Articles written by Michelle VanTine

Known as “radical gear for the detail-obsessed,” Peak Design has a reputation for having a specific purpose for every cinch, strap, pocket, loop, and cord. In this line, Peak Design’s outdoor hikers, climbers, and adventurers paired up with the most detail-oriented gear nerds to bring us their revolutionary "Outdoor Bags" line. I had the opportunity to give the gear a test run for about a month. From traveling with the backpacks on photo assignments to grabbing the slings on my way out the door in my city-slicker life, I’m here to report my feedback on Peak Design’s newest line.

In all your years of photography, have your camera bags been mostly the same, with slight variations? Most likely black and rectangular. Inside, they likely had padded dividers and smaller zipper compartments. The good ones had a slot for a laptop. Some may have had slight variations: if you had a Pelican case, it was a hard shell. If you had other brands, it was made of sturdy fabric. With slight differences, have they been mostly the same, though, haven't they? A rectangle with dividers. Mine have. Until now. Until what I’m renaming, “The Tetris Transforming Camera Bag”, also known as the Peak Design Travel Backpack.

There was a recent meme that took a jab at photographers from the generation of the pen tool in Photoshop. It personified us as old ladies with walkers being escorted out by a younger generation with their AI tools. In the comments, someone remarked, “Let’s see how these young bucks would survive with the 1999 version of Photoshop.”

Have you ever flipped through an REI catalog with a twinge of despair, or gazed with more questions than answers at the DICK’s Sporting Goods billboard? Perhaps you’ve wondered who shot those jobs and how they got the contract? Standing in the camping section, you suddenly realize why the 20-year-old employee is looking at you oddly. You have been staring at the billboard for who knows how long in a state of perplexed despair. Articles that line your LinkedIn feed extol the value of “networking,” but who to network with and how to gain access to these gatekeepers didn't come attached. You want a shot, but you don’t seem to be able to get your hands on that opportunity. If that description hits home, and if you are a female, you want to read on about the Peak Design & The Roam Collective Photography Scholarship.

Have you been taking the same images with slight variations over the last few years? Have you seen new technologies shake up the photography world, yet largely kept your distance from them? Today, the esteemed Kristina Sherk from Shark Pixel shares with us one such tool that can revamp the work you've been putting out. Following her tutorial written for us below, I decided to try it out myself. I encourage you to break out of your comfort zone, give it a try, and share your photos with us in the comments.

Whether you've seen her speaking on stages for Adobe, or lining magazine articles such as Fast Company’s “100 Most Creative People in Business” you surely have come across the legend and creative photographer that is Julieanne Kost.

Color. Vivid green forests, melty brown chocolate, voluptuous red lips: color is the reason that compels so many of us to reach for our cameras. When I was approached about reviewing Datacolor's Spyder Checkr Photo, I was skeptical. Color is one of the most-often stated reasons clients approach me. Was this little device just another gimmick marketed to chroma junkies, or was it a tool that would fine tune my color-centric work? I gave it a try, and I’m here to share my findings with my fellow artists who love color as much as I do.

Have you ever bought a piece of gear that promised to revolutionize your work or be the exact tool you needed just to find that it was a total dud? We all have those pieces sitting at the bottom of our gear closet that irk us every time they come in view. Alternately, we also all have pieces that have become our indispensable go-to’s that we can’t image shooting without. I asked five photographers to share their best and worst purchases. These juicy gear confessions are sure to land some pieces on your blacklist and others in your B&H cart.

Have you ever cut out an object in Photoshop, put it on a new background, added a “drop shadow” effect, and sat in front of your monitor thinking, “This just looks so Photoshopped”? I’m here to help! Here are five easy steps to creating realistic drop shadows in Photoshop.