The concept of bullet time is nothing new. If you have seen the gravity-defying (and seemingly physics defying) shot in The Matrix where the character played by Keanu Reeves dodges a bullet, you already know what I am talking about. It’s nothing more than several cameras capturing a perfectly timed shot of a moment that […]
Oh, photography! What a wonderful, beautiful thing! The ability to capture a moment in time, ours to enjoy for years, decades, and even centuries. The earliest form of photography, camera obscura and pinhole cameras, can be traced back to the ancient Chinese and Greeks. But it wasn’t until the 1800s that images could be preserved […]
When today’s market is full of high definition, high mega pixel cameras, we are missing the warm, grainy, imperfect effects from the era of analog camera and films. Nostalgia is just part of the human nature. When iPhone became a cult and one of the most popular camera phones in the world, app developers wasted no time in creating vintage photo apps which make your photo look like they were shot 50 years ago. These photos look like distant memories already the moment they are taken and they radiate a warm, nostalgic feeling.
Simply owning a good camera does not make one a good photographer. It could be said that it is not the camera but the one who holds the camera that makes a good picture. So, if your goal is to become a better photographer, there are quite a few paths that you might take to […]
The first photograph is considered to be an image produced in 1826 by the French inventor Nicéphore Niépce on a polished pewter plate covered with a petroleum derivative called bitumen of Judea. It was produced with a camera, and required an eight hour exposure in bright sunshine.
Because I lead workshops, I am often asked if a point and shoot or entry level digital camera is okay. Well, the simple answer is absolutely yes. Here is a little story to illustrate my point. Let’s say that two photographers wake up early one morning for a full day of shooting. They both want […]
Between lenses, cameras, and basic accessories, the act of making images can be expensive. In order to survive, photographers have to learn to be resourceful. But resourcefulness doesn’t necessarily mean having to cut corners. As COOPH demonstrates, even something as simple as cardboard can be used to completely transform your images: 1. Light Stenciling Most of […]
A self-described all-around “media dude,” Norwegian photographer Eirik Solheim dabbles in just about every type of photographic and videographic medium. In 2010, he undertook a unique timelapse project to depict every single day of a year into one composite image. We think the results are stunning: To create the image, Solheim mounted his Canon EOS 400D onto a tripod […]
Think you can’t buy cool lenses for your mirrorless DSLR for less than a week’s paycheck? Well, think again. French photographer Mathieu Stern has found lenses that retail for less than $30 each! Each has a distinctive look and fits easily onto any mirrorless camera: The glass we use is some of our most prized real […]
It’s like walking down the aisle of history—photographic history to be precise. Tips from the Top Floor anchor Chris Marquardt gives us a peek at his private tour of the humongous George Eastman Museum Technology Vault in Rochester, NY: The museum’s technical curator, Todd Gustavson, was kind enough to show off everything right from the Daguerreotype, to […]
