Flash Sale: Save up to 75% on Complete LR, PS, Capture One Guides

Lightroom, Photoshop, and Capture One 12 are all immense programs that can do so much, and honestly, they can be a little overwhelming at times. While we all know the basics of the software, I'm sure we would all love to know how to get the most out of our chosen software. Guide…

Simulating Natural Selection

The YouTube channel Primer is running a series on evolution and how it works. Topics include mutations, selfish genes, and altruism in natural selection. The most popular video of the series is this one on the simulation of natural selection: In it, you can see how different…

Weirding Diary: 9

I’m noticing a resurgence of interest in classical systems theory that mildly worries me. I suspect it is being driven by an infectious desire to theorize the Great Weirding systematically. It is an impulse that is in some ways a natural complement to the parallel resurgence o…

DNA Lounge: Wherein we've got bartending robots and friendly neighbors

We've got quite a few entrants for the Sixth Annual Cocktail Robotics Grand Challenge this Sunday! It's looking good! Do you like ROBOTS? And DRINKING? Experience incredible robot bartenders serving you drinks, lovingly crafted with MAD SCIENCE by the finest competitors in the a…

The Sony 35mm F1.8 FE Has Generous Amounts of Weather Sealing

We recently reviewed the new Sony 35mm f1.8 FE, and we quickly fell in love with this lens thanks to its fantastic image quality, gorgeous color reproduction, and its excellent overall performance. This lens is also weather-sealed, which is a nice feature seeing as this lens wil…

Artemisia Gentileschi’s Judith Slaying Holofernes

From the Book of Judith comes the tale of Judith beheading Holofernes. In the story, Judith, a beautiful widow, is able to enter the tent of Holofernes because of his desire for her. Holofernes was an Assyrian general who was about to destroy Judith’s home, the city of Bethul…

Gastroenterology

Lomography Unveils New LomoChrome Metropolis Film on Kickstarter

Film photographers looking for more quirky emulsions to try will be delighted to learn about the latest Lomography release: the LomoChrome Metropolis XR 100-400. The newest member of the experimental film line, according to Lomography, is the first new color negative film in ove…

Relax to the Sounds of Tibetan Singing Bowl Music

I don’t know who needs to hear this, but if you’re in need of some relaxing sounds, a meditative moment, or a chill work soundtrack, I recommend this 71-minute video of Tibetan singing bowl music. See also Hours and Hours of Relaxing & Meditative Videos. Tags: audio…

Fantasy Meets the Mundane in Georg Aamodt’s Cosplay Series

“When I’m photographing people, I tend to let them be aware of their own emotions,” says Georg Aamodt as he describes how he connects with his subjects. A versatile photographer, Georg regularly shoots fashion, editorial and portraiture. But it was one of his personal proj…

Four short links: 17 July 2019

Margaret Hamilton, WeChat Censorship, Refactoring, and Ancient Games Margaret Hamilton Interview (The Guardian) — I found a job to support our family at the nearby Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). It was in the laboratory of Prof Edward Lorenz, the father of c…

Opinion: We Really Need to Stop Saying ‘Gear Doesn’t Matter’

As photographers, we've likely said, or have heard someone telling a new photographer, or perhaps even an experienced photographer that 'gear doesn't matter.' Those four little words that are so quickly spoken can be some of the worst advice that you or any other photographer ca…

Jessica Jones Opsec

nikitonsky is being grumpy

nikitonsky: Good luck closing this modal. Link at the bottom says “More information” and no, it doesn’t close the window. Thx @isaurian_the_3rd_not_really for the picture

Tobias Friedrich Reveals the Surreal Creatures of the Deep in “Blackwater”

We always hear that we've barely scratched the surface when it comes to exploring the depths of our oceans. That statement can easily make anyone with a wild imagination and penchant for fantasy worlds to imagine just what kind of creatures lurk in the darkest depths of our ocea…

Gallery: Sony a7r IV Extra Image Samples (Portraiture)

We're currently at a press event with the new Sony a7r IV working with the camera and putting it through its paces. Sony has told us that the image quality is final. With a 61MP full-frame sensor at the heart, we're pretty amazed at what it's capable of doing. While other journa…

Mediocratopia: 6

My philosophy of mediocrity really started coming together last week, in the form of two tweets. First, a graph attributed to artist Marc Dalessio floated by my feed and I tweeted this modified and annotated version: Second, a passing tweet by me seemed helpful enough to people…

Around $500: 7 Primes for Sony E Mount That Overperform

There are many photographers out there today who scoff at the idea of purchasing cheap lenses, these photographers also look down upon anyone who uses anything but the best glass which can cost thousands of dollars. They believe that in order to create mind-blowing images you mu…

Green Screen Tattoos

In order to create the illusion of motion, tattoo artists are creating tattoos with large green areas to use them as green screens for custom motion graphics. Watch the first five seconds of this video and you’ll get the gist: (via @tedgioia) Tags: tattoos   video

A Demonstration of 16 Levels of Piano Playing Complexity

Watch, listen, and learn as pianist and composer Nahre Sol plays what you might think of as a very simple song, Happy Birthday, in 16 increasing levels of complexity. She starts out using a single finger and ends by playing an original composition that seemingly requires 12 or…

This Adobe Lightroom Shelter Pets Campaign is Super Adorable

We spot a lot of super cool photography projects during our usual rounds on Behance. But once in a while, we come across some super cute projects that just makes us go awww. Recently, it's the Picture Me Rescued campaign that Adobe Lightroom did in collaboration with talented ph…

Trad time

Fifteen years ago, I went to the Willie Clancy Summer School in Miltown Malbay: I’m back from the west of Ireland. I was sorry to leave. I had a wonderful, music-filled time. I’m not sure why it took me a decade and a half to go back, but that’s what I did last week.…

Rating vs Ranking and the Forced Scarcity of American Excellence

In an expanded version of his NY Times’ piece Why Can’t Everyone Get A’s?, Alfie Kohn asks Can Everyone Be Excellent? In the piece, he criticizes our educational system’s practice of ranking students against each other instead of evaluating whether or not they’ve meani…

First Impressions: Sony a7R IV (The 61MP Full Frame Beast)

Sony announced the brand new Sony a7R IV today in New York City and we got to spend some quick hands-on time with it during the press launch event. Slated to be released later this year in September, the A7RIV features a new 61MP sensor, the largest currently available in a Full…

Four short links: 16 July 2019

Quantum TiqTaqToe, Social Media and Depression, Incidents, and Unity ML Introducing a new game: Quantum TiqTaqToe -- This experience was essential to the birth of Quantum TiqTaqToe. In my quest to understand Unity and Quantum Games, I set out to implement a “simple” game…

19th Century Chart of Cities’ Distances from Washington DC

As you should know by now, I am a sucker for 19th century infographics. This “compendious chart” from the Library of Congress shows the distances and compass directions of about 1300 cities from the central point of Washington DC. You can zoom in on the chart to check out…

The Sony a7r IV has a 61MP Full Frame Sensor (And There’s More)

ony Electronics President and COO Mike Fasulo presented some of the company's latest products for the Digital Imaging Division. Amongst them are the new Sony a7r IV that includes features like a new 61MP full frame sensor at the heart.

25 Essential Artworks of the Past 50 Years

The NY Times convened a group of curators and artists to decide on a list of the 25 artworks made since 1970 “that define the contemporary age”. At various times, the panelists objected to the futility of such an exercise, but eventually ended up with a list that’s highly…

The American Photographic Artists Calls for Support for the CASE Act

Photographers are among the frequent victims of copyright infringement cases, but we are also no strangers to the fact that pursuing legal action can get complicated and expensive. The American Photographic Artists (APA) seeks to help address this with our support for the Copyri…