360Photography

Category: Uncategorized

  • Photographer travels around the globe to photograph all her Facebook friends

    Ahna Anomaly, San Francisco, California

    Social networks have changed the meaning of friendship. They might be called Facebook ‘friends,’ but we might not have seen some of these people in a long time, or even met them in person. With this paradigm in mind, photographer Tanja Alexia Hollander decided to take friendship back out of the virtual and into the real world, by visiting and photographing all of her 626 Facebook friends.

    Since 2011 she has been traveling around the USA and to countries as far as the UK, Belgium, France, Greece, and Malaysia to meet her friends in their homes, take their portrait and share real-life experiences with them.

    Shannon Lam and Maury Browning, Sungai Long, Malaysia

    According to MASS MoCA in North Adams, MA, where Hollander’s Are you really my friend? is currently on display, the project turned from a personal documentary on friendship into,

    “…an exploration of contemporary culture, relationships, generosity and compassion, family structure, community-building, storytelling, meal-sharing, the economy and class, the relationship between technology and travel in the 21st century, social networking, memory, and the history of the portrait.”

    Mary Bok with Surely and Honey the dogs, Camden, Maine

    You can see all the images and learn more about Are you really my friend? on the project website. You can also follow Tanja Alexia Hollander on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter to find out about her ongoing work.

    All images courtesy of Tanja Hollander and MASS MoCA, used with permission

    Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

  • Vintage lens shootout: three lenses, one model

    Vintage lens enthusiast Mathieu Stern took a break from coughing up fake blood in the name of dispelling lens myths this week to compare some of his favorite vintage lenses in a shootout. Stern went out for a single photo shoot with one model and three vintage lenses: the Canon FD 50mm f/1.4 S.S.C., the Soligor 21mm f/3.8, and the Helios 103 53mm f/1.8 (modified for tilt focusing).

    The video is the first in a new video series that will help highlight the unique qualities of vintage glass by comparing three lenses at a time.

    Definitely don’t expect ultra-sharp photos that’ll compare with the best (technically speaking) glass of today. But you should expect unique and interesting looking photos that might just inspire you to pick up some of these cheap old lenses on eBay and have some fun. Here’s a sample photo captured with each lens:

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    If you’re into the vintage look, the nice thing about these lenses is that they usually don’t cost you much to try out for yourself. Just do a quick eBay search and you’ll see that you can grab a Helios 103 53mm f/1.8 for less than $ 40, a Canon FD 50mm f/1.4 S.S.C. for about $ 80, and the most expensive of the bunch, the Soligor 21mm f/3.8, for $ 275.

    For more vintage lens reviews and other oddball videos, check out Mathieu’s YouTube Channel.

    Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

  • Amazon sells an AmazonBasics flash for Canon and Nikon DSLRs for just $28

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    If you’re looking to get into artificial lighting for dirt cheap, there’s a new ‘most affordable’ option in town. It turns out Amazon sells what looks to be a clone of the already cheap (~$ 70) Godox VT560 for the rock bottom price of just 28 bucks through the AmazonBasics brand.

    PetaPixel spotted the speedlight earlier today, and the response has been pretty positive so far. Sure, the “AmazonBasics Electronic Flash for DSLR Cameras” can’t be radio triggered and doesn’t feature useful options like TTL metering, but at $ 28 nobody in their right mind would expect it to.

    Instead, what you’re getting is a Canon and Nikon compatible speedlight with three modes (Manual, Slave 1, Slave 2), PC sync port for firing your flash off-camera without a master, 8 levels of power control, and a guide number of 33. Reviews so far are decent at an average of 3.9 our of 5 stars, with some calling the flash “unbeatable for the money,” although at least one reviewer said the flash failed on-location after working fine at home.

    To find out more about the ultra-affordable speedlight, or if you want to pick it up for yourself, click here.

    *FULL DISCLOSURE: dpreview.com is a wholly-owned but editorially independent subsidiary of Amazon.

    Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

  • Video: How to pose male models (and friends) for better photos

    There are tons of posing tutorials out there for portrait photographers, but almost all of them are directed at how to pose women. So if you’ve been looking for a few solid tips on how to pose male models—or male friends helping you out with a photo shoot—check out this video by Daniel and Rachel of Mango Street.

    The duo released a popular posing tutorial a few months back, but that one used a female non-model and, ever since, their audience has been asking for a similar tutorial for posing men.

    As with all of Mango Street’s videos, this one is short, to-the-point and useful, particularly if you’re a beginner or work with male friends for your photography and not professional models. The three tips below will definitely help add some drama to bland portrait poses.

    1. Define the Jawline: Use a harsher light source and/or ask your subject to tilt their head so that their jawline is nice and sharp.
    2. Do Something with those Hands: Give your subject something to do with his hands—whether he’s scratching the back of his neck or stroking a killer hipster beard, it’ll keep things looking more natural and less awkward.
    3. Pay Attention to Posture: Have your subject aim for either a relaxed posture, or create sharp angles with his limbs and (if possible) a harsher light source.

    Check out the video to see all three tips demonstrated. And if you found this short video useful, you’ll probably like the rest of what Mango Street has to offer on YouTube.

    Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

  • PETA is close to settling that ridiculous monkey selfie lawsuit

    Photo: David Slater

    PETA may be close to settling its lawsuit involving ‘Naruto’ the macaque monkey and a selfie it allegedly took using photographer David Slater’s camera. Per PETA’s 2015 legal claim, Naruto (the monkey) owns the copyright to the image, not Slater, because the animal took the selfie on its own—that lawsuit, which has dragged on for the better part of two years, has left Slater broke.

    Slater’s troubles began shortly after the photo went viral, as multiple entities refused to remove the image from their publications on claims that Slater wasn’t the copyright owner. That boiled over into an official guidance issued by the U.S. Copyright Office, which stated that, under U.S. law, a copyright can only be issued on work created by a human. This effectively left the image without a copyright.

    Joining the bandwagon soon after that guidance was issued was PETA, with its 2015 legal claim on behalf of the monkey. PETA argues that the monkey itself owns the copyright because it took the image; all the while, Slater continued to assert his own copyright claim over the image. The matter ultimately ended up in court.

    Last month during oral arguments, PETA’s attorney was grilled by judges on several topics, including whether the company has a suitable relationship with ‘Naruto’ the monkey to bring a lawsuit on its behalf, as well as whether a non-human animal has the legal standing to bring a copyright lawsuit. This itself followed a case dismissal by a federal court in California, which found that a monkey isn’t legally able to hold the image’s copyright under the U.S. Copyright Act.

    All signs point toward the courts siding against PETA in this lawsuit, and so it perhaps isn’t surprising that PETA is moving toward a settlement of the case. The most recent developments in the legal matter is that PETA and Slater have entered into settlement talks following the aforementioned oral arguments. Per a joint motion filed with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit:

    The parties have agreed on a general framework for a settlement subject to the negotiation and resolution of specific terms. The parties are optimistic that they will be able to reach an agreement that will resolve all claims in this matter.

    The terms of this potential settlement weren’t detailed.

    Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

  • Pentagon gives military bases approval to shoot down wayward camera drones

    Federal UAV regulations prohibit drone operators from flying drones near or over airports or military bases, but that hasn’t stopped some individuals from doing it anyway. But if you’ve been bold (read: stupid) enough to break those rules, be warned: military bases are now authorized to shoot down or seize your drone.

    The directive comes straight from the Pentagon, who gave military bases the authority to shoot down any drones, whether commercial or private, that fly into their airspace and are believed to be a threat starting last month.

    Confirmation of the new policy was announced yesterday by Navy Capt. Jeff Davis, according to Military Times. “The new guidance does afford of the ability to take action to stop these [drone] threats,” said Davis, “and that includes disabling, destroying and tracking.” As part of the authorization, a military base could seize a drone.

    Overall, the new policy covers 135 military installations, though there are some questions remaining about whether drones will be deemed threats if operated on lands used by both the military and private citizens. One example is the land around Minot Air Force Base, which is leased to both private and commercial farmers; under the land are silos containing ballistic missiles, making it unclear whether those farmers are free to survey their crops and livestock using drones.

    The FAA had a role in the formation of this new policy, which leaves some room for military bases to make determinations about how to handle any given drone that operates in its space. However, the criteria that a military base might use to determine whether or not it will seize, disable and/or destroy a wayward drone wasn’t revealed.

    Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

  • Apple joins Instagram to share top notch #ShotoniPhone photos

    Apple has officially joined Instagram. The tech giant has always been conspicuously silent on social media, but as the iPhone becomes an increasingly powerful and popular tool for capturing high-quality photos and videos, Apple finally caved and joined Instagram to share some of its favorite #ShotoniPhone creations.

    The news broke yesterday on Mashable, where the @Apple account debuted alongside a few promises: namely, that you will never seen “photo galleries, commercials or other company marketing,” on the Instagram account. No, @Apple is all about featuring “curated and credit” photos shot by iPhone users around the world.

    Or, put in more inspirational terms by Apple itself:

    A post shared by apple (@apple) on

    So far, the account includes several videos featuring different photographers talking over a slideshow of their work, explaining why they capture the kinds of photos they do.

    If you want to be considered for a feature, all you have to do is tag your photos with #ShotoniPhone and wait for a call. According to Mashable, Apple says they will “never use anyone’s photos without permission,” so that tag doesn’t sign away any photo rights or anything… it just puts you on Apple’s radar.

    Check out the @Apple account for yourself here, and let us know what you think in the comments.

    Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

  • Voigtländer 65mm F2 Macro APO-Lanthar: sample gallery and user impressions

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    Cosina says its new Voigtländer Macro APO-Lanthar 65mm F2 is one of the ‘finest’ lenses the brand has ever made. I haven’t used every Cosina/Voigtländer but can say for certain that from my brief user experience, this is one fine piece of glass.

    If you’re just tuning in, the Voigtländer 65mm F2, which was first announced at CP+ 2017 along with two other primes, is a manual focus lens built specifically for Sony full frame E-mount cameras. As such, I tested it on Sony’s high resolution a7R II.

    See our Voigtländer 65mm F2 Macro APO-Lanthar galleryEverything about how the 65mm handles screams precision and quality, from the all-metal housing to the drool-worthy matte black finish. Its electronic contacts mean the 65mm can communicate EXIF info with the camera; it also means you can use focus peaking and/or magnification.

    Built specifically for Sony FE cameras, I found it paired nicely with the Sony a7R II.

    The first thing I noticed while shooting is the long throw of the focus ring (common on macro and close-focus lenses). It turns about 300 degrees, allowing for quite a lot of focus precision. The ring itself is a little over 2 cm wide and well-indented, making it easy to grip. It also turns with a buttery smoothness that’s oh-so-satisfying.

    ‘Everything about how the 65mm handles screams precision and quality, from the all metal housing to the drool-worthy matte black finish.’

    Apertures range from F2 – F22 and are well marked with click stops every third stop. The lens has a depth of field scale, with distance information listed in both feet and meters. The scale seems accurate (from my informal in-office testing), though I did not rely on it while out in the field.

    This is about as close as the 65mm can get to a subject.

    Though not a true 1:1 macro (despite having macro in its name), the 65mm offers a maximum reproduction ratio of 1:2 and a close-focus distance of 31 cm (so it can totally still be used for close-range photography). Note: when focusing at close distances, the front of the lens extends out about 4 cm.

    Overall, I was pleased with the images I made using the a7R II and 65mm F2. When you nail focus, even with the aperture wide open, the results are very sharp. Voigtländer promised this lens would handle chromatic aberration well and all signs point to that being the case (Note: CA corrections are left off on all the images in the gallery). However you will experience some vignetting at F2 up through about F2.8, but by F4 it is gone. This is to be expected for this style of lens.

    Electronic contacts on the lens allow it to communicate exif info with the camera. They also allow users to enjoy focus-peaking and/or magnification.

    The 65mm focal length is not for everyone though. I personally found it to be a confusing field of view, leaving me unsure whether to shoot it like a 50mm or an 85mm (two focal lengths I’m use). Manual focus lenses also aren’t for all. Still, it is impossible to not appreciate something as beautiful and well-made as the Voigtländer 65mm F2 Macro APO-Lanthar.

    What I like:

    • Excellent build-quality
    • Very sharp throughout aperture range
    • Focus ring turns with exceptional smoothness
    • Electronic contacts allow lens to communicate with camera

    What I don’t like:

    • Focus ring hard stop at infinity end is beyond infinity (this may be an issue with our copy though)
    • 65mm field of view takes some getting used to

    Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

  • Advertising vs reality: microSD memory card speed test

    When you’re purchasing a new memory card, the card’s “read” and “write” speed is an important spec. If it’s too slow, you might pass on the card; if that number is big enough, you break out your wallet. But are those speeds accurate? In this video, Tom David Frey of Tom’s Tech Time tested 10 different microSD cards to see how the advertised speeds on the box compare to real-world performance. The results are mostly disappointing… but not surprising.

    Frey tested the top-of-the-line microSD cards out there—all 4K-ready, speed class 10 and UHS class 3. And while we wish the test involved regular SD cards, CF cards or XQD cards, since those are more relevant to photographers, the difference between the cards’ read/write speed and real-world performance is still telling. Plus, drone photographers need some love too.

    The cards tested include: The SanDisk Extreme PRO, Sandisk Extreme, Transcend Ultimate 633x, Samsung PRO, Sony SR-32UZ, Kingston, Panasonic, Toshiba Exceria Pro, Verbatim, and Patriot EP Series in either 16GB or 32GB sizes. Here are the contenders alongside their advertised read and write speeds:

    Frey performed two tests. First, he used a USB 3.0 card reader and ran several programs to test the actual read/write speeds. Then, he took a 4.1GB video file from his hard drive and copied it to each of the cards in turn to gauge real-world write speed.

    So… how did these cards perform in real life? All of them (except Panasonic, which doesn’t give read and write speeds…) advertise read speeds of 90MB/s and up, and the fastest of them claim a write speed of 90MB/s. But not a single card topped even 80MB/s read speed, and the fastest write speed reached was 78.81MB/s by the SanDisk Extreme PRO.

    The good news is that some of the cards actually outperformed their advertised write speeds, but none of them were the cards claiming lightning fast 90MB/s write.

    You can see all of the results for yourself at the 7:30 mark of the video.

    Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

  • NatGeo and Airbnb will send two people to view the eclipse from a private jet

    Two lucky people will get to view the August 21st solar eclipse from a private jet above the clouds thanks to Airbnb and National Geographic, proceeded by a night in a geodesic dome in the Oregon wilderness. The experience is being offered by the two companies in the form of a contest, which you can enter now on Airbnb’s website. Those who go on the private flight will be among the first to see the solar eclipse.

    According to Airbnb, the night before the eclipse will be spent in the geodesic dome located near hiking and rock-climbing destination Smith Rock in the Oregon wilderness. The duo will be accompanied by Yale University astrophysicist Dr. Jedidah Isler and National Geographic photographer and science journalist Babak Tafreshi.

    An observation deck on the dome includes multiple telescopes, and as you gaze at the heavens Isler will answer questions related to astrophysics while Tafreshi teaches you how to photograph the night sky… not bad. But that’s not the best part.

    On August 21st, the two winners, Isler, and a crew will take off from the Redmond Municipal Airport and fly two hours west, at which point the flight will turn around and head back toward land along the Path of Totality, giving everyone onboard an extended, unique view of the total solar eclipse.

    Anyone 21 years old or older from the U.S. or Canada can enter the contest. Winners will need to travel to Seattle, Washington on August 20, and must have passports that are valid for at least six months following the date of the adventure. The full list of rules and conditions are listed on Airbnb’s website.

    Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)