When COVID-19 Hits Home

Weeks ago, when we all started to lock ourselves in our homes and started to live new, confined lives, we thought we would be safe. Early February, I bought gloves and masks for what was feared to come. We talked about safe practices and social distancing, and we believed everything would be all right.

Creepy Monkey Spy Camera Befriends Curious Baby Macaque

For the new PBS series Spy in The Wild 2 – The North, a wildlife documentary crew used a creepy-looking monkey spy camera to capture footage of Japanese macaques bathing in mountain hot springs. While on its mission, the robot monkey befriends a curious baby macaque for a brief time before its mother pulls it away from the stranger.

Hypercentric Optics: This Camera Lens Can See Behind Objects

Engineer and YouTuber Ben Krasnow over at Applied Science has put together a fascinating little optical demonstration that explains the physics behind 'hypercentric' optics and how they allow you to see around and behind objects. He even shows you how to build your own.

A Beginner’s Guide to Focus Stacking

Focus stacking is a fun and easy technique you can do right at home with nothing more than your camera, lens, and editing software. In fact, the Fujifilm X-T2, X-T3, and X-T4 series of cameras—and many others—contain a "focus bracketing" feature that lets you do this automatically.

Three Creative Photo Techniques to Help You Embrace Imperfection

This period isn’t easy for anyone. Professional photographers are struggling with the implications of being on lockdown and suddenly having to stop all work from one day to the next. Hobbyist photographers may be in a similar situation with jobs, children and household duties all being juggled in an unprecedented dance that is completely new and unknown.

Photo Editing Shootout: A.I. vs Fiverr vs Pro Photographer

Photographer Dan Watson of Learning Cameras recently put together a little photo editing shootout. Using one of his own images, he wanted to see who would edit the photo best: strangers hired through Fiverr, a professional photographer, or some of the latest AI-powered photo editing tools.

Should Professional Photographers Use Tiktok?

If another social media craze comes out, I think I just might tear out my eyelashes one-by-one. I’m sure many of us professional photographers have thought that (or something similar) when we’re daunted by the task of keeping up with today’s culture. However, Instagram turned out to be pretty powerful for photographers. Snapchat, maybe not so much. What about TikTok?

Tamron 70-180mm f/2.8 Hands On: The Ideal Fast Zoom For Sony?

After teasing an “in development” announcement late last year, Tamron’s all new 70-180mm f/2.8 for Sony E-mount is finally about to hit store shelves. With the release of this lens, Tamron will complete their “holy trinity” for Sony mirrorless.

This Sun Eruption Photo Was Shot from a Backyard

When most people hear the words "backyard astrophotography", they probably think of photos of the Milky Way, planets, or galaxies, but did you know it's possible to capture some amazing close-up photos of the Sun as an amateur photographer?

A Dubai Rainstorm Timelapse from the World’s 2nd Tallest Residential Tower

As we are in April, the last days of the good weather in Dubai are coming to a close. We had one of the rare strong rainfalls last week here in Dubai. These weather conditions are very rare in the UAE, so I decided to document it as a short 2-minute time-lapse from where I am staying right now, the second tallest residential tower in the world.

Nikon’s Exceptional 200mm f/2G Lens Has Been Discontinued

Last week, Nikon Japan moved the legendary NIKKOR AF-S 200mm f/2G ED VR II lens over into its 'Old Product' list of discontinued F-Mount lenses. And while Nikon USA won't confirm the news, this probably means that the old lens is no longer in production, and will hopefully be replaced in the near future.

That Navy UFO Footage Has an Optical Explanation

The Pentagon made headlines around the world this week when it officially released several UFO videos that were internally declassified in 2017, confirming their authenticity. And while this has sparked a flurry of "aliens among us" speculation, some are pointing out that there is an optical explanation behind each of the three clips.

This Once-in-a-Lifetime Meteor Photo Was Captured by Accident

There are some types of photography that can be planned down to the tiniest detail. Capturing shooting stars? Not so much. This picture-perfect photo of a meteor is one of photographer Prasenjeet Yadav's most popular shots, but it's also perhaps his luckiest: it was captured accidentally while he was asleep.

Capturing Both the Crescent Moon and ‘Earthshine’ in One Image

This is something I’ve been wanting to attempt for a while, but the skies have not be clear enough to do so. Iowa skies in fact have been almost constantly cloudy of late – or a least when one wants to shoot the moon.

The Fuji X100V: Falling In Love All Over Again

Every time Fuji releases a new camera I feel like this is the generation that will let me leave Canon behind. I had the same hopes and eventual disappointments with the XT2 and the XT3. Inevitably, I would realize full frame always beats out crop frame, that high ISOs and battery life can’t be matched, that Fuji was just not good enough to beat my Canons.

We Can Finally Stop Caring About the Sony a7S III

When Sony released the a7R III all the way back in 2017, most people speculated what this release could mean for the a7S series of cameras. Many of us were anticipating a mark III for the S series to be announced, and potentially even released not long after the update to the R model.

The Most Beautiful Flower Garden in the World, Without People

As a real Dutchman, I am a big fan of our flowers. And as a landscape photographer, I enjoy our beautiful spring each year in which I always find time to photograph the flowers and show the beauty of the Dutch flowers to the whole world.

A Look at ‘The Decisive Moment’ by Henri Cartier-Bresson

A bible for photographers. That is how Robert Capa described The Decisive Moment by Henri Cartier-Bresson. After almost 70 years it was first published, this book has still a lot to say to photographers and especially to street and documentary photographers.

How I Photograph the Milky Way with Medium Format Film

My name is Jason De Freitas (@jase.film on Instagram), and I'm an analog photographer based in Australia. In this article, I'll share how I shoot the Milky Way from my backyard on medium format film.

Shooting the Dubai Skyline from a Balcony During Lockdown

Until yesterday it was more or less what I can call a total lockdown in Dubai, the city where I live. Today is a new day and we can leave the house following several guidelines. Hoping that life will go back to normal soon.

Doing a Personal Photo Project During Social Distancing

Living in the part of New York where the first confirmed case of COVID-19 virus was discovered earlier this year, things have been pretty weird. Our corporate photography studio is in Midtown Manhattan, things there are completely shut down. Even if we were able to lawfully work, there is no work to do as we deal with corporate clients and they all have strict stay at home policies.

I Made a ‘Mind Map’ of the Insanely Complex Sony Menu System

It all started as a seemingly simple task. To make it easier to master the menu system of the Sony a7 Mark III, I decided to create a mind map. But this project quickly evolved into a major, and rather fascinating, undertaking.