Hacking Photography - one Picture at a time
As humans, but also as artists, all of us have felt anxiety and fear. No matter how skillful we are and how long we’ve been doing something, there’s always that little “what if?” somewhere in the back of our minds.
In this 12-minute TEDx talk, photographer and activist Benjamin Von Wong talks about fear. Precisely, he talks about fear of irrelevance and how you can turn it into fuel for creating powerful and impactful art.
Constant education and inspiration are important in photography. The worlds best photographers will share the fact that they’re constantly learning and refining their skills. A great way to get this inspiration is through podcasts that we can listen to in the background when we edit images. There have been a few new podcasts come onto the scene during and after lockdown. Here’s the DIY Photography list of great photography podcasts for you to listen to.
Do you ever feel sick of photography? I know I do, and it recently came as far as thinking about selling all my gear. I was feeling uninspired, I didn’t have the need of taking photos at all, and I just felt… kinda like a fraud when someone referred to me as a photographer.
Does it sound familiar? Have you had those thoughts too? If this video from Mark Denney is just what you need to watch today. It came at the right time for me, and I hope it will give you the guidance and inspiration you need.
The ISS orbits the Earth every 90 minutes at the speed of 17,500 miles (28,000 kilometers) per hour. On top of that, it’s very rare to see it during the day. So, capturing it in daylight is pretty tricky and requires some serious planning and preparation.
Chinese photographer Wang Letian captured the ISS at the right place and at the right time, and his photo even became NASA’s Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD) for 11 April. No wonder, as it shows the ISS passing in front of the very active sun, making the viewer’s jaw drop in awe. We chatted with Letian a bit about his image and how he took it, and he kindly shared some backstory and the image itself with DIYP.
If you’re a photographer, chances are people have asked you to take photos of them. No, not for the full price of your service, because “you’re too expensive.” Or even better, they want it done “for exposure,” or because you’re friends and “you own that big fancy camera.”
Well, the next time this happens, we have a song for you. It was written and performed by Laura Jane Barnes (Woah Dude) of Simply Crochet, and it’s meant for all artists and creatives selling either their work or their skills.
Regardless of how you feel about photography, it comes with opinions. Lots of them. From absolute beginners to seasoned pros with 50 years’ experience behind them, we’re constantly bombarded with opinions in photography. “You need to follow this rule!”, “You need to sell that camera and buy this one!”, “You need to…” this, that and the other.
A lot of these opinions are unpopular. Some deserve to be but many simply lack the context required to truly express their real meaning. In this video, Adam Karnacz at First Man Photography breaks down five unpopular opinions (very well, too), plays a little devil’s advocate for the other side and explains the underlying reasoning why people might swing one way or the other.
Asher Svidensky is one of those photographers whose photos you see once and remember for years. This is why I was thrilled to learn that he photographed Kukeri, often described as one of the last pagan rituals in Europe.
For this photo project, Asher traveled to Razlog village in Bulgaria, photographing minacious-looking costumes of the Kukeri rituals. And as if the ritual itself wasn’t interesting enough – Asher’s story revolves around “The Monstress of Razlog,” a girl who’s a very unlikely star of this predominantly male tradition.
The northern lights have hit headlines lately as solar flares have sent charged plasma hurtling through space at break-neck speeds. We’ve had reports of aurora being visible at seriously low latitudes, including Luxembourg. There’s a reason for this, and any nighttime photographers need to know what’s going on.
I’ve written a book about the northern lights. It’s a huge passion of mine and I’ve made it my mission to educate myself on nature’s greatest light show as much as I possibly can. I was lucky enough to have spent the past winter travelling throughout the Arctic in my van. I witnessed the aurora on an almost nightly basis and enhanced my knowledge through research and observation. While I love to dive into the science and the technicalities, I’ll spare you those details in favour of the more exciting stuff.
Care for Wild Rhino Sanctuary is currently the largest and most successful rhino orphanage in the world. But other than rhinos, the sanctuary helps many other animal species such as giraffe, wildebeest, multiple antelope species, and small predators.
Thanks to the diversity in the sanctuary, an unlikely friendship has formed. A zebra and rhino babies, both admitted in critical condition, have become buddies. They helped each other heal and they’re now best friends whose photos are melting the hearts of the people around the world. The folks at Care for Wild shared some of the photos with us, and if they don’t make you smile today, I don’t know what will.
Every year, the German Society for Nature Photography (GDT) runs a competition exclusively for the Society’s members, in addition to its European contest where anyone can enter. Still, even the society members only submit lots of amazing photos – and the best among them have been selected.
GDT has announced the 2022 winners of its members-only contest, and this year, the flattering title was awarded to Thomas Hempelmann. His image shows a gorgeous kestrel sitting on a blossoming branch, but there are some lovely category winners as well, so let’s take a look.
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