2019

A team of researchers at MIT have created a new AI algorithm that can help cameras "see" off-camera things using only moving shadows.

For my latest project, "we are the dead," I decided to build a room in which to shoot my pictures. I had absolutely no idea how to do this, but there were some facts I needed to consider.

Telephoto lenses and landscape photography may seem an odd pairing. Telephotos are more at home in the hands of wildlife, sports, and portrait photographers. They’re used to get close to the subject, help to compress perspective (cue the comments on "lens compression is a myth") and isolate distracting elements.

Our friends over at COOPH have put together a fun video that might just inspire you to break out the umbrella for a fun photo shoot this weekend. The rapid-fire video goes through 5 creative photo "hacks" that you can do with a spare umbrella and a few other odds and ends like fairy lights, aluminum foil, and duct tape.

The US Government is being sued by two documentary filmmaking organizations over new visa registration rules that require applicants to divulge any and all social media handles--including pseudonyms--that they've used over the past 5 years. The lawsuit claims that the new rules constitute "unconstitutional surveillance" and could even put foreign filmmakers in danger.

Photokina is keen to remind you that (1) it is still the industry's "leading trade fair," and (2) trade fairs are still relevant, even if Nikon, Leica, and Olympus dropped out of Photokina 2020. In a press release published last night, the show quotes Canon, Sony and Panasonic executives as they "confirmed their commitment" to the 2020 expo during conversations with Photokina organizers in Tokyo.

Respected spaceflight photographer John Kraus was on hand yesterday to watch and capture the latest SpaceX Falcon 9 launch in Florida. But he didn't just capture one view, he captured three.

If you've bought into the L-Mount, Sigma just added two very compelling new primes to your list of lens options. The Sigma 40mm f/1.4 Art and 105mm f/1.4 Art 'bokeh master' are both dropping two weeks from today on December 20th, just in time for an end-of-year pick-me-up for your Sigma fp, Panasonic S1 or Leica SL2.

Ah, the night, what a wonderful time to go out and do some street photography! As a photographer who got his start in the streets of Tokyo, it was inevitable that I would end up photographing mostly at night.

Photography podcast The Group Chat has only released one episode since it was launched a few days ago, and yet it's already receiving a good bit of attention among photographers. Why? Because they chose slam a very profitable and widespread practice in the industry: the sale of presets.

In a recent interview with DPReview, Olympus VP of Sales and Marketing Aki Murata laid out the company's market position quite eloquently, explaining why (and how) Olympus intends to compete in a camera market that is increasingly focused on full-frame.

If photography is your chosen career path or even just a hobby, at some point, someone is going to ask you to take some photographs in exchange for a paycheck.

For Canon, Nikon, and Panasonic, 2018-2019 was the first year where they all truly "went for it" when it comes to full-frame mirrorless. All three released full-frame mirrorless cameras, and all three seemed to have different priorities with those releases. In this first of three segments, we're going to take a look at each of these companies in their first year and evaluate where each of them stands today in what is now a very competitive market.

17-years-old photographer Ariel Fields is something of a wunderkind. Still four years away from being able to drink legally (in the US at least), the young wildlife photographer and 2019 Adobe Rising Star is already making a name for himself in a genre dominated by veteran shooters with decades of experience.

Qualcomm has officially unveiled its next generation smartphone chipset--the Snapdragon 865--and if the specs are to be believed, smartphone cameras are going to get a whole lot more powerful next year.

The intersection of art and science can be a beautiful place, a point that's made very clear by the online video project Envisioning Chemistry. In their latest creation, you can watch a chemical reaction ripple through a petri dish, a beautiful example of an "oscillation reaction."

It’s the most wonderful time of the year! Streets are filled with joyful songs and gorgeous light displays. Some Christmas trees and illuminations are so large that photographing them can be tricky. Next are some tips and composition ideas, with examples, that can help you take better photos this holiday season.

A few years ago, I saw an article on water-damaged film that claimed the damage was due to bacteria and fungus eating the film. Having a bit of experience with fungus and bacteria from various scientific projects over the years, I thought I would explore this topic. Could I speed up the process? I also wanted to know which film aged the fastest, and was bacteria or fungus really responsible for the damage?

The worldwide hiding of Instagram likes has begun, and even if you're not affected by this "test" yet, it's likely you will be soon. If you want to avoid this and continue to see your like counts, there is a solution in the form of a free browser extension called "The Return of the Likes."

Phase One has announced the launch of Capture One 20, the latest major version of the popular photo editing software. The release brings a refined design, new processing capabilities, and workflow enhancements, many of which were developed directly from feedback from photographers using the software.

For a several years now, I have been patiently waiting for a “new” MacBook Pro to arrive. There has been a lot of hype about new processors, increased screen size and resolution, improved
features and connectivity, even better battery life. Myself along with many industry colleagues, have been reaching out to Apple for some time to let them know what we need and why.

Google announced today that it will be adding a private messaging feature to Google Photos, making it possible to share one-off images and video with friends and family without having to create a shared album or leave the app.

My son texted me the other day asking for my meatball recipe. It’s a rarity that he texts me for recipes, so I was thrilled to my toes. About a week later, my daughter texted me asking for my fresh pumpkin pie recipe. Again, joy spread through my body as I thought to myself, “Finally.”

In recent years, small form-factor cameras—both DSLR and mirrorless—have gotten very good at capturing extremely high-quality video. So how come the broadcast equipment in use today is still so massive and expensive? YouTuber Zebra Zone recently answered this question in an interesting breakdown video.

Memory card maker ProGrade Digital may have just leaked a tidbit about Fujifilm's future cameras. In a statement that ostensibly goes out to every customer who pre-orders a CFExpress memory card, the company mentions Fuji by name, despite the fact that no Fuji camera uses this kind of card slot.

Yesterday evening Apple crowned the best iOS and MacOS apps of 2019 and, unsurprisingly, a camera app managed to take the title of "iPhone App of the Year." Created by Lux Optics, the winner is Spectre Camera: an AI-powered app that allows you to capture high-quality long exposures with your smartphone.

What do you do when your NAS/RAID/DAS is almost filled up and you need more storage? The answer probably isn’t what you think… Some DAS and NAS, like those from Synology and Drobo, let you replace smaller drives with larger drives to “add capacity.” But doing that doesn’t necessarily give you access to a meaningful amount of additional storage.

ZY Optics has unveiled the new Mitakon 85mm f/2.8 1-5x Super Macro Lens, a new option that wants to make it easier to get into extreme macro photography by providing "one of the longest working distance for ANY super macro lens."

The most recent "APS-C vs Full-Frame" comparison comes from our friends at Sonder Creative, and it's a portrait photography lens shootout between the ZEISS Batis 85mm f/1.8 and the Fujifilm 56mm f/1.2.

Facebook has released a new tool that'll allows you to bulk-export all of your photos and videos to another service or social network in just a couple of clicks, starting with Google Photos.

A lot has been said about the ultra-high resolution Sony a7R IV when it comes to shooting portraits, studio work, or landscapes--basically everywhere high resolution is a must. But what about wildlife photography? Seattle-based wildlife photographer Aaron Baggenstos took the camera to Africa to find out.

After a Nikkei report (and, later, an official press release) revealed that Panasonic would officially be selling off its semiconductor business, many people wondered what would happen to the joint venture with TowerJazz that constituted Panasonic's image sensor business. Now we know.

If you're a fan of instant photography, Polaroid, or you just like the history of photography, you'll love this Polaroid SX-70 Land Camera ad that resurfaced online over the weekend. The 11-minute ad gives an in-depth look at every aspect of this iconic, folding instant film camera that is still beloved today.

A photographer had her house hit by burglars last month while she and her family were out being sworn in as a US citizen. She lost all her camera gear, computers, and essentially everything that had value in her home.

What started off as a quick lighting test in my garage has turned into a full investigation and installation of my own DIY photography ceiling rail system. My shooting space measures 7x10 feet (2x3m) -- not a great space for shooting portraits.

Dropping colored milk into water and photographing the effects is nothing new – these experiments have existed for decades and can yield some very interesting abstract images. The technique can be brought into the “mad scientist” realm by switching gears slightly – using UV flashlights and fluorescing ink, we can make it glow!

This is a photo series about the life of an artist and struggles that might come along with it. I got a project grant from NFFF (Nordic Society of Photography) for this project in early 2019.