News

We’ve run dozens of stories of photographers shooting amazing photos and videos of the Northern Lights, aka the Aurora Borealis. But many, if not most, of those images and clips have required some serious traveling and trekking by the photographers to capture their stunning Northern Lights moments. Sometimes though, you just stumble upon them by sheer luck.

It’s likely that many of you are unfamiliar with the UK-based Societies of Photographers or their international Photographer of the Year (POTY) Awards. But one look at the gorgeous images of the Societies’ 2016 winners show why you can learn a bit about photography and gain inspiration from obscure photo contests.

Outdoor photography is a favorite with Shutterbug readers so this was a very competitive assignment. But we were looking for more than just your summer vacation photos at Yosemite: we were seeking something both beautiful and different. We also asked you to keep your mind open for what’s considered “The Great Outdoors.” We were looking for everything from images of the majestic wonder in Denali National Park in Alaska, to the delicate pink-hued skies of Key West, to a stunning vista as seen right from your backyard. Most importantly, we asked you to remember to keep the “great” in the Great Outdoors with your photography submissions for this assignment.

It’s late at night, but Fujifilm just unveiled two new X-Series cameras and a sweet, compact 50mm f/2.0 lens and we didn’t want to wait until morning to share the news. Included in the late-night introductions are the cutting edge X100F rangefinder-style mirrorless camera, an X-T20 interchangeable-lens camera targeted at enthusiasts, and the compact Fujinon XF 50mm f/2.0 R WR lens.

Leica is going back to the future (again) with its newest digital rangefinder, the full frame, 24-megapixel M10. With this new model, which is the follow-up to the Leica M (Typ 240), Leica has trimmed the size of the M10, making it 4mm (1/8-inch) thinner than its predecessor. Part of that size reduction is due to the fact that Leica has gotten rid of the 1080p HD movie capture mode that was available on the previous model.

We often turn to Joe Edelman for simple lighting tutorials, and in the video below he’s a bit perturbed because photographers often mess up outdoor portraits by not using their reflectors properly. Follow Edelman’s simple advice and you won’t make this mistake.