Photo Geek

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Welcome

Welcome to the February-March issue of The Digital Journalist, the online magazine for visual journalism. (read more)

Tech Tips

Q. I'm using an EOS 5D Mark II DSLR, but my thought is in general about future DSLRs. I read earlier in your Tech Tips that using video mode does not impact sensor longevity and that video recording uses the whole sensor surface. Considering those two facts, we can think a sensor won't be damaged if continuously exposed to light. I was wondering why manufacturers keep shutters in the current mechanical way. Can we imagine future generations of DSLRs without a mechanical shutter, replaced by an "electronic virtual shutter," only recording sensor data for the defined exposure time? It may enhance DSLR longevity by leaving the mirror the only moving mechanical part and permitting exposure times not available with mechanical shutters. (read more)

My Two Cents: Photos from Haiti

I have no problem if people complain about what they read in print, online, or see on TV. Accept it. We are a nation of complainers. Nothing should be exempt from comment, whether positive, or, as it seems these days, mostly negative, especially on the Web. In a democracy we must be able to voice our opinions about the world around us. (read more)

The Value of Papers

This week I packed up about four decades' worth of files and tapes that were in my house as I prepared to move. (read more)

Hell on a Small Island

Damon Winter and Shaul Schwarz are veteran photojournalists, and have seen more death and misery in foreign lands than most professional soldiers and aid workers would see in 10 lifetimes. But they were both unprepared for the catastrophe they found in Haiti in early January. (read more)

Ethics: Coach's Ground Rules Were Out of Bounds

In our most recent column, we defended President Obama's right, as a news source, to refuse to appear on a Fox News Sunday show because, in the president's opinion, the network is biased against him. (read more)

An Interview with Tim Cothren: A TV Cameraman in Haiti

N24, Germany's largest news channel, called cameraman Tim Cothren in New York three days after the January 12 quake and asked him how quickly he could get to Haiti to help cover the earthquake. He had worked for them in Iraq as an embedded cameraman during "Operation Iraqi Freedom" and over the years had also done other work for N24 and its sister channel, SAT.1 TV. He would be in Haiti to relieve a team that had been on the ground since the second day. (read more)

A Reporter's Life: Do It Yourself

I meet Jeff, a news producer, at the same party, the same time of year, once every year. And once every year he tells me the same thing. "I'd love to go off and do something on my own." He whispers it, sort of under his breath. (read more)

Common Cents: Welcome Back

The Good, the Bad and The Ugly built up during my month off for the POY issue. Here they are in all of their businesslike goodness: (read more)

We're Just Sayin': Cappuccino and Cameras, in the Hands of a Master

The other day I had a chance to grab a coffee, well, more like a cappuccino, with a guy who makes a pretty good cup himself. In fact, he handled the espresso machine with the same kind of aplomb he did his cameras for the better part of half a century. The coffee was rich, and foamy with that deep swirl of flavor on the top, throwing out that sweet aromatic invitation to taste it. His pictures are pretty much the same way. It's hard to just throw them a cursory glance. They need to be looked at, appreciated. Seen and felt. (read more)

Nuts & Bolts: Some Heavy Thoughts

We worry about the weight America's young people are putting on, but nobody worries about their DSLRs. Come on, folks, these cameras have a serious weight problem too. (read more)

Why Not Images of Haiti -- By Haitians?

There is no better time than now, nor place than Haiti, to provide citizens with cameras to tell their own story. (read more)

Real-World Shooting With the Canon 7D: Making the Switch to HD-DSLR

Recently I shot two projects with the Canon 7D and was thinking about the differences between using the 7D and a "regular" video camera. (We'll be using the 7D as the camera of choice in our upcoming Platypus Workshops for 2010.) (read more)

E-Bits: Haiti, Up Close From a Distance

The aftermath of Haiti's January 12 earthquake has a déjà vu quality, reminiscent of desperate days after Hurricane Katrina. Once again, the world was transfixed on suffering, hope and despair, so much so that electronic broadcast of such coverage has now been dubbed "disaster porn." (read more)