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Sean Molin
Indianapolis, IN

Articles written by Sean Molin

Wotancraft Ryker Bag Gets a Little Leica-Centric Brother: A Review

By now you are likely no stranger to Wotancraft and their incredibly delicious camera bags. We've reviewed a slew of them here on Fstoppers over the past few years, and I was not shy about remarking that their flagship Ryker is one of my favorite shoulder bags of all time.

The Next-Gen Leica TL2 Mirrorless Camera Is Here

It's been three years since Leica brought us the original aluminum wonder Leica T. While it was given a refresh last year, that update flew under the radar of even many Leica fans as it did little more than change the name. The brand new TL2, however, is a ground-up reworking of the entire platform. Well, we've spent the past two weeks putting our hands on one and we've got some thoughts, and even raw DNG files, to share.

Vaginas Are Beautiful: A Photo Project

The best creative projects will leave a permanent impact on someone, whether that's the photographer, subject, or viewer. The best projects will move the world. Renowned sex and relationship expert Layla Martin set out to help women feel more comfortable in their own skin by showing them and their partners pictures of their genitalia, and the results are remarkably powerful and moving.

Behind the Scenes with Large Format Portraiture

It's not as hard as it looks. If you've ever been intimidated by, or even questioned the idea of shooting portraits on large format film, maybe George and Jack can help.

Wotancraft Ryker Bag Review: Form Meets Function for Mirrorless Cameras

I'm sure I'm not alone when I say I have owned and used more camera bags than any human being should. Some are better than others, and virtually all of them have pronounced trade-offs. Wotancraft is a company that has risen to prominence in recent years by producing bags that meet that rare intersection of top-tier form, function, and quality at a reasonable price. Today we're taking a look at one of their flagship bags for mirrorless shooters, the Ryker, to see what it's all about.

Fear, Love, and the iPhone's Simulated Bokeh

Background blur has been the mark of the pro almost exclusively since the digital revolution began in the early 2000s. That polished and premium look is now coming to the world's most popular camera, which until now has been beholden to the physics of tiny sensors. Professional photographers may have more to fear than just fear itself.

Lightroom Mobile's Amazing Raw Editing Workflow from Start to Finish

Back in July of 2016, Adobe released a major update to Lightroom Mobile for iOS that allows it to work directly with any and all raw files supported by the desktop version and to also sync them seamlessly with the desktop. But what does this actually mean for real-world use? What problem are we actually solving? Let's go on a trip with epic travel photographer Elia Locardi and find out.

Mastering the Art of Keeping It Simple in Photography

Something Thomas Heaton does a lot of us taking incredible and breathtaking landscape photos. Something he doesn't do a lot is show the full creation of a photo from conceptualization to presentation, including post processing. The real story here, though, is the desire to stay close to home and try to create art out of the "normal" and "familiar." What do you do when presented with nothing truly remarkable at first glance?

The Big Picture: Making a Fine Art Photography Print from Scratch

Nick Carver is no stranger to going big. Not only does she shoot big negatives on big cameras, but he's immensely passionate about printing and framing and making sure work both fills and compliments a space. In this video he goes through the process of scanning a panoramic 6x17 Portra 160 film negative, sizing up a space on the wall for the final 6-foot print, and even building a custom frame for it.

Pure Garbage: Analyzing a 'Fastmo & Slowmo' Cinematography Technique

The rock band Garbage is out with the first single off their forthcoming album "Strange Little Birds," and while the track is undeniably awesome rock fare, the visual geek in me cannot get past this extremely cool camera effect that invokes "bullet time" from The Matrix. I have a hunch as to how it was done.

Of Models and Men: Expectations and the Other Sex

Photoshopping models has been a hot button topic for as long as there has been Photoshop and models, but here we have a video that explores a less-visited side of the story. How do men feel about seeing their bodies manipulated outside reality?

A Visual Year in Under Two Minutes

This incredible year-long project by the 70 photojournalism students of Rochester Institute of Technology plays to the depths of photography in light, movement, emotion, and connection — Ideas laid out in short photographic bursts that create tangible emotions for the viewer to experience alongside the subjects in the photographs. In under two minutes we see nearly 100 stories, each on the screen for a second or less.

Survey Says: American Weddings are Too Damn Expensive

Every year, The Knot compiles statistics from thousands of weddings in their annual Real Weddings Study, and we get to learn all sorts of things about the ins and outs of what makes up a wedding in America. While there's plenty of interesting statistics, such as how 83% of couples used a smartphone in planning their wedding, the marquee stat is cost, and for the past five years that number has crept onwards and upwards to a brand new record that's just insane when you compare it to the average wedding in Europe.

The Leica T Revisited: You've Come A Long Way, Baby

It's been two years since the Leica T was revealed. Touting an undeniably sexy unibody design and a brand new lens mount, the T showed that Leica was serious about staying relevant in a technology-focused climate. While the camera was universally praised in most regards, particularly for the body and interface design, there were certainly some unpleasantries in the way of performance. But that was two years ago, and a lot's changed. Leica has stayed committed to their aluminum wonder, and it has slowly evolved into a serious little machine worth a second glance.

In Defense of the Screenless Digital Leica M-D

Where Leica goes, controversy is sure to follow. Last week, the M-D Typ 262 rangefinder camera was announced, and as usual, photographers were there to complain about it. While the constant eye-rolls in the direction of Leica are usually in regards to sky-high prices or other minor design decisions, this time, there's something truly worth talking about. The M-D is completely lacking an essential element of all digital cameras: the screen. It's bold, it's beautiful, and it was the perfect move for Leica.

 Living With Deadcameras and Their Custom Handmade Camera Straps

Camera straps are about as ubiquitous as cameras themselves. If it weren't for the dreadfully uncomfortable ones that come with most cameras, you'd think they're pretty hard to get wrong. Most third party ones are at least adequate, or better, so what can someone do to stand out? We've spent the past month with four custom hand-made-to-order leather straps, in the form of a wrist strap, two neck straps, and even a unique TLR strap from the Deadcameras lineup. Do they have what it takes to stand out in an endless sea of straps? Let's find out.

Holdfast + Fundy Streetwise Review: A Camera Bag for the Street-Smart Photographer

Street photographers are a funny breed and have special requirements for their equipment. Ardent street photographer and owner of Fundy Software, Andrew "Fundy" Funderburg, worked closely with Matthew Swaggart of leathergoods masters Holdfast to create an uncompromising luxury camera bag specifically for those that shoot rangefinder and other mirrorless cameras and need to work light and fast. We spent the past six weeks using one ourselves to see if they succeeded in their quest.