Create Great Panning Photographs – Guest Post

By Mr Din

Panning is a photographic technique that provides great separation of subject from background.

The technique is very simple in theory, but takes some practice to perfect.

Here is how it works, you set your camera to a relatively low shutter speed.  Say 1/80 or 1/40 of a second. Next you find a subject that is moving from one side of the frame to the other. Here comes the tricky part. While keeping the subject in a fixed part of the frame (and you do that by panning the lens from side to side) click the shutter.

Click here to read the rest…

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad – Jewish?

Oy vey!

Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad – perhaps the world’s best-known Holocaust denier – might actually be Jewish, according to a bombshell report published on Saturday.

Ahmadinejad’s family apparently changed its name from Sabourjian, a Jewish name meaning “cloth weaver,” when it converted to Islam after his birth, the London’s Daily Telegraph says.

The nuke-pursuing Iranian was photographed in March holding up his identity card, revealing a scrawled note suggesting the shocking name change.

The Sabourjians traditionally hail from Ahmadinejad’s hometown of Aradan. The name is even on the list of reserved names for Iranian Jews compiled by Iran’s Ministry of the Interior, the paper says.

Experts told the Telegraph his vitriolic attacks against Jews could be an attempt to hide his past.

“This aspect of Mr. Ahmadinejad’s background explains a lot about him,” said Ali Nourizadeh, of the Center for Arab and Iranian Studies. “Every family that converts into a different religion takes a new identity by condemning their old faith.

“By making anti-Israeli statements, he is trying to shed any suspicions about his Jewish connections.”

A London-based expert on Iranian Jewry said that the “jian” ending to the Sabour name shows that the family had been practicing Jews.

“He has changed his name for religious reasons, or at least his parents had,” said the Iranian-born Jew. “Sabourjian is a well-known Jewish name in Iran.”

rschapiro@nydailynews.com

Read the original story here: NY DAILY NEWS

Patrick Swayze has died…

photo: Conny Liegl

Patrick Swayze, the balletically athletic actor who rose to stardom in the films “Dirty Dancing” and “Ghost” and whose 20-month battle with advanced pancreatic cancer drew wide attention, died Monday. He was 57.

His publicist, Annett Wolf, told The Associated Press in Los Angeles that Mr. Swayze died with family at his side.

Mr. Swayze’s cancer was diagnosed in January 2008. Six months after that, he had already outlived his prognosis and was filmed at an airport, smiling at photographers and calling himself, only half-facetiously, “a miracle dude.” He even went through with plans to star in “The Beast,” a new drama series for A&E, and filmed a complete season while undergoing treatment. Mr. Swayze insisted on continuing with the series.

“How do you nurture a positive attitude when all the statistics say you’re a dead man?” he said to Bill Carter of The New York Times last October. “You go to work.”

The show, on which he plays an undercover F.B.I. agent, had its premiere in January and earned him admiring reviews.

A week before the series began, Mr. Swayze was the subject of a one-hour “Barbara Walters Special” on ABC, talking about his illness. “I keep my heart and my soul and my spirit open to miracles,” he told Ms. Walters. But he said he was not going to pursue every experimental treatment that came along. If he were to “spend so much time chasing staying alive,” he said, he wouldn’t be able to enjoy the time he had left. “I want to live,” he said.

Adapted from: NYTIMES

Camp L’man Achai

I spent my summer at Camp L’man Achai. L’man Achai is a camp made for non-religious Jewish kids, it’s mission is to give kids some knowledge about Judaism during their stay. For the first Month of Camp I was the Photographer (among other things).  For the month of August though I was a Counselor.

Here are some of the photos I took (more to come):

For more info about Camp L’man Achai vist: The Camp Website

Portraits – Kids

Email me at info@photographybyrafi.com

or call me directly at 347-598-6081

Why Are We So Compelled? – Guest Post

© Alexey Arkhipov | Dreamstime.com

Today’s typical photographer is a curious being. Cameras are cheap, computers are easy to use, and the Internet makes sharing photos so incredibly easy. So many people are into photography, but I’m willing to bet that over half of us don’t know why we do it or what we’re after.

Read the rest at Epic Edits….

So many phones so many opinions…

© Len Green | Dreamstime.com

Here is a basic poll question…Which phone do you like better?

Don’t like any of the 3 listed, that’s cool. Simply add a comment with your favorite phone. Spread the word and let’s find out what people like.

The Food Collection – Dreamstime

Here are some of my food photos available on Dreamstime.com.

Enjoy…..and purchase.

Note: Simply click on the images above to purchase (about $1)…

F11- How to view my blog.

© Suto Norbert | Dreamstime.com

This is a photo blog, so for best viewing purposes I would suggest pressing F11 while using Firefox. If your using IE it will still work but IE….well sucks.

Use Firefox in full-screen mode (F11) and you will enjoy this blog a lot more.

Just a tip,
RaFi

Now on Shutterstock!

Guys and Girls… I am happy to say that I am now on Shutterstock. At the moment I have 48 images for sale. Check it out:

Banner (links straight to my portfolio):

Text Link (links straight to my portfolio):

Shutterstock Portfolio

And if you don’t have a Shutterstock account or you don’t want to make one, check out these other agencies where you can purchase my images:

Other Agencies

Enjoy,

Rafi