Bogen Imaging announced the Gitzo 5 Star Summer Tour. Showcasing the latest technologies and innovations from Gitzo, including the new Ocean Traveler and Vintage Collection tripods, the 5 Star Summer Tour will take place from July to October with 17 scheduled stops at the country’s leading photo specialty dealers. Visit (http://www.bogenimaging.us/gitzosummertour/) to see the full Gitzo 5 Star Summer Tour schedule and dealer locations.

The Gitzo 5 Star Summer Tour is free of charge and open to all consumers interested in learning about the latest Gitzo support products and accessories. Consumers who stop by participating dealers on their scheduled tour date will have the opportunity to meet a Bogen Imaging representative, test-drive the newest Gitzo products, as well as have the chance to take advantage of exclusive, tour date only deals.

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Designed by a Swedish team of photographers, the expanding Creative Light lineup includes softboxes, softgrids, reflectors, umbrellas, light stands and accessories. The equipment is for use in studios and on location and will be distributed in the U.S. by Elmsford, NY-based MAC Group.

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As happens every so often, I was taken to task for presumably denigrating an individual’s photo activities by my use of the term “snapshot’ in reference to the on-line services that provide inexpensive printing from JPEG files. Although there can be considerable crossover between snapshots and photographs, the pictures serious photo enthusiasts refer to, in my perspective of things, is not a value or status distinction.

Bogen Imaging announces a free webinar titled “Adventure Sports Photography: Round Table with Adventure Photographer Michael Clark.”  Part of the company’s Bogen Café series of free instructional webinars, the seminar will be held from 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. EDT, on Friday, July 17th.

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Museo Fine Art announced the immediate availability of Museo IIGS acid-free, double-sided fine art inkjet paper. Made in the U.S.A., Museo IIGS is a 250 gsm, 15 mil thick, 100% cotton paper with an extra smooth finish on both sides. Museo IIGS contains no optical brighteners, resulting in outstanding long-term base color stability. Ideal for book and card making, the Grain Short orientation of Museo IIGS allows for easier and cleaner scoring and folding. Museo IIGS is available in 25 sheet boxes of 11” x 8.5”, 17” x 11”, and 19” x 13” sizes. In addition, 17” x 22” sheets are available.

“With Museo IIGS, we continue our tradition of providing some of the world’s best fine art inkjet paper,” said David Williams, Sales and Marketing Manager for Museo Fine Art. “Museo users now have the opportunity to use a product that offers all of the benefits they’ve come to expect from the Museo brand, with the added feature of grain short sheets, which so many folks have requested.”

Optimized for use with the pigmented inkjet used by today’s professionals, the Museo II papers meet the demanding needs of the finest image makers, galleries and museums, plus Library of Congress and ISO standards for permanence.

For more information on Museo brand papers, visit http://www.MuseoFineArt.com.

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Panasonic announced pricing for the highly-anticipated LUMIX DMC-GH1, the new Micro Four Thirds digital camera with Full-High Definition (HD) video recording ability. The camera will be available in early June for a suggested retail price of $1499.95.  The LUMIX DMC-GH1 includes the LUMIX G VARIO 14-140mm/F4.0-5.8 ASPH/MEGA O.I.S. lens as part of the kit.  The new lens, designed to support HD movie recording, features a silent motor and continuous auto focusing (AF) capability – a differentiator from traditional DSLRs.  

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Here’s another ‘what is it?’ for you. Fish gills? Cooling fins on a car radiator? No—as you probably guessed—it’s a mushroom. Not the kind you can eat—it’s the kind that plagues your lawn when the sun shines after a rain.

Three generations ago when I was a public school student Charles Dickens “Ye Olde Curiosity Shoppe” was one of his novels that was required reading. And in those days a young pupil’s curiosity was encouraged by teachers. Today I think if a student is too curious it may be reason to be prescribed Ritalin; our schools are not preparing young minds to be critical thinkers, but passive, obedient worker bees for corporate employment at some mindless task.

This has been a quiet year in the printer world with few new product announcements and only a handful of upgrades to existing models.

This has been a quiet year in the printer world with few new product announcements and only a handful of upgrades to existing models.