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

Google and Reddit Tighten Their Policies Regarding Explicit Photos

Two Internet heavyweights took big measures today to put restrictions on the sexually explicit photos and videos being shared through their services. Google is banning public adult content entirely on its Blogger platform, while Reddit is now requiring that all explicit photos be posted with the consent of their subjects.

Multiple Camera Drones Were Lost for This Imagery of a Volcano’s Insides

Explorer Sam Cossman recently employed the help of multiple drones to capture photos and footage of the Marum Crater in an active volcano on the Pacific island nation of Vanuatu. He ended up losing multiple drones in the process, but he left the island with spectacular images that will help provide a better understanding of the volcano and the life that exists around it.

Shooting Portraits of Superheroes on the Corner of a 1,000-Foot Skyscraper

Photographer Benjamin Von Wong wanted to capture the fearlessness of superheroes without the use of a green screen or cheap special effects, so he recruited some ordinary people, dressed them up as well-known comic characters, and placed them on the edge of certain death.

The portraits he captured shows the models standing on the corner of a tall skyscraper in San Francisco.

New Photo Purports to Show ‘Billy the Kid’ in Younger Years, Could Fetch Hefty Sum if Real

A new photo has emerged that purports to show the infamous outlaw "Billy the Kid" in his younger days, and the owner of the photograph is working hard to convince the world that it's real. If he's successful, the payoff could be grand: back in 2011, the only known photo of Billy the Kid was sold at auction for $2.3 million to Bill Koch, becoming one of the most expensive photos on Earth.

Polaroid’s History of Innovation, War, and Lawsuits

Ronald K. Fierstein is a man who has had a front row seat to the evolution of photography as we know it. He's a lawyer who helped represent Polaroid during its lengthy legal battle with Eastman Kodak over patents.

Fierstein has written a new book that sheds light on the life and career of Polaroid founder Edwin Land, the "original Steve Jobs" (Jobs revered Land and modeled his career after his). It's titled A Triumph of Genius: Edwin Land, Polaroid, and the Kodak Patent War.

NPPA Calls on Photographers Disqualified from WPP to Share Their ‘Shopped Photos

The world of photojournalism took a hit earlier this month when it was revealed that 20% of the finalists in the prestigious World Press Photo competition had been disqualified due to unethical edits. The National Press Photographers Association released a statement this past weekend calling for the disqualified photographers to share the edits that eliminated them from competition.

Lightroom Iron Chef: 29 Submitted Photos Processed Live In Front of a Crowd

Photographer Stu Maschwitz of Prolost recently paid a visit to the Bay Area Lightroom User Group and tried something he's always wanted to do: Lightroom Iron Chef.

He took 29 audience-submitted photographs and post-processed them in Lightroom in front of a live audience of more than 100 people, all while providing a running commentary of what he's doing and why.

Shooting Self-Portraits Under the Northern Lights

If you've always dreamed of taking pictures of the northern lights, the video above will give you a small taste of what it's like. Swedish astrophotographer Göran Strand captured the behind-the-scenes footage recently when he drove out into the wilderness in the dead of night to chase auroras.

Photographer Joe Rosenthal Shares the Story Behind ‘Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima’

70 years ago today, photographer Joe Rosenthal captured a photograph of six US soldiers raising a flag on Mount Suribachi during the Battle of Iwo Jima in World War II. That photo (shown above), became an instant iconic image -- these days we would say it "went viral" -- and was published in thousands of publications around the world.

It went on to became the only photo to win a Pulitzer Prize in the same year it was published, and the image is now one of the most republished and recognizable photos of all time.

This Apple iPad Commercial Was Shot with the iPad

Apple aired a new iPad commercial during the Oscars ceremony last night. The ad touts the iPad as a tool that anyone can use for creating films. What viewers may not have known while watching the spot, however, was that the commercial itself was filmed entirely on an iPad.

The Cincinnati Public Library Lets You Use DSLRs and Studio Equipment for Free

As books are easier to buy and borrow in digital forms, public libraries are evolving and experimenting with new ways to stay relevant. The Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County has one awesome idea for how to do so: the main branch of the library in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio, features a makerspace that provides free access to tools for creative people -- equipment that includes DSLRs and photo studio gear.

What It’s Like to Shoot Backstage At the Oscars

Update on 12/16/21: This video has been removed by its creator.

Tonight, USA TODAY staff photographer Robert Hanashiro (the founder of SportsShooter) will be covering the Academy Awards with his camera for the 26th time, and for the 10th time he'll have rare backstage access. Only 4 news organizations were given this level of access, allowing them to capture moments that TV cameras can't.

America’s First Female Photojournalist, Jessie Tarbox Beals, With Her Cameras

Here's a photograph of Jessie Tarbox Beals, America's first female photojournalist, with her camera on a street a century ago. While most female photographers of her time shot photos from the peace and safety of photo studios, Beals ventured into the world of photojournalism and made a name for herself through her tenacity, self-promotion, and freelance news photos.

A 324-Key Keyboard Dedicated to Lightroom Editing

It was around this time last year that we shared a new product called SHORTCUT-S, a 319-key keyboard designed specifically for editing photos in Photoshop.

Creatives soon began asking the company to branch out into other popular programs, and today the company is doing just that. SHORTCUT-S tells us that it will soon be launching dedicated keyboards for 13 other programs, one of which is Adobe Lightroom.

Garry Winogrand Talks to University Students About Photography in 1977

Garry Winogrand was one of the most notable and prolific American street photographers of the 20th century. He is known for capturing a vast record of what American life was like during the decades following World War II; in addition to his published works, thousands of his undeveloped and unseen rolls of film were discovered when he passed away in 1984.

In 1977, Winogrand was invited to speak to Rice Students about photography. Over the course of two hours, the photographer answered all kinds of questions and discussed a wide range of topics regarding photography, his work, and his thoughts.

Photographer Peter Lik Has Sold Nearly Half a Billion Dollars in Prints

Last December, the art world balked when photographer Peter Lik announced the world's priciest sale of a photograph: a single black-and-white print titled "Phantom" for $6.5 million. Here's another fact that will drop your jaws: Lik has sold nearly half a billion dollars worth of photographic prints, which means he's possibly the best-selling fine-art photographer in history.

A Benedict Cumberbatch Photo Shoot for Vanity Fair

Here's a behind-the-scenes video showing how photographer Jason Bell recently photographed actor Benedict Cumberbatch for a special issue of Vanity Fair.

After observing that "this British invasion of Hollywood has gotten so out of hand," Bell (who was born in London) came up with the idea of doing an all-British edition of Vanity Fair's annual Hollywood portfolio, which will arrive on March 2015. Cumberbatch is one of the stars featured in the series.

Mind-Bending Optical Illusions Created With Photo Manipulation

Erik Johansson is a Swedish photographer and retoucher based in Berlin who is well known on the Internet for his amazing surreal photo manipulations that show everyday scenes with major twists. A number of his works are optical illusions created by manipulating and combining images in creative ways.

The image above is one of Johansson's more recent works. It's titled "The Architect" and shows a man searching for inspiration in an impossible house.

Finding Freedom: Portraits and Poems of Former Inmates at a Halfway House

"Finding Freedom" is a new art book collaborative project between Brandon Crockett, a community volunteer and advertising copywriter, and the renowned photographer Sandro Miller -- yes, the same one that recreated iconic photos with John Malkovich. The book features poetry and portraits from residents at a Chicago halfway house -- individuals who have recently left prison and are attempting to reintegrate with society.

‘Dudeoir’ Photography Trend Puts Men In the Frame for Seductive Shots

Boudoir photography, derived from the French word for "sulky," traditionally involves a woman posing for a suggestive series of tasteful photos in various states of undress. Over the past few years, however, a new trend has emerged. Called "dudeoir" photography, these shots involve men jumping into the frame to pose for sexy shots.

This is Why Photographers Should Stay Off the Track at a Horse Race

During a horse race, the track itself probably isn't the place you should be wandering in order to snap the perfect action shot. Even if racers do tend to stay toward the inside of the track, things don't always go as expected. A photographer in Finland learned this lesson the hard way this past week.

China Takes Winning Prestigious Photo Contests Very, Very Seriously

China is a country that's known to take the Olympics (the summer ones, at least) very seriously as the nation competes for a bigger presence on the world stage. Chinese gold medal winners become instant superstars and the role models for a generation of aspiring athletes.

It turns out photography is another field in which China is trying to become a world superpower, and its efforts are bearing fruit.

These Photos of Starling Murmurations Were Created with Plastic Bags

A murmuration of starlings is a beautiful sight to behold, as giant flocks of birds float through the air like a dark cloud with a mind of its own. French photographer Alain Delorme captured this beauty in his project Murmurations, but instead of birds and wildlife photography, Delorme's images were created through plastic bags and Photoshop.

A Blast from the Past: Demos of Adobe Photoshop 1.0

Adobe celebrated Photoshop's 25th birthday yesterday with great fanfare. Since the original Photoshop version 1.0 was launched back on February 19th, 1990, there have been 15 major versions released that have advanced the way we work with (and look at) photographs.

To see how far post-processing has come over the past two-and-a-half decades, here's a closer look at what it was like to use the very first version of Photoshop.

This New Flat Lens Captures Perfect Colors Without Chromatic Aberration

A team of researchers at Harvard are trying to revolutionize the world of optical lenses. Instead of traditional curved lenses that suffer from various optical flaws, they are working on a completely flat and ultra-thin lens that overcomes age-old problems and pushes optical quality to the limits of the laws of nature.

Memory Card from Stolen Camera Returned After Photographer Makes Public Appeal

Earlier this month, we reported that a North Carolina-based photographer Faith Massey had gotten her camera bag stolen from her car. Inside was a memory card that contained irreplaceable photos of the last moments of a baby's life, which Massey captured through the charity organization Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep.

There's a happy update to the story: the memory card has been returned, and all the precious lost photos have been recovered.

A Laser Can Turn Off Streetlights That Interfere With Your Astrophotography

Streetlights polluting your shots of the starry night sky? A strategically placed laser might be just what you need.

Destin Sandlin of the YouTube channel SmarterEveryDay recently paid a visit to the house of NASA astronaut (and photographer) Don Pettit, who showed Sandlin a trick that he uses to temporarily disable an annoying streetlight just down the street. You can see this "life hack" in action at 1:04 in the video above.

Beyonce is the Latest Celebrity to Have Unretouched Portraits Leak and Cause a Hoopla

Update: We have removed the photos after receiving a takedown request from the photographer.

Less than a week after an unretouched photo of Cindy Crawford leaked onto the Web, a set of untouched photos from an ad shoot featuring Beyonce has emerged as well. Just like with the Crawford photo, the new images are causing quite a discussion online about the role Photoshop has in creating perfection for advertisements.