The Failure of the Perfect Picture

A man I know as Jay reaches into his car to try to force his engine to kick over, leaning deeply into the door as if the weight of the world is upon him in this moment. Each detail, as frivolous as the last, lends itself to the mystery of the frame.

The Problem of Fake Photos in Fake News

The New York Times just reported an incredible story of how a 23-year old recent college graduate created a fake news story about fraudulent Clinton votes in Ohio and netted $22,000 on a fake news website from ads.

These Photo Restorations May Boggle Your Mind

Tetyana Dyachenko is a Ukrainian photo retoucher who often does restorations of vintage photos that are extremely damaged -- often seemingly beyond recovery. Yet using her Photoshop skills, Dyachenko is able to recover (and recreate) extremely fine details in the photos.

A Checklist of Things I Bring to Most Photo Shoots

Many of us have done remote shoots where we’re miles from home (or a store) and we forgot one or more key pieces of gear that make or break a shoot. And it’s often the little things: batteries, SD cards, gaff tape/zip ties, plastic bags or specific tools we didn’t think to bring or didn’t think we’d need.

This Simple One Light Overhead Setup Makes for Dramatic Portraits

We're crazy about great one-light portraits, and fashion and portrait photographer Jeff Rojas is an expert at creating and honing these minimalist setups. In his latest video, he shows you how a single light placed above your subject makes for beautiful portraits in both color and black and white.

Real Talk: The Ugly Side of Landscape Photography

To the uninitiated, landscape photography might seem like a pretty swell gig. You imagine traveling to incredible vista after incredible vista, reconnecting with nature, and feeling one with your surroundings. But that, as Thomas Heaton painfully illustrates, is rarely the case.

Using a Rolleiflex to Make Tintypes and Daguerreotypes

Those who have known me long enough are aware of my passion for Rolleiflex cameras. Back before I got deeper and deeper into alternative photography I used to shoot my TLRs all the time.

Sparkling Photos of Flowers Glowing Under Intense UV Light

Just when we thought there was no possible way someone could capture flowers in a fresh and unique way, we stumbled across the work of Craig Burrows. Burrows uses a technique called ultraviolet-induced visible fluorescence (UVIVF) to capture flower photos the likes of which we have never seen before.

A Social Media Cheat Sheet for 2017

Want to win at social media in 2017? The folks over at On Blast Blog did some research on tips, tricks, and best practices, and they've created a helpful cheat sheet infographic with all kinds of helpful nuggets of wisdom.

Wanderlust 4K is an Inspirational New Travel Show for Photographers

Photo lovers and travel enthusiasts looking for a new show to provide some inspiration, listen up. Photographers and YouTubers Tony and Chelsea Northrup have just debuted a new web series called Wanderlust 4K, a show dedicated to inspiring the travel photographer in all of us.

GIMP Crowdfunding Critical Updates like High Bit Depth and Layer Effects

One of the most popular free alternatives to Photoshop out there is GIMP, an open source graphics editor that packs a lot of punch. But if you want GIMP to really improve—adding features like high bit depth and CMYK support—the folks behind it are asking that you support one of their most prolific developers.

How One Photographer is Shedding Light on the Refugee Crisis

There’s a staggering fact on photographer Malin Fezehai’s website: “The number of people forced to flee their homes across the world has exceeded 50 million for the first time since the second World War.”

Watch Popcorn Explode at 30,000fps Super Slow Motion

It's a well-known "fact of the Internet" that almost anything will look cool if you shoot it in super slow motion—the "Slow Mo Guys" have made quite a YouTube career out of it. But even if you're getting sick of the trend, watching popcorn pop at 30,000 fps will probably still delight.

Man Facing Jail Time for Knocking Woman Unconscious with Drone

Seattle seems to be the epicenter of drone-related mishaps this week. Just a few days after we shared the story of a man who ran his drone into the city's iconic space needle, another man has been convicted of reckless endangerment for knocking a woman unconscious when his drone fell out of the sky at a parade.

Capturing the Northern Lights from a Window Seat at 35,000ft

On New Year's Eve, you might think the people in Times Square were treated to the best light show... but you'd be wrong. Photographer Aryeh Nirenberg, enjoying a full row of seats on his flight from JFK to Reykjavik, Iceland, was treated to a more spectacular show.

The Paradox of Instagram

Without a doubt, Instagram is one of the most exciting social media platforms anywhere. It is now ranked the number two most active social media platform by number of users (just behind Facebook) with over 600 million participants.

First Impressions: My First Week with the Canon M5

It’s been a week now since I first got my Canon M5 and I can honestly say I’m in love. From its first announcement, I was intrigued by it, but I had the M3 and it seemed too soon to upgrade.

Photographing Frozen Baikal: The Deepest and Oldest Lake On Earth

Baikal is... impressive. It's the deepest and the cleanest lake on Earth. When we were planning our trip, we had no idea how wonderful, majestic, and fairy it would be. We were enraptured by its beauty, so much so that we almost didn't sleep all 3 days we were there.

3 Common Misconceptions About Your Camera’s Histogram

If you're obsessive about checking every exposure on your camera's histogram, this informative little video is a must-watch. In it, Matt Granger covers three common misconceptions about your camera's histogram that many photographers—even experienced shooters—might be falling prey to.

How to Create a Strong Focal Point and Manage Attention Inside Your Photos

Focal point is a term that photographers and photography blogs throw around continually. “Create a focal point,” it’s said, “it should be the first and last place the eye goes in your image.” That’s true, of course, but like most important things it’s easier said than done.

On the Fear of Photographing in Public

The joy of photographing on the street comes from close and engaging photos. Displaying the human nature and emotions in a way that the audience can relive these moments requires the photographer to be close and engaging as well. Unfortunately for a lot of us, it is not easy to stand out from the masses and overcome artificial social boundaries.

Living a Satisfying and Fulfilling Life Won’t Improve Your Photography

Recently, I have seen a number of misconceptions floating around regarding the best way to improve oneself as a photographer. As a highly experienced photographer whose photos have been on the bottom of the Flickr Explore page on numerous occasions, I feel qualified to correct many of these assumptions and damaging tendencies.

Don’t Fall for B.S. Camera Gear Ads

If you're into photography enough that your feed gets filled with a bit of camera porn from time to time, you're likely to have seen the $55 8x telephoto lens for cellphones being sold by The Outdoor Spirit.

Photographers, Beware Gameface Media

When it comes to race event photography, Gameface Media has quickly become a name a lot of photographers and event organizers recognize, whether it be for better or worse.

A Selfie Stick for a 4×5″ Camera

When the selfie-stick craze began happening a couple of years ago, photographer and educator Russell Squires decided that he wanted to go beyond using "a lightweight flimsy stick" and a smartphone, so he decided to try shooting selfies with his 4x5" large format camera.

Shooting 4K Log on the iPhone with Filmic Pro

Sometimes people ask me why I started shooting videos on a phone and the answer is not that easy. I believe the best camera is the one we always have with us, in our pocket. Maybe it's not the most powerful of course, but at least we can bring it with us all the time.