Michael Zhang

Founder, Editor

Michael is a photography enthusiast, entrepreneur, and programmer based in Northern California near San Francisco. He graduated from the University of California, Berkeley with two degrees in computer science.

Articles by Michael Zhang

Nikon D5 Has a Big Removable Eyepiece and a Built-In Viewfinder Shutter

When the first Nikon D5 photos leaked out earlier this week, sharp-eyed commenters noticed that the viewfinder appears to have little release buttons on the side, suggesting that the camera will have a larger interchangeable viewfinder piece.

Those observations were spot on: newly leaked photos show that the upcoming Nikon D5 does have a large eyepiece that can be easily removed by pushing the buttons in and sliding the piece off.

This Algorithm Can Tell How Memorable a Photo Is

Some photographs have the power to burn themselves into our memories for a long time, while others are easily forgettable after they're seen. Scientists are MIT have been researching the science behind memorable images, and now they've created a web app called LaMem that can analyze any photo and assign it a memorability score.

Shooting Above-and-Below Photos of Icebergs with a Custom Camera Rig

Photographer Steve Mandel just returned from Antarctica, where he made photos of icebergs using an underwater camera, a surface camera, and a drone.

For his underwater shots, Mandel shot each photo so that it's a split view in a single frame: half of it shows the iceberg above water, and half shows what's below.

These Light Painting Photographs Were Made Using an Automated Drone

German drone manufacturer Ascending Technologies is celebrating Christmas season this year by doing some light painting photography. Each of the photos they've made was painted by an automated drone that was programmed to follow waypoints in the sky.

The company believes this is the first drone light painting project of this kind.

Photographer Criticized for Christmas Photo Showing Family Bound and Gagged

Louisiana-based photographer Hannah Hawkes is taking heat this week over a family portrait she shot and shared on her Facebook page. The Christmas photo shows the father holding a sign that reads "Peace on Earth" while the mother and two daughters are gagged with green tape and bound with Christmas lights.

The photo soon went viral in a negative way for Hawkes, as commenters around the Web condemned the photo as "sexist," "degrading," and promoting violence toward women.

‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ Was Shot on Film, and Kodak May Be Profitable in 2016

Back in July 2013, we shared how major filmmakers had banded together to rescue Kodak by committing to purchasing film from the company. One of the big names was J.J. Abrams, the director of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, which opens this week.

The new Star Wars was shot on Kodak film, and thanks to a number of other major productions using Kodak as well, Kodak says it may be profitable starting next year.

25 Moods of an Ocean, As Seen by a Photographer at Eye Level

For the past 2 years, photographer Che Chorley has been working has been working on a seascape project. Each shot is captured with the surface of the sea at about eye level, and each mainly shows the ocean, horizon, and sky.

But different weather and times of day cause the photos to have drastically different appearances. Chorley has put together a set of 25 seascape photos showing 25 different "moods" the ocean showed him.

This is What Happens When a Camera Gets Dropped in Lava

Ever wonder what happens to a camera if you accidentally drop it into a volcano's molten lava? Well, wonder no more, because some poor photographer found out the hard way.

Photographer Amanda Stevens was working at Samy's Camera in Pasadena, California, this past weekend when she came across this Sony Alpha mirrorless camera that had been destroyed by lava damage.

Guy Shuts Down Major Freeway for Proposal Photos

A man in Houston, Texas, is being heavily criticized this week after causing traffic on a major freeway to come to a standstill while he proposed to his girlfriend -- all for "priceless" photos and a video that were shared on Instagram and Facebook.

There Are Now 8x More People Taking Pictures than 10 Years Ago

Camera sales haven't been doing too well in recent years, but that hasn't kept picture taking from exploding. While the dedicated camera industry has seen year-on-year declines, smartphone photography has turned everyone into a casual photographer: there are now 8 times as many picture takers worldwide than there were 10 years ago.

Canon’s New Billboards Provide Real Time Photo Tips

Canon's latest billboard ad campaign in New York City does more than promote the camera brand: they can actually help you shoot better photos. Each of the fixed and mobile truck billboards is updated in real time with useful photo tips you can use on the spot.

Adobe Doubles Profits Thanks to Growth in Creative Cloud Subscribers

Adobe announced its quarterly results last Thursday, and investors are happy: the company beat market expectations by doubling profits from a year ago thanks to a huge growth in Creative Cloud subscribers. It seems that the shift from boxed software to digital subscription plans is paying off big time for the San Jose, California-based company.

These 2 Street Photographers Deal with Angry People in Very Different Ways

Street photographers Chuck Jines and Keenan Hastings both uploaded videos this week showing confrontations they had while shooting on the street -- Jines in New Orleans and Hastings in Detroit. They both came across strangers who didn't appreciate their photo being made, but Jines and Hastings had two very different ways of dealing with the situation.

‘Time Lapse’ is a Sci-Fi Thriller About a Camera That Photographs the Future

If you're a fan of both photography and science fiction, here's a movie you can add to your queue of things to watch: "Time Lapse." Released earlier this year, the film is about a mysterious camera device that shoots Polaroid pictures that show the future.

"Three friends discover a mysterious machine that takes pictures 24hrs into the future," the movie's synopsis reads. "They conspire to use it for personal gain, until disturbing and dangerous images begin to develop..." You can watch the 2-minute trailer above.

The Evolution of Cameras Explained in 11 Portraits

Want to see how the look of portraits have evolved with major camera developments throughout history? Photographer Leo Rosas Morin of COOPH shot 11 portraits of 1 model, and using Photoshop, he recreated the aesthetics of 11 key moments in photography history.

Stunner Santa Poses for a Male Fashion Photo Shoot

For its holiday campaign this year, the Yorkdale shopping mall in Toronto, Canada, created Fashion Santa. Instead of wearing his traditional red hat, coat, trousers, and boots, Santa posed for a photo shoot wearing festive outfits representing the latest trends in male fashion.

Point of View: Photographing Race Protests in Sydney

This past weekend was the 10th anniversary of the infamous Cronulla Riots in Sydney, Australia, race riots that resulted in 26 injuries and 104 arrests. "Party for Freedom" leader Nick Folkes decided to hold a "patriotic barbecue" to mark the occasion, but attracted less than 50 supporters. The event was attended by a throng of anti-riot police, journalists, and a counter-protest from a much larger crowd.

Photographer Dillon Mak was covering the event, and he used a GoPro to document things from his point of view. In the 9-minute video above, things start getting heated at about 3 minutes in.

This Video Shows the Truth Behind Online Photos

Hồ Anh Đức of Vietnam created this humorous video that shows the "truth" behind those picture perfect photos you see shared all over Instagram and Facebook. You don't need Photoshop to stretch the truth in photos.

Samsung Patents a Smartphone with a Modular Lens Mount System

Google's ongoing Project Ara effort features a modular smartphone with interchangeable camera add-ons. It looks like Samsung is thinking about taking modular smartphone photography a step further: a new patent shows a smartphone with a modular lens mount that can be added to support interchangeable lenses.

‘Studio’ Wildlife Portraits Captured with Camera Traps and Flashes

Photographer Jonny Armstrong's portfolio is filled with some of the most remarkable wildlife photos you'll ever see: many of the portraits have a studio-like quality to them, and they're often taken from just a few feet away.

The secret to Armstrong's work is that he's a master of camera trap photography, using remote cameras and triggers to catch creatures off guard when they're going about their business.

The First Sample Photos from Pentax’s Upcoming Full Frame DSLR

It's no secret that Ricoh has a full frame Pentax DSLR up its sleeve. The camera is set to debut in the Spring of 2016, and a 24-70mm lens has already been announced for the body.

If you're looking forward to this camera, this may whet your appetite even more: the first sample photos captured using the camera have been published.

Tumblr’s iOS App Now Supports Apple’s Live Photos

Tumblr has just announced that it's introducing support for Live Photos, a feature Apple released earlier this year with the introduction of the iPhone 6S and 6S Plus. Live Photos lets you watch a few moments of video that are recorded immediately before and after your snapshot.

Photographer Captures Powerful Waves on Lake Erie as Liquid Mountains

Dave Sandford is a professional sports photographer of 18 years whose hometown is London, Ontario, Canada. Over the past 4 weeks, for 2 to 3 days per week, Sandford has been driving 45 minutes to Lake Erie, spending up to 6 hours a day photographing the lake.

The photos are awe-inspiring: Sandford gets in the water and shoots the powerful choppy waves in a way that makes them look like epic mountain peaks that are exploding into the atmosphere.

Photographer Takes His Camera to the Skies Above Pyongyang, North Korea

Singapore-based photographer Aram Pan of DPRK 360 has spent the past few years creating groundbreaking images inside the borders of North Korea. His latest feat: becoming the first foreigners to fly over Pyongyang in a North Korea-built light airplane.

The 15-minute video above is Pan's documentation of this pioneering aerial photo shoot.

These Color Photos of Paris Were Shot 100 Years Ago

Back in 1909, a super-rich French banker named Albert Kahn decided to create a photographic record of the world using the new color photography process that had just appeared, the Autochrome Lumière. He commissioned 4 photographers to take their cameras to places all over the world. One of the cities they documented was Paris.