George Schaub

It’s not only New Yorkers who experienced the horror and sadness, and incredible human spirit brought forth by the events of 9/11. This event, which has changed the world in both profound and subtle ways, is something that all can relate to. While none who were alive that day will ever forget where they were at the time of the attacks, it is important to keep in mind not only the people who we lost, but those who served above and beyond the call of duty to serve their fellow human beings. This show, held at the Time Warner Center in New York, brings this event and the people involved to the forefront, and is a moving tribute to their spirit and humanity.

We recently attended this exhibition and encourage everyone who has the chance to do so, and hope that the images and words it contains will be brought to more venues so all can experience it. What follows is part of the press material distributed at the opening, where many of the individuals pictured were on hand to share their stories and experiences. It reminded us all why photography and story telling are so important a part of history, and can serve as both remembrance of those who have passed and as honoring those who served. This special exhibition was sponsored by  Nikon, with modern prints sponsored by Adorama. On hand was Mr. McNally who talked about the creation of the work and his heartfelt reflections on the people and subject he so ably depicted. The exhibition is running through Sept, 12, 2011, and we encourage everyone who can see the show to do so. –George Schaub

I took on this review assignment because I’ve had considerable history with printing, both silver and digital, and printing with Epson printers. Over the past few years this interest has led me on an odyssey through various printers, profiling, and a considerable amount of (early) frustration. My emphasis has been on monochrome printing and those who share in this interest and who have attempted black-and-white printing in the past understand the numerous obstacles it can present. Those include, but are not limited to, unwanted color casts, gloss differential in deep black areas and some tonal borders, poor deep black reproduction (accompanied by equally poor highlight repro), a lot of poor paper surfaces, and the hassle and waste of switching from matte black to photo glossy inks. Color printers face these as well, plus the challenges of color balance, casts, skin tone reproduction, highlight bias, green shadows, and more. Of late I have printed with the Epson Stylus Pro 3800, 3880, and 4800 models, the 3800 being my studio workhorse for years and the 3880 the model that many photo schools and workshops at which I’ve taught use as a mainstay student and production printer.

The Sony NEX-C3 is an ultra compact CSC (compact system cameras) system with an APS-C sized sensor. The camera offers a resolution of 16 MP (megapixels), which is similar to some Sony SLT cameras like the SLT-A35. The main difference in the concept of the NEX cameras is the very compact body and the fact that the camera doesn’t work with an optical or electronic viewfinder, but only with the LCD screen on the back as viewfinder and control monitor.