Walter Iooss

This is probably going to be the last photographer i'm going to talk about, so here we go.

Walter Iooss Jr

Walter Iooss Jr was born in 1943 in Temple Texas, but he grew up in new jersey, as his family moved when he was just 5 years old.  As a kid Walter loved sports,  this passion for sports later on made him take up sports photography.  Walter took courses at the Germain School of Photography while he was still in high school, and he received hi first cover for Sports Illustrated, with a picture of Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Art Mahaffey.  Iooss has had his pictures on the cover of more that 300 S.I magazines, varying from sports action shots, sports portraits and swimsuit.  Walter has worked for many different companies such as Atlantic Records, fujifilm, and he even took photos for Camel Cigarettes.  In 2004 Walter won the Lucile award for achievement in sports photography.  Walter once said "The real joy of photography is these moments. I'm always looking for freedom, the search for the one-on-one. That's when your instincts come out."  this really shows his passion for sports photography and that he really has a story behind everyone of his photos.  Visit his website at http://walteriooss.com/

Michael Jordan

Kevin Garnett

GoPro HERO HD Camera

The GoPro HERO HD camera by GoPro is a new Video camera specified for sports.  The GoPro can be attached to helmets, bikes, skis, surfboards, and pretty much anything else you can think of.  The Camera shoots in full 1080p HD and has a 5 mega pixel camera.  The GoPro can take video for up to 2 and a half hours which is plenty of time to capture your great sports moments.  The camera comes with a waterproof case for filming of water sports and snow sports, and its very strong and durable, it can survive from a few scrapes and bumps and replaceable lenses and housing come cheap, between 20 and 40 dollars.  The GoPro HERO HD starts at $179 and goes up to $299, depending on the quality you want.  You can buy separate straps and attachments to attach the GoPro onto your other gear such as, ski poles, and your chest.  This product seems like a great buy, if your fairly active and want to capture your sports moments, personally i'm considering purchasing one of these myself as I do a few sports like Biking and skiing and i think it would be neat to be able to capture that.  the only downside that I see in this product is the still photo quality.  5 megapixels is not really that impressive, so you wont be getting many very good still photos out of this camera.

check out their website: http://gopro.com/

SLR Gorilla Pod

This is a review for the new GorillaPod SLR from Joby.

Camera on the GorillaPod SLR

Clip

The gorilla pod is a new product relesed by Joby and it is a tripod that can allow you to put your camera, well, pretty much anywhere.  The GorillaPod comes in many different sizes, for smaller cameras and mobile devices and for bigger SLR cameras and large video cameras.  The tripod has three flexible legs that are very stable and will keep your camera still when taking photos.  You attach your camera to the small clip by screwing it on and then attaching it to the lock ring.  The lock ring is a great feature, as it assures you that your camera will not fall off the tripod.  another great feature is the built in level to make your pictures perfectly centred.  The legs of the tripod have grippy rubber on them to add more grip, allowing you to attach the GorillaPod to poles, upright objects and steep inclines.  I think this product is great, I own one myself and I use it alot.  Its great, because its very small and lightweight, and easy to carry around, therefore giving it an advantage over those large bulky tripods which you cant really take around with you everywhere.  In conclusion, this is a great product and i strongly recommend buying this tripod if your an aspiring photographer.

Locking ring

Ansel Adams

Brownie Box Camera

Ansel Easton Adams was born on february 20 1902 in San Francisco U.S.A.  Ansel was named after his uncle, Ansel Easton and he was an only child.  Ansel started playing the piano at an early age, and he got good at it.  Later on in his teens Ansel's main focus was on his music.  By 1920 Piano was Ansel's prefered career, until he found photography and gave up his piano for it (which in my opinion was a good idea, as his photos are Amazing).  Ansel's first camera was a Kodak Brownie Box camera, which literally looked like a brownie.  Ansel did a lot of shooting in yosemite national park, which was a beutiful park with great sights.  Over the next few years, Ansel basically self taught himself photography and how to use the darkroom to make his photos.  In 1927 Ansel completed his first portfolio, and later on that year wrote "My photographs have now reached a stage when they are worthy of the world's critical examination. I have suddenly come upon a new style which I believe will place my work equal to anything of its kind."  Ansel was married to Virginia Best in 1928,  Virginia inherited her fathers art studio upon his death in 1935, and Ansel ran the studio up to 1971.  Ansel had won many photography awards in his lifetime and even had some awards named after him. He was awarded the Conservation Service Award in 1968, he was put into the california hall of fame by the governor Arnold Shwartznegger and received a doctor of arts award from Harvard and yale universities.  here is a link to see some of Ansel's great photography

ANSEL EASTON ADAMS
http://www.anseladams.com/category_s/71.htm

Abstract Photography

Abstract Photography is one of my favorite types of photography as its very free, open ended and is a very surreal type of photography.  Abstract photographs are usually photos of random objects that are not always recognizable, they sometimes have very bright colors and cool textures.  Most Abstract photos have  very strong meanings even though they are so simple, the different colors and textures really give abstract photos a mood and make the viewer react emotionally.  I like abstract photography because it really has no boundaries,  you can pretty much take anything and take a picture of it in a certain way to make it abstract.

Ansel Adams is a legendary photographer and he has taken some amazing abstract photos in his time, like the one seen to the left.  Abstract art first started off in the late 1800's, when artists felt that they needed to create a new type of art.  Abstract art started off slow and then got bigger and bigger.  When cameras came along, photographers picked abstracts up, and to today have been using the techniques of abstracts artists to produce great pictures.  Ansel Adams is a good example of this.  In the end, abstract photography is a great way of expressing yourself and its really fun to do, so go out and take some abstract photos!

Nikon vs Canon

the big question when getting a new digital SLR is which brand to go with and which camera to buy.  Nikon and Canon are the two of the top camera companies at the time and are constantly battling it out for the top spot.  Whenever one of the two release a new product the other releases a very similar product, and so without alot of digital camera knowledge, choosing between the two could be a very difficult task.  So i'm posting this to help people pick out their first digital SLR and not end up with the wrong one.

In comparing these two companies I found very little differences, but alot in common.  Both Nikon and Canon sell a veriety of different cameras, such as point and shoots like the Nikon Coolpix and the Canon PowerShot as well as DSLR's Like the Nikon D90 and the Canon 60D.  Since these companies come out with relatively similar products, it's hard to chose one or the the other based solely on statistics.

here is a comparison of the canon T3 and the Nikon D3100, two very similar DSLR cameras

As you can see the statistics of these two cameras are almost identical, and this is the case for almost every other Nikon and Canon camera so in my opinion, when choosing your first digital SLR it comes down to which one preforms better for you and just which company you prefer.  I myself own a Canon Rebel XSI, and it works great for me, its very simple to use and it takes some great pictures, i'm not saying to buy a Canon, i've used Nikon DSLR's and they are great cameras as well.  All in all, Nikon and Canon are great companies that make good quality cameras and i strongly suggest that you buy your first DSLR from Nikon or Canon.