Weekly News: Photography is for the Astute and the Imbeciles!

Today, our weekly three-pack of Photography News is not quirky or wacky but curious – and very interesting and equally diverse.  We look at news from the past 24 hours about an alternative energy-source camera, a resurrected photo agency, and a celebrated French portrait photographer.

Sun and Cloud Camera

If you're going to be in the desert for a month consider taking Superheadz's Sun and...

Hey Amateur! Flirting with Going Pro?

A month and a week back this blog brought you a few caveats about going pro.  Today, Annie Tao casts light on How To Know You Are Ready To Become A Professional Photographer.

Actually, she does a bit more than that: she proffers some very sound advice on those oft-overlooked prerequisites, those 'must-dos' before you take the plunge.  Making mention of the plethora of books and courses on the...

A Tale of Two Lenses: A ‘First’ Each for Nikon and Canon

It was the 'best and biggest' of lenses, it was the worst and 'shiftiest' of times . . . .

Enough of the pseudo-Dickensianisms.  Let's start with the biggest lens.

Here's a candid portrait of the new pope, Pope Francis.  Shot with, say, a 70 mm?  Um, no.  The photographer was at ground level and the pope was on the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica.  As such, this ultra-long-range shot was...

Portrait Shooting: A Few Smart Ideas

If you're a portraits specialist, you're in luck: Jason Weddington offers imaginative tips on framing, composing and posing for portraits in one of those unusual articles that's short on text but high on ideas and 'meat'.

5 Tips for Improving Your Portrait Photography starts off by advising you to...

Simplicity and Starkness: The Holy Lands in Black-and-White

Yesterday The Leica Camera Blog posted Aaron C. Greenman: A Candid View of the Holy Lands, Part 1.  The interview is short to non-existent but this post is worth visiting purely for the images.

Among the qualities of B&W that differentiate it from Colour are simplicity and, sometimes, starkness.  Much has been written about how and where the advantages of a kind of B&W can be leveraged.  Greenman's Holy Land...

Rated ‘Triple S’: A Stroll on the Strange Side

We get the week underway with our weekly Stroll on the Strange Side with this 'Triple S' post, beginning with the . . .

Spooky!

Yesterday, 'confirmation' of ghostly activity was reported in a tavern in New Jersey.  The connection to this blog is that you can view it!  Click the link to read about and see an 'orb' bounce...

Attention Newbie: A Trio of Tutorials to ‘Up’ Your Game

Today we feature a trio of somewhat related tutorials that are bound to 'up' any newbie's photographic game.

A short and sweet how-to on DPSchool explains how you can nail sharp close-ups every time.  The first of three tips Steve Berardi provides has to do with contrast.  If your subject and background differ sharply in contrast, the subject will 'pop' and, as a result, the image will look sharp.

Next, every...

Prudery, thy name is FaceBook: The Funny and the Funky

Prudery, thy name is FaceBook.  That is how we, with a chuckle and a chortle, begin our weekly installment of what's funny and funky in the world of photography, leading off with a one-hour-old post and closing with one that's three years old.

The Banning of Beauty and . . .

About an hour back Gizmodo reported that FaceBook's censor board had swung into action and...

The AIPP Wants ‘All Hands on Deck’

If you're a serious amateur, at some point or another you will have flirted with the idea of going pro.  And if you have, joining the AIPP (Australian Institute of Professional Photography) ought to be a serious consideration.  But why? – you may rightfully ask, "What's in it for me?"  That rhetorical question is also the title of a post by Kylie Lyons...