During the peak of the astronomical event that was the conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn in December, a photographer named Garret who goes by gm_astrphotography posted a photo that sparked some debate to its authenticity. The fact is, the image is 100% legitimate.
2020 has been a crazy and eventful year. Before we turn the page and move into 2021, we thought we'd take a look back at the 10 most popular articles published here over the past 365 days.
DPReview just released its annual camera industry predictions video where Chris and Jordan discuss what they think will come from the leading manufacturers. I think that, for the most part, they're right on the nose.
Full frame and medium format systems can produce images of greater quality than APS-C. But that greater quality is rarely perceived, even in very large prints. I call it "overkill" because we cannot perceive the advantage of this more expensive and heavier equipment.
Right before Christmas, PetaPixel published its review of the M1 Macbook Pro, heaping praise upon the new computer, saying it was "much further ahead than anybody expected." That review isn't alone: in this 17.5-minute video, Linus Tech Tips finds even better performance.
A University of Virginia history teacher published a tweet asking what photojournalism and documentary photography would look like, now and in the past, if the photographer's right to take someone's image were balanced by that person's right to say no.
When insects fly by, they do so usually too fast to really notice how they are doing it. They either zip by our periphery or jump into the air so quickly it's hard to tell how they do it. In this 6-minute video, you can truly appreciate the funny ways different species take flight.
Recently, we had a private Facebook group member ask what others thought about buying a used digital camera. The response was around 70% for and 30% against.
This past year has seen pretty much every major camera manufacturer release software that allows for a set of cameras to work as a webcam for your computer. But what if your camera isn't supported? Luckily, there is a cheap, easy solution to that.
This was the best year of our lives.
Announced in 2018, we're finally starting to get a look at the $6,000 Zeiss ZX1. The camera is designed to be a photo capture, edit, and share device, and as such runs Lightroom Mobile right on the rear LCD.
While not necessarily indicative of how well a brand is doing in terms of sales, the annual LensRentals Top Rented Photo and Video Products report is at least telling of what's popular or what has the public eye. This year, it was Canon yet again.
In 2018 with some trepidation I bought my first mirrorless camera, a Nikon Z7. It wasn’t because I thought it was better than the DSLR I had been using but because my old muscles were spasming with the weight of the camera I was using and I hoped that a package a pound lighter would help me keep on working.
The former CIA Chief of Disguise spoke with Wired for this 8.5-minute video that discusses some of the most crucial photography tools used for espionage in the Cold War. Some of what she describes sounds like myths but were actually hugely helpful in intelligence gathering operations.
Google has apparently removed support for its Astrophotography mode from the Pixel 5 and 4a 5G ultra-wide cameras in the latest version of the Google Camera app. Astrophotography mode is now only available on the phones' primary camera.
Photographer Jocelyn Anderson captures beautiful images of birds in their natural habitats but also has a wonderfully calming ongoing YouTube series where she depicts different bird species eating out of the palm of her hand in slow motion.
Brzz, bzzzrrr. The rollers on the vintage Polaroid developer start to suck in the 8×10 Polaroid. Dan Bosman, a Mars Cafe barista of 14 years, and I are chatting just like we always do.
The staff of the Penn State newspaper The Daily Collegian are currently battling a contract being forced upon them by the periodical's leadership, claiming it strips them of image ownership and takes advantage of their "volunteer worker" status.
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.