue we wanted to highlight some of the wonders of metropolitan life available to the photographer. You’ll see graphic lines and lively city lights in the work of David Giral, who shares his best advice for architectural photography.

You’ll travel around the world with Wayne Kaulbach and his family on a tour dedicated to street photography. You’ll also follow David duChemin in his wanderings through the rich displays of human life he finds when getting lost— one of the best ways to discover a new place, in my opinion.

How to Manage Your Equipment in the Cold Gear: The Top 15 Essentials of All Time Is Printing the Ultimate Archival Solution?

The Lowdown on the Latest Gear And more…

LIKE PHOTO LIFE FACEBOOK.COM/PHOTOLIFEMAG

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OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2015

PHOTO LIFE

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PHOTO LIFE PRESENTS THE

EMERGING PHOTOGRAPHERS COMPETITION AND PHOTO LIFE STUDENT AWARD

Do you dream of pursuing a career in photography and need the opportunity to show the world how good you are? Now’s your chance to get published in Canada’s #1 photography magazine!

Send us your 3 best images, and your work will be considered for the Best Canadian Emerging Photographers feature in the February/March 2016 issue of Photo Life and on photolife.com.

THE PHOTO LIFE STUDENT AWARD The student participant with the most distinctive work will receive two essential tools to boost his or her emerging career: a web portfolio on photolife.com and a two-hour discussion with pro photographer David duChemin. The winner of the Student Award will be selected from participants who are enrolled at a recognized Canadian photography program.

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FREE PARTICIPATION August 1 to November 16, 2015 Visit photolife.com/emerging for more details.

OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2015

EXPOSURE PHOTO LIFE

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EXPOSURE [what’s on]

EDMONTON PHOTOGRAPHIC TRADE SHOW

© BRYAN YOUNG

On November 1, McBain Camera is presenting the Edmonton Photographic Trade Show at the University of Alberta Pavilion in Edmonton. The event will feature major industry brands and offer exciting seminars and presentations for attendees. mcbaincamera.com/ept

WEAVING IMAGES From October 24 through November 21, the Stephen Bulger Gallery in Toronto is hosting its second exhibition of work by Iranian-Canadian Sanaz Mazinani. Inspired by Persian design, Mazinani weaves together found images to take a closer look at politics, power and aggression. bulgergallery.com

ZOOM PHOTO FESTIVAL

© SANAZ MAZINANI, COURTESY OF STEPHEN BULGER GALLERY

ViewPoint Gallery’s group member exhibition, Memories of Place and Space, is on view from September 30 to November 1 in Halifax. The showcased works offer reflections on changes in location and space over time. From November 4 to 29, ViewPoint is showing Keith Michael Cossey’s Phantoms of the Forest, a visual interpretation of forests and their regenerative powers. viewpointgallery.ca

© KEITH MICHAEL COSSEY

PLACE, SPACE AND PHANTOMS

Zoom Photo Festival Saguenay: International Meeting of Photojournalism is November 4 through 29 in Chicoutimi, Quebec. Now in its sixth year, the monthlong photo festival offers workshops, conferences and photo exhibitions, including World Press Photo and the winning images from the Human Nature photo contest. zoomphotofestival.ca

[photo essay] AT THE CORNER OF HOPE AND KENILWORTH

BY ROB SKEOCH

© ROB SKEOCH

© ROB SKEOCH

The corner of Hope and Kenilworth Avenues is a tough area in the middle of a gritty part of the city of Hamilton, Ont., and it was this corner that became ground zero for a series of portraits I did of people who live, work and play in the area. I set up my camera, then stood there and waited. Sometimes I made a photo; sometimes I got bored and went home. And sometimes I just stood there until it was too dark, and I packed up without shooting a frame.

Then I returned another day, repeating as needed. It takes a long time to shoot a long-term project.

Visit Photolife.com to see this issue’s Photo Essay.

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EXPOSURE PHOTO LIFE

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PHOTO LIFE & PHOTO SOLUTION PRESENT THEIR

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VISION

NINE MONTHS OF SUNDAYS

A STREET PHOTOGRAPHER’S VISUAL JOURNEY AROUND THE WORLD

BY WAYNE KAULBACH On December 2, 2013, we left Vancouver on a 6 a.m. flight that took us far from our home and comforts to our first destination: Tokyo, Japan. We were a travelling family of four: my wife, Michelle; our two children, fourteen-year-old Chloe and twelve-year-old Noah; and me.

LEAVING TO COME TOGETHER Our mission was to circumnavigate this little blue marble we call home. We dubbed our journey “Nine Months of Sundays,” and we explored as a tight-knit family unit—together 24/7 with absolutely nowhere to hide from each other. My mission was to navigate our family from country to country in a safe and—I hoped—semi-spontaneous manner and bring everyone home alive. We had decided that it was time for our family to be closer and to plan and execute a great adventure. Michelle had had a brain tumour in 2012, and the experience really got us thinking about how life is too short and we should enjoy every moment. (Today, Michelle is 100% healthy, and we are extremely thankful!)

After Japan, we spent Christmas and New Year’s in Thailand at an elephant reserve and the obligatory beaches, and then we flew into Kolkata, India, on January 2. Travelling with Michelle and the children was a different experience than travelling on my own through India in 1986, 1989 and 1990. India had changed...I had changed. I found myself feeling a little nostalgic thinking back to my travelling glory days with just my backpack—a.k.a. “Silent Wonder”—and a small 35-mm Contax camera with my favourite 28-mm Zeiss lens. No computer, no iPod, no iPad...no colour-coded chargers and adapters and wires, and no bowing down to the fickle, unpredictable and highly unreliable god of Wi-Fi! But the satisfying difference of travelling with my family was watching them interact with India: Noah jumping out of the way of stampeding/fornicating holy cows and laughing at how bizarre his epitaph would have read; Chloe gazing out the window of an Indian train truly immersed in the wondrous, otherworldly visual glory; and Michelle holding hands and walking with an Indian woman she had just met who had to take us to her very modest home and feed us dinner. Chance meetings, experiences and encounters. I smiled watching Michelle and the kids slowly open up to and accept a country—people and a culture that I fell head over heels in love with 28 years ago— like flowers to sunshine. India is the closest thing on Earth that we have to experiencing a completely altered existence. It is an unrelenting awe-inspiring assault on the five senses, and we successfully shared this experience as a family.

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VISION PHOTO LIFE

© WAYNE KAULBACH

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PHOTO LIFE VISION

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VISION

BUYING AND COLLECTING FINE-ART PRINTS WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW TO GET STARTED

© GRIZZLY MONTRÉAL

BY VÉRONICA GILL

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VISION PHOTO LIFE

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Sought after by museums, galleries and collectors, a photographic fine-art print is signed by the artist, numbered and reproduced in limited editions. More common among our neighbours to the south or in other parts of the world such as Europe or Asia, the fine-art photographic print market is ready to take off in Canada. e had the opportunity to speak with three specialists who have been working in this expanding field for several years: Jean-Christophe Charlier, president and artistic director of the gallery Grizzly Montréal; Fabrice Strippoli, photographer and director of the Toronto agency Contrast Canadian Photographic Works; and Emily McInnes, director of the online photo gallery EYE BUY ART. They spoke with us about their passion and this universe waiting to be discovered.

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THE DEMOCRATIZATION OF PHOTOGRAPHIC ART

Similarly, Emily McInnes founded the EYE BUY ART online gallery in 2009 “to make it easy for people to buy [artists’] work, as putting money in the pockets of impor-

tant, young, smart artists is the best way to ensure they continue to do their work.”

For the Toronto-based entrepreneur, photographic art is a democratic way for each person to have the opportunity to begin an art collection. She started her company based on the following principle: art should be affordable and accessible while maintaining impeccable quality and the unique character of the image. For example, in her online gallery, you can buy an 11 x 14” photo with a limited edition of 150 copies for US$100. She

© RYAN SHUDE (AMERICAN), DINER, 2008, FROM THE SERIES TABLEAU, C-PRINT / COURTESY OF EYE BUY ART.COM

Grizzly Montréal, which opened a storefront in Montreal three years ago,

specializes in limited-edition photographic fine art and aims to promote photographic art by making it accessible to more people. President and artistic director Jean-Christophe Charlier explained that “it is important to see photographic art— often considered to be the stepchild of the art world—become democratized in order to restore it to its former glory.”

Grizzly Montréal specifically features emerging and established photographic artists from Quebec, providing them with more visibility.

JEAN-CHRISTOPHE CHARLIER EXPLAINED THAT “IT IS IMPORTANT TO SEE PHOTOGRAPHIC ART—OFTEN CONSIDERED TO BE THE STEPCHILD OF THE ART WORLD—BECOME DEMOCRATIZED IN ORDER TO RESTORE IT TO ITS FORMER GLORY.”

PHOTO LIFE VISION

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TECHNIQUE

LEVEL UP

BUILD YOUR ARCHITECTURAL PHOTOGRAPHY SKILL SET

BY DAVID GIRAL Ever since I was a child, I’ve been fascinated by how architecture has evolved throughout history. I remember looking at my history books and being amazed by the pyramids and the remains of Pompeii. When I first set foot in Montreal in 1994, I was fascinated by the grandiosity of the downtown area and by the curves of the Olympic Stadium.

Architectural photography, however, is always a challenge. Here are a few tips to help you improve your architectural images.

GET PREPARED There is a lot variety in styles, types, shapes and sizes of buildings around the world.

With so many possible approaches, knowing your intentions with every picture will help you figure out how to shoot.

• Are you shooting stock, general, realestate, fine-art or abstract architecture?

• Are you portraying a single building or buildings with their surroundings?

• Do you want to capture details or an overall view?

• Is lighting important to you? Are the buildings lit at night? What is the ideal moment to capture the building at its best?

As a professional architectural photographer, I take pride in working efficiently and preparing my assignments as thoroughly as possible. When I know what I will be photographing, my first step is to virtually scout the location on Google maps and see how the building

looks from the street level. Then I usually head to app.photoephemeris.com or use an app such as Sun Surveyor to find out the sun’s course and figure out when the facade of the building is best lit. If I’m going to be shooting at sunset or dusk, I look up the corresponding times.

GEAR UP The next step is to get my gear in order. A tripod is obviously a must-have if you are taking pictures at dusk or if you use a tiltshift lens. If neither your camera’s LCD nor your tripod features a built-in level, bring a bubble level that can be attached to the hot shoe of your camera. You could also connect a GPS to your camera so that EXIF data is recorded automatically on the pictures. A circular polarizer can be handy if you want to increase contrast and/or get rid of unwanted reflections.

Before heading out, always check out your camera settings and set up the bracketing

WHEN I KNOW WHAT I WILL BE PHOTOGRAPHING, MY FIRST STEP IS TO VIRTUALLY SCOUT THE LOCATION ON GOOGLE MAPS AND SEE HOW THE BUILDING LOOKS FROM THE STREET LEVEL. THEN I USUALLY HEAD TO APP.PHOTOEPHEMERIS.COM OR USE AN APP SUCH AS SUN SURVEYOR TO FIND OUT THE SUN’S COURSE AND FIGURE OUT WHEN THE FACADE OF THE BUILDING IS BEST LIT. 38

OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2015

(I always bracket by at least three stops), especially if you’re planning on processing the photos using HDR software.

CHOOSE YOUR ANGLES How you’ll shoot the buildings will depend on your intentions and on what the environment allows you to do. If a dramatic effect is what you’re looking for and if you don’t mind distortions, then shoot upward from a low perspective as wide as possible (16 to 24 mm). Shooting wide is also useful to capture street scenes or buildings in their environment.

If you keep your camera parallel to the ground or slightly tilted up then distortions won’t be as present.

However, if your goal is to avoid distortions at all costs, then shoot no wider than 24 mm (and do panoramas if needed). A 35-mm focal length is perfect for shooting buildings and facades.

Because most buildings have a rectangular foundation, you can either capture the edifice straight on or from one of the corners; the latter is called the “hero shot.”

When shooting a facade straight on, make sure you’re placed at the same distance from each extremity of your frame so that the horizontal lines are indeed horizontal.

Although a telephoto lens is less

This image of the Standard Oil Building in New York City is the perfect example of situations where not correcting the image yields spectacular results.

Nikon D700 and Nikkor 16-35 mm f/4 lens; 16 mm, HDR from -2 EV to +2 EV with main exposure at 2.5 s, f/5, ISO 400.

TECHNIQUE PHOTO LIFE

© DAVID GIRAL

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PHOTO LIFE TECHNIQUE

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TECHNIQUE

FAQ

A BRIEF GUIDE TO TECHNOLOGY THE FUTURE (SIMPLE), CONJUGATED IN THE PRESENT

BY JEAN-FRANÇOIS LANDRY We are living in the future of our childhoods. Technology moves forward nonstop and, in photography, the limits are constantly pushed further back. Everything seems better that even just a few years ago—what am I saying?—even than just a few months ago! Cameras are faster, sensors have less and less noise, lenses get better on all fronts, automatic focusing systems know how to recognize and give priority to human faces, and image stabilizers...stabilize better. Allow me to describe not the future, but the present…or the almost-present.

PIXEL SHIFTING You probably already know that it’s impossible for an individual pixel on the sensor to have each of the colour components necessary for an image (red, green and blue). Once the image is taken, the camera interpolates each pixel’s missing information to create the final image; each pixel borrows the information it needs from its neighbours.

(Only Foveon sensors are exempt from this, but that’s a whole other story.)

Pixel-shift technology (Hasselblad, Olympus and Pentax) solves the problem by creating a way for each of the pixels to get all the necessary information when the image is taken. The sensor is displaced by the distance equivalent to one pixel up, down, left and right, and the camera very quickly takes an image in each position. Then the information is combined for a resulting image that has much more precise colours, less “noise,” and no moiré. This mode can also virtually raise the resolution of an image.

For example, using this technology, Olympus can produce 40-MP files from a 16.1-MP sensor.

COMPOSITION ADJUSTMENT In addition to stabilizing an image, sensor shifting can also be helpful in macrophotography. Imagine you have set up your camera on a tripod with an f/2.8 aperture (a very narrow depth of field), 46

OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2015

focused perfectly on a flower’s stamens.

At the moment that you are pressing the shutter release, you realize that the framing is imperfect, a little too much to the right or slightly tilted. This normally means “move the camera and start all over again,” but certain Pentax cameras offer a nice solution: go to Live View and simply move the sensor. By rotating or adjusting the sensor vertically or horizontally, you can avoid having to move the camera for small changes.

CURVED SENSORS In photography, there is an optical problem called field curvature. Simply put, photons that pass through the centre of an optical formula have less distance to go to reach the sensor than those that pass though at the edge of the image. The result is that when the aperture is wide open, the image is sharper in the centre than at the edges. For a while now, Sony, Nikon and Toshiba have been working on non-linear sensors—curved CMOS sensors that reduce the problem of non-uniform sharpness. After all, the retina of our eye is spherical!

This would also practically eliminate vignetting (darkening in the corners of an image). But everything’s not perfectly rosecoloured in the realm of spherical sensors; optical formulas would all have to be recalculated to work with new sensors.

Even if they would be largely simplified,

recalculating optical formulas for lenses of variable focal lengths is not straightforward. That’s unfortunate…but nobody said we’re in a hurry!

STACKED CMOS Normally, a sensor’s photosensitive surface and electronic system share the light-reception surface, which doesn’t necessarily work out well. One generally hinders the other, both in manufacturing and in usage.

Sony’s Stacked CMOS reorganizes the space so that the electronic components are on the bottom level and the photosensitive surface is on the top level.

Created by Sony, these new sensors are said to improve image quality despite their substantially smaller size, and they have additional functions like phase-detect autofocusing for following fast-moving subjects, HDR and noise reduction. This new sensor is already being used in cameras (like the DSC-RX100 IV, for example).

FOCUS STACKING High Dynamic Range (HDR) makes it possible to get images with detail in both the highlights and shadows when the range between them is too extreme for the sensors to handle. The technique is relatively simple: instead of just taking one photograph of a scene, the camera takes several differently exposed images that are combined using specialized software. And this same technique exists for focusing.

In order to increase the depth of field (primarily in macrophotography, where it is reduced to almost nothing because of magnification), you can place your camera on a tripod and take a series of images, each with the same exposure settings but with a different point of focus, TECHNIQUE PHOTO LIFE

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COURTESY OF DAYMEN CANADA

UTILITY TO GO

MESSENGER BAGS TO MEET YOUR NEEDS

BY DAVID TANAKA Couriers through the ages have sought an ideal carryall: a bag that can hold items of different sizes, shapes and weights; is comfortable to wear while on the move; and gives ready access to the contents while protecting them. That checklist also works for photographers, thus messenger-style camera bags have proliferated.

BUT WHAT ARE THEY? While it’s easy to identify the essential difference between a shoulder bag and a backpack, a messenger bag isn’t so clearly distinguished from other bags. If you consider the operating environment, though, you start to get an inkling of some defining qualities.

Today’s messenger bag is foremost for an urban lifestyle. It shouldn’t throw you off your stride as you walk, bike, or take public

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transit. It needs to be narrow enough so it doesn’t impede your (or someone else’s) progress through a crowd. Your destination could easily be a workplace, so you’ll want room for some office stuff—letter-size documents and a computer or tablet. And you’ll probably have it with you during your after-work social life, so it should conform to that dress code too.

So far these criteria could be met by any number of briefcases, satchels or book

totes. But remember the camera part of the equation. The camera-specific messenger bag has the padded enclosures we expect to find in any camera bag.

The inspiration for this type of bag comes from the romanticized derring-do of New York City bike couriers.

Manufacturers know that utility alone doesn’t sell, so style choice has become as much a hallmark of this kind of bag as convenience on the go. I conducted an image search using the phrase “camera messenger bag” and found a staggering array of bags, from utilitarian to chic, from rugged polyester to fine leather.

What follows is a representative sample of messenger-style camera bags you’ll be able to find in retail stores across Canada.

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DIGITAL WORLD

WHAT LIES AHEAD?

INEVITABLE AND UNPREDICTABLE MASHUPS

BY DAVID TANAKA When the future arrives it never looks quite like we imagined. In my last column I traced some highlights of the past 25 years of digital photography. A fair follow-up question is: what will the next 25 years hold? What will we be using to capture images in 2040? I’m not willing to peer that far ahead, but there is plenty to come in the near future.

TODAY’S BIG FORCE DISRUPTING TRADITIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY IS THE SMARTPHONE. THE SMARTPHONE KILLED THE ENTRY-LEVEL POINT-AND-SHOOT CAMERA CATEGORY AND ISN’T STOPPING THERE. connecting through the Lightning port. It has a 20-MP sensor, f/1.8 lens and onboard image processor. It also captures images in Raw format.

Olympus calls its AIR A01 an “openplatform camera.” It is essentially a body-less version of an Olympus compact-system camera. And yes, it uses a Micro Four Thirds interchangeable-lens mount. Like other modular designs, the viewscreen and datacomm duties are handed over to a smartphone.

SMARTPHONOGRAPHY Today’s big force disrupting traditional photography is the smartphone. The smartphone killed the entry-level pointand-shoot camera category and isn’t stopping there. You may recall some Apple advertisements that ran over the summer—evocative images and video followed by a simple tagline: “shot on an iPhone 6.”

But innovators can’t leave good enough alone. Pockets of entrepreneurs have taken all the criticisms against smartphone photography to heart. Don’t like the tiny, fixed lens? Companies like PhotoJojo jump in

with auxiliary lenses from fisheye to telephoto that snap onto a phone or tablet.

Don’t like the tiny, noisy sensor either? A couple of years ago Sony introduced the QX10 and QX100 smartphone modules.

These were essentially performanceoriented cameras with relatively large sensors, zoom lenses, image processor and memory. You needed to pair them with a phone to get a view screen and data communication functions.

The charge was taken up this year by DxO with its ONE, and Olympus with its AIR. DxO’s ONE is for iPhone only,

The concept of the open platform fosters innovation. Third-party developers can throw together various components in creative ways, and we marvel at the result.

Personally, I can see the AIR in my future since I have a nice collection of Micro Four Thirds lenses, but is it something I’d be using five or 10 years into the future? I doubt it. Novel as it is, it’s still a kludge.

Products like the QX, ONE and AIR overcome some but not all limitations, plus they introduce their own problems.

Smartphones face the same limitation that plagues any device with a digital screen— legibility outdoors. Maybe there’s a flash of commercial success waiting for someone who resurrects the dark cloth—that iconic view-camera hoodie—as a smartphone accessory. It will be quaint, maybe cool for a while, but a bit too fussy to have legs. Another kludge.

THE SLR EVOLVES—INTO WHAT? The viewscreen problem has been a photography problem from the very beginning. Before eye-level viewfinders, 54

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GADGET GUIDE WHAT YOU NEVER KNEW YOU NEEDED

BY JEAN-FRANÇOIS LANDRY I am a gadget-gourmand. Yes, it’s true, I would eat them if they were edible—for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I subscribe to several dozen RSS feeds that keep me up to date on the slightest movement within this vast microcosm. I love waiting in line to pay, because—what can I say—I am surrounded by hundreds of gadgets, just sitting there within reach…on purpose, obviously. My backpack could be mistaken for a flea market, filled to the brim with various items that take up as much space as my camera and lenses combined. Gadget-gourmand.

Please add this term to the Canadian Oxford Dictionary.

LENS BELTS BY TAAB

ECO-FRIENDLY 35-MM FILM CANISTERS BY COMPAGNIA-IMAGO ONE GREAT, ALBEIT LATE, IDEA

Reusable, biodegradable and compostable, these cartridges are ready to have a roll of store-bought 35-mm film inserted. They are made of wood and bio-resistant plastic (a polymer derived from plants such as corn, wheat, sugar beet) and will be available soon. No date or price has been revealed yet, but in my humble opinion, they will be had through some form of bartering. compagniaimago.com

FOCUSING BY TOUCH AND BY SIGHT...BUT MOSTLY BY TOUCH Manual focusing is a difficult task on lenses with ultrasonic focus motors, like USM, SWM or SSM lenses. The distance covered by the ring, from close-up to infinity, is much too short! So here’s what has come to save the day: TAAB, with its belts that fit around the focus ring to give your most agile finger a better grip. Rotate it to the right, a hair to the left, and click! Available in three formats: Mini (US$10), Standard (US$12) and Hefty (US$14), but don’t forget to add US$9 for international shipping. lenstab.com

THE PETZVAL 58 BOKEH CONTROL ART LENS BY LOMOGRAPHY WHEN BOKEH MAKES A SPLASH

Ah, bokeh. Some worship it, treating it almost like a religion. Bokeh is the blur that forms behind the subject or, more poetically, the aesthetics, nay, the out-of-focus exquisiteness of the background. We have several tools with which to create it: aperture, focal length, focal distance and sensor size.

Lomography now offers another tool to alter the uniformity of the bokeh and get a “ripple” effect in the background, thanks to a new lens with a seven-level control ring for adjusting the strength of the “swirly wave effect.”

The lens formula is based on the Petzval lens ( Jozef Maximilián Petzval, 1807-1891), which is relatively simple: four lens elements assembled in three groups. (We’re far from the AF-S Nikkor 58-mm f/1.4G lens, with its nine elements in six groups!) Lomography has redesigned the lens system and added its own touch. The aperture has no automatic parts; simply insert a plate with a hole in it (a Waterhouse stop) into the slot provided. Aperture plates of f/1.9, f/2.8, f/4, f/5.6, f/8, f/11 and f/16 are included. The focusing is done by rotating a mechanism located on the underside of the lens.

Handcrafted in Russia by Zenith and available in Nikon F and Canon EF mounts, the Petzval 58 Bokeh Control Art lens is also compatible with the Sony A7, Fujifilm X-Pro 1 and Micro Four Thirds cameras with adaptor mounts (sold separately). Still in the Kickstarter stage at the time of writing, the retail prices announced by Lomography should be around US$750 for the brass version and US$850 for the black version. lomography.com 58

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IMAGING PRODUCTS REVIEW THE LOWDOWN ON WHAT’S NEW

BY PETER K. BURIAN Although the high-megapixel DSLRs attract the most attention, the market is already well served by the numerous cameras of that type. So, these days, we’re primarily seeing new product announcements about compact-system cameras, various types of lenses, cameras with a built-in lens, and a wide range of accessories. Some of the following may well be of interest for your autumn image-making or during a pre-winter trip to a warmer climate.

PANASONIC LUMIX DMC-GX8 Offering not only 4K video capability but also a 4K (8-MP) photo mode with 30-fps continuous drive, this is a new 20.3-MP semi-pro camera in a splash/dustproof magnesium-alloy body. It features a (1,040,000-dot) tilting OLED viewfinder and a rotating 3” (2,360,000-dot) OLED touchscreen monitor. There’s an image stabilizer in the body and in most of the Lumix lenses for a dual benefit. At full resolution, the camera can shoot at 10 fps (6 fps with AF-C), and the improved 49-point Depth from Defocus AF system is highly effective.

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Updated Venus processor Mechanical and electronic shutter Many analogue controls Numerous modes, functions and overrides Various 4K photo burst options Hot shoe; no built-in flash Wi-Fi with NFC 4K and HD movie options MP4 and AVCHD video

$1530, body only (street) panasonic.com/ca

DXO ONE Designed for mounting on an iPhone or iPad via its Lightning connector, the 20.2-MP DxO One is extremely compact and lightweight (108 g) and said to produce “DSLR image quality” with its 1” CMOS BSI sensor and 32-mm equivalent f/1.8 aspherical lens. The dedicated DxO app provides Live View, camera control and playback viewing on the iOS device’s large screen. The camera uses its own Li-Ion battery and accepts microSD cards. Features include Aperture Priority, Manual and Scene modes including Selfie, as well as JPEG and DNG Raw capture options.

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+/- 60° pivoting design OLED touch-screen controls Dedicated iOS app interface Contrast-detect with face-detect AF Touch-focus control on iOS device 30-fps, 1080p Movie mode ISO levels to 51200 Shutter speeds to 1/8000 s

US$599 (street) dxo.com

GOPRO HERO+ LCD Similar to the entry-level Hero, this POV action cam with ultra wide-angle glass lens and a SuperView feature adds a touchscreen LCD and a speaker. It’s waterproof to 40 m without a separate housing and offers both Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity; Android and iOS GoPro apps are available. Shoot videos at up to 1080p60 or 8-MP still photos in a continuous burst of 10 shots at up to 5 fps.

The Hero+ LCD ships with flat and curved adhesive mounts with a quick-release buckle for removing the camera; many other mounts are available.

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Android and iOS app In-camera video trimming Interval, time-lapse capture One-button QuickCapture Built-in mic and speaker MP-4 video mode Compact and lightweight (127 g) Submersible body

$380 (street) gopro.com

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