On Cameras, Primates and Names

On Cameras, Primates and Names

Here is some potentially scientific research on the naming of cameras. You know, Nikon has a D5, Canon a 5D. A Canon Rebel camera in the U.S. is a Kiss camera in Japan. And an IXUS PowerShot camera in the U.S. is an IXY in Japan, and for the rest of the planet a 1300D. […]

Photographs on Tiles

Photographs on Tiles

Here’s a great project — kind of eternizes your photographs: Shots/on\Stone are black-and-white photographic prints which founder Tom Bates develops by hand on natural stone tiles in a darkroom in Vienna, Austria. The process involves painting a stone with photographic emulsion, exposing a negative image and developing the stone in photographic chemicals. Whilst some companies […]

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 […]

Photography Makes Happier

Photography Makes Happier

Photographers are the happier people. So says an extensive study published by the American Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. Take a picture, and you will enjoy everything more. “While you might think photo-taking would detract from the enjoyment of everyday activities,” the study says, “research (…) suggests that people who take photos of their […]

World’s First Universal Camera?

World’s First Universal Camera?

Now here is a remarkable Kickstarter project: world’s first truly universal camera by Mercury Camera. They call it “a modular, open camera system capable of shooting any format (medium and large format film, digital, Instax…) and using any lens.” The claim is bold. They promise to produce the first universally modular camera. Snake oil? Too […]

Did Steve McCurry Betray Photojournalism?

Did Steve McCurry Betray Photojournalism?

Everything we see, feel and experience is an interpretation of “reality,” or “facts” if you want. Our cognitive senses are like filters. Nothing is perceived as is. Not two people on the planet see the exactly same things. Goes for reporting. Not two news reports report the same things, even though they report on the […]

CEO, Asleep

CEO, Asleep

Their CEO fell asleep, they went wild. So Enlight app published it all on their website. Enlight? “An addictive and creative photographic experience. The only all-in-one iPhoneography app for creating masterpieces.” Care to chip in own creativity? Certainly an interesting app if you’re on iOS — download here. And cheeky PR. See for yourself: Download […]

Beautiful Storytelling

Beautiful Storytelling

Beautiful storytelling by former freelance photographer Amos Chapple, published by RFE/RL: On Siberia’s Ice Highway. Subtitled “A journey with the men who make their living on thin ice,” Chapple managed to join the ride of a lifetime. And because he has proven he’s able to get the story, he’s now staff at RFE/RL. The job […]

Mirrorless, Mirrorless on the Wall

Mirrorless, Mirrorless on the Wall

Here’s an interesting article by the Economist on where mirrorless camera technology has come from, where it is and where it’s heading to. There’s however a factual error. The gem made by Epson, the iconic RD1 rangefinder introduced in 2004, a joint development by Seiko Epson and Cosina using Leica M mount lenses, wasn’t the […]

You Have Not Seen Macro Photography Until You Have Seen This

You Have Not Seen Macro Photography Until You Have Seen This

Does Levon Biss ring a bell? Of course not. Another fantastic photographer most people haven’t heard of yet. Levon Biss mainly does sports, his clients are big names for advertising and editorial, such as Adidas, Puma, Carlsberg, New York Times, FHM, Time, and so on. But then, to have something to work on when he […]

The Virtual Reality Camera Hype

The Virtual Reality Camera Hype

Facebook, Lytro, Nokia, Samsung, they have one thing in common. They all launched their own 3D virtual reality cameras. Barely a market a year ago, virtual reality (VR) is poised to become the next big thing in camera development and visual media, with many other companies joining in, such as GoPro offering the VR camera […]

Meditation and Photography

Meditation and Photography

We all face difficult times in life. It can be a sudden tragic event disrupting our daily routine, or for years we lead a life that just seems wrong and unsatisfying, yet we don’t find ways to break out, to shake off our lethargy and live the life that reflects our self. Photography is an […]

$1,899 Only, 45% Off Canon EOS 5D Mark III

$1,899 Only, 45% Off Canon EOS 5D Mark III

Better hurry, for as long as stocks last, $1,899 only, that’s 45% off list price: Factory new, unopened Canon EOS 5D Mark III, body only from top-rated eBay seller. You save $1,600. Details here.

When Images Speak

When Images Speak

Photography, or rather nature talks, and we better listen. Nature is now speaking through Hollywood: a celebrity-studded campaign called Nature Is Speaking by Conservation International is somewhat stern and belittles us people with our anthropocentrism, us people believing humankind is the most important thing on the planet and immune to ecological truths. Truth is, we […]

iPhone, What Have You Done to Photography

iPhone, What Have You Done to Photography

If you’re a Leica lover on a tight budget, you can now get a P9 instead of an M9. The P9 is a new Leica-accredited smartphone by Huawei, the M9 a Leica rangefinder that set you back nearly $7,000. That’s how fortunes change. Leica, badging a smartphone? This once unthinkable adoption of consumer trends by […]

Photography 2.0 — Lytro Illum Camera a Whopping $1,000 Off

Photography 2.0 — Lytro Illum Camera a Whopping $1,000 Off

If you ever toyed with the idea of wanting a Lytro Illum camera, now is probably the time to put this idea into action. With a list price of $1,299, this certainly revolutionary camera now costs $379 on Amazon. It is not only a camera that redefines photography. Lytro turns our conception of photography on […]

Photography’s Automation — We Snap Everything and Look at Nothing

Photography’s Automation — We Snap Everything and Look at Nothing

Interesting piece in The New Yorker about the photography blues hardly anyone realizes. Titled “In the Future, We Photograph Everything and Look at Nothing,” the democratization of photography is lamented in a way that something doesn’t seem to exist anymore if it doesn’t exist to end in a photograph. That’s a Susan Sontag quote from […]

Photography Embraces the Underrated GIF

Photography Embraces the Underrated GIF

Instagram calls it Boomerang — a short looping video that’s best used to capture subtle movements in static situations. Lumia cameras call it Living Image, for Nikon it’s Motion Snapshot, for Apple Live Photos. They’re basically one and the same thing: photographs in motion; live snapshots for short, very short movies to capture and share […]

New Hasselblad Release This Week

New Hasselblad Release This Week

It’s not yet the product release that will make not only Hasselblad loyalists feel over the moon (no sarcastic Lunar reference intended). Hasselblad is posed to release its first product this week, before a Berlin event on April 15, 2016. Let’s call this release a “no surprise.” Rumors have it they announce a new H6D […]

Robert Mapplethorpe Revival

Robert Mapplethorpe Revival

Robert Mapplethorpe (1946 – 1989) wasn’t the easiest of characters. The American photographer challenged conventions and feared no controversy. In the mid-1970s, he acquired a Hasselblad (Mr. Mapplethorpe’s camera) and began taking photographs of artists, composers and socialites. Be became known for his sensitive yet blunt, highly stylized black-and-white photography. His work featured celebrity portraits, […]

Dear Apple, an Open Letter on Your Mac Update Fatigue:

Dear Apple, an Open Letter on Your Mac Update Fatigue:

I love your minimalism. No heavy designs, just what’s needed, and you Apple know what people need. Your creation of demands — iPod, iPhone, iPad — is unmatched in the consumer world. Yet there are two minimalisms you provide, and the latter one is disturbing. Love your clean, minimalist designs and UI without frills. But […]

Nikon DL18-50 — That Little Camera to Always Be With You

Nikon DL18-50 — That Little Camera to Always Be With You

In case you’ve missed it, Nikon introduced a gem of a premium compact camera, the DL18-50 F1.8-2.8 with a fast wide zoom, ideal for reporting, street work, family snaps, travel, you name it. Nikon lauds the camera’s lens as the fastest ultra wide Nikkor lens ever. The mirrorless series’ DL name stands for, well, Digital […]

Life and Death of an Average Photograph — Call for “Digital Detox”

Life and Death of an Average Photograph — Call for “Digital Detox”

The average life expectancy of a digital photograph is not even a second at best. Many photos, just taken, immediately fall into complete obscurity, only to be lost in space and time forever. Well do the math. In 2015, more than one trillion photos were taken. That’s more than 1,000,000,000,000. Who’s looking at all those. […]

Nikon D810 42% Off!

Nikon D810 42% Off!

Better hurry, such deals don’t last long — from premium eBay seller with 99.9% top rating: Brand new Nikon D810 List price: $3,299 Special price: $1,899 Details and order here.

Who Needs Pentax

Who Needs Pentax

Pentax is a lone wolf out there, the plucky underdog. Swallowed by Ricoh in 2011, Pentax kept on churning out slowly what they always did best: solid, resilient gear, not top of the line, but innovative in its own right, practical, sturdy, and with its K mount compatible with a huge array of lenses — […]

Phoenix Hasselblad?

Phoenix Hasselblad?

Not too long ago it was difficult to not make fun of Hasselblad. Lunar, Stellar, you know. Now there is hope the venerable camera maker, under new leadership, might rise like a phoenix from the ashes — BTW, did you know there are 12 Hasselblad cameras left on the surface of the moon? The lunar […]

The Secret Behind Anton Corbjin’s Signature Look

The Secret Behind Anton Corbjin’s Signature Look

You may have missed it, but Anton Corbjin bowed out of professional photography. Might be because photography as a slow, analog form of art is dead. Over 200,000 photos are uploaded to Facebook per minute — that’s six billion each month — , and there are over 16 billion photos on Instagram. Thanks to digital […]

Premium Nik Collection Photo Editing Plugins Now Free

Premium Nik Collection Photo Editing Plugins Now Free

Analog Efex Pro, Color Efex Pro, Silver Efex Pro, Viveza, HDR Efex Pro, Sharpener Pro and Dfine — do those ring a bell? They’re the Nik Collection, and now Google is making these seven desktop plugins available to everyone, for free. Silver Efex Pro is certainly among the class-leading editing applications to master the art […]