March 2014

Flickr’s New Photo Experience Out of Beta, No More Opting Out

Flickr's new "photo experience," which has been in beta for the past few months, is finally live for everyone to see. While this isn't the full-on redesign that we mentioned might be on the way, this update completely overhauls the photo pages in particular -- bringing speed, functionality and aesthetic improvements.

7 Photos that Every Photographer Takes

There are a few photos that every photographer takes in their lifetime. It doesn't matter who you are or where you came from, you've taken these photos or will take them one day in the future. They're mostly tired shots we're all probably best avoiding, yet none of us can. Even having read this, someday you'll catch yourself mid click, snapping off one of these photos.

Yes, much like the proverbial photographic flame to our poor, moth-like eyeballs, these photos have an allure we can't deny. No matter how self-aware or disciplined we are, we'll forever be incapable of escaping the seven photos every photographer takes.

8 Essential Underwater Photography Tips from Sarah Lee

Water photographer Sarah Lee (recently featured in a behind-the-scenes artist profile for the SmugMug Film series) grew up in Hawaii, surfing and swimming competitively. One day, while at a swimming competition, she was handed a camera and hasn’t looked back since.

Cardboard Cities: Incredibly Detailed City Scenes Made of Cardboard

Just look at the above photo. It looks like an extremely well-lit photo of an abandoned wasteland in the middle of some old town, doesn't it? Well, while that might be what it's depicting, that isn't what it is. It's cardboard. All of it.

Titled Cardboard Cities, this collaboration between set-designer Luke Aan de Wiel and photographer Andy Rudak is sure to make some jaws hit the floor.

Canon Australia Knocks it Out of the Park With Stunning #WhatDoYouSee Promo

Nothing like starting hump day off with some visual inspiration, and this promo video, released by Canon Australia earlier this week, certainly fits the bill.

Put together as part of the company's #whatdoyousee campaign, the video is made up entirely of reflections in people's eyes that answer the campaign question, "What do you see?"

New55 FILM Hopes to Kickstart The Re-Production of 4×5 Instant Sheets

Noticing the successful efforts of both Lomography and The Impossible Project, inventor Bob Crowley has been inspired to take his own dive into the niche market of the re-creation of discontinued analog films. He and his team at New55 FILM have created a Kickstarter in hopes of funding the start up of 4x5 instant film production.

NASA Releases Beautiful Photographs of Lightning Taken from the ISS

If it ever was a secret, it sure isn't anymore: we LOVE photos from space. And judging by the response we typically get to sharing them, so do you, which is why we were so excited when we stumbled across these magnificent images of lightning NASA released just a couple of days ago.

First Set of Rumored Specs for the D800s Appear Online

It's still early on in the rumor-gathering process for Nikon's D800/D800E successor -- possibly called the D800s -- but rumor sites have already gotten their hands on a first set of leaked specs for the mysterious followup.

Incredible POV Footage of BASE Jumpers Launching Off the One World Trade Center

Getting to the top of the One World Trade Center is supposed to be impossible, or at the very least difficult, but it seems that's not so. In a video released yesterday but shot back in September of 2013, three BASE jumpers show that they not only got up to the top... they managed to jump off with parachutes and get off scot-free until months later.

When Photos DO Lie: High School Student ‘Flip Off’ Photo Sparks Outrage

The photo above clearly shows star Stevenson High basketball player Jalen Brunson flipping off the crowd... or does it? The photo, which has caused an online firestorm and almost got the youngster suspended from a tournament, is being called into question after video and another photographer's coverage show that it captured something that only existed for a fraction of a second -- a moment that was gone before anyone present saw it.

Rumor: Sony Has a ‘Completely Different’ Medium Format Camera in the Works

One of the stranger/more exciting rumors we've run across in 2014 just surfaced over at sonyalpharumors. According to the website, two separate sources have received information about a Sony medium format camera to be announced in 5-6 months -- a camera that will be 'completely different' from the other CMOS medium format shooters revealed in recent months.

11 Photo Lessons Every Pro Learned the Hard Way

Avoid making an embarrassing or expensive photographic mistake with these top tips from the pros. We spoke to professional photographers in a number of different genres and put together the common pitfalls that plagued them all.

Bidding War Helps Hasselblad Sell 2 Lunar Cameras for $54K at Charity Auction

Still think there's no market for overpriced Hasselblad Sony clones? This might change your mind. Thanks to a heated bidding war at the Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance exotic car festival, two ... we'll call them generous... generous gentlemen paid $54,500 for two Hasselblad Lunar cameras that would normally run $14,000 retail.

Giacomo Brunelli’s Striking Black & White Animal Street Photography

Street photography is usually reserved for humans, while animals are typically photographed out in nature, but Giacomo Brunelli's series The Animals and The Animals II turn that dynamic on its head. The photographs in these two series bring the stark, black-and-white and often invasive nature of classic street photography into to the animal kingdom with fascinating results.

Anti-Piracy Group Accused of Stealing the Photo They Used in an Anti-Piracy Ad

Well this is awkward... We're all for people advocating for copyright law and making sure that people at least understand that it's bad to steal other people's intellectual property, but if you're going to do it, you might want to follow your own rules.

Case in point: Anti-piracy group The Business Software Alliance was called out this weekend for allegedly using a stolen photo in an anti-piracy ad that encouraged people to turn in unlicensed software users.