Canon congratulates winner of World Press Photo of the Year

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Warren Richardson won the World Press Photo of the Year 2015 (CPN article), using a EOS 5D Mark II!

The overall winning image – which also won first prize in the Spot News category – was taken on 28 August 2015 at night with a Canon EOS 5D Mark II and shows a man and child seeking to cross into Hungary before a secure fence on the border was completed.

Canon press release:

Canon congratulates winner of World Press Photo of the Year

LONDON, 18 February 2016 – Canon Europe, leader in imaging solutions, today sends its congratulations to Warren Richardson winner of the World Press Photo of the Year 2015. The winning photograph depicts a man and child attempting to cross the border from Serbia to Hungary at night. The pair were part of a group of people seeking to enter the country before a secure border fence was constructed. Due to the circumstance, Richardson was not able to use flash to capture the image, so the photograph is lit by moonlight alone.

The World Press Photo Contest, now in its 59th year, is internationally seen as the world’s most prestigious competition for photojournalists. The judges of the contest, which has been sponsored by Canon since 1992, selected one image of 82,951 photos submitted by 5,775 professional photographers from 128 countries as the winning Press Photo of the Year 2015. There were seven themed categories, and two long-term project categories, open for contestants to enter this year.

“We are proud to support the world’s best photojournalists in their quest to tell the stories that need to be told through this prestigious and highly anticipated event,” comments Kieran Magee, Director, Professional Imaging, Canon Europe. “Images such as Warren’s play a hugely powerful role in capturing the real impact and human side of a story and importantly, making sure they reach a broader audience. It is for this reason we’re honoured to have been supporting these awards for the past 24 years.”

Warren Richardson captured his winning image on the Canon EOS 5D Mark II with a EF 24mm f/1.4L USM lens. The winning photograph also won first place in the Spot News category. Other category winning entries taken on Canon cameras include:

  • Aftermath of Airstrikes on Syria, taken by Sameer Al-Doumy on a Canon EOS 5D Mark III for the Spot News stories category
  • FIS World Championship, taken by Christian Walgram on a Canon EOS-1D Mark II for the Sports singles category
  • China’s Coal Addiction, taken by Kevin Frayer on a Canon EOS 5D Mark III for the Daily Life singles category
  • Storm Front on Bondi Beach, taken by Rohan Kelly on a Canon EOS-1D Mark II for the Nature singles category
  • Tough Times for Oragutans, taken by Tim Laman on a Canon EOS-1D C for the Nature stories category

As winner of the World Press Photo of the Year 2015, Warren Richardson will receive a cash prize of €10,000 from World Press Photo at an awards ceremony in Amsterdam on 25 April. In addition, Canon Europe will award him with the EOS-1D X Mark II, its recently announced flagship camera.

The prize-winning pictures are presented in an exhibition visiting more than 100 cities in over 45 countries over the course of the year and seen by more than 3.5 million people worldwide. This year’s first 2016 World Press Photo exhibition opens in Amsterdam on 16 April. This year’s exhibition displays will be printed on Canon large-format and Arizona flatbed printers.

In addition, in partnership with WPP a series of 80 lectures entitled “Reflections will run in cooperation with universities across Europe telling the story of professional photo journalism and the power of photography”.

Further information about World Press Photo is available at www.worldpressphoto.org.

Editors please note:
World Press Photo – Press Kit
A selection of awarded images for publication can be downloaded from the World Press Photo press download area here
Link to the list of winners: http://www.worldpressphoto.org/collection/photo/2016

The three most used Cameras at Shutterstock are all Canon DSLRs

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Shutterstock provided some stats about the cameras used by photographers who submit photos to the service. As you can see in the chart (larger version), Canon DSLRs are firmly at the top of the used cameras: Undisputed at the first rank is the venerable EOS 5D Mark II, followed by the EOS 5D Mark III and the EOS 6D.

The EOS 5D Mark II and 5D Mark III together are used for 41% of the photos shot with the top 10 cameras. Shutterstock produced this figures by extracting EXIF data from the photos.

[via PetaPixel]
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Canon EOS 5D Mark II

 

The Human Rig Shot: Canon EOS 5D Mark II on Rollerblades

Watch photographer Matthew Jones doing what he calls a Human Rig shot. He used a six years old EOS 5D Mark II because “in the case we fall on the ground […] we don’t have to worry about any fancy gear getting broken”, Jones says. He’s following a Triumph Scrambler 900, sometimes surfing around the bike by hanging on a rope. And he doesn’t even wear a helmet. Crazy action speeding down the road on rollerblades while shooting with a full-frame DSLR.

The video above is a behind the scene video. You can see the spectacular photos that Jones shot here on PetaPixel, and you can read Jones talking about the experience at Fstoppers. For more of Jones’ work have a look at his portfolio.

[via PetaPixel via Fstoppers] EOS 5D Mark II 

Blood Brother – A Hearth-Warming Movie Shot with Canon EOS 5D Mark II and EOS 7D


John Pope talks about “Blood Brother,” and how the small form factor of the EOS 5D Mark II and EOS 7D helped him capture some of the most moving scenes without being intrusive

Blood Brother is a feature documentary about a young man with a strong desire for a family he’ll find at an AIDS hostel in a small village outside the city of Chennai, India. The movie got the Grand Jury Prize for documentaries at the Sundance Festival 2013.

The movie is the product of cinematographer John Pope and his good friend Steve Hoover, the director of the movie. A short description of what Blood Brother is about:

Rocky Braat, a young man from a fractured family and a troubled past, went traveling through India without a plan. Then he met a group of HIV positive children living in an orphanage — a meeting that changed everything for him.

Rocky left his life, friends, and career in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to live with the kids. Steve Hoover, his best friend and filmmaker, was unsettled and intrigued by this drastic action. In an effort to find out what compelled Rocky to give up every source of stability in his life, Hoover decided to trace Rocky’s story, following him to India.

He witnessed Rocky and the kids endure disease, abject poverty, and death. But, strangest of all, in the midst of these troubles, he also saw their deep joy.  And he came to understand why Rocky had given up everything he had to experience it.

‘Blood Brother’ is a story of friendship. It’s a story of a life, stripped down to its essence. Most of all, it is a story about love, enduring in the face of death.

Blood Brother was shot starting 2011 over a two-year period using various gear: a venerable Canon EOS 5D Mark II, EOS 7D, Vixia camcorders, and a random use of smartphone video. About the full-frame Canon EOS 5D Mark II John Pope says:

At the time in 2011 […] there weren’t many cameras on the market that were as good in low light as the EOS 5D Mark II. Being able to shoot in low light is always important especially if you’re going for a natural look of existing practicals in a location that you don’t have control over. […]  Although it’s not always easy to articulate the look of a larger sensor, I think that it lends itself to a different feel of the space within the image.”

More about the technical background can be read at Canon DLC. The movie caused some controversy you can read about here while director Steve Hoover’s response can be read here. All filmmaker proceeds are donated to the children seen in the film and to HIV/AIDS initiatives.

Blood Brother:

  • Director: Steve Hoover
  • Writers: Steve Hoover, Phinehas Hodges, Tyson VanSkiver
  • Producers: Danny Yourd, Leigh Blake, John Carlin, Steve Hoover
  • Editor: Steve Hoover
  • Additional Cinematography: Tyson VanSkiver, Phinehas Hodges, Steve Hoover, Danny Yourd
  • Colorist: Allan Stallard

Video below: Blood Brother trailer

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Milky Way Time-Lapse with a Surprise: A Meteor Exploding in Atmosphere

A Milky Way time-lapse with an unexpected surprise. A meteor exploding while entering the atmosphere. Not something you can get on video by planning it, though there are two photographers lucky enough to capture it.

The video above was made by Wes Eisenhauer in South Dakota in mid-September, using a Canon EOS 5D Mark II and a 16-35mm lens.

Milky Way Time-Lapse

Eisenhauer was not the only lucky photographer to capture this very meteor explosion. Ben Lewis shot the video below in Iowa using a Canon EOS 6D and 35mm lens.

A meteor exploding in the atmosphere is called a “bolide fireball”, more about it at the American Meteor Society.

[via PetaPixel]

Stormscapes2 – An Astonishing Time Lapse Video

The amazing video above was made by Nicolaus Wegner, and it took him 5 months to put it together. He says:

High plains storms are some of the most beautiful and wild in the world. I spent May – September 2014 photographing all types of severe weather in Wyoming, Montana, South Dakota, Nebraska, and Colorado. This time lapse project is a result of that effort. From rainbows to tornadoes, there is a little bit of everything in here.

To realise the time lapse video he used an EOS 5D Mark II and EOS 6D, and EF 16-35mm f/2.8L II USMEF 70-200 f/4L IS and Rokinon 14mm lenses.

Kudos!

Music: “Leader” by MODE

[via TwistedSifter]