Category Archives: Information posting

Happy Holidays

Looking forward…

2012 has been a very busy year. Photokonnexion has come a long way. The site has taken off and become a major website with over 500 articles and thousands of regular readers.

Next year we will be creating more great content. We are also looking forward to publishing our first Photokonnexion ebook. There are some great photography courses on the way too.

The holidays are here. The Photokonnexion team are taking a break for a few days. I want to take this opportunity to say thank you all for your continued support as regular readers and we look forward to your future visits.

Take care and Seasonal Best Wishes to you all.

By Damon Guy (author and Photokonnexion editor)

Damon Guy - Netkonnexion

Damon Guy (Netkonnexion)

Damon is a writer-photog and editor of this site. He has run some major websites, a computing department and a digital image library. He started out as a trained teacher and now runs training for digital photographers.
See also: Editors ‘Bio’.

New definitions – Photographic Glossary

Two new definitions have been published.

The new definitions are compositional elements of the picture. They will help an understand of the way to use space. These definitions are complementary to each other in a photograph. They are Negative Space, and Positive space.

Read the definition for Negative Space.

Read the definition for Positive Space.

Camera markets to change shape – bargins available

Changes coming in the global camera market

The intense competition in the general photographic market has lead to casualties. High profile losers like Kodak show us a harsh market. The camera market is about to change again.

Global decline

The camera market has showed extraordinary growth over most of the last decade. Now it seems to be crashing. Japan’s ‘Camera and Imaging Products Association’ is quoting a fall in shipments of digital cameras of 42% over the year Sept. 2011/2012 according to Phys.org. Significantly, compact cameras were a huge 48% of that fall. It appears that Smartphones are crushing the point-and-shoot camera market. Smartphones have long been breaking ground on the compact camera markets.

DSLRs have become relatively differentiated with technological improvements in recent years. The cameras remain expensive and the market is limited and the focus of camera manufacturers has been broad. While not buoyant the upper-range market appears to have fallen only around 7%. That itself may be indistinguishable from the global economic conditions. More interesting is the the report on “Canon Rumors” that Canon are considering cutting their wide ASP-C range of cropped sensor cameras… “It was also noted that the 1100D and 60D would quietly be discontinued in the first part of 2013 with no replacements being imminent”. Nevertheless Canon are obviously firming up their commitment to the range with other projected releases on the way.

I guess that the loss of the Canon 1100D would be no surprise. It would be weak link in the market as the lower end DSLR market has turned out to be an opportunity that never realised its potential. It seems logical for Canon to fight the advance of the smartphone at the lower end by the consolidation of the mid-range of DSLRs where they really hold a great strength.

Consumers are more savvy than sometimes recognised. People who invest in “half-way-house” technologies are seen as off-trend. Expensive point-and-shoot cameras, bridge cameras and the lower end of the DSLR market are in a weak position. They exhibit insufficient differentiation. Consumers will go for the smarter or more flexible options. Under attack by Smartphones, these camera groups do not fit into either the convenience market or the technologists group. The global economic situation, and perhaps market saturation, is putting a pressure on the camera market toward consolidation. The weakest link is the one where there is insufficient differentiation between convenience and technology a recurrent theme in the history of technology. So it is no surprise that low end DSLRs and bridge cameras are on their way out. In addition manufacturers will want to focus their efforts where there are greater margins. The mid-high end of the DSLR market would be a good place to start.

This all bodes well for some great bargains next year. The point-and-shoots and bridge cameras markets will be in opens season as camera manufacturers recognise their short-sightedness. It also suggests that structural changes in the manufacturing ranks may be coming as camera manufacturers need to look to their margins when the belts tighten.

Damon Guy - Netkonnexion

Damon Guy (Netkonnexion)

Damon is a writer-photographer and editor of this site. He has run some major websites, a computing department and a digital image library. He started out as a trained teacher and now runs training courses ing digital photography.
See also: Editors ‘Bio’.
By Damon Guy see his profile on Google+.

Ten top photography tips

Great photography comes from a few simple ideas.

When you are trying to make a great image it is the attention to the simple details that carry the greatest impact. This is a simple reminder… get the basics right and the rest will become a lot easier.

Rick Sammon’s Top Ten Digital Photography Tips


Created by PixelMagic

Copyright infringement situation improved in UK

News

Copyright infringement has been a serious problem.

Photographers and other artists have long seen erosion of their sales territories by image theft, ‘passing off’ and blatant non-payment of fees. Now things are set to improve with this new development.

Copyright infringement law changing in UK

Ordinary snappers to professional photographers now have a practical, effective legal solution to copyright infringement. In September 2012 the UK Government announced a simple and easy method to pursue damages for copyright infringement. For damages of up to £5000, photographers can make a ‘small claim’ in the Patents County Court  External link - opens new tab/page (PCC).

The growing Internet and the explosion of online images has created a lawlessness around image use. With billions of images being published annually there is a huge reservoir of potentially available images for copyright thieves to target. This has put pressure on image makers to lower prices and made tracking of stolen images difficult. If photographers find one of their images has been copyright infringed the legal route has been a nightmare.

To improve the plight of UK photographers and others the UK Government has taken radical action. UK copyright laws are sound, but a legal solution has proven expensive and unwieldy until now. Copyright cases take years to progress and costs far outweighs the value of the disputed image in most cases. For photographers, small business owners and amateurs, the legal route has so far been impractical. The little guy loses out. Introducing the “small claims” route makes copyright legal action easy. You don’t even need to appoint a legal representative.

Proposals also mean damages awards may rise to a £10,000 limit next year (2013). Such a limit would make it worthwhile for photographers to pursue claims. The new system means long court battles are avoided and there is no fear of huge legal fees being awarded against you if you lose a case. These changes make it increasingly likely actions will be taken against relatively minor infringements. This will put strong pressure on people not to steal or misuse images.

This move should be considered a great improvement for photographers in general. Interestingly, the new legal route is not restricted to copyright infringement. The jurisdiction of the “Patents County Court” within the “Small Claims Track” also covers:
• trade marks (UK and Community registered trade marks).
• passing off.
• unregistered design right (UK and Community unregistered design right).

To find out more about the legal process download: “Guide to the Patents County Court Small Claims Track”  External link - opens new tab/page. (PDF 0.21mb)

Readers of this blog around the world should watch the situation in the UK with interest. Many countries suffer from legal problems with copyright infringement. If the new UK legal model works, other governments worldwide would benefit from considering the same route. Image theft is a global problem. The PCC “Small Claims Track” could looks set to improve the UK situation. However, UK photographers are still going to have problems over images stolen by overseas organisations and individuals. Similar laws worldwide would make everyone’s life easier.

Damon Guy - Netkonnexion

Damon Guy (Netkonnexion)

Damon is a writer-photographer and editor of this site. He has run some major websites, a computing department and a digital image library. He started out as a trained teacher and now runs training courses ing digital photography.
See also: Editors ‘Bio’.
By Damon Guy see his profile on Google+.

Easy introduction to light modifiers – don’t miss out (pt 2)

Light modifiers manipulate light.

Photographic lights are shaped and controlled by the light modifier. With it you create the lighting you need. Use the right modifiers and you create the scene you want. Knowing which one to use is crucial. The resources set out here aim to help you understand what light modifiers are and what they can do.

In a previous post, Easy introduction to light modifiers (pt 1), we examined:

In this post we are looking at more of these useful tools for controlling light.

Grids

Much more open than the honeycomb are a variety of other types of grid. They are used in front of many different types of light source. The aim of a grid is to…

Beauty dish

The beauty dish is widely used in fashion industry. Photographers love it’s flattering light. Using this dish creates…

Barn doors

Originally used on film sets barn door light modifiers have a special function. They are normally fitted to…

New resource pages

Part one and part two (this post) have added a number of new resources about light modifiers to the photographic glossary. However, as a group of resources they can also be reached from the page of light resources…
Light and Lighting – Resource pages on Photokonnexion
Light modifier resources on Photokonnexion – A new page linked from the Light and lighting page.

Of vignetting, ethics and bird song!

Three new articles on Photokonnexion…

We have published two new articles in our Photographic Glossary: “Definition: Vignette; Vignetting” is a great article providing insight into the vignette. There is a second article and the matter of modern bird-song too. Read on…

Vignetting

The newest article in the Photographic Glossary takes an in-depth look at the vignetting – the slightly dark border you find on the edge of some pictures. Did you know you can create it yourself? We would be interested in your comments below about this article.
Definition: Vignette; Vignetting

Photography – right and wrong

We have also published on a slightly more controversial subject, the rights and wrongs of certain types of photographic endeavour. The article is looking at the issues, not providing any answers. There are lots of things that could be added. Have you got any issues you can raise? We would be very interested in your thoughts. We may even write them up in the article. Let us know what you think and leave a comment.
Definition: Photography and Ethics

And bird-song?

Did you know you can follow Photokonnexion on Twitter? We are @photokonnexion  External link - opens new tab/page and would be really pleased to see new followers come online. Additional tips and insights can be found there. We will be announcing new posts and providing other useful information. A cool extension to your visits to this site.
@photokonnexion  External link - opens new tab/pagePhotokonnexion on Twitter

Enjoy!