Sadly, we often hear of tourists who destroy the world around them just so they can pose for Instagram. Self-described Russian filmmaker and photographer, Alexander Tikhomirov, recently got under fire because of this. On his trip to Iceland, he plowed his car into a protected geothermal area. He snapped a few photos and bragged about his “achievement” on Instagram, which caused outrage from his followers. Reykjavik Grapevine reports that Alexander went offroading in the geothermal area of Mývatn when his car got stuck in the soft soil....

If you tend to spend too much time on Instagram, the app itself is now going to prompt you to take a break. Yes, I know how it sounds: even Instagram wants you to stop scrolling through Instagram so much. This feature was initially announced in October after Facebook whistleblower Frances Hagen revealed some sensitive and concerning information about the company. At the time, Facebook Vice President Nick Clegg said that Instagram would get the “Take a break” feature, but there was no word on when it would get implemented....

Intel have dabbled a little with drones before. Their RealSense computer vision platform for obstacle navigation features on the Yuneec Typhoon H. They also have the Intel Aero Platform allowing you to build your own drones. But their entry into the commercial drone market is an interesting one. Drone technology at all levels has already come a long way in just a few short years, but a company that has the kind of resources Intel has certainly may shake things up....

Advertisements Like every year, IPA has named the Category Winners and finalists the Professional and Non-Professional/Student categories. The thousands of entries came from 120 countries around the world, and the contest wanted to support and honor the work of both professional and amateur photographers during the COVID-19 crisis. Therefore, IPA will match the cash prizes that are awarded to the Category Winners this year with an equal cash donation to the charity of the winning photographer’s choice in their community....

This week Business Insider ran a story that covered images taken by a street photographer, of people’s private phone messages. That photographer was the highly respected Jeff Mermelstein, someone who has a long list of celebrated work. Whilst all images were taken in public places, they do contain a level information that the subjects may not want the world to know about. Whilst no law has been broken, it could be argued that this is a lack of respect for a person’s privacy, raising the question – is it okay to photograph people’s private messages?...

We often hear stories from both sides of the fence on how much gear really matters. And there are many arguments both for and against Gear Acquisition Syndrome (GAS). We all go through the feelings of it at some point. I know I have. Whether or not we act on it is another matter entirely. Photographer Sean Tucker decided that he was going to switch out his Fuji X100, a camera which he loves and often raves about, for an X-T20....

It’s been reported before that Verizon was about to acquire Yahoo. Now it’s officially done – Verizon is a new owner of Yahoo, along with Flickr, their (once) popular photo sharing platform. Verizon has acquired Yahoo for $4.48 billion, and they plan to combine it with AOL and create a new service called Oath. As a consequence of the merger of Yahoo and AOL, 2100 employees will be made redundant....

When Capture One 12 was announced last year, it brought some pretty big new features along with it. One of those features was the ability to finally be able to use third-party plugins on both macOS and Windows versions of the software. And here’s one that’s going to make a lot of people rather happy. JPEGmini has made a Capture One plugin version of its space-saving jpg compression tech. Similar to its Lightroom counterpart, it allows you to export images directly from Capture One with JPEGmini’s compression algorithms applied....

Well, it looks like Venus Optics is getting ready to announce at least one more lens. Not surprisingly, it’s a macro lens. Photos and specs have leaked for an upcoming Laowa FFii 90mm f/2.8 CA-Dreamer 2x Macro lens, that will be available in mounts for Sony E, Canon RF, Nikon Z and Leica L. The lens is expected to be officially announced on May 23rd and while are no sample photos to show what the view through the lens looks like, enough specs have leaked to cover the basics....

Leica has announced a new, limited edition version of its M-A camera. The Leica M-A “Titan” is the existing M-A dressed in new clothes, and like other Leica’s limited edition pieces – it’s pretty expensive. It will set you back nearly $20k, but there’s something different about it compared to the more recent limited-edition models. Unlike the more recent limited-edition cameras from Leica, there’s something different about this one – it’s a film camera....

Advertisements The new Leica C-Lux is available in two colours. Midnight Blue and Light Gold. Adding to the aesthetic is a 3.0″ 1.24 million dot touchscreen LCD on the back (it doesn’t tilt) and a 0.21″ 2.33 million dot electronic viewfinder. It also has a built-in pop-up flash, if that’s your thing. Sensor: 20.9MP 1″ MOSResolution: 20.1MPLens: 8.8-132mm f/3.3-6.4 (24-360mm full frame field of view equivalent)Zoom: 15x (optical) / 4x (digital)Minimum focus distance: 50cm (wide) / 1m (tele) / 3cm (wide macro) / 1m (tele macro)ISO: ?...

In January, Google unveiled a pair of 3D 180 VR cameras by Yi and Lenovo for their VR180 app. Today, Lenovo’s Mirage camera is officially available for purchase. It would only cost $299 for those who are willing to experiment creating content with this new technology. The Mirage camera sort of looks like a simplified Viewmaster, but features two 13MP cameras, instead. It’s simple, but at least it doesn’t look as intimidating as other more expensive 3D cameras out there....

The popular gear rental website Lensrentals now has a brand new feature: buying the gear you like. If you want to buy used gear, you can now do it straight to Lensrentals and be sure that it’s been refurbished, tested, and in working condition. From now on, you’ll see a “Keeper page” on the website with gear available for purchase other than a rental. There are multiple filters you can apply, including the gear type, brand, mount, compatibility, and more....

The new Nikon Z cf APS-C mirrorless was only announced four days ago and Nikon has already issued a statement claiming that they can’t keep up with the pre-order demands. The statement was posted to the Nikon Japan website yesterday, citing the “large number of reservations”. This goes for both the Z fc body only as well as the kit containing the new 28mm f/2.8 Special Edition lens. I suppose it’s not entirely unexpected, as every single product announced by any manufacturer in the world of photography and video these days seems to be followed up by an “Oh no, we didn’t realise it’d be this popular!...

Studio lighting can be tricky, but in reality shooting, in a big open studio space with all the fancy modifiers and stands is a damn sight easier than shooting in a small, cramped on-location space. “But Jake, surely all professional photographers get to shoot in nice big, bright, airy studios all the time right?” Wrong. In fact part of the job is having the ability to shoot almost anywhere and for those of us who end up shooting fashion and editorial style work, we need to shoot in some very awkward spaces....

The multiple versions of Lightroom have been around for a while now, but the difference between Lightroom and Lightroom Classic and which offers the best workflow still confuses some people. Both serve a different purpose and a different type of user and workflow. In this video, Pye Jirsa walks us through his workflow using both applications so that we can see how they differ and the benefits that each offers over the other....

Selfies are probably the most common photographs created today. Most of us shoot them, but how many of us shoot them the way Lizzy Gadd does? Lizzy photographs herself in the various landscapes of the world and her work truly illustrates the difference between a simple “selfie” and a “self-portrait”. Lizzy’s also the subject of SmugMug’s latest film, which sees her exploring Scotland’s beautiful Isle of Skye looking for new worlds in which to place herself....

Tiny LED lights have become very popular over the last few years. I’ve even become a fan of them myself for lighting up night scenes, quick product shots, as an on-camera light for interviews, and to add a little dash of light to a dark corner of a shot. One of the most well-known names in small lights is Lume Cube. Recently, they announced the Lume Cube 2.0, so we caught up with them at PhotoPlus 2019 to find out more....

The kaleidoscopic effect can look mesmerizing in photos and videos. I tried achieving something like that with a prism, but photographer and videographer Travis Owens has a more clever suggestion. He has made his own kaleidoscope filter for only $20 (and it can get even cheaper). Aside from being affordable, it’s easy to make, and the effect is pretty interesting. Take a look. Travis bought these kaleidoscope glasses, which cost around $12, but Travis says you can get them for about $3 on eBay....

It’s the time of year, at least for those of us in the northern hemisphere where the days are long, and we’re starting to get that travel bug. The sun’s well and truly back, and we want to get out exploring with our cameras. To do this, especially if we want to shoot any long exposures or video, we often need a tripod. But they can be big, heavy, cumbersome things....