The Best Card I Have Ever Used! My Review of the Exascend 1 TB CFExpress Type A Card
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Just over two months ago, I traveled to the Isle of Mull in Scotland to review Exascend's 360 GB CFExpress Type A card, which I absolutely adored. I have now been sent the 1TB version of the card, which offers even more in performance, so last week I took a trip to a local hide to photograph Kingfishers. Let's see how I got on.

Is Photography a Thankless Job?
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Straight to the point today: is photography, or the pursuit of anything creative or artistic as a legitimate profession, a thankless pursuit and vocation?

Using the TTArtisan 28mm f/5.6 Lens in the Field
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Whenever I'm on assignment, I'll typically bring a film camera along with me. For breaking news work, they're not particularly useful; no editor in their right mind is going to wait for me to return home, develop, process, edit, and upload my film frames, no matter how good the final product might be. However, this lens has made me rethink my process a bit.

One Part BTS Video, Three Parts Victoria's Secret
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The holiday season is almost behind us and if you've spent any time watching college football tv then you've probably seen the new holiday Victoria's Secret commercials. The creative team at VS always makes some of the most high intensity commercials year in and year out. This year they have at least three different themes and one of the directors is even Michael Bay (creator of the greatest movie of all time Transformers 2). Of course VS can't give away all their secrets so don't expect to be shooting Adriana Lima on a white horse anytime soon! Hopefully you can at least pass these videos off as educational should your gf or wife question this content :) Two more videos in the full post. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_4l_LpvL1M
Fotodiox Packs Powerful LEDs into Flat, Compact Package
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Fotodiox just announced some very flat, very compact AC/battery powered LED edge lights for use in video productions. My experience with Fotodiox LEDs has been relatively positive, with strong power and excellent color consistency. The new lights, called FlapJacks look to be an excellent addition to your lighting arsenal.

Why You Should Consider Working Out of a Shared Space with Other Creatives
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As artists and creatives we thrive off of energy, at least I know I do. Sometimes we can be our own worst enemies and talk ourselves out projects we want to do, want to come back to, or have almost given up on. I've been on this end of the spectrum, holed up in my editing bay whacking my head against the wall on my third cup of coffee. When there is no one around to talk through the details of a project, it can start to become extremely daunting. This is why working out of shared spaces can be a life saver for some creatives, like myself. Let's take a look at what benefits come with working in a shared space.

Free Capture One Color Workflow Webinar With Pratik Naik
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After releasing a tutorial video together, Phase One and Pratik Naik are teaming up again but for a 60-minute webinar this time. It’s your chance to see and learn all the color tricks the beauty and fashion retoucher uses to get incredible results with any image using Capture One Pro.

Lytro Introduces Focus Spread, an Entirely New Way to Look at Editing DOF in Post
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Ever since the first mention of the Lytro camera system, I have been intrigued by how exactly it works and what possibilities it opens for photographers wanting to have complete control over their image, right down to the depth. With Lytro's announcement of the new Focus Spread feature built into their new software you can now pick and choose, in post-production, which sections of a photo that will be in focus.

Zhong Yi Optics Releases the Mitakon Speedmaster 135mm f/1.4 Lens for Pre-Order
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Just days after we saw the release of the world's widest full-frame f/1.4 lens, we're now seeing the release of the world's longest full-frame f/1.4 lens. Zhong Yi Optics, mostly known for their ultra-fast mirrorless lenses, has put up a pre-order page for their new Mitakon Speedmaster 135mm f/1.4 lens.

[Video] Filmmaker Andrew Stanton Breaks Down Storytelling
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Oscar-winning writer Andrew Stanton, who’s credit list includes WALL-E, Toy Story, and Finding Nemo among others, was featured in a recent TEDTalks Video sharing his insights onto storytelling, and what it takes to make them compelling enough to captivate an audience. There is a ton of great information here, and it really does go to show that content is king… You can have the biggest camera and tons of talent, but if your story is lame, no one will watch your stuff! Language in the video is NSFW.

How to Shoot and Edit Your Concert Photos
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Concerts and events can either be exciting and fun or quite challenging for us photographers due to the low-lit environment and having to share the space with other photographers, all while being crammed into a tight space. Luckily, a little bit of planning and preparation can go a long way to avoid any disasters while shooting.

TimeFest 2011: Behind The Scenes With The Top Timelapse Shooters
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Tom Guilmette is now a pretty regular name on Fstoppers because his BTSVs in the field of video are some of the best we have seen. In the video below Tom travels out west with Eric Kessler to film BTS footage of some of the top timelapse shooters of our time. My personal favorite is Tom Lowe and we haven't heard much from him in the last year because he is still working on his timelapse feature film. Check out the video below to learn from the best.
This Is How Your Digital Camera's CCD Chip Works
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I enjoy new technology and I also love to know how my gadgets actually work. I constantly find myself watching Bill Hammack's videos on Youtube because he does a fantastic job of explaining extremely complicated things in a way that I can understand. In this video "The Engineer Guy" explains the technology behind our digital cameras.

The Wednesday Rundown 2.2.11
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Howdy, and welcome to the Wednesday Rundown. This week we have a female Mission Impossible theme shoot that turns out interesting. Also a music shoot with various locations, they shouldn't be blocking that NYC road. If you have a video that you think we might like to post, please click on "submit content" above.

[BTS Video] Tips On The Best Way To Use And Position A Photo Reflector
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If you are like me, then you might have jumped straight into studio lighting without paying much attention to manipulating natural light. If that is the case, now is a great time to play around with reflectors outside especially since the sun is lower on the horizon this time of year. Jay P Morgan heads to the ultimate graveyard with the lovely Liz Hernandez to show just how effective reflectors can be in place of strobes. Jay is using a few of the Photoflex 5 in 1 Reflectors in various sizes to manipulate not only the size of the reflected light but also the color. Unlike when using strobes, when using a reflector you really need to pay attention to where the sun is shining so you can maximize the amount of fill light bouncing back into your subject (backlighting your subject is a good starting point). The other major selling point of using a reflector over a strobe not mentioned in this video is your ability to shoot wide open at 1.4 or 2.8 for shallow depth of field. Unless you are using something like the Pocket Wizard Flex System, strobing outside is usually going to force you into the > f8 category which destroys the wide open aperture look. Hope this helps those who haven't used reflectors as much and good luck shooting!
Fstoppers Photographer of the Month (February 2016): Raymond Hoffmann
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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.

Why Hahnemühle's William Turner Fine Art Paper Is One of My Favorites
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When I'm looking for a fine art paper with a crisp, clean, and beautifully tactile feel to it, one of my first thoughts is to turn to the William Turner paper from Hahnemühle. This is without question one of my top five papers that I've seen and printed on thus far, have you tried it yet?

NPPA's Perfect Portfolio Primer
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Jim Colton of the National Press Photographer's Association is publishing a three-part primer on the Perfect Portfolio on the NPPA web site this week. While the series is tailored to emerging photojournalists, all photographers could take a few tips away from the series. With advice from award-winning photographers as well as photo editors, art buyers and curators, the primer explores the fundamentals of editing, sequencing and presenting your strongest work.

[Pics] The Best Fstoppers Facebook Group Photos of January
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It's that time again! Time to feature the best photos uploaded to the Fstoppers Facebook Group through the month of January. I truly believe that if you're looking for some inspiration to pull you out of your latest photo rut, the Fstoppers Facebook Group is a great resource. So here they are Fstoppers, check out the Best of January 2012.
The Top Five Photography Spots in Socotra: This Place Is Beautiful
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Socotra is one of the most stunning places on the planet to photograph. Its strikingly white sand dunes and breathtaking dragon blood trees certainly have a lot to do with it. But there’s way more to love about one of the planet’s most biodiverse islands.

Sealing The Deal - Booking More Senior Inquires
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Like most photographers, you have probably had in influx of senior calls recently. Schools will be back in session in less than a month, parents are trying to squeeze in appointments before their kids get busy with their final year of high school. What are you doing to turn your calls into appointments?

How Do You Define a Flagship Camera?
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In our never-ending search for the perfect camera, we often bandy around a common term to describe the ultimate in performance: flagship. But what really is a “flagship” camera?

What Black and White Film Should You Start Out With? Five Popular Stocks Compared
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So you've read all my articles on film and decided: "You know what? I'm going to give it a shot!" Great! You're about to embark on a rewarding, sometimes frustrating journey into the old school! However, one of the first questions you'll have to answer is: What film should I shoot with? There are so many choices out there with varying brands, speeds, grain structures, and formulations that it can be daunting to select a few to try out. I know that when I first started out, I had no clue what to try. Hopefully, this guide will serve as a broad primer on some of the most popular stocks and take some of the mystery out of picking your first film.