When Vanguard announced the Vanguard Alta Pro 2+ 263CT Tripod, I was really intrigued by what could be coming. Vanguard’s original Alta Pro was and still is a beast of a tripod designed for taking quite a bit of abuse and being powerful overall. But when you take the Vanguard Alta Pro 2 Tripod out of its carrying case, you see that they’ve mostly given it a completely new vision. It retains a whole lot of the strength and great features that it had, but now the Vanguard Alta Pro 2 Tripod has even more. Additionally, it addresses a lot of the concerns that the first tripod had.
Instant film cameras, otherwise called Polaroid cameras, are incredibly fun and have been incredibly popular with lots of people. Typically, the cameras and film are most in use with young adults though in recent years, there have been more efforts to expand the category to make it appeal to those who want something a bit more serious. Whether it’s the case of adding manual controls or even giving off a nice retro aesthetic, some cameras have just been more popular with the folks who reach for higher fruit.
Right up there with buying a 50mm lens and the rule of thirds, probably one of the most thrown around recommendations in photography is photographing your subjects during golden hour. It is one of the most common times of day to see photographers out looking for images but it also comes with some interesting challenges that newer photographers may struggle with.
You just need to be in touch with your inner artist.
What is it that separates some of the most well-known photographers of our generation and everyone else? It’s not the gear because as we have said many times, no one makes a bad camera anymore. It’s not the editing, we all have access to the same software and can learn the same techniques. Part of it is talent available to them, sure, but what really what it comes down to their skill with directing that talent, be it a VIP A-List model or a walk-in client off the street.
Pulitzer-nominated photojournalist Paula Bronstein tells us about her experience in Afghanistan. When it comes to documentary photography from the frontline of news, it takes a lot to beat Paula Bronstein’s body of work. The photojournalist’s decades-long career has taken her from India to Sudan, Mongolia to Indonesia, documenting political turmoil and natural disasters. Her work has garnered multiple awards, including a Pulitzer nomination.
As a creative, I’ve grown to be protective of my ability to actually be creative. Did you know that the human mind can experience decision fatigue? Some sources site that the average adult makes around 35,000 decisions a day. This means that at some point during the day we can literally grow weary of making decisions that serve us well. Often ordering a coffee in the morning uses up dozens of those decisions. In fact, most of us use almost 300 decisions just around food. Even more often we make our worst decisions at night, whether it is with wine, ice cream, snacks, etc). It is useful to establish habits that reserve as many decisions as possible to be used on the important creative decisions we will make as artists.
Folks: it’s time to step your game up. Peruse various Facebook Marketplace groups and you probably won’t see a lot of listings with a lot of sparkle, but Zalmy Berkowitz is pretty darned good about selling his Rolleiflex 2.8f. He brands it as the ultimate hipster camera that’s GUARANTEED to change your life forever. Already a well known camera, his version is the equivalent of Excalibur for the photographer.
RNI Films told us that this day was coming a while ago, and finally we’ve got the news: RNI All Films 4 Lite is finally here for Capture One. The preset package was previously only available for Photoshop and Lightroom but we’ve finally got it for Capture One–which more and more photographers have been picking up due to frustration with how Lightroom’s processing algorithms and sloth-like speed have been letting them down. For those only aware of VSCO and Mastin, RNI Films basically is another set of presets but based on science and a massive archive of images.
Lots of photographers are wary of bringing film with them on their next airplane trip, but the experienced photographers have learned how to do it. Sure, your phone, a good point and shoot or a small ILC camera will work great but there is something absolutely unique about what film will do for the experience. Typically, folks love to look at and fall in love with their travel photos as soon as possible. But when you delay that otherwise instant gratification just a bit, you’ll be much more thoroughly surprised later on. Even if you shoot instant film though, there’s still a Je Ne Sais Quoi about that moment that enhances the experience.