Despite lots of exciting news from a variety of brands in the first few months of 2021, Nikon has been relatively quiet, leading to rumors of delays. The company has spoken, however, and has said that that isn't the case and that we can expect a lot of activity in the months to come.
Camera filters have improved a great deal over the last decade. It wasn't that long ago when it was completely acceptable for filters to produce blue-cast images with a significant loss in detail. We now have manufacturers producing highly innovative filter systems, such as the new Kase Wolverine IV Magnetic filter system.
Fujifilm continues to wow us with each new lens, and their latest release, the $1,199 XF 80mm f/2.8 R LM OIS WR Macro lens, is no exception. I’ve been shooting with the XF 80mm now since its release, and I have to admit it’s only come off my Fujifilm X-T2 once. I don't claim to be a fabulous macro photographer, but I believe this lens has a home in most photographers bag. My beloved XF 50-140mm has, for now at least, taken a back seat to the smaller, amazingly versatile XF 80mm.
Nikon put out a video that seems to be teasing something huge for the company... the retro full frame compact that has been hitting the rumor mill pretty heavily in the past week. That said, this video from Nikon seems to be pointing to the rumors being more fact than fiction. This camera looks like it's coming, and soon.
Starting today PhotoShelter released their new "Beam" portfolio websites templates on top of the secure cloud storage, e-commerce capabilities, SEO, image delivery and client proofing tools that are available to PhotoShelter’s existing members with Standard and Pro accounts. PhotoShelter's CEO Andrew Fingerman gave me a quick rundown of the new designs during a walkthrough last week and from everything I saw it looks like it could be great tool for account holders who need a functioning website with minimal set up.
Tim Hetherington, without a doubt stands high among the elite of war photographers.
There is no way that one can possibly encompass the magnitude of an individual within the pages of a single book. Alan Huffman makes that attempt with his biography Here I am: The Story of Tim Hethergington, War Photographer.
Saying that you're "just a photographer" can be one of the most self-deprecating things that you can say as a professional. Those three simple words can destroy your credibility even if you're just trying to be humble about chasing your passion.
Lynn Goldsmith is considered to be one of the best music photographers in the world. She was one of the only female photographers in the scene in the 70s and 80s, and photographed pretty much all legend we can think of. From Michael Jackson to Bruce Springsteen, Bob Marley and The Beatles. In this interview with CBS she shares some of the stories and experiences she had as a rock and roll photographer.
With its increasing popularity, photographers and videographers alike have begun to entertain LED lighting as a possible option for their shoots. Spiffy Gear believes they now have that solution, and it's called Spekular. Touted as the "Swiss army knife" to a creative's needs, they introduced their new product as the solution to make videographer and photographer's lives easier.
The much speculated Facebook reader is real, it's called Paper and I have to say it looks beautiful. As shown in the the promotional launch video, the app is all gesture driven (though some of the gestures look impractical) and it looks to be a new and pleasant way to stay up to date with the stories that matter to you, with a design UI that takes a lot from other established reader apps like Flipboard.
In late 2014 at an auction in Ohio, Levi Bettweiser of the Rescued Film Project, stumbled upon one of his greatest finds. Up for bid were 31 rolls of 70 year old undeveloped film from World War 2 shot by an unknown soldier and photographer. The Rescued Film Project is an effort to find and salvage undeveloped film from as early as the 1930's. They strive to recover even those films which are damaged by age or the elements, as in the case of this large find of film from WW2.
While having a brick-and-mortar studio is nice, it isn't always feasible. Photographers create backdrops out of their homes, garages, or on set to disguise the location using stands with muslins, seamless paper, or even collapsible options as well. In searching for other options, I found a portable wood look to be the perfect fit.
Each month I will be featuring and chatting to a different creative. My first is Nirrimi Firebrace, a photographer known for her intimate approach to taking portraits. She's been a name on the lips of many creatives for the better part of a decade, paving the way for the next generation of young photographers. Here, I spoke with Nirrimi about her inspirations, shooting style, and future plans.
Being a photographer permanently changes the way you travel. One sees the world and every destination in a different way that is fueled by curiosity and wonder. At the same time, it also means carrying more stuff around with you.
Earlier today Lauren wrote a humorous, opinionated, post about ‘Morning After’ Boudoir Photography. This post was met with great hostility and inappropriate personal attacks towards Lauren. Is Fstoppers too big now to have a voice? Are we only allowed to report news stories without expressing opinions? Did we go to far or did commenting get out of hand?
The Fujifilm X100 line is a favorite of many photographers, and today, the company has announced the X100V, the fifth iteration. It comes with some significant upgrades over the X100F; check out what the camera has in store!
When I started out in photography, I started learning on film. While it was very much in the digital era, I still shot film. The reason being it was what was available to me at the time, and buying film stock was not as expensive as it is now. Shooting on film has taught me a ton and has helped me be a better digital photographer. Here is why beginners should consider film photography as their first step in the journey.
A few months ago a company called F&V sent me their latest flagship light to test and review. Since then I've been using it regularly for some of my photography and all of my recent YouTube videos. Here are some of my thoughts on what I think could be the best LED light currently on the market.
Shareholders at Fujifilm have had a little break from the global economic woes due to the COVID-19 pandemic, as a drug made by a subsidiary arm of their company has been found to be effective in helping patients recover from the virus. Patients, no doubt, have even more to celebrate.
Yongnuo recently released a 50mm F1.8 auto focus lens to compete with the very popular Canon version. The Canon 50mm F1.8 is already considered a bargain lens, so with the Yongnuo coming in at half the already bargain basement price, can it possibly perform equally or even better? Tony Northrup put together a fantastic and comprehensive video that pits these two lenses side by side in a comparison that will answer all your questions.
We shoot and share our photographs. We want our images seen by other people, as a way of expressing ourselves. Entering photography contests leads to a great way of showing our images to more people with a chance of being approved by a selected jury, but what if some contests are just scams?
One of the most commonly heard pieces of advice within creative circles certainly seems to be the need to find your “style” and market that. What is your style? How to find it? These questions we’ve been told should plague us and drive us get inside our heads if we let them and begin to dictate what we do and how we do it. However, if you take a look at the popular sharing platforms, you will see a few patterns emerging. Instagram, Facebook, and even Fstoppers have a certain style of imagery that rises above the rest as you look at a volume. It can be tempting to emulate a popular style and fit in with the crowd, but it may not be ultimately satisfying to the inner artist. So how exactly do we find our own style?
As photographers, we choose many things. We select our camera bodies, lenses, filters, gear, and settings galore. Why do so many photographers settle with the natural aspect ratio of their camera sensor?
Going head-to-head with one of Sony’s best value lenses is a tough proposition, but Viltrox is taking it on with the 85mm f/1.8 FE STM II. This updated version is starting to appear on shelves and at just $400, it’s a very appealing prospect for those on a budget, especially when you consider that it might one day magically morph into an f/1.6 lens.
You might have seen a recent video in which the University of Dayton Research Institute fired a DJI drone at an aircraft wing, causing serious structural damage. DJI called the video a "scenario inconceivable in real life" and has sent a letter to the university demanding its withdrawal.
The Fujifilm X-T200 looks like it swallowed an iPhone. With a screen size that matches that of a previous-generation iPhone 4, it might as well have. It's this screen that is the camera's most significant selling point, boldly signaling to smartphone users to put down their poor, small-sensor cameras to embrace this instead. It primarily works for its intended audience, with a few caveats.
Walking into a bookstore, grabbing a magazine off the shelves, and seeing your name and images in print is nothing short of wonderful! Getting published in a fashion magazine is extremely rewarding, but it is no easy task, especially when getting started. Over the past 5 years I’ve been publishing in magazines ranging from online magazines to large internationally acclaimed publications.
The other morning I posted an unnecessarily snarky tweet about VERO and a breach of my copyright. That afternoon, I found myself on an hour-long Zoom call with founder CEO Ayman Hariri after he got in touch to discuss what VERO can do to improve.
Just a few days ago we got information on the new Canon C200, a 4K video camera with a number of interesting features including internal raw recording. While people were scoping the new Canon camera and talking about how it fit into the market with BlackMagic and Sony products, there was no mention of Panasonic for good reason – they didn't offer a feature-rich 4K capable camera, with interchangeable lenses, around the $7,500 mark. But coming this fall, that's going to change with the AU-EVA1.
When Nikon moved into the realm of full frame mirrorless cameras, they generally went for pragmatic lens designs meant to tackle the majority of situations photographers would encounter. However, a variety of interesting lens design patents recently emerged, and they show the company is now thinking about some more extreme options as well.
