Ken Klein

Photographer Captures Horses Being Saved From LA Wildfires

A person in a dark jacket gently strokes the head of a brown horse with a blue halter. The sky in the background is dark and smoky, indicating a potential fire or storm. They are standing on sandy ground, with hills and vehicles in the distance.

In a sobering what-are-the-odds assignment, Reuters sent freelance photographer Carlin Stiehl to document a safe haven for horses and other animals as Los Angeles battled deadly wildfires. The photographer knew the property: he had learned horseback riding there as a boy.

Vadym Nekhai
Logo featuring the text "gettyimages + shutterstock" in bold black letters on a white background.

Stock Photography’s Crossroads: Can a Getty-Shutterstock Merger Fix It?

As someone who spent over a decade in the stock photography and creative tools industry, I’ve seen firsthand how it has evolved. The news of a potential Getty and Shutterstock merger made me think about how the stock photography industry actors found themselves at a crossroads and what future lies ahead.

Chris Niccolls

The State of Canon, Nikon, and Sony’s ‘Holy Trinity’ Zoom Lenses in 2025

A man lies on a wooden floor surrounded by various camera lenses. The words "Nikon," "Sony," and "Canon" are written near groups of lenses. He looks up with a playful expression, wearing a black shirt and khaki pants.

The majority of professional photographers pray at the Church of the Holy Trinity. That is to say that they make their daily bread with an ultra-wide f/2.8 zoom, a general-purpose 24-70mm f/2.8, and a 70-200mm f/2.8 telephoto. This is a tradition that has held true for decades from the time of the autofocusing film SLR to the modern mirrorless cameras of today. Good things come in threes so today we look at the best three lenses from the three biggest companies.

Jeremy Gray

The Custom Nikon Z9 and Thermal Blanket Headed to the Moon

A Nikon camera sits next to a white spherical camera with red accents, resembling a design inspired by space gear, on a white surface. The background is dark with a moonlike texture.

Nikon and NASA have a rich history of collaboration dating back more than 50 years when Nikon supplied specialized analog cameras for Apollo missions. Nikon cameras are headed back to the Moon, and Nikon showed off some of the new lunar-bound technology this week at CES.

B.A. Van Sise
A woman with star-spangled Minnie Mouse ears sits on a bus looking at her phone. Next to her, two children in a stroller wear matching red Mickey Mouse family shirts, alongside adults wearing similar themed shirts.

The Happiest Place: Memories and Reality at an American Amusement Park

My good friend, the oldfangled film photographer Elizabeth Nahum-Albright, was recently tasked with a common problem: the disposition of her newly dead father. His most urgent demands were clear: he was to be cremated and placed, like all of his cats, into a cookie jar.

Jeremy Gray
A detailed grayscale image of the Moon's surface, featuring numerous craters and a stark contrast between illuminated and shadowed areas. Several large craters are prominent in the center-left, highlighting the rugged lunar terrain.

The Three Best Photos From BepiColombo’s Historic Mercury Flyby

The joint European Space Agency (ESA) and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) BepiColombo mission performed its sixth flyby of Mercury yesterday, January 8, 2025. This historic maneuver enabled the spacecraft to capture incredible new photos of the planet's surface from just 295 kilometers (183 miles) away.

Jaron Schneider

Adobe’s Generative AI Jumps The Shark, Adds Bitcoin to Bird Photo

A seagull flies over a body of water with its wings spread wide. An enlarged inset shows a gold Bitcoin symbol highlighted in the center, indicated by a red arrow from a smaller coin image in the bottom left corner.

Last year, Adobe updated its Firefly generative AI platform multiple times, the most recent coming in September. Over that time, the Lightroom and Photoshop tools that rely on the technology have gotten steadily worse and the system's choice to add a Bitcoin logo to a photo of a seagull is a perfect distillation of the problem.

Jeremy Gray
Two characters from "Wicked" stand side by side, looking upward with a surprised expression. One is dressed as the green-skinned Wicked Witch in dark attire and a hat, while the other is Glinda in a pink dress with blonde hair. Light shines behind them.

How the Fantastical Blockbuster Movie ‘Wicked’ Was Lit

When it was released in 1939, The Wizard of Oz broke new ground in movie production thanks largely to its remarkable lighting setup. The blockbuster prequel Wicked, based on the award-winning Broadway play of the same name, likewise captivates contemporary audiences thanks in large part to its visual aesthetic and incredible lighting.

Jeremy Gray
A vast, colorful galaxy cluster filled with numerous bright stars and galaxies against a dark backdrop. The image showcases a celestial spectacle with scattered light sources of varying sizes and colors, highlighting the universe's vastness.

The 570-Megapixel Dark Energy Camera’s Dazzling View of 230 Sparkling Galaxies

The groundbreaking Dark Energy Camera (DECam) entered service in 2012 and served as the primary camera used for the Dark Energy Survey. The 570-megapixel camera, which features 74 total CCD image sensors, recently captured a dazzling photo of the Antlia Cluster (Abell S636), a group of at least 230 galaxies located about 130 million light-years from Earth.

Jeremy Gray
Black wireless earbuds hover above an open charging case against a neutral background. The earbuds have ear hooks for a secure fit. The case features a small LED indicator light.

The Tiny Hollyland Lark M2S Wireless Mic System Is Nearly Invisible

The sixth-generation Hollyland Lark Series microphone, the Lark M2S, is exceptionally tiny, weighs just seven grams (0.25 ounces), and is logo-free, ensuring it is easy to conceal while still delivering high-quality wireless audio for videographers, content creators, vloggers, and streamers.

Chris Niccolls

Samyang 35mm f/1.4 P Review: Fantastic Value for a Fast Prime

A smiling person in a beanie and black jacket holds a camera in one hand, while sitting at a table with a glass of dark beer. The background features a brick wall with photos and warm lighting. Text: "PetaPixel Reviews.

It's well-known that I am not a fan of the 35mm focal length. It's also well-known that I am in the extreme minority on this. Everyone loves a good 35mm lens which is a prime candidate for a faster f/1.4 aperture. Samyang has answered the call with its latest "Prima" series of lenses which promise to be optical standouts with sophisticated autofocusing.

Matty Graham

Viral Olympic Surf Shot Tops World Sports Photography Awards

A surfer mid-air above a wave, with a surfboard trailing behind connected by a leash. The person is wearing a pink shirt and blue shorts, pointing upward with one hand. The sky is cloudy, with large waves visible below.

Sports photography is a game of split-second timing and never-to-be-repeated moments, so to be at the top of your game takes no small amount of skill. The best of the best in this demanding genre has just been recognized with the winning frames from the World Sports Photography Awards.