Henri Cartier-Bresson on Learning to Look

Here's a clip from an old interview in which legendary photographer and street photography pioneer Henri Cartier-Bresson was asked about the art of seeing. His answer probably isn't what you'd expect.

Google Pixel 3 vs. Sony a7R III: A Low-Light Shootout

Google Pixel 3 smartphone has a Night Sight feature that uses AI to capture "mind-blowing" photos in near darkness. Photographer Pierre T. Lambert wanted to see how the tech stacks up against a pro-grade camera, so he did a low-light shootout pitting it against the Sony a7R III.

Nikon’s Z-Mount Can Accept f/0.65 Lenses

Nikon's new full-frame mirrorless Z lens mount is designed to be futureproof over the next 100 years and "redefine possibilities." How crazy are the possibilities? Get this: the Z-mount could theoretically accept lenses with apertures as large as f/0.65.

Dear Camera Companies: Please Make a Fast Lens Between 50mm and 85mm

For some time now, my favourite portrait lens has been the Sigma 85mm f/1.4 art. This lens, as many of you may know, is simply incredible when it comes to performance. Even the price of this lens isn’t unreasonable when you compare it to some alternatives currently available.

The Best Black Friday Deals of 2018 for Photographers

We're a couple of days away from Black Friday 2018, and both camera gear companies and retailers are slashing prices to provide the industry with some of the biggest discounts of the year. We're putting together a list of some of the sweetest deals out there for your shopping benefit.

I Dropped My Camera in Crude Oil… and It Survived

This past week, I had a bit of an accident with my Fujifilm X-T1 while doing some urban exploration in an abandoned fuel bunker. To cut a long story short, I ended up going for a swim in very oily water in a large partially flooded pump room with my camera.

How to Keep Our Photo Websites Alive After We Die

Recently I've been thinking a lot about how to keep my self-hosted photography website alive after I’m gone (no, I’m not dying anytime soon, though -- hopefully). My website is where all my passions are combined into one (travel, photography, web design and development), and I treasure it like my child. I really want it to last beyond my time on this planet, but the problem is how.

BBC Wildlife Film Crew Intervenes to Save Trapped Penguins

One of the cardinal rules of documentary wildlife photography and filmmaking is to not interfere with the natural course of events in the scenes and situations you're trying to capture on camera. A BBC wildlife film crew decided to break that rule by coming to the rescue of trapped penguins.

Make DIY Diffusion Panels for Still Life Photography

Light diffusion panels can cost $80 to $100 or more when purchased retailed, but very little when you make them yourself, and to do so is very simple. I can’t tell you how many times I have been asked about my diffusion panels and where I get them from. The ones I use in my studio have all been custom-made to fit my needs, and I’ll show you just how to make your own.

Does This Rhino Drone Video Help or Hurt Conservation?

22-year-old professional drone racing pilot Johnny Schaer has built a strong social media following on Instagram and YouTube with visually stunning video capture from his custom built drones.

Instagram is Deleting Fake Followers and Likes

Instagram influence is worth big money these days, and many users have turned to third-party services to gain fake followers and likes. If you're one such user, here's some bad news: Instagram is now wiping out the artificial numbers that you may have paid money to get.

Creating a Century of Portraits in My Living Room

For the last 12 months, I have been working on a personal photo project. The goal of this project was to recreate a portrait from every decade from the 1920s until now. Each picture would highlight the candid life of someone who was living in that era versus what they were really feeling inside. I called this project a "Century of Portraits."

Visiting the World’s Largest Digital Camera

The Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) is a telescope that will contain the largest digital camera ever built. Here's a 4-minute video in which the folks at Gizmodo pay a visit to the 3.2-gigapixel camera that's the size of a small car.

10 Tips for Getting Kids to Smile Naturally in Photos: Secrets From a Pro

Everyone has been taught from birth how to get a kid to smile. You just tell them to say "cheese" and they respond with a nice big natural smile, right? Well, anyone that's actually tried this can testify to how well it works (if you didn't catch my sarcasm... it doesn't). You end up with a photo of a kid with clenched teeth, a scrunched nose, and raised eyebrows.

Google Pixel 3 Users Are Reporting Camera Failures

As friends and families get ready to get together for the holiday season, Google Pixel 3 owners are experiencing a bug that could get in the way of capturing special memories. People are reporting camera error messages and their phones failing to launch the highly-touted camera.

The Story Behind That IKEA Photo of Amsterdam

VILSHULT is an IKEA ready-to-hang photo of Amsterdam that has been sold over 427,000 times. After many of my friends asked me why I bought such a "mediocre" photo for my living room, I decided to find out how this photo was made and how it ended up on IKEA's shelves and in almost half a million households. What I learned was fascinating.

4 Photography Rip-Offs You Need to Know About

In this 11-minute video, I’m going to be telling you the biggest rip-offs that I think are happening in photography and giving you my tips on how to avoid them. Hopefully this will save you some money on your photography journey and make you aware of the traps a lot of learning photographers fall into.

When to Upgrade Your Camera Gear: 5 Questions to Ask Yourself

I have major gear envy syndrome. Every new release seems to bring with it a feature that makes me jealous enough to attempt to justify a ridiculously expensive purchase. But even for those of you happily using your 5-year-old DSLR (I secretly envy you), there is always the question of when to upgrade your camera gear.

Fixing the Bad Grip on Sony’s Mirrorless Cameras

Sony's a7 and a9 series of mirrorless cameras have a bad reputation for their grip ergonomics, and rightly so. I love my Sony a7 III and it's still the best camera on the market for my particular needs, but the grip just isn't anywhere near as good as what you find on a pro DSLR.

Photos of Golden Autumn in the Netherlands

This autumn has been exceptionally beautiful in the Netherlands. Because of the interesting climate earlier this year with the extreme droughts we experienced, the trees are extremely colorful during the autumn period of this year. Trees that normally wouldn’t even turn yellow or reddish are now beautifully gold.

Ep. 304: Nikon Drinks Its Own Kool-Aid – and more


Episode 304 of the PetaPixel Photography Podcast.
Download MP3 -  Subscribe via iTunes, Google Play, email or RSS!
Featured: YouTuber and portrait photographer, Keydrin Franklin

Lessons From Loupedeck on Making It in the Photo Industry

Over the last few years, the photography industry has been growing quite steadily. With the advent of new technologies and price-accessible equipment, more and more people are choosing the photography industry. Smartphones have also played a significant part in the influx of new photographers and creatives.

I Set Up a Sting Operation and Caught the Thief Who Stole My Camera

Like many professional photographers, my main camera is a bit of a beast. A Fuji X-T2, usually with a big lens, and always with a battery grip on it. It’s a bit big to go traveling with, and although it’s not as big as my Nikon D600 and grip that I used to use, it still warrants the travel/side-arm camera I bought in the D600 days.

I Shot Ultra-Macro Video of the Wet Plate Collodion Process

Normally I use videos to document my work. This time the video is the main outcome of my work -- I shot an ultra-macro video that shows how the crystals/salts change during the wet plate collodion process.

The Color Photography of Vivian Maier

Vivian Maier is the nanny and American street photographer who posthumously became internationally famous after a 26-year-old real estate agent bought a box of 30,000 of her negatives at an estate sale for $400 in 2007. In addition to her captivating black-and-white photos, Maier also captured color images, some of which are being published in a book for the first time ever.

10 Ideas for Taking Amazing Photos of Boring Objects

I don’t have an expensive camera. I use a Nikon D3000, which is one of the oldest entry-level DSLRs and I have only an 18-55mm kit lens. Because of this, I have to be creative to make good shots.