Inspiration

This Short Film Was Shot at 2520mm

"Sun Moon London" is a beautiful 3-minute short film by photographer and filmmaker Luke Miller, who captured scenes of the sun and moon illuminating the city of London through a 2520mm-equivalent lens.

A Message to Portrait Photographers

She came in for her senior session. Her hair was a mess of tangled waves, unruly and uncooperative. Her face was covered with freckles and dotted with acne. She wasn’t model proportions and the clothing she wore required careful adjustment to keep it from bunching up in places.

I Photographed Cherry Blossoms… in Amsterdam

I've been seeing lots of cherry blossom photos from many friends who are visiting Japan or Korea for their beautiful and famous cherry blossoms. I’m sitting here at home in the Netherlands for a change and figured I’d show how I don’t need to travel halfway across the globe to get these shots.

Why Bad Photographers Think They’re Good

Did you know that the worse you are at photography, the more likely it is that you think you're great at it? It's a cognitive bias in psychology called the Dunning–Kruger effect. Here's an inspiring 9-minute video by photographer Jamie Windsor on how you can avoid falling into this common mental trap and actually become a better photographer.

How I Photographed the Double Diamond Fuji

As a spiritual symbol of Japan, Mt. Fuji is one of only three sacred mountains of the country and its tallest at 3,776 meters. Its designation as a UNESCO world heritage site further exemplifies its importance to not only the people of Japan but to the world as well.

The Winning Photos of the First Annual Wet Plate Competition

This year, the wet plate supply brand Modern Collodion ran its first annual Wet Plate Competition. The 2018 contest received over 200 submissions from 75 wet plate photographers based in 19 countries. The grand prize winner is the photo above, titled "Aristolochia Pods," by Paul Barden.

I Shot Photos Inside a California State Prison

My name is Pep Williams, and I'm a photographer from Los Angeles. I recently shot a project with the help of Leica called "Out of Bounds." I'm one of the few photographers allowed to shoot inside a California state prison.

I Use Cyberweapon Code to Create Virtual Landscape Photos

How do you photographically represent a war that takes place entirely in software? Is it even possible? Taking place across the world at this very moment is a non-stop, low-intensity cyber war complete with reconnaissance, probing attacks, feints and defensive operations the details and extent of which can only be guessed at.

The Homeless Photojournalist Who Lends His Eyes to the World

Ed Gold has spent nearly two decades working as a full-time photojournalist. Perhaps best known for documenting some of the world's most remote people groups, Gold's photos have regularly been published by the BBC. Despite his apparent "success" in the industry, however, Gold has been homeless for as long as he has been a photographer.

This Photographer Has Shot NYC with a 1940s Camera for 50+ Years

Walk around on the streets of New York City long enough, and you may come across photographer Louis Mendes. He has shot street photos in the city for over 50 years, and he's easily recognized by his vintage camera and outfits. The New York Post made the inspiring 3-minute video above about Mendes' life and work.

These Volkswagen Beetle Photos Were Shot on a Table

Photographer Felix Hernandez has wowed the world for years with his large-scale photos created using small-scale models. Volkswagen recently turned to Hernandez's talents for a series of photos showing a classic Beetle on a desert road. Everything was shot on a tabletop.

Shooting a Most Special Wedding on 24-Hour Notice

The other day, there was a posting on Facebook by a groom "putting it out there," hoping on a long shot that he could find somebody to shoot their wedding on very, very short notice.

I’m Thinking About What Sara Said

I had the great privilege of tagging along with photographer Eric Kim for Gulf Photo Plus in Dubai back in 2014 and 2016. GPP is an annual event: the region’s biggest and only photography festival, bringing the world’s best photographers and instructors to Dubai to share their knowledge and experience with the professional and amateur photography community in the Middle East and Africa.

Shooting Light-Painting Portraits with a Shattered Windshield

My name is Jason Rinehart with Hartlight Photography, and I'm a light painter known around the world for my unique light painting style. I'm always in search of different creative ways to make my images I create as unique as possible, and this is by using whatever I can find to either shoot through or shoot with.

I Spent a Year Refilling Disposable Cameras with Premium Film

My name is Skyler Adams, and I'm a photographer. I’ve noticed that camera communities these days excitedly share news about new cameras, lenses, and lighting equipment, but hardly anyone posts an actual photo anymore. Why?

Video: The Man Who Turned a Russian Truck Into a Glass Plate Camera

Back in December 2016, we featured the work of Kurt Moser, an ambrotype photographer who turned a Russian truck into a massive camera for his glass plate photography. After seeing the article, the team at Valkyr Productions connected with Moser and created this beautiful 9-minute video profile about the photographer and his work.

The Playful Street Photography of Pau Buscató

Pau Buscató is a street photographer who has a knack for capturing playful moments in which subjects and scenes come together in curious ways for brief moments of time. Many of his pictures are illusions that may cause you to stare a little longer to understand what it is you're actually seeing.

Photographer Captures Halos Above Rock Pinnacles Using Drones

Photographer Reuben Wu is a pioneer of using LEDs mounted to drones to light landscapes at night, and his project Lux Noctis is filled with gorgeous and unusual photos created using this technique. More recently, Wu has added yet another creative touch: he adds halos above the rock pinnacles on dramatic landscapes by flying the drones in circles during long-exposure photos.

See the Netherlands’ Historically Cold Winter in Before-and-After Photos

Last week was extremely cold in my country, the Netherlands. February 28th was the coldest 28th of February in history, breaking the record set in 1904. It’s crazy to experience this kind of weather here while some of my friends in Norway and Iceland are having warmer weather.

I Built a 22″ Gridded Beauty Dish for $4 Using Dollar Store Foam Boards

I recently got bored and decided to expand a super-budget project I'm working on. I love gridded beauty dishes for dramatic artsy stuff, beauty, and as a generally very versatile modifier. However, even a cheap one is out of budget for this project. So... I made one.

Here are 9 Top Wedding Photos of 2017

The International Wedding Photographer of the Year (IWPOTY) competition has just announced the winning photos for 2017. The grand prize winner was photographer Erika Mann of Two Mann Studios, who captured a remarkable photo of a bride in front of a double rainbow.

This Video Was Shot on iPhone… A $32 iPhone 3GS from 2009

Matteo Bertoli is known for shooting cinematic 4K videos with the latest smartphones and apps to hit the market. But for his latest project, he decided to use the cheapest smartphone he could fine: a $32 used iPhone 3GS from 2009. This 2-minute video is what resulted.

This Photographer Deals with Anxiety by Creating Surreal Self-Portraits

Monica Lazăr is one of the millions upon millions of people around the world who struggles with an anxiety condition. For her, social anxiety makes it difficult to spend time with other people and causes her to become isolated. Four years ago, however, Lazăr discovered a passion for photography, and her gorgeous self-portraits have changed her life.

Experimenting with a Neon Light for a Studio Portrait

In this post, I'll share the story and results of a recent experiment I did with lighting a model with a neon light. I was hanging out with a friend in a local coffee shop when he showed me an awesome album artwork he saw online.

10 Tips for Shooting Waterfall Photos

Here's a straightforward guide on how to get something more out of your waterfall shots. The idea to this guide came to me when I recently visited Iceland again and kept seeing everyone taking the same shots at the famous waterfalls. Even the ‘professional’ photographers with very expensive gear were just planting their tripod in the ground, putting on a wide angle with an ND filter and were all taking the same shots.

I Shot SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy and Got Retweeted by Elon Musk

My name is Brady Kenniston, and I’m a portrait and wedding photographer from a small town in Michigan, nowhere near the rocket haven that is Kennedy Space Center. Occasionally I shoot high school sports and cover events for our small town, but it’s hard to prepare yourself and equipment to capture 5 million pounds of thrust coming from the 27 engines attached to a 230-foot tall rocket with a Red Tesla Roadster in the payload fairing.

Using Drones to Shoot War Zones

Photographer and director Joey L has been using camera drones to capture aerial photos and videos in conflict zones. Here's a 21-minute talk he recently gave on his work at Hardwired NYC.

Picture of a Single Atom Wins Science Photo Contest

A remarkable photo of a single atom trapped by electric fields has just been awarded the top prize in a well-known science photography competition. The photo is titled "Single Atom in an Ion Trap" and was shot by David Nadlinger of the University of Oxford.