Digital editing is performed by all photographers. In fact, the more WOW! Factor a photo has, the greater the likelihood the photo has been digitally edited, perhaps even to the point of “manipulation.” This is the dirty secret that most point-and-shoot photographers never learn: your camera, however sophisticated and expensive, will never take these pictures out of the box; you have to post-process the pictures.

So, when readers pointed out that the winning entry in the recent Word Press Photo contest looks obviously digitally manipulated (with a very pronounced tone enhancement), World Press Photo got defensive and, after submitting the photo to Fourandsix Technologies for “forensic analysis,” declared the winning entry’s digital editing totally acceptable.

Just what did photographer Paul Hansen do to his winning photo to stir such controversy?

The experts at Fourandsix Technologies found that though Hansen’s winning photo was “retouched with respect to both global and local color and tone,” they “find no evidence of significant photo manipulation or compositing.” So, what is the problem? Why is there even a controversy?

It is because the tonal enhancements applied to the photo is so very obvious to the naked eyes. Many photographers who have played with so-called HDR photography can spot the over-the-top digital enhancements right away. However, World Press Photo has officially given its blessing that such heavily enhanced photos are acceptable as journalistic photos and so falls within their rule that “retouching which conforms to currently accepted standards in the industry is allowed.”

Even without any digital editing, the content of Hansen’s winning photo packs such a punch as to stop you in your track and elicits a reaction. In our view, that photo deserves to win but requires zero to minimal digital editing. It is sad that the controversy about how much digital editing is acceptable has relegated the content of the photo into the background.

View the before and after pictures.

via Imaging Resource

The Scotiabank Photography Award (SPA), the largest annual peer reviewed celebration of excellence in Canadian contemporary photography, is designed to raise the international profile of an established Canadian photographic artist.

Stan Douglas wins the 2013 Scotiabank Photography Award which provides:

• $50,000 in cash

• a primary Scotiabank CONTACT Photography Festival exhibition in 2014

• a book to be published worldwide by international art publisher Steidl

PRESS RELEASE

Stan Douglas wins the 2013 Scotiabank Photography Award

Toronto, ON (05/16/13) – Scotiabank is thrilled to announce that Vancouver’s Stan Douglas has been named winner of the third annual Scotiabank Photography Award. The tightly guarded secret was revealed at a ceremony held Thursday evening at Toronto’s Ryerson Image Centre. The prestigious prize provides the winner with $50,000 in cash, a primary Scotiabank CONTACT Photography Festival exhibition in 2014 and book to be published worldwide by international art publisher Steidl. The Scotiabank Photography Award is Canada’s largest annual peer reviewed celebration of excellence in Canadian contemporary photography.

“Stan Douglas has helped define and enrich the Canadian art and photography landscape with his outstanding artwork,” said Edward Burtynksy, Chair of the Scotiabank Photography Award jury and co-founder of the Award. “He has pushed the limits of contemporary photography and will continue to have an incredible impact on the world of photography both here in Canada and abroad. He joins an exclusive group that includes Lynne Cohen and the late Arnaud Maggs as winners of this award.”

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TechRadar has published its Nikon Coolpix S9500 review.

The Nikon Coolpix S9500 replaces the Nikon Coolpix S9300 at the top of the brand’s Style range of digital compact cameras, and is designed for beginners and casual users. As is to be expected from a camera in this range, Nikon is providing a device filled with all the frills and thrills (3D, GPS, Wi-Fi, subject-tracking autofocus) but lacks the kind of controls that advanced users may want.

TechRadar has published its Nikon Coolpix S5200 review.

An update to the touchscreen-enabled Nikon Coolpix S4300, the Nikon Coolpix S5200 is a slimline compact camera, available in five colours with a 16 million pixel backlit CMOS sensor, 6x optical zoom lens with a 35mm equivalent of 26-156mm and 3-inch LCD screen.

McAfee® LiveSafeTM service

McAfee today announced the release of McAfee LiveSafe service, the first unlimited cross-device security service to use cutting-edge facial and voice recognition to protect users’ digital lives. Designed to protect users’ personal information and identities with industry-leading anti-theft, authentication, and facial and voice recognition technology, McAfee LiveSafe delivers a robust and comprehensive solution for all devices and uses.

McAfee Infographic: Canadians’ Password Safety

Key features of McAfee LiveSafe include the following:

• Provides complete, unlimited device security for PCs, Macs, smartphones, and tablets

• Offers an intuitive cloud-based “safety deposit box” – Personal Locker – for users to stores their sensitive documents that can be accessed through biometric authentication using voice, face, and device recognition technologies

• Offers simplified password management to securely store usernames and passwords

• Protects users’ personal information with locate, lock and wipe capabilities

• Offers McAfee customer support FREE of charge

McAfee Infographic: Canadian Digital Assets Survey 2013

Also released today are the results of a recent global survey conducted by McAfee to study consumers’ online surfing habits as well as assess their attitudes towards Web security and data protection:

• 34 per cent of Canadian households own five or more Internet-enabled devices

• 51 per cent of Canadian consumers spend at least 15 hours a week (two hours a day) using their devices for personal reasons, contributing to an increased risk of exposure to online threats

• Canadian consumers place a value of $32,000 on the digital assets stored on their devices

  • 51 per cent of those assets are considered impossible to restore if lost and not backed up properly

NEWS RELEASE

McAfee and Intel Deliver New Model for Consumer Security

McAfee launches industry’s first unlimited cross-device security service with facial and voice recognition for consumer devices

MARKHAM, ON, May 14, 2013 – McAfee today announced McAfee® LiveSafeTM service, the first unlimited cross-device security service to use cutting-edge facial and voice recognition technology to protect users’ digital lives. Delivering on the joint vision with Intel to redefine the consumer security experience, McAfee LiveSafe enables consumers to connect with confidence by safeguarding users’ data, identity and all their devices. The service will be offered at a special introductory price of CDN $19.99 with the purchase of selected new PCs or tablets.

A recent global survey conducted by McAfee revealed that 34 per cent of Canadian households own five or more Internet-enabled devices, which contributes significantly to a user’s risk of exposure to online threats. McAfee LiveSafe service delivers a comprehensive approach to security, while providing consumers with a simple Web-based dashboard to centrally manage security on all of their PCs, Macs, smartphones and tablets. To increase the level of consumer security, McAfee LiveSafe also includes a cloud-based “safety deposit box” called “McAfee Personal Locker” that uses facial and voice recognition to authenticate a user’s identity so that they can securely store sensitive personal information such as financial records, drivers licences and passports. It also allows users to easily and securely manage their passwords and automatically log into all their online accounts from any of their devices.

“Our digital lives have become more complex as we connect, share and store data though multiple devices,” said Mike DeCesare, president of McAfee. “Consumers deserve a convenient way to protect their identities no matter what type of device they use. The McAfee LiveSafe service delivers this through cutting-edge features combined with simplified security management and unprecedented data protection.”

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The Syngenta Photography Award Rural-Urban Exhibition:

• at Somerset House, London from 17 – 21 May, 2013

  • Address: West Wing, Somerset House, the Strand, London WC2R 1LA

• aims to raise awareness and stimulate dialogue about the relationship and tensions between urban and rural environments, and to further explore the impact these issues have on global resources

There are two categories of the Syngenta Photography Award 2013

• Open Competition is open to both professional and amateur photographers

  • The first, second and third place winners of the  Open Competition will receive US$ 5,000, US$ 3,000, and US$ 2,000 respectively

• The Professional Commission is for professional photographers whose major income is derived from photography

  • The first place winner will receive a US$15,000 prize, in addition to up to US$25,000 to complete the commission

  • The second and third place winners will receive US$10,000 and US$5,000 respectively

The judging panel this year is chaired by the author and curator William A. Ewing.

• The other members of the panel are:

  • Irina Chmyreva (Russia) curator and researcher of photography

  • Stephen Dunbar-Johnson (UK) publisher, International Herald Tribune

  • Milton Guran (Brazil) curator and photographer

  • Malu Halasa (Jordan/Philippines) writer and editor

  • Marcus Lyon (UK) photographer

  • Mike Mack (US) Syngenta Chief Executive Officer

  • Liu Heung Shing (China) photographer and photo editor

PRESS RELEASE

The Syngenta Photography Award 2013 winners announced

• Polish documentary photographer, Jan Brykczyński, wins Professional Commission for his series Árnes

• Holly Lynton (USA) wins Open Competition for Sienna, Turkey Madonna

• Winning images included in exhibition at Somerset House, London

• Total prize money of US$ 65,000

The Warsaw-based documentary photographer Jan Brykczyński has tonight, Wednesday 15 May, been announced as the winner of the Syngenta Photography Award Professional Commission at a ceremony at Somerset House, London.

Jan Brykczyński (Poland) was selected by an international jury, chaired by the author and curator William A. Ewing, for his series “Árnes”, which documents an isolated region in the Icelandic Western Fjords and responding to this year’s Rural-Urban theme. Here he spent several months studying the relationship between the natural surroundings and the village’s small community.

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Nikon D5200 Review

The Nikon D5200 is a 24 megapixels entry-level DSLR geared towards amateur action photographers. Its 39-point AF system is unique in its class and provides better focus-tracking of moving subjects compared to other entry-level DSLRs. This makes the D5200 an ideal candidates for shooting sports and wildlife, when combined with a suitable lens.

This DSLR can shoot at 5 FPS continuously and record full 1080p HD video with stereo-sound. AF is available during video recording, even continuous autofocus, using a standard Contrast-Detect AF system, rather than the 39-point Phase-Detect one.

Read the review to find out how it performs, handles and compares to other DSLRs.

The Samsung Smart TV is the world’s first and only future-proof Evolutionary TV, allowing you to have access to the latest Smart TV technology with a small Evolution Kit. See what happens when a wife tries to upgrade other things around the house with an Evolution Kit!

Learn more about the Evolution Kit and the 2013 Samsung Smart TV via the links below.

Samsung Smart TV: Evolution Kit
Samsung Evolution Kit: Upgrade to a New Smart TV
2013 Samsung Smart TV Hot Videos

Credits:
Animated film: “Tadufeu”.
Directed by: Michaël Bellamy, Coralie Braconnot, Franck Delfortrie, Julien Jamme, Olivier Pierre at ESMA — Ecole Supérieure des Métiers Artistiques — 2011

THIS IS A SPONSORED POST

Travelling this summer?

To be ready to capture the moment, the memory, and the shot no matter where you are in the world, be sure to pack the following compact, performance enhancing gear from brands like Sigma, OPTEX, Manfrotto, BlackRapid, Kata and National Geographic:

SIGMA 18-250mm OS HSM DC MACRO Lens

Get Closer
SIGMA 18-250mm OS HSM DC MACRO  Lens(Available for Canon, Nikon and Sony mounts)
($649.95, London Drugs, Henry’s)
Designed exclusively for Digital SLR cameras, this all-in-one zoom lens has a high zoom ratio that’s ideal for close-up photography. And with Sigma’s unique Optical Stabilizer Technology, photographers have the option of using shutter speeds up to four stops slower, ideal for handheld photos from macro to telephoto lengths or in low-light environments.

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