World Press Photo Investigating Recent “Artificial” Plagiarism Claims

There’s a new development in the accusations of plagiarism made against World Press Photo nominee and German photojournalist, Maximilian Mann.

DOCKS, a photography collective made up of five documentary photographers, has published a report on the recent accusations made against Maximilian Mann’s WPP (World Press Photo) entry. As reported on The Phoblographer, Iranian Photojournalist, Solmaz Daryani, claimed that Mann had purposefully plagiarized her work. However, after DOCKS investigated the matter, new information shows it would have been impossible for Mann to have directly copied the work of Daryani.

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If Real, These Ultra-Fast Tamron Zooms Will Be Innovative but Large

The patents for the new E mount Tamron lenses have been filed and, if they go into production, one of them would be the fastest zoom on the Sony Platform.

After holding back for a few years in regard to making lenses for Sony Mirrorless cameras, Tamron has now gone all-in on the platform. We have seen some spectacular lenses from Tamron, including the 28-75mm Di II RXD f2.8, the 17-28mm f2.8 Di III RXD, and even their new affordable f2.8 primes (which are currently on sale for $299 each). As another sign of intent when it comes to the Sony platform, Tamron has recently filed two patents for ultra-fast zooms and, if they go into production, one of them (a 70-130mm f2) will become the fastest zoom lens on the Sony Platform. Let’s talk about this after the break.

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Potential Flaw: The Tamron 70-180mm F2.8 Is Missing a Very Big Feature

Can the Tamron 70-180mm f2.8 Di III VXD shape up and get past a few hurdles?

We’re sure everyone is asking why the Tamron 70-180mm f2.8 Di III VXD isn’t going for the extra 20mm to reach 200. The company has expressed many times that it was prioritizing weight, size, and cost. When you look at it from that standpoint, they’re totally right. At its current position, the Tamron 70-180mm f2.8 Di III VXD is a viable option over Sony’s 70-200mm f2.8 and f4 options. The enthusiast and the professional alike could both reach for this lens. But, if we’ve seen anything in the past few years, it’s a couple of significant trends that have been demanded by many photographers across the board. The first is better optics: Tamron’s are excellent, but not always what they claim according to our tests. The other is a big one: the image stabilization.

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Quarantine Conversations: Magnum Photographers Discussing Their Work

Check this out if you’re curious about what Magnum photographers are tackling during lockdown and quarantine.

We’re used to Magnum photographers going on assignments to tackle the world’s most pressing issues head on, but with the COVID-19 pandemic, they’re staying home like the rest of us. However, that hasn’t stopped them from making the most of their time with a new video series titled Quarantine Conversations. Here’s something to watch whether you could use more inspiration or are simply curious about how Magnum photographers are responding to issues brought about by this time of lockdown and quarantine.

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Flickr Is TRYING to Improve Groups with New Admin Tools

Flickr promises a better, easier, more intuitive curating experience for group admins with their latest improvements.

With photographers being able to spend more time on social media and online communities lately, Flickr made a timely decision to roll out some improvements to the group admin experience. The company announced some tools to make Flickr groups management and curation easier especially for new group admins. Whether you’re planning to start a photography community on Flickr or already managing one, this update should be particularly useful.

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Join Us, We’re Talking About Telephoto Lenses for Landscape Photography

Register for Pro Camera Reviews and join us live tonight!

Photographers: we know that you’re all cooped up inside and want to get shooting. But let’s talk about gear and the whole experience of shooting. We’re doing just that in tonight’s episode of Pro Camera Reviews. Pro Camera Reviews is a new web show featuring discussion of the products the Reviews Team at the Phoblographer are actively reviewing and the gear they’ve just reviewed. It includes open Q&A from the audience towards the end of the show, and will air every Sunday at 7pm EST. You can register for the next episode right here.

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OP Ed: National Geographic Is in the Wrong for This Rights Grab

National Geographic is offering up to $8,000, but at what expense for the photographers?

Making a sustainable income as a photojournalist isn’t easy even at the best of times. Doing it during a global crisis where everyone is feeling the strain is pretty much impossible. To help keep the flow of quality photojournalism running, National Geographic is offering applicants between $1,000 to $8,000 so that they can keep working on stories. That sounds like an incredible opportunity on the surface. However, after doing a little reading into the Terms and Conditions, some photographers believe National Geographic is overstepping the mark when it comes to a photographer’s ownership of their photos.

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Help Relieve Some Stress by Taking a Mental Vacation with Travel Images

landscape photography

While you’re stuck inside going stir crazy, take some time out of your for a mental vacation by looking at travel images.

Everywhere you turn right now, you cannot escape news about the Coronavirus and how devastating it is. While it’s important to keep up with what’s happening in regard to this, at some point we must switch off the news and back away from sources that cause stress in our daily lives. Normally, we would do this by heading outside to a park to be surrounded by flowers, birds, cute little puppies, and more, but the reality is we can’t do that right now. So, how can we help relieve some stress from our lives? According to some research, just looking at travel images, and images that include fractals can help you shed a ton of stress in just a few minutes. Let’s talk about this after the break.

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Classifieds: Free Things, Webinars Photographers Should Know About

The Classifieds are quick announcements sandwiched into a long blog post for photographers during the Coronavirus scare.

We’re rounding up some important news that we haven’t necessarily seen anywhere else into a single long blog post. It’s your briefing on a bunch of stuff you may find interesting. All of these are from photography companies. You can see the entire list below. Want to be featured? Send your event/offering with a description and links to chrisgampat[at]thephoblographer[dot]com. We will only feature free things right now.

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Freelancers Can Claim Unemployment Benefits if Affected by COVID-19

Thanks to the efforts of the Freelancers Union, the self-employed will now be eligible for the same benefits as everyone else.

The Coronavirus has had a significant impact on workers across the United States, with many unfortunately losing their jobs. However, the government recently passed a stimulus bill that would guarantee protection to many workers across the country. All seemed well until the Freelancers Union noticed that freelancers and the self-employed were not included in the deal that would provide insurance, unemployment, and access to the one-time income payments. The Freelancers Union group took matters into their own hands, and thanks to their work, freelance photographers, journalists, content creators, and more will now be able to apply for the same benefits as everyone else if they have lost work due to the Coronavirus. Join us after the break for the details.

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Get Inspired to Shoot Cine Film With the Best SILBERSALZ35 Snaps of 2019

We’re thrilled about the latest news and the selection of the best SILBERSALZ35 photos recently shared by the folks of Silbersalz Film.

Some time has passed since we broke the news about the SILBERSALZ35 cine films, so we were excited when the folks of Silbersalz Film got in touch with us to share their latest. If you’ve seen some of their sample images from our news post and have been interested in trying out the films, we have a bunch more for you to satisfy your curiosity.

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New Sony Firmware Updates All FE Cameras with Touchscreen Menus

Sony proves that they’ve been listening to their cult’s needs and wants after all.

Thank you Sony! Today, the company finally updated its cameras to unlock touchscreen capabilities on all their FE cameras. To be clear, that means that the Sony a7 III, Sony a7s, Sony a7r III, Sony a7r IV, Sony a9, and the Sony a9 II are all getting the firmware updates. Besides fixing a few bugs with the interface and functionality, this new firmware update allows Sony users to fully interact with the touchscreen menu system. This update has been much needed and it now allows photographers to get to something like the “Format” command with two taps of the screen. Further, it lets photographers interact with the camera’s quick menu system that’s displayed when shooting. This has long been standard for every Full-Frame camera system, and in a way Sony is proving they’re still catching up while also providing class-leading innovations at the same time. We’ve done a bit of testing and played with the new firmware before launch. Our thoughts are after the jump.

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Pentax Announces the New Tamron 35mm F1.4 Di USD Lens

Continuing their trend of rebranding Tamron lenses, Pentax announced their rebranded version of the Tamron 35mm f1.4 Di USD.

We’re happy that the Pentax K mount is being shown some love today with the announcement of the new Pentax 35mm f1.4 Di USD lens. For years, Pentax has been rebranding Tamron lenses for their own mount–which is great for Pentax users. Tamron’s lenses are stellar: mounting the new lens to a Pentax K1 Mk II will just mean that the Pentax system got a great new portrait lens. In fact, when we reviewed the Tamron version of the lens a while ago, we found it to be fantastic. One of our gripes was the lack of image stabilization, which Pentax solves with in-camera stabilization. The two systems working together should prove great for photographers. We’ve got all the essential specs that you need right after the jump.

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Fujifilm Announces New Full Frame Downgrade Program for GF Cameras

Fujifilm GF Lenses could possibly be the sharpest things in front of full-frame sensors. 

For years now, Fujifilm has been saying they’d never go Full-Frame. And, well, they’re mostly sticking to their word. Today, the company announced that photographers who purchase the GFX with a lens can downgrade their cameras to a Full-Frame X Trans sensor for $200 more. The service works by filling out a service inquiry with the company’s repair service. From there, you mail the camera to their New Jersey-based facility where they’ll convert the sensor. In an interview, Fujifilm told us that customers should expect to receive their cameras back within 14 business days. But given how many photographers will want to jump on this, it could take even longer.

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To Boost Sales, Camera Manufacturers Will Take Payment in Exposure

Japanese Camera manufacturers believe that the exposure will help them get more sales.

Admittedly, we’re not even going to write an article about this one and instead just rely on the fact that people are sharing this online without actually clicking into the article. So…thanks? We guess?

Editor’s Note: This is an April Fool’s Joke. Chill. It’s also our last one of 2020.

Photographers: Got a Project? We’d Love to Showcase It!

Hey photographers, if we like your photography projects, portfolio, etc., we’ll feature it!

Amidst everything happening with COVID-19, we know photographers are shifting to find ways to get more eyes on their work. As a service to our readers, we’re looking to help. For years, we’ve featured and profiled up and coming photographers. We’re also glad to say we’ve discovered many before they were cool. Photographers have gotten work from our features, and we’re happy to help the photo community. So, if you’d like to get featured, we’ve got all the details on how to submit your work below.

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Format Offers $25,000 to Photographers Impacted By COVID-19

Format is ready to support photographers impacted by the COVID-19 global pandemic.

Because of ongoing quarantines and social distancing, many photographers have been left with little to no work. The popular online portfolio platform, Format, recognizes this and wants to support those who are currently struggling. In a recent announcement, the company has said that $25,000 is available for photographers in desperate need of financial support.

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Troll Post: No Red Dot on Your Camera Means Your Images Suck

A little light-hearted photography humor to help us get through these trying times.

For years, photographers around the globe have been wondering why their images pale in comparison to pictures from other photographers out there. No matter what they have tried, the masses simply have not been able to reach the heights of an elite group of photographers who seem to have a mysterious red dot on their cameras. Fortunately for us, the mystery behind this issue has been solved by a Redditor who put a new theory to the test. Join us after the break for a little photography humor and to find out what has been discovered.

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Tonight: Macro Lenses and Battling Depression on Pro Camera Reviews

Join us for Pro Camera Reviews Episode 2 airs Live tonight on March 29th at 7pm EST; register here.

Hey folks!

Pro Camera Reviews is a new web show by the Reviews Team of the Phoblographer. Join Gear Editor Brett Day, Reviews Editor Paul Ip, and Editor in Chief Chris Gampat as they candidly discuss the products they’re actively reviewing and the gear they’ve just reviewed. Open Q and A from the audience towards the end of the show. Every Sunday at 7pm EST.

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SILBERSALZ35 Films Now Come in Metal Cartridges With DX Code

With the latest update to the SILBERSALZ35 films, there will be more cameras you can use with these true cine films.

Right on the heels of launching their best photos of 2019 compilation, the folks of Silbersalz dropped great news for those who have yet to try the SILBERSALZ35 films. The lineup of true 35mm cine films are now available in UK-made metal cartridges with DX coding, and those who want to get a sample with one roll instead of buying four packs can now order in single rolls. Empty film hardcases are now also available for those who want to have extra cases for stocking up on their favorite 35mm emulsions.

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