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Everything you ever needed to know about circular polarising filters

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I remember when I first started out in photography I found all the different types of filters to be a bit confusing. I honestly didn’t know my ND Grad filter from my UV filter. And I had no idea about when and why you might want to use a polarising filter. Of course, since then, I’ve studied and learnt a lot.

These days the post-processing options are so good that there are really only a couple of filters that are truly indispensable. One of these is the circular polarising filter. In this video, Christopher Frost walks you through exactly when, why and how to use one.

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Don’t try this at home: TikToker encourages people to destroy their lenses with rocks

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There are some very daft suggestions and tutorials on TikTok. As I discovered when I tried a few of the photography hacks, there are several that it goes without saying that you just shouldn’t try. This one might take the cake though. After watching a video of a ‘hack’ where a photographer appears to deliberately scratch his lens with a rock to create a ‘cool effect’, one viewer actually copied it and fully destroyed her camera lens.

Photographer and TikToker Illumitatiana posted a video of her using a rock to scratch the front of her Canon 50mm f/1.8 in response to a viral video made by Andres Videography where he appeared to do the same to his lens.

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“We should show realities of school shootings,” says ‘Napalm Girl’ 50 years after iconic image was taken

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Only flashes of memory remain of that fateful day. Kim Phuc Phan Thi, aged just nine years old, was outside playing with her siblings and cousins. In an instant, the course of her life was altered. She remembers a plane swooping down, a loud noise, explosions, smoke, and then followed excruciating pain.

After that Kim remembers little. South Korean photojournalist Nick Ut took the iconic photograph for the Associated Press that has become famous worldwide for depicting the horrors of war. From that moment, Kim became known as ‘Napalm Girl’. Fifty years on from when Ut pressed the shutter, Kim has spoken out about the effects of that photograph on her life and how impactful a single image can still be.

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It’s confirmed: Nikon Z9 sensor is made by Sony

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I know some of you must have been on the edge of your seats for this little piece of news, but now we know. After much speculation, it’s been confirmed that the Nikon Z9‘s image sensor is manufactured by none other than Sony.

The SonyAlphaRumors website published the news today, saying “the Nikon Z9 sensor is not only manufactured by Sony but also part of Sony’s patent authorization.” Interesting!

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Now you can pin any image you want to your Instagram profile grid

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Instagram has recently unveiled a host of new features with its latest updates. From increased reel length to the ability to pin specific images to the top of your profile, the new features will give users more flexibility of options in how their profile appears.

Firsly, the length of reels has increased to a maximum of 90 seconds. The other major change to reels is that now users have the ability to import audio. Another new feature coming to reels is stickers. You can now stick them onto a reel, rather than just using them in stories. So your cat videos can now be longer, we can hear the cute purring, and they can have kitty stickers on top. Awesome!

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Watch this timelapse video of NASA ‘unwrapping’ their latest spacecraft

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NASA has just released an interesting timelapse video of the main body of the Europa Clipper arriving at its Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Southern California. The spacecraft’s body was designed by Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in collaboration with JPL and NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center.

In the video below, you can see the main body encased in a protective casing, being unloaded and unpacked, almost like an early Christmas present. The spacecraft is currently undergoing final assembly before being tested for its launch in 2024. Then it will be sent to explore Jupiter’s icy moon, Europa.

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Landscape photography is for everyone, no matter what your mobility

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Are you ever intimidated by those strapping young Insta-photographers that seem to travel the world climbing mountain after mountain? They seem to exist purely to seek out the most inhospitable environments to feed their impressive portfolios. Are you thinking that you can’t be a landscape photographer if you’re not able to do serious days of wilderness treks or at least get in some formidable day hikes to out-of-the-way locales?

Whether you’re unable or unwilling to walk a long way, it doesn’t matter and you shouldn’t let that get in the way of a good landscape photo opportunity. Some of Ansel Adam’s most famous photographs were actually taken just a stone’s throw from the road. With that in mind, in this video photographer, Mike Smith gives you some tips to capture stunning landscapes without having to exert yourself.

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Wildlife photographer has close encounter with black bear and films the whole thing

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A wildlife photographer had a close encounter with a black bear when he was out photographing in Waskesiu Lake, Saskatchewan, Canada. But his instincts as a photographer overtook his survival instincts and he filmed and photographed the whole encounter, even up to the point when he had to resort to using bear spray.

Curtis Matwishyn says that he was out shooting photos on a trail when the bear started following him. He started out a good 100 metres away, far enough that Curtis was actually having to use his long lens to capture the bear.

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Landscape photographer dies after 300 foot cliff fall on Oregon coast

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A landscape photographer died after falling 300 feet when he slipped off the trail at Natural Bridges viewpoint on the Oregon coast. Emergency services arrived along with a helicopter ambulance however because the fall was so severe and with the rocky shoreline beneath the chances of survival were slim.

After talking to witnesses, the County Sheriff learned that Nam Ing, a passionate landscape photographer from California, had been out hiking with friends when he slipped and fell from the trail.

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10 easy ideas to try for natural bridal party group photos

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We’re not quite at Mid-Summer yet, but Wedding Season is well and truly upon us. Many wedding photographers are busier than ever and plans are back in full swing after a two-year hiatus. But do you ever find that your mind goes blank when you’re called upon to pose the large bridal party groups? It’s challenging enough just to fit that many people in your viewfinder, let alone be creative at the same time.

Well, worry no more! Jake Weisler from Full Time Filmmaker walks you through ten different bridal party group poses that you can have ready up your sleeve for the next wedding you shoot. It’s aimed at video shooters but works just as well for still photography.

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