Art Stimulus Silent Auction

One of many beautiful photography images by award-winning photographer Christine Taft will be auctioned on Saturday, July 11, 2009. The auction will be held in Earth Gallery, 1014 N. Main Street, (928) 451-4495 during the "Artwalk" in the Historical Art District of Old Town Cottonwood, AZ from 1:00 - 8:00 pm. The "Artwalk" will also have entertainment and refreshments.

Christine Taft will be personally available to showcase her work and answer any questions that day. If you are not the lucky winner of the auction, special incentives will be available- i.e.: first purchase will receive reduced pricing.

If you are not able to attend this special event, you can view and purchase a selection of her photography work on her website: www.theperceptivelens.com.

Free photography talk at SMoCA

Everyone is looking for a deal now a days. How about a little education and artistic enrichment too? Arizona State University professor, Betsy Schneider, will be giving a free talk on June 18th 6:30 pm at Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art, Stage 2 located in the Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts adjacent to the museum. She will be discussing her own work as well as those of photographer Harry Callahan. Much of Betsy's recent work explores themes of childhood, culture, and relationships. Harry also focused on loved ones as his subjects for his photography. Callahan's image scene here "Eleanor and Barbara Lake Michigan, 1953" is taken of his wife and daughter. His wife, Eleanor, was the subject of many of his images. SMoCA currently is running an exhibit of Callahan's work along with the work of Aaron Siskind and Fredrick Sommer (who lived in Prescott, Arizona) entitled At the Crossroads of American Photography: Callahan, Siskind, Sommer. The exhibit of 151 photographs has been extended to August 9, 2009.

SMoCA is also holding a series of free events every Thursday night during the summer. For more information about Betsy Schneider's talk or SMoCA's other events check out their website.

David Spindel, a 50 year overnight success story

David Spindel is a photographer who has had some amazing opportunities in his career. He has worked with many celebrities, probably the one that has given him the most notoriety is John Lennon. He was given remarkable access to John at his recording studio in New York not long before his untimely death. David's work has been used for multiple album and book covers. We had the opportunity to print some of his images for shows he has had around the world.

David and his wife moved to Arizona 2004 to "retire", although I don't think he has slowed down much. He currently has a showing of his work at The Broadway Palm Dinner Theater in Mesa, Arizona until the end of May. He was also recently interviewed by the Arizona Republic and the Phoenix Magazine. This morning he was interviewed by Scott Pasmore of Channel 3 for their Good Morning Arizona show. If you missed it, here is a link for the interview.

In David's words "My favorite expression is that it has only taken me 50 years to be an overnight success."

Need inspiration? Get Ignited!

Well the temperature has broken 100 degrees for three straight days and that can only mean that summer has arrived in the Valley of the Sun. So, between the economy and the weather, it's not easy for creative folks like us to get inspired.

Since we're spending gobs of time trying social media as a way to drum up some business we here at Artisan Colour / Display Graphics have found a cool site where creative minds can present ideas. You know that many times it just takes a thought or an idea from someone to ignite the passion within. The site we found is appropriately named Ignite-Phoenix.com.

Ignite Phoenix is an information exchange aimed at fostering and inspiring Phoenix's creative community. On Tuesday, June 16th. Ignite Phoenix will be having it's fourth event at the Tempe Center for the Arts. While that event is more than a month away these folks are opening up submissions for the event right now. so get fired up and ignite the creative passions from within.

We are excited to announce that Ignite Phoenix will be returning to the gorgeous Tempe Center for the Arts for our fourth event on Tuesday, June 16th. The overwhelming turnout for Ignite #3 in February forced us to alter our plans, as we needed a venue that could hold 400+ people. Thanks to support from the City of Tempe and some generous sponsors, we will be in the TCA’s gorgeous 600 seat theater!

Ignite Phoenix has come a long way since the the first “I Wonder If Anyone Will Show Up” event last August, and from now on our goal is have the next Ignite scheduled and posted as soon as a previous event wraps up. We will also open up submissions immediately, so you can submit an idea any time it strikes you. The only time submissions will be closed will be during the judging period right before an event.

If you have an idea you would like to submit for Ignite Phoenix #4, just visit our Submission Page.

Help Rick D'Elia, and in turn help the children of Uganda

Rick D'Elia is donating his time to a very worthy cause by documenting the day to day struggle of survival in Uganda. Rick is trying to head up a trip that will benefit 4 charitable organizations by allowing them to use his images as part of their education and fund raising efforts. What Rick needs is help to raise the funds to make his trip to Uganda possible. I will let Rick tell the story.

STREEETCH and help some kids.

Help three small organizations that focus on education and other necessities mostly for kids in Uganda keep their programs running.

Let me explain.

As it is, small orgs must use whatever resources they have available not only in keeping the lights on but in trying to draw donations from a diminishing pool of donors in a increasingly competitive arena.

They draw donor attention through their communications tools, websites and mailers. Powerful photographs help make those tools successful. If the photographs are compelling, they convey the importance and strength of an organization. They motivate donors.

Small organizations, however, often can’t afford to bring an experienced, skilled photographer to their site. Their photographs are taken by staff-members whose expertise lies in education and social work. Those staffers are not trained in finding telling and emotional moments that make powerful photographs from which a viewer cannot look away.

Many of these organizations wish they could have work done by a pro.

With a little help, a little funding, a pro could be put into place without cost to an organization.

Wouldn’t it be even better if there were three or four organizations in the same area in Uganda with a similar need, the photographer is already in place to help out not just one, but several organizations accomplish the same goal?

Three for the price of one?

Just by pure coincidence (!?) atleast four organizations have expressed excitement at the prospect of getting great photographs of and for their programs:

Teach a Child to Fish http://www.teachachildtofish.org

Bega Kwa Bega (Shoulder to Shoulder) http://begakwabegaugandaorphans.org

Uganda Community School Project, Nawantale http://www.nawantale.org

Kirabo http://www.kirabocanada.ca

My plan is to spend about two weeks photographing these projects as a volunteer, as well as another five or six days of post production time. Travel expenses for two weeks, which would include, transportation, food and lodging, etc., will range between $3,000 and $3,600 depending upon the cost of the airfare. Departure depends upon how quickly these expenses are raised.

Teach a Child to Fish, will collect the funds, so, just fill out a check, and send with one of those “forever stamps” (remember the price is going up very soon) to:

Teach A Child to Fish
P.O. Box 491
Downers Grove, IL 60515
Enter in the notations, "NGO photo project."

TCF is 501(c)3 so, donations are deductible.

Once the expenses are covered, the rest of the donated funds will help TCF with their program.

David Mehrer BFA Exhibition

David Mehrer is an artist completing the photography program at Minnesota State University Moorhead. You probably remember seeing Moorhead and Fargo on the news in the past couple of weeks with the Red River cresting and subsequently flooding the surrounding area. Because of that situation, the University's BFA Exhibition had to get rescheduled. The show will go on, and is opening on April 27th.

David uses light almost like sculptural aspects in his photography. His mixture of the media creates new elements to traditional themes. We were happy to help out an emerging artist across the country. We wish David the best of luck with the upcoming exhibition and his career in the arts.

If you will be in the Moorhead area in late April, you can visit the Roland Dille Center for the Arts to see the show.

Chris Adams at Winfield's Cafe

We recently printed some work for Chris Adams for his show Urban Landscapes at the Winfield's Cafe in Old Town Scottsdale. The Winfield's Cafe is a different kind of coffee house. It is run by the First Baptist Church of Scottsdale and located in their campus. Their mission at the cafe is not only to offer good coffee, but to also build community relations through their services.

There is a opening reception for Chris' work April 2nd from 6 pm to 8 pm. The show will be on display until April 13th. To learn more about the Winfield's Cafe or their events visit their website.

Creating a panoramic image using Photomerge

Large printed panoramic images are amazing. The days of spending hours manually blending and combing your photos are over. Photomerge is a powerful tool available in Photoshop CS4 that will do just as advertised, merge your photos together in a matter of seconds. This tutorial posted by Jay Kinhorn on Layers Magazine gives a great overview on how to use the action and get the best result. I really like his tip about zooming in and making sure your seams do not have any soft spots or aberrations, those are very apparent when printed large.

Photoshop CS4 Photomerge

In the new CS4, there are some minor improvements to the Photomerge function, including the new collage option. Jay Kinghorn goes over the different ways of bringing your images into photomerge, the layout options, and some quick tips for creating better quality panoramas.

Tempe Festival of the Arts this weekend

If it is spring time in Arizona that can only mean one thing, festivals. The 32nd annual Spring Tempe Festival of the Arts will be held this weekend off of Mill Avenue in downtown Tempe. Starting at 6 pm tonight, they will shut down Mill Avenue and the artists will start setting up their booths for the event. Admission is free, and the event is even dog friendly. The weather promises to be beautiful this weekend. Bring the whole family down to view and buy some original art!

SPRING FESTIVAL 2009 March 27-29/ 10am to Dusk

The Tempe Festival of the Arts consistently ranks among the Top 20 art festivals in the nation by Sunshine Artist and has received the Pinnacle Award from the International Festival and Events Association. The spring and fall events each attract nearly 250,000 visitors to the Mill Avenue District over the course of a 3-day weekend.

Quality artists are fundamental to the success of the event. Each year, the Festival receives more than 1,000 applications from artists across the country. From these applicants, a jury comprised of members of the local art community selects the top artisans in each category to participate in the Festival. During the Festival, a new jury then selects the best overall artist and the top artist in each category.

Participants are separated into 18 different artistic categories for judging, ranging from woodwork to photography to ceramics and even wearable art. More than 400 artist booths line Mill Avenue and the surrounding streets presenting unique, and hand-made artwork that offers visitors a distinctive shopping experience.

Interview with Art Holeman Part 2

We last left off in our discussion with Art as he was beginning to tell us more about the Through Each Other's Eyes organization and his experiences on this most recent trip to Mexico.

MI: How important is it to have the right translator and guide? Or did you get by with common sense and lots of smiles?

"Before my trips I purchased some CD's for language which taught me key phrases. I learned enough to get me in hot water pretty quick." he jokes. "The native people are very understanding and courteous. If you show them that you are trying to communicate in their own language, that goes a long way. Communication in Japan was not difficult at all. Many people spoke fluent or basic English and we were able to come to an understanding. In Mexico we were fortunate to have excellent guides that spoke English and could translate for us."

MI: What made the experience unique?

"The unique thing is that everyone tells you don't go down there (to Mexico) because it is dangerous. What you have to understand is that it is their country, with their own way of doing things. I found this myth to simply not be true. You can get in to trouble anywhere." Art adds, "The foods were unbelievable!"

MI: What cameras and lenses did you use for the trip?

"I brought two camera bodies; a Canon 5D and a Canon 20D, and two lenses; a 24-70mm and a 70-200mm for increased range. I also brought a Lensbaby," but admits "Every time I bring one on an exchange the local photographer would want to keep it. There is now one in Japan and one in Mexico, and I need to order a new one for myself."

MI: Was there a particular shot that you captured that you felt really connected to?

"I got one that I shot the very first day. I saw these horse trainers running back and forth exercising their horses. Everything was dusty and the trainer was riding a white horse. As soon as I took the shot, the guide told us no to take images of the horse trainers. I later found out that there is apparently a lot of competition between the horse trainers for their races, and they do not want their methods to be exposed. It still remains one of my favorite shots from the trip." Art goes on to say, "I try to go in to an exchange with an open mind and not have a preconceived concept of the end product. I try to let it flow and let the locations and people speak to me. Otherwise, I would end up ignoring a lot of what surrounds me."

We would like to thank Art for taking time to meet with us for this interview. Look for a show of Art and Colleen's Mexico images coming up in September of 2009. When the specifics of the show are announced we will post them here.

Christine Taft at Earth Gallery

Earth Gallery is located in Old Town Cottonwood in Northern Arizona off of Historic Route 89A. The Old Town Association of Cottonwood is holding a Second Saturday Art & Antique Walk every 2nd Saturday of the month, starting this weekend. Christine Taft has been asked to display her work at the Earth Gallery for the on-going event. We printed some gorgeous Metallic prints of her award winning images available for purchase at the gallery.

The art walk starts this weekend March 14th from 1-8 pm. Come and play!

The Art District in Old Town features art in all mediums, from antiques and galleries to artisan breads and fine food fusions.

From 1-8pm, come stroll the sidewalks and enjoy our beautiful climate, incredible food choices, large array of shopping options and Old West atmosphere of Historic 89A, as you meander through the wonderful spectrum of galleries and shops. Chances are good that music will be playing and the sun will be shining.

Every second Saturday there will be events to stir your artistic soul, and a new show at each gallery, every month, whose work you can newly appreciate.

Go West exhibit at Tucson Airport

If you happen to find yourself with some time to spare at the Tucson Airport there is more for you to do than just read a magazine while you are waiting for your flight. James Cowlin along with photographer Tom Kiefer currently have an exhibit at the airport gallery entitled Go West: One Road, Two Visions. Both artists tell the a story of the West from very different viewpoints. While Jim focuses on vast sweeping iconic Western landscapes, Tom concentrates how man altered and changed these locations.

The show is on display through the end of March 2009. If you won't be flying out of Tucson during that time you can still 'visit' the exhibit on line. We were happy to lend a hand by printing Jim's Historic Route 89 images used for the exhibit.

As story tellers with cameras, Tom Kiefer and I may seem to be worlds apart. The paradoxical juxtaposition you see in this exhibition should not hide the passion we each bring to our work and the commitment to truth and beauty as we see it.

Through Each Other's Eyes show this weekend

Another event taking place this weekend is a show from the Through Each Other's Eyes organization. The latest show features four photographers from two countries. Dennis Scully and Maurice Sartirana traveled to Japan in a culture exchange with two Japanese photographers Haruhiko Shimauchi and Noriyoshi Kanda. Their resulting images will be on display this weekend at the Historic Southwest Cotton Company Building. The show will be part of the First Friday events as well as a reception with the artists on Saturday night. We were honored that they selected us to do some Metallic printing for the show.

The Historic Southwest Cotton Co. Bldg. is located at 605 E. Grant St. in downtown Phoenix. The March 6th First Friday event starts at 6 pm, and the artist reception on Saturday March 7th is from 5-8 pm. Hope to see you there!

The 16th exchange between photographers in Phoenix and Himeji, sister cities since 1976, began with the visit of Haruhiko Shimauchi and Noriyoshi Kanda to Arizona in February, 2008. Hosted by TEOE Photographers Dennis Scully and Maurice Sartirana, their shooting schedule included Super Bowl activities at West Gate, a Chocolate festival and fire cadet training in Glendale.

Sartirana and Scully will complete the exchange by traveling to Japan. The participants stay at each other's homes while traveling abroad, making the experience a rich cultural exchange that was about far more than making pictures. Each photographer will feature 20 prints in the resulting exhibit, presenting images of how two cultures perceive one another.

The pictures of Dennis and Maurice seen here were taken during their trip to Japan in 2008.

"3" Artshow at Jordre Studio

This Friday is shaping up to be a big night for art in Phoenix. As usual, the first Friday of every month is part of the First Friday art walks in the downtown galleries. March is also the 20th anniversary of Art Detour, a two day event with thousands of attendees experiencing hundreds of artists’ work in more than 100 galleries and studios. Both events are brought to you by the non-profit volunteer organization Artlink.

There are several shows scheduled on Friday and continuing in to Saturday. Some of which we were able to play a part in by helping the artists produce their work, one of them being 3 at the Jordre Studio. It is a collaborative show of three artists; Jennie Ignaszewski, Tyson Crosbie, and Kyle Jordre. We worked with both Tyson and Kyle for the show.

Tyson will be debuting the second edition of his annual series of fine art photographs, Phoenix 21. On Thursday March 5th from 6-8pm there is also a chance for you to preview the work before it is open to the public on Friday. It is a great opportunity to interact with the artists and see the work up close and personal.

Group Show highlights talents of three artists during Art Detour

Simply titled, "3," this year during Artlink's Art Detour Jordre Studio will be hosting a show of three diverse artists, Jennie Ignaszewski, Tyson Crosbie and Kyle Jordre (owner of Jordre Studio). The opening reception is being held on March 6, 2009 during First Friday, 6PM-10PM. The studio will also be open during regular Detour hours, Saturday, March 7, 10AM - 6PM; Sunday, March 8, noon - 6PM.

Documenting urban beauty - as each is committed to and loves the Valley/Phoenix urban environment. Jennie has lived here longest and has created many images of the community and the local population; Tyson is deeply embedded in the social networking arena and is the creator of #pfn (phoenix friday nights) a group that you can find on twitter/facebook; and Kyle's studio is in the heart of the Grand Avenue arts district and he is active in the Grand Ave. merchants association. Each of these valley artists is committed to our downtown community and through their work, they document urban beauty quite uniquely.

Interview with Art Holeman Part 1

We have worked with Art Holeman for years. We have always admired, not only his photography, but also his work with Through Each Other's Eyes. TEOE is a not-for-profit organization celebrating their 20th anniversary in Arizona. Their goal is to promote international understanding through photography. A very dedicated group of volunteer photographers will take trips in a cultural exchange with a pair of photographers from that native country. Art recently came back from a trip in Mexico and sat down with us to share some of his experiences as well as his inspiration and background in photography.


MI: How did you decide to become a photographer?

Art laughs. "I wanted to be a photographer after seeing the ads in Playboy. When I first subscribed it truly was because of the ads. The lighting and composition intrigued me. When I started photography, I didn't shot people for years. It was the commercial side of photography that inspired me."

MI: Did you have any formal training?

"Yes, I completed a two year program at the Hawkeye Institute of Technology. Prior to that I had life experience shooting what was around me living in Michigan. I wrote to Kodak to inquire if they had a photo school I could attend. They did not, but were kind enough to send me back a booklet of every photo program in the country at the time. I chose Hawkeye Inst. and focused on commercial photography."

MI: Tell us about Through Each Other's Eyes

"I feel fortunate to be a part of that group. There is a board of 20 photographers. I have been a member for 2 years. I, along with Colleen Miniuk-Sperry, just completed our cultural exchange to both Japan and Mexico." Art adds, " One of the most important things that is required is if you can live with your fellow photographer on the road for a week. Colleen is very easy to get along with. I would travel with Colleen any time." He then smiles as he divulges, "Colleen loves to get up for sunrise shots."

Check back for part two of the interview where Art talks more about his experience traveling to Mexico and Japan for TEOE.

Lighting Essentials' photo contest

Don Giannatti at Lighting Essentials is starting up a monthly photo contest. This is the first month, and it looks like there are already some great submissions. This month's assignment is portraits in an environment; "Show the subject’s relationship to the environment". We are one of the sponsors by offering the second place winner with a free 16x20 glossy print. We are excited to see who wins!

You have until February 28th to submit images if you are interested. Please check out Lighting Essentials for all of the contest rules and details.

We have a wonderful sponsor, BorrowLenses.com and they will be awarding a grand prize of a weeks rental of any of their great photographic gear. Our wonderful sponsor, Mighty Imaging will be presenting a free 16×20 for second place and our third place will receive the Lighting Essentials 1 DVD.

Linda Connor exhibit at the PAM

Since their remodel in 2006, the Norton Gallery at the Phoenix Art Museum has been home to some fantastic photographic exhibits. Their latest installment is the photography of Linda Connor. Linda uses a large format 8x10 view camera to capture her images and then does a direct contact print exposing them with sunlight in her garden. The prints are also toned with gold chloride that adds an inherent luminosity.

If you visit the museum on Tuesday evenings you can get in to see it for free! The museum offers free general admission every Tuesday from 3-9 PM as well as every First Friday from 6-10 PM. Odyssey: The Photography of Linda Connor will be open until March 8, 2009.

Traveling around the world, contemporary photographer Linda Connor seeks places and traditions that convey such intangible qualities as time, faith, and spirituality. Her photographs connect these ethereal concepts to specific locales and to the natural world. She has worked extensively in India, Indonesia, Turkey, Cambodia, Egypt, Tibet, and the American Southwest. Included in the exhibition of more than 70 photographs are some of Connor’s best known images from the past three decades, along with more recent works that have had little public exposure.

Obama's People in New York Times Magazine

In honor of Obama's historic inauguration tomorrow, the New York Times Magazine asked Nadav Kander to take on an ambitious project of photographing portraits of Obama's new cabinet appointees and members of his staff that played a vital role in his election and transition in to office. Their goal was to go beyond the usual formal portrait shoot and integrate aspects in to the images that speak to the true nature of the subjects. From Senator Robert P. Casey Jr. holding a basketball to Ken Salazar's cowboy hat, the final 52 images will make up the largest collection by one photographer that the New York Times has ever published. Many people are holding the now infamous Blackberries that have been widely reported as being such an integral part of Obama's communication through out his campaign and transition.

Go here to see all of the images, and to listen to a the photographer Nadav Kander and Times Magazine Director of Photography Kathy Ryan discuss the project.

Behind Obama's People - Editor's Letter by Gerald Marzoratti

EARLY IN 1976, with both the post-Watergate presidential election and the bicentennial celebration in mind, Rolling Stone approached Richard Avedon, America’s most celebrated portrait photographer of the time, with the idea of spending the year shooting pictures on the campaign trail. Avedon had other ideas, or, better, a bigger idea: To photograph the men and women he understood to constitute the political leadership of the United States. The result, published in Rolling Stone’s Oct. 21, 1976, issue and taking up the entire feature well of the magazine, was a portfolio of 73 black-and-white portraits — formal, frank in a stylized way and, page after page after page, thoroughly absorbing.

It was with that project very much in mind that The Times Magazine asked Nadav Kander — one of the more original and highly regarded portraitists at work just now — if he would like to photograph the administration of Barack Obama as it was being assembled. We, like many of our readers — like most Americans, it seems fair to say — sensed something eventful and potentially far-reaching about the election and the challenges the new president and his team would immediately face. Why not take account of this with portraits of those whose character and temperament and bearing may well prove consequential in the coming months and years?

The result is what we have titled “Obama’s People” — 52 full-page color portraits of the vice president-elect and the incoming president’s advisers, aides and cabinet secretaries-designate (some of whom may have been confirmed or may have withdrawn by the time you read this), along with those legislators who are likely to prove influential in helping to usher into law what the new administration sets out to do. (President-elect Obama declined to pose for a formal picture.) The portraits were taken in mid-December and earlier this month in Chicago and Washington. The magazine’s editor of photography, Kathy Ryan, along with two members of her staff, Kira Pollack and Stacey Baker, organized and oversaw the sessions. (To get a glimpse behind the camera, see the magazine’s back page.) Matt Bai, who has been the magazine’s chief political writer through the last two presidential-election cycles, drew up the list of whom to photograph and also wrote the elegant essay that serves as an overture to the issue and the moment. But Kander’s portfolio was never intended to be any sort of definitive representation of who mattered in and around the White House at the dawn of the Obama era. That will be the job of history. Kander was shooting in the conditional.

Interview with Tyson Crosbie

Tyson Crosbie was recently interviewed by MyArtSpace, a premier site dedicated to contemporary art and artisans. Tyson reveals some of the motivations behind why he became a fine art photographer, his influences, and his process. He also provides some great insight on the power and potential pitfalls associated with online marketing for artists. Below is a sampling of the interview.

#3 of Tyson's Phoenix 20 series

Art Space Talk: Tyson Crosbie

BS: Tell us more about the thoughts behind your work. For example, do you adhere to a specific school of psychology or philosophy as far as your practice is concerned?

TC: Nearly ten years is not enough time to develop any clear understanding of the meaning of anything. I am not so sure I'll ever reach any clear understanding, I can speak to where I am now.

I view my work as an evolution, the most important image I've ever made is the next one. It is my goal to create a lifetime body of work that evolves as I do that is recognizable visually as a journey of a life. The first abstracts that I took in school were exercises in composition and theory. What I call the Mexico series was when I became self aware as an artist. Following that the early work is when my language really starts to develop and refine. My most recent work is confined by rules and language and far more complex and yet the subtleties of information that I can contain in the imagery fascinates me.

Of course it is my obsession to observe the world, this ties me to the medium of photography intimately. Still I am drawn to contradictions like; Creating work as a purist, a traditionalist and using digital media. Loving observation and information as a scientist and an artist. Believing that I am solipsistic and an existentialist and an egoist at times.

More resolution = less noise

Most photographers realize that the more resolution your camera captures, the better. How does that relate to noise in your image? Especially when it goes to print. DxO Labs has the answer. They did an independent complete analysis of signal-to-noise ratio (aka SNR) with two Canon model cameras. The results might surprise some people.

DxO is a free resource that offers non-biased in-depth technical analysis of RAW-based image quality. There is a wealth of data on their site. They are highly recommended by places like Popular Photography.

Contrary to conventional wisdom, higher resolution actually compensates for noise

This Insight uses currently-available DSLRs to demonstrate the technique for objectively comparing noise for cameras with different levels of resolution. Such comparisons conclusively show better results overall for high-resolution sensors, despite the increase in noise.

You like the look and feel of your old camera, but you want to upgrade it to a higher resolution. If you keep the same optics, the same sensor size (and therefore the same field of view), what will be the result? Basically, the same amount of light captured by the optics will be shared by more pixels, and since each individual pixel will receive less light, the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) will be lower. In short, you will end up taking photos with more noise.

Two questions naturally arise:

• How can the noise from two cameras with different levels of resolution be fairly compared?
• Which is better, a low-resolution camera with less noise, or a high-resolution camera with more noise?

...Suppose now that the images have exactly the same field of view (by changing the lens focal length) and are printed on 30x20cm paper with the same 300dpi printer. Because of the very high resolution of the 1Ds Mark III, the printer will downsample the image and decrease the noise, giving a clear advantage (about 3dB) to the 1Ds Mark III.

Imagine a low-resolution sensor. A higher-resolution sensor can be obtained by cutting each pixel of the low-resolution sensor into four smaller pixels.

For a given exposure time, each smaller pixel receives four times less light than a large pixel-the equivalent of reducing exposure time by a factor of four. So to get the same sensor response, exposure time needs to be multiplied by four, which means that the ISO sensitivity of the high-resolution sensor is four times less than the low-resolution sensor.