Elizabeth Taylor and Hugh Jackman. Nicole Kidman and Antonio Banderas. Joan Chen and Steve Martin. These stars—and scores more—have had their images captured by the award-winning fine arts, film and celebrity photographer Douglas Kirkland.

He’s worked on more than 100 films and his iconic celebrity portraits are known all over the world. One of his methods for success is cultivating a unique rapport with each of his subjects. Read about his career start, on-set adventures and the Lowepro bags he uses on assignments in our profile.

It was our extreme pleasure to have celebrity portrait and Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer Brian Smith visit our offices yesterday. In the San Francisco area for a lecture and workshop, he stopped by to chat about his artistic approach, workflow and unique style of studio photography.

His new book has just launched: Art & Soul: Stars Unite to Celebrate and Support the Arts. The book is a collaborative project between Smith and Robin Bronk, chief executive officer of The Creative Coalition, a non-profit public charity that promotes arts advocacy. In it, celebrities from film, music, television and theater sit for portraits and share personal stories about the impact of the arts on their lives.

We think it’s a great holiday (or anytime) gift idea to inspire a new photographer or up-and-coming artist on your list.

You won’t want to miss our October webinar with professional photographer Jack Atley from Australia. He’ll share advice on how to produce award-winning shots and answer your questions about photography and the industry. We promise you’ll appreciate his engaging style. Sign up soon before the attendee list fills up.

Our Lowepro webinar takes place twice on Wednesday, October 19. Sign up now for the 4 to 5pm or 8 to 9pm Pacific Daylight Time session at our registration page. It’s time to get in on a few Secrets to Award-Winning Photography. Enjoy!

Photographer Nick Didlick was one of the first professionals to help transition major Canadian publications from film to digital. He served as the Photo Services Manager for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Games. That pretty much means he oversaw all aspects of organizing the 700-plus photographers who attended, including finding the best photo positions at each venue.

When he’s not shooting for an assignment or lecturing on the craft of digital photography, you might find him fly fishing on a favorite river. Read our profile of Didlick here and find out what inspires him.

We’re very pleased to unveil the new
DSLR Video Fastpack AW series.
We like to think of it as “mobility redefined”
as it helps you move more efficiently with your gear. It builds on the award-winning design
of our original Fastpack backpack and
incorporates flexible options for today’s multimedia photographer.

What did we add to this fast-access pack?
More storage options—including dedicated space for audio equipment.
Secure ways to attach a tripod or rig mount—ideal when you’re shooting stills
or video. Plus, a built-in All Weather AW Cover™ to protect your gear from
the elements.

We asked visual journalist Max Morse to work out of this new pack while he was shooting in San Francisco. After spending some time with it he said, “For everyday shooting with a couple of bodies, a couple of lenses and my audio equipment, it’s really unparalleled.”

Watch his video review and find out why the new DSLR Video Fastpack AW truly is mobility redefined.

Editor’s note: The Lowepro team is fortunate to have Sports Illustrated photographer Robert Beck visiting us today while he’s in the San Francisco area on assignment. He sat down with our design colleague Luis to talk about a few of his go-to Lowepro bags (like the Pro Runner 450 AW) and help us shape some design ideas for the future.

“Meeting an amazing Sports Illustrated photographer like Robert Beck is one of the highlights of designing at Lowepro. On any given job, he’s making dozens of fast decisions, easily working 9 different cameras, including his remotes. His work proves he’s doing it right. He’s broken down a lot of complicated decisions and lessons learned into what he casually refers to as ‘routines.’ What’s routine for him is pretty extraordinary for many of us. I spend every day developing ways to improve the photographer’s workflow, and talking with him, hearing his stories, has got my brain spinning with new ideas. I’m shadowing him at a local football game tonight and I’m pretty excited to see him in action.” (Luis)

She’s been named one of the most influential women
in the history of photography. Joyce Tenneson
may be best known for her haunting portraits—not just of people—but of flowers and shells as well.

Her photographs have been displayed in more than 150 exhibitions around the world and are part of private and permanent collections.

We asked her how she creates a sense of mystery in her work and what she wants the viewer to discover from her unique portraiture. Read the profile and see more
of her imagery.