Capture Arts

Introduction: The Fujifilm X100

In a strange twist from the globalized world of digital imaging, Fujifilm, one-time maker of zesty film has launched one of photography’s most compelling successors to to history’s iconic Leica rangefinders of the 35mm film era. How many of those German cameras at one time or another loaded with Fuji Velvia, Astia, or Provia? No matter, Fuji is back in the game with a tough little rangefinder built around classic Fuji color philosophy and the camera rocks.

What is the Fujifilm X100? It certainly looks like the film-era rangefinders it mimics, and in many ways operates like one too, though the classy metal and faux-leather chassis uses digital trickery to add high-tech through-the-lens viewfinding. The hybrid optical/electronic viewfinder allows much of the modern gizmology of recent interchangeable lens compacts and high end point and shoots aimed at sophisticated photographers. Modern tricks include autofocus-enabled video capture; autofocus from any point in the frame; pre-capture preview of white balance, exposure, and histogram; RAW and JPG capture; in-camera RAW processing and film simulation; a virtual horizon in the viewfinder; and a post-shot quick image review in the viewfinder. Not to mention, as much as any camera currently made, the X100 packs its digi-tricks into an old school camera body that is fun to shoot, with quick, clicky mechanical access to aperture settings and shutter speed.

So, what is it like to shoot this quirky neo-classic? Read on for our complete introduction…

Digital Art

The Canon Selphy CP800, A pocket-size dye-sub printer for go-anywhere photo printing

Call me crazy, but I think these little guys are a very cool thing. With Photo Arts Monthly, we hope to have created a magazine experience that’s interesting for the professional and high-end image makers among us. So why spend time with a $75 photo printer like this, the Canon Selphy CP800? Because there is still, even in 2011, something special about the tangible products of our bits-and-bytes passion, and super junior printers like this make it possible, on-the-spot and just about anywhere.

Studio Arts

Intoduction: The Profoto D4 Air

Profoto’s D-line of packs and mono heads sits in the middle of the company’s line up of studio strobe lighting, a bit less lofty than the company’s Pro line and more expensive and far more sophisticated than Profoto’s entry-level set of Acute packs. “D” might well stand for “Digital” with D1 monoheads and D4 packs. All use tenth-stop digital fine tuning and wide-ranging power. “Air” equipped heads and packs make use of Profoto’s sophisticated proprietary remote system to offer power and distribution control on camera, and built-in wireless multichannel sync (reviewed here).

The Profoto D4 Air, then, is an awesome combination of both Profoto’s latest in-pack full asymmetry and sophisticated on-camera control. It is a versatile tool for fine-tuned light, offering quick-control and the flexibility of a wide range of power. It is both easy to use and thoroughly capable and, as we proved through nearly two months of hard testing, a robust pack, ready for the day-to-day beating of professional studio and location photography.

Read on for our in-depth introduction:

Photo Arts

Interview: Jeff Kauck, Food Photographer

It doesn’t take long talking to food photographer, Jeff Kauck, to detect his passion for art, light, and photography. His studio is lit with two giant windows, one facing North, one East. During our conversation, talk quickly arrives at the finesse of light and color in classic painting. Jeff explains the concept of Color Lift:

“You take a white cup and saucer outside, the shadow is blue, the sunlit highlights are yellow, opposite colors. With a warm light source and a purple shadow, the white is more dimensional.” In essence, Jeff uses the broad light beaming into his Chicago studio like a liquid watercolor palate. In contrast to the contemporary trend towards neutrality in studio light color, Jeff’s work seems alive and visceral, with warm natural light and cool natural shadows.

Read on for our complete interview, and see much more of Jeff’s work at jeffkaukphotography.com..