Cruise News Watch photo post: Aperture Academy loves cruising with cameras (and they met the crew of the SS Minnow?)

The crew from the SS Minnow?

We are pleased to have a blog post about us in Holland America's Cruise News Watch. There are photos from last year's Alaska cruise aboard the Oosterdam. It was a great deal of fun, and we are planning on repeating the adventure and grand photo shoots again this year on the MS Westerdam!

• Read the blog post and see the photos here!

• Read our review of last year's cruise/workshop here!

• Learn more about this year's cruise here!

Capture Fire and Light, and at Night, at our 2-day Valley of Fire Photography Workshop

Just an hour's drive from the hustle and bustle of Las Vegas sits one of the gems of the Southwest. Valley of Fire looks and feels like another planet. A true photographer's playground, the Valley of Fire has a little something for everyone. Slot canyons - check! Red rock canyons and hills - check! Swirls of yellow, orange and red layered rock - check! Arches and interesting shaped rocks - check! There's even a rock that looks like an elephant! So, if photographing the beauty of the southwest is up your alley, and you want it all within a short drive to a major metropolitan airport, Valley of Fire is right for you! Don't bother losing money in the casinos, come join the Aperture Academy for a weekend of photography in the Nevada desert!

Learn more, get all the juicy details, and see some awesome photos here...

Join us in November for a great time, breathtaking scenery and a weekend you won't soon forget...because you'll have stunning photos to remind you!

Winter in Death Valley: Tales of Harsh Beauty, Ghosts and Student Hijinks

Our two-day photography workshops in the incomparable Death Valley are always memorable, for the incredible beauty, the history-steeped landscape and the absolute fun of sharing our love of photography with eager, enthusiastic and engaging students!

This year we've started off our Death Valley Winter Landscape workshops on a high note, and lots of great memories! As we always do, we took photos of our students and wrote up a story describing the workshop and some tips and photo know-how. Take a look, share the fun with us on our site...and hopefully we'll be able to take you along on one of our next adventures!

Death Valley 2-Day Workshop photo-story for Jan. 28-29, 2012

Death Valley 2-Day Workshop photo-story for Feb. 1-2, 2012

Death Valley 2-Day Workshop photo-story for Feb. 4-5, 2012

Follow-up Post RE: Prototype Canon Products Written About on This Blog

Post by Stephen Oachs

Over the past 24 hours I have received accusations that the photos I posted earlier today (Jan 23rd) of what appears to be prototype Canon 200-400mm, 600mm lenses and a mystery Canon camera body, are fake.

I assure everyone these images are real. They are not photoshopped, faked or manipulated in any way. Below is a link to the RAW file that I took with my Canon 1Ds Mark III using a Canon 100-400mm lens:

http://www.ApertureAcademy.com/canon/B3J8584.CR2

In addition, I do not work for Canon nor have any affiliation with Canon or its employees that would allow me to have privileged information regarding future Canon products.

I am the founder of the Aperture Academy. I have been in Kenya, Africa, for the month of January shooting wildlife with colleague and fellow Aperture Academy Instructor, Scott Davis.

While photographing a Cheetah on a Thompson Gazelle kill, we first spotted the Japanese Canon employee. He stood out because of the array of naked lenses (no skins/coats/protection) and the bright colored sticker labels on the tops. We immediately recognized the anticipated 200-400mm with built-in tele but at this time did not take any photos. Scott did his best to speak with the man who, via his driver helping to translate English to Japanese, confirmed he worked for Canon and that it was the upcoming 200-400mm Canon lens. At this time we had not yet seen the 600mm or the new Canon camera body.

Three days later, in another location of the Masaii Mara, where we were shooting wildlife, we again ran across the Japanese man. This time we noticed the 600mm Canon lens prototype and the new camera body, so we decided to take a few pictures, first just to zoom in to see what it might be. We quickly realized that this camera was something not yet released, thus we decided to share the images on this blog.

I hope this helps everyone understand that this is not an inside "leak" or media attempt on the part of Canon. We are just a couple of wildlife photographers who happened to stumble upon some pretty new and exciting gear in the works by Canon.

Stephen W. Oachs

Canon 200-400mm and 600mm prototype lenses first sightings...and the new 5D Mark III?

By Stephen Oachs

I'm currently on a shoot in Kenya, Africa, and I ran into a Japanese man sporting some gear I didn't recognize. While his English was very limited, I was able to confirm that he works for Canon and is doing in-field testing with the new Canon 200-400mm with built-in teleconverter. He also was testing the new Canon 600mm. 

 What I also noticed was a Canon camera body that I hadn't seen before. You can see it in the photos I took...I see the "Q" button located by the big wheel on the right, which on the 7D is currently located on the top left. The battery grip seems to have a joystick. I also noticed a "Rate" button...hrm, any ideas?

Is this the new 5D Mark III, or maybe the 7D Mark II? This info I was not able to determine.

I'll tell you this, that Canon 200-400mm is on my shopping list as soon as it's available. He told me he thought it would be officially released on March or April.
 

Announcing 72dpi.com, our new photography community and photo sharing site

PRESS RELEASE

Snap Socially™ – 72dpi.com, A New Photograph Sharing Website, Brings A Snappy Social Networking Focus To The Photography Community

Aperture Academy, the fine art photo gallery and digital photography school by Stephen W. Oachs in Campbell, CA, has launched a free photograph sharing website with a social networking slant to support, encourage and promote photographers of all levels and skills.

Campbell, CA–October 20, 2011–Aperture Academy founder and master photographer, Stephen W. Oachs, has announced the launch of 72dpi.com, a community photo sharing site that utilizes social networking and interaction between photographers to support and encourage anyone with a love of photography, from hobbyists to full-time professionals.

Oachs explains, "72dpi is a photography social media website that combines the Aperture Academy's free online community galleries and our very popular Photo-of-the-Day viewer-rated competition into a single portal. We felt it was important to provide a social networking hub for photographers to share their work with a larger audience, while getting a chance to collaborate, have fun and learn from one another.

 

"Merging our three year old POTD with our community user galleries into a social savvy community is a natural progression in our ongoing mission to support our fellow photographers and photo enthusiasts. We're very excited about this project and we are receiving tremendously positive feedback from users."

Oachs has over 15 years of experience in technology development, as a founder of several successful web ventures. Now, as a professional photographer, he utilizes his technology background to provide increasingly interactive opportunities for his Aperture Academy students and other photographers. ApertureAcademy.com and 72dpi.com are successful examples of his mission. To learn more about 72dpi.com, visit the site at http://www.72dpi.com, or contact Aperture Academy at 408-369-8585.

New Sojourn Series of Workshops - Snapping Globally!

Have you heard about our new adventure workshop series? If not, here's the scoop... we have three exciting and exotic photography expeditions, led by our master photographers, Stephen Oachs and Brian Rueb, that combine a photographic safari or photo expedition with the advantages of a workshop. Your guides are also your private instructors! Take a look at the exciting details by clicking the image below...

Visit http://www.apertureacademy.com/photography-workshops.php to get more details!