Meet Johan O E

Home base: Sweden

Community member Johan O E, known as Ocoloy in the forums, has a passion for minimalist black-and-white photography. Many of his photos are portraits of ordinary people going about their daily lives, each with a unique angle that tells a particular part of their story.

“Since as long as I can remember, I´ve been in love with photography. From the album covers I saw as a child in the 80s to the surf and music magazines in the 90s. I´ve been photographing for nearly 30 years, but the last 15 years have been more intense. My dad is a photographer as well, but he has never influenced me in any form when it comes to photography. I was never allowed to use his cameras.”

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 Johan has to share.

What draws you to a minimalist view?

Johan O E

“I shoot whatever inspires me. Preferably, there needs to be a person in the shot, but some of my best shots are free from people. I tend to go more for a minimalistic black-and-white vibe when I’m out and about. Been photographing all over the world. New Zealand has been my favorite by far. I also love portraits and candid moments.

I am in my third year with one camera, one lens, and a one-year project, OCOLOY. This time it is the Nikon ZF and the Voigtlander 40mm F1.2, and I only shoot in black and white. Accepts 36 images in color. I made a list of 36 things I love, which I will later print in color A4 and save.”

I like rough, wild and different environments. From stormy seas to deep jungles or the backstreets of towns in Europe.”

What’s in Johan’s bag

Johan O E

Favorite cameras(s): Nikon Zf

Preferred camera bag: “I carry with me the simplest Caselogic bag available on the market. It has just enough space for the camera and barely anything more. I have two different camera bag setups, depending on my mood. My main bag is just my camera, an extra battery, a CPL and a mist filter. If I am out working, I also bring my tablet for editing and an Instax printer for special moments to give away prints.”

Must-have accessories: “I always bring music. I make playlists for different moods and photowalks. In fact, I am recording a song about photography at the moment in my recording studio. I got a crystal from a chandelier and sometimes put it in front of my lens to create different images. I try to carry as little as possible when I am out and about.”

Why is New Zealand on your visit list?

Johan O E

“I have been on the road for the past 26 years, spending many years in New Zealand, Spain and Sweden. I’ve seen remote places in Asia, done a total of 12 months of van trips throughout Europe, spent 5 months in Sri Lanka, and taken surf trips to Hawaii and the Lofoten Islands. My most memorable photography trip was probably the COVID year, when I was 6 months into my time in New Zealand. I made a bucket list and got most of the shots, which later on boosted my photography career.”

Any strategies you’d pass along to your fellow photographers?

Johan O E

“It builds confidence to capture something unique and what I have not seen before. I use my eyes rather than predefined or scripted techniques. I almost always shoot in M mode, mostly with manual lenses, to create exactly what I want. I want a photograph to create emotions and make people look again.”

Photograph what you love and do not photograph purely for likes. Also, a good professional photography lesson will give you way more than any new camera or lens.”

Do you peer into Johan’s photos and see another person’s unique life looking back at you? He enjoyed participating in this spotlight article and would love to hear what you think of his photography in the comments below.

You can check out Johan’s other work at www.stayuntilforever.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.

Google’s new Pixel 11 smartphones include two headline camera features that represent different approaches to computational photography. Magic Capture aims to take the stress out of capturing the perfect moment by letting AI identify the decisive moment for you, while Camera Looks gives you greater control over your creative output by letting you define a visual style before you ever press the shutter button.

We’ve been testing both features on a Pixel 11 Pro XL to see how they work in practice, and whether the results hold up. The short answer is yes, but not without trade-offs.

What Magic Capture actually does and what the sample photos reveal

Magic Capture replaces the act of pressing a shutter button at the right moment. You roll video instead of shooting stills, and Google’s AI analyzes the footage to identify what it believes are the most compelling frames, then turns them into photos. The feature goes beyond simply extracting a frame from video and saving it as a still image: according to Google, the system analyzes roughly 400 frames in real time, combining on-device processing with Gemini AI technology.

After stopping a recording, you can see the phone’s initial frame selections quickly, but they look flat and unfinished. Once the Gemini AI processing completes, which took around a minute or so in our testing for a 15-second clip, the selected frames become noticeably improved, popping with more detail, and with HDR scenes in particular looking significantly better. The final output is a 12MP still image.

The sample images below come from a 14-second Magic Capture clip of a surfer riding a standing wave in a river. Google’s AI did a pretty good job of selecting frames that captured the highlights.

Image quality exceeds what you would typically expect from simply extracting a frame from a 4K video shot on a smartphone; it’s crisper, with better colors, and displays in HDR (when viewed on an HDR display).  It’s not quite up to the quality I’m used to seeing from a standard still photo shot on a modern 12MP smartphone, but it gets the job done, particularly if it’s mostly going to be viewed on other mobile devices.

For the best results, Google recommends enabling Video Boost before using Magic Capture, which ensures the underlying footage is captured in 10-bit 4K. That setting is worth locating before you go out to shoot, not after. Processing time is manageable for a single clip, but if you shoot several Magic Capture sequences back-to-back, the phone queues them for analysis, which can take a few minutes to complete.

One thing we haven’t fully assessed: how consistently Google’s AI selects the frame a photographer would have chosen. The feature’s premise, that the AI identifies the peak moment better than you can, is a pretty strong claim. Whether it matches a photographer’s instincts for capturing the decisive moment would require more testing to answer.

How Camera Looks works and what the photos look like

Camera Looks gives the Pixel 11 camera a selection of color and tone styles you can apply before you shoot. Google says the goal is to produce images that feel less processed and more like a deliberate photographic choice. The system is built around two layers that work together: base styles and creative presets.

In addition to Original (Google’s standard photo processing pipeline), there are three alternative base styles: Natural, Shadows and Vanilla, which sit at the top of the processing pipeline. They aren’t filters. They change how the camera collects and processes light before an image is generated, affecting how aggressively HDR merges multiple frames, how dark shadows are allowed to stay and how edge sharpening is handled. Think of them as choosing the core processing pipeline the camera runs on.

On top of those base styles, you can apply one of six creative presets: Editorial, Velvet, Classic, Digi, Black Tie and Minimal. These apply LUTs meant to emulate film chemistry, specific eras of digital photography or stylized monochrome profiles. The combination you pick matters: applying Velvet on top of the Original base produces a different output than Velvet layered over Vanilla.

The three alternative base styles can be set as your default shooting mode and can be customized. The six creative presets live in a separate carousel, and the interface can take a moment to get used to. The distinction between the two layers isn’t obvious at first glance, and understanding which choices you can adjust versus those you can simply apply requires some exploration. Once you’re oriented, the workflow makes sense, though.

Camera Looks fits a trend that’s already well established among both dedicated cameras and smartphones, where manufacturers offer in-camera film simulations, LUTs or custom picture profiles that let photographers customize their own looks. Google is applying the same logic to the Pixel 11 series, which means photographers who already think in terms of a preferred style will find the concept familiar.

Who are these features for?

Magic Capture and Camera Looks take different philosophical approaches to computational photography. Magic Capture removes a decision – when to fire the shutter – and replaces it with an AI judgment call. Camera Looks adds a decision, letting you define a visual style before you shoot rather than correcting for it afterward. One reduces your control while the other expands it.

Magic Capture makes the most sense for scenarios where keeping up with fast, unpredictable action is genuinely hard: kids, sports, pets, or anything where the peak moment is difficult to catch manually. Or, as Google pitches, it lets you “live in the moment” by just rolling video and not stressing about capturing the decisive moment. If you really care about which exact frame gets selected, though, you’re trading that choice for convenience. Google’s AI selections in our sample photos were solid, but the feature works best when you’re willing to accept its judgment.

Camera Looks, by contrast, gives photographers something to bite into and exert creative control. Setting a default look before you shoot is a reasonable workflow for anyone who knows the aesthetic they want and doesn’t want to recreate it in editing every time.

Both features reflect where Google is taking the Pixel camera: toward a model where AI handles more of the technical and even creative work. Whether that’s a net gain depends on how much of that work you wanted to do yourself.

We love to celebrate world events and special days as they approach. Last Friday, we asked the community what type of landscapes are near them and to share a photo with the rest of us. A key objective of the ask was to take a fresh photo only after our announcement. We wanted to see what people experience right outside their doors. It’s always fun to see the different places our community calls home.

“The journey of preserving images in time, which began with the invention of the daguerreotype, has evolved to the point where even the fleeting fury of lightning can be captured and immortalized. It bears witness to a powerful response from nature in an age when urban sprawl narrows the sky, and concrete stands in opposition to the natural world. The photograph makes visible the striking encounter between humanity’s desire to reshape nature and nature’s enduring power to remind us of its presence.” – Hicret

Here are some of the photos and comments they shared. Even our own team got in on the fun! Click each photo to see more within the forum conversation.

Vladimir Nogin

Vladimir Nogin

Ofer Agiv

Ofer Agiv

DNZM

DNZM

Slass

Slass

gpwitteveen

gpwitteveen

CaseyD

CaseyD

keepreal

keepreal

Joe Explore Photography

Joe Explores Photography

Abby Ferguson

Abby Ferguson

tranceliner

tranceliner

Gayle159626

Gayle159626

leunam

leunam

There are so many other photos we couldn’t fit in this article that are shared in the forums. While not all met the requirements for inclusion in this article, they all deserve praise. Thanks to everyone who took the time to step outside and capture the unique landscapes of your region.

Feel free to share your local landscapes to continue to celebrate the day with us. We can’t wait to see more!

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.

It’s been over a month since we launched the new DPReview.com website, and we wanted to give you an update.

We realize that a lot of the work we’ve been doing hasn’t been especially public-facing, so it hasn’t necessarily been obvious that this really is a Beta: we are listening to feedback and we are continuing to improve the site.

As well as fixing some glitches around user logins, we’ve been doing a lot of work to ensure that the site always delivers completely untouched, out-of-camera JPEGs, when you click through or download an image. This isn’t a requirement that the CMS software we’re using is usually expected to maintain, with the consistency that we need. So it’s meant a lot of work behind the scenes to ensure that we can live up to the high standards that we demand and that you can expect.

OOC images and HDR support

As a result of this work, we can now be confident that “Ultra HDR JPEG” files: JPEGs with HDR gain maps embedded, can be viewed correctly when you click through, but also when they appear within articles, if you have a compatible screen and browser.

HDR imagery is only likely to become more accessible and more prevalent in the coming years, so being able to correctly represent these files was important to us: both so that we can show the progress as it’s made and because it ensures we’re delivering all images exactly as they came out of the camera.

This may seem esoteric but it’s fundamental to the way our reviews are conducted: we provide unedited files precisely so you can draw your own conclusions, rather than just take our words for it.

Light mode and improved camera comparisons

With this done, we’re continuing to work on projects that you’ve been requesting and things that will be more obviously visible to readers of the site and members of the community. These include a “light” version of the site for editorial content, for those people who don’t like the site’s original white-on-black appearance.  We’re also working on a more advanced camera comparison tool that makes more extensive use of our camera specs database.

Neither is ready yet, but they’re just two of the more obvious features that we’ve heard the demand for, and are planning to deliver. In the meantime, please bear with us and keep letting us know how we can make the site even better.

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.

American street photographer Richard Bram has spent more than four decades finding small gestures and stories in public spaces. In a recent episode of the Eyeshot 50mm podcast, Bram reflects on his self-taught route into photography and his creative philosophy, resulting in a wide-ranging conversation that offers interesting insights and practical advice for anyone trying to improve their photography, particularly on the street.

One of the things that stood out to me most was Bram’s view on what takes an image from reality to fiction and how important context is. “I think when you click a shutter, it goes from reality to fiction just automatically,” he says. “Reality is four dimensions because there’s time. A rectangle is three dimensions, so it’s frozen, it’s pulled out, it’s completely out of context.” 

I also found it interesting that he points photographers toward painting as a resource for understanding light. Studying how painters from different eras constructed light and shadow, he suggests, can sharpen your ability to read and use available light on the street in ways that photography tutorials rarely cover.

The conversation is aimed at street photographers, but the ideas apply to anyone interested in photography, no matter what the genre. Whether you shoot portraits, landscapes or anything in between, Bram’s perspectives are useful challenges if you’re looking to improve your photography. There are many more fascinating thoughts throughout the conversation that I didn’t cover here, making it well worth listening to.  

The finalists for Ocean Photographer of the Year 2026 have been announced, featuring images that highlight the complexity and diversity of the world’s oceans. Presented by Oceanographic and Blancpain, the contest is now in its seventh year and showcases work across seven categories.

What sets this year’s iteration apart is a new category: Ocean Unseen: Hidden Worlds, which is dedicated to the ocean’s smallest inhabitants. Other categories include Adventure, Wildlife, Fine Art, Conservation Impact, Conservation Hope and Human Connection. The 2026 shortlist is among the most geographically and thematically varied the competition has fielded.

Will Harrison, the competition’s founder and director, said: “These photographs don’t just capture what’s beneath the surface; they surface the stories our planet most needs us to hear. As the pressures on our ocean grow, so does the importance of the artists who bear witness to them. This year’s finalists have produced work of extraordinary depth and courage, and we’re proud that Ocean Photographer of the Year continues to be the platform where those stories reach the world.”

Below is a small selection of the finalists. The full set of finalists across all seven categories is available on the Ocean Photographer of the Year winners gallery. Category winners and the overall Ocean Photographer of the Year 2026 will be announced in September 2026.

Ocean Unseen: Hidden Worlds

Mitsuna Kawai

Photographer: Mitsuna Kawai

Caption: A ribbonfish rises vertically through the dark waters of Osezaki, Japan. Its long, silver body and delicate fins are adapted for life in the open ocean. This image was captured during a winter blackwater dive. Around the ribbonfish, a swarm of salps – small, jelly-like animals that feed on tiny particles in the ocean – creates a glimpse of life moving through the deep sea.

Technical details: Canon EOS R10 | Canon RF-S 18-150mm F3.5-6.3 IS STM @ 18mm | F9 | 1/160 sec | ISO 200

Ocean Unseen: Hidden Worlds

Steven Lopez

Photographer: Steven Lopez

Caption: A close view of a giant black sea bass reveals tiny parasitic copepods clustered around its eye in a Catalina Island kelp forest. Once misidentified on other hosts, these copepods are now known to have a specific relationship with this threatened fish. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, the giant black sea bass was nearly extinct in Southern California but is now recovering through protection efforts. This image highlights how even a giant predator can support a hidden community of much smaller organisms

Technical details: Not available

Wildlife

Rafael Fernandez Caballero

Photographer: Matty Smith

Caption: In the Pacific waters of Mexico, this photograph captures the aftermath of a successful orca hunt. Nearly an hour after a pod separated a humpback whale calf from its mother, the orcas resurfaced carrying their prey between them. The event reveals the cooperative hunting strategies of orcas, where multiple individuals work together to isolate and subdue large prey. What the image doesn’t show is that after the kill, other scavengers, including silky sharks, were drawn to the remains, showing how one event can influence an entire marine food web.

Technical details: Nikon Z9 | Nikon AF-S Fisheye 8-15mm F3.5-4.5E ED @ 14mm | F9 |1/320 | ISO 800

Wildlife

Yuta Shigeno

Photographer: Yuta Shigeno

Caption: This photograph captures a male cardinalfish releasing the larvae he has been brooding inside his mouth. Although this species is common in Japanese waters, the image reveals a rarely noticed stage of its life cycle. The male carries and protects the developing eggs for around a week, eating little or nothing during this period. The larvae are released over several events, with the first release containing the largest number.

Technical details: Nikon Z8 | Nikon Nikkor Z MC 105mm F2.8 VR S | F18 | 1/200 sec | ISO 500

Conservation Impact

Celia Kujala

Photographer: Celia Kujala

Caption: A California sea lion has plastic netting tightly wrapped around her neck. This is a stark reminder of the lasting impacts of marine plastic pollution. The wound had already cut deep into her skin, yet rescuing her was impossible because of her location within a crowded colony. Images like this reveal the hidden cost of discarded waste and give a face to an often-unseen crisis. The catchlight in her eye creates an intimate connection that is difficult to ignore.

Technical details: Nikon D500 | Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 500mm f/5.6E PF ED VR | F9 | 1/500 sec | ISO 500

Conservation Impact

Daniel Taylor

Photographer: Daniel Taylor

Caption: A silky shark circles helplessly after taking bait from an illegal longline, its fate sealed by a steel hook and heavy line designed to prevent escape. Photographed less than 48 hours after Baja California’s seasonal shark fishing ban ended, the image reveals a hidden reality unfolding far from shore. A small group of pilot fish remains beside the shark, highlighting how the loss of one animal can ripple through an entire ecosystem.

Technical details: Not available

Conservation Hope

Francesca Page

Photographer: Francesca Page

Caption: Thousands of juvenile European lobsters are raised at the National Lobster Hatchery in Padstow, Cornwall, UK, before being released into the wild. By protecting the young lobsters during their most vulnerable stage, the Hatchery greatly improves their chances of survival. Here, these baby lobsters are being transferred into the space-efficient AquaHive system, an innovative hatchery design where each unit holds around 4,000 juveniles, safely separated across individual trays to prevent cannibalism.

Technical details: Sony a7 IV | Sony E 70-180mm F2.8 @ 111mm | F13 | 1/250 sec | ISO 400

Conservation Hope

Daniel Edmond Sullivan Jr.

Photographer: Daniel Edmond Sullivan Jr.

Caption: Thirty days after the 2023 Lahaina wildfire claimed 102 lives, thousands gathered off West Maui for a traditional Hawaiian paddle-out ceremony. Surfers and families formed a circle on the ocean, linking hands and releasing leis in memory of those lost. Photographed from above, the image captures a community transforming grief into a shared expression of love, remembrance and connection to the sea.

Technical details: Hasselblad L2D-20c | 24mm equiv | F2.8 | 1/640 sec | ISO 200

Human Connection Award: People and Planet Ocean

Rui Duarte

Photographer: Rui Duarte

Caption: Volunteers, surfers, lifeguards and conservation groups work together to refloat stranded short-finned pilot whales. While many animals initially returned to the sea, the pod stranded again further along the coast, highlighting the complexity of mass strandings. The image captures compassion in action, but it also reflects how wildlife rescue continues to evolve. In the months that followed, international experts trained the local community in safer, science-based stranding response techniques, strengthening future rescue efforts.

Technical details: Canon EOS 5D IV | Canon EF 16-35mm F2.8L III USM @ 26mm | F6.3 | 1/640 sec | ISO 400

Human Connection Award: People and Planet Ocean

Qingsheng Sun

Photographer: Qingsheng Sun

Caption: Thousands of fish-farming cages stretch across the sea, connected by floating walkways and small wooden huts to form a vast floating community. Extending for kilometers, this carefully organized aquaculture network supports local livelihoods while transforming the coastal landscape.

Technical details: Not available

Adventure

Ben Thouard

Photographer: Ben Thouard

Caption: A surfer races through the barrel of Teahupoʻo, French Polynesia, photographed from beneath the wave using a slow shutter speed. Rather than freezing the action, the technique blurs the rushing water while keeping the surfer as the focal point, conveying the incredible speed inside the wave. Teahupoʻo is a busy surf spot, yet the photographer has managed to capture an isolated surfer at this iconic location.

Technical details: Canon EOS R5 | Canon EF 85mm F1.4L IS USM | F12 | 1/10 sec | ISO 50

Adventure

Daan Verhoeven

Photographer: Daan Verhoeven

Caption: Freediver Arnaud Jerald descends into Dean’s Blue Hole in the Bahamas during a successful world record attempt at the Vertical Blue competition. Photographed from more than 30 meters below, the image captures the scale of one of the world’s deepest marine sinkholes. Crystal-clear water, sunlight and drifting sand combined to create a rare view of this remarkable moment.

Technical details: Canon EOS R5 | Canon EF 11-24mm F4L USM @ 11mm | F5/6 1/250 sec | ISO 100

Fine Art

Chelsea Mayer

Photographer: Chelsea Mayer

Caption: A pod of short-beaked common dolphins swims beneath the bow of a ship off the coast of southern California. Dolphins are known to ride the pressure wave created by moving vessels, using it to travel with little effort in a behavior known as bow riding. Calm seas and exceptional water clarity reveal the dolphins’ markings, while the reflection of the white, yellow and blue paint from the National Geographic Venture creates a psychedelic, abstract image.

Technical details: Not available

Fine Art

John Kowitz

Photographer: John Kowitz

Caption: Five-spotted eagle rays glide above the sandy seabed, their dark bodies and white markings contrasting against the pale background. These rays often travel together while searching for prey, using electroreceptors to detect hidden mollusks and crustaceans beneath the sand. Photographed during a dive in search of manta rays, this formation appeared during the journey back to shore.

Technical details: Sony a1 | Sony FE 16-35mm F2.8 GM @ 16mm | F5.6 | 1/160 sec | ISO 125

Getty Images

Attention photographers: Wednesday, August 19th, is World Photography Day!

World Photography Day is a global celebration that honors Louis Daguerre‘s invention of the daguerreotype.

In 1884, George Eastman of Rochester, NY, helped advance photography by developing a practical, flexible roll film, building on earlier photographic processes. Rather than relying on heavy glass or metal plates, Eastman’s approach used a light-sensitive gelatin emulsion on a paper backing – an early flexible film, though not yet the transparent film we know today.

Just a few years later, in 1888, Eastman introduced the Kodak camera, helping make photography accessible to a much wider audience.

If you want to learn more about the origins of the World Photography Day, check out our article from last year’s mini-challenge.

Take a landscape photo and celebrate with us

We’ve decided to celebrate World Photography Day by taking pictures, and we’re challenging you to do the same. But this time, have the photo represent your local landscapes.

• Take a new photo representing your local landscapes sometime after this announcement. Landscapes can mean anything from mountains, an urban park environment, an interesting retention pond, or even something in your backyard.
• Submit your photo in a comment reply below. Tell us something about it (at least 25 words), along with what camera you used.
• Photos need to be submitted by 12pm PT / 3pm ET / 7pm UTC on Monday, August 17th, to be considered for inclusion in our honorary photo album.
• Please only submit 1 or 2 photos

That’s it! We’ll pick our favorites and publish them in an exclusive album on the DPReview homepage next week, along with similar photos taken by DPReview’s staff. The article will also be mentioned in an upcoming newsletter.

You can use any camera or technique, but if you manage to shoot a daguerreotype between now and then, we can pretty much guarantee your submission will be selected.

Bring on the photos!

Meet Mikael Aguirre

Home base: Paris, France

Community member Mikael Aguirre, known as Orioto in the forums, loves hanging out among the crowds in his local area of Paris, France. The streets are where his photography comes alive. In the following chat we had with Mikael, it quickly became clear that the excitement and unpredictable nature of a crowd brings up some great opportunities for unplanned but unique photography.

“I studied cinema at university, and as I had bought a Canon EOS 550D for that filming need, I figured I would try photography one day out of curiosity. Love at first sight. I then started documenting my experiences, and soon after, fell in love with French humanist photographers and street photography. I also experiment a lot with video too.”

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 street photographer?

Mikael Aguirre

“I love to shoot in Paris, as there is a special sort of photography history there. Now I love to shoot young people being alive and messy. Seeing the motion and excitement is rejuvenating. To me, the mixed kids playing with cardboard in Robert Doisneau’s 50’s-era photography are teens and young adults being crazy in the street nowadays.

To illustrate the point, the above photo shows teens running in the middle of the road after PSG won the Champions League. I have others where teens are diving in the Canal St Martin (which is against the law).”

What’s in Mikael’s bag

Mikael Aguirre

Favorite cameras(s): Sony A7III with a Sony FE 35mm F1.8 lens

Preferred camera bag: “I carry with me the simplest Caselogic bag available on the market. It has just enough space for the camera and barely anything more.”

Must-have accessories: “An umbrella sometimes, because the rain always seems to surprise. And of course any snacks that I can get my hands on.”

For these spotlights, we often receive long lists of cameras, lenses and all sorts of accessories. But sometimes we’re surprised by the simplicity of a photographer’s setup, reminding us that great photography doesn’t necessarily require fancy equipment.

How has your photography changed since University?

Mikael Aguirre

“I love to shoot events where people get wild, and whenever Paris gets different, unique. It can be heavy rain, snow, pride or anything.

“At first, I was mimicking old black and white photos, trying to find humanist type stuff, such as cute and melancholic. I needed years and years to discover and appreciate modern street photography.

I started wanting to get closer, wider, with less blur and more colors in my photos. It isn’t just for aesthetics, but cause I realized that’s what humanism should be nowadays. Nothing artificial or dated, it should be raw and make you feel like you’re there in the scene. So, I went from a 70-300mm to an 85mm, and several other sizes. I found that 28mm is too wide for how I want to fill the frame.”

How do you optimize for a great shot?

Mikael Aguirre

“I’m not yet an expert in the Webb-type multilayered approach, and my photography is subject-centered rather than visually driven. By that, I mean I’m not necessarily looking for visuals; I’m looking for interesting subjects or moments. Then I try to create the best visual I can with them, depending on the subject.”

“I rely quite a bit on intuition. I’ll try to frame my subject in a way that allows the surroundings to contribute to the overall effect I intend, but most of the time I shoot very quickly, so I can’t really focus on everything unless I’m in a slower situation. It’s more about optimizing on the fly and relying on quick intuition.

Also, I tend to move very quickly to find a better angle. The goal is to make things like figure-to-ground relationships, the rule of thirds and the golden ratio automatic enough that they appear naturally in your mind without requiring too much conscious thought.”

Why street photography?

Mikael Aguirre

“I think street photography was born from literally documenting the streets, and it feels a little narrow when some intellectuals want to turn it into something more abstract. You can’t remove the core idea from something and then say that’s what it is now.

Street photography has become a niche bubble, but photographs that stand the test of time generally show us something. They aren’t just the product of an aesthetic challenge. As for me, I’m going to keep documenting life in Paris!”

Mikael enjoyed participating in this spotlight article and would love to hear what you think of his photography. He’s happy to answer any of your questions in the comments below.

You can check out Mikael’s other work on Instagram @oriotophotography.

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.

I’m a big history buff when it comes to all things civilization, so I was excited when a community member suggested we ask everyone who their biggest photography inspiration is. The question initially got me thinking about the deep history of cameras and how our use of them can shape future generations, so I took our community member’s advice last week and asked you all who inspires you.

Today, we’re sharing some of the results of that conversation, which is still ongoing in the forums. I encourage you to jump in and join the conversation with your own inspiring stories.

Inspiration from family

Inspiration can come from many sources. As was anticipated, many folks thought of their parents, or a friend or colleague.

Sergii Lakhno: When I was a kid, one of my dad’s friends was a professional photographer and worked for the news agency, who taught me a lot. Actually, he taught me everything, starting from EV choosing and ending with composition, light settings and more. Working on the big events or in the studio, I always remember his advice and follow it.

Inspiration from famous photographers

Photography’s greats were also mentioned. Topping the list was Ansel Adams, the American landscape photographer and environmentalist best known for his black-and-white photographs of the American West. Close behind was Galen Rowell, an American wilderness photographer and mountaineer. Both have helped shape our community’s perception of great photography.

sirhawkeye64: Ever since I was a kid, I liked to take pictures. When I feel like I’m not making much progress on some days, I remember something many photographers have said over and over again: not every shot has to be a hero shot, and if you’re not making mistakes, you’re not trying. My favorite quote, though, is from Ansel Adams: “Twelve significant photographs in any one year is a good crop. [“crop” meaning selection]”

Ernst Haas

Your stories

Here are several other community stories that mention over a dozen famous photographers, ranging from 1950s magazine portraits to 2026 Instagram hits.

Klaus dk: My first thought was Annie Leibovitz for making the iconic picture of Whoopi Goldberg in the bath of milk, and Gregory Heisler for his magazine portraits. Then it dawned on me that the inspiration from those top-shelf photographers (and I have an even longer list) all filter down to my level through layers of professional fashion and portrait photographers that are only known in small circles.

T-Schaeffer: Henry Turner. I’ve been following his YouTube channel for several years. Henry’s photography skills, combined with his infectious enthusiasm for the art, have inspired me to improve. I appreciate his down-to-earth approach and personable live-time narrative style. It makes one feel like they’re right there with him, experiencing the realities and joys of landscape photography.

egk4260: Bill Fuller, my science teacher near retirement in the late 1960’s. As a side project, Mr. Fuller got me interested in the basics of optics and film. We even did work in his home darkroom. Imagine the teacher who dared, or the parent who allowed that in the current era! My favorite early image, a surprisingly detailed image of the house across the road, was taken with a pinhole camera, a shoebox with a pinhole in the aluminum foil aperture.

Nicolas Alexander Otto: First, I would cite Kilian Schönberger, one of my photography colleagues and friends, who pretty much influenced a whole new style during the early days of Instagram. I do not share his stylistic trades even though we work together, but simply because I think his work ethic is absolutely commendable.

RetCapt: When I started in photography, I was living on the Monterey Peninsula in Calif. Despite being brand new and limited to 35mm film, I was drawn to the works of Adams, Edward Weston and the others who were part of the F64 group. Their images had to be razor-sharp, which meant maximum depth of field. I started making my own prints, using a great old Leitz Focomat 1c enlarger. The die was cast for me then.

Galen Rowell

Dale Baskin: I’ve loved cameras my entire life. In at least half the photos from my childhood, I’m holding some type of camera. Growing up, I took photos for years and loved it – some of them were even pretty good – but beyond trying to take great photos, I never quite figured out what to do with photography.

When I got older and started reading books and magazines about photography, I instantly fell in love with Galen Rowell’s work. He wasn’t just a photographer: he was a skilled writer and a legitimate explorer, one who went on expeditions and made first ascents of Himalayan peaks. He was doing the things I dreamed of: exploring remote places, taking photos, and writing about them.

But perhaps the most important thing I learned from Rowell is that it’s not enough just to get a nice photo or visit an unexplored place. You have to tell the story. Whether it’s a photo essay, an article, or some other medium, the story is what matters and what people remember.

Share who’s inspired you

Do you have a favorite photographer who’s inspired you? Share your photos and story in the forums.

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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).

Fog strips away distraction. It conceals rather than reveals, simplifying a landscape until only its essential forms remain. Ordinary subjects become mysterious, and scenes that would appear cluttered in clear weather become elegant studies of light, shape, and atmosphere. Fog encourages interpretation rather than documentation. Instead of recording every detail, it invites viewers to imagine what lies beyond the veil.

Many photographers see a bank of fog as a signal to pack away their cameras and wait for the weather to improve. Experienced photographers do the opposite, understanding that fog introduces depth, reduces complexity, and creates an emotional atmosphere impossible to duplicate under clear skies.

Like every artistic tool, however, fog is most effective when applied with restraint. Too little may have insufficient effect; too much can obscure the subject that attracted your attention. The challenge, and the opportunity, is finding the balance where difficult weather can be transformed into extraordinary photographs.

Distilling simplicity

Ben Hattenbach

Fog’s greatest artistic contribution is its remarkable ability to simplify. Many landscapes are visually overwhelming. Dense forests contain thousands of branches competing for attention. Mountain vistas often include countless ridges, rocks, and textures. Without a clear visual hierarchy, viewers struggle to determine where to look.

Fog solves this problem naturally. As distant detail gradually disappears, stronger forms begin to emerge. A solitary tree becomes the subject rather than merely one tree among hundreds. The graceful curve of a ridgeline replaces a jumble of competing textures. Negative space begins to carry as much visual weight as the objects themselves.

Depth perception

Ben Hattenbach

Successful landscape photographs often inspire a viewer’s eye to travel through the scene. Few natural phenomena encourage this more effectively than fog. In fog, distant subjects lose contrast, sharpness, and saturation, while nearby objects retain more of their original character.

Without the need for converging lines or overlapping objects, fog immediately communicates spatial relationships. Trees standing only a few hundred feet apart may suddenly appear separated by enormous distances simply because each successive row fades a little further into the mist. This gradual progression, from crisp foreground to increasingly subdued middle ground to barely visible background, is a signature of successful fog photography.

Scenes containing multiple planes often produce the strongest photographs in fog. Forested hillsides, mountain ridges, and winding rivers all lend themselves naturally to atmospheric layering. In many cases, adding only a single nearby element – a rock, tree, or wildflower – is enough to transform an otherwise flat photograph into one possessing convincing depth.

Negative space

Ben Hattenbach

When visibility decreases, the empty portions of one’s image can become as important as the subjects themselves. Fog provides one of the most elegant forms of negative space found in nature.

A lone tree emerging from blank mist. A distant lighthouse suspended in whiteness. Or, as above, the silhouette of a solitary emperor penguin peering out from behind an Antarctic ice storm. The surrounding emptiness isolates the subject, increases its visual importance, and creates an emotional sense of solitude.

Seasoning to taste

Ben Hattenbach

When photographing in fog, moderation is essential. Finding the ideal balance becomes one of the photographer’s principal creative decisions. Although you cannot directly control the fog itself, you can control how much of it appears in your photograph.

Try changing your distance from the subject. Every additional foot of atmosphere between camera and subject slightly increases the fog’s cumulative effect. Move to another altitude where the fog density will be different. Or just wait for the fog to change.

Working the fog’s edges

Ben Hattenbach

One of the most productive places to photograph is along the boundaries of fog. The transition between clear air and heavy mist often produces precisely the amount of atmosphere needed to simplify a scene without overwhelming it.

The edge of a fog bank is also where light frequently becomes most dramatic. Sunlight filtering across the boundary between clear and foggy air often creates luminous edges, illuminated layers, and glowing shafts that transform otherwise ordinary scenes into cathedrals of light. Exceptional fog photographs are frequently found during the minutes when the atmosphere is actively changing.

Shapes and silhouettes

Ben Hattenbach

Fog naturally encourages the eye to focus on form rather than detail. This makes it one of the finest environments for silhouettes. When texture disappears, shape becomes everything. The profile of a mountain ridge. A distant elk. Or as above a mother tree and her child.

Subjects that might appear unremarkable in full daylight suddenly become iconic when reduced to their simplest outlines. Silhouettes depend less on exposure than on recognizable form. The viewer should immediately understand the subject from its outline alone.

Resist the temptation to recover shadow detail during processing. Mystery is part of the photograph’s appeal. Not everything needs to be explained.

Exposure in the digital era

Ben Hattenbach

Reflective light meters still assume that the average scene should reproduce as a middle gray. Bright fog violates that assumption, encouraging the camera to underexpose unless compensation is added. Rather than relying on a predetermined exposure adjustment, use your live histogram. For scenes that change rapidly, as foggy landscapes often do, this immediate visual feedback becomes invaluable.

Unless you are seeking a silhouette, you’ll normally want to expose almost as brightly as possible while preserving important highlights. This approach maximizes image quality by recording more tonal information in the brightest portions of the file while avoiding clipped highlights.

Maintaining focus

Ben Hattenbach

Dense fog presents challenges even for the most sophisticated autofocus systems. Contrast diminishes. Edges disappear. Subjects drift in and out of visibility.

Focus peaking highlights areas the camera detects as sharp, while magnified live view allows precise placement of focus even in remarkably low-contrast conditions. If the composition contains layered subjects, consider focusing slightly closer than instinct suggests. The nearest sharp object frequently serves as the visual anchor that encourages viewers to enter the photograph before exploring its softer, more distant layers.

Remember that absolute sharpness is rarely the defining characteristic of successful fog photography. Atmosphere, not microscopic detail, is usually the subject.

Time and motion

Ben Hattenbach

Fog is seldom still. It drifts, curls and dissolves with astonishing subtlety. Those movements present creative opportunities every bit as significant as flowing water.

While fast shutter speeds preserve delicate textures within the fog, long exposures transform moving fog into smooth ribbons that emphasize mystery. Neither interpretation is inherently more truthful. Each simply tells a different story.

Lens choice

Ben Hattenbach

Ask landscape photographers which lens belongs on the camera during fog, and most will recommend a wide-angle. The answer is more nuanced.

Wide-angle lenses excel when the atmosphere itself becomes part of the foreground experience. They immerse viewers within the fog, emphasizing nearby textures while allowing distant features gradually to dissolve into the mist.

Telephoto lenses, however, often reveal fog’s greatest strengths. Distance exaggerates atmospheric perspective. Successive ridgelines merge into delicate tonal bands. Isolated subjects appear suspended within enormous volumes of atmosphere.

Rather than asking what lens covers the scene, consider which lens best expresses the atmosphere. That subtle change in thinking often transforms an ordinary photograph into a memorable one.

Forecasting fog

Ben Hattenbach

Until recently, finding photogenic fog depended as much on intuition and luck as on planning. Today, real-time tools such as Windy.com have dramatically improved photographers’ ability to predict when and where fog is likely to form. Such resources forecast fog directly on an interactive map, allowing one to see where fog will develop, drift and dissipate.

Before leaving home, spend a few minutes advancing the forecast hour by hour while studying the map. A valley predicted to fill with fog just before sunrise, or a coastal fog bank forecast to drift inland after dawn, may provide the fleeting conditions necessary for outstanding photography.

Final thoughts

Ben Hattenbach

Many photographers spend their careers searching for incredible landscapes. Fog reminds us that exceptional photographs often require nothing more than extraordinary light falling upon ordinary places. A familiar grove of trees. An empty shoreline. A road leading to the horizon.

Subjects overlooked under blue skies frequently become unforgettable once the atmosphere begins simplifying the world around them. That may be fog’s greatest gift. It teaches us to see less – and in doing so, to see more.

The finest fog photographs are seldom about weather. They are about mood. About suggestion rather than explanation. About allowing mystery to remain mystery.

The next time a forecast calls for dense fog, resist the temptation to postpone your outing until conditions improve. Instead, leave a little earlier. Walk a little farther. Stay a little longer. You may discover that the weather many photographers avoid is the weather that produces your strongest work.

When not photographing remote and foggy landscapes, Ben Hattenbach is a partner at a Los Angeles-based law firm where his practice focuses on the trial of complex intellectual property disputes. More of his images can be seen at www.benhattenbach.com and https://www.instagram.com/benhattenbach/.

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Editor’s note: We originally ran this story in conjunction with the solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 . We’ve updated and republished it ahead of the solar eclipse of August 12, 2026 .

Essentially, it’s the ultimate photo challenge. On April 8th, photographers across the continental United States – and especially photographers within the band of totality stretching from Texas to Maine – will have no more than a few minutes to get the shot of a lifetime when the moon passes in front of the sun, and a large swath of North America will be treated to a total eclipse.

And if you ask anybody who knows anything about astronomy, it is a huge deal. Dr. Tyler Nordgren is such a man. He’s a professor of physics and astronomy, an award-winning photographer and a self-described Night Sky Ambassador. Here’s what he had to say about the solar eclipse of August 21, 2017:

“Half the people that are alive right now weren’t even alive the last time something like this was visible from the continental US. Secondly, there are 12 million people just living in the path of totality that are going to get the chance to see it, so it will be the most-viewed total solar eclipse probably in history. The most seen, most photographed, most shared, most tweeted – potentially the most people in total are going to be able to experience this in one form or another.”

But unless you’re a seasoned landscape photographer or astrophotographer, Dr. Nordgren thinks you might be better off not photographing it at all and just enjoying the view. He quotes Warren De la Rue, a pioneer of astrophotography and the first person to photograph a total eclipse. “He wrote in his journal afterward that if he ever got the chance to see another one, he hoped to be able to see it without any equipment at all.”

In short, “See your first eclipse, photograph your second.” But if you’re unconvinced, Dr. Nordgren does have some advice.

How to prepare to photograph the eclipse

Preparation is key. Time is of the essence. Of course, you’ll want a tripod and a cable release to lock everything down and minimize shake.

“If you really must photograph this, you’re going to want to practice a whole bunch of techniques in the weeks leading up so it’s as second nature as absolutely possible during those precious seconds.”

Protecting your eyesight and your gear is equally important. It’s only safe to point your eyes or your camera sensor directly at the sun during totality. Just seconds before or after, and you’re risking serious damage. He suggests a pair of solar eclipse glasses and a filter for your lens. Per NASA, your glasses should meet the ISO 12312-2 international standard.

Be sure to use both during partial phases of the eclipse – you risk damaging your eyesight, not to mention your camera, with just a pair of glasses and an unfiltered lens. Crucially, don’t forget to take off the filter during totality. You’ll be extremely disappointed with the results if you don’t.

For more details, MPB posted a useful article detailing some specific settings to dial in.

What lens to use to photograph the eclipse

What kind of lens should you use? Well, not surprisingly, it all depends on what you’re going for. If you want the sun as your main subject, you’ll obviously want a longer lens. “To really capture big detail in the corona and the object itself, you’ll want a lens with a focal length of around 500mm; between 400 and 600mm at least.”

But don’t forget that a total eclipse also presents a unique landscape photo opportunity. If you’d rather capture the eerie effect on the scene, a wider lens will produce excellent results too. It’s all a matter of personal preference.

No matter what kind of shot you’re going for, you can size things up ahead of time by photographing a full moon.

“Something to keep in mind is that during totality, the sun turns black and is surrounded by this ghostly corona, so the spectacle of the object itself is this black disk with this white glow around it. That black disk is the size of the full moon, so take whatever your camera equipment is, take whatever your lens is and go out and photograph the next full moon. See if whatever size dot that appears. If that’s interesting to you, then great – that’s the lens to use.”

Should you go to the path of the totality?

In a word: yes.

If you’re set on photographing the eclipse and have the safety and gear requirements nailed down, all that’s left to do is get yourself into the path of totality for the big moment. Easy enough, right? Well, unless you’re lucky enough to live there, or you started planning your eclipse vacation years ago, chances are only getting slimmer that you’ll be able to find accommodations. Your best bet is to find what you can within a reasonable driving distance and set out as early as possible.

Ideally, you also want to aim for somewhere that’s less likely to have cloud cover. Dr. Nordgren knows all too well what a cloudy eclipse view looks like.

“If you’re going to do the close-up photograph, you could be almost anywhere, provided you’ve got clear skies. But I’ve also seen some really spectacular photos of totality through wispy clouds that give this dramatic view as well… just as long as you’re within that path of totality and the cloud cover is not so total that you’re utterly blacked out. And I’ve had that happen.”

If you’re hoping to get a wider shot, then great news: this eclipse will cross much of the continental US. Provided you can get there, you can pretty much take your pick of landscapes. “What do you find compelling?”

Whether or not you can get to the path of totality, and whether or not you choose to photograph the event, you’ll still be treated to an amazing array of photos and videos from photographers across the US. And unless you’re dead set on photographing it, consider leaving the camera at home.

“If you haven’t seen a total solar eclipse, I encourage you, don’t waste your time photographing it. Chances are, somebody else will get a better photo. But if you are that kind of expert photographer, practice so that you can set your camera up and let it do its thing with as little input as possible.” In the very best-case scenario, you’ll get a couple of minutes.

“That is not a lot of time to see what I think is the most awe-inspiring, unnatural, natural experience in nature.”

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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.

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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!

Hungarian photographer Benedek Lampert is famous for creating realistic-looking photos made of Lego bricks, challenging viewers to tell whether they’re looking at a real place or a carefully constructed scene. His Lego Eiffel Tower could have been part of the Paris skyline, and his models of Sir Ernest Shackleton’s ship Endurance and a meticulously detailed Formula 1 racetrack followed suit.

The photos in Lampert’s newest project, ‘The Nature We Replaced,’ don’t use Lego bricks at all. And they’re not meant to look real. In fact, they’re meant to look exactly like what they are: garbage.

Benedek Lampert

“Nature, wildlife and environmental storytelling have always been close to me, and I couldn’t think of a more universal issue than the future of the planet we all share,” he says.

The project consists of eight conceptual miniature photographs, each exploring the relationship between humans and the natural world. Instead of simply documenting environmental problems, Lampert set out to visualize the tension between wildlife and the world humans have built around it.

Benedek Lampert

“Instead of recreating nature, I rebuilt each habitat entirely from the materials that threaten it. Plastic bags become Arctic ice. Fishing nets become oceans. Wood products become forest. Plastic straws become bamboo. Every landscape is constructed from everyday human waste or objects associated with the destruction of that ecosystem,” he explains.

Go behind the scenes to see how Benedek Lampert created the scenes for his ‘The Nature We Replaced’ photo project.

Lampert tells DPReview that the whole idea started with a penguin.

“I recreated a viral penguin story using a miniature figure… and that project made me realize I wanted to do something bigger with wildlife photography. But the more I thought about it, the more I wanted the series to be about something beyond the visuals. That’s when the idea of building each habitat from the very materials that threaten it was born.”

Benedek Lampert

He isn’t chasing real-world accuracy. “It’s not meant to show reality exactly as it is,” he tells us, “but to exaggerate it just enough to make people stop and think about what’s happening to these habitats and species.”

Lampert partnered with German company Schleich to provide the animal figurines. “I chose Schleich because of the exceptional quality and realism of their figures. That level of detail was essential – using less realistic models would have taken away from the emotional impact and credibility of the photographs.”

Lampert’s attention to detail extends all the way to the image titles. Each ends with a period: a marker, he says, for the irreversible damage already done. He’s careful to add that hope is not lost, noting that conservation efforts have succeeded. “The period marks what cannot be undone, but not what can still be saved.”

More photos from this series

Benedek Lampert

Benedek Lampert

Benedek Lampert