Things We Love
Latest Things We Love
3 years ago
1
Writing for Explora can be a bit like using a dating app for cameras. No matter how happy you are with your current situation, you are subjected to a nonstop parade of attractive alternatives—tempting you, teasing you, mocking your convictions. The urge to run off with a hot new body can be overwhelming. At least it has been for me since I hooked up with…
3 years ago
I never fancied myself a passionate lover of a battery charger. That is, until I tried the Nitecore FX1 Dual-Slot USB Travel Charger for FUJIFILM NP-W126 & NP-W126S Batteries. Am I kidding you? No. Seriously, I really, really like, maybe love, this camera battery charger. Why and how did…
3 years ago
If you’re into analog film cameras, by extension you’re also into light meters. This is because while most modern cameras contain excellent TTL metering systems, if you use film cameras made prior to the 1970s and ’80s chances are: A. the camera has a meter but it doesn’t work anymore; B. the meter works but it’s no longer accurate; C. they stopped making batteries for your meter when Jimmy…
3 years ago
I am one of those few lucky people who has found the perfect camera bag. And beyond it being just the perfect camera bag, it’s also the perfect bag for so much more than just carrying my camera. This miracle bag, this thing that I love, is the Domke F-802 Reporter’s Satchel. Minimal…
4 years ago
Every time I pick up the infrared camera rig I use to photograph New York City at night, I can’t resist quoting Tony Montana’s iconic words from the movie, Scarface: “Say hello to my little friend!” The reason for this is that the Sunpak 622 Super Pro Flash, when combined with an infrared head,…
4 years ago
I’ve never been a huge fan of converting digital images to black-and-white. My photo background is strongly tied to black-and-white film, and the black-and-white look is something I’ll always associate with film. In my opinion, digital images converted to black-and-white look… processed. Despite this, my curiosity was piqued by the…
4 years ago
Lenses come and lenses go… a lot like love. Also, like love, when you've found a lens that gives you that hard-to-define feeling of joy, comfort, and satisfaction, you should shout it to the world. For me, that lens is the Sigma 24-70mm f/2.8 DG OS HSM Art Lens. It's not that the Sigma is better than…
4 years ago
I’ll admit I have a penchant for doing things the hard way, but I’m convinced that this often presents greater rewards if you have enough patience. Last year, I waxed poetic on the Sony a7R II as a “Thing I Love,” and it was. But at the end of that article I wrote, “It’s still not my…
4 years ago
There are many reasons to ignore the Sony FE 100mm F2.8 STF GM OSS Lens. It could be that it’s not practical. It’s slow. It’s pricey. It has a lo-o-o-ong name. Despite these potential pitfalls, the 100mm leverages a unique optical design to deliver breathtaking bokeh and outstanding sharpness…
4 years ago
Here, there, and everywhere… like most people, I tote my cell phone with its integrated camera with me almost everywhere I go. For grabbing snapshots and quick videos to share easily with friends and family, you really can’t beat its convenience. And I love that I can bump up the quality of my mobile photos with my add-on x2 telephoto and x0.6 wide-angle Zeiss Exolenses.
Here are three views of…
4 years ago
Doing what I do for a living, I get to shoot with a wide range of cameras, lenses, and photo accessories on a regular basis, and I’ve been doing it for a while. Something that I’ve recognized for quite some time is how quickly our “latest-and-greatest” cameras become “obsolete,” thanks, in part, to evolving technologies combined with ever-clever marketing and our innate need to possess the latest…
4 years ago
When I first set out to create the portraits for “What is Photography?” I was faced with the challenge of building a series of photographs that shared a recognizable aesthetic, despite being made over the course of several months, working with many different personalities. The solution that producer John Harris and I came up…
4 years ago
I feel for those of you who run around with cameras without a threaded shutter release. Why? Because you will never experience the pleasure of depressing a shutter release topped with the Nikon AR-11 Soft Shutter Release. Come to think of it, you won’t get to enjoy the…
4 years ago
Before I reveal my deep love for the Leica APO-Televid 77 spotting scope, I wish to tell you all that I am not easily enamored with every item that B&H Photo sells, adorned with the famous “Red Dot” of Leica. That addiction afflicts my father (and many others), but not I. I do own two Leica…
4 years ago
Confession time. Are you sitting down? My L-bracket obsession has gotten so bad that I recently purchased an L-bracket for a camera I didn’t yet own. In the photography world, many of us are afflicted by G.A.S. (Gear…
