Things have been really ramping up on Light Stalking these days, and it makes perfect sense why. We publish a full-length article nearly every single day, have weekly contests in the forum and a rapidly growing community of users who post many photos and topics for discussion each week. In fact, nearly a million people visit Light Stalking each month. With all of this activity, it is easy to miss important articles and all of the great photos uploaded by our users. So, we sum it all up for you each week. Here is what you may have missed this week on Light Stalking.
Photo of the Week
Congratulations to tom dinning for this strong and colorful photo of the week ‘Gecko'! Tom can also be found on his blog, Facebook and Twitter. You can comment on this photo here.
The Most Popular Stories from the Last 7 Days
•A Brief History of Nikon – We are spoiled these days by all of our photography choices, but the main camera manufacturers have remained roughly the same. Nikon has been one of the mainstays of camera brands since the early 1960s. This article walks you through the history of Nikon starting in 1917 and ends with now.
•Why Do We Love Photography So Much? – We love photography. It's the reason you are reading this article. Beyond the love of our gear and our state of the art cameras that would have been unimaginable only a few years ago, are the real reasons we love photography. In a nutshell it's about capturing a moment in time. Whether we are documenting the news, capturing snapshots of our loves ones, perfect strangers or making a visual record of places we have been, taking photographs satisfies the deep desire to preserve our memories of the moment. Some people think of photographers as mere “failed artists”. This rather ignorant opinion couldn't be further from the truth. Rather, we see the art inherent in reality.
•A Stack of Photography Links That Just Plain Rock – Toad Hollow Photography brings you yet another weekly installment of the best in the world of online photography. This week's tutorials include The radial filter in Lightroom 5, Advanced masking in Photoshop, 50 incredible photography techniques and tutorials and two tutorials about photographing people. Special features this week include a disturbing but amazing article which photographically documents men falling to their death from a burning building and a YouTube video of amazing volcano footage. Also, check out Toad Hollow's review on Topaz Labs new product called Topaz Clarity (bought it myself and it's a great editing tool). Finally, be sure to check out the great image collections, photography and photo blogs which were all hand-curated by Toad Hollow Photography.
•When a Lack of Color is the Perfect Answer – Every photographer has wondered if they should shoot a certain scene in black and white. True, we can always convert the image to black and white in post. However, we can't really see the tonal value of a given scene at first glance without some training. It might be helpful to set your camera to black and white to really visualize it right on the spot. It is possible to get a sense of how to predict tonal values with a bit of education, and there is some helpful information on that in this article. Also, there are indeed times when a photo just screams for being shot in black and white. Some of the points made in this guide will certainly help you use black and white to create maximum impact in your photos.
What You Missed in the Light Stalking Community
Submit your photo to this week’s photography challenge – Fine Feathered Friends! Show us the birds that live around you, in the zoo or wherever you can find them.
We have had some great responses to our last few photography challenges on the forum. Last week’s photography challenge was Details! – Do you have any photos to share with us that show details? Details can be small and/or unrecognizable, abstract or realistic.
Also, check out the Light! challenge from the week before. Photography is all about light, so this might be the most open-ended weekly photography challenge yet. Do you have any photos that show the creative use of light? We would love to see them.
We’d love to chat with you! Add your opinions here:
•Tree
•So I took a walk by the beach
What Are Our Members Up To?
We have some amazing members here at Light Stalking that run the gamut from career professional photographers through to beginner enthusiast. Here’s what a few of them are up to in photography.
Great Shots Uploaded to the Light Stalking Community
Photo by Julie.
Photo by Andy. Andy can also be found on Flickr.
Photo by Rachael Towne. Rachael can also be found on her website, Facebook, Twitter and Flickr.
Photo by David Blacker.
If you’re not already part of the Light Stalking community then come and join the fun. We promise not to bite!
1 Comment
Great feature article Rachael! I really look forward to these every week, it allows me to make sure I haven’t missed anything around here. Things happen fast at Light Stalking, there’s so much activity. Thank you for including our article and your kind words, as well, we really appreciate it!