I’m just as passionate about gaming as photography, so you can imagine my elation when my team mentioned to me Toem 2 is about to release. Toem 2 is an upcoming casual indie adventure about photographing a character’s world as they adventure through it. Something We Made, the developers behind the game, recently announced that Toem 2 will be available to play on major consoles and PC on September 29, 2026.

Here’s how Something We Made describes the game: “Step back into the shoes of a curious photographer and set off on a brand new adventure all about uncovering hidden details, helping friends along the way, and documenting the world’s little wonders in Toem 2.”

Toem 2 is meant to be a relaxing adventure through a monochrome world filled with whimsical characters. I enjoy playing these types of games because you don’t feel pressured to compete with others for space or points as some arbitrary clock ticks down to zero. The game is single-player and can be played in short increments as you have time.

Something We Made

What’s been revealed of Toem 2‘s gameplay so far reminds me of a blend between Beasts of Maravilla Island, Lush foil Photography Sim and even a sprinkling of Lake. These other games also have photography-related leanings. Toem 2 aims to offer a wide variety of fun events to explore. Its casual, cartoony style isn’t an emulation of professional photography like the tools built into some other games, but sometimes it can be nice to take off our Serious Photographer hats.

Check out the 30-second trailer below. The gameplay is truly a unique blend I personally can’t wait to explore. I especially love how they styled the voices to be language independent, fitting perfectly with their fun character themes:

As soon as Toem 2 is released on September 29, 2026, we’ll get our hands on it and show you all what it’s about. If you don’t want to wait, the original game, Toem 1: A Photo Adventure, is available now on Steam.

Want to stay up to date on the latest product news and releases? Add DPReview as a preferred source to ensure our independent journalism makes it to the top of your Google search results.

Total solar eclipses are special. Imagine a giant suspended rock in the sky (the Moon) that just so happens to perfectly block the view of a ball of plasma so large that it would take a jet airliner over 200 days to circumnavigate its equator (the Sun). There’s no such other relationship in the entire solar system, and so far, it looks just as rare in the few places we’ve been able to peer closely at in our Milky Way galaxy.

Over the centuries, cultures believed a variety of more fanciful reasons for the occurrence. Many believed the event was a terrifying beast that swallowed the sun in retaliation for someone’s wrongdoings, like the wolf Skoll in Norse mythology (how the Sun recovered after such a trauma remains unclear). Other cultures viewed the event much more positively, with some indigenous North American tribes seeing it as an opportunity for spiritual renewal.

“A total eclipse of the sun is the most magnificent natural spectacle that a human eye can ever witness… It is a drama which is provided absolutely free by nature.” – Helen Sawyer Hogg (American-Canadian astronomer)

Share your August 12 solar eclipse photos

ESA & NASA

If you happen to be in the path of totality for this year’s August 12 event, which basically means most of Spain (you lucky locals), we invite you to comment on this article with a photo of the eclipse and share your story on what brings you out to see it. If we get some interesting photos and stories, we’ll write up a spotlight article for them.

More fun eclipse facts

Fast-forward about half a billion years, and total solar eclipses will sadly no longer be possible. This is because the Moon’s orbit is slowly receding from Earth. The Moon crawls its way farther out at a speedy 3.8 centimeters a year. This doesn’t sound like a lot, but over a ‘measly’ million years, it’ll be nearly 4,000 kilometers farther away.

Traveling through time a bit further than that and you arrive in the year AD 600,002,026 (ie, 600 million years from now). The Sun’s brilliance will increasingly surround the Moon from that point forward, a little bit more each year that passes. Future Sun-gazers will see it as a “ring of fire” (the Sun isn’t actually a ball of fire, but calling it a “ring of plasma” just doesn’t roll off the tongue in the same way).

Just like those North American tribes, let’s look on the bright side. In a scant 50 billion years, the Moon will be free of Earth’s tyranny and roam the galaxy on its own – assuming the sun doesn’t intervene in about 5 billion years during its red giant phase. It’s a complicated relationship: the Earth, Moon and Sun.

So, with such limited time available before total solar eclipses become a distant memory, take those photos while you can!

To learn more about solar eclipses and how to best prepare for one, check out our article, How to safely photograph a solar eclipse (and why you might just watch it instead).

Meet Gordon Pritchard

Home base: Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

Community member Gordon Pritchard preaches simplisticity quite like no one else we’ve spotlighted before. With only a single camera and a simple bag to carry it in case of rain, and by using a digital darkroom, he’s managed to capture some amazing shots of alien-looking landscapes and beautiful wildlife around the world, while developing a career as a commercial graphic artist.

“I’ve been involved in the arts for as long as I can remember, but my love of photography started in my mid-teens when, as a summer job, I did photo retouching at a commercial printshop. Sixty-two years later, I’m still at it.”

Our ‘What’s in your bag?’ community spotlight series features readers sharing their favorite gear and photography, including from past DPReview collaborators. See below for what Andrew has to share.

How did you get started as a photographer and commercial artist?

Gordon Pritchard

“When I worked as a commercial artist, I designed the ads and related materials that launched the IKEA brand in North America and did advertising for Peterbilt trucks and Bushnell optics. I also taught design, illustration and photography at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts school of art and design.”

Based on Gordon’s commercial artist work and related to the lead image in this article, Gordon has spent decades crafting his art, which sometimes merges his photography with other images. Many of the images he’s created are a combination of original photography, a mix of careful composites and various other techniques that give you a unique look that fits his vision for the mood of the scene.

“Starting in 1996, I was the quality in print manager at Creo, the largest graphic arts software and hardware manufacturer at that time. During that time, I was also involved in developing FM screening technology that enables magazines to reproduce images with photographic detail fidelity. The company was then acquired and is now operated by Kodak.”

What’s in Gordon’s bag

Gordon Pritchard

My favorite cameras(s): Nikon P950 and Sony SLT-A77 II

“Gear-wise, I like to keep things simple, so I use the all-in-one approach. My Nikon P950 with its built-in 24-2000mm equiv. range or my Sony SLT-A77 II with a Tamron 16-300mm zoom. It has become my favorite all-in-one. It has expanded my range of photo opportunities as well as my post-processing skills.”

My camera “bag”: “My camera bag is a light film grocery bag – the kind used for vegetables – just in case it rains. It’s very lightweight and fits in my pocket. Simplistic, but it works.”

My favorite accessories: “I always have a clear lens filter mounted to protect the front element – never had an image quality issue as a result. In my kit, I also have a +2 close-up lens (to allow for close-ups at distance), a polarizer filter (to deal with reflections or act as a mild ND filter), and a Neutral Density 8 (for blurring motion).”

“I might have a pocket multi-tool and lens wipe cloth with me. I keep a tripod in my car – just in case. Again, I try to keep things as simple as possible so as not to interfere with my photo taking.”

What do you like to shoot?

Gordon Pritchard

“I’m a retired commercial artist, so I’m drawn to any subject that appeals from an artistic or technical point of view, from micro to macro subjects. Currently, I’m focusing on the birds I see during my daily morning neighborhood walks. In the past, I did editorial photography for magazines, advertising, and personal pleasure. I’ve also taught photography part-time at the college level.”

“Because I can fine-tune the light, I use my bathroom as a studio for tabletop subjects like my toy and macro photography. Mostly, though, I photograph outdoors.”

Is photography art?

Gordon Pritchard

“I approach photography from an artist’s point of view – so I’m most interested in how light plays with the subject, tonal contrast, composition, and color rather than the subject itself. I played with those elements back in the old analog darkroom days, but the digital darkroom has totally expanded my ability to render images to interpret the subject rather than record it.”

“I was fortunate in that my work has taken me across North America, Europe and Southeast Asia. From a landscape photography point of view, I particularly love the alien-looking rock formations of the U.S. southwest as found in places like Valley of Fire, Nevada.”

Take a moment to visualize the scene

Gordon Pritchard

“I always try to visualize the final image before I take the shot. That might result in returning to a scene at a different time of day or even year. Have an idea in mind as to why you are taking the photo – what made you decide to aim the camera and take a shot? Are you interpreting the scene or recording it?”

Gordon really enjoyed participating in this spotlight article and would love to hear what you think of his photography and to answer any of your questions in the comments below.

You can check out Gordon’s other work on flickr.com.

Editor’s note: This article continues a series, ‘What’s in your bag?’, highlighting DPReview community members, their photography and the gear they depend on. Would you like your photography to be featured in a future installment? Tell us a bit about yourself by filling out this form.

Want to stay up to date on the latest product news and releases? Add DPReview as a preferred source to ensure our independent journalism makes it to the top of your Google search results.

Many folks will surely think of their parents, a friend or perhaps a colleague when they think of someone who has inspired them. It’s that special person who has changed the course of your life in some dramatic way.

A key inspiration for me came from a bit further down the family tree. When I was in my single-digit years, just about our entire family would gather at my grandmother’s house for Christmas. It was my favorite time of the year (partly, of course, because of the presents, but my grandmother’s cheesecake was to die for).

My aunt always brought this huge Betamovie camcorder to film everything from the late afternoon dinner to the last present being opened by my grandmother (she always had the last one as a tribute to her being the anchor of the family). While the Betamovie was a camcorder, not a camera, it sparked my initial interest in photographing (and filming when necessary) my life. That very same aunt later would buy me my first camera – a Polaroid Sun 600 LMS.

Ever since then, I’ve looked up to my aunt as the one who helped me remember my life through photography, which I would otherwise have long forgotten much of.

So, with that said…

Who inspires your photography more than anyone else?

Drop a reply in the comments section below, and if you’ve got a photo to include from your mentioned forum sections, it may be selected for next week’s showcase article on this topic!

Zeee

A ton of great content is created by the DPReview community in our forums: lively discussions, posts about gear and photography that we highlight in front page articles, collaborative photo sharing events and more. In this “What you missed” roundup for July, we highlight community activity from the past month, including some of the photography that didn’t make it into articles.

What’s in this article:

• Article of the month: Making DPReview notifications work for you
• ‘What’s in your bag?’ community member spotlights
• This question of the week is debated
• A community photo thread spotlight
• Community discussion: What is your present desktop wallpaper?

Article of the month: Making DPReview notifications work for you

DPReview

Want to be alerted when someone replies to your article comments? Or are you perhaps receiving too many notifications and just want them turned off? There are several options you can use to customize how often you receive these notifications, but it can take a moment to figure out where to go to adjust them and which changes are right for a particular use case.

We wrote up a notifications how-to guide that walks you through all of the options. If you have any questions after reading through them, please let me know. We’re very passionate about getting notifications right for everyone (they help us, too, so we want them to work as expected).

What’s in your bag? A community member spotlight

Every week, we dive into the history of a community member’s unique photographs and gear in our ‘What’s in your bag?’ series. The series walks through a reader’s favorite camera gear and how they use it, what photographs they’ve taken and plenty of helpful tips and tricks for your photography journey.

Max Lowe

Max Lowe shared his portrait photography, featuring a wide variety of shots from the Arctic to his hometown in Montana. Max is an award-winning photographer who’s worked with organizations like National Geographic. He provided us with a ton of extra photos to consider for his article. The one above particularly moved me with its simple beauty, so I chose it for this update. Max had a ton of advice for budding photographers, so if you want those tips and tricks, be sure to check out his complete article linked above.

“Understanding the context of the scene is a major necessity for an artist. Ask yourself: why are you taking that photo? Is it for the benefit of those people? If you’re a photojournalist capturing the story of refugees fleeing the war in Ukraine so that the world can understand that pain, does your work have the power to change things for the better?”

Check out this month’s other reader spotlights:

• Andrew Kornylak: He dangles off cliffs for National Geographic – here’s what’s in his camera bag
• John Freeman: Gigapixel photography is the way to go for this DPReview reader
• Kathie Thomas: Meet the bird photographer whose go-to camera is the Nikon P950

Question of the week: we ask, you tell

Every other week, we ask the community a question about their photography, usually on a specific topic they’ve discussed elsewhere in the forums, with the results spotlighted on DPReview’s front page and in the forums the following week. There are often many spectacular photos submitted that we don’t get a chance to spotlight in a single article, so you’ll want to regularly check back on what was added to the discussions.

What image made you realize your new gear was worth it?

Leopardfoto

Have you ever met a tiger before? Here is a newly revealed reader’s photo and an excerpt from their story in the latest question.

Featured quote: “Late last year, with an upcoming trip to India to photograph tigers and leopards, I hesitantly decided to purchase a 400 TC to bring along. The trip was costing me a king’s ransom, and adding another $14k for the lens seemed completely financially irresponsible. I didn’t think I could justify it since I might not use it that much.”

“During that trip, it became my favorite lens. I still can’t believe how much I enjoy using it, and it has surpassed my expected ROI by a huge margin. Of all the lenses and cameras I’ve ever owned, for whatever reason, this one stands out as the best purchase I’ve made.” – Leopardfoto

Participate in community-led photo initiatives

19andrew47

The community has a lot of fun with their weekly photo activities and challenges. I was perusing the camera brand forums a few days ago while putting together the latest challenge list, and up popped this rather creatively titled challenge:

Micro Fortnight Thirds General Image Thread

From opsreymike: “Welcome to the Micro Four Thirds general image thread for July 26 – August 8, 2026! Please post your photos that you’ve made recently – or even old faves revisited – with any MFT gear. Besides posting photos, image-related commentary is welcome and encouraged!”

Submissions are open until August 8, so if you’re a M43 fan and have a compatible camera, dust it off and let’s see those photos!

If you intend to participate in any of these photo initiatives, please adhere to their spirit (i.e., don’t post Canon photos in a Nikon-only forum discussion).

Discussion of the month: What is your desktop wallpaper?

ronphoto

Community member, BernardoSC , asked a fun question in the forums that has gained quite a bit of traction. He asked everyone, “What is your present desktop wallpaper?” I was pleasantly surprised by the wide array of images, from racecar action scenes to the more expected calm, tranquil hillside with a single lonely tree on top (my personal favorite).

Here is a peek at what some had to say about their wallpapers:

FrancoD: “At the moment, I have a male Flame Robin. We get them here for 2-3 months, then they disappear again. Right now, we only have one male (not this one) and one female, but they are not a pair. A pair last year did have three chicks, so we had the family of 5 flying about. We get about 170 species of birds here. I have fun walking about, taking some snapshots of them.”

ajscullard: “I use two monitors, so I have a pano I took of the Forth Rail Bridge just after it was fully painted, split into two images so they display side-by-side across both monitors.”

skysurfer5: “My desktop wallpaper is actually a random slideshow of ~300 photos, of which ~75% are mine, and ~25% are Apollo and Artemis mission images. My photos are a mix of landscapes, macros (mostly flowers), astro (mostly star trails), abstracts, birds and animals, architecture, and family. I also like quirky, such as this cloud bull chasing a cloud cowboy on his cloud horse passing through The Gunsight in Yosemite National Park.”

What community content did you enjoy reading, and what more would you like to see in these updates? Let us know in the comments below.

For even more content directly from our readers, join the discussion forums and share your camera gear and photography curiosities!

Editor’s note: Future editions of this article may include camera use and photo-taking tips and tricks, additional quotes from community members in various discussions and more. If you are interested in seeing community content presented this way, please let me know.

Want to stay up to date on the latest product news and releases? Add DPReview as a preferred source to ensure our independent journalism makes it to the top of your Google search results.

Community member Andrew Kornylak loves to cling to sheer rock faces with others and stare down at the world below. See what photos he’s taken from such dramatic heights as he shares his story that includes working for Lowpro and writing for National Geographic.

Our ‘What’s in your bag?’ community spotlight series features readers sharing their favorite gear and photography, including from past DPReview collaborators. See below for what Andrew has to share.

Andrew Kornylak

Meet Andrew Kornylak

Home base: Chapel Hill, NC USA

Andrew’s interest in photography began in high school after his older brother gave him a hand-me-down Minolta camera. The hobby grew through years of rock climbing and travel before he left a career in software development to become a full-time photographer in 2006.

“My older brother gave me his old Minolta camera when I was in high school. Taking pictures quickly became a hobby. I eventually got into rock climbing in the early 90s while in college, which was a great subject for photography and really got me motivated to get more serious. When I graduated, I worked as a software developer, traveled around the US and climbed, taking pictures whenever I could.”

Although he embraced digital photography early, Andrew has continued to work with both film and digital throughout his career. He believes shooting film keeps his technical skills sharp and encourages a more deliberate, thoughtful approach to his work.

“I still shoot a mix of film and digital. Shooting film with a strobe is especially challenging, but worth it. I spent years shooting climbing with off-camera strobes, using medium-format film. Keeping one foot in analog has been good, as it helps keep my skills sharp and challenges me to think more deliberately in my approach to projects.”

What’s in Andrew’s bag

Andrew Kornylak

Favorite camera: Canon EOS R5 Mark II

The Canon EOS R5 Mark II sure is a popular camera, as last week’s spotlight also stated it was their favorite. Here’s what Andrew thinks about its 45MP stacked sensor compared to his Nikon gear.

“I’ve shot with and owned almost every major camera system, but I have been primarily a Nikon shooter for my bread and butter. Just this year, I switched to Canon, mainly because all my cinema video cameras are Canon, so I wanted to consolidate lenses. I am currently shooting with the Canon R5 Mark II and about a half dozen lenses.”

Support gear

Andrew Kornylak

Any experienced photographer is going to have a set of gear that works well together and is ready to go at a moment’s notice. Apart from the cameras and lenses above, here’s Andrew’s other interesting gear he takes with him on trips into the mountains.

“I shoot a lot with lighting, both in the studio and on location. For photography, this was mostly Profoto and Broncolor strobes. I’ve been transitioning more to continuous lighting. LED technology has really come a long way, with significant advantages over other lighting options, especially since I also shoot video.”

“Aperture is my go-to brand here. I am FAA drone certified, so there’s that. Though I have a mini warehouse full of grips and accessories, I try to keep things as simple as possible. My Really Right Stuff Apex TVC-34L carbon tripod (which allows me to quickly change out photo and video heads) and RRS BH-55 ball head go with me 90% of the time.”

Favorite bag: “Definitely the Pelican 1510 with Trekpak Dividers and 1519 Photographers Lid Organizer. Hands down, my most useful camera case.”

“For years, I was an ambassador and design consultant with Lowepro, so I’ve been loyal to that brand. The bag I use the most is the Lowepro Whistler BP 450 AW. These days, I mix and match. I have to think about video gear as well. Mountainsmith (for a time), Think Tank and Peak Design all make great bags.”

What’s it like ‘hanging out’?

Andrew Kornylak

Whether suspended hundreds of feet above the ground or in a quiet neighborhood park, Andrew is drawn to photographs that reveal something extraordinary. He believes the most compelling stories are often found in everyday places, where ordinary moments can become unexpectedly transcendent.

“Hanging from a rope hundreds of feet above the ground is a pretty unique perspective. I love shooting in all conditions, high up, underwater, in the rain, and so on. It can sometimes be risky or dangerous. I do enjoy the adversity, but it’s not where you find people most of the time. People occupy mundane spaces – cities, back yards, parks and their automobiles. It’s even more exciting to find something sublime or transcendent in an everyday environment.”

One place that continues to inspire him is the Mississippi River Delta. First photographing the region for National Geographic Adventure in 2007, he has returned several times, captivated by its quiet beauty.

“One memorable place I’ve been to close to home is the Mississippi river. Specifically, in the Delta region. I shot a story on the river for National Geographic Adventure Magazine in 2007 and have gone back several times since. It’s an unheralded landscape, right in the middle of the country. A seemingly mundane place even, but unexpectedly wild, full of mystery and power.”

How do you keep fear at bay?

Andrew Kornylak

“Willpower. For a typical magazine story, I used to just overshoot to make sure I covered all the bases. That is a reasonable approach, and in the moment, you might pick up a few bangers. In reality, that approach is based on fear. You might have some ideas or intentions, but you quickly realize they don’t go as planned, so you embrace serendipity.”

“I do love that about photography, but I think as you gain more experience, you can become bolder with your intentions, really make them come to life instead of assuming they won’t. That’s where the perfect shot happens, not by chance but by intentional visualization and a strong will.”

“What’s the perfect shot, though? I sometimes don’t even realize it until years later.”

Turning photography into published books

Andrew Kornylak

“This year, I am busy working on a couple of multi-year documentary films. I am really used to the constant hustle. That changed during the pandemic, when I was forced to sit still for a while and meditate on what I really wanted from my work. I scanned all my old film (about 30,000 images) and began thinking bigger. I began writing.”

“As a direct result of that, I published my first book last year about climbing in the South – Spare These Stones (Mountaineers Books). Such a small thing, a book, but it feels like the culmination of decades of work. It really has propelled me into the next stage of my career, I think. I have also started teaching. This fall, I will teach two classes at the UNC Chapel Hill Hussman School of Journalism.”

A piece of advice from a rock climber

“My advice is to work hard, but don’t be afraid to take a break and survey where you are headed. Your approach and strategy will change dramatically over time. Embrace every stage of it, and have fun!”

Andrew really enjoyed participating in this spotlight article and would love to hear what you think of his photography and to answer any of your questions in the comments below.

You can check out Andrew’s other work at andrewkornylak.com.

Editor’s note: This article continues a series, ‘What’s in your bag?’, highlighting DPReview community members, their photography and the gear they depend on. Would you like your photography to be featured in a future installment? Tell us a bit about yourself by filling out this form.

Want to stay up to date on the latest product news and releases? Add DPReview as a preferred source to ensure our independent journalism makes it to the top of your Google search results.

This is the first of several guides intended to help you navigate the new website and forums. We want you to be able to quickly locate items you’re used to using, and perhaps discover an interesting new feature or two along the way. We will highlight items in both desktop and mobile views if there is enough distinction between them.

Who is this guide for

• By the end, you’ll know how to control notifications for email and on-site activity
• You’ll be able to directly set “Watch” preferences on discussions and article comments
• You’ll know what to change if you’re receiving too many notifications

For this first guide, let’s talk about receiving those important activity notifications. Take a look at the top right of the website, you’ll notice a flag icon and a message bubble icon. These are your activity and direct messages received notifications, respectively:

Notification icons

DPReview

If there are unread notifications, the red-circled number will appear. Clicking an icon will display a summary of those notifications.

We are aware that there are still some display differences between viewing this space on the main website vs. from the forums, such as notifications being completely cleared only in the main website dropdown. Let us know if this guide doesn’t track with what you are seeing.

To the left of those icons, you’ll see your profile icon. If you are in desktop view, you will also see your account name. Clicking your profile image will open a list of settings. This guide is about notifications, so for today, let’s click on the ‘Forum settings’ option:

DPReview

Profile and forum notification settings

The forum settings link takes you to a detailed list of options to customize your forum experience. Near the top, you have several ways to be notified of messages via email. From there, you can set global notifications that will automatically inform you of updates to your created content. The forum system recognizes this action as a “Watch” (aka, “Follow” for the content you are interested in tracking):

DPReview

Mobile users: Ensure push notifications are enabled on your phone. You may also need to click the ‘Enable push notifications’ button in the current forum options page you are in, before seeing the following options:

DPReview

Scrolling down a bit further (you can skip past several of the other options for now), you’ll come to ‘Settings by notification category: When someone…’ section.

If you do not see this section, keep scrolling (it’s a long list). Please check:

• Rotate your phone from portrait to landscape view.
• May be blocked if you’re using a business phone and it’s company-controlled.

Otherwise, please log in on a desktop device for now to adjust these settings:

DPReview

There are three checkboxes available for each item, depending on how you want to receive notifications for that item.

1. Alert: Shows a number indicator on the icons at the top of the page for new unread alerts or messages
2. Pop-up Auto-read: Displays a small pop-up window that sets any unread notices to have automatically been read upon that window popping up.
3. Push: Functions just like mobile push notifications, sending alerts directly to your device

The forum system manages notifications across the site, from front-page articles to forum activity. It is designed to give you granular control over what you’re notified about in articles, including responses to your article comments.

Using Watch and Unwatch settings on discussions

DPReview

Moving out of the profile settings options, the above image shows a discussion thread as viewed at the top of the thread. Clicking ‘Watch’ will set your account to receive notifications when someone posts in that thread, even if you are not contributing to that thread.

What’s the difference between this watch option and those profile settings from earlier?

• Profile settings dictate the baseline for how you receive notifications. You will use this when you want to be notified of a response whenever you, say, reply to a forum thread.
• The ‘Watch’ setting is a manual option that lets you receive specific updates for a particular thread, regardless of whether you’re actively participating in it or not. 

Receiving too many notifications

Your profile settings also have an automatic watch option for threads that you start. It’s one of the easiest ways to stay connected to a conversation without having to manually check whether someone has replied. If you feel that you are receiving too many notifications and are not sure where they are coming from, you may need to:

• Unwatch threads you no longer want to follow (click the same button, “Watch”, you initially used to watch the thread, which will now read “Unwatch”)
• Check your profile settings to ensure that automatically enabled settings are disabled
• Reduce e-mail notifications and rely more on on-site alerts

Personally, I use on-site alerts for most things and reserve email for threads I want to follow more closely. But this is very much a “set it how you like” system.

Try adjusting a notification setting today

Even if everything is working great for you right now, try using the Watch feature on a discussion you’re interested in to explore the many options available. 

If you have any concerns with the notifications system after reviewing these settings, please let us know in the comments below. Also let us know in the comments what other guides we should introduce.

We hope this guide helped your DPReview reading experience!

Community member John Freeman, known as john80504 in the forums, loves peering into the distance at intricate landscapes, capturing them at the highest resolution possible, then framing multiple shots on a wall to admire. Some of his murals are as large as 15 feet by 50 feet, showcasing wide mountain ranges and vast river valleys.

According to John, he’s the only person in the world who teaches a workshop on Gigapixel Photography, the art of taking dozens or even hundreds of photos and stitching them together into a single image with a resolution that measures in the thousands of megapixels.

Editor’s note: because of the nature of the ultra-high resolution images Freeman creates, we don’t have a way to post the full versions to our site in a way that would let you sensibly view them. We’ve provided links to his website that let you experience them in all their glory.

Our ‘What’s in your bag?’ community spotlight series features readers sharing their favorite gear and photography, including from past DPReview collaborators. See below for what John has to share.

John Freeman

Meet John Freeman

Home base: Longmont, Colorado, USA

Photography has been a lifelong pursuit for John, one that has evolved significantly over the decades. It eventually led him to a highly specialized niche that combines technical precision with artistic vision.

“For more than 58 years, starting at age 13, photography has been a central part of my life. My parents gave me a Kodak Brownie camera for Christmas the year I was in 8th grade. Over that time, I’ve explored many different genres and techniques, but few have challenged and rewarded me as much as gigapixel panoramic wall mural photography. My gigapixel photos are among the largest, highest resolution Fine Art Wall Mural Photos available on the internet.”

That specialization is gigapixel panoramic photography, a field he has spent more than a decade refining and pushing further with advanced techniques.

“When I first started doing gigapixel photos in 2011, I entered a niche market. Gigapixel photography is the process of capturing hundreds – or sometimes thousands – of individual photographs and stitching them together into a single seamless image. Over the past 10 years I have been doing focus bracketing/stacking of the individual images that are stitched into the final image. Adding focus bracketing/stacking has been the single most important skill that has improved my work.”

What’s in John’s bag

John Freeman

Favorite camera: Canon EOS R5 Mark II, though he still carries a Mark I for nostalgia.

“For the past five years, my main camera has been a Canon EOS R5, but before a trip to New Zealand this past April, I added a Canon EOS R5 Mark II to my bag. It has quickly become my favorite. I especially appreciate that it stores focus-bracketed images at 14-bit resolution rather than 12-bit, like the original R5, and that it captures focus-bracketed sequences much faster, which is a big advantage when photographing large landscapes. Most of the time, you’ll find my Canon RF 100-400mm F5.6-8 IS USM mounted on the camera.”

Lenses used across all cameras:

• Canon RF 100-400mm F5.6-8 IS USM
• Canon RF 28mm F2.8 STM
• Rokinon 14mm F2.8

John Freeman

Any experienced photographer is going to have a set of gear that works well together and is ready to go at a moment’s notice. Apart from the cameras and lenses above, here’s John’s other interesting gear he takes with him on trips into the mountains.

Support gear: “For panoramic photography, I typically carry a Nodal Ninja M2 manual nodal head mounted to a SLIK carbon fiber tripod with a Really Right Stuff leveler, along with a Vello Wireless ShutterBoss remote shutter release to minimize camera shake. For longer hikes, I also pack granola bars, a CamelBak water bladder and a phone running the PhotoPills app for planning.”

Camera bags: “For many years, I used a Tamrac Expedition 9x backpack, which had plenty of room for all my gear but became too heavy for long hikes. Last fall I switched to a lightweight Mosiso backpack that’s just big enough for my camera, three lenses and the Nodal Ninja. It also has a side pocket for my tripod, although that part could be better.”

What are some great locations for super high-res shots?

John Freeman

When John goes to a location, one of his goals is to shoot the largest, highest-resolution photo ever taken there – not just by him, but by anyone else.

“One of my most unique and difficult shoots was one I did in February 2026 of the frozen waves that occur in winter at Dream Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park. The frozen ice waves are an unbelievable wintertime phenomenon that is caused by freezing temperatures and strong, dry winds. It is called sublimation, the process in which solid ice changes directly into a gas without becoming a liquid first. The result is a 4.63 gigapixel focus-stacked, stitched image made up of 7090 individual focus-bracketed images. This yielded 225 focus stacked sets in a 9 row by 25 column array.”

While Dream Lake stands out as one of his most technically demanding projects, John is always planning his next destination in search of another record-breaking panorama. Earlier this year, that pursuit took him to New Zealand.

“My wife and I just returned from a second honeymoon trip, a 27-night camper-van tour of New Zealand, in April, 2026. During the trip, we visited both the North & South Islands. While not every photo met my 1 gigapixel requirement, I did manage to capture numerous photos of some of the most beautiful areas of New Zealand.”

Techniques that captured that perfect gigapixel shot

John Freeman

“Even after decades behind the camera, I still find myself excited by the challenges and possibilities of gigapixel photography. One of my current projects is what I call Virtual Rocky Mountain National Park – a long-term effort to create immersive panoramic experiences throughout the park and to preserve these remarkable landscapes in extraordinary detail. This virtual tour of RMNP is free to the public to view and enjoy.

Projects like Virtual Rocky Mountain National Park have also pushed John to refine the technical side of his craft. One of the biggest hurdles comes when photographing scenes with an extreme range of light.

“One of the biggest challenges in gigapixel photography is dealing with scenes that contain both extremely bright and extremely dark areas. Unlike traditional photography, where HDR techniques can often solve these problems, focus stacking and HDR do not work together because the camera cannot perform both focus and exposure bracketing simultaneously. To overcome this challenge, I rely heavily on a technique called Expose To The Right (ETTR). This approach has become an essential part of my workflow, particularly when photographing complex landscapes that contain bright skies, deep shadows, waterfalls, and other high-contrast elements.”

John’s advice for photographers

John Freeman

“I always tell my workshop students, don’t be afraid to make mistakes, just make sure that you learn from your mistakes and avoid them next time.”

John really enjoyed participating in this spotlight article and would love to hear what you think of his photography and to answer any of your questions in the comments below.

You can check out John’s other work at abbascreationsphotography.com.

Editor’s note: This article continues a series, ‘What’s in your bag?’, highlighting DPReview community members, their photography and the gear they depend on. Would you like your photography to be featured in a future installment? Tell us a bit about yourself by filling out this form.

The DPReview forums have nearly 100 customized sections to discuss all your gear and photography interests. From reading official DPReview news to talking about camera brands and Nature and Wildlife Photography, there’s a space for everyone’s curiosity.

For visitors who are interested in buying or selling their gear, we also have the For Sale and Wanted forum section. And if you are a mobile phone camera user and love to share your on-the-go photos, not to worry, we have Mobile Photography Talk forum as well.

So, with that said…

Which forum sections are your favorite to visit for both camera brands and digital photography, and why?

I would also like to take this opportunity to ask you which forum sections you would like added that we don’t currently have?

Drop a reply in the comments section below, and if you’ve got a photo to include from your mentioned forum sections, it may be selected for next week’s showcase article on this topic!

Want to stay up to date on the latest product news and releases? Add DPReview as a preferred source to ensure our independent journalism makes it to the top of your Google search results.

As we enter the second half of this year, I wanted to take a moment to say thank you for all your fantastic contributions in the forums and elsewhere, and to consider where we go next together on a community level.

One of the great things about our community is that every day I see photographers talking about their exciting new G.A.S. purchases (my own “needs” list keeps expanding, too), sharing unique photos like the above and reminding each other that we truly have a special place that supports both gear and photography interests.

So far this year, you’ve started so many fantastic discussions, several of which are still ongoing as of several weeks ago.

One of the community’s great strengths is when you engage with each other and constructively answer questions from both new and old members. Thank you for inviting those new members into our community.

Ab S

Showcasing your content

One of the most exciting initiatives you’ve continued to proudly coordinate for years now are the weekly photo threads. I love these because every day brings a new opportunity to give you a reason to share your photography on a fresh topic.

For those who are not aware, various community members (often from camera-specific forums) coordinate weekly photo showcase threads that encourage everyone to post a photo on the week’s topic. Topics range from nature to indoor decorations to photos taken with a specific camera brand, and sometimes it’s completely open-ended. They are usually more informal and less rules-based than structured photo challenges, which you may have also heard about. Everyone is welcome to participate. Feel free to include a short story along with the photo.

If you are a new member and need a way to “break the ice” on getting involved, sharing your photography wherever you can is a great start.

If you are new to photography itself, don’t feel like you’re “not professional enough” because there is no such thing. Our community is not some elites-only club, even if it feels intimidating at first upon seeing a technical-heavy discussion in forums like Studio and Lighting Technique.

cezirkle

What’s next for our community

I’ve seen some great ideas about how to make the forums an even more valuable and enjoyable place to share your gear choices and photography. I’m committed to giving all the content you create the support it deserves, even if it takes a little while to develop support programs for it. Please keep those great ideas coming.

Here are a few of the projects I’m looking forward to collaborating on with you all over the rest of the year and into the next:

• Create more activities across the forums, including within the photo and album system itself, to maximize opportunities to share your photography. This includes expanding on the per-forum section photo albums we created just a couple of months ago.
• Explore better ways to showcase your gear and photography how-to guides and community reviews – a place that would keep them more in the spotlight than an endless ongoing forum of posts that would otherwise eventually bury the guide.
• Ensure the rest of our community outside the forums has more opportunities to become aware of and contribute to your discussions and activities. This includes us reaching out more on places like reddit to bring them to the forums. Do you know about a photography group that we could invite to our community? Please let us know! 

wouterv

Whether you’ve been part of the community for more than 25 years, or this is the first DPReview article you’ve read, I hope you will stop by the forums and say hello. While you’re there, feel free to share your photography. We can’t wait to hear from you!

Special thanks to community members, nick10, cezirkle, Ab S and wouterv for their photos being spotlighted in this article. You can find these photos and more in the weekly photo threads.

Want to stay up to date on the latest product news and releases? Add DPReview as a preferred source to ensure our independent journalism makes it to the top of your Google search results.

This is the story of Max Lowe, a filmmaker, photographer and storyteller based in Bozeman, Montana. Recipient of a National Geographic Young Explorer’s grant early in his career, Max’s work ranges from wildlife filmmaking to deeply personal, human-centered stories. In our conversation, he spoke about learning photography through trial and error, discovering magical places around the world and finding serendipity and inspiration in his own backyard.

Our ‘What’s in your bag?’ community spotlight series features readers sharing their favorite gear and photography, including from past DPReview collaborators such as Max.

Meet Max Lowe

Max Lowe

Photography became a way for Max to engage more deeply at home in Bozeman, Montana, eventually leading to a career spanning National Geographic Expeditions, documentary filmmaking and editorial photography. While he has photographed hundreds of places around the world, he says one of his biggest creative challenges remains capturing the essence of his hometown.

“I’ve never been able to truly capture the essence of the way I love Montana. It’s a place where people put their own interpretations. It’s a place I want to keep finding new ways to illustrate to the world, because it holds that depth and importance to me as my home.”

Max’s parents were a major influence in starting his photography career. “I grew up with a mountaineer for a father, and my mom was an artist. At some point, my mom gave me one of her old cameras. Both my mom and dad made it in the world in different artistic ways. Because of that, I felt I needed to find an artistic path for myself, and photography became that for me. Photography has this magical way of making you feel like you belong somewhere you otherwise might not.”

Career and projects

Max Lowe

One of the most significant turning points in Max’s career came in 2012, when he received a National Geographic’s Young Explorers Grant. That opportunity led to trips with National Geographic Expeditions that continue to this day, and the grant community introduced Max to many of the photographers, filmmakers and storytellers who helped shape the work you see in this article.

“In the earlier years of my work as a full-time photographer and filmmaker, I had more personal ambition to just go places for the sake of going, in the selfish sense. At this point, I’m more compelled to travel because I can get a unique lens on the world – pun intended. There are really cool photography-focused trips that many companies put on, but National Geographic Expeditions goes to some rather remarkable places. I’ve been lucky to make many friends within the National Geographic scene, fellow photographers I look up to and reach out to for collaboration. That camaraderie is what really makes it special.”

Max’s documentary work

Jack Fox

One of Max’s current projects is The Kind Ones, a documentary he’s producing with his wife, Lia. They spent eight weeks at a rural hospital on the North Carolina coast, where Lia worked as a travel nurse while Max documented patients, nurses and moments of care. He described the careful balance between telling meaningful stories and respecting the people involved.

“During the pandemic, everyone rallied around healthcare workers, but in the years since, these tremendous workers just fell back to where they’d been before. After the pandemic, Lia was at a low point in her career. She wanted to talk about the fact that the humans within the healthcare system are often disregarded as a major component of how we function as a healthy society.”

Max Lowe

“We were filming with her every day, capturing beautiful and often difficult moments with patients. Her portrayal of the value nurses bring, not only in the medical care they render, but in the human care and appreciation for life in its most complicated moments. The project is a challenge: working together in a nuanced way to think about what to photograph, and especially what not to.”

Kind Ones is scheduled for release in late 2026. If you’re interested in Max’s other film works, including the acclaimed feature doc detailing his own family story, “Torn” (2021), the Oscar Shortlisted “Camp Courage” (2023) and more.

What’s in Max’s bag

Max Lowe

Max’s approach to equipment depends heavily on the project, though when it’s a personal endeavor, he has some go-to favorites.

Max’s go-to gear:

• Nikon Z8
• Nikon Z6II
• Nikon ZR
• Nikon FG
• Rolleiflex

Lenses:

• Nikkor Z 26mm F2.8
• Nikkor Z 24-70mm F2.8 S
• Nikkor Z 70-200mm F2.8 S
• Nikkor Z 14-24mm F2.8 S
• Nikkor Z 180-600mm F5.6-6.3
• Nikkor 50mm F1.8 Series E
• 2X teleconverter

Favorite camera: When traveling on his own, Max prefers simplicity. One of his favorites is a Rolleiflex 4×4 medium-format film camera, which he uses regularly for personal projects. “I still shoot quite a bit of film, mostly for my own interests. The Rolleiflex is a bit complicated to use. I’ve failed to properly expose images plenty of times. Unlike modern digital cameras, it offers little immediate feedback. Sometimes you shoot a frame you think will be great, only to blow the exposure or end up with a blurry image.”

Max Lowe

Max has found hidden benefits in the challenges of shooting film. “There’s something cool about photography being this format in which we can learn to fail and do better in small, incremental ways. You’re really forced to learn about ISO, shutter speed, aperture and all the other functions of a camera.”

Still, the camera Max uses most often is the one already in his pocket, an iPhone 16 Pro Max. “Probably the camera I use most is my phone, honestly.” Rather than focusing on gear for its own sake, he emphasized carrying equipment that lets him remain present with people and stories while staying ready when meaningful moments arise.

Photography ethics

Max Lowe

Throughout our conversation, Max returned to the idea that storytelling requires trust, context and respect. He believes photographers should continually ask themselves why they’re taking an image and who ultimately benefits from it.

“Trust is paramount in our work, especially when we’re working with other people. If it’s someone sitting alone on a subway platform crying, I probably wouldn’t shoot a photo of that, because it would feel exploitative. But if you go up to the person, ask them what’s wrong, hear their story and get a little more insight into what they’re experiencing, and then ask if you can shoot a photo of them in that moment. You’re going to get a more compelling image that way.”

Max Lowe

Max also stressed the importance of building relationships and understanding stories before documenting them. “If I’m going to, say, Egypt as a storyteller, I want to find an in – someone who knows the place in a unique way, and within that, a unique story that defines the place and my experience there. When you’re invited by someone who calls a place home, the experience is much richer. Finding someone like that is a tremendous gift that deepens a photographer’s interpretation and understanding of the world.”

Some of Max’s film projects have required him to revisit a scene, and he found that the assumptions he made on a first pass often missed its real context, whether because he was distracted or because his own priorities got in the way.

“Understanding the context of the scene is a major necessity for an artist. Ask yourself: why are you taking that photo? Is it for the benefit of those people? If you’re a photojournalist capturing the story of refugees fleeing the war in Ukraine so that the world can understand that pain, does your work have the power to change things for the better?”

Curiosity and flexibility

Max Lowe

Max’s work is also heavily tied together by curiosity and a willingness to adapt to whatever story unfolds before him. Opportunities will come up to take that perfect shot, and one mustn’t hesitate for long to take it. One such image that surprised him in its success came from an ordinary moment in Italy. “It was just a photo of a cat sleeping on the tire of a Land Cruiser. I snapped it in passing – it was something I saw and was like, ‘Oh, that’s cute.'”

The image was made with a simple point-and-shoot 35mm film camera, and the reaction wildly exceeded his expectations. “It got this massive response on social media and ended up winning an honorable mention in a photo contest called ‘Flow.'”

Max Lowe

Max’s wildlife filmmaking has presented very different challenges. While working on a Frozen Planet II segment about snowy owls near Utqiagvik, Alaska, he ran into an unexpected obstacle. “It gets surprisingly hot because the sun is up around the clock in summer, and that heat rising off the tundra creates these distortions,” Max told us. “Atmospheric distortion made long-lens footage unusable. We ended up having to switch our whole approach on the spot, because the conditions meant the gear we’d brought just didn’t work. Camera traps certainly would have helped, but we didn’t think we’d need them when we planned the trip.”

The experience reinforced one of his recurring lessons: adaptation and flexible expectations matter more than rigid planning.

Max’s advice for photographers

Max Lowe

As I was listening to Max’s stories and adventures, there were countless gems of advice sprinkled throughout. To close out this story about Max, I wanted to list a couple of final pieces of advice that didn’t fit in the stories he told above. I hope they help you improve your photography as much as they got me thinking about mine.

The moment dictates the shot

“Many visual artists approach their work by thinking about a specific shot they want, such as a bear emerging from its den, or whatever it might be. But I approach all my work in a more freeform, creative way, whether that’s photography or filmmaking. You want to allow leeway for the experience to give you the story, instead of putting pressure on yourself to seek something out and setting yourself up for failure.”

“It can be scary to step out of your comfort zone and into someone else’s world, but it leads to much richer experiences for both you and your audience. It’s not that you should never go anywhere without a plan, just make sure you stay open to that depth when it presents itself.”

Max Lowe

Don’t ignore what’s in front of you

“It’s a mistake a lot of artists make – not seeing the value in what exists right in front of them. I’m constantly looking at the world around me, at how unique little moments occur without anyone conjuring them up. One day, I was in my office when a Western Tanager landed on a branch outside the window. Tanagers are these beautiful yellow-red birds that migrate through Montana every spring. It was such a cool moment, and I wanted to hold it forever. Find those moments and hold them forever through your photography.”

You can check out Max’s other work at maxlowemedia.com.

Editor’s note: This article continues a series, ‘What’s in your bag?’, highlighting DPReview community members, their photography and the gear they depend on. Would you like your photography to be featured? Tell us about it by filling out this form . If you’re selected for a feature, we’ll be in touch with next steps.

Buying a new camera is an exciting feeling, but so is seeing the great photos you take with it. For last week’s community question, we asked readers to share a favorite photo or story from their new gear. From majestic animals to intense bokeh scenes, and from antique cameras to modern mobile phones, the responses covered a wide range of interesting categories.

As always, there was also a mix of useful tips you’ll want to read about.

Here are some of the photos and stories they shared. Click their names to see more within the forum conversation.

“Two experiences. The first was the first dance concert I shot with the Olympus 40-150mm F2.8 PRO. I was more than happy to do this with ‘smaller’ (relatively speaking) gear than full-frame gear. Second was the first time I did portrait shots for posters, of dancers, in full costume, with two flash units, umbrella reflectors, etc. Those first-time experiences are always sweet, no matter how many times I do it afterward.” – Satyaa

“Last Christmas, I managed a photo which I had waited literally years to take. It’s usually impossible to take a photo of the center of the Octagon at Ely Cathedral from below because there’s normally a modern oak altar in the way. I had gone to the cathedral to try out my new Hasselblad X2D II with a 20-35mm lens. Lo and behold, a team of workmen was preparing the central area for some school carol concerts. The altar had been removed. One nod of approval later and I was in!” – ClaireJRedHat

PhillipKukelhan

“Since moving to Cleveland 5 years ago, I’ve spent a lot of time riding my bicycle along the old Ohio & Erie Canal, where I see a lot of wildlife, mostly deer, snakes, bird life, and turtles.” – PhillipKukelhan

“Two years ago, I decided to upgrade a Canon 40D 12mp with the used X-T4. After having the camera a couple of months, I had a vacation to Japan scheduled. My intention was to buy an array of lenses while I was there. I put one of them to use the very night I purchased it. Because of the low-light conditions and fast-moving moments, I realized from those photos what a great purchase my X-T4 and Sigma 10-18mm F2.8 were. Personally, there isn’t a better feeling than successfully capturing these moments.” – ronphoto

“As a second-generation photographer, I grew up using Canon, and most of my gear was handed down from my father. Around 2014/2015, I was tired of using cast-offs and older generation equipment, so I set out to purchase my own gear and explore other systems. I had already picked up an A6000 (or A6300) as a secondary camera to my 1D Mark II, but when Sony released the A7RII, I decided to rent it for a big annual job.” – reflux83

Minolta TC-1

“I decided to get the XF 56mm F1.2 WR because the image quality is so good that it compensates for the fact that it’s just really rather big on my X-E5. Well, when I started using it at the next concert, this is the kind of thing that really convinced me it was money well spent. It was even a bit emotional – taking me back 20+ years to when I finally bit the bullet, bought that Zuiko 90mm F2 and got my first photos back. Just one example says enough.” – Minolta TC-1

“Having introduced Eye Control AF (ECAF) with the second camera in the RF series, Canon made it an upgrade I couldn’t pass up. I always believed ECAF had the potential to significantly improve my photography, and I wasn’t wrong. The feature is particularly valuable with lenses such as the Canon RF 28–70mm F2 L USM, whose large and heavy glass elements require more time to focus. By allowing you to direct the AF system immediately to the intended subject, Eye Control AF reduces unnecessary focus hunting and helps the lens lock focus more efficiently, without wasted tries.” – PhotoKhan

“It wasn’t one image so much as hundreds that assured me my stabilized AF telephoto macro lens was a great investment for the online store.” – Jefenator

Invisible Man Potography

“I realized I made a great decision in upgrading from a Canon R6 Mark II to a Canon R5 Mark II when I reviewed my files from the June 26, 2026, 20th Anniversary of fashion designer Diego Cerón’s ‘Couture a Table’ in Mérida, México. Standing outside the room, I photographed Pablo Mercader Duch – performing as ElHada Frozen and embodying Marie Antoinette – through the crowd. In that moment, I made the artistic decision to allow the people to form a natural frame around Pablo.” – Invisible Man Photography

So many other stories we couldn’t fit in this article are shared in the forums. Thanks to everyone who took the time to submit a favorite photo from their first new camera purchase.

Feel free to participate in the series at any time. New questions are posted here on the homepage and in the forums every other week We can’t wait to read your stories and see your photography!

Want to stay up to date on the latest product news and releases? Add DPReview as a preferred source to ensure our independent journalism makes it to the top of your Google search results.

With the updated DPReview website, new things are all the rage today. We’ve previously asked you about your first and favorite new cameras, about your first and favorite photos, and now we’d like to combine the two for this week’s community question.

What image made you realize your new gear was worth it?

We’d love to hear the story behind the piece of gear – whether it’s a lens, camera, flash or something else – and see the images that sparked that appreciation. It could be a piece of equipment that was only new to you, as was the case for the camera used to take the image at the top of the article, or something fresh out of a box.

Drop a reply in the comments section below, and if you’ve got a photo to include, it may be selected for next week’s showcase article on this topic!

Want to stay up to date on the latest product news and releases? Add DPReview as a preferred source to ensure our independent journalism makes it to the top of your Google search results.

Kathie Thomas

Community member, Kathie Thomas , loves birds. She greatly enjoys getting that shot that shows off a bird’s unique color palette and physique, and fortunately lives in an area with hundreds of beautiful bird species.

“Birds are my #1 genre – I just love them. I’m always trying to get that better shot, and when I get a really good one, it’s not long before I’m trying to do even better. I am blessed to live in a region with many bird species year-round. Some live here, some are seasonal and some are just passing through. I keep a daily eBird record of the birds I’ve seen and heard, and of course, a photo with it.”

This story is part of our What’s in your bag? community spotlight series . The series showcases the diverse gear and photography of our community, and shares their stories of how that gear helped them to capture the perfect shot.

Kathie Thomas

Meet Kathie Thomas

Home base: Dandenong Ranges, Victoria, Australia

“My uncle was a wedding and portrait photographer and often shared with me what he’d been doing when I was in my early teens. My parents bought me my first camera for my 14th birthday. It’s been a journey ever since! My uncle is long gone now, but my aunt tells me that he always wanted to do the type of photography I do, which is nature photography – he never got around to it, sadly.”

What’s in Kathie’s bag

Kathie Thomas

Favorite camera: “Nikon is the brand I’ve been using for over 20 years now. In fact, my husband gave me my first digital camera in the early 2000s, a Nikon, of course. I later upgraded to a D90, which I wore out after about 6 years, having taken almost 100,000 images with it. I’ve been a Nikon girl a long time now! I currently have a Nikon D7000 , D7100 , Coolpix P950 and a variety of lenses. The P950 is my favorite – it’s lightweight, and I get excellent bird shots with it.”

• Support gear: Kathie typically carries spare batteries for her P950, as its battery life can be limited during long birding sessions, along with a water bottle and a few snacks for time spent out in the bush or along the coast.

• Camera bags: “I use a simple, colorful backpack with a zippered compartment against my back, so no one can open it while I’m wearing it. It’s big enough to carry my camera, although that’s usually hanging at my hip on a shoulder strap.”

Kathie Thomas

How has your photography changed since you started?

“It’s improved heaps – I understand so much more about it now. I chose to do a Diploma of Photography Course back in 2014, just for the sake of doing it, so I could learn more. But it’s the regular usage and learning from other photographers that have really helped me improve. I also belong to a local photography club.”

“I learned from a professional nature photographer some years ago, that when tracking a bird, don’t look it in the eye, look around elsewhere, move slowly towards it, take a shot now and then, and keep moving slowly without eye contact. It often has helped to get the shots I’ve wanted – especially before I got my P950.”

What trip memories come to mind where you discovered a new bird?

“Many! Before we retired, we used to take overseas trips by plane and by cruise ship, visiting many places. But since retiring, my husband and I have invested in a campervan (motorhome) and have begun traveling around our own country, Australia, and exploring a bit more consistently. My goal is to record as many different species of birds as I can.”

Kathie Thomas

“Don’t underestimate your abilities and work at surprising yourself. Move out of your comfort zone and try different things. A friend thought she wasn’t very good, but she recently got a Highly Commended in our photography club exhibition. I could tell she was really choked up about it and thrilled. I told her I always thought she did well.”

Kathie really enjoyed participating in this spotlight article and would be grateful if you could join her in the forums .

Kathie’s work

You can check out her other work on Instagram . Thanks, Kathie, for being featured!

If you’d like to share your photography, tell us about your main camera, lens choices, key settings and strategies. Your photos and story could be featured in the next article!

Editor’s note: This article continues a series, ‘What’s in your bag?’, highlighting DPReview community members, their photography and the gear they depend on. Would you like to be featured in a future installment? Tell us a bit about yourself and your photography by filling out this form . If you’re selected for a feature, we’ll be in touch with next steps.

Want to stay up to date on the latest product news and releases? Add DPReview as a preferred source to ensure our independent journalism makes it to the top of your Google search results.