behindthescenes

Bringing a Giant 160-Year-Old Petzval Lens Back to Life

It was a normal Saturday afternoon in November when I walked into a flea marked. I met some friends there, looked around a little bit, and in the end I bought this Gasc and Charconnet 500mm Petzval lens in the hopes that I could bring it back to life.

A Quick Tour Through the Nikon Museum In Tokyo

It’s a weird bond and a strange badge of honor that I’ve never strayed from Nikon. I love photography, but I also marvel at the tool itself. I am also honored to have worked on many advertising campaigns for Nikon in Japan, from cameras like the D600 and the never introduced pocket DL, to making sample photos for a variety of new Nikon lenses.

Testing the Canon EOS Ra: Why It’s Worth it for Astrophotographers

Trevor Jones of AstroBackyard recently got his hands on a niche camera that will be extremely interesting to astrophotographers... and just about nobody else: the Canon EOS Ra. In the video above, he takes it out for a test shoot to show off the two features that set this camera apart when it comes to serious night sky shooting.

Shooting Creative Holiday Portraits at Night with a Single Flash

Photographer and YouTuber Irene Rudnik was recently scrolling through Instagram when she stumbled across some beautiful blue-hour snow portraits by photographer @kateblc. Like any good artist, she decided to run with that inspiration, and in the video above, she takes us along behind the scenes to see how she captured a beautiful holiday-themed nighttime portrait using only a single flash.

How to Make a Ground Glass Focusing Screen at Home

Did you know that you can make your own ground glass focusing screen? In his latest video, wet plate photographer Markus Hofstätter shows you exactly how by making a ground glass screen for one of his large format cameras.

Beautiful Behind the Scenes Film Shows the Making of the Leica M10

This beautifully-shot film from 2017 has been making the rounds again this morning, showing the making/assembly of the Leica M10. And like all "making of" videos that take us inside a camera or lens factory, it offers a mesmerizing look at the attention to detail that goes into assembling each digital rangefinder that Leica makes.

Freediving to Photograph Humpback Whales

The ocean is fascinating in every way. We know so little about its mysteries and tend to ignore its importance for all living life. What is it about the underwater world that draws people from all over the world to explore its depths? For me, the allure of marine life welcoming me into their natural habitat rather than the other way around is beautiful.

Dramatic Portraits with An Optical Snoot

When a light source is large relative to a subject, that light is considered “soft.” Soft light casts a shadow with a less defined, soft edge. Skin and other kinds of texture will be minimized. When a light source is small relative to a subject, that light is considered hard. Since the light comes from a smaller area relative to the subject, the shadow cast by hard light will have defined edges and the appearance of skin texture will be maximized.

Layers of Being Human: A Tribute to Mexican Culture and Día de Muertos

A month ago I had the opportunity to visit my friends and colleagues in beautiful Mexico. After two colorful and unforgettable weeks touring Mexico, I swore that I would create a “tribute” image when I got home, trying to instill some of the visuals and feelings of the Mexican culture into it.

This Photographer Uses Clever Tricks for Extraordinary Photos

Jordi Koalitic is a Barcelona-based photographer who has racked up over 1.3 million followers on his Instagram by specializing in "creative photography." Koalitic shares not only his finished photos but also behind-the-scenes photos showing the tricks he used to create them.

A Wet Plate Portrait of Greta Thunberg

Greta Thunberg exploded into the public consciousness last month after the 16-year-old Swedish climate activist gave an impassioned and scathing speech to world leaders at the UN Climate Action Summit in New York. Earlier this month, wet plate photographer Shane Balkowitsch got 20 minutes with Thunberg at Standing Rock and used the time to make 2 wet plate portraits of her.

Chasing the Ultimate Surfing Shot with Teenage Photographer Leroy Bellet

Red Bull TV's video series Chasing the Shot pairs cutting-edge photographers with world-class athletes to show what it takes to capture unparalleled action photography. And for Season One's main episode, they followed teenaged surf photography phenom Leroy Bellet as he set out to capture the surfing photo of a lifetime.

Hasselblad from Iconic Marilyn Monroe Shoot Expected to Sell for $300,000

Auction house Christie's is preparing to auction off the camera used by photographer Douglas Kirkland to shoot some of the most recognizable images of Marilyn Monroe. In honor of this impressive lot, they've put together a retrospective that takes you behind the scenes of this iconic and intimate photo shoot.

‘Piggybacking’ is the New Normal in Commercial Photography

After completing my degree in still photography at RIT, I grew up in NYC working in the motion world as a production assistant. My plan was to eventually direct TV spots, but I wanted to garner a solid background in the art of lighting from the still world first.