Doc Jon was walking along the boardwalk April 13 in Madeira Beach, Florida with his Sigma 150-500mm lens attached to his Canon 6D, when a passerby asked him a simple question: "What can you shoot with that thing?" To give an example, the owner of a medical consulting firm who has branded himself Doc Jon spotted an osprey 400 feet over his head, lifted his lens to the sky, and captured what he calls a "one-in-a-trillion shot."
Ron Risman may be recognized as the photographer who incredibly captured the same singular moment as a nearby shutterbug, but his specialty is typically far more time consuming. Risman, a time-lapse photography educator, recently released his latest video, a "Love Letter to the Night Sky," a collection of stunning time-lapse scenes from around the country.
The little red toy car sat on a shelf, serving no purpose. It was inanimate, nothing more than the die-cast metal pieces of which it had been constructed. But it caught the eye of photographer Felix Alejandro Hernandez Rodriguez and an idea — a character — was born. Hernandez changed the car and brought it to life, and in turn, the car changed his life.
Sharpening an image with a high-pass filter in Photoshop is a simple way to make the image pop. But what happens if you've sharpened your image and you decide you want to make a change? You'll likely have to delete your high-pass layer and start over. Unless, of course, you follow this tip from PiXimperfect's Unmesh Dinda.
A sepia-toned picture filtered with film grain and wrinkles can evoke a sense of antiquity, but crisp edges may detract from the mood the photographer is trying to create. A ragged edge, on the other hand, can enhance the image and fulfill the photographer's vision. However, relying on presets or stock borders can create frustration and wasted time searching for exactly the right edge. Creating your own borders will allow you to flex your creative muscles and finish off your image exactly as you envisioned.
In this short video, Colin Smith at PhotoCAFE comes through once again with an easy way to improve the look of your photographs using gaussian blur in Photoshop. The tip itself is worthwhile, but his "bonus" tip is the key to making it really work.
When New Hampshire-based photographer Ron Risman posted an image he captured March 3rd of waves crashing against Whaleback Lighthouse off the coast of New Castle, N.H., he had no idea who Eric Gendron was. But after a local meteorologist shared the photo, an incredible coincidence brought the two together as fast as social media could spread the word of what some people thought had to be a case of thievery.
In what could be called a coincidence of cosmic proportions, an amateur astrophotographer from Argentina (say that three times fast!) has, for the first time, captured a spectacular space phenomenon on camera against nearly impossible odds, as reported by LiveScience.com.
We've all tried — and sometimes failed miserably — to take the perfect selfie to show off our latest adventure. Some people are simply better at turning the camera on themselves. But millennials' passion for showing "they were there," wherever "there" may be, is proving to be a boon to Asian tourism and a burgeoning photography industry.
Some days, the light just doesn't cooperate to give you that beautiful blue sky in the background of an image. But your subject may be so compelling, you know you have to fix that sky to make elevate your image from mundane to impressive. You could always replace the sky in Photoshop, but there may just be an even easier way to do it using the Black and White Filter.
"Fake it 'til you make it" may seem like an empty slogan aimed at unqualified job seekers, but that's exactly how photographer George Kalinsky began a career that saw him photograph the likes of Muhammad Ali, the Pope, and Frank Sinatra.
Wrapping up the shooting for your latest vlog is always a satisfying feeling but, of course, the work has only just begun. Cutting, editing, adding sound, text; the list of finishing touches for your vlog goes on. One way to speed up that workflow is to accomplish as much of the work as possible in camera, reducing your workload once you've uploaded your content to your computer. Daniel DeArco has put together a vlog showing off some really easy and effective transitions that will take your vlog from static to dynamic with minimal extra effort.
Facebook may be filtering your business page out of the newsfeeds of potential clients, but Instagram remains a robust platform for photographers to connect with their audience. However, as the always-entertaining Peter McKinnon notes in his latest vlog, many photographers are missing out on an opportunity to use Instagram stories in a way the company may not have intended.
Insta360 aims to immerse consumers deeper into the world of virtual reality with two new cameras introduced this week at CES in Las Vegas. The company known for lightweight, portable 360-degree cameras introduced its eight-lens VR camera and the 6DOF Light Field Camera, a 128-camera array.
It's a phrase I've heard countless times, and I doubt I'm the only photographer to hear it: "Wow! Right place at the right time, huh?" Whether it's a photo of my children, a wildlife shot capturing a decisive moment, or a seemingly once-in-a-lifetime landscape, viewers often think we just got lucky to capture an incredible photo. In their minds, they only see how they would have gone about capturing that shot, which often is the simple three-step process of raise camera, point, shoot.
Growing up along the coast, I became accustomed to beautiful views of the ocean and, of course, lighthouses are an important part of the New England scenery. One lighthouse, in particular, has long been a favorite subject of mine to shoot. I've spent many days and nights shooting the 67-foot-high structure and its surrounding area, and I always envisioned creating the classic image of a massive moon as it rises behind an interesting foreground structure — in this case, the Point Judith Lighthouse on the southern tip of Rhode Island.
Photographers and cinematographers sometimes find themselves in the middle of a shoot wishing they had some piece of equipment to get that shot just right. Whether a gimbal has broken or the light just isn't cooperating, sometimes you just need a creative solution to make the image you visualize in your head. Vlogger and Photographer Hayden Pedersen has put together a video with some clever hacks to help you create the shot you want — video or still — when you might not have exactly the right piece of equipment to accomplish it. And, best of all, you can see them all in less than two minutes.
There's no denying the vast improvement in image quality on mobile devices from just about every manufacturer, but if Flickr's top images of 2017 are any indication, they're still no match for a good DSLR (and, of course, a good eye). Interestingly, Flickr compiles data on all of the images on its site and metrics such as views, shares, and favorites helped compile the list. But while more than half of Flickr users post photos shot on mobile devices such as cell phones, all of Flickr's Top 25 Images of 2017 were captured by DSLRs.
If you're a crop-sensor shooter looking to go full frame, or if you're just really into getting great deals on camera gear, B&H is bundling some serious savings into a pair of Canon full frame body kits through Saturday at 11:59 p.m. B&H is heavily discounting the ever-popular Canon 5D Mark IV to $2,849 (after a $350 Canon mail-in rebate) , and the 6D Mark II to $1,349 after rebate, and bundling them both with some great extras.
Let's be honest, managing our image files is arguably the least rewarding part of a photographer's job. There's very little satisfaction that comes with a well-organized catalog, and even less satisfaction when we can't find the files we need on a particular device. In the mobile age, having access to all your images and catalogs at any time on any device is critical. And, when you get a new computer, laptop, tablet or other device, getting access to your files can sometimes prove challenging, as I wrote about last week when I purchased a new MacBook Pro from B&H.
As the holidays draw ever nearer, retailers are ramping up their discounts, trying everything they can to attract consumers before the close of the year. For many photographers, this represents a prime opportunity to upgrade their gear, whether they need front-end tools such as a new lens or camera body, or back-end items such as a new computer to speed up their workflow. Of course, with new gear, comes new challenges.
Leica Camera AG today announced an expansion to its APS-C camera lineup with the classic-looking CL mirrorless camera. The CL is the second Leica camera manufactured in Germany and, while the CL and TL2 models are technologically similar, the CL eschews the TL2’s sleek, high-tech form factor for a more traditional Leica design. The black version of the CL will hit stores at the end of November.
