The Online Association of Photographers: December 2017

Sunday, 31 December 2017

Top Street and Travel Photography Tips 2017

If you’ve been reading over the last few of days you may have seen these already:

Top Street Photography Tips 2017

Top Travel Photography Tips 2017

The post Top Street and Travel Photography Tips 2017 by Darlene Hildebrandt appeared first on Digital Photography School.

from Digital Photography School https://digital-photography-school.com/top-street-travel-photography-tips-2017/

Ep. 242: Predictions for 2018…and Where I Missed in 2017 – and more

Episode 242 of the PetaPixel Photography Podcast.
Download MP3 – Subscribe via iTunes, Google Play, email or RSS!

Featured: Photographer Alex Huff

In This Episode

If you subscribe to the PetaPixel Photography Podcast in iTunes, please take a moment to rate and review us and help us move up in the rankings so others interested in photography may find us.

Show Opener:
Photographer Alex Huff opens the show. Thanks Alex!

Sponsors:
– More at LensShark.com/deals.

Stories:
Predictions for 2018 and what didn’t quite come true in 2017.

The most-rented items of 2017. (#)

Apple apologizes, educates, drops its price and hopes that’s ok. (#)

DxO announces the return of the Nik Collection for 2018. (#)

Joby announces yet another GorillaPod with a twist. (#)

PETA convinces Shutterstock to change its mind. (#)

Instagram rolls out an incredibly unpopular feature. (#)

Outtake

My other podcast with Brian Matiash, the No Name Photo Show.

Connect With Us

Thank you for listening to the PetaPixel Photography Podcast! Connect with me, Sharky James on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook (all @LensShark) as we build this community.

We’d love to answer your question on the show. Leave us an audio question through our voicemail widget, comment below or via social media. But audio questions are awesome!

You can also cut a show opener for us to play on the show! As an example: “Hi, this is Matt Smith with Double Heart Photography in Chicago, Illinois, and you’re listening to the PetaPixel Photography Podcast with Sharky James!”

from PetaPixel https://petapixel.com/2017/12/31/ep-242-predictions-2018and-missed-2017/

Happy New Year 2018 – Recap of our Ultimate Guides to Photography

Wishing you the happiest new year from the dPS family.

As a bonus, here is a summary of some amazing ultimate guides we published in 2017. Each is available as a free PDF – just click on the ones you want to download below.

Enjoy and please share this page with your friends if you find these valuable!

The post Happy New Year 2018 – Recap of our Ultimate Guides to Photography by Darlene Hildebrandt appeared first on Digital Photography School.

from Digital Photography School https://digital-photography-school.com/happy-new-year-2018-recap-ultimate-guides/

Saturday, 30 December 2017

The 10 Most Popular PetaPixel Posts of 2017

2017 is coming to a close. As we close out the year, here’s a look back at the top 10 posts that received the most attention on PetaPixel.

#10. TSA Requires a Separate Screening of Cameras in Airports Now

The TSA announced that under its new guidelines, cameras and all other electronics larger than a cell phone need to be placed into a separate bin during security screening.

#9. Thrift Store Miracle: College Student Finds a Leica M2 for Just $5

A college student photography enthusiast managed to find Leica gear worth over $1,200 for just $5.

#8. These Creative Photos Use Optical Illusions to Promote Pet Adoption

Photographer Amol Jadhav shot a series of creative photos that use optical illusions to promote pet adoption. The animals were created with the negative space.

#7. Netflix Stole My VHS Cassette Photos for Its Stranger Things Boxed Set

Photographer Gough Lui shares about how he discovered that Netflix had used his photo without permission for the packaging on the collector’s edition of Stranger Things.

#6. Why Photos of the Eiffel Tower at Night are Illegal

A look at how the Eiffel Tower is copyrighted at night when its lights are on but not during the day.

#5. Pro Photographers with Amateur Gear vs. an Amateur with Pro Gear

Two professional photographers with cheap gear went head-to-head against a non-photographer with expensive gear to see what would result.

#4. This Incredible Flower Timelapse Took 3 Years and 8TB of Photos to Create

Photographer and filmmaker Jamie Scott spent 3 years shooting a gorgeous timelapse of flowers. He shot over 8 terabytes of 5K imagery.

#3. Ugly Places, Pretty Portraits: I Did a Photo Shoot in Lowe’s

Photographer Jenna Martin shared how she did a photo shoot at Lowe’s and used ugly places for pretty portraits.

#2. No One Would Buy My Photos, So Here They Are For Free: Mosul 2017

Photographer Kainoa Little couldn’t find newspapers and wire services willing to purchase his photos of fighting in Mosul between Iraqi forces and Islamic State militants, so he decided to release them onto the Internet for free.

#1. No, You Can’t Use My Photos On Your Brand’s Instagram For Free

Photographer Max Dubler shared how a well-known longboard brand had downloaded one of his photos and uploaded it to their Instagram account, only to balk when Dubler asked for $25 for the social media usage.

From all of us at PetaPixel: thank you so much for reading this website over the past year — it’s your visits that keep the lights on and your tips that help keep the stories flowing. See you in 2018!

Image credits: TSA camera illustration based on photo by Danjo Paluska

from PetaPixel https://petapixel.com/2017/12/30/10-popular-petapixel-posts-2017/

This Guy Made an 8×10 Large Format Video Camera

Photographer Zev Hoover has created a rather unusual camera: it’s one of the world’s first 8×10 large format video cameras.

Hoover believes his creation is the first of its kind ever made. The company LargeSense showed off a 4K sample video shot with a large format digital camera back in 2015, but that involved an expensive digital sensor and was made by combining TIFF file readouts from the sensor at 24fps.

Hoover’s camera, on the other hand, is much more affordable and practical for everyday people. The front half is an old large format still camera built around a cheap video slider for adjusting focus during shooting by moving the lens and bellows forward and backward.

On the front of the camera is an old Ukrainian large format lens that projects an image onto the white plane at the back of the camera. A separate digital camera is then placed underneath the large format camera, capturing the image on the white plane through a hole and using a wide-angle lens.

“The camera works by projecting a huge (bit over 8×10) image — with all of the lovely depth and aberrations of large format glass — onto a matte surface, like a perfect projection screen,” Hoover tells PetaPixel. “I then reimage that plane with a wide angle lens (Irix 15mm f2.4 Firefly) on a Sony a7S.”

To compensate for the fact that the video camera is capturing the white plane at an angle, Hoover uses 12mm of shift.

Hoover can also attach an external monitor that allows him to shoulder mount his hefty camera contraption.

Here’s a 4-minute video Hoover made that shows sample footage from this camera and an explanation of how it works:

“It is amazing to work with the image quality of large format,” Hoover says. “[It’s] like IMAX but waaaaaay bigger.”

“The main downside is sensitivity,” Hoover tells PetaPixel. “In the process of reimaging, I lose about 6 stops of light. As you can see in the video, even with the fantastic sensitivity of the a7S, indoor shots were nearly impossible.

“It is all worth it for the fantastic bokeh and amazing flares. I used to do a lot of extensions (aka the Brenizer method or ‘bokehramas’) and this camera captures a similar image in one shot, and works for video!”

Here are some still photos Hoover captured with this 8×10 hybrid camera:

Hoover says he’s hoping to try other large format lenses on this camera, particularly the Aero Ektar. You can find more of his work on his website, Flickr, Instagram, and Facebook.

from PetaPixel https://petapixel.com/2017/12/30/guy-made-8x10-large-format-video-camera/

This Wildlife Photographer Waits Over a Week for the ‘Perfect Shot’

Reviews and Articles on Photography Gear – 2017

If you’ve been reading over the last few of days you may have seen these already:

Now it’s time to geek out a bit and talk about photography equipment. Here are some of the reviews and tips from 2017 to help you make the best of your gear.

Reviews and Articles on Photography Gear – 2017

The post Reviews and Articles on Photography Gear – 2017 by Darlene Hildebrandt appeared first on Digital Photography School.

from Digital Photography School https://digital-photography-school.com/reviews-tips-photography-gear-2017/

Friday, 29 December 2017

I Turned IKEA Products Into Costumes for a Rembrandt Photo Shoot

‘Retrographic’ Colorizes Some of History’s Most Famous B&W Photos

Digital colorizations of historical photos have gotten quite a bit of attention in recent years. Retrographic is a new photo book that brings this concept to physical pages. It’s a collection of some of the world’s most well-known black-and-white historical photos transformed into living color.

Warning: Some of the photos below are graphic and may be disturbing.

The 192-page book is by author and curator Michael D. Carroll, a member of the Royal Photographic Society and the director of the British press agency Media Drum World.

“Through the careful selection of striking images and dedicated colourization research, Retrographic takes the reader on a visual tour of the distant past,” the description reads. “Many of these moments are already burned into our collective memory through the power of photography as shared by people across the 190-year long Age of the Image. And now, these visual time capsules are collected together for the first time and presented in living colour.”

Retrographic contains 120 photos that span a wide range of subject matters across the 19th and 20th centuries: Victorians, colonialism, indigenous people, warfare, the Great Depression, Hollywood, and more.

Here’s a selection of before-and-after photos of images featured in the book:

The First Flight

The moment humanity mastered the air. “First flight, 120 feet in 12 seconds, 10:35 a.m.; Kitty Hawk, North Carolina” Orville Wright. Photographed on December 17th 1903 by John T. Daniels. Colourised by Jared Enos.

Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima

America’s most iconic image of victory is immediately plagued with controversy. “Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima”. Photographed on February 19th 1945 by Joe Rosenthal courtesy of Associated Press. Colourised by Matt Loughrey

Vietnam Monk Protest

Non-violent protest is taken to its most extreme level by this monk who burned himself to death. “Vietnam Monk Protest” Thic Quang Duc. Photographed by Malcolm Browne in Saigon, Vietnam on June 11th 1963, image courtesy of Associated Press. Colourised by Matt Loughrey

Napalm Girl

Not in our name: the anti-war image is born in the moment this badly burned girl cries out in pain. “Napalm Girl” Phan Thi Kim Phuc. Photographed by Nick Ut outside Trang Bang village, Vietnam June 8th 1972, image courtesy of Associated Press (AP). Colourised by Matt Loughrey

Richard Nixon Farewell

Watergate: The leader of the free world is forced to resign amid the most notorious political controversy in history. “Richard Nixon Farewell”. Photographed by Bob Daugherty outside the White House, Washington DC, on August 9th 1974. Colourised by Matt Loughrey

The Fab Paw

Two very different worlds collide – just as they are about to become global mega-stars. “The day Ali met the Beatles” from left to right Paul McCartney, John Lennon, Ringo Starr, George Harrison, Cassius Clay. Photographed on February 18th 1964 at Miami Beach, Florida, USA, courtesy of Associated Press. Colourised by Matt Loughrey

Crossroads of the World

By the Beginning of the Twentieth Century the Crossroads of the World is born. “Number One Times Square under construction 1903”. Photographer known. Colourised by Patty Allison

Marilyn Monroe

A gust of wind allows us to view Hollywood’s most celebrated actress in her most iconic pose. “Marilyn Monroe poses over the updraft of New York subway grating while in character for the filming of “The Seven Year Itch” in Manhattan on September 15, 1954.” Photographed by Matty Zimmerman. Colourised by Matt Loughrey

You can purchase Retrographic through booksellers such as Amazon for $25 (and £20 over on Amazon UK).

Image credits: All photographs courtesy Retrographic

from PetaPixel https://petapixel.com/2017/12/29/retrographic-colorizes-historys-famous-bw-photos/