According to theoretical physics, nothing is faster than the speed of light. However, now you can see with your own eyes the first ever recording of a “sonic boom” – created by light. Or scientifically called a photonic Mach cone. It was recorded by researchers at Washington University in St. Louis, and they used a custom high-speed camera to make the footage. You’ve heard about sonic booms, and you’ve probably heard one at least once....

The Irix 11mm f/4 isn’t quite available yet, but the reviews have started coming in already. First mentioned at The Photography Show last year, it’s a much anticipated lens by landscape, architecture and astrophotographers looking to get ultrawide with full frame bodies. Depending on the brand of camera you’re using, this is the widest non-fisheye full frame lens you can get. Photographer Christopher Frost managed to get his hands on the Firefly version of the 11mm f/4....

The Star Wars universe has inspired lots of photographers and filmmakers, but now it has inspired a camera design, too. Polaroid has jumped on a bandwagon and presented a new camera inspired by The Mandalorian. I’d say it’s just in time, as the second season of Disney’s TV series starts airing in October. But other than the appealing design, let’s see what else the new Polaroid Now camera offers....

It’s done, it’s final. Olympus has announced today that it has concluded a definitive agreement with Japan Industrial Partners Inc. (JIP) regarding the transfer of the Olympus Imaging Business. According to the press release, Olympus will be transferring its Imaging business to a new wholly-owned subsidiary called the “New Imaging Company”, through what is called an absorption-type split. This will be followed up on January 1, 2021 by a transfer of 95% of the shares to OJ Holdings, Ltd – a “special purpose company” set up by JIP....

The demands placed on portable storage are higher now than they ever were, especially for creatives working in photo and video. We need larger capacities and faster speeds to be able to keep up with those huge raw files and 4K and larger footage. Glyph’s new Atom Pro SSD claims to be the fastest portable SSD out there, offering sustained read and write speeds of 2,800MB/sec and 2,600MB/sec respectively. We caught up with Glyph at IBC 2019 to find out more about the Atom Pro, and some of the other storage products they were showing off....

High-angle shots can make your subject appear weak or vulnerable. But what about low-angle shots? Do they help you achieve the exact opposite effect? Well, they can, but not necessarily. In this video from Studio Binder, learn more about low-angle shots the effect they have on your photography or video. A low-angle shot can be subtle, going only slightly below your subject’s eye level; or extreme, showing your subject from worm’s-eye view....

One of the most powerful applications of photography has been as a tool to document some of the most important moments in recent history, whether that’s in terms of a shared history of the world in the form of photojournalism, or in the more personal history of family snapshots, personal photography, and street photography. Photography for personal use is prevalent in everyday life perhaps more today than ever before; every dance-floor selfie on a night out is photographic storytelling, every published snapshot in some way contributing to the wider communal pool of stories being told....

Sometimes, it’s just hard to find that perfect location, especially at this time of year. If you want bright summery colourful images, February’s just no good. And it’s freezing cold for much of the world, too. So, what is one to do? Well, for photographer Adam Delane, one takes their models to the local Hobby Lobby and does the photo shoot there. Photography is as much about what we leave out of the frame as it is what we include....

We’ve seen some splendid photos taken from the International Space Station. They’re out of this world (quite literally) regardless of the gear, so just imagine what they would be like if astronomers used fancy ultra-high-resolution cameras. Well, you don’t need to imagine. The recent NG-18 mission sent state-of-the-art immersive camera gear to the ISS. It’s the highest-resolution camera system ever launched to the space station and will bring us an immersive experience at the MSG Sphere venues here on Earth....

Advertisements A super moon appears larger and brighter than a regular full moon since it is near its closest distance to Earth. Here is the explanation in three simple points: From my experience, the moon will appear largest when it is just above the horizon line. If you are considering which lens to use to get a close-up view, try using a telephoto lens for the best results. Of course, the challenge with this kind of photo is not just technical, there is a compositional issue as well....

Lomography has today announced a very requested item from the large format film community – the LomoGraflok 4×5 Instant Back. While many large format shooters of the past might have used Polaroids, this new back is the world’s first that lets you shoot Fuji Instax Wide instant film on a 4×5 large format camera. It costs only $134 while it’s on pre-order, going up to $149 once it goes on general sale....

We’ve seen some pretty cool lunar events already this year, with two supermoons, a blue moon and one total eclipse back in January. Now we’re set for another total lunar eclipse in two weeks. With an expected duration of 1 hour 42 minutes and 57 seconds, NASA says it will be the longest lunar eclipse this century. It’s on July 27th, 2018 and will, in fact, be the longest lunar eclipse until 2123....

The Nikon Z5 camera is almost here. Rumours of a July announcement came last month, and now we’re only four days away from the expected July 21st announcement. And while some of the previously rumoured lenses aren’t now expected to be announced at the same time, we will apparently be hearing about one, the Nikkor Z 24-50mm f/4-6.3 and a couple of teleconverters. With the announcement this close, it’s no surprise that serial-leaker, Nokishita has managed to uncover the specs for the upcoming camera, and they’ve posted them to their platform of choice, Twitter....

It seems that the Nikon Z7, announced in August 2018 and released the following month during Photokina, is being retired. Despite the Nikon Z7 II being released two years later, Nikon Z7 production and sales still continued. Now, though, the Nikon Japan website lists the original Nikon Z7 as an “old product”. Or, in other words, “discontinued. We all knew it was coming at some point, and, well, it’s been four years now....

On Monday, the Pentagon released three declassified videos of “unexplained aerial phenomena”. That’s a fancy term for “UFOs”. The Guardian reports that the Pentagon released the footage to “clear up any misconceptions by the public” on whether or not the footage that had been previously leaked was genuine. It turns out that it was. The three clips are referred to as Flir, Go Fast and Gimbal, which are shown in the video above....

As a photographer, making the transition to video or adding it to your offerings can be a daunting task – especially if you haven’t jumped on the mirrorless train yet. Even if you’re already a very good photographer, shooting video requires a very different skillset (and potentially a whole bunch of new gear) that can take some time to learn. In this 16-minute video, photographer Justin Mott offers up some useful advice for photographers thinking about getting started with video – or how to take it more seriously if you’ve already had a little go with it....

Photographers invest a lot over the years. Not just in their gear, but also in their knowledge and skills of photography, retouching, marketing, and business. We all aim to make perfect photos, but Daniel DeArco shares an eye-opening video on this topic. He calls it “the photographer’s paradox” and he discusses whether you really need “perfect” photos every time and whether you really need to use all the gear you have....

Some time ago I did a project together with Mathieu Stern. Back then, we communicated via Skype. Because of that, I was super happy to hear, that I would finally get to meet him in person. This visit was for a portrait shooting on a collodion wet plate and we did also a short wet plate workshop. After the videos from Mathieu and myself, you can see all the pictures and read more about the shootings...

After building his amazing truck camera, Ian Ruhter went traveling across the US, taking huge wet plate photos. During the filming of a documentary about the residents in Slab City, Ian was attempting to make the world’s largest ambrotype. Actor Gary Oldman joined Ian on set and documented his process, as a colleague and a friend. This collaboration and their friendship led to creating a short movie “The Carnival of Dreams”, the last installment of Ian’s Silver & Light project....

It’s been a minute since we last heard anything about the Lightroom-powered Zeiss ZX1 camera. Almost a whole year, in fact. It was first announced rather quietly at Photokina 2018 last September followed by a brief hands-on in December, but since then it’s been radio silence. Now it looks like it might be one step closer to actually being released after support for its DNG files was added to the latest Adobe Camera Raw 12....