Jon Sienkiewicz Blog

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What to Do When You Think You've Lost All Your Images on a Faulty Memory Card
Jon Sienkiewicz  |  Aug 25, 2016

The moon was full last week, and two lunatic things happened to friends of mine. One got a bad case of ransomware on her Mac (yes, that’s Mac as in MacBook Air). The other had a microSD card self-destruct in his Android cell phone. Bad things happen in threes and, oh yes, I hit a curb and blew out a tire.

The difference was this: I had a spare in my trunk. I didn’t wait until the curb bit me to prepare for the disaster. My two friends? Well…

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Classic Camera ReviewsJon Sienkiewicz BlogNews
What To Do With An Old, Low-Res Digital Camera
Jon Sienkiewicz  |  Feb 04, 2022

What’s the best thing to do with an old, sub-2-megapixel camera? Go out and capture some remarkable images, that’s what.

Can you take good pictures with a 1.2-megapixel camera? Can anyone? Here’s a small album of images shot with a diminutive Sony CyberShot DSC U10 to challenge your preconceptions. The images were all captured 20 years ago at various locations in the US, Germany and Japan.

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Jon Sienkiewicz BlogPhoto Accessory NewsTravel TipsTripod NewsTripod Reviews
What Type of Tripod Should I Buy? Buying Advice: How to Buy a Tripod
Jon Sienkiewicz  |  Feb 22, 2018

You need a tripod. If you shoot video, panoramas, fireworks, time exposures, selfies or macro work in addition to general picture taking, you may even need two tripods. Selecting a tripod that matches the way you work is important, and not at all difficult if you approach it in the right way.

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Family Photography How ToJon Sienkiewicz BlogNewsOutdoor Photography How ToPhoto How ToTravel Photography How To
What We Can Learn from 7 Digital Photography Myths
Jon Sienkiewicz  |  Dec 03, 2021

Like many obsessive hobbies, photography has its share of widely-believed falsehoods. We’ve all been guilty of repeating some fiction, partly because many of the fables are so damn believable. Let’s take a closer look at a few of these myths from a new angle.

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Jon Sienkiewicz BlogLens NewsNewsPhoto How To
What’s a “Normal” Lens? And Why Is My 18mm Lens “Equivalent” to a 28mm?
Jon Sienkiewicz  |  Feb 25, 2016

What’s normal? Not asking about your weird uncle Walter who puts mayonnaise on his French fries—and his spaghetti. When photography went digital, understanding focal lengths became much more difficult. Let’s unravel a few of the mysteries so that we can make better educated decisions about lenses.

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Family Photography How ToFamily TipsHumorJon Sienkiewicz BlogNewsPro Techniques
When Does it Get Dark, Exactly? What Time Might the Fireworks Start in Your Town?
Jon Sienkiewicz  |  Jun 26, 2025

Wanna know when it gets dark where you live? Not just "sorta the time," but the exact time? The key to unlock the precise information is in this 2-minute read.

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Jon Sienkiewicz BlogNature Photography How ToNewsOutdoor Photography How ToTravel Photography How To
When Does It Get Dark?
Jon Sienkiewicz  |  Oct 07, 2022

Photographers revere the Golden Hour, but when does it actually get dark? You have a rough idea of when night falls where you live, but what if you’re traveling to a distant location in another time zone? Here’s a link to a US Navy website that will fetch all pertinent sunrise and sunset information that you need.

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Jon Sienkiewicz BlogPhoto How To
When Does It Get Dark? When Do The Fireworks Start?
Jon Sienkiewicz  |  Jul 01, 2017

Photographers feast on early morning and early evening illumination. Summer brings us more hours of daylight and consequently more shooting time. But exactly when does the sun come up in your town? And how can you determine what time the sun sets in a city you are about to visit? 

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Jon Sienkiewicz BlogLens NewsOpinionPhoto How To
Which Lens Should I Buy (Part 1): Advice for Beginners Who Just Moved up from a Point-&-Shoot
Jon Sienkiewicz  |  Jan 13, 2017

People often ask me, “What sort of lens should I buy as my second lens?” and my answer is always the same: “What sort of pictures would you like to take?”  I’m getting that question a lot right now because a zillion people got new cameras over the holidays. There are so many options I’ve decided to deliver the answer in two installments. But first, let’s take a close look at that kit lens that came with your camera.

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Jon Sienkiewicz BlogLens NewsLens ReviewsOpinionPhoto How To
Which Lens Should I Buy (Part 2): More Lens Advice for Beginners Moving up from a Point-&-Shoot
Jon Sienkiewicz  |  Jan 20, 2017

Welcome back! Last week we covered lenses that are well suited for five of the most popular camera activities, including kids’ sports, travel and online auctions. If you missed that piece, you’ll find it here. This week—as promised—five more lenses for five more activities. These are sometimes thought of as being in the realm of more advanced hobbyists, but that ain’t necessarily so. Read on…

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Jon Sienkiewicz BlogLens NewsLens ReviewsNews
Which Lens to Buy Next for My Sony Alpha Camera?
Jon Sienkiewicz  |  Jul 29, 2021

Three big reasons to buy a Tamron 20mm f/2.8 Di III OSD M1:2 for Sony full frame mirrorless cameras. First, it’s an ultra-wideangle capable of sweeping wide shots that are sharp edge-to-edge and span 94°. Second, it’s a 1:2 Macro lens (one-half life-size) that focuses as close as 4.3 inches. Third, this 2.5-inch lens costs just $249.

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Jon Sienkiewicz BlogNewsPro TechniquesSoftware News
Why Do Pro Photographers Use AI-Assisted Editing?
Jon Sienkiewicz  |  May 30, 2025

Why do professional photographers rely on AI-powered culling, AI-automated editing and AI-guided cataloging apps in their daily workflow? What are they gaining? With the help of my counterpart at Aftershoot, I reached out to two well-established pros to get some answers.

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Jon Sienkiewicz BlogLens NewsNews
Why Is F/16 Smaller Than F/2? What Role Does Pi Play? And What’s Up With F/Stops, Anyway?
Jon Sienkiewicz  |  Mar 03, 2016

An aperture set at f/2 is twice as big as one set at f/2.8 and four times larger than f/4. What’s Pi got to do with f/stops, and why do we use such a seemingly arbitrary numbering system? Continue reading to learn the answers to these and a few more arcane aperture facts. 

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HumorJon Sienkiewicz BlogNews
Why Neanderthals Left Practically No Photographs: Here Are The Top 5 Theories
Jon Sienkiewicz  |  Jul 22, 2021

Anthropologists recently revealed that the DNA of modern man differs from Neanderthals, Denisovans and other early human prototypes by a mere 1.5 to 7%. Witnessing lack of driver courtesy on the NY State Thruway, I could have told you that without ever even looking at a genome. But these new facts beg the question: “Why do so few photographs remain?”

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Family Photography How ToHumorJon Sienkiewicz Blog
Why Photography Is A Great Hobby, Even During Quarantines
Jon Sienkiewicz  |  Apr 16, 2020

Like you, I’m looking for sensible indoor activities during this temporary quarantine. I’ve tried a few. Juggling was fun but there are still stains on the ceiling and glass particles in the carpet. So I told my family that instead of throwing things up in the air and dropping them I’d buy a ukulele and learn to play it. They said they’d support my musical inclinations, but of course, they’d miss having me around, too. Ultimately I turned to my very most favorite pastime. And after that short nap, I thought about photography.

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