As one of the most iconic screenwriters and directors of the last three decades, Quentin Tarantino has forged a career as a unique voice in films. Although his medium as a storyteller is moving images, there’s a lot we can learn from his path as photographers looking to find our own creative voice.

I’ve been a fan of the YouTube channel of Tatiana Hopper for some time now, and the video featured here is another in her series that examines how creative people have overcome the challenges and obstacles that they have been forced to confront along their path to forging a successful career in their own creative field. In a previous article here on Fstoppers, I discussed Tatiana’s video about the filmmaker Christopher Nolan, and the lessons that we can draw as photographers from his career. In this new video in the series, Tatiana dives into the career of the filmmaker Quentin Tarantino, with a similar agenda.

As I said in my previous article, whether you are working with still or moving images, there’s a real art to telling a story with pictures. But regardless of whether your creative medium of choice is visual or not, there seems to be a set of core tenets that are an essential starting point for finding your voice in any creative field. In the Christopher Nolan video, Tatiana discussed the importance of breaking rules and bucking established norms in order to create something unique. This theme is reiterated in the Tarantino video, and in examining the career paths of these creative people, we definitely start to see something of a pattern from which we can draw valuable lessons as photographers.

There are other lessons in this video as well about just getting out there and doing it instead of waiting around for the perfect moment to start, about working with what you already have, about channeling the pain and discomfort of hard times into your art, and about knowing yourself and what it is that you want to get out of your photography.

A series of TikTok videos about a bride’s dissatisfaction with her photos spurred online discussions, with pros offering advice on how to hire a photographer.

Al Rendon has been photographing music and culture in South Texas since 1973. While his first focus was to shoot those who made music, before long he widened his focus to show a much wider part of Texas culture.

“I’ve been doing commercial photography and art photography for over 50 years,” he said. “I recently had a retrospective exhibit of my artwork at the Witte Museum that just closed at the end of May.”

Rendon’s photo of Selena was used for the cover of 1992’s “Entre a Mi Mundo” album. Rendon has spent the last 50 years doing a mix of photographic endeavors.

Now, he’s being honored with a new photo exhibit at the Bullock Texas State History Museum in Austin. It features 30 works that illustrate San Antonio’s lowrider subculture.

Rendon said some of his shots for Carros & Cultura were taken during the holiday season.

“They did a cruise through downtown, between Christmas and New Year’s. And they all lined up around the tower, the base of the Tower of the Americas over there by the Institute of Texan Cultures,” Rendon said. “And then they drove all through downtown up Houston Street. And of course, Houston Street at the time was very decorated for Christmas. And so it made for a great backdrop.”

Many lowriders have the ability to hop up and down and do other tricks people don’t expect cars to do.

“They were also hopping and they were driving on three wheels at an angle. In March of this year, there was the lowrider Super Show at the Joe Freeman Coliseum,” he said. “And they have a hopping competition and all these different types of things that they judge the lowriders on. And so that was another opportunity to get some good action shots.”

He also said that some of the lowriders have that sense of retro fashion hearkening back to the zoot suit era.

“I’ve only been doing it for a little over a year. So, I’ve still got a lot to learn about the actual history of lowriding here in San Antonio,” he said. “But some of these car owners that I’ve met from San Antonio, they’re already second or third generation of lowriders.”

Rendon said that lowriding as a passion is culturally unique.

“The thing about lowriding is it is a homegrown, Mexican-American phenomenon. It’s not something they borrowed from somebody else,” Rendon said. “These cars — they don’t come off the assembly line that way. These guys have learned how to put hydraulics to them to make them jump around. Nobody else does that except in Latino culture.”

There are several different clubs active in the city, and they’ve morphed over the years. Some clubs hearken back to the early days of lowriders in Los Angeles. Others are uniquely San Antonian.

“They have all these different clubs here. There’s the Browns, there’s the Impalas, there’s the Steelo Finos. And it’s very family-oriented,” he said. “That’s one thing that surprised me about it is how involved the families are in fixing up these cars and showing them off every weekend on Sundays and Saturdays. They have picnics, and they have cruises down Southwest Military.”

“Carros Y Cultura” will be up through Sept. 2 at the Bullock Museum. Also, Rendon will be at the museum on Wednesday, July 3, at noon to discuss the artwork. Find more information here.

A love of photography and the West started Stoecklein Photography’s workshops, and that passion continues to energize these amazing experiences.

C&I’s Stoecklein Photography Western Photo Workshop Giveaway is offering a lucky winner the chance to attend one of these unforgettable two-day workshops to see the sights and learn the skills in Idaho’s Stoecklein country.

Meta is updating its “Made with AI” labels after widespread complaints from photographers that the company was mistakenly flagging non-AI-generated content. In an update, the company said that it will change the wording to “AI info” because the current labels “weren’t always aligned with people’s expectations and didn’t always provide enough context.”

The company introduced the “Made with AI” labels earlier this year after criticism from the Oversight Board about its “manipulated media” policy. Meta said that, like many of its peers, it would rely on “industry standard” signals to determine when generative AI had been used to create an image. However, it wasn’t long before photographers began noticing that Facebook and Instagram were applying the badge on images that hadn’t actually been created with AI. According to tests conducted by PetaPixel, photos edited with Adobe’s generative fill tool in Photoshop would trigger the label even if the edit was only to a “tiny speck.”

While Meta didn’t name Photoshop, the company said in its update that “some content that included minor modifications using AI, such as retouching tools, included industry standard indicators” that triggered the “Made with AI” badge. “While we work with companies across the industry to improve the process so our labeling approach better matches our intent, we’re updating the ‘Made with AI’ label to ‘AI info’ across our apps, which people can click for more information.”

Somewhat confusingly, the new “AI info” labels won’t actually have any details about what AI-enabled tools may have been used for the image in question. A Meta spokesperson confirmed that the contextual menu that appears when users tap on the badge will remain the same. That menu has a generic description of generative AI and notes that Meta may add the notice “when people share content that has AI signals our systems can read.”

The clock is ticking for local shutterbugs aiming to showcase their vision of Maple Grove community life. The 2024 Maple Grove Moments photography contest is nearing its deadline, with submissions accepted until 11:59 p.m. tomorrow. Aspiring participants are encouraged to contribute their photographic interpretations, sharing imagery that encapsulates what living in Maple Grove means to them.

Details on the contest and how to enter have been laid out on the city’s Facebook page, reminding residents that there’s still a chance to be part of this visual celebration of the local municipality. “Don’t worry — you still have time to enter your pictures and share what our community means to you!” the Maple Grove official page posted. Interested individuals can find more information and submit their entries by visiting the contest’s dedicated website.

Participants in the contest will undoubtedly seek to capture the essence of the suburb through their lenses, providing unique perspectives that range from idyllic landscapes to candid urban scenes. Entrants are tasked with not only wielding their cameras but also with conveying a narrative, one that reflects the diversity and vibrancy of Maple Grove.

Contests like this are integral in fostering community engagement, allowing residents, both professional and amateur photographers, to connect through artistry and shared affection for their hometown. As the deadline draws near, Maple Grove will soon witness which of its moments are immortalized through the lenses of its own inhabitants, curated by those moved to document the narrative interwoven in the city’s fabric.

With the sudden announcement of the closing of the Ontario Science Centre, I’m left with mixed feelings. It’s been such a world-class centre that I’ve visited a number of times with both family as well as school groups over the years.

It was disturbing to learn the province is citing an engineering report that says the roof is unsafe for the closure, even though another firm has offered to repair it free of charge.

Some time ago, (early 1990s) I was asked to provide the centre with some photographs depicting life on a Coral Reef. They were to be incorporated into a new exhibit being set up at that time, called The Living Earth. I had just completed some diving in Cozumel, Mexico and had a nice selection of photographs taken while on that trip.

The photos were taken with a 35 mm Nikonis V camera, which was a great compact underwater camera to use. It had a selection of lenses for underwater use and, at that time,  was a mainstay for underwater photography.

In those days, I had found that one of the best ways to produce prints form 35 mm slides was the Cibachrome process. These prints had astounding colour qualities and could withstand long periods of time under lighting, which made them a good fit for long periods of display.

There was a gentleman in Niagara Falls who did a wonderful job producing a selection of the photos taken in Cozumel. These were suitably matted and framed and after delivery to the Ontario Science Centre were displayed on a wall opposite a large aquarium that displayed life on a coral reef.

Later, the prints were incorporated into a wall panel which actually looked better than in the frames, and the panel was displayed next to the aquarium. I was quite pleased when someone would say, over the years, “I saw your photos at the Science Centre.”

Since that first trip to Cozumel, I’ve returned a few  times and am always thrilled to be diving there again. With the constant movement of water past the one side of the island, the reefs are spectacular in colour and variety of marine life.

The Palancar Reef system is regarded as one of the best in the Caribbean. Jacques Cousteau, many years ago, claimed it as one of the best in the world! On most dives a gentle current can move you slowly along and there is an amazing abundance of associated marine life. The area offers a never-ending variety of subjects for an underwater photographer.

The reefs stand several storeys high in some areas, with amazing growths of colourful sponges and corals. The coral system also provides a number of caves and swim-throughs in several areas, which are interesting to explore.

It’s the critters that hold interest for me, and there is no shortage of fish species, single and in schools. Lots of invertebrate species from anemones, crabs and varieties of coral add much flavour to the dive.

It will remain a favourite diving spot for me!

(WPBN/WGTU) — Northern Michigan has a lot of beautiful places and if you’ve lived here a while, you’ve probably seen a lot of it.

But maybe not quite in the same way that Tyler Leipprandt has.

But soon you will be able to without even leaving your home.

Most coffee table book release announcements don’t happen from the back of a military aircraft.

But, most photographers aren’t quite like Tyler Leipprandt.

“Ever since the very beginning, it’s kind of like I wanted to capture photos that people haven’t even thought about before,” Leipprandt said.

He has an eye for beauty, the ability to capture it, and the creative drive to do so in a way that no one else has.

“You know, just being very creative, thinking outside the box and just showcasing something that they haven’t seen from that perspective,” Leipprandt said.

And often for Tyler, the former school teacher turned photographer, that perspective involves him dangling out of aircrafts to capture moments of history and iconic spots here in Michigan.

“I got invited to go to the top of the Mackinac Bridge. I got to dangle my feet off. And after I did that I call my wife and said, ‘You know, I just dangled off the Mackinac Bridge, most iconic thing in Michigan, what if I dangled over other iconic spots and do a series called Where Would You Dangle?'” Leipprandt said.

“She thought I was crazy,” Leipprandt said.

She may be right, but Tyler’s most famous dangle is arguably his perfectly-timed photo capturing the Rose Bowl fly-over.

“I’m hanging out the helicopter, and at one point I just start hitting the shutter button. Just holding down like ‘I don’t know where it’s at, I don’t want to miss it, So I’m just going to take some pictures of the field.’ And finally, last second, we saw it,” Leipprandt said.

And based on web hits and usage, he estimates about 50 million people saw it, thanks to his months of planning, permission, and passion.

“It’s a huge sense of relief. You know, the pressure involved on that is just incredible on me,” Leipprandt said.

He is the king of capturing the pregame fly-over.

“Last year, the Baltimore Ravens called me for the AFC Championship game,” Leipprandt said.

But Tyler isn’t limited to stadiums and crowds; he captures perspectives around here pretty well too.

“I guess it’s just a creation process. Just every step from thinking and visualizing about what can I shoot next? To actually doing it?” Leipprandt said.

Photos so good that it turns believers into doubters.

“For them to think that it’s photoshopped, I guess I would consider a compliment. Because they haven’t seen something like that before,” Leipprandt said.

Tyler has the proof in his pictures and the stories of the great lengths and heights he goes to get them.

He’s putting the finishing touches on his first real coffee table book; a collection of some of his best work.

While he realizes we have all seen the beauty around us, he knows few of us have seen it quite the way he does.

“I got my hands on a camera and just fell in love with, just creating,” Leipprandt said.

Leipprandt’s book MIconic is available for pre-order right now and is set to be published in August or September.