Welcome to the BorrowLenses Blog
We're a camera rental giant with small business-style customer service. Our mission is to advance the photographic and cinematic dreams of pros and novices alike by providing superior, cutting-edge gear in a more affordable way. Rent, shoot, return – it's as easy as that. You choose what you want, when you want to receive it, and for how long you want to rent it for. Welcome to our blog! Here, you'll find inspirational content, BL news and updates, and helpful tutorials.
The Switch: Moving from Canon to Nikon, Part II
I’ve had the D800 for about 2 weeks now, and have shot with it in the studio, out in the Marin Headlands, and a variety of other spots. In this article, I’ll focus on my initial experiences with the Nikon setup, a few of the challenges I faced, and some observations along the way.
The Switch: Moving from Canon to Nikon, Part 0.5
This is a quick ‘n dirty post that’s part of my “Switch” series. Part 1 of the series can be found here. I was in the studio, working on a quick lighting test. The subject was a violin positioned on a tall chair, and I was moving in and out, shooting the whole thing, then […]
The Switch: Moving from Canon to Nikon, Part I
This is Part I of a series on moving from an all-Canon setup to an all-Nikon setup for four weeks. Will I go back to Canon at the end of four weeks? I have no idea… “I’m going to check out a bunch of Nikon gear and go shoot with it for four weeks. Then […]
Sharpness You Can See: Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM II
The much anticipated release of the Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM II has been the source of much discussion and debate. While the lens has some notable differences than the original Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM (we’ll cover those at the end) the #1 attribute of note is its sharpness.
The Leica Diary, Part V – Final Thoughts
After about four weeks of shooting with the Leica M9 and various lenses, I came to a dismaying conclusion. I am not a street photographer. I don’t like street photography. I get nervous, am unsure, and take terrible street photos. And, for most of the time that I had the M9, I was trying to […]
Finding the Photo in the Cruft
I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised by the power of software to bring out something interesting in images that might otherwise be a wash, but wouldn’t you know it, I’m still capable of being amazed. I’m currently shooting with the Nikon D800 of late as part of an assignment (more to come on that later), […]
Tilt-Shift Lenses for Beginners, Part 1: Shift Function
Photographers can use special perspective-control lenses to create lifelike imagery of buildings and open spaces. In tilt-shift for beginners, we’ll introduce you to all the benefits of these great tools. This is part 1, which covers the shifting function.
The Leica Diary, Part IV – An Unexpected Thing or Two
In this part, I’ll look at a couple of unexpected things I ran into when shooting with the Leica. Most people who shoot with a Leica assume that the lenses available for it, like the 50mm f/2.5 shown above, are primes. And, for the most part, this is true. I’d certainly had no reason to […]
Hard at Work
Dragging my carcass out of bed at 4:30am on Labor Day, I hauled myself over to the Marin Headlands to shoot for a piece on Tilt-Shift lenses. To my surprise, I found fellow photographer and BorrowLenses.com VP of Marketing Jim Goldstein already there, hard at work as well.
Playing With Canon’s New Big Guns
Canon’s 1Dx and 600mm f/4L IS II lens have been two of the most sought after (and repeatedly delayed) items in their inventory for the past year or so. Now, Canon is finally shipping them with some regularity, and we took this opportunity to put this new combo through its paces. I love photographing birds. […]
The Leica Diary, Part III – Focus
Part I of the Leica Diary can be found here. Part II can be found here. Zone focus. Those are the two key words you need to know about focusing with a Leica. If you’ve used a rangefinder before, you already know this; if you haven’t, then read on. Leica cameras don’t focus like the […]
Notable Storytellers – Sara Lando
Welcome to Notable Storytellers, a feature where we point you to some of the best visual storytellers around, from photographers and videographers to VFX and graphic artists. Sara Lando is an Italian photographer who first came to my attention through her work on David Hobby’s Strobist blog. An occasional contributor there, Sara is a commercial […]
The Leica Diary, Part II – Coming To Grips
In this part of the Leica Diary, I explore the M9’s body and features, and struggle to come to grips with using the photographic equivalent of a 1970’s Porsche 911.
Flashing Above San Francisco
Every so often, we get to talk about our friends, whether they’re doing something awesome in front of a lens, or behind the camera. This time around, it’s both. One of our favorite all-round good guys and awesome photographers, Syl Arena, swung through San Francisco a while back and hung out with our very own […]
Notable Storytellers – Stu Maschwitz
Stu Maschwitz is, to use his own words, “a filmmaker, photographer, and writer, with a passion for kinetic storytelling.” To that, I’ll add that Stu is a prolific director and geek whose blog should be required reading for all video afficionados.
In Their Own Words
Behind-the-scenses, how-tos, and technique tutorials are excellent tools to help photographers get better at their trade. Just as important, however, is listening to and understanding the experiences of the shooters you look up to. Here are a couple of videos along that vein.
The Leica Diary, Part 1: Introduction
These days, it looks like every major camera manufacturer is coming out with a new addition to the MILC (Mirrorless Interchangeable Lens Camera) class of bodies and lenses. The latest, of course, is Canon, with its EOS-M camera. These units, typically smaller than your average DSLRs, have been getting better and better, packing some serious […]
The Internet is Awesome
Google’s Marissa Mayer was recently hired on to helm Yahoo! as their CEO, and photographers who care immensely about Yahoo!’s beleaguered Flickr photo service decided to send her a message. The folks at Yahoo! responded with a kind of “Help us help you” message, and posted the following: Though it isn’t exactly what some folks […]
Zack Arias on DigitalRev
Just a quick “You gotta see this” post for you today. The folks at DigitalRev.com had Zack Arias on their show last week. Zack, who is visiting Hong Kong for a workshop with Joe McNally, appeared on the show that he calls the Top Gear of photography. DigitalRev does a segment called “Pro Photographer, Cheap […]
On the Profoto Blog
Our recent Tip of the Week was picked up by the wonderful folks at Profoto and mentioned on their blog. If you haven’t been by there, you’re missing out – they post a ton of great stuff that’s worth looking at even if you never use a single piece of Profoto gear. We warn you […]
Photo Finds, July 16, 2012 – Philip Bloom
On this week’s Photo Finds, we talk about filmmaker Philip Bloom. If you’re a budding filmmaker, or even a veteran of the industry, Philip is someone you should definitely be following closely.
Op-Ed: Giving Respect Where It’s Due
From time to time, we offer up Op-Ed pieces on various aspects of photography for your consideration. Please note that these articles are the personal opinion of the writer, not necessarily of BorrowLenses.com. I’m going to start this post off by sharing a video created by Zack Arias. Next up, read this post, also from […]
Photo Finds: Fashion Photographer Melissa Rodwell
In this week’s Photo Finds article, we take a look at fashion photographer Melissa Rodwell’s work. If you’re interested in getting into the field, this is one photographer you should be paying attention to.
5 Things Worth Celebrating About the New Canon 1D X
The 1D X is officially out and here are 5 reasons to get excited about it.
All About the Canon 40mm Pancake Lens
Important things you need to know about the Canon 40mm pancake lens and its Stepping Motor technology.
Photo Finds, June 15, 2012 – Matt Furman
Welcome to Photo Finds, a feature where we point you to some of the best photography around the web. This week, we introduce you to the work of editorial and commercial photographer Matt Furman.
Photo Finds, June 18, 2012 – Daniel Milnor
Welcome to Photo Finds, a feature where we point you to some of the best photography around the web. This week, we bring you the classic Black and White Documentary work of photographer Daniel Milnor.
Photo Finds – June 11, 2012: Zack Arias
Welcome to Photo Finds, a feature where we point you to some of the best photography around the web. This week’s Photo Finds is a very specific one. We’re not just going to talk about a specific photographer; we’re going to talk about a specific photographer shooting a specific genre. A lot of you have […]
Photo Finds – June 4, 2012: Michael Cali
Welcome to Photo Finds, a feature where we point you to some of the best photography around the web. When I picked wedding and portrait photographer Michael Cali as the person I wanted to talk about in today’s Photo Finds feature, I didn’t remember right away that he and last week’s Photo Finds photographer, Brad […]
Op-Ed: The New Horizon(tal)
Landscape mode or portrait mode? This Op-Ed makes the case for breaking traditional molds and shooting more subjects in landscape orientation. The new Horizon(tal) is here.
5 Things I Learned at the Google+ Photographer’s Conference
Last week we had a great time at the Google+ Photographer’s Conference. As an event partner and sponsor we had a chance to meet a lot of great photographers in attendance. The conference had a great energy to it. With photographers being so active and social on Google+ it was rather effortless to pick up […]
Tip of the Week – Replicate Photographer Peter Hurley’s Signature Look With Strobes
Want to learn how to replicate famous headshot photographer Peter Hurley’s signature look, but with strobes? Check out this edition of Tip of the Week!
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