To shoot medium format had been a longtime dream of mine, but I have to admit I didn’t know it would be such a mindblowing experience. The 51.4-megapixel Pentax 645Z arrived on the market in 2014 and was the first camera to ever exceed 100 points in the DxOMark sensor test. For some unknown reason, […]
2018 was a weird year and one that I’m glad is behind us. One highlight late in the year was Canon announcing the EOS R. I had been shooting with my Leica M 240, one of my favorite cameras of all time, and my Fuji X-Pro, a camera I absolutely love with a sensor design […]
I’ve always had a fascination with geometry and man-made structures, their perfection has a strong attraction on me. It took me time to realize that what I appreciated most wasn’t necessarily their symmetry or the simple repetition of shapes but the parallelism between the various elements of the construction of an image. To better understand […]
One of my photography New Year’s resolutions was to start to push my work to galleries and public photography showcases. In my mind, having my work in-print and in-public are some of the most significant steps in advancing my career as a fine art street photographer.
One of my images has been subjected to criticism and scrutiny in a way that none of my other work ever has. The photograph in question is of a scene in London, Chinatown; a man reaches into a sewer while shouting about how someone threw his needles down there. I waited a moment or two […]
The SLR has been the dominant camera type in photography for the last 70 years. SLRs are more intuitive, easy to focus, and versatile when it comes to mounting lenses of any length. So why does the rangefinder, as a design, persist into the modern era? There is not a single reason why anyone should […]
The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art shared this 3. 5-minute video in which renowned American photographer Robert Frank talks about how he shot his seminal 1958 photo book, The Americans. Reflecting on various photos from the project, Frank shares insights into the process behind the shots.
Whenever PetaPixel has published an article about chemical photography in recent months, it has been met with a plethora of malicious, if not even downright hateful, comments. They’re left by photographers who claim that only they may decide on how other photographers, their colleagues, or even hobbyists who simply enjoy photography for what it is […]
Yesterday Flickr made their first big restructuring announcement since recently being purchased by SmugMug. Beginning next year on January 8th, Flickr will limit free accounts to 1,000 photos. The previously offered free 1 terabyte of storage goes away.
Something I’ve always found difficult was knowing when an image should be converted to black and white and when it should be left in color. It’s one of the more contested discussions in photography and there really isn’t a “black and white” or cut and dry answer to it. After much trial and error, I’ve […]
Recently I worked on an image of the sand dunes of the Namib. I had woke while it was still dark and made my way to the desert, each foot sinking into the sand as I battled the dunes. Morning had just broken by the time I got my camera out and the sun was […]
Here’s my favorite quote from Jay Maisel, one of the legends in the world of photography: “If you want to make more interesting pictures, become a more interesting person.” As photographers, we often get bored in the place we live and we want to travel as much as possible to get different and more interesting […]
It’s standard practice for commercial photography clients to ask photographers for their ‘day rate’. Most estimates that photographers provide start with a day rate before going on to production costs and expenses.
“Meet my friend Saurabh. He’s an amazing photographer from India and his work has been published in various reputed newspapers and journals worldwide like Nat Geo, The Guardian, Lonely Planet, etc. Astonishingly, he’s a self-taught photographer and very passionate about his work.
We all know the importance of photography, whether it’s journalism’s role in changing the world to a wonderful moment captured of someone’s special day. As photographers, we value our craft and the importance it has in our lives.
For me, photography is an escape. It offers a creative release which isn’t generally available in everyday life. Those creative escapes can often be far more satisfying than just enjoying a few beers or binging Netflix.
I have been a commercial and wedding photographer for over 13 years. And from the beginning, I have been using Canon DSLR cameras and a variety of auto-focus lenses for the Canon EF system. Switching to another camera system/brand didn’t cross my mind because I made a substantial investment into lenses for the Canon system […]
Jeff Mermelstein’s photographic practice of making presumably private text conversations public by photographing people’s phones while they are texting and then posting the results on Instagram has made a splash recently.
This week Business Insider ran a story that covered images taken by a street photographer of people’s private phone messages. That photographer was the highly respected Jeff Mermelstein, someone who has a long list of celebrated work.
I’ve been thinking about photography and personal style and the different ways to teach it. I’m trying to help, share and guide people along their way in finding their unique photographic style. Seeing if I can find that quick fix, that beaten path someone else has already made for us. Sadly over the many years […]
I found an image that I don’t want to see. Too familiar, and so, too hurtful. But as the Internet meme jokes, “What has been seen can’t be unseen. ” In that context, such images are considered shocking, graphic, violent.
The EU has a new data protection law, the so-called GDPR, the General Data Protection Regulation, or as we Germans like to call it: “Datenschutzgrundverordnung” (Gesundheit!). The rules took effect on May 25th and so far it’s pretty chaotic: in the EU we cannot reach some newspapers in the outside world because they cannot comply […]
Over the years, as a Nikon ambassador, I have been able to test a lot of new gear that has come out and some of it I have reported on, like the 200-500mm f/5.6 and the 500mm f/4. After my contract with Nikon was terminated they still trusted me with new gear to test in […]
If you think that buying a better camera or lens will instantly make you a better photographer, consider this: it’s likely that the camera you already have is better than what legendary photographers used to shoot history’s most famous and beloved photos.
Artist agent Andrea Stern of Stern Rep. is a seasoned and celebrated commercial agent with over 20 years experience representing photographers in the product, automotive, and lifestyle industries among others.
Do you own and use a beloved 35mm or 50mm lens? Popular photography personality Kai Wong thinks you should consider trying out the middle ground between the two. He made this 11-minute video about why he thinks 40mm is actually the best focal length you can carry if you want a do-it-all prime lens. There’s […]
A few weeks ago I was lucky enough to get my hands on the brand new Panasonic Lumix GH5S in time to start shooting for our new short film 4:17 AM. The shoot was going to take place mainly at night and early morning, so when I heard about the GH5S, I thought it would […]
Many Sony shooters rave about their cameras but rant about the menu systems within them. Camera reviewer Maarten Heilbron has some ideas on what’s wrong and how things can be improved. Here’s his 11-minute video “rant” on the subject.
As creatives, we all go through a very similar journey when it comes to improving our skill. Though details of the turbulent ride vary for everyone, it always boils down to two things; the how, and the why.
My daily stroll through the newly-built but already-decaying park near my apartment in Hanoi while listening to Spotify on a brisk (by Southeast Asia standards) morning has me in deep thought. We only get this type of weather for a couple months a year here and I absolutely love it. I grew up in New […]
I’ve wondered for a long time what it means to be an ethical landscape photographer. Sure, this field isn’t known for its wide-reaching moral dilemmas or particularly sticky situations, but the question still deserves attention.
In his signature story-telling style, photographer Sean Tucker sits us down in this video for a 10-minute talk about handling creative envy and jealousy as a photographer or videographer. As he says, comparing yourself to other creatives can stall your career and breed resentment, and it’s important to know how to identify and check these […]
As much as we talk about the lack of true innovation in the camera market, particularly when it comes to integration with the Internet and social media, every day I keep encountering cameras that have the same “hey this is the way it used to be” design philosophies underlying them. I call it “lazy engineering.” […]
Dear Canon, You and I have had a very, very long friendship that has lasted many years and many, many generations of cameras. Ever since my first camera purchase, you have been my brand of choice. I still have my original Canon IXUS 40 and multiple generations of full frame and APS-C SLRs going back […]
Nevada Law and the Nevada Administrative code have a simple definition of when you need to have a permit to shoot photos in their parks. It is based entirely on whether or not the pictures will be sold.
I’ve dreamed of seeing a total eclipse of the sun all my life. When I read there would be one on August 21st that passed dead-center over the town of Newberry, South Carolina, I was overjoyed. This was my chance.
The past few hours of digging up and scanning my old files of MLB baseball star Darren Daulton have only made the pit in my stomach tighter. Sometimes looking through old pictures after someone’s passing is cathartic, but not now.
It’s the age old question in photography: how much does expensive photography gear matter for achieving great shots? In this 8-minute video, photographer Erik Wahlstrom puts the question to 5 photographers.
My name is Scott Davenport, and I’m a landscape photographer. And I’m part of a crazy lot. I had this realization during a sleep deprived afternoon. My hazy mind was trying to get me through the rest of the day.
In the last couple of weeks, my little brand, 3 Legged Thing, launched a brand new Universal L Bracket, the QR11. For the most part, the response has been overwhelmingly positive. Then, somebody sent me a link to a well-known forum, where a conversation had started about the press release for the QR11. The comments […]
I hear a lot of photographers slamming others for not shooting RAW. So I decided to go against that for a month and shoot JPEG only using Fujifilm’s ACROS Film Simulation and share my results.
Nestled within the Seto Inland Sea in Japan sits the island of Naoshima, population 3,583. The island would be otherwise unknown to outsiders except that in the mid 80s, publisher Testuhiko Fukutake and Naoshima mayor Chikatsugu Miyake dreamed up an idea of making the island a cultural center. Over the next few decades, the vision […]
It’s been said that in 2017, everyone is a photographer, and from the unrelenting firehose of pictures that fill every inch of digital real estate and social media these days, I can see why folks would think that.
Abstract photography seems to be an elusive subject, hard to nail down to a single definition. This may be due to the abstract nature of the idea of “abstraction” and perpetuating misconceptions about abstract photography.
Quick history lesson. The original Lamborhini motor vehicle wasn’t the supercar you know today. They were tractors. Yes, tractors. Full-fledged farm-going vehicular tools. Ferruccio Lamborghini always loved cars and owned Ferraris, but he hated the quality of them.
It’s understandable that the great unwashed masses of the larger population might not appreciate contemporary art. But you’d think that photographers, who are creatives in their own right, would appreciate the art and creativity of others in all of its various forms.
Moving down the aisles that are carved between each row of seats, the line slowly edges on. A choir of no more than three people — woman and two men — expel their voices gently and slowly, serenading the churchgoers as they inch forward toward the pulpit where they receive their bread and wine. The […]
As a professional photo retoucher, I owe Adobe most of my life. Without them, I would honestly not be where I am today, being able to do what I love every single day! Over the years, it has also gone through a multitude of changes, and since my life is tied directly to Photoshop, I […]
A man I know as Jay reaches into his car to try to force his engine to kick over, leaning deeply into the door as if the weight of the world is upon him in this moment. Each detail, as frivolous as the last, lends itself to the mystery of the frame. Such as the […]
Burhan Ozbilici’s stunning photo of a gunman moments after assassinating the Russian Ambassador to Turkey Andrei Karlov spread like wildfire over social media. While many within the photojournalism community quickly declared the image as the “photo of the year,” and worth of top prizes, one voice offered dissent. Matt Slaby is a photographer and founding […]
At the end of my photo workshops, and during my seminars, I often ask the participants a simple question: “What does your photography mean to you?” I ask the question because I know just how important photography is to many people, and I think hearing the answer out loud helps the individual and the others […]
Should you buy an iPhone 11 Pro? That’s a big question many people have had on their minds since Apple recently released their latest flagship smartphone that contains 3 different rear-facing cameras.
Commercial photography seems so glamorous and it certainly can be. But I’ve found that a few things were really bothering me over the last several years. Don’t get me wrong: I’m always crazy honored when any client anywhere chooses to hire me to photograph something for them. I realize that a client has hundreds if […]
“What lens did you use for that picture?” The only question less helpful to a growing photographer is probably, “What settings did you use for that picture?” Not because I think they are helping a newbie “cheat”, or because I might think it is copying, or ever — God forbid! — because I have some […]
Twenty years. They have gone by fast. I can remember the first time I saw a camera with a screen on the back of it at a sporting venue, and now a camera without one is considered vintage. However, the look of modern cameras is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to […]
There has never been a camera that combines such stunning image quality, resolution, dynamic range, autofocus performance, overall handling, and ergonomics like the new Fujifilm GFX 100 does. Previous medium format digital camera systems have been able to deliver very high-resolution images for a good 10 years now, but have sorely been lacking in handling […]
I have gone through the gear of almost every major brand during my early photography journey, buying my way through cameras and lenses until I arrived at my current setup, which has remained more or less the same for my entire professional career.
Alright, I don’t know if it’s the best photo I’ve ever taken, but it’s one of my favorites and it’s been the most popular photo I’ve posted recently on Facebook and Instagram. It’s a pretty standard belief in photography that if you’re a serious photographer, you have to shoot RAW. Many people will sneer just […]
In 2017, I began playing around with a 35mm film camera I had received from my grandparents. This Pentax Spotmatic was simple to use (although the light meter did not work) and it gave me a wonderful sense of accomplishment when I finished a roll of 36 photographs, each one being carefully thought out, more-so […]
I like who I am when I’m being creative — that’s the basic fact. I love taking photos, just like I love having a long walk through the hills near me in Spain. I have to remember that these things bring me joy. And who doesn’t want a life of maximum joy? So I am […]
What if you had the same camera, lighting and subject matter as everyone else. A groundhog day for a photographer so to speak. If we all have the same gear what would make you different? Imagine you had no way of visually showing someone any of your work, and they ask you to describe what […]
I think there is this weird idea floating around that creativity is a young person’s game, particularly certain genres of creativity (photography and music for sure). That somehow you are at your peak creatively in your twenties and thirties, and then it’s downhill from then on. I think that’s insane. Some of us can find […]
Imagine, you’re partaking in Pedestrian Sunday at Kensington Market on a sunny summer afternoon in Toronto, Canada, walking around with your Fuji X100F in hand looking for that Cartier-Bresson “decisive moment.
Growth. Real, personal, soul-fulfilling, butterflies in the belly-inducing growth. That’s the key to my happiness; my personal metric for success. It doesn’t matter what I achieve or how much of it I attained.
Having spent thousands of hours on Flickr over the past 15 years or so, on a personal level I’ve become fairly invested in the site. To date I’ve published over 140,000 of my photographs there. I publish 40 or so new photos there every single day. It’s the primary archive of my photography work on […]
When I die I will no longer have active control over my archive. My will will outline that my negatives are left to any archive that may want them — depending on whether my career looks anything like I’d want it to, this may be one or two, or none. The main responsibility falls to […]
In the ongoing spirit of applying my new(?) model of thinking about photographs to old questions, let’s take a pass through “ethics” to see if anything interesting shows up. I am no philosopher, nor an ethicist, so I use “ethics” here broadly, and colloquially.
Recently, the more I study my photographs, the more I feel that bokeh is cheating me out of a more substantial image. I really like photographs with a lot of visual complexity — well presented, not chaotic, but a clear arrangement of multiple elements.
Discussing what makes a “photographic” photograph can seem like a bit of a tautology, but I think that my understanding of what I’m trying to achieve with my photographs has been helped by this idea.
One of the most hotly debated questions for landscape photographers is how to answer the age-old question, “Where did you shoot that?” While the question is simple enough, whether to answer (and how to answer) is an internal question many shooters contend with in the age of Instagram. Maybe you have your own, personal response. […]
There are so many factors to potentially juggle for any given street/documentary situation that eye contact for me tends to fall a bit to chance — if it happens it happens and if it doesn’t it doesn’t.
I’ve noticed that a commonly used compliment for street photographs is to describe them as “timeless.” My interpretation of this is that it is used to mean that there are characteristics of the image which in some way transcend the boundaries of the context it was made in and can exist almost in its own context, […]
On December 19, 2019, Flickr (and SmugMug) CEO Don MacAskill posted a letter entitled “The world’s most-beloved, money-losing business needs your help.” MacAskill described how SmugMug saved Flickr from an imminent demise at the hands of Verizon, and how the company needed the photo community to step up to staunch the money-losing operation. MacAskill further […]
Shooting a long term project, whether personal or professional, is a wonderful way to explore areas of photography you might not have previously considered. I know of photographers who have experimented with different types of filters, post-processing techniques, actual shooting methods (long exposure, panning, unfamiliar/conventional focal lengths), and so on, as their projects evolve. The […]
I want to start this off by saying two things: one, this isn’t a review or hands-on impressions as I have not used the computer (PetaPixel’s hands-on coverage is forthcoming) and two, I am an Apple power user and have been since I was indoctrinated in high school. I love Apple, and even when they […]