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Nissin announces new powerful MG10 flash – How does it compare to the Godox AD200?

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The Godox A200 seems to have become the new standard by which many new flash releases are judged. It appeared in a new class of its own on release. Too powerful to be called a speedlight, but too small to really be considered a strobe. It was sort of the iPad of the flash world. It fits in between two other categories, as the iPad did between phones and laptops.

And just as the iPad saw many tablet competitors appear in its wake, others have shown up to challenge the AD200, too. First, there was the Cactus RQ250, which looks like a very promising little unit. Now, Nissin has announced the powerful new MG10 hammerhead style flash, which could potentially give the AD200 a run for its money. But how does it compare on paper?

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Woman sues photographer for posting indecent photo of her daughter on his website

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A woman from Cobb County has recently filed a lawsuit against a photographer who covered her daughter’s high school dance. The 15-year-old girl had a wardrobe malfunction which left her exposed. The photographer captured it, and the mother was horrified to discover that the photo ended up on his website for sale. So, she decided to sue, and it’s reported that it will be multi-million dollar lawsuit.

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Four things I learnt from shooting weddings

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I had always said that I never wanted to shoot weddings as there was just too much pressure to not mess up. Imagine missing the shot of the first kiss, or having a card fail and losing all your footage? Or having to deal with a bridezilla. It all seemed just like way too much stress that I never wanted to put myself through. But I saw a job opening for a company I really admired and figured, since the idea scared me so much, I should probably try it! I got the job and stayed there for two years and boy, did I learn a lot!

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I shot my first wedding and didn’t mess it up – Here are some thoughts

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Non-pro, non-wedding photographer here. Last year I took a few pictures at my sister’s wedding. My cousin, having his own wedding coming up, saw some of my shots on Facebook and asked if I would photograph their wedding. I agreed.

I had 8 full months to prep. My experience and comfort zone consists mainly of landscapes, astrophotography, and some OK candid stuff, though I like to push into new styles and subjects to force myself to learn more.

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Photographing Nightlife: Do Cameras Kill all the Fun?

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At the beginning of January, I was having a drink with a friend of mine. As it usually goes at this time of year, we asked each other about the New Year’s Eve and what we did that night. He started telling me about his fun night out, and at one point he said: “It was so good, that we don’t have any photos of the evening”. This made me think about tons of stuff, both as a photographer and as someone who likes going out. It mainly made me think about capturing the great moments of our nightlife, and of other super-fun moments of our lives.

Today, there are plenty of paid nightlife photographers. Also, all of us capture nightlife moments with our cell phones. But – what kind of moments do we actually capture? Is it really fun we eternalize – or is it something else? Also, is it different now than it was when we used analog cameras? Does nowadays a lack of photos, instead plenty of them, mean we had a good time?

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Prime lens in event photography– limitation or possibility?

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I had an interesting discussion in a photography group on Facebook some time ago. It started with my question about the 35mm prime lens, and somehow I ended up discussing zoom lenses with a member of the group. He said that, as an event photographer, he doesn’t have the luxury of moving around and focusing with his feet so he only uses zoom lenses. I support him and agree with him – up to some point.

I am not a professional event photographer, so I have the luxury to experiment. And a few months ago I was in a situation where I had to experiment. My prime lens was put to a test in event photography – and I believe it passed.

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Using Suction Pads To Secure Lightstands

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DIYP reader Maor Cohen of Kaveret sent us this sweet tip about using suction pads for securing light stands. It has some huge benefits over carrying several kilos per stand in sand bags. Of course they are easier to carry, not as messy, and provide more security.

The idea is kinda self explanatory from the photo, but Maor sent us some more details about this hack. The suction pad used is a triple suction cup capable of carrying up to 309lb, and originally intended for lifting glass or fixing car dents. (you can also use a smaller double cup version which will support up to 130lb).  Next you will have to secure the base of the stand to the suction mount and make sure it is tight and this is it.

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Is Live Sports Photography Really Photography?

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What about concert photography?  Fashion show photography?  Paparazzi? Red carpet event photography?  Or pretty much any circumstance where there are multiple photographers taking the same photos from the same location, in the same light, with the same gear, at the same settings, producing photos that look pretty much the same as every other game / concert / fashion show / celebrity photo ever taken?

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No, You Can Not Patent “Sorting And Uploading Photos For Athletes To Download”

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A few weeks back we reported a weird patent lawsuit. , PhotoCrazy (owned by Peter Wolf), was suing a South Carolina event photography business, Capstone, for violating a few patents. without going into the technicalities of it Photocrazy claimed that “taking photos of an athlete at an event, sorting the images by the bib number wore by the athlete, and putting them a website” is their patent.

Sound like bull, right?

Right! And court backs it up.

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Video Clip Explores Age Old Conundrum Of Photographers–Do We Really Only Experience Present Time As An Anticipated Memory?

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As a photographer, I’ve always just kind of assumed the duties of turning the present moment into the past without ever considering the downfalls of that or, rather, without ever even realizing there were downfalls in the first place. It’s just who I am. I photograph people, smiles, laughter, cries, love, rebellion… I photograph moments, capture time at its most powerful junctures all in the name of preserving that specific instant for future reference. After all, isn’t that what photographers are supposed to do? We capture important moments, how could that be a bad thing?

Then I happened across ‘The Instagram Generation’, a short, philosophical performance film, which opens up with a statement that, admittedly, cut right through to my core as it somewhat covertly questioned the very existence I have come to love as a cameraman…

“The ‘Instagram Generation’ now experiences the present as an anticipated memory.”

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