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February 28, 2013

Nikonians.org back on line

Some members may have noticed a temporary outage at the site, taking us offline for a few hours. This outage comes by coincidence not too long after we unveiled our new homepage. The new homepage was not the cause of the problem. We have tracked the outage to an abnormality in server access requests, triggering a hardware safety shut-down. Thank you for your patience while we restored the system.

Posted by flashdeadline at 4:41 PM

February 27, 2013

New Nikonians Home Page

Nikonians®, is excited to announce the launch of their newly designed Nikonians Homepage, which goes live today, February 27th, 2013.

The site’s Homepage welcomes visitors with a bold new color scheme, a clean uncluttered design, and moving images with featured content focused on our mission to provide our community with the most accurate, informative, news/hot-topics, that share our knowledge and expertise in the field of Photography and our love for Nikon.

The new site is divided into (9) sections: Featured Articles, Now Talked About (Forums), Hot News, Podcasts, Videos, Photos, PressBooks, The Nikonian eZine, and the Photo Pro Shop. By Moving to a more user-centric layout, we allow our community and visitors to access endless information based on their own choice rather than sifting through everything to decide what is of interest to them. As well, no matter what browser, desktop, mobile or tablet device you use, you'll always have the perfect fit.

The newly designed Nikonians.org, will feature new types of rich content, inspired by our experienced writers, gathered materials and a great team of people working at Nikonians. You will find this content in the “Articles” section in the form of reviews/articles. As always, we strive to keep Nikonians up-to-date with the latest news of events, product reviews/launches, rumors, and discussions.

We hope you enjoy the new cyberlift, and find yourself eager to learn more, but be familiar with the tradition that still stands true - share, learn, and inspire!

Posted by Ronny89 at 2:01 PM

February 26, 2013

Spring season brings heavy workshop schedule

The Nikonians Academy instructor team will be scattered across North America and the globe in the next two months. Their workshop schedule includes classes on Nikon digital single-lens reflex cameras, Nikon iTTL Wireless Flash, Adobe Lightroom 4, The Passionate Photographer, Death Valley in Spring, Yosemite in Spring, and a photo adventure cruise through Europe and North Africa.

Nikonians Academy Director Mike Hagen tells us the team already has sold-out workshops in Los Angeles and Death Valley, so don't wait too much longer to sign up.

The camera oriented workshops include Nikon's D600, D7000, D800 and D4 and Mike adds the latest news from Nikon has been factored in:

"The Nikonians Academy staff has already adjusted their workshops for the brand new D7100 camera. Our current Master the Nikon D600 & D7000 workshops in March and April will address the D7100 dSLR, and we'll have completely new curriculum ready to go for the official D7100 release in the Spring of 2013."

March Workshops
Calgary, AB
Denver, CO
Los Angeles, CA (Two seats remaining)
Las Vegas, NV
Denver, CO
Death Valley, CA (Sold Out)
Raleigh, NC
Atlanta, GA

April Workshops
Fairfield, NJ
Boston, MA
Dallas, TX
Yosemite, CA
Vancouver, BC
Las Vegas, NV
New York, NY
Philadelphia, PA
Ultimate Travel Workshop Cruise through Europe and North Africa

Our newest instructor, Greg Stangl, has a full series of portraiture workshops schedule around the USA in 2013. Greg is a practicing professional portrait artist who's been in the business for over 30 years.

His workshop titled The Secrets of Studio and Environmental Portraiture pulls from his extensive knowledge and will help guide participants through the process of creating stunning images in the studio and on location.

We have designed the workshop to cater to new photographers who are wanting to learn lighting techniques as well as for experienced photographers wanting to take their photo skills to the next level. You're going to love Greg's easy-going teaching style.

The current dates and cities on the schedule for the Greg's portrait workshops are:
May 13 - 15, Phoenix, AZ
Jun 3 - 5, Chicago, IL
Sep 9 - 11, Chicago, IL
Oct 7 - 9, Indianapolis, IN
Nov 4 - 6, Richmond, VA

Posted by flashdeadline at 12:04 AM

February 25, 2013

Cameras vs. Lenses -Long Term Importance

"I’ve been shooting with Nikon SLR and DSLR cameras for about 33 years now. I’ve also been buying lenses for those same camera bodies. Looking back in time, I’ve come to some conclusions about the importance of camera bodies and lenses. Which is more important over time?" Read more...

Posted by Ronny89 at 10:44 AM

February 21, 2013

Nikon adds D7100 to top of DX line

Nikon has announced the new flagship of their DX-format HD-SLR lineup.
The D7100 features a 24.1-megapixel CMOS sensor and fast shooting (up to 7 frames per second in 1.3 crop mode). From the back you'll be able to work with your images on a 3.2 inch (8cm) high resolution LCD monitor.

It will be available starting in March 2013 with a Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price (MSRP) of $1599.95 USD with the AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-105mm f/3.5-5.6 VR lens or $1199.95 for the body only configuration.

Here are the highlights (courtesy of the Nikon USA Press Room):
• New 24.1-megapixel DX-format CMOS sensor and EXPEED 3 image processing engine to deliver the ultimate in image quality
• 51-point AF system, and Nikon’s 3D Color Matrix Metering II 2,016 pixel RGB sensor and Scene Recognition System
• Wide ISO range of 100-6400 (expandable to Hi-2 of 25,600) for low-light shooting
• Ability to shoot in a 1.3x DX crop mode for both stills and HD video allows for shooting at up to seven fps at slightly reduced resolution, and enhancing AF system frame coverage
• Fast performance: Shoot at up to 6 fps at full resolution, 7 fps with 1.3x mode.
• 3.2-inch High Resolution 122k dot LCD, Enhanced Interface
• 100% frame coverage through the optical viewfinder with new OLED display
• New Spot White Balance feature allows for quick and precise white balance adjustment while shooting in live view
• HD video can be recorded at 1080/30p, or at 60i/50i (in 1.3x Crop Mode)
• Compatible with the optional WU-1a Wireless Mobile Adapter, enabling the user to share images to a supported smartphone or tablet, shoot remotely from their device, and transfer photos from up to 49 feet away.

For more details check Nikon's new D7100 page.

Posted by flashdeadline at 5:04 AM

February 19, 2013

Experience is key ingredient in workshop success

Nikonians Academy Director Mike Hagen provides a look behind the scenes at members of the instructor team responsible for some of the most popular workshops of the year:
At the Academy, we take our travel and our photography seriously. We run a variety of workshops to different corners of the globe and all of them are exceptionally well prepared with meticulous attention to details.

You can count on the fact that our top notch instructors have taken into careful account the logistics, safety, transportation, and photographic opportunities for every traveler involved.

We encourage you to make 2013 the year to finally go on that big photo adventure you've been waiting for.

Join us for a trip to Sri Lanka, Iceland, Alaska, Cuba, Mexico, Tanzania or even Europe on a cruise ship.

You will benefit from our commitment to you: run the best trips by the best instructors in the best areas in order to help you capture the best images.

Jim Stamates is one of the premier wildlife photographers in North America. He's been a pro shooter for over 25 years and in that time has sold more than one quarter of a million Archival Giclee Prints in his business called Low Impact Wildlife Photography.

He's also licensed countless images worldwide for advertising, editorial, magazines, books and web clients.

Jim knows his stuff and knows how to run an incredible wildlife photography workshop. He has three upcoming wildlife workshops with the Nikonians Academy.

The first is in June to the Grand Tetons for our Grand Teton Wildlife and Landscapes workshop in Spring.

Next up in July, Jim will be leading our Alaska - Whales, Bears, and Ice Fields Wildlife Photography Adventure.

Finally, Jim heads out to the Grand Tetons again in September for our popular Grand Teton Wildlife and Landscapes in the Fall.

Join Jim on one of his trips and you will come home with incredible images and wonderful stories of adventure.

Lester Picker is a veteran professional shooter who also is regularly published in magazines around the world.

In fact, Lester has more than 600 writing and photo credits in National Geographic Society publications, Better Homes & Gardens, Forbes, Time, Inc. Publications, Money, Fortune Small Business, Bloomberg Personal Finance, National Parks Magazine, and dozens of newspapers, magazines and other publications.

Les has his doctorate in ecology from the University of Maine and freely shares his extensive knowledge on all the photo workshops he runs with Nikonians Academy.

This year, Les has an incredible 9-day trip to Sri Lanka scheduled for September and a wonderful photo exploration to Acadia National Park in October scheduled to coincide with the turning of the fall colors.

Don't forget to check our By Date, By location or By topic pages for information on a workshop designed to help you achieve your photography (and adventure) goals.

Posted by flashdeadline at 3:26 PM

Mastering the Nikon D600 Chapter Images Selected

Nikonians author Darrell Young (DigitalDarrell), reports his newest book, Mastering the Nikon D600 is on schedule for release next month.
The final step in the process was selecting Nikon D600 photos submitted by Nikonians members to be used as full page Chapter Opening Images.

Darrell has been in touch with those selected members and posted his gratitude to everyone in the original post who offered to be of assistance:

"Thank each of you very much for making a submission. I wish the book had more chapters so that we could add a lot more images. However, it only has 13 chapters (about 560 pages). All of your submissions were excellent and appealing."

Below are thumbnail versions of the 13 Chapter Opening Images to be used in the book.
The yellow numbers do not appear in the final version. They are a guide for the credits listing below the images (and also indicate which chapters they help illustrate).

1 - Isabell and Her New Toys - Jesse Martinez (jesse101) / USA, California

2 - Bountiful Harvest - Marcel Carey (mcpianoca) / Canada, Quebec

3 - Rendezvous - Philip Rice (pjr) / Canada, Ontario

4 - Mesquite Flat Dunes in Death Valley - Eric Bowles (ericbowles) / USA, Georgia

5 - Twenty-seven Cents Per Gallon - Jim Hammond (hamjam) / USA, California

6 - Spirit of Texas in Semi Finals - Donald Heldoorn (TakeTwo) / USA,California

7 - Nature's Beauty - Jackie Donaldson (bhpr) / USA, Maryland

8 - Baby Big Bear - Anthony Do (gudnuf4u) / USA, California

9 - Mandarin Duck on Golden Pond - Mike Goodman (mrginhop) / USA, New Hampshire

10 - Taking Prey - Rocky Fletcher (rf10956) / USA, Iowa

11 - Iguana Invasion - Susan Braunhut (wife of dhmiller) / USA, Massachusetts

12 - Bald River Falls - Brenda Young (DigitalBrenda) / USA, Tennessee

13 - Lyndia's Beautiful Smile - Jesse Martinez (jesse101) / USA/Colorado

You may notice one member takes the distinction of leading the first and last chapter, and two members submitted shots taken by their wives. Counting those two ladies and the submission from Jackie Donaldson, we have three images credited to women, ten by men.

Mastering the Nikon D600 by Darrell Young will be available in March 2013 in printed form and the eBook formats will follow about two weeks later. The current pre-order price at Amazon is $21.07 (USD) saving you $18.88 off the list price ($39.95).

The author promises:
"My new book will make your zoom lens longer, your wide angle wider, your macro even closer up, and your megapixels multiply."

All books in Darrell Young's NikoniansPress/Rocky Nook Mastering series include a special Nikonians 50%-off voucher discount for a one year Gold Membership in the Nikonians community. This will save $37.50 on Gold Membership.

Darrell's previous books produced through Rocky Nook’s partnership with NikoniansPress include Mastering the Nikon D800, Mastering the Nikon D7000, Mastering the Nikon D300/D300S, Mastering the D700 (co-authored by James Johnson), Mastering the Nikon D90, Mastering the Nikon D5000, and Mastering the Nikon D3000.

Posted by flashdeadline at 12:46 AM

February 13, 2013

Academy welcomes Greg Stangl; renames Masters Series

Nikonians Academy Director Mike Hagen welcomes a new instructor and tells us why the Masters Series workshops now bear different titles in his latest report:
We've just brought on professional instructor Greg Stangl and his brand new Portrait Workshop series. He's an established pro photographer who has run portrait studios for over 30 years and is at the top of his game.

With Greg on board we've created a new workshop series titled The Secrets of Studio and Environmental Portraiture that will run in cities all across North America.

As time goes on, we will expand to other countries in 2014.

Greg is an incredible educator and craftsman who is well known for his excellent teaching style.

He has been running workshops and seminars for decades with organizations such as PPA, PDN, and just about every other professional photography organization out there.

He has taught thousands and thousands of students across the globe, having hosted workshops in 47 states and 7 countries.

Join Greg to learn how to be a better location and studio portrait photographer. Whether you desire to take better photos of your kids and grandchildren, or are hoping to start a new portrait photography business, there's no better resource than Greg.

Renaming Workshops
The Nikonians Academy instructor team is renaming our Masters Series workshops beginning this week. Currently, we use the titles "In Depth" and "Advanced" to distinguish between our classes, but this doesn't accurately describe the content for each workshop.

The truth is, that our workshops often build on each other and don't distinguish between advanced users or new users. The new names for our workshops will be "In Depth 1" and "In Depth 2". The In Depth 1 workshops are designed to teach all the most important functions of the camera or software while the In Depth 2 workshops teach how to customize the camera or the software for each person's needs.

For example, in our camera workshops (e.g. Master the Nikon D800/D4), the In Depth 1 class takes the participants through all the camera systems used to create beautiful photographs; such as white balance, exposure, autofocus, metering, live view, shooting modes, etc. The In Depth 2 class builds on the first day's curriculum and helps the participant customize the camera for their own shooting style. In the In Depth 2 workshop we go through all the menus and set them up for different shooting scenarios such as sports, landscapes, portraits, etc. We also learn how to use the advanced functions of the camera such as programming different functions to buttons.

The concept will apply to our software workshops and flash workshops. Check out our workshop description pages for more details on how the workshops are organized.

Glamour and Fashion in Italy
Building on the success of our fashion photography workshops in Italy, we are adding at least two more to the schedule for 2013.

Giuseppe Circhetta will run a May 2013 workshop in Milan and a September 2013 workshop in Tuscany.

This is your opportunity to shoot for a whole weekend with Giuseppe Circhetta and his team and learn how to approach glamour & editorial photography from all angles (production & post production).

You will be working with studio and outdoor settings with models and follow through with post production sessions in a digital darkroom environment.

If you've ever wanted an excuse to travel to Italy, then here's your chance.

Masters Series Workshops
February, March, and April bring an incredible series of workshops to cities all around the USA. Sign up now for our camera, software, flash, and creative classes taught by the best instructors in the business. We'll be in Seattle, Calgary, Denver, Los Angeles, Raleigh, Atlanta, Fairfield (NJ), Dallas, Vancouver, Las Vegas and Philadelphia. We can't wait to see you in class!

Posted by flashdeadline at 2:25 PM

February 11, 2013

Nikonian Photo Professors #13

Photo Professors Episode 13: This month the Photo Professors are joined by Image Doctor, Rick Walker. Together they Rick Walker's photography and his current equipment of choice.

Download Nikonians Photo Professors #13 (NPC-PP-2013-2.mp3;43:46;MP3 format)

Length of the podcast is 43:46

Posted by richardlpaul at 1:14 AM

February 6, 2013

Urban and Street Photography workshops coming to Cuba and Mexico

Rick Hulbert's Urban and Street Photography workshops are receiving phenomenal reviews. Last week, he hosted a sold-out class in San Francisco with people attending from all over the world. Due to the success of these classes, the Nikonians Academy has scheduled new Urban Photography workshops to Old Havana, Cuba and to San Miguel de Allende, Mexico.

These are in addition to the previously scheduled Urban Photography workshops in New York City, Chicago, and Toronto.

Some members with citizenship in countries that do not have completely unrestricted travel arrangements with Cuba will notice the Havana workshop is being arranged through a third party. As an international community of Nikon enthusiasts we need to make clear that the Academy is not circumventing current travel guidelines. We recognize the simple fact that not all members will be able to take advantage of the Havana Urban and Street Photography workshop and we do not engage in political debate regarding international travel restrictions.

We have just one seat remaining for our outdoor photography workshop titled Yosemite in Winter: A Season of Contrast. Michael Mariant runs this popular class every year and we can't wait to see the beautiful images from this year's event.

We have more Master's Series workshops than we know what to do with during February, March, and April. Our scheduled topics include workshops on the Nikon D800, D800E, D4, D600, D7000, Lightroom 4, iTTL Wireless Flash, and The Passionate Nikon Photographer.

We're running workshops in Seattle, Calgary, Denver, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Raleigh, Atlanta, Fairfield (NJ), Boston, Dallas, and Vancouver (BC).

If you are into photographing wild animals, then check out our workshops to Alaska (bears, whales, birds), Grand Tetons (moose, elk), Iceland (birds, landscapes), and Tanzania (lion, leopard, cheetah). We'd love to have you on one of our field photography adventures!

Posted by flashdeadline at 1:05 AM

February 4, 2013

Sigma 17-50mm Review

"Now, I'll admit, I suffer from the shakes when shooting. So much so that when I get down to an 80th of a second, it's questionable whether I'll get even a soft shot. So the OS functionality of this lens was something I was looking forward to, and I wasn't disappointed."
Read more.

Posted by Ronny89 at 12:57 PM