Here’s another creative way to put those thousands of archived Instagram shots to some practical use, courtesy of the folks over at Photojojo. A fun DIY project, this step-by-step will show you how to turn the window of your choice into a stained glass-inspired photography display. Read more…

Here’s a cheap, long-lasting DIY option for those of you in need of another backdrop and/or reflector for your studio shoots. Put together by photographer Tiffany Angeles, this short video shows you all of the materials you’ll need to create your own sturdy backdrop/reflector combo in the comfort of your own home. Read more…

A few years ago, photographer Samuel Chapman of The Rocket Factory found himself with an annoying problem on his hands. After purchasing a number of neutral density filters for his DSLR, he found that Nikon’s $2,000 14-24mm lens didn’t have any good way of being used with a filter.

He had already paid hundreds of dollars each for his fancy filters, so he decided to make a makeshift adapter for the 14-24mm lens… using a sponge. The result is a product Chapman calls the “FX Sponge Filter Holder 5000.”
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It’s fairly well known that not all lenses are created equal. Put that in combination with manufacturing variables and lenses don’t always perfectly align with the camera mount. Generally the differences are minor and for the most part negligible, but I buy old Minolta lenses from eBay and I want to get the best bang for buck out of them.

I started making micro adjustments to my lens/camera combinations when I first got Sony’s a77, and have now micro adjusted all my lenses for the a99 and D3. After reading what the Internet had to offer regarding “micro adjustment” or the “fine tune” functions higher level DSLRs offer, I quickly printed off some charts similar to rulers and taped them to my wall to start making adjustments.
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Update: The Kickstarter campaign has been cancelled due to a legal threat against Angood.

Remember that beautiful cardboard Hasselblad created by designer Kelly Angood a couple of years ago and released as a PDF template? If you’d like to build your own but don’t want to go through the trouble of printing the design onto cardboard and cutting out the pieces, you’ll be glad to know that Angood is working on launching a do-it-yourself kit for the camera.
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Here’s a thrifty DIY idea courtesy of Netherlands-based photo enthusiast Rob Gipman. After getting rain on his lens a while ago, Gipman decided to take an unwanted piece of water-resistant fleece and make a do-it-yourself covering for his Canon 100-400mm lens.
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When I started planning a series titled DreamWorld, one of the first characters that came to me was a dryad: a nature spirit representing our connection with nature. I saw her as a strong, benevolent queen, keeping watch over the woodland creatures and protecting them. The first concept I came up with that made my heart pitter-patter with excitement was the idea of building a huge crown for her from sticks and branches. I had no idea how I was going to accomplish this, but I had a vision. And I have learned over the years that having a vision will pave the way to making it a reality, regardless of if I know how that will come about.
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David Hobby over at Strobist shares a fantastic idea for photographers who would like to always have some gaffers tape handy at all times:

So we are gonna make a gaffer’s tape keychain fob [...] That right there is 40″ of gaff, effortlessly carried by default, at all times [...]

No, no, no. While duct tape may in fact be more manly, gaff is what duct tape wishes it could be. And it is what photographers use because of its holding power and ease of clean removal. Don’t ever mistake the two.

All you’ll need is a paperclip, a wooden pencil, and a larger roll of gaffer’s tape. Head on over to Strobist to read Hobby’s step-by-step tutorial.

Genius: Make a Gaffer’s Tape Key Fob [Strobist]

Image credits: Photographs by David Hobby/Strobist

Here’s an interesting fusion of analog camera technologies: Kevin over at the Hong Kong-based photo site FilMe figured out how to make his Rolleiflex twin-lens reflex camera shoot Fujifilm Instax instant photos.
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Big focal length usually translates into big money. If you don’t have thousands to spend on a high-quality far-reaching super-telephoto lens, the fine folks over at Screaming Tree Films came up with this 800mm Frankenlens that’ll only make your wallet around $100 lighter (as opposed to thousands).
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