Natural Light

This year my family and I escaped the cold of NYC and went to South Florida to celebrate the holidays. I was so glad to be heading to some warm weather, and I planned some shoots that wouldn't be typical of the winter weather up North. I had never shot underwater before, so I wanted to challenge myself and try it out. I contacted BorrowLenses to see if they had an Aquatech housing that I could

Last spring, I met a group of 4 cyclists planning a 35 day epic adventure from coast to coast across the US. Their goal was to cycle over 100 miles a day, resting only one day a week, in order to raise awareness and funds for the poor and needy in Burundi, Africa. I decided it would be awesome to tag along and film their journey.

Some people love filters. I personally really like neutral density filters and I know there are those who swear by UV filters. For those of us who love these little glass lens enhancers, we have to separate from that love when we use ultra wide-angle lenses. That is, we used to. Not anymore thanks to Fotodiox’s Wonderpana system which is designed to give us the freedom to use those filters even on convex front elements.

Photographer and Author Tony Northrup has put together a video tutorial on how to use your DSLR's histogram and exposure compensation to get proper exposure when working with backgrounds that are too dark or too bright. He also talks about spot metering vs. evaluative metering, and discusses when and why he chooses the different modes. There are a number of good tips in this video, and if you're out taking photos in the snowy North, you might find them helpful.

In this behind the scenes video, you can get a glimpse into the production of a short film and a series of spots for Cabela's new outfitter line. Tyler Stableford directed this project, and Anson Fogel was one of the Directors of Photography. The work done by their team resulted in some spectacular images that portray the connection that outdoor enthusiasts feel with their natural world. Click on for the final short and links to the interview series.

The Aurora Borealis (Also known as "The Northern Lights") is a light glow of the upper atmosphere caused by energetic particles that enter the atmosphere. There are 2 main colors associated with the glow: Green and Red, but because of limits of the human eye, we cant always see the red aurora. In order to see the aurora, the sky must be clear and dark, and to get it on film (or sensor) you need to shoot long exposure (between 10-30 seconds, depends how bright the Aurora is). Check out this collection of great images showing this phenomenon.

Have you had trouble taking pictures inside a kitchen? Don't worry you are in good company. Architects generally don’t think of photographers when designing a kitchen space. The line of a busy restaurant isn't the best place to take pictures. Tight corners combined with a mess of tungsten and fluorescent lights shining from a multitude of directions make it very difficult to create mouthwatering images.

It is pretty common knowledge that photography is based on understanding the principles of good lighting. It's also pretty common for the average photographer not to have the budget to afford a studio and light their subject from 8 different directions. Instead of worrying about not having enough, use the natural light you do have.

Israeli based photographer Dima Vazinovich is specializing in news, documentary and wedding photography. One thing that separates him from other photographers in the industry is the unique and creative look his photography has. Recently Dima decided to try adding a new kind of look to his portfolio, and the results are truly amazing. The idea: “Freelensing” / tilt shifting with a cheap broken 50mm 1.8 lens to create magical images.

Nikon Pro Photographer Craig Kolesky went to Capetown and packed in his bag not only the Nikon D4, but their Coolpix P7700. His subject for the shoot was Redbull Athlete Sifiso Nhlapo, a BMX racer from the South African Olympic team. In this video, you can see Craig working in various environments, from dirty racing tracks to a small studio setting with ring lights.

David Loftus has been working with food television star, Jamie Oliver, for over 15 years taking dynamic imagery of the culinary masterpieces that Jamie creates in his kitchen. In this behind the scenes video David is shooting with the Nikon D4. In a few short cuts Jamie is also seen trying his hand at taking his own food shots with the Nikon D3200.

In this fun behind the scenes video, we get to see San Diego-based production company SaintWest staging video shots for the "Find Your Moment" campaign with Torrey Pines golf course. Get an inside look on how the crew captures the golf experience in a cinematic way, but also improvises to make a simulated golf hole for a unique POV shot. Inside are the final videos.

Back in September I spent a few days in New River Gorge, West Virginia, rock climbing with a group of friends. For this trip I developed a plan to put together a short documentary that would involve shooting an interview in the climbing area and doing a multicamera shoot of a climber. Watch the final video, and then read on for a breakdown of how it was all done.

If you own a DSLR camera, the odds are that you've tried to create an HDR image using one of the many available HDR software programs available on the market, and you might have even created what people call 'disastrous' results. But fret not, because SLR Lounge recently released the end-all, be-all HDR tutorial to conquer all other HDR tutorials.

Clients, deadlines, prints, taxes, insurance, equipment maintenance, paperwork... these are all responsibilities that can quickly fall on a full-time professional photographer's shoulders; the weight swiftly dragging you to the floor. Between trying to make a living and trying to be creative all at the same time, sometimes it's hard for us to just, 'stop and smell the roses', but it's important to. Let me tell you why.

Sergey Semenov recently won the 2012 Major Amateur Award at the Pano Awards (for panoramic photography) for his interactive panorama of NYC, made up of thousands of aerial photographs stitched together from numerous helicopter tours up above the big apple...

Adventurer Dean Potter is the subject of a Nat Geo project called "The Man Who Can Fly". For part of this project, filmmaker Bryan Smith with shooter Michael Schaefer worked on this stunning clip of Dean doing a highline walk in Yosemite with the moon filling the sky. Read on to find out how he got such an amazing perspective.

I have never personally met Mike, however I can't seem to get away from him. He definitely has some amazing shots that stand out from the rest of the crowd. I know Mike through a Facebook group called CREATIVOS, which is a group for photographers looking to share tips, tricks, and images and grow within the industry. I keep seeing his work pop up and can't take my eyes away from it.

I have been following Noah's work for some time now and have fell in love with every shot he has ever put up. His work is absolutely incredible and I feel everyone should take a look at this. I decided to do a quick interview with him to get to know him a little bit more.

"In A New Light" is non-profit that uses nature photography to empower, teach, guide, and ultimately change the lives of it's students- students whose background often includes struggling in school, abusive homes, and general hopelessness. Both the photos captured and stories told are simply inspiring. Read on for an interview with Ben Thwaits, pro photographer turned teacher for IANL, and to see some of the students' impressive work. A Kickstarter to publish a photobook along with stories of the students is in the making as well.

I'm a big fan of the mission and idea behind websites like Kickstarter. I appreciate creating a community of people from all over the world who help each other pursue their dreams. On Indieagogo, a site similar to Kickstarter, I came across this cool project on photographer, Fred Lyons.

How many times have you seen an amazing timelapse project, and wondered where exactly the photographer was when they recorded their exposures? Or maybe you wondered what they had to do to get to such an amazing vantage point? Sean Goebel created his timelapse film "Epochs" and documented the location and equipment details for most scenes. Sean told me some about his background, and links to his work and shot setups are also inside.

Vinny Picardi is a successful fine art and advertising photographer based in Los Angeles, CA, who has exhibited work all over the country and around the world. I recently came across Vinny's work and I have to say that I'm a pretty big fan, so I thought it would be interesting to share not only just a photo series with our readers, but also to take some time to ask a few questions to get inside the head of a successful fine art photographer.

In this video from The Slanted Lens, Jay P Morgan shows us a behind the scenes look at how you can achieve that colorful, rich-looking sunset. This is a technique that is a must if you do any type of portraiture or wedding photography. Your clients will be really happy with the results, not to mention it will look great in your portfolio. This photo shoot is for writer, Robert L. Harding's novel titled, Death of the Wayang.

In this trailer for the upcoming documentary "The Quest For Inspiration", there are a slew of amazing images from places filmmaker Mathieu Le Lay followed landscape Photographer Alexandre Deschaumes. The documentary shows Alexandre as he prepares for a new journey, this time into Patagonia, and we hear his words as thoughts through voiceover, speaking about the complexities and work he does to attain his inspiration.

Southern California photography team Brett and Tori love shooting silhouettes and over the years have picked up some simple tips that help them nail killer shots time and time again. Read on to discover 9 of their great tips you can use on your next shoot and see some of the beautiful silhouettes shot by Brett and Tori.

With a simple change in focal length, we know that we can drastically change and control the depth of field. In this lesson from The Slanted Lens, Jay P Morgan shoots a fashion portrait at the Vasquez Rocks in California. Not only does he cover how to control the depth of field, but you'll also learn how he uses this tip to enhance his work.

It takes a lot of patience to put together an extended time-lapse work; I have great admiration for anyone who actually finishes one. "Existence" is a time-lapse project which Michael Shainblum worked hard on for four months. The scenes he picks are meant to contrast the two sides of life, the busy metropolis that many of us live in and the beauty in nature that can be seen when we step outside our city boundaries.