Shook Down by a FEDERALE In Mexico: FroKnowsPhoto RAWtalk Episode #162

As you can tell from the title I was in Mexico and yes I got pulled over and shook down by a FEDERALE. Who know that this stuff really happened, that you can get pulled over and end up having to pay off an officer in order to go on your way. Hear all about my Mexico trip at 57 seconds in.

This weeks show was brought you by RODE and SANTA. RODE and SANTA have teamed up to do a giveaway starting Monday December 14th right here http://www.rode.com/santa. For more information click the link to get entered for your chance to WIN. Oh yeah, we LOVE RODE and not just because they pay us.

I mixed in a little RANT about a photo lab followed by giving the guys their Holiday gifts and discussing gear of the week.

Stephen as always brings us his photo news followed by us discussing our time in NYC filming a real world review of the SONY RX100 IV.

We wrap up the show with the WHEEL OF FRO as well as playing submissions from the Sing the Wheel of FRO thingy. Make sure to send yours in!!!!

00:00:16 – Show Intro
00:00:57 – Jared’s Mexico Trip Recap
00:05:53 – Rode’s Week of Giveaways
00:09:53 – Jared’s Mexico Trip Recap Part II
00:25:30 – Jared’s Photo Lab Rant
00:28:55 – Photo News
01:00:39 – Jared’s Holiday Gifts to Stephen, Todd & Joe
01:03:44 – Gear of the Week
01:07:39 – Sony RX100 IV Review Recap in NYC
01:22:57 – Wheel of Fro
01:26:16 – Wheel of Fro Singing Submissions

Here’s all of Stephen’s photo news stories in detail:

Phase One Officially Acquires Mamiya

Phase One has officially acquired the other medium format giant Mamiya. The acquisition includes the take-over of their medium format factories in Japan too. Phase One Vice President Niels V. Knudsen says, “Phase One is now the only medium format camera company that has full internal control of all critical components in a world class imaging system. This is the best news in many years for quality-focused photographers and imaging companies as Phase One works to consistently raise the bar in medium format photography.” Phase One is forming Phase One Japan as part of this deal as well, taking over Mamiya’s official Japanese website. If you didn’t see this coming, remember Phase One became a 45% owner of Mamiya Digital back in 2009…

Introducing Capture One Pro 9

Speaking of Phase One, they’ve released the next version of Capture One Pro with Capture One Pro 9. New features include El Capitan compatibility, a new processing engine, new software retouching abilities, new contrast engine to improve skin tones, a new keywording library tool to make archiving easier, updated color editing interface, and a new feature in the tethered camera window (which now shows the cameras battery status finally!). Users will now also get three activation codes instead of the previous two. Price wise. an upgrade will cost $99 if upgrading from version 7 or 8, and new users will be charged $299. Check out a preview video of the new features in action below:

StandInBaby Is a Posable Fake Baby For Newborn Photography

There’s a new Kickstarter that helps you practice newborn photography. It’s called StandInBaby which is just that–a fake stand-in-baby doll for photo shoots. The silicon-skinned dummy is realistic in terms of size, weight, (it’s about 20 inches long and weighs 7 lbs) and joint movement, so you can pose it anyway you would pose an actual baby and it’ll hold the pose too. It’s being called, “the world’s first fully articulated, newborn photography posing and training aid.” Co-founder Sandra Moffatt says it’s a safety product at heart: “Like many other professionals within the industry, I hate the thought of novice photographers learning and practicing on real babies. I believe skills should first be undertaken on a training aid, of similar weight, size and range of movements, to a newborn, before photographers apply these methods to real babies.” A pledge of $613 will get you a StandInBaby on their “due date” of July 2016 (if the campaign’s successful) The babies comes in two skin tone colors too: “Caucasian” or “African American.” Out of their $128,374 goal, they’ve already raised over $95,000 at the time of writing this article, with another three weeks to go. Check out their Kickstarter video below along with a GIF of the baby’s possible poses with its ball-joint design. (via PP)

Photographer Creates Snowflake Poster Made From 400 Unique Snowflake Photos

Photographer Don Komarechka has revealed a new composited photo called “The Snowflake” which features all of the extreme macro photos he’s taken of snowflakes over the years, totaling up to 2500 hours of work across 5 years. In the composite, there are over 400 unique snowflakes pictures, all accurately scaled so they are all in relative size to each other too. To make just a SINGLE snowflake image, he would take on average about 40 separate images and then combine them in post, basically focus-stack them so the crystals are in focus tip-to-tip. He says he had to stack them since he took them on an angle, allowing for reflected light to hit the surface of the crystal and bounce back into the camera lens brightly. If the snowflake was photographed straight-on, the angle would require the light source to be coming from inside the lens itself. It’s not an easy file to work with either: the working file on his computer is 12 gigapixels in size, so he could theoretically make 60×90-inch prints at 480dpi if he wanted to. When working on the file, the computer utilizes over 100GB of RAM as well; ouch. The final composite is now available as a poster print on his site for $19.50CAD for a 16×24 or $28.75CAD for a 24×36. Check out the final composite below: (via PP)

The U.S. Is Looking To Hire The Next Ansel Adams

The U.S. government is looking for the next Ansel Adams. The National Park Service of the Department Of The Interior is looking to hire a black-and-white large format photographer, the same job as the iconic photographer. The salary listed ranges from about $64,000 to $99,000 ($63,722.00 to $99,296.00). The job is based out of Washington DC and requires a lot of traveling, 5-10 nights a month specifically. The job summary reads, “Experience your America and build a fulfilling career by joining the National Park Service, as we prepare for a second century of Stewardship and Engagement. Become a part of our mission to connect with our past and create important connections to the future by building a rich and lasting legacy for the next generation of park visitors, supporters and advocates.” Requirements include a U.S. citizenship, a background and/or security investigation, a valid state driver’s license, and that all documents must be received by closing date. The duties listed include, “Produces large-format photographic documentation to the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the HABS/HAER/HALS permanent collection at the Library of Congress. Develops photographic guidelines and standards for traditional and born-digital photographic processes and products. Produces exhibition quality prints for exhibition, publication, or other visual purposes. Evaluates submissions and provides advice and assistance concerning production of photographic documentation for donations to the collection or for mitigation purposes. Makes presentations about the collection or the programs to various public and private groups.” They also list that you must have knowledge of the principles and techniques of large format, black-and-white photography, knowledge of published standards and guidelines for architectural, engineering and landscape documentation, knowledge of film and digital photographic processes and techniques, and ability to communicate effectively and collaborate with others. They end it with, “THERE IS NO SUBSTITUTION OF EDUCATION FOR SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE,” meaning experience trumps any degree. The open period for the full time gig is only until Dec. 15 so if you’re interested, you need to apply now! (via Phogotraphy)

This New Spray Gives Photographers “Professional Haze” In Their Photos

There’s a new spray that’s designed specifically to give photographers and videographers “Professional Haze” in their shots called Atmosphere Aerosol. The can is similar in size and shape to a spray paint canister, making it much easier to lug around than a typical fog machine for your on-location shoots. They say it’s much safer than any other aerosol can: “Hair spray cans, aerosol shaving cream cans, and other pressurized canned products such as PAM cooking spray use propane and butane as a propellant. When Atmosphere Aerosol is sprayed, a small, non-harmful amount of gas propels the spray and quickly dissipates, leaving the mineral oil in the air.” So it’s safe, non-toxic, and clear, with the ingredients including propane (45%), butane (45%), and mineral oil (10%). Once sprayed, you’ll have a few minutes until the spray is completely dissipated from the air. A single can will spray continuously for about 5 minutes and 30 seconds too (see below for a preview). It’s recommended that you spray for at least 20 seconds for good coverage, so you’ll get about 15 uses out of a single can in the end. Price wise, an 8oz can will cost you $11.95. Check out a preview of it in action below: (via DIYP)

iOS 9.2 Lets You Import Photos To Your iPhone Directly From Your Camera

iOS 9.2 is now available for download and brings support for Apple’s Lightning to USB Camera adapter and SD adapter to your iPhone. With this new function, you can now connect your camera directly to your iPhone and import photos instead of having to use a computer. Once connected, your iPhone will open up its Photos app and allow you to choose which photos (JPEG or RAW) and videos (H.264 or MPEG-4) you’d like to import. Both cables have been updated to work with the iPad Pro as well, and cost $29 each. These have been around for the iPad for some time, but the big news here is that the iPhone can now do it… (via TV)

Photographer Creates His Own Automated Film Processor

On the analog end, a photographer named Lukas Fritz has created his own automatic film processor called the Filmomat. Taking a year to invent, the automated processor handles everything from B&W 35mm film to 5×7-inch color slides. It contains several liquid compartments including a 6L fresh water tank, a water bath, and three chemical compartments. There’s a circular development tank for roll film too, and a rectangular one for 4×5 and 5×7. It has presets, and is capable of remembering 50 different development processes, with each process being able to involve up to 3 chemicals and 10 individual steps. Here’s how it works, you simply insert a developing tank with your film into the machine via a spill-free coupling, pour in your chemicals, and use the single push dial on the front and voila. It’ll heat up your bath to your desired temperature, pump the solutions into and out of the tank, rinse out the tank with fresh water between steps, and agitate the film with air bubbles. Then, used chemicals can be drained from nozzles in the back, and the machine will clean itself with its automatic fresh water cleaning system. Fritz says he currently doesn’t plan on launching a crowdfunding campaign for this. He tells Petapixel: “I have no plans for ‘mass production’ yet, but I plan on manufacturing a few single machines on request for interested customers. The price for this will be in the range of €2000 (~$2170).” Check out a 5-minute introductory video below where he shows the processor off and head here to see some sample images developed from the machine: (via PP)

Twitter Now Showcases Your Photos “Uncropped”

Twitter has announced that photos on timelines will no longer be cropped, but will now show in their original aspect ratio, similar to Instagram’s recent update. They say, “while Twitter began as an all-text platform, rich media has become essential to the experience. Some of the best moments on Twitter are when you see the world through someone else’s eyes.” They’re also introducing larger, more beautiful multi-photo displays, so they’ll pop up similar to Facebook’s photo albums on your timeline, where some pictures are featured larger than the other, like a collage.

Man Used Photos’ Location Data To Steal Women’s Underwear

Moving on to the other social media platforms: this is both creepy and scary. A man used location data in women’s Instagram and Facebook photos to steal…their underwear. He found college student’s photos, used their geotagged photos to plot the coordinates on a map, and broke into their homes, again–to steal their underwear, often while the women were home too. 44-year-old Arturo Galvan is allegedly behind the burglaries which mostly happened in Fullerton, California. He is behind 6 burglaries. Of those burglaries, items belonging to 24 victims have been identified, dating back to October 2015. In addition to panties and bras, Galvan is suspected of stealing framed photos of women. It does say he took valuables as well, like computers, iPads, and TVs. He was arrested last week but has since posted bail of $200,000 and faces charges of burglary, receiving stolen property, and peeping and prowling. The local police say, “Galvan’s arrest serves as a cautionary tale for users of social media who post photos on Instagram and other Internet sites.” (via PP)

Are You An “Instagram Husband”?

On the opposite end, a new parody video by The Mystery Hour introduces a support group for what they’re calling “Instagram Husbands.” The video explains how husbands suffer from having to take their wives pictures all of the time. The ad even comes with its own support website, InstagramHusband.com, where you’ll “see how millions of men just like you have found hope.” If you head to that website, it lists off symptoms of the “illness,” offering awareness, gives tips on approaching your wife about the matter, and much more. Are you an Instagram husband? (via PP)

GoPro Reveals More Details About It’s Upcoming Drone

GoPro has released more details about their upcoming drone. A new promo video unveiled the name, calling the new drone KARMA. It comes with the tagline, “if life is a dream, then why not see it as one.” On GoPro’s website, the only information they give on the drone is that it’s an “ultra portable, folding drone” and will be coming in 2016. Is it too late to compete in the drone market? We’ll see…