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How manual-focus and vintage lenses made me a better photographer

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I have been a commercial and wedding photographer for over 13 years. And from the beginning, I have been using Canon DSLR cameras and a variety of auto-focus lenses for the Canon EF system.

Switching to another camera system/brand did cross my mind because I made a substantial investment into lenses for the Canon system. Meanwhile I have gathered over 15 EF and EF-S lenses.

But in 2016 I decided to try a mirrorless camera and bought a SONY A7 r-II.

Because lens adapters exist that allow me to use my existing Canon glass on a Sony mirrorless camera I did neither plan nor anticipate that I will buy lenses especially for the SONY system. At least that was the plan.

But little did I know…

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Social media’s facade of the perfect life has made us lose our empathy

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Last week it was reported that 3 Canadian YouTube vloggers had died whilst swimming at the top of Shannon Falls in Squamish, British Columbia. The trio were part of content creation channel High On Life, which has a current following of 560,000 subscribers, and a further 1.1 million followers on Instagram. As the tragic news broke, so did the influx of comments across news sites and social media.

What should have been an opportunity for public unity and a shared value of life, soon became a shocking and inexcusable insight into how certain people view social media influencers.

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Shoot for better composites by choosing your background first

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As an artist who shoots mostly composites, more often than not I’m going to be cutting out my subject and placing them in a different scene. A lot of the time I only have a rough idea of what kind of a background I’ll be using, so I just shoot my subject as best as I can and figure out the backdrop later. Sometimes I have no idea what I’m going to do with my model, but a wise and incredibly good-looking man once said, “You don’t always need a plan.”

HOWEVER, if I do a shoot knowing full well what my background looks like before I even pick up my camera, it makes everything a million times easier.

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Best apps for landscape photography – my top 16 favorite apps

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The time to write down my personal list of the Best Apps for Landscape Photography has come. The group of my top 16 favorite apps which I use almost every time I have to plan a photography session, a photo trip, or a complex spot with a long hike in the mountain to get there.

What is one thing almost every photographer has on their person every time they shoot? A smartphone. Smartphones can act as fully-featured photography assistants that are capable of helping you capture the best possible shots with your dedicated camera. This post isn’t an in-depth review or a guide of every single app. I just wanted to make a list of the apps that I use the most for all sorts of situations, from editing photos to performing in-depth location scouting and calculations in the field.

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This is what’s in my bag for Music Festivals and why it’s in there

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Now that the music Festivals are starting, I think it’s a good time to share what’s in my bag for Music Festivals. Last year, I was the official photographer of eight Summer Festivals here in Portugal, and this was the gear that I’ve used on all. On one of them, I also took an extra monitor, but not in my bag.

As the official photographer, I have a place to safely store my extra gear. I also have a place to transform into my office for the festival days, so I don’t have to carry all the stuff with me.

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Honest advice to all starting wedding photographers

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With the article below don’t want to ruin someone’s life and business. Or stop them from pursuing their passion, dreams or whatever they’re after.

I want to speak about it, as my frustrations with unprofessional wedding insiders has been slowly building up in the last few months.

Wedding professionals that base their recommendations to their client because of fees they receive from other vendors.

New competition in area that offer smaller prices, and directly is threatening to ruin your business if you don’t send any recommendations their way.

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Comparing Sigma’s Bokeh Master 105 f/1.4 Art with 85 f/1.4 and 135 f/1.8

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Sigma has been crashing the competition with its Global vision line up. Combination of no compromise image quality and fair price is creating havoc in Canon and Nikon tents. And the recent launch of Sony E mount lenses will surely disturb Sony’s first party glass business. (will also drive Sony’s mirrorless business by providing true 3rd party lens support). In 2013 I bought my first prime lens Sigma 35 f/1.4 art till this day it never leaves my camera bag. Since then I have added Sigma’s 85 f/1.4 and 135 f/1.8 into my arsenal.

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Is it okay for street photographers to take photos of private messages?

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This week Business Insider ran a story that covered images taken by a street photographer, of people’s private phone messages. That photographer was the highly respected Jeff Mermelstein, someone who has a long list of celebrated work. Whilst all images were taken in public places, they do contain a level information that the subjects may not want the world to know about. Whilst no law has been broken, it could be argued that this is a lack of respect for a person’s privacy, raising the question – is it okay to photograph people’s private messages?

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How to DIY some large wheels onto the Think Tank Logistics Manager roller case

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The Think Tank Logistics Manager 30 is my absolute favorite when it comes to all the camera bags, stand bags, photo bags and other bags I own for my flash equipment, tripods and cameras.

However, it is just like almost all rolling cases, mostly made to be transported inside airports, offices or other places with a flat and even floor. With small and silly undersized skateboard-like wheels it immediately becomes hard or impossible to use it on gravel roads or a bumpy asphalt. Not to mention in a meadow with grass.

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If you have no money for a macro lens, the kit lens can be a great option

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I am in no way a professional photographer: my gear includes a Nikon D5200 body, with the Nikkor 18-55mm VR II kit lens, the Nikkor 55-300mm VR zoom lens, and the latest addition, the Nikkor 50mm 1.4G prime lens. My favorite combo is still the Nikon D5200 body + Nikkor 18-55mm VR II – no offense to the other lenses. The reason why I decided to write this article is because I have seen a lot of newbies considering the kit lens as just a piece of glass with no merits at all. That is not entirely true – it’s one of the best lenses to start with, and with the right technique you can achieve a lot with the so-called kit lens!

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