The DRONE took his eye out, GROSS: RAWtalk 161
We all know that drones have some power to them and can be mighty dangerous. Well in this weeks photo news we find out just how dangerous they can be… NEWS starts at 14:30
This weeks show is brought to you by VIDEOBLOCKS who “forgot” to take down their BEST SALE every which is for 50% OFF your first year of service. Please use this link to check out the offer: videoblocks.com/x/froknowsvb49
We discuss the day trip to NYC to make a real world review of the Sony RX100 Mark IV as well as why I am heading to Mexico for a few days.
We CRUSH photo news with Stephen before hearing about Todd’s trip to the ESPN studios. Followed by gear of the week, flying solo and the WHEEL OF FRO.
Be sure to submit your Wheel of FRO intro songs for your chance to spin the wheel next week.
As always thank you for your continued support, without you we couldn’t do what we do.
00:00:16 – Show Intro
00:05:40 – Videoblocks 50% Off Promo Code
00:08:17 – Jared’s Going to Mexico
00:14:30 – Photo News
00:55:33 – Todd’s Trip to ESPN Recap
00:59:49 – Gear of the Week
01:02:19 – Flying Solo
01:40:58 – Wheel of Fro
Here’s all of Stephen’s photo news stories in detail:
RIP: Holga
Toy camera brand Holga is officially no more after nearly 34 years in operation. The U.S. distributor of Holga cameras, Freestyle Photographic Services, has announced that the factory has ceased operations on making any new Holga cameras from here on out. President and COO of Freestyle, Gerald H. Karmele, says “It is with a sad heart that we say goodbye to a camera that has been so popular with so many. A Holga Camera really is about creativity and unpredictability and a refreshing medium in today’s digital age. Holga outlived many other cameras but, as like we have seen throughout the years, is yet another casualty of the digital age.” According to a factory spokesperson in China, “all Holga tooling has already been thrown away and there is nothing available for sale.” Inventory is still available throughout the United States and around the world however, but as units sell out, they will no longer be available. RIP. (via PP)
Instagram Slowly Rolling Out Multiple Accounts Feature
Instagram is finally starting to roll out support for multiple accounts, similar to Twitter and many other social media apps. Android users that are using Instagram’s 7.12.0 version of the app have already begun seeing the new feature in their accounts. Here’s how it works: the feature is found at the bottom of the settings screen. Users simply click add account and after you add another account to the app, you’ll be able to quickly switch between them (without logging out and in) by tapping a selector next to the account nickname at the top of your profile page–again, similar to Twitter. Check out a screenflow video of how the new feature works on Android below and hopefully it will roll out to iOS soon as well: (via AP)
Instagram Multi-aacount pic.twitter.com/gWKPOcvKbh
— Rogue (@fro_rogue) November 25, 2015
Man Sues Apple and Wins After Losing All His iPhone Photos
Speaking of mobile photos, a 68-yr-old man named Deric White has sued Apple and WON after his honeymoon pictures were accidentally deleted from his iPhone last year. The images were wiped during a repair visit to Apple’s Regent Street Apple Store in London last December. White says he took his iPhone 5 to the store after receiving an error notification, and after getting his phone back, he found that ALL of his data was erased. He says, “It was only after staff fiddled around they asked if I’d backed my things up,” White says. “My life was saved on that phone. I lost my favourite video of a giant tortoise biting my hand on honeymoon in the Seychelles.” White then filed a lawsuit against Apple for £5,000 (~$7,500), claiming that Apple employees were “negligent” with his photos and data. The courts agreed, and ruled in White’s favor last week, awarding him £1,200 ($1,800) in compensation. Deric told the court: “They knew they had done this and send me on my way. This is where my anger is – they sent me on my way like an imbecile. I said I’m not leaving the building, you will have to call the police’.” In its defense, Apple said that White handed his phone over while knowing that his photos weren’t backed up, and that employees inform all customers that data may be lost before doing repairs on devices. District Judge Ruth Fine ruled Apple were “negligent.” She says, “just because damages are difficult to assess does not disentitle a claimant to compensation.” Who do you think messed up here? (via ES / TM)
Museum Asking Guests To Ditch Their Cameras in Favor of Sketch Pads
The Netherlands national museum, Rijksmuseum, asked visitors to replace their cameras with sketch pads during their recent “Big Draw” event. The campaign, called “The Big Draw,” is an effort to get museum guests to ditch their camera in favor of drawing artworks because “You See More When You Draw.” The campaign is being promoted with a picture of a camera with a big red “x” across it too. Museum General Director Wim Pijbes says, “In our busy lives we don’t always realise how beautiful something can be. We forget how to look really closely. Drawing helps because you see more when you draw.” The museum adds that, “The problem now is that we look at things quickly, fleetingly, superficially. We are easily distracted: by other people, our own thoughts, a little device vibrating in an inside pocket. […] Maybe we have to learn how to look.” At their Big Draw event, which was held on the 24th and 25th of October, they even handed out sketch books and pencils to visitors who wanted to draw. For those who missed that, they’re also holding a “Drawing Saturday” every week, handing out drawing materials and giving visitors assignments in various spaces around the museum. (via BP)
Pirelli Calendar Recruits Annie Leibovitz for 2016 Edition
The Pirelli calendar switched things up in this year’s edition by bringing it Annie Leibovitz. Usually they have models and famous actresses posing half-naked in suggestive poses, where this year Leibovitz took it in a different direction–the opposite direction actually. While past women were chosen merely for their looks, this year’s were chosen for their achievements. The 2016 edition will feature portraits of (mostly) fully-clothed notable women professionals–women who have made it big in the art, entertainment, business, and other industries. The portraits feature Yoko Ono, Patti Smith, Serena Williams, Fran Lebowitz, Amy Schumer, Tavi Gevinson, Ava DuVernay, Natalia Vodianova, Agnes Gund, Kathleen Kennedy, Mellody Hobson, Shirin Neshat, and Yao Chen. Some exceptions to her fully-clothed concept include comedian Amy Schumer who posed nearly nude drinking a cup of coffee, along with tennis star Serena Williams who showcases her muscular back, topless and all. Check out some behind-the-scenes videos of the photoshoot over on the site, along with the final images in the calendar. Leibovitz says of the shoot: “The whole idea was not to have any pretense in these pictures, and be very straightforward, and show these women exactly who they are.” (via PP)
Infant Loses Eye After Drone Accident
Here’s a horror drone story: a man sliced through his friend’s 18-month-old son’s eye after flying a drone too close to him. The boy, Oscar Webb, was playing in a neighbor’s garden with his dad Rick, and family friend Simon Evans, who was flying a quadcopter drone. As the friend tried to land the drone, it clipped a tree, and was sent spiralling in Oscar’s direction, leaving him with a slice through his eye. The father says, “To see it happen right in front of me was absolutely awful. I was about to put Oscar on his trike and take him home. As I glanced over at Oscar the drone went straight into his face. I saw the propeller speed up and I saw the blade spin right through his eye. I saw it go in and a bit of his eye landed on his T-shirt. It was just horrifying. He screamed through the shock and so did I. The sound was terrible, like nothing I’ve heard before. People don’t realise and understand how dangerous drones can be. I’ve got one myself but I’ll never fly it again. People should wear eye and neck protection because those propellers can be deadly.” Oscar was then rushed to the hospital, where his right eye was later removed. The boy will require several further operations to mould and fit a prosthetic eye and although he is still able to see through his left eye, his parents think life will never be the same for their family. Another reminder why drone safety is so important. (via TS)
Photo via The Sun
Von Wong Chases Storms for Incredible Portrait Series
Benjamin Von Wong spent two weeks chasing storms and taking portraits in horrible weather. Teaming up with veteran stormchaser and photographer Kelly Delay, he put together a series of unique portraits of everyday activities with crazy storm weather in the background. His initial reaction was that it simply couldn’t be done: “Coordinating models, building sets & designing lighting – all without knowing where the shoot would take place, while storms zip by at who knows how many miles per hour? It would be an absolute nightmare and impossible to pull off without funding! We should think of a different project.” With the storms traveling more than 30 mph, the team only had about 10-15 minutes to pull off each shot, including set up time and tear-down. Well, he pulled it off, and got some great shots out of it. The best part is that he some how got hold of an ambulance for the project from a friend named Ryan, which his team loaded up with all the gear and props. He says, “we could transform the ambulance into a mobile protected light-box to make sure we didn’t lose time setting up lights.” The overall goal of the project was to “ignite a conversation on cowspiracy (documentary) & the fight against climate change.” Check out the resulting photos here along with a behind-the-scenes video that Von Wong put together himself below: (via PP)
New Interactive Radar Tracks the “Quality” of Upcoming Sunsets
On the topic of weather, a new interactive website called SunsetWx tells you the “quality” of an upcoming sunset in your area. We’ve talked about several apps like this in the past which let you track the times and locations of sunsets, where this website will tell you how GOOD the sunset will be. The website was created by three Pennsylvania-based meteorologists and only works with the U.S. however. The sunrise and sunset models take into account things like moisture, pressure, and cloud cover. Co-founder Jacob DeFlitch says, “The most important factor I look for is sky cover, and more specifically, the existence of high clouds over the area. High clouds not only provide moisture to refract the sunlight, their ‘wispy’ formation also provides ‘texture’ to the sky and are high enough in the atmosphere for the sun to scatter light below. Think of these as a movie theater screen, in which light can be projected upon.” He adds that, “We take it for granted sometimes that we have nature and weather around us. This, hopefully, will help people to go out and see for themselves.” Here’s how it works: the warmer the color in the radar, the better the sunset/sunrise will be in camera. DeFlitch goes on to say, “The idea for a “Sunset Model” was sparked from my interest in both meteorology and photography. It is important to have both meteorological models as well as models that can be very useful and sensible; a way to communicate certain phenomena that meteorological data can output for public use. Because of this, Ben Reppert, Steve Hallett, and I (Jacob DeFlitch) began to create the “Sunset Model.” Check out some sample images here which mark the location and screenshot of the map along with a photo that was taken there. (via PP)
Everyone Can Upload 360-Degree Video to Facebook Now
Facebook is now letting the everyday user upload virtual reality/360-degree videos, which they’re calling “spherical content.” They launched the 360-degree video concept last month, but didn’t allow all users to upload content until they worked out all the bugs. Some limitations though: the video is still a little choppy but it does work, and a few browsers still don’t support it. Users also cannot embed the video on other sites, they can only view them on Facebook itself, in both the browser and mobile app. Heres how to do it: Go to your feed and click to upload a photo or video like you would normally. As it is uploading, click the “advanced” tab and you’ll see a check box option to indicate that it is a 360 video. Then, Facebook will process the video correctly as “spherical content.” (via FS)
Photographer Captures Wedding Through The Eyes of Guests, Literally
This is different: photographer Peter Adams-Shawn of Memories of Tomorrow Photography put together a slideshow of images that capture a wedding through the eyes of their guests, literally. Focusing on each retina, the photos showcase the reflection in the eye, which all highlight an important moment during the wedding. They were all done in-camera too with a 5D Mark III, nothing was “photoshopped.” Most eyes were “borrowed” and taken aside for a posed shot. However, some were even captured without the guests knowing. Those are the shots that were cropped though, since he couldn’t be an inch away from the guests’ eyes during the actual ceremony. Check out the video slideshow below: (via PP)
New Educational Pop-Up Photo Book Turns Into a Working Camera
A new pop-up book entitled “This Book is a Camera” is just that–a book that can turn into a camera. Created by artist Kelli Anderson, the book both explains and demonstrates how a camera uses light to create a photograph. She say, “I wanted to make a working camera within an educational pop-up book—one that connects the dots between design and science/structure and function.” The book comes with instructions on how to use the camera along with a starter pack of black & white Ilford photo paper–even details on how to develop it at home, if you trust yourself. Here’s how it works: once you open the book, the camera pops up,. You then simply lock the tabs at the top to flatten out the corners and create a square camera. Then, load the camera with paper in the back slot and it exposes with a built-in retractable shutter, just like a pinhole camera. There’s a short “how to” video demonstrating exactly how it works below. She’s self-publishing the book too which now sells for $29. The author even released a free PDF cut-out version of the camera if you want to make the camera yourself at home at no cost. (via PJJ)
Adobe Unveils November 2015 Creative Cloud Update
Adobe has released a big November 2015 update to their Creative Cloud apps. The main apps updated include Photoshop, Premiere Pro, After Effects and Audition. Photoshop CC was updated with a new custom toolbar feature that lets you create your own toolbar basically. Adobe says, “You’ve been asking for [toolbar customization] for years, and today that dream comes true.” The new “Customize Toolbar” panel lets you customize exactly what tools show up in your toolbar and in which order. There’s also a new start-up screen that will show you recent files you’ve worked with, similar to how Premiere Pro and Lightroom have always started up. There’s a new touch-enabled interface too that will look consistent on both Mac and Windows touch-enabled devices. When using the touch-enabled version of Photoshop, there’s “larger tab targets, the ability to swipe to scrub Undo/Redo/History, two-finger scroll lists, five-finger tap for full-screen, a larger Preset option, and easy access to soft keys for CMD, Option, Shift, and more.” Check out the full changelog here for Photoshop and here for all of the other apps. Below you can find a couple videos introducing the new features in Photoshop CC:
