72-Year-Old Woman Gored by Bison in Yellowstone While Taking Pictures PetaPixel

A 72-year-old woman was gored several times by a wild bison in Yellowstone National Park last week after she allegedly got within 10 feet of the animal “multiple times” in order to take its picture. The incident is under investigation, but the park is taking this opportunity to remind campers to always keep a safe distance when photographing wildlife.

According to a news release published by Yellowstone National Park yesterday, the incident took place on the evening of June 25th near the Bridge Bay Campground.

“The series of events that led to the goring suggest the bison was threatened by being repeatedly approached to within 10 feet,” explains Yellowstone Senior Bison Biologist Chris Geremia. “Bison are wild animals that respond to threats by displaying aggressive behaviors like pawing the ground, snorting, bobbing their head, bellowing, and raising their tail. If that doesn’t make the threat (in this instance it was a person) move away, a threatened bison may charge.”

It appears that this is what happened to the unidentified camper, who reportedly “approached within 10 feet of a bison multiple times to take its photo” before the animal lost patience.

Photo Credits: NPS/Jacob W. Frank

Park rangers immediately responded to the incident, providing medical care until a helicopter arrived to take the camper to Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center. No further details were given about the 72-year-old’s condition, but Yellowstone says the incident is “under investigation,” and reminds park goers to stay at least 25 yards (23 meters) away from any wild animal in the park.

“To be safe around bison, stay at least 25 yards away, move away if they approach, and run away or find cover if they charge,” says Geremia.

“Stay more than 25 yards (23 m) away from all large animals – bison, elk, bighorn sheep, deer, moose, and coyotes and at least 100 yards (91 m) away from bears and wolves,” reads the news release, adding to Geremia’s comments. “If need be, turn around and go the other way to avoid interacting with a wild animal in close proximity.”

Sadly, this is not the first or even the second time we’ve written about a bison attack at Yellowstone.

(via CNN)

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Image credits: Header photo by Tevin Trinh, CC0

This 10-Year Timelapse of the Sun was Made from 425 Million Images PetaPixel

NASA has released a new timelapse titled “A Decade of Sun,” and it’s exactly what it sounds like. Using 425 million images captured by the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) since it began monitoring the sun in 2010, NASA has created a timelapse of the sun in which every second represents one day.

The final creation (see above) runs for a full hour, showing every day of our sun’s existence between June 2nd, 2010 and June 2nd 2020.

“From its orbit in space around Earth, SDO has gathered 425 million high-resolution images of the Sun, amassing 20 million gigabytes of data over the past 10 years,” explains NASA. “Compiling one photo every hour, the movie condenses a decade of the Sun into 61 minutes. The video shows the rise and fall in activity that occurs as part of the Sun’s 11-year solar cycle and notable events, like transiting planets and eruptions.”

On July 5, 2017, NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory watched an active region — an area of intense and complex magnetic fields — rotate into view on the Sun. This image shows a blended view of the sunspot in visible and extreme ultraviolet light, revealing bright coils arcing over the active region — particles spiraling along magnetic field lines.

Interestingly, there are a few dark frames in the video. This, explains NASA, is the result of the Earth or the Moon eclipsing the Solar Dynamics Observatory as they pass between the orbiting spacecraft and the Sun. There’s also an “extended” blackout in 2016 that was caused by a technical issue that took NASA one week to fix.

Other than those relatively short blackouts, what you above is every single day of our sun’s existence for the past 10 years… almost a full 11-year solar cycle.

Check out the full timelapse above to experience A Decade of Sun for yourself, and if you want to learn more about what it is you’re looking at, head over to the NASA website for an in-depth explanation of the imaging tech aboard the SDO.

(via DPReview)

These Camera-Themed Playing Cards are Also a Photography Cheat Sheet PetaPixel

Here’s an interesting idea: what if you could teach someone all of the basics of photography by simply giving them a deck of playing cards? That’s exactly what a new Kickstarter campaign for the so-called “Photography Deck” wants to deliver.

The Photography Deck is a specially-designed deck of playing cards that will appeal to the camera nerds in the audience (so… most of you). The court cards—King, Queen, and Joker—have each been re-designed with a photography twist, while the number cards each act as a miniature “cheat sheet” for concepts ranging from the exposure triangle, to color theory, composition, reading the histogram, setting white balance, and more.

Each suit covers one of four categories: Spades is Camera Basics, Hearts is Composition, Clubs is Technical info, and Diamonds covers Shooting Styles.

It’s a simple-but-brilliant little idea, and a fun way to add an educational twist to an old classic. If you’re going to keep a set of playing cards in your camera bag, these could actually come in handy for something other than the odd game of Spades during downtime on set.

Here’s a quick intro and unboxing so you can see what The Photography Deck is about:

And here’s a closer look at the design:

The campaign launched earlier today, but it’s already well past full-funding and has even been selected as a “project we love” by Kickstarter. With 30 days left, filmmaker and Photography Deck creator Eric Bohring has already raised nearly $5,000 on a goal of just over $1,100.

If you want to pledge your support and “reserve” a Photography Deck for yourself, you can get a “standard” red deck for $14 or a Kickstarter-only “limited edition” green deck for $17. Both variants are expected to start shipping to backers in August.

As with all Kickstarters, the usual warnings apply: this is not a pre-order, and you pledge at your own risk. That said, Bohring has already successfully funded and shipped a popular camera accessory called The Tech Wrap, so he’s proven that his business model isn’t vaporware. To find out more about The Photography Deck or support this project, head over to the Kickstarter campaign at this link.

Watch: Robot Spy Turtle Lays ‘Camera Eggs’ for Vultures to Steal PetaPixel

The latest “spy cam” clip from the PBS docu-series Spy in the Wild 2 takes the robot camera bit farther than before. Not only did they use a robot “spy turtle” to capture the nesting process up close, the spy actually laid its own “camera eggs” that captured what it’s like to be attacked by vultures looking for a quick meal.

The clip features three “spy” creatures in all: a drone disguised as a vulture captures the incredible turtle swarm from above, the spy turtle shows the process from up close, and then the clutch of camera eggs captures what it’s like for the baby turtles that never get the chance to hatch.

It’s an impressive bit of wildlife filmmaking that’s almost stranger than fiction: robot camera turtle lays camera eggs to capture never-before-seen footage of olive ridley turtle aribada in Costa Rica… while vulture camera watches from above. The headline writes itself.

According to the video’s description, hundreds of thousands of olive ridley sea turtles come to the shores of Ostional in Costa Rica to lay their eggs each year, with up to 20,000 arriving every day. Each can lay up to 100 eggs, and when they’re done, they must bury them quickly before the vultures arrive.

Now, thanks to Spy in the Wild, we get to see what this looks like from above, on the ground, and even from the perspective of the vulnerable eggs.

Check out the full video up top to see this never-before-filmed vantage point for yourself. And if this clip piqued your interest, you’ll find several more Spy in the Wild clips in the PetaPixel archives, including a robot monkey, a robot hummingbird, and a robot ‘spy pig’ who got on the wrong side of some Komodo dragons.

(via Laughing Squid)

Fujifilm is Working on a Massive 400TB Archival Storage Drive PetaPixel

Leaps in storage capacity are pretty common these days. However, the biggest jump in archival media storage won’t come from spinning disks or solid state drives—Fujifilm is currently working on cramming an incredible 400TB worth of of capacity onto a single magnetic tape drive.

Tape storage might seem antiquated, but it’s still the preferred media for long-term archival storage in the enterprise space. While it might be slow—incredibly slow, in fact—it’s perfectly fine for storing years worth of photos or video footage that you may never access again, but don’t want to throw away.

Only two companies still make tape media, Fujifilm and Sony, and according to a report by Blocks & Files the former is actively developing a new technology that would allow it to cram a whopping 400TB onto a single storage drive. That makes the current 15TB “world’s largest hard drive” sound like a thumb drive from 2004.

Photo by Patrick Finnegan, CC BY 2.0.

The main type of magnetic tape storage in use today is called Linear Tape-Open, or LTO, and the current generation (LTO-8) maxes out 12TB of raw capacity. LTO-9, maxing out at 24TB per cartridge, is expected to hit retail this year.

As Blocks & Files explains in their exclusive report, current LTO formats all use magnetic tapes coated in Barium Ferrite (BaFe), but Fuji is proposing using Strontium Ferrite (SrFe) instead. Because SrFe is a smaller molecule with “superior properties” to BaFe, this would allow for higher density storage on the same amount of tape.

Specifically, Fuji believes that SrFe-based LTO cartridges will be able to achieve approximately 224Gbit of storage for every square-inch of tape, allowing for the aforementioned 400TB in maximum capacity before they have to move on to another element.

Unfortunately, it’ll be a while until we actually see a drive like this in action. Each successive LTO generation generally doubles in size and takes about 2.5 years to materialize, so we don’t expect to see anything near 400TB until LTO-13, which AnandTech estimates will only hit retail in the year 2030. But this is good news all the same.

While most photographers aren’t rushing out to buy LTO cassettes and modern tape drives for home use in 2020, these expected leaps in archival storage capacity are thought to be critical to the continued growth of secure long-term storage solutions, just as stills and video files continues to get bigger and bigger.

Whether you’re shooting thousands of 100MP medium format RAW files, or you’re interested in dabbling in some 8K RAW video with the upcoming Canon EOS R5, this technological leap may help ensure you have a place to store all of that footage when the time comes to back it up.

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Image credits: Header photo by Jon Hewitt, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.

PhotoGIMP Makes GIMP More Familiar to Photoshop Users PetaPixel

If you’re a Photoshop user who’s considering switching to the free and open-source image-editing program GIMP, PhotoGIMP is a patch designed to smooth out the transition for you.

Created by the Brazilian blog Diolinux, PhotoGIMP aims to make GIMP look and work more like Photoshop on Linux, which Photoshop doesn’t support.

The first thing you’ll notice after applying PhotoGIMP (on GIMP v2.10 and above) is the look: the styling is inspired by Photoshop, and the organization and position of the tools are as well — the new default settings help to maximize canvas space.

Python filters such as “heal selection” are installed by PhotoGIMP, and there’s hundreds of new fonts at your fingertips.

Many of the keyboard shortcuts you’ve baked into muscle memory will once again be available to you, as the developers of PhotoGIMP followed Photoshop’s documentation to bring over what they could.

Even the icon, name, and splash screen of your GIMP install will be revamped.

What your GIMP should look like after applying PhotoGIMP.

“At present, PhotoGIMP is mainly compatible with GIMP installed via Flatpak,” It’s FOSS reports. “If you installed GIMP using Flatpak, you can simply copy-paste these hidden folders in your home directory and it will convert your GIMP into Adobe Photoshop like settings.

“However, if you installed GIMP via apt or snap or your distribution’s package manager, you’ll have to find the GIMP config folder and paste the content of the .var/app/org.gimp.GIMP/config/GIMP/2.10 directory of PhotoGIMP.”

The PhotoGIMP repository over at GitHub has all the files and instructions you’ll need to get started. In addition to Linux, you should be able to turn your GIMP into PhotoGIMP on Windows and macOS as well.

PhotoGIMP [GitHub via DIYP]

Reddit is Asking to Use Photos in Ads for Free Without Credit PetaPixel

It’s no secret that Reddit makes huge amounts of ad revenue off content that’s often posted without the copyright owners’ permission. But did you know the company is also asking photographers to use their photos for commercial purposes without any payment… or even credit?

Bellingham, Washington-based commercial photographer John Wingfield (@johnwingfield) regularly shoots beautiful photos of his golden retriever Millie who has become an Instagram celebrity of sorts, boasting over 79,000 followers. This past weekend, Wingfield shared a photo of Millie to the subreddit /r/aww, where it received over 6,700 upvotes from the community of over 25 million members.

Wingfield’s post undoubtedly generated a significant number of pageviews, and Reddit didn’t have to pay him a cent for the content that drove traffic. But that’s how Reddit works — creatives like Wingfield can receive quite a bit of exposure, and in exchange, Reddit can rake in profits by running ads on every page.

However, shortly after he shared his photo, Wingfield received a message from a Reddit admin.

“We’re working on gathering content to use for Reddit’s promotional purposes, and we wanted to see if we could use your post,” the admin wrote.

Wingfield responded by asking for more details about how the photo would be used and whether he would be paid and credited.”

“Reddit’s marketing team is always looking for great content posted on Reddit to showcase the platform to new users,” the admin wrote, adding that the photo would be used across social media and in Reddit’s “digital advertising posts.”

Wingfield would not be paid any licensing fee for the photo being used in Reddit’s ads. What’s more, Wingfield would not be credited in any way since the ad is designed to promote Reddit, not the photographer.

As you might expect, Wingfield wasn’t too pleased with the deal being offered — commercial use of a photo in exchange for absolutely nothing.

Here’s how he responded:

“No,” Wingfield writes. “Frankly I’m insulted that you would even make such a request.”

“I couldn’t believe Reddit asked me to use a photo of advertising purposes without paying a licensing fee, or even providing me credit!” the photographer tells PetaPixel.

Reddit is one of the top 20 most-visited websites in the world, and it counts several corporations and billionaires as major shareholders. The media giant Advance Publications (the parent company of Condé Nast) is a primary owner, but the Chinese tech giant Tencent also acquired a 5% stake in an 2019 investment round that valued Reddit at a whopping $3 billion.

However, despite being able to generate staggering amounts of traffic and revenue, it seems Reddit doesn’t have the budget to pay photographers.

Huge Fuji GFX Firmware Update Adds RAW Video, Improved AF, and More PetaPixel

Fuji has just dropped “the biggest firmware upgrade in the history of the Fujifilm GFX system,” complete with several major photo and video improvements for all of Fuji’s medium format mirrorless cameras: the GFX 100, GFX 50S, and GFX 50R.

Fuji is known for its major firmware updates, which often add important features to older cameras, making it less likely that users will upgrade to the next model. There isn’t any “next model” available yet for the first round of GFX cameras, but this update follows in that lovely tradition.

For video shooters, the huge news is the addition of 12-bit ProRes RAW video output to the GFX 100—the 100MP mirrorless medium format camera can now record 4K RAW video via HDMI when using an Atomos Ninja V external recorder. The GFX can already record both DCI 4K (17:9) and UHD 4K (16:9), but only the 16:9 option will be able to output 12-bit RAW.

For photo shooters, the firmware updates apply to the whole lineup: the 100MP GFX 100 and the 50MP GFX 50S and GFX 50R cameras all get a mishmash of new and improved features related to in-camera post-processing, autofocus, and more.

First up, the whole GFX System is getting expanded in-camera photo editing capabilities.

The Classic Neg film simulation is being added to the full lineup, Eterna Bleach Bypass is being added to the GFX 100, and the standard Eterna film simulation is being added to the GFX 50S and 50R. Additionally, the GFX 50S and 50R are getting access to the in-camera “Smooth Skin Effect,” and the GFX 100 is getting “Color Chrome Blue” feature, which helps to improve blue skies in landscape photos.

Secondly, autofocus performance has also been improved across the board.

The GFX 100 is getting improved low-light autofocus “down to -5EV,” while the GFX 50S and 50R get access to the “Low Light Priority AF-S” mode. Face and Eye AF has also been improved across all three GFX cameras and, finally, an Auto mode has been added to Focus Bracketing in all three cameras.

Finally, the whole system is also getting some user-requested improvements.

These include the ability to adjust exposure settings from a computer when tethering, a revised in-camera rating system that’s compatible with more software, and the ability to control the GFX via USB when using it with a compatible gimbal or drone.

Fuji wasn’t exaggerating, this is a massive update to the whole GFX system. Whether you’re shooting primarily stills or video, and no matter which of the three cameras you’ve chosen to go with, there’s a lot to get excited about here.

To find out more about all three updates or download and install them for yourself, head over to the Fujifilm support website. There, you’ll find Firmware 4.0 for GFX 50S, Firmware 2.0 for the GFX 50R, and Firmware 2.0 for the GFX 100.

Sony Says a7S III is Coming ‘Later This Summer’ and ‘Everything is New’ PetaPixel

DPReview scored the official confirmation that the entire photo industry has been waiting on for years now: the Sony a7S III is indeed coming ‘later this summer,’ and the company is promising ‘supreme’ performance from the ‘completely redesigned’ camera.

The bombshell revelation came in an interview that DPReview conducted with VP and Senior General Manager of Sony’s Digital Imaging Group, Kenji Tanaka, and there’s no teasing or hint about it. In response to the question about whether the a7S II would be replaced by a Mark III, Mr. Tanaka stated clearly that the a7S III is coming soon:

I can confirm that a successor to the Alpha 7S II will be coming, later this summer. Right now we’re focused on the launch of the new camera, and it will be a complete redesign of the whole system, including the image sensor. Everything is new. We hope it will meet and exceed the expectations and requests of our customers. I’m very confident that our new model will meet their demands.

He goes on to say that, while the “S” in a7S originally stood for “sensitivity,” it now stands for “supreme” image quality and expression.

A reminder that the latest rumors claim Sony will announce the a7S III in “mid- to late- July,” soon after the expected Canon announcement of the EOS R5, EOS R6, and several new RF lenses. We’re excited to see how these three cameras compare to one another, not only in terms of features, but also price.

To read the full interview—which includes several more interesting tidbits about Sony’s plans for the future of cameras—head over to DPReview.

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Image credits Header photo by Eelke, CC-BY-2.0

Fujifilm Unveils the GF 30mm f/3.5 R WR Medium-Format Wide-Angle Lens PetaPixel

Fujifilm has unveiled the new FUJINON GF 30mm f/3.5 R WR, a lightweight, high-resolution, wide-angle lens for GFX medium-format cameras with a 35mm-equivalent focal length of 24mm.

The FUJINON GF 30mm f/3.5 R WR features a durable build that’s resistant to dust and weather, it performs in temperatures as low as 14°F (-10°C), and it’s designed for everything from landscapes and architecture to everyday snapshots.

“The lens is able to resolve an impressive amount of detail, compatible with 100MP sensors,” Fujifilm says. “Like all of Fujifilm’s lenses in the GF family, the GF30mmF3.5 R WR incorporates Fujifilm’s optical design and production technology processes to achieve a sub-micron level precision lens surface.”

In other words, it’s a perfect companion for the 102-megapixel Fujifilm GFX 100.

Photographers who are constantly lugging around gear in the wilderness will appreciate the portability of the FUJINON GF 30mm f/3.5 R WR — it weighs just 18 ounces (510g), measures 3.9 inches (99.4mm), and has a maximum diameter of just 3.3 inches (84mm).

The Fujifilm GF 30mm f/3.5 R WR mounted on the GFX 50S with the hood attached.

Features and specs include 13 elements in 10 groups (including 2 aspherical and 2 extra-low dispersion elements), a fast and quiet internal autofocus system, minimum focus breathing (0.05%),

Here are some official sample photos captured with the lens:

© Jean-Michel Lenoir. GFX100 30mm, f/11, 1/10, ISO100. GF30mm f/3.5 R WR

© Alberto G. Puras. GFX100 30mm, f/4.5, 1/125, ISO640. GF30mm f/3.5 R WR

© Luca Locatelli. GFX100 30mm, f/14, 1/50, ISO125. GF30mm f/3.5 R WR

© Luca Locatelli. GFX100 30mm, f/6.4, 1/80, ISO160. GF30mm f/3.5 R WR

© Bin Zhang. GFX100 30mm, f/3.5, 30sec., ISO6400. GF30mm f/3.5 R WR

© Bin Zhang. GFX100 30mm, f/16, 40sec., ISO250. GF30mm f/3.5 R WR

Here’s a 3-minute video by Fujifilm introducing the new lens:

Here’s a 6-minute video showing photographer Jean-Michel Lenoir using the lens for landscape photography:

The new Fujifilm GF 30mm f/3.5 R WR will be available in late July or early August 2020 with a price tag of $1,700.

The Laowa 9mm f/5.6 is the World’s Widest Rectilinear Full-Frame Lens PetaPixel

Venus Optics has unveiled the new Laowa 9mm f/5.6 FF RL, the world’s widest rectilinear (i.e. straight features in the scene have straight lines instead of curved) lens for full-frame cameras.

The Chinese manufacturer previously launched the Laowa 10-18mm f/4.5-5.6 FE, which still holds the title as the world’s widest zoom lens for full-frame cameras.

The new Laowa 9mm f/5.6 FF RL offers a 135° angle of view, the widest ever developed for full-frame mirrorless cameras.

“Landscape photographers can now experience an ultimate wide-angle photography with beautiful scenery captured in one shot,” Venus Optics says. “The ultra-wide angle of view is particularly helpful for interior shooting as it helps exaggerated the sense of space. The one-of-a-kind perspective also helps realize a lot of formerly impossible shots.”

© Hugh Brownstone

Its view may be wide, but its size is petite: the Laowa 9mm f/5.6 is actually the smallest in its class, measuring just 2.4 inches (~6cm) long, having a lens diameter of 60mm, and weighing just 12 ounces (350g).

Thanks to a minimum focusing distance of just 4.72 inches (12cm), the Laowa 9mm f/5.6 can almost serve as a macro lens, allowing photographers to get extremely close to their subjects for creative photos.

“This is so much closer than the other ultra-wide angle lenses in the market and it provides a greater flexibility for photographers to compose shots at close and far distances and control depth of field much more easily,” Venus Optics says.

Other features and specs in the Laowa 9mm f/5.6 include an optical design with 14 elements in 10 groups, aspherical and extra-low dispersion elements that “eliminate” chromatic aberrations, a 5-bladed aperture for 10-point sunstars, and a relatively low amount of distortion at infinity distance.

Here are some sample photos captured with the Laowa 9mm f/5.6 FF RL:

© Gua Ge

© Jimmy Chan

© Robert Beasley

© Wen Ta Da Shu

© Yi Jia

Venus Optics has also worked with partners to design a special 100mm magnetic filter holder for the lens that will retail for $149.

The new Venus Optics Laowa 9mm f/5.6 FF RL is available on the Venus website and through select retailers in the Leica M mount (a first for Venus) for $899 and the Sony FE, Nikon Z, and the L mounts for $799.

This Instagram Copyright Infringement Notice is a Phishing Scam PetaPixel

If you ever receive a direct message on Instagram informing you that copyright infringement has been detected in your photos, beware: it may actually be a cleverly-disguised phishing scam.

This particular scam was first reported by Fstoppers writer Andy Day, who received a copyright infringement message that was purportedly from The North Face Chile (@thenorthfacechile).

Screenshot by Andy Day/Fstoppers.

@thenorthfacechile is a verified account with over 151,000 followers, and Google’s history shows that it previously had at least 1,098 public posts. It’s set to private now, and given that it’s sending out phishing messages, it appears that the account may have fallen victim to hackers who are now using it to scam.

“A copyright violation has been detected in a post on your account,” the message to Day stated. “If you think copyright infringement is wrong, you should provide feedback. Otherwise, your account will be closed without 24 hours.”

The message directs the recipient to visit the URL instagramhelpnotice.com to “provide feedback.” Clicking through brings you to a page that may look (upon first glance) like an official Instagram page — especially when viewed on a mobile device.

The first two steps ask you to log into your account by entering your username and then your password.

If you do provide a username and password, the next step is likely the scammer’s true target: your email address.

While Instagram accounts may not contain too much sensitive and exploitable information, many people may use the same passwords for both their Instagram and primary email accounts. Email accounts are targeted not only for the sensitive info found in their emails but also because they’re widely used for identity verification when recovering passwords for all kinds of other accounts and services.

If you provide an email address in the final step of this scam, you get redirected back to Instagram’s homepage as if nothing had happened… except your Instagram username, password, and email address are now in a scammer’s hands.

As is common in many kinds of scams, this copyright infringement scam is littered with spelling and grammar mistakes throughout the various steps, so always be on the lookout for that. And never log into any site that looks like an official page but isn’t hosted at the official domain name (which in this case would be instagram.com).

Stay alert and you can (hopefully) avoid falling victim to these scammers.