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 wide-angle view of an empty football stadium at night, with bright lights and a large buffalo logo at midfield. A few people stand on the turf near the center. Blue seats fill the stands in the background.

How 6,500 People Lit an Incredible 360° Nighttime Panorama of an NFL Stadium

RIT Big Shot 37 at Highmark Stadium in Buffalo, New York, was the biggest light painting photo in the series yet, attracting approximately 6,500 Buffalo Bills fans, RIT alumni, and Western New York locals to the historic stadium during its final season. The incredible 360° Big Shot was the result meticulous planning, two dozen Nikon Z9 cameras, and thousands of people armed with flashlights joining forces to bathe a massive football stadium in light.

A triptych showing: a smiling man working with tools, the Canon logo on a tall building, and a man in a suit holding a camera and smiling.

The People Who Make Your Photography Dreams a Reality

I recently returned from an incredible trip to Canon's Tokyo headquarters and Utsunomiya lens factory. While the sights and sounds of Tokyo and Utsunomiya are undoubtedly spectacular, and I will carry these memories with me for the rest of my life, it was the exceptionally rare peek behind the curtain of Canon -- one of the most popular and celebrated camera companies -- that made the most powerful impression.

On the left, a hand holds a smartphone with a glowing abstract design on the screen. On the right, four young women smile and pose for a selfie on a sunny beach with cliffs and a pink-striped towel behind them.

How and Why Apple Built Its New Square Center Stage Front iPhone Camera

While each of Apple's latest iPhone models has a different rear camera system, they all feature the same brand-new Center Stage front-facing, or "selfie," camera. The base iPhone 17, ultra-thin iPhone Air, and flagship iPhone 17 Pro all have the same Center Stage camera, complete with its groundbreaking square image sensor and sophisticated new features. We sat down with key minds at Apple to learn more about the new camera and how it empowers mobile photography.

A photographer uses a large-format camera covered in a cloth to take a portrait of a serious man in a martial arts uniform sitting outdoors; the resulting close-up black-and-white portrait is shown beside the scene.

The Father of MMA Captured in Wet Plate Collodion Photography

Most mixed martial arts (MMA) fans can recall the first event, held on November 12, 1993, at the McNichols Sports Arena in Denver, Colorado. It was the dawn of a new era in combat sports. Born from Vale-Tudo (“Anything Goes” in English), UFC 1 was an event that would change the world forever. What was at stake was the determination of which martial art discipline would be most effective if they all came together to fight.

Three men hold different cameras toward the viewer. The man in the center, with gray hair, focuses on his Canon camera. The man on the left squints his eyes, holding a Sigma camera, while the man on the right holds a Sony camera.

Are Old Compact Cameras Good, or Is It Just Nostalgia?

Earlier this summer, Chris Niccolls, Jordan Drake, and I browsed the fixed-lens section of KEH's website to see what was available for a reasonable price. With compact, point-and-shoot cameras suddenly exploding in popularity, we were wondering: have they aged well, or is it just nostalgia?

A black Hasselblad camera with no lens is centered inside a glowing golden ring with sparkles and light effects on a dark background.

How Hasselblad Lost Its Luxury Status (And Then Got It Back)

Hasselblad is one of the most storied names in photography. The company was founded in Sweden in 1841 as a trading business, but by the early 1900s, Victor Hasselblad began producing cameras that defined the brand and set a new standard for precision and design.