Photography News

Ah chargers, the unsung heroes of our camera bags. When Anker sent over their new Nano Charger with the built-in smart display, I was skeptical. A screen on a wall charger? It seemed like a solution in search of a problem. After a week of daily use, I can admit I was wrong. This little charger has genuinely changed how I think about portable power.

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If you're like me, you've accumulated a small graveyard of USB-C hubs and docking stations over the years. There's the one that lives on your desk, the compact one you throw in your bag for travel, maybe a spare floating around somewhere because you forgot you already had one. It's an annoying reality of modern laptop life: the hub you need at home isn't the hub you want to carry, and vice versa. Anker's new Anker Nano Docking Station takes a genuinely clever swing at solving this problem, and after a week of daily use, I think they've nailed it.

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“Photo North festival has something magical - this may sound like a cliche but it's different to other photography festivals. There is an atmosphere of equality, informality and mutual support and of course, a great programme of exhibitions and talks.” Visitor

 

Credit: Anne Worthington/Photo North Festival

From the series, Young Skins

 

Photo North Festival is back.

 

World renowned and emerging artists prepare to exhibit at Photo North Festival #7 13-15 March 2026 The Carriageworks Theatre, Millennium Square, Leeds UK.

 

As the winter ebbs away, the photography industry prepares to shine on the historically proud and culturally vibrant city of Leeds for the seventh edition of Photo North Festival.

Exhibitions by legends of the profession will be on display alongside up and coming photographers against a backdrop of talks, competitions, portfolio reviews, workshops, networking, screenings, book singings, food & drink and more…

 

EXHIBITIONS AND ARTISTS HIGHLIGHTS

 

The Leeds International African Arts Festival (LIAAF)

Guest curators LIAAF are bringing their vibrant celebration of African photography to the festival with an exhibition themed Earthwise- An Exhibition of Creativity, Community Reflections and Renewal, featuring multiple photographic artists including Arteh Odjidja, Tobi Dosumu and Ruth Agbolade.

 

Credit: Soulla Petrou/Photo North Festival

Sophie Ellis-Bextor

 

REWIND by Soulla Petrou

Rewind is a photobook by award-winning photographer Soulla Petrou, showcasing 15 years of work in the UK music scene from 1994 to 2009. Shot mainly on film, it captures the raw energy of a defining era in club and youth culture. ?? images will be exhibited from the book including a pre-famous Gerri Halliwel, Sophie Ellis-Bextor and Damon Albarn.

 

Jaywick Sands Happy Club by David J Shaw

Jaywick, Essex, is a village that sits within the constituency of the leader of Reform UK MP Nigel Farage, and will be heavily affected by climate change-related sea level rise. The village has an infamous reputation as ‘Britain’s most deprived area’ with many journalists and YouTuber content creators regularly coming to the village to continue this portrayal.  Made closely with the people the images represent, Jaywick Sands Happy Club aims to reframe the narrative of the village by providing a balanced view of a community in the UK that faces challenges that are echoed internationally.

 

This is Also Motherhood by Carolyn Mendelsohn and the Maternal Mental Health Alliance

Portraits of Mental Health, Strength and Survival. This exhibition reveals the often-hidden realities of motherhood and maternal mental health through portrait photography, still life, and audio. Created by artist Carolyn Mendelsohn in collaboration with 10 women with lived experience. It invites us to look, listen and understand.

 

Credit: Joanne Coates/Photo North Festival

From the series, Greenvoe and the Anti-Idyll

 

Greenvoe and the Anti-Idyll by Joanne Coates

This body of work draws deeply from the poetic vision of George Mackay Brown, particularly his novel Greenvoe, exploring the enduring tensions between progress and preservation in rural island life. Through photography, Coates explores the changing landscapes of Orkney—both physical and cultural—by leaning into the notion of the anti-idyll: the disruption of the pastoral dream and the confrontation with modernity on the margins.

Gurushots global community will host their Art of Photography and Street Photographer of the Year photo-challenge winners. 

 

Smoke and Mirrors by Seamus Murphy

Smoke and Mirrors is a powerful photographic exhibition by award-winning photojournalist Seamus Murphy, featuring an extended photo essay centred on the West Bank city of Nablus. Captured over two periods of time, the first in 2004 during the second intifada while working on the acclaimed Palestinian feature film Paradise Now. This commission allowed Murphy to explore how the carefully staged scenes on the film set often echoed the real-life drama and rituals playing out on the streets of Nablus. The second are photographs from spring 2025, connected by stories from 2004  which reflect on the ongoing realities of occupation and the strength and endurance of the Palestinian people. 

 

Credit: Mike Goldwater/Photo North festival

Tombstoning from Ramsgate east pier. From the series, ISLAND

 

ISLAND by Mike Goldwater

ISLAND is a documentary project about the Isle of Thanet, at the eastern tip of Kent. Thanet, once an island cut off from the mainland by the River Wantsum, is a place of deep history, rich ecologies and shifting human tides. The photographs pay tribute to the beauty, challenge and unique character of this special place. The photographs for ISLAND were taken between 2019 and 2024.

 

Ian Parry Photojournalism Grant

A presentation of work by the 2025 recipient of the Ian Parry Grant, Omar Ashtawy, who is living and working in Gaza. The Ian Parry Photojournalism Grant supports young and emerging photographers as they embark on their career.

 

FOUNDERS

 

Festival co-founder & curator, Peter Dench, says: ‘We recognise people are passionate about photography. Photo North Festival aims to introduce or advance understanding of the medium through our programme of exhibitions - to inspire and engage debate. We have one perfect venue, with headline events and renowned photographers confirmed and the list is growing. The creativity in planning the festival format, talks and screenings is something unique to offer people in the north of England and beyond.’

Sharon Price, co-founder & curator, says: ‘We’ve chosen thought-provoking works that provide relevant social commentary on some quite hard-hitting issues. We also have the beautiful and the poignant, that will appeal not only to enthusiasts seeking to be challenged, but also to those seeking a feast for the senses.’ 

Sharon and Peter have secured the sensational line up to deliver a thought-provoking, lively and inclusive festival that will appeal to the professional photographer, photo-enthusiast, keen amateur and anyone who wishes to engage with the timeless appeal of the medium.

Once again, Photo North Festival promises to be one of the most exciting and engaging European photo events.

13-15 March 2026 -  The Carriageworks Theatre, Millennium Square, Leeds UK.

 For more information about the Photo North Festival, please visit the event website.

    During the winter months, the sun's low and the sunrise isn't quite as early so you can venture out a little later if you wish. Your local news channel or a quick search online will give you the time of the sunrise. You can just stay in one place, shooting a particular view or scene but taking the time to walk a few steps to find the best angle of your subject is always advised. If you're feeling a little more adventurous plan yourself a route that circles back to where you park your car.

 

1. Kit Requirements

When it comes to kit, a tripod is essential when working with low light levels and make sure you pack the wide-angle lens for capturing sweeping shots of the landscape. A longer zoom won't be out of place either, plus pack a range of filters including grads and a polariser. A graduated neutral density filter would be useful in case you find the sky's a lot lighter than the ground. While a polarising filter will reduce glare and deepen blue skies

If you want to shoot wide vistas with foreground detail use your wide-angle lens while telephotos let you pull in detail and are also excellent at putting objects within their environmental context.

 

 

2. Adapt To Your Conditions

Morning light can be cool sometimes so try using the cloudy or shade white-balance settings on your camera to give the shot a little more warmth. You'll also need longer exposures and this is where your tripod will be useful as you don't want shake spoiling your shots. It will also slow you down, making you stand back and evaluate the scene in front of you.

While you're out early, try capturing a sunrise shot. If the sky was clear the night before there's a good chance you'll be able to capture a cracking sunrise but if a little bit of cloud starts to appear don't worry; it will help diffuse the light. As the sky's bright and the ground's dark your camera may struggle to expose correctly but bracketing can solve this or if you just want to focus on the sun try spot metering. Never look at the sun through the lens, though as there is the risk of eye damage. Instead, make good use of your camera's LiveView feature or just compose with the sun shielded behind something solid.

For years, a favorite working lens as a community photojournalist was the Fujifilm XF 90mm f/2 R LM WR.

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A 200mm f/2 lens used to be the kind of gear you only read about, not something you actually consider buying. The Laowa 200mm f/2 AF FF is trying to change that, and the real question is what you give up to get the look at a price that does not feel absurd.

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Sky swaps have been a go-to fix in real estate images when the weather refuses to cooperate. The problem now is that a routine background change can drag you into a compliance mess that most agents are not handling the same way.

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This week marks the return of the Sundance Film Festival to Park City, Utah. The festival showcases dozens of new documentaries, shorts, and feature presentations, as well as a variety of panels of interest to independent filmmakers. According to Adobe, 85% of films at the festival will have used Adobe Creative Cloud tools, so it comes as no surprise that Adobe chose this week to announce new features in its flagship editing program, Premiere Pro.

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Hasselblad just made the medium format question harder in a good way, with the Hasselblad X2D II 100C landing as a real-world tool instead of a studio-only trophy. If you’ve been eyeing medium format but keep hesitating over speed, handling, and file pain, this video circles the exact pressure points you actually deal with.

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A photography niche can feel like the whole game, like you need to pick one lane and lock it in fast. The problem is that a tidy label can push you away from the work you actually want to make, and it can make the business side feel brittle.

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Photo by Joshua Waller

 

1. Look At The Small Details 

The key to this type of photography is to stop looking at buildings as whole structures and focus on the small pockets of interesting patterns and shapes they're made up of. Don't overlook the ugly looking buildings either as most of the time, once you're zoomed in and focused on one part, you'll find they're perfect subjects when you're on the hunt for architectural patterns. If you can't zoom in or use your feet to help you get a frame-filling shot, capture the image anyway as you may be able to crop out the distractions in your editing software once back home. 

 

2. Look Up 

If you find people or clutter are getting in your way move your feet to find a clearer angle or try taking your eyes away from street level altogether – you'll be surprised at what you see. Just watch your shutter speeds if you're working hand-held and make sure you're focusing accurately as you don't want a blurry shot.

 

 

3. Grey Days Can Be Good Days
 

Don't be afraid of cloudy, damp days as these can give your shots a moody feel while a bright blue sky will contrast well against a strong metal frame.

4. Top Ideas Worth Trying 

• Old vs new – Find points where old architecture meets and merges with the new
• Broken/cracked windows – The shapes formed in the glass make interesting patterns
• Metal structures – Fantastic strong, bold and often symmetrical shapes
• Brickwork – Look for strong colours   

 

You've read the technique now share your related photos for the chance to win prizes: Photo Month Forum Competition  

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The latest winner of our popular daily photography theme which takes place in our forums have been chosen and congratulations go to richmowil (Day 13 - Garden Birds)

 

Daily Theme Runners-Up

If you didn't win this time, keep uploading your images to the daily competition forum for another chance to win! If you're new to the Daily Theme, you can find out more about it in the Daily Theme Q&A. 

Well done to our latest runners-up, too, whose images you can take a look at below.

  Day 10

Natural Light Portrait

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Day 11

Creative Focus

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Day 12

Outdoor Paths

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  Day 14

Indoor Flower

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Day 15

'One'

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Day 16

Black & White Architecture

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Day 17

Snow

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You’ll find the Daily Themes, along with other great photo competitions, over in our Forum. Take a look to see the latest daily photo contests. Open to all levels of photographer, you’re sure to find a photography competition to enter. Why not share details of competitions with our community? Join the camaraderie and upload an image to our Gallery.

- Partner Content - 

 

 

From Luminar Neo to the Ecosystem

Luminar Neo has long been loved by photographers for making complex edits simple. Its AI-powered tools, starting with the legendary Sky Replacement, let you bring your vision to life with ease, turning ordinary shots into something extraordinary. And now, the all-new Luminar Ecosystem takes it even further, connecting mobile and desktop editing, streamlining your workflow, and opening up new creative possibilities. With this major upgrade, reviving memories, enhancing flat lighting, and sharing your work has never been easier or more inspiring.

 

Keep Your Creative Flow Going, Anytime Anywhere

The Luminar Ecosystem isn’t just powerful, it’s flexible. With cross-device editing, you can start a project on your phone and finish it on your desktop without any interruptions. Every adjustment, from sliders to masks, syncs automatically across devices, ensuring your work is always up to date.

This workflow is perfect for photographers who are on the move. Capture a stunning scene while travelling, start your edits on your tablet or mobile, and finalise them at your desk, without losing a single tweak.

 

Share Your Stories with Friends and Clients Instantly

Once your photos are edited to perfection, the Spaces feature allows you to turn them into beautiful, shareable web galleries. In a few clicks, curated photo collections can be published online, creating a personal showcase for friends, family, clients, or fans.

Spaces isn’t just a gallery, it’s a storytelling tool. It gives your work context, emotion, and impact, helping you share memories, projects, or professional portfolios without needing design skills or a website. Transform your photos into immersive experiences, making it easier than ever to connect with your audience through the power of imagery.

 

 

Bring Old Photos Back to Life 

One of the standout features of the new Luminar Ecosystem upgrade is Restoration, a tool that makes bringing old or damaged photos back to life completely effortless. In just one click, Restoration can remove deep scratches, restore faded colour, or do both at once.

With Restoration, all you need to do is upload your image, select the type of restoration, and let AI handle the rest. The results are natural, polished, and packed with emotion, turning old snapshots into vibrant, memory-filled images you’ll be proud to share.

You can easily enhance an old family heirloom, a scanned black-and-white image, or a damaged print with Restoration that ensures every photo feels brand new again.

 

 

Add Dimension and Drama with Light 

Another major highlight is Light Depth, a smart enhancement tool designed to give your photos professional-level depth and contrast. Light Depth automatically identifies where your image needs highlights and shadows, sculpting a more dimensional, visually striking result.

It’s especially useful for images that appear flat or under-lit. Instead of manually dodging and burning, which can take 10–15 minutes per photo, Light Depth achieves sculpted lighting in a single click. It draws attention to key subjects, enhances natural contrast, and helps your images truly pop, making it ideal for portraits, landscapes, and fast-paced workflows where time is precious.

 

 

Edit Smarter and Faster with AI suggestions

The Luminar Ecosystem will also introduce AI Assistant soon, an intelligent built-in guide that will help you edit photos with confidence and efficiency. By analysing each image, it will suggest optimal adjustments, from fine-tuning colour and contrast to improving overall balance, allowing you to apply one-click enhancements or use its recommendations as a creative starting point. AI Assistant will also simplify navigation, helping you quickly locate tools such as Develop / Develop Raw, Curves, Colour, and Colour Harmony, making even advanced features more accessible. It will be ideal for speeding up your workflow, understanding the product faster, and unlocking the full potential of every image.

 

Get More Editing Power at Your Fingertips

As mentioned, the Luminar Ecosystem includes a mobile app that brings powerful editing tools directly to your device. With features like Enhance AI, Structure, Sky AI, and advanced portrait tools, you can edit with precision anytime, anywhere. Full RAW support, crop, erase, and curves adjustments give you complete creative control on the move. 

For its convenience and versatility, it was recognised as Best Multi-Device App of 2025 by Google Play. Luminar Mobile is available for iPhone, iPad, Android devices, and ChromeOS, allowing you to edit wherever you are on your preferred device.

 

Seamlessly Integrate Luminar into Your Existing Workflow

Beyond the powerful new features, the Luminar Ecosystem is built to fit effortlessly into the editing setup you already rely on. 

It can function as a standalone editor or as a plugin for Photoshop or Lightroom, allowing you to incorporate its AI tools into your existing workflow without disruption.

Preset collections, advanced masking, and layer support give you creative control, while AI-driven enhancements save time and maintain quality. Whether you’re working on portraits, landscapes, or creative composites, Luminar Ecosystem adapts to your needs—streamlining the editing process while giving you powerful tools to explore new styles and techniques.

  A Few Final Words

The Luminar Ecosystem is more than just an editing suite, it’s a full creative platform. From restoring old memories to sculpting light, editing across devices, and sharing work in beautiful web galleries, these tools help both beginners and professionals simplify complex processes and achieve polished results with ease.

Discover the power of AI-driven editing and transform your workflow today. Your memories, stories, and images deserve it.

Click the link below and use code EPHOTOZINE at checkout for 10% off and experience the full power of Luminar Ecosystem today.

Get Luminar Neo

 

Taken during an early morning visit to Hartlepool Headland, Rolling In by DaveRyder shows the sea pushing towards the shore. The headland sets the location, while the main focus is the movement of the water.

A longer exposure smooths the waves into flowing lines across the scene. Dark clouds sit above softer light in the sky, adding contrast, while wind turbines on the horizon give the image a modern touch. Together, these elements create a strong coastal photograph that reflects the conditions well.

Every Photo of the Week (POTW) winner will be rewarded with a Samsung 128GB PRO Plus microSDXC memory card with SD adapter, providing top-tier storage for all your creative needs across multiple devices. But that's not all! In January 2026, we’ll crown our 2025 Photo of the Year winner, who will take home the ultimate prize of a Samsung Portable 1TB SSD T7 Shield, courtesy of Samsung. It’s time to shoot, submit, and showcase your best work for a chance to win these incredible rewards!

Most discussions about photography describe the work of the photographer through technique, timing, or the ability to react quickly. Yet these explanations do not match what actually gives an image its meaning. If the photograph depends on a choice made before the camera is raised, then the work of the photographer is not the moment of capture but the decisions that make the moment possible.

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If you had just one lens in a very small pocket of your bag to accompany you for everyday creative pursuits, this tiny pancake lens might be worth a look.

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You know the feeling. You're scrolling through reviews at 11 PM, convincing yourself that the new 85mm f/1.2 will finally unlock your creative potential. Your current 85mm is perfectly functional, but this one has slightly better autofocus tracking and a new nano-coating that promises reduced flare in situations you encounter maybe twice a year. Before you know it, you're checking your credit card balance and calculating how many sessions it would take to justify the purchase.

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Shooting successful landscapes in black and white is not quite as easy as it might seem. I have to admit that when I first started photographing landscapes with black and white film, I was so disappointed with the results that I gave up for several years. What I didn’t realise is that I was breaking one simple rule that if I had understood it, would have made life much simpler. Basically, my images lacked separation.

 

 

The Fundamental Rule Of Black And White

To achieve a good black and white image you need to have separation between the elements in the frame. If you can’t distinguish or find it difficult to distinguish between the elements the image will lack impact and the viewer will struggle to understand it. The problem I had and one that many people trying to shoot black and white landscapes have is that whilst in colour the different elements are easy to see. Once converted to black and white, many of the tones of the landscape blend together.

 

What’s needed are ways to separate the elements for the viewer. Here are some ideas to help you.

  1. Conversion

The tools we now have available in the digital darkroom make life much easier. Ideally, you need a conversion technique that allows you to target different colours so they appear as different tones in the final image. For example, you might darken a blue sky whilst lightening grass and foliage. If you were using black and white film you would use a Green or Yellow filter to achieve this effect but tools such as Photoshop and Lightroom make this easy to achieve.

A further tip you might like to try is selectively changing the colour for some areas of your image. This will make them respond differently during the conversion to Black and White and help provide separation.

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2. Composition

Strong composition can also help in separating the elements of the image even where they might have similar tones. One good way to ensure a good composition for black and white is to include a strong foreground interest. Seek out strong shapes in the landscape such as walls and trees that might provide a leading line into the landscape. Strong distinctive shapes are easier for the eye to pick out and understand even when the tones are similar.

In this example, I have used the strong shape of the rocks to provide bold foreground interest. I have also used other techniques discussed below to enhance the separation of objects in the scene.
 

3. Contrast

This can be a problem with many black and white landscape images. I find the elements within the frame will become much more distinct when the contrast-enhanced. In the film world, we would use a coloured filter such as a Yellow, Orange or Red placed in front of the lens to help boost contrast. We might also use exposure techniques and higher contrast papers when printing in the darkroom.

In the digital age, the easiest way to add contrast is by applying an S-Curve in your editing package. Also, don’t overlook Midtone contrast as this can really add to the monochrome landscape image. The easiest way to add Midtone contrast is in RAW conversion software that has a Clarity slider, which is essentially the same thing. In the following image of the Polish Tetras, I have significantly boosted the Midtone contrast to help provide some separation between the trees which would otherwise blend into a solid grey tone.
 

4. Dodge & Burn

The technique of dodging and burning an image has been around from the early days of photography and was used extensively by masters such as Ansel Adams. In this image, I have created a conversion that deliberately darkened the ground to create a contrast with the waterfall. I then used the dodge and burn tools in Photoshop to emphasise this as well as lightening selected areas of grass. When you dodge and burn an image it helps to create the feeling of interest in the scene for the viewer.
 

So remember the rule; if you want to capture strong black and white landscapes you need to separate the elements in the frame.

Words and images by Robin Whalley   

The Viltrox AF 56mm f/1.2 Pro is a tempting fix for Nikon APS-C shooters who want an 85mm-style portrait lens without settling for a slower aperture. The catch is that a lens can look perfect on paper and still act weird on your camera when autofocus, exposure, and bright scenes start pushing it.

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A shoot falling apart usually has less to do with bad luck and more to do with what you decide to do after the original idea stops working. The difference between coming home empty and coming home with usable images often shows up in how willing you are to abandon one mental picture and start responding to what’s actually happening.

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