May 2014

Sprinkled in-between the more advanced lighting, photography and post-processing tutorials that we feature on the site, we've been trying to add in the occasional basic tutorial or walkthrough for the beginning photographer. Not everybody who reads PetaPixel is a pro- or even an intermediate-level photographer, and we all have to start somewhere.

The video above falls squarely into the "for beginners" category (in case the title didn't clue you in), and even though it was uploaded all the way back in 2010, it will still come in very useful if you're just starting out.

Each of the transitions above capture 100 years of change. The effects of two World Wars that left some …

Using the bones of a dying giant and a healthy dose of innovation, Sony built one of the most forward thinking lines of high-end cameras available in recent memory.

When they entered the serious photography market following their acquisition of the struggling Konica Minolta camera business, Sony brought the coffers and clout of an international conglomerate as well as the fresh eyes of a newcomer. Using those tools, they've pushed the technological envelope in a way that few others were willing or capable of doing and, now, are setting the benchmark for where others ought to be aiming. Oh, and they did it all in just eight years.

If you're wondering just how big of a pain in the butt for Nikon the D600 sensor oil/dust issues have been, all you have to do is go back into our archives and read about the lawsuits and the outrage... or read the comments on the D610 announcement post.

On the off-chance that's not enough, however, we now have a dollar figure to add to the mix. $17.7 million. That's how much Nikon has allocated to put an end to the D600 issues and repair its damaged reputation.

There was a time, before selfies and social networks and WiFi built in to most consumer-level cameras, that getting a group shot in a busy tourist setting required two steps. Step one: ask a stranger to take your group's photo, and Step Two: apologize profusely as, one by one, every person in your group keeps handing the kind stranger ANOTHER camera so they can have a picture too.

Those days are, for the most part, gone. But back in 2009, an Australian comedy show called The Chaser's War on Everything had some fun with 'step two.'

While he may never forget the moment captured in the photo above, Latabe the elephant apparently wanted to make sure no one else did, either.

When it comes to testing, Lowepro gear doesn't have it easy. Earlier this year, Lowepro announced a new lineup of camera bags aimed at the traveling professional, and yesterday, they released a hard-to-watch video in which these bags are put to the test.

Keliy Anderson-Staley is an assistant professor of photography at the University of Houston. Her work has been exhibited at the National Portrait Gallery of the Smithsonian, the California Museum of Photography and the Portland Museum of Art, and is currently on view at the Houston Center for Photography.

Her book of portraits, On a Wet Bough, is forthcoming from Waltz Books. She is represented by Catherine Edelman Gallery.

If you've been waiting for a good deal before you stock up on some CF memory cards, that deal has arrived over at B&H Photo. Today only, you'll be able to get steep discounts on SanDisk Extreme and Extreme Pro CF cards.

Who says you can’t learn from video games? Shown off in the above video is a preview of an upcoming first-person simulation game that takes the concept of the first person shooter in a much more photographic direction.

Jay Carney, the White House Press Secretary who has taken much of the heat for the Obama Administration's less-than-open policies that have kept photographers out of major events, announced his resignation today during a press conference.

Chances are good many of our readers couldn't care less about a wedding photo from Kim Kardashian and Kanye West's wedding, or even what the most popular photo on the photo sharing service Instagram is. But the story behind the photo that claims both of those titles is actually pretty interesting.

An ongoing debate among photographers from all backgrounds is that of natural vs artificial light. Both options have their pitfalls and qualities worth praising, but even so, it seems like some photographers are hesitant to put a subject in front of a strobe if natural light is available.

But as shown in this video put together by Felix Kunze and Sue Bryce for CreativeLive, when used correctly, strobes can almost perfectly replicate the look of natural light. Kunze and Bryce compare identical model setups side-by-side using both natural and strobe lighting as an exercise in showing off the differences and similarities between the two.

Sigma has done nothing but impress over the course of the last year, one piece of quality glass at a time. But as impressive as their Art, Contemporary and Sports glass already is, the company isn't anywhere near done yet.

Say you're a space enthusiast; and say you find yourself bidding on an old Russian high altitude spacesuit; and then, say you win that auction. What would you, as a skilled photographer with a brand new, awesome prop on hand, do with it?

We can't speak for you, but we can show you what photographer Tim Dodd did, and it's just plain fun.

It was exactly one year ago today that the Chicago Sun-Times earned the photography community's outrage and ridicule after laying off all 28 full-time photojournalists on the newspaper's payroll.

Now that a year has passed and most have moved on from that sad chapter in their lives, Sam Kirkland over at Poynter decided to track down the former Sun-Times staffers and write up the photography equivalent of VH1's old show Where Are They Now?.

No photoshoot goes off without a hitch. But with the correct amount of planning in the way of a vision, schedule, proper team and backup equipment, the risk that you'll run into a big hitch is dramatically reduced.

One photographer who seems to have mastered putting all of those components together seamlessly is Benjamin Von Wong, but it took all of his skill and more to make sure that his most recent crazy adventure came together seamlessly.

There’s no such thing as too many resources when it comes to learning how to take a good photograph. And here to prove this statement is a neat little pseudo-interactive web guide put together by Shutterfly for those among us who are just starting out.

No, the title of this post wasn't written by some sort of broken record robot. It is in fact an accurate description of the GIF below, which was created from photographs taken with a Scanning Electron Microscope.

The rumor mill in the photography world is a strange one. Churning out snippet after snippet on bodies, glass, and everything in-between, it’s difficult to properly nail down what is fact and what is fiction. That's particularly true when you're dealing with claims like those made yesterday.

According to an article published by the French website 01net.com, Leica is working on something well out of their normal range of products and services: A cloud storage platform for photographers.

In a continuing efforts to give its users the best photography experience possible, Google yesterday gave its Camera app a substantial update. The update touts a few new features including a timer, updated panorama modes, still capture during video and more.

Utah’s Wasatch High School is drawing international media attention after it was discovered that the school had Photoshopped some of its students' yearbook pictures to show less skin, presumably in the name of modesty.

Butterfly lighting is one of the oldest techniques for lighting a subject. Named for the butterfly-shaped shadow that forms underneath the subject’s nose, this setup is a proven method to ensure your subject is well-lit in a pleasing manner.

There’s some exciting news making its way through the rumor mill if you're an Olympus fan: it seems Olympus is currently working on and will be announcing a new, 7–14mm f/2.8 Zuiko MFT lens “very soon.”

What is 'freedom'? This seems to be one of the main questions at the center of photojournalist Kitra Cahana's recent TED Talk in which she tells the stories of the nomadic, homeless youth she spent many months documenting.

When it comes to natural disasters like hurricanes or wildfires, not even standard aerial photography can really cut it. To capture something that occurs on such a massive scale, you need a massive view, and so these disasters are often best visualized by NASA's satellites.

In addition to introducing a few speed enhancements and fixing a few bugs -- you know, typical update stuff -- the most recent Creative Cloud update, version 1.6.0.393, brings one exciting and unexpected feature: you can now install and run previous versions of Adobe programs alongside the latest and greatest.

CJ Kale and Nick Selway long ago fell in love with Hawaii and founded Lava Light, a photography gallery focused on capturing the ever-changing landscape created by an active volcano and crashing waves -- and sometimes both together when the conditions are just right. And if swimming with fire and dodging lava bombs weren’t challenging enough, these photographers believe in creating their images completely in-camera.

Balancing exposures between sky, water and lava can be incredibly tricky. Luckily, Lava Light has shared some tips to help you get the shot without combining exposures or using HDR.

It was inevitable. As camera tech progressed, cameras became smaller. As cameras became smaller, their implementation into more areas of technology and culture as a whole became more ubiquitous.

Where we currently are in this ongoing progression is a turning point of sorts where cameras are as wearable as the clothes on our back, and NewViewWear just took it a step further with a new line of clothing that has a camera built right in.

We've introduced you to best friends CJ Kale and Nick Selway before, back in 2012 when we first shared the beautiful photography they created for their gallery "Lava Light Galleries." But today, you get to go into the water with them while they tell you about capturing amazing shots while, at times, swimming in 110°F water.