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Vaccinated: So that others may live

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One week before what would be my only photoshoot of 2020, I received a phone call that broke me emotionally. My producer, friend and all-around incredible person, Eric, had taken his own life.

Eric had been diagnosed with an aggressive case of ALS last summer, which had taken him from super fit gym rat to a state in which he was unable to swallow solid foods in a matter of months. While the disease had physically debilitated this man that so many loved, it never took his humor. In his suicide note (which you can read here), he is as proud, funny and happy as we ever knew him. His death was one out of many good friends and family I lost in 2020, but it was the only time I let myself cry.

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Irix teases upcoming f/2.8 or faster medium format lens for Fuji GFX

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Well, this is an odd one. Instead of continuing their full-frame lineup and adding to their existing range of 11mm, 15mm, 45mm and 150mm lenses, it appears that lens manufacturer IRIX has decided to take a break and has chosen to pursue medium format.

A new teaser video was posted to the Irix YouTube channel, and while there isn’t really that much info there, the GFX logo is pretty unmistakable.

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The OM-D Webcam Beta software is back for Windows and Mac

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The Olympus OM-D Webcam Beta software that mysteriously stopped working on January 1st, just as the company completed transitioning its imaging business over to Japan Industrial Partners, has now returned with a new version, hosted on the Olympus Imaging website.

A reader on 43Rumors says that it’s the same download link as before, although the version’s been bumped up to v1.0.11 and has confirmed that it works with his E-M1 Mark II. As to whether or not there are any changes other than perhaps setting a new expiry date is unknown.

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Use the lockdown to master these seven photo editing skills

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Many countries are in lockdown again, and many of us are stuck at home. If you don’t feel like learning and being creative, that’s perfectly fine. But if you do – this is the video for you. Spending time at home is ideal for mastering editing skills, and Nigel Danson has seven suggestions for you.

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Here’s when and why you should quit photography

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Photography as a business is hard work. Really hard work. Ask any successful photographer and they’ll tell you. Even if it looks like they have an easy life now, they’ll tell you they had years of struggle to get where they’re at and they’re still probably doing more work than you, even after attaining a measure of success. If you’re a hobbyist, you can probably ignore this post.

Running a photography business (or any kind of business at all, really) isn’t for everybody, that’s for sure. But when and why should you call it a day and find a “real job”? That’s the question commercial photographer Scott Choucino attempts to answer in this question as he talks about some of his history in photography and how he approaches the work.

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Birefringence: How to photograph rainbow colors at home

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What does “Cross Polarization” mean?

Cross polarization is a technique that allows us to virtually eliminate specular highlights from images by using polarized light, but it also holds a lot of creative potential, as it can be used to bring out eye-catching rainbow gradients in subjects such as plastics, ice and certain crystals.

In the industry this technique is used e.g. to locate areas of stress in plastic, but it also holds a lot of potential for interesting macro images:

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Is it really worth getting the Nikon Z5 or should you just go for the Z6 II?

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The Nikon Z5 is an interesting little camera. A full-frame Nikon mirrorless camera, with a relatively low price tag that seems to tick most of the boxes, even for working photographers (including dual card slots). Body only, it can be had for under $1,400. A significant difference over the $2,000 Nikon Z6 II. But is the Z5 worth getting at that price? Or are you better paying the extra to go for the Z6 II?

That’s the question that photographer Matt Irwin explores in this pretty in-depth and almost-27-minute long video. He takes a look at the autofocus, low light performance, image quality, and a bunch of other factors in a variety of scenarios in order to try to answer the question and I think he puts forward some good cases for when you might or might not want to use the Z5.

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