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

Unconventional Studio Portraits of Dogs

When dog owners take their pets to a photography for studio, they're probably hoping for a series of portraits that make their little friend look "nice." That's most likely not the word that'll come to mind when you look at photographer Pablo Axpe's dog portraits in his project CANIO.

Canon 70D Photos and Specs Spotted in Leaked Advertisement

Canon will soon be announcing a 70D to replace the 60D in its mid-level lineup, and we have a pretty darn good idea of what that camera will be like. An advertisement for the camera has leaked onto the web, revealing just a couple of photos but a whole list of specs and features.

Why Photographs of Watches and Clocks Show the Time 10:10

Have you ever noticed that the watches and clocks found in product photographs and advertisements usually show the time 10:10? If you haven't, pay attention the next time you're flipping through a publication and come across a watch ad---the rule is almost always true.

If you have noticed this, do you know why 10:10 is the default time for watch photographers?

How Not to Photograph a Deer in the Wild from a Safe Distance

Back in March 2011, British adventure photographer Dan Milner went on a 9-day photo shoot in the Scottish Highlands for Transworld Snowboarding magazine. While there, he endured blizzards, 100MPH winds, -20° temperatures, and being headbutted in the lens by a wild stag.

It's true: the video above proves it.

Chicago Tribune and Sun-Times Covers After the Stanley Cup Finals

After the Chicago Sun-Times laid off its entire staff of photographers at the end of last month, the newspaper's editor sent out a memo stating that employees would be trained in using their smartphones to contribute photography ("iPhone photography basics," it was called).

We may be starting to see the negative effects of having an army of staff iPhoneographers rather than photojournalists. The side-by-side comparison above shows what the Chicago Tribune and Chicago Sun-Times newspaper covers looked like on June 26th, 2013, two days after the Stanley Cup finals.

Sony RX1R Bests the RX1 in Sharpness by Ditching the Anti-Aliasing Filter

Sony now has two full frame compact cameras in its lineup---kinda. The company today announced the RX1R, a souped up (or perhaps stripped down?) version of the RX1 that shoots sharper photographs by ditching the anti-aliasing filter in front of the sensor. Aside from the lack of an AA filter, the RX1R and its sibling are virtually identical cameras.

Giraffic Park: When Photographing on a Safari, Beware the Hormonal Giraffes

If you ever take your camera on a safari to photograph animals in the wild, here's one animal you should be careful around: the giraffe.

Sure, it doesn't have a dangerous reputation like lions or other fierce animals at the top of the food chain, but if you're not careful around the world's tallest terrestrial animal---especially the hormonal ones---you may quickly find yourself in a situation that's strangely similar to a famous scene in the movie Jurassic Park.

Can You Figure Out What’s Strange About These Family Portraits?

Pay a visit to photographer Jamie Diamond's website, and you'll find that one of her projects is a series of family portraits. The images look like standard family portraits: the members are posed in different places and positions, there are older members and younger members; everyone's dressed nicely, everyone's smiling.

Look a little closer though, and you might notice that certain things are a bit strange... or should we say "stranger"?

This 870-Megapixel Monster Camera Has 116 Sensors and Weighs 3 Tons

If Optimus Prime ever decided to retire from saving Earth and take up photography as a hobby, this is one camera he might consider using. Called the Hyper Suprime-Cam, it's a 870-megapixel ultra-wide-field camera that stands 3 meters (~10 feet) high and weighs in at 3 tons. The comparison illustration above shows what the camera looks like next to a 5.2-foot-tall girl.

Nikon’s Taiwan Repair Center Can Fix Up Your Broken Lens… And Make it White

Shoot with Nikon DSLR gear and want to give your lens a paint job? Instead of doing it yourself---which, by the way, can produce some neat results---you can send your lens over to the Nikon Repair Center in Taiwan. In addition to fixing up damaged lenses--sometimes by boiling the parts in water---the center can also give your lens a sleek, white paint job.

The Wrong Way to Adjust the Diopter on Your Camera’s Viewfinder

Most high-end cameras come with diopters that allow photographers to calibrate the viewfinder to match their eyesight. Adjusting the diopter is easy: simply stare through the camera while turning the little dial or knob found next to your viewfinder (the one with the +/-). Once the scene is sharp (assuming the lens is focused), you're done!

Apparently one of the dangers of diopter adjustment---for some camera owners at least---is accidentally stabbing your eyeball with your finger.

Taiwanese Coffee Machines Print Photos of Customers Onto Lattes

Latte art is something that's often the subject of photographs, but have you ever seen an latte artwork that is a photograph?

A coffee business over in Taiwan recently came up with the idea of providing a unique product to customers by having photographs of their faces printed directly onto the foam of the coffee they're ordering!

What the Upcoming Fujifilm X-M1 Looks Like Next to Other X Series Cameras

Fujifilm's upcoming "entry-level" X-M1 X Series mirrorless camera was outed today after photographs of the camera were leaked onto the Web. We now know what the camera will look like, but many of the camera's specs and features are still unknown. The size and weight of the camera haven't been revealed yet, but it's actually possible to determine the relative size of the camera to other X Series mirrorless cameras using just the leaked photos.

Impossible Instant Lab Shipping August 29th for $299

When The Impossible Project announced its Impossible Instant Lab back in September 2012, it turned to Kickstarter to raise $250,000 to fund the project. After the Internet got wind of the smartphone-to-instant-photo printing device, the fundraising campaign blew past its goal and ended up with a total of $559,232 from 2,509 supporters.

Today the company announced that the Impossible Instant Lab will be hitting store shelves on August 29th, 2013 for a retail price of $299.

What is it About Photographs That Makes People Click?

Why is it that some photographs go viral online while others are left by the digital wayside? Are there certain elements in photos that make them more "sharable" to Internet users?

Curalate, a company that creates social media analytics software, decided to tackle this question by analyzing the photographs published by brands to Pinterest.

Leaked Photos of Fujifilm’s X-M1 Entry-Level Mirrorless Camera Appear

Rumors emerged last month that Fujifilm would be announcing an entry-level X Series mirrorless camera this summer. Looks like those rumors were spot on.

Photographs of an upcoming Fujifilm X-M1 mirrorless camera leaked today, showing a sleek and minimalist camera that looks like a stripped down version of existing X Series cameras.

Abstract Photos Created by Repeating Everyday Household Items

To imitate photographer Nick Albertson's work, you'll need a camera, household items purchased in bulk, and an eye for the beautiful and abstract. Take a look at Albertson's project titled "Work in Progress," and you'll find photographs of things such as rubber bands, straws, and napkins. They don't look like your everyday objects, though: Albertson turns them into works of art by carefully arranging them into repeating patterns.

A ‘Tiny Planet’ Photo Shot from the Top of the World’s Tallest Building

Remember that amazing 360-degree panorama captured from the top of the Burj Khalifa that we shared back in January? Photographer Gerald Donovan created that stitched panorama to show what Earth looks like from the world's tallest manmade point.

If you want to see what an actual "tiny world" photo looks like when captured from that same spot, look no further than the photograph above.

Eye-Popping Photographs of the National Pyrotechnic Festival in Mexico

The municipality of Tultepec in Mexico produces about half of all of the country's fireworks. Every year, more than 100,000 people flock to the area for a nine day event called the National Pyrotechnic Festival. There are activities common to a fair (e.g. food, music, dancing), but the biggest reason people attend is to experience the dazzling firework displays.

Photographer Thomas Prior traveled from New York to attend one of these festivals, and ended up capturing a collection of beautiful photographs showing people partying from within explosions.

What an Atomic Bomb Explosion Looks Like from Above and Below

On November 5, 1951, a 31 kiloton atomic bomb was dropped in the Nevada Test Site from a B-45 Tornado bomber. A camera in the air was documenting the test, and captured the video above showing what a large nuclear explosion looks like when looking down at it from above. Notice how the camera begins to shake when the shockwave of the blast reaches it.

Photographer Captures Incredible Aerial Shots While Paragliding

Alexandre Buisse is a professional mountain photographer who also has a huge passion for paragliding. Beautiful things happen when those two interests come together. Buisse has captured some remarkable aerial photographs of landscapes in France and Italy while soaring high above the ground.

DIY: 35mm Film Slide Business Cards

Want to make some business cards for your photography business that stand out from among traditional cards? Try making some in the style of 35mm film slides. Last week we shared photographer Lars Swanson's beautiful slide cards, and this week we have a step-by-step look at how you can make something similar.

Gloomy Portraits of Zoo Animals Living In their Manmade Worlds

When people take pictures of captive animals in zoos, oftentimes their goal is to shoot the images in a way that makes the animals appear to be in the wild. Photographer Daniel Zakharov does no such thing. Rather than make the glass, bars, and concrete disappear off to the sides of the frame, Zakharov intentionally captures the fact that the animals are found in unnatural environments.

The Magic of Firmware: Canon EOS M AF Speed Boost Seen in Videos

Earlier this month, Canon announced that there's a firmware update for the Canon EOS M on the way that will boost the mirrorless camera's sluggish autofocusing speeds by up to 2.3x. Given that AF slowness is one of the biggest gripes EOS M owners have with the camera, the news was likely music to many a EO M owner's ear.

If you want to see what this 2.3x looks like in real life, Korean photographer Daero Lee has published a number of comparison videos showing updated and non-updated EOS Ms focusing on things.

Photographer Captures the ISS Looking Like the USS Enterprise

Dumitrana, Romania-based astrophotographer Maximilian Teodorescu recently got his hands on an 1800mm f/12 Maksutov telescope and decided to put it through its paces this past weekend. He decided to test out the imaging quality by using it to photograph the International Space Station passing in front of the moon in broad daylight. The beautiful photograph above is what he ended up capturing.

Photographer Gives Greek Sculptures a Hipster Makeover Using Photoshop

The term "hipster" is only decades old (at most) and has only become widely used over the past half decade, but what if the concept had existed in days of old? That's the idea behind photographer Leo Caillard's project, "Hipster in Stone." Combining his photography and Photoshoppin' skills, Caillard imagines what it would be like if ancient Greek sculpture subjects were hipsters.

Long Exposure Engagement Photos Shot Under the Starry Night Sky

Long exposure photographs of stars and romantic engagement photographs aren't often found together, but that's the fusion wedding photography couple Robert Paetz and Felicia Wong have been dabbling with as of late. The duo takes their clients out into natural landscapes away from light-polluted cities and photographs them under the night sky. They call the resulting photos, "astro wedding photography."

Webcam Captures Volcano Explosion and Shockwave in a Time-Lapse Video

Located the Mexican state of Puebla, Popocatépetl is the second highest peak in Mexico and an active volcano -- a really active volcano. It's one of the most lively ones in the country of Mexico, with over 15 major eruptions on record since 1519 and plenty of smaller explosions through the years.

Yesterday, Popocatépetl experienced another powerful explosion as the top "popped off" to relieve the pressure within. A webcam pointed at the peak was able to capture the whole thing, and the video above shows what the explosion and resulting shockwave look like in time-lapse.

A First-Person View of Photographing the Protests in Brazil

This past weekend, hundreds of protestors clashed with riot police in the area surrounding the Maracana football stadium in Rio de Janiero. Their main gripe was the fact that the country is spending so much on hosting the 2014 World Cup despite many of the country's public services still lacking in funding.

Rio de Janiero-based photographer Michel de Souza was at the protests capturing everything on camera, and also captured the point-of-view footage above showing what he saw as he snapped photos.

Parents Unhappy About Where Their Son Was Placed in His Class Photograph

School portraits don't often make the news for causing controversy, but that's exactly what the class photo above has been doing over in New Westminster, British Columbia, Canada. Parents of the boy seen on the right side of the frame were unhappy after receiving the photo and finding that their son had been set apart from his classmates and teacher due to the fact that he uses a wheelchair.

Wedding Party Running from Imperial AT-AT Walkers

It appears that "wedding party running from _____" is at risk of becoming a meme among wedding photographers. After seeing that photo of a wedding party running from a T-Rex that went viral last month, photographers Danielle and Tony Lombardo of Little Blue Lemon decided to do their own remix.