May 2011

Michael Zhang

Light Painting with an RC Helicopter

Flickr user Robert Hodgin purchased a cheap RC helicopter and shot these 30 second exposure photographs of him attempting to keep the helicopter from crashing. If you have RC helicopter skills, you might be able to create pretty neat light-painting photographs using this idea.

Michael Zhang

Interview with Oleg Gutsol of 500px

Oleg Gutsol is the co-founder and technical director of photo-sharing service 500px.

PetaPixel: Can you tell me a little about yourself and your background?

Oleg Gutsol: Ian and I met during our university years at Ryerson, around 2004. He was in business and finance program and I was in computer science. We both liked photography, travel and motorcycles, so there were some common points of interest. I think we both shared a passion for working on something meaningful, and although then we were not working together, we both were exploring opportunities to start our own business.

Michael Zhang

1923 Leica Sells for $1.9 Million, Becomes World’s Most Expensive Camera

A Leica 0-series camera made in 1923 was sold this past weekend at WestLicht Photographica Auctions for a staggering €1.32 million (~$1.89 million). Only about 25 0-series cameras were manufactured to test the market before Leica began commercially producing the Leica A. It's the most expensive camera ever sold, but is still only half the price of the most expensive photo that was auctioned earlier this month.

Michael Zhang

Make Your Flash Shine Again with a Dab of Toothpaste

If you've used your flash for quite a while, you may have noticed some yellowish haze where the plastic has oxidized. For flash units that have a smooth surface, here's a pro tip: you can make it shine again by simply dabbing a little toothpaste onto a cloth and wiping off the haze in a circular motion.

Michael Zhang

Did Sigma Make the SD1 to Serve as the Brand’s “Halo Product”?

Sigma generated a lot of buzz recently after announcing its SD1 DSLR with a $9,700 MSRP, and that's probably exactly what they were trying to do. As articles all over the Internet questioned why a 14.7MP Sigma DSLR would cost the same price as Pentax's 40MP medium-format DSLR, Sigma was quick to point out that the camera would actually be selling for a slightly more reasonable street price of $6,900.

Michael Zhang

Make Your Wall Magnetic for an Awesome Way to Show Off Photos

Did you know that you can turn any wall magnetic by painting it with magnetic primer? Communications company M Booth did this with one of its walls, then sent out employees onto the streets of NYC with Fujifilm Instax cameras. The result is this impressive wall displaying 800 instant photos!

Michael Zhang

Hasselblad H4D-200MS Shoots 200MP Photos with a 50MP Sensor

Sigma's upcoming SD1 uses a special Foveon sensor that captures red, green, and blue information at each pixel by stacking three separate 15MP sensors, giving the resulting images 46 million pieces of information. Hasselblad's new H4D-200MS medium format DSLR also captures each of the three colors at every pixel, but with a different method -- it shoots 6 separate photos with its 50MP sensor, but shifts the sensor by 1.5 pixels for each shot, giving the resulting photos 200MP of resolution.

Michael Zhang

P.90: The Rolls Royce of Pinhole Cameras

The P.90 is a limited edition pinhole camera by Kurt Mottweiler, an Oregon-based builder of wooden cameras. It's constructed using Cherry wood and brass, has a tripod adapter on the bottom, and is loaded with 120 roll film.

Michael Zhang

Hollywood Blvd Superheroes at Home

The superheroes that line Hollywood Boulevard for tourist pictures may have a tiny taste of stardom while on the job, but what are their lives like when they put down their masks and capes? For his project "Super Heroes", photographer Gregg Segal followed a number of superheroes home to document their not-so-super lives when not on the job.