Editorial

Dreaming With Eyes Open: An Ode to Multiple Exposures

As a busy Dad of two young boys, life gets hectic quite often. I still do plenty of photography, but gone are the long days spent in a blind waiting for a bird to appear. Nevertheless, I've found other ways to fulfill my creative desires.

Are Cameras Actually More Expensive Now Than Ever Before?

There is a purveying sentiment that cameras have only gotten more expensive over time. While there is certainly some validity in certain sectors of the market, the truth about camera prices over time is a bit more nuanced and complex than the average person makes it out to be. So, let’s take a look.

Which is More Important: Technical Photography Skill or an Artistic Eye?

Photographers have always endured an internal debate about the relative importance of learning either technical or artistic aspects. Most lean toward the technical, feeling they have a handle on the artistic side but lack the technical proficiency or expertise to produce really good photographs.

Razer Blade 14 Review: Made for Gamers, Great for Creators

The Razer Blade 14 released just a few short weeks ago is aimed squarely at gamers. The headline on the Razer website is "the world's most powerful 14-inch gaming laptop." But don't be fooled by the glowing green logo and the RGB-backlit keyboard: with its AMD CPU, NVIDIA GPU, and color-accurate QHD display, the Blade 14 is an ideal choice for photo and video editors who are looking for a PC that's portable and powerful.

Photographer Combines Protest and Social Media to Spur Social Action

Photographer Dinda Avena wants to inspire those who have experienced and survived violence, feel unsafe in public, who are suffering due to sexual identity, for those whose land is being seized, and for all marginalized communities to not let their voices fade away.

Why the FAA’s Mandatory TRUST Drone Test Won’t Provide Any Safety

As reported recently here on Petapixel, the FAA has rolled out a new testing program for recreational UAV (a.k.a., drone) users, created to “provide education and testing for recreational flyers on important safety and regulatory information.” As with many government-mandated programs, it provides neither education nor safety.

How it Was Shot: Truffula Aspens, Colorado in 2003

In 2003 my wife Ruth and I were photographing in Colorado and were returning to our campground after a rather uneventful day. Ruth was driving, as always, and I was still looking for a photograph, as always.

What It’s Like to Photograph a Global Launch Campaign for Tamron

Most people don’t actually know what it means when I say I’m a “travel photographer,” it is usually met with a confused look and followed up by some variation of the question, "do you mean you travel for free?” or “who even pays you to travel?”

Examining Social Media’s Impact on Landscape and Nature Photography

As a landscape and nature photographer with a Master’s Degree in Clinical Psychology, I often enjoy trying to blend the two disciplines to better understand the human experience as it relates to photography. One subject that particularly intrigues me is the impact of social media on photography and photographers.

Planning, Scouting, and Revisiting: The Hard Labor of Seeing

I am a self-taught photographer. I don’t believe you can teach someone photography unless they have the heart for it and they are willing to do the work required. As Brett Weston famously said: “Beyond the rudiments, it is up to the artist to create art, not the camera."

When is Photography No Longer Photography?

With the increasing power of Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence available on both phones and PCs, we have reached a point where it has become increasingly difficult to distinguish between photography and composites.

Gitzo Apologizes for Poor Comms, Dramatically Improves Legende Tripod

Over the past few weeks, Gitzo has been in the hot seat over issues surrounding its Legende tripod -- namely linked to poor communication. As a company that had previously never worked directly with customers, the expectations of crowdfunding may have initially caught the manufacturer off guard, but it's actively working to fix that along with its Legende tripod's cosmetic issues.

My Painful Tale of Getting Too Close to Action as a Photographer

On June 12th, I packed my new Fujifilm X-S10 with the standard zoom Canon 24–70 f/2.8L and my favorite reportage setup (a Canon 5D Mark III with a Canon 70–200mm f/2.8L telephoto lens) and drove to the Pirate Cove base on Lake Kruchok in Kyiv, Ukraine, to shoot some nice pictures at the all-Ukrainian wakeboard competition.

Photographers: Appreciate and Be Grateful for Your Captured Moments

The world clamors for our attention and technology demands our hard-earned money, but what has happened to the quality of the experience and the investment in ourselves? Our time is now owned by social media, competitions, and the need to prove how good and well-received our images are, usually to the detriment of the images and our self-confidence.

What it is Like to Fly a Drone Near a Volcano… And Then Crash It

If you watched the news or were connected to the internet the first week of June, chances are good that you have seen a video of a drone crashing into an erupting volcano. Well, that drone was mine and it got completely disintegrated. In my latest video, I share what it is like to fly a drone around a volcano and what you have to look out for.

With Photo Zines, Less Can Be More

All of my recent motivation in photography has come from the desire to see actualized publications of my projects, in the wake of the wonderfully positive response to my recent Bulgaria zine and USA Digest.

Steps You Can Take to Help Prevent Camera Theft

As you may have read, my gear was stolen in broad daylight as the camera was rolling two weeks ago in a public San Francisco park. It may be getting worse out there: another photographer got hit this week looking at Golden Gate Bridge.

How to Mint an NFT: The Photographer’s Guide

The NFT craze from earlier this year isn’t going away -- but perhaps has become even more mainstream in the last three months. It’s hard to name a celebrity, artist, or athlete who hasn’t cashed in on the explosive popularity of NFTs.

Stats and Insights From the Websites of the Top 100+ Photographers

What are famous photographers doing right on their websites? Or better yet, what are they doing awfully wrong despite being successful? In this detailed research report, I thoroughly reviewed over 100 individual websites (from the most well-known photographers out there) to try to uncover all of that.

I Hate Google Photos, But I Fear I Won’t Be Able to Live Without It

I called the Google Photos photo sharing and management app the Turkey of the Year in my 2020 USA TODAY round-up of the apps and gadgets that screwed over consumers last year. Reason: Google Photos was free for all, but starting June 1st, it switches to a paid model after five years of bait and switch.

Photo Series Documents the Experience of Everyday Life in Uganda

When difficulties due to local unrest as well as COVID-19 complications prevented my wife and me from being able to visit the Congo and photograph the local gorilla population, an unforeseen opportunity presented itself to go to Uganda instead, and I jumped at the chance.

What Makes a Compelling Landscape Photograph?

Long before photography was even a dream, people were trying to document the beauty of landscapes in a two-dimensional medium. From romantic interpretations of natural beauty to the realistic and mystifying Hudson River School painters, there have always been trends in how we see the landscape.

How I Use Stencils to ‘Paint’ Light into Geometric Shapes

As a photographer, when you produce a series of photos that goes viral and you close sales and license deals because of it, it is tempting to simply continue doing the same and hopefully keep receiving the attention you had in the first place.

How Not to Be a Photographer

After almost five years in Germany, I've amassed an impressive body of work. I love many of the photos I have taken here, and some of them are even selling rather well. Yet, I have very few images to show when people ask me to show photos of Germany as most people are not into architectural abstracts.

I Was Robbed in San Francisco While the Cameras Rolled

Last week I was in San Francisco, one of the most beautiful cities in the world on a video shoot for Kelby One on Crissy Field -- one of the premier spots in town -- at the foot of the majestic Golden Gate Bridge when one of my cameras was stolen right in front of me.

What is Brand Storytelling and Why Does It Matter?

In today’s world, it is easier than ever to start a business. Explore Instagram on any given day and you will inevitably see an ad for some new online retailer. It begs the question: How, in such a saturated online marketplace, can a fledgling brand separate itself from the pack and survive?

Photographing the Namib Desert: ‘At One With Forever’

Many people feel pulled toward the wild areas of the grand Earthscape, especially to wild areas. It is important for them to know these places exist, even if they cannot go there. The spiritual connection is deep and infinite. Where does it begin? Can it be fostered?

The 1934 Chrysler Photo Shoot That Brought Us Out of 2020

It wasn’t that the phone hadn’t rung for an entire year, it was that the shoots were always too risky; my urge to be on set was always overruled by my commitment to ensure that making art did not lead to someone contracting COVID.

The Art of Selling Art: A Contemplative Approach

Perhaps the greatest dream of most nature photographers is the idea of crafting a living off print sales alone. All across the internet are stories of individuals making hundreds of dollars off each print, leading to yearly sales of six figures or greater. Unfortunately, this is very often not the case.