2022 was the year when many of us regained our lives. COVID has become a thing we live with; for many, life regained its pre-covid routines. I thought it would be interesting to see the topics we all engaged with. Interestingly, there is a mix of gear, wildlife, and even AI. For me, one of the more interesting points when going over the data was how it was hard to predict which topics would create a discussion. If you can find a common thread among all those posts, I would love to hear. I could not find one.
1. What is this? Security camera captures weird creature in the night outside a texas zoo
Maybe it’s the curious title, maybe the hint of non-human creatures living amidst us. This post caught your attention, and there was no lack of guesses from you. From Lynx through Bobcat to a parent piggybacking his kid. What do you think?
2. Google Photos’ unlimited storage is back, but there’s a catch
I never thought that a post about free photo storage would create so much discussion. This was a great discussion – most of the comments suggested alternatives to this T-mobile-only freebie. If you are not subscribed to T Mobile or don’t even live in the states to have this option, the comment section here is a great place to find some photo storage ideas.
3. Vero: the Instagram alternative that photographers are flocking to
With Flickr dying a long time ago, Twitter stumbling, and Instagram turning away from photographers, it was interesting to see where photographers will turn for social media. The initial response for Vero was very good, but as some of the comments suggested, Instagram will do what it does best, copy and assimilate. It is still to be seen if this will be the case.
4. Is Canon shooting themselves in the foot by blocking third party lens manufacturers?
This was a personal favorite for me. While Canon is definitely a market leader, their stand on blocking competition is controversial at best and killing innovation at worst. To be honest, we reached out to Canon several times, including at IBC, but were not really able to get a clear answer. It does make one wonder if Canon will ever become a closed garden like Apple is.
5. Nikon Z9’s Pre-release feature makes lightning triggers obsolete
Nikon Z9 brought pre-release to its high-end cameras. While this feature is new to the Canon-Nikon-Sony trio, Olympus had apparently had it for a while. The debate of how companies should approach features became very heated, very fast.
6. Does it matter that the viral snow leopard images are fake? Yes, and this is why
Kittiya Pawlowski (got to admire the name) published a handful of amazing images featuring a snow leopard shot in the Himalayas. Shortly after, it was discovered that the photos were fake. While I suspect this specific instance was an elaborate prank, we will see fake images taking a bigger part of the discussion as AI-generated images become more available.
7. DSLRs aren’t quite dead yet – Leaked photos show a new upcoming Pentax KF
Are DSRLs dying? Some think this. Some not. Pentax Don’t, and they are backing up this sentiment with a new Pentax FK DSLR. But even before they made this official, you were already at it debating if it is worth a while for Pentax to lunch this camera in 2022. Time will tell if the Ricoh-Pentax brand was on spot with this release. or if DSLRs have more breath in them.
8. Peter McKinnon has released a new multitool for photographers and filmmakers
Linus has a screwdriver, Trey Ratcliff made a bag, and Peter McKinnon has a multitool. I know EDC is a passionate subject, but the number of flames coming to this device absolutely shocked me. Aside from one other post, this was our most moderated post of the year.
9. Death of creativity: AI-generated image wins a fine arts competition
And there we have it. If AI if good enough to fool human judges, why is it not good enough for everything else?
10. NBC Today show accused of airbrushing photo of trans-gender swimmer
This is a delicate topic, and I don’t think NBC handled that well. The story revolves around transgender swimmer Lia Thomas finishing first in the NCAA Championships and NBC Today retouching her face. Whether it was a poor aesthetic decision or a political one is unclear. Either way, the discussion surrounding this incident touch both LGBTQ rights and news integrity. And there we have it. This is what you talked about most this year. What would you like to talk about next year?
