2015

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This Leica M ‘Null Series’ Camera Kit Costs More Than a Luxury Automobile

How much would you pay to celebrate 100 years of Leica photography? The Leica Store in Miami recently asked that question and found over 100 people who were willing to pay out $55,000 for a limited edition ‘Leica M Set’. Now, Leica is asking that same question yet again, but with a pre-production camera set from an even more finite collection... and a much higher price tag.

Ricoh Theta S: A New 360° Spherical Camera With Live Streaming

Ricoh has announced the new Theta S, the latest in the company’s lineup of 360-degree cameras. The Theta S features two 12 MP sensors that interpolate with each other to output high-resolution 14.4 MP spherical still images or full 1080p HD video at 30fps. The device is also capable of streaming live video via its built-in USB or HDMI port and is compatible with Google’s Street View technology.

Google Street View Now Has Its Own App on Android, 360° Photo Sharing

Google set out in 2007 to create an ambitious effort called Street View: a project aimed at providing panoramic views of individual streets around the world. The unique feature, which has since been copied by other mapping services, has, on Android devices, lived within the Google Maps app. Now, however, Street View is breaking free into its own separate application, and it includes a few features for capturing and sharing your own photospheres.

Running a 10K Mud Obstacle Race with a Nikon DSLR in Hand

Photographer Raymesh Cintron recently ran the Titans Race 10K ultimate outdoor challenge in Puerto Rico, an intense endurance challenge that's filled with mud and water. While competing, Cintron also carried along his Nikon DSLR and GoPro camera to document the race. Needless to say, he's is a firm believer in the idea that camera equipment should be used rather than babied.

Agree.com Helps Take the Pain Out of Photography Contracts

Nothing seems to be a more tedious task than the need to fill out paperwork. Especially if the paperwork has to be sent back and forth between you and a client multiple times. Luckily, Agree.com is a website that aims at making contracts easy to compile and sign for photographers (and videographers, designers, and more). Let’s take a moment to try out the service and is if it delivers on its promise of simplicity.

The Epic Images of a Mountain Bike Photo Contest

Every year, Crankworx Whistler hosts a Deep Summer Photo Challenge that pits six elite mountain biking photographers against each other. The shooters have three days to put together the best and most epic slideshow they can, and the results are judged by a panel of judges, the audience at the event, and online voters. Two photographers each walk away from Whistler, British Columbia, with a $3,500 prize.

Over 1,500 Free 4K Stock Video Clips, All Courtesy of a Single Cinematographer

Mitch Martinez is a Philadelphia-based director of photography and cinematographer. Over the past 2.5 years, he has been working on building a free library of 4K stock footage. Since its inception in January 2013, the collection of clips has become an impressive resource: the 1,500+ clips have been downloaded over 300,000 times, and they been used by some of the largest companies in the world.

The Narrative 2 Lifelogging Camera Gets 1080p Video

Being able to capture and preserve memories is at the heart of everyday photography. In 2012, Narrative (then called Momento) took to Kickstarter to fund their new "lifelogging" camera that clips to a user and automatically captures a photo every 30 seconds. The second generation of the Narrative was then unveiled earlier this year. Today, Narrative announced that its second camera will also offer 1080p HD video recording when it's available later this month.

Panasonic Unveils the Lumix G 25mm f/1.7 and New Matte Black Color Option

Panasonic has introduced a brand new lens to their Micro Four Thirds system lineup at IFA 2015 in Berlin, along with color tweaks for three of their existing pieces of glass. The new Lumix G 25mm f/1.7 ASPH is making its debut, while the company’s existing 14-140mm f/3.5-5.6, 45-150mm f/4-5.6, and 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 will soon all be offered in a ‘matte black’ color finish.

Panasonic Unveils ‘V-Log’ Firmware, New GH4R That Shoots Unlimited 4K

Videographers wielding the Panasonic GH4 will be excited to learn that the company will soon be making a compelling new update available. Firmware version 2.3 will allow GH4 cameras to shoot with a new ‘V-Log’ recording mode that enables the camera to capture an additional 2-stops of dynamic range. The technology was previously shown off at NAB 2015 and is finally landing on consumer devices.

An Interview with Photographer Tina Barney

Tina Barney is one of the most acclaimed fine art photographers in the U.S. She became well known photographing her real family in Rhode Island, and making large color prints from these interactions. While still in the midst of a thriving career, she recently had an exhibition of her current and past works called Four Decades at the Paul Kasmin Gallery in New York.

LTD.RUN Makes Printing Photos as Posters as Easy as a Few Clicks

What is your process for quickly printing out a piece of your work? If you currently use a website to get the job done then it probably involves uploading your images, surfing through menus, making adjustments, selecting paper types, and more - quite a lengthy process. Now, LTD.RUN is here to make printing as simple as possible. Simply visit the website, upload your photograph, and you are good to go.

The ‘Campaign of the Selfie’ for the 2016 Elections

I’m a freelance creative director and professional photojournalist. When I’m shooting, I work quite a bit for the boutique picture agency, Polaris Images in NYC, although I do take a lot of other assignments. I shoot all kinds of assignments—news, features, portraits, and politics... lately, a lot of politics.

Comparing a VSCO Film Emulation to the Actual Film

I’ve been a user of VSCO Film for Lightroom for several years now. I’ve been happy with the results, but I wanted to see how close VSCO's settings are to actual film, so I decided to do my own tests.

In Newborn Photography, Butt Explosions Are Par for the Course

Newborn baby photographers often capture the same elements in their shots: a nude baby sleeping serenely as their doting parents' smile and gaze. What you don't often see, however, are the many unexpected accidents that happen. And there's one truth many baby photographers know very well: babies can't stop the shoot to request a bathroom break.

Adobe is Working on Automatic Distraction Removal Technology

Adobe's Content Aware Fill makes it easy to remove distracting elements in photos using Photoshop, but soon you may not have to. Computer vision scientists at Adobe and Princeton are working on a new technology called "distraction prediction" that can automatically find and remove distracting elements from photos.

Musings on the Power of Interpretation

Throughout your measure of time learning photography and shooting, have you ever reached a point of realization that there is hardly a place left on the planet that you can shoot where someone else hasn’t already? Especially the most remarkable places, we find they have been packaged up, guard rails erected, and signs posted that welcome us while at the same time restrain our ability to capture a unique perspective.

The One Thing Apple Understands is Photography

Only a Luddite would still categorize Apple as a computer company. Indeed, the company officially changed its name in 2007, dropping “Computer” and simply settling for “Apple, Inc.” Still, most people probably think of Apple as the maker of the iPhone and iPad, and to a lesser extent as the company that makes MacBooks and iMacs.

This Guy Taped a Superman Action Figure to a Drone

The latest Superman movie Man of Steel had an estimated budget of $225 million. Camera drone owner and retoucher Barry Craig’s latest Superman short film cost quite a bit less. For a bit of fun, Craig attached a superman action figure to a DJI Phantom 3 drone and took it for a spin over Victoria Park in London. Turn up your speakers to hear a bit of the official Superman soundtrack and enjoy thirty seconds of pure joy. Maybe this will hold us over until DC Universe releases the next feature …

Idea: Use a Car as a DIY Smoke Machine Outdoors

While shooting a recent series titled American Made, Los Angeles-based lifestyle and advertising photographer Caleb Kuhl needed a dusty scene, so he had someone drive an SUV around to serve as a DIY smoke machine. Above is a 2-minute behind-the-scenes video of the shoot.

7 Things I Learned from My Portfolio Review

Last weekend I went to the small city of Ballarat in Australia for the Ballarat International Foto Biennale. I took a portfolio of prints of my most recent project with me in the hope I would get some nudges in the right direction. I also took part in a one-day workshop led by the very experienced and inspirational Stephen Dupont. While it’s still fresh in my mind, here is what I learned from the experience.

On Feeling Inadequate as a Photographer

My life is pretty good. I live in one of the coolest cities in the world (Toronto), I have a lot of close friends, good family, an amazing girlfriend who loves me, and I’m beginning to think my photography business is sustainable after almost five years of hard work. I’m happier now than I have been for most of my life. But here’s the reality: I am just a blue collar photographer.

This is Wedding Photographer Sam Hurd’s Impressive Backup Workflow

Washington D.C.-based wedding photographer Sam Hurd has quite a wild backup system for his clients' images. In an article and video Hurd posted on his blog, he explains the extensive setup behind his apocalyptical-style backup protection. If you thought you had your files well protected, you might feel otherwise after watching this (unless you're careful to the same degree).