Ami Vitale: Interview

Photo © Ami Vitale-All Rights Reserved
I regret two things. While Ami and I traveled side by side to Manali for the Foundry Photojournalism Workshop on the latter section of a 20 hours road trip marred by unforeseen twists and turns (including fender benders and police shake-ups), we were both so knackered that conversation was limited, and I regret that both she and I were so immersed in tutoring our respective classes at the Foundry Photojournalism Workshop, that it was difficult to get to know each other beyond some passing pleasantries.

So it's with pleasure that I found this interview with her on The Adventure Life, the personal blog of Steve Casimiro, West Coast Editor of National Geographic Adventure. It fills in the gaps very well, and features updated information on Ami and her work.

Ami has worked on contract for National Geographic for many years, and her work was published in all or most of the top-name magazine and newspapers. One of the questions raised in the interview relates as to what Ami was doing in India. Well, that 'mystery' is is now solved.

Via (and with thanks) duckrabbit multimedia blog

Dede Pickering: World Photographer

Photo © Dede Pickering-All Rights Reserved
Dede Pickering retired from the corporate world and became a world traveler and photographer...it's just that simple and that complex. She has traveled to Antarctica, Mongolia, Tibet, Nepal, Bhutan, Burma, China, Cambodia, Peru, Patagonia, Kosovo, Albania, Rwanda, New Zealand, Guatemala, South East Asia and has made multiple trips to Africa and India, but her passion is the Himalayan Region.

Dede is involved with CARE, a global private humanitarian organization, and started the Women’s Initiative, aimed at connecting American women professionals with women in the developing world. She is also a member of the Explorers Club in New York.

Exploring her website with its remarkable photographs of different cultures, I stopped by her statement, of which this is excerpted:

"The lens of my camera allowed me to look inside the lives of others and blur the differences."

Dede's galleries are a delight for those of us who love travel photography at its best. You'll know what I mean when you do.

Canon Announces the EOS 7D

So the rumors were right, and the flaky images leaked by Chinese and Japanese website were accurate after all!

Canon USA Inc. has today announced its new EOS 7D single-lens reflex digital camera, as well as three new lenses, a new battery grip, and a new wireless file transmitter.

The Canon 7D has a new 18-megapixel APS-C sensor with a 1.6x crop factor, and is equipped with dual DIGIC 4 chips to speed processing of large 14-bit files, as well as to handle the shutter's 8-frame-per-second top speed.

The Canon 7D is expected to ship toward the end of September 2009, and retail body-only for $1,699. A kit with the 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS lens will sell for $1,899.

For further details, go to The Imaging Resource or DPReview for a hands on review.

Another hand-on review by PDN's Dan Havlik.