Categories
Photography Politics

Behind the scenes reactions from U.S. officials to September 11th terror attacks

An absolutely amazing set of photographs from one of the most infamous days in United States history. Even 14+ years later, it is surreal looking at these images.

Categories
Entertainment Photography

How They Made That ‘Game of Thrones’ Scene So Darn Cool

The things they can do with visual effects in movies and television now are insane.

Categories
Photography

Niko Tavernise Uploads Photos from Blockbuster Film Sets… So 500px Accidentally Banned Him

A cute little story, and some really cool photos.

Categories
Photography Software

Adobe Releases Lightroom CC

The announcement was just 10 minutes ago, so I have not had a chance to play with it yet. I anticipate I’ll write something more in-depth over at [photography.kivusandcamera.com](http://photography.kivusandcamera.com).

Categories
Photography

Yale Has Acquired a Huge Collection of Civil War Photos

This looks like an amazing addition to Yale’s photography collection.

Categories
Disney Entertainment Photography

Cory Disbrow’s Walt Disney World Year in Photos 2014

I have a lot of memories from Disney World this year, and this post just helps bubble them to the surface.

Categories
Photography

First Look at the Sony a7 II

This is my next.

Categories
Photography

How to Photograph Christmas Lights

Important tutorial for the Christmas season.

Categories
Photography

New Think Tank Bags for Mirrorless Cameras

They look pretty cool.

Categories
Photography

The Sony A7II is Now Available for Pre-Order

The camera I am most excited about, the Sony A7 II, is [now available for pre-order](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00PX8CHO6/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00PX8CHO6&linkCode=as2&tag=viefrotherigs-20&linkId=OVYDURCCQBECBPTY).[^aff] I am putting together a longer post that includes various previews for the camera, but, if you think you may be interested in picking one of these up, you might want to pre-order now.

[^aff]: Affiliate Link.

Categories
Photography

Black Friday Sale at Trey Ratcliff’s Stuck in Customs

Trey Ratcliff’s [Stuck in Customs store](http://store.stuckincustoms.com?acc=6883966fd8f918a4aa29be29d2c386fb) is offering a 35% off Black Friday sale.[^ff] Some items I am considering picking up are:

* [Discover Art of Photography](http://store.stuckincustoms.com/tutorials/art-of-photography?acc=6883966fd8f918a4aa29be29d2c386fb&bannerid=1);
* [Organize the Your Photos – a 3 Level System](http://store.stuckincustoms.com/organize-your-photos-bonus?acc=6883966fd8f918a4aa29be29d2c386fb&bannerid=110); and, of course,
* Trey’s [Complete HDR Tutorial](http://store.stuckincustoms.com/complete-hdr-tutorial?acc=6883966fd8f918a4aa29be29d2c386fb&bannerid=19)

[^ff]: Using my affiliate inks will give you an extra 5% off.

Categories
Photography

Kelby Guest Blog Wednesday featuring Serge Ramelli!

Take a few minutes and good look at these pictures. Seriously. Go enjoy them.

Categories
Comics Entertainment Photography

Andy Ihnatko’s Awesome Harley Quinn Cosplayer Photo

Pretty awesome Harley Quinn cosplay from NY Comic-con 2014.

Categories
Photography

Some of the Recent New Photography Gear Announcements

New stuff from Canon, Sony, and Fujifilm.

Categories
Photography

Sigma Announces new 18-300 Sigma Lens

More details over at [my photography blog](http://photography.kivusandcamera.com/2014/09/new-18-300-sigma-lenses-for-aps-c-sensor-camera/).

Categories
Culture Entertainment Photography

What I Have Been Up To

My blogging on this site has always been somewhat erratic, but it has been even more so lately. Unlike the [previous life events](https://johnkiv.us/2014/04/25/months-that-lasted-years/) that kept me from writing here as frequently, these new developments have been very positive.

First, and most importantly, Elyssa and I [got married in May](https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.744964325544227.1073741837.121478204559512&type=1) and then went on an epic, 11 day honeymoon at Walt Disney World.[^note1] As you may have guessed, it was a fantastic month.

Speaking of Walt Disney World, I am happy to announce that I am now a blogger on [TouringPlans.com](http://www.touringplans.com). Unlike the Disney-related posts on this site, where I normally link to a news item and provide some kind of brief commentary, my TouringPlans posts are in-depth, analytical pieces about things at Walt Disney World that I am interested in. One of my main goals is have an on going series about staying *off-site* while visiting the World. I have already posted [one article in that series](http://blog.touringplans.com/2014/07/28/disney-world-annual-pass/) and have also done [three other posts](http://blog.touringplans.com/author/kivus/) that deal with value-based analysis of Walt Disney World vacations. To no one’s surprise, Elyssa has been editing my articles, and she is greatly helping their quality.

The other recent drain on my time has been the launch of [Kivus & Camera](http://kivusandcamera.com), a photography business that Elyssa and I are starting together. Both of us have a love for photography, and we both really enjoy capturing the moments in peoples’ lives where they are at their happiest and their best. It serves as a nice counterbalance to our work as attorneys, where we do not always see the best side of people. As part of the launch, Elyssa posted a (http://kivusandcamera.com/2014/08/meg-hunter-08-02-2014/) and a [photo album](https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.703938123025849.1073741830.677155332370795&type=1) of a wedding that we shot last month.[^note2] (Of course, if you are interested in our photography services for weddings, family, or even portraits for social media, please feel free to [contact us through the new site](http://kivusandcamera.com/contact/).)

Speaking of Elyssa, you might notice that both of these new activities are things that her and I do together. That is by design. Our skills really do complement each other in a lot of areas, and it makes working on projects with her super fun. For example, though I have put a good deal of time and effort into launching [Kivus & Camera](http://kivusandcamrea.com), my efforts pale in comparison to the work Elyssa has done to get everything off the ground. I leveraged some of my technical experience to get the website functioning, but Elyssa has spent nearly all of her free time making sure all the details on the website, the recently shot wedding, the logo, etc… are in order. That is the type of work that I am not a fan of, and she does it very, very well. I am looking forward to working with her on all of these things going forward.

Finally, I do still intend to update this site. I am not sure the exact schedule yet, and my upcoming court calendar might impact things, but I think I’ll always come back to this place. This site just always feels like my true home on the internet.

[^note1]: The honeymoon itself could and should be the subject of post. It included Star Wars Weekends, 24-Hour Days, and a sampling of Disney Dining beyond anything we have ever experienced. Of course, some of the items that stood in the way of me writing on this site also kept me away from finishing up a trip report and associated photo editing for that trip.

[^note2]: I also relaunched my photography website, which was formerly available at [Johnkivus.com](http://johnkivus.com) as a sub-site of [Kivus & Camera](http://kivusandcamera.com). It is now available at [photography.kivusandcamera.com](http://photography.kivusandcamera.com). I have been wanting to redo my old site for some time, and the launch of the new business finally gave me the motivation to get it done. I am still not 100% sure on the divide between this site and that one, but I anticipate that most of my photography news will be posted [over there](http://photography.kivusandcamera.com).

Categories
Photography

Shooting a Chevy Commercial with a Sony A7s

SPOILER: It takes a *little* more than just an [A7s](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00JIWXTXG/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00JIWXTXG&linkCode=as2&tag=johkiv-20&linkId=DRPX3ESGVYAEF3AC) [^f5608].

[^f5608]: Affiliate Link.

Categories
Photography

Lens Rentals Canada halts service citing ‘serious issues’ with Canada Post

I am glad [Lens Rentals US](http://lensrentals.com) isn’t having any issues. I use them all the time.

Categories
Photography

Scott Kelby Tells his Most Embarrassing Photography Story Ever

This story is so, so good. If you are a photographer, take a few minutes and give it a listen.

Categories
Photography

The Phoblographer’s Review of the Sony A7S

> Sony’s A7s has a lot going for it. In today’s world, everyone wants amazing high ISO abilities–and the A7s delivers on this and then some. But in the method that Sony took, we dare to say that it’s too good. There comes a certain point where a still photo taken doesn’t need the have a super high ISO. However, it could totally change the way that you shoot.

This camera is still at the top of my gear lust list.