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Review: The Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 for Sony FE is a Home Run

When Tamron announced the new FE 28-75mm f/2.8 Di III RXD, it sent a wave of excitement throughout the Sony user base. When Tamron announced that the lens would only be $799, most of those Sony users were shocked.

Here’s What You Get When You Shoot Portraits With a 500mm Lens

Portrait photographers generally pick focal lengths somewhere between 80mm and 135mm, which produces a flattened perspective distortion when the subject fills up the frame. Photographer Keydrin Franklin of 924photography recently decided to try his hand with shooting portraits with a 500mm super-telephoto lens.

This Photographer Shows the Violence of the Most Dangerous City in Africa

Cape Town is the most dangerous city in South Africa and one of the most dangerous cities in the world. Freelance photojournalist Leon Knipe follows the police to crime scenes and works to document as many murders as he can. The 5-minute video above by Shaun Swingler is about Knipe's life and work (warning: it contains graphic photos of horrific crime scenes).

One of My Scariest Moments as a Photographer

This was one of my scariest moments as a photographer. What you don't see in this photo is the 100-meter (~330-foot) drop in front of me and the gale force wind from behind. Two minutes of light and then it was dark again.

5 Post-Processing Mistakes Beginner Photographers Make

Looking back at my early photography, I shake my head in embarrassment. I know I should be proud of the fact that I’ve come a long way since then, but it’s hard not to notice just how poorly processed those images are. I’m sure I’m not alone.

Recreating the Look of Vintage War Photos

The horrific conflicts and wars of the past have shaped the world we know today. Each era has been documented by generations of photographers, with specific color tones or grain patterns evoking these periods in our minds. The culture surrounding military life has always been highly visual and has been captured in photojournalism, fine art, as well as propaganda.

Forget ‘Golden Hour’: The Arctic Circle Has ‘Golden Days’

In photography, the "golden hour" is the time right after sunrise or right before sunset in which sunlight is warmer and softer -- a look that's valued by landscape and portrait photographers. If an hour isn't enough time for you to get your fill of the special lighting, you might want to visit the Arctic Circle, where you can enjoy "golden days".

The Milk Bath Portrait and How it Changed Everything

Through his most famous character’s lips, Arthur Conan Doyle once lamented “There is nothing new under the sun.” But he was wrong. Because I recently saw a photograph that was so utterly unique and awe-inspiring that it instantly froze the Lucky Charms-laden spoon that had been traveling toward my waiting craw. I’d just seen my first milk bath portrait, and never again would I be the same.

These Cranes Were Caught Dancing In Sync with Ed Sheeran’s ‘Perfect’

Ilene Karlsberg-Gerstein of Clermont, Florida, was driving down the road last Wednesday when she came across two sandhill cranes dancing with each other. After she pulled out her phone to shoot video of the scene, Karlsberg-Gerstein found that the cranes were dancing beautifully to the song playing in her car, "Perfect" by Ed Sheeran.

Kim Jong-un Just Posed for His First Selfie

North Korean dictator Kim Jung-un is in Singapore this week for Tuesday's summit with President Trump, and of all the photos that have emerged of his visit so far, there's a curious one that has captured the world's attention today: Kim Jung-un's very first selfie.

$20 Work Light vs $900 Studio Strobe for a Food Photo

How does a $20 work light from a hardware store compare to a $900 studio strobe when it comes to food photography? Photographer Skyler Burt of We Eat Together recently decided to find out. He pitted a HDX 500w halogen work light against a $900 Elinchrom Pro HD 500W monolight.

Laws of Light: Shooting in Direct Sun

A lot of the times when you’re shooting in direct sun, it’s very harsh on your subject’s face. Many people try not to put themselves in this situation because of it. Sometimes you have no choice, or maybe you like the location a lot so you have to put up with the challenge. Without any equipment, the sun can create harsh shadows and an unflattering look on your talent.

This Poignant Music Video is About a Photographer’s True Love

Back in 2001, this music video made the rounds on the Web before "going viral" was even a thing. It's for the hit song "Because I'm a Girl" by the Korean pop trio KISS (the video above is the English version sung by one of the members). The story is about a photographer's expression of true love.

Creative Applications of Color Theory in Landscape Photography

Discussions of many photography topics have the potential to veer deep into complex technical territory that may appeal more to scientists than to artists, and color theory is certainly one of those topics that can become rather arcane quite easily. What follows is a guide for landscape photographers who are more artistically inclined, those who are primarily interested in applying color theory to achieve creative goals.

Sony’s ‘Star Eater’ Problem Has Been Defeated in the a7 III

Over the last year or so, firmware updates from Sony introduced a much-publicized penchant for Sony Alphas to “eat” stars even in RAW files, apparently due to an internal noise reduction or anti-aliasing routine users could not turn off. Stars were smoothed away along with the noise in exposures longer than 3.2 seconds in some Sony cameras (and longer than 30 seconds in others). I feel that in the a7 III, the Star Eater has now been largely vanquished.

How this Epic Volcano Photo Was Shot

While some may think that award-winning photos are simply snapshots created at the right place and right time, there's often a huge amount of time, effort, and dedication that goes into the process. For Mexican photographer Sergio Tapiro, it was over 15 years and over 300,000 photos.

Photojournalist David Douglas Duncan Dies at 102

Legendary American photojournalist David Douglas Duncan has died. One of the most influential photographers of the 20th century, Duncan was best known for his combat photographs captured during World War II and the Korean War.

Film Photography at 70,000 Feet in the U-2 Spy Plane

The United States' U-2 spy plane first took to the skies back in 1955 during the heyday of film photography. But even as cameras these days have largely shifted to digital, the U-2 continues to shoot its spy photos on film. The Wall Street Journal made this 19-minute documentary on the U-2 that offers a closer look at the U-2's photography.

A Radioactive Lens

Between the 1940s and 1970s, a number of camera manufacturers designed lenses employing thoriated glass in one or more elements. Incorporating as much as 40% thorium dioxide (ThO2) in the glass mixture increases the index of refraction of the glass while maintaining low dispersion. Thoriated glass elements allowed lenses to deliver low levels of aberration and distortion with relatively simple and easy to manufacture designs.

An Interview with Jarob Ortiz, the New ‘Ansel Adams’ of the National Parks

In December of 2015, news broke that grabbed the attention of every photographer: the "Ansel Adams Job Opening" in the US Government. This is considered to be the dream job of just about every photographer. Four thousand applications were submitted, but only nineteen were qualified for the first round of interviews. However, only one could have the job. That lucky person is Jarob Ortiz.

How to Use a Phone Screen for Magical Portraits

Wedding photographers are always looking to take creative, novel portraits and a quick, simple trick is often sitting right in their pocket. By using a phone screen as a reflective surface, it is possible to cover up unsightly elements, add intrigue, and make an image that much more interesting.

Photographer Sees Mythical Creatures in Stormy Waves

Photographer Rachael Talibart spent a great deal of her childhood in southeast England staring at powerful ocean waves and imagining creatures in the sea. Through her ongoing photo project titled Sirens, Talibart is now sharing her imagination with the world.

This Stock Photo Fail Was Spotted at a Supermarket in Poland

This line of hand mixers was spotted in Poland in a Biedronka store (the largest discount supermarket chain). Instead of properly using licensed Shutterstock stock photos that come without watermarks, the graphic designers used watermark versions. And apparently, no one noticed (or cared).

I Biked Down the West Coast of the US for Coastal Landscape Photos

A year ago, I rode my bicycle from Banff to Jasper in the Canadian Rockies to prove that my lack of a car would not hold me back from pursuing my passion for landscape photography. This year, I took a gap semester and went and did it again, cycling 1,500 miles down the American West Coast, from Seattle to Los Angeles, to photograph the coastal landscapes.

No, I Didn’t Fake This Lava Photo

Yes, it’s possible. I did indeed capture what you see above in one shot. Although some of the Internet seem to disagree, it’s true. What you see above is the Milky Way, the moon, Mars, Saturn, an iridium flare, and lava from the Kilauea Volcano of Hawaii.

5 Common Copyright Misconceptions Held by Photographers

The most recent version of the Copyright Law of the United States (December 2016) weighs in at a whopping 354 pages. And while there are areas of ambiguity, the basics and benefits of copyright registration for photographers are well-documented. Unfortunately, well-documented doesn’t mean well-understood, so we asked attorney (and former photo rep) Leslie Burns to weigh in on a number of common copyright misconceptions that still persist, and why you should register your copyright.

8 Important Things to Know Before Booking a Photography Tour

Attending a photography tour is a great way to develop your photography by learning from a professional photographer in a destination you’ve dreamed of visiting. Not only that, it’s also a great opportunity to connect with other like-minded people and perhaps even make friends for life.

Paraglider Using Selfie Stick Drops Phone from 2,500 Feet

A paraglider was soaring above the world at 2,500 feet recently when he decided to pull his selfie stick out to snap a memory of his adventure. While trying to remove his phone, however, the smartphone slipped from his grasp and fell to Earth. It was all captured in the 1.5-minute helmet cam video above (the drop is at 1:15).

This is What the Moon Looks Like with a Ginormous Camera Lens

Using lens compression to capture a giant moon is nothing new, but photographer Daniel López has taken things to a whole level. He set up an ultra-telephoto lens about 10 miles (16km) away from a volcano and captured this mind-blowing 2-minute video that shows a moonset in real-time.