Articles from JT Blenker

To witness a solar eclipse is a once in a lifetime experience and to photograph two within 2 years is an amazing opportunity to leverage your experience to create incredible imagery.

When you move beyond the technique of capturing people with appropriate lighting, while maintaining a flattering expression and pose for the subject, what should you be adding or recreating in your imagery next? 

Tenba has been creating some very stylish and excellently designed camera bags recently and the Tenba Roadie Air Case Roller 21 is the pinnacle of these new offerings.

Photographers and professionals alike swear by Apple’s MacBook Pro as their mobile solution to get the job done. Apple’s professional tier of computers are known for their ease of use, battery life, and reliability. As such, it’s rare for them to go on sale. Not only are Apple’s MacBook Pros on sale, but everything from the Apple Watch, iPads, to iMacs are on sale now! 

Profoto has just launched the B10 Plus, a 500w/s on-location strobe that outmatches the recently released B10 while retaining most of the previous strobe’s design cues. With a well developed back panel display, a svelte body design, and a more powerful light output, is there any room for the B1X in Profoto’s lineup? 

The rumor mill is always turning and the future of RF and Canon’s full-frame mirrorless offerings is where many photographers are keeping their accumulated attention. For those who shoot the “big white” lenses, this just might be the turning point for those whose talents extend to wildlife and sports photography with lenses that many times average more than $10,000 to purchase.  

Photographers love soft light and the “wrap around” quality that large modifiers can deliver. We contemplate the large parabolic softbox we need to purchase or the huge umbrella that will help us make window light anywhere. For impactful portraits that are just as compelling maybe it’s time you took a look at hard lighting. 

When we think of "need to own" lenses, sometimes we ignore the utility for the aesthetics. Other times, when looking at new equipment it really comes down to the usability of a lens and whether it should be taking up space in your bag. If you’re trying to make those decisions now, Pye Jirsa may be able to help. 

When the original Profoto A1 entered the on-camera flash market, one huge hiccup that many photographers saw was the lack of a Sony option in the speedlight. Now, with a more robust and tweaked flash being released to address that concern and others, how does the new Profoto A1X stack up to its predecessor? 

Whether you’re shooting headshots at a Fortune 500 company or taking photographs of a family member for Mother’s Day, there’s one piece of gear you should definitely have in your kit for every portrait session. 

An easy lighting setup for any photographer to have in their arsenal that creates a highly sought-after look would have to be three point lighting. It’s classic, it’s easy, and you can achieve several highly stylized looks in only mere seconds by moving a light or two. 

55 nights of shooting. Your favorite characters fighting for their lives, some never to be on the screen again. How was “The Long Night” episode shot to keep us in suspense for the longest battle scene ever created for television or film? Spoilers ahead. 

Do you want some new or different ideas on how to use your lighting when shooting a scene, a portrait, or both? Do you have multiple strobes or lighting but haven’t really put them to the test outside with a client? This set of lighting tips from B&H Photo Video and JB Sallee may be right up your alley. 

I may be a little biased having spent weeks in and around Death Valley, but it's one of my favorite places in the USA to travel to and an area that always shows you something new. Michael Shainblum and Nick Page give us a look behind the scenes of their trip to Death Valley, as well as a new set of images and time-lapses. 

The rise and democratization of digital photography over the past 15 years has been, I would describe, as one of the most socially changing movements in the world, ever.

Are you looking for a new flash and intrigued by the Profoto A1? Maybe you’ve seen the internet rumblings about Godox’s V1 light and the alleged backdoor drama between the two lighting companies and wondered if this new light beats the top priced flash? Which round flash is the best bang for the buck and should you switch or stick with your square flash? 

What makes an image evolve from a great piece of art to a masterpiece? Is the value of an image defined by the ability to see every detail, or is it the intention and where those details are and aren't where the greatness truly begins and where light and mystery meet? 

Here in the northern hemisphere, night photographers are starting to come out of their winter slumber and getting ready for the summer night photography season. If you’re looking for some quick tips on shooting star trails on your next over night photography excursion, today is your lucky day. 

Testing lighting is usually for those photographers who are a bit more on the “nerd" side of photography, but we always need to know if we have the ability to work through or overcome a lighting situation.

If you’re looking for your clients to walk away with imagery they think is top notch, it’s a good idea to understand how they see themselves in front of the lens. Peter Hurley gives us a quick rundown of tips and tricks to create headshots that will resonate with the tagline: "Confidence and Approachability." 

Peter Hurley has grown into a household name among photographers over the past 15 years while working from his studio in New York City. With a personality that keeps his clients on their toes and a vocabulary that is ever evolving, the leader of the Headshot Crew has some tips for you that may help you grow even faster with your photographic journey.  

Do you need professional photography equipment to be a professional photographer? Does the look you portray mean as much as the images you create? Where do the explanations that it’s the photographer not the camera end and the equipment really begins to matter?

When making the change from hobbyist to professional, many of us don’t dig deeper into the costs of running our new venture like a profitable business. A few hours going through some numbers and doing the math can yield some surprising, and many times eye-opening, realities.

Over the past few days several rumor sites have been flushed with inklings of a new Canon mirrorless body being announced in as little as two weeks with the fanfare building before CP+. Each of these leading sites have had conflicting information so which one should we hope to be listening to? 

Professional Photographer’s of America (PPA) has been the foremost association campaigning for photographers for over 150 years, but is still growing with its membership even today.

Gear. Photographers go crazy over new lenses, lights, cameras, and all the ancillary parts that go with them. Many of us have added to our bags during this holiday season, and a few are holding off for those big purchases still. What if I told you that the prices of lenses, lights, and other equipment may be going up 25 percent or more in only a few months? 

If you haven’t lived and worked in cold environments, it can be a dramatic mind shift to now travel and shoot in these areas with inclement weather. In this video from Thomas Heaton, we’ll see how he dresses for shooting in the cold while staying warm, comfortable, and safe from the elements. 

From time-lapse photography to video, many photographers need more battery power than their camera system can adequately hold on board.

You’ve been palming your credit card and staring at your cart on B&H debating with yourself to finally press the “Place Order” button for four weeks, but you're still unsure. Will your full-frame mirrorless dreams meet your real world expectations?

When shooting the night sky, we are looking at points of light that don’t always resolve well with the lenses we have in our bag. Whether the lens is a top-of-the-line “L” from Canon or a third-party lens that cost 1/10th the price, they may both have issues with coma and astigmatism.

Many professionals and creatives today swear by Apple's MacBook Pro to get the job done. Apple's professional-level laptops are known for their reliability, battery life, and ease of use, but it’s rare for them to go on sale. Currently, there’s a fantastic deal up to $900 off basic and some custom 2017 Apple MacBook Pro configurations.  

There’s a number of camera bags on the market, and some meet the demands of their photographers and many don’t. Inrigo has created a camera system that puts the value of your kit at the center of its design while giving you the tools to keep your gear working through the most humid and wet places on the planet.  

Zion National Park caused an uproar among photographers in January of this year when it came to light that photography workshops operating within the park were restricted to using tripods in paved areas and pullouts only. Within two weeks of that initial response Zion had reversed a part of those restrictions.

With years of speculation, rumor after rumor, and on the heels of Nikon's just two-week-old announcement, Canon enters the fray with its own mirrorless, full-frame camera body, the Canon EOS R. 

The 2018 International Photographic Competition finished judging this past week where thousands of photographers from all over the world were competing for the chance to go to the World Photographic Cup next year in Norway.