We love a good Mars panorama -- be it a this selfie panorama by Curiosity or this gorgeous mountain-top shot by Opportunity -- and now we have another one for you that is, arguably, the best of them.
What's that? The ZEISS 55mm f/1.4 Otus haunts your dreams when it's not keeping you up wondering how you're going to sell a kidney on the black market to afford it? Well then, you might want to ignore this post, because there's another Otus confirmed for 2014!
We love a good photo series that can put a smile on our faces, and when those photos are also being taken for a good cause, well, we really couldn't ask for more. Such is the case with the 2014 NYC Taxi Drivers Calendar.
It’s not motion blur, it’s Iceland spar! Every year, I can’t think of anything I want for Christmas. So this …
Today was the day of the mystery Instagram event that had many a tech site speculating about what the Facebook-owned image sharing giant would announce. A couple of sources were close, but there's no longer any need to speculate because Instagram has let the cat out of the bag, and that cat's name is Instagram Direct.
Already live as I write this, Instagram Direct is a new service that will allow users to send direct messages complete with text and either photos or videos to a select group of people, rather than sharing them with your entire follower base.
While cover a fast food workers strike at the National Air and Space Museum last week, photographer Kristoffer Tripplaar was forcefully brought down by no less than three security guards when he accidentally bumped into one of them in an attempt to protect his equipment.
Who says you need to travel to exotic locations to capture the aurora borealis in action? Sometimes, all you need is a window seat on a trans-Atlantic flight from London to NYC -- at least that's what happened for one lucky amateur photographer recently when he was treated to one heck of an 'in-flight movie' right outside his airplane window.
The tech world is full of 'wars,' all of them over the attention of that flighty creature known as 'the consumer.' And one of the wars being raged most furiously is between the major social networks: the established behemoths Facebook, Instagram and Twitter; that stubborn network loved by photogs, Google+; and the new kid on the block that has everybody's undergarments in a bunch: Snapchat.
Well, Facebook has had its go at stealing some of Snapchat's market (both literally and through acquisition) and has been ultimately unsuccessful on all counts. Now it's Twitter's turn.
Light-painting, like time-lapse, is a genre of photography that is packed full of talent, making it really hard to pick quality work to feature (if you haven't already, check out this list of 10 amazing light-painting photogs you should follow right away).
We were thrilled, therefore, when we stumbled across Nicolas Rivals' series of steel wool light painting Rorschach tests dubbed, simply enough, Light Rorchach.
If you're shopping for a young person who'd benefit from learning a little more about the principles of photography, you may want to consider the LAST Camera: a build-it-yourself 35mm film camera that could well outfreak Lomography for quirky build and artfully distressed images.
If you've followed PetaPixel even just the last month, you might have noticed that Adobe extended its Photoshop Photography Program (also referred to as the Photography Bundle) to people regardless of whether or not they own a previous version of Photoshop not once, not twice, but three times.
That is: this special promotion that allowed everyone to sign up was supposed to end on the 2nd... then on the 8th... and now is extended all the way to the end of the year. And while our you guys have come up with all manner of reasons in the comments as to why Adobe might be doing this, a new survey reveals the real reason: it's working really well.
On Sunday I covered what was easily the hardest football game I’ve ever been asked to shoot. In turn it was the most fun I’ve ever had on an assignment.
Lenticular printing has been around for ages as a commercial gimmick, producing untold hordes of postcards, luggage tags and other novelties with images that seem to move when you jostle the shiny surface. (Also, the particularly hideous faux-3D cover for my 1978 high school yearbook.)
Here's something that both photographers and the typical millennial have to look forward to in old age: Your memory is going to suck because of all the photos you took when you should have been paying attention to what was happening around you.
That's the upshot of a new psychological study that finds you can have a good photographic record of an event or a good memory, but not both.
Those with delicate constitutions where the destruction of photography gear is concerned should look away or skip over this one. Whatever you do, don't press play on the video above... or if you do press play, don't watch past about the 3:50 mark, because that's when things get ugly.
A late-breaking holiday shopping tip: If someone offers you a screamingly good deal on a Leica Summilux-C movie lens, be very suspicious. That's because there's currently $500,000 worth of stolen gear floating around the black market -- including a $200K set of Summilux-C lenses -- that was taken off the set of a Los Angeles film shoot..
It's been a little while since we've seen fit to report on a rumor. Most of what has passed through the rumor mill of late has either not been significant enough, or only worth linking out to. This news, however, caught our eye: it seems Sony is working on a 'non-Bayer' sensor that might appear in cameras as early as late 2015.
GoPro cameras may be ready to migrate from helmets to film schools thanks to the Ribcage, an in-development assembly that allows the tiny action cams to be outfitted with interchangeable lenses.
Take a deep breath. Picture it in your mind. The world’s largest gathering of camels. Taking place at a tiny Rajasthani town filled with temples, narrow streets and a picturesque lake. Men in brightly coloured turbans as far as the eye can see. Enough dust and sand to make your nostril hairs work overtime. And hundreds of photographers in every nook and cranny, taking thousands of photographs of this annual event.
My experience at the Pushkar Mela earlier this month was definitely unexpected. In all honesty, I guess I should have known better. I went there with the expectation to capture a town lost in time, an event that would bring back memories of the old days gone by and boy, how wrong I was. The Mela turned out to be a hunting ground for photographers from all over the world.
Last week, a video showing how a hyper-realistic iPad finger-painting of Morgan Freeman (inspired by this portrait by photographer Scott Gries) came together made the viral rounds faster than most. It had already earned its first million hits in the first 12 hours, and currently sits at almost 11.25 million.
It seems the Nikon engineers had some tricks up their sleeves when they put the D4 sensor inside the new Nikon Df, because while the sensor earned identical scores to the D4 in almost every category when DxOMark put it through its paces, the Df actually BEAT the D4 in the "low-light ISO" category.
But more than that, it beat EVERYBODY in that category, narrowly edging out the previous champion D3s to claim the number one low-light spot among DxOMark's rankings.
Backlighting can be all moody and subtle, but you can seldom go wrong with full-on, straight-behind illumination. Especially if your subject is the planet on which your family, friends and all of humanity happens to reside.
That's what the trio of Apollo 17 astronauts -- and soon, the whole world -- discovered 41 years and two days ago today. Navigating towards the moon on Dec. 7, 1972, the spacecraft had the sun behind it, providing a rare, fully illuminated view of the Earth.
If you haven't heard of celebrity photographer Matt Hoyle's photo book Comic Genius: Portraits of Funny People, then you're in for a treat. We're talking about a book full of hilarious portraits of hilarious people that is being sold for a good cause... what more could you want?
A lot of film people have deep connections to Super 8 cameras, once the medium of choice for everyone from film school students to porn directors. But it's getting harder and harder to actually use the things, as stocks of film cartridges dwindle.
To the rescue comes Nolab, a project to build a digital adapter that will allow any Super 8 camera to shoot 720p HD video.
Nikon recently released a firmware update for its D3100, D3200, D5100, D5200, and P7700 cameras that maximized battery performance and allowed the camera to more accurately tell you how much charge you have left. But it seems there was an unintended (or maybe not so unintended) side-effect: third party batteries no longer work.
If we start a post off by telling you that "the stop motion video above consists of 8,000 frames taken on an iPhone," you'd probably assume it was some small-time filmmaker or hobbyist that put it together, and most of the time you'd be right.
In this case, however, you'd be dead wrong. Because that's exactly how musicians LeAnn Rimes, Rob Thomas, and Jeff Beck decided to film the music video for their most recent collaboration, a song called "Gasoline and Matches."
Okay, this video doesn't necessarily have much to do with photography, but we could think of no better way to wake you up on a Monday morning than by sharing this gorgeous footage of creamer being poured into a cup of coffee at 2,000 frames per second.
We introduced you to F-Stop Gear's 'Life in Focus' miniseries when it first debuted back in April. Since then, eight more inspirational episodes of the series have aired, and since we neglected to share them one by one over the last eight months, we thought we'd share them all here as a sort of motivational kick in the pants to end the year on.
The key to creating a good photo-based service is to fill a need that isn't being filled by any other app or website -- a task increasingly difficult as more and more players enter the market. Still, once in a while someone stumbles on an idea that is just the right mix of concepts to create a service really worth your while, and Exposure seems to be just that.
A portrait is a powerful thing. Programs like Help Portrait -- which is dedicated to spreading joy, inspiration and hope by taking portraits of people who have never had one taken before -- are easy proof of this. But just in case you find yourself in need of more proof, the If Only for a Second portrait project is here to provide it.
This is, as they say, an oldie but goodie. Put together all the way back in 2009, this self-portrait time-lapse chronicles one man's journey walking almost all the way across China on his way to Germany. A journey as much about the physical challenge as it was about self-discovery.
There are a lot of photo book makers out there -- even Flicker joined the fray not too long ago -- but one company that we've been really impressed with ever since it debuted is Mosaic, and now, Android users can take advantage of the service as well!
Yaakov Israel was born in 1974 in Jerusalem, Israel where he lives and works. He graduated in 2002 (B.F.A) with honors from the Department of Photography at the Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design, Jerusalem. Since 2004 he is has been teaching photography at some of the most prominent art and photography schools and colleges in Israel.
In his work he constantly investigates the Israeli identity as perceived through architecture, landscape and the people living in his country.
His first Monograph, “The Quest for the Man on the White Donkey,” was recently published by Schilt Publishing from Amsterdam.
It seems LEGOs are quite the muse for many a photo enthusiast, whether they're shooting creative dioramas or cool 'action' scenes. But one type of photography where LEGOs come in particularly handy is stop-motion, and if you don't believe us, check out the video above by Bricktease founder Duncan McConchie.
It's getting harder and harder for photographers who shoot time-lapse to get our attention. You see, they're getting too darn good, and so gorgeous time-lapse after gorgeous time-lapse makes its way across our computer screens forcing us to be very picky.
That said, veteran time-lapse photographer Andrew Walker's recently released "Journey Part 1" time-lapse had no issue getting our approval, because it's absolutely, unequivocally breathtaking.
Although it can't compare to a quality camera, it's hard to deny that the iPhone is capable -- after all, we've seen NY Times cover photos, fashion shoots and even a professional portrait taken using an iPhone as the camera of choice.
We've seen some pretty terrifying stuff captured on action camera before, but this one ties with the skydivers who got hurled into empty space when their planes collided. It was uploaded by a BASE jumper who, on November 24th, took a leap that was almost his last.
Some of the most extraordinary photography we've run across was created by folks who use little to no Photoshop while capturing incredible photos that seem impossible without some manipulation. A great example of this kind of work is Kirsty Mitchell's series Wonderland, where all of the costumes and props are painstakingly put together by hand.
Korean artist Lee JeeYoung, however, takes it to the next level. Not only does she eschew digital manipulation entirely, but all of the fantasy worlds she creates have to fit inside her 360 x 410 x 240 cm studio (approximately 12 x 13.5 x 8 feet).
A couple of weeks ago, we told you that Adobe was extending its special $10/month Photoshop Photography Program (better known around these parts as the 'Photography Bundle') to everybody, even if they didn't own a previous copy of Photoshop.
That deal was supposed to end on December 2nd but, thanks to widespread positive response from photographers, they've decided to extend the deadline to December 8th!
The Polaroid iM1836 has had a rough go of it since it first burst onto the scene at last year's CES. Nobody seemed to think the camera was anything to write home about, and its similarity to Nikon's 1-Series cameras was undeniable.
So undeniable, in fact, that earlier this year, Nikon filed a lawsuit to try to get the iM1836 pulled from the shelves. Yesterday, they succeeded.
In case you haven't noticed, we're fans of quirky camera-themed products that put gear to creative use. Be it a lamp made out of un-fixable retro cameras or a humidifier disguised as a lens, we just like that sort of thing. Phlite, therefore, is right up our alley.
Called crazy or awesome (and sometimes crazy AND awesome... or crazy awesome) depending on who you ask, Phlite transforms your gear into a camera-themed desk, table or floor lamp in seconds, so you can enjoy your gear even when you're not out shooting with it.
Photojournalist Christopher Morris has documented some of the world's hottest war zones, reclusive North Korea and the 2012 Republican National Convention. But it took modern Detroit to totally punk him, with thieves there stealing $15,000 in camera equipment and another crook cheating him out of $200 in reward money later that same day.
Rest easy, future astronauts. If occasional filmmaker and full-time tinkerer Mark Rober and his pals are any indication, NASA engineers can MacGyver their way into or out of any situation.
Selfie, schmelfie! How self-absorbed do you really have to be to spend all of 20 seconds pointing a phone at yourself and tapping a few buttons? But a process that requires up to 15 minutes of statue-still posing, exposure to hazardous chemicals and construction of custom camera? Now that's something worth bragging about.
So all hail pioneering American photographer Robert Cornelius, whose rough but certainly recognizable image, taken mere months after Louis Daugerre revealed his daguerrotype process in 1839, is undoubtedly the world's first photographic self-portrait and may even be the first photographic portrait of any kind.
Sometimes inspiration strikes when you're out in the wild, climbing mountains and taking in breathtaking vistas. Other times, it happens when you're looking after your 7-year-old daughter and playing LEGOs. You can probably guess how photographer Jeff Friesen's 50 States of LEGO series came about.
Once in a while, you wake up in the morning with problems on your mind (or in your Inbox) and immediately start your day in a funk, focused on those problems. It's these mornings that benefit most from some perspective-giving imagery, and perhaps nothing puts our tiny Earth-bound problems in perspective quite as decisively as photographs taken from the International Space Station.
The time-lapses you see above and below will do just that, and do it in spectacular fashion as you fly over the Earth feeling a bit like Superman trying to turn back time (oh, I'm sorry, is my Nerd showing?)
Adventure Sports Photography often doesn't get a lot of attention in the photography world. While street, portrait, and wedding photography seem to reign supreme, this small genre is usually only appreciated in the respective sports it covers.
Which is really quite sad since it showcases some of the most amazing photographers working today. Not only are they able to compose and capture stunning shots, but they often do so in the worst conditions imaginable.
So emergency workers are all over the Brooklyn Bridge, trying to talk down a suicidal man poised to jump. Media people are everywhere, doing their usual sensitive storytelling. A big chunk of the city is holding its breath, waiting to see how the life-and-death drama plays out.
Perfect time for a selfie, right?
What do you do when you're not busy destroying rebel planets, choking out generals and dealing with traumatizing father issues? Why, you grab a quality selfie and upload it to Instagram of course.
PRO Photographer magazine just released an app that it's calling "a new media hub for the connected photographer." More specifically: it's an iPad, iPhone and Android phone app that, for the first time, brings together premium magazine content and live, curated news feeds under one digital roof.