Hello again!

This is my second column for Red Dog News, and I've already received a lot of nice comments. For this installment, I have a few quick monitor adjustment tips for Mac users. There are a few ways to calibrate and profile a monitor. I highly recommend a hardware calibration device such as the X-Rite i1 Display 2, the ColorVision Spyder3, or the ColorMunki Photo. Many people don't realize that Mac laptops, Intel-based iMacs and Cinema Displays all have a Contrast adjustment in addition to a Brightness adjustment.

Sony is introducing its full-frame á (alpha) DSLR-A900 camera, aimed at serious photo enthusiasts looking for traditional SLR performance with the added benefits of digital photography.

It is designed to deliver ultra-fine picture quality with the world's highest resolution, 24.6-megapixel, 35 mm full-frame CMOS sensor and fast image processing with a new dual BIONZ processing engines. The camera is also the first to have a body-integrated image stabilization system for a full-frame sensor with Sony's SteadyShot Inside anti-shake system. One look at the camera's distinctive pentaprism and nostalgic body design will evoke its full-frame optical performance. It features a bright, clear optical viewfinder with 100% field of view coverage that would impress even film photography loyalists.

Thanks to a recent grant from New York State, the Westchester County Archives will scan more than 3,000 depression-era photographs of Playland, the historic amusement park in Rye, New York. The collection will be posted online throughout the coming year. Playland opened in 1928, and is open to this day, its current season having ended September 5, 2008. The black-and-white images portray families, often immaculately dressed, having the time of their lives in spite of the troubling times. For select images, see the article below, courtesy of The New York Times.

It may seem like the most unexpected marriage of future technology: a new cutting-edge imaging satellite launched on a rocket bearing the Google logo. The launch was not sponsored by Google, but the world's most popular search engine will gain exclusive rights to use the images produced by the new satellite. The satellite was, in fact, built by General Dynamics and launched by Boeing. Additional funding came from Geoeye and the US Defense Department's National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. The use of Google's logo is the product of an undisclosed agreement.

Through October 25, 2008, Jenkins Johnson Gallery in San Francisco, CA will exhibit a series of photographs by Saul Leiter, who started creating color and black-and-white street photography in New York in the 1940s. The first European retrospective of Saul Leiter's street photography took place at the Fondation Henri Cartier-Bresson in Paris this year. A book just published by Steidl coincides with this retrospective, and includes more than 100 black-and-white and color photographs.

The National Press Photographers Association (NPPA) has announced the schedule for a series of traveling workshops for journalists working with photography and video. The 51st Annual Flying Short Course will begin September 26, 2008 at Gardner-Webb University in Boiling Springs, NC. On September 27, the workshop will be presented at the University of Texas in Arlington, TX; and on September 28, the University of Oregon in Portland, OR. Co-sponsored by Canon and Nikon, the course will present journalists John Harrington, Regina McCombs, David Honl, and Kelly Jordan, as they give advice on the business and marketing of one's journalistic work.

American photographer, Minor White (1908-1976), was one of the most influential and naked photographers in the postwar period. He lived his life through almost forty years of creative image making. His abstract images show the peak moments of a photographer's inner visions, which created and attracted "White mania" through the 1960's (Rosenblum 519). He was also a founder and an editor of Aperture, a teacher at the San Francisco Art Institute, Rochester Institute of Technology, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Hoffman 3). Not only are his photographs constructed and framed with the aesthetic and stylistic structures of ready made, found abstract objects from nature and the man-made world, they are also very spiritual and poetic; however, White's ideas did not stop there. Although the influences of Straight photography, Abstract Expressionism, Equivalent, and the Zone System were important to him, I believe that his experience and private path played a big role in his creative visions.

The Center for Fine Art Photography is still accepting entries for "The Art in Nature Fine Art Photography Show," a juried exhibition taking place December 5, 2008 to January 3, 2009. In addition to being featured at the Center's new gallery space in Fort Collins, CO, selected photographers will be included in an artists' reception during the Fort Collins Gallery Walk, the Center's online gallery, and a 2008 Exhibition Collection CD to be distributed to selected galleries, collectors, and corporations worldwide. And medium of photography will be accepted from anywhere in the world.

Launching this week, DiscoveredArtists.com will feature over 3,000 works from 315 independent artists (and counting), all available for sale. Owner-partner Brian Walker intends to provide art buyers and sellers with an all-in-one online destination, and is introducing the site with an aggressive marketing campaign aimed at consumers, art buyers, and interior designers, among others. DiscoveredArtists.com is expected to attract over 30,000 new visitors in its first week. Categories include wall art, photography, and art objects. Click the link below to visit the site.

The National Association of Photoshop Professionals has announced the 2008 Guru Award Winners, participants of a competition exclusive to the Photoshop World Conference & Expo in Las Vegas, NV. Since 1999, the Guru Award has recognized outstanding creativity and innovation in the digital imaging industry. The winners were selected from more than 400 entries, and announced at the Conference opening ceremony on September 4, 2008. The Vincent Versace Award for Digital Photography Excellence was presented to Nicole Gibson, along with prizes of top-line software and hardware. Click the link below to see a gallery of winners.

Set to take place April 19-24, 2009, the 17th Digital Photography Bootcamp workshop from Kubota Image Tools offers professional photographers technical advice and guidance for running a successful portraiture and wedding photography studio while encouraging development of individual styles and creative approaches. Live models will be on hand for digital capture exercises, and host Kevin Kubota will offer workflow strategies using the most current software tools, including those offered in the newest version of Photoshop. Early bird rate of $2,695 will be available until January 31, 2009.

Husband-and-wife photographers Jerry Uelsmann and Maggie Taylor will exhibit through November 2, 2008 at Modernbook Gallery in Palo Alto, CA. Uelsmann's images have become well-known for creating unforgettable dreamlike images using hand-printed multiple negatives, and Taylor combines vintage photographs, antique toys and other found objects in her digital photomontages, which can contain as many as 40 to 60 different layers. Taylor collaborated with writer Lola Haskins on Solutions Beginning with A, a book published by Modernbook, from which the exhibited images were chosen.

The Visa pour l'Image festival in Perpignan, France is now in full swing, lasting until September 14, 2008. The winners of the Visa d'Or Feature Award and News Award have been announced. For the Feature Award, Brent Stirton was honored September 5 for his images of the slaughter of gorillas in the Democratic Republic of Congo, which were previously published by Newsweek and National Geographic. News award winner Philip Blenkinsop, of Noor Images, was honored on September 6 for his work on the China Earthquake.

A three-day photography event taking place in Windsor, Ontario, the 2008 Windsor International Photographic Seminar (WIPS) will last November 14 to 16, 2008. A schedule of seminars with professional photographers is aimed at beginners and professionals alike. The St. Clair College Centre for the Arts, situated on the Detroit River, will host all WIPS events, which include, "Creative Macro & Impressionistic Flower Photography" with Charles Needle; "Probably Travel, Probably Canada, but Definitely Photography" with Daryl Benson; "A Call to Create" with Freeman Patterson, and more. Participants will be invited to submit their photographs from the evening of November 17, using the skills they have learned. Details are to be announced during the event.

The UnScene Photography Tour continues with UnScene Las Vegas, a one-night gallery event taking place at Symbolic Gallery September 24, 2008. Following August's UnScene Chicago event, participants in the new Las Vegas competition will be selected by readers of 944 Magazine by online vote. Five chosen photographers will present ten of their best Las Vegas images, all of which will be available for sale at the event, and will be entered in the national competition. Deadline is September 15. For a list of other scheduled cities, click below.

On September 9, 2008, Lexar Media announced the Lexar Professional UDMA 300x 16GB CompactFlash memory card. UDMA stands for Ultra Direct Memory Access, a technology that provides amazing speed of performance. Larger photographic image files and higher volumes of information have created increasing demand for faster transfer times from card to hard drive, and the UDMA technology is meant to connect to the appropriate reader, such as the Lexar Professional UDMA FireWire® 800 Reader. Lexar's new series of cards will be presented at the upcoming Photokina 2008, September 23 to 28.

Starting tomorrow on September 11 and lasting through December 21, 2008, Koppelman Gallery at Tufts University will present "Contrapuntal Lines: Rania Matar and Buthina Abu Milhem." Named after a musical phrase referring to the harmonious juxtaposition of musical voices, the exhibition of photography and sculpture will examine the relations between Arabs and Israelis. Rania Matar is a Lebanese photographer, and her series, "The Forgotten People (2002-2006)," investigates living conditions at several Palestinian refugee camps in southern Lebanon. Buthina Abu Milhem is an Arab-Israeli sculptor will present her series, "The Needle Vanquishes the Sewer," as well.

Taking place October 19 to November 2, 2008, a workshop offers photographers the chance to work alongside NGO's in a real-world documentary project in Uganda. Instructed by Jamie Rose, "Project Uganda: Photography as a Force of Change" will assign participants to NGO partners working in areas of interest for each individual photographer. Work will encompass HIV/AIDS outreach, vocational training, orphanages and general healthcare. This workshop is offered to amateur and emerging photojournalists as a way of making the next step into the world of philanthropic photography. In addition, logistical support, editing, instruction, and personal mentoring will be provided. Workshop cost is $4026.

"The Invisible Age: Self-portraits of women aged 50-65" will exhibit at RayKo Photo Center in San Francisco, CA, September 4 to October 10, 2008. The theme of "The Invisible Age" focuses on society's preoccupation with images of the young and glamorous, while entire groups of wiser, older women are largely ignored because of their age and appearance. 30 artists from around the country and the world will participate in this exhibition, having set out to interpret this theme with their self-portaits. Curated by Jan Potts and Beth Kientzle, the exhibition's opening reception is on September 5.

Starting October 1 and continuing through November 15, 2008, Benham Gallery in Seattle, WA will present "Simplistic Form," a group exhibition with photographers Jahnavi Lisa Barnes and Jeri Eisenberg. Barnes' photographs of natural landscapes and phenomena and Eisenberg's uses pinhole (or otherwise radically de-focused) cameras to create abstract images printed on Japanese Kozo Paper. The creativity of these photographers is reflected in what the viewer does not see as much as what is seen. Reception takes place the evening of October 2.