Pawn Shop Recovers Stolen Photo Gear

Last month, the guys at PetaPixel reported the first successful recovery of stolen gear due to the service Lenstag. In related and more recent news, this past weekend a pawn shop in Boston, Massachusetts did a little detective work of their own to recover a stolen Nikon D3100.

What Should You Look for in a Monitor?

The holiday season is the best time to buy a new monitor; with Black Friday right around the corner, now is the perfect time to update your most important tool for editing. But do you know what to look for? Let's discuss what important qualities you should be watching for and go over some highly rated monitors for photo editing.

How To Build A Full Studio At A Music Festival

If you've ever attended a crazy big music or art festival then the thought has probably crossed your mind, "I should probably photograph these interesting characters while I'm here!" While attending the annual free expression festival Burning Man in Nevada, photographer Eric Schwabel decided to build a portable photo studio to capture dramatic portraits of everyone in attendance. His setup consisted of two strip boxes, two Profoto Pro-B2 power packs, and two Profoto Pro-7 heads. Everything was shot on a Mamiya 645 AFD with a DM28 digital back. I must say, I would be a little nervous bringing this sort of gear out to the dusty desert, but then I would have been the guy who missed out on creating such a cool project!
[Pics] City Silhouettes: Portraits Made Using Cities, People And Glass

Photographer Jasper James, who usually does advertising and editorial photography, decided to do a personal project he called "City Silhouettes". The concept is very simple - photograph cities through silhouettes of people. Check out this amazing set and read how this project started in the Full Post
How To Shoot and Light a Composite Image

The great folks over at The Slanted Lens are back with another amazing tutorial. This time Jay takes you to Concord and Lexington Massachusetts at a recreation of a Revolutionary War battle scene to show you how to effectively light a composited image. He shows you how to shoot your background plates first, the main subject using a do it yourself motion rig and even shows you how to shoot explosions to help finish the image.

Sony Announces the a77II 24.3MP APS-C DSLR

Sony has announced the successor to the α77 in the α77II. The camera, according to Sony, is designed for "advanced amateurs" and has enhanced features like "the world's highest number of AF points in a new phase detect autofocus system with 79 focal points" and can "shoot at up to 12 fps for 60 total frames with continuous AF." Sony has also purportedly increased the sensor sensitivity by 20%, which means better low-light performance.

Elk Charges Photographer at Yellowstone National Park

Yellowstone National Park has very clear rules about how close humans can get to animals: 100 yards from bears and wolves and 25 yards from all other large animals. One photographer disobeyed those rules and quickly learned a scary lesson.

The Nik Collection 25th Anniversary Update Has Some Solid Improvements

Has it been 25 years? Amazing. I remember when Nils Kokemohr founded Nik Multimedia in 1995, which later became Nik Software in 2006. The package included plugins for color management and editing, another for enhancing or creating black and white images, sharpening tools, and later HDR software to help photographers increase the dynamic range of their images.

Look At Leica's Pretty New Store in Miami

Leica is known as a kind of Mercedez when it comes to cameras. It captures images like any camera will, but it's the name and reputation (and the quality that comes with it) you get a Leica for. That and the optics. Leica fans can rejoice over the opening of a store in Miami that showcases the full Leica photography and sport optics product portfolio, and it's got a pretty slick interior to boot.

Venmo Scammer Gets Away With $25,000 in Camera Equipment

A scammer is using the highly popular funds sharing app Venmo to steal thousands of dollars worth of camera equipment. It appears that the thief operates inside of Facebook Marketplaces and seems to be targeting videography professionals in the Los Angeles area.

John Thomson: The First Travel Photographer?

Imagine a world that, wherever you traveled, you were the first to capture an image. That was the ten year experience of John Thomson, but it was 1862 and he used the wet collodion process with photographic requirements that are about as far removed from today as imaginable. So what were his achievements?

The End of Flash Cross-Branding Issues: Elinchrom Opens Its Skyport Protocol to Third Parties

In recent years, the radio flash transmitter market has grown extensively. Every camera brand and strobe manufacturer has come up with its own system, but as if that wasn’t enough, some brands specialize in designing their own as well. Today, Elinchrom is opening its Skyport protocol to third parties with the hope of creating a new industry standard and solving the cross-branding issues photographers are facing nowadays.

Buy the New Gear or Take the Trip?

You're a landscape photographer facing a choice: invest in new camera gear or embark on a photography trip with some extra funds in hand. Which option is the better choice for enhancing your photography?

Former White House Photographer Pete Souza Is Still Working for the American Public

Pete Souza has been extremely active on his new Instagram account to the extent that even CNN has taken notice. The former White House photographer for President Barack Obama, Souza's visual political and social commentary are arguably as relevant as ever. His activity and media recognition underscores the power of social media, especially when there’s a tremendous following and story to go with it. His most recent posts make note of current events including refugee camps, specifically of ethnic Albanians displaced from Kosovo, and Supreme Court Associate Justice Nominee Merrick Garland.

A Podcast Interview About The Retouching Industry With Julia Kuzmenko McKim

Before starting in the world of retouching, I always wanted to know more about it. Now that I'm working full time as a retoucher, I am happy to give back when I can. Julia Kuzmenko McKim of the Retouching Academy reached out to me to speak with her on retouching, inspiration, and business. If you aren't familiar with her already, she's also a staff writer here.

Viral Video Shows Man Hanging Child off Cliff for Family Photo Opportunity

A clip has been doing the rounds across social media, showing a man hanging his toddler son off the edge of a cliff while another family member takes a photo. First posted to Chinese social media site Weibo, the man has since faced the wrath of the internet for his actions.

The Reflex Uses Novel Ideas to Breathe New Life Into the Film SLR

Reflex is a new brand aiming to give 35mm film photographers a new camera option instead of going with a dated SLR design (the 13-year-old Nikon F6) or buying in the used market. But it’s not just a rehash of the classic film SLR design. Users can change film using a special “I-Back” system, and even change out the lens mount quickly and easily.

View From Space: New York City on September 11, 2001

For once, I'm going to keep my mouth shut. I'll let NASA do the talking on this one, and then let the picture speak for itself: "Visible from space, a smoke plume rises from the Manhattan area after two planes crashed into the towers of the World Trade Center. This photo was taken of metropolitan New York City (and other parts of New York as well as New Jersey) the morning of September 11, 2001.

New Samsung Pro-Level SD Cards are Winners

When it comes to camera memory cards, most of us gravitate towards Sandisk and Lexar. Maybe PNY or Sony too. Samsung has been making memory cards for other companies for quite some time, but only recently have they decided to branch out and brand them as Samsung. So how do they perform? Surprisingly, or maybe unsurprisingly, quite well.

Why Vanity Is an Important Part of Your Branding

When we think what defines our brand as photographers, we think of our logo, website, and even the style of imagery we create. But, everything that is related and connected to us and our company is a representation of our brand — from the way we answer our emails, interact with our clients, down to the pants we wear, the bag we carry our gear in, and the overall way we present ourselves to the world. Every detail reflects back on our company and in the end reflects back on our bottom line.

[BTS] Michael Thompson Shoots Rooney Mara

This is a really cool video of a shoot that Michael Thompson did for Allure magazine. I'll warn you, it talks almost exclusively about makeup and hair, but I loved the simple sets that they built for the shoot AND you see how the photographer used two big silver reflectors to shoot with natural light.

Optical Versus Electronic: Three Strong Cases for EVFs

The mirrorless versus SLR debate is the most hotly discussed topic in photography circles. One of the main reasons given for sticking to the SLR system is the superiority of the optical viewfinder (OVF). Over the past couple of years, I’ve started to question this point. In this article, I explore the areas where an electronic viewfinder (EVF) offers an advantage over on OVF.

[Pics] February's Best Facebook Group Photos

Every month I see some incredible photos uploaded to our thriving Fstoppers Facebook Group. With over 3,000 members, this group has some amazing talent. To honor these great Fstoppers of the world, we award the best of the best from each month with a badge of honor: the Fstoppers Featured Photo. We have some stellar images earning this honor in February of 2012.

Directing Video, a Photographer's Perspective

When I was young, I first fell in love with photography as a kid in summer camp. I then went home and started pouring over the Time Life Photography books from the local library. All through grade school and high school I stayed up countless nights studying, reading, and learning everything I could about great photographers and their amazing photographs.

How I Shot This Pastel Beauty Spread for Female Malaysia

One thing I love the most about my job is to be able to work with hugely talented people in my team. It’s always so inspirational to be around them and never fails to serve as an outstanding learning opportunity.