The History and Magic of Instant Photography

In the digital age, there is a demand for instant gratification; however, is it possible that the perfect solution for the modern individual is an analog one? Instant film was a product introduced during the late 1940s and remains a popular option for instant physical prints to this day. Hold up your camera, press a button, and minutes later you have a fully processed physical image. And to think that it all started with a little girl’s simple question…

Sonder Keyboard Uses E Ink to Put Shortcut Icons At Your Fingertips

Tired of having to memorize new keyboard shortcuts for every application you use? Want to see every Photoshop tool icon right under your fingertips? Sonder is a new customizable keyboard that can help you navigate shortcuts. Each of the main keys features an E Ink display that can be customized with different icons for different programs.

DIY: Creating a Super Simple Variable Speed Camera Slider

Editor's note: This DIY tutorial uses a specific product called Compound 9, but you could use the same ideas/concepts with different materials and/or objects.

Hi, my name is Christian Segeth, and I'm the inventor of a product called Compound 9, which is hand-formable carbon that lets you 3D print with your hands and some hot water. Today I’m going to explain how I built an extremely simplest speed-controllable camera slider. My build offers a constant movement speed and butter-smooth sliding, which I've rarely found on YouTube's DIY camera slider tutorials.

Shutterfly’s TripPix Helps You Easily Turn Your iPhone Photos Into Travel Photo Books

Photography has always served as a way to preserve family memories; now, Shutterfly wants to make them easy to turn into travel albums. Using your iPhone and the company’s new service, TripPix, users can design full-featured albums, which include 15-30 photographs, on their iOS devices and then print them for only $20. Anyone can easily convert their collection of digital photos into beautiful travel books in just a few minutes.

We Found a Fly Inside a Weather-Sealed Lens

I've been blogging about testing and taking apart camera equipment for almost a decade. My company, LensRentals, has many thousand of lenses these days, and they all get used frequently. When you have lots of lenses and they get used frequently, stuff gets inside them.

Edelkrone PocketSkater2 is a Mini Camera Dolly You Can Fit In Your Pocket

Camera dollies can add beautiful and fluid movement to your videos, but they tend to be both bulky and difficult to travel with for extended periods. Edelkrone is here to try and fix that problem with the PocketSkater2, a product they are calling “the world’s most flexible fully featured camera skater that can fit in your pocket.” With an extensive collection of mini-dollies already available, what does the PocketSkater2 bring to the party?

Former Time CEO Ann S. Moore on Art Galleries and Advice for Photographers

Ann S. Moore is one of the most powerful women in the world according to Forbes and Fortune Magazine. Graduating from Vanderbilt University in 1978, Moore climbed the career ladder leading exciting positions including being the publisher of Sports Illustrated for Kids and People Magazine. She was crowned People Magazine’s president in 1993 and become the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Time Inc. in 2002.

Now, it is 2015; Moore has established a high-end art gallery in Chelsea, New York. The Curator Gallery, as it is called, focuses on a mission to “bring exposure to hardworking artists, as well as to educate and expand the pool of engaged, serious collectors”. We interviewed Moore, and if you have in interest in the business of art galleries or the process of having your work included in one then read on to learn more.

Sony RX100 IV and RX10 II Boast Stacked Sensors and 4K Video

In addition to unleashing the monster that is the a7R II, Sony today also announced two new cameras for its Cyber-shot RX lineup. The RX100 IV and RX10 II are new followup cameras that feature fresh technological innovations; both cameras boast stacked 1-inch sensors and 4K video recording.

Hands On with the New Leica Q

Leica officially announced their new full-frame Q series camera this morning. The beautifully compact unit features a 24-megapixel sensor and built-in Summilux 28mm f/1.7 lens. Designed for performance on the go, we got a chance to sit down with the Leica Q and get a better feeling for its aluminum and magnesium alloy constructed body. Does the Leica Q feel like $4k? We are going to find out.

One of the Largest Great White Sharks Ever Caught on Camera

Back in 2013, researcher Mauricio Hoyos Padilla and a Discovery network group of filmmakers and photographers paid a visit to Mexico’s Guadalupe Island, where dozens of adult great white sharks congregate every year. During the expedition, they came across one of the largest great whites ever captured on camera: a female shark measuring over 20 feet long.

Photographer Nick Ut Revisits the Place Where He Shot ‘Napalm Girl’

This past Monday, photojournalist Nick Ut paid a visit to the location in Vietnam where he photographed his Pulitzer Prize-winning photo titled 'Napalm Girl.' The short video above shows the visit, which was 43 years (to the day) after he pressed the shutter to create one of the most famous images of the Vietnam War.

Priolite Brings 1/8000s Flash Sync to Pentax DSLRs

Shooting flash photography with a wide open aperture on a bright summer day can feel almost impossible sometimes. You have a collection of beautiful shots that could use flash, but due to the sheer amount of light coming into your lens your flash units can’t keep up with the situation. You may be able to use an ND filter to cut down on the light, but your flash units will also have to compensate in the process. Now, professional lighting company, Priolite, has a solution they say will allow Pentax photographers to shoot Hot Sync flashes at speeds up to 1/8000th of a second.

Blacks to Close All Of Its Retail Photo Stores in Canada

Canadian photography retailer Blacks is pulling out of the brick-and-mortar store business. The company announced today that it will be closing all of its 59 stores in Canada on August 8th, 2015, citing an inability to make them profitable in the digital age.

So, What Kind Of Photographer Are You?

“Hello, my name is Steve, and I’m a photographer.”

I have been told that as a photographer I should be able to explain to people quickly and easily what kind of photographer I am in a sentence or two. This is similar to an artist statement, only much shorter. An example of a great reply to this question would be something like, “Hi, my name is Annie, and I’m an American portrait and celebrity photographer who shoots for editorial and commercial clients like Rolling Stone and American Express.”

Andre D. Wagner’s Street Photos of Life in Brooklyn

One of the most popular photographers we've featured recently is street photographer Andre D. Wagner. Originally from Omaha, Nebraska, Wagner now lives in Brooklyn, New York, and documents life and culture there through street and documentary style photography.

The American Southwest in B&W

From the days of Jack Kerouac to the culture of Route 66, it is common knowledge that America is best experienced from its roads. That’s why I decided to grab a friend, rent a car and head off into America’s beautiful southwest to see what all of the fuss was about.

Hello Future: YouTube Now Officially Hosts 8K Videos

We can all agree on the fact that 4K is last year’s news and if you aren’t watching video at a resolution at least quadruple that resolution, then you might as well be watching in standard definition. Alright, maybe that's a tad bit extreme and premature, but if you do feel that way, then you’ll be happy to hear that YouTube now officially supports playback of 8K video.

Leica Camera Rifle Prototype Valued at Over $350,000

One of the "most unusual" Leitz accessories is up for auction. This year's WestLicht photography auction features a New York Leica Gun Rifle Prototype, a device that lets photographers shoot images sniper rifle-style. The starting price is €150,000, and it's expected to fetch up to €350,000 (~$394,000).

POV: Photographing World Leaders at the G7 Summit

The 41st G7 summit was just held in Schloss Elmau, Germany, where a group of the world's most powerful heads of state came together to talk about economic issues. If you've ever wondered what it's like to work as a photographer in a room with presidents, prime ministers, and chancellors, we've got a first-person view for you to experience.

Review: Capture Another Dimension with Samsung’s 45mm f/1.8 2D/3D NX Lens

From time to time, a lens will appear that we can’t help but develop a desire to test. Samsung released a 45mm f/1.8 NX lens, but neither the focal length nor the aperture are what make it attractive; this $500 lens can shoot photographs in not only two-dimensions, but three-dimensions. That’s right, this piece of kit brings 3D photos and videos to your Samsung NX series camera at the flip of a switch.

Apple OS X El Capitan to Improve the Performance of Adobe CC Apps

Apple just announced the next version of its OS X operating system at its Worldwide Developers Conference this morning. The successor of Yosemite will be OS X El Capitan, version 10.11. The update will be focused on user experience and performance.

Among the many new features is a big performance boost that should improve Adobe's Creative Cloud software.

Magnum Selling $100 6×6 Signed Prints of Shots That ‘Changed Everything’

Magnum Photos continues to serve as an honored photographic cooperative with offices in New York, Paris, London, and Tokyo. Founding members of the cooperative include the legendary names of Robert Capa, George Rodger, and Henri Cartier-Bresson. This year, the association asked their members what they believed was “an image that changed everything”; and now, you can own limited signed prints of those photographs without breaking the bank.

There’s a New Free Browser-Based Film Emulator

Back in 2013, photographer Pat David released a large set of film emulations as open source color lookup tables. Software developer Jonas Wagner just took that data and turned it into a free online analog film emulator. It's a simple web app that lets you give any photo the look of a particular film stock.

Kate Middleton Shot Her Own Royal Baby Portraits

Did you know that quite a few members of the British royal family are passionate photographers? This past weekend, Prince William and Kate Middleton released a set of four portraits showing their two children. Rather than hire a photographer for the occasion, Kate, a photography enthusiast, shot the royal baby pictures herself.

Review: Polaroid’s ZIP Instant Photo Printer is the Perfect Pocket Companion

The Polaroid ZIP is an instant photo printer designed for printing out your favorite snapshots on the run; we got a chance to play around with one, and, to be frank, we are quite reluctant to send it back - we are having too much fun. The ZIP was designed to make use of ZINK zero ink paper and works with both iOS and Android smartphones via Bluetooth or NFC technology to create 2" x 3” full-color prints.

Attending a Popular Event? Consider Leaving Your Camera at Home

Vivid is a festival of light and color thrown by the city of Sydney every year. Run by Destination NSW (the state’s tourism authority) and paid for by a mixture of state and business sponsorship, it’s an amazing looking event. At its core are the building takeovers in which they drop unique projection-mapped animations on some of the most famous structures in the world, located on one of the most famous harbours in the world.

ROL is Like the Tinder of Competitive Photo Sharing

If you like the idea of online photo sharing but dislike the idea of popular users getting all the attention, ROL is a new app you should check out. It's a competitive photo sharing service that focuses on promoting images based on their merits rather than on a photographer's follower counts.