Our Need for Human Stories: Street Photography, Privacy, and AI
In one of her most famous quotes, the photographer Dorothea Lange said that "the camera is an instrument that teaches people how to see without a camera."
In one of her most famous quotes, the photographer Dorothea Lange said that "the camera is an instrument that teaches people how to see without a camera."
"I have the perfect camera for you," my dad Tom told me when I said I needed one for my film photography class at Gonzaga University in 2008. "Take my Nikon FTN, it was always my favorite," he said. "But you can't keep it. I want it back."
Twenty years ago, I was just starting to make some headway as a film-shooting stock photographer. It was a fun time, but the digital age soon dawned. I shot JPEGs on maybe my first day out with a digital camera, and then I was onto RAW.
Ah, that new iPhone smell is in the air, which means two things. Autumn, probably the best season for photography, is just around the corner. And two, Apple has stoked its hype train's engine and sent it roaring down the tracks, spewing buzzwords and fancy graphics at everyone it passes.
The International Pet Photographer of the Year Awards, hosted by Unleashed Pet Photography Education, has attracted criticism ahead of the competition revealing its winners next month because of its rules that allow judges to enter and win prizes.
It takes a lot of hard work to become a professional photographer. There are untold hours of toil to perfect the craft and lots of money spent to reach a pro level. So when you get there, how much should you be paid for a day's work?
Have you Googled “headshot photographers" lately? The results are pretty eye-opening. Right before I sat down to write this, my Google search resulted in 4 sponsored ads, right at the top, for AI headshot generators. If that doesn’t concern you, it should.
The monochrome digital camera is an odd beast - something talked about in revered terms - with echoes reverberating from those hallowed Leica halls because it is only Leica that had dipped its toe in the proverbial monochrome waters... until now.
We've all seen the images surfacing online of portraits with seven fingers on one hand and two left feet. Recently, the internet has been inundated by imagery coming from prompted artificial intelligence programs such as Midjourney, Jasper, and DALL-E. The world has been captivated by the potential these new neural networks bring to the creative space.
Innovation from Canon got me into photography, but sadly Canon and its competitors lost their way.
The world is ablaze with talk of ChatGPT, one of the latest AI (artificial intelligence) applications revolutionizing everything from research and copywriting to blog and ad creation to college essays. Noticed or unnoticed, these applications have seeped into nearly every part of our world.
Now that Instagram has transformed into a short-form video platform geared towards creators and influencers looking to go viral, where do we hobbyists and enthusiasts share our photos and find other photographers?
Capturing a snow leopard is considered by many to be the holy grail of wildlife photography. But when it comes to manipulating an image of the world's most elusive big cat, how far is too far?
In the process of chasing that magical number one on social media, artists are unfortunately losing the ability to do their craft and no longer focusing on the only thing that will actually shape the next generation of artists.
As an industry, we need to do better. For our craft, for new and experienced photographers alike, for those clients who don’t get the full information.
Here’s a question that I’ve asked myself many times over the past few years: does it make sense to travel abroad to take photos?
The smartphone has won the compact camera battle, and that ship has well and truly sailed. The only surprising thing about this news is that it took so long for the compact camera to finally die.
The smartphone is perhaps the single most important device in history, wresting the power of news and journalism back into the hands of the everyday person. Data communication is the key enabler, but the camera -- more than anything else -- slakes the thirst for instant visual gratification. So, why is shooting with a smartphone so deeply unsatisfying?
Even though the heyday of the DSLR is well behind us, it does not seem like we're going to shed the acronym any time soon. A newly-published shopping guide by the New York Post confirms as much: nearly half of its picks for "Best DSLRs" are actually mirrorless cameras.
In the past few years, we’ve seen the dawn and domination of mirrorless cameras and exponential improvements in software and computing power. Speaking as someone who started shooting on black and white film, moved to digital on a 6-megapixel camera, and now shoots solely only on mirrorless bodies, I can honestly say that it’s never been easier to produce great quality photography.
The gentleman that I (and countless others) learned photography from is one O.P. Sharma, an internationally recognized, black-and-white film photographer. He is one of the masters of photography. He founded the India International Photography Council and was the driving force behind establishing 19 August as International Photography Day every year.
It's no secret that Nikon has been having a tough time financially -- a result of an over-reliance on its Imaging Division -- and has been implementing a medium-term strategy to help balance the books and foster long-term growth. Results from its Imaging Division suggest it is struggling and possibly caught in a perfect storm.
Ricoh seemingly made the significant announcement that it would cease the mass production of digital cameras (which includes the Pentax brand), shifting instead to a direct-to-market model. For now, it only affects its business in Japan, although the ramifications could affect its business more widely. What does this mean for Ricoh (and Pentax) and their future?
Photography is a tech-heavy job. Camera companies do a great job of hyping up new gear and creating a fear of missing out. However, very few professionals that I know actually go and splurge on the latest and greatest equipment.
It goes without saying that anything that is valuable is eminently stealable. If there's a market for consumer goods, then there's a market for stolen consumer goods.
There are 365 ways to waste your time being busy instead of doing useful work. One of those is the popular concept of a 365 photo project. Let’s dive in and see why it is one of the best ways to waste your time.
“Why are guns and cameras so closely connected?” This is what I set out to explore and investigate recently through my own experience in film. Between starting the production and finishing it, one major event made this connection a lot darker.
Successful professionals -- that is, people who make most of their living as photographers -- have a kind of global view of their career. They behave as though marketing and contract negotiations and digital workflow are all just as important as composition and lighting.
This article is bound to stir up a little controversy. Still, I believe there is some clarity to be had on the issue of professional photographers and the eye autofocus (Eye AF) technology craze found in the current generation of mirrorless cameras. The truth about who eye autofocus is really for and why many professionals are somewhat ambivalent about it might surprise a few people.
Devastating photos and videos emerged from Afghanistan as the Taliban regained control of the country and U.S. troops prepared to withdraw in August 2021.
When the Sony Alpha 1 was announced, I remember being really impressed but not surprised. Sony had been the brand to beat and had been continuously pushing the envelope. What Sony did was impressive, but not shocking. The Nikon Z9 has shocked me.
I’m sure most photographers have heard of Unsplash, the free-to-use stock image website. You upload any of your photographs, then after a short moderation process, they become available in the Unsplash library for anyone to download and use in any way they like.
How does renowned portrait photographer Albert Watson light his photos? With a foolproof three-light setup that makes his photos look amazing, of course! Except... he doesn't. In fact, setups are very far from what professional photographers do when they light their work. Here is what mindset photographers have when they light.
I have a good friend that uses Facebook as his photography business’s digital platform. I have multiple friends that use Instagram as their portfolio. This also goes for, yes to a lesser degree, using Behance, Tumbler, Model Mayhem, Imgur, and Flickr as a portfolio destination.
In ways much like the chicken and the egg, it is tough to distinguish which came first, my love of photography, or my obsession with optics.
If you've been using an Apple Silicon Mac with an external display for photo and video editing, you may have noticed a few issues. Whether it's ultra-wide monitors not displaying correctly, calibration software not working right, or high-end monitors displaying in YCrCb mode instead of RGB, Apple Silicon still has a bunch of issues with color-accurate monitors.
Facebook and subsequently Instagram thrive on interaction. The company is only profitable if it keeps you on its platform and it will do anything to keep you there, even at the cost of your own health.
While the broad strokes of what is wanted on a camera usually revolve around the imaging fundamentals -- resolution, ISO performance, AF, et cetera -- there are some functions of camera design that have a significant impact on creating that often can be overlooked. The aspect that I want to discuss today is that of balance.
One of the most common myths in photography and art, in general, is that some things are wrong and others are right. This creates a notion that some art is worse than other art. If this were true, the world would never go beyond a predefined concept of art.
Live music and the resumption of public schools have become a flashpoint (1, 2) in the battle about masks and vaccines in the public sector. My son is homeschooled so I cannot speak to that, but I can speak about live music.