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

Torture Testing Sony’s TOUGH SD Card to See What It Can Survive

Sony claims its new TOUGH line of SD memory cards are the toughest and fastest SD cards ever made, so the folks over at Cameta Camera decided to put that claim to the test. Here's a 12-minute video in which the NY-based camera store subjects a card to a variety of torture tests to see how it holds up.

How to Rate and Flag Photos with Your Voice on a Mac

Want to navigate through a large set of photos and assign star ratings using only your voice instead of your keyboard? It's extremely easy to set up for any image organization software if you use a Mac. Here's a 6.5-minute tutorial by photographer Tony Hoffer on how to set this up.

Camera Terms You’re Saying Wrong

There are several terms in photography that are commonly mispronounced. Here's a 5-minute video in which Gerald Undone discusses them and teaches how to correct pronounce them.

Award-Winning Photographer Lisa Saad Accused of Stealing Photos

Lisa Saad is considered one of Australia's top photographers and has won numerous prestigious photo contests both in her country and internationally. But Saad has now come under fire with serious accusations of stealing other people's photos without credit for her prize-winning photos.

This Web App Lets You Build Your Own Stock Photos

Here's an unusual way to obtain the simple stock photo you need: Photo Creator is a web app that lets you build your own realistic stock photos. The site features thousands of models, objects, and backgrounds that you can combine into your own creations.

Photographer Captures Hikers as High-Fashion Models on a 2,653-Mile Hike

Photographer Tommy Corey spent months thru-hiking the 2,653-mile Pacific Crest Trail that spans California, Oregon, and Washington. Along the way, he photographed his fellow long-distance hikers as though they were high-fashion models. The project is called Hiker Trash Vogue, and Corey's beautiful 7-minute video above tells the story of how it came to be.

This App Uses a Camera Overlay as a Guide for Instagram-Worthy Poses

If you've ever handed your smartphone to a kind stranger and asked them to shoot a photo of you, you may have found it difficult to communicate exactly what framing and pose you'd like them to capture. A Korean app called SOVS2 (which stands for "SomeOne Very Special") is designed to help with this problem.

Camera Canopy Puts a Roof Over Your Camera to Keep it Dry

The camera rain cover is a popular option for keep cameras dry while shooting in wet weather, but there's a new product that brings a new idea to the table. It's called Camera Canopy, and it puts a hard roof over your camera gear to shield it from the elements.

Photos Found on USB Stick Found in Frozen Seal Poo

There have been plenty of stories of photos being found on lost cameras over the years, but here's a wild lost-and-found story you definitely haven't heard before. A USB drive has been reunited with its owner after it was found in a frozen slab of seal poo.

These Teens Were Asked to Edit Their Portrait for Social Media

The British photographer Rankin recently conducted an experiment for a project titled "Selfie Harm." He photographed 15 teenagers between ages 13 and 19 and gave them the untouched portraits to edit themselves. Each teen was instructed to retouch their face until it was "social media ready."

Flickr Pushes Deletion of Over-Quota Photos to March 2019

After limiting free accounts to 1,000 photo and video files, Flickr announced that it would begin deleting data from accounts over that quota starting on February 5th, 2019. Now Flickr has announced that it's giving users more time to download photos by pushing the wipe date back to March 12, 2019.

Canon EOS RP Revealed in Leaked Photos and Specs

Canon is gearing up to announce its second full-frame mirrorless camera following the EOS R. It you can't wait for the official announcement just around the corner, today's your lucky day: the upcoming Canon EOS RP has been revealed in leaked photos and specs.

Shutterstock Recreates Infamous Fyre Festival Promo Using Only Stock Clips

Fyre Festival was a "luxury music festival" that failed spectacularly back in 2017 after attracting a huge amount of interest with a viral photo and video marketing blitz. Shutterstock has released this 30-second video to show how the wildly expensive Fyre Festival promo video could have been created at a tiny fraction of the cost.

Understanding Flash Guide Number (and Common Misconceptions)

Mystified by talk of "guide number" and "flash power"? Gerald Undone made this helpful 10-minute video that explains everything you need to know about the light from strobes and speedlights, from common misconceptions to practical formulas that will help you light your shots.

This Lens Filter Faithfully Recreates the Look of Kodak Aerochrome IR Film

Kodak Aerochrome was a popular infrared film that produced a distinctive look photographers have utilized for various projects. Discontinued a decade ago, a 24-exposure roll of Aerochrome can cost over $80 these days. If you want the look of Aerochrome without the cost, the new IR Chrome lens filter for digital cameras was designed just for you.

Kodak Film Business on Brink of Being Sold: Report

Big news in the world of film photography: the Kodak film business is reportedly up for sale. Kodak Alaris is said to be looking to sell part or all of its business, and its film business, in particular, could be sold to another company within the next month or two.

How a Photographer Included Himself in a Family Photo a Century Ago

Before the self timer and remote shutter release appeared in the world of cameras, photographers had a much trickier time getting themselves into group photos if they didn't have an assistant to help expose the shot. But a vintage photo has surfaced showing one photographer's clever solution to this problem.

This is Why You Pay the Creative Who Shot Your Content

If you're a photographer or videographer who has ever had a client who refused to pay up after a project was shot, here's a humorous story of revenge that may tickle your funny bone. Ridge Production claims that American rapper Sheck Wes didn't pay up for the music video they shot, so they turned the footage they own into this absolutely ridiculous 4-minute parody (warning: there's strong language).

Why Kodak Willingly Ignored the Future of Photography

Once a juggernaut of the photography industry, Kodak missed the boat when cameras shifted to digital. Cheddar published this interesting 7.5-minute video that looks at how the company that created the first digital camera in 1975 went bankrupt in 2012.

Man Can’t Explain Why Prize-Winning Photo is Identical to Another Photog’s

In September 2018, the Chinese smartphone maker OnePlus announced the winners of a #ShotonOnePlus photo contest in India to celebrate the best photos captured by its phone cameras. One of the winning shots was a shock to photographer Aman Bhargava: it looked strangely similar to a photo he had captured two years earlier on his Canon DSLR.