PT360: Episode 19 – Film Makes a Comeback, a New 600mm Prime Lens, Animals Doing Funny Things, the Best Drone Photos of 2015, and a Good Ol’ Fashioned Photography Debate
In this episode of PT360, we take a look at the growing film photography movement and how it’s becoming a medium of choice for young photographers born in the digital age. We’ve got the inside scoop on a massive new lens as well, and you won’t believe what this lens means for the future of cameras for one company. We take a look back at some of the best photos of the year too – animals doing crazy things and crazy photos taken from drones. There’s also a new feature this week – The Great Debate. The inaugural installment tackles the issue of whether a photography degree is even worth it anymore. So, without further ado, let’s get to it!
In the News
Photographers Use Instagram to Find Fellow Analogers
A bunch of 20-something photographers in Phoenix buying 50-year-old cameras and putting the resulting images on Instagram, the world of food photos and selfies, sounds like a crazy notion, but it’s happening. And happening a lot.
There’s a bit of a revolution happening in the world of digital photography, and that revolution is a throwback to the days of film. The grit, the grain, and the texture produced by “real” cameras have caught the eye of many young photographers, and they are flocking to websites like eBay to buy up old equipment and put it back into use.
The result is a 21st-century photography club in which everyone uses 20th-century technology. There’s a sense that the waiting and seeing of film photography has its merits, something that many people would thumb their nose at in a day and age in which immediacy is the new normal.
From using old equipment to processing their own negatives to scanning photos and meticulously editing them, this new kind of photographer is kicking it old school, and the results are quite impressive.
Learn more about the film revolution in Phoenix and check out some incredible example images at the Phoenix New Times.
Supercharge your photography skills. 600+ Premium lessons waiting for you HERE.
The Rumor Mill
Enormous 600mm Lens on the Horizon for Canon
If you’ve been waiting for Canon to develop a super-telephoto prime lens, the wait may soon be over.
Patents recently filed in Japan show the design of the EF-M 600mm f/5.6 DO IS lens, and man does it look nice! As the name indicates, the lens will have Diffractive Optics (thus the DO in the name), which uses a nifty new element to improve image quality while reducing the overall size of the lens. The lens will also reportedly have built-in image stabilization, which is a must-have for a lens of this size.
The real kicker is that this lens is designed specifically for a mirrorless camera, which Canon has been rumored to be developing for quite some time. So, not only does it appear that there will be a giant new prime lens for Canon fans, it seems they will finally get their mirrorless camera too.
Head over to Camyx to learn more.
Book of the Week
As they say, the best way to learn is to do, and our selection for Book of the Week certainly takes that mantra to heart.
The Photographer’s Playbook: 307 Assignments and Ideas is full of fun projects, great photography stories, and anecdotes about photography from some of the leading photographers in the world. The book includes exercises to help you acquire new skills, hone existing ones, and develop stronger technique for improved photos. From selecting gear to taking photos to post-processing, this book covers it all! It’s a great resource for photographers of all levels of experience. It’s currently available on Amazon for $18.81.
Must-See Photography
The Funny Side of Wildlife
The Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards were recently announced, and the winning entries certainly achieved the mission of capturing moments of levity in the wild.
In addition to photographing wildlife doing weird things, the purpose of the competition is to bring attention to the need to preserve and protect wildlife and the environments in which they live. Organizations like Nomad Tanzania, Kenya Airways, Nikon UK, Natural High Safaris, and One Vision Imaging were part of the competition in support of this mission.
Congratulations to all the winners! Check out the winning entries here.
A Look Back: The Best Drone Photos of 2015
Unless you’ve been living under a rock recently, you know that drones have become a popular means for photographers to capture a completely different view of the world.
But what you might not know is that drone photography is so popular that there’s a website totally dedicated to drone photography. That site is Dronestagram, and they just announced their favorite drone pictures of 2015.
The winning photos are stunning, to say the least. The panel of judges, which included Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer Ken Geiger and Jean-Pierre Vrignaud, editor-in-chief of National Geographic France, had thousands of high-quality entries to pore over, but it’s hard to imagine any of them being more breathtaking than the winning images.
See just how far drone photography has come by visiting the 2015 Drone Aerial Photography Contest page.
The Great Debate
In Depth: Is a Photography Degree Worth It?
It’s an internal debate that many aspiring photographers are having right now: Do I go to school and get a photography degree, or do I jump into it with both feet and learn on the go?
Naturally, there are advantages and disadvantages of both paths. In the interest of generating some hearty discussion, let’s review them!
Photography Degree: Advantages
When thinking about the advantages of getting a degree, the first advantage that comes to mind is that you actually have a degree. That little piece of paper is proof positive that you’ve put in the time and effort, that you have the skills, and that your college or university believes you to be qualified to enter the world of work. A related benefit is that even in today’s climate of easy access to high-quality learning materials online, some jobs still require photographers to have a degree.
There’s something to be said for having access to real people in the flesh when you need help or guidance as well. Be it professors or classmates, going to photography school sets you up for success by providing a framework of support as you learn and grow. And don’t forget the value of the social experiences one has during the college years. You can make lots of friends that share the same interest in photography as you do, have a well-formed group of people with whom to shoot, and can more easily network with other photographers.
Photography Degree: Disadvantages
Of course, the biggest disadvantage to getting a photography degree is the expense. It’s no secret that college is extremely expensive, and with more and more students taking out more and more loans to cover those costs, it’s expensive in the long-term as well. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average annual salary for photographers in the United States is a paltry $30,490, so racking up tens of thousands of dollars in student loan debt becomes an even bigger issue.
Another problem is that what you learn, to a certain extent, is in the hands of the professor. He or she decides what textbooks to use, what techniques to teach, and they may or may not even touch on the areas of photography in which you are most interested. In some programs, there is a frightening lack of responsiveness to an industry that’s changing very rapidly, so some of the coursework you’re required to take may already be out of date and irrelevant. That’s not very comforting when you’re shelling out big bucks to learn.
Learning on Your Own: Advantages
Naturally, the advantages of learning photography on your own are the weaknesses of getting a degree. There’s an incredible amount of flexibility, both in terms of when and what you learn. Even if you’re interested in something relatively obscure like pinhole photography, there are all kinds of resources at your disposal. The point is that you don’t have to sit through classes you don’t want to take simply because they are required for graduation – on your own, you and you alone decide what to learn.
Another clear advantage of taking the solo path is that cost-wise, there’s no comparison. There are an abundance of excellent, free photography resources out there that will help you learn the skills you need to take stunning photographs. And even if you sign up for a fee-based photography course online, you’ll be paying cents on the dollar compared to the cost of attending a brick-and-mortar college.
There is an obvious benefit of flexibility of learning when you tackle it on your own terms as well. You can read, watch videos, and take practice photos whenever you want. You can also dive into cutting-edge topics as soon as they become relevant. This flexibility means that your self-made learning program can grow and change right along with the industry. That’s something that most photography degree programs cannot boast.
Want more premium photography lessons? Click HERE.
Learning on Your Own: Disadvantages
Of course, learning on your own means you don’t get a degree when all is said and done. While there are many photography-related jobs that don’t require a degree, as mentioned above, there are still some – many of them lucrative – that won’t give a degreeless photographer the time of day. That puts the onus on you to demonstrate that you have the knowledge, skills, and talent to be a great photographer in the absence of accolades from a college or university.
And, while learning on the fly can lead to the development of excellent skills, the trial-and-error nature of beginning photography can be a bit much to handle for some people. Without a classmate, professor, or mentor close by, it can be a long and lonely road full of frustration. That’s not to mention the lack of access to high-quality equipment that degree-seekers tend to have. You may not have a fancy computer lab with brand new iMacs and the latest version of Lightroom to process your photos, and that can certainly be a detriment.
In the end, getting a degree or learning online are both great ways to hone your craft and learn more about being a good photographer. What are your thoughts? Should photographers get a degree or make use of the wealth of online resources to learn on their own?