February 2015

A 324-Key Keyboard Dedicated to Lightroom Editing

It was around this time last year that we shared a new product called SHORTCUT-S, a 319-key keyboard designed specifically for editing photos in Photoshop.

Creatives soon began asking the company to branch out into other popular programs, and today the company is doing just that. SHORTCUT-S tells us that it will soon be launching dedicated keyboards for 13 other programs, one of which is Adobe Lightroom.

Garry Winogrand Talks to University Students About Photography in 1977

Garry Winogrand was one of the most notable and prolific American street photographers of the 20th century. He is known for capturing a vast record of what American life was like during the decades following World War II; in addition to his published works, thousands of his undeveloped and unseen rolls of film were discovered when he passed away in 1984.

In 1977, Winogrand was invited to speak to Rice Students about photography. Over the course of two hours, the photographer answered all kinds of questions and discussed a wide range of topics regarding photography, his work, and his thoughts.

Photographer Peter Lik Has Sold Nearly Half a Billion Dollars in Prints

Last December, the art world balked when photographer Peter Lik announced the world's priciest sale of a photograph: a single black-and-white print titled "Phantom" for $6.5 million. Here's another fact that will drop your jaws: Lik has sold nearly half a billion dollars worth of photographic prints, which means he's possibly the best-selling fine-art photographer in history.

A Benedict Cumberbatch Photo Shoot for Vanity Fair

Here's a behind-the-scenes video showing how photographer Jason Bell recently photographed actor Benedict Cumberbatch for a special issue of Vanity Fair.

After observing that "this British invasion of Hollywood has gotten so out of hand," Bell (who was born in London) came up with the idea of doing an all-British edition of Vanity Fair's annual Hollywood portfolio, which will arrive on March 2015. Cumberbatch is one of the stars featured in the series.

Mind-Bending Optical Illusions Created With Photo Manipulation

Erik Johansson is a Swedish photographer and retoucher based in Berlin who is well known on the Internet for his amazing surreal photo manipulations that show everyday scenes with major twists. A number of his works are optical illusions created by manipulating and combining images in creative ways.

The image above is one of Johansson's more recent works. It's titled "The Architect" and shows a man searching for inspiration in an impossible house.

A Practical Guide to Creating Superresolution Photos with Photoshop

We’ve seen it in plenty of thriller/crime solver TV shows and movies: upon reviewing some grainy and very low-resolution surveillance footage, someone inevitably asks the technician, “can you zoom in on that and enhance it?” Then, with the quick press of a few masterfully placed keystrokes and bleepy computer sounds, the image is suddenly enhanced with vastly increased resolution and a key plot device is revealed.

Finding Freedom: Portraits and Poems of Former Inmates at a Halfway House

"Finding Freedom" is a new art book collaborative project between Brandon Crockett, a community volunteer and advertising copywriter, and the renowned photographer Sandro Miller -- yes, the same one that recreated iconic photos with John Malkovich. The book features poetry and portraits from residents at a Chicago halfway house -- individuals who have recently left prison and are attempting to reintegrate with society.

Smartphone Astrophotography: How I Capture the Moon and Planets with My Phone

I’m often asked how I am able to take high-quality images of the solar system using my iPhone. In short, the quality of today’s smartphone cameras makes it possible to take very respectable images of the Moon and planets through a telescope with your phone – but it takes some work.

‘Dudeoir’ Photography Trend Puts Men In the Frame for Seductive Shots

Boudoir photography, derived from the French word for "sulky," traditionally involves a woman posing for a suggestive series of tasteful photos in various states of undress. Over the past few years, however, a new trend has emerged. Called "dudeoir" photography, these shots involve men jumping into the frame to pose for sexy shots.

This is Why Photographers Should Stay Off the Track at a Horse Race

During a horse race, the track itself probably isn't the place you should be wandering in order to snap the perfect action shot. Even if racers do tend to stay toward the inside of the track, things don't always go as expected. A photographer in Finland learned this lesson the hard way this past week.

China Takes Winning Prestigious Photo Contests Very, Very Seriously

China is a country that's known to take the Olympics (the summer ones, at least) very seriously as the nation competes for a bigger presence on the world stage. Chinese gold medal winners become instant superstars and the role models for a generation of aspiring athletes.

It turns out photography is another field in which China is trying to become a world superpower, and its efforts are bearing fruit.

These Photos of Starling Murmurations Were Created with Plastic Bags

A murmuration of starlings is a beautiful sight to behold, as giant flocks of birds float through the air like a dark cloud with a mind of its own. French photographer Alain Delorme captured this beauty in his project Murmurations, but instead of birds and wildlife photography, Delorme's images were created through plastic bags and Photoshop.

An Open Letter to the Artist Support System

Support is a funny thing.

As an artist, 96% of our career is spent dealing with rejection. Rejection from friends, family, other artists, and even the art world itself. Making a living from art can be a very long and lonely, misunderstood journey, especially in the beginning, and having a decent support system can help make that early journey a little more bearable.

But just as we’re often learning the ropes of how to be an artist, we also know that you’re learning the ropes of how to best support us. We need you, and here are the best ways you can help us out.

A Blast from the Past: Demos of Adobe Photoshop 1.0

Adobe celebrated Photoshop's 25th birthday yesterday with great fanfare. Since the original Photoshop version 1.0 was launched back on February 19th, 1990, there have been 15 major versions released that have advanced the way we work with (and look at) photographs.

To see how far post-processing has come over the past two-and-a-half decades, here's a closer look at what it was like to use the very first version of Photoshop.

This New Flat Lens Captures Perfect Colors Without Chromatic Aberration

A team of researchers at Harvard are trying to revolutionize the world of optical lenses. Instead of traditional curved lenses that suffer from various optical flaws, they are working on a completely flat and ultra-thin lens that overcomes age-old problems and pushes optical quality to the limits of the laws of nature.

Memory Card from Stolen Camera Returned After Photographer Makes Public Appeal

Earlier this month, we reported that a North Carolina-based photographer Faith Massey had gotten her camera bag stolen from her car. Inside was a memory card that contained irreplaceable photos of the last moments of a baby's life, which Massey captured through the charity organization Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep.

There's a happy update to the story: the memory card has been returned, and all the precious lost photos have been recovered.

A Laser Can Turn Off Streetlights That Interfere With Your Astrophotography

Streetlights polluting your shots of the starry night sky? A strategically placed laser might be just what you need.

Destin Sandlin of the YouTube channel SmarterEveryDay recently paid a visit to the house of NASA astronaut (and photographer) Don Pettit, who showed Sandlin a trick that he uses to temporarily disable an annoying streetlight just down the street. You can see this "life hack" in action at 1:04 in the video above.

An Interview with Conceptual Fine Art Photographer Siri Kaur

Siri Kaur is a conceptual fine art photographer who has been breaking some interesting ground and news with her fascinating series This Kind of Face. The unique series was recently exhibited at the Cohen Gallery in Los Angeles. I had a moment to talk to Siri about this work and other aspects of her career.