While many of us have seen how and why mirrorless cameras will take over the bigger and bulkier DSLRs, the pros have remained a tough nut to crack for the mirrorless market. Many of the pros still prefer holding on to the big investments they made in their DSLR gear, but some have started to jump into the mirrorless side. Bloomberg recently reported that Sony has been especially enticing them with their new super-fast offerings.
Though Canon may be #1 in Japan for mirrorless cameras, Sony has taken the #1 spot when it comes to full frame cameras overall in the US. The news comes to us via a press release delivered by Sony today. They’re also announcing that they are in the overall #1 position when it comes to dollars and units; which they’ve been for 6 years now. According to Sony, 4/10 full frame cameras sold during this period are Sony.
How many of you photographers out there have sat there, looked at the work of some of the greats and were in awe of the medium format look? If you’re reading this article, I’m positive that a number of you have. When it comes to documentary photography though, smaller formats have always dominated the scene. Why? Well, it’s easier to capture more critical moments with smaller formats due to how the laws of physics and depth of field world. But when that doesn’t mean that medium format doesn’t work. Lots of fantastic projects were done on medium format; and I’m positive that in the hands of the right photographers, digital medium format can do the same.
The lenses that photojournalists use need to be equally adept to ever changing conditions, and they need to able to withstand the hardest of jolts, and the hottest, coldest, and rainiest of days. To be successful in this field, a wide range of focal lengths needs to be covered. The challenge comes in finding lenses that are up to the task of being used and abused over and over again without the photographer having to ever worry about their glass. Here is a list of the five lenses every documentary photographer should have in their bag.
One of the things that many photographers speak of is empathy for your subjects; while I hate the romanticizing of the idea that should honestly just be common sense, I agree that you should always do unto others as you’d have others do unto you. Blame Catholic schooling for that. If you want to turn the camera onto other people, you shouldn’t be that person that says “Oh I don’t like having the camera turned on me.” If that’s the case, then why do it to others? Why not instead work to make yourself feel better in front of the camera or find a way to work with a photographer to do that? This has been my belief for years and in my eyes, there’s no exception to this rule. In order to have true empathy for your subjects, you need to step into their shoes and live a day in their lives. When you combine this with a few recent life changes that I’ve made, it adds up and becomes something that it worth putting forward in photos that are representative of who you are.
It’s been a while since the 2018 FIFA World Cup has concluded, but that doesn’t stop us from showcasing this beautiful and heartfelt photo essay by Skander Khlif. In his set titled Hooligans of Love, the Munich-based street and documentary photographer captured the revelry of the Tunisian team’s supporters. Interestingly, it the was the only group that he ended up making a series about throughout his attendance of the World Cup, and here, he tells us why.
If you haven’t updated your Instagram password or haven’t reviewed your security settings in a while, now would be a good time to do so. A puzzling hack has locked some Instagram users out of their accounts and got all contact details replaced, with the email address linked to a new one under a Russian domain.
Landscape photography has always been about immersing ourselves in nature’s grandeur first, and bringing home photos that serve as a reminder of the experience. It’s also the same for freelance photographer and writer Li Ye, who is based in one of the most sought after destinations among photographers: the mystic and majestic Tibet. Apart from scaling the region’s mountainous landscapes, he also explores other regions in China whose features best fit his minimalist style and creative approach of finding the nature of things in light and color. In this quick interview, Li Ye gives us an insight into what inspires him within and outside Tibet, how he developed his moody and minimalist style, and how he began his journey into landscape photography.
Based out of Hobe Sound, Florida, photographer Jason D Page has been creating light painting photographs for over a decade. Jason is also the creator of the Light Painting Brushes system, a collection of specialty lighting tools designed with light painters in mind. We had previous featured some of Jason’s work here on the Phoblographer: These Faces Were Created With Long Exposure Light Painting and his “Lady of the Lake”. Most recently, Jason did a light painting portrait project with the artists performing at iHeartRadio’s Wango Tango music festival in Los Angeles, and shared his experiences with us.
I completely agree with you that in the age of digital photography and mobile phones, the idea of spending a year on just film is really insane. But on the other side of things, I believe that spending a year working with film is one of the best thing that many photographers can do for themselves and their work. After a year, you return to digital and you’ll realize that you’re a completely different type of shooter and that you as a photographer have changed greatly.