Inspired Eye Vol. VII

Inspired Eye Vol. VII

Inspired Eye needs no introduction. Now here is issue #7 keeping photography things going strong. What to expect? In the words of the the PDF magazine’s makers Don Springer and Olivier Duong: “Running 200 pages (~115 spreads), there are two beautiful photo essays on young Cuban boxers and on Angola. The mobile photographer this time […]

“The Leica of Photography Magazines” — Inspired Eye #2 Is Out

“The Leica of Photography Magazines” — Inspired Eye #2 Is Out

Must confess, am probably the biggest fan of Inspired Eye, a mind-blowing, mind-altering and mind-opening feast for the discerning photographer. It’s been called “The Leica of Magazines,” and as its curators, photographers Don Springer and Olivier Duong, say themselves, “For the price of a latte, you get a magazine that helps you develop your photography.” […]

“Inspired Eye” — The New In-Depth Magazine With Heart and Soul Photographers Have Been Waiting For

“Inspired Eye” — The New In-Depth Magazine With Heart and Soul Photographers Have Been Waiting For

You remember Street Presets, presets for the ultimate street look. Now their creators Don Springer and Olivier Duong present their latest labor of love: Inspired Eye, an inspired, high quality, rich in content photographic magazine with no real competition. They’ve done their research and after reading the first (free!) issue I must agree, none of […]

The Dark Side of Camera Lust

The Dark Side of Camera Lust

By OLIVIER DUONG It’s a good day to be a camera maker. Unless you’ve been living under a rock, there’s Hasselblad who’s blowing full-frame out of the water, and Fujifilm is pulling out an X-T2. Cameras are supposed to be a companion to the photographer, or at the very least a tool, but, while I […]

Early Philosophers on the Two Basics of the Creative Photographic Process

Early Philosophers on the Two Basics of the Creative Photographic Process

A thought fun pondering is how the old philosophers, thinkers and artists would have dealt with the onslaught of the digital revolution. How people whose only means of expression was the pen and brush would have made use of new communication technologies. Imagine Salvador Dali with a digital camera and image manipulation — right, he’d […]

Elixir — New Color and B&W Street Presets

Elixir — New Color and B&W Street Presets

Elixir — synonym for extract, potion, panacea or cure-all — is the name of the latest street presets from the makers of photography magazine Inspired Eye. Their by now fifth presets pack for Lightroom 4/5 comes as a color and a black-and-white version putting the look of street photography at your fingertips. Create stunning images […]

Street Photography: How to Get That Retro Faded Look

Street Photography: How to Get That Retro Faded Look

By OLIVIER DUONG In this tutorial I am presupposing that you are using Adobe Lightroom for your street photography. But every program that allows you to mess with your curves will able to reproduce the results. Step 1: Load Your Picture Load your photo in Lightroom and clean it up if need be (spots, dust, […]

Essential Lighting Tips for Portrait Photography

Essential Lighting Tips for Portrait Photography

By RALF L. Lighting plays a big factor in portrait photography. You need to think about how to compose flattering portraits for your subjects, including angle of view, face view, lighting ratio, and lighting pattern. Here are three top portrait lighting patterns that you can try out: Loop Lighting Put the light source slightly higher […]

The Hasselblad X1D File

The Hasselblad X1D File

Remember? THEME was the first photography site to report on a pretty groundbreaking camera from Hasselblad coming up. That was back in March. The official announcement of the “game changer” Hasselblad X1D-50c with medium format going mirrorless didn’t disappoint. Hasselblad on June 22, 2016, presented a mirrorless 50MP medium format camera with EVF, ISO range […]

10 Movies Every Photographer Should See

10 Movies Every Photographer Should See

Don’t know about you, but what’s nicer than chilling out to a good movie after a hard day’s work. The Internet turns our computers into phenomenal movie libraries with access to every movie imaginable, such as Amazon’s Instant Video. Well you know the name of the game… While everyone has his or her favorite genre, […]

And You Thought Today’s Cameras Look Great

And You Thought Today’s Cameras Look Great

God bless the French. This is probably the most extensive, most beautiful and most bizarre collection of cameras you’ll ever lay eyes upon. It’s impossible to find your own favorites from the Collection Appareils, an online vault of the most amazing cameras assembled by a French guy named Sylvain Halgand. It’s an astonishing encyclopedic collection […]

Mythbuster: Professionals Use Large Sensors

Mythbuster: Professionals Use Large Sensors

Could as well write: professionals never use Micro Four Thirds. There’s a lot of misinformation wandering around the business of technology. Fact is, as we all know, Micro Four Thirds, the pioneer of a truly digital imaging system, has grown into a formidable contender. Be it stills or video, only the practiced eye can tell […]

How a Single Photo Can Tell a Story

How a Single Photo Can Tell a Story

This is a writer’s golden rule: don’t try to tell a story in every detail. If a writer attempts to say and explain everything you’ll end up with a bore of a story. Use as few words as possible. Trust the reader to bridge the narrative gaps with his or her own active imagination. Otherwise […]

Photography’s Modern-Day Classics — Cameras Blending High-Tech with Retro Style

Photography’s Modern-Day Classics — Cameras Blending High-Tech with Retro Style

With the exception of Canon, about every major camera maker has jumped on the bandwagon of retro-styled gear. Add the many nostalgia filters and looks available. “Classic” — a trend started by Olympus and Fujifilm with the OM-D and X series — continues to be popular with photographers and camera makers alike. The Nikon Df […]

“Everybody Street” — The Ultimate Street Photography Documentary That Makes You Want to Grab the Camera and Hit the Streets

“Everybody Street” — The Ultimate Street Photography Documentary That Makes You Want to Grab the Camera and Hit the Streets

“It’s the only tool that will stop time,” “The deeper you go, the better pictures you’ll take” or “It’s the life on the street and where the street takes you, that’s important” — these are just two of the many strong quotes from the feature length documentary Everybody Street by Cheryl Dunn, a movie about […]

The Nikon Df File

The Nikon Df File

Non-mirrorless and pentaprism are not yet dead after all. Nikon makes a bold statement with the Nikon Df — photography’s heritage isn’t dead at all. You might not want the latest, bestest sensor — albeit three years old, its sensor rocks. Maybe what’s here is already perfect enough. Right, you bet this camera is an […]

Vision and Images, 1981 — Iconic American Photographers on Photography

Vision and Images, 1981 — Iconic American Photographers on Photography

These are some great inspiring time witnesses and documents: long forgotten videos with Barbaralee Diamonstein-Spielvogel interviewing some of the greats of American photography. Recorded in 1981, the series portrays the iconic photographers Arnold Newman, Elliott Erwitt, Garry Winogrand, Horst P. Horst, Harry Callahan, Frederick Sommer, Duane Michals, Cornell Capa, Burk Uzzle and Joel Meyerowitz. Especially […]

That “Leica Look” — Tim Ashley Reviews Leica’s New Baby: Those Cherished M Lenses Look Even Better on the M Typ 240

That “Leica Look” — Tim Ashley Reviews Leica’s New Baby: Those Cherished M Lenses Look Even Better on the M Typ 240

Tim Ashley does it again. I’m pleased that one of the best camera gear hands-on reviewers (who’s a multi-system user!) reviews Leica’s latest digital M baby — and kindly allows THEME to republish it. If you know Tim, you know that you’re about to read some of the most balanced, thought-out, objective gear review written […]

New Street Presets: Streetshooter Vagrant, First Time With Color Presets

New Street Presets: Streetshooter Vagrant, First Time With Color Presets

No introduction needed. Here’s the 4th Street Presets edition: Street Presets — Streetshooter Vagrant for Lightroom. Created by street photographers Don Springer of Streetshooter and Olivier Duong of The F/8 Blog, these carefully developed presets give you the ultimate “street look” — and for the first time with color presets! These carefully crafted presets may […]

Street Presets for the Ultimate Street Photography Film Look

Street Presets for the Ultimate Street Photography Film Look

Want your photographs to look like this? Then download Street Presets for Nik Silver Efex 2 and Lightroom 4. $26.99 only for the set. The Lightroom version is $19.99, the Silver Efex $9.99. Downloads here. For more on Street Presets read our review Streetshooter’s Street Presets: Breathing Life Into Street Photography.

Streetshooter’s Street Presets: Breathing Life Into Street Photography

Streetshooter’s Street Presets: Breathing Life Into Street Photography

You might know Don Springer of Streetshooter and Olivier Duong of Olivier Duong. Both great street photographers I highly respect. They have a project, Street Presets, and it certainly deserves your attention if you’re into street photography. It may even change your photography altogether. Street Presets, that’s two custom-tailored presets to make your photographs come […]

Finally, System Cameras End Reflex Camera’s 70-Year Long Dominance

Finally, System Cameras End Reflex Camera’s 70-Year Long Dominance

Canon and Nikon, world’s biggest, most powerful camera makers, tried to avoid the inevitable since the birth of system cameras. With the recent launch of own lines of compact system cameras they finally gave in to reality: After 70 years of SLR rule, a changing of the guard takes place in the camera market. The […]

Photography Podcasts That Might Teach You a Thing or Two

Photography Podcasts That Might Teach You a Thing or Two

What better way to commute than listening to podcasts. Podcasts are not just a creative time killer. They’re inspiration. Whether audio or video podcasts, there are some dedicated professionals and photographers bringing their art and know-how closer to you via regular podcasts. If you’re new to podcasts, they’re downloadable Internet radio or video shows. They […]