March 2014

Inspiration: Jimmy Chin Offers Insights Into the Challenges and Rewards of His Career

These short interviews that National Geographic has been putting together for its PROOF blog are quickly becoming some of our favorites. Quick, to the point and always very inspirational, they feature masters of their craft who have reached great heights in their photographic careers.

This latest video features renowned climber and adventure/travel photographer Jimmy Chin talking about both the good and the bad of what he does.

HIPA Grand Prize Winner Looks Like It May be a Big Photoshop Fail

The photograph above by Chinese photographer China’s Fuyang Zhou just won $120,000 as the Hamdan International Photography Awards (HIPA) overall grand prize winner. The theme was "Creating the Future," and you can see why the photo won: it's a wonderful composition that captures the spirit of that theme. And yet, something seems off about it...

Andrew Newey’s Spectacular Photographs of Honey Hunters in Nepal

Andrew Newey has covered some of the most incredible and rare cultures and traditions. From Mongolian eagle hunters to tribal festivals in Papua New Guinea, Newey knows how to truly capture one-of-a-kind images, documenting the cultures and traditions that may not exist in a century.

This time around he's traveled to the foot of the Himalayas in Nepal to document the Gurung tribe's bi-annual tradition of gathering honey.

Intimate Black & White Photos from Burma: A Conversation with Monica Denevan

Monica Denevan’s work has been exhibited internationally -- including solo shows at Scott Nichols Gallery (San Francisco) and Tao Gallery (Hong Kong) -- has been published in LensWork, and was on the cover of Black+White Photography (UK), among others.

She is represented by Scott Nichols Gallery (San Francisco), Duncan Miller Gallery (Santa Monica), Capital Culture Gallery (London) and Reaves Gallery (New York). Monica lives and works in San Francisco.

What Would the World Look Like If the Air Were Truly Transparent?

For the purposes of this question, I'm going to assume that "truly transparent" means that air and its constituents are no longer able to absorb and re-radiate incident radiation, which in visible light seems to be our definition of transparency. To make things much more fun, let's make this true over all wavelengths.

‘Face Cartography’ Captures Portraits at a Whopping 900 Megapixels

Using an industrial–strength robotic arm, custom software, a Canon EOS Mark ll and a 180mm macro lens converted into a telecentrical lens, Swiss photographer Daniel Boschung has created an automated portrait machine. Made to map out "Face Cartography", the machine and resulting images capture incredibly detailed and hyperrealistic photographs of subjects.

NailSnaps Turns Your Smartphone Photos Into Nail Art

Have you ever been sitting around and thought to yourself, "I wish I could put my Instagram photos on my nails, rather than paint them"? Well, even if you haven't, Angel Anderson and Sarah Heering did. Now, with some crowdfunding help, they're working to bring to life a service and product that does just that.

Saving Eliza: Working a Photographic Miracle (Part I)

Can you imagine photography saving a life? Or forget life, lives? Hundreds, thousands of lives saved... and the catalyst for it all a photo community dedicated to proving they can make a difference.

Over the next couple of weeks, the photographic community has the chance to work a bonafide miracle. A little girl in South Carolina is dying of a degenerative disease, and it’s in all of our power to help cure her. Together with Benjamin Von Wong, we’re going to embark on a journey to tell this little girl’s story to the world, and write in the happy ending ourselves...

Nikon Asked to Halt All D600 Sales in China After Scathing Nationally Televised Exposé

Nikon has probably had just about enough when it comes to the D600 and its sensor dust/oil issues. It started with user complaints, evolved to class action lawsuits from a number of different sources, and has now escalated to a full-on order by the Chinese government to stop D600 sales in China after a state-run television show featured a scathing exposé about the issue.

Impending Flickr Redesign Said to Simplify and Unify the Flickr Experience

According to a report by Re/code, Yahoo! is getting ready to redesign Flickr yet again. Said to be coming "within the next few weeks," the updates won't be as dramatic as the last revamp, but it's definitely going to bring some welcomed changes that focus on the smaller details.

The overarching goal this time, it seems, is to simplify and unifying the mobile and web browser Flickr experiences.

You Hate My Job: A BTS Look at The Life and Routine of a Paparazzi Photographer

Update on 12/16/21: This video has been removed by its creator.

In a new series of videos put together by Marketplace, You Hate My Job goes around and documents the occupations that often get a bad rap and are overall disliked by most of humanity. The first in the series follows a profession that is, without a doubt, one of the most hated (and possibly misunderstood) by the entire photo community: Paparazzi.

First Look: Fuji 10-24mm f/4 Sample Photos and First Impressions by David Hobby

While in Dubai for GPP 2014, David Hobby (aka. Strobist) got a chance to play around with the yet-unreleased Fuji 10-24mm f/4 lens. He was kind enough to send us a link to his final images along with permission to share them, but we'll warn you: if you're a Fuji lover who isn't looking to spend money, you'll want to look away... she's a beauty.

Terry Richardson Responds to Allegations, Calls The Whole Thing a ‘Witch Hunt’

The Terry Richardson debate can be summed up in two sayings, one used by the anti-Richardson army and the other used by the pro-Richardson crowd: "There's no smoke without a fire" and "Tried and convicted in the press." That many allegations can't just spring up out of nowhere, says one group, while the other argues that undue amounts of sensational press attention does not evidence make.

However, for the first time ever, Richardson himself is speaking out, addressing the Allegations in an op-ed published by the Huffington Post in which he calls the entire ordeal an "emotionally-charged witch hunt."