📸 SNAPSHOT - Issue 123
Welcome to a brand new Issue of my Magazine. A truly brilliant one, enjoy the read :)
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In this Issue
TTArtisan’s New 50mm f/1.8 NEO Lens Is Here
TTArtisan’s new AF 50mm f/1.8 NEO is officially here. It is a full-frame standard prime for Sony E, Nikon Z, and L-Mount mirrorless cameras and as part of the company’s lightweight NEO lineup, the lens is built around the idea of keeping it small, keeping it light, and making it easy to carry every day.
One of the biggest talking points is its size. Depending on the mount, the lens weighs between 156 and 167 grams, making it one of the lightest autofocus 50mm full-frame lenses available.
Inside, the AF 50mm f/1.8 NEO features a 12-element, 8-group optical design that includes extra-low-dispersion and high-index elements to help keep chromatic aberration under control while maintaining sharpness across the frame. TTArtisan says the lens is designed to deliver clear, detailed images from the center right out to the corners.
The lens has a 50mm focal length with a classic 45-degree angle of view. Its bright f/1.8 maximum aperture is paired with a 7-blade diaphragm and can be stopped down to f/16, giving you a lot of flexibility for everything from shallow depth-of-field portraits to landscapes with greater depth.
Autofocus is driven by an STM stepping motor that is designed to provide smooth, quiet focusing for both stills and video. The lens can focus as close as 0.48 meters.
The outside of the lens has also been kept deliberately simple, with TTArtisan removing both the focus ring and aperture ring in favour of a ‘‘cleaner, more minimalist presence.’’ At the same time, the outer barrel is designed so that you can personalise it with stickers, custom paint, or even 3D-printed decorative shells for a unique look.
The lens length ranges from 47mm to 50mm based on the mount. The Sony E version is the shortest at 47mm, the Nikon Z version measures 48mm, and the L-Mount version comes in at 50mm. All three share the same 67mm barrel diameter and use standard 52mm front filters.
The TTArtisan AF 50mm f/1.8 NEO is available for Sony E-, Nikon Z-, and L-Mount cameras. It ships with a lens hood and front and rear caps. Pricing is set at $89.
A few sample shots:
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Interview with Roger Janssen
This week’s Interview with Roger, a talented photographer based in Amsterdam. I am truly honoured to have had the opportunity to interview him again, this time with a closer look at his newer work!
You can find him on Instagram as: @pictorlux
Enjoy the amazing Interview ;)
Can you tell us a bit about yourself?
My name is Roger, I’m Dutch, and I live in Amsterdam. During the day I work in IT, so I spend a lot of time behind a computer solving problems. Photography is pretty much the complete opposite of that, and I think that’s one of the reasons I enjoy it so much. It gets me outside, keeps me moving, and gives me a creative outlet that my regular job doesn’t. Besides photography, I love traveling, scuba diving, and going to concerts whenever I get the chance. I’ve always enjoyed experiences that take me somewhere different or show me something new, and photography fits perfectly with that. Whenever I travel, my camera is always with me.
How did you get into photography?
Photography has always been around me in some way. My dad worked as a graphic designer at an advertising agency, and photography and filming were part of his job. Growing up, I was usually the kid standing in front of his camera. At the time I wasn’t exactly thrilled about that, but looking back, I think it planted the first seed. Eventually I got an old box camera of my own, and that’s when things started to become interesting. Suddenly I wasn’t the one being photographed anymore, I was the one making the pictures. I loved the idea of taking a moment and keeping it forever. The real turning point came when digital photography became widely available. Being able to shoot, experiment, review the result immediately, and edit everything yourself changed the experience. I didn’t need a darkroom or expensive film anymore. I could go out after work, try different settings, make mistakes, learn from them, and improve every single time.
How do you approach shooting in low-light situations, and what equipment do you use to achieve the best results?
Low light is where I feel most comfortable. While many photographers worry about the dark parts of an image, I’m usually looking for the opposite. I’m searching for little pockets of light that make a scene interesting. Because of that, I almost always expose for the highlights instead of the shadows. I usually underexpose somewhere between -0.7 and -2 EV depending on the scene. I’d rather keep detail in the bright parts than blow them out. Most of my subjects end up as silhouettes anyway, so I don’t really need a lot of shadow detail. I normally shoot with the aperture wide open to separate my subject from the background and let in as much light as possible. I’m also perfectly happy raising the ISO if that’s what it takes to keep my shutter speed high enough. My gear helps me also. I mainly use weather-sealed Olympus equipment, so rain, snow and fog never stop me from going outside.
What is your dream shooting location and why?
That’s actually a difficult question because there are still so many places I’d love to visit with a camera. New York City is definitely near the top of the list. There’s something intriguing about it for photographers I think. Paris is another city I’d happily return to over and over again, and of course Amsterdam never really gets old for me. I know it so well, but the light changes every day and every season gives the city a different atmosphere. I’ve never been to Lisbon, but it’s high on my list. From everything I’ve seen, it seems like a photographer’s playground with all the hills, trams, textures, and beautiful light. I’d also love to photograph the cliffs around Étretat in France. They’re very different from the city environments I’m used to, and I think they’d be an exciting challenge. A few months ago I spent some time in Tuscany, and that was an amazing experience too.
What were the difficulties you encountered when you first started photography?
The biggest challenge in the beginning was simply not knowing what kind of photographer I wanted to become. I photographed absolutely everything because I didn’t really have a direction yet. One day I’d photograph flowers, the next day buildings, then maybe some street. I was trying everything without understanding what actually interested me. At the same time, I kept comparing my work to the photos I saw in magazines or books, and mine never looked anything like them. That could be pretty frustrating. There’s also the financial side with photography. Once you get interested in it, you quickly discover that cameras, lenses, tripods and accessories aren’t exactly cheap.
Do you think anyone can be a photographer? If so, what is the most important quality to have?
Yes, I really do believe almost anyone can become a photographer. The technical side isn’t really the difficult part anymore. There are countless tutorials, workshops, books and videos that can teach you how your camera works. The harder part is learning how to actually see photographs before they happen. That’s something I often call having a photographic eye. It’s walking through everyday life and noticing interesting light, reflections, shapes, people, weather or little moments that other people just walk past.
What gear do you use?
I currently use Olympus cameras (MicroFourThirds system). I have three bodies and they all fit into one small backpack, mostly mounted with my fast 24-80mm/f2.8 and 80-300mm/f2.8 zooms and one with my 35mm/f1.2 prime Olympus lenses, focal ranges in 35mm equivalent numbers. And for additional fun I sometimes mount one of my three super fast manual f0.95 Voigtländer lenses. And on occasion I shoot 35mm film as well. I have some Olympus OM2 SLR bodies and some other compacts.
What is your favourite editing software, and how much time do you spend editing?
I do all my editing in Lightroom. I wouldn’t describe myself as someone who spends hours creating elaborate edits. If I’m honest, I’m a little lazy when it comes to editing. I’d much rather spend my free time outside taking photos than sitting behind a computer. My workflow is fairly straightforward. After a shoot, I go through everything and select the images that really stand out. Usually I’ll fully edit one photo first until I’m happy with the overall look. Once I’ve got the colours, contrast, and mood where I want them, I’ll save those settings as a preset and use it as the starting point for the rest of a series.
What does photography mean to you?
Photography has become much more than just a hobby. It’s my creative outlet, my excuse to get outside, and probably one of the best ways I know to clear my head after spending an entire day working behind a computer. As soon as I grab my camera and start walking through the city, my focus completely changes. Instead of thinking about work, emails, or deadlines, I’m looking at light, weather, and people. I also love that photography encourages me to explore. Even after living in Amsterdam for years, I still find myself discovering streets, canals, or little corners I’d never noticed before.
How do you use lighting in your photos?
For me, light is always the starting point. Before I even think about composition or subjects, I’m usually looking at where the light is coming from and what it’s doing to the scene. Light creates mood, guides the eye, and often determines whether I even stop to take a photo. At night I’m drawn almost entirely to artificial light. Street lamps, illuminated windows… all become part of the composition. During the day it’s a little different. I’m especially fond of early morning and late evening when the sun is low and creates long shadows and warm colours. I also enjoy shooting directly into the sun. Backlighting can simplify a scene, create silhouettes, and add an extra layer of atmosphere that wouldn’t exist with flat lighting.
What do you think makes your work unique?
I don’t believe any photographer creates something that’s completely unique anymore. Photography has been around for a long time, and almost every location and subject has been photographed before. What makes the difference isn’t necessarily where you photograph, but how you see it. Over time I’ve developed a way of working with artificial light, weather, and colour that people seem to recognize. Some followers even refer to it as the “Pictorlux light,” which always makes me smile. I think that’s the biggest compliment a photographer can receive. Not that people know where a photo was taken, but that they can recognize who took it before they even see the name underneath.
Any helpful advice for photography beginners?
The biggest piece of advice I can give is simply to shoot as much as possible. Don’t wait until you have the perfect camera or know every setting by heart. Just go outside, experiment, make mistakes, and learn from them. It’s also completely normal to copy photographers you admire in the beginning. Everyone does it to some extent. The important part is not staying there forever. Over time you’ll start noticing which kinds of light, colours, compositions, or subjects you naturally enjoy most, and that’s where your own style begins to develop. Try not to compare your Chapter One to someone else’s Chapter Twenty. Most importantly, keep it fun. If photography starts feeling like pressure or a competition, you’re probably doing it for the wrong reasons. Go out because you enjoy it.
What is your dream photography gear?
To be honest, I’m already in a pretty fortunate position because the gear I own lets me create exactly the kind of photos I enjoy making. I don’t really believe that buying another expensive camera suddenly makes someone a better photographer. Once you reach a certain level of equipment, it becomes much more about the person behind the camera than the camera itself. That said, if we’re talking purely about dream gear, I’d love to spend some time shooting with a large-format camera. The whole process fascinates me. And of course, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t curious about Leica. There’s something about the history, craftsmanship, and simplicity of those cameras that’s always appealed to me.
Why is your Instagram name “Pictorlux”?
The name actually came before I even created my Instagram account. I wanted something that reflected the way I think about photography rather than just using my own name. “Pictor” comes from Latin and means painter, while “lux” means light. Put together, it roughly translates to “painting with light,” which is really what photography has always been.
What is your favourite photography location in Amsterdam?
Without hesitation, I’d say the Leidsegracht. It’s one of those places I can return to again and again without getting bored. Yes, it’s just another canal, but photographically it offers almost everything I enjoy. Depending on the season, weather, and time of day, it can look completely different. Early in the morning the water is often perfectly still, creating beautiful reflections. During foggy mornings it feels mysterious, while rainy evenings transform it into something cinematic.
What draws you so much to bad weather?
I think bad weather simply gives a city personality. Sunny blue skies are beautiful in real life, but photographically they often feel a little too clean and predictable to me. Rain, fog, snow, and mist immediately create atmosphere and emotion. Also, bad weather is just more challenging and fun overall.
How does Amsterdam influence your photography style?
Amsterdam has this unique light and structure that makes you fall in love with geometry and reflections whether you want to or not. The canals, the narrow streets, the mix of old and modern architecture all forces you to think about lines and perspective. The weather helps too, because it’s always changing. You can go from bright sun to fog in the same hour. It keeps me on my toes, and it probably explains why I like moody shots so much.
What do you think makes a photo truly memorable?
For me, memorable photographs are usually the simplest ones. They don’t need to contain dozens of subjects or complicated compositions. Often it’s just one person, one interesting light source, and one moment that somehow stays with you long after you’ve looked away. Light plays a huge role, but so does emotion. A technically perfect image doesn’t necessarily make me feel anything. On the other hand, a photograph with beautiful atmosphere, strong mood, or an interesting story can stay in my mind for years, even if it isn’t technically flawless.
Do you still shoot film sometimes? What does it give you that digital does not?
Yes. I don’t shoot film nearly as often as digital, but I still enjoy taking one of my Olympus OM-2 cameras or an old compact camera out from time to time. The biggest difference is simply the pace. Digital photography encourages experimentation because every shot is essentially free. With film, every exposure costs money (these days, a lot of money) and every frame matters. That naturally slows you down. You think more carefully about composition, exposure, and timing before pressing the shutter..
What is your long-term goal with photography?
My biggest goal is simply to keep enjoying it. Photography has always been my escape from everyday work, and I’d like it to stay that way. I don’t feel any pressure to make it my full-time profession or turn it into a business. Of course, there are still things I’d love to do. Having an exhibition would be special because seeing photographs printed and hanging on a wall is very different from looking at them on a phone screen, and in fact I am having my first exhibition later this year in Milan (so that dream will hopefully become reality soon). I’d also enjoy creating a photo book that brings together my favourite work from Amsterdam and the places I’ve travelled.
How do you deal with creative blocks or uninspired periods?
I think every photographer goes through periods where nothing really seems to work. You go out expecting to come home with something special and instead everything feels ordinary. I’ve learned not to fight those moments too much because they always pass eventually. When I feel uninspired, I usually leave the camera at home for a while. I’ll go for a walk, travel somewhere, or simply enjoy being outside without putting pressure on myself to create photographs. Sometimes I’ll also revisit older (very good) photos of mine and I try re-editing them again. That always sparks inspiration.
Do you ever plan your shoots, or do you mostly go with the flow?
It’s a mixture of both, but I’d say spontaneity wins for me. If I’m hoping for a particular kind of weather, like dense fog, fresh snowfall, or a colourful sunrise, I’ll definitely keep an eye on the forecast and head out when conditions look promising. Good light doesn’t happen by accident very often, so planning around weather makes a difference.
What is one photography habit you have developed over the years that you could not shoot without today?
Slow down! When I first started, I walked everywhere very quickly because I was constantly looking for the next photograph. Nowadays I spend much more time standing still. If I find interesting light, I don’t immediately take one photo and move on anymore. I’ll stay there for several minutes, sometimes much longer, watching how people move through the frame and waiting for something to happen.
What keeps you excited about photography after all these years?
The fact that it never really feels finished. No matter how many places I photograph, there’s always another weather condition, another season, another way the light falls, or another composition waiting to be discovered. Even locations I’ve photographed dozens of times continue to surprise me. I also enjoy the feeling that I’m still learning. Every year I notice things I completely overlooked before. Sometimes it’s a new editing technique, sometimes it’s simply understanding light a little better or becoming more patient while shooting.
What is your favourite season for photography?
Autumn is my favourite. The weather becomes much more unpredictable with mornings that are often foggy, evenings come earlier, and the colours become richer. Winter is a close second for me because snow and fog create great conditions.
Have you ever returned home without taking a single photo?
The rest, 6 more questions of this Interview + an additional exclusive photograph selection, are for Premium subscribers only.
ShiftCam’s New Mobile Lenses
ShiftCam’s LensUltra mobile lens system, first teased back in April, is now officially out. The new lineup consists of two separate series of smartphone lenses, the P Series and the V Series, each meant for a different type of mobile photographer.
The P Series is the more affordable option and is designed for casual photographers. The lenses attach to the phone’s primary 1x camera and include a 60mm telephoto lens for portraits and everyday photography, a 16mm wide-angle lens for landscapes, architecture, and interiors, and a 10x Macro lens for close-up subjects like flowers, insects, food, and other small details.
Alongside it, ShiftCam has also introduced the higher-end V Series. These lenses use the company’s most advanced optical design so far, with fluorite glass, upgraded coatings, and an ultra-low chromatic aberration design meant to improve sharpness, contrast, and colour accuracy.
The V Series also debuts ShiftCam’s new S.Mount system, which is designed to support larger and heavier lenses more securely than previous mounting systems.
The lineup includes a 60mm telephoto, a 16mm wide-angle, a 75mm Long Range Macro, and a 200-degree fisheye lens. The system also works with ShiftCam’s magnetic filter lineup, including variable ND, Black Mist, and CPL filters.
ShiftCam says dedicated lenses still offer advantages that software alone cannot replicate. A telephoto lens creates more natural compression and subject separation, a true wide-angle captures a wider scene without relying on digital correction, macro lenses reveal details that built-in smartphone cameras often miss, and specialty lenses like fisheyes offer perspectives that simply are not possible with a phone’s standard cameras.
The LensUltra system requires one of ShiftCam’s Camera Cases. At launch, cases are available for the iPhone 14 through iPhone 17 Pro series, including Max models, as well as the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra, Xiaomi 15 Ultra, and Google Pixel 10 Pro XL.
The V Series lenses are priced at $200 each. ShiftCam is also offering a $1,049 kit that includes all four V Series lenses, a carrying case, an aluminium camera case with an integrated grip, and four magnetic filters, Hard VND, Soft VND, Black Mist, and CPL. Each P Series lens is priced at $129, while the complete three-lens kit costs $299.
A few sample shots:
Photography Tip of the Week
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Photo Analysis
Welcome to the part of the Magazine Issue where we take a closer look at a photo and analyse it so that you can learn and better your own photography from it ;)
Photo by: @lx_wanderer
Let’s Analyse this Photo
Composition & Framing
What works well:
The composition is obviously built all around the strong leading lines of the pier. The railings on both sides naturally guide our eyes toward the man, and then further into the distance.
I also like the use of the foreground railing. It acts as a frame within the frame and immediately tells us where to focus on.
Depth is one of the strongest aspects here. We have the foreground railing, then the wooden boards of the pier, then the man, followed by the repeating railings and lamp posts that slowly disappear into the fog. It creates a very nice sense of distance.
The repeating poles and railings also add a lot of rhythm to the photo.
The open water on both sides as well as the fog above, contrast nicely with the structure of the pier.
What could be better:
The large (first) foreground railing dominates quite a bit. While it does create a very immersive feeling, it also pulls away some attention from our subject (it just creates a natural attention pocket) → one different stylistic choice could have been to actually wait until the man is standing inside that triangle railing, that would have solved that problem + the framing would have been even stronger and it would have emphasised the ‘‘geometric street photography’’ part even further.
The railing on the other side starts to merge a bit with our walking man. Waiting another second until he had moved slightly farther away (or waiting for another subject) from it would have given him cleaner separation.
The foreground railing at the very bottom cuts through the frame rather abruptly and thus ‘hinders’ the forward flow of the rest of the photo a bit. A slightly different camera position could have ‘fixed’ that.
Light & Atmosphere
What works well:
The fog definitely creates a lot of atmosphere → it transforms the pier into something mysterious and cinematic.
The soft, diffused light is beautiful. Without direct sunlight, there are no harsh shadows, allowing the fog to become the second main subject alongside the man.
The gradual fade into white works extremely well. Every railing, lamp post and structural element slowly disappears, creating a feeling that the pier simply continues forever.
What could be better:
The sky is fairly flat tonally. While that fits the weather, a little more tonal variation could have added a bit more depth overhead.
Some of the darker parts underneath the railings lose detail because of the heavy shadows. Lifting those slightly in could reveal a bit more texture.
The subject could perhaps have benefited from just a touch more light on his face or jacket to separate him slightly more from the grey surroundings.
Colour & Tone
What works well:
Everything stays within cool blue-grey tones, making the photo feel calm, quiet and melancholic.
There are no distracting colours pulling your attention away from the composition. It is very simple in that regard.
The colour grading complements the fog.
What could be better:
The colours are intentionally minimal, yes, but the photo borders on becoming slightly monochromatic. A bit more tonal separation between the wooden pier (for example) and the rest could have helped.
Some of the darker greys merge together in the foreground, making individual elements slightly harder to distinguish.
Balance
What works well:
The open water and fog on the left is visually balanced by the heavier pier on the right.
That one large foreground railing initially feels dominant (and it still is), but the man + the rest of the pier wandering off into the distance, counteracts that nicely.
The repeating lamp posts gradually decrease in size, distributing visual weight evenly into the distance.
What could be better:
The right side of the frame carries slightly more visual weight because of the thicker structural elements.
The large foreground railing is probably the heaviest element in the entire photo and briefly competes with the actual subject
The fog removes a lot of visual weight from the far distance, making the lower foreground feel slightly heavier than the upper half overall.
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Photographer of the Week
Photographer of the week goes to: Kevin Painchaud
You can find him on Instagram as: @painchaudkevin
A few photos of his:
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The Rest of this Issue is for Premium Subscribers
