We know the maxim: the best camera is the one you have with you. We do not carry our cameras everywhere all the time, and when we come across something we want to capture, we reach for the only image capture device we have with us—the phone camera.
I'm old. Believe me, I know it. I'll be 70 in a few months. That fact may make it hard for you to take me seriously, but bear with me for just this post. With age comes wisdom, right? What I want to write here is that I think the field of photography by those making art is changing in a disturbing way. Read on.
In March 2015, the Hong Kong-based company MiNT shook up the world of instant photography by announcing the InstantFlex TL70, an Instax instant camera that looks and feels like a vintage Rolleiflex twin-lens reflex camera. Today the company just announced the new InstantFlex TL 2.0, a followup camera with noticeable improvements.
Many of of us have done it: rather than enjoying that amazing concert or live event you're at, you pull out your camera and end up watching most of it through the LCD screen. Well, pop star Adele ain't havin' it, especially if you go so far as to set up a tripod.
I have to admit, when I first started my photography business I didn’t think it was going to be that difficult. I thought I’d get a camera, take some photos, put some stuff out on Facebook and people would start hiring me. They would give me money, I would give them photos—done deal! How tough could it be?
10 months after its historic Pluto fly-by, the New Horizons spacecraft has finally finished sending back "the most detailed photos of Pluto's terrain you'll see for a very long time," according to NASA.
"To me, photography is the simultaneous recognition, in a fraction of a second, of the significance of an event." — Henri Cartier Bresson
Nikon may be planning to get serious about mirrorless cameras, and soon. Online 'chatter' about the camera is beginning to increase, and Nikon officially registered a new digital camera in Indonesia just yesterday.
The Dallas Museum of Art is currently running an exhibition titled "Irving Penn: Beyond Beauty," the first retrospective of Penn's work in nearly two decades. If you're unable to see the show, which contains over 140 of the late photographer's photos, check out the fantastic 13-minute video above by The Art of Photography.
The sketch comedy group SketchShe made this humorous short titled "#InstaFaker Vs #InstaReality." Viewed over 70 million times so far online, the video shows the reality behind picture-perfect photos posted with cliche hashtags. Does this video accurately depict you or someone you know?
In space, you don't need a tripod or selfie stick to shoot a remote self-portrait. Nikon Iran recently posted this video of an astronaut in zero gravity placing his Nikon DSLR at arms length and then using the floating camera to snap a shot.
Jason P. Howe is a self-taught photographer who started documenting the conflict in Colombia starting in 2001. Since then, he has traveled to many countries around the world, documenting conflicts on the front lines. "Hoka Hey" is an upcoming documentary film about Howe's life and work.
Steve McCurry has responded to the recent hoopla surrounding his Photoshopped photos. The famed photographer explains that he's now a "visual storyteller" rather than a photojournalist, but says he will "rein in his use of Photoshop" going forward to remove any confusion.
This past weekend marked the first birthday of Google Photos, the long-awaited standalone photo hosting and sharing service that was announced back on May 28, 2015. To celebrate the occasion, Google has some interesting facts and helpful tips for you.
As the world's fastest land animal, the cheetah's body is designed for speeds up to 70 mph (~113 km/h). To see what these breakneck sprinting speeds look like from a cheetah's point of view, a zoo recently decided to strap a GoPro camera to one cheetah's back.
Episode 76 of the PetaPixel Photography Podcast.
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Featured: Wedding and portrait photographer, Marius Igas
During the Podbrdská Rally Legend 2016 rally car event earlier this month in the Czech Republic, driver Martin Kdér had a rollover accident while taking a turn. His onboard dash cam dropped out of the car during the accident, and it ended up capturing an unexpected shot of the car flying through the air.
Lightning strikes are usually so brief that their tiny details aren't noticed by the human eye. Capture lightning at 7,000 frames per second, however, and all kinds of crazy details emerge. That's what you'll see in the 45-second video above.
NASA, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and Wisconsin are teaming up for the largest wildlife trail camera project ever launched. It involves blanketing the state with up to 5,000 strategically deployed, motion-sensing cameras.
The Drawing Room created this 8-minute mini-documentary about the work of photographer Lori Nix and Kathleen Gerber, a duo now known as Nix+Gerber. They're widely known for creating and capturing ultra-realistic miniature worlds.
AP photographer Ben Curtis recently captured a photograph seen round the world. A brutal and shocking image that has sparked outrage and forced Kenya's police chief to launch an internal investigation. (Warning: Some of the content in the video above is graphic. Proceed at your own risk.)
Photographers are always telling each other to print their photos, but at the same time, services keep springing up that let you do the exact opposite: digitize your prints. Photomyne is one of these services, a feature-rich smartphone app that lets you turn your old prints into digital files faster than anything else out there.
Jens Lennartsson is a photographer and writer who travels the world to tell stories. In the 2.5-minute video above, he shares how he creates all of his work with what he calls "the smallest photo office in the world."
If you want to capture 3D with your GoPro camera without dropping hundreds of dollars on an extra Hero camera and a 3D housing, then you definitely need to check out the soon-to-be-released Vitrima 3D lens.
When I heard the news that my town (Glens Falls, NY ) was hosting an event called Pet Fest, I knew I had to be there. My girlfriend, Emily, suggested that we set up a pet photo booth at the event and the idea took off.
Ray Soemarsono of Apertura is a wedding photographer from Southern California who has received major accolades and awards for his work. More recently, Soemarsono has been receiving attention for a different kind of photography: photos shot inside the virtual world of a video game.
GoPro broke one of its big rules to share this short documentary. It is one of the only GoPro videos you'll ever see that isn't shot entirely on the company's own cameras, but once you watch it you'll understand why.
Maternity photos are often idealized, showing radiant mothers-to-be cradling their bellies in serene environments and ethereal light. Lifestyle photographer Danielle Guenther decided to shed some light on the other end of the spectrum: her new project, "What the Bump," is a look at the not-so-glamorous side of pregnancy.
These are not Photoshop creations and they are not double exposures. In a world of digital manipulation, Hungarian photographer Judit Cholnoky's portrait series Fading Memories is a beautiful example of the power of film photography and alternative processing.
There comes a moment in time when every photographer or film maker has to reach out to the expert who knows every part of their camera or lens. Whether their gear needs to be revitalized, repaired, restored, reinvented or simply serviced it is these expert technicians that work behind tools to keep you doing what you love to do.
360° video and virtual reality headsets have made it possible to experience situations you would never in a thousand years want to see first-hand, and high on that list is driving up to or getting steamrolled by a powerful tornado.
It happened. Seven months after announcing the planned acquisition and one quarter ahead of schedule, Western Digital has officially acquired SanDisk, "creating a global leader in storage technology."
Episode 75 of the PetaPixel Photography Podcast.
Download MP3 - Subscribe via iTunes, Google Play, email or RSS!
Featured: Around the Lens host, David J. Murphy
Planetary Resources, the company behind the ARKYD Kickstarter that promised you the chance to take a 'space selfie' for just $25, announced today that it is cancelling the project and will refund all $1.5 million raised in 2013.
Congratulations are in order for all of us couch potatoes: thanks to four incredible, dedicated sherpas, we can now 'climb' to the top of the tallest mountain on Earth from the comfort of the nearest recliner.
Since picking up a camera as a teenager several years ago and shooting her first snapshots of her dog, Polish photographer Alicja Zmysłowska has become a well-known dog photographer whose work has been published internationally.
Did you know that you can actually track, cent-for-cent, the amount of ink you use to print your professional photographs? Well, if you have the Canon Accounting Manager software and a compatible photo printer, you can.
This is an older video, published back in February of 2015, but the lesson is timeless. The video's creators call it "the one thing holding you back from compositional perfection," and it's this: style to the camera.
Curious what film would work best in any particular situation? Or where you can send that film off to be developed? Or where to buy more film if you're running low? If you shoot Kodak, the company's Professional Film App can answer all of these questions and more.
Much has been written about the Steve McCurry Photoshop scandal since we originally reported on the story earlier this month. The NPPA Ethics Committee writes that the new revelations have "triggered a troubling reexamination of McCurry’s storied 40-year career."
There's a simple, obvious power housed inside of a photograph. Even a poorly lit snapshot captured at arm's length with a few friends squeezed uncomfortably into the frame, even it is immeasurably precious because it contains the seeds of a memory.
Adobe announced today that the next Photoshop CC update will contain a brand new feature called Content-Aware Crop. It will let help to fill in gaps in your photos while you're using the crop tool to rotate images or expand canvases. The 2-minute video above is a sneak peek demo at this powerful tool.
What do you get when you mix a few nerdy, talented videographers with some exceptionally skilled racing drone pilots? An epic tie fighter/X-wing aerial battle shot using drones and Star Wars toys of course!
In 2014, filmmaker Tom Leveritt used an ultraviolet camera to show people their skin like they'd never seen it before. Now, you can do the same thing with the Sunscreenr: a tiny, waterproof UV camera that is meant to keep you slathering on sunscreen by showing you when you've used enough and where it's worn off.
Earlier this week, reports that the old Sigma 85mm f/1.4 EX DG HSM lens had been discontinued sparked a lot of speculation that Sigma was preparing to release an Art version of the popular focal length. Now, one report is confirming this speculation.
One morning last December, I woke up and noticed that a dream of mine came true: I had taken a picture that went viral. A picture I took at a friend’s wedding had been shared by UNILAD on Facebook with the caption “Best wedding photo ever.”
Want to see what goes into a $11,000 Canon telephoto zoom lens? This image shows what the Canon EF 200-400mm f/4L IS looks like when you disassemble it into its individual components and arrange those parts out neatly.
We already knew Chinese electronics brand Xiaomi would be releasing a drone today, but we were only hoping that it would be the first truly affordable UAV on the market. Well, Xiaomi has confirmed our hopes.
The airline Emirates is a sponsor of the French Open championship in tennis, and one of its advertisements at the tennis matches is an aerial camera in the shape of an Airbus A380.
Making an iconic landmark 'disappear' might seem like the purview of magicians, but it's street artist and photographer JR who gets the glory this time around. Through clever use of massive photo prints, he managed to make the iconic Louvre Pyramid 'disappear' into the Museum behind it.
