Pictures

A few weeks ago I posted about the outstanding newly released internet series, The Underwater Realm, and as promised I'm back with the full behind the scenes look at the underwater photoshoot by amazing conceptual photographer, Benjamin Von Wong. He explains how he was able to accomplish the shoot in the pool and how he brought all of the elements together to create a wonderful behind the scenes image of the entire cast and crew at work.

There is one site that I consistently go to for inspiration . No matter how stuck I may feel or how many projects may demand my attention when I visit this dark and ominous page of collected brilliance I always leave refreshed. It may not always be safe for work, that part is pretty tough to predict as the work is always changing, but in my opinion the risk is worth it for the ideas and executions there. Not lighting diagrams, no explanations, just photography...lots and lots of amazing photography.

Von Wong, who you should all know by now -- if not from us, then from the million and one places he scurries around the world and online -- was given a challenge by a friend, Sebastien Roignant: "To shoot and edit an insane image involving two orcs, a witch king, warrior, villager and a cinema theatre...all in 4 hours without having any information ahead of time." Von Wong is also up for a [Framed] award for best conceptual photographer this year. Vote for him here.

When I hear the name, Calvin Hollywood, a few things instantly pop into my mind. Photoshop guru, Scott Kelby instructor, 'freaky, amazing details', and lastly 'Calvinize'! Calvin is a master of digital art and his standing room only sessions at Photoshop World prove so. I had the chance to catch up with the intriguing and witty Calvin for an interview for an opportunity to see a glimpse into the mind of a digital genius.

As photographers/retouchers, we sometimes tend to remove any wrinkle, spots, or stray hair we can see on the subject we photographed. We consider it as a distraction, as something that make our images look less professional. But sometimes that's not the case. Check out this collection of great portraits of old people. In some cases, the wrinkles are even edited to look even bolder and stronger - and it works. Old people can be great models, and create very moody and interesting images.

Photography is an enormous, multifaceted industry that ranges from portrait and product to macro and landscape. As photographers, we owe it to ourselves to learn as much as we can about each specific genre of our trade. Even if you only shoot weddings or cars, it’s important to learn and practice new techniques, which will allow you to hone your skills and can keep you out of creative ruts. Recently, I have had the opportunity to take on several types of shoots that I either have never done before or have had very limited experience with.

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.

The most common method of light painting is using a flashlight and moving it around while shooting long exposures. We all know that trick, and many times it looks a little gimmicky. This is why I really like when people think of other, more creative ways to do light painting. Using burning Steel Wool can create awesome looking photos. Its super cheap, creative and can give your photos the X-Factor.

If you're looking for a way to really make your highlights stand out in your images, look no further; PHLEARN has released a new Photoshop tutorial dealing with accentuating highlights. Using Levels, Channels and Layer Masks in Photoshop PHLEARN shows how you can take highlights to the next level and make your images just a little more brilliant and detailed. Also, free 'Brownie points' to anyone who can guess what is used to create the slick effect on the model in the photo.

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.

Shooting street photography is always a great way to find some interesting subjects. Not only do you usually achieve a compelling image but you tend to hear some enthralling stories as well. Jesse Rogers went out and shot these in such a way that gives you a sense of optimism for these characters. I know we've all seen B&W's of homeless people and yes they are engaging and frequently depressing, but Jesse series seem to tell the whole story and not just the somber side.

As photographers, we sometimes tend to make tight compositions and make the main subject in the photo take over a large area of the frame. We feel that if its important, we need to focus on it, make it apparent and zoom on it. Sometimes, zooming out or stepping back and making your main subject take only a tiny area of the frame, can do magic to your images. Check out these great images of minimalism found on Flickr.

An Arizona doctor was surprised while performing a routine C-section when the baby reached up and grabbed his finger. The moment was captured by the baby's father Randy and the couple originally kept the photo secret thinking it would not be received well by others. The mom, Alicia who happens to be a photographer in Glendale, Arizona decided to release the photo on December 26th on her Facebook page. Since then the image has received 9,000 likes, over 5,000 shares and her number of fans on her page has grown tremendously.

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.

Winter is officially here and we're going to freeze for few more months. I don't know about you, but I cant wait for the summer - for the nice weather, for the long days and of course - being able to go out to the ocean/sea. Check out this collection of great images of rocky beaches that will make you wish it was summer already. Which are your favorites? Let us know in the comments below.

In the last several years camera development has taken huge strides in giving photographic capabilities of stills to video. Non film makers now have the capability of taking cinematic quality video without needing to upgrade from their dslr. In this video, Untitled Film Works unpacks the continual merging of stills and video.

As you all know, today is the last day of earth as we know it. Its the end of the world. So there is no better time than now to feature some great apocalypse photos - just in case its still calm where you live and you want to see how it looks around the world. Any recommendations for a spot to shoot the end of the world from?

The New York Times just released an absolutely incredible piece of journalism titled 'Snow Fall: The Avalanche at Tunnel Creek,' which is a story told through the use of still images, video, computer animations and one hell of a piece of writing. I have to say that this looks like (I at least hope) the future of editorial journalism. It's been a long time since I've read, watched, or looked at a piece that captivated me like this one.

Alright, just when I thought he couldn't do anything more amazing, he proves me wrong, way wrong. If you have seen any sort of sports portraits, they usually do something different then your normal portrait. Adding cool lighting effects, lots of post work ect, not Wyn. His story for this shoot is a must read and great advice for anyone wanting to blow away their competition in their town. The way Wyn went about getting this all organized, shot, and edited is a pure masterpiece.

I have been following Luke Schneider's work for quite some time and it just keeps getting better and better. He has a nack for fashion photography and it clearly shows. I decided to find out a bit about him and what his goals are for the future and current project. He is still in college so he has quite a bit of time ahead of him to achieve his goals. From the looks of it, he is well on his way there.

In a recent 60 Minutes special, CBS Reporter Lara Logan spent time with Dereck and Beverly Joubert in Southern Africa. The Jouberts have been shooting images and video of the wildlife there, for over 30 years. They have produced countless amazing images and have even created documentary films from the content they captured. Embedded video inside.

I have been following Julian Berman's work for a long time now. I first discovered his stuff around the same time I discovered Odd Future. Julian has been documenting Odd Future, aka his friends, since early on. At just 21 years old he has accomplished a lot, and only continues to grow more and more.

Tara Minshull is a rather successful fine art photographer based in Los Angeles who specializes in conceptual and cinematic images, oftentimes utilizing mixed media to realize her vision. Tara was kind enough to give us some of her time for an interview, in which she discusses the merits of art school, her motivations and the constantly evolving themes of her work.

The guys over PHLEARN have a lot of cool content, and this is their most recent. The original idea for this photo shoot was inspired by childhood, drawing on references from stories such as “Where the Wild Things Are” by Maurice Sendak and the classic comic strip “Calvin and Hobbes." The result is a playful look at the imagination of a child.

When I watched this video this morning from London-based film production company Make Productions my mind was blown, my jaw dropped and I just kept thinking about all the detailed work that went into creating such an amazing parallax sequence - all of which was executed perfectly. Take 90-seconds today and be sure to check this out then read on below to find out more details about how it was created.

This past November while on a trip to Colorado, I had the chance to meet up with Celin Serbo, an outdoor lifestyle photographer whose client list includes the likes of Nikon, Backpacker Magazine, Nat Geo Adventure, and First Ascent, among many others. We spoke about the challenges of capturing images in the field, the importance of being business-savvy, and the obstacles of incorporating filmmaking into the services he offers.

Quebec photographer, Patrice Laroche, took an interesting approach to his personal maternity photos. He took several self-portraits of himself with the mother of his child, Sandra Denis at a convenience store air pump machine. The series of photos were taken a different times within the nine months of waiting for their daughter, Justine, to make an appearance into the world. A very unique and humorous way of documenting the whole length of the pregnancy, that I hope becomes a trend.

Shooting live performances is not always easy. Sometimes the lighting is bad (sometimes its much worse than that), sometimes your angle is not too interesting, and sometimes people in the crowd can get in the frame and kill a good catch. But sometimes you're exactly in the right spot with the right lens; and with the right timing you can capture a perfect action shot of the performer, or of his fans. Check out these great live concert photos found on Flickr and let us know which are your favorites.

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.

This morning our pals at PopPhoto tweeted, "The most popular photography story this morning is the Exif of Reuters' best images of the year. Not the pictures. Doing it wrong." I have to agree with them here. Instead of focusing on the images, the story is instead focused on what they were shot with. Is that what we are reduced to? Oogling over gear?

Joey L. has done a lot of traveling over the last seven years on commercial assignments and collected bits of wisdom along the way for other traveling photographers he shared on his blog. While reading through it I immediately picked up some useful tips that I plan on implementing on my upcoming trip to Honduras.

It could be the aftermath of a war, or the result of a strong Tsunami. It could be the destruction of a Hurricane, or the Devastation of a terror attack. The moment after something horrible happens, is also the moment people capture powerful images of (bad) historic events. We all remember few iconic shots of such events, photos we've seen for hundreds of times on TV, in newspapers or just online. This is why I chose to feature very powerful images you probably never saw before.

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.

Gearing up for the holiday season Canon released a funny new commercial advertising their T4i camera. I really enjoy how companies these days are focusing on videos that gain viewers through creativity and humor rather than pop down millions on a celebrity or buying a prime television commercial ad. I believe all of us can relate with this video and insert ourselves into many of the clips. Take a minute and enjoy their latest commercial just released; then be the first to share it with your friends.