Recent Location Articles

Bill Wadman Photographs People in a Corner: a DIY Project Turned Portrait Series

If you listen to the podcast On Taking Pictures, you know that co-host of the program Bill Wadman is a New York-based portrait photographer who's worked with the likes of Seth Godin, Malcolm Gladwell, Philip Glass, Ze Frank, and many, many others. Though his traditional portrait and conceptual work are tremendous in their own right, Bill has gotten quite a bit of attention over the years for his projects such as his critically acclaimed Dancers in Motion, cinematic Drabbles, and the 365 Portrait project that helped him to start it all.

A Look at a Local Secret Gone Viral - Vance Creek Bridge

Here’s a fun fact: Vance Creek Viaduct AKA #ThatNWBridge, is no longer accessible to the public, and it’s our fault. That’s right, one of the most iconic landmarks in the PNW is closed. The instagram sensation will have to live on in our memories and #throwbackthursday posts. Thankfully, the rumors of someone falling off being the principal of the closure are unfounded.

Make Quick Selections for Basic Compositing on Your iPad Using Photoshop Mix

Though there are other programs out there that say they can quickly cutout objects from the background via masks and leave you with a clean end result, I've tried a few of those programs and they just don't seem to cut it. The process to create these masks also seem very awkward. Now you can quickly create (pretty darn good) masks on your iPad using Photoshop Mix, a mobile offering from Adobe we told you about earlier this year.

Ultimate Tutorial on How to Photograph a Car with the Westcott Ice Light

My friend and RIDES Magazine's head photographer Andrew Link is no stranger to Fstoppers. He also happens to be one of the kings of shooting cars with the Westcott Ice Light, which is essentially a handheld LED rod (looks like a flourescent tube) used as a constant daylight temperature light source. After about 6 months of me begging Andrew for him to make one, he has finally created a fantastic and to-the-point tutorial on how to create an epic car portrait with nothing but a camera, tripod, and the Ice Light.

Profoto TTL-N Remote for Nikon Announced and Available for Pre-Order

While Canon users have had this for some time, Nikon users have been waiting for a TTL remote to control their Profoto B1 flashes. Finally the Air Remote TTL-N has been announced and is available for pre-order on B&H for $395. Allowing TTL use up to 300 feet away or normal use at up to 1000 feet, these radio remotes also let you control the power output on multiple units at a time, building on the already fabulous Air system and opening it up to Nikon users with the B1.

The World Needs A Photographer Like You

That’s right. You! No matter what your skill level, there is a project in this world that is perfect for you. Are you going to get paid for this project? Nope! This one is going to be a freebie.

Now I know what you are thinking. "Whoa Whoa Whoa, stop the clock! You want me to work for free?”

Yes, that’s exactly what I want you to do. And here is why.

Shooting Natural Light Portraits and the Art of Improv Pt 2

In addition to lifestyle, I have an affinity for shooting natural light portraits/beauty/headshots - whatever you want to call them. It's not something I shoot often, but when I do, I'm reminded of how much I love it. In fact, you may recall a few months ago, I wrote an article detailing my ideal natural light setup for the black and white portrait / headshot photos that I occasionally shoot. In the article,

Hasselblad Master João Carlos Shoots Little Red Riding Hood

The challenge: 30 images in 5 days for an international tool company. New York based advertising, fashion, and fine art photographer, João Carlos was the man chosen by Lisbon agency Ivity Brand Corp. to accomplish the mission. A Hasselblad Masters winner with clients like Nike, MTV, Avon and Sandisk, it was clear Carlos had the vision and expertise to turn the agency’s mood boards into an incredible campaign for their client.

Inspiring and Stunning Time Lapse Featuring the Night Skies Over Kings Canyon

You’ll feel inspired after watching Gavin Heffernan’s (Sunchaser Pictures) stunning time lapse video KINGS, taken in Kings Canyon and Sequoia national park in California. Star trails, the Milky Way and meteors paired with a dramatic soundtrack produce a truly epic and magical visual.

An Unforgettable Giant Ring Light and How You Can Make Your Own

The largest ring light I've ever seen consists of 27 bulbs and is four feet in diameter. Six months ago, I built it. With so many questions left unanswered, I put together a short film that explains how I built it, why it was built, and why it's the most amazing light I've ever used to date.

The Cinematic Look – How To Make Your Photographs Look Like Films

I recently noticed that a handful of photographers were producing images that had a look as if they were stills captured from films. A couple of the most well known photographers of this genre are based here in New York so I got them together and challenged them to not only come up with a dynamic personal project on the fly incorporating this cinematic look, but to share with us how it is achieved. Read on to find out how it all went down...

New High-End Remote Trigger Released By Ubertronix

If you think you've got a quick trigger finger, then you haven't used the new Strike Finder Touch (SFT) by Ubertronix. This sleek remote trigger boasts the ability to trigger your camera shutter in less than 1 millisecond. The device has 5 different modes: Time Lapse, Lightning (or high speed flash), laser, sound and motion. All you need is 4 AAA batteries, your camera, and a great subject to get started.

Evolution Of Me - 5 Investments That Changed My Career Forever

I have only been shooting photography for a little over 3 years now. Things have progressed so quickly during that period of time that I haven't really had the chance to look back at the evolution of my photography. I had to think thing long and hard about the investments I have made over the 3 years and the things that really changed the game for me.

Glyn Dewis Shows You How to Save an Almost Unusable Image

In this valuable tutorial Glyn Dewis takes a quick snapshot and shows you how to pull detail from highlights and shadows to make it a beautiful image. Dewis mentions some great workflow tips and tricks in Adobe Lightroom as well as how to bring your image over, non destructively, to Photoshop camera raw.

17 Simple Tips To Help You Better Control And Master Natural Light

Most of us love natural light and feel comfortable shooting with it – but how well do you really know how to utilize it effectively and to control it with precision? I just spent the day with Erik Valind, a New York City-based lifestyle photographer in his 'Controling Natural Light' workshop. Here are 17 simple ways to help get great results from better understanding and utliizing natural light.

New iPhone App Lets You Pre-Organize Your Photos

Keeping your photographs organized by means of keywording is not a new idea but a new app is changing the idea of keyword organization. Polymo lets you add your keywords before you shoot, and adds all of the photos into its own "smart album."

BTS: How This Beautiful Slow-Mo Film of a House Set on Fire Was Made

Slow motion is, certainly, one of the most beautiful cinematic inventions of all time. It can show us so many things that are not normally visible and can make any "normal" scene look magical and unique. For the past few years the slow motion technologies have continued to improve, and just last year the Phantom Flex4K Digital Cinema Camera was announced introducing some groundbreaking slow motion abilities like shooting at 1,000fps at at 4K resolution. Shortly after its release, Director Brendan Bellomo and cinematographer Greg Wilson got their hands on the camera and took it for a test and created this beautiful video called "Let Me Know When You See Fire."

Eight Tips I Wish Someone Told Me Early in My Career

Regret is the worst feeling in the world but as humans, we feel it. There are times we all look back at, kicking ourselves thinking "if only I had known… I would've done it differently." I remember telling myself if I was ever given the opportunity to be heard, I'd collect a list of tips to share with others so they don't have to feel the frustration that often comes along with regret.

ESPN Body Issue 2014 Is Out With Beautifully Executed Photographs of Star Athletes in the Nude

ESPN's Body Issue 2014 is out -- and the results are stunning. Every one of the 59 images in the "Bodies We Want" piece is a beautiful portrait of the pinnacle of the human form. There is no doubt these are professional atheletes with perfect, sculpted bodies. No puffed-up editing, no extraneous fluff. This is the real deal: clean, sharp, and on point. Oh, and did I mention there's a BTS video? No, wait. There are 13 BTS videos featuring the likes of Jamie Anderson, Michael Phelps, Venus Williams and many others.

Accidents Happen – 5 Items That Can Save Your Shoot

I’m always one to preach the importance of prevention and preparation before walking into a photo shoot, but there are some things you just can’t prepare for. The more you shoot the more you come to find that gear will tend to fall apart after a excessive number of uses... and abuses.

Celebrity Covershoot at Amazing Locations in Las Vegas You Need to See to Believe

Late last year I was contacted by one of my magazine clients to shoot their upcoming cover with Panic At The Disco front man Brendon Urie and it had to take place across the country in Las Vegas in about a week (I am NYC-based by the way). I scrambled to find some cool locations in the region, knowing full well I did not want to shoot in some cramped hotel suite. Little did I know that with some good researching and shrewd negotiating, I would find some of the coolest locations I have ever photographed, and just moments from the Las Vegas strip.

New Manfrotto Tripods Announced

Manfrotto has refreshed two of its popular tripods; the 190 and 055 series. Both adding a few nice improvements that many will find useful. The most convenient of which is the new Easy Link plug. This allows for instant connection of accessories, such as LED lights or on-board video monitors for video playback.

DJI Phantom 2 Now Features Autonomous Flight

DJI has been a major player in the quadcopter arena for quite some time. While there are MANY other brands out there, DJI has set out to make flying easy, especially for those with no experience. Now it will be even easier to start flying thanks to the addition of Autonomous flight. They call it Ground Station.

BTS: Beats by Dr. Dre World Cup Ad, "The Game Before the Game"

If you've been following the world's favorite sports championship as closely as they do everywhere except in the U.S., you've undoubtedly noticed snippets of Beats' beautifully filmed World Cup commercial, "The Game Before the Game." Featuring Serena Williams, Lil Wayne, and numerous soccer stars, the cinematic ad shows the world's greatest talents' pre-game/pre-show preparations from patriotic nail polish to prayers and phone calls to home.

A Rare BTS Look at Cave Photography

Shooting outdoors can be some serious business, cave photography is certainly no exception! Getting quality images in pitch blackness is an incredible feat, but the guys from Lowepro and Joby show how photographer Chris Higgins does it by journeying deep underground in a Tennessee cave.

A Breathtaking BTS Look at Clark Little's Shorebreak Photography

Clark Little captures the unique beauty inside of and looking through powerful Hawaiian shorebreak waves. In 2007 he told his wife not to bother buying a picture of the local shorebreak she brought home. He instead went out to create one himself. Being a surfer, he was already confident getting out in the thick of it.

Fstoppers Atlantis: The Most Fulfilling Experience Of My Life So Far

I've had some pretty amazing experiences in my life. Fstoppers.com has given me incredible opportunities like meeting Bon Jovi, or riding in the first Lamborghini Aventador in America. Our international workshop last week took a year of planning and insane amounts of stress. On top of it all, I had the flu during the entire week. Even still, last week was the most rewarding week of my life.

BTS of an Insane Photoshoot with Rock Climbers

Warning, this video may give you a little bit of vertigo. Stijn Van Hulle posted this BTS video of him photographing rock climbers in Freyr, Belgium. The images were shot to compliment a new guidebook for Freyr - "the most important climbing area in Belgium." It's a harrowing job to be sure, but the payoff is breathtaking - a gorgeous landscape overlooking a castle that dates back to 1378.

Investing In Your Business

As photographers, we’re constantly re-crafting our portfolios, building new work, and (hopefully) growing as artists. Along the way, many of us will face challenges, get burnt out on locations, and ultimately feel in a rut. Through time and education, we invest so much into our portfolios, however the best advice I can give is to invest financially too.

Anti-Strobism: How I Learned to Give Up My Strobes and Fall In Love With Natural Light

In photography - and in anything else, really - it seems as though when we first discover something new, whether it be a new camera, a new technique, and/or a new system of doing things, it’s fairly natural I think to want to use it all the time. When I first “discovered” photography, I immediately gravitated toward those photographers like Emily Soto, Zach Arias, Joey L, and Syl Arena.

How #BrinsonBanksing Became More Than Just a Selfie

Only the rare few of the millions of selfies taken have mass appeal, and an even rarer few get their pose/selfie named after them and their own hashtag. Kendrick Brinson and David Walter Banks are the husband wife photography team behind brinsonbanks.com and, not insignificantly, the main subjects and namesake of a style of pose and photo that has now become known as BrinsonBanksing, equipped with its own Instagram hashtag.

How To Shoot In A Big City And Not Get Hassled By The Man

One of the most trying experiences I've had since becoming a photographer has been coming to terms with the fact that there are places in our county where, quite simply, we are not allowed to take photos. Now, I’m not talking about setting up hundred-person movie sets complete with production vans and craft services tables, nor do I mean shooting on private property, sacred land, and/or Area 51-type secret military bases...

Achieving The Unachievable - Capturing a Group of 34 From 60 Feet Above

During an initial meeting with local publication NFocus Magazine, the Editor-In-Chief asked for a unique aesthetic on Louisville's theater and arts community and wanted a massive group shot, but not your traditional group shot. I threw out the idea to shoot actors and their "characters" from directly overhead on a theater floor, as if they were action figures laid out and organized. Two seconds after I uttered the idea, I realized I had no clue how I would pull it all off.

Photographer Faces Resistance While Taking Photographs Near Oil Refinery

Tom Atwood, a photographer and professor of broadcast journalism at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, went about taking photographs of models for a project he described as a series of “industrial landscape portraits” near the Phillips 66 Wood River Refinery in Roxana, Illinois. His shoot put him up against resistance and alleged serious threats.