February 2011

Michael Zhang

Sharan Cardboard Pinhole Camera Kits

Sharan pinhole cameras are Japanese-made cardboard camera kits that you buy and build yourself. All the parts are pre-cut, and can be assembled using tape in about 1 to 2 hours with the help of step-by-step instructions. The STD35 is a standard 35mm pinhole camera, while the Wide-35 allows you to take panoramic photos.

Michael Zhang

Photographer David LaChapelle Sues Rihanna For Being a Copycat

Fashion photographer David LaChapelle is launching a lawsuit against Rihanna over the controversial music video for her song S&M. LaChapelle alleges that "the music video is directly derived from and substantially similar to the LaChapelle works" and that it copied the "composition, total concept, feel, tone, mood, theme, colors, props, settings, decors, wardrobe and lighting" of eight of his photographs.

Michael Zhang

Photos of Dogs Staring Out Car Windows

Photographer Martin Usborne shot a series of photographs of dogs patiently waiting in cars for their owners for his project "MUTE: the silence of dogs in cars". He managed to capture their longing expressions quite well.

Michael Zhang

Shooting with Two 35mm Films in a Medium Format Camera

For those of you who still shoot film and are adventurous, have you tried double film photography? Flickr user Chuck Miller stuck two 35mm Fuji 200 films -- one normal, one redscale -- into a Holga 120N and shot the films simultaneously to get these unique sprocket hole, layered photographs.

Michael Zhang

“We Just Click” Valentines Day Card

It's a little to late to get this card in time for Valentine's Day this year, but maybe this can give you some inspiration if you're looking to create one by hand for a special photography-lover in your life. This "We Just Click" card sells for $4.50 from dudeandchick's Etsy store.

Michael Zhang

Photographing a 45-Foot-Long Whale

It’s always fun listening to photographers recount once-in-a-lifetime experiences that lead to once-in-a-lifetime photographs. In this short National Geographic …

Michael Zhang
A grid of 21 female faces, each labeled with a different country: Ukraine, Sweden, Poland, Russia, Mexico, Peru, Argentina, Brazil, Serbia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania, Philippines, Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand, and India.

The Average Faces of Women Around the World

What you see here are portraits created by taking photographs of women in 40 different countries and averaging them with Face Research software. These are the most neutral faces for various nationalities.

Michael Zhang

Photog Receives World Press Photo Honorable Mention for Street View Shots

Does Google Street View count as photojournalism? That's the question that's being discussed on the Interwebs after photographer Michael Wolf was given honorable mention in this year's World Press Photo contest for a series of photographs made using Google's Street View. "A Series of Unfortunate Events" contains photographs created by Wolf of unique scenes found in Google's street imagery, which is captured by Google using special camera-equipped vans driven down streets.

Michael Zhang

Unboxing the $30,000 Leica M9 Titanium

With a suggested retail price of £19,800 (currently about $32,000) and only 500 units in existence, Leica's limited edition M9 Titanium probably isn't a camera you're ever going to lay eyes on in real life. When it was announced back in September of last year, we predicted that most of them wouldn't see the light of day and would be placed immediately into collectors' vaults. Luckily for us, someone decided to actually unbox (gasp!) one of these babies (camera #164), allowing us to see what it's like to receive such an absurdly expensive camera.

Michael Zhang

$25,000 Reward for Polaroid Photo of Dennis Hopper Stolen From Gallery

Last Friday the art collective THIS had a gallery opening during which a patron asked to use the restroom shortly before closing time. Turns out it wasn't just to relieve themselves -- the person brazenly snatched a one-of-a-kind Polaroid photograph of Dennis Hopper taken by Jason Lee off the wall and walked off with it. Now Lee is personally offering a $25,000 reward for the return of the photograph.

Michael Zhang

Candid Portraits of People Peering at Their Own Reflections

If you think the expression on these people's faces don't look like ordinary street portraits, it's because they're actually looking at themselves in a mirror. Moa Karlberg captured these unique candid portraits of strangers by using a one-way mirror, capturing what it looks like when people look at reflections of themselves.

Michael Zhang

Decorate Your Wall with Fake Frames and Real Photos

You might have framed photographs up in your home, but what about using an entire wall to show off your pictures? Photographer Lyanne Wylde turned her hallway into a photo wall by putting up wallpaper with frames and slowly filling in the frames with her own photographs. You can buy the wallpaper, titled "Frames", yourself from Graham & Brown for $45 a roll and start your own wall!

Crafty Staci

How to Make a Camera Lens Cap Pouch

For Christmas, I received a Canon 60D. I’m definitely still learning how to use it, but I’m excited to have it. The first big problem I encountered, besides the need for more regular exercise so I can lift the beast, is that I am going to lose the camera lens cap. I take this cover off the lens and leave it everywhere. I had the camera for about 4 days before I was considering checking the price on replacing it. Lucky for me, I came up with a better idea while I still knew where it was. Instead of waiting until I lost it, I made it a little pouch that slides onto my camera strap.

Michael Zhang

Pentax Spotmatic F SLR Completely Disassembled and Laid Out

What would it look like if you tripped and with a Pentax Spotmatic F camera in hand, and it somehow smashed neatly into its most basic components? Artist Todd McLellan gives us an idea by taking one apart, neatly arranging it on a table, and photographing it in a style similar to Carl Kleiner's IKEA baking book shots.