B&H Photography Podcast

There are many different ways to look at culture, and today we take a geographic approach, to distinguish people who live in rural mountain and hilly settings from those of the wider plains and urban areas. Our focus is the country of Romania, where we'll explore the rustic landscape of small farms, hand tilled fields, and local communities that still identify with the working methods and traditio...

How much can you edit a photo before it stops becoming true? That's the question CNET tech reporter Stephen Shankland recently asked in the opening lines of his story, How Close is that Photo to the Truth: What to Know in the Age of AI .   The article, which examines digital photography and advanced smartphone image processing in the era of AI, reaches beyond the polarizing visual minefield of gen...

How did a space-age invention become ubiquitous in today's digital imaging landscape? Learn all about it here in our latest podcast, featuring pioneers of photography and digital imaging.   In 1993, noted physicist and engineer Eric Fossum led the invention of the CMOS active-pixel image sensor as part of his work for NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). Then, as part of JPL's mandate to seek c...

While Joshua Irwandi was born and raised in Indonesia, the early pictures he made during his first visit to the region of Asmat, in the province of West Papua, were less than satisfying to him. Yet his fascination with the people and the place stuck, inspiring him to embark on the long-term project Not a Blank Canvas. In this third installment of our monthly series, Picturing World Cultures, we sp...

Press photographers have faced tough workplace challenges for quite some time. Yet, according to recent headlines, their job is about to get even tougher, due to current plans by many law enforcement agencies—particularly the NYPD—to encrypt radio calls, making live transmissions of breaking news inaccessible to common citizens and members of the press.  Besides being a devastating blow to meddlin...

Kiana Hayeri was born in Iran, and this was where she launched her career as a photojournalist and visual storyteller. Yet after traveling to Afghanistan for a 2014 assignment, she decided to relocate, spending the next eight years covering both the frontlines of conflict and everyday lives of the Afghan people. In this second installment of our monthly series, Picturing World Cultures, we speak w...

2023 has certainly come and gone in a flash, meaning it's time once again for us to reflect on new photo offerings in our ninth annual Cameras of the Year episode, now renamed Photo Gear of the Year. We'll be talking with B&H Camera and Lighting Senior Sales Trainer Kevin Rickert. Featured in our discussion are 25 new releases from Canon , FUJIFILM , Leica , Nikon , Panasonic, Ricoh Pentax , Polar...

It's likely that everyone reading this has used, or at the very least heard of Adobe's ubiquitous piece of software called Photoshop. But are you familiar with the very first—and perhaps the most eccentric—of the evangelists working behind that magic curtain?   Well, you're about to meet him today, in our latest podcast featuring pioneers of photography and imaging. As Adobe employee number 38, gr...

"The eye should learn to listen before it looks." – Robert Frank Australian photographer Wayne Quilliam used to consider his camera as a tool, but today it's become his "companion." This is just one of the inspiring takeaways from our chat for the new monthly podcast series, "Picturing World Cultures." Listen in as Quilliam describes his journey—from growing up on the island state of Tasmania know...

Lee Miller may have been best known in life as a beautiful muse of the legendary Surrealist Man Ray yet, shortly after her passing, a lucky accident led her family to an attic treasure trove, which made her a photography legend in her own right. During this week's podcast, we unpack the details of this extraordinary tale, and hear many other anecdotes from Miller's adventurous life, in a chat with...

This episode of the B&H Photography Podcast was originally released on November 10, 2017. We revisit it today in honor of Hip-Hop's 50th anniversary, and the holiday of Thanksgiving.  With great thanks to Vikki Tobak and the Contact High Project, we welcome three photographers to our studio who are responsible for some of the most iconic images from the history of hip-hop. Janette Beckman, Eric Jo...

1950s America proved fertile ground for photographers Robert Frank and Todd Webb, who both received Guggenheim Foundation grants to traverse the country in 1955 and record their respective visions. While Frank's resulting book, The Americans, eventually made him a legend, Webb's photographs remained unpublished, and were all but lost to history due to a 1970s-era business deal gone bad. The saga o...

B&H recently celebrated its 50th Anniversary, hosting a spectacular two-day celebration for the creator community, Bild Expo 2023, at New York's Jacob Javits Center. The podcast's past three episodes have featured in-depth interviews with a few of the esteemed speakers gracing Bild's four presenter stages. If you haven't already done so, please give them a listen, and then—hold on to your hats—in...

  Have you ever struggled with editing your images to present in a portfolio or as a story pitch? If so, our conversation in this podcast might be of some help. We recently had the great fortune to speak with one of the finest picture editors in the business, former National Geographic photographer, photo editor, and director of photography, Sarah Leen, who we interviewed as part of our coverage o...

As Deanne Fitzmaurice describes it, a photojournalist's job is part sociology and part archeology, but most important, it's being on the cutting edge of what's happening, telling stories about people. It's this combination of varied disciplines, connecting with subjects, and learning something new every day that has held her fascination from her very beginnings at the San Francisco Chronicle throu...

Water is essential to life on Earth. The health of our oceans—and its inhabitants—is equally crucial to maintaining Earth's delicate balance. This is an apt takeaway from our exclusive chat with renowned underwater photographer and filmmaker Brian Skerry, as part of our coverage of B&H's 50th Anniversary Bild Expo 2023. Above photograph © Brian Skerry We sat down with Skerry shortly before his pre...

Artificial intelligence is a polarizing topic, and its rapid evolution within content creation has set our once familiar world on edge. To help demystify this gargantuan subject and add clarity to important concerns, we're turning to an artist positioned at the very center of the debate between photography and AI imagery. Above photograph © Boris Eldagsen German media artist Boris Eldagsen made gl...

Above photograph © Ashok Sinha How central is your personal drive and unique creative vision to the pictures you make? If these characteristics strike a chord or are traits to which you aspire, then you won't want to miss our inspiring chats with photographers Ashok Sinha and Anabel DFlux. We caught up with both of these accomplished creatives earlier this year at B&H's 2023 Depth of Field Confere...

Rodney Smith was a photographic visionary, with an allegiance to the image above all else. Long acclaimed for his iconic black-and-white pictures—not to forget his later jewel-like color scenes—Smith captured enchanted worlds full of subtle magic and lighthearted humor. Using only analog film and the aesthetics of natural light, his dream-like photographs are matched in quality by the craft and ph...

According to food photographer Mica McCook, the secret sauce is more than simply visual appeal, it's connecting to how the images make you feel. As McCook likes to say, she creates cravings, one photo at a time.  McCook's photos are dramatic like telenovelas, embracing the magic of a chef's palate, and delighting in the vibrant flavors that bring dishes to life. Her approach is theatrical and bold...

Bruce Gilden is a street-photography icon. With summer in full swing and International Street Photography Day (otherwise known as Henry Cartier-Bresson's birthday) looming on the horizon, what better time to feature a lively chat with the master himself, recorded at B&H's 2023 Depth of Field Conference, just before the Magnum photographer's keynote lecture. Gilden's emotionally fraught depictions...

The integration of AI technologies with Adobe software has set the creative world on its head. To get a read on this hot-button, rapidly evolving field, we tapped two generations of tech wizardry—Scott Kelby, the original Photoshop Guy, and retouching powerhouse Kristina Sherk. We sat down with both of these experts at B&H's 2023 Depth of Field Conference in February 2023. Our first guest is Scott...

Do you have questions about establishing your photography business and legally protecting yourself and your images? From setting up a business entity to drafting client contracts to key terms in a model release, we cover these points and much, much more, during an in-depth discussion with intellectual property attorney Rachel Brenke. Listen in and learn about the value of contracts as the center p...

Like good acting—and skilled retouching—masterful lighting is an accomplished skill that should remain mostly unseen. This is the takeaway from our conversations with two great lighting whisperers, Canon technical advisor Eric Stoner and Nikon Ambassador Joe McNally. We sat down with both of these experts earlier this year at B&H's  2023 Depth of Field Conference .   Our first guest is Eric Stoner...

"To invent, you need a good imagination and a pile of junk." There is no better role model for this Thomas Edison quote than Steve Sasson, the electrical engineer fresh out of grad school who was hired to work in a Kodak research lab, in 1973. With a passion for scavenging parts and a penchant for invention, he developed the world's first self-contained digital camera just two years after his arri...