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Nikon to resume production after earthquake

Nikon's Sendai plant to resume production before the end of March

In a statement today, Nikon indicates that its "severely damaged" digital SLR plant in Sendai, Japan will resume operation before the end of March, while its lens plant in Tochigi prefecture was up and running as of March 18. Normal levels of production may be difficult to achieve, however, owing to "problems such as the planned blackouts of electricity and procurement of components from our business partners," says the statement. In addition, the company is reporting that one of its Sendai employees died as a result of the earthquake and tsunami that swept the region earlier this month, and that the status of three others is not known at this time, presumably because they are missing. Nikon builds the D3X, D3S, D700 (still not due to be replaced this year, even before the earthquake hit) and F6 cameras at its manufacturing facility in Sendai. More information is in the press release below. Press release from Nikon 2nd Notice on the impact by the Major Earthquake in Northeastern Japan March 22, 2011 The Nikon Group would express our deepest condolences to the victims of the earthquake and extend our profound sympathy and heartfelt concern to those individuals and families suffering from the disaster. We have set up the Emergency Headquarters for Disaster Control headed by the President on March 11 immediately after the earthquake, and have been gathering safety information of our employees, examining damage to the manufacturing equipment and continuing every effort to resume operation at the earliest possible. The following is an update regarding the impact of the earthquake on the Nikon Group and outlook on the future production. 1. Safety of the employees To our deepest regret, death of one employee of Sendai Nikon Corporation has been confirmed. Safety of three employees is not yet confirmed in the area of Natori City, Miyagi Prefecture. 2. Damage to the manufacturing equipment and outlook on the future production One of our own plants and seven of our manufacturing subsidiaries are located in Miyagi Prefecture, Tochigi Prefecture and Ibaraki Prefecture in the disastrous region*. Operation has been suspended at all of them after the earthquake. At Tochigi Nikon Corporation, operation has started from Friday, March 18. At Sendai Nikon Corporation and Miyagi Nikon Precision Co., both of which have been severely damaged, operation is expected to resume by the end of this March. Operation at the remaining facilities will start tomorrow on March 23. Even after operation resumes, we have a concern that the situation may happen where our production cannot fully satisfy our customers’ requirement due to inability of full swing production caused by problems such as the planned blackouts of electricity and procurement of components from our business partners. While we will do our utmost effort to overcome such expected difficulties, we will be most grateful if our customers could understand such circumstances. We assure to extend our best support for restoration of the facilities hit by the disaster to our customers of Precision Equipment and Instruments business, and repair/servicing to our customers of Imaging business suffering from the disaster. 3. Forecast of effect by the damage to our business performances We are continuing our endeavor to evaluate how the immediate damage by the disaster and planned blackouts of electricity will result in our group companies and business performances. We will announce our findings immediately when it is judged that there will be important change in our forecast. * Locations of each plant and manufacturing subsidiaries Mito Plant, Nikon Corporation : Mito,Ibaraki Pref. Sendai Nikon Corporation : Natori, Miyagi Pref. Miyagi Nikon Precision Co., Ltd. : Zao-machi, Katta-gun, Miyagi Pref. Zao factory, Nikon-Trimble Co., Ltd. : Zao-machi, Katta-gun, Miyagi Pref. Tochigi Nikon Corporation : Otawara, Tochigi Pref. Tochigi Nikon Precision Co., Ltd. : Otawara, Tochigi Pref. Kurobane Nikon Co., Ltd. : Otawara, Tochigi Pref. Nasu Nikon Co., Ltd. : Nasukarasuyama, Tochigi Pref. Note: Nikon-Trimble Co., Ltd. is an equity-method company. Nasu Nikon Co., Ltd. is a subsidiary of Nikon-Essilor Co., Ltd. which is an equity-method company.

Help Portrait - End of the Earth

"Help-Portrait is an organization of photographers who shoot free portraits to share their art and enrich others lives. Most photographers shoot free portraits around their communities but Sasha Leahovcenco wanted to shoot people that may never get the opportunity to have their picture taken at all. Sasha and ...his crew traveled to Chukotka, Russia and produced a video of their experience.”

 

www.andrewscottclarke.com 

A really really BIG BAG

This is the Bag I use and love........

www.andrewscottclarke.com 

Its A BIG Bag - Perfect for lugging all my stuff to shoots and weddings. I shopped around for a large camera bag and for those of you that have done the same they can be quite expensive. I managed to come across this behemoth and it was perfect for putting my stuff in and also the quality is as good as one that costs three times the money!!!

Its available from mike's photo on EBay. Here it is :) 

Ive put the detail's of this great offering below for those of you with loads of gear, it really is feature packed and i have no hesitation to recommend this bag to anyone and everyone! 


Camrock Tank X60 is the biggest bag available by Camrock. It is designed for professionals and amateurs carrying lots of equipment. It combines high capacity and comfortable usage. It is made from best quality materials, which provides durability  and protection for the equipment. The bag has special straps to attach a tripod and a rainproof cover hidden in a pocket.

Features:
- it will hold 2 bodies, 8 lenses, a flshgun and a number of accessories
- the main chamber with adjustable partitions to form up to 14 compartments
- 2 outer pockets with zippers
- 2 outer net pockets
- 4 inner pockets with zippers
- extra pockets and compartments inside the bag
- straps to attach a tripod under the bag
- foldable rainproof cover hidden in a pocket
- rubber reinforcements in the bottom
- comfortable pull
- adjustable strap with soft padding

The main chamber thanks to its adjustable dividers can be divided into up to 14 compartments. You can configure it freely to fit your equipment perfectly. The bag will hold 2 bodies, 8 lenses, a flashgun and a number of accessories such as: a compact camera, video camera, filtres, chargers, remote controls, card readers etc. Camrock Tank X60 has various compartments and pockets. This means you can organize your accessories so that using them is more efficient and intuitive.




The set includes a comfortable, adjustable shoulder strap, which you are able to remove and reattach instantly. The bag has a hand strap covered with non-skid material. Underneath the bag, there are special straps to attach a tripod.

Camrock Tank X60 was designed to ensure maximum protection and ease of use. All nylon 680D TXP walls are covered with specially selected materials. It gives the big a lot of resistance to waether conditions and damage. The bottom of the bag has special pads, to protect the bag and the equipment even better.

Material used in this bag: 900D Poliester, 160D Poliester Ripstop, 880D Nylo TXP, PE foam.

Outer dimensions: height: 26cm width: 47cm depth: 34cm Inner dimensions: height: 22cm width: 43cm depth: 24cm Weight: 1600g

DIY Wind Machine................ Coming soon

Coming soon to a blog near you.........................

I'm building my own Wind machine as I was Gobsmacked by the cost of purpose built ones which were over £400.00

I will be using a second hand commercial fan with variable speed and capable of pushing out 1700 m3 of air per hour!

Watch this space....

Prototype already been trialed today and modificatins to ensue.

Ciao for now.

10 Top Photograpghy Composition Rules

It may sound clichéd, but the only rule in photography is that there are no rules. However, there are are number of established composition guidelines which can be applied in almost any situation, to enhance the impact of a scene.
These guidelines will help you take more compelling photographs, lending them a natural balance, drawing attention to the important parts of the scene, or leading the viewer's eye through the image.
Once you are familiar with these composition tips, you'll be surprised at just how universal most of them are. You'll spot them everywhere, and you'll find it easy to see why some photos "work" while others feel like simple snapshots.

Rule of Thirds

Imagine that your image is divided into nine equal segments by two vertical and two horizontal lines. Try to position the most important elements in your scene along these lines, or at the points where they intersect. Doing so will add balance and interest to your photo. Some cameras even offer an option to superimpose a rule of thirds grid over the LCD screen, making it even easier to use.

Balancing Elements

Placing your main subject off-centre, as with the rule of thirds, creates a more interesting photo, but it can leave a void in the scene which can make it feel empty. You should balance the 'weight' of your subject by including another object of lesser importance to fill the space.

Leading Lines

When we look at a photo our eye is naturally drawn along lines. By thinking about how you place lines in your composition, you can affect the way we view the image, pulling us into the picture, towards the subject, or on a journey 'through' the scene. There are many different types of line - straight, diagonal, curvy, zigzag, radial etc - and each can be used to enhance our photo's composition.

Symmetry and Patterns

We are surrounded by symmetry and patterns, both natural and man-made., They can make for very eye-catching compositions, particularly in situations where they are not expected. Another great way to use them is to break the symmetry or pattern in some way, introducing tension and a focal point to the scene.

Viewpoint

Before photographing your subject, take time to think about where you will shoot it from. Our viewpoint has a massive impact on the composition of our photo, and as a result it can greatly affect the message that the shot conveys. Rather than just shooting from eye level, consider photographing from high above, down at ground level, from the side, from the back, from a long way away, from very close up, and so on.

Background

How many times have you taken what you thought would be a great shot, only to find that the final image lacks impact because the subject blends into a busy background? The human eye is excellent at distinguishing between different elements in a scene, whereas a camera has a tendency to flatten the foreground and background, and this can often ruin an otherwise great photo. Thankfully this problem is usually easy to overcome at the time of shooting - look around for a plain and unobtrusive background and compose your shot so that it doesn't distract or detract from the subject.

Depth

Because photography is a two-dimensional medium, we have to choose our composition carefully to conveys the sense of depth that was present in the actual scene. You can create depth in a photo by including objects in the foreground, middle ground and background. Another useful composition technique is overlapping, where you deliberately partially obscure one object with another. The human eye naturally recognises these layers and mentally separates them out, creating an image with more depth.

Framing

The world is full of objects which make perfect natural frames, such as trees, archways and holes. By placing these around the edge of the composition you help to isolate the main subject from the outside world. The result is a more focussed image which draws your eye naturally to the main point of interest.

Cropping

Often a photo will lack impact because the main subject is so small it becomes lost among the clutter of its surroundings. By cropping tight around the subject you eliminate the background 'noise', ensuring the subject gets the viewer's undivided attention.

Experimentation

With the dawn of the digital age in photography we no longer have to worry about film processing costs or running out of shots. As a result, experimenting with our photos' composition has become a real possibility; we can fire off tons of shots and delete the unwanted ones later at absolutely no extra cost. Take advantage of this fact and experiment with your composition - you never know whether an idea will work until you try it.

Composition in photography is far from a science, and as a result all of the 'rules' above should be taken with a pinch of salt. If they don't work in your scene, ignore them; if you find a great composition that contradicts them, then go ahead and shoot it anyway. But they can often prove to be spot on, and are worth at least considering whenever you are out and about with your camera.

Back to film - Nikon F90X

Ive decided to start shooting some more with film, thus dusted off this Gem of a film camera which for a pro spec camera can be found rather cheaply on sites such as EBay etc along with F4's and F5's. Bargain as long as you don't want to be snap heavy as you can be with Digital, also lacks the instant replay that digital affords us, so will be a little like shooting in the dark not knowing what you've got till its developed. I used to love that :)

So I'll let you know how i get on. i suppose it will be like going on one of those TV shows where you have to give up your everyday modern luxuries and go back to the way things were done in the olden day's!.

I'll be putting my clothes through a mangle next! :)

Ciao for now

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