As a spiritual symbol of Japan, Mt. Fuji is one of only three sacred mountains of the country and its tallest at 3,776 meters. Its designation as a UNESCO world heritage site further exemplifies its importance to not only the people of Japan but to the world as well.
Kaleb White is an outdoor photographer who has had to overcome a difficult challenge that most people will never face. Two years ago, while shooting in New Zealand, White was run over and crushed by a 2.5-ton truck.
The other day, there was a posting on Facebook by a groom "putting it out there," hoping on a long shot that he could find somebody to shoot their wedding on very, very short notice.
My name is Steffen Jahn, and I'm a seasoned car photographer based in Germany. With over 20 years in the business and having worked with all the famous manufacturers like Porsche, Lamborghini, Ferrari, Mercedes and Audi, I have a basic understanding what professional car photography is all about.
On March 3rd, during a large East Coast winter storm, I headed to the ocean to capture some wave action. My travels eventually took me to Great Island Commons in New Castle, New Hampshire, where Whaleback Lighthouse is prominently featured .8 miles offshore. I was hoping to capture big waves crashing around the lighthouse, and Mother Nature didn’t disappoint.
We all plan for our shoots, we pack our kits, check it twice, and always heave a sigh of relief when we get to the job and everything is there. The airline didn’t lose anything, nothing was dropped, there are no shattered lenses and those anxious few hours is over and done with.
My name is Brady Kenniston, and I’m a portrait and wedding photographer from a small town in Michigan, nowhere near the rocket haven that is Kennedy Space Center. Occasionally I shoot high school sports and cover events for our small town, but it’s hard to prepare yourself and equipment to capture 5 million pounds of thrust coming from the 27 engines attached to a 230-foot tall rocket with a Red Tesla Roadster in the payload fairing.
Like pretty much all photographers, I rely very heavily on my eyesight, not only for shooting but also image processing. Being a professional photographer, my life quite literally depends on my ability to see. Therefore, the idea of having my eyes cut open, lasers pointed at them, and then have them stitched back together is sort of a terrifying thing to think about.
This past Saturday was a really horrible day for me. But before I tell you all the story, I should preface this by saying that even though yesterday was brutal, I know that I am at the 2018 Winter Olympics and lucky to be here. OK, I got that out the way, so here it goes.
The Internet is becoming a hectic and volatile place for photographers to share their work. Social media enables photos to be put in the hands of tens, thousands, and even millions in a matter of minutes. However, one small break in this sharing frenzy can lead to massive loss and frustration for the creators that dedicate themselves to doing their passion well.
On December 15th, SpaceX launched their 13th commercial resupply mission to the International Space Station for NASA. This launch was special for many reasons. First, I was the first time NASA has been willing to use a SpaceX flight proven booster.
My name is Eli Dreyfuss. I'm a professional portrait photographer and documentary filmmaker attending Florida Atlantic University and studying film. This past month at my university (FAU), I had the honor and privilege of producing a short film about a man named Bobby.
My name is Connar L’Ecuyer, and I shoot photographs for the National Park Service. That's me in the photo above, off-duty in front of one of my LAX prints. Currently, I am working at the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, which is down in Southern California, near Malibu and Santa Monica.
One of the windiest nights I’ve ever taken pictures turned into perhaps the single most rewarding — and frightening — landscape photography experience of my life. I was on the Mesquite Sand Dunes in Death Valley, a place I had visited twice in the past, though under much tamer conditions.
Scams involving cameras are rampant these days. After almost losing a Nikon D850 to a scam on eBay, I recently also discovered a massive camera scam that involved 10 people. Here's the story.
It’s 7:15 am on Sunday morning. I’m driving through the middle of Newcastle on my way to shoot wedding prep at a venue just over an hour away from my home. I pull over to the hard shoulder. Head in hands, crying and asking myself: “Chris, What the f**k are you doing?”
This is the story of how I recently almost lost a Nikon D850 DSLR to a scam on eBay. Scammers are now targeting higher value eBay sales with fake PayPal phishing emails.
My name is Daniel Schenkelberg, and I'm a motorsports photographer. In this post, I'll be sharing a behind-the-scenes view of what it's like to photograph a Nitro Circus live show.
My name is Alex Hengen, and I'm a non-pro, non-wedding photographer. Last year I took a few pictures at my sister's wedding, and my cousin, having his own wedding coming up, saw some of my shots on Facebook and asked if I would photograph their wedding. I agreed.
We all have our dreams. Some are simple, while others are complex, buried under an overwhelming mountain of hurdles. It’s not often that people live out their dreams. But, what happens when you do? What happens when you achieve every single goal in your path? How do you plan for the future when you have nothing to chase?
While visiting Yosemite in June, I took this photo of 4 riders on the road. A couple of days later, I posted the photo on Reddit's /r/pics. It made it to the Reddit front page with more than 40k upvotes and almost 600 comments.
I decided a while ago that for my high school graduation and summer trip, I was going to photograph the Canadian Rockies. I started pursuing landscape photography seriously a little over a year ago and wanted to build a photography portfolio.
I’ve been ordering used lenses for years and have never had a problem with any purchases. That is, until now. I recently ordered a $1,500 used camera lens from Amazon. The lens never showed up, and Amazon is refusing to return my money because they claim the tracking number shows that it was delivered to my address.
One of the greatest things about photography is the seemingly endless supply of new opportunities and new challenges. No matter how many “new” or “weird” or “difficult” experiences you’ve had as a photographer, you’ve never seen it all, and there’s always something unique about each project.
My name is Ryan Horban and I’m a wedding photographer based in Southern California. I shoot 30+ weddings a year, drink IPAs because they are tasty and get me buzzed, have an amazing family that I absolutely love, and won’t be staying at a Sheraton Hotel anytime in the near future unless I’m kidnapped by terrorists and held against my will at a Sheraton property.
On Saturday July 1st, 2017, £600 worth of cameras and equipment were stolen from inside my rucksack, itself packed into a larger suitcase, during a Tunisair flight from Tunis to London Heathrow while they were checked into the hold of the plane.
My name is Marc Weisberg, and I'm a luxury home photographer based in Southern California. This is an article about why I'll never use FedEx again to ship my camera gear to a workshop, as well as what you need to know before ever shipping camera gear. It's the story of how FedEx utterly screwed up my delivery and cost me over $1,000 to get new gear and re-printing of all my workshop materials.
Editor's note: This article has been removed at the request of the author.
My wife Sara and I used to have this running joke leading up to her birthday each year. Each year I’d say, “Honey! What would you like for your birthday?,” and she would reply “I’d like a Hasselblad”. Usually with a big smile on her face, in a wink-wink-nudge-nudge kind of way.
Hey guys. I'm a long-time PetaPixel reader and guest writer, but to avoid tarnishing my photography business forever and making my clients super uncomfortable, I’m going to use a pseudonym for this story of my worst nightmare coming true. Just call me Ernst Barnak.
My name is Mustafa Turgut, and I'm a professional photographer based in Istanbul, Turkey. One of my photos was published on the cover of the China edition of National Geographic Traveler magazine in November 2011... and I was never paid for it.
A little while back, I was working for a small local newspaper outside of Houston, Texas. I was working on a series about adrenaline junkies around the area. One article I really wanted to write was about skydiving at Spaceland Houston.
Antelope Canyon had been on the top of my “must-photograph” list ever since I saw the first picture of a sunbeam penetrating the curvy, orange walls of the Arizona natural wonder. This unique beauty captivates most photographers in love of landscape photography.
There are certain people that seem to play a consistent role in your life. I'm not talking about friends or family -- being part of your life is in their job description. I mean people that seem to always be around. People you know in passing. A name that keeps popping up. A face you recognize from days gone. For me, that person is -- oddly enough -- Tim Tebow.
Ever since I jumped into photography several years ago, I've always had a fascination with Leica. I used to think their cameras were overpriced and absurd—they were heavy and lacked many of the latest features I was accustomed to being on the latest DSLRs.
As wedding photographers, we often work in conditions that are far from perfect. We also often need to make decisions in a split second so the day runs smoothly for the bride and groom. Everyone of us is also afraid of doing something that may prevent us from completing the job. And unfortunately... that happened to me. I fell into a fountain.
I was scrolling through my Instagram feed one Friday night when a promoted post popped up and caught my eye (and there wasn’t even a bikini, donut or motivational quote involved).
Many a photographer knows from experience that getting a credit line for his or her work may often be the only compensation available. That was my situation when I was employed as a student and photographer at UCLA back -- make that WAAAYY back -- in 1966-68. My job consisted of photographing just about anything on campus – student government, rallies, “love-ins” and, this being UCLA, football and basketball games.
In November 2016, I was in a transitional part of my life (I still am) and was considering selling my Leica M2 and switching to a digital Ricoh GR. I listed the camera on several Facebook camera trading groups and the Australian/UK Craigslist alternative, Gumtree. Long story short, I was scammed while trying to sell it.
This year marks the point at which I have been using Hasselblad cameras for over a decade. My first was a 201F in 2007, before moving to a 203FE in 2011 and adding a 202FA in 2015.