ePhotozine
http://www.ephotozine.com/forums
This is a very active photography forum with a large amount of members (their record stats for members online at one time is 4074!). Together with the photography forum there are lots of camera equipment reviews, photo techniques, photography news and even an online store. The forum software isn’t the best though and we’d like to see it updated to make it more user-friendly.

PhotoSig
http://www.photosig.com/go/forums
PhotoSig is another great photo forum with lots of members from around the world that helps create a diverse yet ultimately helpful community. You can also get your own gallery space and ask for critiques on your photography to help you take better pictures. Unfortunately this forum software is lacking too which makes it difficult to navigate.

DcResource
http://www.dcresource.com/forums/
The Digital Camera Resource site was founded way back in November 1997. The DCRP is designed to be an unofficial resource for current and future owners of digital cameras. It is aimed more towards the consumer end, rather than the high end of photography. The forums are nice and clean with plenty of active members that help to make a vibrant community.

Talk Photography
http://www.talkphotography.co.uk
This photography forum is one of the most active we have seen, with nearly 3 million posts! Whatever day you visit, there are tons of active members and discussions going on. You can upload your own gallery images and ask for critiques to help you learn better techniques. The forum software is simple and easy to use, whilst the basic template design doesn’t detract from the main thing – discussion! We like the general lack of advertising that sometimes ruins other forums.

Forums are a great way to interact with other photographers. You can even find photographers that are local to you and organise meeting up for a shoot. Try joining one today, they are all free and full of people just like you that are looking to improve their photographic skills!

Do you know any other photography forums that are worth a mention? Do you run a forum for photographers? Write a comment to let us know…

That’s right, we’re now Twittering for you guys from Fotoviva HQ!  This is a great way for us to keep our customers up to date with new photographic work, special offers and news from the world of Fotoviva Art Prints.

We will also be Tweeting about interesting and fun related news we find such as the arts and photography in general so why not ‘follow’ us to keep in the loop? If you don’t have a Twitter account give it a try – it’s free and fun to use. Just click the logo above to open our Twitter page and click the ‘follow’ button to ensure you have the latest information about our canvas and acrylic prints.

If you have a Twitter account already post your details in a comment here and we’ll follow your tweets too

On this blog we will continue to bring you exciting news from the world of photography and the arts, such as cutting edge technology and interesting articles.

If you would like to contribute as a writer please let us know.

Our photo contributor Jacky Parker has taken top honours in the RHS Photographic Competition 2008, sponsored by Medici, and was named RHS Photographer of the Year, winning first prize in the Plant Portrait Category.

Jacky’s striking image of Rudbeckia hirta ‘Marmalade’, was selected from over 4,500 entries, from across the UK and around the world. Click the winning image above to go through to the image page on Fotoviva.

This year’s judges included renowned garden photographer, Tim Sandall, Deputy Editor of The Garden, Chris Young and television gardener and lecturer, Matt James.Assessing the entrants’ technical ability and the composition of the photographs, all the judges were impressed by the standard and quality of this year’s entries. Matt James explains, “To receive 4,500 entries completely exceeded our expectations. It just proves the enthusiasm people have for their gardens and gardening. Every picture we received had something to offer and it was incredibly hard to choose the final 18 prize winning images.”

Here is the link to the RHS website RHS Photographic Competition 2008.

Friends of the Animals is an independent, home based rescue run completely by volunteers. Although based in Wales, Friends of the Animals has helpers and supporters throughout the UK who are responsible for homevisiting, transporting, fostering, adoption, fund raising and many other tasks. The group has a wonderful group of foster carers who take the dogs into their homes and rehabilitate them whilst a suitable forever home is found. Friends of the Animals is committed to the reduction in numbers of homeless and unwanted dogs and has a strict policy of neutering all dogs prior to rehoming.

We are glad to help out with this worthy cause and would invite you all to join in – it only costs £1 to submit your image to the competition. Best of luck!

With a collection of prints that grows every week there is more to look through and this search function will help you pin-point the ideal picture faster, making the Fotoviva experience a lot easier for you.

There’s lots more to come this year so keep watching this space!

“To display an Ansel Adams photograph, people have had three choices until now: an original print made by the artist, Yosemite Special Edition photographs limited to 8 by 10” or fine art posters,” said Matthew Adams of The Ansel Adams Gallery. “These new Archival Replicas expand the selection of his work available to the public in a range of sizes, and do so at affordable prices,” Adams continued.

The ability to offer high-quality digital reproductions of photographs made by Ansel Adams was first considered three to four years ago when Matthew Adams and his staff started seeing printers with the capability of producing neutral black and white images with deep blacks. He explained, “We were disappointed then that neutral, gray-ink-only reproductions rarely came close to Ansel’s photographs. However, in the past two years, technology has advanced to the point that we’re now able to make reproductions of my grandfather’s originals to extraordinarily exacting standards.”

The imaging process employed is so advanced that, other than The Ansel Adams Gallery, only the Getty Museum and Smithsonian Institution are now using it. That technology, coupled with digital printers that use 12 inks, including four shades of gray, gives the Archival Replicas the full range of tone and hue of gelatin silver prints, according to Matthew. “We believe these are the best large-format reproductions of Ansel’s work yet made,” he said.

The Archival Replica program draws from the combined collections of the Adams family and the Center for Creative Photography at the University of Arizona, where Ansel Adams’ archive resides. Seven images that he created between 1930 and 1955 were chosen, including photographs made in Yosemite National Park, Kings Canyon National Park, Canyon de Chelly, at Point Sur and of the Marin Headlands.

The Archival Replicas range in size from 7 by 9” to 30 by 38” and cost from $79 to $999, depending upon size, mounting, matting and framing. Each year, additional photographs will be made available. Ansel Adams Archival Replicas are offered exclusively from The Ansel Adams Gallery. They can be seen in Yosemite Valley and online at http://www.anseladams.com

Our canvas prints make the perfect present for Christmas and with a choice of either our breathtaking gallery images or your own digital photos you can’t go wrong this season, unless you miss the last post!

The 17th December is our last day for taking canvas orders that need to be guaranteed to reach you before Christmas, so order your work of art as soon as possible to ensure your walls have a very happy Christmas

This date also applies for our acrylic and art prints. If you need a print delivered abroad please do hurry as this will take longer so we will need a few more days to make sure the delivery is on time.

Don’t forget we have the excellent Photos 2 Canvas service now which is great for Christmas gifts and also an ever-growing collection of prints from our photographic team!

Whether you are a professional photographer who wants to offer your clients a new print solution or you just have some great photos that you want to hang on your walls, our new Photos on Canvas service is going to be very handy indeed.

This new feature to the Fotoviva site is so simple – just a few clicks is all it takes to have your own image printed onto canvas. You can upload the digital file, choose your preferred size, finish and details, then we will do the rest.

Everyone has holiday snaps, lovable pet photos or family pictures – so why not show them off in style by letting us print your photos to canvas so you can hang them on your walls in all their glory! And with Christmas coming up they make unique presents for friends and family.

Yes you can save a few pounds getting them printed onto canvas elsewhere, but why risk having sub-standard frames and print quality? We use professional materials, our wooden frames are from sustainable forests, all our canvases are made in the UK and they are still great value for money.

As with the main art collection, we can also print your digital photos on non-standard sizes or as triptych canvases so if you would prefer this please contact us and we will provide you with our best quote.