2020 is proving to be an intense and crucial year. But we all need to step away at times, put down our shield and take a moment to smile, and dare we say, laugh. To lighten the mood and bring some humor to your day, we’ve gone through a bunch of memes and found several that are sure to make your belly hurt from laughter!
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“I think that the best camera is the one I have with me,” Emre Çakmak tells The Phoblographer. It’s a sentence often said by those who understand that being creative will always out trump having the best gear. That’s not to say the camera in your hand has no importance. But a photographer with vision will always outperform a photographer with the best camera and little creativity. On the topic of making amazing photographs, Çakmak blew us away. When we first saw his work, we said, “awesome multiple exposures.” But we were wrong; they weren’t multiple exposures at all. Here’s the truth behind these fantastic images.
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Self doubt in photography can cripple a photographer’s progress, but there are ways to accept, manage, and overcome it.
In a recent Reddit post, one user wrote about dealing with self-doubt in photography. The author of the post said they had had success in many fields, including music, but was struggling to match the same success in photography. They wrote, “…seeing my work getting nowhere while I had achieved success with much greater ease in other fields is demoralizing and makes me doubt my abilities…” They added, ” (I) wonder if my time is better spent elsewhere.” The post reminded me of my own self-doubt through my time in photography, and the journey I went on to overcome it.
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The smartphone won the consumer camera war; today, both smartphones and traditional cameras tend to copy one another.
Back in 2011, the first sentence of a Panasonic press release related the size of the Panasonic GF3 to the size of a smartphone. In hindsight, this tells us that they knew that the end of consumer cameras was coming. The sentence reads, “Panasonic today announces its latest compact system camera (CSC), the mirror-free Panasonic LUMIX DMC-GF3 is the company’s smallest and lightest digital interchangeable lens camera with a built-in flash*1, with its body size comparable to that of a smartphone and weighing just 7.83oz (body only), less than a standard 8oz cup of coffee.” Previously, smartphones were never even mentioned in press releases for traditional cameras. It was also around this time that manufacturers started to admit to us that they were losing the war to smartphones that were killing their point and shoots. Indeed, many manufacturers have discontinued the majority of their compact camera lineup. The camera manufacturers just couldn’t keep up–many of them couldn’t shoot an image, apply a filter with a touchscreen, and then upload immediately to their favorite web service. Instead, they all decided to make apps for smartphone systems. And perhaps that’s how they knew it was the start of the tunnel collapsing.
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“Your hands should move around that camera like second nature,” says Shevaun Williams. “That leaves your brain and soul to concentrate on the fun stuff of creation.” Williams is a seasoned travel photographer, explored much of the world, and learned about new lands and cultures. Behind her final images is a selection of gear that allows her to achieve her creative objective. Furthermore, her artistic eye plays a crucial role in her creating the exceptional work that she does. The Phoblographer wanted to understand what gear is vital to Williams’ travel photography, and how she brings the ideas in her creative mind to life!
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When Fujifilm first announced the X-Pro 3, it completely split the Fuji faithful. Many rejected the design, while others embraced it. That’s because Fujifilm made a rather bold move by hiding the LCD screen. Paying further homage to the analog camera, the X-Pro 3 was meant to be a hybrid between digital and film. The company was on the right path for making the perfect camera for street photography. I just wish it did it with more conviction.
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While some turn their noses up at female-only lists, The Phoblographer strongly believes they’re essential: not just when the moment suits society, but always, as giving a voice and a platform for fantastic female photographers is something we’ll always do. Lockdowns have granted the opportunity to explore some new and exciting work — that’s been one benefit of this whole experience. I’ve made some great connections throughout this time, and I’m going share with you some of the female photographers I’ve discovered.
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Shooting on a smartphone is nothing new, but what about shooting on one that’s only 3.3-inches big?
Smartphones, laptops, tablets – they suck us into a world that can be very difficult to get out of. Working in the digital space, I’m often looking for ways I can disconnect and be more present in real life. One step I took to achieve being less digitally dependent was to purchase a Palm Phone. It’s a 3.3-inch minimalist smartphone that encourages you use it less and live life more. It has a 12-megapixel front-facing camera: something I didn’t pay much attention to – until now.
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London based street and documentary photographer, Christian Cross, attended London’s protests on June 13th. Several groups of far-right protesters were fighting against the removal of certain statues around the UK. Unfortunately, the peaceful protest soon escalated into violence, and many people were injured as a result. Although Cross himself managed to leave unscathed, he did see another photographer beaten and bloodied.
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The search for the perfect camera is one that goes on in every photographer’s life, and it is a journey that will probably never end. While we all love the respective systems we choose to use, you can’t deny that you wish your camera had a feature found in another brand. I hear photographers say all the time, “I love my camera, but I wish it had X from Fujifilm,” or, “I’d love my camera to be able to focus like Sony’s cameras.” A recent conversation with a friend made me dream about what the perfect camera (for me) would look like, and here, I will share my vision of perfection. Come and imagine the possibilities with me after the break.
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There was a time years ago when photographers could easily support the Galaxy Paper system. After all, both our names and Petapixel’s were on them for helping to drive the most funding to their Kickstarter project. But as the years went by, they became more and more silent as they took our money and ran. For analog photographers, one cannot express how much despair and sadness there is from this. They say that wounds heal, but scars don’t. And for lots of photographers, the hole that Galaxy left for us can drive us mad. I had all but forgotten about them and the reps I had tried over and over again to get in communication with. But nothing worked out–and it wasn’t until someone commented on their fully funded Kickstarter back in 2016 that the scars really started to become noticeable again.
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At a time of quarantine and panic buying, this vintage ad will surely make film photographers wish they were stocking up on this Kodak stuff instead.
With much of the world on panic buying mode due to lockdowns and quarantine, we’re sure there are now photography projects documenting grocery scenes at the time of COVID-19. A vintage ad we found, however, makes us both nostalgic about the time when Kodak reigned supreme and wishful that we were stocking up on their cool stuff instead. If you’re a film photographer, this will especially hit you harder!
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You may be wrestling with the idea of getting the Fujifilm X-T4, and here are some things to consider.
The Fujifilm faithful bubble with excitement whenever a new camera is released in the company’s flagship X-Series line. The latest addition is the Fujifilm X-T4. It comes with improvements Fuji shooters have been waiting on for quite some time — but not everybody needs them. At $1,700, it’s important to know if the camera is what you need, or if you’re going to be more than okay with its predecessor, the X-T3.
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Alaska remains one of the world’s most fascinating destinations for anyone in search of adventure, as this stunning project proves.
For many travel and landscape photographers, all the wanderlust-inducing destinations that await not only make the promise of great photos but also epic adventures. The latest in our list of outstanding work that proves this is a project by buddies Toby Harriman and Jussi Ruottinen, which document their epic time in Alaska where they paddled on glacier rivers they described as “beyond incredible.”
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All images by Nina Welch-Kling. Used with permission.
“I often pinch myself and look around with the eyes of a child marveling at the organized chaos around me,” says Nina Welch-Kling, as she talks about her love for street photography. She recently won our street photography competition with an exceptionally good photo that stood out from the high standard of submissions. Aside from her recent success, Welch-Kling has already been making her presence felt in the street photography community. Her work is timeless, and her scenes tell a story. It was our pleasure to speak with her and learn more about her background and approach to the candid frame.
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All photos by Tobias Hägg. Used with permission.
In much of the impressive landscape photography set by the ocean that we have featured, we were given a front-row seat to stunning scenes from the shoreline. The work invited us to see roaring waves and dreamy seasides as if we were there ourselves, or reimagine them entirely. Stockholm-based Tobias Hägg’s approach, however, is about showcasing the unpredictable and sometimes frightening beauty of the ocean from above. The result is Our Oceans, a breathtaking abstract series illustrating beautiful hues and textures that can only be seen from a drone’s perspective.
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As the BLM movement fights for equality, some people in the photography community waste time pointing fingers in the wrong places.
Popular street photography account, Life Is Street, came under fire on the day of Black Out Tuesday. The owner of the account uses white squares as part of the aesthetic on the feed. It so happened that on Black Out Tuesday, he posted a white square, causing an angry response from many of his followers. But as people were quick to point the finger, labeling him “insensitive” and accusing him of having “no solidarity,” they overlooked one key point: the man is black.
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By all means, I’ll be the first to tell you that what we do here at The Phoblographer is purely for people to escape the world and, in some ways, be opened up to more parts of it. I can tell that, by our readership, many of you come here every day to escape the news and to enjoy more of your own hobby. But at the same time, I think it’s vital to tell lots of stories as much as you feel it is to share your opinions. So today, I’m sharing how we’re testing cameras amidst COVID 19 and lots of the logistical issues involved here. Our aim is to give you a peek, so you understand just how tough a job this is, how long we spend, how almost everything is a team effort, and how things are changing. And most importantly, I’m writing this as a bit of a piece of personal therapy.
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There’s a pretty big issue these days involving documentary-style photography, and it stems from the street photography community. I’ve seen it in several different protests. Maybe that’s where I should start. Reviews Editor Paul Ip and I have both been out to demonstrations to document what’s going on. It’s a significant part of our job with testing cameras and lenses. But we’re not doing it for our own self-pleasure. More importantly, we’re part of a company that has a celebrated history of championing the rights of minorities for years. And with this, I feel I have the power and standpoint to address the problem of documentary porn.
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I’m very well aware that we often say that the DSLR is dead. Though Gear Editor Brett Day still owns one, I’ll stick to my policy and the site’s policies. Are we saying that DSLRs are bad cameras? No. But instead, this policy is prioritized on focusing the site and gearing us up for the future. And we’re not the only ones saying this. Canon has declared that they’ll no longer work on other EF mount lenses unless there is enough demand. Sony doesn’t really care much about the A-mount anymore. Olympus gave up on Four Thirds mount properly a long time ago in favor of Micro Four Thirds. And Nikon is still the only one really pushing ahead. And then, you know, there’s Pentax catering to the folks who desperately still cling to DSLRs. Let’s take the motivation for this blog post, for example.
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I’ve long been a critic of Instagram when it pertains to photographers. For quite some time, I’ve argued the platform doesn’t care about the photography community, and that the culture fuels mediocre, copycat work. Frustrated with algorithms and influencers, I’ve thrown everything but the kitchen sink at the social media giant. But I’m a hypocrite. Because throughout all this time, I’ve continued to use the platform, never trying to change the culture, until now.
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