Composer Gudnadottir nominated for the 2017 Harpa award

Photo Credit: www.digitalinberlin.de

Icelandic cellist and composer Hildur Gudnadottir has been nominated for the 2017 Harpa award with her score for Balthasar Kormakur’s feature film The Oath (Eidurinn). Other nominees for best score are Danish Sune Martin for his score to Martin Zandvliets drama “Land of Mine”, Norwegian Gaute Storaas for his score to Hannes Holms comedy “En mand der hedder Ove”, Swedish/Finish Marko Nyberg for his score to Ville Jankeris comedy, “Onnenonkija” and Swedish Sophia Ersson for her score to Alexandra-Therese Keinings drama “Pojkerne”. The award will be handed out at Cannes, May 2017 in connection with Directors Fortnight and in cooperation with ECSA. According to the nomination text her score for “The Oath” has been hailed as a major success, complementing every scene with a confident vision of the correct angles and moods, serving the film perfectly. Her very modern sense, combined with her classical background, makes for a rare outcome in this most outstanding score of the year in Icelandic filmmaking. At a reasonably young age she has, with her score to The Oath, created an identity, which is both original and stylish” Gudnadottir is a veteran in contemporary music despite her young age, she’s a classically trained cellist and has played and recorded with a wide range of bands such as Pan Sonic, Throbbing Gristle and Mum, as well as her solo project Lost in Hildurness. She has also toured with Animal Collective and drone metal band Sunn O))). Gudnadottir has released four critically acclaimed solo albums and composed music for theatre, dance performances and films. The Icelandic Symphony Orchestra, Icelandic National Theatre, Tate Modern, The British Film Institute, The Royal Swedish Opera in Stockholm and Gothenburg National Theatre are amongst the institutions that have commissioned new works by Gudnadottir. IceNews Photo

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Photo Credit: Alain De Broyer

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Starbucks barista has meltdown over Unicorn Frappuccino By AP

Photo Credit: AP/The China Post

SEATTLE -- A Starbucks barista has taken to social media hoping to make orders for the coffee chain's much buzzed about Unicorn Frappuccino disappear. Starbucks' entry into the unicorn food craze was released Wednesday and its popularity was too much for 19-year-old Colorado barista Braden Burson. He posted a video (now-deleted) on Twitter after his shift complaining that it was difficult to keep up with orders for the drink and he's "never been so stressed out" in his life. The Unicorn Frappuccino is a sweet and sour pink and blue cream swirl topped with what Starbucks calls "fairy powder." Burson says in the video that a day of making the treat left him with sticky hands and residue from the drink stuck to his clothes and in his hair. Burson tells The Associated Press that he didn't think his rant would get this much publicity and he didn't intend to "downgrade" the drink. "It's a great drink. But it is difficult to make when there are like 20 fraps all at once both front and drive thru," he wrote in a Facebook message. Starbucks said in a statement Thursday that the popular reception of the drink has "exceeded everyone's expectations." It added that it is reaching out to Burson "to talk about his experience and how to make it better." Burson said he hadn't heard from the company as of midday Thursday. The China Post

Il Giro d’Italia ritorna a casa Volata finale in piazza Duomo By Maurizio Giannattasio

Photo Credit: Ryder Hesjedal/Ansa

Fiato sospeso fino alla fine con la tappa a cronometro dall’Autodromo al Duomo. Il sindaco Sala: «Milano capitale del ciclismo. Non sarà soltanto una passerella» Un ritorno al passato e una promessa per il futuro. Milano e il Giro d’Italia si riabbracciano. La tappa finale dell’edizione numero cento della corsa rosa non solo torna nella sua città d’origine, ma sceglie di nuovo il cuore di Milano per il traguardo finale: piazza del Duomo. Con un impegno del sindaco Beppe Sala: «Non mi dispiacerebbe che l’arrivo del Giro fosse sempre in piazza Duomo, sarebbe una bellissima cosa». Gira la testa alla sua destra. Vicino a lui c’è Urbano Cairo, patron Rcs: «Facciamo subito un contrattino?».
Appuntamento domenica 28 maggio. Crono individuale con partenza dall’Autodromo di Monza e arrivo in piazza del Duomo. A presentare la tappa milanese, oltre a Sala e a Cairo, gli assessori allo Sport di Comune e Regione, Roberta Guaineri e Antonio Rossi insieme al direttore della Gazzetta dello Sport Andrea Monti e al direttore generale di Rcs Sport, Paolo Bellino. Ventinove chilometri e 300 metri di tracciato. Non sarà una passerella, assicurano tutti, ma una tappa che potrebbe cambiare la classifica finale. Autodromo, parco di Monza, viale Italia a Sesto San Giovanni, viale Sarca, Bastioni di Porta Nuova, corso Venezia, corso Matteotti, piazza Duomo. Prima partenza alle 13 e 10, ultimo arrivo alle 17 e 10. Tifosi e automobilisti sono avvertiti.  

Il Giro torna a casa: 47 volte partenza da Milano, 76 volte arrivo a Milano. E numeri importanti: 12,5 milioni di italiani che scendono in strada per vedere i loro beniamini, 840 milioni di spettatori in tv. Poi la separazione, non si capisce quanto consensuale. A sbloccare la situazione un incontro a tre: Sala, Cairo, Monti. Il sindaco, attento alla vocazione internazionale della città, rilancia il «matrimonio». Accordo fatto. Il Giro torna sotto la Madonnina. «Non poteva essere altrimenti — dice Cairo —. C’è un legame speciale con la città, Milano è una destinazione naturale per il Giro. Il legame tra il gruppo Rcs e la città nasce più di un secolo fa: il nostro gruppo è cresciuto con Milano e da sempre trova in Milano un campo pieno di entusiasmo per tutte le nostre manifestazioni». A Sala viene consegnata la maglia rosa. In prima fila c’è Vittorio Adorni, vincitore del Giro nel 1965 e del campionato del mondo nel 1968. Un bignami della storia del Giro che conta più di un secolo di vita. È lui a riannodare il filo tra il passato e il futuro. Tra l’arrivo al Musocco del 1909 (spostato all’Arena per problemi di ordine pubblico) e il traguardo in piazza Duomo del 2017. Ma non ci sono solo i professionisti. La passione delle due ruote che ha contagiato molti milanesi potrà trovare uno sfogo la mattina del 28. Prima della crono individuale ufficiale, gli amanti della bici potranno provare il brivido di percorrere il tragitto ufficiale con una cronometro a squadre. Corriere della Sera

How to Photograph White Birds By Michael Milicia

Photo Credit: Snowy Egret, Michael Milicia
Audubon

The brilliant white plumage of some birds can also show exquisite detail. Here are two tricks for capturing both in an image. One of the great things about bird photography is the seemingly endless diversity of colorful subjects. But while birds such as the Painted Bunting and Scarlet Tanager are certainly eye-catching, images capturing the elegance, grace, and simplicity of predominantly white birds, such as the Great Egret, Snowy Egret, and Trumpeter Swan, can be just as spectacular. When photographing white birds, we want to portray their brilliance while still preserving the subtle and often intricate detail in their plumage. This can be a delicate balance and is often a source of frustration for beginning bird photographers. Exposure theory tells us that if we come up with camera settings that render a gray bird as gray, those exact same settings will work for a white bird in the same light. While this is true, there is far less room for error with bright white subjects: Underexposing will make them appear too dull, and overexposing even a little can cause a complete loss of detail in the highlights. As a first step, put your camera in manual exposure mode. For many reasons, automatic exposure modes like Aperture Priority can make it difficult to achieve the level of accuracy and consistency that is critical for proper exposure of bright white subjects. This is especially true if your subject is in a dynamic environment or if its size in the frame is changing frequently.  There are many ways to come up with the correct settings but here are two simple and effective methods.  
Utilize Highlight Alerts
By enabling highlight alerts or “blinkies” on your camera, any areas that have lost highlight detail—the detail hidden in the brightest part of a scene—will blink during image playback. For white subjects, these blinkies are both accurate and reliable and can be used to your advantage. Take test shots in manual mode with increasing levels of exposure until you see blinkies on the subject and then reduce the exposure by one third or two thirds of a stop. You can now use these locked-in settings to get the optimal exposure regardless of the subject’s background or its size in the frame, as long as the amount of light hitting the subject remains constant. If and when the light changes, again take test shots to come up with new settings. This method is not the most efficient or elegant, but it is simple and very effective.
Choose Spot Metering
Even though you are in manual mode, you can still use the camera’s exposure meter to guide you to the correct camera settings. Choose a spot metering pattern, which yields more predictable and consistent results than patterns like matrix or evaluative. Fill the spot metering area with white from the brightest part of the subject and adjust the camera settings until the exposure scale in the viewfinder reads +2. This should be very close to optimal, but you may be able to go one or two thirds of a stop more without losing highlight detail. As with the previous method, you can now fire away with these locked-in settings regardless of background or subject size until the light changes. When this happens, again fill the spot metering area with white plumage and adjust the camera settings to get back to the same reading on the exposure scale. Once you have used the meter as a guide to lock in the correct exposure, you can ignore the exposure scale while you are shooting—it may bounce all over the place as your Spot metering area falls over different parts of the scene.
Other Considerations
Fine detail in the plumage of a bright white bird can often be made more visible by reducing the exposure by one or two thirds of a stop. You might want to consider this in the field if you are shooting JPEGs, but if you are shooting RAW, you can and should wait until post-processing time to make this decision. It’s also best to avoid shooting in bright midday sun, when blazingly white plumage seems to become even more reflective, obscuring highlight detail. Audubon Tips and How-To's

Michael Milicia is a Massachusetts-based bird photographer. He also specializes in teaching photography and takes great joy in helping others take their imagery to the next level.

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