Okay, so I missed the boat on this by a little bit, but I think it bears discussion anyway. Earlier this month, an exhibition came to a close at the Yale University Art Gallery called “First Doubt: Optical Confusion in Modern Photography.” Optical confusion refers to that effect you get when you look at something and it isn’t immediately apparent what it is. The reaction is best when the subject matter is common and well-known, but portrayed in an unusual or misleading way.

!right:http://www.bhphotovideo.com/images/items/583953.jpg! My thorough and attentive friends in the B&H affiliate department have sent word that they now have limited stocks of 5D Mark IIs!.html/BI/1816/KBID/2457 The message reads, “We’ve just received word that the Canon EOS 5D Mark II is available in limited stock. Simply “add to cart”; ignore initial “back-ordered” message.” According to Mike’s post over at TOP their stock seems to be fluctuating in and out. The price is $2,699 and you can buy it right here

I received another e-mail from the (former) Editor in Chief of JPG Magazine yesterday announcing that JPG isn’t quite dead. Here is the full message: We couldn’t ask for a better community. In the week or so since our last email, the outpour of support has exceeded our wildest expectations. Your efforts, such as starting savejpg.com, writing blog posts, commenting on Twitter and Flickr, and generally making your voices heard, have provided exciting new opportunities for us.

In a previous article, Shooting Modes Explained, I went into some of the details of the major shooting modes (aperture priority, shutter priority, manual) and the program modes (what Canon calls “PictureStyles” and Nikon calls “Digital Vari-Programs”). All of that information is still very important, but I wanted to mention that a good fellow by the name of Adam Parker posted a comment there with a useful link to an article of his where he demonstrates the major shooting modes using… Gasp… Pictures!

!right:/articles/jpgmag.gif! The faltering economy has claimed the life of another small business today. I received an e-mail from the Editor in Chief of JPG Magazine announcing that on Monday they’re shutting their doors for good. I only got the e-mail because I have been a registered member of the site for some time and although none of my photos ever made it into the magazine it was always something I wanted to be more serious about.