Look we get it, you have a camera in your pocket all the time thanks to smartphones, and we understand that your desire to take pictures of every single moment of your life can be hard overcome, but it’s time to learn some restraint. Yet another wedding photographer has taken to the web to discuss just how damaging it can be for you, the guest, to take out your cell phone to snap pics of the bride and groom. Join us after the break to see how a selfish act ruined this couple’s wedding photos.
If you’ve been considering posting stuff on Unsplash to get traction for your work, we’ve been very vocal about what you stand to lose. This time, we want to share what it’s like when you’re on the other side of the fence, and the legal problem you could find yourself grappling with when you source a photo from Unsplash for use on your blog or website.
“They either think I’m crazy or are fascinated and we end up chatting,” explains Sharon Marie Wright as we discuss the response that people have to her art. “I’m okay with either scenario – you have to be if you are in public playing with dolls, right?” Doll photography may be quite a niche, but for Sharon, it has become her bread and butter. Through her powerful and creative photography, she has managed to bring her dolls to life. She makes them part of a story, gives them a narrative and allows the viewer to be fully immersed in the fantasy. Her series Zombies + Dolls = Your Worst Nightmare, is a surreal take on blood and gore. She has taken a child’s plaything and turned it into a monster – and we love it!
We talk about street photography, street portraiture, and intentions often on this site; but I feel that the idea of the voyeur is something that we genuinely need to bring up again. I’m not one to say necessarily that voyeurs should necessarily be berated, but that I instead think that one’s intentions should be put into perspective. To get right to the meat of this problem, I want to tackle the issue of photographing children–one that is often brought up. Many photographers will say “No, that’s wrong and you’re going to get in trouble.” And they’re right–in today’s society, it’s easy to be labeled as a predator of some sort. While taking pictures of people in public is completely 100% within your legal rights, I believe that street photographers should check their intentions in an effort to move street photography forward beyond the casual snapshot and the emulation of all those who came before us. That’s not to say that there isn’t good work out there–the street photography world has some fantastic work. But there is also a lot of the same and the images of many people look the same.
We all know that time is money, and that the quicker we can get done importing and editing our pictures, the quicker we can be back out behind the camera making more images. There are plenty of USB hubs on the market, but like many things, they are not all created equally. If you want to get your hands on the fastest USB UHS-II Hub in the world (according to Sony), you’ll only have to wait a few short months as Sony has just announced that their new MRW-S3 Hub will hit stores this fall alongside some new Tough SD cards. Join us after the break for more details.
Nikon are slowly building up the lens collection for their Z series of cameras, but with so few on the market they need to make sure that each and every release hits it out of the ballpark, especially when there is a back catalog of lenses that can easily be adapted to the Z6 and the Z7. Recently, the guys and gals over at DXOMark put the new Nikon Z 24-70mm f2.8 S lens through their battery of tests, and it scored well, but can it compete with other lenses in its class? Join us after the break to find out.
Our recent fascination for breathtaking aerial photography continues today. This time, we turn to the work of California-based Julieanne Kost, who recently shared the abstract beauty of Iceland’s landscapes as seen from above. Whether you’ve been looking for inspiration or great examples of aerial photography, or like seeing well-known travel destinations in a new perspective, we’re sure this series is worth checking out.
The staged photograph has long been part of photographers’ tools for creative expression, but how far back it goes is probably not known to many of us. Thankfully, Vox producer Coleman Lowndes has the answer for us, as well as the dismal story behind what is now called the world’s first staged photograph. In a Darkroom episode, he tells us about the events that led to its creation by a French artist and experimenter named Hippolyte Bayard.
One of the things that working photographers have to deal with on a regular basis is the constant need for more storage, thanks to raw files ballooning in size in recent years as a result of the seemingly neverending megapixel war that camera manufacturers have been on since the industry made the shift from analog to digital. Many photographers end up moving files onto cheap external hard drives as a quick fix to make room on their computers, which inevitably end up getting tossed into a drawer or cabinet. Most of these external hard drives are generally poorly organized, never properly maintained, and lack any sort of redundancy in the event of hardware failure. This is why RAID storage solutions like the LaCie 2big RAID have become go-to options for many creatives with demanding workloads that require large storage footprints.
“It’s a very big part of my life,” explains Polly Rusyn, as we discuss the influence travel has on her creativity. A true globetrotter, galavanting from one destination to the next, Polly is flying the flag for street photography all around the world. Her vibrant and energized work is almost a metaphor of herself; positive and full of enthusiasm. And although color is certainly the main character, her photographs have plenty of supporting roles within them that make for some awesome street photography. Because of her dedication to travel, we were worried we would not be able to connect with her. But luck laid on our side and we were able to squeeze in a catch up just before she flew off again.