fun

Portraits of Bailey the Golden Retriever Dressed up and Doing Human Things

You might not know Bailey the golden retriever, but you probably do know OF her. She's the dog from one of the famous "I have no idea what I'm doing" Internet memes that you've probably seen floating around.

What you might not know is that Bailey does a lot more than sit in front of the computer looking confused. She does everything from chopping wood, to washing cars, to balancing her checkbook, and her owner (actually, we're not sure who's taking care of who...) is there to take pictures of every adventure.

Why Photography is Such a Fun Hobby

It’s a simple question. Why am I taking pictures? What’s so special about photography compared to other visual art forms?

I’m not writing this to give you an answer, but I’m sharing why I love what photography does for me and why I think it’s such a great hobby to integrate into my life, which also resulted to me starting a photography blog site.

‘Steampunk’ DIY Camera Obscura Made with a Flatbed Scanner, Magnifying Glass and Gold Duct Tape

Joe Barone is a recent college grad who enjoys the process as much as the result. Inspired by his love for old objects, knack for tinkering with things and growing up in his parents’ hardware store, Barone brought the camera obscure into the 21st century recently with the help of an old scanner, a magnifying glass and duct tape... well, gold duct tape.

The result is a glorious steampunk-esque contraption that yields some rather impressive images.

Photo Throwdown Reality Show Pits Photog Against Photog in Fun Photo Challenges with a Twist

Last week we got an email from photographer Damian Battinelli that really piqued our interest. He told us that he and five of his friends had, in a moment of drunken brilliance in a Las Vegas casino, come up with a fantastic idea for a new online reality show that would pit photographer against photographer in a series of fun photo challenges with a twist.

Thus was born Photo Throwdown, a photography show that just aired the very entertaining and exciting 'part one' of its first episode today!

Artist Photographs His Adorable Bull Terrier Jimmy in Creative, Fun and Silly Situations

Rafael Mantesso's dog, an adorable bull terrier named Jimmy Choo, is taking the Internet by storm today after Mantesso's creative Instagram photos of Jimmy caught the attention of the world at large.

An artist and editor, Mantesso draws, dresses and otherwise inserts an unbelievably cooperative Jimmy into countless fun adventures on his Instagram account -- from a screaming vocal performance, to a day spent with troublemaking cartoon duo Calvin and Hobbes.

Artist Uses Forced Perspective Photography to Capture Whimsical Window Silhouettes

Spanish artist Pejac has never been a man contained by the borders of a canvas; his art, often silhouette based, bleeds out of frames and into the real world.

Most of the time, this feat is achieved with nothing more than a disregard for those borders, but one of his series of works instead used forced perspective photography to achieve the same effect and create the illusion that his whimsical silhouettes were playing with the world outside his window.

Photographer Couple Captures Their ALS Ice Bucket Challenge in Tintype

When photographer Mark Dawson and his girlfriend photographer Kari Wehrs were challenged to the popular ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, they decided to go old-school. In addition to donating -- that is, after all, the real point of all this -- they set up an old tintype camera and captured the entire thing 1850s style.

Lens Between Us: Couple Documents Their Travels with Simultaneous Portraits of Each Other

Globe-trotting photographer couple Peter Sedlacik and Zuzu Galova have found a fun way to document their travels around the world. Wherever they are, they face each other, frame up a great composition, and take a picture of each other... taking a picture of each other.

Thus was born the photo series/project Lens Between Us, which is quickly scooping up followers on Tumblr, Facebook and Instagram alike.

Viddy: The ‘World’s Cutest’ Medium Format and 35mm DIY Pinhole Camera

DIY paper pinhole cameras aren't a new idea, but a new creation called Viddy thinks it can stand head and shoulders above the crowd by sheer 'cuteness.' Seriously, the camera has dubbed itself the 'world's cutest' medium format and 35mm pinhole camera, and it's so easy to put together, it might even entice some newbies to give pinhole photography a shot.

10 Summer Photography Tips to Get You Creative in the Warmer Months

Despite the early sunrises, late sunsets and harsh daytime sunlight of summer it’s still one of our favorite times for photography. Being outside with your camera in the warmer months just feels so good.

If you’re struggling to come up with creative ideas during summer, however, we’ve got a few tips that might help.

7 Simple DIY Photography Tips and Tricks Using Only Household Items

The team over at COOPH today shared an insightful video that describes 7 DIY photography tips that use nothing more than items you have lying around the house. From can koozies to tights, a number of unusual household products make a cameo and help you add a unique, homemade element to your photo game.

Clever Photo Series Imagines the Everyday Life of an Earthbound Astronaut

Say you're a space enthusiast; and say you find yourself bidding on an old Russian high altitude spacesuit; and then, say you win that auction. What would you, as a skilled photographer with a brand new, awesome prop on hand, do with it?

We can't speak for you, but we can show you what photographer Tim Dodd did, and it's just plain fun.

A Dad’s Labor of Love: Beautiful Wedding Photos of Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head

It can often be a challenge explaining to others what we do as photographers, whatever genre of work we may be in. But where we often struggle to explain our vocation to friends or family, in wedding photographer Chris Thornton's case, it was his 3-year-old son whose understanding of what his dad did as a wedding photographer wasn't quite pieced together.

And so, he decided to put his creativity and photographic abilities to use and do what any good father would do: he put it into terms his son would not only understand, but appreciate.

LEGOgrapher Tours the World in Viral 365 Project Shot on an iPhone 4S

Human photographers aren't the only ones dragging their cameras to every corner of the globe in search of the decisive moment. As it turns out, a little LEGO man spent a year doing the same thing as part of life-sized human photographer Andrew Whyte's fun 'The Legographer' series.

Will It Beard: Fun Photo Series of Random Household Items Stuck in a Man’s Beard

Here's something that'll help you start off the week with a grin (or a grimace, if you harbor an aversion to beards). Will it Beard is a fun photo experiment of sorts created by art director Pierce Thiot and his photographer wife Stacy Thiot.

They wanted to determine what household items 'will beard' -- meaning what random objects they could successfully pack into Mr. Thiot's beard -- and got a fun, viral photo series for their troubles.

Creative Photos of Imaginary Inventions that Will ‘Save the Universe’

Photographer Jan Von Holleben specializes in imaginary awesomeness, creating scenes that whisk you away to a different place where random objects can be used to turn dreams into reality.

For his most recent project, however, he and his friends set about doing something even more difficult than bringing 'Dreams of Flying' to life: they're trying to save the universe... with imaginary machines, of course.

Photog’s Funny LEGO Dioramas Creatively Depict Each of the 50 States

Sometimes inspiration strikes when you're out in the wild, climbing mountains and taking in breathtaking vistas. Other times, it happens when you're looking after your 7-year-old daughter and playing LEGOs. You can probably guess how photographer Jeff Friesen's 50 States of LEGO series came about.

Boomf Makes Instagram Photos Edible by Printing Them on Marshmallows

This might just be one of those services both the loves and haters of Instagram will like. Because while other services print your Instagram shots on magnets or postcards, Boomf prints them on... marshmallows.

So, you see, if you like Instagram you get to turn your favorite photos into edible confections, and if you don't, you get to eat all of those pretentious selfies, food shots and cappuccino pictures you so despise. As Michael Scott would say: "win win win."

The Bonzart Lit is a Fun and Affordable Tiny Toy Camera

The Bonzart Lit should look somewhat familiar since we shared its big brother, the Ampel, with you back in June. But even though the toy camera-style design is the same, the two cameras offer very different experiences.

The Ampel was a not-quite-toy camera with a tilt-shift lens built in, whereas the Lit is a very-much-toy camera that offers a fun and strictly non-professional photo experience on the cheap.

Check Out This Camera-Themed Version of the Space Invaders Arcade Game

It's Labor Day here in the US, which means most people (read: not the PetaPixel staff) are taking the day off, siting at home and possibly getting ready to fire up the grill in the next few hours. Whether you're at home or at work though, if you're looking to kill some time, we've found a great solution for you.

Shootout Game Uses Duels to Find the Fastest Camera Slinger in the West

Check out this brilliant marketing idea: to promote its professional sling-style camera backpacks, Kata designed a carnival/arcade-style game called Shootout. It's live contest that has been held in various store locations and trade shows around the world. Basically, participants engage a virtual cowboy photographer in a duel. Once the timer starts, one must swing their camera bag around, "unholster it", and snap a photo of the screen. If the time captured in your photo is less than the time achieved by Mr. Cowboy Photog (and faster than other participants), you win a pretty pricey camera bag.

Manga-Camera is Like Instagram Filters for Japanese Comic Lovers

There's an iPhone camera app generating quite a bit of buzz, and it's not Instagram or Camera+. The new rising star is Manga-Camera, a fun app that's been downloaded like hotcakes in recent days (okay, we made up that expression). It has been downloaded over a million times in just the past week, and is currently the number one most popular app in the Japanese App Store.

The app is similar to Instagram filters, except instead of making your photos look like they were taken with a retro or toy camera, it makes them look like they were drawn by a Japanese manga artist.

Mugshot Yourself Turns Your Portrait into a 19th Century Mugshot

Want to see what you would look like as an outlaw from the 1800s? With Mugshot Yourself, you can!

It's a simple web app that takes your portrait and combines it with the face of an actual New York City criminal from 1864. You can provide a photo using your webcam, by uploading one, or by selecting a Facebook profile picture.

Shoot, Share, and Explore Satellite Photos of Earth with Stratocam

If you've always wanted to be an astronaut photographer shooting images of Earth from a window of the International Space Station, Stratocam is an app for you. Created by Paul Rademacher, it allows you to snap your own photographs inside Google Maps' satellite view of our planet. You can also view and rate other people's photos, and browse the highest rated images from around the world.