May 2015

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Enrique Iglesias Grabs Camera Drone During Concert, Slices Fingers

Camera drones can be dangerous if not handled properly. Singer Enrique Iglesias found that out the hard way yesterday during a 12,000-fan concert in Tijuana, Mexico. During one song, Iglesias decided to reach up and grab hold of a camera drone hovering above him in order to give the fans a live point-of-view shot. Things didn't go as planned.

The Center-Framed Style of Mad Max: Fury Road

Yesterday we shared some interesting before-and-after images showing the visual effects work that went into the hit Hollywood movie Mad Max: Fury Road. Here's a second look at the film from a different angle: the composition. In the 1.5-minute video above, editor Vashi Nedomansky explores how keeping all the action in the center of each frame made the shots so effective and easy to follow.

Battle of the Nifty Fifties: Canon’s 50mm f/1.8 Lenses

This year, the Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II, also called the "Nifty Fifty" celebrates its 25th birthday. Yes, that's right: this lens was released back in December 1990 and is the second oldest lens that's still in production. Yet it still dominates the list of the most popular Canon lenses, and for good reason: it's cheap, it's fast, it's small and lightweight, and it offers good performance for the price, which makes it the first prime lens for most Canon owners.

JPEG Compression Test: Google Photos vs. JPEGmini

In this article I will take a look at Google Photos' new photo compression performance. I've been using a program called JPEGmini for a couple years now to compress my JPEG images. Its compression of JPEGs is lossy, but it claims to do so leaving the perceptual image quality virtually unchanged. As far as I can tell, its claims are pretty accurate, and it has literally helped me cut the size of some of my picture folders in half.

Before and After Comparisons of the Visual Effects in Mad Max: Fury Road

One of the big Hollywood blockbusters to hit the silver screen this year has been Mad Max: Fury Road, which has gotten rave reviews, with many praising the insane and complex visual design of the film. If you were wondering what some of the shots looked like when they were originally captured on camera, here are some before-and-after comparison images showing those shots next to the final frames after visual effects were applied.

TED Talk: Jimmy Nelson on Shooting Portraits of the World’s Vanishing People

Photographer Jimmy Nelson has spent years traveling the globe in a quest to document the world's most fantastic indigenous cultures before they and their way of life disappear. In the 17-minute TED talk above, Nelson shares some of his best large format portraits and some fascinating things that he has learned along the way. (Note: there's a bit of nudity in the photos).

Review: The Nikon D7200 is the More Sensitive and Sociable Sibling of the D7100

Nikon’s D7000 lineup of enthusiast level cameras is currently the highest one can go before moving onto a full-frame FX series body. The company’s latest creation, the Nikon D7200, provides incremental improvements upon the previous model while also upping the standards for low-light performance in enthusiast DSLR camera systems. In a world of connected mobile devices, Nikon has also added WiFi and NFC for smarter access to photographs.

Light Painting with a Giant 2-Foot Ball of Steel Wool

Steel wool is often done by lighting a small ball of steel wool on fire and then swinging it around in a long exposure photo while it burns. But what happens when you take it to the extreme? The folks over at Joby recently decided to see what you get when you burn a giant 2-foot ball of burning steel wool.

SourceForge Accused of Bundling GIMP with Adware

If you've downloaded a copy of GIMP for Windows from SourceForge in recent days, you may want to double check to make sure you didn't get other programs installed as well. Some copies of the "open source Photoshop" were apparently being offered with for-profit adware bundled with the installer.

Photographer Captures the Beauty and Diversity of Australian Fungi

Photographer Steve Axford lives in the Northern Rivers area of New South Wales, Australia, where he has spent a considerable amount of time exploring the rainforest with his camera in hand. Among his favorite subjects are Australian fungi, which come in countless shapes, sizes, colors, and textures -- diversity that Axford captures in his photos.

What It’s Like to Swim with Millions of Jellyfish

Ongeim'l Tketau, or "Jellyfish Lake," on the island country of Palau is a place you need to add to your underwater photography bucket list. The waters are famous for the millions of jellyfish that migrate across the lake on a daily basis, which provide for incredible views that many have captured on camera.

The Myth of More (Not Just Another Fuji X100T Review)

I'll say this right up front: what you’re about to read is not a review of the Fujifilm X100T. That’s a good thing, because I’m a lousy camera reviewer. So if that’s what you’re looking for, stop reading right now and hightail it over to one of the many excellent camera review sites instead. You know the ones. Just don’t forget to help support those reviewers’ growing families and camera collections by clicking through to one of their fine sponsoring vendors.

The Lumigraphe Lets You Shoot Smartphone Camera Obscura Shots On the Go

If you have ever dreamed of taking photographs through a camera obscura, then we have some great news for you! Former fashion photographer and inventor Valmont Achalme has designed the Lumigraphe, “a camera obscura for your smartphone”. The project is currently on Kickstarter seeking $49,276 with the promise of helping you capture “beautiful effects” starting around $100.

Happy Birthday, 5D! Canon’s Groundbreaking DSLR Line Turns 10 Today

In the world of photography, every once in a while an anniversary comes around that is worth recognizing. Today, Canon is celebrating the ten-year anniversary of its EOS 5D camera line, which was originally announced on August 22nd, 2005. The original 5D represented a significant evolution in the digital photography market by lowering the bar of entry for photographers interested in full-frame DSLR cameras.

Five Tips to Help You Take Your Street Photography to the Next Level

The art of street photography can be an extremely rewarding experience for photographers who are looking to capture the current state of the human condition. Candid street photography has allowed artists to capture the nature of the world and reflect on how society truly acts when it does believe it is being watched. If you’ve begun your venture into the world of street photography and already have a good handling of the basics, here are some tips to take your work to the next level.

Photoshop CC 2014 Keyboard Shortcut Cheat Sheet for Mac Users

Photographer John Coates wanted to become more familiar with the latest default Photoshop CC 2014 keyboard shortcuts, so he created a handy cheat sheet to use as an at-a-glance reference. It's designed for photographers who use Mac, and is of high enough resolution (2560×1440) to be used as the desktop background on many displays. You can download the file for yourself here (or here).

GoPro Camera Drone Will Be Released in 2016

GoPro is officially getting into the camera drone industry. After rumors had been swirling since late last year, GoPro founder and CEO Nick Woodman announced yesterday that the company is building its own quadcopter, and that the drone is set to launch in the first half of 2016.

This is the ‘Dehaze’ Tool Coming to Lightroom

At Adobe MAX 2014 last October, Adobe gave a tech preview of a new "dehaze" feature that it's currently developing that can seemingly magically remove haze from photos. Above is a new sneak peek video Adobe just posted that shows what's "coming soon to Lightroom CC."

StuckOnz Lets You Stick Your Phone to Solid Surfaces for Easy Self Portraits

StuckOnz may be the perfect solution for capturing your ideal self portrait without the need to carry around a clunky Selfie Stick. The new project on IndieGoGo aims to provide affordable “nano suction for phones, cases, and tablets”. For $5, you will receive a pad that allows you to stick your gizmos onto many different surfaces to help you get that perfect photograph you are seeking.

Chris Burkard on the Joy of Photographing Surfers in Freezing Waters

Chris Burkard is a California-based surf photographer who has shot for some of the biggest companies and publications in the world. After years of shooting on popular, sun-soaked beaches and making a living through his "dream job," Burkard began to yearn for beaches that weren't dominated by tourists and the comforts of civilization. So, he began traveling to remote -- and often frigid -- shores around the world for surf photos that are off the beaten path.

This Telescope Uses 10 Canon Lenses Worth $100,000

Now here's a neat use of Canon's lenses: the University of Toronto owns one of the smallest professional astronomical telescopes in the world that uses an array of photographic camera lenses instead of a single lens. Called the Dragonfly Telephoto Array, it uses ten ordinary Canon 400mm f/2.8L IS II lenses that cost $9,999 each. That's $100,000 in photo gear.

TEKNIQ is a Three-in-One Camera Bag That Lets You Decide What You Need To Carry

A new startup company, TEKNIQ Photo, believes that you are carrying around too many camera bags and that they have the perfect solution. TEKNIQ is a modular camera bag that is designed to act as three in one - a backpack, a sling, and a messenger. The project itself has launched on KickStarter, where the company is seeking $50,000 to proceed with manufacturing.

How to Get Squirrels to Use Props in a Photo Shoot

Freelance photographer Max Ellis of Teddington, UK, has received quite a bit of attention as of late for his ongoing Squirrelismo project, which features portraits of squirrels posing with various props. We caught up with Ellis to find out the secrets behind his viral pictures.

The Futility of Ranking Top Wedding Photographers

Have you ever found yourself in the following situation? You are researching wedding photographers, either as a prospective client or as a photographer scoping out the competition, and encounter the following:

Opinion: Richard Prince is a Jerk

There are many people who have studied and understand the art world better than me. But there is one thing that I’m sure of: Richard Prince is a jerk.

SmartChutes is a Safety Parachute That Can Save the Life of Your Camera Drone

Aerial photography drones are highly useful pieces of technology that help us to broaden our visual horizons. However, popular consumer drones, from companies such as DJI, can cost well over a thousand dollars - something you certainly want to be careful with while flying. A new product on Kickstarter, SmartChutes, believes that they can help you to protect your drone in the event of a catastrophic mechanical failure or pilot error.

Film vs Digital: A Comparison of Pros and Cons

In a world in which photographs are primarily taken with digital image sensors, there are a growing number of photographers who are newly interested in film formats of the past. But why would anyone in our age of technological convenience still choose to shoot with analog film?