Documentary

Derrick Story of thedigitalstory.com has been a fan of the Olympus portable cameras for a few years now, and has really taken a liking to the Olympus OM-D E-M5 mirrorless camera. He recently traveled to Cologne, Germany armed with the micro four thirds compact camera, and his story proves that you can get a whole lot of bang for such a small package.

They say one mans trash is another mans treasure, that is true for the man that was walking his dog, saw a briefcase in a pile of trash, opened it up and discovered these rare photographs. "After the United States detonated an atomic bomb at Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, the U.S. government restricted the circulation of images of the bomb's deadly effect. President Truman dispatched some 1,150 military personnel and civilians, including photographers, to record the destruction as part of the United States Strategic Bombing Survey.

Short films are regular projects for Andres Overgaard. Instead of doing his normal work, for one of his most recent projects, Andres decided to take out the Canon 550D/Rebel t2i and test out his Tamron 18-270 mm shooting some video. All shots were hand held with some work done later in post. While the cinematography does show some of the quality shots you can get with the body and lens combo, make sure you stick around for the ending, it's worth it.

If you don't know Jerry Uelsmann or Maggie Taylor you should. Jerry creates works of art blending multiple photos together using enlargers while Maggie uses a scanner to create her art. All of jerry's work is shot on film and processed and manipulated in the darkroom which truly makes his work so unique. Being husband and wife these two are some of the biggest names in the modern art world. This documentary tells Jerry and Maggie's story of how they became artists and the impact of their work in photography.

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It's official, the GoPro HERO3 is now out for sale and she looks powerful. CEO Nick Woodman announced the new HERO3 as the smallest, lightest, most powerful way to document your life. If that is not enough it is also Wi-Fi enabled and can capture 4k video (4,000 pixels) at 12 frames per second and 1080p HD video at 60 frames per second. (Picking jaw off the floor!) Read on to hear more about this radical new camera.

Perfect travel or street photography is a delicate concoction of the right place and the right time mixed with a superb eye for the extraordinary. William J Palank is one of those individuals who managed to brew that concoction with a supernatural elegance. While traversing the globe, his weapon of choice these days is the Leica M9, a digital rangefinder that produces an uncannily beautiful image. To help us celebrate Mirrorless Month, Palank describes what about the Lecia M9 allows him to shoot at his best.

Felix Baumgartner is up in the air, and if all goes well he will be the first man go to supersonic without the use of a propulsion device: Just him and his space suit. The first launch was aborted due to high winds, but this one seems to be going smoothly. You can get more information outside of the video here at Red Bull Stratos.

Photographers woke up this morning to hear that Jen Burgess Thompson passed away peacefully this morning. Jen was courageous enough to share her battle with the community over the last year as we all grew to love her. Jessica Person said it best this morning, "...the photography world watched a courageous photographer, woman and mother battle cancer. She was victorious. She didn't lose her battle with cancer this morning, she sailed into victory."

Wildlife Photographer Tim Laman has been working on the Birds of Paradise project for over 10 years, hiking countless miles through undisturbed rainforests to seek out and capture some of the most unique birds that are native to only New Guinea. In this trailer for both the photo exhibit and National Geographic documentary, get a sneak peek at the almost alien like avian species that inhabit the rainforest.

Stanley Kubrick was one of the most acclaimed producers and directors in American cinematography (the Shining is one of my all time favorites). Back in 1975, Stanley directed the three hour masterpiece Barry Lyndon. From a photography standpoint, the film is most noted for Stanley's use of Mitchell BNC cameras mounted with NASA Zeiss f/0.7 50mm lenses.

In 2005 Photographer James Balog began a project of immense scale and historical importance; to capture the changing climate of the earth by shooting images of melting glaciers. The documentary "Chasing Ice" tells his story, and shows the technical challenges he faced, like dealing with harsh temperatures and highly remote locations. This trailer gives us a sneak peek of the final movie, which will be released in November.

Now available on Netflix, "Shooting Robert King" goes behind the scenes of what it was like to be a documentary war photographer. You always hear and see images from the war but NEVER about what it's like to be thrown into it as a documentary photographer. At just 24, American photojournalist Robert King began his 15 year journey to follow his passion. Originally he set out to win a Pulitzer prize, but in the end found himself with a life changing experience.

Ryan Allen, the founder of SBC Skateboard Magazine, has worked tirelessly for over 15 years to create timeless images of skateboarders risking life and limb. Check out this incredibly down to earth behind the scenes video, which gives some insight into what it took to create a jaw-dropping image of a skateboarder ollieing (jumping, in non-skateboard slang) between two towers of shipping crates. The sweaty palms are included at no extra cost!

Working as an investigative photographer for the National Child Labor Committee (NCLC), Lewis Hine (1874-1940) portrayed working and living conditions of children in the United States between 1908 and 1924. The Library of Congress' National Child Labor Committee Collection includes more than 5,100 photographs that came with the records of the organization. Many of the pictures are familiar, but others are relatively unexplored.

We've been featuring a lot of space-based photo news lately, and for good reason. Since the Curiosity's landing on Mars, there has been a renewed interest in life beyond Earth. That, and NASA has been rockin' it with some seriously cool stuff. Like this, a photo captured by the Hubble Space Telescope of a supernova exploding 80 million lightyears away.

FS Reader Clifford Pate brought these images to our attention, asking if the DSLR Russuian cosmonaut Gennady Padalka was using on the International Space Station was a Nikon or a Canon. That legendary DSLR battle aside, it's cool to see how the cosmonauts work with a DSLR, and the kind of equipment that goes into the process (beyond just the camera).

Talented Magnum Photographer, Christopher Anderson, experienced something that completely changed his life. In June 2000, while traveling in Haiti, he met writer Michael Finkel and together they documented a group of 44 Haitians on their journey to the United States. A few days after they set sail, they realized the handmade boat was sinking. Anderson’s first reaction was to continue taking pictures – even though he knew there was a chance they may never be seen.

On March 2011 a tsunami in Japan killed over 20,000 people and left thousands more homeless and destitute. Many people from all over the world came together to help the country of Japan during this catastrophic event. All Hands Volunteers was one of the many groups in that helped during the recovery and cleanup efforts.

Besides being an excellent photographer, Blair Bunting (who you may remember from our Lamborghini Aventador video) is an avid aeronautics hobbyist. He recently had the opportunity to photograph a U.S. military F-16, which was an honor in itself. But when he was offered the chance to fly in the jet, the experience was once in a lifetime. Check out the GoPro madness!

Earlier in the year, Fstoppers showed you how Sports Illustrated photographers photograph a superbowl. Just as the 2012 Olympics in London have come to a close, Reuters has released a behind the scenes video on how their photographers take images during the world's most celebrated sporting event. It's pretty interesting to hear from some of the industry's best photographers and editors as they race against the clock to send images to the wire.

A cinematographer's job is to bring the director's vision of a story to life. A hard, but rewarding job indeed. With the wide availability of high definition cameras right at the masses' fingertips, the art of cinematography is growing and changing constantly. I myself have always been fascinated by how different cinematographers interpret light, color and mood. Zacuto is back with its Emmy award winning web series, The Great Camera Shootout. This year though they've gone in a different direction.