Capturing the Silence of Jakarta

It was not only the merry of Iedul Fitri which recorded through the lens, but the silence of our capital also stole photographers’ attention. Members of Fotografer.net living in Jakarta suggested the idea to capture the silent city, Jakarta, on a hunting session. This hunting was particularly held in order to record the quiet atmosphere of Jakarta when most of the residents back to their hometown during the holiday. It was held first time in 2006, and this year was the third time. It took place last Friday, October 3.

On the first hunting in 2006 only 20 participants joined the activity, but this year tens of participants joined it. They came from Jakarta, Semarang, Bandung, and Surabaya. The route was around Jalan Thamrin and Bundaran HI area where participants could capture their object freely. This hunting also became a kind of arena to gather and discuss among FN members who met mostly online. The participants said that they really enjoyed the activity. This activity becomes annual agenda. Chiko Lie

Photography for Charity

As the follow-up activity of Tangerang Insight held on August 21-24, KFT (Komunitas Fotografer Tangerang) organized a charity day to Putera Asih, an orphanage. The activity took place on September 20, and aimed to show that photography could be used to share and help others; photography is not merely about wasting money. KFT also wants to make the orphans in Putera Asih love photography.

The donation for this charity was collected from the outcome of photos selling and photo studio during Tangerang Insight Photo Exhibition. It also came from individual and institution such as Puspitek (BPPT).

The charity day began with an informal and friendly meeting, dinner, giving the photos from last year event to the orphanage staff, and giving the donation. The donation was not only money but also food. As an entertainment, the orphans present marawis (a Moslem music). Bimo Nurendro

The First Manado Street Hunting

The success of Jakarta Street Hunting and Bandung Street Hunting teased the members of Fotografer.net in Manado to hold the same event. It was called Manado Street Hunting and took place on Saturday, October 4. The members guaranteed the cost and the prizes related to this event. Only 18 participants joined the event, but it was counted a great number compared to the previous hunting in Manado.

The participants started at Zero Point (the center of the city) with two different routes. The first route was along the Boulevard (the seaside) and the second was through Sam Ratulangi street. The finish line for this street hunting was at Bahumall. Although participants had to walk for about 5 kms, it did not diminish their enthusiasm to take part in this hunting session.

As previous street hunting in Jakarta and Bandung, Manado street hunting was also followed by the photo contest. Participants could submit their photos taken during street hunting by uploading them to www.fotografer.net. The theme for the photo contest is Manado Street Hunting and the dead line will be on October 31. James E Pelealu

The Smallest Bluetooth Camera Recorder

The development of technology has produced the smallest Bluetooth camera recorder called Optieyes. This new product is the combination of the latest in Bluetooth technology and the innovation from Geniesys. This compact and light weight camera is the smallest high resolution, real time digital Bluetooth camera ever produced. It also has "one-touch record" button that allows user to record any video or still picture instantly. It can be used with laptops, PDAs, and Smartphones, and compatible with Bluetooth Serial Port Profile (SPP) as well.

With the dimensions of 6,9 × 2,1×1,325 cm, this portable Bluetooth camera recorder with rechargeable battery has some specifications as follow: 1.3MP CMOS, still picture resolution 640 × 480, video resolution 160 × 120 and 320 × 240. Although having a small size, it has a huge capability. The regular price for this product is US$ 179. genie-gadgets.com | nana

Adobe Introduces Photoshop CS4 & CS4 Extended

Adobe announced Adobe Photoshop CS4 and Photoshop CS4 Extended, the new editions of the professional industry standard software for digital imaging. Photoshop CS4 offers a complete creative control and higher efficiency. It also extends the imaging possibilities and offers faster, more flexible ways to accomplish tasks like image adjustments and masks. All of these features and more can be found in Photoshop CS4 Extended, which serves users with advanced motion graphics functions, expanded 3D visualization capabilities and precise image analysis.

Photoshop CS4 has Content-Aware Scaling technology that enables users to size and scale images with a simple drag of the mouse. Also included are new Auto-align and Auto-blend modes, Camera Import controls, visual folder navigation, and a Carousel View. Photoshop CS4 takes advantage of the latest graphics processing unit (GPU) hardware to deliver superior performance. dpreview.com | nana

Photokina 2008 Attracted 169.000 Visitors

The Photokina 2008 has ended on September 28. The international photo and imaging industry was held in Cologne, German, started at September 23. It became the magnet for more than 169.000 people from around the world.

A total of 1.523 companies from 49 countries presented their product innovations in this event. The fair generated a great deal of interest among international trade visitors and professional users from around the world, all of whom came to Cologne to learn more about the imaging technologies of tomorrow and new strategic approaches to the business.

The product areas were divided into four: Image Capture, Image Processing, Image Storage, and Image Output. The Visual Gallery in Hall 1 was once again a major cultural highlight at Photokina this year, as it featured 17 individual exhibitions from varied field of photography. news-photokina.koelnmesse.info | nana

Canon's Outstanding Products

Canon did its utmost for the Photokina 2008 by showing its outstanding products. From the entry-level PowerShot compact camera up to the newest full frame EOS 5D Mark II digital SLR. It was reported that Canon was able to attract many visitors with their compact camera line. It happened because Canon's new series of compact cameras are considered innovating and different. Besides camera, Canon also showed other products. Here the list of Canon products at Photokina 2008: EOS-1Ds Mark III, EOS 5D Mark II, EOS 50D, EOS 1000D, EOS 450D, PowerShot SX110 IS, PowerShot SX10 IS, PowerShot SX1 IS, PowerShot G10, Digital IXUS 980 IS, Digital IXUS 870 IS, PowerShot E1, PowerShot A2000 IS, PowerShot A1000 IS, Canon EF 24mm lens, Canon 18-200mm lens, also new Canon printers. photokina-show.com

New Lenses from Tamron

Tamron introduced its new lenses at Photokina 2008. Tamron tried to meet the growing market demand of DSLR. Among the line-up is the new 18-270 mm f/3.5-6.3 zoom lens. This lens is the world's first 15x zoom lens with integrated image stabilizer, called Tamron VC (Vibration Compensation) by Tamron. According to Tamron, the VC system is one of the most advanced stabilization systems available on the market and differs from other systems by the application of three different sensors that detect 360 degrees around and coordinate each other.

Another interesting lens is the Tamron SP 10-24 mm f/3.5-f4.5 aiming at the advanced and professional photographer. According to Tamron this is the world's first 2.4x ultra zoom lens. This lens will be available by the end of October. letsgodigital.org

Nikonians Participated

Nikonians, the largest and most active group of Nikon lovers that focuses on the amateur, semipro and professional photographer, were also present at the Photokina show 2008. The booth of the Nikonians was reported attracted a lot of attention. Through Apple computers, a lot of Nikon equipment and demonstrations by photographers, Pascal Baetens and Gary Fong, how certain accessories work and which effect they can have were shown. Gary Fong showed his Lightspere system II, an accessory for flash photography. photokina-show.com