If you thought the views of the Northern Lights looked good from the ground, wait until you see them from the air. This footage captured by Nathan Starzynski shows a rather unique vantage point. Aboard a flight over Southeastern Alberta around 8pm local time, he was surprised when he looked out of the window to see this. To capture the timelapse, Nathan extended a tripod and wedged it against the window seat to hold it steady....
If you are shooting video, you know how annoying those built-in camera monitors can be. Even if they are slightly bigger. Even if they tilt. Even if they flip out. They are just not very convenient when you need to do work on a bigger scale. I am not dissing them completely. Some situations call for small built-in monitors. But you want an external monitor when you need accuracy and a bit more real estate....
Sony first announced back in June 2020 that the Sony ZV-1 vlogging camera would soon be able to act as a USB webcam. Just two months later, they delivered, adding support for not only the ZV-1 but 34 other Sony cameras as well. Now, though, a new firmware update lets you use the ZV-1 as a USB webcam without any other software at all. The new update means all one has to do is connect their ZV-1 camera to a computer’s USB port and it gets detected as a video capture device just like any other webcam, allowing you to use it natively in applications like OBS, Skype, Zoom or… well, anything that uses a webcam, really....
When you think of a portrait of Steve Jobs, I bet this is the image you have in mind. Photographer Albert Watson took the famous portrait in 2006, and it has become a signature photo of the famous visionary and entrepreneur. In this video from Profoto, Watson himself shares the interesting story behind this recognizable portrait. Shooting this photo was a part of a project that required Watson to photograph the most powerful people in the USA....
Vitec Group, the company behind Manfrotto, Lowepro, Joby, Lastolite, Gitzo, Vinten, Syrp and many other big names in the photo and video industry has today announced that they’ve acquired LED lighting manufacturer, Quasar Science. They say the business will become part of Vitec’s “Production Solutions Division” alongside Litepanels. Quasar Science products have typically been used in large scale film and TV productions, although the last few years they’ve started creeping into lower end productions, regularly popping up in the background of YouTube videos as part of the set illumination....
If there’s such a thing as ASMR video for photographers, this must be it. Photographer Scott Graham has filmed “a video no one asked for,” yet it’s still amusing and very satisfying to watch. In about three minutes, he shares with you shutter sounds of 37 different cameras, mostly old film and digital models. Scott has a table full of old cameras he wants to sell, so he wanted to make something out of them before they all leave his possession....
Each of us has had our own journey in life, and the same goes for our photographic journey. But no matter how different we are, there are some things we all have in common. Evan Ranft has identified eight phases all photographers go through, and I’ve definitely recognized myself. Which phase are you in right now? 1.The mistaken savant: this phase comes when you first pick up the camera and discover the exciting world of photography....
The past couple of weeks have been all about mirrorless cameras. It appears that Fujifilm is about to join the show very soon with the X-T3. Some photos of the upcoming camera have leaked online, and rumor has it that we may see the camera in the stores pretty soon, too. Nokishita has leaked a couple of photos that show the X-T3 design. From what can be seen, the changes are rather subtle....
I’m not much of a portrait photographer. But if I had to do this genre, I’d definitely choose environmental portraits. If it’s something you’re just dipping your toes into, B&H has an amazing video for you. Photographer Alison Wright will tell you about her five top tips for environmental portraits. And it’s not technical tips about gear, composition, or light settings. It’s rather a selection of, let’s say, “human” tips that will make your portraits truly striking and help you tell a story....
When I first saw these orbs, I was almost sure that they we were computer generated. I was wrong. The orbs are a work of art from German Light Art master Bernhard Rauscher (a.k.a. lumenman), and were made using self made plexiglass blades. I was curious about the perfect orbs, so I reached out to Bernhard to learn how they were made. The first thing I learned is that those are called Light Planet and not Orbs :)...
In the 21st century, millions of people got to see, photograph and film a total solar eclipse. With technology so advanced and widely available, in recent years we got to see photos and footage shot from an airplane, a stratospheric balloon and even from space. But what was it like to shoot this phenomenon almost 120 years ago? Thanks to a recently recovered video, you can see the first ever footage of a total solar eclipse, filmed way back in 1900....
If you’re a photographer or a filmmaker shooting in the field all day, you may need a solution to reduce the number of batteries and chargers you pack in your bag. X-tra battery offers a solution, and it seems like many creators are eager to get one. It has nearly twice more power capacity than most other batteries, it helps you get rid of additional accessories, and it spares you a few other headaches you may have when switching batteries....
We’re getting to a point where it feels like just about everywhere on earth has been photographed from every angle. And then posted to Instagram. That certainly seems to be becoming true for New York City, at least. And while we may feel like all photos start to look kind of the same, there are slight differences between each of the images. These differences have allowed people like art director, Sam Morrison to create this 57-second Hyperlapse through NYC made entirely from 1,272 crowdsourced photos he found on Instagram....
Sometimes, the best option is still to just build it yourself. A few months ago, we introduced you to filmmaker Robert McIntosh. He told us how he hacked up a GoPro to cut the fat and minimise its space & weight. Now, he’s had a little while to refine his design, and taken things even smaller. And it produces fantastic results. It’s only 5″ wide, and 3″ tall with 2″ propellers....
Among so many great moon photos out there, it doesn’t happen all too often anymore that one of them makes you stop scrolling and just stare in awe. This is what happened to me when I saw this magnificent moon photo by Andrew McCarthy. Then I read that it’s an 81-megapixel photo, stacked from nearly 50,000 exposures. I reached out to Andrew curious to learn more, and he kindly shared the details of his process with DIYP....
For some strange reason, this video from Taylor Nowel popped up on my suggested feed yesterday, although it was actually posted to YouTube about 18 months ago. It documents the weirdness that is the Fujifilm Rensha Cardia BYU-N 16. What makes it weird is that it has sixteen lenses. Yes, sixteen. Count ’em. Each with their own individual shutters. It shoots to 35mm film and contains two separate shutter buttons....
It’s been a while since we’ve featured work from hyperlapse filmmaker Kirill Neiezhmakov, but when I saw his recent film, Magical Places in Lisbon, I just had to share it here on DIYP. It’s a fantastic mix of hyperlapse, traditional timelapse, as well as realtime footage, which tells a fantastic story. It’s quite different from the usual hyperlapse films we see these days and the mixture of footage at different speeds works really well....
Photo colorization takes a lot of time and skill, and there are artists who do an impressive work doing it. One of these artists is Jordan Lloyd. In this video by Vox, he talks about the techniques and methods artists use not only to add color – but to learn which colors to add. We have recently featured a great tutorial for photo colorization. A lot of people wondered how they are supposed to know which colors to add to a black and white photo to make it accurate....
We’ve written about building a brand as a photographer or a filmmaker. Branding sure involves many different aspects and requires a lot of effort and skill, but have you ever thought about sound branding? Sonic branding experts Andrew Stafford and Steve Milton discuss this topic for WIRED. They explain the psychology behind many sounds that you’ll instantly recognize. Messenger chat, Skype call, Mac startup sound… What makes them so recognizable and what are they telling us?...
No matter if you’re a total newbie or you’ve been shooting for a while, the last thing you wanna be is a copycat. Nobody likes copycats, right? But bear with me. In this video from Westcott, photographer Glyn Dewis shares some situations when copying others’ work will be good for your own photography without harming the original authors. So let’s hear what he has to say. Before we proceed, I must emphasize that you shouldn’t copy other’s people work and display it as your original idea....
