I thought you would like to know that Adobe today announced the Lightroom 3.2 and Camera Raw 6.2 updates are available for immediate download on Adobe.com.

The updates, originally posted as release candidates on Adobe Labs, extend raw file support to 16 new popular camera models including the Canon EOS 60D and Sony Alpha NEX-5, and improve on several of the lens correction profiles provided in the Lightroom 3.0 release.

These latest updates also add over 120 new lens profiles to help photographers automatically correct for undesirable distortion and aberration effects. A full list of the newly added raw camera support and the new and improved lens profiles can be found on the Lightroom Journal: http://blogs.adobe.com/lightroomjournal.

With Lightroom 3.2, photographers can now also publish their photos directly to the popular social networking site Facebook and the online photo sharing service SmugMug from directly within the application. Thanks to detailed feedback from the community on the Lightroom 3.0 release, this update also addresses a number of issues reported by customers, bringing improvements to the Library, Develop, Slideshow, Print and Web modules.

Pricing and Availability
The Lightroom 3.2 update is available as a free download for Lightroom 3 customers, and the Adobe Camera Raw 6.2 Photoshop plug-in is available as a free download for Photoshop CS5 customers, Photoshop Elements 8 (Win/Mac) and Premiere Elements 8 customers. For more information and to download the updates visit http://www.adobe.com/downloads/updates/.

Newly Supported Camera Models
Canon EOS 60D, Fuji FinePix HS10, Panasonic DMC-FZ100, Panasonic DMC-FZ40 (FZ45), Panasonic DMC-LX5, Pentax 645D, Samsung NX10, Samsung TL500 (EX1), Sony A290, Sony A390, Sony Alpha NEX-3, Sony Alpha NEX-5, Sony SLT-A33, Sony SLT-A55V

This update also improves the color and noise profiles for Casio EXILIM EX-FH100 (DNG) and Leica S2 (DNG) utilizing the DNG raw format already supported in previous versions of Lightroom and Camera Raw.

Nothing like working with a company whose sole purpose is imaging.

As we drift into the last week of summer vacation (was there a vacation?), it’s a good time to take it a bit slower, get ready for the 3 day weekend, and make sure the cameras are geared up and ready to capture some of the life of the inevitable gatherings.
Friends, family, and your online community right here.
Yep, we’re all here.
So, as we look back on the photo goodies we’ve offered, this is as good a time as any to hear what your favorites may have been, and do a repeat giveaway.

Some of the giveaway items from this year so far:
Scott Kelby books, Pixel Envy media card wallets, Nikon lighting DVD’s, Rogue Flashbenders, Blurb Custom Books, Various Monographs, Camera Lens Mug, 3D books, Photo T-shirts, Joby Gorillapods, Exhibition catalogs, Black Rapid camera straps, Magazine subscriptions, Kelby Lighting techniques DVD, Website subscriptions, and more!

Was there a favorite? Something that you had been looking or just got introduced to?

Let us know either here, the Facebook page, or by email, damonw@photoinduced.com and put “weekly” into the subject line.
We’re trying to get a sense of it before tomorrow night, so whatever thoughts you may have on the subject we’d love to hear them.

And if we don’t have a clear favorite, then we’ll do it next week. It’s is a holiday week after all, right? So some of you may be out of town.

On Weds. morning at 9:00 AM PST, 9/1/2010, the email will be sent, and if you subscribe to the free Newsletter, you’ll not only find out what the giveaway is, but have a shot at getting it for yourself, for free.

Or perhaps, it’s just a week to sip a cool ice tea, think about the life and images of the summer months, and get ready to move into the next cycle.

We’re pretty lucky here in Los Angeles to have a beautiful space dedicated to photography, complete with diverse imagery, mainly focusing on the human condition.
Annenberg Space for Photography
For almost 2 years we have watched this photographic jewel in this city continue to get polished.
Many promises were made, and community engagement projects have been on the the books since the inception.

One of the favorite parts for us, have been the free lecture series. For each exhibit the curators have lined up the people behind the images, to come and speak to mostly packed houses. Sharing the back stories of the assignments, experiences and thinking, the local community has been able to hear from the photographers AND editors, who share their passion from a small podium.

Steve McCurry © Damon Webster

The honest truth is, as much as we love attending these, sometimes it’s just not possible with conflicting events, work, and well, life.

Now, they have posted something we’ve been waiting for: The videos of the lectures, shot in high quality, 2 camera mode. Click this link link and check out the cornucopia of material.

For those of our readers who are based around the world, this is huge news.

And for those of us who were thoroughly bummed that the timing didn’t work to be there in person, relief.

Some things take time, and this is one archive well worth the wait.

Annenberg Space for Photography
Wed-Sun: 11am – 6pm
Century Park
2000 Avenue of the Stars, #10
Los Angeles, CA 90067
tel: 213.403.3000
fax: 213.403.3100

Packing for a quick shoot, on a short hop, to Baghdad by the bay.
Yep, San Francisco, not far, but far enough to pack light for an overnight stay with some image taking in the day.
Of course what’s in our bag?
The Lexar Dual-Slot USB 2.0 Card Reader

Fast, one USB port used and reliable.
Only way to upload and edit on the road.
So we have one available for a subscriber to our free NEWSLETTER
And we’re gonna get some more stuff done before we zip up the bag and get ready for an early flight.

One of our favorite travel lenses in recent years was the Nikon 18-200 DX zoom.
It had the range: close up, telephoto, compact enough and made packing light on simple travel trips easy.
There was a drawback in the first version, with the weight of the glass sometimes letting the zoom extend when vertical.
They fixed it in V2 and put a locking switch when the lens was in full wide mode.
Whatever.
Loved that lens, but when the full frame move was made, the DX lenses were sent to sidelines. Kinda like Toy Story.
Still had em, but rarely used em.
And now, finally Nikon has come up with a sweet 28-300mm lens for the Full Framers!

It’s f/3.5-5.6 but it’ll still get into the kit. Sure, love us some f/2.8 (or 1.4 which we’ll chat about in a minute), don’t get us wrong, but this versatile, VR enhanced lens is a must. Actually been waiting awhile for this range in a FX format.
One lens for travel and with that kind of range, you are covered. Or you can start paying the $45. carry on fee with airlines like Spirt, when you bring the full.
C’mon, if it’s a gig, you bring it all, but if it’s a quick holiday? Around town? A lens that’ll do you right in most situations?
It fits the DX cameras and gives you 42-450mm, a staggering range, but for us full framers, put this puppy on and your D700 will sing.

Like we said, it’s already on the list to buy.

And the official word:


Read the rest of this entry »

It took em’ awhile but they finally did it, and made a ground breaking entry with it.
The just announced Nikon D3100 , has all of the ergonomic excellence of a Nikon, takes a full compliment of DX lenses, and lists for about $700. with an 18-55 mm lens.

Coming in at 14.2 megapixels, if you’ve been deciding a move up in your beginning photographic life, or want to add the power of HD movies in one kit,
put your hands on one at your local retailer, and see how it feels.

The D3100 is the first D-SLR to implement full time AF for D-Movie video shooting and while in Live View mode. Using contrast based AF, the D3100 automatically focuses on subjects when Live View is activated to aid shooting when using the LCD.
This is a huge one. As everyone needs to get a follow focus unit to capture a sharp video, especially if you’re on the move, no other DSLR has this.

The D3100 camera also uses Face Detection technology to lock focus on up to 35 human faces, a feat not even accomplished with consumer camcorders. To further simplify movie shooting, Live View is activated at a single flick of a dedicated switch, and HD video recording is achieved by a simple press of a button.

ISO of 3200, expandable to 12,800 (meaning it’s a bit extrapolated) but you won’t miss the shot.

If the video portion is what you need to make a purchase decision, 24fps at 1080p, or 24fps-30fps at 720p, give you high quality range with exquisite glass. Only say that, because I’ve used em.

Honestly, no one is sure why 1080p was so elusive for Nikon but they came back and answered loud and clear with auto focus in D-Movie mode.
And at that kinda price?
Can’t beat it.

And tomorrow we’ll discuss the new lenses Nikon released and the ones already on our purchase list.

Here is some of the press release.
enjoy:

Read the rest of this entry »

Sometimes when we review a product and we like what it does so much, we do what we can to get one in your hands.
This is the newest addition to the bag: Rogue FlashBender Small Positionable Reflector
Yes, it’s a mouthful but, it does the job.
We love simple tools that work. This is one of those tools.

Easy to put onto the flash, hangs on in the roughest of red carpet lines, and crowded events, and gets the light softened the way we like: with no extra added color.
There are 3 different sizes of these beauties, and we highly recommend all 3, but this week we’re giving away the middle size.

Depending on how you shoot (or how many speedlights you use) it does get into that Goldilocks and the 3 Bears type of deal:
Is one too small? Is one too big? Is the middle one just right?
The answer is they are all right.
You know we always say, the right tool, for the right job.

Read the rest of this entry »

Last years hit at the holidays was the Nikon S1000pj. Seriously, everywhere we went, it gathered a crowd.
Very social camera, as no longer did people have to look at a tiny screen maybe a couple a people at a time, at best. We would project the shots just taken at a party on a wall, and it people would just love seeing the snaps projected on a nearby wall.
They just made it better with 40% more lumens, and, really the best part for us, the ability to connect your computer via USB and project what’s on the computer screen, in the files, or whatever program. Plus it comes with a slide show function, HD 720p, and 14.1 megapixel. Yes, or course it’s also a great compact camera.

We think you’re going to start to see a lot more products like this which integrate a small projector, sometimes called a PICO projector.
Nicely played, Nikon.

And now, for the official press release:

Read the rest of this entry »

Photographer Herman Leonard
March 6, 1923 – August 14, 2010

© 2010 Jim McHugh

We are deeply saddened to announce the passing of Herman Leonard yesterday, Saturday, August 14, 2010. Herman was a rare human being, always giving and compassionate. It goes without saying Herman was a great photographer and artist, who loved Jazz music and created a stunning visual collection of the world he loved so much.

We’d like to thank everyone for their love and support of Herman over the years. There is no question that Herman will always be with us…he will never truly be far, as we have his amazing photographs and have all been touched by his beautiful spirit.

Herman was involved in many projects towards the end of his life and he always wanted to do more. And although this can’t help but be a sad day….we have comfort in knowing that his suffering was not prolonged and he was surrounded by family until the end. I believe Herman wouldn’t want anyone to be depressed over his passing…he’d want everyone to live, laugh and experience as much as humanly possible in our precious lifetimes.

In lieu of flowers, Herman’s family has asked that donations be made to The New Orleans Musicians Clinic, an organization close to his heart.

There will be a memorial piece on Herman on ABC’s World News Sunday at 6:30pm this evening.

I invite you to read an eloquent statement on Herman below.

Warm regards,
Geraldine Baum
Herman Leonard Photography, LLC

“Above all, enjoy the music” – Herman Leonard

From the introduction by Reggie Nadelson to the forthcoming book of Herman Leonard’s photography, “JAZZ” to be published by Grove Atlantic (UK) and Bloomsbury Press (US) in November 2010.

© 2010 Jim McHugh

Quincy Jones once said, ‘I used to tell cats that Herman Leonard did with his camera what we did with our instruments. Looking back across his career, I’m even more certain of the comparison: Herman’s camera tells the truth, and makes it swing. Musicians loved to see him around. No surprise; he made us look good.’

With their rich blacks, whites and silvers, the sense of images both fleeting and permanent, Herman Leonard’s photographs look beautiful and astonishing, the way the music was then, and still is; they look, as the great critic Whitney Balliett famously said of jazz itself, ‘Like the sound of surprise.’ Herman Leonard caught the musicians in performance, but also at ease, or at home, or backstage, as if a friend had dropped by: Louis Armstrong with a sandwich and a bottle of champagne, or Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn sharing a cigarette by the piano. Herman’s images seem imbued with the friendship and collaboration that is the essence of jazz.

The special quality of the photographs is in the iconic beauty of the pictures, the way Leonard made up the language of jazz photography, the fact that when people think jazz, as often as not, they see his pictures. There’s something else, something indefinable that is revealed in the photographs: Herman really knew his subjects; they were his friends, they gave him access. The photographs – Billie Holiday just released from jail, Frank Sinatra, melancholy in a recording session – show an intimacy and trust and a kind of love for the man on the other side of the camera who always told the truth.

Herman was in love with his subjects and the musicians knew it. They felt it. They let him in not just because he took wonderful pictures and evolved as a master printmaker, a genius at exquisite detail, of light and shade, but because you couldn’t make these pictures unless you were Herman. They are, in that sense, an act of being Herman Leonard.

Herman Leonard’s photographs have given generations of jazz lovers a way in, as if we’d been there in New York at the Roost or Birdland or later in Paris or San Francisco. I look at them, and I can feel Herman there, the Herman who tells a great joke, and is also deeply humane, a great artist, a profoundly good man. A mensch.

And now Herman is gone. When I got the news that he had died, I looked at his photographs on my wall and I recalled what Tony Bennett said when he heard Frank Sinatra was no longer with us: ‘I don’t have to believe that.’

Reggie Nadelson, 2010

Herman Leonard at his home in Pasadena, CA. May 15, 2010* With Douglas and Francoise Kirkland • All images © 2010 Jim McHugh

We’d like to thank Jim McHugh for allowing us permission to use these photos.

Ok, we all know that a direct flash is a pretty ugly light, and you have to soften it somehow.
The tough part is when you are using a speedlight, maybe at an event, and need light spreading .
The ceiling maybe too high to do you any good, and the walls may have a color that’ll bounce back into your shot.
There is a reason that these portable lights have built-in little white cards to help deflect the light and shape it to give it a softer overall effect. Those are pretty tiny.
You need more. And something adjustable to the situation.
Let’s be honest, and say David Honl came up with a great modular system with different size reflectors, all requiring a separate velcro band around the flash head.
Rogue FlashBenders have taken it a step further and truly made the whole deal a LOT simpler.
Sure, it wasn’t brain surgery before. It was a bit of a pain fitting the strap and the secondary reflector to the flash head.
One of the huge differences in the new system is that all 3 of the sizes of reflector have a built in tension aided controlled velcro strap.
No more fumbling with a 2 piece operation.

The second major addition is one, two or three built-in bendable tubes in each unit that allows you to bend AND hold a certain light shaper for your needs.

You can use them for bounce, a directional snoot, a wide reflector, shift the light just where you want it.

They fold flat, install solidly in seconds, and get the job done.

We used them on a Nikon SB900, and the fit was awesome. Of course they’ll fit just about any shoe mount speedlight out there.
Now of course we do use the Gary Fong Lightsphere, but that is a different kind of light shaper.
These lie flat and slip into your bag easily.
As a matter of fact, as we are readying a review on a couple of lens drop bags (our favorite type for event shooting) and each one we’re looking at has a great pocket that these fit in, largest to smallest.

Well made, the white reflector can be wiped clean, and there are high end velcro fasteners, in key position on the edges of the reflector

The velcro strap is so strong, that once we had it on the head, you could hold the set-up from the reflector, and it was tight!
Not saying you should, but we did, just to see, and it stuck like glue.
Here it is with the Nikon SB-900 securely held with the velcro collar:

And this is what the built in velcro system looks like in place.

About $100 for the full set, or go here to and find the size you prefer.

These are going right in the bag, and we’ll keep you updated as they get used more and more.
The rugged quality of the build seems great.

How does it know?
It seems to be all the rage, as you have seen a ton of new travel mugs look like something else.
Like a Nikon 24-70 2.8 Lens, or a Canon 24-105 Lens, looking just like a perfect receptacle for a hot cuppa joe.
Kinda like this:

So we were curious and ordered a couple (one for us , one for you) to see what it really was like.
Awesome is what is is like!
When the package came today, we were pleasantly surprised.
Now, the traditional Gold Nikon box was a tiny bit smushed, but all inside was perfect.
A lens bag, and the beautiful replica of our fave Nikon lens, the 24-70. No lens hood though.

It looks so cool, that we knew it was a right call to have it as a giveaway.

Don’t worry Canon lovers, we have some of the Canon 24-105 AND a 70-200 EF lens coming soon we’ll be taking care of you all, too, in coming giveaways.

It won’t changed your photography, but may give you a little smile each time you use it. It’s already working over here at photoinduced.com

How do you get this beauty Nikon Lens travel Mug free, gratis, no charge, from us?

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She has been here for awhile, and we have been totally unfamiliar with her work until recently.
Her work explores the things you may not know.
As it gets laid out in her book, An American Index of the Hidden and Unfamiliar, there are things and places that are hidden in plain site, so to speak, but once you know the origins and explanations of the subjects, the experiential skew shifts, dramatically.

We are not usually fans of the photographs that are supplanted by accompanying text, to make their point felt.

Taryn Simon’s work has changed our mind a bit.

From her work called The Innocents, a series of portraits of men who had been vindicated of crimes, after serving prison time.
The men are shown in the places where they were suspected of committing the crimes, and the viewer’s interaction with these people, in such a soul wrenching return to the scene, is further amplified by the interview write-up on the opposite page of each image.

The coupling of the 2 elements create an experience which bring you back to each image and uncontrollably has you share in an injustice. Or the feeling of injustice. The situations are relayed with a full dose of an innocent life being kept in jail for too long.

It becomes an indictment of a societal ill to require a speedy resolution to the horrors of the crimes. In one case, prosecutors had a 4 year old photo presented to a witness so the age of the suspect was a better match to the description of the perpetrator.

There is a stillness in the images that is surface only.

For her next work, she took on a different set of hidden truths.

Cryopreservation Unit
Cryonics Institute
Clinton Township, Michigan

This cryopreservation unit holds the bodies of Rhea and Elaine Ettinger, the mother and first wife of cryonics pioneer, Robert Ettinger. Robert, author of “The Prospect of Immortality” and “Man into Superman” is still alive.

© Taryn Simon

These are the things and places that she has gained access to, and using the pure photographic medium to it’s fullest, shows us the still images of what exists in out world but is hidden from view.

Here is a talk she gave at the famous TED conference (we recommend checking their videos on a regular basis)

We are giving away her book, The Innocents, this week to one of our NEWSLETTER subscribers. If you are signed up by Tuesday, Aug. 3, end of day EST, you will be eligible to win a free copy of this book from us.
No boxtops, no coupon codes, no money, nothing like that is needed. Speed is not the issue, but there is a time frame.
Random.org picks the winner, not us.
We will ask a question, and point you to the answer on the website.
The details will be in the email being sent on Weds. Aug. 4, at 9:00AM PST

So why do think we you may want this book?
Well, the depth of these apparently simple images, powerfully struck us from the time the book arrived.
Research on Taryn Simon, pulled up the rest.
Relatively young, her work is being exhibited all over the world, including the Whitney Museum in NYC.
Even Charlie Rose interviewed her.

All we’re saying is that you should take a look, and perhaps you’ll be as intrigued as we were.