Pictures

On April 29 we launched our first ever weekend hashtag project over on the @officialfstoppers Instagram. The theme for the inaugural shooting event was black and white photography. Many photographers contributed wonderful photos and here I’m sharing a selection of images that I enjoyed. We welcome you to join in on the second weekend hashtag project that was just launched and you too can have your photo published on Fstoppers. This weekend’s theme is "pattern" and I have all the details for you at the end of this article.

The first competition in 2014 attracted hundreds of entries from all over the world. Now, the Craft & Folk Art Museum (CAFAM) in Los Angeles and the Farhang Foundation have put out a call for entries for the second, biennial juried exhibition of contemporary photography and video works relating to Iranian culture and heritage. The submission period opened June 1st and runs through August 8, 2016. Up to 40 photographs and videos will be selected by a panel of seven jurors for inclusion in a group exhibition at CAFAM from January 2017 to May 2017.

The Fstoppers community is brimming with creative vision and talent. Every day, we comb through your work, looking for images to feature as the Photo of the Day or simply to admire your creativity and technical prowess. In 2016, we'll be featuring a new photographer every month, whose portfolio represents both stellar photographic achievement and a high level of involvement within the Fstoppers community.

The graduate program in photography at the University of New Mexico's College of Fine Arts has been recognized as one of the top five programs in the nation for more than 20 years. Once again, for 2016, U.S. News & World Report's annual ranking of Best Grad Schools, puts UNM's program tied for fifth place with New York's School for Visual Arts. One of the driving forces behind the program is Professor Jim Stone, recognized recently with a lifetime achievement award by the Society for Photographic Education as the recipient of the 2016 Honored Educator Award.

To say New York City is a high-energy city would be a wholly plain and severely understated description of a city with which many have a deep loving, hateful, or love/hate relationship. The complexity of this relationship is further compounded by an unconditional love that many of its inhabitants feel, although that love might often be one born of a deep respect for its power to make or break those who hope to succeed within its confines. "F*cking New York" is a new photographic fine art book that expresses much of this tension, freedom, and energy through a visual exploration of a hypothetical "sexual relationship" with New York City.

Four years ago I purchased my first set of studio strobes in an attempt to learn how to shoot portraits like the ones I saw in my favorite print magazines. Having shot most of my portraits using available light at f/2 and under, I thought this would translate over easily when I switched to shooting with strobes. As I snapped my first frame and realized that even at the lowest power setting on the strobe the image was overexposed, I set out to find a way to be able to accomplish the effect. The answer was high-speed sync.

From Vogue to People, including Playboy and National Geographic, all these popular magazines are familiar to us and instantly recognizable, but just a few of us know what their first editions looked like decades ago. As time passed by, bringing forth new faces, new fashion, and a whole new way of thinking, magazines needed to evolve with their time and adapt. Some have stayed faithful to their initial visual identity, having only undergone minor changes because they knew what worked for them. On the other hand, other magazines covers have changed drastically, their covers being a far cry from the original design.

Photographer Mark Thorpe has made a major course change with his move to Japan, replacing wide open spaces, wildlife, and amazing scenes for the bright lights and sometimes claustrophobic life of mega cities. He's replaced his award-winning images of mass migrations and underwater beauty with his new challenge to document vibrant cityscapes through time-lapse photography and shares his knowledge with other photographers in this new video tutorial.

We've covered photographer Ty Foster's "Lick" series before, but his latest creation, "Lick Puppies," takes this a step further by using only puppies and their particularly tiny tongues. Every puppy in this series is busy licking its nose, just coming up from licking some organic peanut butter — the choice lick-inducing food of the viral animal photographer.

Last year, the European Space Agency launched the Sentinel-2A, a terrestrial observation satellite that specialized in operations such as natural disaster management, forest monitoring, pollution management, and agricultural practices. They've just released an incredible cloud-free photographic mosaic of the Africa, offering a striking view of the continent.

Quick synopsis for the non-gamers out there: Uncharted 4 is a brand new game available on the Playstation 4. It is, according to most reviews I've seen, an excellent game. I can't vouch for this personally, as I sold my PS4 last year and got an Xbox, but I do know that the first three Uncharted games were pretty stellar. Uncharted 4 follows in the footsteps of recent games such as The Last Of Us: Remastered and Grand Theft Auto V with the inclusion of an in-game photo mode: a tool that lets players go above and beyond a standard screenshot and capture images that they would not be capable of recording within the game's standard mode of play.

When Arizona-based Photographer Chad Castigliano set out to help his wife's non-profit organization, Books To The Rescue Yavapai County, he had no idea that his photoshoot to raise funds and awareness would spread like wildfire. Fortunately for Chad, his good friend and model for the project was Wildland Firefighter Tim Wilson.

Take a look behind the scenes as Photographer, Producer, and Marine Gunnery Sergeant Joseph DiGIrolamo documents the work of Photographer Matthew Callahan. Callahan is a U.S. Marine Combat Correspondent, who, when not telling the stories of the men and women who serve, is working on his personal fine art project, "Galactic Warfighters." This riveting photo essay is aimed at humanizing the fictional, faceless stormtrooper characters of the Star Wars galaxy.

The Fstoppers community is brimming with creative vision and talent. Every day, we comb through your work, looking for images to feature as the Photo of the Day or simply to admire your creativity and technical prowess. In 2016, we'll be featuring a new photographer every month, whose portfolio represents both stellar photographic achievement and a high level of involvement within the Fstoppers community.

The Fstoppers team has been working on a new project with Mike Kelley. While we're with him, we wanted to give some of our readers the chance to have their architectural images critiqued by one of the best in the field. Join us for our next episode of Critique the community by submitting some of your pictures below in the comments. We will be selecting a total of 20 images to give feedback to. See the instructions below to submit your images correctly.

COOPH Video Director, Matthew Rycroft, continues to make my job easier by sending me engaging content to share with the Fstoppers' community. Their latest video focuses on the ability, we all have as photographers, to capture unique, iconic, and fun moments. Watch "The Power of a Photograph," as it highlights twenty-two iconic photos that depict loss, depression, defiance, bravery, triumph, love and respect.

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."

The Fstoppers community is brimming with creative vision and talent. Every day, we comb through your work, looking for images to feature as the Photo of the Day or simply to admire your creativity and technical prowess. In 2016, we'll be featuring a new photographer every month, whose portfolio represents both stellar photographic achievement and a high level of involvement within the Fstoppers community.

I’m baffled by how often I encounter photographers who tell me they have been shooting for years but still haven’t created their portfolio because their work isn't good enough. After a bit of convincing, I can usually prompt them into sending me a few shots to take a look at, only to find out their work is more than ready to be displayed.

Let me tell you: there’s nothing quite like a new camera and a change of scenery to recharge the old creative batteries, especially after a long British winter. I just came back last Sunday from a fantastic three-week trip to Hong Kong, Australia, and New Zealand and therefore, had plenty of time to intensively test the new Pen-F by Olympus, which I've had since mid-February.

It's no secret the impact humans have had on Earth and its other inhabitants. We often see the changed landscapes brought forth by human life and modern society as signs of triumph and accomplishment, but with these come the lost homes of those animals that once inhabited the land upon which society now sits. Nick Brandt has captured these changes in a unique and arresting fashion.

Just like ever camera owner is a photographer, every person who owns an abundance of MAC products is a makeup artist. At least that is how it seems on Instagram these days. There are now more makeup artists on social media than ever, and finding the right ones to follow can be tricky. Following the best makeup artists can make a portrait photographer better. If you follow them closely, you can step up your game.

Professional photographers understand the quality of imagery that can come from a camera phone will never contend with the pictures and video you can capture with your DSLR. Phones will likely always have an innate handicap with sensor size, which leaves it's images lacking. That said, it would be quite unwise for photographers to neglect the most recent developments in camera phone technology. The ease of use, accessibility, and ability to quickly share your imagery can make your phone one the most important pieces of gear in your business. So, when phones like the new Asus ZenFone Zoom come out with a 3X optical zoom, it's best to pay attention.

The Fstoppers community is brimming with creative vision and talent. Every day, we comb through your work, looking for images to feature as the Photo of the Day or simply to admire your creativity and technical prowess. In 2016, we'll be featuring a new photographer every month, whose portfolio represents both stellar photographic achievement and a high level of involvement within the Fstoppers community.

Most photographers get into the field to pursue their passion; it's when they start to plan the business aspects that they hit the road bumps. Most experienced photographers will tell you that you can't expect to get booked simply because you have good pictures. The only way to become relevant in your niche is to consistently stay in front of your audience. Social media plays a huge part in this – it gives you exposure to your target audience, peers in the industry, and experts at the same time. It is thus an invaluable resource for getting new opportunities and growing your business. Here are 5 tips to help you get the best out of social media.

The Fstoppers community is brimming with creative vision and talent. Every day, we comb through your work, looking for images to feature as the Photo of the Day or simply to admire your creativity and technical prowess. In 2016, we'll be featuring a new photographer every month, whose portfolio represents both stellar photographic achievement and a high level of involvement within the Fstoppers community.

Glamour photography, fine art nude photography, lingerie photography, swimwear photography — all of the above involve nudity. Sex sells — no explanation needed here. Or, at the very least, it will get you more likes on your page or your Instagram account. Is the sexiness in itself a problem? This is a recurrent debate. The #WomenNotObjects campaign, launched by Advertising Executive Madonna Badger, is calling on the advertising industry to put a stop to objectifying women for marketing purposes. As photographers, do we have a responsibility in this controversy?

For the last several weeks, the Fstoppers team has been working with Joey Wright in Curaçao filming a new original tutorial on swimwear photography. While we were filming, we used some of our time with Joey to offer feedback to a variety of images submitted by the Fstoppers community. We chose 20 images to critique. Check out our selections below and add your thoughts and ratings to the comments below.

About two years ago, in the spirit of adventure and creativity, I decided I was going to try and photograph the ocean with artificial lighting. I had an image in my head of all the things I’ve seen in daylight hours, with the stark contrast of an illuminated wave against a dark backdrop. A run-of-the-mill day down at the beach certainly wasn’t going to do either. We were going to go straight to the top and shoot the biggest and meanest waves we could find.

In this video, Daniel Norton of Adorama takes you into his studio, showing you how to set up for three different lighting scenarios, with the ability to change from one to another at the flip of a switch. This is great for if you have extremely limited time with models or actors and need alternate looks or options between them.

Our friends over at Viewbug are at it again! Their new photo contest, "Clever Angles," stands out from their 120 live photo contests as extra special. After all, how many free photo contests offer a prize as huge as the coveted Canon 5D Mark III or Nikon D800?! Submit your image showing creative use of angles or composition for your shot at a new 5D Mark III or Nikon D800, or just browse the entries gallery for inspiration! What do you have to lose?

For the majority of people, the day after Christmas is usually filled with farewells to extended family members, house cleaning, writing thank you cards, and crashing on the couch to watch the final games of the football season. But for many Americans, the day after Christmas offers a unique opportunity: a chance to head out to the firing range and test the new guns and accessories they received from loved ones. This year, I decided to take my camera out to a local rifle range and document the people and guns who showed up the day after Christmas.

When looking for new creative ideas, it seems like everything has already been done by someone. But there are still people, like Jay Philbrick, that manage to create pictures never seen or even never thought of before.

The mobile phone has changed photography forever; the smartphone’s camera is the most used feature for the majority of users. Not only have they become the most convenient way to take photos, they’ve also become damn good at taking them, as shown in the annual iPhone Photography Awards.