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: Read more…

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. Read more…

Photographer Cosmin Bumbut was given the opportunity lead a photo workshop in one of the least likely places — in a women’s penitentiary in Romania. Bumbat furnished 14 women with six Canon PowerShots plus cards and batteries,  and taught them basic photography. The photo workshop began meeting weekly, and within two months, the class had produced some 14,000 images.

The participants achieved what so many professional photographers strive to do: they wove together a very compelling visual story that also has a back story that is just as raw and captivating.

Bumbut has a small batch of additional photos on Punctum (be aware, there is some nudity in a few photos). The photos portray a very intimate portrait of the women and their daily lives from a refreshingly straightforward and honest perspective.

(via Gizmodo)

The model on the cover of indie band Vampire Weekend’s album “Contra” is suing the band, its record label, and the photographer for more than $2 million. Ann Kirsten Kennis discovered that her image was on the cover of the top-selling album when her daughter purchased it and brought it home to show her.

Kennis claims the model release for the image was forged and the image was used without her consent for commercial use.

Though Kennis worked as a model in New York during the 80s and 90s, she says that the photo, which was taken in 1983, was not taken as a part of her modeling career. Kennis believes that the photo, a Polaroid, was possibly taken by her mother. Kennis’ attorney Alan Neigher, told Entertainment Weekly:

Her mother was a chronic Polaroid snapshot taker, and used to sell whole archives of photographs to these shops, five bucks a hundred or whatever. Her mother may have given away to a charity bazaar a whole ream of photographs. We just really don’t know…She has no idea how that photograph got into the photographer’s hands.

Neigher later said that the family has no solid idea about who took the photo, but he says the family maintains that the signature on the model release was forged.

The credited photographer, Tod Brody, says Kennis’ accusations are false, and that he took the photograph, had it in his posession for 26 years, and only recently gave it to Vampire Weekend for use on the album cover. Brody told PDN:

Ms. Kennis, through her lawyers, has slandered and defamed [him] by claiming that her family took the photo. We will easily prove in court that I took the photo,” he said.

The defendants have not filed an official response to Kennis’ claim, nor has a court date been set.

(via Entertainment Weekly)

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.

Jonathan Combs, who directed the film alongside Joe Childress, said:

We took 3 days to build and 1 day to shoot. Most of the wood for the rolling stages was donated/lent as well as the set items. Most of the money went towards casters so that the stages would roll properly when we started putting set decoration and actors on top of them. We had an average of 10 people on the build days and a total of about 40 people (including actors) on the actual shoot day. This still didn’t seem like enough. Everyone pulled double duty. We had actors holding set pieces, running to do their scene, then running to hold more set pieces. Brooke Peoples (our leading lady) had 3 wardrobe changes and 4 scenes. She also had to make most of these changes within seconds so she could be in her back to back scenes. Tim had 2 wardrobe changes and three scenes. The biggest move was the ending shot. By that time we’re 40 yards away from where we started so the red curtain, stage, piano, and audience all had to be moved in behind the dolly. It was mass chaos outside of the frame.

You can read more from Jonathan Combs on Planet 5D and watch the behind-the-scenes video below:

Read more…

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. Read more…

Here’s a really neat video about the making of a Speedo ad campaign that is running all across Europe right now. The video traces the production from its conceptualization to its final post-processing and illustration. The actual shoot and filming took place at the Pinewood Studios Underwater Stage in the UK, where several major films were also shot, including many 007 and Harry Potter movies. It’s pretty remarkable to see so much equipment underwater.

(via f stoppers)

Bristol-based artist Luke Jerram had this novel wedding ring designed for his wife Shelina Nanji. The ring, created in a collaboration with jeweler Tamrakar, contains tiny slides of the couple. When placed in a darkened room with a light source behind it, the slides can be projected through the mini lens built into the ring.

Jerram says the ring was inspired by Stanhopes, which were popular trinkets during the 19th century, by which microphotographs could be carried and viewed inside.

Not surprisingly, Jerram gets asked to make this ring frequently for other couples, but he politely declines — this ring was a unique design made specially for his wife.

(via Make)

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.

Read more…

Canon announced today that five upcoming models of the Canon PIXMA printers will feature a “full HD movie print” feature that allows users to print individual frames from their HD movies. The big catch is that the HD movie files have to be .MOV file format created by certain Canon cameras only. The company has yet to release sample prints using the feature.

Other notable features on some of these models include their Wi-Fi capabilities, allowing the printers to access both the Internet and local networks. Also with the Wi-Fi models, Android OS, iPhone, iPad and iPod users can usethe Canon Easy-PhotoPrint app to print camera photos directly from their phones. The wireless models start at $80.

Most of the new printers will also include access to exclusive content on Canon’s CREATIVE PARK, which is a nifty creative site with project ideas, templates, and cards, as well as cool 3D paper craft projects.