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Alex Cooke
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Articles written by Alex Cooke

Photographer Revolutionizes Technique by Holding Lens Wrong Way, Sparks Outrage and Confusion
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Los Angeles, CA: In a bold move defying decades of established practice, local photographer Max Carter has turned the photography world upside down—literally—by opting to hold his camera lens over the top, instead of the traditional support from underneath. This unconventional technique has sparked a mixture of outrage, confusion, and reluctant admiration within the photography community.

Mastering the Art of Nighttime Video Lighting
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Just like photos, lighting for video is an essential skill that not only helps you get the right exposure, but sets the mood for the frame. This excellent video tutorial will show you four different nighttime lighting setups sure to add a lot intrigue to your shots.

A Review of the Affordable and Portable Viltrox AF 20mm f/2.8 Lens
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Viltrox has rapidly established itself as a reputable lens manufacturer, known for delivering quality results at very attractive prices. Priced at $158, the AF 20mm f/2.8 continues this trend. This lens, with its compact size and a practical focal length, raises the question: can it achieve professional-quality outcomes despite its budget-friendly price? This insightful video review explores the performance and image quality you can expect from it in real-world use.

Don't Get Sued by The Grinch This Holiday Season
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During the festive holiday season, capturing holiday-themed family photographs is a cherished tradition for many. However, photographers, especially those conducting holiday photo sessions, should be wary of certain legal pitfalls. One such issue arises with the use of popular characters like The Grinch in professional photoshoots.

Don't Overlook the 15" MacBook Air
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The 15-inch MacBook Air rewrote the paradigm between the Air and Pro models, offering a larger screen in the svelte form factor that first made the model popular. This might leave you wondering if you need the Air or Pro for your needs. This great video discusses why you shouldn't overlook the larger Air model.

A Review of the Tamron 17-50mm f/4 Di III VXD Lens
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Tamron has emerged as a beloved brand in the photography industry, known for producing lenses that combine excellent performance and image quality with appealing prices. Among these is the 17-50mm f/4 Di III VXD lens, which offers a very pragmatic design, making it an ideal choice for those interested in landscape and architectural photography. This detailed video review explores the real-world performance and image quality that this lens delivers.

A Look at the Incredible Seestar S50 Smart Telescope
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The Seestar S50, a portable smart telescope, is revolutionizing astrophotography by making it accessible and straightforward for everyone. This great video review showcases the S50's capabilities, emphasizing how it simplifies the process of capturing celestial images without requiring prior photography experience.

Next Year Will Bring Another Ridiculous Canon Lens
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With lenses like the RF 28-70mm f/2L USM and the RF 100-300mm f/2.8 L IS USM, Canon has continued their reign as the premier manufacturer for top-level lenses. It looks like the company has no intention of slowing down, with another extreme lens on the radar for the second half of 2024.

A Review of the Canon RF 14-35mm f/4L IS USM Lens
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Wide angle zoom lenses with an aperture of f/2.8 are often considered the standard for professionals, but there are many genres for which that wide aperture is not really needed, and photographers can take advantage of lighter, more affordable, and more capable lenses if they are willing to use an f/4 lens. One such lens is the Canon RF 14-35mm f/4L IS USM, and this great video review takes a look at the kind of performance and image quality you can expect from it in practice.

A Look at the Incredible New Sony a9 III Mirrorless Camera
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Sony's a9 III is one of the most important cameras to hit the market in a long time, finally bringing to the masses the holy grail of a global shutter in a full frame camera. What do you get from a camera so jam-packed with groundbreaking features? This excellent video review takes a look at everything you can expect.

A Review of the Tamron 70-180mm f/2.8 Di III VC VXD G2 Lens
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Tamron is one of the most popular and respected companies in the market, notable for creating a variety of lenses that use pragmatic design principles to offer a lot of the same capabilities and performance of first-party options at far more competitive prices. One such lens is the 70-180mm f/2.8 Di III VC VXD G2, and this great video review takes a look at the performance and image quality you can expect from it in usage.

Captive Creativity: Inmates Develop Self-Portraits And Self-Worth Behind Bars
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An ongoing exhibition on Long Island shines light on the transformative power of art behind bars. Featuring soul-baring self-portraits from inmates of the Yaphank Correctional Facility, the images emerged from an introspective four-week photography workshop aimed at reawakening dignity in persons serving time for nonviolent offenses.

A Review of the Sigma 10-18mm f/2.8 DC DN Contemporary Lens
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Sigma's fresh 10-18mm f/2.8 DC DN Contemporary lens offers a compelling blend of a generous ultra-wide field of view and bright constant aperture, and that makes it an intriguing option for a wide variety of creatives. Can it deliver in practice, though? This great video review takes a look at the performance and image quality you will be able to expect.

A Review of the Fujifilm GF 55mm f/1.7R WR Lens
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Fujifilm continues bolstering its medium format arsenal with ever more versatile GF mount options. One of the latest to come through is the GF 55mm f/1.7R WR, offering an unusually bright maximum aperture for the format. This fantastic video review takes a look at if the spec sheet lives up to its tantalizing promises in real-world practice.

A Review of the Tiny But Powerful Sony a7CR Mirrorless Camera
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The Sony a7CR crams the formidable 61-megapixel full frame sensor from the nearly twice-as-expensive a7R V into a body barely bigger than the original a7C. What can you get out of this tiny powerhouse? This excellent video review takes a look at what you can expect.

Sculpting Storytelling Light for Engagement Photos
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Capturing the spirit of love’s celebrations demands thoughtful artistry behind the lens. In his latest tutorial, seasoned wedding shooter Pye Jirsa demonstrates essential techniques for intentionally crafting evocative engagement portraits through deliberate light shaping. Through five versatile lighting recipes, Jirsa spotlights how to create desired moods and contexts to transform setups into narrative tools.

Sculpting Style With Light: Unlocking Artistic Vision Through Multi-Flash Setups
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Many photographers looking to pursue more conceptual portraiture are intimidated by elaborate lighting configurations required to achieve intensely stylized effects. However, this excellent video tutorial makes the case that venturing beyond single-source illumination opens doors for bringing unique creative visions vibrantly to life.

Mastering Manual Flash: Go In-Depth on Off-Camera Lighting
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Photographers often hit walls when controlling off-camera lighting on shoots. While TTL flash offers some automation, real mastery means moving to manual settings for predictable, quality results. The excellent video tutorial will put you on the right track.