It’s a horrible trap we fall in to, when flying “down under” from London: Sydney becomes our target, to the exclusion of many other locations. It’s the primary advertised route from the UK, and after travelling 20-24 hours to get there, our appetite for further travel can sometimes fade a little, meaning we focus purely on this one “cool city” on Australia’s south-eastern coastline. And, in part, rightly so – it’s an amazing place to […]
Just when you thought the image quality of Phase One’s stunning IQ4 150MP full frame medium format system couldn’t get any better, today, the team have once again pushed the industry even further forward – launching the world’s first compact, digitally integrated, Field Camera – the Phase One XT. Designed primarily for ultra-detailed landscapes and cityscapes, where compromise is not an option, the new camera delivers that promise in a much more travel-friendly form factor […]
It’s one simple concept: Learn the fundamental principles of photography, and learn them well. Those skills cannot be traded for megapixels, and will help you get the most out of any hardware in which you do decide to eventually invest. The problem with more pixels… You know what’s worse than 24 million poorly exposed, out of focus, diffracted, useless pixels that need “fixing” on a computer screen? That’s right – over 100 million poorly exposed, […]
It’s been a long time coming, but it’s finally been released: The Phase One Guide to Long Exposure Photography You can now get your virtual hands on our free interactive guide to getting the best out of your camera when it comes to long exposure photography, compiled and presented by Phase One and, well, me! Whether it’s the look of silky water and cloud movement you’re trying to achieve, capturing light trails at night, brightening […]
What does it take to push a farmer to this point? The point where, fed up of thousands of disrespectful photographers, wannabe “influencers” and narcissistic tourists, they feel the only way to get them to stop damaging their business and property, is to damage those people’s photographs? I guess those visiting the lavender fields of Valensole, Provence – in the south of France, just found out. I write this, obviously, with a slight tinge of […]
Jackson Hole, Wyoming – one of my favourite towns in the world. I say “town”, rather than “city”, as while it has the population and designation of the latter, this amazing little place still manages to exude that feeling of a classic American wild-west town from years gone by. Nestled to the south of Grand Teton National Park and its mountain range which spans for miles to the north towards Yellowstone, the views here are […]
While managing to remain relatively hidden and “off the beaten track”, Mono Lake (and its Tufa State Natural Reserve) has managed to capture the imagination of photographers from all round the world for many years – those keen to explore beyond the obvious nearby locations such as Yosemite National Park and Death Valley. My first encounter of this other-worldly destination (above) was very much a “drive-by” on a road trip nearly two decades ago (from […]
The elation at making it through the storms and into Yosemite National Park in the deep winter snow soon fades as you start focusing on the next challenge in a few day’s time: Getting back out again. Awesome though it was to be surrounded by deep walls of ploughed snow on the one remaining open road in and out of the park, you know you’re only one storm away from being trapped in the valley […]
Why would anyone go to the hottest recorded place on the planet to photograph locations 282ft below sea level? The answer is simple : Because Death Valley’s landscapes are absolutely mind-blowing. Step out of your air conditioned car and you’re instantly hit with the wall of arid heat that awaits all visitors to this seemingly barren land. With red STOP signs in every direction, warning of the dangers of walking after 10am (and the importance […]
That feeling you get, when you’ve finally made it to a viewpoint that looks out one of the most spectacular landscapes in the world – is simply indescribable. Landing in to Santiago, Chile (following a cheeky upgrade on the long flight from London), there was no doubt this was only the start of a very long journey for Mark and I as we looked at the route for the rest of the day. Having made […]
It’s a rare thing these days, finding solitude in the world combined with a stunning natural phenomenon; the result of an “Instagram generation” of which we’re all now seemingly members – where the “selfie” and “tick-box” is often more important than witnessing the event itself. While I stood in the thick snow of Yosemite National Park, in the shadow of El Capitan and Horsetail Falls, I couldn’t help but wonder how it must have felt […]
Sometimes it’s great to just have a bit of time to experiment and play with a new way of seeing the world. When 95% of your photography is capturing the outdoors or images for commercial clients, a few hours in the studio with some new toys to play with can open the mind (and shutter) to something very different indeed. Whether you hear it referred to as “water drop” photography or “splash” photography, we’re generally […]
Lensballs, glass ball photography, rabbit-holes – regardless of the name given to this style of photography, it’s seemingly becoming more and more popular with each passing day. As someone who’s more inclined to shoot literal scenes of landscapes and cityscapes, it’s often good to try something completely different, just to mix up the thought process a little. And that’s exactly what shooting with a glass ball did for me over the past few months. Every […]
It’s not a secret any more! The Phase One IQ4 150MP Infinity Platform ships at the end of this month, and for the past week I’ve had the honour of being their focus in the latest marketing campaign. With all of the “pre-launch” out of the way, it’s now time to focus on what’s really important, the “why” of what makes this new camera system so special. In the latest email newsletters, Phase One have […]
While many now focus purely on drones and helicopters to get some spectacular shots of our cities from above, I’m yet to find a long exposure image (in either scenario) that can be enlarged to a size much bigger than a phone screen. It’s obviously not a problem for social media posts, but how about when we want to print or display a cityscape at night in high resolution? For that, our trusty man-made balconies, […]
151 million pixels of pure medium format perfection, combined with the most advanced camera system in the world – all revealed inside today’s announcement and hardware release from the amazing guys at Phase One in Copenhagen. For sure, the IQ4 150MP tech specs are impressive: A Back Side-Illuminated (BSI) sensor capable of capturing unsurpassed levels of detail onto dual storage cards, coupled with lenses that can resolve incredible resolutions in a camera package that now […]
While eclipses of all sorts happen throughout each year – from “blood moons” to annular solar eclipses, total eclipses and every partial one in between, this year’s lunar eclipse promised something special: the longest lunar eclipse in the 21st century. So the call from Rollei came – could I come across and be involved in their live shoot on Instagram, capturing the spectacle from Hamburg? Well, why not…? With a few days’ preparation beforehand and […]
Light pollution: Increasingly a challenge for city dwellers and photographers alike. Those deep, dark skies that I’m lucky enough to see full of stars out in the countryside are becoming an endangered species in their own right as the world’s population continues to rise and urban areas inevitably expand. The problem is, with all that light bouncing around, our view of the night sky (and ability to capture it) continues to diminish on a daily […]
