April 2016

The Anatomy of a Newspaper Feature Portrait Shoot

I had a great opportunity to do a “behind the scenes” of a recent portrait feature shoot which my very good friend Daniel Hambury was doing for the London Evening Standard. In fact I was mainly assisting, but couldn’t pass up the opportunity to document what happens as it’s something I’ve always been intensely interested in.

You Have Access to All the Means of Production, Don’t Be Afraid

I just finished reading Karl Marx’s “Capital” and “The Communist Manifesto”—and I was so amazed to see how modern a lot of his ideas are.

I think one of the biggest things I took away from his book is the idea that we are being estranged from our labor—that we no longer have the control of the “means of production”, and what that means is that we no longer have the ability to have control over what we produce.

The Striking and Surreal Photoshop Creations of Vincent Bourilhon

At just 23 years old, Paris-based photographer and Photoshop artist Vincent Bourilhon is already showing more creative chops than some artists two and three times his age. His striking, surreal Photoshop creations explore the meaning and function of everyday objects in strange new ways.

New Photos of Upcoming Fuji X-T2 Leaked

If you're a big Fuji fan, chances are you're waiting with bated breath for the official announcement of the much-rumored X-T2. But while the news hasn't dropped just yet, new images of the upcoming shooter just leaked!

It Never Hurts To Ask: How Great Photo Projects are Born

Behind the lens, I am no longer Ben Helton, married father-of-2 living in the South. Camera in hand, I become invisible and free: a blank canvas in attendance to take in and document the experience around me as it unfolds.

Romantic Engagement Shoot Photobombed by LARPers

Nothing like a bit of surprise weaponry and armor to transform a romantic photoshoot into something else entirely. That's what happened to Alex of Alexandria Photography when, in the middle of a romantic engagement shoot, she and her clients were photobombed by an enthusiastic group of LARPers!

How to Shoot Psychedelic Spirograph Light Paintings

One of my favourite places to light paint is inside tunnels, waterways and other curved structures. These structures are perfect for creating spirograph light paintings.

43 Amateurish Tips for Shooting Better Images

Get to know people, forget the rules, don't read books on composition, embrace imperfection, print your photos, and more... Here are 43 amateurish tips for capturing better images.

Geometric and Surreal Aerial Photos of Swimming Pools

The subject of German photographer Stephan Zirwes' series Pools is self-explanatory. But while any straight-down, aerial images of pools captured from a helicopter might make for an interesting photo subject, Zirwes' surreal twist to the images adds something extra.

The Power of Shutter Speed In Two Photographs

Shutter speed is one of the first elements of photography that you learn as a beginner. Learning how to control your camera’s shutter speed to make sure your images are sharp and well exposed is Photography 101. Learning how to use shutter speed creatively to manipulate the look and feel of an image is something else entirely, and something that I continue to experiment with a lot.

No More Chimping: Leica Reveals the LCD-Free Leica M-D (Typ 262)

Leica has just debuted the much-anticipated and much-rumored Leica M-D (Typ 262). It's the first production M-Series Leica that leaves out the LCD screen—a camera for photographers with a love of simplicity, a dislike of chimping, and a desire to live in the past and future of photography simultaneously.

Images Made by Cutting and Weaving Two Prints Together

In some sense, you could call photographer Jason Chen's latest work multiple exposures. Except that, instead of capturing two images on a single frame of film, he's literally weaving together two prints in a fascinating exploration of "time, movement, process, and mutation."

This Soviet 1,100mm Lens is Basically a Telescope with a Camera Mount

Ever wanted to strap a portable telescope to the end of your camera and carry it around? With the soviet-made MTO 1000A 1,100mm f/10.5 mirror lens, you can just about do it. A monster of a lens, Christopher Frost Photography put it through its paces for one of his Weird Lens Reviews.

Shooting and Developing a 70+ Year Old Roll of Kodak Plus-X

I found them on the bottom of a box in a New Jersey antique shop filled with photographic junk from years gone by. They were just sitting there, four faded yellow boxes mixed in with haze covered filters, dirty lens caps, ancient darkroom thermometers and broken cable releases.

Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II Will be Tuned for Sports Photography, Report

It's been nearly three years since Olympus debuted the popular OM-D E-M1 to the world in September of 2013, but those hoping for a replacement may not have to wait much longer. According to fresh reports, the E-M1 Mark II is set to debut at Photokina touting better sports photo capability.