Lens envy is indeed a real thing. If you’ve ever hung out with a group of wildlife photographers, the drool factor is real — 400mm, 500mm, even 600mm lenses are seemingly the normal choice — but are super telephoto lenses really necessary for amazing wildlife images? These lenses do indeed have their place in wildlife imagery, but there are plenty of ways to create wonderful wildlife images with smaller focal lengths.

Before we get going, Whenever you’re photographing wildlife, respecting the animal and its environment comes before capturing any image!

Responsible photography

No matter whether you’re photographing a giant grizzly bear or…

What is a teleconverter?

A teleconverter allows you to increase the apparent focal length of a lens, giving you a greater telephoto effect than a lens alone.

It’s basically a magnifying lens that is placed between the camera body and primary lens. Teleconverters are favorite accessories of nature and wildlife photographers, because they allow them to extend the photographic reach beyond what might be safe when out around wildlife or in an unfamiliar location.

In general, wide-angle prime and zoom lenses are not compatible with teleconverters; which makes sense, since you’re using a teleconverter to increase your reach — and you’d likely start out…

We’d like to share the work from 20 creators who have been inspiring us this year. They’re a diverse bunch — content creators, photographers, cinematographers and videographers, portraitists and fine-art conceptual artists.
Their work covers everything from headshots and portraits, families and weddings, to landscapes, street photography, astrophotography, documentary, photojournalism to time-lapse, video and live streaming.
You’ll find these creators encompass a wide variety of experience from newbies to those with well-established businesses. They’re a mix of self-taught through traditionally educated artists.
Stunning, whimsical, beautiful, amazing, striking, introspective, thought provoking all describe this collection of images. They’ll make you smile, laugh, think and reflect.

Check out the article, first published on nikonusa.com to view all 20 images and learn about each of the creators. Then follow them on Instagram!

By Mike Mezeul II

This week in the northern hemisphere, Comet NEOWISE will be rising above the horizon in the pre-dawn hours, giving us one heck of a show through the end of July.

Without a doubt, our night sky is absolutely full of photographic gems. From the Milky Way to the Aurora Borealis to constellations and more, a bit of patience, dedication and sleep deprivation can yield some of the most jaw dropping imagery.

One of my favorite night sky subjects to focus my camera on is a comet. Why, you may ask? Well, besides the fact that I’m getting to create an image of a cosmic piece of ice and gas that is moving at nearly 2,000 mph, I enjoy the challenge of shooting them.

Although a great…

While I would normally be setting myself up for photographing Major League Baseball, rock concerts and my favorite migratory birds spending the warm weather on Long Island, NY, I’ve found myself at home, like everyone else, not being able to get out to do the things that I really love. And like so many other photographers, looking for ways to stay creative, especially when we’re faced with challenging situations like being quarantined in the wake of a C0VID-19 pandemic.

Inspired many years ago by New York City based photographer Peter B. Kaplan who did a lot of bird photography in…

Make Mother’s Day and Father’s Day extra special this year, even if you can’t be there in person. It’s more important than ever to take photos and videos to share with loved ones.

We may not be able to be with one another right now, but we can still share photos and videos to brighten a loved one’s day.

To help you take great photos you’ll want to share, we’ve compiled our top tips for taking great portraits of your kids and pets — because, well, some folks really love their grandkitties and grandpups. …

Get inspired. Learn something new. Be entertained.

Nikon’s Creator’s Hour is now showcasing the work and interviews with photographers who were the first to use the new—next generation—Nikon Z 6II and Z 7II mirrorless cameras.

Creator’s Hour On Assignment discusses these first assignment shoots and hear all about the quality of the output—photos and video—as well as improvements to the Z series mirrorless cameras and more!

Check out all of the Creator’s Hour On Assignment interviews and set your calendar for the next episodes to come.

Take a different look at photography — at finding new subjects and new ways to view those subjects. With abstract photography, composition can be key. You can go the route of shooting a macro view of a subject — asking the viewer to try to figure out what it is they’re looking at or simply finding colors or shapes, patterns and textures intriguing enough to you to make a photograph. Use the idea of monochromatic — not necessarily as just B&W but as an image that is all about one color.

Play on light and shadow. Shadows are just as…