Jon Sienkiewicz Blog

Here are seven film shooting skills that make you a better digital photographer. And I’ll bet my last roll of Tri-X that they work.

There is something about mistletoe and holly that makes my heart scream out: “It’s time for some more cool photo gear.” The mere thought of reindeer hooves on the rooftop gives me the urge to clean out my gadget bag collection and make room for something new. If you suffer from the same seasonal malady—or if there’s a photographer in your life who deserves more than a re-gifted lump of coal—here’s a list of camera stuff that every picture-taker will enjoy receiving as a holiday gift.

I hadn’t planned to write a “Dads and grads guide for gifting” this year, but then I heard a radio commercial suggesting a DNA analysis kit for Father’s Day. You may have heard it, too—handy little $99 spit-testing thing that tells your dad where he got his genetics and such.

Now, back where I grew up, using the phrases “DNA test” and “Father” in the same sentence was not an event to be celebrated. So I decided that the onus is on Shutterbug to offer some gift ideas that don’t involve chromosomes. Here are seven that have clean genes but crazy names.

You’re hiking in the forest and stumble upon a friendly grizzly bear who’s seated comfortably on a fallen log. You left your big camera at home to lighten your load, and the anemic lens on your smartphone just won’t do the situation justice. Without having a real camera with you to document the scene, how can you answer, once and for all, that age-old question, “Do bears sit in the woods?”

Looking for photo gifts that are a little different for the photographers in your life? Start here with our list of the 7 greatest new and/or unique photo gifts in the universe. If you are into digital photography or cameras of any sort yourself, odds are you’ll find something on this list of photo gifts that you’ll want to call your own. We did.

Even people who are passionate about photography often make common mistakes that prevent them from reaching their maximum potential. No one is immune. To advance to the next level of proficiency, overcome the tendency to fall victim to these common goofs.

In an age when fast food coffee cups are marked “Caution: Hot” it’s unfortunate that some of the hidden hazards photographers encounter don’t have warning signs. Forewarned is forearmed, as wise men say. Or as I like to say, sometimes the difference between a disaster and a minor annoyance is knowledge, experience and preparation—or accidentally stumbling upon some obscure piece of advice on the internet.