Photography News

Reliable and well-engineered gear is something all landscape photographers rely on. This is especially true when we consider investing in the accessory that keeps our cameras secure and stable.

 

When I started with photography, I assumed one only needed a basic tripod and a standard three-way head. Over the years, I tried and tested different tripod heads, such as ball, fluid, and gimbal heads, as well as pistol grips. But nothing came close to the precision and ease of use of a geared head.

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Technical perfection can drain the life out of a photograph. Chasing sharpness, clean detail, and flawless contrast in every frame often strips away the exact quality that made an image feel real in the first place.

 

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An autofocus 50mm f/1.8 for the Nikon Z system runs $89, and the images coming off it look nothing like the price tag suggests. A fast prime at that number changes what a beginner can afford as a first step past the kit lens.

 

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You can shoot at f/1.4 and get almost no background blur, or shoot at f/4 and get plenty of it. That single fact upends how most people spend money on lenses, and it explains why some expensive glass never delivers the creamy backgrounds you paid for.

 

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Your mind goes blank the second the couple stands in front of you, every Pinterest board you studied the night before suddenly gone. That blank moment is the difference between a wedding day that flows and one that stalls while two nervous people wait for direction.

 

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Photo by Joshua Waller

 

City life's not for everyone but as the sun begins to set find yourself a vantage point where you can see most of the city skyline and you'll soon have a photograph that may make you rethink your dislike for cities. One of the best times for photographing city skylines is when the sun's begun to set so there's still a touch of blue in the sky but the light's not too harsh so make sure you're on your chosen vantage point well before sunset. 

 

1. Gear Choices

Pack a wide lens for capturing the big picture and a telephoto for singling out individual buildings and pulling distant objects towards you on your evening jaunt. Taking a tripod with you is advised but do leave your flashgun at home and turn your on-camera flash off as if it fires, it can ruin your skyline shot.

Most cameras, even compacts and smartphones are capable of producing night shots of decent quality but if you're planning on using much lengthier exposure times, you'll want to pack a more advanced camera. 

 

2. Where To Stand With Your Kit

While on holiday (if you have a room with a view) make use of the balcony to give you a high vantage point of the city. You'll also find buildings with observation decks, bridges to stand on and if you're in a city such as Sheffield which has the peak district on its doorstep, try heading for the hills to give you a sweeping shot of the whole city. From high locations you'll be able to capture patterns you can't see at street level such as the lines street lights form as they turn on or the shapes created as city dwellers switch on their lights at home. Street lights look particularly good twinkling against the deep blue sky still lit by the setting sun. Just be careful where you meter from as you don't want the sky or building lights to 'blow out'. Keep an eye on your histogram and take a reading from a darker part of the frame. Another option is to take multiple exposures of the same view so you can combine them to create a shot with a balanced exposure where there's not under- or over-exposed areas in the image. 

 

3. Taking Photos Through Glass

If you've got to capture your image through glass do check for marks and smudges that will spoil your shot. If you can't remove them, experiment with your aperture to see if one particular f-number will remove them from the shot. You'll also need to put the lens as close to the glass as possible and cup it with your hand, a cloth or whatever else you have that will reduce the amount of interior light reaching your lens. If you don't, you'll end up with reflections and flare could spoil your shots. 

 

Photo by Joshua Waller

 

4. Depth Of Field 

You'll want to use an aperture that gives your shot plenty of depth of field, around f/8 is a good place to start, and try to stick to lower ISOs where possible. You may find you need to adjust this to increase shutter speeds but if you're using a tripod, longer exposures won't be an issue. If you have it available, the depth of field preview button can help ensure your shot is sharp from front to back. 

Foreground interest can add another level interest and 'fill' empty space that can occur when focusing on subjects in the distance. However, do make sure it's not stealing the spotlight and pulling the viewer's attention away from the skyline. 

 

5. Shoot Silhouettes 

Silhouetted cityscapes are popular subjects and they work well against a plain but bright background. Even though they're a little clichéd sunsets do work well particularly if it's one that's rich with colour. To create your silhouette you need to expose for the background and not the buildings you want to silhouette. You may need to fool your camera when it comes to metering as using the camera's automatic metering won't always give you the silhouette you're after. Try half-pressing the shutter button while focused on the brightest part of your scene before moving back to frame the shot but this means your camera will focus on this and not your subject. Manual focus or using a smaller aperture can combat this problem. Talking of manual focus, you should consider using this even when not shooting silhouettes as it'll always produce better results, plus auto-focus tends to struggle as light levels fall. 

 

6. Shots At Street Level

As well as getting up high working at street level can work well in the evening too. Try using long exposures (20-30 seconds) to set the dark sky and buildings against the streak of lights that come from the traffic as it moves through the city streets. You could even combine multiple traffic streak shots to increase the sense of speed and movement in your city shot. Another way to add a creative twist to your city skyline shots is by incorporating reflections from rivers, lakes or even wet pavements after it's rained. 

 

7. Tall Buildings & Straight Horizons

Pay attention to your horizon and the angle of the buildings as you don't want them to be slanting to one side of the image. A tripod with a spirit level can be handy although many cameras now have these or gridlines built-in. When home, check your city shots for distortion but this is something that can be easily fixed in image editing software. Playing around with the colour balance can enhance and evoke mood, too so don't be afraid to experiment with this. 

 

You've read the technique now share your related photos for the chance to win prizes: Daily Forum Competition  

Japan observes a Camera Day on November 30, and the date comes from 1977, when Konishiroku Photo Industry put the Konica C35 AF on sale. It was the first mass-produced camera that focused itself, and the part doing the focusing was built by a Minneapolis company whose main businesses were thermostats, industrial controls, and defense electronics. Autofocus turns 50 in November 2027, and the anniversary belongs to a brand most photographers have quietly filed under "used bin."

 

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A small card of 24 painted squares turns 50 this year. It is still made, still sold, and still sitting in the front pocket of a lot of camera bags, because it answers a question that cameras have never learned to answer on their own: what color is this, actually? 

Happy birthday to the ColorChecker. Here is what it does, why the design has barely moved since 1976, and where the thing has ended up in five decades of use.

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I recently wrote about why we should stop accepting standard "constructive criticism" on our photos. Instead, solicit feedback that actually helps you grow as a photographer. But most of us don’t know how to ask for anything better. We never learned how to ask. So how do you get more meaningful input on your work? Ask for a critique. 

 

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Everything creative takes longer than you plan, your photos will get worse before they get better, and you will miss shots that were never yours to keep. These are the uncomfortable facts most people skip when they hand out photography advice, and accepting them early saves years of frustration.

 

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Sony sells a 50mm f/1.2 but has held off on an 85mm f/1.2 for its full frame mirrorless system, and now a third party has stepped in with autofocus and a price that undercuts Sony's own 85mm f/1.4 G Master II. The Sigma 85mm f/1.2 DG DN Art lands as the first autofocus 85mm f/1.2 for Sony E and the first 85mm f/1.2 ever for L-mount.

 

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Autumn brings shorter crowds, softer light, and sunrise times you can actually reach without setting three alarms. The hard part is knowing where to point the camera in the first place, especially when time is short.

 

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A single medium format film shot cost about 470 times what the same scene cost on a digital camera. That kind of math should end the film-versus-digital debate outright, and yet the photos taken on film still mean more to the person who shot them. This is the tension every hybrid shooter runs into once digital quality stops being the question.

 

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Previously, we've spent some time looking for interesting shop fronts to photograph but now we want you to lift your eyes a little higher in search of a good shop sign and pay more attention to what's actually on display in the windows. 

Displays in shop windows are designed to grab our attention and steer us towards the entrance of the shop in hope we'll part with our money. Some stores, particularly at Christmas, spend hours planning and then preparing their window displays. A lot of thought goes into how to use the space, what colours the mannequins should wear and how they should be posed making them an interesting photographic project as you walk down the High Street.
 

1. What Gear Do I Need?

A medium zoom lens will get you close to the signs without you having to borrow some ladders off a window cleaner and it'll also work for capturing shop windows too. You'll also need to carry a tripod if you plan on returning later in the evening when the neon's get switched on. It'll also help if you have a camera that performs well in low light and if you don't want the street reflected in your shot take a polariser along as well.  

 

2. Have A Walk Along The High Street

There are lots and lots of shops on the High Street which means you don't just have to settle for the first shop you come across. Spend some time really looking at the displays paying attention to the colours, poses and other items they use to really make the window stand out. Remember, a more interesting display will give you a better-looking image so a short observation walk is worth it. See if you can find shops that aren't chains. In Sheffield, there are several retro clothing stores and a joke shop which always have unique and sometimes entertaining window displays. Fancy dress shops are another one that's almost guaranteed to have a loud and amusing window display to photograph.

 

3. Minimise Reflections

Unless you want a photo that shows the display as well as what's happening on the street, which can work well sometimes, you'll need a way to minimise the reflection. Stepping further away from the window and using your zoom lens to fill the frame can help but the simplest and if you're on the edge of a road also the safest way to do it is to fit a polarising filter. This will reduce the reflection and give you a clear shot of what's inside. If you find the sun causes glare just move your feet to remove the problem or if that doesn't work come back later on when the sun's changed position.  

 

4. Work From A Higher Level

When it comes to signs when you stand on the street and look up at them, it's fine when you're looking for the nearest bakery but in your photos, it won't always work. To combat this, just step a little further back or better still find something to stand on that will give you a little more height. You could try holding the camera above your head but this won't help you with framing unless you have a camera that features a vari-angle LCD screen. 

 

5. To Zoom Or Not To Zoom? 

If a sign's particularly interesting or amusing zoom right in and fill the frame with the sign. Or are you going to put them into context showing some of the street or the shop front in the shot? If you do include the store pop on a polariser so you don't catch your reflection in the windows. This works particularly well with old buildings or with unique stores that have displays that will add to the image.

Standing at one end of the High Street quite close to the buildings looking up will give you the chance to capture several signs all in one shot or try waiting until the sun's began to set and photograph the many neon signs that decorate our streets. Just watch for camera shake as you'll be using slightly longer exposures and take a look around your image to see if there's any flare from some of the lights. Having said that, this can work well sometimes, especially on wet evenings.  

In busy towns and cities, you'll find plenty of signs, often grouped together, along the tall buildings that line the streets. If possible, find a higher spot, as you do when shooting a cityscape, and use a wider focal length to capture the signs and buildings in one image. They can look busy, but the bright signs and bustling surroundings will really sum up the feeling of a busy city. 

 

You've read the technique, now share your related photos for the chance to win prizes: Daily Forum Competition  

The earliest surviving camera photograph of any continent is a grainy rooftop view that Nicéphore Niépce recorded in the Burgundy countryside in 1826 or 1827, and burning it onto a sheet of pewter took at least many hours of daylight and possibly several days. Every other landmass had to wait. As the daguerreotype spread out of Paris after 1839, cameras reached North America within weeks, then Africa, Asia, and South America, then Australia, and finally, roughly sixty years later, the ice of Antarctica. 

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Today, I wanted to take a break from discussing the cameras that capture our images and look at one of the tools used to make those images better. Let’s have a look at the Peak Design Travel Tripod. 

When it comes to camera-related products, it seems as though Peak Design’s company ethos is right there in the title. The products they produce seem engineered to solve common problems in a unique and elegant way.

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The Fujifilm X-M5 and X-E5 look like siblings, but the price gap between them runs about $1,000 and the experience of shooting each one splits along lines you might not expect. Deciding between an $800 body and one that often sells closer to $1,800 forces a question every buyer eventually faces: how much are premium build and resolution actually worth to you?

 

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Aritz Arambarri Goenaga – Vistas Desde El Abandono (2026)

 

The World Sports Photography Awards 2027, sponsored by Canon, has officially opened for entries, offering sports photographers worldwide free submission across 24 categories. Entrants can submit up to 10 images captured between December 2025 and November 2026 prior to the November 23, 2026 deadline. The 2027 edition also updates category structures and continues the 'Canon Emerging Talent' award, with eligibility adjusted to focus on upcoming photographers under the age of 25.

 

From Canon:

 

World Sports Photography Awards sponsored by Canon and celebrated as the world's foremost showcase of sports photography, has today opened entries for its much-anticipated 2027 edition. Entry remains free, with the awards honouring the most gifted sports photographers from around the globe and celebrating images that convey the drama, emotion, and physicality at the heart of sport. Judged by leading figures spanning sport, media, photography, branding, and the broader creative sector, the World Sports Photography Awards continues to stand as the world's biggest celebration of sports photography.

The 2026 edition marked a breakthrough year, attracting over 4,200 entries from photographers in 123 countries and spanning more than 60 sports. Extensive international media coverage, coupled with support from leading sports organisations, underlined the awards' continued global growth and rising influence.

Commenting on Canon's sponsorship of the awards and what we can expect for 2027, World Sports Photography Awards Co-Founder, Simon Burton, said: "Canon has been the perfect partner for the World Sports Photography Awards, and there's no name more synonymous with sports photography. Building on such a fantastic first year together, we're thrilled to continue this relationship as we head into year two. It's been another remarkable year for sport around the globe, and we can't wait to see the images photographers submit this year, capturing the passion and drama of sport across every discipline and every corner of the world."

Canon has a long and proud history in sports photography, equipping generations of photographers with the tools to capture iconic sporting moments that have defined eras. The introduction of the 'Canon Emerging Talent' award in the 2026 edition has shown amazing success and looks to bring along the next era of great sports photographers once again in 2027. This dedicated category will continue recognising young and upcoming talent, with the age of the award dropping slightly to under the age of 25 to better capture the essence of the award.

Richard Shepherd, Product Marketing Senior Manager, Imaging at Canon Europe, adds: "Canon has a proud legacy of supporting professional sports photographers and helping them capture the moments that define sporting history. Following the success of the 'Canon Emerging Talent' award in 2026, we're delighted to continue our support for the next generation of sports photographers in 2027. By recognising emerging talent and giving young photographers a platform to showcase their creativity and passion, we hope to help them take the next step in their careers and tell the powerful stories at the heart of sport."

With this announcement, the 2027 awards are now officially open for entries. Participants from across the industry and globe are invited to submit their work and gain recognition on one of the most celebrated stages in the field.

For 2027, photographers are invited to submit up to 10 images captured between December 2025 and November 2026 across 24 sports categories. Submissions are free of charge and close on 23 November 2026. Please note that images entered in the 2026 competition are not eligible. We have also made some adjustments to the categories, which we ask photographers to be aware of when entering.

 
Key details:

• Entries open: 09 September 2026
• Submission deadline: 23 November 2026
• Eligibility: Up to 10 images taken between December 2025 – November 2026
• Categories: 24 sports categories
• Cost: Free of charge

 

The World Sports Photography Awards, sponsored by Canon, continue to celebrate the art of sports photography – showcasing the images and photographers that inspire audiences around the world.

For rules and regulations, please visit the Rules page, T&C's and other FAQs here.

For more information and to enter, visit: www.worldsportsphotographyawards.com

© OM SYSTEM

 

OM SYSTEM has unveiled the new PEN camera, the first PEN series model under the OM SYSTEM brand. The compact rangefinder design pairs an electronic viewfinder with IPX1-rated dust and splashproof construction, a first for the PEN series. It combines a 20.37MP Live MOS sensor with computational photography features including High Res Shot, Live ND, Focus Stacking, and HDR, plus 121-point autofocus with AI Subject Detection.

 

From OM SYSTEM:

 

OM Digital Solutions Corporation proudly announces the launch of the new OM SYSTEM PEN, the first PEN series camera introduced under the OM SYSTEM brand. Combining the timeless rangefinder-style PEN design with modern imaging technology, the camera is designed for photographers seeking a compact, lightweight companion for everyday creativity, travel, and visual storytelling.

Building on the PEN series heritage dating back to 1959, the OM SYSTEM PEN introduces several important advancements, including an integrated electronic viewfinder and, for the first time in the PEN series, dust- and splashproof performance. Combined with OM SYSTEM's renowned computational photography capabilities, the camera delivers a versatile and intuitive shooting experience for enthusiasts and newcomers alike.

 

Designed to Inspire Everyday Photography

The OM SYSTEM PEN is built to encourage users to take their camera everywhere. Its compact and lightweight form factor is paired with an electronic viewfinder for a more immersive shooting experience and an IPX1-rated dust- and splashproof construction that offers reliability in changing weather conditions. Powered by the TruePic IX image processor and a 20.37MP Live MOS sensor, the camera delivers outstanding image quality while benefiting from 5-axis image stabilization. Creative photographers can explore Color Profile Control and Monochrome Profile Control modes, allowing film-inspired looks and highly personalized image styles directly in-camera. In addition, the dedicated CP button provides fast access.

 

© OM SYSTEM

 

Key Features

• First OM SYSTEM camera in the PEN series, featuring a classic rangefinder-style design with integrated electronic viewfinder.
• First PEN series camera with IPX1-rated dust- and splashproof construction.
• Color Profile Control and Monochrome Profile Control for film-inspired creative expression.
• Dedicated computational photography features including High Res Shot, Live ND, Focus Stacking, HDR and Multiple Exposure.
• 121-point all cross-type phase-detection autofocus.
• AI Subject Detection AF for people and animals.
• Starry Sky AF and Pro Capture shooting up to 30fps.
• 5-axis image stabilization and support for the extensive Micro Four Thirds lens ecosystem.

 

Product Availability & Pricing

OM SYSTEM PEN Body RRP:  £849.99

OM SYSTEM PEN + M.ZUIKO DIGITAL 14-42mm F3.5-5.6 III Kit RRP:  £949.99

Available in Silver and Black, with availability scheduled for late September / early October 2026.

For more information, please visit the OM SYSTEM website.

Shooting film is one thing. Developing and scanning it yourself, hundreds of miles from home, inside a van with blackout blinds and a couple of red lights, is a different level of commitment.

 

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