Photo Fabulousness ——

Shack By Regan Shercliffe from the Vistek’s Photo and Video Pool on Flickr

Online Awesomeness ——

Ever wonder what it would be like to shoot a 3-minute short film everyday? The goal — perfect your abilities as a filmmaker. In 2010, Preston Kanak produced and posted a film a day. By the end of the year, he produced 365 films — ranging from nature films to corporate documentaries.  3 Minute Shorts (3MS+) is an online outlet for filmmakers that features work being produced from around the world — while also acting as an educational resource for filmmakers. While initially being an outlet for online videography services, 3 Minute Shorts now acts as an online community for visual artists. Mending both the desire for an online community as well a visual online portfolio, 3 Minute Shorts provides budding artists with the opportunity to showcase their work while simultaneously connecting with other like-minded artists from around the world. 3 Minute Shorts is also working to set-up opportunities for current post-secondary students through online workshops, tutorials, and festivals.

Video Virtuosity ——

And, since we brought him up, we thought we’d feature Into the Wild – one of Preston Kanak‘s  fantastic 3-minute films!

Into the Wild from Preston Kanak on Vimeo.

Today would have marked the 244th birthday of French artist and physicist, Louis-Jacques-Mandé Daguerre  – inventor of the daguerreotype, the world’s  first commercially viable photographic process.

Fittingly, Google has paid tribute with today’s Google Doodle!

Nikon Canada’s National Product Trainer, Chris Ogonek, recently took time out to chat with Vistek’s Pro Products Manager, Gary Goldberg about the new Nikon V1 and J1 cameras. Check out these videos and get the inside scoop!

The folks over at Applied Arts Magazine just blogged these great photos from Halifax photographer Peter Leverman who has been shooting a brand campaign for Enbridge called Where Energy Meets for the last year and a half.

“These two were the 11th and 12th in this ongoing series,” said Leverman.  “Enbridge is a multifaceted Canadian energy enterprise and their vision is to become North America’s leading energy-delivery company. The two ads we shot in Montreal were talking about Enbridge’s support for the arts – specifically the National Theatre School and the Honen’s International Piano Competition. Other executions have talked about Enbridge’s wind farms, solar farms, tree planting programs, support of charities and environmental stewardship. Ads have been running in magazines, newspapers and on the web in multiple formats.”

Read the rest here >>

Photo Fabulousness ——

Painting Toronto Planet On An Autumn Day By Katrin Shumakov
 

Bloggy Goodness ——

Pixiq is an online community where the world’s top professional photographers, bloggers, and technical experts can engage fellow image enthusiasts in a dynamic and ongoing discourse about all things photographic. The site is a fantastic resource, chock full of tips, tricks, tutorials and image galleries to inspire photographers of all stripes. And, if you were thinking of entering Vistek’s recently-launched photo contest, you might want to check out their fantastic blog post: How to Win Photography Competitions.
 

Video Virtuosity ——

11/11/11 marks a number of occasions: Veterans/Remembrance Day being the big one. But it’s also a palindrome date (and the last one for quite some time) which makes it an easy one to remember. That’s why the organizers of One Day on Earth chose it for their incredible project that creates a picture of humanity by recording a 24-hour period throughout every country in the world. Check out this stunning trailer.

It’s that time again: Vistek’s annual photo contest, the Every Picture Tells a Story Photo Challenge is now LIVE and waiting for your submissions!

This year’s theme is somewhat different from previous years.  This year we’ve chosen five words that we would like to see you interpret: Solitude, Courage, Joy, Hope and Mystery.

And there are some amazing prizes up for grabs — over $12,000 in total!

Prizes will be awarded to top three entries for each of the five categories and we will also be awarding a prize to the Best Overall Black & White Photo and, of course, the Grand Prize – given to the Best Overall Photo. That’s 15 great prize packages. Interested to see what’s included in each prize package? Check out our contest page for all the details.

The contest runs from now until February 24 and we’ll be announcing our winners March 5!

What are you waiting for? Start shooting!

Vistek is pleased to announce that we will, for the third year running, play sponsor to EXPOSURE 2012 – the Calgary, Banff and Canmore Photography Festival.

As the event’s Gold Naming Sponsor, we once look forward to the Vistek Emerging Photographers Showcase as an exciting opportunity for photographers to submit his or her work for consideration… and prizes!

More details on this exciting opportunity will be revealed shortly!

More from Panasonic yesterday, when they announced the unveiling of its new all-in-one 3D-capable point-and-shoot camera – the Lumix DMC-3D1.

With a twin-lens design, the 3D1 features 25mm ultra-wide angle lenses with 4x optical zoom that offer the outstanding capability to record high resolution 8-megapixel 3D photo and 1920×1080 60i high quality 3D HD video using side-by-side method.  The LUMIX 3D1’s optics give users a wider range of composition possibilities with approximately 169% larger viewing space compared to that of 35mm cameras.

Key Features:

• 12.1 mp High Sensitivity MOS Sensor
• 3D Video and Photo Capture
• LUMIX DC Vario Lenses
• 25mm Ultra Wide Angle
• 4x optical Zoom
• 5x Intelligent Zoom
• Sonic Speed AF
• 3.5″ Touch Screen
• iA mode
• MEGA OIS
• Full HD video capture
• Venus Engine

Available: December 2011; MSRP: $499.99

>> Read the full press release.

Panasonic announced, yesterday, the newest in the G-series lineup of micro four-thirds compact cameras – the Lumix DMC-GX1.

It features a 16.01-megapixel Live MOS sensor and Venus Engine, to ensure real-to-life images through excellent resolution, image rendering and colour reproduction.  Even in low-light situations and at maximum 12800 high ISO sensitivity, the GX1 can produce stunning photos and videos, and, because of its compact size, it can be easily carried for daily use.

Key Features

• 16.01-megapixel Live MOS Sensor with Advanced Noise Reduction System
• High-speed, High-performance Venus Engine
• Mirrorless Structure and LUMIX G / LEICA DG Lenses
• Level Gauge and GN7.6 Equivalent Built-in Flash
• Free Customization and Smart Touch-screen for Intuitive Operation
• 0.09 sec Light Speed AF with Precise Contrast AF
• Full-area Focusing and Pinpoint AF for Flexible Framing
• 4.2 fps (16.0-megapixel) / 20 fps (4-megapixel) Consecutive Shooting
• 1920 x 1080 AVCHD Full HD Videos with High-quality Sound
• Creative Options with Touch AF and Creative Control
• iA (Intelligent Auto) Mode for Beautiful Videos with Ease
• Creative Control and Adjustable Parameters
• 1,440,000-dot Equivalent Optional LVF (Live View Finder)
• Photo Style and Detailed Setting Functions for Fine Control

Available (in black and silver): mid-December 2011; MSRP: $699.99 (body only); $799.99 (body w/ 14-42 standard zoom); $949.99 (body w/LUMIX G X VARIO PZ 14-42mm / F3.5-5.6 ASPH. / POWER O.I.S (H-PS14042) lens)

>> Read the full press release.

Photo Fabulousness ——

Ottawa Fringe Festival by Justin Van Leeuwen from Vistek’s Photo & Video Pool on Flickr

Bloggy Goodness ——

We’ve featured photos by Toronto-based photographer Matt Barnes on our blog before, but what you may not know is that this fab photographer has a behind-the-scenes blog of his own where you can check out how he pulls off his mind-boggling work. He’s got photos, video, and his own personal banter about his work. Check it out!

Video Virtuosity ——

Speaking of behind-the-scenes — Vincent LaForet invited Vimeo out to film a sneak peak at some behind-the-scenes action on the set of his new short film, Mobius. And what’s really cool about this footage, is that it was filmed on the spankin-new Canon EOS C300 Cinema Camera (see our previous post.) Seriously – it’s so new, you can’t even buy it… yet. But you can in January!

Mobius :: Behind The Scenes from Blake Whitman on Vimeo.