Jon Sienkiewicz

Even photographers who usually shoot in Manual Mode should take a closer look at Program AE Mode. Why? Because in the right hands, the two modes are more similar than they are different. 

Many, many years ago, in a silver halide universe far, far away, amateur photographers were divided into two camps. Their differences were not based on political orientation. And they had nothing to do with the Cold War, nationality, ideology or anything else so trivial. What was the division that separated otherwise rational people? Read on…

Do your friends often tell you that your photographs are so good you should become a professional? Do you sometimes stare blankly at the pages of National Geographic and hear a voice inside your head that says, “I can do better than that!”? Do you post on Instagram more than 70 times a week? If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, read on—and unleash the master picture-taker that’s lurking in your soul.

If you think the name Advanced Rear is a little confusing, wait until you wade through the entire Manfrotto Advanced photo backpack lineup which includes models named Advanced Active, Advanced Travel and my overall personal favorite, the Advanced Gear photo backpack. The good news is that aside from the goofy naming system, I can’t find anything else wrong with them. These are beautifully designed, very well made and look like they’ll last a lifetime. But I’m getting ahead of myself…