Category Archives: Photography

Photography: Top Tips For Taking Great Photos On The iPHone Camera (Video)

Apple has quietly given its Camera app a major overhaul — with great tricks hidden in its interface. WSJ’s Kenny Wassus demos the new features, from simultaneous video and photo capture to Burst Mode and the new Pro Raw format.

Photo illustration: Kenny Wassus

Video Timeline: 0:000:44 Introduction 0:451:17 Hidden Camera Levels 1:181:44 Quick Video Capture 1:452:10 Burst Mode 2:112:37 Preserve Creative Control 2:383:06 Reveal Exposure Control 3:073:37 24 FPS Video Recording 3:384:10 Mirror Selfie 4:115:39 Apple Pro Raw

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Timelapse Photography: ‘Lilies In Bloom’ (4K Video)

Filmed and Edited by: Christopher Putvinski

A short video of pink and white lilies blooming over the course of a week. The video is comprised of roughly 1,300 photos, compiled at 24 frames per second. Hope you enjoy it. Music is “Overlook” by Roary (via Musicbed)

Nature: Local Woods In ‘Navarra – Spain’ Using Infrared Timelapse (Video)

Filmed and Edited by: Txema Ortiz

An audiovisual poem, a fantastic story towards a dream place. We try to create an Atmosphere of Orange-Red-Yellow tones, thus giving a different image and turning the places into magic. Nature is shown in another way, one more reason to be conserved and pampered, since it is inhabited by a multitude of species, including “the slug”,

Navarra (Navarre) is a geographically diverse region in northern Spain. A medieval Basque kingdom, it was annexed by Castile in the 16th century. Dotted with remote villages, its capital and largest city is Pamplona, famous for its annual running of the bulls. Pamplona has 16th-century fortifications, the Gothic Santa María la Real Cathedral and the Museo de Navarra, with archaeological and art collections.

Arts & History: ‘The Book Of Citrus Fruits’ By J.C. Volkamer (Taschen)

Ordering plants by post mostly from Italy, Germany, North Africa, and even the Cape of Good Hope, the Nuremberg merchant Volkamer was a devotee of the fragrant and exotic citrus at a time when such fruits were still largely unknown north of the Alps.

TASCHEN

Famous First Edition: First printing of 5,000 numbered copies

Have you ever thought of citrus fruits as celestial bodies, angelically suspended in the sky? Perhaps not, but J. C. Volkamer (1644–1720) did—commissioning an extravagant and breathtaking series of large-sized copperplates representing citrons, lemons, and bitter oranges in surreal scenes of majesty and wonder.

His garden came to contain a wide variety of specimens, and he became so obsessed with the fruits that he commissioned a team of copperplate engravers to create 256 plates of 170 varieties of citrus fruits, many depicted life size, published in a two-volume work

In both volumes, Volkamer draws on years of hands-on experience to present a far-reaching account of citrus fruits and how to tend them—from a meticulous walk-through of how to construct temporary orangeries, glasshouses, and hothouses for growing pineapples to commentary on each fruit variety, including its size, shape, color, scent, tree or shrub, leaves, and country of origin.

In each plate, Volkamer pays tribute to the verdant landscapes of Northern Italy, his native Nuremberg, and other sites that captured his imagination. From Genovese sea views to the Schönbrunn Palace, each locale is depicted in the same exceptionaldetail as the fruit that overhangs it. We witness branches heavy with grapefruits arching across a sun-bathed yard in Bologna and marvel at a huge pineapple plant sprouting from a South American town. The result is at once a fantastical line-up of botanical beauty and a highly poetic tour through the lush gardens and places where these fruits grew.

Few colored sets of Volkamer’s work are still in existence today. This publication draws on the two recently discovered hand-colored volumes in the city of Fürth’s municipal archive in Schloss Burgfarrnbach. The reprint also includes 56 newly discovered illustrations that Volkamer intended to present in a third volume.

The author

Iris Lauterbach studied art history and romance languages and literature in Mainz, Pavia and Paris and obtained her doctorate in 1985. Since 1991 she has been a member of the research department of the Central Institute for Art History in Munich and teaches the history of garden architecture at the Technical University in Munich. Her main areas of research include France during the 18th century and the history of European garden art from the 16th to the 20th century, while she has also carried out extensive research about the restitution of artworks that were looted during the Second World War.

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Books: ‘Forbidden City – The Palace at the Heart of Chinese Culture’ (Video)

For more than six centuries, the Forbidden City has awed all those who have travelled from near and far to explore its 900 golden-roofed buildings, set amid moats, gardens, and plazas, where thousands of people lived and worked in service of the world’s largest and most sophisticated pre-modern empire. Marco Polo called it “the greatest Palace that ever was;” Simon Leys praised its architectural genius; and Franz Kafka viewed it as an impressive yet alarming symbol of power.

In this compelling addition to Assouline’s Ultimate Collection, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Ian Johnson guides readers through the magnificent and storied palace built by China’s Yongle Emperor to serve as the seat of the Ming dynasty. Weaving in history and events of the past six centuries and featuring more than 100 photographs, artworks, and historical artifacts, this luxury tome conjures life in this imperial sphere—a small city unto itself, in which soldiers, eunuchs, concubines, and merchants resided alongside the royalty they served. A stunning homage to the grand beauty of one of the most complex structures in all of history, Forbidden City reveals that 600 years after its construction, this royal monument endures as the physical and spiritual heart of Chinese civilization. This volume is presented in a regal, glossy red box reminiscent of traditional Chinese lacquerware, and that features a delicately carved map of the Forbidden City’s grounds.

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Travel & Photography: ‘Wanderlust Europe’ (2020)

Europe offers an astonishing variety of scenic landscapes and some of the most enchanting trails to explore them. Wanderlust Europe takes you from the Scottish Highlands to endless amber beaches of the Baltic Sea, from the Scandinavian tundra, the majestic peaks of the Alps, the pristine peaks of the Balkans, to the rugged coastal mountains of the Mediterranean islands, and along the romantic valley of the Rhine river.

Wanderlust Europe points the reader in the direction of the continent’s most awe-inspiring routes. Offering expert knowledge on how best to experience the wild outdoors, this stimulating manual traverses far-reaching locales in pursuit of breathtaking beauty and a sense of freedom. Combining first-hand tips with informative maps and an array of spectacular photography, this book is a welcome addition to the Wanderlust series and for anyone with an urge to connect with the great outdoors.

With outdoor enthusiast Alex Roddie on how best to experience nature’s majesty, this book offers long-distance trekking, short-day trips, and extended weekend escapades for hikers of all levels. Explore the world one step at a time with Wanderlust Europe.

Alex Roddie is a writer, editor, and photographer who specializes in adventure travel, the outdoor publishing industry, and non-fiction on mountaineering, hiking, nature and the environment. An experienced long-distance backpacker and mountaineer, he has hiked thousands of miles through the Scottish Highlands, English Lake District and Yorkshire Dales, Swiss Alps, Pyrenees, and the Fjells of Norway. He is an active environmental campaigner.

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