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Alex Cooke
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Articles written by Alex Cooke

A Review of the Samyang 35mm f/1.4 AF II Lens

A 35mm lens with a wide maximum aperture is useful for a huge range of applications, including portraits, landscapes, astrophotography, events coverage, and more. However, such a lens can easily cost over $2,000. As such, at $799, the Samyang 35mm f/1.4 AF II is quite an intriguing option. This excellent video review takes a look at the lens and the sort of performance and image quality you can expect from it in usage.

A Look at the New Sigma 24mm f/1.4 DG DN Art Lens

Sigma's latest two lenses, the 20mm f/1.4 DG DN Art and 24mm f/1.4 DG DN Art, continue the Art series custom in that they provide sharp and impressive image quality while significantly undercutting the prices of many first-party options. This excellent video review takes a look at the 24mm f/1.4 DG DN Art and the performance and image quality you can expect from it.

An Easy and Effective Trick for Natural Light Portraits

Shooting natural light portraits does not mean you are stuck using the sunlight exactly as it is without any modification. You can use modifiers to shape the sunlight to be more flattering, and this great video tutorial will show you an effective way to create such illumination.

How to Take Great Landscape Photos With Boring Skies

For most people, the prospect of a clear blue sky makes for a nice day, but for a landscape photographer, it is a nightmare that leads to boring frames. While those clear skies can be difficult to deal with, they do not mean you should just pack up your camera and lens and head back home. This great video tutorial features an experienced landscape photographer working under such conditions and sharing some helpful tips to improve your images.

All the Ports You Need: We Review the Ugreen USB-C Triple Display 13-in-1 Docking Station

Laptops are more powerful than ever, easily capable of replacing a desktop for many creatives. However, when it comes to the needs of creatives, the ports on most laptops simply aren't enough to cover everything. Enter the docking station. In this review, we take a look at the Ugreen USB-C Triple Display 13-in-1 Docking Station and if it can cover all the needs of a demanding professional.

A Look at the Canon EOS R3 Mirrorless Camera

The Canon EOS R3 is the most advanced camera the company has ever created, offering some incredible features, like a 195 fps continuous burst rate, making it a compelling option for a wide range of creative applications, particularly sports and wildlife work. This excellent video review takes a look at the camera and the sort of performance and image quality you can expect from it.

How Do You Notice Worthwhile Photos?

We all want to take compelling photos that capture the viewer's eye and encourage them to linger instead of quickly scrolling by. How do you notice the potential in the frame in the first place, though? This excellent video discusses the concept and offers some helpful advice sure to help you take better photos.

3 Tips for Tackling Self-doubt as a Photographer

Being a successful photographer often takes a lot of confidence: confidence in your abilities with a camera, in your problem-solving, in your creative vision, and in how you interface with your clients. Despite all that, it is quite common to experience self-doubt. This excellent video discusses three ways to tackle that self-doubt and to overcome it.

Some of the Best Little Things About Canon Cameras

When it comes to mirrorless cameras, there are normally a few specifications and features that capture all the headlines — things like frame rates, sensor resolution, and autofocus. And while those are important, every camera comes with little features that might not capture those top headlines but that make a significant difference in your day-to-day usage. This interesting video discusses some of the best little features in Canon cameras.

A Review of the Nikon NIKKOR Z 24-120mm f/4 S Lens

The 24-70mm f/2.8 lens is the workhorse you will find in a ton of photographers' bags, as it provides a useful zoom range in tandem with a wide maximum aperture. That being said, such lenses are generally rather expensive. If you do not need that wide aperture, you can save a lot of money and get more reach by opting for a lens like the NIKKOR Z 24-120mm f/4 S. This great video review takes a look at the lens and the sort of performance and image quality you can expect from it in practice.

How Good Is the Affordable Canon EOS R10 Mirrorless Camera?

Mirrorless cameras have come quite a way in the last few years, offering some incredible technology. As awesome as all that tech is, not all of us want to spend a ton of money on a camera. Canon's EOS R10 packs a lot of the company's advanced features into a body that sits below $1,000, making it quite the intriguing option. This excellent video review takes a look at the camera and the sort of performance and image quality you can expect from it in practice.

Can You Take Decent Bird Shots in Low Light With a Narrow Aperture?

Bird photography is a genre that requires long focal lengths, wide apertures, and fast shutter speeds, making it a nightmare scenario for consumer zooms. So, can you still get good photos in challenging low-light situations? This great video takes a look.

How to Light and Capture Nighttime Portraits

Nighttime portraits can be a highly effective way to add a bit of drama to your images and open up entirely new creative avenues. If you are interested in learning how to shoot portraits after dark, check out this fantastic video tutorial that will show what you need to know to get up and running.

A Simple and Effective Two-Light Location Portrait Setup

When you are working in a studio, you can enjoy all the equipment you own without having to worry about how to carry it all along with you. When you work on location, however, you need to balance the complexity of your creative setups with how easily you can transport all your equipment. This helpful video tutorial will show you an effective two-light setup for on-location portraits that will yield compelling images.

Here Comes the New Canon Full Frame Mirrorless Camera

Canon has done quite well in rounding out its full frame mirrorless camera lineup, offering models like the ultra-affordable EOS RP, the do-everything EOS R5, and the top-shelf EOS R3, with a few other models spread in between. Now that the line is well established, the time to start replacing older models is just about here, and that will begin in just a few months.

5 Essential Skills Landscape Photographers Need

Landscape photography takes a combination of technical skills, creative vision, understanding of nature, and often, just a bit of luck in order to create successful images. If you would like to improve your work, check out this excellent video tutorial that features an experienced landscape photographer discussing five essential skills you need to have to reach your full potential.

A Review of the Affordable Nikon Z30 Mirrorless Camera

As far as modern mirrorless cameras go, Nikon's Z30 is one of the most affordable, priced at just $706, or just a bit more with one or two lenses. So, what do you get at that price point? This excellent video review takes a look at the camera and the sort of performance and image quality you can expect from it in practice.

A Review of the Canon EOS R7 Mirrorless Camera

The Canon 7D and 7D Mark II were two of the most popular cameras of the DLSR era, giving photographers the chance to use a lot of the technology in Canon's upper-level full frame bodies at a significantly lower price. The EOS R7 continues that tradition into the mirrorless space, and it brings with it a nice range of improvements and new features. This great video review takes a look at the camera and the sort of performance and image quality you can expect from it in practice.