How to add a trendy shadow fade in Lightroom (and ultimately be a poser)

Let's assume the following: 

1. You're a photographer. 

2. Or at least you tell people you are, even though you probably still have to keep your day job. 

3. You're on Instagram. 

4. You're sick of filters, because everyone knows #nofilter is a $&@T$%* thing now. 

5. You wanna add a fade to the shadows in your photos. 

6. It's not because you actually like it yourself.

7. It's because you've seen that all the popular photos on Instagram these days, the ones that aren't women taking their clothes off, have a fade in the shadows.

8. You use Adobe Lightroom, but you just haven't got the right look so far. 

9. And that's why you're here.

Still with me? 

The Good, The Bad, and The Incredible: My Zeiss Biogon 35mm f2 Review

One of my favorite cameras to use is the Zeiss Ikon Contaflex, a beast of an SLR produced in the 1950s and 60s. The Contaflex featured a design that was almost entirely made of metal, a non-interchangeable 50mm lens, and a firm but smooth focusing ring that I could always depend on to work hassle free. The thing is a tank, something you can lug around on your shoulder 

Skip ahead to a more modern Zeiss however, and it becomes funny to me how when, for the briefest of periods, I had access to a Zeiss Biogon 35mm f2 (MFR # 1365-659 for those who care), I found myself feeling perpetually frustrated with it. And yet now that it's gone and I haven't even touched a Zeiss in a few years, I'm left with a lingering doubt, a feeling that maybe I made a should have hung on to the more modern Zeiss. And so with that introduction out of the way, let's begin my extremely quick and dirty review of the Biogon T* 35mm lens from Zeiss!

Photo Friday, Matcha in Kyoto, December 16, 2016

Matcha in Kyoto
Canon EOS M

Kyoto is the best place in the world to drink matcha

TGIF, and we all know what that means - another (mostly weekly) Photo Friday. 

Kyoto, once the capital of Japan, is renowned for its' ancient temples, shrines, and otherwise unparalleled scenic beauty. At the heart of that is matcha.

How to master rangefinders coming from DSLRs

Rangefinder cameras are the pinnacle of photography for a select niche of photography enthusiasts. Are rangefinders somehow "better" than DSLRs, mirrorless and even compact cameras such as the Leica Q we recently wrote about? As you may already suspect or be aware, the answer to that question is completely subjective and up to your own individual preference. As has been shown time and again by DRTV's popular YouTube series Pro Photographer Cheap Camera, it really is the photographer that makes the shot special, not the camera itself. So DSLR, mirrorless, iPhone or rangefinder, there is no such thing as a "better" camera, there're just cameras with higher or lower specs that are then the responsibility of the photographer to learn to master in order to get an excellent shot.

That being said, it's undeniable that rangefinders are highly appealing to a number of people who get into photography. But the problem is that following the common progression many experience of going from a cellphone camera to compact, then on to a mirrorless or DSLR and then on to a proper rangefinder, rangefinder cameras can prove to be particularly challenging to master, even for those who already have a respectable amount of photography experience under their trousers. How does one go from shooting with a DSLR to shooting with a rangefinder without getting so frustrated they just give up on it?

Leica Watch: the Q Titanium, More Qs than As

Let’s talk about the Leica Q Titanium.

I remember earlier this year when Leica announced their at the time new, full frame pocket camera, the Leica Q. The big selling point at the time was that this was a “hand crafted camera” for your intimate, fun, personal moments, manufactured in Germany. No more of this joint-venturing with Panasonic that's been going on. No more reliance on the efficient, digital-experienced corporations from the far east. I've nothing against Japanese cameras or Japanese manufacturing (it’s some of the best in the world and I’ll buy Japanese whenever I can), but when you buy a Leica, it should be made in GERMANY, right? (or maybe Canada or Portugal?) You don’t buy a Leica because you want to own something manufactured in Japan or, heaven forbid, China. 

Travel Photography Hong Kong - Soho & Central

"Who knew that a place as small as Hong Kong could feel so big."

Earlier this year, shortly after the Lunar New Year holiday, (something which prompts a considerable part of east Asia to take off from work for a week to eat food, see family, sit around at home and watch TV) we experienced our first face to face with the streets of Hong Kong.