HDR News You Can Use – December 2018

We hope you’ve had a wonderful Holiday Season. To celebrate the year, this issue points you to two 2018 photo compilations that are moving and thought provoking. Then there’s a story of one jaw-dropping celestial photograph, a 2018 best gear of the year review and some photo tricksyou suspected but didn’t know for sure. And, let us be the first to wish you a Happy New Year. Let’s get going!

This Is The World’s Year In Photography

What a year 2018 was and what a collection of photos this is. Photojournalism is the area of photography that is the most immediate. It’s immediately created, immediately distributed and immediately consumed. Beautiful images and heart ripping images appear and then disappear with the rapidly accelerating news cycle. As the introduction to this New York Times extensive group of images tells us, a second, slower look at the important images of the year gives us the time to reflect how they impact our sensibilities and our soul. This is a must-see image collection. Some images will break your heart. Some images will make you smile. The sum total of experiencing these images is a better understanding of our world and photography’s ability to shape it.

Experience this must-see collection HERE

Beyond Amazing – Greatest Photo Ever Taken From A Commercial Airline

This is a story of a photographer, a commercial airline and a once-in-a-lifetime event. The photo is so strong and the tale behind it so wonderful we’re just going to send you to the story.

See it HERE

Landscape Photography Apps You Can’t Live Without

Great sunsets, star-dense night skies, high and low tides are components that go into a memorable landscape photo. And, let’s not forget about making that classic Milky Way shot. Getting these elements into your landscapes requires preparation like consulting Google Maps, National Park and state tourism websites and word of mouth. But, what if you could exactly predict the sky, tides, sunrise, sunset and more before you ever leave your home? You can do all that and more with these apps.

Check out the apps HERE

Shooting the Full Moon Behind an 800 year-old Church

This piece shows you landscape photography preparation in action. It’s a great look at Swedish photographer Göran Strand who had the idea and did the research to photograph the full moon rising behind an 800 year-old church on Frösön island in a lake-dense area in central Sweden. All of Strand’s preparation yielded a stunning shot and a compelling video segment.

See Strand make the image HERE

Tricks Of The Trade – Food Photographers Are Magicians

You always sort of knew that the food photographs you see hanging in McDonalds or jumping off the page in a glossy magazine weren’t quite truthful. You look at that shot of a cheeseburger bursting out a fluffy bun with beautifully melted cheese and the perfect dollop of ketchup dripping from its edge and say to yourself 1) boy am I hungry and 2) that can’t be real. You’re right! It’s not real and the tricks used to make it look real will amaze you.

See how your eyes are fooled HERE

Best Camera Gear Of 2018

Getting a great overview of the year’s gear from a source you respect is an end-of-year requirement for the rabid photo head. Therefore, we send you to a full round up by dpReview’s Chris and Jordan. In addition to being entertaining their reviews are quite valuable if you’re thinking of making a gear brand change or just contemplating adding to your existing kit.

See the reviews HERE

National Geographic 100 Best Pictures Of The Year

As a photographer you have to love the end of the year with it’s “best-of” collections and lists. When thinking about the National Geographic’s end of year selections you would expect an inspiring and feel-good collection of images reflecting the best of 2018. And, that’s what you get with National Geographic Director of of Photography Sarah Leen’s selection of photos for this year.

See the images that will be in your mind this year HERE