At the ripe old age of 103, New Englander Conrad Heyer, a veteran of the American Revolution, sat down to have his portrait taken. Maybe he knew this at the time, or maybe he didn't, but the gruff, stern man staring defiantly out of the portrait above is believed to be the earliest born human ever photographed.
Many spectacular sports photos are captured by cameras that are being triggered from a ways away, as this allows for angles that would otherwise be dangerous -- for both the photographer and the athletes -- or outright impossible to capture. But have you ever wondered how these remote cameras are set up? …
One of the basic Photoshop skills that many beginners want to learn early on is how to change something's color in one of their images (be that an object or someone's eye color). Well, you're in luck, because Aaron Nace and Phlearn are here with a simple tutorial that will show you how to do just that, and do it well.
When it comes to simple photography hacks, few are as useful and clever in the field as this one, presented by 34-year wedding photography veteran Frank Donnino.
Tony Northrup, an award-winning author and well-known reviewer of camera gear, recently put out a video that takes an interesting, in-depth look at how mirrorless camera companies might be fudging the specifications of mirrorless cameras to make them seem better than they are.
When you're first starting to experiment with using strobes, it's easy to get confused by all the talk of flash durations, flash sync speeds, and the other technical aspects of lighting up a scene. Heck, it wasn’t until two years into my photography career that I understood how it all worked.
Obviously this video and post isn't for the advanced HDR photographer, but even if you have a good understanding of what High Dynamic Range is or how to capture it, you'll probably find one or two tidbits of very interesting information in this short video by Techquickie.
When it comes to the world of photography lighting education, one name that comes up more than most is Strobist. With the simple tagline, “learn how to light,” photographer David Hobby’s publication has come a long way since its inception in April of 2006... and it went a little further still today.
Creatives and artists often excel in several artistic media, not just one, and so the world of photography is peppered with talented individuals whose creative outlets include everything from skateboarding, to painting, to music.
If you’ve ever wanted a visual history of photographic cameras, this poster by Retrofuturismo-Kitsch, should suit your needs. Taking a look as far back as basic camera obscuras and all the way up to the Sony Mavica, this graphic pulls out some of the most iconic – and unusual – cameras to ever hit the market.
If you regularly share snapshots of your life online, turning off geotagging isn't a very reliable way to keep your location private. Everything seen in the photo -- including faint reflections -- can be used to figure out where you were with scary accuracy.
Have you ever watched slow motion car crash tests and wondered how they go about capturing the imagery they do? Well, if you have, the above video might answer some of your questions.
New cameras, lenses and accessories open up the possibility of fresh adventures in photography. In reality though, most of us have to make do with what we’ve got, upgrading to new camera kit as and when we can afford it. With that in mind, here are 15 suggestions to help beginning and intermediate photographers improve your photography without splashing out on new gear.
This post contains absolutely no mathematics. Explaining MTF without math is sort of like doing a high-wire act without a net. It’s dangerous, but for any number of reasons is more likely to keep the audience interested.
Who knew a dipperful of seawater contained so much life? Well, photographer David Liittschwager, that's who, because in 2006 he captured this eye-opening photograph for National Geographic.
Feel a bit dry when it comes to being creative with your photography? Try taking a walk -- or, more specifically, a photo walk. A study over at Stanford has found that walking around can give you a significant boost in creativity.
This behind the scenes video takes a look at a unique advertisement shoot by photographer Tim Tadder. The shoot takes place in a circus big-top and in the video Tadder demonstrates how to handle an incredibly complex shoot that involves a handful of trapeze artists and 15 various lights mounted 42 feet in the air.
As part of The Invisible Photograph documentary series being put together by Carnegie Museum of Art, the short film Underground takes a look inside one of the largest photo collections on the face of the Earth.
When it comes to product photography, the smallest changes in lighting and setup can completely alter the final image, for better or worse. This applies doubly to objects like perfume bottles where you have both transparent and reflective surfaces to deal with.
Teaming up with noted NYC wedding photographer Ryan Brenizer, B&H has released the complete presentation from their seminar, Wedding Event of the Season. Recorded live at the New Yorker hotel, Ryan Brenizer shares his invaluable insight into the world of wedding photography. More specifically, he delves into the business side of this huge industry.
In 1939, British Pathé -- whose fascinating photography-related old videos we've shared before -- covered something truly amazing: 100 years of photography. It had been 100 years since the camera was invented and so, they took a look back at how those years had changed and refined the art of capturing images using a light-tight box and whatever light-sensitive material you happen to have at hand.
He's known as the author behind the famed Alice's Adventures In Wonderland by most, but the breadth of his disciplines goes far beyond literature. Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, more commonly known by his pen name, Lewis Carroll, was also a logician, mathematician, an ordained minister and a photographer... yes, a photographer.
Dean J. Tatooles specializes in fine art panoramic landscape photography, wildlife photography, and indigenous portraiture from remote locations around the world. He also works with top-rated travel companies and fellow professional photographers to lead photographic safaris in Iceland, India, Kenya, and more. Fresh off a trip in Iceland, Tatooles and colleague Tim Vollmer answer some common questions about the eerie natural anomaly known as the Aurora Borealis. If shooting the Northern Lights …
It's #throwbackthursday, right? Good, because we have a rather interesting piece of photography history to share with you, courtesy of NASA, Nikon and Kodak.
Joe McNally knows a good bit more about lighting than many photographers out there, and in this short video he shares a great deal of information pertaining to both TTL flash lighting as well as adapting to a situation and using natural light.
In a perfect world, we'd all have the studio of our dreams, and it would be filled with all of the best of gear. Unfortunately, we don't live in such a world, and more often than not we're constrained by a (sometimes very tight) budget.
The intersection of Science, Technology and Art, at least according to renowned filmmaker and time-lapse photographer Louie Schwartzberg, is curiosity and wonder. And in the TED talk above, he makes the case for how few things pique that curiosity and inspire that wonder like the "hidden miracles of the natural world" that time-lapse, slow motion and microscopic imagery reveal.
NPR just released a fascinating video that does a fantastic job of explaining something called Schlieren Flow Visualization or Schlieren Photography: a photographic trick that allows you to see density changes in air and, therefore, actually capture sound waves on camera.
Sunsets are beautiful. They've inspired songs and paintings, they've been the backdrops to weddings and celebrations, and overall they're natures way of ending almost every day on a beautiful note.
The Museum of London has something to celebrate this month. Namely, the acquisition of a set of historically significant photographs captured by the late great Christina Broom.
How many human emotions can you capture on camera? According to a study by researchers at Ohio State University, the number is at least 21.
We love seeing and hearing about the process of creating an image. The motivation behind a photo combined with a glimpse at how it was shot can be both inspirational and educational, which is a powerful combo.
Composition and the rules that accompany it are some of the most basic aspects you learn when first picking up a camera. If you've been a photographer long, it's probably safe to say that the "rule of thirds" and "golden mean" are ingrained into your brain so well that it's second-nature now.
Editor's Note: Due to some issues with the camera, this video is very shaky at times. It didn't bother us much, but if you're easily distracted this video might annoy more than it educates you. You've been warned.
“The avant-garde of 1967 repeats the deeds and gestures of those in 1917. We are experiencing the end of the idea of modern art.” - Octavio Paz (1981), Nobel Laureate …
Water photographer Sarah Lee (recently featured in a behind-the-scenes artist profile for the SmugMug Film series) grew up in Hawaii, surfing and swimming competitively. One day, while at a swimming competition, she was handed a camera and hasn’t looked back since.
From Jay P. Morgan of The Slanted Lens comes an educational and behind the scenes video out of Yanks Air Museum in Chino, California. Throughout the video, Morgan gives insight into the process of using a tilt-shift lens and shares some nice background information on how a tilt-shift lens actually works.
There is little doubt that auteur Stanley Kubrick looms large as a director able to distinctively bring his films to life through his vision. He has left his mark across the motion picture landscape.
For the purposes of this question, I'm going to assume that "truly transparent" means that air and its constituents are no longer able to absorb and re-radiate incident radiation, which in visible light seems to be our definition of transparency. To make things much more fun, let's make this true over all wavelengths.
Back at the GoPro goodies again is none other than Mitch Bergsma, most recently featured on PetaPixel for his tip on how to stabilize hand-held GoPro footage using your face. This time though, the tutorial attempts to help those interested in using a DJI Phantom with their GoPro attached to it.
Online resources for learning about photography are anything but lacking. But every so often a new one comes around that changes things up a bit -- usually because it's created by a well-known, respected pro.
We're not in the habit of sharing full workshop videos during the week. The way we see it, most of you are at work right now (we sure are) and don't have time to watch a one and a half hour workshop at your desk (we sure don't). Problem is, this 1940s Glamour Portraits workshop by Robert Harrington can't wait.
Nikon USA has just joined the Google+ community, and eager as they are to make a positive impression and not seem like they're arriving empty-handed, the company has simultaneously debuted a new 15-part instructional video series for beginners on up who like their educational content with a side of Nikon advertising.
What is the resolution of the human eye? You might think it's a straight forward question with a straight forward answer. We have a certain number of photon collecting cells in our retina much like an image sensor right? So we should be able to pull a 'megapixel' count of sorts out of there.
One of the most exciting things about Sony's new A6000 is the crazy-fast AF system that's been built in. At just 0.06 seconds of lag, the A6000 claims the title of 'world's fastest AF' and blows most mirrorless cameras and APS-C DSLRs out of the water.
Almost a year after Zack Arias first announced that he was working on an educational project called DEDPXL (pronounced dead pixel), the project has gone live on the web and is ready for you take a look at.
This is a photo of an atomic bomb milliseconds after detonation, shot by Harold ‘Doc’ Edgerton in 1952 through his Rapatronic (Rapid Action Electronic) Camera.
It's a sad day for the Internet... according to Trend Micro's security analysts, it's been discovered that photographs of both sunsets and -- even more heartbreaking -- cats being shared across the web contain malware capable of getting into your bank accounts.
Almost a year to date after the digging up and opening of Oklahoma City's Century Chest, researchers are getting a rare glimpse at early 20th century Oklahoma City thanks to the help of a Kodak Vest Pocket Camera and eight negatives found in "pristine condition" buried inside the time capsule.
As part of a new campaign, Profoto has teamed up with photography pair Justin and Mary Marantz to create a twenty-part video series aimed at educating (and promoting) how best to capture the vital moments of a wedding using TTL lighting.
