Features

PetaPixel's Features are in-depth, heavily researched stories designed to answer the most important questions on a topic. Where we flex our journalistic muscle, expect to find the best storytelling and original reporting the photo industry offers.
Snowy mountain peaks frame a dramatic triangular shadow cast over a valley at sunrise, with pink and purple tones illuminating the distant landscape and sky.

How It Was Shot: The Triangle Shadow of Mount Hood

Towering 11,249 feet above sea level, Mount Hood is the tallest mountain in the state of Oregon. The mountain is so large that on a clear day, it can be visible from over 100 miles away.

A box of Opti Colour 35mm film sits on a yellow paper, surrounded by other colorful Opti Colour film boxes on a blue background. The central box shows icons for weather conditions and "36 EXP ISO 200.

Film Friday: Optik OptiColour Is a New Color Film (That Goes By Many Names)

With this Film Friday Review we are shining a light on a new color film that seems to love traveling the world under a multitude of aliases. While we first met this film as Optik Oldschool OptiColour, you might have crossed paths with it under the ORWO Wolfen NC200 or KONO Color 200 monikers.

A box of Kodak Professional 400 T-Max 120 film sits on a wooden table next to a vintage camera. The film box is yellow with black and green text.

Film Friday: Kodak TMax 400 Is Far From a One-Trick Pony

TMax 400 came into the world in 1986, at the same time as its slower speed brother. You can think of them as near identical twins, in fact. Since its introduction, TMax 400 has helped define a whole new generation of black and white films with its tabular grain structure, high resolution, and sharp image details.

Three-panel image: Left, people hike up a snowy slope; center, a person stands in a glowing ice cave; right, close-up view of blue ice with deep crevices and textures.

Nat Geo’s New Documentary, ‘Time and Water,’ Tells a Story You’re Still Writing

National Geographic's new documentary film, "Time and Water," grapples with a challenging, profound question: How do you say goodbye to what you never thought you could lose? Through archival footage, photos, art, and science, Academy Award-nominated director Sara Dosa follows acclaimed Icelandic writer and poet Andri Snær Magnason as he confronts the death of his country's glaciers, the loss of his grandparents, and the kind of world he hopes future generations can experience. The story's next chapters are being written at this very second.

A person stands alone on the porch of a dimly lit house at night, partially silhouetted by the glow from the doorway, with a white car parked in the foreground.

The Incredible Photography of ‘Obsession’

Low-budget horror movies aren't for everyone. But it's difficult to ignore Obsession, which just raked in over $30 million in ticket sales over the Memorial Day weekend, taking it to $80 million worldwide. Not bad for a film that was made for just $1 million.