London-based Sports and Portrait Photographer Levon Biss wanted to see how he could take his commercial lighting techniques into the world of macro photography. After attaching a microscope assembly to the end of his DSLR lens and getting some samples from the Oxford University Museum of Natural History, Biss was able to achieve extremely detailed, high resolution three-meter prints of 10 mm insects.
Photography is one complex profession which requires many skills, from the technical to the psychological. We have all been faced with unpredictable scenarios which have put us or our clients/models in an awkward position ,or a state or panic. It can be anything: an insecure model, no time to set up your planned light, an equipment which breaks or malfunctions, a sudden rainfall, an unhappy bride, etc. Being well-equipped won’t always save the day. And if we lack self-control, good communication skills, and if we lose creative approach in stressful situations, we could just pack our gear and go home with an unhappy client glaring at our back. Being able to deal with these different scenarios might be surprisingly beneficial both for your photography and business.
New York City-based photographer Arne Svenson spent a lot of time in the news after he pointed his telephoto lens at his neighbors' windows and began photographing them for the sake of art. Understandably many of his subjects were outraged when they learned that they had been secretly photographed and put on display for Svenson's profit. The resulting lawsuits spanned two separate courts and several years, during which, Svenson had remained mostly silent.
Leaving the car, mountains, and solid ground behind, we get into a small airplane to do some landscape photography over Western Australia with International Fine Art Photographer of the Year Scott Jon McCook, not only to cover more ground while we’re at it, but to gain a rather unique perspective of the landscape and the story behind it.
Nothing beats cute like cute with a cause, which is exactly what Slovenia-based photographer Katja Jemec did with her adorable photo series, "I Looked Up and There You Were."
Nicolas Vuignier has an amazing flare for the creative when it comes to documenting skiing. Working with Jules Guarneri in Crans-Montana over a year ago, the duo painted professional skiers with black ochre to create a strikingly unique contrast of seemingly silhouetted figures against stark white snow. The video is called “Nowness” and provides definitively artistic visuals and creative opacity blending to hit the mark of modern perspective.
Is Alexa Meade a painter or is she a photographer? Alexa's unique take on both mediums has completely blurred the idea of what is real and what is imagination. Traditional painting attempts to take a two dimensional medium and make it look 3D while photography does the opposite by capturing a 3D space and translating it to a 2D surface. Alexa's work throws both of these ideas into a blender and leaves the viewer wondering what is real and what is simply paint. The results are fascinating!
Composition is something that can be slightly overlooked in digital photography. With the ability to take hundreds or thousands of images on a single memory card and cropping achieved so simply in Lightroom, photographers have become lazy. There are certain situations, however, where composition can make or break a photo. While every genre of photography can benefit from good composition, photojournalism may be the realm that sees the largest impact. In his series "Counterflow," Photographer Mauro Martins exemplifies just that.
In this video essay, Evan Puschak aka The Nerdwriter explains some of the techniques Ansel Adams used to achieve his technical and esthetic mastery. Using visualization and some other relatively easy to learn techniques, Adams learned to bring what he saw in his mind's eye to his photographs (yes, I said "easy to learn," but hard to master). It was Adams' commitment to taking photographs, with intent, that made him a master artist and led him to develop the tools he needed to bring his images to fruition.
A Taste of Vienna, produced by Thomas Pöcksteiner and Peter Jablonowski, is the coolest thing you'll see today. This carefully crafted time-lapse of Austria's capital city looks, feels, and sounds like a love letter to the great European hub.
New York City born photographer/artist Roger Ballen spent the better part of the last four decades in Johannesburg, South Africa. In that time he has produced a body of work that has been described as a fictionalized visual dialogued between individuals, their architectural space, found objects, and domesticated animals. His approach has been hailed as among the most unusual and exciting developments in contemporary photography.
Zen photography comes naturally with an empty mind. It’s both waiting for a moment where light, shape, and dynamics fall into place, and being devoid of planning in advance. Instead of checking the weather online before a shoot, you just venture out and essentially wing it. It’s all about being in the moment. As a landscape photographer, I want to share the ways of this minimalist sub-genre.
Black and white photography may well be the ultimate classical expression of the art form, after all it is how photography started. It's still a continually popular aesthetic, even now well into the digital age. However, black and white images, in my opinion, should be simply more than the removal of color. Thankfully many thousands of photographers and designers agree with that, and the usage of black and white conversion methods and approaches is prevalent in the post production world.
Warning: treacherous waters are ahead. A dark, cold place where only the brave dare to explore. Recent video projects by photographer and cinematographer Sven Dreesbach create a feeling of icy-cold tension, contrasted by a sense of meditative pleasure. It's a vibe that is best soaked in rather than pontificated upon by some internet writer. Oh, and he did it all on iPhones.
Nothing makes for a great photo like an equally impressive moment. Whether it’s an outpouring of jubilation, a solemn, tearful lament, or the grasping of victory, a one-of-a-kind moment is a photographer’s best friend. So, why not make some great moments for yourself, even if it pains you (or some of your friends) to do so? Enter Photographers Ofir Abe and Ben Saar.
