December 2011

Michael Zhang

Liquid Rose Shot with Food Coloring

Photographer Anthony Chang created this amazing image of a liquid rose without any computer-generated trickery. He hung a glass rose upside down and snapped photos while pouring food coloring onto it.

Michael Zhang

Gigantic Museum-Quality Canvas Prints Free For the Taking

Back in September we featured a project called This Was Found that promotes art by leaving framed prints out and about in the UK. Now, printing company Jondo is taking it to the next level with a project called Art Heist. They've left 26 gigantic, museum-quality 40x60inch canvases in various secret locations around Los Angeles. Find one, and you're free to take it home. Just make sure you have a good way of bringing home the massive photo!

Michael Zhang

New Campaign Seeks to Make Metadata Permanent

EXIF data embedded in an image file can shed quite a bit of information about a photo, including how it was created and the owner of the copyright. It's useful, but can be easily stripped away. A new consortium led by three organizations (IPTC, 4A's, and ANA) is pushing to make metadata permanent.

Michael Zhang

Photographer Promotes New Site with QR Code Made from Ordinary Objects

QR codes have become an extremely popular way of linking to digital things from the physical world, and more and more businesses are displaying them in order to direct customers to their websites. Photographer David Sykes (whom we previously featured here) decided to take advantage of the craze to promote his new website and blog. Instead of an ordinary QR code, however, he decided to create an 8-foot square model of the code using things such as boots, calculators, briefcases, boomboxes, and champagne bottles. He then photographed the code on film and mailed out limited edition prints.

Michael Zhang

PetaPixel Photography Gift Guide 2011

Christmas is almost upon us, and for the second straight year PetaPixel's gift guide comes incredibly late. Think of it as a general guide to nifty photo-related gifts that have emerged over the past year rather than a Christmas gift guide -- after all, gifts are great to receive year-round, right?

Michael Zhang

Portraits of Soldiers Before, During, and After War

For her project titled Marked, photographer Claire Felicie shot close-up portraits of the marines in the 13th infantry company of the Royal Netherlands Marine Corps before, during, and after their deployment from 2009-2010. She then arranged the portraits into haunting triptychs that show the toll war has on a person's eyes and face.

Michael Zhang

Cam Crate: A Lifeproof Case for DSLR Cameras

Cam Crate is a new DSLR camera case that's designed for photographers who shoot in places that aren't friendly toward cameras. While many solutions already exist for keeping your camera safe, most of them are designed for transporting your gear rather than protecting it on the go. The Cam Crate is different: it's waterproof (and floats), mudproof, crushproof, and shockproof, but at the same time a quick action door lets you quickly take out your camera whenever its needed.

Michael Zhang

Surreal Miniature Worlds That Will Make You Look Twice

Upon first glance, photographer Frank Kunert's photographs may look like they show pretty ordinary places. Look a little closer, however, and you'll start to notice that each one has something wrong about it, and that none of the scenes would actually exist in the real world. They're actually miniature scenes that are meticulously built by hand!

Michael Zhang

Being a Professional Photographer is Easier Than You Think!

A woman who calls herself "Missy" has launched a new channel on YouTube dedicated to tongue-in-cheek videos on how easy being a professional photographer is. It's pretty funny how much bad advice she can give while staying in character and keeping a straight face. The informative first video above is on using the professional mode ("P") on your camera to take advantage of your professional DSLR.

Michael Zhang

Long Exposure Photographs of Patterns Projected Onto Landscapes

Photographer Jim Sanborn has a project titled Topographic Projections and Implied Geometries Series in which he casts complex patterns over vast landscapes using a projector, and uses long exposure times to capture the scenes. The projector and camera are, on average, half a mile away from his landscapes, and on moonless nights he uses a searchlight to illuminate the scene.

Michael Zhang

NYT Sends Angry Letter to NYPD Over Treatment of Photographer

The New York Times has sent an angry letter to the New York Police Department after video emerged showing photojournalist Robert Stolarik being pushed around and then blocked while trying to photograph officers arresting Occupy Wall Street protestors. The memo itself hasn't be published, but NYT VP and assistant general counsel George Freeman is quoted as saying,

It seemed pretty clear from the video that the Times freelance photographer was being intentionally blocked by the police officer who was kind of bobbing and weaving to keep him from taking photographs

The department has acknowledged receiving the note from the NYT, but has not issued a formal response yet. This incident comes just weeks after Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly ordered officers to avoid unreasonably interfering with media access during news coverage.