December 2012

Kodak Patents Acquired by Group That Includes Apple, Google, and Facebook

One chapter in the saga of Kodak's escape from bankruptcy has come to an end. The company announced today that it has completed the sale of its valuable imaging patents for $525 million to a group of Silicon Valley companies. The deal involves more than 1,100 patents related to the capturing, manipulating, and sharing of digital photographs.

Silly Portraits of People with Scotch Tape on Their Faces

For the past couple of months, Albuquerque, New Mexico-based photographer Wes Naman has been working on a lighthearted personal project called "Scotch Tape," a series that features bizarre portraits of subjects who have their faces wrapped tightly with strips of Scotch tape.

Instagram Responds to Controversy Over New ToS, Promises Changes

If you had any doubts regarding how much of a part of our culture Instagram has become, just take a peek at the public outcry that erupted after Instagram announced changes to its policies yesterday. The controversial edits were reported in media outlets around the world, and legions of die-hard Instagram fans took to social media channels to protest them.

People mainly focused on a section of the document that appears to give Instagram sweeping permissions to sell photos without consent or compensation to third-parties for advertising purposes.

How to Use a Holga as a Handheld Wet Plate Camera

Wet plate photographer Ian Ruhter has received a good deal of attention over the past year for using a custom camera van to create giant collodion process metal photos. When he's not turning large sheets of metal into photographs, he's sometimes working on the opposite side of the spectrum.

One of his recent interests has been shooting pint-sized photos using a Holga toy camera that he converted into a wet plate camera.

Portraits of Wandering Ascetic Monks by Photographer Joey L

Brooklyn-based photographer Joey L has spent years working on an amazing set of portraits titled "Holy Men," which features religious ascetics from around the world.

Joey traveled to India (for the third time) in March 2011 and spent a month creating more photos of wandering monks in Varanasi, the holiest of the seven sacred cities in Hinduism and one of the oldest cities in the world. The subjects are men who have renounced all earthly possessions in their pursuit of spiritual liberation.

Apple Patents Method of Generating HDR Photos from Single Exposures

High dynamic range (HDR) mode is becoming a standard feature in newer digital cameras and smartphones. By snapping multiple photographs at different exposure levels, the camera can automatically generate an image that captures a greater range of light and dark areas than a standard photograph. However, the technique does have its weaknesses. Artifacts appear if any changes occur in the scene between the different shots, which limits the scenarios in which the technique can be used.

Apple wants to overcome this issue by implementing an HDR mode that only requires a single exposure. A recently published patent shows that Apple is well on its way to doing so.

Leica Officially Jumping Onto the Lens Mug Train, Two Models Arriving Soon

Lens-shaped coffee mugs and vacuum flasks (the proper name for the Thermos) have become a hot novelty item in the world of photography over the past couple of years, and Leica wants a piece of the action. Two weeks ago, a Leica-branded coffee mug was spotted on eBay, and now it appears that the strange product will be hitting store shelves at brick-and-mortar Leica retail locations.

Perceptual Megapixel: Lens Sharpness Boiled Down to a Single Number

Modulation Transfer Function (MTF) charts are a very commonly used tool in the photo industry for measuring and describing how sharp a particular lens is. However, it's a system that is largely enigmatic to those outside the realm of optic experts and camera gearheads.

For those of you who don't want to learn how to read MTF charts, camera gear testing service DxOMark has announced a new metric that boils a lens' sharpness down to a single easy-to-understand-and-compare number: the Perceptual Megapixel.

Instagram Takes Step Toward Profitability by Updating Its ToS, Causes Grumbling

Earlier this month, Facebook stated that it's working on strategies for monetizing Instagram. Now we're starting to see the gears in the money-making machine warming up.

Instagram announced an update to its Terms of Service and Privacy Policy documents today, with changes that will take effect on January 16, 2013. While it's understandable that any service's terms must change if rolls out a new business model, many users aren't pleased with what some of the updated sections say.

Vertigo-Inducing Portraits by Skywalking Photographers in Russia

Earlier this year, we wrote about a dangerous new Russian photo fad called "skywalking," in which thrill-seeking climber-photographers seek out the highest man-made structures they can find, climb to the apexes without proper safety equipment, and then shoot photographs of themselves and the view once they're there.

Two of the photographers who have been generating a lot of buzz in this niche are Vitaly Raskalov and Alexander Remnev.

Facebook to Launch a Snapchat-like App for Sharing Short-lived Photos

Now that filtered smartphone photos have taken over the photo sharing world, many people -- especially investors -- are wondering: what's next? One possible answer may be temporary photo sharing.

Just last week we reported that Snapchat had raised $10 million to continue pioneering the frontier. Now, a report has emerged that Facebook is working on its own mobile app that offers exactly the same thing.

One Eye Open: The Story of a One-Eyed Photographer Named James Fabri

Perth-based photographer James Fabri sees things a little differently when he looks through the viewfinder of a DSLR. While most photographers can only use half of their regular vision to frame shots, Fabri has the advantage of seeing things the way he normally experiences the world. You see, he only has one eye.

A Photographic Study of One Tree Over Many Years and Seasons

Last week we shared a project by photographer Tyler Casson that featured four photos of an island across four seasons of a year. Photographer Kevin Day has been doing a similar project -- one that he has been working on for over five years now. The Berkshire, UK-based photographer has been visiting and documenting one particular tree in a field, snapping photos showing different seasons and different lighting conditions.

Lo-Fi Surf Photography with Expired and Cross-Processed Film

San Francisco resident Ryan Tatar is passionate about two things when he's not sitting at his desk at a Silicon Valley tech company: surfing and photography... and usually a combination of the two. He has attracted a good deal of attention in both worlds with his lo-fi photographs of surfers, captured with old analog cameras and expired and/or cross-processed films.

In the short video above, Tatar talks about his love for analog photography and introduces us to what he does.

Fujifilm Set to Launch an X-Trans Sensor X100 Successor in Early 2013

Fujifilm made quite a splash in the camera industry when it announced the sleek X100 back in September 2010, but since then the camera's spotlight has been stolen by newer interchangeable-lens followups, namely the X-Pro1 and the X-E1.

When the X100 was discontinued back in July, many expected to see a followup announced at Photokina in September. It wasn't. However, it now appears that the camera will be launched in early 2013, equipped with the same X-Trans sensor technology as its interchangeable-lens siblings.

Canon’s Official Solution for Stuck Lens Filters: Use a Hammer and Hacksaw

When travel photographer Craig Pulsifer accidentally smashed the front of his lens recently and found his lens filter fused firmly to the metal threads, he went to Canon for help. The removal process explained to him by a Canon Professional services technician is probably something most people wouldn't think to try: use a hammer and hacksaw to surgically remove the stuck filter. Pulsifer followed the advice, and found that it works quite well (though he does warn that it's "not recommended for the faint of heart").

Look Lock is an Inspector Gadget-Style Smartphone Holder for Child Photos

Getting a good picture of a toddler, dog or other easily-distracted subject is no easy task. You snap, you whistle, you make funny faces, but in the end you're often left with nothing more than a blurry picture and a very real relief that nobody else was there to see what just happened.

We've featured a number of solutions for overcoming this (e.g. cameras with front-facing LCDs, friendly lens-mounted toys), but a smartphone mount is one of the more versatile ones. After all, you can use it for other purposes when you're not photographing kids. The Look Lock, shown above, is one such mount on the market.

Use Science to Become More Productive as a Photographer

Want to learn how to be more productive with your photography? Instead of simply "trying harder" and relying on your willpower, a better way may be to take simple steps that have been shown to be effective by science. The above 3-minute video, created by artists/educators Mitchell Moffit and Gregory Brown, offers some tips that science has taught us about being more efficient at working and spending less time getting our work accomplished.

‘Say Cheese’ Camera Tattoo Turns Girl’s Forearm into an Optical Illusion

We've shared a number of photography-inspired tattoos in the past, but here's a concept we've never seen before. Brunssum, Netherlands-based tattoo artist Helma van der Weide created this optical illusion tattoo for her daughter Lotte van den Acker's forearm. All Lotte needs to do to show off her passion for photography is cover up her eyes with her arm and voila! Instant photography!

App To Let You Preserve Your Life with a One-Second Video of Each Day

First, there was a competition, which suggested that one second of video could capture a unique, meaningful moment. Then a young woman from LA used roughly one second of footage per day to document a year in her life. And then finally, Cesar Kuriyama's similar video documenting his frivolous year off work following his 30th birthday went viral.

Apparently, the idea of documenting each day of your life with a one-second video clip has taken off. And following a flurry of "I wanna do that!" comments, Kuriyama has decided to make the process that much easier for others wishing to follow in his and Madeline's footsteps by creating the 1 Second Everyday app.

Media Publishes Wrong Facebook Photo in Wake of Tragic Shooting

Earlier today, unimaginable tragedy struck the town of Newtown, Connecticut as 20 children and 6 adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School were gunned down by a man we now know to be 20-year-old Adam Lanza.

As details poured in over the course of the day, Lanza -- who took his own life at the scene -- was mistakenly identified by police as Ryan, his older brother. Because of this mistake, news organizations nationwide began searching for pictures of a Ryan Lanza matching the description of the gunman, subsequently stumbling upon and disseminating the wrong picture for several hours.

Photographers Find Success Selling Rolls of Handmade “Distressed” Film

Film photography has been taking a lot of hits in the business world, but while major manufacturers continue to discontinue film production, one small company is doing the exact opposite. Revolog -- a small online shop founded by photography school graduates Hanna Pribitzer and Michael Krebs in 2010 -- has been finding success by selling handmade specialty film.

And while you may think that specialty film wouldn't be a very lucrative business to enter right about now, get this: yesterday the duo announced the sale of their 10,000th roll of film.

Holga’s New Rotary Filter Lens Brings the Lo-Fi Craze into the World of DSLRs

It was about this time last year that the world was introduced to the Holga iPhone case: a strange-looking gizmo complete with a rotary wheel packing 9 separate lo-fi filters for the toy-camera, retro lover in you. Well, much like the Swivl we reported on yesterday, Holga has decided that bigger is better, and is attempting to break into the DSLR market with a new rotary wheel lens for DSLRs.

Nikon D600 Kits Plummet to Ridiculously Low Prices Around the Web

If you've recently purchased a Nikon D600 at its standard body-only retail price of $2,000, you might want to stop reading this post lest you suddenly find yourself filled with manufacturer-induced buyers remorse. If you're a budget-conscious photographer in the market for a new full-frame DSLR, today might be your lucky day.

Nikon has launched a brand-wide fire sale of the Nikon D600. While the body-only price hasn't changed, retailers around the web are selling the camera with a bundled lens and pricey accessories for the same price as the body itself.

Clever Hack for Shooting Lytro-Style DoF-Changeable Photos Using a DSLR

Lytro's groundbreaking consumer light-field camera made a splash in the camera industry this year by making it possible to refocus photographs after they're shot. However, the cheapest model for the boxy device has a price tag of $399, and the reviews have been mixed so far.

If you'd like to play around with your own refocus-able photographs without having to buy an actual Lytro device, you can actually fake it using a standard DSLR camera (or any camera with manual focusing and a large-aperture lens).

Upcoming Sony SLTs May Feature Pellicle Mirror Flip-Up Mode

Most SLR cameras feature a mirror lock-up mode that allows photographers to eliminate the vibration (and blur) caused by the mirror flapping up and down whenever a shot is snapped. Sony's SLT cameras don't offer this when it comes to the pellicle mirror found inside -- not yet, at least.

A Sony patent filed back in 2009 and published earlier this week shows that the company has been tinkering with the feature. sonyalpharumors is also hearing from a source that it's something the next generation of Sony SLT cameras will offer.

How Fake Photos Are Messing With Our Perception of Reality

When Hurricane Sandy struck the East Coast back in October, the photograph above was widely circulated by people who believed that it showed the storm bearing down NYC. It doesn't. The image is actually a composite photograph that combines an ordinary photo of the Statue of Liberty with a well-known image by weather photographer Mike Hollingshead.