2013

A couple of weeks ago, we shared a video that showed a guy dropping his brand new $2,300 24-70mm f/2.8L lens as he demonstrates how to quickly swap your lenses out "just like the pros." Some people thought it was real, some thought it was fake, but whatever the case it definitely WAS a big fat fail.

That is 100% not the case with the epic Sony ad above, which is titled simply "A7R," but ought to be called "THIS is How You Change a Lens Like a Pro"... feel free to substitute "bada**" for "pro."

Well, your last chance to order something online and get it in time for Christmas pretty much came and went already, and yet us lazy PetaPixel editors (okay, not us, just me) have yet to put together a holiday gift guide. Well, I offer my hardiest apologies, and what we'll call our 'Holiday Exchange Guide.'

You think 41 megapixels is a lot? Try 1000 megapixels! That's how much resolution the camera attached to the ESA's Gaia satellite is packing; a satellite that, as of yesterday, has left the Earth in its quest to photograph things that have never been photographed before at a resolution as of yet unheard of in space photography.

As if people up in the Nordic countries don't have enough gorgeous scenery to hold over our heads (my chances of seeing the aurora borealis in Alabama are far slimmer) we now have yet another thing to envy them for: light pillars.

Sigma is on a tear when it comes to releasing amazing glass. From the groundbreaking 18-35mm f/1.8 for APS-C cameras to the 24-105mm f/4 that had people pretty excited, Sigma glass is quickly becoming synonymous with phenomenal quality and affordability.

And now, the newest murmurings to come down the rumor pipeline have another exciting Sigma lens in the works, this one a 16-20mm f/2.

Editors note: Be advised, the video below contains some strong language that might not be to the liking of all our readers.

There have been a lot of viral attacks on the retouching industry lately -- from these striking ads created by a student to this funny tongue-in-cheek version of another viral anti-retouching video -- but the cherry on top of the Photoshop-hate sundae came in the form of the South Park Season 17 finale.

Yesterday night, Yahoo! took yet another step forward in the Flickr renaissance, although we doubt all photographers will see it this way. In a bid to make the service more share-friendly, Yahoo! has introduced new, cleaner embedding capability to the photo sharing site.

The folks at Custom SLR are in the holiday spirit, there's no doubt about that. After all, why else would you take on the pointless (but awesome) task of creating the world's largest camera tripod Christmas tree?

Fans of Sony's QX10 and QX100 lens cameras -- you know, the ones that use your smartphone as a controller/LCD but pack all of the important bits in an external unit -- have reason to rejoice today, because it looks like there's a major update coming to both versions.

From no Photoshop straight to excessive yet awesome image manipulation, we're all over the spectrum today. Although general belief (at least among purists) is that it is always better to create something in-camera than in post, there are certain things that just can't be done in-camera... and architecture photographer Víctor Enrich did ALL OF THEM to this one hotel in Munich.

For a recent project, Montreal-based photographer Benjamin Von Wong wanted to do something interesting: he wanted to create 'world within a world' style photographs WITHOUT using any Photoshop to achieve the final effect. It took some creativity and help from some very talented set designers, but in the end they pulled it off!

One of the most popular camera apps on iOS is Camera+. In fact, it's so popular it currently ranks at #33 on Apple's top paid apps chart. But that number is likely to jump after today, because version 5.0 has just been released, and this update is a big one.

It's common knowledge that the Giottos Rocket Blowers and the TSA don't get along. In the past we've told you to just leave it at home unless you want it confiscated with no more reason than "it looks like a bomb." But the reason photographer and Canon Rumors forum user Surapon got was a whole lot more entertaining than that.

With every passing year, the digital camera sales dataset offered by the Camera and Imaging Products Association (CIPA) grows more comprehensive. These records are made available to the public by this coalition of camera manufacturers which includes Nikon, Canon, Fujifilm, Sony, Sigma, Ricoh, Olympus, and dozens of other recognizable brands. Since 2002, they've been improving and increasing the scale of their database, which now separates digital cameras into fixed-lens, mirrorless and DSLR categories, and reports sales figures for different regions.

It sometimes seems that commentators are primarily interested in the CIPA data to prove just how far up a creek camera manufacturers are so far this decade. But these depressing pronouncements are just scratching the surface. Here's some other things the data shows:

Photographs of galaxies far far away rarely convey just how large what you're looking at really is -- after all, how can you even fathom something that is measured in light years across. But these photos of the cosmos do an even worse job. By applying the tilt-shift effect in post, these photos show galaxies and nebulae look like they could fit comfortably in the palm of your hand.

One of the common complaints people hesitant to switch to mirrorless systems have is that there just isn't enough glass for this that or the other mount. Micro Four Thirds cameras don't really suffer from this problem, but proprietary mounts like Sony's E-Mount (especially full-frame) and Fuji's X-Mount certainly don't offer the kind of selection you get from Canon or Nikon.

The good news is, they're catching up. And a great case in point is the Fuji X-Mount 10-24mm f/4 lens announced today.

Last year, a time-lapse called 'Body Evolution - Model Before and After' went viral as people the world over had their eyes opened to just how much a model can be altered with the help of hair, makeup and, most of all, Photoshop. That video has accrued almost 8 million views, and is still shared today in hopes of convincing magazines to begin putting disclaimers on images that are significantly altered in post.

The video above by ad agency Victors & Spoils takes that video and does something hilarious with it. Almost as if to say "You think that's extreme? We'll SHOW you extreme!" the agency Photoshopped the model further, from the beautiful Barbie-like cover girl into none other than Santa Claus!

If you don't want to cry today, we suggest you skip this one. That being said, for the love of all that is holy, please don't skip this one! The tears are more than worth it when you hear the story behind these touching and at times heart-wrenching daddy/daughter photos.

Being "journalists" more or less restricted to "facts," we can only look with awe and envy at New Camera News: a blog that tells the truth about the photography industry by making up witty, insider satire in the mode of The Onion

Rejoice, all ye illustrators and designers, at least if your work involves antiquarian subjects. The British Library has just posted more than a million copyright-free images to its Flickr photostream, and the pickings are choice if you need to illustrate anything from phrenology to 17th century geological theories.

We take no responsibility if you're all of a sudden afraid to take your camera anywhere after reading this (especially if you have a Nikon D7000 or a Canon 60D), but this gear theft infographic by anti-theft service Lenstag is packed interesting information that we think every photographer should be aware of.

(Private Video -- Use password "stolen")

Often there's a fine line between inspiration and theft. But watching side-by-side comparisons of wedding workshops conducted by videographers Adam Forgione and Rob Adams, it's hard not to conclude there's wholesale plagiarism going on.

As a self-appointed pundit, I spend a fair amount of time criticizing the photography industry, but I have a little secret ... I love photography! And 2013 brought yet another year full of strange, interesting and inspiring moments in photography. Let’s go on a little journey ... in no particular order.

About 88,000 people in the U.S. are missing all or part of an arm, and among the things that are difficult or impossible for them to do is use an full-size camera.  Smaller point-and-shoots and phones allow simultaneous holding and operation, but anything bigger is out of the question without a tripod.

Say you and your girlfriend are both photographers. And say, also, that you've been together for four years and you've decided it's time to send out your first Holiday card as a couple. There's only one issue: you celebrate Christmas and she celebrates Hanukkah. What are two photographers to do?

Why, you turn the studio you work at into a creative half-Christmas half-Hanukkah scene and shoot a Holiday card so awesome the entire Internet takes notice, that's what you do!

Admittedly, it's not last-minute Christmas shopping until 10 minutes after the stores close on Christmas Eve, but if you plan to order your photography gifts online, you might want to get on that so you're sure they arrive in time for the big day.

Then again, there are benefits to having waited this long. Namely: we just got an email from B&H Photo about some awesome discounts that may have you tempted even if you've already finished gift shopping.

Last week's memorial for Nelson Mandela had more than its share of media moments, from the fake sign language interpreter to the handshake heard 'round the world. But nothing caught on quite as tenaciously or curiously as what we'll dub "The Great Obama Selfie Beatdown."

Throwable camera balls and their ilk might be all shiny and cool, but what if you want to grab high-quality 360-degree images with the camera you already have in your bag?

Enter Eye Mirror, a startup launched by U.K. inventors Dan Burton and Thomas Seidl, whose namesake product attaches to just about any camera and allows it to shoot 360-degree panoramas and videos.

Lenstag's stated goal is to put a stop to camera and lens theft, and for that reason alone photographers love them. The service is basically an online registry where you can securely document all of the gear you own and, in the event the unthinkable happens, report it as stolen and make it much more difficult for the thieves to sell that piece of gear.

But Lenstag creator Trevor Sehrer wasn't done when he debuted the website -- which you can learn a lot more about here. Last week Lenstag took another step towards the company goal when it released brand new iOS and Android apps.

We hope you never get sick of hearing about stories that show the true power of photography to affect change, because I doubt we'll ever get sick of finding and sharing them. The most recent such story we've stumbled across is told by photojournalist Marcus Bleasdale, whose work has already helped curtail the efforts of warlords in Africa who are exploiting children in their attempt to rule Congo.

Nikon already makes a 35mm f/1.8G DX lens but the equivalent isn't available for its full-frame cameras, at least not yet. At this point, if you want a 35mm FX lens for your Nikon, you're stuck spending $1,600+ on the f/1.4, but that might all change in a couple of weeks at CES.

I have to admit I didn’t get too worked up when the Sony A7 and A7R were released. The last time I wrote about Sony it was how there were so few lenses for the NEX system years after introduction. So now we’re going to a system requiring a whole new lens mount. Sure the camera’s specs were interesting. But the idea of yet another camera body good mostly for shooting lenses on adapters wasn’t very exciting. So I planned to ignore it.

A fashion photographer's job is, at its most basic level, to draw attention to the clothes he or she has been asked to photograph. But how does one make their fashion shots stand out when there are so many more out there, often bookending your own shoot inside the very magazine you're featured in?

Montreal-based photographer Martin Tremblay (also known as Pinch) figured out a way to turn fashion photography on its head... he literally turned it on its head!

Christmas is exactly ten days away, which means parents have a little over one week left to frantically drag their screaming children to the local mall or holiday venue to sit on Santa's lap for that traditional picture. But where most parents would do this for a few years until their kids inevitably grow out of it, a pair of brothers decided they would keep the tradition going... for 34 years.

There are selfies, and then there are self-portraits. Make no mistake, these are two very different things, in the same way that a photograph differentiates itself from a snapshot. So while the word 'selfie' might be in the midst of experiencing its 15 minutes of fame, it would be an injustice to call photographer Kyle Thompson's gripping self-portraits 'selfies.'

Okay, there just HAS to be a Polaroid lover and/or hipster on your Christmas list that would absolutely lose it if they unwrapped the Polaroll on December 25th. What is the Polaroll, you ask? It's a toilet paper roll dispenser that is shaped like a Polaroid SX-70 One Step White/Rainbow camera.

In a world dominated by too many photos and too little photography, one of the pieces of advice we stumble across fairly often from masters of this craft is to simply "slow down." Andy Romanoff is one such master, and his project "Seeing the PDC" -- for which he spent 6 months photographing the Pacific Design Center in LA -- is a testament to slowing down and really seeing what it is you're trying to capture.

It’s been over two years since I cut the academic anchor and sailed away as an independent nature photographer. How am I faring? My little business is chugging along fine, thanks! I’m busy. I have an infant daughter, and I love that my new life allows the flexibility to work from home. Yet I still interact regularly with the university. I’ve just published a couple of research papers. Things are good.

I know from various conversations that some of you aspire to be photographers. This post is for those of you curious about what a transition to professional photography might hold.

This was NOT a good week for moronic criminals with access to Instagram. After posting a bunch of ill-advised selfies on the photo sharing site, a Florida teenager now finds himself behind bars and facing 142 felony counts thanks to his oversharing habit.

We're not entirely sure if this is the first of its kind, but this surreal stop motion animation is definitely the first we've run into that was shot entirely on Google Glass. Yep folks, the future is here, and it's reaching into the past for its animation techniques.

It’s that time of the year when we all take a moment to reflect back on the major events that will forever be remembered, the trends that changed our zeitgeist, and the pop culture phenomena that will soon be forgotten.

For the photo industry, this was the year that the word “selfie” was coined Webster’s Dictionary’s word of the year. In such a context and with so much of the conversation focused on the mobile photo taking frenzy, it almost started to get a little too easy to overlook the stories out there that, if not for the photograph, would not have been told nor raised in our collective social consciousness.

Every time we decide to post something about Instagram, we go through a bit of an internal dilemma. On the one hand, it's the most popular photo sharing app in the world, and many photographers have used it to great effect -- for those reasons alone we can't exactly ignore it. On the other hand, a solid percentage, perhaps even a majority, of you guys hate the app with a passion that defies our collective vocabulary to describe.

Because you asked, these are real letters I have sent to people found using my photographs inappropriately, ranging from "The standard DMCA takedown" to "The repeat commercial offender payment demand letter."

Michael Shainblum is a name that has come up a few times on PetaPixel, and it's always associated with a spectacular time-lapse that earns many a "beautifully done" and even the occasional "hot damn." And now, thanks to The Creators Project, we get to go behind the scenes with Shainblum as he creates one of his masterpieces.

Here is a good example why it is so important to work the scene to get the best results from …

Photoshop takes a lot of flack in this day and age, especially when it comes to the beauty and fashion industries that consistently publish overly manipulated imagery. Often that 'flack' doesn't give us much to laugh at, but a recent project by East Carolina University student Anna Hill does.

She put together four mock Photoshop ads that poke fun at just how far the beauty industry often takes photo manipulation.

Speed freaks (at least where lenses are concerned) who love their mirrorless camera get ready to celebrate, because there's a new super-fast lens on the market that is claiming the title of "fastest lens in the world for mirrorless systems" -- the Ibelux 40mm f/0.85.

Update: Looks like the discount is gone folks! This puppy is back up to $12,000.

Those looking to drop several grand on a 35mm film camera for your favorite purist this Holiday season need look no more. Introducing the Nikon FA Gold limited edition camera: a 24k gold-plated camera with lizard skin accents that is currently going on eBay for the relatively low price of $4,800.

To clarify, when we say "relatively low," we mean relative to what you would have spent on the same camera yesterday when it was listed for a whopping $12,000.

Born in Washington, D.C., visual artist Lauren Henkin graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in architecture from Washington University in St. Louis and now resides in New York City. He primary subject is the American landscape. Her most recent project, The Park, focuses on Central Park, the massive constructed urban space and how people engage it.

We love a good Mars panorama -- be it a this selfie panorama by Curiosity or this gorgeous mountain-top shot by Opportunity -- and now we have another one for you that is, arguably, the best of them.