discovery

The Falling Soldier: Was Capa’s Iconic War Photo Actually by Gerda Taro?

The Falling Soldier is one of the most famous war photos ever made, but questions have swirled for many years regarding its authenticity as evidence that it was staged has piled up. In my own research into the photo, however, a new question came up: the photo is attributed to renowned war photographer Robert Capa, but could it actually have been captured by his partner, Gerda Taro?

Lens Hoods Can Ruin Photos Taken in Cold Weather

Photographer Steve Perry was out photographing snowy owls with his wife when they both realized that something seemed off about their photos: they were soft. After some testing, he realized that the culprit might be his lens hood.

Instagram on phone over a pink table

Stop Hoping for an Instagram Replacement – Diversify Instead

Instagram is well on its way to no longer being a photo-sharing app, and those who rely on it for their business are left questioning the future. If and when the day comes when Instagram is no longer viable, where can photographers turn?

Man Inherits Treasure Trove of Unseen Street Photos From His Grandfather

Back in 2014, photography enthusiast Dylan Scalet inherited a sizable collection of photos shot by his grandfather, Jack Sharp. It wasn't until the COVID-19 lockdown that he began digitizing the film, and in doing so, Scalet discovered that he had a treasure trove of beautiful (and previously unseen) street photos showing life in Europe over half a century ago.

The Shoebox Negatives: My Father’s Photos of 1930s Chicago

Many years ago, my mother handed me a shoebox filled with negatives shot and developed by my father who died when I was very young. The negatives were obviously from a makeshift darkroom: hand-trimmed, inconsistent in every possible way, marked with nicks and thumbtack holes.

iPhone 11 Pro’s Night Mode Isn’t What You Might Think

After PetaPixel shared a story I shot with the new iPhone in Russia’s Arctic North, the response was enormous. One email that I received pointed out a technical detail I think deserves more attention. It turns out that the “Night Mode” doesn’t actually work with the iPhone’s telephoto lens, yet the phone goes out of its way to look like it does.

These Unseen 9/11 Photos Were Found at an Estate Sale

A giant archive of 2,400 never-before-seen 9/11 photos have been discovered on a set of CDs purchased at an estate sale. The images show workers in the wreckage of the World Trade Center towers after the September 11th, 2001, attacks in New York City.

Remembering the Dead: Discovering Century-Old Dry Plate Photos

In my work travels, I recently met someone who gave me an interesting gift. Several years back he had been driving down a back road in Virginia and came across an old, abandoned farmhouse. He stopped and peeked in to see if anyone was using the place (you can’t be too careful about what you run across that looks abandoned these days), and saw only cobwebs.

Man Finds Box of Unseen Weegee Photos in His Kitchen Cabinet

Back in 1970, artist David Young purchased a box of old news photos at a Philadelphia thrift store. After moving to Seattle, Young put the box in his kitchen cabinet and forgot about it for years. It turns out that box contains unseen 1930s crime photos by the famed New York City photographer Weegee.