While I lived in my hometown, I visited and photographed most of the abandoned buildings in it. I knew exactly where I could enter and how. Sometimes, you can just walk right in. Other times, there’s a guard you need to ask for permission and hope he’s in a good mood. And sometimes you need an official license if you want to shoot somewhere. Unfortunately, when you go to a new city or country, all these things aren’t something you know from the start....

While pretty much all cameras today have some form of light meter built-in, there are still plenty of older film cameras that don’t. Short of going by the Sunny 16 rule and hoping you’re close, there isn’t much you can do to ensure a good exposure besides using an actual light meter. Sure, you could carry around a big bulky Sekonic or even a little slender Sekonic, but why not mount one to your camera’s hotshoe?...

Watermarks are a hotly debated topic. There are lots of good, and some silly, arguments both for and against them. But it’s funny how nobody ever seemed to accuse Van Gogh or Picasso of “ruining” their artwork by adding their signature to the corner of the canvas. So, with that in mind, here’s Colin Smith at Photoshop Cafe to show us how to turn our actual signature into a watermark. Obviously, this is in Photoshop, and Colin quickly turns his signature into a brush with which he can stamp any image he chooses....

The whole epic Aurelius/Bowens/Calumet saga now seems to be drawing to a conclusion. And what a journey it’s been. Calumet USA goes bankrupt, Calumet UK and Bowens are bought out by Aurelius. Recently, Bowens winds down and is sent into liquidation. Now it seems the Calumet is going to disappear, too. At least in name. Calumet just sent out an email blast to all of their customers to let them know that from tomorrow, things are changing....

Brace yourselves, winter is coming! It’s dark, cold and wet, and a real pain in the neck if you live in a big city. But winter can look magical in photos. Sometimes you can capture its magic even in big cities if you know where to look. If you don’t believe me, check out this video from Toma Bonciu. He will give you some tips and plenty of ideas for taking magical photos in the snow....