Venus Optics has long been known for producing unique and capable lenses that offer impressive performance at quite affordable prices. Their latest lens, the Laowa 90mm f/2.8 APO 2x, offers twice the magnification of a traditional macro lens for not a lot of money, and it is available for all major mirrorless full frame mounts. This great video review takes a look at the new lens and the sort of performance and image quality you can expect from it in practice. [ Read More ]Original link(Originally posted by Alex Cooke)

For more than 30 years, I tried different camera settings for my landscape photography. With the settings I use today, I don’t only feel more flexible, but they allow me to nail each of my photographs technically. [ Read More ]Original link(Originally posted by Christian Irmler)

Photo By Bob Faucher Today’s Photo Of The Day is “Tent Rocks Canyon” by Bob Faucher. Location: Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument, New Mexico. “The tent rocks are white hoodoos of a particularly brittle ash tuff,” explains Faucher. “In many instances, their hard layer cap rocks have vanished and they’ve been eroded into perfectly conical shapes, similar to teepees, that vary in height from a few feet to 90 feet.” EF 16-35mm @ 35mm. Exposure: 1/50 sec., f/16, ISO 100. Want to get your images in the running for a Photo of the Day feature? Photo of the Day is chosen from various galleries, including Assignments, Galleries and Contests. Assignments have weekly winners that are featured on the website homepage, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. To...

Not many kit lenses are known for their performance or image quality, but there are a few hidden gems out there that offer quite a lot for not a lot of money. One such example is the Olympus M.Zuiko 12-50mm f/3.5-6.3, and this great video review takes a look at the lens, what makes it great, and why OM Systems should consider an updated version. [ Read More ]Original link(Originally posted by Alex Cooke)

The post 7 Tips for Delicious Drink Photography appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Ana Mireles. Drink photography, like all food photography, might seem difficult, but it’s actually pretty easy – once you know a few techniques. In this article, I share my top 7 tips for gorgeous images of drinks, including: The best ways to style your drink setupsHow to handle drink photography lightingA step-by-step method for splash photographyMuch more! Ready to become a master drink shooter? Then let’s dive right in, starting with my first tip: 1. Carefully compose your scenes before shooting Canon 70D | 28mm | f/2.8 | 1/200s | ISO 100 The best drink photos are well composed, which means that you...

We often describe children as creative. We are impressed at how they create art using nothing more than a crayon and a sheet of blank paper. Many adults, however, neglect the artistic spark they had in their youth and label themselves as “not creative.” The Creativity Conference, a no-cost, full-day event held in New York City on June 10, presented speakers who encouraged the adults in attendance to believe that they are indeed creatives who should be proud to pursue and share their artistic creations. [ Read More ]Original link(Originally posted by John Ricard)

The June update has arrived! Along with support for new cameras and lenses we’ve gained a host of new features and improvements in Lightroom Classic and Lightroom. Let’s take a look at what’s new in Lightroom Classic first. Preset Intensity Adjustment This one goes up to 11 … er, 200 actually! A very cool new feature that people have requested for ages is the ability to refine the intensity of a given preset. Well, now we’ve gained the ability to dial preset intensity down to 0 and all the way up to 200% (not that you are likely to take it up that high normally). This will only work on presets that contain settings that can be scaled in this way....

Record-setting rain and snow melt have caused considerable damage in Yellowstone over the past 24 hours. This amount of damage will have a long-term impact on the park and visitors. [ Read More ]Original link(Originally posted by Alex Armitage)

I recently noticed something interesting while looking through the Leica Classifieds page on Facebook. One of the distributors of Light Lens Lab posted an image for some upcoming products, including what appears to be an Abrahamson-style rapid winder and, more significantly, a Leica Standard-style camera. [ Read More ]Original link(Originally posted by CS Muncy)

Modern cameras are quite capable and powerful machines, but none of them are perfect. Every camera has quirks that we find annoying or would like to change. This interesting video discusses five annoying camera quirks in current cameras. [ Read More ]Original link(Originally posted by Alex Cooke)

Tripods have been sturdy companions for photographers all over the world. A good tripod can help you produce images that are simply not possible when shooting handheld. Unfortunately, tripods can be a bit of a pain to carry around, especially if they're any good. This is why, in many cases, a monopod ends up being a better option. [ Read More ]Original link(Originally posted by Usman Dawood)

A long exposure reveals the waterfall-like motion within a pahoehoe flow of Fagradalsfjall of Fagradalsfjall. The floor is lava, literally. That’s pretty much my story as a photographer of volcanos. Last year alone, I documented four active volcanoes, multiple times, throughout various locations across the globe. Photographing volcanos is an absolutely exhilarating, nerve-wrecking, humbling and challenging experience, with each volcano having a distinct personality of its own. In this ever-changing environment, time is of the essence as visuals are consistently changing, with opportunities to create an image sometimes only presenting themselves for a few seconds. The reward for these efforts, however, is like no other I’ve ever experienced. To witness and document the true power of nature, and to watch the...

For better or worse, artificial intelligence is going to dramatically change the face of the photography industry. Here's a look at the photorealistic imagery that AI tools can generate from scratch in a matter of seconds. [ Read More ]Original link(Originally posted by Paul Parker)

Parabolic light modifiers are some of the most versatile on the market. Coincidentally, they are also some of the most expensive ones out there. Loved for versatility, hated for the price, and very few photographers actually own them. Godox set out to create an affordable but also a truly parabolic softbox. So, how did they do? Spoiler alert: much better than I expected. [ Read More ]Original link(Originally posted by Illya Ovchar)

There used to be no contest in image quality between supertelephoto prime and zoom lenses. Zooms simply could not keep pace with primes, and if you wanted to create professional-level photos or work in demanding conditions, you had no choice but to shell out for a top-shelf prime. Supertelephoto zoom lenses have made tremendous progress in the last few years, however. So, do you still need to buy those ultra-expensive primes? This great video discusses the topic. [ Read More ]Original link(Originally posted by Alex Cooke)

The post 10 Tips for Beautiful Smartphone Photography appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Karthika Gupta. Did you know that you can capture beautiful images using only your smartphone? It’s true. And while smartphone photography might seem difficult, it’s actually pretty easy – once you know a few techniques. That’s where this article comes in handy; I’m going to share with you some simple tips so you can achieve awesome, beautiful, and memorable mobile phone photography in no time at all. I also include plenty of smartphone image examples so you can see exactly what your little phone camera is capable of. Let’s get started! 1. Clean your lens This tip is extremely basic, but you will...

The DJI Mavic 3 is the company's newest drone, and it brings with it a nice range of new features and improvements. This great video review takes a look at the drone and the sort of performance and image quality you can expect from it in practice. [ Read More ]Original link(Originally posted by Alex Cooke)

  Photo By Robert Henderson Today’s Photo Of The Day is “Carmine Sunset Purple Finale” by Robert Henderson. Location: South Luangwa National Park, Zambia. “Earlier in the day, we visited a colony of carmine bee-eaters living in burrows in the cliff on the far side of the Luangwa River from where we were standing,” explains Henderson. “The birds were flying back and forth from the nesting burrows with a constant supply of freshly caught insects for the fledglings. There was a dead tree nearby on our side of the river where the birds rested while waiting for their turn to visit to the nesting burrows. I realized that if we came back at sunset, I’d probably be able to catch the...

As my photography evolved, so did the desire to capture more than a basic image of a given songbird, raptor, shorebird, wader, etc. While I still happily press the shutter when I see a great head or full body image through the viewfinder, my ultimate goal when I head into the field to make photos of birds is the flight shot. But just because a bird takes flight and I record it on my memory card doesn’t make it a great photo. Numerous factors come into play including flight path, wing position, sharpness of all feathers, backgrounds, light and more. For this week’s tip, I share with you a number of aspects toward which you should strive to get the best...

Mastering portraiture involves more than knowing which lens to use to ensure your photograph does not show unflattering perspective distortion. It is not enough that you understand where to place strobes to create dramatic lighting. As portrait photographer Mark Mann explains in this excellent video, it is important that you make a personal connection with your subject. [ Read More ]Original link(Originally posted by John Ricard)