Ep. 242: Predictions for 2018…and Where I Missed in 2017 – and more
Episode 242 of the PetaPixel Photography Podcast.
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Featured: Photographer Alex Huff
The 10 Most Popular PetaPixel Posts of 2017
2017 is coming to a close. As we close out the year, here's a look back at the top 10 posts that received the most attention on PetaPixel.
This Guy Made an 8×10 Large Format Video Camera
Photographer Zev Hoover has created a rather unusual camera: it's one of the world's first 8x10 large format video cameras.
This Wildlife Photographer Waits Over a Week for the ‘Perfect Shot’
Wildlife photography often requires a great deal of patience, and one photographer who has mastered the art of waiting is Belgian wildlife photographer Michel d'Oultremont. Here's an 11-minute short film titled "The Wait" by Contra Agency that follows d'Oultremont in his pursuit of the "perfect shot."
I Turned IKEA Products Into Costumes for a Rembrandt Photo Shoot
I recently shot the 2017 Christmas card photo for Stavanger Foto, the passionate camera store on the west coast of Norway. Being granted full creative freedom in making the card, I went back to the old masters for inspiration.
‘Retrographic’ Colorizes Some of History’s Most Famous B&W Photos
Digital colorizations of historical photos have gotten quite a bit of attention in recent years. Retrographic is a new photo book that brings this concept to physical pages. It's a collection of some of the world's most well-known black-and-white historical photos transformed into living color.
6 Reasons You Need a 135mm f/2 Lens
Image quality, weight and value for money. We have come to accept that most lenses are strong in only one or two of these three factors, which I personally focus on when researching lenses to buy. Sometimes though, we stumble upon a great lens design which is strong in all three.
I Shoot Instax Photos That Document Victims of Violence in Chicago
In 2016, there were 762 murders in Chicago, the most by far anywhere in the United States -- more than the total of New York and Los Angeles combined. This year there have already been over 600 homicides. I was born and raised in Canada, where there are fewer murders in the entire country than Chicago has in one year.
BTS: Shooting the Cast of Frozen for Vanity Fair
After earning over $1.2 billion around the world and becoming a cultural phenomenon, Disney's Frozen will soon be reborn as a Broadway musical. Photographer Andrew Eccles was tasked by Vanity Fair to capture portraits of the cast, and the 1-minute video above is a behind-the-scenes look at the photo shoot.
7 Reasons Why the Ricoh GR is the Perfect Travel Companion (For Now)
My name is Hendrik Wieduwilt, and I'm a journalist and photographer based in Berlin, Germany. I went to Cuba with a full frame DSLR and ended up deliberately using only a compact, the Ricoh GR -- and not even the latest version (the almost identical GR II).
Apple Apologizes for Slowing Down Aging iPhones
Apple has just issued a public apology for slowing down aging iPhones. The company originally admitted to the slowdown last week, sparking outrage and a flurry of lawsuits against the company.
Ep. 241: Four or More…and It’s Yours – and more
Episode 241 of the PetaPixel Photography Podcast.
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Featured: Amber and Garrette Baird of Gear, Glasses and Gadgets
3D Printing Your Photo as a Lithophane
Want an interesting idea for turning your digital photo into something tangible that you can hold? Look into the lithophane, the centuries-old technique of carving an image into a piece of translucent material to create a 3D image. Photographer Daniel DeArco recently turned a photo into a lithophane with 3D printing, and he documented the experience in the 4-minute video above.
JOBY’s New GorillaPod Mobile Rig Has New Arms for Accessories
JOBY today announced a new GorillaPod model called the GorillaPod Mobile Rig. It's a flexible tripod that builds upon the original classic by adding more arms for holding more accessories.
Shutterstock Bans Unnatural Photos of Apes and Monkeys
Shutterstock has banned all unnatural photos of apes and monkeys. The move by the world's largest subscription-based stock-photo agency comes in response to an appeal by the animal rights organization PETA.
How to Brighten Portraits in Photoshop in Just 2 Minutes
There are different techniques you can use in Photoshop to brighten up a dark and dull portrait. This 4-minute tutorial by PHLEARN shows a 2-minute technique that avoids desaturated, unnatural skin tones.
Instagram Recommends Photos in Your Feed Now, Users Aren’t Happy
Instagram is now rolling out a new "Recommended Posts" feature widely to its users. It suggests photos and videos for you directly in your feed from people you don't follow. Instead, the suggested content will be based on what people you follow have liked.
How to Shoot Epic Wide-Angle Photos of Trees
Trees invoke a sense of timelessness, of grandeur. Most species grow many centuries older than humans ever will, so let’s make trees look the part with these tips on capturing them with a wide-angle lens.
Rare WWII Zeiss German Fighter Plane Gun Camera: Yours for $7,000
Want an unusual camera that you can pretty much guarantee that no one around you has? A rare World War II German "gun camera" has popped up over on eBay. It's a Zeiss Ikon camera that was mounted to fighter planes to shoot dogfights.
These Guns Are Made of Camera Gear
Photographer Jason Siegel is still using old camera equipment to share an anti-violence message in a creative way. Since we featured his work at the beginning of 2017, Siegel has created even more guns and weapons of war using various cameras, lenses, and accessories for his project Shoot Portraits, Not People.
Interview: NASA Astronaut Randy Bresnik on Photography from the ISS
Astronaut photographers on the International Space Station have dazzled us for years with eye-popping photos and videos shot from orbit. To learn more behind-the-scenes details of photography on the space station, photographer Jared Polin interviewed NASA astronaut Randy Bresnik.
Obsessively Taking Selfies is Now a Real Mental Disorder Called ‘Selfitis’
In 2014, a viral story being circulated online reported that the American Psychiatric Association (APA) had coined "selfitis" as a new mental disorder for people who obsessively shoot and share selfies online. That story turned out to be a hoax, but it sparked new research. Now, three years later, selfitis is real.
When an Email Scammer Poses as a Famous Photographer…
Forget Nigerian princes: email scammers are now pretending to be famous photographers looking for collaborators. Photographer Michael Glenn just received an email from someone claiming to be the well-known American photographer Jill Greenberg.
This 52 Week Challenge will Improve Your Photography Skills in 2018
If you're looking to improve your photography skills in 2018, doing a year-long photo challenge is a great way to stay motivated with ideas and inspiration. Photographer Dale Foshe has put together a new 52 week photography challenge for 2018.
Tamron Launches VIP Club for Photogs Who Own 4+ Lenses
Tamron has announced a new perk plan for loyal photographed who have purchased four or more Tamron lenses. It's called the VIP Club, and it'll be officially launching on February 15th, 2018.
darktable Brings Its Free, Open Source Lightroom Alternative to Windows
If you're looking for a cheaper alternative to Lightroom for managing and processing your raw photos, there's some good news: the free and open source software darktable is now finally available for Windows users.
This Instagram Husband is an Image of True Love
An Instagram husband is being celebrated as a shining example of true love this week thanks to a set of viral photos showing him photographing his wife over the Christmas holidays.
Making Collodion From Scratch
A few days ago, for the first time ever in my experience with wet plate photography, I mixed up collodion from scratch. I thought I'd share about the experience.
My Sad 500px Christmas Story
On December 22nd, I received an email from 500px saying that I sold a photo for $600. Obviously, I was thrilled -- it's nice to get something like this right before Christmas. Upon logging into my 500px account, I saw that there was another sale too for the same photo. The total from the two sales: $2,700.
Google’s New AI Can Score Photos on Technical and Aesthetic Quality
Google has introduced a new AI system that's trained to rate photos on whether or not they are good technically and attractive aesthetically. It's called NIMA, or Neural Image Assessment
Here’s a Time-Lapse of SpaceX’s ‘UFO’ Rocket Launch
SpaceX launched its Falcon 9 rocket from Southern California last Friday, lighting up the sky and freaking out people who thought they were seeing a UFO. Photographer Jesse Watson of Yuma, Arizona, managed to capture this beautiful 40-second time-lapse of what the spectacle looked like.
5 Tips for Photographing in Harsh Midday Sunlight
You may have a favorite time of day to do an outdoor photo shoot, but sometimes you might not have the luxury of picking the perfect time and lighting conditions. Here's a 4-minute video from photographer Kayleigh June that details a number of ways you can cope with harsh light from a midday sun.
Ep. 240: Is Apple Causing You to Miss the Shot? – and more
Episode 240 of the PetaPixel Photography Podcast.
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Featured: Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist, Nikon Ambassador and Think Tank Photo co-founder, Deanne Fitzmaurice
Microsoft Paid ‘Bliss’ Photog $100K+ and ‘Autumn’ Photog $45
The iconic default Microsoft XP wallpaper "Bliss" is considered to be the most-viewed photo of all time. While Microsoft paid the photographer behind that photo over $100,000 for the usage, a different photographer who shot the well-known "Autumn" wallpaper earned just $45.
A Review of the $9,000 Medium Format Hasselblad X1D by Kai Wong
The $9,000 Hasselblad X1D medium format mirrorless camera contains the best performing sensor in the world, at least according to the folks over at DxOMark. Kai Wong just released this informative and lighthearted 8-minute review of this monster camera.
Imatag Uses Invisible Watermarks to Protect Your Photos
Imatag is a new service that uses invisible watermarks to protect photographs from copyright infringement. With the development of AI technology that can easily remove physical watermarks, more covert solutions could be a solution for photographers looking to identify and prove ownership of copied images online.
Homeland Security is Looking to Hire a Photographer for Up to $104K a Year
Miss out on that $100,000 a year job working for the government in the same role Ansel Adams had? Another lucrative US government photography job opening has opened up: the Department of Homeland Security is now looking for a photographer for its Secretary.
Review: Sony Gets It Right with the FE 24-105mm f/4 G Lens
Here's one of the first in-depth reviews of the new Sony FE 24-105mm f/4 G OSS lens, comparing it for reference to the Sony FE 24-70mm f/4 and Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L lenses using precise and reliable measurements.
Testing the Sony a7R III’s Eye AF Using Canon Lenses
The Sony A7R III boasts some impressive and improved autofocus features. The Eye Autofocus mode is great for locking onto your target, but The Brotographer found that it didn't work perfectly in the previous a7R II with adapted lenses. In this 12-minute video, however, he reveals major improvements for adapted Canon glass on the latest Sony camera.
Apple Admits It Slows Down Older iPhones: Here’s Why
The iPhone has become the digital camera of choice for hundreds of millions of people around the world these days, but if you've used your iPhone for more than a year or two, you may have noticed a slowdown in performance. Apple has just admitted that it intentionally slows down aging iPhones, but there's a non-sinister reason for that.
Photo Book Publisher Steidl Ordered to Return 49 Lost Prints
The well-known German international photo book publisher Steidl has been ordered by a German court to return 49 lost proofs of the man's photos.
Essentials of an Antarctic Expedition Photographer
If you like "things organized neatly" photos of camera gear, check this one out -- it includes the photographer himself. This photo shows John Bozinov's essentials as an Antarctic expedition photographer.
Ep. 239: Well, We Didn’t See That Coming! – and more
Episode 239 of the PetaPixel Photography Podcast.
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Featured: ZEISS Ambassador, Dany Eid
Yongnuo 14mm f/2.8: An Ultra-Wide-Angle Autofocus Lens
There will soon be a new option for people looking for an affordable ultra-wide-angle lens. Yongnuo is reportedly set to launch a 14mm f/2.8 lens with autofocus capabilities.
The 20 Most Expensive Photos Sold at Auction (As of 2017)
As one of the more "recent" art forms, photography’s popularity in the art market has grown and grown, with the highest amount paid for a photograph sticking at $838,000 in 1999 until being bumped off the top spot 4 years later with a sale of $922,488, and then again 2 years later when the first million-dollar photograph was sold for $1,248,000.
Photographing the SpaceX CRS-13 Rocket Launch
On December 15th, SpaceX launched their 13th commercial resupply mission to the International Space Station for NASA. This launch was special for many reasons. First, I was the first time NASA has been willing to use a SpaceX flight proven booster.
5 Street Photos to Look Out For While Commuting to Work
If your job is keeping you busy and away from dedicated street photography, you may still be able to exercise your creative muscles during your trip to and from the office. Here's a 2-minute video by photographer Alan Ruic with a handful of street photos you can take while commuting to work.
Review: Annie Leibovitz’s MasterClass is a Disappointment
When MasterClass announced Annie Leibovitz Teaches Photography, I was pumped. I'd already taken the James Patterson Teaches Writing MasterClass and loved it. In just a few hours, I got a crash-course in fiction writing with plenty of actionable tips I still use every single day. So when MasterClass finally released Annie's class on December 14, I yelled: "Take my money!"
This is What Happens When You Microwave a DSLR Camera
The folks at Daytripper Photo recently decided to find out what happens when you microwave a DSLR camera in the name of science. The 11-minute video above documents how the Nikon D60 and 18-135mm lens fared (spoiler: not well).
Idaho Gets First International Dark Sky Reserve in the United States
Looking for exceptionally dark skies in the United States? It seems Idaho is the place to visit. A large patch of land in central Idaho has just been designated the first International Dark Sky Reserve in the country, and it's one of only 12 such reserves on Earth.