The winners of the 2009 Walkley Awards for Excellence in Journalism were announced in Sydney on November 27 and images from the finalists in the five photographic categories will tour to Brisbane, Newcastle and Perth in 2010.

With emotive, celebratory and evocative images of daily life, sports and spot news both in Australia and around the world; photographs depicted an array of events and topics from Victoria’s terrible bushfires to the glory of the Olympic Games and the loss and pain in refuge camps in Congo.

The Nikon sponsored awards include daily life, sport, news, photographic essay and the coveted award for Press Photographer of the Year. This went to Renee Nowytarger from The Australia for her body of work that features an exhausted Malcolm Turnbull.

Nikon-Walkley Press Photographer of the year:
Renee Nowytarger, The Australian

Daily Life / Feature Photography:
Kirk Gilmour, Illawarra Mercury & The Sydney Morning Herald: Batten Down the Boogie Boards

Sport Photography:
…

There is nothing wrong with a beginner aspiring to take photographs the way that a professional does. But for a beginner, creating the conditions for the perfect shot can be a real challenge. Making the proper camera settings alone can get tricky. There just seem to be too many factors to consider. But now the once distant dream is not so out of reach with the Nikon D3000. It is a camera that is built for professionals. But its remarkably user-friendly features make it an ideal camera for beginners as well.

Walk in the footseteps of giants with the Nikon 3000.

From Nikon.

Just about any kind of photographer has great use for telephoto lenses, especially those who frequently take action shots. It’s when taking these hard-to-capture moments that you need crisp details and superb imaging quality most. And that’s exactly what the Fieldscope Digital SLR Camera Attachment FSA-L2 was made for.

Nikon Corporation’s subsidiary, Nikon Vision Co., Ltd., unveiled the Fieldscope Digital SLR Camera Attachment FSA-L2 this week, which can only be used with Nikon EDG Fieldscopes and Nikon D-SLR cameras.

Some highlights of this new attachment are:

• 3.5x zoom with internal vari-magnification system
• 500-1,750mm (f/5.9-21) focal length
• Compatible with Metered Manual Mode and Aperture-Priority Auto Mode
• Brighter optics through multilayer lens coating
• Exterior design and color synchronized to match digital SLR camera and EDG fieldscope
• Compatible with D3 series, D2 series, D700, D300 series, D200, D100, D90, D80, D70 series, D5000, D60, D50, D3000, D40 series, EDG Fieldscope 85/85-A, and EDG Fieldscope 65/65-A

Check out more details on Nikon’s website.

Two new lenses were unveiled by Nikon late in July, along with the two new DSLR models (D300s and D3000) that the company also introduced. The new cameras’ and the new lenses’ arrival has been much anticipated by the photography community, and the good news is, their wait is well worth it. The two new lenses are as feature-packed as the newly introduced DSLR cameras are.

One of the two new lenses is the Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8G ED-IF AF-S VR II Zoom Nikkor, an upgraded and redesigned version of the 70-200mm f/2.8.  The 70-200mm f/2.8 is widely used by photographers of every kind: portrait, fashion, sports, and nature. This is why a lot of photographers who use this lens will be happy to know that its upgraded version has a more slender design, so it would be easier to carry. It has a straight design instead of the wide glass front that its predecessor has, making it easier…

Nikon, to showcase the new D300s’ videomaking capabilities, released two movies that are shot by the newly released DSLR model. The D300s, as most photographers know by now, records 720p HD video at 24 frames per second.

Nikon enlisted two photographers, Robert Bosch and Ami Vitale, to make the videos.

According to Robert, the D300s’ autofocus was the feature that he liked best. He says that the camera takes incredibly sharp images, and that the 9 points AF mode was incredibly reliable. “The best autofocus I ever experienced,” he adds.

Here’s Robert’s movie clip:

Ami, on the other hand, was impressed by the camera’s ability to work in severe shooting conditions. She says that the D300s can take noise-free, sharp images even in situations that has low visibility—a condition she usually works in. Ami says: “I’m truly amazed at it achievesin scenes that I never would have attempted photographing without lights or a tripod in the past.”

Here’s the movie Ami…

There has been much buzz and rumors about yet-to-be-released new Nikon did not disappoint. The company unveiled two new camera models, the D300s and the D3000, yesterday.

Here’s a few details about the products that Nikon released:

D300s

According to Nikon, the D300s isn’t really a full new model, but rather an upgrade of the D300. Nicole Silverman says “It’s an upgrade version of the D300, or basically a refresh of that camera with the movie feature.”

Still, here are a few changes from the D300 that are worth noting:

• HD video imaging: this camera can capture 720p HD at 24 frames per second—perfect for photographers who’d like to try their skills at video making, too. The D300s also has an input jack for stereo microphones, so users can record sound with the videos, too. There’s a built-in mic volume control, too, which has three…
  

As digital cameras become more and more advanced, the competition between camera manufacturers steadily becomes stiffer and stiffer. The bar is set high and each company puts a lot of effort in staying on top.

And that’s probably one of the biggest reasons why an unlikely partnership formed between the biggest names in the industry: photography giant Nikon Corporation with its subsidiary, Nikon Systems, Inc., (which have been developing all the firmware installed in Nikon digital cameras to date) and electronics manufacturer Fujitsu Broad Solution & Consulting, Inc. The two companies established a new joint company, which is now known as Nikon Imaging Systems. The company is expected to hire a hundred employees. And beginning in August 1 of this year, all firmware development and production of interchangeable lenses for Nikon cameras will be under this new company.

Nikon Imaging Systems was formed for the sole purpose of developing firmware for Nikon cameras. The goal is to make use of both…

For me personally, Joe McNally is right up there with the best of the best in the world of photography.

Joe has released a great photography video that I wanted to share with you all. And before anyone asks, yes, he’s a Nikon shooter. Putting that aside, this will give you a great insight into what Joe does.

If you ever thought that its time for photography and video convergence, will its here and its coming thick and fast. You would all know that the Canon and Nikon ranges have added to their lines of cameras the ability to shoot HD video. Some might say its not that great, but other have really taken to it.

However, Esquire magazine just released its June edition, and it will feature the very sexy Megan Fox on its cover. Guess what? It was captured with a video camera. Holy crap. What could get better than seeing her in motion. hmmmm!

It’s not an everyday camera, but the RED One. The guys that produce RED have a huge arsenal of gear that is driving this convergence to the next level. They focus on building very high resolution tools for the digital cinema market.

What kind of tools? How about a handheld camera that gets 5k resolution, all while taking digital stills…