Five Favorite Photos from the 2013 Sony World Photography Awards

The governing body of the prestigous annual competition, the Sony World Photography Awards, recently announced the shortlist for the winners of the Professional, Open, and Youth categories. The other categories include the Student Focus - for those studying photography, the 3D Award - for anyone using true 3D technology in photography or video, and the National Award - new in 2013, for photographers in participating countries. The competition, which is organized by the World Photography Organisation, recieved over 122,000 entries from 170 countries this year alone. Each image is jarring and powerful in its own right, but I have chosen my five favorite to share with you.

Photo from the Portraits category, Youth Competition. (© Berta Vicente, Spain, 2013 Sony World Photography Awards)A view from Szczeliniec to Owls Mountains and Klodzko valley, Poland. (© Pawel Uchorczak, Poland, 2013 Sony World Photography Awards)Return to childhood landscapes. The picture is made in Romania, on the train from Bucharest to Baia Mare in a foggy morning in autumn of 2012. (© Hajdu Tamas, Romania, 2013 Sony World Photography Awards) I took this photo in spring 2012 in Rome, my hometown. It was taken with a monorail view camera (5x6 film) and manually developed, after it was scanned and post produced. I took care of the entire process and working on film, it took me quite many tries to have the perfect shadow and exposure; I had to go back to the location several times to and always hope it was sunny enough, once I spent the whole day in front of that wall, just to check at which time of the day the shadow was looking more geometrical, eventually I decided on 2pm. (© Martina Biccheri, Italy, 2013 Sony World Photography Awards)One Day in History. Portraits of children and youths who survived the massacre on the island of Utoeya outside Oslo, Norway on 22nd of July 2011. "I bear my scars with dignity, because I got them standing for something I believe in." Ylva Schwenke, age 15, from Tromso¸ hid by a path called "the love path". She was shot in the shoulder, her stomach and in both of her thighs. (© Andrea Gjestvang, Norway, 2013 Sony World Photography Awards)

To view each shortlist gallery in its entirety and to learn more about the competition, click here. 

We're the New York Institute of Photography, a distance education school teaching photography since 1910 - over 100 years of knowledge and experience. Listen to the following podcast to learn more about who we are and what we do.

AUDIO LINK: WHAT IS THE NEW YORK INSTITUTE OF PHOTOGRAPHY? [20:58M]

Grand Central Terminal Celebrates its 100th Birthday

Friday marked the 100th anniversary of the opening of the magnificent Grand Central Terminal in New York City. As a commuter, I travel to and from Grand Central twice a day during the week and I must admit that I take the splendid sprawling structure for granted a great deal of the time. As I hurry past to catch the next train, I regard the tourists wandering around or staring open mouthed at the magnificent ceiling with annoyance, viewing them as an obstacle constantly threatening to impede my progress. Perhaps this is a little bit of the New Yorker attitude settling in, but when I take a moment to reflect, I can certainly understand why people visiting GCT for the first time are so awe struck by it. As a homage to the great building, I have put together a slideshow out of the compilation of images created by Alan Taylor in his In Focus photo article, Grand Central Terminal Turns 100. The slideshow is comprised of memorable photos taken of Grand Central since it was first built. Enjoy. 

For information on the ongoing Centennial Celebration, click here. 

We're the New York Institute of Photography, a distance education school teaching photography since 1910 - over 100 years of knowledge and experience. Listen to the following podcast to learn more about who we are and what we do.

AUDIO LINK: WHAT IS THE NEW YORK INSTITUTE OF PHOTOGRAPHY? [20:58M]

Two Different Photographic Approaches to Taking Wedding Videos

We all know that photography, just by the way it's processed, can create different moods. I found a striking difference in two wedding videos recently that underscored how the photographic process can change up the moods that a happy couple want to convey in their overall image capture strategy. In this first example, there's a strikingly retro, grainy, casual feel captured in super 8mm film by photographer EP Love for Lolavideo.net. The grainy, saturated-yet-faded colors match the Old Mexico feel of the wedding styling, the old chapel where the ceremony took place, the Mexican restaurant reception venue, and the overall sunny relaxed vibe of the Santa Barbara location. I particularly admired the way the video moved back and forth between color and black and white.

 

Also featuring a relaxed venue and atmosphere, there's quite a contrast and more of a crisp documentary feel with sophisticated cutaway shots and voiceovers in the next video, from New Zealand wedding photographer Jono Tucker. The selection of specific segments in the bride and groom's day shows a good eye and ear for storytelling, with a final product that's designed to preserve happy wedding day memories, with audio recordings of people at the wedding adding volumes to the images.

We're the New York Institute of Photography, a distance education school teaching photography since 1910 - over 100 years of knowledge and experience. Listen to the following podcast to learn more about who we are and what we do.

AUDIO LINK: WHAT IS THE NEW YORK INSTITUTE OF PHOTOGRAPHY? [20:58M]

Video Pick: Photo Tips for Dramatic Portraits

Fashion portrait of model Eliza Lugo by Lorenzo Pickett

I'm always looking for photographers who use simple home setups to showcase their techniques to our students, and I found a great video from Lorenzo Pickett, whose amazing model Eliza Lugo helped to create some wonderful fashion portraits in color and black and white. In our featured video, Lorenzo walks you through his complete setup and discusses lighting, make-up, and his camera lens and settings. The end results have gathered good attention, too - congratulations, Lorenzo! Visit his website for more information.

We're the New York Institute of Photography, a distance education school teaching photography since 1910 - over 100 years of knowledge and experience. Listen to the following podcast to learn more about who we are and what we do.

AUDIO LINK: WHAT IS THE NEW YORK INSTITUTE OF PHOTOGRAPHY? [20:58M]

Our Best "New" Photos

Where has the month of January gone? In our eighth Top 10 Photos post, we did a Web image search on the word "new" to help kick off the New Year right. We chose 10 of our favorite images for our blog followers and fellow photography enthusiasts to cast their votes for. And you have spoken - we're excited to announce that hundreds of you voted in our Top 10 survey. Many thanks for taking the time to register your vote with us - and congratulations to all of our Top 10 photographers. Click here to view the original Top 10 Photos in our "new" competition. Another Top 10 Photos vote will be coming your way soon ....

Photograph #1: New York - Inception by Trey Ratcliff

Photograph #2: New York - Reflections on the Road, Chinatown by Matthew Goddard-Jones

Photograph #3: New South Wales - First Light Over Byron Bay by Paul Bica

We're the New York Institute of Photography, a distance education school teaching photography since 1910 - over 100 years of knowledge and experience. Listen to the following podcast to learn more about who we are and what we do.

AUDIO LINK: WHAT IS THE NEW YORK INSTITUTE OF PHOTOGRAPHY? [20:58M]