February 2011

Pete Eckert didn't start out too seriously in photography. Trained in sculpture and industrial design, he was working as a carpenter when one day a doctor diagnosed him with retinitis pigmentosa, a genetic eye condition that leads to permanent blindness. He eventually discovered photography and has been doing amazing work since. The beautifully made video above sheds light on how he goes about creating art despite his visual impairment.

I had some stuff lying around as well as saw some parts as I was out and thought this would be fun to make. I have around $20 invested in parts. On eBay I saw ring lights for anywhere around $40 on up, so this will save you money and it was fun to make.

We don't post deals here very often, but when really good ones pop up we do (e.g. $5 photo magazines last month). Well, right now you can snag a Pisen Lens Cleaning Pen with Two Heads over at Meritline for only $1.19 with shipping included. Simply add the thing to your cart and enter the code MLCK400237020871AL1 into the coupon field at checkout.

Here's a behind-the-scenes look at how Annie Leibovitz went about shooting Kirsten Dunst as Marie Antoinette for Vogue magazine. Back in August 2010 we also shared a video of Leibovitz shooting Sean Connery for Louis Vuitton.

Canon is on a tear today with its announcements. In addition to new Rebel cameras and new entry level flashes, they also have some lens news. First, they're releasing new versions of their 500mm and 600mm lenses, but even more interesting is the EF 200-400mm f/4L IS USM Extender 1.4x lens they announced the development of. This is a zoom lens that has a 1.4x teleconverter built right in. Once you switch it on, it instant turns into a 280-560mm f/5.6 lens!

The Micro Four Thirds system is apparently headed somewhere big, as more and more lens companies are joining in on the action. Just a few days ago Schneider Kreuznach announced they would be joining the system, and now Carl Zeiss is joining too, bringing 160+ of producing quality glass to future MFT cameras.

In addition to two new entry-level DSLRs, Canon is also releasing two new entry-level flash units, the 320EX and 270EX II. The 320EX includes a built-in LED light designed to provide illumination for video recording DSLRs, can be assigned to one of four channels, and can be wirelessly controlled with the newly announced T3i/600D. The 270EX II is a compact, lightweight flash that swivels in four positions ranging from 0 to 90 degrees, and can be wirelessly triggered but does not have channel …

We've featured a Brownie camera clock in the past, but that one was a custom-made gift. Minnesota-based artist Debra Dresler converts vintage cameras into clocks as well, but makes them available for purchase. You can buy this clock made from a Brownie Hawkeye Flash Model camera for $165 over at UncommonGoods.

Canon has just announced two new Rebel DSLRs, the Rebel T3 (aka 1100D) and the Rebel T3i (aka 600D). The entry-level T3 is a 12.2 megapixel camera with a 2.7-inch LCD screen, an ISO range of 100-6400, HD video recording, and a 9-point autofocus system. The T3i is a step up, offering many of the basic features of the T3, but also 18 megapixels of resolution, 3.7fps continuous shooting, built-in wireless flash control, and a swiveling 3-inch LCD screen. The T3 will be available at the end of …

Even if you know how to operate your SLR camera and external shoe-mount flashes, you might not have any understanding of the complicated, technical mojo going on that limit and affect your photography. This uber-informative lesson by photographer Paul Duncan brings you up to speed on how things like focal plane shutters and "second curtain sync" work.

Landscape and architectural photographer David Kaplan captured this stunning photograph of the Moon and Venus rising above the village of Trübbach in Switzerland.

Here's a cool and creative video that will only take 6 seconds of your time. Photographs from 3 different locations were taken every day over the course of six months, converted to HDR imagery, and combined into this short time-lapse video that shows the changing of a face and of seasons.

Update: This giveaway is now over. The winner was randomly selected and can be found below.

A new limited edition Pentax K-r has emerged to steal the award for "ugliest looking DSLR" from the Korejanai robot edition one we shared last year. The camera is designed for fan's of the Japanese singer Bonnie Pink and will cost $1,100 when they're available in March 2011. Luckily, mankind will only be cursed with 100 of these cameras.

If you use the LCD on your DSLR for shooting images or video, you probably know how much of a pain it is when sunlight shines directly on it, preventing you from seeing whether the scene is in focus. LCD viewfinders solve that problem, but can have devastating effects on your wallet. If you're just a hobbyist that wants a simple LCD viewfinder for cheap, this video tutorial will teach you how to make one with items you probably have lying around the house worth $5.

Elizabeth Clark, an industrial design student at the California College of the Arts, was given the assignment of designing a camera in one of her classes, and came up with this Leica "E-System" DSLR. Her goal was to develop a product that breaks free from traditional SLR designs and appeals to multiple generations of photographers. An interesting aspect of the camera is that the materials used for the exterior include warm leather and wood accents... A wooden DSLR -- now that would be something! …

Patryk Kizny created this short HDR time-lapse film titled "The Chapel" that explores the inside of a Protestant chapel located in Zeliszów, Poland built in 1797. The HDR imagery gives the video a eerily beautiful surreal look that makes the video look like it came from a video game.

If you're not content with having a massive telephoto lens for your DSLR camera, you can get one for your cell phone as well! The Conice Zoom Lens is a 6x lens for the iPhone, Samsung Galaxy S, or Sony Xperia 10 that makes your phone look absolutely ridiculous.

You can now visit some of the most famous art museums in the world the same way you visit streets in the Street View of Google Maps. Art Project is a new Google website that uses Street View technology to make 17 top museums accessible to people who might not otherwise visit them.

Flickr user Chris Devers recently found that one of his photographs had been used by The Gap as a design for children's clothes (here and here). The photo itself was published under a Creative Commons license requiring attribution, non-commercial use, and no derivative works -- usage conditions that were completely ignored.

Here's a nifty behind-the-scenes video tutorial by photographer Jay P. Morgan that shows how to make a cheap DIY rain machine for adding rain to your photographs.

If you're in need of a creative idea for a portrait of your family, check out this one by Flickr user Tu Do -- it's like the "Inception" of family portraits.

This DIY viewfinder was created using LEGO bricks and components from a disposable camera and CD-ROM drive. It adds an optical viewfinder to the Sony NEX-5's electronic one, providing a view equivalent to a 24mm or 28mm lens, and mounts neatly to the camera via the hot shoe.

When Mirco Wilhelm tried to log into his Flickr account yesterday, he was surprised to find that his 5-year-old Pro account with roughly 4,000 photographs had completely vanished. It then dawned on him that only a week earlier he had reported another account for posting stolen photographs.

Beth Blafka (known as bethtastic on Etsy) makes hand casted resin bangles that look like old film negatives. Each one is hand made -- and therefore unique -- and costs $65 from her store. At this price it's a fashion accessory that fits between the focal length gel bracelets ($10) and the cuffs created from old lenses ($201) that we featured before.

Ever wish you could take shallow depth of field photos on your iPhone that look like they were taken with a DSLR and large aperture lens? With an app called SynthCam you can. You simply aim the camera at a foreground object, press Record, and then slowly move the phone around a little while keeping it aimed at the subject. The app will then create a "synthetic aperture photograph" that blurs the background while keeping the subject you locked onto in focus.

Sony has just announced two new 16.2-megapixel cameras that pack a lot of zoom into compact bodies. The DSC-HX100V (on left) includes a 27mm Carl Zeiss lens with 30x optical zoom, or the equivalent of a 27-810mm lens on 35mm film. The DSC-HX9V packs a smaller 24mm Sony lens with 16x optical zoom, but is still the equivalent of a 24-384mm lens.

Ann Arbor-based physician and photography-enthusiast Stephen Rosenblum was visiting the Breckenridge International Snow Sculpture competition when he came across this giant large format camera that some giant snowman must have accidentally dropped earlier. The 12-foot tall camera was even hollowed out to look realistically like the inside of bellows from behind.

Davy and Kristin McGuire created a magical pop-up book by projecting video recorded with a Canon 5D Mark II onto its pages, creating a 3D effect and placing miniature people into the scenes.