New: An International Photography School in Indonesia

An international photography school has been established in Indonesia. Built at Jl. Gaharu II/18 Cilandak, South Jakarta, The Looop Akademie is organized by a photography company running a business at least in five countries in Asia, Australia and Europe, having cooperation with at least 50 international brands in photography projects, also photographing many artists, like U2, Metallica and Foo Fighters.

What does this school offer to its students? A full technical learning that involves lecturers both of autodidact and academic backgrounds. Some other supporting curriculums, like fashion, food styling, make-up and acting, are also available as to the photography lesson. Please visit thelooopakademie.com and thelooop.com to read more details. Agustinus Boni

Hunting to Enliven This Year's Christmas

What we can possibly do to enliven this year's Christmas celebration? Perhaps, photo model hunting can be one among some other alternatives, as how the Fashion Hub of Kelapa Gading Mall (Jakarta) is working out in December 18-19, in collaboration with PhotoClinique.

In this event entitled "Christmas for Shopaholic," the models will wear Christmas-themed costumes and accessories. Your photos can also join the establishing competition; if only you submit them of maximum one week after the hunting event was held. If you are the first winner, you can win a cash of up to 1.5 million rupiah (approx. US$159), 1 million rupiah (approx. US$106) for the second winner and 500.000 rupiah (approx. US$53) for the third winner. For further information, please visit photoclinique.asia or www.fotografer.net. You can also send an email to huntingfashionhub@gmail.com for any possible question.
Mohamad Riza Ishar

Singapore International Photography Festival

The "2010 Singapore International Photography Festival" (SIPF) is now opened for you - photographers with any nationality, especially those who live in the Southeast Asia countries. The two available categories are General and Human:Nature. For the second category, you are given a chance to freely interpret the "Human:Nature" as both "Human Nature" and "Human & Nature," for the colon (:) is used to put human and nature at an equal ratio and relation.

The SIPF program and exhibition will last for 30 days, started from October 10, 2010, while the photo submission will be closed on March 31. Beside photos of up to 7 (minimum) to 17 (maximum) frames in 72 DPI-sized JPEG format having 1280 pixel as the longest frame size, you should also submit a resume of maximum two pages of A4-sized paper, a biography of maximum 200 words and the description of your work of maximum 200 words too.

To be participating, the registration fee is Sing$30. A special discount is given to the Southeast Asian photographers; you should only pay Sing$20. If your photo wins, you will be contacted via e-mail in May 2010, and the overall result of the competition will be displayed in the SIPF's site in June. sipf.com.sg

Two Newly Makro-Planar Lenses for Canon

Carl Zeiss adds two new lenses in its ZE line of lenses. They are the Makro-Planar T* 2/50 and Makro-Planar T* 2/100; both can render objects in close-up on a scale of 1:2. They are capable of creating distortion-free images because of the extraordinary light intensity of 1:2. Even with a maximum aperture opening and a low focal depth, the desired image can be easily isolated from its disruptive surroundings. You can use them across the entire focusing range, from 0.24 m to infinity.

The Makro-Planar T* 2/50 is available with the F bayonet (ZF), also the ZF.2, while the Makro-Planar T* 2/100 with the K bayonet (ZK). Both are equipped with the EF bayonet. T* 2/50 is now available at a retail price of € 965,55, while the second one will be available in the beginning of 2010 at a retail price of € 1.385,71. photographyblog.com

Canon DSLR with Touchscreen?

Will the next Canon Rebel show up at CES in January 2010 with a touchscreen? It could be, for these recent days' rumor has been saying that the next Canon DSLR cameras will feature it in the future. What can you do later on with this newly feature?

A prediction said that this screen will have an Iris Registration Mode that will detect the user's iris. Your identity will then be automatically attached to the photo file when you are shooting objects through your lens. This will also happen when your camera is being used by multiple users.

To set the aperture, you can do a vertical sliding, while the shutter speed can be set by a horizontal sliding. Meanwhile, the other settings that can be outdone through this screen are the focus detection area, exposure correction value, flash adjustment correction value, photometry mode, drive mode, ISO value, autofocus and white balance mode. By having this touchscreen, will the nowadays' setting buttons be gone? Or can we still use them alternatively? We will see. photographybay.com

12.2-MP Camera Attached on a Phone

Though it will not replace your Nikon D3X, Docomo SMART F-03B from Fujitsu will perhaps support you in doing business, along with your photography hobby.

This mobile phone was released in Japan in December 4, having a 12.2-MP camera attached on it. This high-performance camera allows for highly sensitive photography - equivalent to ISO 25600. Moreover, this camera is equipped with Face Recognition feature to give priority to a particular object as the main subject for autofocus, also the Smile Finder feature to automatically capture your subject's biggest smile.

Beside water- and dust-resistant, there is one more feature that perhaps will interest you. If your colleagues give you a business card, you do not need to type manually the data on the card. What you need to do is to take a photo of the card with the camera attached on the phone, and then it will automatically save that data into your address book.
techno.nikkeibp.co.jp, fujitsu.com

With Leica, to South America

Have you ever imagined yourself cruising on the rivers and exploring the rainforests of South America for photography mission? To be on the Amazon, Suriname, Demerara and Orinoco rivers with the Clelia II cruise ship for 13 days with the other 99 passengers from all over the world? Leica will absolutely serve you with the best facility if you join its upcoming event entitled "Jungle Rivers & Rain Forests of South America - Exploring the Amazon, Suriname, Demerara and Orinoco Rivers aboard the all-Suite, 100-Guest Clelia II".

You will enjoy Leica's latest cameras, together with the educational program of lecturers and discussions by accompanying Leica's host, onboard naturalist guides and guest lecturer. One night at a luxurious hotel, welcome & farewell cocktail, wine, beer, soft drink, open bar and the other facilities have been included in the registration fee.

If your friend or you are having a birthday, Leica is giving you a 50% discount. But, if you go all alone and are having a birthday, you will be given US$500 cash back. When will the trip begin? From April 17 to May 2, 2010. Are your date of birth is in there? Please visit leicarumors.com for further information.
leicarumors.com, greatlakescruising.com

Hundreds of Kilometer on the Route to Santiago

The "Santiago de Compostela" (Route to Santiago/the Way of St. James) photo exhibition is perhaps apparently properly scheduled in this Advent (a time of expectant waiting and preparation for Christmas) season, for this exhibition is going to display Don Hasman's and Filomena Reiss' photos when they were walking on the pilgrimage route to Santiago in 2007.

They tell us so many stories through their photos, such as the 15 kgs goods that Don Hasman should be carrying at that time, which insisted him to take the most popular route - the Camino Frances. Filomena Reiss tells us that she had traveled 900 kilometers by foot; she can still feel every happiness and hard time that she encountered that day.

This exhibition has been establishing since December 8. A seminar is held today, and there will be a symposium tomorrow (December 10). You are also invited to "Forum Fotografer Malang" (the Forum of Malang Photographers) on the day after, to a photography workshop by Don Hasman and Kristupa Saragih on December 12, also a photo presentation and event closing on December 13. Where? At Aula Gedung Widya Bhakti, Jl. Ijen, Malang. For further information please visit www.fotografer.net. Willy Aprillianto

Game to Make You Learn Nikon's History

Nikon has launched a new game that will make you learn its history. You will be given some quizzes, puzzles and the other missions that you need to figure out. They will bring forth so many facts and stories behind the creation of Nikon's products, also of how Nikon's experts have held up innovating things; arranged classically in a vintage visual display. This game also has some other surprises for you, and if you are tired playing, just close your browser and when you open it again some other time, you do not need to start the game from the beginning.

The supporting browsers that you can possibly use are Internet Explorer 6.0 and Firefox 2.0 for Windows, or Safari 2.0 and Firefox 2.0 in MacOS. How to play? Navigate to nikon.com/about/feelnikon/history/sp, but first read the terms and condition on nikon.com/about/feelnikon/history/ index.htm. Make sure that Flash Player 9.0.45.0 or higher has been installed on your PC, and JavaScript has run on your browser. nikon.com

The Beauty of Bondowoso - A Photo Competition

The photo objects are all the tourism sectors in Bondowoso district in East Java, such as Ijen Mountain, Sempol/Jampit coffee plantation, Blawan/Tancak Kembar waterfall, the Arak-Arak nature tourism, the archeological stones, Raung Mountain, Gerbong Maut Museum and Bosamba rafting. While the objects of culture are singo ulung, wayang kathok and the cultural art show on the 2009 Muharram Festival.

This photo competition is organized by Bondowoso's local government as the series of 2009 Muharram Festival, along with the promotion of its tourism, art and cultural sectors. Another mission is to disseminate and grow the spirit of its citizens as to the development of their district, through a visual medium namely "photography." You have now been permitted to send your work until December 28. The photos will be displayed from December 16 to 31 at the Muharram Festival Expo held at Bondowoso district's Alun-Alun (town square). To get into the details, you can visit festivalmuharram.blogspot.com. cindy

Volkswagen's National Jamboree Photo Competition II

The Volkswagen's National Jamboree is establishing in Yogyakarta from December 26 to 27. There will be a photo competition in this event, with two of the following themes: "When Angel Meet the Legend" and "All about VW Jamboree." The photographing session for the first theme will be established on December 27 at 10:00am to 12:00pm (local time), while the second theme on December 26 to 27.

The registration has been in advance. You can start to include your name in the event, from December 7 to 26, at the Ethnic Digital Photography, Jl. Rotowijayan 5, Yogyakarta, by contributing Rp 50.000 (approx. US$5.3) as for the registration fee. This event is opened for everyone, and you will get a free t-shirt if listed as the first 100 registering participants. For further information, please visit www.fotografer.net. cindy