Brightin Star 35mm f1.4 Review: The Lens of Your Dreams

Tiny but effective, the all-new 35mm f1.4 lens from Brightin Star doesn't just look good, it performs like a keeper too. If you're a manual focus photography enthusiast, you'll enjoy using this lens once you get used to its size.

Read Us Often? Help Us Out!

It's really affordable to help Phoblographer out. We're one of the only publications working to help you make images that AI can't really create. In 2025, I started to do things that otherwise would seem crazy for a publisher of a niche photography online magazine to do. For sta…

The Best Birding Lenses for Sony Photographers

Sony is one of the few companies that has never shied away from innovation. They introduced a camera with an AI chip, one with a global shutter, and also ventured into the premium compact camera market. While they are growing the camera range, they have also been introducing som…

Your Future Starts Monday

Your private future, that is. Your present isn’t private. Not in the digital world. Not while you always agree to their terms, and not them to yours. With MyTerms, they agree to your privacy terms. Ones that, for example, disallow being tracked everywhere like a marked animal.…

This Week in the IndieWeb

April 17-24, 2026 Recent EventsFrom events.indieweb.org/archive: Homebrew Website Club - Eastern Wednesday, April 22 at 6:00pm Online! Zoom! Homebrew Website Club Europe/London Wednesday, April 22 at 7:00pm Homebrew Website Club - Düsseldorf/Germany Tuesday, April 21 at 6…

Vintage Weekly Bus Passes

A collection of weekly bus passes from Milwaukee, WI. Years covered are 1930-1979. Was there a new design every single week? (via @slowernet) [This is a vintage post originally from Feb 2015.] Tags: design · timeless posts

Want Artsy Wildlife Photography? Our Presets Can Help

Our presets work even for better wildlife photography. For several years now, the Phoblographer has been actively selling presets to our audience. And folks have been loving them. We started with presets designed for those of us who love photojournalism. Then we added the retro-…

A papyrus of part of the Iliad has been discovered in a...

A papyrus of part of the Iliad has been discovered in a Roman-era tomb of mummies in Egypt. “The papyrus contains a passage from Book II of Homer’s Iliad, specifically the section known as the ‘Catalogue of Ships’…”

“We had the idea to make a Bodoni interpretation...

“We had the idea to make a Bodoni interpretation with potato stamps, so we bought 8kg of potatoes, some knives and [started carving]. When we finally had the full alphabet we stamped it on paper, made a font out of this and called it Bodedo.”

The Other Reasons Why Podcasting is Hot

Near the end of this Pivot podcast, starting at about the 55 minute mark, Kara Swisher and Scott Galloway give a great summary of why podcasting is “the fastest-growing ad-supported medium.” Among other things, they say “People actually listen to the ads,” and that host…

Tenfold Knottiness

While reading this article about the structure of complex knots, I ran across this diagram drawn by scientist Peter Guthrie Tait in 1885 for a paper called On Knots Part III. It’s one of two figures that together show all of the possible variations of knots with 10 crossing…

Instead of Losing Democratic Elections, What If We Just...

Instead of Losing Democratic Elections, What If We Just Stopped Having Them Altogether? “My goodness, imagine the efficiency. No long lines. No campaign ads. No need to pretend Wisconsin matters every four years.”

The Wind in the Willows and reading out loud

The Wind in the Willows right? Kenneth Grahame, 1908. We all know the children’s story inside-out. Mole and Ratty and gruff Badger and conceited Mr Toad with his motorcars and all their adventures. I picked up the book as an adult - I can’t remember why - and it wasn’t…

The Single Best Nikon Camera for Landscape Photography

Landscape photographers have often needed a device that is sturdy, quick, and can capture detailed images with ease. Nikon has some offerings in the domain to choose from, but there is only one that truly stands out for professional photographers: the Nikon Z8. Here is a look at…

Husband and Wife

How The Heck Does Shazam Work? “By throwing away...

How The Heck Does Shazam Work? “By throwing away almost everything and keeping only a handful of landmark peaks, a noisy 5-second clip from a coffee shop becomes a set of coordinates precise enough to pinpoint one song out of millions.” Fascinating!

It’s Friday, Let’s Do an Open Thread

What’s on your mind lately? What’s going on in your life? Witnessed anything amazing? Anything you’d like to share with the rest of the class? Here in Vermont, it’s barely spring (which means it’ll probably snow at least one more time before I need to start mowing th…

Frylings

Reheating Death Kept Warm is a post I put up in 2007 and forgot about. But it is getting some action now. No idea why, but I do notice that most of the links in it fail. Later, when I have time (if ever), I'll find what can be found and fix the links. Same […]

The Single Best Point and Shoot for Portrait Photography

When it comes to portrait photography, one often gets themselves the best cameras and lenses. After all, portrait photographers want to create detailed images like other genres of image makers. While there are some wonderful cameras out there, there are some who prefer a smaller…

1D Chess . “You might initially find it more...

1D Chess. “You might initially find it more difficult than expected, but assuming optimal play, is there a forced win for white?”

These Odd New Canon Patents Seem to Challenge Sony

Canon has some wonderful lenses for photographers, which they intend to grow with time. The RF mount is relatively young, and it has already introduced some great models. For instance, the VCM models are the latest addition, that are priced well, and work perfectly. Now, it appe…

Everyone’s Favorite Leica Camera is Auctioning for $400,000

Last year, Leica's Leitz Photographica Auction was really something special. And this year, there doesn't seem to be as much of a party. However, that's not to say that the auction house isn't allowing for bidding on some very special pieces of photography history. There are a f…