Hot Photography Posts
News: From Puppy to Adult in 40 Seconds (+ 3 Methods for Creating Time-Lapse)
What's cuter than a puppy? Not much, especially when you omit all the peeing, barking and furniture chewing, as Remedie Studio did with this sweet time-lapse homage to their beloved pup. Below, watch Dunder the German Shepherd grow from 8 weeks old to 1 year in 40 seconds. Inspired? Make your own time-lapse video and post it to the WonderHowTo company blog. We'll show off the best ones. Here are three different methods to get you started:
News: Conjuring the Apocalypse on Tabletop: Lori Nix Talks Dioramas
Lori Nix is a photographer whose stunning work depicts curious scenes of danger and disaster: abandoned spaces, architecture in a state of extreme deterioration, natural calamities, and more. But the mysterious places she captures with her 8x10 large format camera aren't actual found locations—they're meticulously fabricated miniature dioramas.
GIVEAWAY: "Fifty Nests and the Birds that Built Them" (NOW CLOSED)
If you missed our profile on photographer Sharon Beals' new book, Nests: Fifty Nests and the Birds that Built Them, now's the time to check it out. You have until 11:59 pm tonight to enter for a chance to win a signed copy of Beals' book, a beautiful series of photographs demonstrating the astounding self-sustainability of the avian race. To enter, you must:
News: Birds as the Ultimate DIY Architects
The widely used expression "free as a bird" intimates an enviable existence: delicate, yet mighty wings transporting to destinations no human could so breezily venture. But despite their fanciful, superhero ability, in truth, the avian race leads one of the most difficult existences in the animal kingdom. Yes, birds have existed for eons—they likely evolved from small dinosaurs of the Jurassic period—but for these creatures, life can be ruthless.
How To: Take macro photographs with the reverse lens technique
If you want to take beautiful macro photos, without having to pay for an expensive macro lens, try the reverse lens technique and use the lens you already have. This is a creative way to get great photos without spending all of your money on equipment.
Photo of the Day: Meanwhile, in Afghanistan...
From Boston.com's The Big Picture, what a real-life version of the Green Hornet's gas gun might look like. Taken in Afghanistan in February of this year, an Afghan army recruit is pictured shrouded in a cloud of shocking green smoke as he participates in a graduation parade after an oath ceremony at Ghazi military training center—an American effort to strengthen Afghan forces so they can fight against Taliban strongholds.
Eye Candy of the Day: WiFi Networks Visualized
Norwegian designers Timo Armall, Jørn Knutsen, and Einar Sneve Martinussen visually capture invisible WiFi signals by light painting signal strength in long-exposure photographs. The trio set up a four-meter long WiFi-detecting rod with 80 LED bulbs to depict cross-sections through the WiFi networks of various Oslo neighborhoods. Armall says:
News: Gadgets Exploded in Mid-Air
Ever wonder what's inside those old vintage typewriters and analog phones? Canadian photographer Todd McLellan dissects old electronics and then captures their innards— some assembled in a painstakingly orderly array, others caught in a mid-air explosion. More images and process video here (under "New Work").
How To: Set up your Canon 580EX II at the Master Mode setting
So you want to control the flashes on your camera using a remote, and you know that you need to get to Master mode on your Canon 580EX II to be able to do that. But Canon made Master mode for this particular model of camera very difficult to locate and enable. However, this video shows you every single step you need to take with your camera in order to be able to set up this particular functionality for your next shoot!
News: Saliva Inducing Scanwiches
Scanner photography + sandwiches = Scanwiches (simply put: "scans of sandwiches for education and delight"). The web-famous Tumblr is the invention of Jon Chonko, a NYC-based designer at thehappycorp global.
News: The Secret Life of a Love Doll
Famed artist and photographer Laurie Simmons boasts an impressive career spanning over three decades. She's shown at some of the world's top art institutions and galleries, and appeared on art world popular PBS television series Art 21. She also happens to be the the proud mother of promising young filmmaker Lena Dunham, the 24-year-old director of last year's indie hit Tiny Furniture.
News: Meticulous Recreations of Old Family Photographs
It's axiomatic: if you want to know what's different, look to what's the same. And, if you want to know what's the same, look to what's different. What makes Irina Werning's Back to the Future project so amazing then is that, in matching everything that can be matched, she helps us instantly hone in on what can't. In most cases, viewers notice just one thing—the effects of the passage of time on the subjects of the photographs. It's very strange and sometimes even unsettling. But also really,...
News: Stunning Aerial Photos Captured Via Kite and Fishing Rod
When photographer Gerco De Ruijter set out to reveal "the Dutch culturally defined landscape"—a hard regiment of efficiency, gridded out by urban and rural planners—he came up with a beautiful aerial representation of abstract patterns. The series, entitled Baumschule, was captured using kite photography and curiously enough, a fishing rod.
UPDATE: Wafaa Bilal’s Head Rejects Camera Implant
If you missed our previous posts on Iraqi artist Wafaa Bilal's attempt to go cyborg, here's the short and skinny: First, Bilal announced a plan to implant a camera in his head, a project entitled 3rdi, which would record his daily life while simultaneously feeding the images to monitors at the Arab Museum of Modern Art in Doha, Qatar. Then, he actually did it (and, yes, it was gnarly).
News: Blind Photographer "Sees" With Sound
A couple weeks ago, I attended Photo LA with my mother, a photographer. On our way out, we came across a blind man with a seeing eye dog. It begged the obvious question-- "blind photographer" is about as oxymoronic as it gets-- but, then coincidentally, this morning I came across a video of the same man. Pete Eckert is indeed a blind visual artist, a sculptor and industrial designer in his former life, before being diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa, a genetic eye condition that results in p...
News: Making Ordinary Objects Extraordinary
Kevin Van Aelst creates witty visual "one-liners" by recontextualizing everyday, ordinary objects. With a few simple tweaks, the viewer recognizes a roll of tape as the ocean or reads gummi worms as chromosomes or understands mitosis through the use of sweet, sugary donuts.
News: "Seeing" Beethoven with Milk
Photographer Sara Naim creates an oddly beautiful visual documentation of sound: Beethoven's classic Moonlight Sonata, envisioned with milk.
News: Video Games vs. Real Life
Alex Lewis imagines what the world would look like infiltrated by video game characters in his digital montage series “Video Games vs. Real Life”. (P.S. If you like what you see, check out Lewis' t-shirt designs at Threadless).
Bark: An Intimate Look at the World’s Trees
Stunning selection of photographs from French photographer Cedric Pollet's new book, Bark: An Intimate Look at the World’s Trees. The photographer traveled across five continents to capture the the exquisite patterns and textures of the world's many varieties of tree bark.
HowTo: Make a 50¢ Macro Lens
Forget splurging on a fancy digital camera. All you need to do is attach a lens from a pair of dollar store reading glasses, and you'll get your macro shot. From Sean Lee, how to make a fifty cent macro lens.
Warning: Do NOT Build This (Not Responsible For Death or Injury)
Glacial Wanderer demonstrates how to build a high-speed air gap flash fast enough to capture a speeding bullet without it getting blurred. These types of flash units usually run around $8K+, but for a few hundred dollars you can build you own and capture sick stuff like...
Human Mutation Through Age: Year 0 To 100 Side-By-Side
Luckily for us, human aging is a long, slow process. One day newborn babe... 36,500 days later, you're old. Really old. And how you looked in between is all but forgotten. To see a side-by-side mapping of the long and slow human mutation process, check out Danish photojournalists Sofia Wraber and Nanna Kreutzmann's 101 photographs of males, ages 0 to 100.
How To: Choose the right sensor for your DSLR camera
There are a variety of sensors on the market for your digital SLR camera - but which one is the right for you? This tutorial gives you a good run down of each sensor with their strengths and weaknesses so you can easily pick the best one for you.
How To: Build your own 35mm lens adapter for a Canon HV20 camera
You don't have to spend lots of money for an expensive lens adapter! You can make one at home. This tutorial shows you how you can take some basic camera equipment, a little extra hardware and make a 35mm lens adapter for a Canon HV20 digital camera.
How To: Properly clean the sensor on your digital SLR camera
If there's a tiny piece of dirt or hair that's ruining your shots, it's time to clean the sensor on your DSLR camera. This tutorial shows you the right equipment and technique to effectively and safely clean the sensor on your camera.
How To: Take Great New Years Pictures This New Year's Eve (7 Tips for a Wild Night)
New Year's Eve. It will be one hell of a chaotic night. Trust me. The overcrowded streets. Long lines for the urinal. Maxing out your credit card on that shot of Cuervo. You'll be lucky to make it out alive.
How To: Make your own pinhole lens for a digital SLR camera
This is a lens you can make yourself easily. You will need a drill, a needle, a body cap, tape, aluminum foil, a ruler or measuring tape and a pencil or piece of chalk to mark where the hole should go.
How To: Use a double axis bubble level with your camera
This is a useful tip that can show you how to use a bubble level with a double axis to make sure your shots are perfectly balanced. Avoid having to adjust your photographs or crop part away by making sure your camera is level when you're shooting.
How To: Use your Nikon D90 and Final Cut Pro together
This is a workflow tutorial for people who use the Nikon D90 camera and do most of the post production in Adobe After Effects. Convert, cut and export your video easily, and even fix the stair-stepping problem that might crop up.
How To: Improve your photographs by using the Rule of Thirds
The Rule of Thirds has you divide your shot into three seconds, both horizontal and vertical, so you can add the emphasis where you want it. Here is how you can use this rule to improve the composition of your own photographs.
How To: Shoot effective photographs of the Northern Lights with an XDCAM
The Northern Lights is a beautiful meterological effect, but it can be difficult to capture this beauty on film. This tutorial shows you how to use the Sony XDCAM (because it has a slow shutter) and a time lapse techique to photograh the Aurora Borealis. Shoot effective photographs of the Northern Lights with an XDCAM.
How To: Shoot high key portraits with a Lastolite HiLite background
This is a quick and dirty tutorial that gives you some useful tips when you're trying to shoot simple high key portraits. You can accomplish this with just two lights and a Lastlite HiLite background, and here is how it works!
How To: Take excellent photographs or film during night
This is a video of a lecture, and shows any photographer the best way to set up night shots, starting with equipment (lighting is especially important, for obvious reasons) and then moving on to tips and strategies for framing good night shots.
News: Star Trails Captured in Time Lapse
YouTube user Nachtwolke captures beautiful star trails with 1262 photos taken at 30-second exposures.
News: It's Magic! See 3D Without the Glasses
On last week's Gizmodo Shooting Challenge, submittors were challenged to create photos that could be seen in 3D, simply by refocusing the eyes to merge two appropriately placed white dots.
News: Creating the Cosmos With Ink, Paint & Water
Artist Pery Burge uses water, paint and ink to create images that look like they might have been captured by the Hubble Telescope or under the super-zoom of a powerful microscope.
News: Hacking Photography With Chrono-Cubism
Brazilian photographer Diego Kuffer says he's "hacked" the idea of photography with his chrono-cubism method of compositing photos into collages, resulting in a vibrant tracking of time, space and movement:
News: Would You Surgically Implant a Camera in Your Skull?
UPDATE: New York University photography professor Wafaa Bilal talked the talk, and now he's walked the walk with his recent camera implant. And guess what? It hurt. What a surprise.
News: The Birth of Skateboard Culture
Beautiful images from photographer Hugh Holland's recent show at M+B Gallery in L.A., "Locals Only", a portrait of 70s skateboard culture.
News: Microsoft Kinect Has Never Been So Alluring
Think beautiful bokeh photography + just a hint of TRON sensuality and you have photographer Audrey Penven's lovely series entitled "Dancing with Invisible Light: A series of interactions with Kinect's infrared structured light".