Let’s start with a really fun website filled with funky, off-beat cameras: Alfred’s Camera Page. Alfred has a ton of information on vintage Russian cameras but also has a large non-Russian camera section on this very easy to use website. Back when I was chasing down Kiev cameras I’d always land on this site for the reviews. If you’re participating in the Epic Edits Weblog’s $50 film camera project this might generate creative ideas for purchasing a film camera. There’s also a very informative post on scanning film by Alfred.
I’ve …

Over a month ago I set sail on an adventure, the purchase of my first Windows computer…ever. As the current owner of nine Mac computers and as an Apple diehard, I never considered a machine other than one running either the Mac OS or a distro of Linux. My first post on the purchase of this Windows laptop created quite a bit of feedback from prophotolife readers, both pro and con. Having lived with the Toshiba Satellite (and, more importantly, Windows Vista) for awhile, I’m ready to share some thoughts …

In this, part 2 of 2 (part 1 may be found here), I offer how my photo studio (Daylight Photo) evaluated our market and how we created our current niche in photography.
As mentioned last week, we photograph a variety of assignments, from food to people to product. The area we promote and most actively pursue, though, is industrial photography. How did we find our way to this niche? First, a little history.
For years we have done work for both ad agencies and client direct (working with in-house designers). Ten years …

A couple weeks ago Brian Auer at Epic Edits Weblog mentioned a project he was putting together and I’ve been looking forward to it ever since, for a number of reasons. The short story is this: the project encourages readers to either buy or use an existing $50 film camera, then write a review on the camera and submit a roll of images for a chance to win a classic Diana+ camera and Ilford film. Brian will fill you in on all the details right here (I encourage you to …

As mentioned in last Friday’s post, I’m busy creating a handful of new videos for coming weeks so this is a rare Monday without a new prophotolife vid. But Monday deserves a video so here’s a good one from one of the masters: well known annual report photographer David Tejada. I really like his use of a strobe shooting through the diffused window, it allows David to set up overall lighting for the scene and then he’s free to shoot from various angles. It’s a real trick to create interesting, …

Joe McNally is a well known photographer that shares his knowledge and takes time to go “the extra step” for others. In a recent post on Joe’s blog he shares a story about how he and his photography selflessly helped a family in need in New Jersey. It’s well worth the read, on many levels.
I’ve mentioned we’ll be creating some new prophotolife videos next week. Some friends are pitching in to help out with four new episodes over the course of next Monday and Tuesday. Want a sneak peek? Here …

This past weekend I became reacquainted with the work of a favorite photographer: David Plowden. Searching for inspiration at the main library branch in downtown Cincinnati, I found myself in the oversized book section, looking at (imagine this) the photo books. The book “David Plowden: Vanishing Point: Fifty Years of Photography” was on the shelves. It was just what I’d been looking for (without knowing what I was looking for).
Plowden has documented the American Midwest for the past fifty years and this book is a retrospective of that work. His …

Do you have a photographic specialty?

We’ve been talking about the hurdles of entering the world of professional photography over on the prophotolife discussion forums. It’s easy to fall in love with photography (it’s safe to say we’ve all done it, right?) and at some point many of us consider making photography a career, part- or full-time. I’ve written a bunch about starting a photography business, going all the way back to the very first post on prophotolife.com. As you may know, the first fourteen entries on this site are also …

Our friend Udi at DIYPhotography.net has come up with another great giveaway of interest to any photographer that shoots portraits. Photographers of all levels are encouraged to submit their favorite portrait(s) of someone special in their life for a chance to win one of three copies of the new studio (high end) Portrait Professional 8 Software. More info on the contest, software and how to get a demo download of Portrait Professional 8 are posted at DIYPhotography.net.
Entry is open to all photographers so I had my eye on the prize..until …

I do believe in luck…but I also believe that we largely make our own luck. You might get a great shot because you were lucky, standing in the right place at the right time to capture a moment. But some force put you in that place at that moment. Something also provoked your finger to press the shutter button, so I choose to believe there is always something more involved than just “pure luck”.
Despite this belief, I still call this donut photograph my “lucky shot”. Why is it called that? …