Step aside awesome Microsoft Surface Studio commercial, this new paint ad is officially the coolest use of robotic filming techniques and practical effects we have ever seen. As you watch this video, keep in mind: none of this is CGI.
Long-time film photographer Timothy Gilbert was frustrated with existing options for processing 4x5 large format sheet film at home, so, as an engineer, he decided to create an easy-to-use and affordable system himself.
After several prototypes and extensive testing, what he came up with is the SP-445 processing system, an extremely compact and simple tank that requires minimal chemicals and effort.
Need a camera stabilizer? Just buy a tank and duct tape your camera to the gun barrel. Despite their large size and deadly nature, some tank guns can be incredibly stable while the tank is rumbling about.
The 1986 video above by German's armed forces shows the impressive stabilization technology built into the Leopard main battle tank -- it's stable enough to keep beer from spilling.
Instead of relying on photomanipulation, as is common these days, photographer Lara Zankoul creates surreal photos by putting together elaborate sets. For her project "The Unseen," Zankoul spent roughly three months planning and building a large tank set that she filled halfway with water.
If quadcopters haven’t yet caught your interest then maybe the B-Unstoppable hybrid drone will be the first. A Kickstarter project created by a company named ‘B’ aims to introduce the first commercially available hybrid tank-quadcopter to market. With the flip of a switch, your drone can transform from a dirt-barreling tank into a sky-flying aircraft while capturing footage the entire time via an optional 720p HD camera.
Editor's Note: Although there is no direct footage of men dying, fighters on both sides lose their lives during this footage. It is not for the faint of heart.
Iconic conflict photographers are thought of as such because they do something that your standard news coverage just can't do: they show the realities of war. Statistics enumerating the number of people killed or displaced by conflict are just numbers on a page until someone captures the reality of these numbers on film... or sensor.
The video above was not shot by a conflict photographer, but it too captures that reality of war in a profound and shocking way. For an hour, you can spend time looking through the eyes of a Syrian tank column as it wreaks unimaginable havoc.
This beautiful (and disorienting) photograph was made by Evan Sharboneau of Photo Extremist. If you can't make sense of it, try tilting your head 90-degrees to the left. The technique isn't too difficult -- it's taken the same way as photos of things dropped into water.
Photographer Kim Keever creates large scale landscape photographs using miniature dioramas. He first creates the topographies inside a 200-gallon tank, and then fills it with water. He then uses various lights, pigments, and backdrops to bring the scenes to life for his large-format camera to capture.