Opinion

A triptych showing a rustic water mill by a stream, a porcupine perched in a tree, and a misty forest landscape at dawn.

What I’ve Learned After 20 Years of Photographing Fall Color

After 20 years of photographing fall color, I'm sharing the lessons that have helped me plan better outings, find stronger compositions, and build a more varied portfolio. Growing up in the Northeastern U.S., autumn has always been one of the times of year that draws me outside with its explosion of color and fleeting window of opportunity. Over the years, though, I've learned that creating great autumn photographs isn't simply about being in the right place when the leaves reach their peak.

A white and dark blue robot holds a black camera in its right hand against a plain white background.

Could Agentic AI Help Photographers?

Last week at Qualcomm's annual Snapdragon Summit in Hawaii, instead of soaking up the Sun or digging my toes into the sand, I heard an awful lot about agentic AI. Everywhere I went, the "AI agent" followed me like my own shadow. At first I was skeptical. I still am, but now I'm also thinking about the possibilities. Could an agentic AI actually make my life better?

A black Sony Alpha 7s camera body with an exposed sensor next to a yellow emoji with a skeptical expression.

Is a Sony a7S IV Coming? Fat Chance

Ah, rumors, the unsubstantiated gift that keeps on giving. Rumors are often fun to think about, and sometimes they even come true. Color me skeptical that the current hot goss in the Sony world, the a7S IV, will become a reality, though.

A close-up view of a medium format camera body with a lens cap labeled "X SYSTEM" and a wooden handgrip attached to the side.

8 Ways Hasselblad Can Make the 907x CFV 100C Way Better

Hasselblad cameras' excellence comes from decades of engineering, and that results in a polished product built with the best of the best in mind. Everything is good: the grip and body are built to last, the optical quality is better than Leica.

A hand holds a Canon EOS R5 camera body with a large red arrow pointing toward the lens mount.

Thanks to Nikon, Canon’s Closed RF Mount Could Be Forced Open

In January, Nikon sued Viltrox in China, claiming the lens maker had violated its intellectual property for the Z-mount and sought royalties and damages. But this past summer, that court disagreed and ruled in favor of Viltrox. This sets a major precedent that could easily impact Canon, the owner of the only truly closed mirrorless camera mount.

A roasted half chicken topped with chimichurri in a brown sauce, served alongside a side salad, fries, and a glass of white wine on a wooden table.

Apparently ‘Photography Is All Fake Anyway’

A short while ago I was reading the comments on a restaurant's Facebook group post. The post was a set of dodgy AI-generated food images, and they had that giveaway look. Too glossy, sauce behaving strangely, and bread that somehow looked like a sponge.

A split-screen view showing a large, towering cumulus cloud against a blue sky on the left and a roof with a sign reading "THE WINDLASS" under a cloudy sky on the right.

What Shooting 6×6 Taught Me About Formats and Rules

I recently added a camera that shoots 6x6 to my shelf. Square negatives, twelve per roll. I expected to enjoy the lens, the build, the ritual of loading film backs. What I didn’t expect was how much the shape of the frame would mess with the rest of my photography vision.

A Nikon camera sits in the center of a circular graphic surrounded by several boxes of Rollei Superpan 200 film.

While At First Unimpressive, Rollei Superpan 200 Is a Bag of Tricks

Rollei Superpan 200 is a curious sort of film, making it all the better reason to feature it today. The first impression we would give you of Superpan 200 is that on the surface it can be easily unimpressive, but dig a bit deeper and Superpan quickly reveals that it has quite a bag of tricks at its disposal.

Several CineStill 50D film boxes are arranged on a blue surface with various cameras, including wooden and black plastic models, in the background. The scene is set outdoors in bright sunlight.

CineStill 50D Is a Perfect Slow Speed Film for Bright Summer Days

Cinestill 50D is the less popular sibling to Cinestill’s 800T and 400D emulsions. Because 50D often gets passed over in favor of those other two, we figured it would be a great film to feature on Film Friday. It is a different and lovely film in its own right and deserves a bit more attention than it receives.