Ideas

Making MAYA, the Only Darkroom Timer You’ll Ever Need

MAYA is a darkroom timer project that was born out of necessity when my old darkroom timer had started to malfunction. It has become a pretty successful crowdfunding campaign so far, exceeding 300% of its initial goal with a few days left to go.

Trading Portraits for Backstage Photos with My Favorite Celebrities

I've been fortunate enough to present portrait work to some of my favorite personalities. Initially, I figured it would just be a clever way to use my artwork to meet some of my heroes. A year later, it has turned into an on-going project that has resulted in unique encounters, constant hustle, and endless Photoshop.

How to Make a Rifle Stock for Your Camera

Want a camera stabilizer that's sure to attract (perhaps unwanted) attention? Just add a rifle-style stock to it. Alex over at I did a thing made this humorous 5-minute video showing how he built such a stabilizer for his own DSLR.

Randomizing Photo Shoots to Stretch My Creativity

I am a fan of light (honestly what photographer isn’t?). Hard light; reflected light; dappled light; low-key light; colored light -- I love it all. Light makes or breaks not only my images but my mood. I’d venture to say that light is sandwiched between “belonging” and “safety” on my hierarchical pyramid of needs.

Shooting Street Portraits with a Go Go Gadget Octobox

My name is Brendan Burkett, and I believe I have created an original device and street photography method. What I have done is attach a softbox to my back for ultimate portability. This allows me to get street portraits with a very unique light.

This Photo Was Shot with a Real $2M Lamborghini Taken Apart

Swiss photographer Fabian Oefner has created an eye-popping new photo showing a 1972 Lamborghini Miura SV disintegrating with its individual components exploding in all directions. Here's what's crazy: Oefner actually photographed the $2 million car, spending nearly 2 years shooting and stitching the parts.

Photos of Dogs Jumping with Colorful Powder Trails

Toronto-based animal photographer Jess Bell has been shooting a wonderful series of photos showing dogs jumping and leaving colorful powder trails in their wake. The photos aren't the result of Photoshop compositing -- they were actually shot with dogs and powder.

My First Shoot with a Fine Art Photography Collective

I’m always looking to find new ways to incorporate larger goals into my photography. I find it focuses my approach to the way I treat it as a career and a hobby. By dedicating myself to projects outside of things relevant to my life, I am able to explore potential new ways of seeing and interacting the world through my camera. Something I’ve always been interested in is the idea of photography collectives; a group of visual artists with shared philosophies, spaces, and resources.

Turn a Broken Laptop’s Screen Into a View Camera Ground Glass

Iranian photographer Alireza Rostami loves experimenting with camera equipment, from flipping a lens element for "magic bokeh" to creating a working analog watch camera. His latest experiment is also off the beaten path: he found that a display from a broken laptop works perfectly as a view camera's ground glass.

This Guy Makes Creative Reversed Videos by Talking Backwards

Lithuanian filmmaker and musician Saulius Jegelevičius has a creative and unusual YouTube channel called Backward Picnic. Instead of complex editing or effects, each of the videos is simply footage played backwards... and Saulius talks backwards while recording to speak "forwards" English in the videos.

I Shot Exactly One Film Photo Every Day for a Year

No matter how it looks, this is the story of the photographs I didn't make this year. On January 1st, 2018 my colleague, the military photojournalist C.S. Muncy, presented me with a gift: a small, handmade box he'd crafted out of salvaged wood. Muncy, a film lover, had given to me, an unquestioning digital-age professional, a box full of 35mm film.

Photos of Night Skies Full of Airplane Light Trails

Airports is an ongoing project by photographer Pete Mauney, who spends hours shooting long exposure photos near airports. He then combines the photos to create mesmerizing composites in which the night sky is filled with airplane light trails.

We Shot an Award-Winning Landscape Photo Using a Fog Machine

I needed a landscape photo of a foggy forest on a sunny day, in which beams of sunlight were streaming through the trees and creating beautiful sun rays. The only problem was that it was summer and there was no fog to be had... so I decided to rent a fog machine and see if we could make enough fog to simulate real fog.

Shooting Portraits with Colored Shadows

Finding new ways to create isn't always easy, so you have to keep your eyes open for inspiration. One day while making my way down the rabbit hole of YouTube, I stumbled across a video. These guys had created 3 colored shadows off this pencil while keeping a perfectly white background. What in the world was this sorcery? Turns out it wasn't sorcery, it was science.

Film Photos Captured with 5 Seconds of Sound Before and After

Photographer Mario Cipriano has started a new project titled "Light Sounds Light" using a technique he calls audiophotography. Cipriano is using a digital audio recorder to capture the sound context behind each of his film photos, resulting in a fascinating way of experiencing the photographer's work.

Photos of Babies with Grown-Up Teeth

If you need a chuckle today (or a nightmare tonight), there's a strange new photo project you can check out called Babies With Teeth. As its name suggests, each of the bizarre photos shows an infant with grown-up teeth 'Photoshopped' into their tiny mouths.

The View-Master Photography Promo

Photographer Lians Jadan recently spent months brainstorming in hopes of creating an effective promo. He came up with the idea of sending out his work to prospective clients with a retro View-Master-style viewer.

I Shot Ultra-Macro Video of the Wet Plate Collodion Process

Normally I use videos to document my work. This time the video is the main outcome of my work -- I shot an ultra-macro video that shows how the crystals/salts change during the wet plate collodion process.

10 Ideas for Taking Amazing Photos of Boring Objects

I don’t have an expensive camera. I use a Nikon D3000, which is one of the oldest entry-level DSLRs and I have only an 18-55mm kit lens. Because of this, I have to be creative to make good shots.

This Music Video Was Made with 2,250 Printed Photos

This is the music video for the song "UnAmerican" by the indie rock band Said The Whale. The stop-motion video was created by hand without digital effects: it features 2,250 separate photo prints rephotographed over a period of 80 hours.

Shoot In-Camera Zoom-Effect Double-Exposure Light-Painting Photos

Several years ago I developed a technique that I use for light painting in which I take a king size bed sheet and light paint through it to create my images. I recently created this 10-minute video tutorial explaining in detail how to achieve this creative effect.

This DSLR Costume is Fully Functional Camera

By day, Yohei Shimada is a Japanese commercial photographer. When Halloween rolls around, Shimada becomes Cameraaman, a human-sized, fully-functioning DSLR camera that roams the streets of Japan to photograph other costume-wearers.

I Built an Instax Drone for Aerial Instant Photos

Over the last 5 years, drones have consumed every part of my life. From using aerial systems to carry cameras as a service provider with Drone Dudes, to selling drones with Dronefly, or designing and making drones in China with Yuneec, I’ve been involved in all aspects of the drone industry.