Jon Sienkiewicz Blog

Everyone is a Content Creator to one degree or another. Some earn their daily bread; others dribble out their daily dread. No matter where you fit on this spectrum, using top creator tools can help you up your game.

Can you call Michael H. Steven’s pictures photography? No — no way. In all but a few cases, no camera was involved. Creative imagery? Yeah, that label might work. But where does it fit? Somewhere near the intersection of Photography Parkway and AI Boulevard. Under the blinding neon sign of a mildly demented mind. But is it art?

You stumble into your favorite Starbucks half-awake as you do every morning and WHAM! There's Elvis standing at the end of the counter — fringed shirt, sequined guitar strap and all. You do a quick draw from your iPhone holster while The King patiently waits for his venti peanut butter banana flat white with an extra three pumps of funnel cake syrup, but — damn! — the battery is dead. What do you do? You're missing your chance to join the annals of consumer photojournalism and a shot at certain Instagram history. That's about a zillion Likes being blown to tarnation.

Remix is an AI engine that generates images you can do something with immediately. The gateway enticement is Magic Camera, a snappy app that lets you shoot a selfie, add a text prompt, and simply be amazed. Even if you've become weary from reading about AI this and AI that, go to Magic Camera (it's 100% free) and give it a shot. Link in story below.

Turn mundane everyday subjects into intriguing creative images by distorting surrounding objects in an imaginative way with a Lensbaby Sweet 22. Here's our hands-on review and several images.

Featuring thick, vegetable-tanned leather and the amazing tensile strength of seven-strand nylon parachute rope, WotanCraft Paracord X leather neck straps and wrist straps are available with traditional split ring or Peak Design Anchor Lock fasteners and are as attractive as they are practical. With a style that harkens back to their military inspiration, they add another dimension to WotanCraft's already extensive line of beautifully designed photo accessories.

Amidst heavy speculation, Ricoh unveiled the Pentax 17, the first new 35mm film camera from a major manufacturer in several years. Here's the rundown on the features and a couple sample images.