Remembering a Photograph as the Event: Your Memory Isn't What You Think It Is!

Almost everyone has a cell phone these days and by extension, a phone camera. This means that anyone with a phone can create a decent enough image. To clarify, I’m not trying to debate whether someone is a “real photographer” or not. Instead, my intention is to persuade you to approach photography in a more considered and intentional way.

Pre-Order the Fujifilm X100S Now!

The new Fujifilm X100S is available for pre-order from Amazon for $1299.95. The camera features a new X-Trans sensor and hybrid phase and contrast detection autofocusing, as well as many more features. See more information about the camera here.

Ocean Art Competition Winners Highlight the Beauty of Our Oceans

The 7th Annual Ocean Art underwater photography competition winners were announced this week. The competition sorted through thousands of entries from across 70 countries and consisted of 16 categories ranging from Wide-Angle and Super Macro to Cold Water and Marine Life Behavior. The Best of Show image was awarded to Duncan Murrell for capturing an image of three giant devil rays in the midst of an underwater ballet.

"The Neighbours Project" Creates Tintype Portraits Of The Homeless To Raise Awareness And Donations

As a writer for Fstoppers I hear about a lot of personal projects. This past weekend, my attention was grabbed when I read about how Denver-based photographer Dylan Burr undertook a project to create wet plate collodion photographs. It wasn't his image making process that stood out to me though- it was his subject matter. Read on to see the images Dylan created, but also hear how he is hoping to impact the community through his efforts.

Fstoppers.com Now Has A New Look

Welcome to the new Fstoppers.com. We put a lot of thought into the new update and we decided to keep the layout the exact same and simply add some helpful features. The update was done by the incredibly talented team at Novum Studios. View the full post to learn about everything that has been added.
Sony Buys Shares of Olympus, Makes Good on Promise to Support Camera Division

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Sony is buying up a healthy share of Olympus stock, furthering on their previous announcement that the two companies would share tech and co-produce product. This is a huge, bold move that makes real Sony's promise to continue to build their camera division. Sony, I am impressed. You're on your way to making me a believer.

[Video] Why You Might Need a Mattebox

For any of you DSLR video shooters out there, you might not know why you may need some of the equipment you often see on some of the larger rigs found on major studio sets. Well the guys over at Cinevate show you exactly why you might need one of those tools called a mattebox. Matteboxes are essentially barn doors for your camera lens and allow you to control flares and the subtleties of light that make a good film into a great film. Cinevate also shows you how using different filters can really make parts of your movie stand out. Read the full post to see some side by side examples so you can really examine the differences closely.
Genius, Madness, and Obsession: How the Instant Camera Was Invented

You could be forgiven for believing that the requirement for instant gratification is a rather new affliction. However, it's more likely that swift results were gated behind technology and that the few inventions that provided it were well placed for unprecedented success, like the instant camera.

Travis Harris Just Became A Full Time Photographer

Remember Travis Harris? He called me out of the blue a few months back and actually flew to Charleston to assist me at a couple of weddings. Since then Travis has had one goal in mind: to do whatever it takes to quit his day job and work as a full time professional photographer. A few weeks ago Travis took the plunge and quit his job and now he is working his ass off to pick up as many photo jobs as humanly possible. Travis was kind enough to shoot a BTSV at his last gig and give us a few of his lighting schematics. It's really exciting to be able to watch Travis go from amateur to professional right before our eyes. Please leave him some encouraging words below.

Shooting for "InFocus Models" from Travis Harris on Vimeo.

How To Create Waterproof Kino Flos For Underwater Video

TheUnderwaterRealm.com is a blog that is following the production of an independent film that will take place completely underwater. Each week the guys and gals are releasing a BTSV which shows exactly what they have been working on. If you are interested in movie production, I highly suggest checking out their website. In the video below the team is forced to build an underwater Kino Flo lighting system. This video is 1 of 29 so there is a lot more quality content to be seen.
A to Z of Photography: Reflex Camera and Tony Ray-Jones

At pretty much three-quarters of the way through the alphabet we stop at R, an eminently popular letter, to look at the foundation of pretty much all contemporary cameras — the Reflex. This is followed by the inspiringly funny work of Tony Ray-Jones whose career was cruelly cut short.

Apple and Google Jointly Bid on Kodak's Massive Patent Library?

According to Bloomberg, famous tech rivals Apple and Google have teamed up to offer $500 million for Kodak's roughly 1,100 photo-related patents. While the partnership may seem odd, given infamous battles between Apple and some companies with close relationships with Google (most notably, Samsung), the partnership enables both companies to expand into new and different areas of photographic technology at a relatively low cost...

The Blueprint: How to Create Cyanotypes

Cyanotypes are a type of printmaking process invented in the 1800s by Sir John Frederick William Herschel, 1st Baronet KH FRS. What a name!

What Would You Do If You Were Unable to Work?

Have you ever wondered what would happen to your business if you were unable to work? I talked to one such photographer about his experience with a near catastrophic injury, and the fallout surrounding it in regards to his business.

Is Canon Planning To Release an RF 35mm f/1.2 Lens This Year?

Since the launch of the EOS R5 and the EOS R6 Canon has been releasing a lot of new RF glass. Everything from compact consumer lenses to true professional workhorses. One of the most requested Canon RF lenses was an L-series 35mm lens.

Fstoppers Photographer of the Month (April 2023): Max Klein

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 2023, we're featuring a new photographer every month, whose portfolio represents both stellar photographic achievement and a high level of involvement within the Fstoppers community.

Andrea Bruce Documents an Iraqi Family's Journey West

Publications allowing individual photographers access to their Instagram accounts is an increasingly common practice, and helps to foster a more intimate look at a photographer’s process. For example, Time Magazine allowed several photographers access to its Instagram account after Hurricane Sandy, enabling the magazine to update its almost 600k followers in real time.

10 Tips and Ideas for Creative Wedding Photojournalism

Under the umbrella of wedding photography stands an approach to documenting weddings known as wedding photojournalism. While part of the wedding genre, wedding photojournalism leans more into its photojournalism roots, offering a more "hands-off" approach to capturing the moments of the wedding day.

Adobe Updates Its AI Technology Across the Creative Cloud Suite

At this year’s Adobe Max conference for creative and design professionals in Los Angeles, CA, the focus was on using AI technology to enhance creativity. As Shantanu Narayen, CEO of Adobe Systems, stated, people are creating more than ever before, and it is Adobe’s intention to use AI to allow creators to become both more creative and more productive.

Weekly Contest: Win the Macphun Suite and an Instax 90 Mini Camera

Fstoppers has partnered with the awesome folks at ViewBug to bring you sweet, sweet contests weekly! This week you can win the entire suite of Macphun software and an Instax 90 Mini camera. This contest is judged by photographer Karen Hutton.

How to Make Your Photographs Resonate: Tell Untold Stories

Photographers understand the potential of imagery to change people’s lives, but sometimes this can work in very subtle ways. The most inspiring images can come from discovering a niche and, in the words of one photographer, creating what you want to see in the world. What happens when your own passion combines with something that deserves greater visibility?

In Defense of 'Over-Editing': 3 Reasons I Love It and Reject the Criticism

I woke up with my morning coffee to these thoughts: “Overprocessing images can sometimes compromise the integrity of the image and do more harm than necessary. Here are several reasons why one should refrain from over-editing their images.” I thought to myself, “I need to caffeinate further before finishing this article” and took a big gulp of my coffee.

Is It Time to Shift Your Focus From Your Skill to Your Soil?

As artists, we tend to channel our time and energy into becoming better at our craft. We learn more complex lighting setups, take advanced classes in retouching, buy the latest “must-have” gadgets, and try to bring it all together to improve our skills. We do it all because we have a fundamental belief that, “If I am the best, I will be the most successful”. Have you ever found yourself doing that, pouring months, and sometimes years into ameliorating your craft, but you still have not seen the corresponding financial or opportunity growth you expected?

DIY Theatrical Portraits: Using a Spotlight

I've been seeing spotlights used in shoots everywhere, so I wanted to jump on the trend and put my own twist on a spotlight shoot. Here’s how my creative partner, David, and I created a theatrical portrait session using a spotlight.