fbpx

DIY Photography

Hacking Photography - one Picture at a time

Search

Submit A Story

We are always looking for interesting and inspiring tings to share. If you have a tip or a new bit, please share it with us in this link.

If you want to guest post, please contact us here, and let us know what you want to write about.

About Jefferson Graham

Dunja Djudjic is a writer and photographer from Novi Sad, Serbia. You can see her work on Flickr, Behance and her Facebook page.

The ten best photo spots in Paris

Look up any list of the most photographed cities in the world, and Paris is in the top 3, usually along with New York and London. And for good reason: every street is a work of art.

Even if the Eiffel Tower has been photographed millions of times, we all bring something new to it. And besides, how can you tell the story of visiting Paris without seeing the Tower? It is the symbol of the city, even more than Big Ben of London or the Chrysler building of New York.

The Tower looms over the entire city, but where to go to get the best shot?

We just spent two weeks in Paris, producing the latest episode of PhotowalksTV, and we have a few ideas about photographing the Tower and other Paris icons.

Let’s break it down, with ten tips for Paris’s best.

[Read More…]

Is TTArtisan’s new 35mm F0.95 lens the Noctilux for Fujifilm X-mount?

by 4 Comments

After releasing their first autofocus lens for Fujifilm X-mount, the TTArtisan 27mm ƒ2.8 (review here), TTArtisan is here again with a pleasant surprise in its yet latest release. Announced last week, the TTArtisan 35mm ƒ0.95 seeks to break new boundaries for Fujifilm X-mount. For Fujifilm native lenses, there are currently no lenses of this spec with the closest in terms of maximum aperture size, the classic XF35mm ƒ1.4, and of course, the more modern XF33mm ƒ1.4 (review here).

I was pleasantly surprised that TTArtisan has designed and built a lens of these specifications smaller than the already compact native XF35mm ƒ1.4. Let us take a closer look at the technical details before going into how it performs.

[Read More…]

Four reasons photographers should limit their social media use

by 8 Comments

Unfortunately, in the process of chasing that magical number one on social media, artists are losing the ability to do their craft and no longer focusing on the only thing that will actually shape the next generation of artists. We are slowing down processes that we should be speeding up. This is a call to action for every visual artist – photographer, writer, producer, designer, etc. Yes, you. Social media has convinced us that we need to integrate ourselves into our work and through doing so we have forgotten why we do what we do in the first place. We are here to create meaning and share it with everyone who will listen.

The idea of why you started taking photos has been lost in a sea of likes, comments, tags, and engagement. Social media is getting the best of you. It’s time to stop using social media at least for a little while. You’ve got to escape the hype and the illusion of social media. Be a real artist and follow these 4 suggestions to limit your social media use and focus more on creating the images, rather than just showing them off.

[Read More…]

This is the story of how I shot my wife touching a Comet

She pointed up to the sky and touched the comet igniting a spark that entwined with her soul and the soul she has created. A bond that is entangled for the rest of eternity and existence. And that very soul that grows, thrives, and lives inside of her is Comet Girl!

It was about two years into my journey of being a night photographer. My knowledge and experience were still fairly average, so taking this shot was a real challenge. Here is the story of my exploration of Comet Girl.

One late evening, I was scrolling through my social feed and saw this image of Comet Neowise. I then saw another one and another one. I was left in disbelief and was sad that I had missed such an opportunity to see a once-in-a-lifetime & rare sighting. Little did I know this Comet wasn’t going anywhere in a rush, at least for a few weeks, and after more research, I soon realized I had not missed my chance to see it and capture it.

[Read More…]

A somber prediction – A.I. will replace all creatives

by 11 Comments

If we already have AI software, like Stable Diffusion and Midjourney, that can generate one brand new image based on a text prompt, couldn’t it generate 24 of them?

Couldn’t the AI image generation model eventually be trained to render entire videos with a text prompt, and couldn’t that algorithm eventually be trained to generate sounds and dialog as well?

Wouldn’t this eventually become a paid streaming service where you put in a prompt, and a full-fledged movie pops out the other end? A movie that required no writers, directors, actors, sets, costume designers, or editors to create, just some AI software.

[Read More…]

This is where you can bring your camera in San Francisco and not get it stolen

by 3 Comments

It happened again in San Francisco.

A wedding photographer was attacked while covering portraits at the beautiful Palace of Fine Arts, yet another in a long line of terrible situations playing out in a city that has chosen, for whatever reason, not to crack down on these series of camera crimes.

[Read More…]

Testing six AI-based noise reduction programs for astrophotography

by Leave a Comment

In a detailed technical blog I compare six AI-based noise reduction programs for the demands of astrophotography. Some can work wonders. Others can ruin your image.

Over the last two years, we have seen a spate of specialized programs introduced for removing digital noise from photos. The new generation of programs use artificial intelligence (AI), aka machine learning, trained on thousands of images to better distinguish unwanted noise from desirable image content. At least that’s the promise – and for noisy but normal daytime images they do work very well. But in astrophotography our main subjects – stars – can look a lot like specks of pixel-level noise. How well can each program reduce noise without eliminating stars or wanted details, or introducing odd artifacts, making images worse?

To find out, I tested six of the new AI-based programs on real-world – or rather “real-sky” – astro photos. Does one program stand out from the rest for astrophotography?

[Read More…]

This is why you need an extra tall tripod in your equipment bag

by 7 Comments

We all started out with a lightweight tripod as our very first tripod. Most likely, then, after several uses and budget allowing, you upgraded to a much sturdier tripod. If you’ve ever struggled with a lightweight tripod, you know exactly why. And then the occasion strikes where you realize, at times, you also need a really tall tripod.

Then the options become fewer. It’s that intersect between affordable, robust, easy to carry … and really tall. Nothing else will suffice. For this kind of situation, I got the Robus RC-0888 carbon fiber tripod.

[Read More…]

Photographer creates a global tribe of women using artificial intelligence from his armchair in North Yorkshire

by 1 Comment

As artificial intelligence (AI) technology continues to develop, so too does the ability to create realistic images with the help of AI.

I have been spending some time testing out how good this new technology really is, trying to figure out who has the creative control, how I feel about being removed from the process, and how as a photographer, I can take advantage of this new tech while sitting in my living room in the middle of North Yorkshire.

[Read More…]

Recent Posts