Guest Author

Articles by Guest Author

A helicopter hovers low above a snowy landscape, stirring up a cloud of snow. A polar bear is visible on the ground amidst the blowing snow.

The Disturbing Double Standard for Polar Bear ‘Protection’ in Svalbard

There have been increasingly absurd regulations being imposed on visitors to Svalbard in recent years, particularly surrounding the protection of polar bears. One of the most contentious of these mandates is the requirement to maintain a minimum distance of 500 meters from a polar bear (about five American football fields), no matter the circumstance.

A person stands on a hill at sunset, facing the horizon. The image has text that says, "Unlock Hidden Lightroom Features" and "with modded lightroom presets." The sky is a gradient of warm colors.

You’re Probably Not Using Lightroom Presets to Their Full Potential

As a photographer, if there is one thing I despise when editing my photos, it is jumping between multiple editing apps with one single photo and ending up with duplicate files where my settings are burned in and can’t be tweaked down the line.

Various black tripod ball heads with adjustment knobs and level indicators are arranged on a textured red surface. They vary in size and design, showcasing different features and mechanisms.

Unlocking the Power of Tripod Ball Heads with Balanced Mode

Since I started using ball heads in balanced mode, I’ve been a very happy camper. In this article, I'll be sharing a review of multiple ball heads as well as a tutorial about using ball heads in the balanced mode.

An elderly person, wearing a headscarf, rests with a hand on their forehead. A digital overlay shows an image search for "Dog" and displays various dog photos as top results.

Dear Apple Photos: My Grandmother Was Not a Dog

Kind, caring, and generous. These adjectives describe two important parts of my life; my late grandmother Anna, and my wife's late dog Buckeye. These are where the similarities end, but not according to Apple's Photos app.

The image shows the Lightroom logo on the left, with a colorful word cloud on the right. Prominent words in the cloud include "photographs," "see," and "view." The logo and word cloud are set against a dark background.

How to Craft a Lightroom Keyword Hierarchy

Words play a significant role in photography in many ways as we talk and write about them. I created the above image many years ago using an online app, Wordle, which used text content and analyzed the significant words. The larger the word, the greater the frequency of use.

A split image comparing two water scenes. Left: Calmer water with a subtle wave and a green check mark. Right: More turbulent, splashing water with a red X. An arrow points from left to right.

I Was Disqualified by a Nature Photography Competition… Again

Everyone who knows me is aware that I love pushing the limits of what’s possible and creating the “makeable” from both the possible and the impossible. This time, however, I didn’t succeed, and the Glanzlichter nature photo competition disqualified me.

A person with long hair, wearing a blue jacket and black backpack, is taking a photo with a camera in a field of purple flowers. The background features lush green trees and distant mountains under a cloudy sky.

Spring into Action: ProMaster’s Photography Gear Guide for the Season

Springtime is a wonderful season for photography, with blooming flowers, vibrant foliage, and longer days providing ample opportunities to capture stunning images. To make the most of this colorful and dynamic season, having the right photography gear is essential.

Close-up of an elephant's face, highlighting its textured skin and tusks. The light and shadow create a dramatic effect, while its eyes gaze forward. Lush greenery is faintly visible in the background, adding depth to the scene.

Photographing Forest Elephants in the Congo

Deep in the Congo Basin, in a remote corner of Nouabalé-Ndoki National Park, lies Mbeli Bai, a vast forest clearing where wildlife emerges from the dense jungle. Unlike open savanna landscapes, the rainforest hides its inhabitants behind thick vegetation, making photographing species like forest elephants particularly difficult.

Diagram of Earth's horizon showing the "blue hour" before sunrise on the left, and a city on a cliff lit warmly against a blue sky and sea during this time on the right.

Capturing Blue Hour in Landscape Photography

The difference between a good landscape photo and an extraordinary one often comes down to one thing: Light. And there's a magical window of time, called the Blue Hour, that offers some of the most atmospheric, cinematic light in landscape photography. However, many photographers overlook or struggle to fully capture its unique potential.

Split image: Left side shows a woman with long blonde hair in a black turtleneck smiling. Right side depicts a view through a car windshield, displaying a rural landscape with a person on horseback herding cattle on a dirt road under a cloudy sky.

A Chat with Pulitzer Prize-Winning Photographer Deanne Fitzmaurice

Winning awards is a powerful way for photographers to quickly gain recognition for their work. I discovered Deanne Fitzmaurice while researching Pulitzer Prize winners, fascinated by how this prestigious honor transformed and accelerated her career.

A woman in a wedding dress stands on a beach at sunset. The background transitions to a transparent, checkered pattern with a partially outlined veil. Text reads: "Matting Anything with Precision - Aiarty Image Matting.

Aiarty Image Matting: Precise AI Background Removal for Photographers [Giveaway]

In photography, background removal is a key technique. Whether for commercial photography, e-commerce, or personal use, a clean, distraction-free background is essential. On platforms like Amazon, product images must have a pure white background to enhance product visibility. For personal photography, background removal is often used to create professional profile pictures or for artistic designs.

A Sony Alpha 7R camera with a visible E-mount sensor. The camera body is black with textured grip on the left side and control dials on top. The brand logo is shown on the viewfinder area in white.

Why an APS-C Lens Might Be the Right Choice for Your Full Frame Camera

I often see questions on forums about the focal length of lenses and how they work on cameras of various sensor sizes. Is a 35mm lens really 50mm on an APS-C camera? No, it’s still 35mm, but the field of view (FOV) is narrower on the APS-C camera because the sensor is narrower.

Left: Cluster of pink and white amaryllis flowers with green leaves. Right: Close-up of a bright yellow flower stamen with orange filaments.

Grow Your Love of Flower Photography

Photographing flowers is easy and very rewarding. You can create beautiful images with any equipment, most any day or evening, indoors and out. Spring is nirvana for flower photography but I find good opportunities all year.

Illustration of a person standing on a large camera with arms raised. Text reads "New Year, New Gear Giveaway." The background is light with sketch-like lines suggesting clouds or mountains.

Enter to Win the PetaPixel’s New Year, New Gear Giveaway

We’re excited to announce the "New Year, New Gear Giveaway”! We’ve partnered with some outstanding brands to offer an incredible prize package. One lucky winner will receive a collection of 11 diverse and unique photography gear and products.

A woman with shoulder-length dark hair stands side profile inside a large black rectangular frame hanging on a white wall. She wears a black off-shoulder top, creating an illusion of being framed.

Creating a Personal Photography Project: From Concept to Execution

Taking on a personal project is the next level. It makes you treat photography as an art form. Like in any art, you first start with one-offs, singles, or short stories, and only then approach writing a novel. And this is how I invite you to treat your personal project, as writing a novel, as opposed to snapping unconnected stories here and there.

A serene Japanese garden with a traditional building, vibrant autumn foliage, and a reflective pond. Two people in kimonos stand on a stone bridge, enhancing the scene's tranquility and cultural richness.

The Landscape Photographer’s Guide to Japan

The images of Japan that spring to mind are of the bustling, neon-splashed streets of Tokyo—towering walls of steel and glass, teeming pedestrians dodging traffic. But the Land of the Rising Sun also harbors visions of natural beauty that stretch the eye to the horizon and tug at the soul.

A mechanical device with gears is shown on the left. An arrow points from it to a vibrant, blurred image of space, Earth, and a distant galaxy on the right, suggesting a connection between the device and space exploration.

Designing a Star Tracker for Astronaut Don Pettit to Use on the ISS

In the spring of 2023, I received a phone call from Peter Blackberg (an old friend, RIT alumnus, and a space enthusiast) when he asked if I would join a call with NASA astronaut Don Pettit. Don wanted to build a star tracker for his next space flight.  

A promotional image for Aiarty Image Enhancer V3.0 featuring a before-and-after comparison of an enhanced photo. Text highlights new AI models, face restoration, and DPI options. The interface is displayed on a laptop screen.

Upscale, Denoise, Deblur Photo and Restore Facial Details with New Aiarty Image Enhancer Powered by AI

Every photographer encounters challenges with image quality at some point. These could be blurry or out-of-focus pictures from unsteady hands, grainy or noisy shots from cranking up the ISO, underexposed images in dim lighting, or pixelated photos that lose their clarity and detail when zoomed in -- these are all typical headaches requiring effective solutions.

Logo featuring the text "gettyimages + shutterstock" in bold black letters on a white background.

Stock Photography’s Crossroads: Can a Getty-Shutterstock Merger Fix It?

As someone who spent over a decade in the stock photography and creative tools industry, I’ve seen firsthand how it has evolved. The news of a potential Getty and Shutterstock merger made me think about how the stock photography industry actors found themselves at a crossroads and what future lies ahead.

A woman with star-spangled Minnie Mouse ears sits on a bus looking at her phone. Next to her, two children in a stroller wear matching red Mickey Mouse family shirts, alongside adults wearing similar themed shirts.

The Happiest Place: Memories and Reality at an American Amusement Park

My good friend, the oldfangled film photographer Elizabeth Nahum-Albright, was recently tasked with a common problem: the disposition of her newly dead father. His most urgent demands were clear: he was to be cremated and placed, like all of his cats, into a cookie jar.

A black Leica camera with a textured body and a prominent lens is centered against a dynamic orange and blue blurred background. The brand's red logo is visible on the upper right corner of the camera body.

The Leica Q3: A Concise Review

It’s 4:37 PM Friday at a long-range planning meeting in Leica offices in Wetzlar. Attendees want to get on with their weekend. Fritz is talking.

A person smiling and pointing in front of a waterfall, overlaid with video editing software interface elements like video stabilization, image enhancement, and noise removal. The text mentions 4K, AI models, and settings for video enhancement.

Winxvideo AI: Enhance, Upscale, Denoise & Stabilize Video and Images

Let's face it, we've all experienced the frustration of dealing with subpar video and photo quality. Whether it's a grainy wedding video from low-light conditions, shaky action shots, low-resolution old videos, or choppy vintage films or animations due to low frame rates, these common issues can significantly impact the overall quality of your media.

A group of astronauts in yellow space suits with helmets walk in formation under a dark, cloudy sky. The suits feature various patches and insignias. A large aircraft is partially visible in the background.

A Game of Inches: The Suit That Kept a Photographer Alive

It was not on the flight, but rather the day before, as I was sitting in a pressure chamber testing my spacesuit one last time, that I realized how absolute my reliance on it would be. I was well aware of the extreme risk to anyone who had the misfortune of being ejected from a U2. Yet, I took solace in knowing that because of this multi-layered suit, there would at least be a chance, although small, of survival should that situation become a reality.

Three people in colorful clothing are gathered inside a modern building with red seating and carpet. One person holds a camera and shows something on the screen to the others, all smiling and engaged.

Unwrap Big Savings at Canon’s Online Store

The holiday season is here, and Canon is making it easier than ever to give the gift of photography with deals on cameras and lenses through their online store. Whether you’re shopping for a budding photographer, upgrading your gear, or treating yourself, Canon's holiday promotions offer something for everyone.