It’s an age-old question dividing photographers again and again. What’s more important. The photographer or gear. We all know the answer. The photographer. Or is it? When the shot does well, it’s the photographer. When it sucks, it’s the camera. All things being equal, the better photographer will usually get better shots while better gear […]
Here’s a photography study by, surprise surprise, consumer giant Unilever’s personal care brand Dove. Right, they want women and men to look and feel beautiful. According to a new Dove global research, self-awareness and photography are closely related. If you don’t feel confident, you don’t want to have your picture taken. Women obviously feel less […]
Unbelievable. The Canon EOS M might not be the sexiest camera, but it’s a solid reliable performer that can serve as a decent backup. B&H slashes the EOS M prices. Check this — please note these are limited time offers: Canon EOS M (black) with EF-M 22mm F2 STM Lens for $299 (price drop of […]
By DIEGO GIUDICE After five years without visiting the USA, last month I had the opportunity to fly for a few days to San Francisco, California. I always enjoyed the U.S., among other things because I could catch up with a vast variety of newspapers and magazines of the highest quality, a fact that over […]
This has been rumored for years, that Apple will reinvent photography — which in part the company has already succeeded in. Look how the iPhone changed photography and the way we take and use pictures. Every day, more photos are taken with an iPhone than any other camera. But iPhoneography is still one big compromise. […]
Am a bit busy these days and shooting a Samsung NX300. Not a shabby camera at all! But how does it compare to others — and more importantly, could NX be a system for you? You’ll soon have it answered right here on THEME. But first: As we all know, a robust DSLR does really […]
By BRIAN SWEENEY I’ve put together another article, this time on the C-Sonnar. “Once upon a time” optical engineers wrote books aimed at photographers wanting to understand more about the instruments that they use. They actually explained things like “focus shift” and “spherical aberration.” I’ve tried to apply lessons learned from Carroll Bernard Neblette (Photographic […]
Say what you want, but that’s an aggressive price point for the latest X series Fujifilm is offering: The Fujifilm X-M1 digital camera, 16.3MP, with 3″ tilting screen and Wi-Fi, comes from Amazon in black, silver and fancy brown leatherette with silver accents, a new color more and more camera makers seem to embrace (or […]
By BENGT NYMAN I am a great fan of DxOMark test results, produced under uncompromising rigor and objectivity. I chose my last camera and lenses based on DxO Labs’ test results and I am very pleased with the results. The DxOMark test results for the Nikon D800(E) initially drew criticism from a die hard crowd […]
Lomography is all about going back to the basics, about analog photography stripped down to its bare essentials without the bells and whistles fancier gear comes with. Right, you don’t want to see MTF charts of those plastic lenses, but then again, once you use a, say Konstruktor, you might be amazed by the image […]
The New York Times’ Lens Blog just published a beautiful two-part series with journalist and filmmaker Sheila Turner-Seed interviewing Henri Cartier-Bresson in his Paris studio in 1971. The interview was only discovered in 2011. Not much to add. You have to read the whole thing for yourself. Straight-forward answers of a blessed photographer who never […]
Here’s one for the budding and seasoned photographers among you. A new online photo service has just been launched called LightRocket. The service is the brainchild of photographers Peter Charlesworth and Yvan Cohen, the co-founders of OnAsia Images, an online photo agency created over a decade ago representing a select group of professional photographers covering […]
By JAWAD RIACHI I have been lately disturbed by the recent trend of camera manufacturers. So many cameras in so many different forms are being introduced to the market, all at different prices, yet I cannot find one which I can connect with. I want a small form cameras with high image quality and preferably […]
By AROON THAEWCHATTURAT Many thanks to Daniel for publishing my Sacred Skin portraits. These photographs are part of an illustrated book titled Sacred Skin — Thailand’s Spirit Tattoos, published with a text by Tom Vater. During the course of my project, I was able to explore cultural paths through Thailand that are barely represented in […]
This one’s for Canon, Nikon, Pentax, Sigma and Sony mounts: the rather revolutionary, market’s first zoom lens to achieve a maximum aperture of F1.8 throughout the entire zoom range from 18mm to 35mm — which translates to a focal range equivalence of 27-52.5mm on a 35mm camera. This outstanding Sigma lens was specifically created for […]
Specs-wise, they got a promising lineup. Look at Samsung’s mirrorless NX300: fast AF, and I mean fast, just to mention Usain Bolt who gives his name for it. Excellent noise handling with incremental ISO steps, spot-on natural colors and tones, fantastic prime pancakes, a sleek design and don’t forget the plus of instant Wi-Fi image […]
In my earlier days I worked as a tour guide, traveling the world to finance my studies. On one tour to Vietnam an elder man was in the group. He was the one who seemed to enjoy the trip the most. This was all pre-digital times, but while the other tour members were busy with […]
Negativity has become the new favorite pastime of many photographers. Instead of going out and enjoying our cameras, we’re glued to the computer screen and comment on stuff that has nothing to do with our lives. We neither contribute anything positive to society nor are we able to look at ourselves in the mirror and […]
Why anyone would want to simulate film? Today’s ultra clean digital files can border on the sterile if not handled correctly. As with any product, opinions will differ, but this is my unimportant one: if you want film images, you use a film camera. If you want to simulate the closest thing to film images, […]
This one’s really cool: an Adobe charm offensive. After all the negative press Adobe recently got for its Cloud(y) future, here’s some splendid creativity in action. It’s part of Adobe’s Creative Days — well they better try to appease photographers! And this is one smart prank, Adobe:
Remember, you read it here first, a week before it was on all the other sites: the ominous X Vario’s name confirmed. But this post is not about unabashed self-promotion. Many photographers obviously want a “Mini M” that Leica marketing suggested. Leica could sell tons of slimmed down M with interchangeable lenses, EVF, image stabilization, […]
The story usually goes like this: you buy a new camera, and then you decide on the optics. That doesn’t make a lot of sense, really. Shouldn’t it be the other way round. Aren’t the optics at the heart and soul of an image? Sensor and camera are second priority. Rather decide first which lens(es) […]
Pultizer Prize winner Liu Heung-Shing tells the Wall Street Journal how a fellow Associated Press photographer captured the iconic “tank man” image during the Tiananmen Square crackdown in June 1989 — and how the AP snuck it past plainclothes police who were on the lookout for protestors and the media. PetaPixel: When the Chinese military […]
The Ricoh GR is in stock on eBay U.S. — expect it to soon be available on Amazon where this street photographer’s gem is on preorder.
Who didn’t wonder why that Leica X Vario, to be announced on June 11, 2013, has this big and slow of a lens. Maybe, but only maybe good news. The latest Leica teaser suggests a smaller, lighter and — as I would assume — faster lens. Based on my source I stick to my guns […]
Chicago’s Sun-Times recently laid off its entire staff of 28 full-time photographers to replace them with iPhones. Seriously. According to a Sun-Times memo “reporters begin mandatory training on iPhone photography basics following elimination of the paper’s entire photography staff. In the coming days and weeks, we’ll be working with all editorial employees to train and […]
I’m not saying, I’m just saying that’s what 24/7 Wall St. is saying: Each year, 24/7 Wall St. identifies 10 important brands sold in America that they predict will disappear. This year’s list reflects the brutally competitive nature of certain industries and the importance of not falling behind in efficiency, innovation or financing. Not sure, […]
By YORGOS EFTHYMIADIS Daniel, thank you very much for your time and for giving emerging artists from around the world the opportunity to present their projects to a wider audience! My main body of work is titled This Must Be the Place and it is a critical and curious response to being submerged in a […]
A Leica Mini M full-frame EVIL that is. As we know now, thanks to the Leica cock up teaser suggesting that a miniaturized Leica M will see the light of the day on June 11, 2013, Leica calls all its cameras an “M.” The M is a Leica M, the X2 is a Micro M, […]
There goes Eve. She’s wearing only head, chin and arm ornaments. Balancing on a fallen tree trunk, she crosses a stretch of jungle water. In search of Adam? Eve is not Eve but a member of the Zo’é tribe in Brazil. But the famous photographer, Sebastião Salgado, presents the young beauty in Old Testament style: […]
