A while ago, we read an article about how gear doesn’t matter on PetaPixel, while at the same time planning a shoot that would involve a Hot Rod. Inspired by the post, we said, “Let’s do it with a Canon 550D and a cheap lens instead of the Nikon D800,” because we really believe that all the latest cameras are quite good, and gear doesn’t always matter anyway.

Basically, we wanted to shoot something good enough to prove the point that you don’t need the latest gear to do something special. What turned out is the photo above (higher resolution here), which wound up making it into 500px top 100 most popular shots a few days ago.

So — doing something special — what does it mean to us? It’s actually quite simple: We try to get one good image out of a normal day of shooting. We don’t need two, or five, or even six hundred images. We only need one good image, and so we typically set up our tripod in one spot, taking as much time as we need to get the best composition.

A benefit of this approach is that if you have always the same camera angle, you can use elements from different shots. A big advantage, especially if you’re doing something a bit more complicated.

That being said, it’s important that you be certain about the camera angle you choose. If the camera is ready, we don’t touch it anymore. From that point on, settings and such are modified using DSLR-Assistant or a CamRanger. This makes the post production very easy.

But before we set up to take a picture, we need a story to tell. And so, for the Hot Rod shoot, we dreamt up some amazing ingredients and developed a storyline.

First, our model Christina. She is a time traveler with a matching outfit. We knew that a little bit of steam/dieselpunk would help illustrate that she was coming from the past, and so we got to designing the costume.

The mechanical arm attached to her left forearm was build a few days before the shot using mainly parts found on eBay. The wooden stuff was simply made of Fimo Clay and a pasta machine, and then we used superglue to attach the components to a leather arm guard. Some chains and rings were fixed on the fingers to help flesh out the details. She also had some glasses with gear wheels.

Of course, you can’t see all the stuff on the image unless you look really closely, and in some cases not at all (the screws on the arm are only 1mm in diameter) but, as they say, the devil is in the details: the mechanical arm we build had to be perfect. Plus, the detail and love we obviously put into building the arm helped Christina understand how much the shoot meant to us, so that she could better sell the story of the time traveller.

Next came the car, or rather the “time machine,” which was played by an old Morris 8 — a car from 1946 lent to us by our friend Charly.

The car roof was chopped in the 60s, and the 46HP engine was replaced by a 385HP V8 from a Mustang 302 Boss. It was used for high-speed races in the 60s, and Charly did an amazing job converting it into a “Rat Rod” over the past few years. To give you an idea of the kind of work that went into it, about 20 layers of paint were applied by hand with a brush to get that amazing look…

As you can imagine: this is another level of detail that no one will see in the image, but we those details, and so this was exactly what we were looking for. If we ever find a way to build a real time machine, we would definitely model it on this car. It’s unreal… it’s sexy… it’s just plain awesome.

The last detail was the fire. By our logic, if there is a “time machine,” there should be fire — we had to at least do the tracks of the wheels. And so we called our friend and professional fire artist Christian. Because he is a professional at doing what he does, we could simply say “more fire” and he would oblige — he gave us exactly what we needed while sparing us the need to worry about safety or keeping an eye on what exactly was burning where.

It’s important to call people who understand what you want from them, and (for us) it’s important to work with people who understand what’s possible. Christian definitely knows both.

Unfortunately, we didn’t have a battery-powered fog machine, and we couldn’t get smoke bombs for the shot, but we managed to luck out there as well. Because we had a 4.6 liter V8 running in temperatures of about 8°C the car provided real smoke! Better than everything else, because it made the shot more authentic. Lovely, isn’t it?

When we arrived at the location, we found a small wet spot on the ground. We discussed it and decided to push the idea for the shot further. And so, instead of “placing” the car, we decided to power slide it into place. I mean, the floor is on fire, our girl breaks all the rules of physics, but the car is clean and just placed there? No. It doesn’t happen like this.

It wasn’t possible to use the hand brake to get the car in the final position, but with that huge amount of power we could do just the opposite and drift it in place. After a few attempts, the car was in place and some nice mud did a great job of decorating the car and tires. Again, you might not immediately notice it in the image, but it adds authenticity… by now you get the idea.

Finally, the puddle was a little bonus — it wasn’t planned at all — and so we changed the plans because of the nice reflection we were getting. This is another great point: we always try to strike a balance between “staying focused” and “being open-minded.” Not an easy task, especially when you try to arrive on scene well-prepared, only to get thrown a curve ball… but sometimes that curve ball is an opportunity, or in our case a surprise puddle.

Technical Difficulties

Our lighting setup was quite simple: a beauty dish as the main light and a single strobe behind the model. We filtered the main light with 1.5 CTO to match the fire and the other one with 1 CTO to get some colder light from behind. In the final image, it was nicely mixed with the light from the fire.

Our first plan was to use only the Yongnuo 560 flashes, but unfortunately one died after a few shots. So our main light was replaced by the Elinchrom Ranger Q (too bad really, it’s the only very expensive piece of gear used to capture this image). But flash is flash — never mind the brand. You probably wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between the Ranger and the Yongnuo anyhow.

Our white balance was set to tungsten, and the rest was done in post. The camera was a Canon 550D and the lens was a Tamron 17-50mm — the cheapest stuff we have. Actually, the lens isn’t even ours, we asked our video guy Simon if he have some kind of Kit lens (“is it sharp?”… “I think so”… “ok, we’ll use it”).

The camera-settings we started with were f/8, ISO 100 and 1/500s, problem is, the fire was correctly exposed but everything else was dark. So we started to play around with the exposure times. In the end, the fire was a little bit overexposed… At this point it was clear that we would need different exposures for the different elements of the photograph.

There was a very cool long exposure for the smoke coming out of the car and a great short exposed image of the headlights with a little bit of super sharp smoke and lens flares. It gives some nice depth to the image — at least in our opinion.

Post Production

The Post Production was very straight forward: choose the images we like, do some basic RAW conversion, convert them to smart objects in Photoshop and paint some masks on them. The main advantage of the smart objects for us was the possibility to change the white balance afterwards, and because of all that light temperature mix we mentioned, this was very helpful.

Summary

What you have read here was our way of creating an awesome shot. Whether or not we’re using expensive gear, the process remains the same: we try to develop a story behind every part of the image. If we can’t answer the question “Why is this part of the photo here,” we further develop the storyline. Every single thing in an image has to follow the story.

Th same goes for the model: every model should get some background information about his or her role — ideally, the model can then live that role.

Of course, we didn’t invent that kind of workflow. J.R.R. Tolkien did it with Middle Earth. He imagined a world and characters, and he spend his whole life on that task. That’s why he could probably answer every single question: Lord of the Rings was just one story that might happened there.

Lord of the Rings is an example of the kind of depth of detail we strive for, and if you haven’t gotten it already, we are really in love with detail. We learned that with our Where’s Waldo project when we worked with Benjamin Von Wong on an image that took weeks of shooting and post-production. After that experience, and now this one, we’re no longer afraid to put a little bit more effort in our projects… or even a lot bit more.

About the author: Kamerakind is a collaboration between three people passionate about creating great photography: Sabine (make-up, styling, etc.), Ingo (film and photo) and Stefan (lighting and post-production). They are friends first, who made sure that they are always having fun even as they seek out the “perfect” shot. You can find more of their work on their website or 500px profile.

Image credits: Final image by Kamerakind, BTS images by Axel Effner and mechanical arm images by Stefan. All used with permission.

One commonly asked (and commonly mis-answered) question on the Internet these days is around the definition of what constitutes a ‘professional photographer.’ The usual definition is that it is somebody who is shooting for pay, and deriving the majority of his or her income entirely from photography or photography related activities. I suppose in the strictest sense of the definition, that is true. However, it says nothing about professional conduct or skill.

What I’m going to attempt to do in this article is express my own views on what I believe constitutes professional behavior in photography. It is important to note, however, that this is a very personal opinion, although it is shared by many of my colleagues in all areas of the industry — both primary providers of photographic imaging, as well as supporting services and videography/cinematography.

I think, as with all things, a large amount of the confusion stems from education, or more specifically, the lack of it. If standards are not clear to photographers themselves, it becomes very difficult for the general public to have any idea of what to expect when engaging or working with a photographer. Professions are trades or crafts that have enforced standards, regulatory bodies, certification requirements and generally some sort of formal training or apprenticeship before one is able to practice independently.

Medicine, accounting, law, architecture, surveying etc. are all good examples of this; each of these professions has one or two major internationally-recognized accreditation bodies that uphold standards, ensure members comply to minimum requirements and, more importantly, educate the public/clients about what they should expect. It’s a good thing for both service providers and service consumers; by maintaining standards, it is easier to maintain pricing and margins as well as build consumer confidence and trust. There is commercial benefit for all parties in a transaction for them to go with an accredited professional.

Unfortunately, the photographic industry has very few (if any) such accreditation bodies. Even worse, they are not widely recognized by the general public. This in turn means that most photographers do not bother with certification; the increased costs and requirements do not immediately translate into increased revenue, customers, or profitability. (I freely admit to being one of these people).

There are some exceptions to this — the MPA, Royal Photographic Society, NAPP, NPS, CPS etc. for instance — but even that tends to be rather fragmented with mixed standards and not that much general consumer awareness. Perhaps part of the problem is that, because the nature of our work is so subjective in the first place, it becomes difficult to apply quality control standards to the output itself. This is obviously not the same for, say, accounting.

The next level down from that are agency or brand associations; the public perceives acceptance to these groups as a stamp of quality (or minimum quality). Generally this is reasonable, but once again: just because a photographer does excellent portraits for Agency X, it doesn’t mean that his/her — or that agency’s — standards for portraiture also apply to architecture, or food, or product photography.

Perhaps a better solution to this problem is not to look at the quality of output, but the conduct of the service provider. I firmly believe that, regardless of industry or occupation, there are some minimum standards required of all people who are offering a service; there is a level of trust and commitment given to you by your client on the basis of belief that you will deliver as promised, and it is your duty to ensure that you deliver on that promise. It’s not difficult to see that this pays itself back in future work and creative latitude.

In short, we as professional — billing — photographers need to ensure the following:

• We deliver on time and to spec as promised and uphold our agreements; if we can’t, we say so in advance, and we try to mutually work towards a solution
• We do our best and do not accept compromise unless there is no other choice; we inform our clients so there are no misunderstandings
• We will also do our best to try and work to your needs; for whatever reason, what you think you need may not be the same as what you actually need
• We will deliver at a self-consistent (or improving) level of quality regardless of external circumstances that may affect us personally
• It is better to under-promise and over-deliver
• We uphold basic standards of courtesy; this includes timeliness and professionalism of replies whether in person, on the phone or via email
• We will respect your time
• We will respect our subjects — whether this be treating models/talent with courtesy and friendliness or carefully handling product and props
• We will have integrity and be fully transparent in our pricing and honor quotes, even if we get things wrong; if there are big variances or changes in scope, then we communicate this and reason with the client
• The scope and deliverables of all assignments are clearly detailed
• We do our part to educate clients where necessary; whether this be to do with technical or creative choices, licensing or otherwise
• We respect the creative rights of other photographers and clients, so that they shall respect our own
• We value our own work and do not fight each other on price alone (This is very bad for the industry long term; once a new price ‘low’ is established, there’s no going back. You certainly can’t work for free, and if inflation means the cost of everything is rising, how can we sustainably charge less?)
• If failure to deliver is our fault, we rectify it at our cost
• We have spares and backups

This goes both ways, though. In order for us to deliver, we need some things from our clients:

• We can make contingency plans for most eventualities, but there will always be things that are outside our control (e.g. weather)
• Respect the agreed scope and price — you would not do extra work for free, please do not expect us to. When it no longer makes financial sense, there will not be any more photographers
• Please respect our time and experience; that is why you hired us in the first place
• Please uphold your end of commitments — whether that be supplying product of a certain finishing level or quality to photograph, or delivery on a certain time and date
• ‘Fixing it later in Photoshop’ is not acceptable: this compromises quality and integrity
• Please pay on time; we are running small businesses and do not enjoy the same credit terms as larger businesses. It is impossible for us to serve as credit facilities

I know I do my best with the photographers’ side of the charter, and there are a lot of others who do likewise. There are a lot of amateurs who do better than paid pros! Most clients also honor their end of the deal, and when they don’t, it’s often because they’re not aware of it — some education usually fixes the problem. The troubling thing is that, anecdotally and from the way new clients approach engagement of a photographer, it’s clear the vast majority of photographers are not observing any of these standards.

In turn, the expectations are lower, trust is not there, and the overall lack of confidence in the industry from the client side translates into lower value all around. It’s not a few bad apples spoiling the barrel, but most of the barrel being shortsighted and not seeing that their behavior is affecting the industry — and, of course, themselves — in the long run. Some of the worst (verified stories) I’ve heard include:

• Photographers not turning up for time-critical engagements, or missing critical bits of equipment (flashes, batteries etc.)
• Photographers over-committing and being unable to deliver
• Photographers being slow or rude to reply to emails
• Famous photographers attempting to sell clients multi-level marketing schemes!
• Famous photographers not even turning up to engagements and sending their apprentices instead!
• A photographer dropping a six figure watch, breaking it, and blaming it on somebody else!

I think you can see why we have a bit of a crisis in the industry. It doesn’t help either that a lot of the practicing photographers have no work experience outside of this; it means that they have no idea what’s to be expected in a normal professional workplace. All we can do is ensure that we do our best to adhere to our code of ethics, and make an effort to educate those who are not where possible. In the long run, it’s in everybody’s best interest.

About the author: Ming Thein is a commercial photographer specializing in products (watches, food) and corporate reportage; he also teaches, writes about the philosophical and artistic considerations behind the making of an image and runs a popular photographic site at www.mingthein.com. He is also a member of Getty Images. This article originally appeared here.

I’m not going to say that we flew down to Florida to get a picture, because we didn’t. We flew down to Florida to see my grandfather, who is 94-years-old and my son’s only living great-grandparent. All my own great-grandparents passed away long before I was born, as did my husband’s great-grandparents.

So I’m not saying that we flew down to Florida to take a picture, but I’m admitting we wanted one. A photograph of four generations, all alive at the same time. Proof that it had happened. Me, my son, my father, and his father.

My grandfather got sick nine months ago. Up until then he had been more or less fine, just old. He puttered along, talking to people and pondering things. Trimming his nosehairs and fixing his glasses with tape when they broke. He had continued at his hobbies. Yes, he told a lot of the same stories over and over again. Yes, he sometimes rambled on about things that didn’t always make sense, but my father does that too. I do that.

ANOTHER thing that happened nine months ago was that I was about to have a baby for the first time. And a day or two before I went into labor, my father called and asked if I was OK with his flying down to Florida to see his father. He felt bad, he said, because he wanted to be there to see the baby, but he would feel worse, he said, if something happened to his father and he wasn’t there. And I told him, obviously, to go see his father. That the baby would be here when he got back.

And so he flew to Florida. I gave birth to the baby. His own father recovered. He flew back home and probably either held his grandson or said something like, “Hey, nice work, great baby” or maybe high-fived me — honestly I have no idea what happened for the two weeks after having the baby because I was still bleeding out of my ears wondering whether I had given birth to a baby or been hit in the face by a grenade. But the point — the point, is that things do not always go exactly as you had planned them. You assume that you will have this baby and all your nearby family will come to this hospital to greet you and smile and share in your excitement, but sometimes it doesn’t work out that way.

Cut to: Last week.

On the final full day of our three-day trip we are ready to take a picture with my grandfather. And in my head, I think, this picture is going to be great. It has to be great because we paid for two $450 round-trip tickets to Tampa so that we could take it. It has to be great because it is possible this will be the last time I see my grandfather. It is going to be moving and poignant. It is going to be well-lit and all of us are going to look spontaneous yet perfectly composed. We can take it at sunset, while the orange light filters through the trees, the end of the day symbolizing the beauty of the inevitable passage of time. Our faces will be perfectly imperfect, the camera capturing the sincerity of our innermost thoughts. The baby and my grandfather will stare into each other’s eyes with an ethereal sort of understanding. It is a photo that will remain in my family for generations — that my son will keep framed on his desk as he grows older. The type of photo that Annie Leibovitz would pull from a stack of other, more ordinary photographs, asking, “Who? Who took this?”

And so, big surprise, that is not how things went.

We took the photo inside the nursing home because my grandfather was tired and did not really feel like going outside for a photograph. The baby was dirty because I had let him crawl around outside while playing with his second-cousins and because he is a baby and babies are always dirty. If you have one, you know this. The act of wiping dried snot and mashed vegetables off a baby’s face immediately activates neurons in his brain which instruct his body to produce more snot/mash more vegetables into his face. It is as inevitable as the law of gravity. The amount of time that a baby’s face is actually clean is so small it has yet to be caught by the fastest shutter speed on the most high-end camera. It is easier to get a photo of a giant squid.

I had forgotten, also, that I, only two weeks before, had given myself the world’s most terrible haircut and that my father smiles for photos as if he is begrudgingly holding in a bowel movement. And that my grandfather was not as young as he once was. Unable to hold the baby on his lap, I held the baby while standing off to the side. My grandfather sat in his wheelchair and stared straight ahead, unsmiling. The baby continually moved and looked at people who were not in the same direction as the camera. My father blinked a lot. I coughed. My aunt took pictures with her good camera and with her iPad but apologized later that all the photos on her good camera had accidentally been erased. I told her not to worry without mentioning that I myself have done that bazillions of times.

And so that evening I look through the photos and almost all of them are blurry. In the few that are not blurry I am usually blinking or coughing. In the ones where I look OK, my father looks like he is stoically passing a kidney stone. In the ones where my father and I look fine, my grandfather looks clinically-depressed. There are no photos that Annie Leibovitz would pick up, enthusiastically breathless. There is nothing I would even use as the cover photo for a Snapfish album. They are all average. The one photo in which we are not blurry and no one looks completely terrible was taken before we officially started taking photos because none of us was looking at the camera yet. My father and I are looking down at my grandfather, he is looking up at me, saying something, and the baby is looking off in another direction — most likely at a lamp or another nursing home resident or a ceiling fan.

And yet for some reason, the more I look at the photo, the more it grows on me. It is not a perfect photo, but I am suddenly realizing that that is fine. We get so overwhelmed with everything in life being perfect that we forget that nothing is supposed to be perfect. Photos do not have to be perfect. In my sister’s “four-generation photo” taken with her own son and my grandfather, my grandfather is cheerfully sporting two black eyes that he obtained while falling down the previous day. The point of most photos is to say, “I was alive and you were alive, and for a period of time our lives overlapped. This is what we looked like.”

So this will be the photo that we have and the one that I will show my son when he asks if he ever got to meet his great-grandfather. Maybe my son will keep it in a frame on his desk, but probably not — he will probably have better or more current photos to display. Maybe he will not even have a desk when he gets older. I have no idea. Maybe traditional pictures and photo frames will have become obsolete. Or maybe he will live so far into the future that we will finally have time machines, in which case he will be able to get in and travel back to November of 2013. He will watch himself crawling across the plank floors in his dark-blue overalls, pulling himself upright on his great-grandfather’s wheelchair, laughing hysterically as he’s tickled by the wrinkled finger of a 94-year-old man.

He will stand by the door of the time machine, watching us trying to capture it on film, laughing to himself at our bumbling, awkward attempts. And then, for the rest of his life, he will remember having seen it. When he someday dies, the memory will die with him. It is sad to think about, but it is also sort of OK.

Nothing lasts forever. It is nice that it existed at all.

About the author: Raquel is a writer and stand-up comic who lives in Jersey City with her husband and son. writing has been published in Reader’s Digest and BUST magazine. She keeps a parenting blog called The Ugly Volvo. This article was originally published here.

Take a deep breath. Picture it in your mind. The world’s largest gathering of camels. Taking place at a tiny Rajasthani town filled with temples, narrow streets and a picturesque lake. Men in brightly coloured turbans as far as the eye can see. Enough dust and sand to make your nostril hairs work overtime. And hundreds of photographers in every nook and cranny, taking thousands of photographs of this annual event.

My experience at the Pushkar Mela earlier this month was definitely unexpected. In all honesty, I guess I should have known better. I went there with the expectation to capture a town lost in time, an event that would bring back memories of the old days gone by and boy, how wrong I was. The Mela turned out to be a hunting ground for photographers from all over the world.

Media personnel, representatives from stock photo agencies, travel photographers, hobby photographers, student photographers, the boy next door with a DSLR, everyone was there. At first it was amusing. I tried to ignore them and carry on with my work. But soon, it became apparent that I could not continue the same way. I went there with the intention to build relationships, find a story and make a photo essay.

But I faced photographers who simply looked at people as objects without any courtesy, turbaned men who demanded money for posing, and little local children who chased foreigners, armed with their limited English vocabulary — ‘Photo. Money’. The advent of reasonably priced cameras, social media and the need to get the most number of ‘likes’ on Facebook had brought the masses to the Mela. It made me question the whole point of photography and why I actually take photographs. I had to re-evaluate the meaning of my life while stuck in a town with only vegetarian food and no alcohol. That was tough.

I met a group of 30 Chinese people (they called themselves ‘hobbyist photographers’ but most still shot with Nikon D4′s and Canon 1DX’s) who were on a 14 day trip of India and had come to Pushkar for 3 days, hoping to capture some shots of the place. They were generously offering money to the turbaned men who were more than happy to pose for them. Initially, I was not sure how to react. The whole concept of capturing the atmosphere and spirit of the Mela was lost. Nearly everyone here had come with the intention of capturing a regular postcard style shot of the Pushkar Mela. And they were willing to do anything to get it.

It had slowly become so commercialized over the years that most of the men there refused to have their portraits taken without a few 10 rupee notes. Some people did offer them alternatives instead of money. A few cigarettes, perhaps a roll of bidis or a pack of chocolates (I met a Dutch couple that gave a group of turbaned men a pack of imported chocolates. They proudly told me how they had bought it for a few Euros and bought it with them all the way to India. Sadly, the men didn’t realise the value of it).

Not wanting to fall into the trap of paying for posing, I decided to talk to the men, understand them and give them prints of their photos. For me, it was a very interesting experience to chat to these men. One of the first questions that they would almost always ask me was which ‘jati’ (caste) I was. They also seemed shocked when I mentioned that I was paying Rs.500 per night for my room (in reality I was paying much more but I didn’t want to shock them that much!). Some of them realized that you could see images instantly on the back of the camera but still thought it used film reels. Their lives were still lost in time and I enjoyed understanding their point of view of the world while simultaneously doing my best to educate them.

In the end, I may not have gained much in photographic terms but it was priceless seeing the smiles on their faces when I returned the following day with prints of their photos. Most of them didn’t believe that I would do so. And I don’t blame them. It was a lot of effort to get the prints done seeing as there was no photo lab in Pushkar. I had to endure a crowded bus ride to Ajmer, then a long walk to find the photo lab (which only opened at midday) to get them done but it was worth the pain, so that I could stick to my word.

Coming back to my photo story, halfway through my week-long trip, I wanted a new subject to shoot. I got tired of shooting camels, horses and the archetypical Rajasthani man in a red turban that every other photographer was shooting. There were only so many angles and lighting conditions that one could try to be different at. I soon turned my lens to a more exciting set of subjects.

They came in different shapes and sizes, various patterns and colours, and a multitude of behaviours. It was a challenge to chase them in the right pose and light but you know that I love a challenge. And I had made up my mind. My new subject at the Pushkar Mela was going to be photographers. And it was the best decision that I had made there.

Photographing photographers is immense fun and also challenging. To be stealthy yet not voyeuristic, to capture them with the same grace and framing that they are looking to capture others with. It was definitely fun. I managed to get a wide range of shots (and weird looks from photographers) but I think this set of images does truly capture what one experiences at the Pushkar Mela. You can view a selection of them in this blog post, the full set of images is here on Flickr!

About the author: Kishor Krishnamoorthi is a wedding and travel photographer based in Hyderabad, India. He has covered events across the globe with nearly a decade of photographic experience. His passion for capturing the world around him with a fresh perspective takes him to places around the world and brings new experiences every day. You can find him on his website, Facebook and Flickr. This article was originally published here.

On Sunday I covered what was easily the hardest football game I’ve ever been asked to shoot. In turn it was the most fun I’ve ever had on an assignment.

The forecast for Sunday called for a “dusting” of snow. About an inch was supposed to fall, starting right around 1pm, the same time as kickoff. It sounded perfect: I’ve always wanted to shoot a game in the snow and we’d get just enough to add some flare to the photos.

Around 11am I walked out from the photo workroom to shoot players warming up, and the flurries had already started. Jason Avant laughed as he tossed a ball around with DeSean Jackson. It seemed most though were hiding from the cold in the locker room, so I retreated too so I could send a few photos to the newsroom.

DeSean Jackson, left, LeSean McCoy, center, and Nick Foles, right, run through the snow as they warm up before their game against the Detroit Lions on Sunday afternoon, December 8, 2013.

It was only 20 minutes later when another photographer walked in and said, “it’s really coming down out there.”

I figured it was an overreaction to the first snow storm of the season, but at least a few more players might be out warming up. When I walked outside it seemed like blizzard had appeared out of nowhere. Conditions went to full white-out in a matter of minutes.

Eagles running back LeSean McCoy outruns a group of Lions defenders on his way to the end zone in the fourth quarter of the Eagles 34-20 win over the Lions in Philadelphia, Pa. on Sunday afternoon, December 8, 2013.

While shooting football in the snow makes for fantastic photos, it’s also the most challenging scenario a modern photojournalist can find themselves in. Cameras today rely so heavily on autofocus for sports that snow renders them functionally useless. Imagine trying to photograph someone standing behind a waterfall. Even if you can see them clearly, no matter what you do your camera focuses only the water. The same went for every thick snowflake between me and the players on the field, and when you consider there were thousands falling every second the challenge was daunting.

Detroit Lions defensive lineman Ndamukong Suh stands along the sideline as snow falls before the Lions take on the Eagles on Sunday afternoon, December 8, 2013.

Some photographers coped by abandoning their long glass and switching to a 70-200. While plays in the middle of the field would be hard to capture, you could document features on the sidelines and hope the storm let up soon enough to bring the long glass back.

Eagles quarterback Nick Foles calls for the snap in the second quarter of the Eagles game against the Detroit Lions on Sunday afternoon, December 8, 2013.

I went a different route.

About midway through the first quarter, with the snow falling so hard it was beginning to accumulate inside my lens hood, I decided to switch my 400mm lens to manual focus, and literally try my hand at focusing on my own. I’ve never shot football on full manual but it was the only way I’d come back with something different.

Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford delivers a pass between the outstretched hands of a pair of Eagles defenders in the first quarter of the Eagles game against the Detroit Lions on Sunday afternoon, December 8, 2013.

As I mentioned before, cameras today are heavily built on their autofocus abilities. Ask any photographer about the drawbacks of a particular sports-built body and their first critique is bound to be a complaint about the autofocus system. Lenses aren’t built to be relied on for manual focus anymore either. In the golden era of film photography when legends like Neil Leifer and Walter Looss were documenting football games from the sidelines they knew the feel of exactly how far to roll the focus dial to get the shot. They weren’t spoiled by AI Servo Tracking AutoFocus technology like we are today.

Eagles running back LeSean McCoy tries to break away from Lions defender Ezekiel Ansah (No. 94) in the second quarter of the Eagles game against the Detroit Lions on Sunday afternoon, December 8, 2013.

As far as I can compare it to anything, it’s like taking power steering out of your car, or trying to fly the space shuttle without autopilot. But, I tried it anyway. If you don’t dare to fail you’ll never succeed. (I don’t know if someone famous said that before, but if they didn’t I’m claiming it.)

Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford gives instructions to his lineman as snow falls in the second quarter of the Eagles game against the Detroit Lions on Sunday afternoon, December 8, 2013.

I have to say, the photos I came back with are some of the best I’ve ever made at a football game, and when the snow let up in the second half, I had a new appreciation for the autofocus button I could finally flip back to “on” mode.

Eagles running back LeSean McCoy hurdles over Lions safety Louis Delmas in the fourth quarter of the Eagles 34-20 win over the Lions in Philadelphia, Pa. on Sunday afternoon, December 8, 2013.

The Eagles didn’t disappoint me either. With an offensive surge in the second half, they ran over the Lions and on to another home win. I only wish players had stuck around after the game was over to play in the snow. That would have made for some great photos.

Eagles wide receiver Riley Cooper walks back to the bench covered in snow after failing to bring in a pass in the end zone on fourth down in the second quarter of the Eagles game against the Detroit Lions on Sunday afternoon, December 8, 2013.

To see more photos from Sunday’s game, check out the full gallery by clicking here.

About the author: Kyle Grantham is an award-winning staff photographer with The News Journal in Wilmington, DE. Before joining The News Journal in January of this year, he worked for the Casper Star-Tribune in Casper, WY from March 2012 until January 2013, and the Evansville Courier & Press from November 2010 to December 2011. You can find him on his website, Twitter and Facebook. This article originally appeared here.

It’s not motion blur, it’s Iceland spar!

Every year, I can’t think of anything I want for Christmas. So this year, I was pretty excited to come home and tell my wife, “I know exactly what I want for Christmas. A nice big piece of Iceland spar.” I even sent her a link to make it easy. (It’s certainly a comment on our times that I sent a text link across the room to my wife.)

“Really? You want a $100 rock for Christmas?” she asked. I considered mentioning that the price of the rock I want is a tiny fraction of the price of the rock she wants, but thought better of it because she was giving me that look she gives me sometimes. You know, the look that says she knows that at some time there was some reason she chose me, but at this moment she can’t remember when that time was nor that reason.

Instead, I started to explain how Iceland spar is probably the coolest, most important substance ever. How the Vikings probably used it to find America. How Iceland spar was a key to discovering what light actually was. That every great name in optics from Huygens, to Newton, to Fresnel, and even Edwin Land (of Polaroid fame) used Iceland spar. How a shortage of Iceland spar in the late 1800s was considered an emergency by almost every industrial nation. That Iceland spar helped win World War II and can make things invisible.

Of course, before I could tell her even half of that stuff, she rolled her eyes and wrinkled her nose the way she does when the dogs or I bring something into the house that she feels would best be left outside to further decompose. She did look at the link I sent, though, because she asked, “Why does something called Iceland spar come from Mexico?”

I’m pretty sure she wasn’t particularly interested in the answer, because she immediately started talking to herself. Something about whether there were mature, grown-up males anywhere on the planet. My response, that they raised unicorns near Atlantis, apparently has created enough ‘alone time’ for me to write this post and tell you all the cool stuff I didn’t get to tell her. And to order a piece of Iceland spar, because I’m fairly certain it won’t be under the tree.

So, What is Iceland spar?

Iceland spar is a crystal of calcite (calcium carbonate). Calcite is a fairly common mineral and comes in a spectacular range of colors caused by the impurities it contains.

http://gwydir.demon.co.uk/jo/minerals/alphabet.htm

Iceland spar is rather unique among the calcites. It contains no impurities, so it’s nearly colorless and transparent to both visible and ultraviolet light. For centuries, the only source of this pure calcite was located near Reydarfjördur fjord in eastern Iceland, hence most of the world called it Iceland spar (spar means a crystal with smooth surfaces). The Icelanders just called it silfurberg, meaning silver rock.

A crystal of Iceland spar has two very interesting properties. First, it is a natural polarizing filter. Second, because of its natural polarization, Iceland spar is birefringent, meaning light rays entering the crystal become polarized, split, and take two paths to exit the crystal – creating a double image of an object seen through the crystal.

There is good evidence that the Vikings used the polarizing effect of Iceland spar to navigate the North Atlantic. The constant fog and mist in the North Atlantic often make navigation by stars or sun impossible. The Vikings called Iceland spar a ‘sunstone’ because the polarizing effect can be used to find the direction of the sun even in dense fog and overcast conditions. It can even find the direction of the sun when the sun is actually below the horizon, as happens when you’re sailing above the Arctic circle.

The polarizing effect of Iceland spar can accurately locate the sun even through heavy clouds or mist. If you’re a Viking. I’ve tried it and had no success at all. Credit: ArniEin, WIkipedia Commons

The second interesting feature of Iceland spar is birefringence, meaning it refracts light into two separate images, is more noticeable. The double image may just seem mildly interesting to you and me. But it turned the scientific world (at least the optical part of it) upside down back in the 1600s.

A piece of Iceland spar on my worktable, doubly refracting the gridlines.

Iceland Spar and the Theories of Light

Rasmus Bartholin of Copenhagen made the first written reports about Icelandic spar in 1669. At the time, Snell’s law of refraction were well known. Snell’s law said a regular crystal would bend light rays a given amount and there was a nice formula to calculate that amount. But Bartholin’s report showed that Iceland spar bent light two different amounts, creating two different images. This seemed to break Snell’s law.

Within a few years, Bartholin’s findings had been discussed throughout Europe and scientists (they would have called themselves natural philosophers back then) were begging for samples of Iceland spar. (They had to beg from people in Denmark, like Bartholin, because Iceland was part of the Danish Kingdom.) Among those begging were Christiaan Huygens and Isaac Newton.

Christiaan Huygens, in addition to originating Troy Polamalo’s hair cut, was an amazingly brilliant and productive man. He discovered the formula for centripetal force, invented the pendulum clock and the pocket watch, and discovered Saturn’s rings and largest moon (Titan) as well as the Orion nebula.

Christiaan Huygens (left) and Troy Polamalo. Coincidence?

Huygens spent over a year experimenting with Iceland spar after Bartholin sent him some samples. He discovered that putting a second piece of Icelandic spar over the first piece didn’t make 4 images out of the two seen through the first piece of spar. In fact, by rotating a second piece over the first, he could make either of the original two images disappear.

The reason, we now know, is that Iceland spar is a natural polarizer. It splits the incoming light into two polarized beams, making two images. By using a second piece of Iceland spar he could block either of the polarized images originating from the first piece. I don’t have a second piece of Iceland spar handy, but I can do the same thing Huygens did by putting a polarizing filter on my lens. Depending upon which way I rotate the polarizer I can eliminate either one of the refracted images.

Image through Iceland spar (left), and then two images taken with polarizing filter.

Huygens decided the two refractions were best explained by considering light a spherical wavefront; that the crystal separated the waves in two slightly different directions because of different velocities of the waves. He developed formulae mathematically describing the geometry of such waves, which originated much of modern geometric optics. Unfortunately, his wave theory of light was not widely accepted at the time, partly because his longitudinal waves did not really explain birefringence very well. His formulae for geometric optics were accepted, though, because they generally worked.

Isaac Newton had already determined that white light is made up of various colors and that the different colors refracted different amounts (what we now think of as chromatic aberration). He had decided that light was not waves, but rather ‘corpuscles’ or particles (which is also correct). He proved that Huygens wave theory could not really explain the double refraction of Icelandic spar. Instead, he claimed, birefringence occurred because light particles had two sides, and the crystal separated those sides. Newton couldn’t prove this, of course, but his reputation being what it was people generally accepted it for the next 100 years or so.

Isaac Newton

Iceland spar, then, contributed to the original development of both the wave and particle theories of light as the great optical scientists of the day tried to explain birefringence. Oddly enough, neither theory explained birefringence very well. At the time, both theories were partially correct and partially incomplete. They would remain that way for over a century until Thomas Young came along.

Young definitely proved the wavelike nature of light in 1801 in a series of experiments that (unfortunately) had nothing to do with Iceland spar. Soon after that, though, a French scientist, Etienne Louis Malus, noticed the polarizing effects of Iceland spar when he rotated it and looked at sunlight from various angles. He experimented with it and eventually developed Malus’ Law, which predicts the strength of a beam of polarized light when passing through another polarizer.

A decade later, both Young and Augustin-Jean Fresnel (of Fresnel lens fame) finally explained the polarization of Icelandic spar. When they thought of light waves as transverse (like ripples in a pond) not longitudinal (like a slinky), then polarization of the waves was possible, explaining the birefringence of Iceland spar. It was nearly 150 years after Huygens that Young and Fresnel finally developed a wave theory of light that explained polarization and birefringence.

Using Polarized Light

Once there was a good understanding of how Iceland spar polarized light, it wasn’t long before people put this new knowledge to practical use. With simple pieces of Iceland spar, scientists of the day discovered that the atmosphere polarized sunlight, that light from a comet’s tail was polarized, moonlight was partially polarized, and certain chemicals in solution were also polarized.

The Nicol prism was invented in 1828 by, not surprisingly, William Nicol. It consisted of two wedges of Icelandic spar joined together with a layer of Canadian balsam. When light is shined in one end the spar split the beams. Because of the two angles of refraction, one beam exits the end of the prism as polarized light. The other was refracted outside the prism and absorbed.

Nicol prism: http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/

The Wollaston prism was aligned somewhat differently and emitted two beams of polarized light. Dozens of other types of polarizing prisms were developed over the next few years.

Wollason prism. Fgalore, courtesy Wikipedia commons.

Scientists now had a source of polarized light to play with, and play with it they did. Photometers and spectrophotometers (instruments that measured light intensity and character) were developed. They were used both in pure scientific research and in the chemical industry. Polarimeters (instruments that measures the change of polarized light passing through solutions) detected the presence of, and measured the concentrations of, specific chemicals in solutions.

Chemical synthesis, extractions, and purity analysis exploded in the mid-1800s, largely because of these instruments. The sugar industry was rife with fraud before the development of polarimeters, but once they became available accurate measurements of sugar concentration could be made. Chemists could accurately assay concentrations for the first time, allowing them to purify numerous substances. Medicines changed from ground herbs of unknown concentration to purified preparations with known potency.

Late 1800s Polarimeter. http://antiquesci.com/

Polarized microscopes were used in biology and medicine, but also in geology to assess the authenticity of gems and crystals. For photographers and astronomers, crossed polarizers were used to assess optical glass and lenses. Flaws and defects in the glass which were invisible to visual inspection showed very clearly when examined by polarizers.

There were even early attempts to use Iceland spar to create 3-D imaging. In 1894, a British physicist named John Anderton patented a system that would project paired images through magic lanterns each equipped with Nicol prism polarizers in different orientations. A viewer with opposite oriented prisms would reproduce a 3-dimensional image. While the system would work in theory, it was probably too bulky and expensive to ever gain widespread use. (Edwin Land created a similar system in the 1930s with his polarized film.)

Every one of these scientific instruments used prisms made of Iceland spar to create polarized light. Iceland spar was no longer a scientific curiosity; it was a major industrial component used in thousands of measuring devices. With only one source of the crystals, it wasn’t surprising that significant shortages of Iceland spar occurred. The situation became so severe that European instrument makers got the governments of Germany and France to request increased mining in Iceland, but the mine there was nearly exhausted.

New sources were found first in South Africa and later in Mexico, the U. S., and South America. Even with these new sources, the supply was always limited. Worldwide mining produced a few tons of optical grade Iceland spar, at most, each year. For example, the mine at Taos County, New Mexico produced 850 pounds (not tons, pounds) of Iceland spar in 1939.

Iceland spar Goes Modern

Edwin Land’s invention of polarizing sheets and films in 1928 helped alleviate the Iceland spar shortage, although polarizing film was only useful in certain applications. Some other polarizing crystals, both natural and artificial, were also developed. But Iceland spar continued to be used in a variety of optical instruments and remained in great demand throughout the 20th century.

By an interesting coincidence, Edwin Land created some of this demand. When the United States entered World War II, one of its first needs was a small, accurate gun sight for its warplanes and anti-aircraft guns. Aerial gun sights at the time were large bulky affairs with prisms and lenses. Land invented the optical ring sight, which consisted of two sheets of polarizing film and two optical wave plates sandwiching a crystal of Iceland spar. Iceland spar was considered a strategic resource by the U. S. government, which had classified studies done assessing the Iceland spar mines of South and Central American nations.

Drawings from US patent 2420252-0 for a polarized ‘ring sight’. When the target is in position the polarization shows active crosshairs.

Optical calcite polarizers are used today as polarizers and beam-splitters in the laser and fiberoptics industries. You can still find devices that contain Nicol and Wollaston prisms today, but the most common current use of calcite crystals is in Glan-type prisms. These can withstand very high luminance and are used to polarize laser light. Quartz and synthetic materials can be used in many, but not all of these applications, and synthetic calcite remains expensive and difficult to produce. Most of the optical calcite crystals used today are mined just like they were in the old days, which is why Iceland spar crystals remain rather pricey.

Perhaps the most interesting modern research using optical calcite is to actually make things invisible. Researchers have found that using a pair of shaped calcite crystals in certain media, they can effectively make small objects disappear in visible light. Light from behind the object bends right around it while passing through the two crystals. Viewed from the front it’s as if the object isn’t there. If you haven’t seen it, there’s a video of it as demonstrated at the 2013 Technology, Education and Design Conference HERE. It’s pretty amazing.

Using two calcite crystals in certain media makes the object between them (a rolled up pink post-it note in this case) disappear. Credit Baile Zhang, Nanyang Technological University

So There You Have It

Obviously I’ve managed to get one piece of Iceland spar. But I wouldn’t mind a second, so it’s still on my Christmas list. Maybe I could do some fun tricks with disappearing lines and such. Until then we’ve already put the original piece to good use topping the Lensrental’s Tech Room Christmas Tree.

And if there’s an optical geek on your Christmas list – well, now you’ve got a great idea for an original gift. You can get them a nice piece of Iceland spar. And just think how much fun it will be when they ask what it is and, armed with this post, you can smugly tell them geeky stuff they didn’t know.

Author’s Note: A few weeks ago someone said to me, “Why don’t you go write an interesting blog post about a rock, or something.” Challenge accepted. Successfully, I think.

About the author: Roger Cicala is the founder of LensRentals. This article was originally published here.

Here is a good example why it is so important to work the scene to get the best results from a shoot. We were camped on a 3000m ridge while photographing the majestic peaks of Trishul (7120m) and Nanda Ghunti (6309m) from Brahm Tal in the Garhwal Himalaya. I had just finished a sunrise shoot of the sweeping panorama before us. We spent two night on this ridge. I wrote more about this experience here.

This scene was directly to the east of us and once the sun rose over the ridge it was too bright to shoot in that direction.

Sunrise on Trishul (7120m) and Nanda Ghunti (6309m), Garhwal Himalaya (Click on the image for a larger version)

We were in the process of breaking camp and just before I put away my camera gear for the long trek back to civilisation I decided to take a few shots of the camp. The first one was the one below which is a pretty standard documentary shot of the great little campsite we had perched high o the ridge. I say documentary as it faithfully records the position, setting of the camp, time of day and not too much else. What this shot doesn’t show is the massive Himalayan peaks in front of the tent, as shown in the panorama. This is because the sun was rising right over that ridge and I didn’t think I could capture that scene without blowing out all the highlights.

The photographer’s camp on the ridge. We got our water from the snow drift behind our tent.

I wasn’t satisfied with the result as it wasn’t dramatic or moody enough so I though, ‘What the heck. I’ll shoot straight into the sun and see what I get’. I stepped around to the back of the tent and composed a shot with the tent in the foreground and the mountains in the background. The result blew me away. I didn’t just capture the scene, I captured the mood and the drama of the scene before us.

The photograph was the best shot I got that trip and one of my most successful shots overall. It has been published in a couple of magazines and on a few websites.

Dawn in the Himalayas, Wanderlust Magazine, May 2012

If I had stopped shooting earlier when I had taken my intended shot of the panorama and documented the scene of our campsite I would never have captured this much more dramatic image. The photograph of the panorama was planned but this, much more successful photograph, was accidental. A serendipitous result of experimentation and exploring all angles, even one that I wasn’t sure would work.

The lesson I learnt from this experience was to really work the scene, experiment, try every angle, be bold and sometimes shoot straight into the sun. Sometimes you have to say, “To hell with blown highlights!”.

Taken on my Nikon D700 and 24-70mm f2.8

About the author: Amar Dev Singh is an expedition leader, project manager, photographer and writer based in Melbourne, Australia. He has over 20 years of experience organizing expeditions and trips to remote and interesting parts of the world where he snaps stunning photographs that many of us only dream of. You can find him on his website, Facebook, Twitter, 500px and Google+. This article was originally published here.

It’s that time of the year when we all take a moment to reflect back on the major events that will forever be remembered, the trends that changed our zeitgeist, and the pop culture phenomena that will soon be forgotten.

For the photo industry, this was the year that the word “selfie” was coined Webster’s Dictionary’s word of the year. In such a context and with so much of the conversation focused on the mobile photo taking frenzy, it almost started to get a little too easy to overlook the stories out there that, if not for the photograph, would not have been told nor raised in our collective social consciousness.

On the flip side, the widespread recognition and overwhelming positive response these stories received could have only happened in 2013. With social networks, virtual best friends, and advances in media technology, these stories were meant to happen this year. We celebrate the series of works below as a testament to the power of the still image, the stories that stand behind them, and the photographers that had the courage to tell them — and the thousands, if not millions, of people that shared them with their worlds.

Gillian Laub: A Perfect Daughter

For years, photojournalist Gillian Laub has been documenting issues that young American men and women deal with today. From child beauty pageants, to segregated high school proms in the South — her stories are focused on American family culture.

This year Laub released the multimedia piece “A Perfect Daughter” which tells the story of Nikki, an 11-year-old girl who was biologically born as a boy, and has been going through the complicated transition of becoming the girl she has always felt like. PEOPLE magazine commissioned Laub for the piece, which gave her work a platform that could touch the hearts of thousands. Laub approached this often hidden, difficult subject with grace, telling Nikki’s story in a moving, touching, and simple way. See the photo series here.

Sebastião Salgado: Genesis

Photo by Sebastiao Salgado

Sitting at the top of several ‘favorite photo books of the year’ lists is Sebastiao Salgado’s Genesis. After his project, Migrations, which documented families across the world who are uprooted due to war zones, poverty and repression, Salgado was spent emotionally and physically. He switched gears and focused his energy on reforesting his cattle ranch in Brazil, a piece of land his grandfather had given him. His efforts produced more than 2 million new trees, animals returned to the land, and the ranch has become a designated nature reserve.

All this work helped Salgado realize his next project, which “would not be to photograph what is destroyed but what is still pristine, to show what we must hold and protect.” Genesis is a magnificent look at the world’s natural beauties, and is what Salgado calls his “love letter to the planet.” These powerful images help remind us that we must be kind to our planet, and preserve its resources.

Sara Naomi Lewkowicz: Documenting Domestic Violence

Photo by Sara Naomi Lewkowicz

Winner of both the 2013 Student Alexia Foundation and Ville de Perpignan Rémi Ochlik awards, Sara Naomi Lewkowicz’s photo series and multi media piece “Shane and Maggie: An Intimate Look at Domestic Violence” reached a large audience this year. The series tells the story of Maggie and Shane, a couple whose relationship — unbeknownst to Lewkowicz when she met them — was taking a fast, downward, and dangerous spiral.

Photographing the couple after only 1 month of dating till their end, Lewkowicz’s images tell the story of a domestic struggle (and ultimately violence) rarely captured and revealed over the course of time. Lewkowicz’s unlimited access to the family allowed her to publicly show what usually happens behind closed doors, and resulted in a powerful series that shed a new light on an issue often overlooked because of its hidden occurrences.

John Clang: Futuristic Family Portraits

Photo by John Clang

Photographer John Clang wanted a way for families in Singapore to continue the tradition of taking formal family portraits even when some of their members had moved away to other towns, cities or countries. With this in mind, Clang devised a plan to place a life-size, real time projection of the abroad family members on walls to complete the missing pieces. His series “Being Together” took off and went viral — but he had no idea the impact it would have.

Moved by the series, Skype got in touch with Clang to help create a contest to bring together families and friends who depend on Skype every day to stay in touch with their loved ones. People from all over the world submitted their stories, and finalists won a portrait taken by Clang of their family. But the ultimate winners of the contest got an all-expenses-paid trip to see their loved one — and the two girls who won had an incredible story.

The winners, teenagers Sarah and Paige, were both born with only one arm. Their mothers — looking for both moral and emotional support — found each other online before their daughters were born. The mothers lost touch, but Sarah and Paige, located in Indiana and New Zealand respectively, have been digital best friends since they were 8 years old. The kicker? Sarah and Paige had never met. Because of Clang’s work, the two girls were able to meet each other for the first time ever and strengthen a friendship that was already, as Paige describes, like “a long lost sister” she never had.

Photo Requests From Solitary: How Legislative Art Changed Illinois

Photo by Rachel Herman for inmate who requested “The bald knob cross in the Southern area of Illinois with someone of the Christian faith going there praying for me…”

In 2013, the artists involved in the Tamms Ten Year Campaign finally got some peace of mind from their long-time struggle to shut down the supermax isolation prison, Tamms. The photo project, Photo Requests From Solitary, answered the question: what would prisoners who have been in solitary confinement for over 10 years want to see? It not only stirred a sense of humanity for a group of people that many, including legislators, merely referred to as “inmates” or “prisoners”, but it also helped those in confinement feel a connection to the outside world many hadn’t had in years. While the resulting images vary greatly in subject matter and stand strongly as a body of work, it is the story behind the entire Campaign effort that is truly awe-inspiring.

In 1998, Illinois built Tamms Supermax prison, a place for what is termed “sensory deprivation.” Prisoners were not allowed visitors, phone calls, or other human interaction. Meals were served through a slot in the door, and workouts were done in solitary in a concrete pen. The prison’s original intent was to be a one-year shock treatment for the most dangerous of prisoners — but 10 years passed, and a large number of the prisoners had not yet been released. The isolation caused many inmates to suffer from mental illness, self-mutilation, and attempted suicide.

Photo by Lindsay Blair Brown for an inmate who requested “to see the downtown Chicago or the lake of Chicago it will bring me happiness to see a real nice picture of the downtown.”

The Tamms Poetry Committee was created in 2006 to write letters and create some kind of human contact for the prisoners within Tamms, and two years later the Tamms Ten Year Campaign was launched to raise public awareness about what many considered to be the excessive punishment and mistreatment that was happening at the prison. This new form of “Legislative Art” by the Poetry Committee aimed to work with government systems to change the prison policies and hold those responsible accountable for the emotional and physical states the prisoners at Tamms were in.

Photo by Jeanine Oleson for an inmate who requested “my mother standing in front of a mansion, or big castle with a bunch of money on the ground…”

The images that comprise ‘Photo Requests From Solitary’ came from the work of photographers all over the country. With permission of the Department of Corrections, Tamms inmates were able to make a request for a photograph of anything they wanted, either real or imagined, and the request would be distributed to the group to find a volunteer to fulfill it. With support from the Open Society Documentary Photography Audience Engagement Grant and the Sullivan Galleries at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, the Tamms Committee had help to spread the word. The photography work was shown and highlighted at this years Photoville NYC, and received coverage on Gawker, Buzzfeed, The Daily Beast and more.

Photo by Lenny Gilmore for an inmate who requested “a picture of all the Tamms Year Ten staff and volunteers with a description of each person’s name, who they are, and one thing about them individually like what kind of music they like, etc”

On January 4th 2013, Tamms Supermax was shut down. The Committee announced upon hearing this news they were “going through stages of relief, disbelief, celebration and reflection.” But their work is not done — they are now learning “what men need in the aftermath of Tamms and combating the new onslaught of negative rhetoric.”

Learn more at yearten.org

What photo story impacted you this year? Leave us a link in the comments to a story that resonated with you on an emotional level, changed your thinking on a subject, or made you take action.

About the author: Sarah Jacobs is a Marketing Associate at the photography website provider PhotoShelter. This article originally appeared here.

A Little Background…

I am a 23-year-old photographer who moved to Chicago from Nigeria 6 years ago. I started photography about 3 years ago. After playing around with a DSLR in Target, I was hooked. I shoot mostly fashion photography, and female models. I have shot full frame since late 2011 with the 5D Mk2, then the D800 since November 2012.

Why the RX1?

I honestly just had some extra money 2 months ago, and wanted a new toy. It was either the camera or a new road bike. Boy am I glad I went with the RX1. I was lucky enough to get a used one in excellent condition for $1900 with a very nice leather case.

First Impressions

It’s really small, but substantial. There is a solid heft to it, even though it’s not heavy by any means. The compactness makes me marvel at how far technology has come. Everything on the camera feels solidly built and very premium.

Using the Camera

It’s such a joy to use. It gets out of your way, and just lets you shoot. The controls are very intuitive, and the feedback from the buttons are very good too. Before getting this camera, my preferred lens was the Nikon 50mm f/1.4. I don’t like zooms, so a fixed lens that gave me more room to add the environment was perfect. It took me a little while to get used to the 35mm focal length, but now it just feels natural.

I have only shot with the camera in available light. I tried using my generic Calumet flash triggers, but they didn’t fit completely into the hotshoe. The strobe syncing worked fine, but the contact was finicky, so it wouldn’t flash when it secured tightly. I prefer to shoot with available light when I shoot outdoors anyways, so strobing with the RX1 wasn’t a priority for me. That just takes the simplicity of using this camera out of the equation. The auto white balance on the RX1 is wonderful. It always metered much better than my D800 in every situation.

One big advantage with shooting outside on location with the RX1 is how little attention you gather. It’s unbelievable. Cops just walked on by when I was shooting a model in a vest and panties in the middle of the street, in the middle of the day without saying a word. Contrary to my experiences with my D800, we would have been asked to present permits, and all sorts of documentation. People don’t crowd around to watch, because it just looks like I’m with my hot friends taking pics for Instagram.

The autofocus is good. It’s not going to win any awards for speed and accuracy, but it’s good enough to capture what I want quickly enough. Especially in sufficient light. It does struggle in low light, but I rarely ever shoot in low light, so that hasn’t been a problem. Speaking of low light performance, the RX1 is really good at high ISO’s. Better than my D800 from 3200 and up.

The dynamic range and sharpness from that 35mm f/2 lens are just wonderful. I don’t even add sharpening in post, because the photos come out nice and sharp. With tons of shadow and highlight detail which makes post-processing a joy.

I didn’t get the EVF, because it adds bulk to the camera, is quite expensive, and makes it feel like a very formal/professional affair which goes against the philosophy behind the RX1 in my opinion. The LCD works just fine even in direct sunlight. I do not have a single complaint with it.

Battery life is quite bad, but the batteries are really cheap, and I have five of them with two chargers. I usually use 2 batteries for a full 2-3 hour fashion shoot. It’s also disconcerting to models who are used to using loud shutter clicks as cues to switch poses, but they get used to it after a while.

I shoot weddings occasionally, and I use the RX1 for all the pre-ceremony and reception shots where I have more time to be creative.

My only gripe with using it is that I still haven’t had a bride, groom, or client freak out that I was shooting with this tiny camera. It’s a little disappointing because I expected to get that reaction every time I whipped out the RX1 instead of my big DSLR.

My D800 now sits at home collecting dust, and it takes me a while to re-adjust when I have to shoot with it because it really is cumbersome working with DSLR cameras. They’re heavy, bulky, and I hate not being able to see what my photo will look like before I click the shutter. Optical viewfinders are so old-fashioned.

I LOVE my RX1. It has been a revelation shooting with this little beast of a camera. I can’t stress how easy it makes shooting become. It makes something as serious as a high-end fashion shoot feel like a leisure time activity. It makes it easier for me to interact with my models, because everyone is more relaxed and having a blast during the shoot, and it shows in the images. I can’t speak for others, but for my purposes it is the perfect camera for my uses.

I recently went on a trip to LA, and I left my DSLR at home. I didn’t miss having it for one moment. That was when I realized that small mirrorless full-frame cameras are the future. I’ve only done a handful of shoots with the RX1, but it will be my main camera for the foreseeable future.

You can ask me any question you like, and I will be glad to answer in the comments section. Thanks for reading!

Image credits: Isi Aakahome is a young Chicago-based fashion photographer who came to the US six years ago. He started photography in 2010, and is currently a student at DePaul University. His goal is to make an impression on the viewer with every image he takes. You can find his work on his website and Facebook. This article originally appeared here.

A few months back I got to see the mighty, ever-reigning dinosaur kings of rock, the Rolling Stones. I had a general admission ticket and a small pocket camera, and arrived many hours early so as to worm my way clear up to the front.

It was a thunderous, spellbinding show. Keith, Ronnie & Darryl didn’t miss a note, Charlie didn’t miss a beat, and Mick preened and darted around the vast arena like a man a third his age. Smirking hipsters dismiss the Stones for being old (how dare they!), for lacking modern relevance, and/or for cynically milking their fans for every last dollar. Whatever. That night I saw a band that cared very, very deeply about its creations and its legacy — guys whose wealth long since freed them from any chore they’d rather avoid, and who spent that and dozens of other nights exerting themselves to the limit to create their spectacle.

I’ve seen the Stones several times over the years, but this was the first time I brought a camera. The smartphone tsunami has forced concert promoters to give up their long-running battle against fan photos. Fancy SLR’s are still prohibited at lots of shows. But apart from a few hardline reactionaries like Prince, most performers let their audiences go hog-wild with pocket cameras and cellphones.

This is a long-winded preamble to what I really want to discuss in this post — which is the awesome capabilities that you can now find in a pocket camera. With extreme lighting, fast-moving subjects, and chaotic settings, live concerts present photographers with an awful lot of headwinds. I hope these shots show that you can now achieve impressive results in the trickiest environments with just a wisp of hardware (at the bottom of this post you’ll find a link to much larger versions of the photos, which will give you a better sense of their quality).

OK, so the holidays are past us — nonetheless, my belated gift suggestion for avid photographers at ANY level of expertise (after all, there are birthdays coming up!) is the Sony RX-100, which took all of these shots. It comes in two flavors — the original RX-100 (which dates back to mid-2012) and its ingeniously named successor, the RX-100 II.

I can usually be gulled into upgrading to any new version of my favorite gizmos. But even as a rabid RX-100 fan, I sat out the new version, and suggest that you do the same. The specs are barely improved, yet the new version will run you a couple hundred dollars more. To be clear, you have to love someone a lot to buy them even the dowdy old original, which rounds to $500. But it’s a breathtaking piece of technology.

I bought mine shortly after it first came out, when the mighty David Pogue — a reviewer who is not prone to hyperbole (at least not for non-Apple products) — began a New York Times piece with the words, “This is a review of the best pocket camera ever made.” Eighteen months on, I’d say this introduction remains largely accurate. The RX-100 has many superpowers. And one of the most important ones might strike some people as obscure — specifically, its ability to shoot images in the RAW format.

Thousands of carefully chosen words can be written about RAW, but the Cliff Notes are that it gives unbelievable after-the-fact control over the tone and quality of light in an image. Harnessing this power requires sophisticated software, and I’m a huge fan of Lightroom by Adobe. This will run you about a hundred bucks, but (much more significantly) I’d say you should expect to spend about a hundred hours truly mastering it.

The good news is that you can spread this over a year or more, because you’ll start achieving amazing things almost immediately, and the complete learning process will be a joy to anyone who loves engaging in digital images. I’ve read plenty of Lightroom books over the years, and the by-far best in my view is Scott Kelby’s. If you steadily work your way through this gem, testing out everything he discusses, you will gradually become a true Lightroom ninja. Take your time and enjoy the journey.

And that journey should absolutely include smuggling your camera into every concert that you attend. If you’re interested in this sort of thing, you should absolutely read this detailed & articulate discussion of concert photography and hardware (including the RX-100) by Jason DeBord. Jason’s wonderful blog features a constant procession of shows that he documents using both professional and civilian camera gear.

Finally to reiterate a prior point, I absolutely recommend the RX-100 and its ilk to photographers at any level — including pros with enough fancy gear to fill a Hummer. I have a wonderful, cumbersome SLR that takes stunning images, and which I wouldn’t want to lug into 90% of the environments that I inhabit on any given day.

It’s a truism that the best camera for any situation is the one that you happen to have with you at the time. Usually, this will be your cellphone. If you’re lucky enough to go on safari, you may be lucky enough to own a Canon 7D, and you should absolutely pack it. But for those in-between situations that call for both fabulous imagery and super-portable technology, high-end pocket cameras are really starting to deliver the goods. And as with all things tech-related, you can expect today’s top-of-the-line performance to migrate into bargain price points within a few years.

Incidentally, is it just me, or does it look like Charlie is about to be swallowed by a gigantic Stones logo up there? The things you can do with a Jumbotron these days…

Anyway — if you enjoy these images, I’ve posted much larger versions of them and dozens of others in this SmugMug photo album. Click on the large image on the right side of the screen to see it in ultra-big form, and then navigate through the album using your arrow keys.

Enjoy, and happy holidays!

About the author: Years ago, Rob Reid started the company that created the Rhapsody music service. These days he writes fiction for Random House. His most recent novel (Year Zero) is the story of a vast alien civilization with a disastrously expensive fondness for American pop music. You can keep up with him on his website, Facebook and Twitter. This article was originally published here.

Hello photographer, the report of my death was an exaggeration.

Yours,
Camera

The latest ad from Apple about the usefulness of their iPads got me thinking, for whatever reason, about cameras, photography, and articles that pop up from time to time to declare ambitious statements about photography.

Another has popped up recently as I’m sure many of you reading have already come across, where another journalist decided to declare the end of the camera as we know it. However, until I see a mobile camera share the same level of technical precision with which one is able to capture the same emotional depth and clarity of their more sophisticated brothers, I am not buying into these baitish articles about how traditional photography is dead. Traditional meaning, in this case, using a device designed only to make photographs, not share them.

Is photography evolving? Sure. Is it becoming more accessible to anyone? In a way, of course, software is able to gloss over most any cameras shortcomings these days to some degree. But to declare its figurehead, the stand-alone camera, dead or even starting to die is a gross over-exaggeration. To me, these sentiments always come across as oversimplified, wishful attempts at making a statement about the field in general. It’s like stories I read last year about still photography becoming irrelevant in the face of such capable video camera stills, really?

In the early days of commercially available cameras there was not a lot to distinguish those created for the general public versus the professional. A camera was a camera, and advancements were made as a whole so big steps such as the introduction of 35mm film and smaller, easier to carry cameras were obviously created to spread the technology to a wider audience by making the process more convenient.

As time went on a dividing line started to appear between cameras made for consumers versus those designed for professionals. Cameras such as the first Olympus Pen series cameras in the 60s or later the Minox 35 EL in the mid 70’s paved the way for the modern consumer-friendly point-and-shoot, which slowly but surely became more and more capable until the boom of digital swept us all off our feet.

The race for the smallest or most capable and/or convenient camera is nothing new, it’s history repeating itself and all the hyperbole about how no one will need or want any cameras other than their mobile phones? It’s nonsense.

In many ways, the landscape today is no different than it was in 1975, only the technology has changed. There will always be the simple, snapshot cameras that anyone can pick up and use and there will always be surprisingly great photos that come out of those simplified little cameras. Nothing has changed here, it’s just that the act of sharing the photos has changed and of course that is no small matter.

It’s not the personal satisfaction of making photographs and sharing them with others that is changing, it’s the expectation of the end viewer that is constantly shifting as the act of sharing grows exponentially. The easier it becomes, the more people we find interacting with the medium, and with mass adoption we see a lower point of entry in general and thus connoisseurs of the craft are born of a different mindset and existing hobbyists attempt to fold into a new way of approaching their favorite hobby or profession in fear of being left behind.

Photography will continue to be a popular and increasingly simple way to communicate and tiny digital cameras attached to our smartphones will surely continue to grow as the dominant source of output, but I have this funny feeling that I’m not the only one out there who isn’t ready to toss their cameras into a shoebox in the back of their closet.

There is nothing uncomfortable or strange about getting back from a vacation and realizing your iPhone photos are looking good enough for your needs. You’re still taking the same photos, just with a smaller camera and in the process realizing your style and photographic voice doesn’t require any gear beyond a point-and-shoot. There is nothing wrong with that, obviously. But it is no reason to get on a soap box and claim the camera is dying. The truth is far from this claim. It is simply evolving, as it always has, and the ebb and flow of those who want creative control in camera vs those who get enough creative inspiration from adding software filters will continue to fluctuate in time.

Personally speaking, using a camera is not simply a means to reach an end for me. Just because it would be easier for me to shoot using my iPhone’s camera doesn’t mean that I should. Photography is a force larger than one style and one lens can be held responsible for and all the software tricks in the world could not mimic the emotional fulfillment and gratitude I have for photography in a traditional sense. The future may lie with a digital dominance and that is perfectly fine, but the tools used to capture light in a creative way by passionate photographers can not all boil down into one automated click of the button.

That said, this is by no means a dismissal of mobile photography or the direction it is continuing to take photography in general. I myself love shooting around with my iPhone as much as the next guy and support the technology that it propagates. The future of photography is great, I’m positive of that and no matter what you choose to believe I can’t in good conscience stand by and let a fellow wandering photographer looking to plant flags in modern trends try to sell you snake oil. Not when it’s a subject I am so passionate about. Even with a passionate mind one can still manage to lose sight of the sun.

Hello camera, you’re looking good for your age! Still as capable and challenging as you ever were. Let’s go see what light we can find today.

Best,
John

About the author: John Carey is a photographer, writer and curator based out of North Carolina. He runs the website Fifty Foot Shadows where he shares an ample supply of photographic desktop wallpapers, reviews, articles on photography and technology, music suggestions and the stories behind the photographs featured on the site. You can follow him on Twitter, Instagram and Flickr. This article originally appeared here

A big thank you to Mosaic for sending us this article! We hope you enjoy this amazing story!

One day in the spring of 1975, my phone rang, and that call led me on an incredible journey. The call was from my brother, who was starting his career as an art researcher and historian. He specializes on forgotten or overlooked American artists.

“Do you remember me telling you about the research I am doing on Alfred Waud, the Civil War artist”, he says, “well, I have tracked down his present day descendants living in Vermont. I visited them the other day and you won’t believe what I found. I need your expertise. We need to go back to Vermont right away. I’m not going say more. You’ll see for yourself.”

With that enigmatic proposal, we took off for Vermont and made our way to a quintessential country home in the southern part of the state. After greeting the owners, we climbed up into the attic and there before me was an old trunk. At this point, since my brother would not divulge any more information, my thoughts raced as to the contents: it could range from a collection of old family photos with value only to the present heirs or perhaps the local historical society. On the other end of the spectrum was… what? What on earth could be in here that would have my brother make me come all this way?

I turned back the ancient lid of the trunk and inside were stacks of boxes and folders wrapped in paper. I carefully unfolded one of the paper folders and was immediately stunned. Glowing albumen prints depicting the Civil War lay before me. They looked as if they were made yesterday. Under that print was another, then another, then more. It was overwhelming. The condition was incredible. Perhaps the dryness of the attic held back the onslaught of mold. Perhaps the layers of paper and the trunk kept light from destroying the images. Even though acidic materials surrounded the images, they survived beautifully!

I gazed in stupefied wonder as one iconic image after another appeared: the images of the aftermaths of the bloody battles, the views of decimated cities, the series of “The Execution of the Lincoln Assassination Conspirators”, by Alexander Gardner. The work of O’Sullivan, Russell, and The Brady Studio were all here.

The reason this collection exists at all is a story itself. The people we were visiting were not related to the photographers but to Alfred Waud, a Civil War era artist and illustrator for newspapers. While creating illustrations for articles about the war, Waud befriended the photographers also working there and received prints from them to use as source material. This collection remained in the Waud family for over 110 years.

It didn’t end with the Civil War, however. As if the prints were stored in geologic layers, the subject changed from war to the exploration and dominance of the American West. Print after print of images such as Timothy O’Sullivans iconic view of his wagons in “Desert Sand Hills near Sink of Carson, Nevada”, as well as views by Muybridge, Watkins, and Russell. The collection reflected perfectly not only the photographers interpretation of the Civil War, but revealed how they adapted their vision to a new subject matter: the landscape of the west and mans interaction with it.

After my adrenalin came down to an operable level and I regained the ability to speak, the trunk was brought downstairs. A few weeks went by and my brother was able to purchase the collection from the owners.

Now my work truly began. I meticulously inventoried each and every print, housed them in archival enclosures and created a master list organized by photographer, size, subject, date and other notations if available. In the end, the collection consisted of over 500 albumen prints from the Civil War and the American west. It is considered to be one of the finest and most comprehensive collections of its kind ever found.

I will never forget the experience of gently cradling the rich chocolate-brown prints in my gloved hands and feeling a direct connection to the photographers who labored to create them.

About the author: Terence Falk is a fine art photographer, archivist and educator who has worked in the photography world for over thirty-five years. He has taught at The International Center of Photography, New York City, Maine Media Workshops, Rockport, Maine, and The Fashion Institute of Technology, New York City. Presently, Terence is on the faculty of Paier College of Art, Hamden, Connecticut.

Terence created the service Archive Solutions, which specializes in the preservation and archiving of collections of historic material for organizations and companies. In addition to his archiving work, Terence worked as editor for AskArt.com, an online artist database, creating over 5,000 artist’s biographies for artists from the 1700’s to the present. This article originally appeared here

Just over a year ago, photography was my most precious hobby. I really enjoyed it and took photos fairly often, but I felt that if I wanted to take this thing to the next level, I had to do something extraordinary. A couple of days before New Year’s Eve I decided to start a “365 days 365 photos” project like so many other photographers before me. It felt like a great idea, and so I just went for it. What could possibly happen?

I signed up for Flickr on January 1st 2013. I wanted to have some sort of diary of the process, and the chance to maybe build an audience. I will never forget the moment when I got my first favorite, and then my first comment. It was amazing to see that there were others out there that seemed to like what I was seeing, feeling and capturing.

Still, as the days and weeks passed by, I still wasn’t too sure about what I wanted to shoot. As you can see, my first uploads don’t really have a common theme or idea. It was great that way, but after a while I lacked the fuel that kept my machine running. I didn’t really have a driving force behind my work.

After a couple of weeks, I began focusing more and more on street photography. What made me feel really insecure in the first 1-2 months was the fact that my street photography was in a way different compared to the rest of the street photography community. I had a picture in my mind’s eye of the typical street shots — black and white with lots of things going on in them — and I just couldn’t make those happen. I tried and tried and eventually began giving in to the idea that maybe this whole photography thing wasn’t meant for me. I knew I had something in me, but I just couldn’t really set if free.

Eventually I reached my breaking point and said, “You know what Marius, this is your project and life and you can do whatever you think is right! Most people don’t care for your project anyways…”. With this attitude in mind, I began trying to put my personal stamp on my street photography. It felt amazing to take photos the way I felt them, without thinking in terms of genres and rules. I felt as though I had broken my chains for the first time.

“Urban Lights,” (above) which I took on the 39th day of the project, changed everything. As a huge fan of Reddit, I submitted the photo to the Reddit & WideAngle Photo contest just for the fun of it. I’ll never forget the moment when they told me that I won 1st prize in this contest packed full of amazing contestants. I was in tears. This project meant and still means the world to me.

This was one of the first moments where I realized that maybe my photography might be better than I thought. Although awards don’t really mean anything to me, it felt amazing to know that even judges liked what I was doing. Over the course of the project, I won 10 more awards around the world and made it to 6 shortlists. These awards made me happy, but they didn’t compare to the first time someone told me that they started out with photography because of me… that I was their inspiration. This still puts a smile on my face that no award or prize money could ever give me. I really don’t care for money, I care for people.

Slowly, everything began changed. At first my daily photo walks were a nice change of scenery after sitting in the office for 9-10 hours a day as a market researcher for an international media agency. However, after 5-6 months, I felt that photography had become more important to me than my actual job. I used every free minute I had to take new shots and spent my nights post-processing until 2AM.

All of a sudden the job that I got straight out of college and that I in fact went to college for (communication science, psychology and marketing) was the change of scenery for me. My heart and soul were committed to my photography. It wasn’t a hobby anymore, and it wasn’t just a passion of mine — it was my life.

It wasn’t until South Korea that I truly realized this. I took three weeks off to discover this wonderful country and get some shooting done. Walking down the streets of Seoul got me thinking, “How amazing would it be to just travel around the world and take photos?” This would be a dream of a life. People over there asked me what I do for a living. I couldn’t tell them that I was a market researcher, since I didn’t feel like I was doing that anymore. I was doing market research for a living, but I was living for photography. So I always told them that I was a photographer, and it felt right. Truly right.

When I got back from Korea and back to my everyday life, we had a new CEO that wanted to talk to everyone since he was new to the office. He sat down with me and at the end of our conversation asked how long I was planning to stay since fluctuation had become a huge problem. I told him “Look, I could tell you anything right now, but I’m gonna be honest with you. I want to live my dream and I’m gonna leave soon.”

This was really hard but liberating to say. It was a huuuuge step for me. I felt somehow both miserable and relieved for days after that. I told my other supervisors one hour after that talk and handed in my notice one week later. It takes 4 month to get out of my job, so I’m officially going to be free to live my dream starting in March.

The truth is, my old job might pay well and offer me a high standard of living, but that’s not what I want in life. I don’t care for money, nor do I care for materialistic happiness. True happiness can’t be bought. It’s the simple things in life, like breathing the air, looking at the stars, eating good food, laughing and sharing moments with wonderful people. That’s why I love life and art.

I always dreamed of this kind of life. Quite a few galleries in Germany are interested in my work, and together with an international art dealer and my own shop I will start to sell my art soon. It’s a dream come and still coming true! It demands hard work and perseverance, but hey, let’s make the impossible possible.

Mark Twain once said that “The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why.” This project showed me that I want to live as an artist. I want to thank everyone who was and still is a part of this journey from the bottom of my heart. I couldn’t have done it without you.

About the author: Marius Vieth is an artist from Düsseldorf, Germany. One year ago he started a 365 days project that turned his life around. After quitting his safe 9 to 5 job he now dedicates his life to creating art, traveling around the world and meeting other passionate photographers. You can join him on the road less travelled by on Facebook, Flickr, Twitter, Google Plus, 500px and his website. This article originally appeared here.

“How do I take better photos?” 


I was extremely lucky to have many talented and generous photographers take me under their wing to show me the ropes. Without their valuable advice there is no way I would have become the photographer I am today. 



Ironically, the number one question I now get asked as an Open producer is “How do I take better photos?” 



So along with some tips that I’ve picked up over the years, I’ve recruited some outstanding snappers across Australia to share their own secret techniques about how they take their photos to the next level. 



1. Get in close

It was the famous photojournalist Robert Capa who once said “If your photographs aren’t good enough, you’re not close enough.” He was talking about getting in amongst the action. If you feel like your images aren’t ‘popping’, take a step or two closer to your subject. Fill the frame with your subject and see how much better your photo will look without so much wasted space. The closer you are to the subject, the better you can see their facial expressions too. 



2. Shoot every day

The best way to hone your skills is to practice. A lot. Shoot as much as you can – it doesn’t really matter what. Spend hours and hours behind your camera. As your technical skills improve over time, your ability to harness them to tell stories and should too. 
Don’t worry too much about shooting a certain way to begin with. Experiment. Your style – your ‘voice’ – will emerge in time. And it will be more authentic when it does. — Leah Robertson

Leah Robertson is a super talented Melbourne based photographer and videographer, specialising in music and documentary photography.You can see her work here.

3. See the light

Before you raise your camera, see where the light is coming from, and use it to your advantage. Whether it is natural light coming from the sun, or an artificial source like a lamp; how can you use it to make your photos better? How is the light interacting with the scene and the subject? Is it highlighting an area or casting interesting shadows? These are all things you can utilise to make an ordinary photo extraordinary. 



4. Ask permission

When photographing people, especially while in countries with different cultures and languages, it can be hard to communicate. In certain countries if you photograph someone you are not ‘supposed’ to photograph, it can get ugly and rough very quickly if you are not careful. So out of respect you should always ask permission. 

I have started shooting a series of school children in Pakistan. These are all posed portraits and they are looking down the lens. My guide helps me with the language and I limit myself to smiling, shaking hands, giving ‘hi-five’ and showing them the image on the back of my camera once it is done. You would be amazed how quickly people open up. — Andrea Francolini 


Andrea Francolini is a well known Italian born, Sydney based sports photographer. He is also the founder of My First School, as trust which has the aim to facilitate educations in Northern Pakistan. You can see his work here.

5. Use flash during the day

You might think that you should only use flash at night time or indoors, but that’s not the case at all. If it is an extremely bright day outside and the sun is creating harsh shadows on your subject, switch on your flash. By forcing extra light onto your subject, you will be able to fill in those ugly shadows and create an even exposure. 



6. ISO

There are questions to ask yourself when deciding what ISO to use: 



What time of day are you shooting? If you are shooting outside during the middle of the day you will need to use a lower ISO such as 100 or 200. If you are shooting at night time without a tripod you will have to increase the ISO to a higher number to be able to record the light on the camera’s sensor.



Will the subject be well lit? If your subject or scene is too dark you will need to use a higher ISO such as 800 or 1600. 



Do you want a sharp image or an image with more movement in it? Using a high shutter speed to capture fast movement might mean that you need to use a high ISO to compensate. Likewise, if you’re using a slow shutter speed to capture blur you will need a low ISO to compensate. 



Don’t forget, increasing your ISO increases the grain or pixel size in your photo. So don’t use an ISO of 3200 or 6400 if you don’t want a photo with a lot of ‘digital noise’.

7. f/4

f/4 is my ‘go to’ aperture. If you use a wide aperture with a long lens (200mm-400mm) you’re able to separate the subject from the background. This helps them stand out. Works every time. — Peter Wallis

Peter Wallis is a sports photographer extraordinaire, working for The Courier Mail in Brisbane. You can see his work here.

8. You’ve got to be joking

A well timed joke will always yield a more natural smile, than simply saying “smile” — Dean Bottrell

Dean Bottrell is a Emerald based photographer who specializes in portraiture. You can see his work here.

9. Buy books, not gear

Having expensive camera equipment doesn’t always mean that you’ll take good photos. I’ve seen some absolutely amazing images shot with nothing more than a smart phone. Instead of having ten different lenses, invest in some fantastic photography books. By looking at the work of the masters, not only do you get inspired, you come away with ideas to improve your own photos.

10. Read your camera’s manual

The best way to know what to do with your camera is to actually read the manual. So many people miss this really important step on their photographic journey. Every camera is different, so by reading the manual you’ll get to know all the funky things it’s capable of. 



11. Slow down

Take time to think about what is going on in the viewfinder before pressing the shutter. How are you going to compose the shot? How are you going to light it? Don’t jump straight in without giving it some thought first. — Brad Marsellos

Brad Marsellos is the Wide Bay über Open producer. You can see his photos, videos and musings on life here.

12. Stop chimping (checking the photo on the back screen) 


It’s a bad habit digital photographers can develop. Time and time again I see photographers take a photograph and then look at the back of the screen straight away. By doing that you could miss all the special moments. You can look at your photos later. You can miss ‘the shot’ and it affects the flow of your work, so just keep shooting! – Marina Dot Perkins

The lovely Marina Dot Perkins is a news, travel and wedding photographer who worked for The Canberra Times and is now based in Newcastle.

13. Framing

This is a technique to use when you want to draw attention to something in your photograph. By framing a scene or a subject, say with a window or an archway, you lead the viewer’s eye to the primary focal point.

14. Shape with light

Never shoot with the sun directly behind you. It creates boring, flat light on the subject. If you shoot with the light source to the side or behind the subject, you are able to shape with the light, creating a more interesting photo. — Patria Jannides

Patria is not only a talented news photographer, she is also my long term friend, mentor, and personal cheer squad. She even helped me to land my first job as a paid photographer. Thanks for everything P xxx

15. Watermarks

This tip isn’t in direct relation to TAKING photos, but it does affect the look of photos. When it comes to watermarks, the smaller the better. And if you can avoid using them, do.

Chances are, unless you are a paid professional, there’s not much of a chance of your photos getting nicked. But in reality, they won’t prevent your images from getting stolen. They only distract from the fabulous image that you’ve created, because once you’ve slapped a watermark all over it, that’s all the viewer will be looking at. The only way you can prevent your images from being stolen is to not publish them on the internet. 



Read Open producer Luke Wong’s blog post on watermarks here.

16. Be present

This means make eye-contact, engage and listen to your subject. With the eyes – lower that camera and be human. Bring the camera up for a decisive shot. But remember to lower it, like you’re coming up for air, to check in with your subject. Don’t treat them like a science experiment under a microscope. Being there with your subject shows them respect, levels the playing field in terms of power dynamics, and calms them down. You’ll get much more natural images this way. — Heather Faulkner 



Heather Faulkner is a photographer who convenes the ePhotojournalism major at QCA, Griffith University. She is also the executive director of The Argus, a student-run, visual journalism online magazine. See her personal work here.

17. Shutter speed

Being aware of your shutter speed means the difference between taking a blurry photo and a sharp photo. It all depends on what you are after. If you are shooting a sporting event or children running around in the backyard, you probably want your subjects to be in focus. To capture fast action you will have to use a shutter speed over 1/500th of a second, if not 1/1000th to 1/2000th. On the opposite end of the scale, you might want to capture the long streaks of a car’s tail lights running through your shot. Therefore you would change your camera’s shutter speed to a long exposure. This could be one second, ten seconds, or even longer. 



18. Charge your batteries

This seems like a simple one, but pretty much every photographer on the face of the planet has been caught out before. Including myself. The trick is to put the battery onto the charger as soon as you get home from your photo shoot. The only thing then is to make sure you remember to put it back into the camera after it has been recharged… 



19. Focal length

Keep it simple. I shoot with two prime lenses and one camera; A 28mm and a 35mm. For everything. I use the 35mm lens 70% and the 28mm lens 30% of time. It takes some time to get used to it, but once you work it out, shooting primes is the only way to go. It means you have to work with what you have and you can’t be lazy. Basically, this means more pictures and less fiddling around with zooming and maybe missing moments. It also helps for consistency. If you’re working on a project or a series, keeping the same focal lengths is a great way to maintain a powerful sense of consistency. — Justin Wilkes

Justin Wilkes quit his job in Sydney this year to cover the political and social change in post revolution Egypt. He has since had his photographs published in The New York Times, TIME magazine, and The Jakata Globe to name but a few. You can see his amazing documentary work here.

20. Be part of a photographic community

Like ABC Open! Not only will you be able to publish your photos for the rest of the country to see, you’ll be part of an active group that offers feedback on how great you are going. You can learn new things to help you improve your technique, and you might even make some new photography buddies.

21. Shoot with your mind

Even when you’re not shooting, shoot with your mind. Practice noticing expressions and light conditions. Work out how you’d compose a picture of that scene over there that interests you, and what sort of exposure you might use to capture it best. — Leah Robertson

22. Return the favor

Always remember that if you are shooting people in a different country, they are probably doing you a favor by posing. So the least you can do is return this favor some way or another.

I often return to the same places year after year, so I bring along prints and look for the people I photographed previously. In some areas people do not have a picture of themselves. Imagine not having a picture of you and your family? Strange don’t you think? Yet many people don’t. So a $0.50 print can really make someone happy. It also opens doors for more photography further down the track. — Andrea Francolini 



23. Have a camera on you at all times

You can’t take great photos if you don’t have a camera on you, can you? DSLR, point-and-shoot or smart phone, it doesn’t really matter. As long as you have access to a camera, you’re able to capture those spontaneous and unique moments in life that you might have otherwise missed. 



24. The golden hour

Shoot portraits and landscapes in the golden hours — the light is softer and the colours are more vibrant. — Dean Bottrell 



25. Keep it simple

Don’t try to pack too many elements into your image; it will just end up looking messy. If you just include one or two points of interest, your audience won’t be confused at where they should be looking or what they should be looking at. 


26. Don’t get bogged down by equipment

We’ve all seen these types of photographers out and about. They usually have three or four different cameras strapped around their necks with lenses long enough for an African safari. In reality, there’s probably no need for all that equipment. One body with one or two lenses means that you’ll be freer in your movements to capture interesting angles or subjects on the move. 


27. Perspective

Minimize the belly-button photograph. This is a reference to Moholy Nagy of the Bauhaus movement in photography (which was all about lines of perspective). In other words, perspectives are more engaging when we crouch down, or lie down, or elevate our position in reference to the subject. Look at how changing your perspective can change the visual language and implied power dynamics of the image. Crouching low can make your subject more dynamic, whereas gaining height on your subject can often minimize their presence in the image. One of my favorite exercises is to make my students lie down and take pictures, often in the dirt. I am a little cheeky. — Heather Faulkner 



28. Be aware of backgrounds

What’s in your frame? So often I see great photos and think “didn’t they see that garbage bin, ugly wall, sign, etc?” It’s not just the person or object in your frame, it’s everything else in the background that can make or break a great photograph. So don’t be afraid to ask the person to move (or move yourself) to avoid something ugly in the background. — Marina Dot Perkins

29. Shade

Shade can be your best friend. If there is no way you can make the available light work for your photo, shoot in the shade. You’ll get a nice even exposure with no patchy highlights throughout your shot.

30. Rule of Thirds 


This is one of the most common tips that pop up when it comes to improving your photos.

To break it down, you cut your frame into thirds by using both horizontal and vertical lines. You then place your point of interest over the cross sections of the grid.

Check out this article for further details about using the rule of thirds.

31. Exposure 


I’ve been shooting a lot of protests lately. Basically, they’re just a lot of people really close to one another; often moving. After having made many mistakes with getting my exposures right, I worked out that if the sun is behind me and in the face of protestors I will set exposure compensation to underexpose by a stop to bring out even tonal range. When the sun is behind the protestors I like to over expose just slightly to bring out the shadow details on their faces. This could apply to street photography when the light is in front or behind your subject. — Justin Wilkes

32. Don’t spend too much time post-processing

The key is to get it right in the camera first, so you don’t HAVE to spend time editing. Over working a photo in editing software very rarely looks good, unless you are trying to achieve a super-artsy effect. If it takes you longer than ten minutes to alter your photo, maybe think about going back out into the field to re-shoot it. 



33. Variation

Variation is key. I often use a recipe from Life Magazine picture editors for building a story narrative. I look for: over-all shots or scene-setters, interaction, action, portraits, details, medium shots and of course the signature image. Having this list in my head helps me start photographing a story that sometimes isn’t visually apparent until you get into it. This is great when you’re in a crowded or busy place. — Heather Faulkner

34. Become one with the camera

Push the button regardless of the outcome so the camera becomes part of your hand. — Dean Saffron

Dean Saffron is a photojournalist and an ABC Open superstar. His video The Spokesman, has had over 170,000 views. Woah!

35. Hold your camera properly

You might not know it, but there is a right way and a wrong way to hold a DSLR camera. The correct way is to support the lens by cupping your hand underneath it. This is usually done with the left hand, with your right hand gripping the body of the camera. This helps to prevent camera shake. If you are gripping your camera with your hands on either side of the camera body, there is nothing supporting the lens, and you might end up with blurry photos. To get an even stabler stance, tuck your elbows into the side of your body.

36. Limit your palette 


When photos have too many colours spewing out from them, they’re often hard to look at. Unless it’s a photo of a rainbow or the Mardi Gras. Try to focus on having one or two colours predominately featuring in your photograph. It will be more pleasing to the eye and will help set the tone of the image. 



37. Get your subject to relax 


This applies mostly to portrait style photography. As a press photographer, I spend most of my time doing one on one portrait shoots. I think it’s really beneficial to take the time (if you have it) talking to your subject, asking questions, showing an interest in whatever it is they do. I find it really helpful in relaxing the person and often they’ll say something and that can lead to a better photo opportunity. — Marina 
Dot Perkins

38. Inspiration from all forms

Take in as much photography as you can – online, and in books and magazines. But not passively. Look at different styles. Work out what you like or don’t like about them. Look at the technical elements of pictures and think about how they were made, and what the photographer is trying to say. The more you take in, the more arsenal you’ll have when creating your own work. — Leah Robertson

39. Be patient and persevere 


With time, patience, and perseverance, you will get better; with each and every photo you take.

40. Break the rules

Now that you know some of the rules, go ahead and break them! Experiment. Have fun. Learn from your mistakes. Make up your own tips and techniques for taking fantastic photographs. I’d love to hear them.

Go forth and shoot!

A special thank you to all the amazing photographers who made this blog post possible.

About the author: Lisa Clarke is a photojournalist based out of the Capricornia region of Australia.

In the past five years Lisa has contracted dengue fever in Indonesia, broken her big toes climbing the summit of Mt Fuji in Japan, snapped British chef Gordon Ramsey in a Thai transsexual bar, been bed ridden with bacterial conjunctivitis in Burma, partied with Dennis Rodman, hung out the door of more helicopters than she would like to remember, thrown up violently with food poisoning in Cambodia, and was detained by the police in Zimbabwe for practicing journalism without accreditation during the Mugabe reign in 2007.

You can follow her ongoing exploits on Twitter. This article was originally published on ABC Open.

About ABC Open: ABC Open invites regional communities to produce and publish photos, stories, videos, and sound through the ABC.

We all know the media is changing, with more and more people making their own videos, writing stories and sharing photos and ideas through social media. ABC Open is an exciting initiative which provides a focal point for Australian regional communities who want to get involved in sharing their experiences through the ABC via websites, radio and TV.

Image credits: Kearsarge Pinnacles by Moonlight by Jeff Pang

In the last days I received multiple requests to translate my posts for foreign readers, as they have very limited information about the happenings in Ukraine. This material describes events which took place in Kiev on January 22nd and 23rd.

Sharing and distribution is appreciated.

I came to Kiev. I came to see for myself what is happening here. Of course, an hour after arriving at Maidan, you begin to understand that everything what you’ve read in dozens of articles, saw in TV news reports is total crap. In the upcoming reports I will try to, as objectively as possible, to sort out this new wave of Kiev revolution.

Usually reporters try to answer the question: “Who came out to Maidan and why.” Depending on the political leaning of MSM, the answers are different. Some say it’s “fascists who came out to lynch the Moscali (Ukranian derogatory for Moscovites and Russians in general).”, some say “they’re bums and slackers, who’ve got nothing better to do” and “instigators on the government payroll.” In reality, there is no answer. Those who came out are completely different. Remember, how a couple of years in Moscow there was a MSM buzzword “angry townspeople.” Here you see football fans, retirees, office plankton. And everyone is standing together. A sweet, ol’ grandmother is pouring Molotov cocktail in a nationalists’ bottles; and a manager of a large company is carrying ammunition to the student. And as it seems to me at this time, these people do not have a specific plan, nor idea of what to do next. Of course, individually, everyone has their own plan to “save Ukraine.” For some it’s “we need a couple of crates of AKs and grenades, we’ll sort things out here quickly.” Others “need to ask the world community for help and bring in the UN troops.” At this time there is no central idea of what to do, an idea that can unite and point in one direction the people at Maidan.

The only thing that is completely clear – people came out against Yanukovich.

The burning barricades are visited by people who have come to let out anger and resentment that have accumulated over the years – for the excesses of cops; for the corruption; for the ‘golden toilet’; for the stupidity of the sell-out officials. An elderly man, 80 years of age, walks up to young guys in masks and asks them for a bottle of flaming liquid. They ask him:

“- Grandad, you wont be able to throw it far enough!
- Just give me one, I want to show these beasts that they cannot treat me like this”

Unfortunately, the Ukranians had bad luck with opposition. The street mob is not controlled by anyone. Klichko and his company met with Yanukovch yesterday. Later they came out to the people, began to say something, but no one believes them. And no one wants to follow them. The main mass of people are completely non-political. They come out to kick Yanukovich and his company’s ass. Everyone has their own grievances and vision of the future.

There are very real battles on the streets of Kiev right now. Unfortunately, Yanukovich is far, so the Berkut (Ukranian SWAT) and soldiers have to play the role of Yanukovich’ ass. The scenery in Kiev is scary. Black smoke, burning barricades and constant explosions. Berkut’s flashbangs and the protestors’ fireworks explode in the streets. Each side is shooting at the other and there are already first casualties(2 to 5 based on different sources).

Let’s go to the barricades?

I rented a room in the hotel “Dnepr”, the very center on the European square. I come up to the main entrance, all doors are locked, lights are out. A group of men in helmets and protection, hanging nearby, greet me “Welcome to Kiev, Mister.” – they’ve confused me with a foreign tourist. Everyone’s laughing. It turns out that the entrance to the hotel is through a local bar. The security guy opens the door and leads me through dark hallways to the lobby. The lights are off, so as not to attract attention. After all, the hotel is almost at the front line.

22 January 2014. Battles on streets of Kiev.

European square. Back when it was all starting, there was a stage here, from which politicians pontificated their smart ideas about the future of Ukraine. Now the politicians have move on to Maidan, and the European square has become the rear base of the revolution. Cars with food arrive here; old tires for the bonfires, wood, medicine and reinforcements.

Mihaila Grushevskogo street. The first barricade has been erected here. The guards do not allow in outsiders. Only the press, the volunteers, and the activists, ready to fight Berkut, are allowed to pass. All onlookers are stopped at the approach, to prevent them from interfering with work.

This is main burning barricade near the Dinamo stadium, about 100 meters away from the first. It consists of hundreds of burning tires, which are brought here from all parts of the city. The demonstrators got lucky with the wind – it carries the black smoke directly at the squads of Berkut and national guard standing behind the fires. The smoke completely obscures the view and both sides are currently working blind.

A bunch of onlookers watch the fight. The battle continues for 4 days in a row.

Activists run up, bearing shields and toss stones. Nobody sees the enemy, but everyone knows how far Berkut can toss grenades. No one approaches the determined line without a shield. The grenades that land are flashbangs and tear gas. This does not have much effect on the seasoned protestor. The key is to avoid a direct hit or a nearby explosion, which can cause concussion.

The fire is constantly fed by more tires. The smoke screen must be dense! At one point Berkut attempt to feel out the protestors from a hill using a powerful projector.

There are special men on the field of battle, who watch the troop movements of the opponent. The man in the mask and shield will always tell you where it’s safe: “Stop! There’s a devil shooting from behind the column, don’t go father that line! We’re about to smoke him out of there!”

The scouts constantly refresh information about the enemy position and coordinate activists, who toss stones and Molotov cocktails.

The authorities turned several water cannons at the demonstrators. Surprisingly no one is afraid of the water. This scout is climbing a balcony to see what’s behind the smoke screen. The drenched people dry at the campfires. And some just walk around wet. There’s an incredible atmosphere here: on one hand you can feel the weariness of the frustrated people, on the other hand euphoria and expectation of victory. In such light, no one is paying attention to wet clothes. Only medic volunteers ask people to go warm up to avoid frostbite.

Activists with Molotov cocktails at the front line.

Actually the center of Kiev is very pretty right now

Protestors periodically shoot fireworks at Berkut. The entire square lights up and people cheer.

Somewhere over the Berkut troops are getting ready for another assault. The assault is always sudden and everyone fears it. This morning Berkut has already shown that if the need be they can scatter everyone in 5 minutes. Why they do not — is a different question.

Catapult 1, seized and destroyed, is replaced by Catapult 2. In reality it’s just a large slingshot, but to keep continuity the call it Catapult 2.

Miracle of the engineering thought! Catapult 2 quickly went through testing and was admitted into the armament of the rebels. The crew consists of six people: three people pull the elastic; two people hold the frame; one person loads and delivers ammunition.

The wonder machine works well, but slow. The missiles fly far into the night, but reloading takes 2-3 minutes.

In a nearby alley people prepare Molotov cocktails. In reality, most of the bottles contain either pure kerosene or gasoline, the recipe is no longer followed — no time. Empty glass bottles are in a big deficit.

I’m looking at the guys and everyone is drinking Pepsi. I’m wondering: why drink this crap, it’s freezing outside? As it turns out, bottles ran out and someone brought several crates of soda. So as not to waste, everyone’s drinking together. Even infant food jars are used. All glass containers fly at the cops. The filling of the containers at the front line is done by the activists of the ‘right sector,’ but in the rear the bottles are filled by regular grandmas and pretty young women. Those who the guards do not allow passage to the front.

There are problems with bottles here. The mixture inside is liquid, not thick like in the original Molotov recipe, and the fuse is a simple rag. During the throw part of the gasoline can spill out and light up the thrower. Of course the fire is quickly put out, but the effect is very low. Almost 50% of all cocktails spill out before hitting their target.

The onlookers on the hill help out in any way they can. Sometimes they use lasers to blind the Berkut fighters. At one point the police was able to climb the colonnade entrance of the stadium and began to rain Molotovs and gas grenades down on the protestors. The onlookers use lasers to hit a Berkut in the eye, or try to find snipers on the roofs. There are constant rumors of snipers, although no confirmation of their existence has been produced.

Volunteer giving out dry, waterproof boots at the front line.

A young woman with a tea kettle approaches an activist on the front line to keep them hydrated. Some carry sandwiches, some dry clothing. Later I will describe in detail how things work here.

Campfire behind the barricades, where the wet and the frozen dry and warm up.

On my way back I see a group of people, trying to open a manhole. I ask them why are they trying to open the manhole? “We want to turn off the water so that Berkut will stop hitting us with water.!” The manhole does not open, this is a government district and all manhole covers are sealed securely from inside. Later they tried to break the manhole cover with sledge. I tried to explain that this is pointless, but I was ignored. The were not able to break through and they’re still getting hit with water.

23 January 2014. Temporary cease-fire at Maidan

I would like to dispel the most common myths about Maidan.

1. “They destroyed the whole city”

Not true. All of the action you see in the pictures are happening on a small square near the entrance to a Dinamo stadium. This is a government sector, there is no interference in peaceful life outside of this area. If you make an analogy with Moscow, imagine that the barricades are someone in the area of Ilinka or Varvarka, near the president’s administration. Sure, it’s the center, but regular Moscovites wouldn’t notice. There is dark smoke and fire on all pictures: those are mostly burning tires. There is not tangible damage to the buildings. Unfortunately one store burned down last night near the barricades, resulted from a poorly thrown molotov cocktail. Even the statue of Lobanovsky, located in the epicenter of fighting has been covered with cloth to prevent damage. Overall, the protesters are very careful regarding property. They’ve taken apart fences and benches, but no windows are broken, no one is vandalizing, and all looters are caught and beaten. So the picture is pretty apocalyptic, but things are not so bad.

2. “This is not a revolution, nothing horrible is happening”

Also not true. This is a real revolution. Decide for yourselves: it’s been two months since the center of Kiev has been in the hands of the opposition. Several government buildings are seized. The work of many government offices is paralyzed. The opposition has created barricades, which the authorities have not be able to take. Despite the freezing temps, tens of thousands of people are on the streets for the last two months. The system of defense and supply chain are established. There is perfect order at the protestor HQ, people are fed, dressed, people are pooling money to gather supplies. The most important thing: the people in power are unable to restore order. The police has failed several times at try to storm the barricades. I’ll make a separate post about this, but trust me, the only way to dismantle this is with heavy artillery, or drop in commandos. Every day the opposition is securing more territories. What is this if not a revolution?

3. “The entire Kiev is paralyzed, there is no peaceful life for the regular people.”

Kiev is living its own life. All stores and cafes are working, people are going to work, study in universities, get married, divorce and even die their own death. Most of the Kiev populace are not inconvenienced. Imagine if Navalny took over the Red Square and set up his camp there. What would change for you, Moscovites? Nothing. So the only people who are inconvenienced are tourists. A few stores and cafes had to close down in the very center. Also, those living in the center have troubles with logistics. But the entire Kiev is not paralyzed.

Now, when you know all the truth, let’s see how this day was.

From the morning everything remains in fire.

The protestors use metal shields to defend themselves from water the police are pouring them with.

Road signs can serve as good shields.

The Maidan’s missile forces. Lots of pyrotechnics are being brought up to the camp, all these rockets fly towards Berkut’s positions.

Hearths always require more tires to be thrown into. Because of ash and ice, ground level already rose by one meter.

Where necessary, the police gets stoned.

Everything is tightened with a smokescreen. Burning tires turned out to be a very efficient tactics. Police troops can’t see what is happening and are unable to attack, though there are disadvantages as neither the protesters can see the police’s positions.

This night a children’s clothing store was burned.

A catapult is always working on the front line.

Not many people show up on the Maidan in the morning — the majority arrives at night, after work.

At midday Klichko came to the barricades and announced the temporary truce. Second round of negotiations with Yanukovich was due to take place today, and Klichko asked to cease fire and extinguish tire blazes until 8 PM. The police promised not to open fire on protesters, to stop throwing grenades and pouring water. Everyone agreed — Klichko happened to be the only opposition leader whom the crowd listens to. Well done! Just yesterday nobody was listening to him. After the truce came into effect, firemen started extinguishing the burning barricade.

A wonderful view opened once the fire went out.

People immediately started advancing to the forefront which was previously engulfed by fire.

Berkut’s positions.

Berkut troops were standing angry and soaked in smoke. Throughout the truce I spotted no provocations from either side.

Protestors are making photos in front of Berkut, Berkut in front of the protestors — war is war, but everyone needs to updates pics in social networks.

Scores of soldiers and Berkut are standing in small groups up to the horizon.

Monument to Lobanovsky next to the stadium is neatly covered with cloth.

People get warm next to campfire. Is revolution possible without a bicycle? I say no!

People on the hill are prepared for an assault. Stones, incendiary bottles and tires tightened with barbwire will be thrown to the attackers in case of necessity.

“Katyusha rocket launchers” used for shooting fireworks to the police.

Preparation of Molotov’s cocktails.

Bottles and stones.

Cocktails are being prepared by women.

You’ve probably heard about people banging metal with sticks. Many asked why — this is sort of a signal. When nothing happens, nobody is taping. When casual stone and grenade-throwing takes place, the knock is monotonous, in order to set rhythm and keep the morale. When Berkut attacks, drumming becomes louder and everyone hears that — for some it is a signal to run away, for some, on the opposite — defend the barricades.

Man glues his store’s showcase, even though not a single his window was broken in four days. This store sells expensive furniture, and the ad urges not to rob it. As I said, there are no marauders in Kiev — everything is perfectly organized, contrary to Bishkek, where, as I remember, the city was plundered in half a day. Nothing like that takes place here.

People hammer the snow, then load it to sacks and bring to the barricades. Snow serves as the main building material here. Sacks are being poured by water and snow turns into ice — monolithic barricades which come out are very difficult to destroy.

The Maidan’s quarries. People break the sett into easy to throw stones, load into sacks and bring to the frontline.

That’s how it looks.

They carry.

A stove.

Modern art.

Someone started a rumor about the Armenian Diaspora willing to pay for any information about the murder of their compatriot on Maidan. Later it turned out to be fake.

One of the protesters. Russian press usually describes the participants of Maidan as “extremists, radical thugs, ultras, members of nationalistic groups, motley nationalist, sometimes openly Nazist public, extremist militants, rioters, pogromists, rebels” etc…

A journalist.

According to NTV (russian pro-government tv-channel), this is an “amuck radical.”

Look at the people. I said it already, but will repeat: all social classes are present on the squares — from students to pensioners.

Grannies for Timoshenko.

Another extremist.

Women with food and tea always walk among the protesters – sometimes it looks like you’re on a banquet, not on a revolution. To find someone hungry is an uneasy job: the man on photo complaints that he put on three kilograms in a month :). Food is being brought every day, usually it is supplied by sympathizing Kievites and businessmen who can’t go to the barricades but support the revolution.

If you are a foreign journalist, feel free to reprint on your website or in your newspaper with reference or indication of authorship, and please let me know by sending the link to kdguseva@gmail.com.

About the author: Ilya Varlamov is a 30-year-old russian blogger, photographer and traveller. Graduated in architecture, he now covers the most important and relevant events in Russia and around the world on his blog where he offers an independent opinion to his readers of what is going on. Ilya is also a co-founder of fund “Urban projects” which studies urban geography and cities’`livability. You can see more of his photography on Flickr. This article originally appeared here.

Life as a race photographer can be a tough and risky one. Add in a little eastern spice and it has a whole different taste. Steve Thomas takes us on a back seat ride through the pelotons of Asia.

You stumble dehydrated into a strange and new hotel lobby whose name you don’t even know; there’s a 20kg backpack weighing heavy on your aching shoulders, 2 monster cameras around your sun burned neck, and you’re dragging a huge suitcase behind you, and for me you can add in a bike bag.

It’s time to try and get your room, along with the 250 or so other race riders, officials and cling-on’s. You’re pretty well bottom of the list, so step out of the fray and find a corner where you can pull out your lap top and start to do some work.

Everybody’s tired. I mean they’ve just ridden a bike race, and the officials have had to sit in dry air-con cars all day, bored stiff. Us, the photographers; well — we’re usually filthy, wet, and by this stage can hardly open our eyes after a day with grit and wind in your face (you can’t use shades with a camera), and your actual “real work” has not even begun.

Somebody comes across and asks if you can give them some photos for their website (and they ask every photographer on the race) — free of course, after all — “it’s only a picture.” It’s not like you’ve risked $15,000 worth of kit and your arse to get it, or even taken huge financial risks and worked your underpaid skills for years to get to this point.

You politely hint to them that while they’re having their dinner, massage, or watching TV you’ll still be in the same clothes working your way through the 500-700 or so images that you’ve shot during the day — sizing, cleaning, captioning, backing them up — and of course finding a way to get them all out to websites, sponsors or magazines that same evening. Either way you know that anything you put out online that day will be hacked by the end of the day and on every imaginable Facebook page, and then some.

The shower and the beer comes somewhere after midnight, and then you get to clean and pack your gear before leaving the hotel at somewhere between 5 and 8 am the following morning. They walk away with a frown. It’s all part of life as a race photographer.

These days a huge chunk of my race work is from Asia, as I’m based there. Things are a bit different here, especially when compared to Europe or Australia. In the major European races moto-pilots and their photographers are as one, often working together year-round. They have years of experience and know the game inside out.

That situation rarely applies in Asia, and all too often you’re taking your life in your hands when you hop on the back of a strange motorbike with a leather clad man with just one word of English in his vocabulary — “yes,” which can also mean no or maybe, or anything else for that matter.

At Asian races moto-pilots are mostly assigned to you by the organizers, often a different one each day, and sometimes as an after thought. Many of them have little or no experience of this situation, and are members of local motorcycle clubs or marshaling companies who can sometimes be a little over excited at the chance of riding at unrestricted-speeds on closed roads with their mates.

And of course, then there’s usually the language barrier — or blockade. Primitive forms of sign language are rapidly developed on start lines, regulations are, well, hinted at politely, and then you hit the road with a sense of fear and anticipation.

This is when you generally find out that your pilot doesn’t feel too happy getting close to the riders, and has no idea of where to ride as the peloton swings from side to side so he hits the brakes — riders yell and gesture, you hit the dirt as he panics and the commissaires blows his whistle at you, another close shave. In the Tour of Qinghai Lake I spent a good portion of the race off-road, which was quite un-nerving.

Being as Asian races are usually multi-day “packaged” stage races you get to know the riders quite well, and mostly they can see and take note of the situation, whereas certain regular commissaires are far from understanding of the obvious plight, and see the media (apart from TV) as something of a burden, despite the fact that without you nobody would hear about the races and their cushy numbers might be called in.

A few years back, also in the Qinghai Tour, it was raining and snowing like hell in the mountains and my pilot was trying to descend with the riders, but had no idea of how to take racing lines around the corners… the bike was sliding all over the road, and we went off-road twice. After a while I stopped him and climbed off — and hitched my way back to the finish in a following car. A day later he decided to hit 160kph on a bumpy concrete road through a town, showing off — or at least that was the speed when I closed my eyes and clung on for my life, with cameras strangling me was we hit the ruts.

In the meantime, back in the peloton, a team car swerves right instead of the regulation left; a fellow cameraman and his pilot smack into the back of the car, going through the window and ending up impaled on the team tool kit, ouch. It’s a fairly regular occurrence, and photographers often get seriously injured or killed — yet you rarely hear about them.

In the Tour de Langkawi a few years back the break was climbing Genting, the biggest mountain in Asia, and I was real close in shooting a rider (Andrea Taffi) — he threw off his race cap. My moto pilot slams on the anchors and jumps off, in the middle of the road, the straining riders swerve around him as he runs for the souvenir cap. I could hardly believe it, until he did the same for a bottle a few minutes later — we missed the finish.

A few years later in the same race, just after the feed zone, my pilot veers off-road and starts collecting souvenir musettes — with his foot, while still moving. Angrily I explain that we need to catch the race — we missed the finish again. It’s total silence.

One year I covered the Tour of Thailand, where there were 30 moto-commissaires (which is typical in this region), but no moto-pilot for a photographer. Under pressure from a UCI observer I was given a 125cc moped and driver to follow the race. Five days, with transfers, an average 6 hours a day crammed on this underpowered beast, burning my legs on exhausts, unable to keep up with the riders on steep climbs or fast run-ins, perhaps the most uncomfortable week of shooting ever.

In the Tour of South China Seas I was given a tiny moped to cover the race, but it just could not match the speed of the race, we just kept circling and getting lapped, grabbing what I could as the riders sped by.

I’ve worked as official photographer on a number of tours in the Philippines too, which is always interesting — as the race info rarely agrees with the actuality. On one race my nervous pilot simply would not “go-go” when told to, preferring to hesitate. It became extremely dangerous, especially when the monsoonal rains hit on a narrow and windy coastal road while weaving in and out of the race convoy. We were tapping wing mirrors and bumpers — I was genuinely terrified.

Halfway through this I was being signaled by an official; a small helicopter was waiting for me on a nearby beach — to get aerial footage. Great, we did a U-turn and raced back. I ran through a bemused group of fishermen and strapped into what was best described as a kit-copter. It rattled out to sea, but the storm was still in full blast so we were unable to come back to land. The fuel was also running out, so I was dropped in a remote paddy field, and had to hitch hike 40km back to the finish … without one single aerial race pic.

Tropical rain can be a huge issue in Southeast Asia, as it hits so hard and fast that everything gets washed out in seconds. In the days of film things would dry out overnight, but with digital, that’s a different matter — I’ve lost several cameras in just minutes while on the backs of motorbikes, which is an expensive occupational hazard of the digital era. When it rains there is rarely anywhere to hide, as it happens so fast.

I’ve covered races from mopeds, full on choppers, cars, helicopters, and even microlites. At times it’s as scary as riding down Alpe d’Huez in the rain without brakes. But when you do see that one extra special image, the one that you know nearly cost you your life; then it’s worth it.

Unfortunately, that great arty image that purveys the culture and landscape as much as the race is rarely the one that the riders or websites like to see. They tend to flip to the bread and butter, passing over the wild horsemen for a clean finish line shot, which does make you wonder why you made it so tough on yourself in telling the bigger story.

About the author: Steve Thomas is a photographer and cyclist based out of Thailand. He’s been racing bicycles since the tender age of 12, and photographing/writing about it for over two decades. You can follow his work on Steve Thomas Images and TheSoftSaddle. This article originally appeared here.

Crystal Cave

If there is only one way for me to describe Iceland, it would be “Monumental Scale Shock”. The country really borders on the extreme. The entire country’s population of 320,137 (as of 2012) is less than one half of Boston’s and two-thirds of everyone lives in the capital, Reykjavik. It’s north of NYC by almost all of Canada, but it is warmer by about ten degrees in the winter. And 85% of the country is on renewable energy (Volcanic and Water) as compared to the 13.2% for the US.

Although the summer is generally the more popular season to visit Iceland, my girlfriend and I decided to go this past holiday season so we can leave sunny California and freeze our butts off while enjoying the natural sights of Iceland that can only be seen during the winter months — among them, ice caves and auroras.

Like auroras, the “crystal caves” that form within the Icelandic glaciers provide an experience that is different each season and time and, to see them in their best light, you have to get somewhat lucky with respect to timing. This is because every Autumn, specialized local guides search for and discover new “crystal caves” within the glaciers on the south side of Iceland. Sometimes the caves are very beautiful and majestic, while others are less so.

Because they are ever-changing, the same caves can never be accessed in two consecutive winters. It’s up to the guide’s discretion to determine which cave you’ll visit, depending on the weather conditions and accessibility that particular day.

Aurora Borealis

Windy/Icy driving conditions

My girlfriend had seen pictures online of mesmerizing ice caves from previous winters, and she convinced me that we have to take our chances and booked a group tour with Local Guide of Vatnajokull, a family run and operated business.

After leaving Reykjaik (West coast of Iceland) at 6am, we drove in the dark towards Vatnajokull National Park on the East coast of Iceland. Sunrise was typically at 11am and sun sets around 4pm. To best utilize daylight for sightseeing, we spent most of our time driving in the dark. Once in a while, we did managed to catch glimpses of the Aurora, but it was mostly cloudy that week.

We arrived at our meeting place in a gas station at the arranged meeting time of 12:30pm. Our guides, Helen and her brother, informed us that for the first time this season, the Crystal Cave of Vatnajokull was accessible given the favorable weather conditions. Previous weeks had been plagued with snow and rain creating unfavorable driving conditions as well as a river that was 4 feet deep and had rapid currents. We were lucky to be there just in time.

When we heard that we would be visiting the “Crystal Cave,” we got really excited because this name was reminiscent of the same cave (from previous winters) that we had seen amazing pictures of online. She went on to explain that this cave was the most beautiful cave they had discovered this season, and that it was somewhat similar to the original “Crystal Cave” that had been discovered a few years ago.

Helen’s 4×4

The rugged driving terrain

Helen’s brother marking a path for the van to drive across a frozen river

For the next one and a half hours, Helen drove us across rugged landscape and an icy river in her 4×4 van and got us within 1,000 feet of the entrance, where we geared up with waterproof trousers, crampons, and harness while hiding from the 50mph winds behind the van.

We cross a few more frozen rivers by foot and made it to the base of the entrance where we hiked up a 50ft hill covered in 28-inches of snow. Upon reaching the top, we descended 30ft down a sliver into the glacier cave. We then hooked our harness to a rope and crossed a 25-inch deep river with deceivingly fast currents and arrived at what I perceived to be a frosted cathedral.

During all this, our guide told us to put our cameras away unless we wanted to crack our lens, but I had a good filter on my lens and I was willing to test the versatility of my OM-D E-M5. The results are some of the photos you see here, painfully taken while hiking to the cave under freezing conditions, high winds, and unstable grounds.

Entrance to the glacier cave on top of the hill

Hiking down 30 feet slope

This tour was recommended for serious photographers only, and was a great way to meet other visitors with the same aspirations of capturing unique pictures of Iceland’s amazing scenery. But as it turned out we fought each other for the perfect shot, and because of the limited size of the cave and rapidly decreasing light, everyone was trying to get in front so no one would be in their frame.

Luckily I saw this opportunity to use these challenges to include people in a few of my photos as it gives it a sense of scale; and then, after 30 to 40 minutes of photographing, I decided to just stop and enjoy where I was.

I can’t describe how beautiful everything was. The level of translucency, reflection and refraction of light inside the cave was nothing like I’ve ever seen. The color of each surface varies based on the amount of sunlight received from above. Also, different parts of the glacier had different densities, so colors would vary quite a bit even on the same wall. It was definitely a unique experience.

Deceiving river speed/depth

Massive block of packed snow overhead

The oculus

Cathedral size cave

Closeup of the thousands of year old packed snow

Having a bit of fun with steel wool

River exit

The Colors of the glacier vary based on the amount of sunlight received from above

After an hour in the cave, it was time to go, and I have to say, I had a great time. Because of my relaxed attitude toward photography, I managed make some new friends on this tour and capture some amazing pictures. This trip has been eye-opening for me. Although we saw plenty in our 4 short days in Iceland, we know we absolutely must return again in the future.

Exiting the cave

About the author: George X. Lin is an Architectural Designer and used photography throughout his decade in school to make ends meet. He shoots mainly architecture, but uses his understanding of spatial and tectonic qualities to frame photos for engagements, portraitures and weddings. He acquired his first camera, the Olympus C 2040, when he was 16 and eventually and still shoot film mainly on the seagull Tlr and the Nikon n6006. You can find his work here.

The first time that I had worked with Disney ABC TV as their official stills photographer was a couple years back when they came to Japan to film for the reality show I Survived a Japanese Game Show. It was a super big production and I’m grateful I got to be a part of that. Although the working hours were somewhere between 12-14+ moving around on foot each day, I couldn’t complain because the entire crew were all fun to work with.

As with lots of the non-news related picture work that I do, it’s typical that I can’t post any pictures up due to contract reasons (or until the story runs) even though the Internet makes it so tempting with just four clicks of a button. One of the assignments that I’m allowed to finally take out of the bag (now that the show is broadcasted) and share with all of you is when Disney ABC TV put me on the plane bound for Seoul, South Korea to shoot all the stills for the filming of The Bachelor Season 18 Episode 4. Although I couldn’t fly first class, they did put me up in a nice little room towards the top at the Millennium Seoul Hilton Hotel, which I was more than fine with. Thanks again Disney and ABC.

I arrived in Seoul in the middle of the day and checked in with the head of production to figure out what I needed to shoot and where I needed to be on each of the days. I brought with me the usual “photojournalism” setup: Canon 1D Mark IV, Canon 6D, all L series 16-35, 24-70, 70-200, and the handy Fuji X100S that Fujifilm was loaning me. I left all of my flashes at home as they aren’t usually allowed on set anyways.

We shot at some pretty energetic and intimate places all throughout the city of Seoul that kept the entire cast and crew moving along smoothly from location to location. One of the things I enjoy about my line of work is the total randomness on certain jobs and sometimes not knowing exactly how the situation will turn out. As I’ve never seen even one episode of The Bachelor, partly because I reside outside of the US and hardly watch TV anyways, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect or even visualize what kind of shots I should be making.

But as always, my intention in photography is to do my best to create pictures that can act as a standalone. After all, photography is a form of storytelling that possesses its own sense of place and feeling at a given time. I got the job done.

Here are some of the shots:

Juan Pablo and the girls doing a group toast during the after party. (Photo by ABC TV/Christopher Jue)

These are the casts of the show where we shot on location at the amazing Korea Furniture Museum that overlooks the city of Seoul. We had the entire facility to ourselves and I’m guestimating a total crew of about 50 at this location including cameramen/women, assistants, runners, producers, executive directors, lighting techs, catering, production managers and all those good people that make things happen. It was a really long and cold night at the museum. We wrapped up shooting around 1:30am.

Juan having a private moment with one of the six women. (Photo by ABC TV/Christopher Jue)

Shooting on location at Seoul Times Square Mall. Can you guess whose performing on stage? (Photo by ABC TV/Christopher Jue)

Photo by ABC TV/Christopher Jue

Here’s the cast performing as background dancers with K-Pop superstars 2NE1 in front of a live audience. Made some nice BTS shots of 2NE1 and the cast together before they all got on stage but I thought this shot is most appropriate to show the overall sense and feeling of the environment. It was an interesting event to photograph and watch up close.

And now this brings me to leaving the best for last…

Photo by ABC TV/Christopher Jue

It’s 1:07am here and pretty damn cold out but things started to heat up as we are all trying to wrap up the last shot which wasn’t rehearsed nor reenacted. From what I remember correctly, there were two cameramen on this shot while I was positioned way back with my 70-200 on the 6D readying myself for that money shot that I was hoping to get.

I thought to myself that I should’ve switched bodies with the 70-200 on the Mark IV, as it does 10 fps but I just didn’t have the time since this was just a one time shot. As slow as the 6D camera is, I captured that intimate moment just before Juan and Nikki Ferrell kissed. Maybe I should start doing weddings more (lol, yeah right). A bit on the grainy side on purpose, otherwise my shots would look digitally perfect like everyone else’s. I shot handheld at 1/40 at F2.8, ISO 2000. It worked for me and them. Time to go eat some bibimbap.

You can check out all of the official photos that I shot for The Bachelor in Seoul here. Hope you like them and don’t forget to watch the show!

About the author: Christopher Jue is a Tokyo, Japan based corporate and editorial photographer originally from Los Angeles, California. He shoots for a wide range of clientele in studio and on location in the Asia Pacific region. When not shooting corporate work or for the European Pressphoto Agency, you may find him wandering around the streets of Seoul or Hong Kong in search of some delicious street food. You can follow him on his website, Facebook and Twitter. This article was originally published here.

In the picture above, taken on January 30th 2014, you see more than 315,000 Euro worth of Canon camera gear or 425,659.59 US dollars! That’s the value of a house and more than a Lamborghini Aventador!!! Now pick up your jaw, put it back into place, wipe away the drool and read about how the pictured gear wasn’t even around seven years ago.

When IOC President Jacques Rogge announced in July 2007 that Sochi was named as the host city of the 2014 Winter Games, the Getty Images global operations team went into full swing to begin preparations.

Even though the actual event only runs for 16 days, years of planning are required to bring an event together so it runs seamlessly for all those involved.

At this point the venues that will host the games haven’t even been built!

The team has to find out as much information as possible in advance.

Where are the venues? How do we get there? What technologies are available? When will the venues be complete? As I write this all the venues are still receiving finishing touches so that they are ready to go for both the athletes and the general public when competition begins.

By the time Getty Images is ready to start coverage of the games, 20,000km of cabling will be in place to connect all the venues to the editors based at the main press Centre in the Village Cluster, and another in the mountains. About 70 staff will be on site for the entire duration of the games, including photographers, editors and sales staff.

So what’s changed about the gear you see now to how it was seven years ago?

Back then we had the MkIIN cameras with a crop sensor. Now we have the full frame 1Dx’s, with a TON of features — including various AF controls, better white balance and the ability to send remotely either via the WFT device or directly with the VLAN Ethernet system. The cameras also feature full HD video capabilities, which have opened up a whole new world for us.

The prime telephoto lenses are now much lighter and more streamlined thanks to new optical technologies. The new 200-400mm f/4 would have been just a fantasy seven years ago, it is now a reality, and has become my first choice when shooting events. There was no 800mm f/5.6 or 8-15mm zoom fisheye. The flash system can now be controlled by the speedlight transmitter.

Also, the entire range of zoom lenses available then has been redesigned and features all new optics.

At most major global events photographers receive support from the professional services of Canon and Nikon. Having these services helps photographers to do their work better, knowing that if something goes wrong with our equipment we can get it fixed on the spot without having to send it away.

This service also is a great help when trialling new equipment that may be about to be released, or to simply speak to the technicians and ask questions about camera or lens set ups.

The majority of the pool of gear you see at the top will be used for back up to our own gear if something fails, and for remote camera set ups. Remotes are used to give us an extra angle or angles at particular events or remotes can also be set up in advance in areas where a photographer would not be able to stand otherwise.

Here’s a list of everything pictured above:

• 20 Canon 1Dx cameras
• 3 Canon 5DmkIII cameras
• 1 Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L IS USM Macro lens
• 2 Canon 14mm fisheye lenses
• 2 Canon 15mm fisheye lenses
• 5 Canon 16-35mm zoom lenses
• 7 Canon 200-400mm zoom lenses
• 2 Canon 200mm f/1.8 lenses
• 2 Canon 300mm f/2.8 lenses
• 2 Canon 300mm f/4 lenses
• 2 Canon 35mm f/1.4 lenses
• 2 Canon 50mm f/1.2 lenses
• 2 Canon 400mm f/2.8 lenses
• 8 Canon 500mm f/4 lenses
• 10 Canon 70-200mm f/2.8 lenses
• 7 Canon 8-15mm fisheye lenses
• 5 Canon 800mm f/5.6 lenses
• 2 Canon 85mm f/1.2 lenses
• And a set of Tilt Shift lenses

At some point or another, most of this gear will be in use for the Winter Olympic coverage.

This year is a big year in global sporting events with the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, the World Cup in Brazil and the Commonwealth games in Scotland.

Again, all planning for these events have been done by the Getty Images team, the best in the business. The only thing left is for us is to show up and provide great coverage.

About the author: Based in Melbourne, Australia I have been a staff photographer with Getty Images for 16 years. After realizing that I lacked the height (and a little talent) to play top-level sports, I took to getting behind the camera and capturing the big moments.

In the past 16 year I have been lucky enough to have covered a multitude of local and international sporting events for Getty Images. These include Football World Cups, Olympic Games, Formula One Grand Prix, Moto Gp, Asia Cup Football, Cricket, Australian Rules Football, Tennis events and may other sporting events.

I thoroughly enjoy what I do and can’t imagine doing anything else. There is saying somewhere: “Find something you love to do, and you will never work a day in your life.” Well that certainly rings true with me, I can’t think of anything else I’d rather be doing.

You can follow Robert on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook or the Getty Images blog.

This is a long article, meant to be read at your leisure.

Technology changes tend to be of two types: incremental improvements or disruptive innovations. Incremental improvements allow one manufacturer to take market share from another and give fanboys fuel for internet forums. Disruptive innovations may create a million new customers. Or make a million potential customers leave for some new hobby or way of doing things.

People love incremental improvements but often dislike disruptive innovations at first. Disruption causes major changes and can be threatening. It may be several generations before the new technology is clearly superior to what already exists. But eventually the disruptive innovation has a huge effect on the market. It causes some existing manufacturers to fail, others to flourish, and creates brand new manufacturers nearly overnight.

A decade ago, some of these manufacturers were imaging mainstream, some were just about like they are today, and some didn’t even make cameras.

By my definitions, the D800 is a good example of a strong incremental innovation. Some photographers changed (or added) brands to shoot the D800. Nikon increased their high-end SLR sales for a while. But the SLR market as a whole didn’t change because of it. Nikon did a little better for a while, other manufacturers did a little worse, but there weren’t any massive changes.

Cell phone cameras and social media were certainly a disruptive innovation. Depending upon your point of view, they’ve either cut the photography market severely or increased it amazingly. If you are a point-and-shoot manufacturer, the photography market is disappearing. If you own Instagram or Facebook, it’s growing phenomenally.
For over a decade, now, the photography market has had one incremental improvement after another: increased pixel density, better high ISO performance, improved autofocus, and sharper lenses. But I think there’s more disruption going on right now than simply cell phone cameras.

Most people, though, don’t realize what a disruptive innovation first looks like. They expect a burning bush of technological triumph that is instantly recognized as the next great thing. Historically, that’s not what a new disruptive innovation looks like at all.

What Disruptive Technology Looks Like

It’s Often the Tortoise, not the Hare

A new technology developed and introduced by company A often makes a fortune two years later for company B. The first home video recorder was introduced by the Nottingham Electric Valve Company in 1963. Avco introduced Cartivision, the video recorder that first allowed you to rent major motion pictures to play in your home, way back in 1972.

But it was Sony and JVC that became hugely successful with home video recorders, and Blockbuster that made a fortune renting videos. This pattern, that the company introducing the technology is often not the one that makes it successful is fairly frequent. Looking back, though, we don’t notice it. Most people think of the early days of video recorders as a battle between Beta and VHS.

Nottingham’s Telcan set-top video recorder. Original source unknown.

Disruption Doesn’t Occur Immediately

There’s often a long delay between the introduction of a disruptive technology and it’s wide acceptance. In the example above, JVC and Sony made a fortune with video recorders, but not until a full decade after the Telcan was introduced. Blockbuster rented its first videos a decade after Avco’s Cartivision.

Often this is because the new technology comes in an unacceptable package. Nottingham Electric’s Telcan was a reel-to-reel system that recorded only 15 to 20 minutes of black-and-white video. Avco’s rentals took several days to arrive and the cartridges were rewind-disabled – you got to view the movie once, and only once. Can you believe a manufacturer would go to the trouble of disabling a feature to try to increase sales?

The pattern is repeated frequently. Xerox originated the computer mouse and graphical user interface and used it on its Alto computers and Star workstations in the 1970s. Apple turned it into the successful McIntosh nearly a decade later. Microsoft turned that into the more successful Windows.

Disruption Isn’t Recognized at First

A disruptive technology, being different, less polished, and geared towards a new marketplace is often disregarded at first. Those invested in the status quo often ridicule it. When graphical-user-interface computers were introduced, existing computer users laughed at them. Who in the world would want a computer you couldn’t program yourself? The people buying them shouldn’t be allowed to have a computer. They didn’t even know how to operate a command-line interface.

When George Eastman mass produced dry plate film in 1878, most photographers thought it useless. Any photographer worth his lens made his own wet plates, developed them, and printed them. When Lewis Carroll first saw dry plates, he spoke for most professional photographers when he said, “Here comes the rabble.” Within a decade, film dominated photography, not because existing professionals flocked to it, but because so many new photographers entered the field that a wet-plate photographer couldn’t compete.

My point is that when looking at innovative and disruptive technologies, we should realize three things: The introduction doesn’t always shake up the market. That usually comes later. The introducing company isn’t always the one that succeeds with the new technology. Many people invested in the market’s status quo either don’t recognize a disruptive technology, or despise it.

Disruptive Photography Innovations

The collodion process, dry-plate film, roll film, 35mm film, rangefinders, SLRs and a dozen other disruptive innovations all rocked the market place. Each increased the number of people who considered themselves photographers. During each innovation, existing photographers dismissed the new innovations as ruining their art. Some companies thrived with change while others missed the boat completely.

Autofocus is a fairly recent example that followed the usual pattern. Leica originally developed phase-detection autofocus in the 1960s (1). They didn’t see much use for it and sold it to Honeywell. Minolta used it on a point-and-shoot camera in 1977. During the 1970s a number of alternative autofocus methods, including sonar and infrared detection were tried. Pentax came out with the first camera to use a separate autofocus sensor illuminated by a sub mirror, the ME-F, in 1981. It was slow and inaccurate and never caught on.

Pentax ME-F with autofocus 35-70mm zoom lens. The bulge below the lens held the AA batteries that drove the AF motor. Image credit: ZanderZ via Creative Commons.

Nikon released the F3AF with phase detection autofocus in 1983. While the manual focus F3 was a smashing success, the F3AF was not. If you can find one at a garage sale you’ll do very well on eBay.

Nikon F3AF. Image credit: Frank Gosebruch through creative commons share

Real photographers laughed at all of this the clumsy technology in the early 1980s. It was obvious that autofocus would never be fast enough for something like sports, where the subject was moving. Only manual focus and a skilled photographer could possibly capture action images.

The first camera to hugely succeed with phase detection autofocus was the Minolta Maxxum 7000 released in 1985. For a short time, Minolta was king, but Nikon, Canon, and Pentax followed with phase detection autofocus cameras in the mid and late 1980s. By the 1990s companies who made 35mm cameras without phase detection were mostly going bankrupt.

Digital is another good example. You probably know Kodak developed the first digital camera and released the first digital SLR, the DCS 100, back in 1991. Based on a Nikon F3 body with a Kodak external storage unit, it sold for $13,000 and provided a whopping 1.3 megapixel image. It wasn’t a huge success.

Kodak DCS100 system. Image credit: Frank Gosebruch via Creative Commons

Minolta also introduced the first portable digital SLR back in 1995. The RD 175 used 3 CCDs and interpolated the images in-camera to yield a 1.75-megapixel image. Canon and Nikon introduced the first really successful digital cameras a few years later, a full decade after the Kodak DCS was introduced.

Minolta RD 175. Image distributed freely under CeCILL.

Photographers of the late 1990s, of course, talked loudly and often about how digital images could never replace the performance and resolution of film. Those digital things might be fine for vacation snapshots, but not for a professional photographer or serious amateur.

The transition to digital was truly disruptive. Some manufacturers thrived during the digital transition. Minolta, despite releasing the first good autofocus SLR and the first portable digital SLR, wasn’t one of them. Bronica, Contax, Kodak, and Polaroid were also left behind. Canon and Nikon did very well. A few companies, like Panasonic, Samsung, and Sony entered the market for the first time.

Today’s Disruptive Photography Innovations

SLR shooters who started photography after 2000 haven’t noticed much in the way of disruptive innovations. CaNikon has steadily brought out enough incremental improvements to keep them dominant. Sure, there have been a number of technologies that were leaps rather than simple improvements: mirrorless cameras, Foveon sensors, Micro Four Thirds format, fixed-lens, large sensor cameras, and others. None of them has really disrupted the marketplace — yet.

The Obvious Disruptive Innovation

I don’t think anyone will argue that cell phone cameras and social media disrupted the photography market. They came from outside the mainstream photography world, and attracted a new set of consumers to a new market. Let’s call them picture-takers since most of us don’t consider them photographers. Call them whatever you want, but there are a lot of companies in the image hosting and online-printing worlds that call them a huge customer base.

The effect on the existing photography marketplace was mostly negative. Many point-and-shoot companies exited the imaging business. Others, like Fuji, Olympus, and Sony had to migrate to the more serious camera market. The disruption also affected Canon and Nikon. They can no longer get customers to buy their point and shoot cameras today, hoping they’ll migrate up to SLRs in a few years. Only one SLR manufacturer today is attracting a huge number of entry-level customers it might move up to serious cameras. That would be Samsung.

Other Disruptive Innovations

If your first thought when you read one of these is ‘but it’s not as good as existing technology’, remember the examples above. Photographers laughed at autofocus because it was too slow and inaccurate. They laughed at digital because it could never resolve as well as film. They’re still laughing at cell phone cameras as useless toys — and then set down their SLR to take a cell phone picture they can upload immediately.

Mirrorless technology

I know. Mirrorless isn’t growing in most of the world. Lens selection is still rather limited. Neither Canon nor Nikon are pushing their way in very hard. The initial reason for mirrorless, smaller more portable systems, appeals to only a subset of photographers.

I think that the disruptive effects on the marketplace are still in the future. I think it’s disruptive because a mirrorless camera is far simpler than an SLR camera. Simpler eventually means less expensive, more reliable, and quicker to change.

Compare a teardown of a mirrorless camera with an SLR.

• The SLR has a complex electromechanical mirrorbox assembly.
• The SLR has a secondary mirror that must be perfectly aligned with the phase detection AF assembly.

The mirrorbox assembly has a lot of mechanical, moving parts that a mirrorless camera doesn’t have. Mechanical, moving parts sometimes fail. The manufacturer has to include the cost of warranty repairs when they determine what price a camera should sell at.

As an added thought, once electronic shutters become adequate, a mirrorless camera would have no moving parts except for buttons and dials. Electronic shutters aren’t quite ready for prime time on CMOS sensors, but they are getting close.

Simpler design makes things easier to change and modify. When I disassembled the Sony A7r and saw the grip is held on by a single large screw, my first thought was how simple it would be to put the screw on the front of the grip, offer 3 grip sizes, and let the owner change grips to better fit their hand.

Most current mirrorless cameras have a short backfocus distance (the distance between the lens mount and the sensor), but that’s not necessary (the Pentax K-01 mirrorless camera had the same backfocus distance as their SLR cameras, and used the same lenses). Nikon or Canon could make a full-frame mirrorless camera with the same backfocus distance as their SLRs, which would let them use the entire existing lens lineup.

I know that mirrorless technology hasn’t been disruptive yet, but I think it will become disruptive with further incremental improvements in two other technologies.

Improved Autofocus Technology

Autofocus technology has been incrementally improving for several years. Many of these autofocus improvements, like on-sensor phase detection, contrast-phase detection hybrid autofocus and improved contrast detection algorithms are steadily eliminating one of the major detractions from mirrorless cameras — that the autofocus is slow.

Phase detection is also being improved, though, and that may keep SLR autofocus superior in some ways. Will contrast detection AF ever be as good as phase detection for sports or birds-in-flight? Perhaps not. But it’s definitely getting better and clearly is simpler, more accurate, more reliable, and less expensive.

It may be we’ll see ‘action photography’ cameras with 10 frames-per-second and phase detection AF as separate from ‘general-purpose’ cameras with 5 FPS, contrast or hybrid autofocus, and focus peaking for manual focus lenses. Some photographers will prefer one, some the other. Assuming the cameras use the same lens mount, a lot of people might own both.

Electronic Viewfinders

Electronic viewfinders aren’t quite up to optical viewfinder standards yet. But they are electronic devices that are improving noticeably with every generation. I assume they’ll be getting less expensive over time, too. Electronic devices do that. EVFs still have some disadvantages over optical, but they have some advantages, too, and the disadvantages are decreasing.

Third-party lenses

A second disruptive innovation, in my opinion, started around 2005 when Zeiss started marketing their very good lenses in SLR mounts. It may not seem like this was a big deal. After all, manual focus prime lenses aren’t the mainstay of many photographers’ kit. But it was a big deal. The very best lens at certain focal lengths were no longer always the manufacturer’s own lens. Now, Sigma, Tamron, Voigtlander, and Samyang, among others, make lenses that are nearly as good, and sometimes better, than the manufacturer’s lenses, and sell them at a lower price.

You may think ‘that’s not disruptive’. I think it is because it affects the existing SLR business model. Manufacturers didn’t mind selling SLRs at near-break even because they made money selling lenses. Now the camera companies are getting hit from both sides. They can’t attract young customers to their point-and-shoots because of cell phones. Their existing customers are less likely to by the manufacturer’s lenses.

You may not be buying them, but a lot of people are. I recently bought a Pentax K3 outfit. The only Pentax lens I bought along with it was the 300mm f/4. My other 3 Pentax mount lenses are third party. For my Canon 6D I have 3 Canon and 2 third-party lenses. It’s not just me, a recent poll on one of the major camera forums showed more Canon owners shot the Sigma 35mm f/1.4 than the Canon 35mm f/1.4.

A Couple of Other Changes

There are two more things that I think are going to change the camera market over the next couple of years. I’m not sure it’s appropriate to call them disruptive technologies. Maybe they’re disruptive techniques.

Modularity

This is a trend I’ve been noticing with certain brands. If you want to get a comparison with modular versus non-modular lenses, you can look at this teardown comparison of 24-70 f/2.8 lenses. For a look at a really modular camera, here’s a teardown of the Sony A7r. Basically a modular device quickly breaks down into a few major components, each of which can be further separated into individual parts. A non-modular device separates into lots of individual parts.

Why does it matter? For one thing it makes repairs amazingly simpler. The repair center, rather than stocking hundreds of parts for each lens and camera, may just stock a few modules and a few other parts. Inventory control for 1,000 spare shutter modules is a lot simpler (pronounced cheaper) than it would be to keep 200 to 1,000 each of the 22 parts that make up the shutter module.

Sure, the shutter module in the A7r costs more than the individual gear or capacitor that may be broken, but replacing the module takes 30 minutes compared to 2 hours to replace the gear and recalibrate the shutter. The labor and inventory savings more than offset the increased price of the module compared to the part.

Modularity can make upgrades and improvements easier and faster, and may allow some customization for cameras. Since I used the A7r as an example, lets pretend that some people don’t like the shutter. That probably means they will wait 18 months or two years to see if the next version of the camera has a better shutter. But with a modular design like this Sony could just call Copal, who makes the shutter module, get them to design a new shutter that fits in the existing space, and release an A7rS (for smoother, slower shutter) in a few months.

Or maybe some entrepreneur will figure out a way to put some shock-absorbing mounts on that shutter (its mounts are metal-to-metal now). Getting to that area in such a modular camera would be much simpler than in a standard SLR, so such a modification could be cost-effective. A new viewfinder, body shell, different grip, or different sensor would require only a new module, not a complete redesign.

Not everyone is going modular, at least not yet. Sony cameras particularly, and mirrorless cameras in general are getting more modular. SLRs are not. Newer Canon and Zeiss lenses are modular. Tamron and Sigma lenses are to a lesser degree. If anyone else’s lenses are more modular I haven’t noticed it.

Service and Repair

Factory service has changed a lot over the last two years. I deal with several thousand repairs per year so I notice these changes. Some of the changes I despise: forcing independent repair shops to close, refusing to sell parts, and finding excuses to not honor warranties. for example. Thirty-day turnaround times are awful, too.
But to every action, there’s a reaction. A number of companies decided that offering good service was a way to attract customers. Tamron, for example, offers a refurbished lens if they can’t fix your lens within 3 days. Sony has recently offered brand-new items as replacements when a part is on backorder.

There is one recent repair trend that I think is going to become more common: exchange repairs. You send the lens or camera in for repair. The company charges for the repair, but sends you a new or refurbished item in place of your broken one. The broken item gets sent to a central service center where it is either refurbished or broken down to component parts. Rokinon and Zeiss in the USA already do this for (as best I know) all repairs. Several other companies have started doing it for certain repairs.

Exchange repair allows smaller companies to offer service as good or better as the huge companies. Canon and Nikon each have several factory service centers in the U. S. and dozens of other centers across the world. A smaller company can’t compete with that, but they can put an exchange center in every country and build one large service center to salvage parts and refurbish items. Exchange is quick and simple and most people I’ve talked to prefer it.

Conclusion

History suggests two things pretty strongly. The first is that when change comes, people invested in the status quo (that would be us photographers when discussing the photography market) have a strong desire to deny it. Things have never been better. There is no need for change. And this is a stupid change that nobody would ever want. Well, nobody who is serious about photography would want it.

For example, you may think the Sony A7r is a horrible camera: there are few available lenses, the shutter problem may be an issue, you might hate that it’s so small, or maybe hate the viewfinder. So, you dismiss it. Just like people dismissed phased detection AF on the first Pentax SLR, or digital imaging on the RD 175. Whether the A7r is successful or not has no more meaning than whether the Minolta RD175 was successful or not. Digital cameras took over anyway.

The second thing history suggests is that there’s no accurate way to guess which companies are going to thrive and which will fail during a time of disruption. If being first were a huge advantage, we’d all be shooting Minolta digital SLRs. If being the biggest or most profitable were a huge advantage, we’d all be shooting Kodak or Polaroid. Sometimes biggest is really a disadvantage. As they say, it takes a long time to turn a battleship.

When the changes start rolling, though, they roll fast. Ask the video guys how many were shooting RED or Blackmagic cameras back in 2006. (The answer is none; there were no RED or Blackmagic cameras in 2006. Now they are everywhere.)

Is there a reason I use video cameras as an example in a photography article? Sure there is. Those two video cameras don’t need mirrorboxes, don’t use phase detection autofocus, are very modular, and can be purchased with different lens mounts. Which fits in nicely with my speculation.

My Speculation

Full-frame mirrorless cameras are here, so that part isn’t speculation. The death of point-and-shoot cameras is already happening, so that’s not speculation, either. Let me speculate the following things also occur (a big assumption, but not a ridiculous one.)

1. Either on-sensor phase detection or contrast detection autofocus becomes fast enough for most photographers (seems very likely).
2. Modular designs become widespread (maybe, maybe not).
3. Electronic viewfinders become good enough for most photographers (seems very likely).
4. Electronic shutters become a viable reality (likely, but maybe a few years away).
5. Modularity and ‘exchange repairs’ make good service possible for even a startup company (it can if they want to).
6. Third-party lens manufacturers continue to make excellent optics at lower prices (seems certain).

A sensor with contrast detection autofocus and an electronic shutter is very nearly a camera-on-a-chip. The sensor manufacturer could sell it to a dozen companies who each design their own camera around it. New camera brands might appear overnight.

A camera might be offered in various option packages. Different housings, an additional mechanical shutter for those that need it, an electronic viewfinder if you want it, or no viewfinder if you always shoot tethered in the studio. I order my computers online with a number of different options and get them 3 days later. I wouldn’t mind doing the same thing with my next camera.

If the AF system is contrast detection, then a manufacturer doesn’t have to worry about hundreds of phase detection AF algorithms for various lenses. Contrast detection is lens agnostic. Joe’s camera company might make the same camera available in Nikon F mount, Canon EOS mount, or Sony FE mount.

You can already do that with a RED camera. I serve as a lens consultant for a few well-known photographers who shoot magazine spreads on RED Epics and Dragons for the simple reason that they can shoot Leica, Canon, or Nikon lenses with a simple mount change done in the field. They want to use the different lenses. They don’t want to remember the controls or have to match color differences on 3 different cameras.

Third-party lens makers seem to be in a very good position right now. It’s become apparent that they are making very high-quality glass at a price well below the major camera manufacturers. If part of that price difference is because the camera manufacturers have to price their lenses to support their camera sales, then the manufacturers have a major problem.

Two factors have historically held back enthusiasm about third-party lenses: inaccurate autofocus and poor service or quality control. Third-party service is now at least as good as the major manufacturers, if not better. A contrast detection based autofocus system is just as accurate with a third-party lens as it is with a manufacturer’s lens.

I certainly don’t know who will thrive and who will fail as things change. And I sure wouldn’t rush out and change brands over it. Everything we shoot with today will still be working fine in a few years. Sure, Joe’s cameras may release something you just have to have, but I’ll bet it mounts some existing lenses. I expect most of the third-party lens makers will follow Sigma’s lead and be willing to change your lens mounts for you.

That’s the nice thing about disruptive technology. It always gives the consumer more choice. Most consumers will embrace it, eventually, like they did with autofocus and digital cameras. A few will sit around and talk about how it was back in the good old days, when men were made of iron and ships of wood.

About the author: About the author: Roger Cicala is the founder of LensRentals. This article was originally published here.