Michael Hession

Olympus E-M5 Mark II: Whoa, 40 Megapixel Photos Out of Thin Air

Small, retro, stylish: the Olympus OM-D EM-5 was one of the first mirrorless cameras to charm discerning photographers. The new E-M5 Mark II brings all that back, plus a wild new mode that magically gives you 40 megapixel images from a 16 megapixel sensor. And that’s just one of the improvements. The E-M5 Mark II…

Huge Neon Signs Photographed From Below Become Futuristic Abstractions

It’s a wonderful sensation when you encounter something you’ve seen countless times before, only from a different vantage point. The electric glow of neon signs is familiar in all big cities around the world, but seeing them from the vantage point of photographer Rainer Torrado lends them an entirely new shape. Torrado’s series, Eye Carry…

Amazing Aerial Photos of Greenhouses Blanketing the Spanish Landscape

The area in southern Spain known as mar del plástico is a landscape dominated by vast stretches of greenhouse farms. From the ground, it looks like nothing but roads winding through a maze of covered crops. But when seen from the air in photographer Bernhard Lang’s images, things look a bit more surreal. Lang’s extensive…

The Birth and Evolution of Frame Rate In Films

One of the most basic mechanisms of the motion picture is frame rate—how fast those frames of still images flicker past your eye to produce the magical effect of cinema. This video traces the history of why such values as 24, 30, or 60 frames per second came to be standard. The 15 minute video…

How This Recluse Went from Bullied Kid to Internet Art Sensation

Elgin Park is miniature city created and photographed by artist Michael Paul Smith. In a short documentary directed by Danny Yourd, Smith explains how his miniature street scenes went from a nostalgic personal project, to a viral hit online. Scenes from the fictional Elgin Park, which exists in a fantasy version of the 1950s, have…

When Fire Hose Water Freezes on a Smoldering Building

Yesterday’s giant fire in Williamsburg, Brooklyn left a paper records warehouse in tatters. While the building is still smoldering away, the New York Fire Department has been showering it with water from all sides. The cold winter air combined with a cascade of fire hose water makes for an icy freeze that is certainly a…

The Future of GIFs Is Killing What Makes Them So Great

Those wonderful looping animations we call GIFs are an unlikely story of survival in an age when digital formats come and go like the wind. The lure of the decades-old GIF format has caused people to ignore its flaws, but those looking to bring the format into modern times might just be inadvertently drowning its…

Samsung NX1 Review: A Mirrorless Camera Packing Heat But Lacking Glass

Samsung sells a crapload of cameras all around the world. But not for pros. At $1500, the new NX1 is the first Samsung cam packing enough power to be taken seriously by photography enthusiasts. It shoots 4K video and fires off super fast 15 frame-per-second bursts. It’s a good camera… but maybe not good enough.…

I Totally Want This Camera Bag That Looks Like a Normal Bag

Camera bags are not only almost always ugly, but they also shout to the world that you are carrying expensive objects around. The Brevitē is a backpack that looks gloriously normal yet has all the necessary compartments to stow your camera gear. I’m so tired of bulky, oddly-shaped backpacks for cameras. I want something unassuming,…

The Many Haunting Forms of Snow and Ice 

In light of today’s not-so-historic New York snowstorm, many of us have been left pondering the true nature of the white menace. Luckily, there are photographers like Paula McCartney who has made it her personal endeavor to reveal the many beautiful forms of snow and ice. McCartney’s book, A Field Guide to Snow and Ice,…

Beautiful Lonely Railroads Winding Through America’s Landscape

Railroad tracks have been a constant presence in the ever-changing American landscape since the 1800s. Whether they are carrying cars of people and goods, or have fallen into disrepair, the site of train tracks is familiar site to all. For photographer John Michael Sanderson, the railroad and its surrounding landscape is an opportunity to to…

The Many Play Areas Nestled Into New York’s Metropolis

New York is an epicenter of commerce and culture. But even busy Manhattanites need recreation to sooth their nerves. Luckily, NYC has no shortage of parks, fields, and courts for sporting types. Franck Bohbot’s series of cityscapes documenting these various sites scattered throughout the metropolis are an ode to our unceasing desire to get out…

These Before and After GIFs Show Just How Fake Ad Photography Can Be

We all know that the modification, retouching, and compositing of photographs is utterly commonplace. But few actually realize the extent to which some advertising imagery is conjured from so many disparate elements. These GIFs prepared by Russian compositor Ashot Gevorkyan reveal the crazy path from reality to finished product. Below are the GIFs, followed by…

Panasonic LX100 Review: A Small Camera So Good At So Many Things

The Panasonic LX100 might just be the best small camera ever made. It’s part of a new breed of camera that—while not totally pocketable—is insanely well-rounded, and just gets most things right. It’s one of the best options for taking great pics and video in a compact package. Whether you’re a pro looking for a…

The Spectacular Sight of Subway Cars Being Dumped Into the Ocean

Of all the things you’d expect to find at the bottom of the ocean, a small village of old New York subway cars may not cross your mind. But for over a decade, subway cars have been discarded into the Atlantic in an environmental effort to create artificial reef habitats for fostering sea life. Photographer…

Adobe’s Lightroom Mobile app is now available for Android phones (not tablets) running Jellybean, Kit Kat, or Lollipop. It has all the features of the iOS version, which we reviewed last year. Get it here at the Google Play store.

Sift Through Hundreds of Images by Legendary Photographer Robert Frank

Robert Frank forever changed the course of photography when his book The Americans was published in 1958, chronicling the broad landscape of life in the USA. To say that Frank has reached legend status is an understatement. Now, with a new online collection put together by the National Gallery of Art, hundreds of Frank’s photos,…

This Simple Video Makes the Best Case for Printing Your Family Photos 

While the family album used to be a staple of any household, we live in a time when most people’s photos remain in their digital form, forever and for always. Even the word printing conjures a fading era of physicality. Then you watch a video like this and are instantly reminded of the very human…

Fujfilm’s 16-55mm f/2.8 Lens Is an All-Weather Zoom With No Compromise

Probably the most common lens that pro photographers use is a standard zoom with a constant aperture. Up until now, Fujifilm has lacked such a lens for their X series of cameras. That’s all changing with the announcement of a 16-55mm f/2.8 lens to add to their already impressive lineup. As far as standard zooms…

Can 4K Make Camcorders Worth Buying Again?

Remember camcorders? They were those things you shot crappy video of your friends and family with, back before every phone and still camera on Earth gained the ability to shoot decent high-definition video. This year, they’re trying to ride 4K all the way to a comeback. Today both Sony and Panasonic announced new 4K consumer-oriented…