Jon Sienkiewicz Blog

If you do any photo editing, you’ve probably heard about the collection of plugin filters called Nik. The package has been around for close to 15 years, and now it’s in the DxO barn so we can be confident that it will remain compatible and relevant for years to come.

I ordered a circular polarizing filter in 67mm size from Amazon. The price was $7.99. Two days later I was outside shooting through the new CP filter in all of the traditional polarizer situations. The last previous time I bought a polarizer it cost more than $50. So what did I discover? Was this deal a Bargain or Bagel? 

This story includes a concise but clear explanation of how polarizers work.

Here’s nearly everything that’s important to know about photo filters (the tangible kind) told in easy to understand language. Plus, at the end, a bonus tip tells you how to remove a screw-in filter that’s stuck to a lens.

As a Shutterbug reader, you know how to shoot fireworks. But what do you say to your friends and kinfolk when they ask you for advice? Simple—just send them the link to this article. It’s a nice, relatively short list of 10 tips for photographing aerial pyrotechnics. Because after all, there’s more to fireworks than what meets the sky. 

Carpenters are known to say things like, “Measure twice and cut once.” It’s hard to argue with that advice. But what about photographers? Should we trust the words of folks who deal mainly with images? 

To our younger readers, film is how we used to take pictures. We called them “photographs” and had to wait (a long time) to see how they turned out. To our not-so-young readers, here’s a quiz to test how much you remember. We also sneaked in a couple questions about current film products because after all, film is not dead. Ready? 

We haven’t had a photography quiz since July, so everyone’s brain should be rested and fresh. Here are 13 fun questions to probe the depth of your capacity for frivolous information about our favorite pastime. Let us know how you score!