I'm a very accomplished photographer. My photos have been in magazines, newspapers, textbooks, blogs, online videos, television and any other medium that you can think of. My work has been seen by millions and will be one of the most important resources for the history of video games. The only catch is that I'm almost never credited and don't get paid for it.
Light painting is something that takes a lot of time and patience. Even after many trial and error attempts, nailing the exact look you're going for can be a challenge. pixelstick is a crazy new tool that aims to change all that, making mind-blowing light paintings something even artistically challenged photographers can create.
A basic description of it is: it's a stick-like device that lets you print digital images into long exposure photos.
For the photo above, titled "Dead Little Things," I wanted to create a scene out of strictly dollhouse supplies. Inspired by many of the weather events that have occurred in recent years: tornados in Joplin and Oklahoma City, Hurricane Sandy and even Katrina.
I was struck by the indelible photos of homes destroyed in various ways that almost make them look fake, a physical upending of one's life as defined by materialistic possessions.
Update: This giveaway is now over. The winner has been announced at the end of this post.
Howdy y'all! Time for another major giveaway to thank you for reading PetaPixel! This week we're giving away a brand-spankin'-new Sony Alpha a7. It's a full frame mirrorless camera that packs a 24.3MP sensor, a 3-inch tilting LCD, and a 2.4M-dot electronic viewfinder. This prize is bundled with a 28-70mm f/3.5-5.6 lens, and has a price tag of $2,000!
I grew up without the Internet.
When I was young and starting out in the business, I had no Internet, although I did have a computer. It was an Apple IIe. I felt very fancy with it, kind of like Matthew Broderick in "War Games." To me, it was like a big expensive calculator because I only used it to run reports and for record keeping. When it came to photography and the running of a business, I had to obtain information from classes and teachers, and by doing research via those archaic inventions called "books" -- you might have heard of them.
If you want a daily dose of creativity and humor, start following the Instagram account (@cintascotch) of art director Javier Pérez. The Ecuador-based artist regularly posts simple and quirky photographs that consist of only a small object and a simple sketch.
Recently there’s been a fair bit of hullaballoo about these new cameras Fuji has been bringing out – the X-series. X100, X-Pro 1, XE-1 and most recently the X-M1 or something like that. All touted as great cameras – the perfect blend of retro styling and cutting edge sensor technology, paring away anything extraneous to the act of shooting.
The Fuji X series – peerless walk-around cameras that can be adapted for wedding work, editorial work heck, even commercial work. Photography bloggers whom I respect and admire all clambered over each other to shout the praises of these lightweight wonder-cameras. They could do no wrong on the digital camera review sites, and quickly developed a cult following which exploded into a massive fanbase. The Fuji X-series. Messianic.
Olympus is bringing the sleek design of its mirrorless cameras to the world of premium compacts. Yesterday it unveiled the new Stylus 1, a fixed-lens camera that borrows quite a bit of form from the company's popular OM-D line of cameras.
Here's an advanced tip for all you would-be stormchasers: Watch out for the water.
That seemingly obvious proposition apparently escaped a couple of British photographers in one of the better photobombs to emerge from Europe's not-quite-a-hurricane.
This week marks the one year anniversary of Superstorm Sandy, the most devastating storm of the 2012 Atlantic hurricane season and the second most costly hurricane in the history of the United States. To capture how far New York City has come since being pummeled by Sandy, resident photographer Natan Dvir decided to re-shoot photographs that he captured last year after the storm.
Kirk Crippens was inspired to take photographs by his grandfather. In 2010 he was Top 50 Photographer in Critical Mass and nominated for the Eureka Fellowship. In 2011 he was Top 50 photographer for the second consecutive year and participated in eighteen exhibitions. In 2012 he was AIR at RayKo. In 2013 he was AIR at Newspace in Portland, Oregon. He is in the MFA, Houston collection and was recently curated into an exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery, London.
When it's time to buy new gear, we usually need to seek out options that offer the best bang for the buck. In the process of doing so, we're forced to suppress our deep desire for the gear that provides the loudest bang. We've rounded up of some highest-ticket items sold at B&H, so we could fantasize about clicking the Checkout button with the confidence of a newly-minted billionaire.
Doesn’t look like much, does it? But, depending upon your definition, this photograph, a team effort by 9 men, is the most honored picture in U. S. History. If you want to find out about it, read on. It’s an interesting tale about how people sometimes rise beyond all expectations.
Want to give your plain-looking camera a dash of color? Kapsones can help you do that. It's a new line of custom lens hoods -- the company describes them as "jewelry for your camera" -- that launched recently over in Eindhoven, Netherlands.
In the Iron Man movies, billionaire Tony Stark developed exoskeleton suits to gain superhero prowess, and refined every generation of his armor with slight upgrades. Up to Mk 7 of his suit, the changes had always been slight and incremental, and in many ways it is the same story with the Canon EOS 70D – the Mk 7 of a successful and evolving EOS DSLR line from the billion-dollar business.
So how does the new tech compare against the EOS 60D? Looking at the brochure it is like another version of the Volkswagen Golf – every generation gains more buttons and dials, more screens, more features, more efficiency and more speed.
A Bohemian-looking man stands in a picturesque Scottish glen. Wild grasses sway in the wind, green hills loom to either side and moody, dark clouds drift along above. The man takes in the scene and fiddles with a camera around his neck. We hear satisfying mechanical clicks as he sets the aperture and shutter speed.
The shot cuts to a wide view of the man in the landscape, and we see him lift the camera to his eye, although it is still obscured from view. Another satisfying snap as he trips the shutter, and the screen fades to black. Then a brief flash of the front of a lens, and the words "Pure Photography" in dainty, white lettering.
Wherever you stand on the idea of having children, one of the advantages seems to be the infinite photographic possibilities opened up by having a cute child at your disposal. Whether you're talking Photoshop trickery or just watching them grow up, we've seen plenty of creative and adorable photos and videos come out of the photographic parent/photogenic child relationship.
One incredibly creative example that is currently making the rounds on the Internet is mother and photographer Queenie Liao's series Wengenn in Wonderland.
If you're not familiar with the light painting photography of Darren Pearson then you're really missing out. Even if you're not a big fan of light painting, his work truly is something to behold -- whether it's his photos or the short skateboarder animation we shared with you at the beginning of the year.
But that skateboarder animation's got nothing on the video that Pearson released just a couple of days ago.
The Nikon full-frame teaser campaign continues with yet another video of the solitary Nikon user making his way across Scotland -- discovering himself as we slowly discover the rumored camera, supposedly called the Nikon DF.
In 2009, photographer Hannah Price made a cross-country move from Colorado to Philadelphia, and along with the inevitable change of scenery came a different, more surprising change: for the first time in her life she started having men catcall her on the street.
Being a photographer, she didn't react the same way most women might. Instead, she began turning her camera on these men, birthing the now-viral photo series City of Brotherly Love.
Well, we started the photography tips train rolling earlier today with four incredibly informative short interviews with portrait master Gregory Heisler, and what better way to follow that up than with some great tips from the sillier side of the photo industry: the folks over at DigitalRev.
A few days ago, we stumbled on a new set of short interviews with portrait photography master Gregory Heisler that cover everything from lighting, to relating with your subjects, to getting creative, to (and we know you're all interested in this one) getting hired.
A couple of weekends ago we shared a short Ray-Ban ad that demonstrated the concept of perspective anamorphosis in a sufficiently mind-blowing way. But if you thought that video was impressive, this Honda ad will probably leave you speechless.
"Look at me," he said. Complying, I turned in the man's direction. "Look me in the eyes!"... I tried to raise my eyes and look into his, but I couldn't. Actually, I couldn't look anyone in the eyes at that point, it felt weird and uncomfortable. That man... was my own older brother.
The holiday season is upon us, so it was perfect timing for photographer Oliver Blackwell and his wife Catherine to get in touch with us to tell us about their new ides/service GoldBug: an online store that sells beautiful classic SLRs made even more beautiful by plating them in 18 carat gold. And what's more, they're willing to plate yours if you send it in!
When it comes to images, Pinterest is a bit of a copyright nightmare. It's not unusual for people to pin photos without any information or attribution, which inevitably leads to others using or sharing the photo without permission.
Still, you have to give the company credit, it's trying to "wake up" so to speak. In addition to a deal struck up with Flickr last year, Pinterest has just announced a new arrangement with GettyImages, in which Pinterest will pay Getty so that images from the service might be given proper MetaData.
Whether or not the camera will live up to the hype, we won't know until we've gotten our hands on it. But if there's one thing Nikon is doing right regarding the soon-to-be-released retro-styled full-frame, it's building a crap load of hype.
We've already had one teaser trailer (which you can watch here), and now, Nikon has released another, this one giving us tantalizing split-second glances of the camera that we didn't see at all in the previous ad.
One commonly asked (and commonly mis-answered) question on the Internet these days is around the definition of what constitutes a ‘professional photographer.’ The usual definition is that it is somebody who is shooting for pay, and deriving the majority of his or her income entirely from photography or photography related activities. I suppose in the strictest sense of the definition, that is true. However, it says nothing about professional conduct or skill.
What I’m going to attempt to do in this article is express my own views on what I believe constitutes professional behavior in photography. It is important to note, however, that this is a very personal opinion, although it is shared by many of my colleagues in all areas of the industry -- both primary providers of photographic imaging, as well as supporting services and videography/cinematography.
This almost one-of-a-kind Leica camera -- which was discovered as part of an Antiques Roadshow episode years ago -- could sell for more than $1.6 million when it goes up for auction next month.
A while ago, we read an article about how gear doesn’t matter on PetaPixel, while at the same time planning a shoot that would involve a Hot Rod. Inspired by the post, we said, "Let’s do it with a Canon 550D and a cheap lens instead of the Nikon D800," because we really believe that all the latest cameras are quite good, and gear doesn't always matter anyway.
Hey, sometimes you're just in the right place at the right, sexylicious time. That's about the extent of the explanation Notre Dame running back Cam McDaniel gave for a ridiculously attractive viral shot of him from last week's USC game that looks more like an Old Spice ad than a candid sports moment.
We don't typically share two time-lapses in the same day, since most people see that genre as over-saturated as it is, but today we have good reason to. The first is a landscape time-lapse so gorgeous National Geographic took notice, and this one, well this one may completely change the way you look at tilt-shift where time-lapse is concerned.
It’s not uncommon to hear someone say that they were haunted by an image, often an old photograph. It is a figurative and evocative expression. To say that an image is haunting is to say that the image has lodged itself in the mind like a ghost might stubbornly take up residence in a house, or that it has somehow gotten a hold of the imagination and in the imagination lives on as a spectral after-image.
First Lady Michelle Obama is turning to Instragram in order to organize a meet-up/photo walk and give the world a tour of the White House gardens this weekend.
The "quit your day job and go on the adventure you've always dreamed of" piece of advice is given so often as to almost be cliché. And yet, many of us are still blown away when someone actually finds the guts to do just that.
And, well, if they capture a time-lapse so gorgeous it gets National Geographic's attention in the process, all the better for us photography blog types.
Two of big names in the photography industry joined forces today as Shutterfly Inc announced its acquisition of premier photography and videography gear rental service BorrowLenses.
In 2012, New Jersey-based writer Emily Helck was one of the several thousands of women under 40 diagnosed with breast cancer. Knowing that the following year of chemo and surgery would be harrowing, she decided to document it by taking photos of herself every week for a full year.
The resulting video, which went up online at the end of September, has turned into an inspirational viral sensation that has accumulated over 700,000 views.
Leading international camera maker Canon cut its annual profit forecast Thursday, revealing that sales of interchangeable-lens cameras are slowing for the first time ever.
The squeaks and grunts whales make are still mysterious, but at least now we know what whale-speak is for "Get that thing out of my face!" That would be thanks to diver/photographer Chris Coates, who had a close encounter of the paparazzi kind while observing humpback whales off the eastern coast of Africa recently.
Two days ago, the late great Robert Capa would have turned 100 years old. There was quite a bit of revelry surrounding what would have been the iconic photographer's centennial, but even though gallery openings and the like all paid homage to the great conflict photographer, one particular release is perhaps most special of all.
Thanks to an incredibly fortuitous set of circumstances, the International Center of Photography has managed to get its hands on and release a copy of an incredibly rare interview Mr. Capa gave back in October of 1947 -- affording anyone who didn't know him the first ever opportunity to hear his voice.
From antique pistols to high-powered assault rifles, Instagram has emerged as the leading online marketplace for guns. And, even more troubling, it seems few of the sales violate the law or even Instagram policy.
Shortly after Sony announced the mirrorless a7 and a7R full-frames, rumors broke that Nikon had a new full-frame of its own coming in short order. As release dates and spec lists have begun to fly, anticipation has understandably grown; and now, Nikon is adding fuel to that fire by releasing a short teaser video for a "pure photography" camera.
Looks like Kanye West and his ilk aren't the only ones with paparazzi issues. Newly released images from the Wildlife Conservation Society captured endangered Andean bears repeatedly trying (and sometimes succeeding) to destroy camera traps set up to monitor their behavior.
Corinne Vionnet is a visual artist based in Switzerland. Her work has been exhibited at Jenisch Museum, Vevey, Switzerland; Arts Santa Monica, Barcelona; Les Rencontres d'Arles; Fotomuseum, Antwerp; La Maison Européenne de la photographie, Paris; the Museum of Contemporary Art, Denver; Art Museum, Sion, Switzerland; Chelsea Art Museum, New York and the Musée des Beaux-Arts, Lausanne.
Corinne Vionnet's series Photo Opportunities explores our fascination with famous landmarks throughout the world. Through the process of combining hundreds of snapshots of popular tourist destinations, she is able to create a collective impression of how these places are represented, and how we imagine them in our own minds.
These images are made by not one single point of view, but many, and they have the ability to open conversation about how images connect us; and about the ways in which we share thoughts and experiences about common subjects.
Good news, camera weenies -- not only does photography make you attractive and rich, it helps your brain stay sharp as you age. That's the conclusion of a new University of Texas study that evaluated a number of different types of activities to see how they affected cognitive skills -- particularly memory -- in the elderly.
Seven sports photographers are suing the National Football League, Getty Images and the Associated Press in a complex case that argues the agencies went too far in allowing their images to be freely used for promotions by the league.
One of the joys of photography is the interesting cast of characters you meet along the way. I'm not talking about the subject's you're shooting here, I'm talking about the other photographers you'll run in to.
No matter how many different personalities you come across though, you'll eventually start to notice recurring themes. A cast of familiar characters if you will. Today, in order to lighten things up a little, we'll explore a few of those different characters. Here are 8 different types of photographers you'll run into in your life:
One of the great things about photography is that inspirational stories aren't hard to come by -- whether it's tragic circumstances that are being brought to light by a daring photojournalist or a success story about a young photographer who is just discovering his passion for this industry.
Street photographer Flo Fox's story is yet another kind of inspirational. It's a story of overcoming unimaginable adversity, and a rock hard determination not to let any of life's curveballs get in the way of doing what you love.
Today I received an Experimental Lens Kit from Lomography and immediately took it on a test ride while having my lunch break.
It's hump day, and what better way to start the second half of the week than with a little bit of good old fashioned GoPro insanity... well, GoPro and Red Bull, which is a match made in action camera heaven.