Alex Cooke's picture
Average rating:
3.2 out of 5
3.2
Alex Cooke
Cleveland, OH

Articles written by Alex Cooke

A Review of the Sony a7 IV Mirrorless Camera

The Sony a7 IV was one of the most hotly anticipated mirrorless cameras of the last several years, and now that it is here, it brings with it a wide range of improvements and new features sure to capture the attention of photographers and filmmakers alike. If you have been considering purchasing the camera for yourself, check out this fantastic video review that takes an in-depth look at the camera and the sort of quality and performance you can expect from it.

Helpful Tips for Starting Your Photography Business

Being talented with a camera and having creative vision are, of course, necessary for becoming a successful professional photographer, but they are far from sufficient. Running a thriving photo business takes a lot of separate skills, and this helpful video tutorial details a few of them and offers some useful tips along the way.

3 Important Lessons for Landscape Photographers

Landscape photography challenges you to work with conditions you can't control while still employing a range of techniques and bringing your creative vision to fruition. If you would like to improve your images, check out this fantastic video tutorial that discusses three lessons an experienced landscape photographer thinks everyone should learn.

Fstoppers Photographer of the Month (January 2022): David Garthwaite

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 2021, 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.

Is the Dell XPS the Best Windows Laptop for Photo and Video Work?

The Dell XPS (eXtreme Performance System) line has been long respected for its quality and performance, offering Windows users a lot of power and advanced features to tackle the heavy demands of professional photographers and filmmakers. If you are looking for a new computer that can tackle everything you can throw at it, check out this great video review of the latest XPS series.

The Deceptive Complexity of Simplicity in Photography

We have all seen minimalist photos that use just the bare minimum of elements and the interplay between colors and light and shadow to grab our attention and invigorate our imaginations. However, behind those seemingly simple compositions are often tremendously complex mechanisms and thought processes. This great video essay discusses the idea of minimalist photos and how to find success with them.

One of the Weirdest Medium Format Cameras Ever Made

Before gaining popularity with the highly respected X Series and GFX Series, Fujifilm was quite active in the film industry, making some fantastic cameras that are still popular with enthusiasts today. One of the most interesting cameras they made was the GA645Zi, and this great video takes a look at what it is like to shoot with a medium format point and shoot.

Two Keys to Finding Success as an Artist Photographer

It can be easy to get caught up in the practical side of photography, particularly if you are running a business, and to lose sight of the artistic side of it. However, we all first picked up cameras because we enjoyed the creative process and the ability to express ourselves through the medium. So, how do you find success if you have devoted yourself to being an artist photographer? This insightful video essay explores the topic.

How to Create Panoramic Photographs

Creating a compelling and technically sound panoramic photo takes a bit of specialized technique and knowledge in addition to all your normal tools and creative vision, but when you put the time and effort in and get it right, the results can be jaw-dropping. If you would like to dive into creating your own panoramas, check out this fantastic video tutorial that will get you up and running in no time.

Vulva Photographer Shows Women Their Genitals Are Beautiful

Photography can be a powerful tool for good. Photographer Ellie Sedgwick recognized that, and she's using her camera skills for a coffee table book on vulvas and to encourage body positivity, curiosity, and understanding.

A Review of the Affordable Tokina atx-m 85mm f/1.8 FE Lens

An 85mm lens with a wide aperture is one of the most popular choices among photographers, offering the classic focal length for portraits paired with narrow depth of field and a lot of bokeh. Such lenses can run quite high in price, however, sometimes well over $2,000. The Tokina atx-m 85mm f/1.8 FE comes in at a significantly lower price, and this great video review takes a look at the sort of performance and image quality you can expect from it in practice.

A Review of the Fujifilm XF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 R LM OIS WR Lens

The Fujifilm XF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 R LM OIS WR offers X series shooters quite a bit of reach at a relatively affordable price as far as supertelephoto zooms go. Does it still offer the sort of performance and image quality professionals demand, however? This great video takes a look at the lens to answer that question.

Have You Ever Used This Unique Type of Medium Format Camera?

There are essentially three types of modern cameras: DSLRs, mirrorless bodies, and rangefinders. There are a few other formats that mostly fell by the wayside, however, as time marched on, such as the zone focus camera and the TLR. This neat video takes a look at using a TLR, including its unique experience and images.

Common Natural Light Photography Mistakes

Natural light portraits are quite popular, particularly among newer photographers who are still learning the ins and outs of lighting, camera settings, posing, etc. They can be deceptively complex, however, which leads to some common mistakes. If you are shooting natural light portraits and want to improve your work, check out this fantastic video tutorial that details some of the most common mistakes photographers make.

Three Techniques to Help You Take Sharper Landscape Photos

Sharpness is important in almost all photography genres, but it takes on particular importance in landscape photography, where the goal is often to have everything in the frame as crisp as possible. If you want to improve the sharpness of your landscape photos, check out this helpful video tutorial that features three different techniques for getting those shots as crisp as possible.

The Best and Worst Parts of the Sony a7 IV Mirrorless Camera

The Sony a7 IV, one of the most highly anticipated cameras of recent years, is here, and it brings with it a range of new photo and video features and improvements, making it again one of the most balanced cameras out there, at least on paper. How does it hold up in practice? This excellent video discusses some of the best and worst aspects.

More Canon Cameras Are Coming in 2022

Canon started out slowly in the mirrorless space, but they exploded forward with the release of the EOS R5 and RF 28-70mm f/2L USM, showing they could go toe to toe in specs and that they had no intention of relinquishing their crown for creating some of the most extreme and innovative lenses. It looks like the company won't be letting off the gas, with more cameras likely to come later this year.

A Review of the Viltrox 35mm f/1.8 AF Lens

35mm has always been a popular focal length, offering a wide but still fairly neutral view that is useful for a huge range of applications from astrophotography to portraits and more. There are tons of 35mm lenses to choose from out there, and this excellent video review takes a look at one of the more affordable options, the Viltrox 35mm f/1.8 AF.

A Review of the Sony FE 20mm f/1.8 G Lens

A wide angle prime lens that comes with a large aperture can tackle a range of situations, such as astrophotography, weddings, and more. For Sony shooters, there is the FE 20mm f/1.8 G, and this excellent video review takes a look at the sort of performance and image quality you can expect from it in practice.