The Kent State Massacre Photo and the Case of the Missing Pole

Recognize this photograph? It shows 14-year-old Mary Ann Vecchio screaming and kneeling over the body of 20-year-old Jeffrey Miller, shot during the Kent State Massacre. Kent State photojournalism student John Paul Filo — just 22-years-old at the time — captured the image, and was later awarded the 1971 Pulitzer Prize for Spot News Photography. What you might not know, however, is that the widely published photograph at the time was actually manipulated. Here’s what the original photograph by Filo looked like: Notice how in the original photograph there’s a fence...

Samsung Galaxy Camera Photos, Specs, and Details Leak

Want a phonecamera instead of a cameraphone? It’s something that we were joking around about just months ago, but it might soon become a reality. It has only been two days since rumors of a Samsung Galaxy-based camera emerged, but now photos, specs, and details about the camera have been leaked. Portable gadget blog Pocketnow somehow got its hands on a press kit, revealing details about the compact camera that the web has been itching to find out. The photograph above confirms what the rumors suggested: that the camera can best be described as a compact camera slapped onto a standard...

Samsung Galaxy Camera Unveiled, More Phonecamera Than Cameraphone

Well, that’s one leaked camera certainly didn’t take long to become a reality. Less than half an hour after we shared the first leaked photos of the Samsung Galaxy Camera, the camera was officially announced over in Berlin. Here’s the basic spec lowdown: Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, a 16 megapixel 1/2.3″ BSI CMOS sensor, a 21x f/2.8-5.9 23-480mm (35mm equiv.) lens, a 4.8-inch HD LCD screen, a minimal smartphone-esque design, and 3G/Wi-Fi or 4G/Wi-Fi. Powered by Android, the entire range of apps available through the Google Play marketplace are available at your disposal....

Sony NEX-5R Announced, Features Wi-Fi and Downloadable Apps

After weeks of leakage on the Internet, the Sony NEX-5R mirrorless camera was finally announced today. As the rumors said, the camera features both Wi-Fi and downloadable apps — two things that look to be huge trends in the camera world this year. The basic specs for the camera are as follows: it features a 16.1 megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor, a hybrid autofocus that combines phase and contrast detection (a first for the NEX lineup), a max ISO of 25,600, 10 frame per second continuous shooting, 1080/60p HD video recording, and a 3-inch tilting LCD touchscreen. Like many of the cameras...

Ansel Adams

Ansel Adams is widely recognized as a master of photography, greatly in part by his now famous landscape portraits taken throughout many the United State’s National Parks. But, Adams was also a talented portrait artist and fine tuned musician. The two part documentary below that takes viewers on a journey into the mind of the master, was recently digitized and made available to the public. The films help to shed light on the techniques used by Adams, what inspired him, and also treats us to what was inside of Adam’s many, many camera bags. Have a look: Part 1: Part...

How I Confronted a Newspaper and Got Paid as a Result

Not too long ago, I was approached by a newspaper (Journal Le Droit, a large daily newspaper distributing print in the Ottawa-Hull area) asking if I would allow them to print a few of my pictures in an upcoming special feature on a nearby town, Rockland, Ontario. Having photographed much of Rockland in the past three years, I gladly accepted and figured that I could somewhat benefit from some exposure. Just to make sure, I asked if they were offering monetary compensation. They responded that a photo-credit would be placed at the bottom of the image in lieu of payment. Why not? On May...

Photoshopped Photos From Before the Days of Photoshop

Although Adobe Photoshop’s introduction in 1990 spawned the term “Photoshopping”, the manipulation of photos has been around pretty much as long as photography itself. To show this fact, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City will be holding an exhibition titled, “Faking It: Manipulated Photography Before Photoshop.” The show will feature 200 ‘shopped photographs created between the 1840s and the 1990s, providing a glimpse into how photographers of old use their work to humor and deceive. Techniques used include multiple exposure photography (in...

Dealing with Friends and Family as a Professional Photographer

There are many challenges in photography and becoming a professional means mastering the technical aspects, then clawing your way through layers of better established competition in order to make a living. When you’re new to photography and gain some skill, your first paying jobs will likely come from family and friends. Those will be the jobs that set your feet on the path of being a professional. “Posing for me?” captured by Yulhardy Budiman (Click Image to See More From Yulhardy Budiman) As you gain in experience and reputation, more and more of your business will come...

Why Five Star Ratings Aren’t Very Helpful When Buying Gear Online

XKCD recently published this humorous comic explaining how you should interpret star ratings online. These are the ratings you come across when browsing online stores (e.g. Amazon) and customer review websites — ratings that supposedly provide an accurate glimpse at how consumers feel about the product. Do they, though? As the comic shows, the answer is: yes and no. At one time in its history, YouTube used a 5 star rating system for its videos. In the middle of 2010, however, the service swapped it out in favor of a simple thumbs up/down system. Why? Because the distribution of...

Image Retouchers Donate Time to Repair Tsunami-Damaged Photos & Memories

Most of the time, image retouchers get a bad rap. They are usually fixing the mistakes of photographers or making flawless models even more beautiful. All practice that many individuals find deceiving. But, here is a story that might help them get the recognition they deserve as artists. In the wake of the tragic tsunami that ripped over Japan in 2011, hundreds of image retouchers from around the world joined forces to do something incredible. They hand cleaned, scanned, and repaired over 135,000 photographs that were damaged in the disaster. You can listen to the heartfelt story below: The...