Everyone is a photographer. With smartphones, we all possess digital photo rolls that run thousands of images deep. Thanks to social media, we can be quick to share, as well. Together, this means a slew of accessories that actually aid camera phone captures. That said, nothing makes a photo better than understanding what goes into a good frame. Fortunately, there’s a beautiful history to tap into by way of books. And, of course, there are so many of us out there shooting on cameras—whether film or digital. Our Aperture Priority Gift Guide aims to appeal to everybody—from the semi-professional photographer to the smartphone user.
At age 17, Stanley Kubrick joined the staff of Look magazine as a photographer. Long before he’d make some of the most important films in cinematic history, he captured thousands of humanist imagery that captured New York City in the mid-1940s. Now, 300 of these images appear in Taschen’s “Through a Different Lens: Stanley Kubrick Photographs” and they more than allude to the genius that was soon to unfold. The book’s release coincides with an exhibition of the same name at the Museum of the City of New York, running 3 May through 28 October.
Made up of 50+ portraits of children (young and old) brought up by LGBTQ parents in the United States, “The Kids” is a beautiful exploration of humans and love. Photographed by Gabriela Herman, each of the people profiled thoughtfully describe their experience with their parents. These personal stories touch upon the serious, the humorous and everything between. The through-line is that every story is their own—and not that of a politician or author without personal experience. Each photo is tender and, like the people in the book, entirely unique.
Certainly one of the better takes on the concept, the Joy smart photo album is a minimal, sleek piece that doesn’t look out of place next to traditional photo frames. Impressively, this 13.3-inch screen supports images and movies of all kinds: jpg, png, mov, mp4, HD videos, raw files, panoramas. With a full HD touchscreen, stereo speakers and a wireless charging port, the JOY smart photo album is a forward-thinking storytelling product.
A true upgrade to smart-home assistance, the Amazon Echo Show offers innumerable functionality. With eight microphones, the Echo Show can hear requests through Spotify streams and background noise. Users can play Amazon video content, get visual news updates, weather forecasts and more on the crisp screen. For those who want to reduce their interaction with Alexa, it’s as easy as turning off the mic and camera with one button. As the system gets forever smarter, the Echo Show can do more than book reservations at restaurants and allow you to respond to texts and make calls. The device can be synced to lights and TVs, thermostats and cameras, and more—truly uniting the home.
The benefit of six rotors on a drone happens to be flight stabilization if one of the six fails. It’s a nice touch to the incredibly versatile Typhoon H Hexacopter, which features a CGO3+ 4K camera affixed to a 360-degree gimbal mount. There are a bunch of flight modes here, and a powerful transmitter so that none of the experience is lost during the 25-minute flights.
Measuring between 47 to 51 inches, Hardgraft’s elegant coal hang camera strap seamlessly binds grey felted wool and rich, vegetable-tanned leather. It’s produced in Italy from locally sourced materials. Also included, metal split rings that allow the strap to work with most cameras.
With dual wide-angle lenses, the Rylo captures fully immersive 360° spherical video. The tiny device comes with an internal 16GB microSD card but can transmit directly to smartphones with an accompanying app. Crafted from aluminum, it’s quite durable when outside of its protective pouch. As for shooting, it’s all quite intuitive.
With a padded base and sides, Topo’s Camera Cube can be placed inside another bag or carried on its own as a safe place to carry your beloved equipment. The interior is adjustable, with two dividers, so can be changed around depending on your snapping adventures and the kit you’ll need. With a cinch top, there’s a little extra wriggle room too. Made from durable Codura, its capacity is over four liters and it’s made in Colorado.
Polaroid OneStep 2 (which shares its name with the Polaroid OneStep that released 40 years ago) boasts the same point-and-shoot functionality as the original, but offers so much more. This new generation has USB charging, a self-timer, a powerful (built-in) flash, a 60-day battery life and more. This kit includes the camera, two sets of Polaroid Originals Color i-Type film, and one set of Polaroid Originals Black + White i-Type film.
The Aperture Foundation’s mid-tier subscription offers their print edition four times a year, the PhotoBook Review twice, and access to the digital version. Since 1952, Aperture has offered insight, information and art to photography enthusiasts and continues to be a fascinating publication today. From fashion to gender to politics, travel, culture and beyond, the magazine explores almost every topic through photography experts’ lenses.
Across 304 pages, “Unseen: Unpublished Black History” reveals hundreds of images from the New York Times archives that have never been published. Raising many questions (what stories were they commissioned for, how do they compare to the ones that may have been published, were the people in the photographs not seen as newsworthy, or perhaps were the images were turned in after publication, etc), the collection of images is quite striking—illustrating everyday and extraordinary moments.
The beloved Leica CL has been a favorite among photographers for a long time. Now, the classic has been reinvented as a digital camera. With a Sony 24MP sensor, eye-level EVF, and interchangeable lenses, the camera still remains almost the same size as the original. WiFi-enabled, it’s an incredibly responsive camera that will impress users with the quality of images it produces.
Super-light and small, the HP Sprocket makes printing photos from your smartphone incredibly easy. Add filters, stickers or borders (or nothing at all) and simply connect your phone via Bluetooth to watch your creations become tangible prints. Producing photos that measure two by three inches on sticky-backed paper, this handy device is suitable for teenagers and adults alike.
To kick off Magic Hour Photo Club, Booooooom’s forthcoming series of photography projects, they’ve launched with a 100% cotton snapback hat. The limited edition item features a woven label, small camouflage tag, and front and side embroidery. For photographers who dream of the magic hour, it’s a nice addition to one’s outfit when shooting.
Part trivia, part photo book, Olivia Locher’s new “I Fought the Law: Photographs by Olivia Locher of the Strangest Laws from Each of the 50 States” is both pretty and witty. Explore the weird and wild laws (some of which still stand) from all over the States—for instance, in Connecticut pickles must bounce in order to be considered pickles officially. With a foreword by poet Kenneth Goldsmith, it’s a highly entertaining book.
Featuring an LCD screen in lieu of a traditional viewfinder, Fujifilm’s hybrid Instax Square SQ10 offers instant prints, along with the control and quality of a digital camera. In addition to a digital image sensor, that functions quite well in low light, there are a series of functions affixed to three buttons: 10 different filters, brightness adjustment and vignette control.
