By using a simple mechanical oscillator attached to a plastic cup, a number of unique standing wave patterns can be created. The resulting photographs are similar to geometric mandala patterns and thus are popular subjects for photography students.
AMS Software has presented a new version of PhotoWorks – a multi-purpose photo editor. Over the past 15 iterations, this image editing software has been rising in prominence but retained one drawback – Windows exclusivity. Version 16.0 finally breaks that mold and opens up PhotoWorks to the Apple audience. It also introduces new features, which is a good reason to revisit the previous review and witness the progress.
On March 23rd, 2023, Earth got hit by the strongest geomagnetic storm in six years. I was out executing my unique aurora shot of the year, titled The Platform.
Unfortunately, if you use the internet for work, you probably already know that new scams and scammers pop up every day. Recently, I’ve seen the rise in popularity of a new scam targeting photographers. I don’t want to see anyone, especially other photographers, being scammed out of their hard-earned money.
I don’t enjoy my Zenit camera (it keeps chewing up film) but the lens that comes with it (the Helios 44/2) is legendary for its surreal swirly bokeh, so is an excellent choice to adapt. It’s often cheaper to buy the camera and steal the lens than buy a copy of the lens.
You may recognize Aftershoot as one of the leading AI culling apps on the market. Now, Aftershoot is revving up its mission to streamline the entire post-shoot workflow for photographers with its AI editing software, Aftershoot EDITS.
Most of the time in landscape photography, we plan to visit several incredible destinations and photograph them over the course of a week-long trip, typically capturing seven or eight different places.
I love spring. Little flowers pop up everywhere -- in your garden, in nature, in parks, next to the roads: basically everywhere. And these flowers are great fun to photograph.
Milky Way season is the best time to learn how to plan and shoot an astrophotography timelapse, capturing the majestic galactic core in motion!
I had the Mamiya RB67 and Pentax 67 on my medium-format wanted list for many years now, but I simply could not justify the price tag or bear the unfortunate realization that either camera would sit lonely and unused on a shelf. That all changed in December 2022 when I decided to grab a non-working RB67 as a Christmas Present for my eldest brother.
Abstract landscape photography offers a unique opportunity to explore the world around us in a completely different way. By focusing on patterns, shapes, and textures, we can discover unseen worlds in even the most mundane places.
We've all seen the images surfacing online of portraits with seven fingers on one hand and two left feet. Recently, the internet has been inundated by imagery coming from prompted artificial intelligence programs such as Midjourney, Jasper, and DALL-E. The world has been captivated by the potential these new neural networks bring to the creative space.
Innovation from Canon got me into photography, but sadly Canon and its competitors lost their way.
As a photographer, it's easy to fall into a rut of shooting the same types of photos over and over again. Sometimes it is easy to slip into a routine once we have a good grasp of exposure and composition.
I recently wrote about the importance of discourse on the ethics around photography, where I offered my perspective on why rules and doctrines around decision making can diminish your ability to stand behind your work, justify your decisions, and really take responsibility and ownership over your vision.
A recent email from a photographer friend congratulated me on successfully navigating’ a "minefield" and walking "a very tricky tightrope." These sound like dramatic ways to describe the production of a book.
A little while ago, when Apexel asked me to review the 200X LED Lens microscope adaptor, I told them I was interested in both the microscope and the macro lens kit. Due to stocking issues, they were able to send the microscope adaptor.
Some years ago I wrote about the (now fairly obvious seeming) perspective of photography as a process of grounded, present awareness in order to achieve a result.
We're about to take a trip back in time to the early 1960s and learn how a $40 drugstore camera forced NASA to rethink its space missions. Yes, it’s true. A simple camera purchased at the local drugstore played a pivotal role in shaping the future of space exploration and set the stage for space photography in a non-scientific domain.
The world of photography is full of words and phrases that can be confusing for new photographers, so PetaPixel has put together a complete glossary of everything you may want to know the meaning of if you're just getting started.
I have a special interest in manual focus 50mm lenses. It began with a Praktica film SLR that was bundled with a 50mm f/2.8 Meyer-Optic Görlitz lens. Next came a Canon Ftb SLR with a 50mm f/1.4 FD SSC lens. This lens had a noticeable improvement in image quality along with a much better anti-reflection coating.
In landscape photography, it is helpful to have three specific lens filters in your camera bag. These are the circular polarizer (CPL) filter, the neutral density (ND) filter, and the graduated neutral density filter (GND).
Capturing images in the woods can be a fulfilling experience, and I have fond memories of wandering through the forest with my camera in hand. However, finding a good composition can be a challenge and sometimes stressful.
Photography, like every art form, is subjective. As such, anything we create is open to criticism, whether we like it or not. When criticism is given with the best of intentions, it can lead to growth.
Seeing is believing. This concise rhetoric goes a long way to explain the power of photography. Where a statistic can reduce an entire country to a few numbers a photograph can bypass the mind and head directly to the heart via the eyes. Emotional, heartbreaking eyewitness testimony is just another block of text compared to the medium which makes the viewer themselves an eyewitness to whatever the photographer wanted to show them.
The 66th parallel north is a circle of latitude that is 66 degrees north of the Earth's equatorial plane, about 61 kilometers south of the Arctic Circle. It crosses the Atlantic Ocean, Europe, Asia and North America.
I’d like to start by saying that I feel the word ‘criticism’ is interpreted by some as inherently negative, but that doesn’t have to be the case. Throughout this article, I’ve used the words ‘critique’, ‘criticism', and ‘feedback’, interchangeably, because I consider them to be more or less the same in this particular context.
As a wildlife photographer, I'm always looking for ways to capture stunning images of animals in their natural habitats. One technique I've found to be incredibly effective is using a custom-made, DIY, DSLR camera trap, which is a camera setup that is triggered by the movement of an animal.
Headshot photography is an exciting and lucrative niche in the photography industry, and if you're looking to make a name for yourself as a headshot photographer, this article is for you.
Back in December, a young man walked into one of the fine art galleries that represent my photographs and engaged the gallery owner in a conversation about some of my prints. He seemed to be familiar with my work, said that his girlfriend was actually a fan, and remarked that he had been thinking of buying her a piece.
I love street photography, I teach street photography, I promote street photography, I defend street photography, and want everyone to experience the fun of doing street photography!
From gnarled veterans to sky-soaring giants, trees are majestic subjects to experience and photograph. While shifting seasons, wild weather and fleeting light can make the pursuit a highly rewarding—yet achingly frustrating—one.
While photography and linguistic language share characteristics, when it comes to actually applying theories and practices between one and the other, it can be hard to remain coherent. This is down to the flaw in thinking that just because a comparison can be made aspects can be transposed between them.
Food photography is one of the easiest photography disciplines to start out with. You can arrange food however you like. It doesn’t scamper away mid-shoot and doesn’t get tired. It’s also relatively contained and easy to practice.
Being a wedding photographer for me is one of the best, if not the best, jobs in the world. As expected though, the best job in the world also has its negatives, and one of them is the reoccurring nightmares the night before a wedding day.
The popular tripod company Benro today launched the Theta, a revolutionary new camera stabilization device that the brand calls "the world's first smart modular travel tripod."
In order to capture moments above clouds or fog, you have to find them first. In some places, this can be an easy task, while in others it can be a rare occurrence.
I received a request from Apexel to review a phone accessory that connects to microscopes, telescopes, or binoculars. I replied to inform them that I had none of those pieces of equipment but I might be interested in reviewing a macro or microscope attachment to mobile phones.
The latest digital cameras boast ever-higher resolutions, better performance in low light, smart focusing and shake reduction – and they’re built right into your smartphone.
Australia presents some serious challenges for landscape photographers, like lighting. For most of the day, the Australian landscape is bathed in a very harsh, bright light, which amps up contrast and washes out colors.
I’ve been a Canon shooter since I moved into digital about 15 years ago. I had been using Mamiya and Minolta cameras with film and at that time the Canon 50D came out and I decided to give it a go. Since then I worked my way through the 5D lineup to the 5D Mark III and built up a collection of glass that has served me well.
Zone focusing (ZF) is a great way to pre-set your camera's focus and aperture, then use that setting for multiple shots. Street shooters love it. And it's also great for sports, pets, jumpy kids, parties, or any subjects in motion.
There's only so many times people can threaten to kill you before you start to wonder if they might be serious.
We all know that headshot photography is all about capturing the essence of our subjects - their personality, character, and unique qualities that make them stand out. As headshot photographers, how do we really capture that magic?
What makes a great hobby? Most people don’t have to ask themselves this, they just naturally gravitate to activities they enjoy and make time for them–but I’ve had to think about this for years. It’s an important question, particularly when your time is being pulled in multiple directions!
During the century-or-so that film was the dominant medium in photography, a handful of cameras made a mark deeper than the rest and became legendary for their impact and legacy. One of these was the Leica M3.
The camera is a reasonably recent image-creation tool; compared to millennia of paintings, drawings, carvings, and illustrations, we have only a few hundred years of photographs and photographic development. What photography offers compared to those ancient arts is (relative) immediacy and accuracy.
No doubt most of us have found ourselves in the following situation... You’ve discovered a beautiful landscape scene that you’ve carefully composed in your camera’s viewfinder. Your camera is on a tripod and there’s no wind, so you’re feeling confident that you’ll be able to capture everything in one shot with both a small aperture and a slow shutter speed. Things are looking great!
It was Sunday morning January 25th, 1998, and I was in The Associated Press’s trailer in the parking lot at Qualcomm Stadium, San Diego. Last-minute preparations were underway for coverage of Super Bowl XXXII between the Green Bay Packers and the Denver Broncos – Favre vs Elway. Perfect!
This year marks 50 years since Susan Sontag’s essay "Photography" was published in the New York Review of Books. Slightly edited and renamed In Plato’s Cave, it would become the first essay in her collection On Photography, which has never been out of print.