The Wednesday Rundown 3.30.11

Howdy, and welcome to the Wednesday Rundown. How many of us really take advantage of the video function of our camera? I have been able to see Lee and Patrick transform from strickly photography to a being able to knock out some great videos. It does take time and they don't let me hang out with them while they are editing, I tend to get them off topic a bunch, but these guys really make it look easy. If you haven't had the chance to sit down and dabble around with editing video, well now is the time. I have found a great video editing tutorial and even some great looking open source editing software. You may have to do some reading on these but it is worth a shot, you really have no excuse. With everyone else learning you should jump on the wagon and catch up. What if shooting video takes over shooting stills for weddings or other major events? Could it happen in our lifetime? If you have a video that you think we might like to post, please click on "submit content" above.
[Upgrades] Has The New Update To Apple's Final Cut Pro Fixed The Backlash?

Remember when Apple released the new version of its flagship video editing program Final Cut X? If not, you might want a refresher course with Conan O'brien. Basically the backlash was almost unanimous, and it made many of us thankful we chose Adobe's Premiere as our editing software of choice. Well today there is an upgrade that apparently fixes most of the complaints from FCP X users. [Read More]
The One Time a Photographer Should Be Mean

Are you kind? That sounds like an odd question to ask in a photographic article, but it impacts your work profoundly. However, there is one circumstance where you should be mean to other photographers.

Fstoppers Reviews the Canon RF 85mm f/2 Macro IS STM Lens

Canon released an amazing 85mm lens. It is small, light, and perfect for portraits. It is also a macro lens, making it very versatile, especially for a wedding photographer. Canon Netherlands provided this lens for an extensive review.

[BTS] Sasha Leahovcenco Shoots Dave Moskalets

Sasha Leahovcenco was featured on this site a few weeks ago for a Help Portrait project in northern Russia. This however is a little less crazy, but pretty informative. Watch Sasha as he shoots country musician Dave Moskalets on Folsom Lake.

[Video] How to Photograph a Funeral

Natalie Norton photographs the funeral of a 16 year old girl and then shares her insights about the experience with you. This video is a slideshow of Natalie's work from that day but to get the most of her experience be sure to read her full post

Why Would You Photograph the Mundane Everyday Life?

Why would you choose to photograph something that's mundane instead of naturally picturesque locations or scenarios? The short answer is because it's hard and it will test you.

Insights on Retouching From a Retoucher's Perspective With Jeff Whitlock

Jeff Whitlock’s work as a high-end retoucher has been gaining notice for the last several years, and just about every time I turn around, Jeff is sharing some amazing project he’s just worked on. From the "This is not Magritte" series to his work on portraits of celebrities, Jeff has been knocking it out of the park with great regularity.

G-Technologies Introduces New 2K/4K Storage Solutions

Though it's not yet safe to say that 4K has "landed," it is getting close. There are more capable hardware solutions landing on the market every day. G-Technologies is getting ready to show off some new 2K and 4K ready storage solutions for the market: the G-DRIVE ev 220 and a new G-RAID with removable drives.

Correcting Every Error in my Speedlight Review Video

A couple of weeks ago, I released a detailed video reviewing the top five speed lights currently on the market. I had the opportunity to communicate directly with Neewer, Godox, Westcott, and Profoto about my review, and I've learned a lot. I'd like to correct a few errors I made.

Gulf Photo Plus In Dubai Should Not Be Missed

Last year Patrick and I were invited out to Dubai to attend Gulf Photo Plus, a photography workshop unlike anything else on the planet. At the time the only thing I knew about GPP was that they did a shootout with 3 big name photographers. I never expected that attending this event would become one of the most memorable experiences of my life.

[Gear] The Light Table Goes Digital For The First Time

Much like gathering around the water cooler at the office took a hit with the advent of bottled water; the light table seemed to vanish overnight once digital cameras decided to stick around. Well fear not ex-film shooters, thanks to the Microsoft Surface touch computer and Industrial Color's "GLOBALedit" App you can once again swap war stories around the light table. Jump to the full post to see the demo video and more.
What Is It Like Being a Commercial Food Photographer?

Until 10 years ago, I didn’t know that being a professional food photographer was even a thing. I don’t come from a creative background, so if you had asked me what I thought they did, I would have been very far from the truth. Hopefully, I can shed some light.

Sam Hon Makes UFC Fighters Fight Themselves

Sam Hon takes fighting to an entirely new level with his campaign for Optical Panecea. Sam's creative vision in this campaign was to make each fighter fight themselves while drawing creativity from each fighters raw character to make each image unique.

Sweden's Highest Court Rules Camera-Equipped Drones Illegal

Bad news for drone owners in Sweden! The country has now effectively ban camera drones in its airspace. And if you thought you could bring your drone on your next trip to Sweden, well you better think twice unless you’ve got a permit.

How the Datacolor SpyderX Photo Kit Can Improve Your Photos

Color is one of the most important things to photographers, but surprisingly, we often do not do everything we can and should do to ensure our colors are accurate and consistent. Datacolor's SpyderX Photo Kit makes it easier than ever to make sure your colors are spot on from the moment you press the shutter to the final export, and Datacolor is offering it for 50% off. Let's look at how it can help you.

Fstoppers Server Setup: How Did We Do It?

As some of you may have already known, we were off to somewhat of a rocky start when we launched this new website. For a recap: we ran into a few load issues right before our switchover deadline, so we decided to postpone the launch for nearly 22 hours before launching it again. We have been monitoring the servers very closely and working nonstop to squish all the bugs ever since. Now that the dust has settled, I'd like to talk to you guys about how we set up our servers on Amazon Web Services - the cloud.

The Wednesday Rundown 7.13.11

Howdy and welcome to the Wednesday Rundown. This week we start off with a portrait shoot around the house and yard. The photos turn out very good with a couple of lights. We also have a BTS of a video shoot the Texas Parks and Wildlife created. If you have a video that you think we might like to post, please click on "submit content" above.
Which New Camera Will Canon Announce on April 20?

Canon has announced that it will be hosting an online press conference on April 20 in order to present some new products. Will the much-anticipated EOS R5 officially be launched?

Adobe Adds Structure Reference to Firefly Generative AI

Adobe has unveiled a new feature inside its Adobe Firefly portal that gives users more control over the final look of images and art created using Generative AI. The feature is called Structure Reference and offers users control over an aspect of their output that has been unavailable previously.

Calle Hoglund: A Photographer Being Creative

The biggest problem with photographers today is that we don't actually get out and shoot enough. It's so easy to watch videos of others being creative or wait until we have that next magical piece of gear before we plan a shoot. What happened to taking pictures and being creative because that is what we love to do? Calle Hoglund did just that. He had an idea one night while his buddies were over and he shot it that night. Luckily for us, he also filmed his progress, enjoy.
Has Instagram Stories Conquered Snapchat Once-And-For-All?

It was the go-to question last year when Instagram announced the essentially copy-and-paste integration of Snapchat Stories into their own app. Is this is a classic case of the pioneer being conquered? It’s starting to look like it.

Leica Officially Announces New M Monochrom Type 246 Camera

The legendary photography company Leica has announced the new M Monochom (type 246) camera, a follow up to the M Monochrome black-and-white shooting rangefinder. The new digital camera boasts a faster Maestro image processor, 2 GB buffer memory, 24-megapixel black-and-white full-frame sensor, live-view zoom, focus peaking, and 1080p Full-HD video.

[Video] How To Use Smoke To Enhance Your Photography

Are you ever on location shooting and the background is a bit boring? Why not add smoke? In this video Jay P. Morgan shows us how he uses a smoke machine in the woods to liven up his shots. Using some materials from your local hardware store you can make the smoke go exactly where you need it to be.

Preserving Hidden Gems in Landscape Photography

When visiting a new location, the excitement and expectation of capturing something epic are always at the forefront of a photographer’s mind. However, beyond the thrill of the shot lies a deeper responsibility—protecting the places we photograph.