Photograph © National Museums Northern Ireland, Collection Harland and Wolff, Ulster Folk & Transport Museum

“The propellers of the Olympic—the nearly identical sister ship of the Titanic—dwarf workers at the Belfast shipyard where both ocean liners were built. Few photographs exist of the Titanic, but the Olympic gives a sense of its grand design.” - http://natgeomuseumblog.org/tag/titanic-2/

You could win a $10 Focus Camera gift card! To submit a photo, post it to our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/FocusCamera. If you do not have a Facebook, you can email photos to contests@focuscamera.com. You do not need to be a professional to submit a photo, we would love to see photos of all kinds and qualities. We agree with Ken Rockwell when he said  “No matter how advanced your camera you still need to be responsible for getting it to the right place at the right time and pointing it in the right direction to get the photo you want.” So, in short, Get creative! We really hope our contest inspires you to go out and take new photos, but if you have an older one that fits the bill that works too. However, all photos MUST be your photos.

Official Rules:

1. Must “like” focus camera on Facebook. If you are not on the Facebook, you can subscribe to our email newsletter here: https://www.focuscamera.com/customer/account/create by checking the box.

2. Photos must be family friendly.

3. The photos you submit must be your own photographs, taken and owned by you.

4. Three submissions per person, per week.

5. Photos will be accepted for the appropriate theme until Monday at 10am.

We judge the photos 50% on technical aspects like light, composition, depth of field, etc. and 50% on the content of the photo and how well it fulfills the theme

Roller Rover, by William Wegman

In an interview with David Shonauer, William Wegman answered a question many people ask about the photo Roller Rover:

So she was actually in the roller skates?

She is and was. The trick, as I recall, is that one of the skates is tipped, so they’re not all rolling. Three are rolling and one is set. And I probably took a few shots before one finally jumped out, because of the curves and lines and all those photographic things that photographers and artists look for. It just had the right placements.When you work with Polaroid you didn’t really shoot more than you needed to because you could see what you’ve had every minute and a half—you peel the back off and go, “Okay,” and pin it up and you go, “Okay, we need to do this and we need to do that.” I can’t remember how many shots I took of Fay in the skates, but not really many more than two or three before something jumped out.

To read the full interview go here: http://davidschonauer.wordpress.com/2011/08/21/behind-the-picture-a-william-wegman-intervie/

With their slightly webbed paws and powerful muscles, polar bears are excellent swimmers. Their favorite meal is seals, but they will eat anything they can catch, even scavenging through garbage in areas where their habitat overlaps with humans. – National Geographic Polar Bear Photo Gallery

 Don’t worry if you can’t finance a photography trip to the arctic, this weeks animal theme encompasses wildlife and pet photos of all kinds. Here are some quick tips for taking great animal photos: 

1. Try to capture an animals eyes in the photo. Just like with portraits, an animals eyes will be a focal point and do a lot to convey its emotions.

2. Use “Burst Shooting” mode. Letting your camera fly at a high amount of frames per second ensures that you won’t miss the moment when the animal jumps or positions its head just right. Be careful though, because burst shooting makes it harder to focus, so use a tripod for better results.

3. If you intend to do a lot of wildlife photography, invest in a good telephoto lens. It will enable you to get close shots while staying at safe distances. When buying a telephoto lens, it is good to keep in mind that generally the larger the range of a lens, say 18mm-200mm, the quality of the photo will be lower than a telephoto lens with a smaller range of 100mm to 200mm.

You could win a $10 Focus Camera gift card! To submit a photo, post it to our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/FocusCamera. If you do not have a Facebook, you can email photos to contests@focuscamera.com. You do not need to be a professional to submit a photo, we would love to see photos of all kinds and qualities. We agree with Ken Rockwell when he said  “No matter how advanced your camera you still need to be responsible for getting it to the right place at the right time and pointing it in the right direction to get the photo you want.” So, in short, Get creative! We really hope our contest inspires you to go out and take new photos, but if you have an older one that fits the bill that works too. However, all photos MUST be your photos.

Official Rules:

1. Must “like” focus camera on Facebook. If you are not on the Facebook, you can subscribe to our email newsletter here: https://www.focuscamera.com/customer/account/create by checking the box.

2. Photos must be family friendly.

3. The photos you submit must be your own photographs, taken and owned by you.

4. Three submissions per person, per week.

5. Photos will be accepted for the appropriate theme until Monday at 10am.

We judge the photos 50% on technical aspects like light, composition, depth of field, etc. and 50% on the content of the photo and how well it fulfills the theme

We took a trip around Grand Central Station with Corey of Faymus Media (www.faymusmedia.com) and he told us some interesting insight and helpful tips for taking urban landscape photos. We were chilled to the bone from the wind, but had a lot of fun capturing the city life!

“I was driving through the Chama Valley back to Santa Fe after a fruitless day trying to photograph a stump. I finally gave up and I was driving south, occasionally looking out of the window. Then I saw it: the church, the cemetery, the moon. I thought, Ditch the car! I started yelling to my friends to get out the tripod. I got my camera ready. I had to change the front lens component to the back and find the filter. I knew I had something wonderful, but I couldn’t find the exposure meter. Values are very difficult to judge, but I knew that the moon has a luminance value of 250 candles per square foot, so I calculated from there.” Ansel Adams, Interview with Playboy, 1983. 

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Don’t worry if you don’t know how to calculate the luminance value of the moon, you can still take great landscape photographs! We look forward to seeing landscapes, seascapes, and cityscapes. Send in a shot from you last adventure, or go out and capture something new.

To submit a photo, post it to our Facebook page! (https://www.facebook.com/FocusCamera). If you do not have a Facebook, you can email photos to contests@focuscamera.com. You do not need to be a professional to submit a photo, we would love to see photos of all kinds and qualities. We agree with Ken Rockwell when he said  “No matter how advanced your camera you still need to be responsible for getting it to the right place at the right time and pointing it in the right direction to get the photo you want.” So, in short, Get creative! We really hope our contest inspires you to go out and take new photos, but if you have an older one that fits the bill that works too. However, all photos MUST be your photos.

Official Rules:

1. Must “like” focus camera on Facebook. If you are not on the Facebook, you can subscribe to our email newsletter here: https://www.focuscamera.com/customer/account/create by checking the box.

2. Photos must be family friendly.

3. The photos you submit must be your own photographs, taken and owned by you.

4. Three submissions per person, per week.

5. Photos will be accepted for the appropriate theme until Monday at 10am.

We judge the photos 50% on technical aspects like light, composition, depth of field, etc. and 50% on the content of the photo and how well it fulfills the theme

Street Car in New Orleans, 1955, by Robert Frank

To submit a photo, post it to our Facebook page! (https://www.facebook.com/FocusCamera). If you do not have a Facebook, you can email photos to contests@focuscamera.com. You do not need to be a professional to submit a photo, we would love to see photos of all kinds and qualities. We agree with Ken Rockwell when he said  “No matter how advanced your camera you still need to be responsible for getting it to the right place at the right time and pointing it in the right direction to get the photo you want.” So, in short, Get creative! We really hope our contest inspires you to go out and take new photos, but if you have an older one that fits the bill that works too. However, all photos MUST be your photos.

Official Rules:

1. Must “like” focus camera on Facebook. If you are not on the Facebook, you can subscribe to our email newsletter here: https://www.focuscamera.com/customer/account/create by checking the box.

2. Photos must be family friendly.

3. The photos you submit must be your own photographs, taken and owned by you.

4. Three submissions per person, per week.

5. Photos will be accepted for the appropriate theme until Monday at 10am.

We judge the photos 50% on technical aspects like light, composition, depth of field, etc. and 50% on the content of the photo and how well it fulfills the theme

We found out at the exhibition “Photography” curated by Ken Miller which opened at the Aperture Gallery on the 31st of January. Presenting the work of William Eggleston, Nan Goldin, Ryan McGinley, Martin Parr, Terry Richardson, and Stephen Shore, Photography is an interesting look at how each photographer produces unique results all while using the same camera in the Fujifilm X-Series. With a price range of $400 to $1,400 dollars, Fujifilm’s X-series consists of high end digital cameras aimed at professional photographers and enthusiasts. The newest additions to the X series were announced at the CES conference in January of 2013: The top of the line X100s, the mid range X20, and Fujifilms competitor in the tough and rugged category, the XP60.

We found the wide range of photographs very compelling, with at least one one standout photograph from every photographer. Here at Focus Camera we firmly believe in having quality equipment for all photography situations. Image quality, even in abstract photographs, is a must, and having a camera that limits the image quality in turn limits the photographer.  However, even someone given the highest ranked equipment available still needs to have a multitude of skills like composition, lighting, and more in order to produce captivating photographs. So what do you think, does the equipment make the photograph, or does the Photographer?

Congratulations to Richard Padilla, the winner of last week’s sports themed photo of a Tae Kwon Do match in action! With the recent cold snap here in New York, we can’t get our minds off of winter, so we chose it as this weeks theme. Don’t be discouraged if you live in a warm climate, winter means more than cold! We want to see photos of what winter is like in all sorts of regions and climates, so show us what winter is like for you!

To submit a photo, post it to our Facebook page! If you do not have a Facebook, you can email photos to contests@focuscamera.com. You do not need to be a professional to submit a photo, we would love to see photos of all kinds and qualities. We agree with Ken Rockwell when he said  “No matter how advanced your camera you still need to be responsible for getting it to the right place at the right time and pointing it in the right direction to get the photo you want.” So, in short, Get creative! We really hope our contest inspires you to go out and take new photos, but if you have an older one that fits the bill that works too. However, all photos MUST be your photos.

Official Rules:

1. Must “like” focus camera on Facebook. If you are not on the Facebook, you can subscribe to our email newsletter here: https://www.focuscamera.com/customer/account/create by checking the box.

2. Photos must be family friendly.

3. The photos you submit must be your own photographs, taken and owned by you.

4. Three submissions per person, per week.

5. Photos will be accepted for the appropriate theme until Monday at 10am.

To submit a photo, post it to our Facebook page! If you do not have a Facebook, you can email photos to contests@focuscamera.com. You do not need to be a professional to submit a photo, we would love to see photos of all kinds and qualities. We agree with Ken Rockwell when he said  “No matter how advanced your camera you still need to be responsible for getting it to the right place at the right time and pointing it in the right direction to get the photo you want.” So, in short, Get creative! We really hope our contest inspires you to go out and take new photos, but if you have an older one that fits the bill that works too. However, all photos MUST be your photos.

Official Rules:

1. Must “like” focus camera on Facebook. If you are not on the Facebook, you can subscribe to our email newsletter here: https://www.focuscamera.com/customer/account/create by checking the box.

2. Photos must be family friendly.

3. The photos you submit must be your own photographs, taken and owned by you.

4. Three submissions per person, per week.

5. Photos will be accepted for the appropriate theme until Monday at 10am.

Every Monday a new theme will be announced. The following Monday one winner of a $10 focus camera gift card will be announced, along with a new theme for the next week.

To submit a photo, post it to our Facebook page! If you do not have a Facebook, you can email photos to contests@focuscamera.com

Official Rules:

1. Must “like” focus camera on Facebook. If you are not on the Facebook, you can subscribe to our email newsletter on this page: https://www.focuscamera.com/customer/account/login/

2. Photos must be family friendly.

3. The photos you submit must be your own photographs, taken and owned by you.

4. Three submissions per person, per week.

5. Photos will be accepted for the appropriate theme until Monday at 10am.