Jul 24

Ableton Live is something of a dichotomy. For live performance and remixing it provides the best possible software interface…which is seriously constrained by the worst possible hardware interface…a screen and a mouse. And if that’s not bad enough, running Live on a laptop, on stage, makes it look more like you’re surfing the web than performing. The answer is a control surface that frees you from the prison of the computer and lets you play ‘Live’. Although there are plenty of these around, until recently, none were optimal or optimised for working with Live. However, Akai Professional’s dedicated Live controller, the APC40, changes this. Continue reading »

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Jun 26

If you think that HDSLRs are the only game changer in town, think again. Over the last few years there’s been a revolution going on in lighting, at the forefront of which are Litepanels. In fact, their use of proprietary LED technology is so innovative that last year, the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences awarded them an Emmy! Continue reading »

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Jun 11

Ableton Suite 8 packshot

Ableton Suite 8 is 50 percent live performance instrument, 50 per cent digital audio workstation…and 50 per cent remix tool. If that sounds like 150 per cent…it is! Based around the latest release of Ableton’s now legendary ‘Live’ application, it adds into the mix no less than ten instruments and sample libraries. If you’re not already familiar with Live, either you’re an Alpha Centaurian Ostrich, or a member of Status Quo. Either way, you can familiarise yourself with what it is and does here. Continue reading »

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May 04

Vincent Laforet is a highly successful and award winning photographer who, back in 2008, managed to get hold of a prototype Canon 5D MKII for a weekend. The result was a visually stunning short film entitled ‘Reverie‘, that spread across the net like wildfire, capturing viewers imaginations and giving birth to the HD DSLR ‘movement’. Last weekend Laforet lead a workshop that, in its own way, was just as unique an experiment as that first short. Why? Because all three days were broadcast live on the net. Continue reading »

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Dec 11

Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2 Classroom In A Book

When Adobe made Lightroom, they forgot to include the manual…or even any comprehensive offline help. However, they do publish an ‘official training workbook’, that is available as an optional extra. This does kind of beg the question, why can’t they just include its content in the Lightroom help menu, as doing so would offer a far better user experience. Whatever the answer, if you are serious about making Lightroom your photo editing and management software of choice, you’re going to need some help, because whilst, prima facie, it’s easy to used, like an iceberg, much of it’s might is buried, so this book comes highly recommended. Continue reading »

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Dec 11

Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2 Visual Quick Start

If you’re looking for a quick and easy way to get started with Adobe Lightroom 2, this book does exactly what it says on the tin. Continue reading »

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Oct 29

Lightroom is a revelation! Perhaps best described as Photoshop for photographers, it takes the functionality of Adobe Camera RAW to the nth, in a quick to learn and simple to use application, that will have photographers achieving almost everything they can with Photoshop (and in some respects, much more), in a fraction of the time! Continue reading »

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Aug 01

Canon’s Powershot G9 was an instant hit with professional photographers searching for a take anywhere/backup camera. In fact, it seems like there’s barely a photojournalist I know who doesn’t own one. Its successor, the, perhaps unsurprisingly named G10, has much to live up to. Does it succeed, or is it an upgrade too far? Continue reading »

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Feb 28

Between the collapse of capitalism, relatively minimal new magazine launch activity and the fact that everyone and their dog’s fleas seems to own a DSLR nowadays, you may be wondering exactly how to make a living from your photos? Enter The Freelance Photographer’s Market Handbook 2009, which, in its 247 pages, provides you with just about every conceivable means imaginable. Continue reading »

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Dec 31

Nikon Solutions Expo reviewed by MC rebbe

When I first heard about the Nikon Solutions Show, I, quite naturally, assumed it would be little more than evangelism for the converted. Then I saw the lineup which, boasting names like Joe Cornish and Andy Rouse, turned out to be even better spec’d than Nikon’s latest DSLRs!

Two of the highlights of the show were, unquestionably, Cornish’s and Rouse’s talks. Joe Cornish co-presented with fellow top UK landscape photographer, Paul Gallagher, both of whom continue to work traditionally using 5×4 field cameras (the former using colour transparency, the latter using black and white). This being the case, some may wonder what they were doing at a show sponsored by a company that has never made 5×4 cameras and that recently announced they are to stop manufacturing film cameras altogether (ya boo). But I give major props to Nikon, for hosting talks such as this, which were about photography in its purest form, not an excuse to sell kit. Continue reading »

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