Recent Natural Light Articles

Free-Lensing: Turn Your Old Lens Into a Tilt-Shift Lens

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.

Behind The Scenes Shooting BMX And Lifestyle Photos In South Africa

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.

Food Photography With Television Chef Jamie Oliver

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.

Shooting A Golf Course Campaign With The RED Epic - Behind The Scenes

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.

Shooting On-Location Video Interviews And Rock Climbers With DSLRs

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.

Fstoppers Reviews: SLR Lounge's 'Mastering HDR Photography' Workshop Will Change Your Photography In Ways You Never Imagined

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.

Photographers Stop... And Have Some Fun!

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 Creates Stunning Interactive NYC Panorama

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...

Sick Video Uses Full Moon As Backdrop During A Highline Walk

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.

Interview With Fashion And Lifestyle Photographer Mike Monaghan

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.

Interview With Lifestyle Photographer Noah Sahady

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.

Changing The Lives Of At-Risk Teens Through Nature Photography

"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.

Intimate Exposé On Commercial Photographer Fred Lyon

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.

"Epochs" Timelapse Is Epic, With Write Up On All The Location And Setup Details

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.

Fstoppers Rapid-Fire Q&A Session With Fine Art Photographer Vinny Picardi

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.

Learn How To Balance a Setting Sun With Strobes

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.

Thoughtful Documentary Follows Landscape Photographer To The Most Beautiful Places On Earth

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.

Nine Tips to Create a Killer Silhouette

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.

Depth of Field as a Creative Tool

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.

Existence- A Time-Lapse by Michael Shainblum

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.

Magic Lantern Update Brings Clean HDMI And HDR Video To The Canon 5DMIII

The Second Version of Magic Lantern for the Canon 5D Mark III has been released! Most of the hype with Magic Lantern lately has been about the crack of the Canon 7D's firmware, but attention has shifted with this announcement. This video shows the power of HDR Video on the 5DM3. New features include smooth exposure transitions (ISO, shutter or aperture), HDR Video, focus assistants, and

BASE Jumping For Pirelli's Annual TV Commercial - Behind The Scenes

Pirelli, known on this site mostly for their (NSFW) Calendar Photoshoots, also creates their TV spots with a high-level approach. Literally, this behind the scenes video shows the setup and production needed to capture skiers BASE jumping off of a huge cliff. How do Pirelli tires fit in? Check out the final cut of the completed video and you'll see how it all comes together. Spoiler Alert: They throw a car off of the cliff too!

Stanley Kubrick Films Natural Candlelight With Insane f/0.7 Lens

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.

Runner's Paradise Behind The Scenes With Kevin Winzeler

Kevin Winzeler, a commercial photographer based out of Salt Lake City, Utah, had an amazing opportunity this summer to travel to New Zealand for one of his advertising shoots for Altra Footwear. He shot both in the studio for the initial product shots, but he also took the shoot outdoors in some amazing New Zealand locations for some actions images, as well.

Tips For Shooting Better Portraits At Sunset

Lighting Asylum has brought us this informative look behind the scenes of a sunset portrait shoot, and it gets pretty in depth with how the photographer handles over-exposed back lighting, poor color in the clouds, and flash positioning. The photographer gives some insight on his process for camera settings, and even shows how he gels a flash to get the sky to change colors.

Very Little Stars: Yet Another Amazing Timelapse That You Need To Watch

Alright, seriously. I keep telling myself that I'm sick of timelapses, that I don't need to watch five minutes of clouds, or that I don't need to watch a million cars stream past at lightspeed. We get it, we've seen a million sunsets, we've seen the stars pan overhead as the camera moves on a dolly. And then I watched 'Very Little Stars' by Ben Wiggins, and I took it all back. Oh my goodness. This movie is

Giuliano Bekor's Merchant 1948 BTS Photo Campaign

Giuliano Bekor is an amazing commercial and advertising photographer based out of Los Angeles. Recently he traveled down to Australia to produce a short editorial film for the clothing company Merchant 1948. The concept involves a set of short films based around the idea of models finding a ton of cash and avoiding the police by flying away in vintage airplanes. As ridiculous as that sounds, Giuliano's execution makes for a really entertaining editorial spread.

Cosmonaut Gennady Padalka and his DSLR in Space

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).

Interview With Magnum Photographer Christopher Anderson

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.

Improve Photography Shows us How to Shoot the Stars

Idaho photographer Jim Harmer over at ImprovePhotography.com takes the time to give you the low down on shooting the night's Milky Way. All you trolls out there be nice cause Jim froze his butt off on this one and he is just so damn likable.

GoPro Action: Blair Bunting Takes to the Skies in an F-16

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!

RAW Timelapse Tutorial Part 1 Breaks Down All Your Gear Needs

A few weeks ago Rebecca posted "How To Shoot A RAW Timelapse: New Series By Preston Kanak" which was an introduction to this series. This video is part one of Preston's free tutorials on making compelling timelapses, which covers hardware options. Intervalometers, batteries, motors, sliders, and bears, oh my! Very informative stuff from Mr. Kanak.

Trey Ratcliff's New Zealand Timelapse Is A Breathtaking Six Minute Trip to Mordor

Trey Ratcliff, the world's foremost HDR guru, recently relocated to Queenstown, New Zealand, which is quite possibly the most beautiful little town in the world. He just released a timelapse video of his first thirty days and thirty nights spent in the town, and it is definitely worth a watch - especially in the native 4k format. Wow! Whether or not you like Trey's work (we all know how polarizing it is) this little video

Fstoppers Reviews the Sigma 180mm f/2.8 Macro Lens

Specialized lenses are tricky things. Since they are built for a set of specific purposes in mind, they really need to follow through on that small list of tasks lest they be discarded as an unnecessary expenditure. That is a lot of pressure to make an outstanding lens, so how did Sigma fare with their new 180mm f/2.8 macro? Is it a good addition to your lens collection?

How To Turn Sunlight Into Moonlight

In this behind the scenes lighting lesson, Jay P. Morgan of The Slanted Lens does something we might not often think to do: he uses the natural sunlight and turns it into moonlight-like light for this 1920's "speakeasy-themed" shoot. Believe it or not, he was able to achieve moonlight all in the camera - no post processing involved. So with a couple of tungsten lights, gels and sunlight, Jay P. has shown us a great idea that can easily be mimicked in your own shoot.

DCP Productions Puts the Geico Money Man into HDR Video

If you watch TV shows through any medium, there's a decent chance you've seen Geico's new Money Motorcycle Man. DCP Productions was kind enough to give a little behind the scenes on how they utilized 3D capture technology to video the money man and give him an HDR look. While the HDR effect has been explored extensively in the arena of stills, using it in video with 3D technology is quite innovative.

Is This Picture Too Good to be True?

Since he posted this image on his facebook profile, Shawn Heinrich's image has drawn a lot of attention. Many have stated the the shot is just a little too perfect to have happened all at once. Upon first glance, what do you think?

Fstoppers Reviews the Canon 40mm f/2.8 Pancake Lens

When the Canon 40mm f/2.8 pancake lens was announced a couple weeks ago, Canon fans all over were squealing with joy- myself included. This tiny lens would be great for life on the go, had a brand new AF engine called the Stepping Motor (or STM), and looked to be extremely versatile. But does it live up to the expectations?

Aaron Feinberg Captures the Landscapes of Hawaii

Everybody know's Hawaii can be a dream vacation. Aaron Feinberg shows us how beautiful it actually can be. In three days, he traveled around the island of Kauai and spent the best hours of the day photographing some of the most beautiful places of the island.

Incredible Behind The Scenes Footage From The Set of 'Return of the Jedi'

Filmed on a Super 8 camera without audio or narration, this is a clip for the true Star Wars aficionado. Created by Jeff Broz, this series of clips affords us a rare glimpse into the making of an incredible blockbuster film that is adored the world over. There are a number of recognizable iconic scenes visible in their rough and unedited form.

iPhone 4S's Response To The Original Fstoppers iPhone Photoshoot

Columbus, Ohio based photographer Nick Fancher just released a video today of his version of the Lee Morris's original iPhone photoshoot. Not a dollar was spent on location, extra lenses, MUAs, models ... all was done for trade and was shot only with the iPhone 4S and a reflector. Nick used Snapseed and Adobe Photoshop Express in phone to edit all of his images. Enjoy!

Go Behind The Scenes With Peter Lik As He Creates Stunning Images of NYC

Love him or hate him, you can't deny that Peter Lik's got quite the penchant for getting the shot. In this video, Peter takes us deep into some abandoned subway tunnels and high over the skyscrapers of NYC as he shows us some of the locations and setups that he uses to create his photographs. We get a nice look at the finished results, which, to me at least,

299 Hours Of Guitar Making Condensed Into 3 Beautiful Minutes

Film makers Deep Green Sea follow guitar maker Vassilis Lazarides through the entire process of making one of his beautiful handcrafted classical guitars. A lot of wood, love, knowledge and 299 hours of work are condensed into this 3 minute film. Enjoy!

Tom Lowe's Timescapes Is Complete In All 4K Glory!

Tom Lowe's Timescapes documentary has been in the works now for over two years, and it is finally complete! Timescapes is the first movie to be sold to the public in full 4K resolution. Shot on the Red Epic and with Canon Lenses, Tom's outdoor documentary features some of the most amazing scenes I've ever seen from Yosemite, the Joshua Tree, and other parts of Western America. Tom has a great write up about the movie on Timescapes.org and you can buy the movie here. This was one of the first posts on Fstoppers and we are excited to see the final production; congrats Tom!

Skate Video "Altered Route" Leaves Me Speechless

Skater Kilian Martin sets new standards in the world of skateboarding. Mb! joined forces with Killian and filmmaker Brett Novak to create his newest video "Kilian Martin: Altered Route". Aside from the fact that Killian does things with a skateboard that I have never seen anyone else do ... ever, Brett captures each trick and angle perfectly. I especially love the way Brett juxtaposed the nostalgic clips from the water park back in it's heyday to it's current ghost-townly state. Enjoy!

Sean White's Incredible Six Year, Seven Continent Time-lapse

Most of us have seen some masterful camerawork when it comes to breathtaking time-lapses. Sean White sets a new precedent with this creation by gathering images from a total of 24 countries on all seven continents over the course of six years. The project was funded by Art Wolfe.

Splitscreen Short Film Shot Entirely On A Nokia N8

Wow, I just ran across this short on Vimeo and was so impressed with the concept and execution of James W Griffiths' "Splitscreen: A Love Story". James shot the entire video on a Nokia N8 cell phone as the short was created for the Nokia Shorts Competition in 2011. "Splitscreen" won first place in the competition and was nominated for a vimeo award. The video quality isn't great, but they did a great job in putting it all together. Very cool stuff. Enjoy!

Justin de Reuck Hangs Out Of An Aerobatic Plane With No Seatbelt To Get The Shot

What have you done to get the shot today? Parked your car, walked into a studio? Plunked down a tripod on a sandy, tropical beach? Fiddled with some macro rails? South African aviation photographer Justin de Reuck unstrapped a good deal of his harness, slid open the canopy, and took photos at what I'm guessing is 100 knots, mere feet from the ground. I'm not sure how that plane actually took off with Justin's balls of steel on board, because man, they must be huge.

Camera Vs. Wild: The Damage Waiver Bearly Covered This One

We recently interviewed LensRentals and asked them about humorous (or rather, sad) situations in which gear came back totally destroyed or rendered otherwise unusable. Turns out nothing could have prepared anyone at LensRentals for what happened this week in Yellowstone when a bear commandeered a Nikon 600 and D4.