February 2015

The Impossible Project Launches New Round Frame Color Instant Film

The Impossible Project is continuing to branch out from the standard frame design for instant photos that made the original Polaroid pictures iconic. Last year the company launched a new line of film with colorful frames. This year it's the shape that's getting a makeover: the company has unveiled a new color instant film with round frames rather than square ones.

MTF Testing the Canon 11-24mm f/4L, the World’s Widest Full Frame Rectilinear Lens

Editor's note: If you're unfamiliar with how to interpret MTF charts, you can find a primer here.

I'll be honest. I'm pretty excited about the Canon 11-24mm f/4 L lens. I love shooting ultra-wide and the chance to shoot this wide with a rectilinear lens on a full-frame camera has me pretty excited. But I'm also very aware of how near-impossibly difficult designing a lens this wide would be, so my expectations were tempered a bit.

There's a reason I'll often stitch together a couple of 24mm shots for a landscape rather than take one 16mm shot. OK, there are several reasons, but image quality is high among them.

Leonard Nimoy’s Passion for Photography

Actor Leonard Nimoy passed away today at the age of 83. While famous for his role as Spock in the original Star Trek, what a lot of people may not know is that Nimoy was also a passionate photographer.

Nimoy picked up an interest in photography as a child, studied photography at UCLA, and even considered changing careers from acting to full-time photographer.

Download a Free Copy of the $60 Perfect Effects 9 by onOne Software

Heads up: you can currently download a free copy of onOne Software's Perfect Effects 9. It's a $60 program that can be used as a Photoshop or Lightroom plugin or as a standalone tool. Inside are customizable filters and hundreds of presets that allow you to quickly apply custom looks to your photos.

Wedding Planner: The Biggest Hat You’ll Often Wear as a Wedding Photographer

Let’s discuss the reality of being a working wedding photographer. I’m not talking about being a ‘rockstar’ photographer who charges 25K and shoots a single-digit amount of weddings every season. I’m writing from the perspective of a hustling wedding pro working day in and day out in the thick of it all to earn a decent living.

Before I dive into how wedding photographers have also become stand-in wedding planners and how I have changed my business to accommodate this need (and create a nice selling point to potential clients), let me tell you where I am coming from.

The Do’s and Don’ts of Photoshopping Wings Into a Surreal Portrait

Ok, let's just be honest for a second here: everyone and everything in the world looks drastically cooler with wings. Period. It's just the way it is.

In middle school when I was heavily into my "drawing magical fantasy creatures" phase (it never ended by the way... just ask my sketchbook), I used to check out this "how to draw animals" book from the library all the time. Really they should have just given it to me, I had it checked out so often.

The Invisible Photograph: 5 Short Documentaries on the Hidden Side of Photography

Over the past year, the Carnegie Museum of Art has been slowly releasing a 5-part documentary series titled The Invisible Photograph, which offers a look into the hidden side of photography -- things that are "guarded, stashed away, barely recognizable, or simply forgotten."

The last installment was released today, completing a series of videos that you may want to set aside some time to enjoy.

200 Light Orbs Captured in Single Long Exposure Sets New World Record

Did you know that there's a Guinness World Record for the most light orbs painted into a single long-exposure photograph? The record was most recently broken by a group of 12 notable light painting photographers who gathered together in the middle of last year to create a photo featuring 200 light orbs.

A Crazy Photo Sequence from a Crash-Filled NASCAR Xfinity Series Race

This past weekend, I covered the Alert Today Florida 300 Xfinity NASCAR race in Daytona. Following the Kurt Busch NASCAR appeal across the street from the track, I had to hustle to get to the roof for the race -- it sure didn’t disappoint.

Halfway through the race, Daniel Suarez got turned sideway and hit Regan Smith (7), which caused Smith to barrel roll through the tri-oval. It was one of the best crash sequences I have shot.

What Color is This Dress? Is it Under or Over Exposed?

What colors do you see in this dress? Is it an underexposed photo of a white and gold dress, or is it an overexposed photo of a black and blue dress? It seems everyone has a different opinion on these questions, and this photo has seemingly become the most talked about thing on social media over the past day.

Getty Images is Burning Through Cash as Its Earnings Shrink

Photographers often grumble about Getty Images taking too big a slice from each stock photo sale, but it turns out the company hasn't been lining its pockets with mountains of cash generated by its contributors -- in fact, it hasn't been doing so hot financially as of late.

How I Drastically Improved My Photography with Just Two Little Decisions

The question I get asked the most is: “Wow, nice pic! Which camera are you using?” Does that sound familiar? In the past, every time I heard this question I would answer in the same way: by telling people which camera I was using, but that it didn’t really matter in my opinion.

The 25 Most Popular Smartphone Photos on Flickr in 2014

The most popular cameras on Flickr these days are smartphone cameras. In fact, the top 5 cameras are all different phone models: the iPhone 5S, iPhone 5, Samsung Galaxy S4, Samsung Galaxy S5, and iPhone 6.

Last month we shared the 25 most popular photos on Flickr through 2014. That list included images captured any all types of cameras. Here's a second look at what the top 25 photos were when only smartphone images are considered.

Training at Lake Placid with the Team USA Bobsled Crew

I recently took a trip to Lake Placid, NY to follow the Team USA Bobsled crew as they prepared for the upcoming World Cup competitions taking place all over Europe. In 2014, I photographed Jazmine as a personal project after the Sochi Olympics. We stayed in touch, and I convinced her to let me come to Lake Placid and photograph them training next time they were there.

Three Approaches to Publishing Your Photo Book

There comes a point in a photographer’s life when publishing a book seems like a logical step. The coffee table book represents a platonic ideal for a photo project that is both long-term and worthy of considerations by others. Yet, even with the advent of high quality on-demand solutions like Blurb, book publishing is still fraught with challenges. Here are three different approaches to book publishing in the 21st century.

Town Accuses Photographer of Staging His Shots That Won World Press Photo

Charleroi is a town of about 200,000 people in Belgium that has fallen upon some tough times in recent years due to increases in unemployment, poverty, and crime. Italian photojournalist Giovanni Troilo pointed his lens at the city last year, capturing a gloomy photo essay titled "The Dark Heart of Europe." The images were recently awarded 1st prize at the prestigious World Press Photo contest in the Contemporary Issues category.

The contest, which already got a black eye after 20% of the finalists were disqualified for unethical photo editing, has another messy problem on its hands: the town is accusing Troilo of staging his winning photos.

Cleaning a Precision Coating Machine to Start Making Camera Film Again

In 2013, we reported that the Italian film company Ferrania was planning to reboot its production of analog film. The next year, the company launched a Kickstarter campaign and ended up raising over $300,000 to bring film back.

Now that the company is working to restart operations, it has been posting regular progress updates on its website. The most recent "dispatch" shows how the company is cleaning a precision film coating machine to prepare for production.

Portraits of Men with Their Beloved Cat Companions

Having a cat for a companion may not be the "manliest" thing in many cultures, but there are plenty of guys out there who have deep bonds with their furry feline companions. That's what photographer David Williams set out to capture for his project Men & Cats.

This Guy Has Taken a Picture of Everything His Right Hand Has Touched For the Past 11 Years

Quite a few lifelogging cameras and services have emerged in the past few years, but one Italian guy in Sweden has been doing it much, much longer than that -- and in a strange way, to boot. 36-year-old Alberto Frigo has snapped a photo of every object his right hand has touched for the past 11 years. His project is titled "Images of the artifacts used by the main hand."

Watch Flashback Anti-Paparazzi Clothing Ruin Flash Photographs

Back in January, we reported that a DJ named Chris Holmes had developed a line of "anti-paparazzi clothing" that ruins flash photographs at night by blowing the photos out with excessive reflected light. The idea gained traction, and now the "Flashback" line of apparel will soon be hitting the market.

Photographers Ignite: 5-Minute Presentations in 20 Rapid-Fire Slides

An ignite is a type of event in which presenters are given 5 minutes to talk about a subject in just 20 slides. Each slide is shown for only 15 seconds before the slideshow is automatically advanced. It's a rapid fire of learning and inspiration that has the motto: "Enlighten us, but make it quick!"

In 2010, photographer Kevin Kubota launched a Photographers Ignite event at WPPI, and the show has since become a staple of the expo.

Review: The Fujifilm X100T Has Changes Galore, But Should We Buy It?

When the X100 was first released by Fujifilm the camera world popped with excitement. It was revolutionary in the eyes of many photographers. When the X100S dropped, we lauded Fujifilm shouting "Yes! They fixed so much!".

Now with the December release of the X100T, we are tickled pink with excit... err... well... In a market now saturated with vintage-styled cameras, all of which are more than capable in every aspect, do we still care about the new Fuji offering?

Portraits of People and Their Essential Everyday Items

How much can you tell about a person from the small items they carry around every day? Do they provide a more comprehensive picture of who a person is? Atlanta photographer Jason Travis explores this question in his project Persona.

It's a series of diptych in which the top half of each image is a portrait of a subject, and the bottom half is a photo of that person's essential everyday items.

Google and Reddit Tighten Their Policies Regarding Explicit Photos

Two Internet heavyweights took big measures today to put restrictions on the sexually explicit photos and videos being shared through their services. Google is banning public adult content entirely on its Blogger platform, while Reddit is now requiring that all explicit photos be posted with the consent of their subjects.

Multiple Camera Drones Were Lost for This Imagery of a Volcano’s Insides

Explorer Sam Cossman recently employed the help of multiple drones to capture photos and footage of the Marum Crater in an active volcano on the Pacific island nation of Vanuatu. He ended up losing multiple drones in the process, but he left the island with spectacular images that will help provide a better understanding of the volcano and the life that exists around it.