Photography Life

Remember the days when we eagerly awaited each new camera generation to see how noisy its high ISO photos would be? Not so long ago, ISO 6400 was the absolute limit of real usability. Anything above that was, at best, suitable for special events like UFOs, Loch Ness monsters, or alien landings. Not so any more. Today, I’m going to back the Nikon Z9 into a corner and show you how well it performs at extreme ISOs. How high can you go?

For photographers, there is nothing quite like traveling to the Svalbard archipelago and venturing onto the pack ice for photography. As I pack for such a trip, I am evaluating the camera gear that worked best on my previous Arctic travels. My goal is to travel with a streamlined, yet highly capable camera kit for everything from landscapes to wildlife – but with a primary objective of photographing polar bears.

I’m excited to announce two things today! First, we have just published the newest video from Photography Life: a field test of the Nikon Z 28-135mm f/4 PZ, with extensive sample footage from the lens. And in bigger news, I am very excited to welcome Jakub Horák to the Photography Life team! Jakub is a skilled videographer and filmmaker from Czechia. He and Libor will be collaborating to film more Photography Life videos in the coming months. You can meet Jakub, and watch Libor’s field impressions of this lens, in the video below.

It’s Sunday, 6:40 a.m., and I’ve been staring at the surface of a fishpond for over two hours now, trying to photograph Europe’s largest eagle — the white-tailed eagle. I’m standing in cold, muddy water from the knees down. The smell of rotting silt clings to the air. I keep myself warm with the thought that a wave of tropical heat is supposedly heading for Europe. Somewhere nearby, a cuckoo calls. A green woodpecker just flew past behind me, and for hours now I’ve been hearing wild boars splashing around somewhere out of sight in the reeds. However, the creatures nearest to me are the hungry female mosquitoes. And the eagle? Nowhere to be seen. For hours, I have been experiencing the true essence of wildlife photography.

Most tripods can be considered relatively universal tools that can be used for just about anything within their weight category. Even the tripod I’m reviewing today – the Fotopro E7 Camo – could, in theory, be used for something like studio photography. However, its camouflage coating and other design features clearly mark it as a companion for a different kind of adventure!

The Hohem iSteady MT2 is a 653g, 3-axis video gimbal. It can hold a lighter camera or a phone up to 1.2kg, and it can provide more stabilization for video compared to the IBIS systems on cameras. How does it perform, and is it the right gimbal for you? Read on to find out!

It was just before five in the morning. The páramo, and the sky above, were still lit only by thousands of stars. High in the Ecuadorian Andes, the nights are cold. And the fact that the equator lies just 50 kilometers away changes nothing about that. Here, on the Earth’s longest line of latitude, life follows a strict routine: The sun rises at six o’clock in the morning and sets twelve hours later, every single day of the year. For those twelve hours, the sun reigns supreme in the sky. The only creature capable of eclipsing its brilliance is the Andean Condor.

Just a few weeks ago, I found myself in what can only be described as true photographic nirvana. I was standing on the edge of a high cliff, completely surrounded by a breathtaking natural spectacle. In the glow of the setting sun, majestic Andean Condors soared above and below me, while Carunculated Caracaras darted through the sky. I didn’t know what to photograph first. I was overwhelmed. There are moments when photography is “just” fun. But this… this was pure photographic ecstasy. The kind of experience I might not encounter even once a year. And what about you? What photographic moments make your pulse race? I’d love to hear about them in the comments on this issue of Photography News.

In this article, I will share my experience taking photos of the muskox in Norway’s Dovrefjell National Park in the heart of winter. You can consider this my continuation of the essay “Photographing the Muskox in a Winter Wonderland” previously published on Photography Life by Dr. Michael Rübhausen.

From now through June 22nd, B&H is running a lot of big sales as part of their Bild Expo event in New York City. There are deals on every category of equipment, including things like laptops and TVs, but I’ll stick to the most interesting photography sales for you today.