July 2011

Michael Zhang

Interview with Haje Jan Kamps of Triggertrap

Editor's note: This is the second interview we've done with Haje. The first was back in 2010 regarding his blog Photocritic.org

Haje Jan Kamps is the entrepreneur behind the Triggertrap and the blogger behind Photocritic.org.

PetaPixel: Can you tell quickly describe the Triggertrap for people who haven't heard of it yet?

Haje Jan Kamps: Triggertrap is an universal camera trigger. It's "universal", because it's designed to connect just about any trigger source to nearly any camera. Right now, we're supporting more than a hundred camera models, but we're adding new cameras to our Supported Cameras list all the time.

The device has a sound and light sensor built in, and it can do linear and non-linear time-lapses. I'm most excited about the auxiliary port, though, which enables users to connect nearly anything they want to the device. One reader suggested connecting it to the final buzzer they use at basketball games, to take a photo of the state of play just when the buzzer sounds -- what a great idea!

Michael Zhang

Google’s Photovine is Now Live, but Still Shrouded in Mystery

If you're not convinced that Google is jumping into the photo-sharing pool head first, get this: the company has not one, but two stealthy photo sharing apps in private beta. Besides the Pool Party app that came to light at the beginning of the month, the rumored Photovine service has now materialized into a website -- well, a landing page, at least.

Michael Zhang

FUD Over Google+’s Terms of Service

Last year Scott Bourne caused some commotion among photo-enthusiasts by claiming that Twitter's ToS forced photographers to give up rights to photos shared through the service. After Google launched their new Google+ social network, Bourne again wrote a very similar post warning his readers about the ToS. We weren't planning on weighing in, but seeing that the FUD has spread to our comments and even The Washington Post, we'd like to clear some of it away for our readers.

Michael Zhang

Beautiful Heat Maps of Flickr Photographs and Twitter Tweets

Last year map geek Eric Fischer created heat maps showing where Flickr photos are taken in large cities and comparing tourist vs. local hotspots. Now he's back again with beautiful maps showing geotagged Flickr photos and Twitter Tweets, and the maps aren't limited to cities -- there's maps for continents (see North America above) and even the whole world! The orange dots show photos, the blue ones indicate Tweets, and a white one means both were found in that location.

Michael Zhang

AP Sacks Photographer for Cloning His Shadow Out of an Image

The AP has sacked photographer Miguel Tovar for "deliberate and misleading photo manipulation" after Tovar cloned out his own shadow from a feature photograph. The Photoshopping came to light after an alert photo editor spotted a strange looking dust pattern in a photo of Argentinian children playing soccer.

Michael Zhang

Father and Son Recreate Space Shuttle Launch Photo 30 Years Later

Musician Chris Bray was 13-years-old when he and his father attended the first ever launch of NASA's Space Shuttle program on April 12th, 1981. His mother snapped a photograph of the two standing ready with binoculars and a Super 8 camera. Last Friday, Bray (now 44) and his father (now nearly 70) were also in attendance at the final launch of the Shuttle program, and decided to recreate the photo they had taken together 30 years earlier.

Michael Zhang

A Photo Gear Rube Goldberg Machine

Let's start off this week with something lighthearted and awesome. The folks at 2D Photography spent nearly six months working on building a giant Rube Goldberg machine using photo gear. Like the epic Battle at F-Stop Ridge video, it seems pretty likely that this video will soon be going viral.

Michael Zhang

CNBC: Point-and-Shoot Cameras Are an Endangered Species

Update on 12/18/21: This video has been removed by its creator.

CNBC ran this short segment a couple days ago in which they invited CNET's Dan Ackerman to explain the changing landscape in the digital camera industry. He thinks point-and-shoot cameras may soon become extinct due to the rise of camera-equipped phones, but also that DSLRs are the cameras here to stay.

Michael Zhang

Can Monkeys Own Rights to Photos?

When we shared the story of how monkeys hijacked photographer David Slater's camera and unwittingly snapped some self-portraits, we asked the question "doesn’t the monkey technically own the rights to the images?" Techdirt, a blog that often highlights copyright issues, went one step further and dedicated a whole post to that question.

Michael Zhang

iPhone SLR Mount Lets You Attach Your Fancy Canon and Nikon Lenses

If for some reason you've always wanted pair up your SLR lenses with the tiny sensor found on the iPhone 4, Photojojo has a new mount that can make your dream come true. The package includes a special aluminum case for your phone, a UV filter attachment, and the lens adapter, and almost guarantees that you'll be the strangest looking iPhone shooter on your street.

Michael Zhang

An Electronic (Not So) Instant Camera

Niklas Roy built a unique electronic "instant" camera using an old black & white video camera and thermal receipt printer. When turned on, the printer slowly prints the live video feed from the camera onto cheap receipt paper. Since the image isn't stored anywhere first, the subject has to remain still during the three minutes it takes for the image to be printed.

Michael Zhang

Beautiful Light Trails of Airplanes Landing

Australian PhD student Hamish Innes-Brown lurked around Tullamarine Airport in Melbourne and shot these beautiful photographs of airplanes landing using a Mamiya C330 twin lens reflex camera and Kodak Portra 160NC medium format film.