A primary question in photography is, “What is composition”? Photo composition governs the manner in which our eyes travel through an image. It defines how objects within an image are placed relative to each other in such a way that generates visual excitement. Used correctly, it transforms the ordinary into the extraordinary.
A common misconception among beginning landscape photographers is that when using a tripod, one should stay at ISO 100 for the best resulting photos. Photographer Mark Denney made this 10-minute video dispelling the myth and showing examples of when that's not true.
This past weekend, I had the pleasure of shooting some product photography for my friends over at HDK Snowmakers. They are a snowmaking machine manufacturer for some of the country’s largest ski resorts and specialize in hyper-efficient machines that keep skiers on the slopes, while not guzzling up tons of water.
Earlier this month, Sigma announced three new lenses for Sony E and Panasonic/Leica L Mount cameras: The Sigma 35mm f/2, 65mm f/2, and 24mm f/3.5. These lenses, while bearing the “Contemporary” badge, are part of a new “I series” category.
In the previous essay on reading photos, I looked at how things we know, mental baggage we have accumulated besides just memories, affect what we see in a photograph. Things like cultural background, political beliefs, movies we’ve seen, or books we’ve read.
Originally reported early in December, a drone pilot was hit with a set of fines from the FAA for over $182,000, penalties that he could have avoided if he heeded prior FAA warnings.
Xiaomi today announced the Mi 11 smartphone which houses an impressive new low light technology. Quality nighttime photo-taking capability has been a thing for some time, but this latest device is the world's first to implement a Night Mode for video.
Shoten has announced a GTE (Contax G to Sony E mount) adapter that includes an autofocus motor the company promises supports fast, continuous AF modes. The adapter retails for about $412 and is available now.
The U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has published final rules for Part 107 drone operations (drones used for commercial work). The rules specify the need for Remote ID and also loosen the rules around flying over people at night.
The creator of the Fuji X Weekly blog has published his giant library of film simulation recipes to an easy-to-use app. The Fuji X Weekly app has over 100 recipes and more will be added regularly.
A struggling photographer recently published a Tweet in a last-ditch effort to find some work, and the Hail Mary paid off in a big way: Oprah Winfrey saw it and Tweeted him a job offer.
Clubhouse is a new social media app that may be of interest to photographers of all levels. Here's a photographer's look at the new social service.
This trip has been waiting in the wings ever since I made my first successful daguerreotype in the redwoods two years ago. I actually planned on going as early as August this year, but one project after another kept getting in the way, and for months I kept pushing it back by a couple of weeks.
Canon has patented a handheld camera that combines a design reminiscent of the DJI Osmo (now called the OM) with its RF lenses and a rotating hinge. The flipping lens hinge is described as making it much easier to switch between forward-facing and selfie views.
This year, as photographers, we've been challenged to look at more ordinary subjects closer to home in pursuit of continuing our photography. 2020 has pushed us to find creative potential in the more everyday and mundane, perhaps duping us in the process that these subjects are in fact worthy of our attention.
In an interview with Alfa Romeo Japan, the President and CEO of Ricoh Imaging Shinobu Takahashi is surprisingly upfront about Ricoh's acquisition of Pentax and the issues the company has had with finding its place in a competitive and collapsing market.
Whether you’re a new photographer or a seasoned veteran in your field, keeping track of things in your photography business from emails to schedules, clients and payments can be very overbearing. The more you and your business grow, the more help you need; reminders, sticky notes just don’t cut it.
Heads up, photographers: there has just been a monumental change to the way you can defend your copyrighted photos from infringement. A copyright small claims system has arrived in the United States to help you collect compensation from those who misuse your work.
Every Sunday, we bring together a collection of easy reading articles from analytical to how-to to photo-features in no particular order that did not make our regular daily coverage. Enjoy!
Sometimes it may be necessary to make a set of images darker or lighter, more or less contrasty, or otherwise change their appearance but retain their relative appearance. Lightroom has the ability to make relative adjustments on a selected set of images to facilitate that.
Fujifilm has announced that it has set a new world record by creating a magnetic storage tape that can store a staggering 580 terabytes of data.
Toward the end of November, I went back to one of my favorite places in the desert. A spot out in the middle of nowhere, with the nearest significant human population well over an hour drive away.
In December 2019, Los Angeles Lakers basketball superstar LeBron James posted a photo by courtside photographer Steve Mitchell to his Instagram and Facebook accounts without permission. That post has become the center of a raging copyright infringement legal battle.
Lightroom version 6.0, officially Adobe Photoshop Lightroom CC 2015, was the last major release of Lightroom that was available with a perpetual license (i.e. a one-time purchase). Unfortunately, some users who don't wish to make the jump to paying a subscription through the Creative Cloud are finding that "perpetual" isn't as all-encompassing as they thought.
Tokyo-based journalist Albert Siegel has published one of the first hands-on previews of Pentax's new APS-C flagship DSLR, the K-3 Mark III. His 6-minute video above provides a closer look at a camera that's set to be officially launched sometime in early 2021.
During the Seattle-Washington NFL game this past weekend, keen-eyed viewers spotted a Sony mirrorless camera being used by the FOX broadcast team for some unusual-looking on-field shots that featured a shallow depth of field and creamy bokeh.
If you want to learn the science and technical details of how cameras and lenses work, there's a fantastic new resource on the Web for you. Developer Bartosz Ciechanowski has published an interactive 5,700-word article that explains things in great depth.
Family Portraits is a project by Greek photographer Maria Mavropoulou that explores the role Internet-connected devices now play in our everyday lives.
Google wanted a way to encourage Google Photos users to look back on their cherished memories, so they got Nickelback to record a new parody version of their hit song "Photograph." You can hear the 1-minute parody above.
Photographer Dustin Snipes recently did a project that takes light-painting photography to a whole new level. Teaming up with the Red Bull Air Force Team, he shot long-exposure photos of wingsuit skydivers falling to Earth while wearing sparkling pyrotechnics.
The Chinese camera lens manufacturer 7Artisans has released a new golden 35mm f/5.6 full-frame manual-focus lens for Leica M cameras.
"Dry Out" is a new short film by Vienna, Austria-based photographer Christian Stangl. Using macro lenses and a microscope, Stangl shot timelapses showing various organic things drying out.
When I look back on 2020 in 5 or 10 years, I don't think I'll remember it as the year when a pandemic brought the photo industry to an economic standstill. I don't think I'll remember the CIPA numbers, or the R5 overheating debacle, or any of the virtual product launches. I'll remember 2020 as a year that helped us rediscovered the importance of photography.
The Canon 65mm f/0.75 is a rare lens that was designed for X-Ray imaging, and it's one of the fastest lenses ever made. Photographer and weird lens tester Mathieu Stern got his hands on one and decided to see what using the lens is like for both photos and videos.
Photographs are omnipresent in our daily lives. From social media and advertising to family photos hanging on your wall. Images are used for identification and as evidence, as well as informing us at a cultural level about who we are.
If you're a film photographer who likes to go the do-it-yourself rather than store-bought route, here's a fun little tutorial for you. In this 3-minute Darkroom Magic episode by the George Eastman Museum, Historic Process Specialist Nick Brandreth shows how you can make your own photo paper developer at home from scratch.
Last night, photographers and stargazers around the world were treated to the Great Conjunction, a event in which Jupiter and Saturn appeared closer to each other in the sky than they have for hundreds of years. Countless photos were undoubtedly snapped of the rare sight, but photographer Jason De Freitas captured a particularly lucky one a few days ago showing the ISS zipping between the two planets.
Before I picked up a camera and discovered the potential for documentation, I had (still have) a first love: being a bass player. For those not in the know, the bass is the instrument that isn’t the guitar, isn’t the drum kit, and isn’t the vocals.
In the previous essay, I introduced a couple of imaginary photographs. The first, an old woman celebrating her birthday with family and friends; the second a photograph of a man seated in a chair, attentive to something out of frame.
Shutter buttons have been an age-old feature of cameras, and it's one that hasn't seen too much innovation over the years, but it seems Canon is working to reimagine what the button could be like... by removing the button altogether and replacing it with a shutter touchpad.
The holidays in New York City are my favorite part of the year. It's such a magical and festive time all throughout the City. You'll find holiday trees, light displays, and the prettiest decorations around every corner.
Photographer Mike Mayou was flying his drone on the St. Louis River last week when he managed to capture once-in-a-lifetime shots of a trio of bobcats hanging out and even sitting on a log together.
Photographing bears in Finland was an exciting and unforgettable experience that became one of the photographic highlights of a rather strange 2020. It’s hard to explain the feeling of having these massive animals at only an arm-length away; it’s simply something that must be experienced.
The Hong Kong-based lens adapter maker Megadap has launched the world's first autofocus adapter for manual lenses on Nikon Z mirrorless cameras. The lens gives autofocus abilities to Leica M manual-focus lenses.
My name is Ben Sandofsky, and I'm the co-founder and developer of Lux Optics. We make Halide, the most popular RAW camera for iPhone, so when Apple revealed their new ProRAW image format, we were beyond excited.
GoPro has unveiled a new Bluetooth remote for controlling your GoPro camera. It's simply called The Remote.
If there’s a challenge in selecting the best images from a day’s shoot, then that challenge is amplified when it comes to actively curating a huge body of work into something coherent and presentable.
Nikon has fallen on hard times as of late as its camera sales have cratered, and now there's a new indicator of how dire its financial situation is: the company is reportedly pulling the plug on making cameras in Japan after over 70 years of doing so.
On January 15th, 2008, Steve Jobs pulled a MacBook Air out of a manila envelope and changed laptop computers forever. Blink and you might have missed it: the instant when an entire industry shifted to accommodate a new breed of device that made more sense to more people. And last month, Apple had the audacity to do it again.
Every Sunday, we bring together a collection of easy reading articles from analytical to how-to to photo-features in no particular order that did not make our regular daily coverage. Enjoy!