I’ve had the opportunity to interview Suchitra Vijayan, founding member of Lines of Grey, an NGO which helps street children find a means of expression. Lines of Grey gives the children disposable cameras and asks them to take pictures of things that influence their lives… or just to take pictures. The goal being to experience the world through their lens, and not the lens of someone who comes to that part of the world just to take photographs.

Here’s what she had to say about a variety of topics, including their recent exhibition of photographs at the British Council lifestyle lounge.

Susheel: What is Lines of Grey? What does the name signify?

Suchitra: Lines of grey is an NGO that seeks to take photography to the doorsteps of marginalised children in communities around the world. Our NGO is founded on the belief that “Every Child is an artist”.

To answer why “Lines of Grey ” I need to talk about my fascination with the colour Grey. This goes back to my own love affair with black and white photography. Like all great love affairs, it started with this heady feeling of getting the wind knocked out of me and I was in an expedited hurry to learn and discover everything there was to know about this medium. In that process I came to understand this subtle but complexly layered colour called “Grey”. Grey

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Cities provide us with a wonderful resource in juxtaposed objects. Magnificently textured drain covers from a different era next to a modern paving and street markings, an ultra-modern skyscraper freshly sculpted out of the earth, yet forever posed against the immortal sky… they’re all there for the taking.

This project intends to test your skill at seeing these juxtapositions, to fashion shapes that have meaning to us in language, out of shapes (objects) that are intended for other purposes. You could also do variations of this, and create an urban alphabet out of interesting lettering that you see around you in the city.

For this project, you will have to look at lines, outlines, textures, parts of objects, and techniques that you can use with your camera (such as using depth of field) to take shapes that are not quite what you want, and re-shape them into the english alphabet.

Try to find a diverse range of things to work with. Try macro, landscape, square crops, diagonal frames, whatever it takes… The idea is to see everyday objects in a new light.

You can find more such projects at the Photo Project home page.

Pic: maloupictures

Kenro Press Release

For digital photographers who aspire to shoot studio pictures like a true professional, Kenro has put together a portable flash kit that won't break the bank!

Comprising two powerful 300w mains or battery operated flash heads, lighting stands and umbrellas, the Kenro Compact 300 Flash kit is the ideal solution for any photographer looking for quality, durability and flexibility in a portable studio lighting kit.

With a suggested retail price of £395 excluding VAT, the kit even comes complete with its own carry cases.

Features include power control range of 6 f-stops, from 1-32 to full power plus dual power input, so the units can either be mains operated or work from an optional rechargeable Battery Pack. This provides a highly flexible solution to shoot outdoors or in areas where there is limited mains supply.

The ultra-compact flash heads are a new 'flat' concept of design and can be triggered by a synch cord, radio or infra-red device, giving them the flexibility of many high-end professional units.

In addition, the 'daylight' LED modelling lamp is dimmed according to the proportion of the flash power selected, so that you'll be able to see the kind of effect the flash will give; very useful when visually assessing the lighting ratios when multiple light sources are used.

The heads have a very usable Guide number of 22m (ISO100), recycling time 1.2 secs on full power, and the three section stands extend to a...

Press Release, Panasonic, Jan 2008

A Slim, Compact Digital Still Camera with Super Easy Operation

Panasonic introduces a new Lumix digital camera, the DMC-LS80, that combines easy-to-use advanced functions and AA-battery operation convenience. A newly developed Lumix DC VARIO lens system with 3x optical zoom (equivalent to 33-100mm on a 35mm film camera) fits into its compact body and gives a clear, sharp clear image right to the edge of the picture. The CCD has been upgraded to 8.1-megapixel high resolution, so even after cropping, you will still have a high resolution picture. Both the external and internal design has been revised throughout to enhance the ease of operation.

At the heart of the DMC-LS80's super-easy operation is a comprehensive Intelligent mode that combines four distinct features aimed at making it easy to capture perfect images. First is the Mega O.I.S. (Optical Image Stabilizer), a system that helps eliminate blurring due to hand-shake. Second is the Intelligent ISO Control, a system that fights motion blur by detecting if the subject moves and adjusting the ISO sensitivity and shutter speed setting according to the degree of motion and light conditions. Thirdly, is the Auto Macro mode. The camera automatically switches to the Macro mode according to its shooting distance with the subject. The Quick AF system allows the camera to start focusing on the subject even without pressing a shutter button halfway, as the camera is continually detecting and focusing. All these functions act automatically, so you don't...

New Digital Single Lens Reflex camera's from Pentax and Samsung on the way soon.



On the left, possible version of the Pentax K200D.
On the right, Samsung GX20 supposedly a variation of the 14mp Pentax K20D.
Both due to be announced Jan 24th 2008

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For us in the west, it all began in the Spring of 1950.

That was the time when LIFE magazine photojournalists David Douglas Duncan and Horace Bristol, in transit through Tokyo en route to cover the war raging in Korea, were persuaded by a young Japanese stringer to visit a camera factory in the Shinagawa district of the city.



Out of the chaos and rubble of World War II, Nippon Kogaku Kogyo Kaisha - Japan Optical Company Ltd., - struggled to rebuild its manufacturing programme; it had once employed 23,000 workers in more than 20 factories. Now it was reduced to 2 and a mere 1400 employees.



In the west, the regard for post war Japanese manufactured products of almost any description bordered on the dismissive. Certainly for cameras and optics, the general perception was that only Europe and the USA had the know-how to put together the high quality equipment demanded by professionals. But, as Duncan wrote to me years later after his Yankee Nomad was published in the 1960s, it was the young Japanese photographer's enthusiasm for the new products which persuaded him and Bristol to take time out of a busy schedule for the visit.

One can speculate on where Nippon Kogaku - the mighty and familiar Nikon of today, would be in the pecking order had...

Press Release
7th January 2008

Panasonic, a leader in High Definition technology, today announced the development of the world’s first* 32 Gigabyte (GB) SD High Capacity (SDHC)** Memory Card with Class 6 speed specification, perfect for recording High Definition video. With the ability to store up to eight hours of High Definition video, the 32GB SDHC Memory Card prototype will be showcased at the 2008 International CES in Las Vegas from January 7-10 at the Panasonic booth #9405.

The newly developed card, featuring a massive 32GB of capacity is introduced in line with the huge growth in High Definition SD Camcorders and AVCHD High Definition video recording. With double the storage capacity of the current 16GB card, the 32GB card is able to record approximately eight hours of 1440 x 1080i High Definition video and approximately five hours and 20 minutes of 1920 x 1080i full High Definition video. Hours and hours of High definition recording time ensures that you never miss out on a moment. Fly on the wall documentary at work sound interesting? You will have no problems in capturing your whole day with the ability to record around eight hours worth of high definition footage. With the Class 6 speed specification and maximum data transfer speeds up to an impressive 20MB/s, the 32GB card is the industries fastest of its size, allowing users to enjoy superb performance and high-quality recording.

The card is also equipped with a new user-friendly labeling feature, which allows…

Press Release
7th January 2008

Panasonic, a leader in High Definition technology, today announced the development of the world’s first* 32 Gigabyte (GB) SD High Capacity (SDHC)** Memory Card with Class 6 speed specification, perfect for recording High Definition video. With the ability to store up to eight hours of High Definition video, the 32GB SDHC Memory Card prototype will be showcased at the 2008 International CES in Las Vegas from January 7-10 at the Panasonic booth #9405.

The newly developed card, featuring a massive 32GB of capacity is introduced in line with the huge growth in High Definition SD Camcorders and AVCHD High Definition video recording. With double the storage capacity of the current 16GB card, the 32GB card is able to record approximately eight hours of 1440 x 1080i High Definition video and approximately five hours and 20 minutes of 1920 x 1080i full High Definition video. Hours and hours of High definition recording time ensures that you never miss out on a moment. Fly on the wall documentary at work sound interesting? You will have no problems in capturing your whole day with the ability to record around eight hours worth of high definition footage. With the Class 6 speed specification and maximum data transfer speeds up to an impressive 20MB/s, the 32GB card is the industries fastest of its size, allowing users to enjoy superb performance and high-quality recording.

The card is also equipped with a new user-friendly labeling feature, which allows…