Leica is arguably the most polarizing photography brand out there, though its users tend to be fiercely loyal to the brand, which is why it is always interesting to hear why when one leaves them for another system. This insightful video essay features a photographer discussing why he might leave Leica after four years with the brand and switch to Nikon. 

Coming to you from Evan Ranft, this interesting video essay discusses why he may leave Leica for Nikon after four years with the system. No doubt, there are a lot of good things about Leica: they offer some truly stunning image quality, strong construction, and an experience like none other. On the other hand, they are very expensive, which is something worth considering if you are running a business and need to minimize expenses. In addition, because of the rangefinder mechanism, you will always be stuck to using a fairly narrow range of focal lengths, ruling them out for anyone who needs particularly long focal lengths. While they arguably offer the purest photography experience, there may be some better options out there for professionals who need certain features and capabilities. Check out the video above for Ranft’s full thoughts on the matter.

Leica is arguably the most polarizing photography brand out there, though its users tend to be fiercely loyal to the brand, which is why it is always interesting to hear why when one leaves them for another system. This insightful video essay features a photographer discussing why he left Leica after four years with the brand and switched to Nikon. 

Coming to you from Evan Ranft, this interesting video essay discusses why he left Leica for Nikon after four years with the system. No doubt, there are a lot of good things about Leica: they offer some truly stunning image quality, strong construction, and an experience like none other. On the other hand, they are very expensive, which is something worth considering if you are running a business and need to minimize expenses. In addition, because of the rangefinder mechanism, you will always be stuck to using a fairly narrow range of focal lengths, ruling them out for anyone who needs particularly long focal lengths. While they arguably offer the purest photography experience, there may be some better options out there for professionals who need certain features and capabilities. Check out the video above for Ranft’s full thoughts on the matter.

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It’s that time again to get behind the lens of some of the world’s best wildlife photographers with a first selection of images entered in the 2023 Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition.

This year’s contest, organized by London’s Natural History Museum, attracted an astounding 49,957 entries from photographers of all ages and experience levels from 95 countries. Entries were judged anonymously on their creativity, originality and technical excellence by an international panel of industry experts.

Among the newly-released Highly Commended images is an unusual interaction of a macaque jumping on a deer, the drama of a snow leopard hunting a Pallas’s cat, the hopeful moment a team opens a crate to check on a tiger cub evacuated from Ukraine and the heart-wrenching story of an elephant struck by a train in Gabon.

“What most impressed the jury was the range of subjects, from absolute beauty, rarely seen behaviors and species to images that are stark reminders of what we are doing to the natural world,” said Kathy Moran, chair of the judging panel.

‘We are facing urgent biodiversity and climate crises, and photography is a powerful catalyst for change,” explained Dr. Doug Gurr, Director of the Natural History Museum.

The winners of each category and the Grand Title and Young Grand Title Awards will be announced on October 10 at an awards ceremony and the Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition showcasing 100 extraordinary photographs will open on October 13 at the museum in London and close Sunday June 30, 2024.

After the launch of the flagship exhibition, it will embark on a UK and international tour connecting millions of people with the world’s best wildlife photography and the call to act for the planet.

A plains bison kicks up flurries of snow over its bulky frame.

From his vehicle, Waugh saw the bison start to head downhill toward the road, gathering momentum, and he drew up to give them space to cross.

Once abundant and wide-ranging across most of North America, bison were hunted to near extinction by the late 1800s. Numbers are slowly increasing, but they’re confined to discrete populations, dependent on conservation management and constrained by land-use changes and land ownership. This was shot at Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming.

A Mediterranean stargazer peers through the sandy floor in coastal waters.

Formis approached the stargazer with care in order not to disturb it. Combining the concentrated light from the flash with a slow shutter speed and deliberate movement from his camera, Formis presents the stargazer lit through a curtain of turquoise water.

The stargazer is an ambush predator. It buries itself in the sand by wriggling its body until it’s invisible but for its eyes and teeth, then lies in wait for small fish and invertebrates. Its coastal habitat is under pressure from erosion and pollution, and it is often caught as bycatch. The shot was made at Rijeka, Croatia.

The drama of a snow leopard hunting a Pallas’s cat: When the snow leopard sprang into action, Zhou assumed it was after a marmot as ‘the Pallas’s cat blended in so well with the rocks.’

But in less than a minute, it was in the snow leopard’s jaws. Both species are well camouflaged and are hard to see at any time, let alone together. While large birds of prey and wolves are known to hunt Pallas’s cats, it’s a rare sight to see them hunted by snow leopards. This was shot at Gayi, Sichuan, China.

A two-colored mason-bee is building its nest and Zanki knew the bee was memorizing landmarks around the nest so it could find it again. So as not to disorientate it, he edged his equipment closer each time it left. After two hours, the bee was using his equipment as a landmark.

Two-coloured mason bees use snail shells for egg laying. They pack the shell with pollen and nectar for their larvae, then seal it with grass and sticky saliva. Humans sometimes consider snails to be pests, but this species could not survive without them. Location: Near Witzenhausen, Hesse, Germany

A pair of white storks flanked by shimmering heat against the burnt ground caused by a controlled fire.

As Friedlaender had anticipated, shortly after the controlled fire was lit on an area of Kenya’s Maasai Mara, hundreds of birds arrived, particularly storks and kites. Most kept a reasonable distance, but the storks pressed up to the front line in search of easy prey.

Starting fires is a common though controversial way of managing grasslands to stimulate lush new growth and to control the spread of bushland. This can be a dangerous tactic especially in times of drought when fire spreads easily.

A coot struggles to stay upright on ice while subduing a wriggling loach.

Young photographer Zeyu waited in the cold, watching coots as they moved across a frozen pond in Dalian, northeast China. This coot had been scrambling in the water for food and eventually caught a loach.

Common coots are among the most widespread birds, with a range that extends across Europe and Asia and into North Africa and Australia. They require large areas of open water with nearby cover for nesting, and populations can be affected when their habitat is disturbed by humans.

An unusual interaction: Using a tree as a springboard, the young Yakushima macaque jumped onto the deer’s back.

Rodeo-riding of deer by the monkeys of Yakushima Island is rare, but not unheard of. Young male macaques have been seen clinging to female deer and trying to mate with them. In this case, however, the macaque was a young female, appearing just to be enjoying a free ride.

The photographer finds an unexpected guest on her balcony as a possum snacks on a large cicada.

“There were heads here, wings there,” Henderson says. She had peeked out and spotted a common brushtail possum sitting on the windowsill as it hungrily dismembered a large northern greengrocer cicada while carrying a baby in its pouch.

This nocturnal marsupial, native to Australia, is widespread and locally abundant. Its long, sharp claws are made for a life in the trees, but it has readily adapted to urban environments and come into conflicts with humans. Location: Malanda, Queensland, Australia

A mosaic-like image of a Mediterranean monk seal: Working under permit, D’Amicis lay hidden on a ledge for several hours before a Mediterranean monk seal glided through the shallows and disappeared into a cave below.

The reflections on the water helped hide this elusive seal and allude to the risk of the species totally disappearing. This species is now one of the most endangered mammals on Earth due to historic hunting and human encroachment on its habitat. Mediterranean monk seals once rested on open beaches, but most now seek the safety of caves. Location: Greece

The injuries sustained by this fox were most likely caused by dogs.

Aldridge framed this fox’s permanently-exposed teeth and eye as it peered out from its makeshift den in a rehabilitation centers. This image is part of a nine-year project photographing the complex relationship the British have with the red fox. Since 2005 in England and Wales it has been illegal to poison foxes, block or destroy foxholes, or use dogs to hunt them.

The injuries suffered by this animal were likely inflicted by dogs illegally sent into the fox’s den to flush it out. Location: Kent, England.

These were the final moments of extreme distress felt by an elephant hit by a train. The collision shattered the elephant’s hip beyond repair, and it had to be killed.

After being shot the male elephant shows its frustration as it angrily sprays water at the crowd of bystanders after one of them had tried to cut off the elephants trunk.

Doest, who was in the park on a different assignment, witnessed the episode. Despite the park director’s efforts to get the train company to slow trains, there are regular wildlife–train collisions in Lopé National Park, including up to 20 incidents with elephants a year.

Trains transport manganese from the Moanda mine, which holds 25% of known reserves. Manganese is a metal used in iron and steel production. Location: Lopé National Park, Gabon.

An artisan fisher drags a sailfish across the beach: Pattyn had spent days watching fishers bring their catch to shore surrounded by birds trying to get their share.

The fish were prepared at sea then loaded onto trucks early in the morning when this photograph was taken. Artisan fishing provides vital employment opportunities for people living around Ecuador’s Eastern Pacific waters.

This is small in scale compared to the industrial-scale fishing undertaken by international fleets. However, artisan fishing does still have an impact as marine mammals can be entangled in nets. Location: Puerto López, Manabí Province, Ecuador.

A team from Poznań Zoo opens a crate to check on an evacuated tiger cub.

Michał Siarek documents the efforts to evacuate animals including wild animals in private ownership such as tigers from across war-torn Ukraine. “That night changed me,” he says. ”Hearing the cry of a lion still in the truck made me decide to help with the next evacuation run”

The first transport from Popova was probably the most dramatic. As Russian forces were nearing Kiev, that first transport of big cats was improvised with makeshift crates. Once sealed, the driver couldn’t open them.

Many of the animals were rescued from fighting hotspots in eastern Ukraine in 2022. At the Polish border, the animals were re-crated and rushed to Poznań Zoo, then on to sanctuaries in Europe. More than 200 animals have since been saved. Location: Poznań Zoo, Poznań, Poland.

At a healthy coral reef, ghost gobies swim within the branches of a sea fan.

Mustard is particularly fond of gobies, which are normally skittish. But he was determined to picture more than one in the frame. Unexpected was the copepod parasite on one fish.

Capturing the vibrant, contrasting colors meant holding steady in the current to get a long enough exposure. Ghost gobies use gorgonian sea fans as a refuge or feeding platform and blend perfectly into their surroundings. Coral reefs support a diversity of interconnected species but are at risk due to the warming seas of climate change. Location: Lembeh Strait, North Sulawesi, Indonesia.

Swirls of spores seem to dance beneath the gills of a deer shield mushroom. Intent on revealing the magic of spore dispersal, Papatsanis set up umbrellas to minimize air flow, positioned a light and a reflector, and angled his camera to highlight this often-unseen action as waves of ethereal dust.

Billions of these tiny egg-shaped spores are dispersed by air currents. This wood-rotting fungus most often emerges on the stumps and fallen branches of broad-leaved trees. Location: Mount Olympus, Pieria, Greece.

About a week after announcing its new BabyBlower 21 for cleaning camera sensors, Nitecore has announced the CineWind CW30, a powerful portable fan designed to create visual drama on subjects during photo shoots.

Powered by dual NP-F batteries (not included), the Nitecore CW30 can generate gentle winds all the way up to 28.6 mile-per-hour gusts (46 kilometers per hour). Wind speed is adjusted via a control knob that allows the user to switch between 10 power levels.

“The Nitecore CW30 is a powerful cordless electric fan designed specifically for photographers looking to capture their next great picture. Weighing only a sixth of what a typical photography fan weighs, the CW30 allows you to freely change the wind direction and angle for a unique shooting experience,” Nitecore explains.

Despite its considerable power, the CW30 is relatively small compared to traditional fans. The CW30 weighs just 700 grams (24.7 ounces) and is easily handholdable. The dual NP-F batteries promise long runtime — from 3.5 to 138 hours, depending on the power level.

Nitecore says the CW30 is the “perfect partner for any situation,” including wedding, travel, and portrait photography. It is also well-suited to video applications, although Nitecore does not disclose how loud the CW30 is in use.

The CW30 is compatible with multiple extensions thanks to 3/8″ Arri locating, 3/8″ and 1/4″ screws, and a 1/4″ Arri locating holes. These screw holes allow users to attach accessories such as carry handles, tripod mounts, and fill lights to the CW30.

The compact and lightweight CW30 includes detachable fan covers, allowing users to quickly clean the fan from the front and back. It is also designed with safety in mind, and the fan cannot be powered on if either fan cover is not installed. If the device is already on and either fan cover is detached, the fan will instantly power down.

The Nitecore CW30 portable photography fan is available for preorder now for $129.95 directly from Nitecore. Nitecore expects the CW30 to begin shipping next week. Nitecore also sells the CW30 in a bundle with a pair of NP-F750 or NP-F970 batteries for an additional $59.90 and $99.90, respectively.

The Nitecore CW30 is also available now from Pergear.

Image credits: Nitecore