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The Hollywood Distagon at f/2: A Single Daffodil and the Contax Zeiss 28mm on the Sony A7RV
April 28, 2026
Shooting Through Glass
Want to see how Glass actually feels? Google has just released a video which shows off the UI for its Glass project—and it looks real interesting to me. The Glass project is Google’s answer to the yet-to-be-proven need for a “wearable” computer with eye ball and voice interface. It’s surprisingly simple. Say “take a picture” to take a picture. Record what you see, hands free. Even share what you see, live. As it is happening, wherever you are. All through the magic of Glass, the Google personal goggles development. This is only the first of what I expect will be several iterations
Read moreOur Lightroom Two Step Editing Technique
We often use a two-step method to add additional processing to our images. The first step is to develop the color image to be kind of standard and natural (both subjective). But sometimes we want to add to the image a grungier look, convert it to B&W and/or sharpen with out Optimal Sharp V3 scripts in Photoshop. Because we want to keep the original image unchanged we create a stacked copy of our original developed photo. Think of it as two processing steps on top of each other (e.g. like in Photoshop). Lightroom has no flatten feature so we use a stacked copy
Read moreSneaker Zoom
Today, the most popular first lens bought with a new body is a zoom. The two most usable focal lengths, according to the many professional photographers I’ve discussed this with is a 24-70mm and a 70-200mm. These are the typical zoom focal lengths chosen for full frame, 35mm DSLR type bodies. APS-C size digital sensors, these translate roughly to 16-45mm and 45-135mm respectively. For the popular micro four thirds format, 12-35mm and 35-100mm. Most manufacturers offer zoom lenses that roughly correspond to these standard choices in their product offerings. There are basically two different ways to use a zoom
Read moreHenri Cartier-Bresson
If there is one man’s words I will spend the rest of my life trying to feel, they are those of Henri Cartier-Bresson. Yes, I said feel, as from my hours of study I find Cartier-Bresson unique in the world of photographers. Like few others in history, Cartier-Bresson was very upfront and open about sharing everything learned over his many years. The challenge being is how you interpret the information presented. Cartier-Bresson didn’t attempt to be cryptic nor mysterious on what it took to make good images. Cartier-Bresson felt good photographers were simply very good craftsmen. Style was something that
Read moreCanon 1DC
Few people in the online camera realm speak with the voice and authority of Phillip Bloom. Like so many, I find Phillip’s work interesting. I also find his reviews of cameras to be spot on. Bloom takes them apart from a users perspective as a working professional, not as a camera reviewer. I like that. I can respect the views of someone who makes a living actually shooting the gear not just writing about it. My own subjects are different from Phillip’s. However, my needs for tough, reliable gear that gets the job done with the least time wasted are
Read moreFix It In Post
An editor unknowingly affects the world of a guy just trying to get though his day. Filmmaker Jeremy Hunt and Autodesk present “Fix it in Post”. There are several pretty good video editing products on the market today. Adobe offering a new updated version of Premier, Apple with their Final Cut Pro products, and AVID being the current market leaders. In today’s world though, just being able to edit video isn’t enough to make for a state of the art production of the highest production values possible – the extreme technological edge is sought and quite rightly so to pull
Read moreLed Zeppelin
You may love Led Zeppelin or you may hate them, but they were a major part of my younger years and my generation. You may also ask what purpose posting a story like this has on TheCameraForum.Com. I could do a quick duck and cover, come up with some clap-trap about the fantastic editing, choreography, or cinematography and I could probably get away with it. This production earns superlatives in all of those categories, and is well worth your time to study for the technical qualities of producing a live music event the right way given a huge budget.
Read moreWhen I Grow Up
When I Grow Up from The Academy on Vimeo. Colin Hesterly recently created “When I Grow Up,” his latest short film that explores a young boy’s dreams for the future. While possibly intended for children, as with all great stories it has even deeper meaning for adults. A powerful message is a story that lives is a story that’s told. Sage advice also for photographers is, as we grow up, let us always remain children at heart. Hesterly’s own words about the film: “As a kid my imagination was my closest friend, and I spent a lot of time dreaming
Read moreChoros
Choros from Michael Langan on Vimeo. Watching this film the words mesmerizing, incredibly beautiful, and fluid spring immediately to my mind. This is one of those artistic creations that make me say to myself “Damn, another one I wish I had created!” The film, directed by Michael Langan and Terah Maher, combines music, dance, and image multiplication to create a film that enhances our perceptions of motion. “Choros” delivers a visually mesmerizing narrative in three movements by following a dancer’s (Maher) experience of discovery, euphoria, and rebirth through this surreal phenomenon, and featurs music from Steve Reich’s “Music for
Read moreShot By 10 #1
This #1 AdWeek rated Super Bowl commercial this year was not directed by Cecil B. DeMille nor did it star Clint Eastwood. Chrysler’s RAM Truck division, by way of The Richard’s Group‘s Jimmy Bonner, struck out on a road less traveled. In place of one Art Director, Bonner hired ten. Photographers Andy Anderson, William Allard, Jim Arndt, Daniel Beltra, Mark Gooch, Andy Mahr, Kurt Markus, David Spielman, Matt Turley and Olaf Veltman got the call. The assignment simple, “go spend time with farmers and ranchers and take pictures to be shown in a 2 minute spot for Ram during the Super Bowl.” Bonner and company (Rob Baker and Deb Grisham were reportedly
Read moreCanon 200-400 Pre-Production Review
Canon 200-400 Pre-Production Sample Lens Review from Joshua Holko on Vimeo. Joshua Holko got his hands on a prototype of the new as yet unreleased Canon 200-400mm lens. No retail price has yet been set in stone for this lens, but it is projected to be around $11,000. From just this review by Joshua, it just may be worth it.
Read moreThree Tintype Masters
As much as I used to love woking in the darkroom, there isn’t much chance I could deal with the nasty chemistry involved with creating a wet plate colloidian. Speaking just for myself, those strong chemical vapors filling my lungs along with the watery, itchy eyes would take all the creative enjoyment out of it for me. For photographers like Harry Taylor, there is nothing like it. Bravo; my hat is off to you! Exquisitely shot “American Tintype” is a short documentary portrait of Harry Taylor, a wet plate photographer living in Wilmington, NC. Currently in post-production, Matt Morris
Read moreFull Moon Silhouettes
Full Moon Silhouettes from Mark Gee on Vimeo. It must be either Full Moon Madness, creative vision gone wild, or possibly a bit of both. Whatever the actual case, this is one of the prettiest videos I’ve seen this year. Mark Gee is a freelance photographer & digital visual effects artist based in Wellington, New Zealand. After more than a decade in the film/visual effects arts, Mark has worked on many high profile & Oscar award-winning feature films. His Filmography includes the following impressive array of creative credits: The Hobbit – An Unexpected Journey (2012) – digital effects supervisor | Weta
Read moreAmy Dresser
Mastering The Illusion of Perfection with Photo Retoucher Amy Dresser from PhotoShelter.com on Vimeo. Master photo retoucher Amy Dresser started out working for two years with famed photographer Jill Greenberg. Today however, Amy works for a wide variety of “A-List” clients including Playboy, Barbie, Britney Spears, Weird Al, Pepsi, Target, and a whole list of Celebrity Portraits. Follow along with this PhotoShelter interview as she humbly claims her work is relatively simple: remove what might be distracting, then pull the channels up and down to see if things will look more interesting with a different color direction. It is a one
Read moreDogtown
Skateboarding was first started in the 1950s, shortly after I was born. All across California surfers got the idea of trying to surf the streets. No one really knows who made the first board — instead, it seems that several people came up with similar ideas about the same time. While several people have claimed to have invented the first skateboard, the truth is nothing can be proved, so skateboarding remains a strange spontaneous creation born from its organic roots in California’s unique surfer culture. One thing nobody disagrees with – Skateboarding was born in Dogtown. Dogtown was an area of
Read moreSteffen Jahn
Featured Photographer: Steffen Jahn My good friend Steffen Jahn is a very lucky guy. He gets to shoot some of the finest automobiles ever made, and gets paid to do it. Talk about a dream fantasy job. But as with all pleasures also comes a great deal of work, skill, and true craftsmanship when you’re doing productions at the level demanded by Steffen’s clients. Last year, Steffen was invited to shoot the official photos of the, at that time, top secret BMW ZAGATO Concept Car prior to its world introduction. The BMW Zagato Coupé is a one-off concept car made by
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