Technology Explained, Practice
Daniela Bowker
Resolution and pixels and image quality! Oh my! ...

When you hear the term 'high-res' thrown about with such abandon when it comes to images for web use, have you ever stopped to think just how big or how high quality and image meant for the web needs to be?

Resolution and pixels and image quality! Oh my! Saving images for the web
Feature Articles, Photography Theory
Haje Jan Kamps
Low-contrast photographs don't have to be boring

There's an assumption that high-contrast images are more dynamic, more compelling, more inviting. Have a go at some low-contrast photography. You might surprise yourself with the results.

Low-contrast photographs don't have to be boring
Feature Articles, Theory
Daniela Bowker
Seeking balance in your photos

Balance doesn't mean symmetry; it means an internal consistency and tension within your photos. And it's a vital element of composition. 

Seeking balance in your photos
Feature Articles, Photography Theory
Haje Jan Kamps
Training your photographic luck

Great photos might be down to a little bit of luck, but most of that 'luck' you make yourself. Don't believe us? Read on...

Training your photographic luck
Feature Articles, Practice
Daniela Bowker
The ups and downs and ins and outs of ...

Photographing buildings doesn't have to mean wide-angle lenses and fretting about correcting for the keystone effect. Any lens, and angle. Don't believe us? Let us show you!

The ups and downs and ins and outs of photographing buildings

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Something for the weekend? The Last of the Liberators at the Imperial War Museum, Duxford

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Not only is 2014 the centenary of the commencement of hostilities of the First World War, but it is also the 70th anniversary of the D-Day landings, which are often thought to be 'the beginning of the end' of the Second World War. As part of its commemoration of the women and men who served in the conflict and who made the Normandy Landings, the Imperial War Museum is hosting a photographic exhibition of portraits of some of the last surviving British veterans of the campaign. D-Day, the Last of the Liberators is an exhibition of 15 portraits of men and women who participated in the Normandy Landings, taken 70 years since. These photos saw their return to the places they most closely associate with the campaign: where they were wounded or saw comrades fall; where they experienced quirks of fate or chance; or where their lives were shaped.

The Last Of The Liberators at IWM Duxford from Lastoftheliberators on Vimeo.

The photos were taken by Robin Savage, whose work is more often linked to actors, but he's always held a fascination for the Second World War, and the Normandy Landings especially. This culminated in his personal project to honour those who served. 'Being in the company of such extraordinary people has been one of the greatest pleasures of my life and I am honoured that many of them have become friends.'

Vera Hay, by Robin Savage Vera was a sister with the Queen Alexandra’s Imperial Military Nursing Service. She landed on Gold Beach about a week after D-Day. She was one of the first British nurses to land at Normandy. Once in position, she and her t…
Vera Hay, by Robin Savage Vera was a sister with the Queen Alexandra’s Imperial Military Nursing Service. She landed on Gold Beach about a week after D-Day. She was one of the first British nurses to land at Normandy. Once in position, she and her team would treat around 200 casualties each day. Sleep was snatched and came in a ditch until tents reached the field hospital at Chateau de Beaussy.

The exhibition, just one part of the museum's D-Day remembrance programme, runs until the end of the year. Entry is included in the price of admission to the Imperial War Museum, Duxford, and under-15s are admitted for free. There are more details on the Imperial War Museum's website.

Picnik's been rained-off by Google


When people asked me to recommend a free and easy editing suite to them, I'd answer 'Picnik' just about every time. It's helped me out of the occasional pinch before now, too. But from 19 April this year, no more. The sandwiches are gone, the hamper needs to be rescued, and the blanket folded away: Picnik, which was bought out by Google in 2010, is being washed away in an April shower. (If you use Google Message Continuity, Sky Map, Needlebase, Social Graph API, or Urchin, they're all on their way out, too.)

According to the Picnik team, they are going to be working on things that are 'even awesomer' at Google. Quite a few of Picnik's capabilities are already available in the Creative Kit attached to Google+, so I'm thinking that this is going to ramped up even more. If that's the case, it's another indication of Google's attempt to corral us into using its social media platforms and not to play away anywhere else.

As for the millions (at least that's what I'm estimating) of photos that are stored in Picnik, their creators can zip them into a file and deposit them on their desktop using Picnik Takeout. It'll work right up to 19 April, and can used as many times as they want. Or of course, they can move them straight to Google+. (Knock me down with a feather, I never saw that one coming.)

For anyone who'd shelled out the $24.95 premium fee, which added a slew of filters, textures, and the ability to touch up photos, as well as a few other toys to the standard editing package, a full refund awaits. It doesn't matter when your renewal is due, you get back every cent.

And between now and D-Day, the premium features are free for everyone to use.

The Picnik blog will keep people updated on what's happening, but I've until 19 April to run for cover and find new free-to-use and won't-drive-you-entirely-crazy online photo editing software that I'm happy to recommend to people.

Team Picnik - good luck, and I hope that your next ventures are indeed even awesomer.