Bruce Breshears Photography

09/10/2026

Photo Tip # 200: "Stay tuned for coming attractions"
Pentax/Ricoh announced their current line of K-series DSLRs is ending production. They plan to create a new concept style of DSLR that enhances the camera's role in the photographic image capture experience. It will also maintain support for their legacy K-mount lenses. Stay tuned... 🙂

https://pentaxrumors.com/2026/09/08/rioch-is-developing-a-new-series-of-pentax-dslr-k-mount-cameras-based-on-an-entirely-new-concept/?fbclid=Iwb21leAUO7i5jbGNrBQ7tzXBkb2YFZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQMMzUwNjg1NTMxNzI4AAEeF3FLSfQhFnNYY7QHwLGj5WBGS6L_cuazBIWAOspNjQzUdv-1N4hxuzvagHk_aem_N_Kk_jCU-1IeYQp1_N6g2A

Ricoh officially announced that it is developing a new series of Pentax DSLR K-mount cameras based on an entirely new concept. Here is a recap of the announcement: Discontinuation of Current K Series: Ricoh Imaging is officially ending the production of all current K-series digital SLR cameras as th...

08/10/2026

Photo Tip # 199: Will Tamron lenses become a part of Sony?
Sony has made an offer to buy Tamron, a leading aftermarket and OEM photographic lens manufacturer. Here’s a link discussing possible outcomes that could result if this happens...

What would a Sony-owned Tamron mean for photographers?

07/23/2026

Photo Tip # 198: Diminishing Returns of Social Media for Still Photographers
Basically, algorithms have changed to emphasize video shorts (like Tic-Tock), thereby placing less emphasis/distribution to followers of still photography imagery.
"The photographers leaving Instagram are not disappearing. They are reallocating their time and attention to channels that produce measurable results. Email lists are seeing a quiet renaissance because they reach 100% of subscribers (no algorithm), they are owned by the photographer (no platform risk), and they convert at significantly higher rates than social media."

Working photographers with 30k-200k followers are quietly leaving Instagram as the algorithm prioritizes Reels over still images, making photography-based reach nearly impossible and unpaid content labor unsustainable.

06/10/2026

Highway Noir: Twilight Passages
Really, how many red lights are needed??? 😀
As if that wasn't enough, the rain-soaked street doubles down on the message. 🙂
Wadsworth Parkway at Hwy 128, Broomfield, CO.
Note: North bound Wadsworth Parkway transitions to Hwy 287 after crossing over Hwy 36.
(Samsung Galaxy A36. Google "Photos" editing.)
Copyright 2026 by Bruce Breshears. All rights reserved.

05/12/2026

Photo Tip # 197: FYI, What happened to Kodak
How Just One Camera Destroyed Kodak Forever
https://youtu.be/nuCJ6Ab4uVg?si=SEXUHCLb3Orv_1H7

05/02/2026

Photo Tip # 196: FYI, the annual TIPA Awards (Technical Image Press Association)
For those curious about this year’s best photo and imaging products as recognized by the 2026 TIPA World Awards.

40 different awards given for the best photo products in 2026 as judged by 24 imaging magazines and websites from across the world

01/28/2026

Photo Tip of the Week # 195: Astro Photography's "500 Rule"
When photographing the night sky and wanting to avoid the blurring effect of relative star motion in your captured image, called star trails, there's a limit to how long of an exposure time (or longest permissible shutter speed time-lapse setting) can be used.
The "500 Rule" explained in this link by Trevor Jones, with example calculations and a chart of calculated times, shows how to estimate the longest permissible shutter speed limit. This is so that to the naked eye the stars won't appear to be blurred in your image by the onset of star trails due to the earth rotating at 15 degrees/hour as your exposure is being made.
Again, the calculation is an estimate, yet if you are using a very high resolution DSLR for making larger-sized prints, this will necessitate reducing the longest permissible exposure time. In this case there's another estimate method called the NPF Rule that will give a closer approximation that's somewhere around 1/3 to 1/2 of the 500 Rule's time. (also explained later in the article by Trevor)
Also note that the simplest solution is to use a telescope mount with a built-in star tracker if you don't want to deal with calculations. :)
Enjoy!

Whether you consider the 500 Rule to be outdated for today's high-resolution digital cameras or not, this formula is still a very useful guideline for astrophotography.

01/23/2026

Don't give up on the DSLR yet...
For those that like cameras with optical viewfinders (a.k.a. DSLRs) and all those wonderful lenses they've already purchased:

Pentax has stated they have plans that will likely lead to the development of a new DSLR that's in keeping with the brand's name sake which was originally derived from the then innovative use of a pentaprism inside of an optical viewfinder.
Most major camera manufacturers have migrated to mirrorless interchangeable lens cameras (ILCs), thereby abandoning the DSLR's direct viewing feature through an optical viewfinder.
However, many photo enthusiasts still prefer the photo making experience provided by the DSLR that directly shows you the subject, unlike the mirrorless ILCs that instead have you peering into a tiny electronic viewfinder.
A new DSLR would continue the direct use of the inventory of lenses that photographers already have in hand instead of having to purchase an entirely new set of lenses in order to be directly compatible with the new mirrorless ILC systems.
Granted, the ILCs offer adapters for older lenses, and claims camera improvements over their former DSLRs. So, that's good for someone just starting out. Yet for others with a significant inventory of quality lenses, they would like to see those newer camera features and improvements to be integrated into DSLR models and continue using the lenses they already have! :)
Note this is also in keeping with what has become the Pentax tradition of preserving the use of nearly all of their prior SLR film-camera and DSLR lenses, and also the enormous inventory of what has to be somewhere in the hundreds of thousands to millions of 3rd party Pentax-compatible lenses!!! :) :)

Ricoh says it is committed to the Pentax brand, but admits it's not quite sure how to make DSLRs appealing to younger users.