Tokina has announced that they plan to release a number of new lenses in 2020, including an 11-20mm f/2.8 APS-C for Nikon and Canon, 35mm and 50mm f/1.8 primes for full-frame Sony, but also three f/1.4 APS-C lenses at 23mm, 33mm and 56mm for Sony E and Fuji X mount camera systems. These might seem like somewhat odd focal length choices, but 23mm, 33mm and 56mm on a 1.5x crop equates to the field of view you’d get from the pretty standard 35mm, 50mm and 85mm lenses respectively on a full-frame body....

Like every year, our team at DIYP has seen plenty of wonderful photo projects throughout 2021. As we’re wrapping up the current year, it’s time to get reminded of all those creative folks we got in touch with and who generously shared their work, stories, and good vibes with us. We have selected the top ten amazing photography projects of 2021… And some honorable mentions, because it was so darn hard to pick only ten!...

For those of you who haven’t been paying much attention for the last couple of weeks, there’s been a bit of an Instagram stalking thing going on. At least, that’s the story being portrayed. Instagrammer Lauren Bullen has a very large following. She travels the world and documents her adventures. “Diana Alexa” is, apparently, following in her footsteps. Not only visiting the same places, but copying her images almost exactly....

It’s not that often you see limited edition lenses these days, except with the likes of Leica. Even then, it’s usually just a limited edition colour of an already existing lens (or to launch a new one). TTArtisan, however, is making a very limited edition 50mm f/0.95 for the Sony E and Fujifilm X mounts. Only 20 will be produced for each mount. TTArtisan hasn’t made an official announcement about the lens that I’ve seen yet, but it’s shown up on the website of Japanese distributor Shoten Kobo....

There is an almost endless supply of lighting modifiers available on the market right now, some are cheap and some of the better ones are certainly a lot more expensive. But does cost directly relate to quality? Well, a lot of the time yes it does if you’re referring to build quality. In general, the more you spend, the more well-made and durable the modifier will be. But does that extra money you spend mean you’re getting a better lighting modifier overall?...

WLOS ABC 13 anchor Justin Hinton recently made people worldwide laugh while he was doing an on-location report. He accidentally left face filters turned on during a live report he was broadcasting on Facebook. As he was talking and being all serious, the filters would give him a helmet, a golden medal, googly eyes, and whatnot. The video has quickly gone viral across social networks, and it’s no wonder because it’s absolutely hilarious!...

Twitter, Instagram and its parent company Facebook recently removed Donald Trump’s video from its platforms. The video contained photos of protests that prompted after George Floyd’s death on 25 May. One of the photos was a subject of a copyright complaint filed by the copyright holder. Reuters reports that California lawyer Sam Koolaq’s firm submitted copyright complaints to Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube. The video in question was on all platforms, and Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram remove it, along with the posts containing it....

In September current year, photographer Victoria Schafer tragically lost her life after she was hit by a falling branch of a tree. Two teenagers were taken into custody after the tragedy, and they confessed that they had been involved in the incident. According to the latest reports, the two 16-year-olds are due to be tried as adults. They are charged with murder, involuntary manslaughter, felonious assault, and reckless homicide, and they could reportedly face a life sentence....

We all know how to click the shutter button on our phones and get a basic shot. But how to take it to the next level? I get asked the question all the time, and with a new year ahead of us, what a great time to up our game, right? Here are 10 of what I think are the most essential hacks to shooting like a pro with your smartphone....

There are some iconic photos taken through history that turned out to be staged or altered. The example that first comes to mind for me is Dorothea Lange’s Migrant Mother, which was both. In this video, Vox brings another example of a historic image that was most likely staged. It’s Roger Fenton’s Valley of the Shadow of Death taken in 1855 during the Crimean War. Two versions of the image caused a lot of questions and controversy, and film director Errol Morris was determined to figure it out....

Last December, we featured a timelapse from photographer and filmmaker Jesse Watson. The timelapse was of the SpaceX Falcon 9 launch near Yuma, Arizona. Well, a couple of nights ago, another one launched and landed from California – the first time Elon’s launched and landed in California. Jesse went out to capture it again and this one’s just as incredible as the last. Jesse spoke to DIYP and gave us a little more background into how the sequence was made....

As far as camera owners go, nothing is better than a bag. And a darn good bag at that! Cozyspeed camera bags are some of my favorites bags (see reviews here and here). This makes me very happy to be giving two of those away to two lucky winners. Cozyspeed has been generous enough to provide two bags for two winners: a Camslinger outdoors blue (street $120.00) and a Camslinger Streetomatic+ Black (street $130....

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has sent back its first image of Neptune and it’s remarkable in more than one aspect. First of all, it’s the clearest view of the ice giant in more than 30 years. And second, Webb’s image managed to reveal the distant planet’s delicate rings, something that’s definitely not an everyday sight. “Neptune has fascinated researchers since its discovery in 1846.” NASA writes in a press release....

Chris Herring, a wedding photographer Norfolk has sued the state of Virginia because of its new anti-discrimination law. According to him, this new law could force him to “to promote same-sex marriage,” which is against his religious beliefs. The new law is known as the “Virginia Values Act.” It prohibits discrimination “on the basis of gender identity and sexual orientation in housing, public and private employment, public accommodations and access to credit,” as the Virginia Pilot explains....

The Panasonic S5 Mark II announcement brought with it a big change of direction for Panasonic. One that Panasonic shooters (including myself) had been wanting for years. Finally, Panasonic has a mirrorless camera with Phase Detect autofocus. It seems that Panasonic has finally gotten around to addressing all of the complaints and issues users had with their DFD autofocus system, especially when shooting video. But what does this mean for the future of Panasonic’s full-frame and Micro Four Thirds mirrorless lineup?...

Exposure compensation can be a tricky subject to wrap your head around. The biggest puzzle often being “why do we even need it? Isn’t it easier to just go into manual mode?”. Well, sure, it might be, but it’s not always possible. And sometimes the semi & fully automatic modes just make your shooting life easier. But what exactly is it? And how does it work? This video from The Photographer Academy will help to demystify exposure compensation....

Not too long ago, switching brands seemed a silly expense. Bouncing back and forth between Nikon and Canon was just far more cost and hassle than it was worth. Some photographers simply bought into both brands (it worked out cheaper than swapping every couple of years). Others stuck with their brand through thick and thin. Joe Edelman is one such photographer and stuck with Nikon for 42 years. But as technology developed and more manufacturers came back into the fray, Joe’s needs changed....

Do you observe fellow photographers as competition, or as friends? Are they a pain in the neck, or a valuable source of knowledge and inspiration? And how do you take criticism from other photographers? These are some of the topics I have been thinking about lately. Seeing and publishing my fair share of photos, information and comments got me thinking – why am I grateful to other photographers? And surprisingly, not only positive points came to mind....

I asked the standard questions: how much does he have to spend and what sort of photography does he think she’ll be doing. He tells me there’s £500 in the kitty and she’s been making murmurs about taking more landscapes and getting better photos of the dog. I suggest that maybe he wants to look at an Olympus PEN. They fall well within his price bracket; they’ve a good frames-per-second rate and lots of AF points for capturing their off-his-rocker dog; and they’re pretty light....

A previously unrecognised beautiful young wildlife photographer is contacted out of the blue by a director and has her work incorporated into a Hollywood movie. It sounds like a plot to a movie itself (well, maybe a straight to cable movie!) but that is exactly what happened to Swedish photographer Danni Connor Wild when Oscar-winning sound editor and designer Mark Mangini contacted her and asked to use a recording she’d made of a baby squirrel in the movie Dune....