art

These Before-and-After Images Reveal What Goes Into My Photo Art

As a digital artist, I create images that are optical illusions, interesting concepts, and fantasy worlds. For this, I have to have tools to achieve my visions and this is where my retouching background comes into play.

Why Artists are Never Happy: A Candid Message for Creatives

Whether you're a photographer, a filmmaker, a YouTuber, or a painter, this latest video by Kaiwan Shaban will probably hit home on some level. It's an honest, candid message for artists of all stripes who struggle with the fact that they are never quite satisfied with the work they are creating.

Are Street and Documentary Photography Art?

I think the question of whether something is or is not "art" is a bit disingenuous, often used more as a tool for gatekeeping than true analysis or critique. There is no objective standard for what makes something enjoyable as a piece of art, whether that's a photograph, music, sculpture, or a blade of grass in a field.

Why I’m Hanging Up My Cameras to Become a Conceptual Artist

After 14 years as a professional photographer, I've decided to become a real artist. The pieces above, which I’ve birthed over the past 72 hours, show what I’m evolving into as a creator. I present to you my Suspended Sustenance, Part 1 (foodstuffs, wood, paint, tape, 2019).

Beautiful Image of Turtle Embryo Wins Nikon Small World Photo Contest

Nikon has revealed the winners of the 45th annual Nikon Small World photomicrography competition. The photo contest features images that "showcase a spectacular blend of science and artistry under the microscope," and as usual, this year's winning images are just plain spectacular.

Why Ego is Crucial for Photographers, and How it Can Get in Our Way

Photographer Sean Tucker's latest video is a departure from the gear or technique videos that typically make the rounds in the photo world. In fact, it's not even specifically about or for photographers. It's for all artists, and it's about the importance of understanding (and balancing) your ego.

Photography is the Bastard Art

Photography is the bastard art. There are many reasons for this, not the least of which is that everyone owns a smartphone and many of those people are under the mistaken impression that they are “excellent” photographers.

Creating Surreal Photo Art of Flying Whales in Space

In this article, I'll share how I created a photo art piece titled, "Flying Whales." The idea was to create surreal artwork using only toys and some handcraft and make it as real as possible.

5 Things Photographers Can Learn From the Old Masters of Painting

Art has arguably been around almost as long as humans have. The moment we learned to mark something for others to see and interpret, the moment art was born. Thankfully for us photographers, we needn’t go quite that far back to begin learning from the history of art. In fact, we only need to go as far as the "Old Masters."

Sigma ‘Bokeh Master’ 105mm f/1.4 Art vs. the 85mm f/1.4 and 135mm f/1.8

Sigma has been crushing the competition with its Global vision line up. The combination of no-compromise image quality and a fair price is creating havoc in the Canon and Nikon camps. And the recent launch of Sony E-mount lenses will surely disturb Sony’s first-party glass business (and will also drive Sony’s mirrorless business by providing true 3rd party lens support).

Review: The Sigma 70mm f/2.8 Art is a Macro Lens Worthy of Your Bag

The Sigma 70mm f/2.8 DG Art Macro is the first prime macro lens to sport Sigma’s “ART” badge. Unlike most of the Art lineup, the size is closer to the Contemporary lineup of lenses. Sigma themselves say that this lens is designed with optical quality as a priority over autofocus speed.

Artist Uses VR to Recreate World’s First Photo Exhibition from 1839

The world's first major photography exhibition was held back in 1839 when British scientist and photography pioneer William Henry Fox Talbot held a show to unveil his photo prints to the public. Fast forward nearly 180 years, and now an artist has created Talbot's first photo show as an immersive virtual reality experience.

This is the Sigma 105mm f/1.4 Art Lens

Behold: this is the soon-to-be-announced Sigma 105mm f/1.4 Art lens, a fast telephoto prime that will soon be announced for Canon EF, Nikon F, Sigma SA, and Sony FE full frame cameras.

This Crypto-Art Rose Photo Sold for $1,000,000

Kevin Abosch, the photographer who purportedly sold a photo of a potato for over $1,000,000 in 2016, has now become the photographer behind the world's most expensive crypto-artwork by selling a photo of a rose on the blockchain for $1,000,000.

These Guns Are Made of Camera Gear

Photographer Jason Siegel is still using old camera equipment to share an anti-violence message in a creative way. Since we featured his work at the beginning of 2017, Siegel has created even more guns and weapons of war using various cameras, lenses, and accessories for his project Shoot Portraits, Not People.

Artist Stole Photos for $15,000 Public Art Installation

Here's a tip for the digital age: if you're commissioned with $15,000 to create a public art installation in a large city, don't steal photos from the Internet and pretend they're your own. That's the mistake one well-known artist in Canada recently made, sparking a good deal of controversy and embarrassment.

This Potter Creates Working Cameras Out of Clay

Steve Irvine is a Canadian potter who has had a lifelong interest in photography. Some years ago, Irvine decided to combine his two passions by creating ceramic cameras. Each beautiful and unique creation is fully functional as a pinhole camera.

I Gave Up Painting to Do Photography, And It Shows in My Work

Painting and photography are often considered similar artistic expressions. Henri Cartier-Bresson was a painter before he became a photographer, and became a painter again in his retirement. While his artistic sense informed his photography in terms of his ability to see the world in constantly changing light and compositional potential, he never considered photography as art.

Why You Shouldn’t Be a Photographer

Visual artist Simon Cade of DSLRguide created this 2.5-minute video that can give some inspiration and encouragement to you if you're photographer (or any other type of artist) who's feeling defeated and unsure of whether or not to push forward in your craft.

Artist Finds the Exact Moments Photos Were Shot Using Public Webcams

Publicly accessible live webcams can be found all over the world these days, especially at famous tourist locations. Photographer and artist Carlos Pacheco realized that this means anyone can find the exact moment any photo was shot there given a time stamp. That's the premise behind his new project, titled Found.