explanation

Michael Zhang

How JPEG Handles Colors and Compression

Want to understand the math and science behind how JPEG files store your digital photographs? The YouTube channel Computerphile has a new series of videos on the JPEG. They're a bit long and heady, but you may find them interesting if you've ever wondered about the technical details behind one of the world's most popular image compression methods.

Justin Mott

The Day I Swam in Elephant Poop to Get the Shot

I made this photograph a while back for a private client in Phuket, Thailand, who owned a stunning vacation home that she designed herself. She was drawn to my editorial style in my commercial work and she wanted me to take that approach for a series of lifestyle images at her home.

We spoke on the phone to prepare for the shoot, and she threw out the idea of hiring an elephant. I thought she was joking at first but when I realized she wasn’t, I jumped at the opportunity, I mean... how often do you get to have an elephant as a model at your disposal? (More on disposal later).

Gannon Burgett

Comprehensive Guide Tells You Everything You Need to Know About Codecs

If you're thinking about adding a video component to your portfolio, one of the most important-but-confusing things you'll have to wrap your head around is codecs -- the different video compression/decompression formats available to you. These not only determine the quality retained by the camera, but also affect how you will approach the post-processing of the footage.

Unfortunately, video codecs -- with all of the myriad factors at play and the number of options available -- can be a bit confusing, and so cinematographer David Kong has shared the above, incredibly comprehensive look at everything you need to know.

Roger Cicala

MTF Charts: The English Translation

This post contains absolutely no mathematics. Explaining MTF without math is sort of like doing a high-wire act without a net. It’s dangerous, but for any number of reasons is more likely to keep the audience interested.

Michael Zhang

Dissecting an $18 Digital Camera to Show How They Work

Here's a dissection video for those of you who like photography better than biology. It's a Khan Academy lesson that offers a glimpse into how digital cameras work on the inside. The camera being dissected is a Vivitar V25, a 2.1 megapixel camera that you can pick up for around $18 from places like Walmart. Although it's basically the digital equivalent of a disposable camera, the camera still shares some things in common with higher-end digital cameras. You might be able to learn an interesting thing or two about how your own camera works.

Michael Zhang

Shooting a Macro Photo of Sparks Flying Off a Lighter

This photograph by artist Chuck Anderson has received over 30,000 notes on Tumblr since it was posted back in September of 2010. It might look like a Photoshop creation, but Anderson assures us that what you see is straight off the camera.

David Cohen de Lara

Why This Photograph is Worth $578,500

Last week, a collection of 36 prints by William Eggleston was sold for $5.9 million at auction.  The top ten list of most expensive photographs ever sold doesn't contain a single work worth less than a cool million. Just a few months ago, Andreas Gursky's 'Rhine II' became the world's most expensive photograph, selling for $4.3 million.

Nikki Wagner

Why Wedding Photographers’ Prices are ‘Wack’

Earlier today my friend and fellow photographer posted a link to a craigslist ad from a woman in Seattle looking for a wedding photographer. The woman was upset because she thought that $3,000 for a wedding photographer was “wack” because all we do “is hang out at a wedding taking tons of photos and editing them” and that we are “making so much money it's crazy.”

Michael Zhang

Lower ISO Doesn’t Always Lead to Higher Quality Images

When learning about ISO, you've probably heard that the lower the number, the lower the noise and the higher the image quality, but did you know that this isn't always the case? The reason is something called the base (or native) ISO of a camera -- the ISO achieved without amplifying the data from the sensor. This is usually somewhere between ISO 100 and ISO 200.

Michael Zhang

Four Eyes and One Reflection of a Boy Making Pancakes

Put your detective hats on -- there's a photo mystery going on over at Boing Boing. Luke Mandle sent in the above photograph of his little boy, Boing Boing published it asking readers to explain it, and how there's a fine and informative debate in the comments.