A Girl and Her Horse-Maile and Luna If you haven’t guessed by now, my other passion is horses and riding. Years ago I used to show horses, jump them etc. I’m still an equestrian, and I ride and working on riding more and more each week as my schedule allows it. I met Maile at a farm we both rode at a while ago, since then she and her two horses have moved to Sporty Acres Farm, but we’ve kept in…
I’ve been fascinated with the idea of incorporating the moon into photos whenever possible. And so, with the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11’s moon landing on July 20th, I was excited by the possibility to shoot something special for the occasion: Putting a man “on” the moon. The man here is Ty Johnson, a paramotor pilot, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. As NASA will tell you, getting a man to the moon is harder than it looks. This is how we…
I recently arrived at what I think is a worthwhile insight into the lenses I use. The material that follows should become instantly obvious once read, but the several photographers I discussed this with all commented that they had never thought of the matter that way and that it was worth some thought. Those comments inspired me to share my viewpoint here. A lot of my shots are taken with relatively long focal lengths, typically from 60mm to 135mm on…
I had everything I could ever need, all the dream gear. Broncolor lighting, the latest professional Canon cameras and all the faster canon lenses. I had the latest Apple laptop, tethering equipment, software, c-stands, tripods, light modifiers, Polaroid cameras, all the gear I could have ever dreamed of. I had it all, and at that time it was good—better than good, it was extraordinary. So why did I later decide to get rid of everything I worked so hard to…
Being an Underwater Photographer I’ve always been drawn to creating dreamscapes below the surface, it’s just part of the allure for me, and trying to build a whole room underwater was one of the goals I’d set myself quite a while ago. Having been a primarily traveling photographer meant that I didn’t have a proper studio in which to experiment, but that all changed last year when I built my own Underwater Studio at my home in Long Beach, California.…
It frustrates me to see so many fake wildlife photographs of amphibians and reptiles on social media. That’s because those staged photos of captive animals in unnatural positions and situations go viral on a regular basis, and this “success” can inspire other people to follow them in their footsteps. The process of staging the amphibians and reptiles often involves animal cruelty. I have dedicated many social media posts to this subject, but after all the negativity, I wanted to turn…
Many parents don’t realize that anyone can call themselves a newborn photographer; but untrained photographers can make what should be a relaxing experience, incredibly stressful. It’s not just about the images, it’s about soothing babies and knowing their cues. It is a great job, but newborn photographers really should care enough to invest in training. Becoming a photographer is a journey, and mine started in Norwich, Norfolk 7 years ago. From the start I knew I wanted to be a…
Explore modeling history with seven stunning women of color who changed modern high fashion and carved a path for future generations. When Pat Cleveland was growing up, she looked at fashion magazines and didn’t find anyone who looked like her. Early in her career, when she traveled to the American South as part of the Ebony Fashion Fair, she endured threats of violence from members of the Ku Klux Klan. She and her fellow models were attacked while trying to…
It’s 6:30PM on the 4th of July in Boston and I had just gotten off work—one of those poor souls whose job doesn’t care about national holidays. What’s worse is that all of my plans fell through; my roomies are at a private event on Google’s rooftop, the cute gal I’m dating is visiting family in Pittsburg, and all of my climber bum friends are up in New Hampshire making the most of a 4 day weekend. So I walk…
The Internet is a gold mine of information about cameras, lenses, and other photography equipment, but there’s always a fair amount of BS circulating. There are opinions masquerading as fact. We’re constantly told to buy new gear… while also hearing that gear doesn’t matter. So I’ve decided to lay out the truth about camera gear as I see it: #1. Don’t Trust Camera Reviewers… and Not Just Because of Affiliate Links and Free Trips to Hawaii “Thank you for telling…
When you look through your viewfinder and things seem a little bit blurry or lacking definition, it’s probably because you are using an “el cheapo” lens. So you read reviews and buy a much more expensive lens, and what do you do next? You don’t go out to learn about composition and lighting to make better pictures. No. If you are a conscious and professional photographer, you start pixel-peeping to rationalize your expensive purchase. And what do you find then?…
When I first learned that Canon was planning on using a crowdfunding website to launch a new product, I thought to myself “this is going to be a PR disaster.” My knee jerk reaction was to think that it’s unacceptable for a company like Canon to use websites like Indiegogo in order to launch a product. Surely it has more than enough money available to develop products without asking for it from the public. Now that I’ve had a little…
In the world of photography, you’ll find people generally prefer primes or zooms. The main benefit to zoom lenses is that you can cover multiple focal lengths in one decent sized package. In saying this, there are some prime lenses that can work well for multiple purposes. Two of these are the 35mm and 85mm primes. Now just to be clear, like any article this doesn’t apply to all people. With the genres I shoot, these two lenses can cover…
UK-based photographer and YouTuber Jamie Windsor recently shared an interesting video about what he calls “The Instagram Problem for Photographers.” Namely: that Instagram has quickly become the default method for sharing your work with the world. On the face of it, this might not seem like a big deal. After all, as Windsor himself points out, it can be incredibly beneficial to “connect with potentially millions of people and instantly share your work with others.” The problem arises when Instagram…
You have found your style when you can’t do anything else. It’s your default, your normal, your nature. Style comes when imitation and influence perish. It’s something that becomes one… you, yours. Defining your style or finding your style is a life’s journey. I hope you are always evolving and changing, never stagnant when it comes to your style. But at the same time hold on to its structure, its roots, its essence. So where does one begin? How does…
Follow along with the biggest moments in July history in this visual journey of photos from the Shutterstock Editorial archive. Photography has given us a rich visual archive of the most important events in history — everything from tragedies to the pinnacles of human achievement. Photos can bring us back to a tragic event that broke our collective hearts, a cultural moment that we rejoiced over, or a scientific breakthrough that made us see the world differently. Each month we’ll…
I switched to Sony from Canon on December 31, 2014. Since then, I’ve cranked through over 50,000 frames on my Sony cameras in the past 4+ years of shooting. I upgraded to the Sony a7 III in October 2018, following a brief stint where I considered a switch to Fujifilm or Olympus. So now’s a good time to take a look back at the pluses — and minuses — of my switch to Sony from Canon. Let’s start with something…
Fujifilm is the largest medium format camera manufacturer in the world. Its resources are vast and the experience it has as a company is extensive. Hasselblad, on the other hand, is a tiny Swedish company that solely produces niche high-value cameras. This may seem like a David and Goliath type story, but considering the sheer differences in size between the two companies, this is more of a David and Godzilla type story. Recently Fujifilm released its highly-anticipated 100mp medium format camera, the GFX 100. This…
Appropriating Indigenous cultures has been going on for a very long time. Anytime something appropriating Indigenous cultures or racist comes up, it doesn’t matter what Natives might say in protest — most often the person doing the wrong thing claims it’s to “honor” us. Much the same way people think that Native mascots honor us. It doesn’t. Before we go into one specific example, let’s go through what generally happens when things like this come up. First, the person is…
A few decades ago, Nikon was the number one manufacturer for high-end professionals. If you were a pro photographer who shot with a 35mm full-frame camera, you probably shot with a Nikon. Over the years, Canon took this position from Nikon and became the largest full frame camera manufacturer in the world. Nikon resigned itself to the number two position and this remained consistent for quite some time. Recently, however, we’re starting to see some major changes in the industry…
My name is Justin Barr, and I’m a photographer in St. Louis, Missouri, who was recently hired to shoot the Blues’ Stanley Cup victory parade. I’m still in shock over the series of events. During the St. Louis Blues’ historic run for the Stanley Cup, they had watch parties in downtown St. Louis. On June 3rd, the Blues played Boston in St. Louis. They had a big production before the game with a band playing on an outdoor stage then…
Follow the lives of activists Kay Tobin Lahusen and Barbara Gittings and explore images from the early days of the LGBTQ+ rights movement. “You have come to the source.” That’s what she told me. In March 2018, I sat down with LGTBQ rights pioneer, Kay Tobin Lahusen, in what I now consider to be a life-changing experience. The year prior, I worked on a multimedia installation at Symphony Space for NYC’s very own LGBTQ symphonic band, The Lesbian and Gay…
In September 2016, my photography agents, Vaughn-Hannigan, abruptly closed their doors after 10 years in business. Since then I have been without an agent, representing myself, and I thought I would look back and ask the question which has been lingering with me through this time: to agent or not to agent? After the news broke of Vaughn-Hannigan’s closure, there was a flurry of activity. Art Department, a major Photo Agency in New York, offered to take on all the…
On May 30, 2019, controversial free stock photo site Unsplash announced that it crossed the 1 million images uploaded mark. That had much of the photo blogosphere up in arms. Many photographers hate Unsplash because it encourages people to give away their pictures for nothing — not even credit. But I’m going to argue that Unsplash’s 1 million photo milestone is no big deal — outside of stock photography, at least. I went down the Unsplash rabbit hole to figure…
When it comes to negotiations, as a photographer (or any freelance artist, for that matter) you’ve got to master the art of not being emotionally invested in the outcome — something that is nearly impossible to do. But without it, you’ll never be able to break free of difficult clients and underpaid gigs. What is an F-You Fund? The “f**k you fund” isn’t something you say to your clients, or tell them that you have. It’s essentially a slush fund…
Being a photographer used to be pretty simple. You had a camera, you had a subject you liked photographing, and you used to go out with your camera and photograph the subject you liked. And apart from perhaps showing off the occasional print at the local camera club to a group of like-minded tragics, that’s probably about as far as it went. Then social media arrived and, as with so many aspects of this modern connected life of ours, everything…
Go behind-the-scenes with photographer Dezo Hoffman and experience life with the major musical innovators of the Sixties and Seventies. In 1962, when Dezider “Dezo” Hoffmann (1912-1986) was a photographer with the music newspaper Record Mirror, he received a letter about a relatively unknown band based in Liverpool. After that initial meeting, Dezo knew he’d found something special. Soon, he became the group’s first professional photographer. That band, of course, was The Beatles. In addition to playing a pivotal role in…
Photography is amazing, but it does require gear. I recently moved from Canon to Sony, so I had to offload a camera body, lenses, flashes, and triggers. I purchased out-of-pocket insurance on all of my gear packages just to have some peace-of-mind. I sent the last piece of my Canon kit, my awesome Tamron 70-200mm f/2.8 (a009), on January 10th. This was my first serious photography lens (costing over $500), which I originally purchased used. I rolled the actual lens…
Just how much prep goes into photographing high-profile sporting events? Discover what Javier Garcia, Director of Sports Photography at Shutterstock, has to say about shooting the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup. Phil Neville, manager of England Women’s. Photo by Michael Zemanek/BPI/Shutterstock. 1. Do you know which games you will be shooting? Yes, Shutterstock Sport will be present at all matches. Our coverage will be supported by our strategic partners, AP and EPA as well as an embedded photographer working as…
Based on a number of conversations I’ve had and a few minor polls I’ve conducted, most people seem to believe that Canon made the right decision by producing a mirrorless system. Now my sample size is quite small so this may or may not be a true reflection, but I have an opposing view to this. I firmly believe that Canon made the wrong choice by developing a new mirrorless system with a new mount. I’ve long believed that Canon should have…