Photography Roundup - 2/20

Weekly News and Photography Updates

By K David in Columns on Feb 20, 2015

"Singles, Feb. 5" | jcdoss

This week inaugurates a new format for our weekly photo roundup series. We'll focus more on the world outside of Pentax Forums with ongoing deal, industry news, announcement details, a selected online photography resource and a selected online photography journal. Our goal is to make this series relevant to us as photographers as well as Pentax users.

Featured Deals

Check out these great Pentax and Third-party deals timed well to coincide with CP+! If you're looking to grab a K-50, this is one of the best prices yet for it.

• Red Pentax K-50 + Card + Flash: $366
• US Pentax Lens Savings
• UK Pancake Savings
• Topaz ReStyle: $20 Off Coupon Code
  

Pentax Forums Roundup

Have you seen what's happening in the contest threads this month? If not, here are some highlights. The contests this month have been a lot of fun with a great competitive, but also collaborative, spirit.

Monthly Contest #101 Voting

Voting for the 15 finalists is live for Monthly Contest #101. The competition is tough with all fifteen of the entrants being truly world-class images.

Monthly Contest #102 Update

Have you submitted a moonscape image to Monthly Contest #102 yet? If not, you can submit an image here.

Single in February Update

Single in February is proceeding at a handy clip with lots of great image, sharing, and inspiration. Want to see what some of our most prolific photographers are doing? Head over to the Single in February thread and challenge posts. Here are some of the photos that people are taking this month for Single in February.

"Day 8" | repaap

"Gum Tree on Grater" | Ozzrod

Picture of the Week #350

Have you seen the Picture of the Week #350 thread? There are some mind-blowing photos in this installment!

Photo by TimPGH

Gear News

The week leading up to CP+ has seen Pentax printing more news than the New York Times on Sunday Morning. Here are some of the key things to look for in Pentax's immediate future.

CP+ 2015 Coverage & Interview

Don't miss our exclusive coverage from last week's CP+ show in Japan, which included a Pentax interview with Ricoh Imaging representatives.

Pentax Full Frame Body

The Pentax Full Frame prototype looks like it came off a 3-D printer, but almost every Pentax fan is exceedingly excited about it. Pentax has arrived at the Full Frame Ball like a debutant— late and in a backless dress.  We learned a little more about the camera at CP+.

Pentax K-S2 Mid-range DSLR

Did you know that the Pentax K-S2 is already available for pre-order? Learn more or pre-order yours now (US | UK). This is one of the most exciting Pentax bodies since the K-3! Key among the K-S2's features, it will support built-in wifi and has a flip-out screen, both firsts for Pentax.  It's also weather-sealed and it debuts a new ultra-compact kit lens with silent focusing.

Two New Pentax D FA Lenses

The hits literally keep coming with the two new Pentax full frame lenses. These lenses fill important gaps in the Pentax lineup; the constant-aperture 70-200mm F2.8 and the 150-450mm F4.5-5.6 lenses present a great deal of versatility for foth full frame and crop-sensor bodies.

Photography News

Ilford's Annual Film Use Survey

Ilford's 2014 film survey indicated that 30% of film users are younger than 30 and 60% of those users have used film for less than five years. The vast majority of users reported using black and white film and a large number of the responders reported exclusive use of black and white film.

Kodak to Continue Producing Motion Picture Film

Saying "Film has long been – and will remain – a vital part of our culture," Kodak CEO Jeff Clarke announced that Kodak will continue to produce motion picture film stock for Hollywood. This is great news for film videographers and film still photographers. Kodak has shown that their commitment to helping Hollywood make film-worthy projects will continue.

Upcoming News Analysis

Keep your eyes out for an article later this month the looks at the many ways this deal could benefit the still film photographers who prefer film as their imaging medium.

Featured Online Photography Resource 

The International Center of Photography is a great resource for photographers in general. Their website has this list which features art museums worldwide that have photography collections. You might be surprised to learn about a previously unknown photography museum near you. Museums are a great place to see area photographers and get a sense of what is cutting edge in the photography art world.

Featured Photography Journal

F-Stop Magazine

F-Stop Magazine is an online-only photography journal with enough material to keep your imagination churning between issues. Each issue, F-Stop features an artist whose work they highlight as well as a group exhibition with multiple artists. The group exhibition features some of the most creative, voice-full, artistic, and visually appealing imagery of any photography magazine on the web. F-Stop is a magazine worth keeping in your bookmarks bar. F-Stop accepts submissions from readers and non-readers alike.

Specializes in: Avant-garde, artistic, meaningful, and moving work from around the world.

Publication Frequency: Every other month.

Submission Fee: Free