The Camera Store Blog Posts

Pentax K-01 Hands-On

Evelyn.Drake — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 15:01:02 +0000

Pentax Canada graciously lent us their brand new K-01 mirrorless camera for a sneak peek.

Pentax Canada graciously lent us their brand new K-01 mirrorless camera for a sneak peek. The Camera Store's Chris Niccolls and Dave Paul check out the design, features, and specs of this very unique camera.

Designed by Marc Newson, one of the world’s most acclaimed and influential contemporary designers. The PENTAX K-01 offers a full array of advanced functions, including a 16 megapixel CMOS image sensor with low image noise and multiple aspect ratios, high-speed burst shooting, an extra-wide sensitivity range and Full HD video recording, in a camera body with remarkable form and function.

Email: evelyn@thecamerastore.com or call (403)234-9935 to pre-order yours.

Special Thanks to The Calgary Boxing Club, Shawn Chamberlain, and Bill Gouge

Shot by Jordan Drake
Edited by Jordan Drake and Chris Niccolls
Filmed on a Panasonic AF100

Nikon D4 Hands-On Sneak Peek

Evelyn.Drake — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 19:49:44 +0000

Find out why we are so excited about Nikon's new flagship camera!

The Camera Store's Chris Niccolls had the chance to take a look at the new Nikon D4. Find out why he's so excited about Nikon's new flagship camera.

Shot and edited by Jordan Drake
Filmed on a Panasonic AF100

Contest: Funny Wedding Photography Stories

Evelyn.Drake — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 19:24:19 +0000

To launch the 2012 Wedding Photography Summit we want you to tell us your funniest story of photographing a wedding or being photographed at one!

To launch our 2nd Annual Wedding Photographers Summit, we want to hear your funniest story of photographing a wedding or being photographed at one. Best story will win a special prize from The Camera Store!

Entry Deadline Feb 1st, 2012.

Enter by posting your story on our Facebook Page.

The 2012 Wedding Photographers Summit will give Wedding Photographers the opportunity to Discover the Secrets of the Pros & Build Your Business. Passes are $189.95 and include 8 Events & 6 Speakers including a Keynote Presentation with Jim Garner who has been recognized by American Photo Magazine as “One of the Top Ten Wedding Photographers in the World.” As an added bonus, qualified attendees will also receive $1000 in GraphiStudio Custom Sample Albums. Read more.

Lougheed House - Photography Events

Evelyn.Drake — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 17:39:21 +0000

The Lougheed House is offering photography events throughout the month of February including an Exhibit featuring the works of George Webber.

"Sandstone City" Photography Exhibit by George Webber
February 1 - March 4, 2012

On November 7, 1886 a fast moving fire ripped through Calgary destroying many of the wooden buildings that comprised the main business district. Shortly after, town council passed an ordinance stipulating that all major downtown buildings must be constructed of sandstone which was in abundant supply in the area. During 2010 and 2011 George Webber wandered the city photographing the schools, churches, court houses, libraries, commercial buildings and residences built from the distinctive tawny sandstone that once earned Calgary the nickname "The Sandstone City". The photographs were made with the legendary Holga toy camera loaded up with old fashioned film. The results are a distinctively low tech rendering of some very handsome architecture. This exhibit is presented by Lougheed House and the Alberta Society of Artists, and will be part of Exposure Calgary 2012.

Opening February 8th, 2012
5:30-8PM with Speeches at 6PM
Join us for the opening reception of George Webber’s photo exhibit Sandstone City. Shot with a Holga camer, this exhibit of 20 photos of Calgary’s best loved Sandstone buildings will be on display for the first time in the Gallery level of Lougheed House. Max Foran, noted Calgary Historian, will give an opening speech and George Webber will be on hand to sell and sign copies of his new book.

Holga Camera Workshop
Sunday, February 12, 2012
1 - 3 pm

Join a photography expert Chris Tait from The Camera Store in this informative workshop about the unique qualities of the Holga Camera. Visit the Alberta Society of Artist's Gallery at Lougheed House and see George Webber's Sandstone City photo exhibit shot entirely with a Holga Camera.

The workshop fee is $20.00 and advance registration is required.

Family Day – Monday February 20, 2012
11am to 4pm

Visit the Lougheed House on Family Day for free! Monday, February 20, no admission will be charged to view the historic Lougheed House and enjoy a variety of fun family activities. Marvel at the George Webber Sandstone City photograph exhibit, get creative with fabulous children's sand art activities hosted by Heart Studio, pose for a vintage family photograph, and also participate in the museum's first ever photo competition for Adults and Children in partnership with The Camera Store. Why not begin your visit by enjoying Brunch in The Restaurant (by reservation 403-410-9288).

Visit the Lougheed House Website for more details and registration.

Call For Entries - PDN Photo Annual 2012

Evelyn.Drake — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 22:27:45 +0000

Call for entries - the PDN photo contest entry deadline is January 25th, 2012!

PDN is giving away over $15,000 in cash and prizes for their annual photo contest. Enter today!

The PDN Photo Contest Entry Deadline is January 25th, 2012!

Have your work seen by top photo industry judges. Winning images will be published in PDN's June Photo Annual issue which is sent to over 5,000 creatives. Winning images will also be in an extended online gallery featured and archived on pdnonline.com. An exclusive party will be held in May 2012 celebrating the winners. Judges, select industry creatives and photographers are among the invited guests.

Industry Awards:

The $15,000 Arnold Newman Prize for New Directions in Photographic Portraiture.
Adobe presents the Breakthrough Photography Award to celebrate artists creating compelling works through digital imaging. An award of $1,000 prize and Adobe® Creative Suite® 5.5 Master Collection will be given to the winner.
The Marty Forscher Fellowship Fund cash award to one professional and one student winner.
The Sony Emerging Photographer Award to one emerging photographer who will receive a Sony camera and a $1,000 cash prize.
Ten winners will receive a Nielsen Photo Group membership which includes; subscriptions to PDN and Rangefi nder magazines, a PDN PhotoPlus Expo Gold Expo Pass, a PhotoServe portfolio and discounts on WPPI and PDN contests.
PDN Editor's Choice Award: one winner will receive a full-page self promotion ad in an upcoming issue of PDN.
Additional awards and prizes will be announced online.

The Winner of: "What's Your Favourite Canadian Landscape Spot!"

Evelyn.Drake — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 18:24:49 +0000

We asked our Facebook fans: "What is your Favourite Canadian Landscape Spot and why?"

One of our Facebook followers Lisa Mercer posted a link to a photo of beautiful Lake O'hara. We awarded her a signed copy of George Brybycin's book The Essence of The Rockies. Stay tuned for more contests!

This is Lisa's story on why she loves Lake O'hara:

"I am an environmental consultant by day, a wife and mother, a "people/pet photographer for hire" and last but not least a "nature-every-chance-I-get photographer". I'm a born and raised Albertan and currently live in Balzac. I work mostly in Southern and Eastern Alberta, and my first love is the prairies, but when I am able to get to the mountains there is just something so special about the Rockies - I always leave rejuvenated, refreshed, recharged, and feeling grounded and tired and "small" but in a nature-is-truly-awesome kind of way.  

I belong to the Foothills Camera Club, and each year that we are lucky enough to be selected, about 20 club members get to hike in and stay at the Alpine Club Huts at Lake O'Hara in Yoho National Park. The park only allows 42 people in to the area per day, and you have to get on a waiting list for the Huts, which are assigned per year by a luck of the draw lottery system.

2009 was my first trip to Lake O'Hara and I fell in love immediately with the area! The lake is absolutely breathtaking, and there are so many places to hike and a huge variety of subject matter, you can go back again and again and again and never see the same thing twice. In two days there was snow, rain, sun, warm, and cold, and I had the privilege of photographing an incredible range of subjects including hoary marmots in the snow, a wonderful meadow sparking with melting snow droplets, and a gorgeous waterfall in the sun. There was a fantastic fog all over the area for a while, and while the landscape shooters were bummed, my little shooting group took to the ground and had hours of fun shooting macro mushrooms and lichens along the trails. When we came down off the mountain, we hiked back along the lake edge, and that is where I captured this image - it was a fleeting, magical moment - the huge wet snowflakes we'd had off and on all day began again within seconds of this scene, and then we hurried back to the Hut for a warm supper and a hot fire!

Two other notables about my Favourite Canadian Landscape Spot: there is a really interesting history about this area, and the carrot cake at Le Relais Day Shelter is A-MA-ZING!!! Oh, and no matter how nice it is in Calgary, DON'T forget your gloves!!! It can be cold in the mountains any time of year!"

The Battle at F-Stop 2!

Evelyn.Drake — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 19:22:41 +0000

The battle for F-Stop Ridge continues…

You asked for it, so we froze our butts off to make it! The long awaited sequel to the original Battle at F-Stop Ridge is here and bigger than ever. Photography is all about having fun and we endeavour to keep that feeling strong with all of our TCS videos and especially the "Battle" videos. We couldn't have done it without all the help and support of our Camera Store friends and clients, our wonderful staff, supportive families, and Peter and Julian, our TCS operators. We would especially like to thank our CameraStoreTV viewers for all the comments, and continued support. These videos are for you. Keep watching throughout 2012, we have a lot of new entertaining, informative videos planned.

Directed by Jordan Drake & Chris Niccolls

Score: Battle Of The Unknown by Kurt Oldman, all rights reserved

Special Thanks:
Candice Edwards

These people donated their time, gear and extremities for this shoot:
Craig Taylor, Jessica Gergely, Mark Wikkerink, Keith Semark, Russell Brown, and all TCS Staff who attended.

OPEN PHOTO/OPEN DIGITAL 2012 Call

Evelyn.Drake — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 23:38:03 +0000

Visual Arts Alberta invites photographic & digital artists to submit for their Contest and Exhibition

In 2012, Visual Arts Alberta invites photographic & digital artists to submit for their Contest and Exhibition at the Northern & Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditoriums. There will be over $1100 in prizes for the best pieces in the show.

Deadline for Submissions is April 27th, 2012 at 4pm.

Visit the Visual Arts Alberta Website for more info.

Exposure Event: "Photography as an Agent of Change" with Steve Speer

Evelyn.Drake — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 21:32:55 +0000

Join Steve Speer on February 2nd, 2012 from 6-6:30PM as he recounts his most recent visit to China in the capacity of documentary photographer.

Join Steve Speer on February 2nd, 2012 from 6-6:30PM at the Endeavour Arts Gallery as he recounts his most recent visit to China in the capacity of documentary photographer for humanitarian organization Eco Village of Hope Society.

On this trip he visited four leprosy colonies where he photographed the daily lives of people struggling to cope and eke out and existence with the barest of means. He will discuss his role as photographer/documentarian and the importance of strong photography and graphic design as part of the message dissemination process.

Steve Speer is a Calgary based photographer whose work hangs in many corporate offices and private residences nationally and internationally. His interests are rural and urban landscape and environmental portraiture. His images have a clean sense of structure and balance. He strives for ultimate sharpness and detail in all of his work.

Although Steve shoots and exhibits some imagery in colour he prefers to display his photography in black and white because he feels that when you strip away the “crutch of colour” only the key elements of composition and quality of light remain. When these elements come together, the resulting image evokes a response on an emotional level and, as a photographer, this is when he feels he has connected with the viewer.

This event takes place at the Endeavor Arts Gallery located at: #200, 1209 1 St SW, Calgary AB

What's Your Favourite Canadian Landscape Spot

Evelyn.Drake — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 17:53:33 +0000

We want to know what your Favourite Canadian landscape spot is and why!

We have been hosting fun contests on our Facebook page. This time, we want to know:
What is your Favourite Canadian Landscape Spot and why?

The best story, description, or image will win a free gift from The Camera Store. Enter your post on our Facebook Page before January 16th, 2012. The winner and prize will be announced January 17th, 2012.

Black and White Image by: Jim Slobodian
Tangle Falls, Jasper National Park Lee Big Stopper 30" @F22 shot on Fuji Neopan 400 in a Bronica SQa