Photography Roundup - 4/29

Weekly-ish News and Photography Updates

By K David in Columns on Apr 29, 2015

Castle Mirrored in the Mist | unkipunki

This week has had a lot of gear-related excited on the Forums. In addition, though, there's a lot of non-gear stuff to be equally excited about. Check out the links below for some fantastic photos, useful tools, and helpful resources.

Featured Deals

Rumors are flying this week that the FA Limited primes may be discontinued. It looks like B&H and Adorama are trying to clear stock out. In addition, there are some great deals on the 40mm prime lenses.

• DA 40mm f/2.8 for $385
• DA 40mm f/2.8 XS for $119
• K-50 with SD Card, Eye-Fi, and Pentax AF-200FG Flash for $346
• 43mm FA Limited 22% Off at Adorama and B&H
• Kata bags deals at B&H 

Here are some great resources from B&H for gear deals. The DealZone features a hefty markdown on one item every day (sometimes it's not a photography item.) The used department has a number of great pieces of used gear that work just as well as new, but at a fraction of the price. Explora is where B&H showcase and discuss new products.

• B&H DealZone
• B&H Used Department
• Explora

Pentax Forums Roundup

Official Monthly Contest Update

Hay Bale Kiss | darlmunk

The Official Monthly Photo Contest #103 "Mirror Image" winners were announced this week. Congratulations to darkmunk for their winning photo "Hay Bale Kiss." Check the link for all three winners and their images.

Official Monthly Photo Contest #104 "Fill the Frame" is taking entries. This is a great chance to fill your viewfinder with a subject and take a fantastic photo.

Photo Critiques: Advice for Free

Have you ever wondered if your image is good enough to sell? Or maybe you took a photo but something's not right and you can't quite figure it out? Trying a new technique and what to see what you could stand to learn or improve? The Pentax Forums Photo Critique sub-forum is the place to be. Here members can post work, solicit honest, supportive, and critical feedback and use other member's opinions to improve as artists and photographers.

Post-processing Challenge #145: Hocking Hills State Park

Forum Member atupdate, as he is prone to doing, posted a post-processing challenge photo that needs no work. So that makes Post-processing Challenge #145 a great thread to participate in to hone your editing skills.

Post-processing Challenge #145 Contest Photo | atupdate

Gear News

This was as exciting a gear news week as the full frame's announcement. So the best thing to do is simply to check out all the news.

• Pentax K-3 II Announced
• Pentax Firmware Update: K-3
• Pentax Firmware Update: K-S2
• Pentax Firmware Update: K-S1
• Adobe Lightroom 6

Featured Online Photography Resource 

This week's featured resource is Fence Check. Ever wanted to know where you can get photos of a certain plane? What about where it's safe to take photos of planes? Looking for articles and tips on how to get the most out of your gear when photographing airplanes and air shows? Fence Check is your resource.

Even if you're looking to photograph fighters and other military aircraft, Fence Check can help you find good locations. Tips about local spotting points, how friendly the military facility is to photographers, and other beneficial information about stand-off distances and safety can be found here.

Remember that the U.S. military tolerates photography of its planes. However, the MPs are likely to say hi to you if you're too close or use a lens with a focal length greater than 300mm. Other countries have different policies.

Featured Photography Journal

ATLAS Zine

After a four-year run, ATLAS Zine ended development of new content in January. However, this arts zine remains online with a lot of fascinating and eclectic material. The website may be a bit Internet 1.0, but the content will evoke, provoke, and stir reactions in you.

Specializes in: Eclectic

Publication Frequency: Ended

Submission Fee: Not applicable