Slovak photographer Michal Zahornacky creates surrealistic mood in his photos, and he does it all in camera. Once again, he has brought together realistic and abstract. In the series he named Curves, he has turned ordinary portraits into amazing abstract, painting-like photos. And instead of using Photoshop, he used only some water and achieved these amazing effects entirely in camera. By creating these unique, abstract portraits, Michal wants to question viewers’ perception of aesthetics....

Apart from being in love with photography, I am also completely enchanted by music. My photos are often inspired by music or song lyrics, and I love the way these two forms of art intertwine. Unfortunately, I can’t play any instrument, although I’ve tried. And I’m a terrible singer. But, this made me think about people who are equally good at both these forms of art. So I started looking for musicians who are also photographers, and I made some fantastic discoveries....

We just had a beautiful Aurora Australis hit New Zealand a couple of days ago. I was fortunate enough to catch a quiet spot to myself where I could take in the atmosphere and shoot a few images. My favourite from the night was a panorama shot of the Aurora to the south and the galactic core rising to the south east – it was the shot I planned and it seemed to turn out nicely [check out this blogpost if you want to learn how to stitch astro panoramas]....

It looks like GoPro has gone with a complete redesign for the new GoPro Hero 8, expected to be announced at some point next month. Leaked photos posted to Photo Rumors show what looks like a rather impressive looking built-in microphone, and even a hotshoe mount for attaching various accessories. Along with the photos, Photo Rumors also posted some rumoured possible specs for the new camera. To be announced in September 2019New design with optional housing and new accessoriesGP2 processor4K video at 120fps, 1080p Full HD at 480fpsImproved lens and image quality12-megapixel sensor (not confirmed)...

Polaroid has added a new, tiny camera to its line-up along with a new type of film that fits it. The new Polaroid Go is so small that both the camera and the prints it makes fit on the palm of your hand. In fact, it’s the smallest instant film camera in the world. But let’s see if it has anything big to offer. The most obvious trait of the Polaroid Go is its compact size....

The new portable Profoto B10 250 AirTTL strobe has officially been announced. It’s a tiny 250Ws strobe, about the size of a 24-70mm f/2.8 lens that can easily fit in your camera bag. It has a rechargeable lithium-ion battery, with a colour adjustable continuous light for video. Offering “five times the power of a speedlight” (a little over 2 stops), the Profoto B10 250 AirTTL promises to pack a big lighting punch from a small package....

I owe Adobe most of my life. Without them, I would honestly not be where I am today, being able to do what I love every single day! Over the years, it has also gone through a multitude of changes. Since my life is tied directly to Photoshop, I pay very close attention to them! The Adobe subscription model has been one of those interesting changes. When it was first announced, it was met with push-back from the community....

Do you like photos with tilt-shift effect? If you do, then you know there are plenty of ways to make them. You can either buy a tilt shift lens or make one on your own. And if you prefer doing it in post-processing, Photoshop and Lightroom will be your allies. This tutorial from Scott Kelby teaches you to fake tilt-shift effect in Lightroom in no time. First, open the photo to which you’d like to add tilt-shift effect....

During the holiday season, I’m sure all of us want to get some festive family shots with our loved ones. But how to make the best out of them? In this video from B&H, photographer David Flores shares some quick tips to take your holiday family photos to a new level. 1. Set the scene Evergreen trees, Christmas lights, warm colors… No matter whether you shoot at home, in the backyard or in a park, think about the setting and make it reflect the holiday mood....

The RED Epic Dragon prototype was the first sensor to score over 100 on DxOMark sensor score scale, and it hit 101. But they has recently given RED’s 35.4MP Helium 8K sensor the highest overall score so far: 108. It means that this is not the first to exceed the 100 point bar, but it set up a new record. DxOMark says Helium is a ‘solid upgrade’ of the RED Epic Dragon....

This announcement applies to Ricoh Japan only. For a statement from Ricoh USA, see the bottom of this post. Ricoh, more specifically its Pentax brand of cameras, seem to have been particularly stuck in the past over the last few years. As every other single surviving camera manufacturer has made the transition to mirrorless, Pentax is still clinging onto its DSLRs. But is Pentax, as well as sister brand GR and parent brand Ricoh in more trouble than we thought?...

Another one that leaked out a couple of days early, the Samyang AF 14mm f/2.8 EF lens for full frame Canon DSLRs is here. At $849, this marks Samyang’s entry into the autofocus DSLR lens market, with something clearly aimed at landscape and astrophotography shooters. This isn’t really surprising, as Samyang’s ultrawide manual focus lenses are a favourite amongst many already. Sold in the US under the Rokinon brand name, the lens is $849....

Samyang has today announced their first autofocus super-wide-angle prime lens for APS-C. Specifically, for Sony APS-C E mount. It’s the Samyang AF 12mm F2E and offers a field of view equivalent to that of an 18mm lens on full-frame with a wide f/2 maximum aperture, which is fantastic for subjects like astrophotography or interiors where it’s fairly dark when you want a wide angle of view. It contains 12 elements in 10 groups, with three extra-low dispersion and two aspherical elements to minimise chromatic aberration and distortion, and increase sharpness....

Deepfakes are simultaneously both an amazing technological achievement and also scary as hell. The potential for movies and VFX work is huge, as has been proven by a number of YouTube channels showing deep fakes vs the CG versions of characters that have reappeared in various Star Wars movies. But there are obvious nefarious implications of such technology, too. While the recreations of deceased actors in movies are most definitely fake, deepfake videos of those still living are not always so obvious....

The World Nature Photography Awards (WNPA) is one of those contests that remind you how versatile, beautiful, unique, but also dangerous and merciless the natural world can be. The competition has just announced its 2021 winners, and it’s a selection of absolutely stunning images. This year’s overall winner is Amos Nachoum from the USA with his image of a leopard sea moments from capturing a Gentoo penguin. But have no doubts that there are many more awesome photos among the contest’s 13 categories that I’m sure you’ll love!...

Whenever I speak to people about starting up a YouTube channel, one of the biggest objections I hear is that they don’t want to be in front of the camera. They don’t want to be seen. Or at least, not initially. It can take time to build up the confidence to step in front of the camera if you’re not used to it. But is it possible to run a successful channel without getting in front of the camera?...

There’s little question that getting into film photography can still become rather expensive, especially if you’re going large format. But it doesn’t have to be. Sure, you can spend a fortune on a large format view camera and complete darkroom setup, but do you really need it? I’ve been following Joe Van Cleave’s YouTube channel for a while now, and in this recent video he’s going to help answer that question....

To work for free or to not work for free? For some creatives, this isn’t even a question, but for others, it’s hard to decide, especially if they’re just starting out. As a newbie with no portfolio and with little experience, should you do some free work first? At least for a while? Chase Turnbow believes you should, and he explains his reasoning in his latest video.Advertisements According to Chase, a good portfolio is vital to your production company....

I shoot the vast majority of my images on a tripod. I am fully aware that I sacrifice some flexibility in the field. However, such an approach gives me sharp images with a horizon in level. I predominantly shoot during the golden hour. This entails that I often shoot exposures where the shutter is open way longer than if I was shooting in bright daylight. If possible, I also almost exclusively shoot at base ISO....

Sigma has announced a new plugin which adds X3F import support into Adobe Photoshop CC. Sigma camera users have been mostly limited to using Sigma’s own Sigma Photo Pro software to process their camera’s X3F raw files. A few cameras are supported natively by Adobe Camera RAW, but their recent cameras are not. Now, though, you can bypass the (rather sluggish) Sigma processing software and bring your X3F files straight into Photoshop....