New Canon XS

Canon has announced a new entry-level DSLR. The XS offers 10.1-megapixel resolution, a 2.5 inches rear screen, 7 autofocus points, it will offer Live View on the rear LCD, and supports an unlimited burst rate of 3 frames per second until the memory card is full.

It is estimated that the XS will be priced in the US at approximately $580 for the body only, and $630 with a 35-70mm kit lens. The launch date is July 8.

This is obviously Canon's attempt to solidify its grip on the growing entry-level DSLR market.

(Hey Canon people...where in the &%$$#$ is the Canon 5D II???)

Frederic Courbet: Lamu (Kenya)

Photograph © Frederic Courbet-All Rights Reserved
To highlight the Foundry Photojournalism Workshop starting in Mexico City this coming Monday, I will focus this week's The Travel Photographer blog posts on various photojournalists and their work.

I start off with the work of Frederic Courbet, a Belgian freelance photographer currently based in Nairobi, Kenya. His biography tells us that he started work in Africa 4 years ago, and had had ihis images published in The Guardian, The Mail on Sunday, Der Spiegel, The Observer and other international publications. He has also worked for various NGOs including CARE in Nairobi. Courbet is represented by the London-based Panos Pictures.

I liked Courbet's imagery...and his galleries are well worth spending time on. For instance, look out for the wonderful image in his Somalia gallery of a multi-colored tent and clothes hanging in the wind. However, my favorite are his photographs of Lamu in Kenya.

I didn't know that Lamu is Kenya's oldest living town and port, and was one of the original Swahili settlements along coastal East Africa. It has existed for at least a thousand years, and was an important center of the slave trade. The town's architecture is a mix of African and Islamic styles with inner courtyards, verandas, and elaborately carved wooden doors.

Foundry Photojournalism Workshop

As readers of this blog know, the Foundry Photojournalism Workshop is six intensive days of classes, fieldwork, panel discussions, slideshows, portfolio reviews, multimedia creation, parties, networking and more, aimed especially at emerging and student photojournalists.

The workshop runs from June 16-21, 2008 at the AAVI (Academia de Artes Visuales) inMexico City, and is the brainchild of Eric Beecroft.

As one of the workshop's faculty members, I will be posting from the venue on The Travel Photographer blog as frequently as I can. A more comprehensive Foundry Photoworkshop blog is also in the plans. The diversity of the photo-projects and number of assignments being planned are just phenomenal, and the creativity of the student photojournalists is exciting.

The number of emerging and student photojournalists at the venue is about 140, with 20 faculty members. The faculty members are:

Eric Beecroft, Director
Kael Alford
Paula Bronstein
Andrea Bruce
Renée C. Byer
Guy Calaf
Tewfic El-Sawy
Stanley Greene
Ron Haviv
Eros Hoagland
Hugo Infante
Scott Mc Kiernan
Michael Robinson Chavez
Benjamin Rusnak
Shaul Schwarz
Stephanie Sinclair
Kadir Van Lohuizen
Adam Wiseman
Adriana Zehbrauskas

With special guest:
David Griffin, Director of Photography, National Geographic Society