July 2010

Michael Zhang

70-Gigapixel Panorama of Budapest Takes Over as World’s Largest Photo

Just a couple months after we reported that a 45-gigapixel photo of Dubai had become the world's largest, a new panorama has arrived to steal the crown. 70 Billion Pixels Budapest is a 70-gigapixel panorama of Budapest created using a setup of two 25-megapixel Sony A900 cameras fitted with 400mm Minolta lenses and 1.4X teleconverters. Four days of shooting resulted in 20,000 images, and an additional two days of post-processing produced a single 200 GB file. If printed, the size of the photo would be about two apartment blocks long and ten stories tall.

Michael Zhang

Ansel Adams Garage Sale Mystery Apparently Solved

The mystery of the Ansel Adams garage sale negatives keeps taking on new twists, but the latest twist might have solved it once and for all.

KTVU in Oakland is reporting that a Bay Area woman named Mariam l. Walton has come forward with apparently solid proof that the photographs were not taken by Ansel Adams but her Uncle Earl. She was watching KTVU report on the story Tuesday when she suddenly saw a photograph of the Jeffrey Pine on Sentinal Dome and recognized it as a print her uncle Earl Brooks made back in 1923.

Michael Zhang

Ansel Adams’ Relatives and Trust Still Skeptical of Garage Sale Negatives

We reported yesterday that a set of glass plate negatives purchased for $45 in 2000 were verified by a group of experts as being created by Ansel Adams and worth upwards of $200 million.

In response to the article published by CNN yesterday, Ansel's grandson Matthew Adams published a lengthy response on the Ansel Adams Gallery Blog.

Michael Zhang

Mila’s Daydreams Explores What a Baby Might Be Dreaming

Mila's Daydreams is a creative photography project by Adele Enersen that's similar to Jan von Holleben's Dreams of Flying project that we featured a while back. Every day, when her baby daughter Mila takes a nap, Enersen imagines what her daughter might be dreaming about and stages a cute scene to capture it in a photograph.

Michael Zhang

What Laser Light Can Do to Your Precious DSLR Sensor

We all know pointing your DSLR directly at the sun for extended periods of time isn't too healthy for your sensor, but what about laser lights like the ones used at concerts? Turns out those can be even more lethal for your camera, even with very brief exposures.

Michael Zhang

Panasonic Unveils World’s First 3D Camcorder, Announces 3D Lens

Panasonic just announced the HDC-SDT750, touting it as the "world's first 3D consumer camcorder". The exact claim is slightly dubious, since we featured a different one last month, but it's definitely the first 3D camcorder unveiled by any of the major camera corps.

The camcorder uses an included 3D lens to record two separate images on its standard 1080p sensor, meaning the resulting 3D video only has a resolution of 960 x 1080. If you've got a spare $1,399 lying around, the camcorder will be available starting in October 2010.

Michael Zhang

Interview with Udi Tirosh of DIYPhotography.net

Udi Tirosh is the blogger behind DIYPhotography.net and the creator of the Bokeh Masters Kit.

PetaPixel: Can you tell us about yourself and your background?

Udi Tirosh: I started photographing when I was in high school, and like lots of amateurs photographers I did photowalks, studio sessions and all the family events. At some point, I started DIYPhotography for the fun of it and thought of myself as a high-tech guy who photographs and has a site. DIYP has evolved beyond my expectations and for a long while I changed the order of my self definition to blogger who also takes pictures. Today, I am finding that I am slowly gaining photography as being first.

Jessica Lum

Nadia Camera Rates Photos As You Shoot

We've already got plenty of gadgets designed to facilitate photography: there's auto-focus, face detection, and some crazy features in Photoshop that can effortlessly add and remove entire elements (and people) in photographs. So now why not have a camera that tells you whether you're taking an aesthetically pleasing photograph?

Jessica Lum

Photoshopped BP Helicopter Photo Becomes Internet Meme

This past week, BP has received a lot of  attention for its release of "official" images that later turned out to be very poorly photoshopped. So far, three badly altered photos have been called out. Aside from the inevitable backlash and disappointment from the public, the photo has taken on a life of its own as an internet meme. People have been adapting their own versions of the helicopter scene, replete with geek jokes and bizarre photoshopping. Here's one amusing example:

Jessica Lum

Remarkable Stop-Motion Walk Across America

Here's a really astonishing stop-motion video of a guy walking across America. Peter Cote, director Sam Griffith, and the Conscious Minds Productions crew approached Levis jeans for sponsorship and products to use during the shoot. The trip began June 17 in New York and ended July 1 in San Francisco. For the actual photography, the crew used a Canon 5D.

Jessica Lum

Single-Take Music Video for ‘She Runs’ by Tim Halperin Had $500 Budget

This music video may not have the suave nature of the single-take Old Spice commercials, but then again, neither do the unlucky men who fall victim to their runaway love interest. Plus, musician Tim Halperin had this video made for his song, "She Runs," with a budget of a mere $500. The video was shot with a Canon 5D Mark II.

Jessica Lum

Dropped Getty Photographer Says He Made ‘Fatal Mistake’ in Sending Golf Photo

Freelance photographer Marc Feldman lost his job when Getty Images discovered that he had sent in an altered golf photo for distribution. But Feldman says that it was all an innocent mistake.

Feldman says he was in the press tent after the event, reviewing some photos. The golfer in the image, Matt Bettencourt, and his caddie came by to look at photos as well. The caddie had suggested that the photo would look better without him in it, and Feldman demonstrated how easily he could be removed.

The photographer said he thought he saved the altered image on his desktop, but somehow accidentally transmitted the image along with his final images to Getty."I certainly did not mean to send both of them to Getty," he told Guy Reynolds, the Dallas News photo editor who originally blew the whistle on him.

Jessica Lum

BP Gets Heat for Doctored Command Center Photo

The most recent fuel for resentment towards BP comes from a doctored photo of the company's crisis center in Houston. America blog's John Aravosis made the connection when he examined a hi-resolution version of the photo, which was displayed prominently on the BP website. All this comes after BP promised for increased transparency between the company and the public.

Jessica Lum

BlackRapid Camera Strap Designed Specifically for Women

Finally, a photo accessory for ladies that isn't just frills. The new BlackRapid Camera RS-W1, is designed specifically to fit women. Sure, it has some embellishments on the strap padding, but it retains all the function of the traditional R-Strap, plus some strategic curves for comfort and fit. The camera strap will begin shipping later this month for $59 from BlackRapid.

Jessica Lum

Getty Photographer Terminated Over Altered Golf Photo

Earlier today, Dallas Morning News photo editor Guy Reynolds noticed a strange relationship between two Getty images of golfer Matt Bettencourt at the Reno-Tahoe Open golf tournament. One photo featured a tight image of the golfer holding up his ball, victorious, after the 11th hole. The other image, vertical, shows the golfer in the same position, but with another person standing in the background, possibly the golfer's caddy. Initially, Reynolds assumed the photograph was taken by two different photographers, from different angles. However, upon further inspection, Reynolds realized the photo was taken by the same photographer, Marc Feldman, and it appeared that the tighter image was actually altered to omit the second person.

Jessica Lum

‘AT-AT Day Afternoon’ Film Created with Video and Stop-Motion Footage

Here's a really imaginative short film called AT-AT day afternoon, created by Canadian filmmaker Patrick Boivin. Boivin took a vintage Star Wars Walker toy and transformed it into man's best friend. The film was created using a blend of stop-motion animation, puppetry, and clever household green screens that aren't always green. Boivin, who is self-trained in filmmaking and effects, said in an interview that he shoots primarily with a Canon 5D Mark II.

Check out the behind-the-scenes video below.

Jessica Lum

Egg Timer Tripod for Panning Time-Lapses

This contraption is essentially a glorified egg timer with a tripod screw designed to allow for easy 360 degree time lapse images. The Camalapse, designed by video gear rental and retailer Camarush, slowly rotates in a full circle. If paired with a camera's time-lapse feature, it can allow for pretty seamless, panning 360 degree time-lapse over an hour. You can also stitch resulting time-lapse photos together to make a 360 degree panoramic.

Jessica Lum

Inspiring Webinar by Tim Mantoani

Photoshelter hosted this truly inspirational talk with photographer Tim Mantoani. It runs a bit long, but it's definitely worth a watch. Mantoani shares about what truly motivates and inspires him in photography, as well as the experiences photography yields. Most importantly, Mantoani talks about envisioning your dream photo and how to go about capturing it.