PICTURE PERFECT!

Photoshop is a professional software from Adobe

that allows for image -editing and graphics. It provides a diverse library of effects, filters and layers. It has become the leading digital editing application for the Internet, print and other new media forms.

The software is use by most graphic artists, visual communicators and us the regular people. Photoshop was the standard program for print industry; it is as effective and impressive in Web design.

It is likely to note that almost all photographs and pictures have been edited and created by Photoshop. It is impossible to know all the different tools present in the software as this outstanding has been around from 1982. That is an exceptional achievement of 26 years of troubleshooting!

It is the current postmodern photographer that applies intense meaning to the photographs. All photographs have stories to tell that are connected to the “bigger picture’. The increase popularity of this new media form has taken both professional and interested photographers into a world of the plentiful. The abundance of software programs creates a limitless expansion of the imagination.

In present society were everything is handed to you on a silver platter, photography is priceless as it allows for you to interpret and translate an image as you wish. Photography is a medium that is visually expressive that can catch your attention in a split second. Most people remember what they see rather than what they read.

The future of photography is interrelated to the development of digital technology. The steadfast rises in technical developments ensure the survival of photography. I salute the great forefathers of Photography who presented us the world of nostalgia, vision, interpretation, lifestyle and capturing of time.

A PICTURE IS TRULY WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS!

Apple's Piece Of The World

eWorld is an innovative, informative, powerful and yet easy to use online service that was launched by Apple Computer Inc. eWorld for Macintosh is an 'online town square' which provides a global electronic mail system together with news ,information and other services. Joining the eWorld community has been described as taking a stroll to the main square of a small university town, where there are a lot of interesting people and many fascinating places to visit. Becoming part of eWorld is easy and once people have found themselves there, it proves to be friendly and compelling.

For the Macintosh owners, the eWorld community consists of a neighbourhood of buildings, each of which represent a specific area of interest. Each building contains a series of online publications from well known publishers, containing valuable information along with interactive conferences and discussion boards. If you, for example are running a small business, you could browse through the latest issues of relevant magazines or if you join in an online conversation with people with similar interests as you, you would be able to share thoughts and ideas as well as gain some useful contacts.

The Apple Customer Center contains a wealth of product information, software updates and other resources directly from Apple. Subscribers can also discuss issues and exchange opinions with other Apple users and participate in dynamic, live conferences with guests from Apple. The technical library used by Apple's own support organization is available, along with other technical information including comprehensive answers to customers' frequently-asked questions.


eWorld is one of the many new forms of new media that are contributing to the formation of a “global village”, where there seems to some sort of uniformity amongst people around the world in terms of their uses and needs for technology. eWorld offers its users to create their own online identities, where people can meet and interact with one another. eWorld is amazing as it is functions as a global community for those who are in touch with Apple and contributes to the constructions of the users identities and it contributes to the shift toward a “global village”.

GunCellphone in action

At first sight it looks like a regular cell phone — same size, same shape, same overall appearance.But beneath the digital face lies a .22-caliber pistol, a phone gun capable of firing four rounds in quick succession with a touch of the otherwise standard keypad.
The US Department of Homeland Security and the FBI are aware of the device and have instructed baggage screeners to be on the lookout for suspicious mobile phones. This is especially after 9/11. European law enforcement officials — stunned by the discovery of these deadly decoys — say phone guns are changing the rules of engagement in Europe.Airport authorities across Europe are implementing systems to X-ray all cell phones
“We find it very, very alarming,” says Wolfgang Dicke of the German Police union. “It means police will have to draw their weapons whenever a person being checked reaches for their mobile phone.”
The FBI, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, and the U.S. Customs Service say they’ve been briefed on the new weapons.“This criminal invention represents a potentially serious threat to law enforcement and the public,” said U.S. Customs Service Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly.“We received word about these guns last month. We have since alerted our field personnel to be on the lookout for ‘cell phone guns’ at U.S. ports of entry.”Guns on the MoveThese new covert guns were first discovered in October when Dutch police stumbled on a cache during a drug raid in Amsterdam.In another recent incident a Croatian gun dealer was caught attempting to smuggle a shipment through Slovenia into Western Europe.Police say both shipments are believed to have originated in Yugoslavia.Interpol sent out a warning to law enforcement agencies around the world.European border police and customs officers are at a heightened state of alert at all ports, airports and border crossings.Realistic Appearance‘If you didn’t know they were guns, you wouldn’t suspect anything,” said Ari Zandbergen, spokesman for the Amsterdam police.“Only when you have one in your hand do you realize that they are heavier,” says Birgit Heib of the German Federal Criminal Investigation Agency.The guns are loaded by twisting the phone in half. The .22-caliber rounds fit into the top of the phone under the screen. The lower half, under the keyboard, holds the firing pins. The bullets fire through the antenna by pressing the keypad from numbers five to eight.Amsterdam police says they are very sophisticated machines constructed inside gutted cell phones which do not light up or operate as real phones.“These are very difficult to make. We believe experts are involved,” says Zandbergen.U.S. authorities, including the FBI, ATF, Federal Aviation Administration and the U.S. Customs Service Authority have been supplied detailed information and pictures of these new weapons.“They’ve been given a heads up,” said Jim Crandall, ATF spokesman.To date no phone guns have been discovered either in the United States or in the process of being smuggled in, authorities say. But they know it’s only a matter of time.FAA spokeswoman Rebecca Trexler said airport security officers had been trained to deal with this new threat.“We don’t want to tell the bad guys exactly what we’re looking for,” she says, “We are trying to stay one step ahead.”Will Affect TravelersAirport authorities across Europe are implementing systems to X-ray all cell phones, those procedures will likely be followed by airports around the world.“This is just one more item that we need to pay special attention to because nowadays, of course just about every passenger carries a mobile phone,” says the spokesman for Frankfurt airport security.Customs officials in the U.S. say their safety procedure has normally been to require travelers to turn their phones on, however that may no longer be enough. Cell phone users will have to be made aware that reaching for their phones in some circumstances could be misinterpreted as a threat by authorities.

FROZEN MOMENTS…

Photography as a form of communication has its own vocabulary and visual language. The pictorial language of photography is often complex. In meta-language an image can never act in isolation, it is always juxtaposed on other contributed texts and signs. We have to learn how to read images. Semiology is the uncovering of what lies beneath images photographs therefore the meaning and messages in photos is always questioned. An example would be the structured image of a street child or a wildlife photograph.


Written texts and photographs influence each other within their context. We constantly engage with new media popular culture. A photograph in newspaper may have a straightforward caption; texts accompany an image in an advertisement may be sensationalist or a photo essay may rely on object texts.



A more emotional engagement to photography is Disquieting Images. These photographs demand a response to viewer; however they are unsettling and never pleasant or comfortable. Diane Arbus and Robert Mapplethorpe have caused great debate and controversy with their art. Diane photographs were regarded “freakish” as she photographed dwarfs, homosexuals, mental patients and transvestites.

Robert focused on explicit photographs of homosexual sex and child nudity. He made self-portraits wearing horns and his death from AID’s.



Such photographers need to gain the confidence and trust of their subjects before pictures can be taken.



“In looking there is always something missing which is not seen, not because it is perceived as missing… but because it does not belong to the visible” – Victor Burgin.

HTC Touch Diamond Flagship Unveiled, Challenges Apple iPhone

Taiwan-based smartphone maker HTC unveiled a new flagship phone with a touch-screen display and applications for viewing content from websites such as YouTube and Google Maps.


High Tech Computer (HTC) said its Touch Diamond phone would offer high-speed mobile Internet access using HSDPA and HSUPA, upgrades to existing third-generation networks that boost data transmission speeds. After years of manufacturing handsets for other companies, HTC has begun asserting its own name with high-end smartphones. First introduced in 2007, the Touch series of touch screen phones have sold more than 3 million units globally. Fourth-quarter 2007 shipments place the company fifth among smartphone manufacturers - after Nokia, Research In Motion, Motorola and Apple. "Today we mark a new era in mobile phone evolution, an era where beauty and size integrate with uncompromising innovation at broadband speeds," said Peter Chou, president and CEO, HTC Corp. "The HTC Touch Diamond will make browsing the Web and using Web-enabled applications just as practical and easy to use as making calls." The Touch Diamond, which is about the size of half a deck of playing cards, may be smaller than the iPhone, but HTC is hoping consumers will find it has big appeal. HTC wanted the design to be unique enough that "it can be recognized from across the street," says HTC's chief innovation officer, Horace Luke, and that it would be both "lovable and usable." A user should be able to operate it with one hand while walking down the street laden with bags, says Luke. That translated into a shiny black phone with a faceted back - an homage to a diamond's edges. The phone includes a circular navigation wheel to help consumers navigate its menus. And HTC has also layered its own user-friendly software over the Windows Mobile operating system from Microsoft - that means consumers can reach their work email but also see an easily navigable interface. To encourage mobile Internet browsing, the Touch Diamond offers speedy upload and download connections, Wi-Fi and a glass screen with about four times better resolution than HTC's previous Touch phones. HTC improved touch screen innovation with its new 3D touch interface called TouchFLO 3D. TouchFLO 3D provides animated access to people, messaging, email, photos, music, weather and more. Users can zoom and pan Websites with one-hand and automatically view optimized content that fits the display. Turning the device sideways automatically rotates the web page view from a portrait to landscape view. The Touch Diamond includes a customized new YouTube application for watching videos as well as Google Maps for mobile for mapping and traffic data.

Welcome To The World Of MAC

The Apple Macintosh Personal Computers offers immaculate and flawless integration of hardware and software. A hand-in-glove fit is the experience that every individual who owns a Mac receives. The computer itself has all the essentials like USB and FireWire built in. Apple and Mac have has the most innovative technology with the Mac personal computers having built-in antennae for wireless networks which makes connecting to the Internet a mere task of switching the computer on.


For those who are always concerned about their computers crashing and worrying about the costs of repairing the computers – Mac has a guaranteed crash-resistant performance that is sure to attract many fans as there is the insurance offered by Mac that the owners computing experience will remain free of system crashes and compromised performance.

With applications such as iPhoto, iMovie, iDVD, GarageBand, iTunes and iWeb, Apple and its range of Macintosh personal computers offers their customers great value for their money. The personal computers are fun and suitable for all age groups. The design and outlook of the computers are eye-catching and classy and the applications as well as all the software and hardware of the computer make it well worth its price.


Through Apple and their innovative technologies, people can now create online identities, through social networks and create their own podcasts or blogs at any time and place all through the wireless networks that are offered by Apple’s Mac. Apple’s Mac computers come with great security with minimal threats of viruses from the Internet unlike other computers hence this shows just how far Apple have contributed to the developments of such diverse and extraordinary technological devices and hence to the development of a new media culture.

~CREATIVE ~ARTISTIC ~ CONSRSTRUCTIONS…

The fashion photography had developed simultaneously with the fashion industry in 1920’s. Through the passing of time it became a specialized career among photographers. Fashion shots had become strongly associated with women magazines.

Thus was introduced in the domestic lifestyle and encouraged women to aspire to beauty and fashion.


Through the attractive media photographs the desire for beauty products and clothes became an
epidemic to all women. Beauty became commodified!

The creative process of taking a photograph underwent successional advancements.
During the early years shots were carefully composed now the motorized film allow
models to move freely and become naturalistic.


The digital age allows for the editing of images.
The postproduction stage is where all the excitement happens as they
disfigure images, to sculpture bodily masterpieces.
The image now instead of the model or subject becomes a canvas for the artist.
Today the desires for perfect constructed bodies are sought out by both sexes!
Fashion photography is the ultimate constructed form.

Photographs were mostly based on the representation of sexuality, which lead to the spread of image obsession internationally.

Not forgetting that now every person has this power, with camera’s installed in all high
tech cell phones and almost every piece of office equipment.

We become both the photographer and the postproduction mastermind.