July 2011

Michael Zhang

Remember There Are Real People on the Other Side of Those Pixels

When viewing other people's photographs online, more often than not there's a way to comment and share your thoughts. While photo-sharing sites seem to have nicer commenters than a site like YouTube, there are still plenty of people who seem intent on putting people down and filling the Interwebs with vitriol. If that's you, then here's a video you definitely need to see.

Michael Zhang

How to Scan Film Using Your Ordinary Flatbed Scanner

If you've tried to scan film using an ordinary flatbed scanner as you would a piece of paper, you've probably discovered that it didn't turn out very well. The reason is because film needs to be illuminated from behind, while conventional scanners capture light that's reflected off what they're scanning. Before you give up hope and shell out money for a film scanner, here's some good news: you can build a cheap and simple cardboard adapter that turns any scanner into a film scanner!

Michael Zhang

Stabilize Your Camera Footage Using YouTube’s Video Editor

Did you know that earlier this year YouTube added a free image stabilization tool to its video editor? It lets you smooth out the jitter in your videos without having to shell out dough for an expensive rig or software solution. The downside is that the stabilization makes your video look like it was shot by a robot.

Michael Zhang

Shoot Abstract Photos of Fireworks with Long Exposures and No Tripod

There's plenty of tutorials online teaching you the "proper" techniques for photographing fireworks, but have you ever tried shooting them "incorrectly" on purpose? When photography enthusiast Pete Rogina took his Canon 5D Mark II out to capture fireworks this past Independence Day, he decided to try "light painting" with the fireworks by shooting them at long exposures without a tripod, waving the camera so that the streaks of light would take on abstract shapes.

Michael Zhang

At What Point Does Inspiration Turn Into Copyright Infringement?

At what point does inspiration turn into plagiarism? That's the question that popped up last year when Rhianna was sued by David LaChapelle over scenes found in one of her music videos, and it's the same issue with a lawsuit recently filed by photographer Janine Gordon against photographer Ryan McGinley. Gordon claims that 150 of McGinley's images -- including some used for a Levi's ad campaign -- are "substantially based" on her photos. In the three pairs of disputed images shown above, the ones on the left are by Gordon and the ones on the right by McGinley.

Michael Zhang

Tech Blog Receives Takedown Request Over Photos Monkey Took

Just as the monkey photography story was dying down, a new twist emerges: on Monday tech blog TechDirt received an email from Caters News, the agency representing wildlife photographer David Slater, whose camera was hijacked by a monkey and used to shoot a number of self-portraits.

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.