russia

Photog Uses Face Paint to Create Stunning Portraits that Look Two-Dimensional

The 2D or Not 2D series isn't the first time Russian photographer Alexander Khokhlov has dabbled in painting his models faces and taking striking portraits of the results. His Weird Beauty series got quite popular, with black and white designs jumping out at you from the faces of his made-up models.

2D or Not 2D, however, is different -- and not just because he used color this time. It's different because the point of each photo is to trick your mind into thinking you're looking at a two-dimensional painting.

IOC Dispels Rumor that Journalists Would be Banned from Instagramming in Sochi

If you've been following news about the Sochi Olympics today, you probably stumbled across one of the many reports that journalists would be banned from using non-professional gear and, in fact, stripped of accreditation on the spot if they broke the rules and pulled out their smartphones to take pictures. Thankfully, however, those reports seem to be false.

Photojournalist Denied Entry Into Russia, Allegedly Due to Disparaging Project

Just a couple of weeks before his award-winning work is supposed to appear in a major Netherlands-Russia bilateral year exhibition, Dutch photojournalist Rob Hornstra has had his application for a Russian visa denied.

Hornstra, whose "Sochi Project" with writer/filmmaker Arnold Van Bruggen paints the host country of the 2014 Winter Olympics in a less-than-favorable light, believes that this move is a result of that project.

Video: Photographer Has Camera Lens Stolen From Around His Neck

Back in 2011, the BBC show The Real Hustle shared how easy it is for thieves to quickly and quietly steal an expensive lens off your camera -- even when your gear is hanging around your neck. If you didn't believe it then, check out the video above. It reportedly shows a photographer having his lens stolen by a group of robbers over in Russia.

Random Acts of Kindness Captured by Car Dashcams in Russia

When a huge meteor exploded over Russia back in February, the incident was captured by a large number of drivers who drive around with dashcams pointed out the front of their windshield. The story put a spotlight on the fact that dashcams are widely used in Russia due to the prevalence of insurance fraud.

Footage from Russian dashcams found online is often quite dark (figuratively, not literally), showing horrible accidents and tragedies. Not so with the video above -- it's a compilation of random acts of kindness captured by ordinary drivers.

Space Enthusiasts Find Missing ’71 Soviet Lander Using Mars Orbiter Images

It turns out that the sharing of images taken by orbiters and rovers in space may have more of a purpose than just being cool to look at. According to a NASA press release published last Thursday, a group of amateur Russian space enthusiasts may have found a missing soviet Mars lander using nothing more than images from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.

Major Meteorite Strike in Russia Captured by Many Cameras, Mostly Dashcams

One of the major international news stories today is the fact that a meteorite streak across the sky in central Russian today, causing an explosion and shock wave that injured over 1,000 people. It was the largest meteor reported since 1908. The event was well documented, as many Russian drivers had dashcams rolling as the event unfolded.

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.

New App Uses Photo Sharing to Shame “Parking Douches”

Have you ever walked out to your car and seen someone abysmally parked next to you, or up on the sidewalk? Even if they aren't blocking you in specifically, didn't you wish there was a way -- other than leaving a less than professional note -- to let people know that the owner of this car is a jerk? Well, the people over at the Moscow Newspaper The Village decided to takle this problem (which is apparently much worse in Russia) head on by designing and releasing Parking Douche, an Android app that publicly shames bad parkers.

Skywalking: A Dangerous New Photo Fad Popular Among Russian Teens

If you're afraid of heights you may want to look away, and you should certainly never make friends with these daredevil photographers from Russia. We here in the U.S. have memes, young Russian photographers, it seems, have "skywalking": the newest extremely dangerous photography fad to hit the Internet.