November 2010

PBS Documentary About White House Photographer Pete Souza

Here's a interesting little teaser video for "The President’s Photographer: Fifty Years Inside the Oval Office", a PBS documentary that premiered on November 24th, 2010. It takes you behind the scenes with Pete Souza, the official White House photographer who follows President Obama around everywhere he goes, capturing tens of thousands of photographs every month.

How to Make a DIY Pizza Box Ring Flash

I have always been enthralled ring flashes, but they are so expensive! I recently found a pizza box ring flash how to, but it didn’t go on my camera (it was meant as an off camera ring flash) so I made some changes. And here, for all to use, is my version of the pizza box ring flash.

Camera Graffiti on Canvas by Joe Suta

Threadless' in-house graffiti artist Joe Suta creates 3 giant (48'' x 36'') paintings for their Chicago store window each week, which are then sold through the Threadless website for $250 a pop.

Kuwait DSLR Ban Turns Out to Be False, Photogs Breathe Sigh of Relief

Last week one of the big stories in the world of photography was that Kuwait had banned the use of DSLR cameras in public places. The story originated with an article in the Kuwait Times, and was then widely reported by publications ranging from The Guardian to Amateur Photographer. People were in disbelief that a country would take such an unreasonable stance against a particular camera technology while leaving others legal (e.g. mobile phones, compact cameras, etc...). Turns out the whole thing was a big hoax.

How to Make a DIY Polaroid Themed Camera Strap with Luggage Belts

What does a rainbow mean to you? An interesting atmospheric phenomena.... gay pride... the 42nd Infantry Division? To me a rainbow screams, "Polaroid Corporation!". Even when Polaroid was actually making cameras, the camera straps were disappointingly plain vanilla. Polaroid missed a critical branding opportunity! In this tutorial, I'll attempt to make a new camera strap for my Polaroid 100 camera by recycling rainbow colored luggage belts.

Kuwait Bans the Use of DSLR Cameras in Public Places

Update: Turns out this story wasn't true.

If you think photographers' rights in the US or UK are bad, get a load of this: Kuwait is now banning the use of DSLR cameras in public places for everyone except accredited journalists. Three ministries (information, social affairs, and finance) issued the joint ban last week, but strangely ignored the use of other cameras and forms of photography, meaning that citizens can still shoot publicly with compact cameras and camera-equipped phones.

Add an LED Flash to Your Older iPhone with the iFlash

If cameras can have external flashes, why can't mobile phones? The iFlash is a flash module that allows owners of older iPhones to illuminate dark scenes with a blast of LED light. iPhone 4 owners can also use it to gain some additional light.

Pentax-esque Nikon Concept Camera

DCHome forum member voigtlander just posted this photograph of a Nikon concept camera from Nikon Sapporo Showroom, where photography is prohibited. There's a lot of discussion over whether or not this design suggests what a future Nikon EVIL camera might look like, since it seems to have the same form factor as existing EVIL cams (e.g. Samsung NX10).

Oprah Picks the Nikon D3100 as One of Her Favorite Things

During her "Ultimate Favorite Things 2010" this past Friday, Oprah revealed the Nikon D3100 as one of her favorite things, and gave one to each member of the audience. As one of the most influential people in the world, the Oprah Effect should definitely give Nikon a huge boost in sales of the camera, just like Michelle Obama does for fashion companies with her outfits.

Music Video Made with Timelapse and 3D Light Painted Words

After photographer Ross Ching came across Dentsu London's creative 3D light painting technique with an iPad, he decided to give it a try, combining it with timelapse photography to make a music video for "I'll Try Anything Once" by The Strokes (seen above). The app he used was Holographium, which you can pick up for $5 from the app store.

A Photography Book Featuring Work by Cooper the Cat

Here's one of those "I could do that! Yeah, but you didn't" things: a cat named Cooper recently published a book filled with his photographs, titled "Cat Cam". Basically, a couple named Michael and Deirdre Cross decided to attach a micro camera to their cat's collar, automatically snapping photographs every two minutes. The book has received pretty positive reviews from both critics (Good Morning America, People Magazine, etc...) and customers.