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.
A vintage Pentax camera is centered between a roll of Adox Color Mission film and a black XH-2 device. The background features a colorful gradient within a filmstrip frame.

Analog Photography in 2024: Film’s Best Year in Decades

Film has long been considered a dying art since the rise of digital photography, with what seemed like nothing but bad news for many years. 2024, though, saw a welcomed resurgence of this analog medium. It has been a busy and fantastic year for analog photography.

A sepia-toned image shows an old photography van with a man seated on it, and a barren landscape with cannonballs scattered on a dirt road, evoking a historic wartime scene.

The Story of Roger Fenton: The World’s First War Photographer

Roger Fenton is best known for Valley of the Shadow of Death, one of the oldest-known photos depicting war. His relatively short 10-year photography career sparked accusations that he was a government propagandist while simultaneously being praised as one of the medium's pioneers.

A bustling cityscape of Times Square with tall buildings and billboards. The central billboard promotes the NBA Tip-Off 2024, showing cheering fans. Vehicles and pedestrians fill the streets below, and sunlight filters through the skyscrapers.

Behind the Tip-Off: The Making of the NBA’s 2025 Ad Campaign

Some advertising photographers equate the degree of stress during a high-profile shoot as a metric of their skill as a photographer: If you’re stressed, then perhaps you were unprepared or lacked knowledge, they might say. I don’t think that’s always the case, as sometimes the extreme challenge of a complicated image requires stress to realize its full creative potential.

Two Sony Alpha mirrorless cameras side by side on a yellow-orange gradient background. The cameras have prominent lenses with silver edges and dials on top.

The Biggest Differences Between the Sony a1 and the New Sony a1 II

Sony has a new flagship camera, the Alpha 1 Mark II. However, while the a1 II brings a lot of improvements, it is not a wholesale revolution compared to its predecessor, which was admittedly way ahead of its time when it launched in early 2021. So, what's new with the a1 II? How is it better?

A Nikon camera sits on a white table outdoors with a modern building and greenery in the background. The building has large glass windows and a visible Nikon logo.

Remembering My Father Part III: Bringing His Camera Home

"I really want to get the light meter fixed," my dad told me once, years ago. "It's been hard, I don't think they make the parts anymore." By the late 2010s, my dad had given up on ever getting his Nikon Photomic FTn ever working again. This past summer, though, his beloved camera was brought back from the brink.

A person holds a vintage Nikon film camera towards the lens. The camera's body is black with visible details, including the Nikon logo and lens information. The background is slightly blurred, focusing attention on the camera.

Hunting in Tokyo for My Favorite Classic Nikon Cameras

Earlier this year, my father passed away and left me with his beloved Nikon F and Photomic FTn. After getting it repaired, I found myself in love with the analog process again and have been revisiting cameras I had long since dismissed. Suddenly, I was confronted with Nikon cameras I had never seen or -- in some cases -- never heard of before.