June 2011

Michael Zhang

Photographer Uses Mouth as a Camera

For her series titled Face to Face, photographer Ann Hamilton placed a pinhole camera in her mouth and shot photographs by simply opening her mouth at people. Upon first glance, the view almost looks like you're looking out someone's eye.

Michael Zhang

Real vs. Counterfeit Nikon Accessories

One sad truth about the photo industry is that there's a ton of counterfeit products floating around, and unless you buy directly from a reputable source, it can be difficult to know for sure whether you're getting the real thing. Last month we posted on how up to 1/3 of memory cards labeled "SanDisk" are actually counterfeit. Over on Nikon's website, there's a support page that shows photographs of counterfeit Nikon accessories next to genuine ones, with many of them almost indistinguishable from each other. Some of the counterfeit products are so real-looking that the only difference is a slightly different screw, or a slightly brighter logo.

Michael Zhang

Panasonic Unveils the GF3: Small, Light, and Minimalistic

After having images of it leaked onto the Interwebs last week, Panasonic's DMC GF3 Micro Four Thirds camera is now official. Like its predecessor, the GF2, the GF3 packs a 12-megapixel sensor, has a 3-inch LCD touchscreen, and shoots 1080p 1080/60i AVCHD video. In terms of differences, it has a faster processor that allows for faster autofocus times weighs 15% less, is 17% smaller, and is also even more simple than the GF2 -- it lacks a hot shoe and has a pop-up flash there instead.

Michael Zhang

Leaked Photos of the Panasonic GF3

Observant Micro-Four Thirds fans recently spotted a strange looking camera in a promo video on YouTube (which was quickly taken down). The camera is most likely Panasonic's new Lumix GF3, a camera that's expected to be officially unveiled on June 13th. Its rumored to pack the same 16 megapixel sensor as the G3, not have a hot shoe, and to have a touchscreen-based interface. The company also seems to be taking the "large sensor in a small body" thing quite seriously -- this camera is tiny!

Michael Zhang

Found Photos from Cameras Purchased at Car Boot Sales

For part of his MA in Documentary Photography at the University of Wales, Brendan Corrigan visited car boot sales -- a kind of market where people sell things out of their trunks -- and purchased old cameras for about the price of a roll of film. He then had the used film inside each camera developed, publishing the photos online alongside the cameras they were found in (along with the price he paid for the camera). His project is called "Make me an offer".

Michael Zhang

Apple’s iPhone and iCloud to Lead the Way for Internet-Connected Cameras

Apple is looking to make an even bigger splash in the camera market with the photography-related features they've included in the upcoming iOS 5, with one of the huge ones being cloud connectivity. iPhones running iOS 5 will be connected to iCloud, Apple's online backup solution, and every photograph captured will be automatically and wirelessly copied to the cloud and into the user's "Photo Stream". The photos can then be accessed from other computers and devices, and are deleted after 30 days unless moved to a permanent folder.

Michael Zhang

Guy Has Nikon Lenses Smashed by His Angry Girlfriend After Fight

An unfortunate photo-lover in Hong Kong recently got into a fight with his girlfriend, who proceeded to smash his beautiful collection of Nikon lenses. Among the casualties were a Nikkor 28-70 f2.8D, Tokina 28-70 F2.6-2.8, Nikkor 80-200 f2.8D, Nikkor 17-35 F2.8D, and a Nikon TC-20E teleconverter.

Michael Zhang

Sony Announces the A35 Translucent Mirror Camera and the Tiny NEX-C3

After photographs of the cameras were leaked back in April 2011, Sony has now officially announced its A35 translucent mirror camera to replace the A33 and the NEX-C3. The A35 has the same resolution as the A55 -- 16.2 megapixels -- and can shoot 1080/60 video and 7 frames per second for stills (though resolution is reduced to 8.4MP at this rate. ISO goes up to 25600, and there's a large 3-inch touchscreen on the back. The A35 will be available in August for $600, or $700 if you want the standard 18-55mm kit lens included.

Michael Zhang

Light Painting Poetry into Photos

Math major and photo enthusiast Kris Hollingsworth created this beautiful photograph in which he light-painted an entire poem! It took patience and perseverance: practicing the technique took 15 hours, while the actual light painting took another two hours. The image is actually 9 separate photographs in one -- eight lines of poetry and the self-portrait of Hollingsworth.

Michael Zhang

HDR Photo of Endeavour Liftoff by NASA

Here's a good example of when HDR photography is useful: NASA created this image of the Space Shuttle Endeavour lifting off for the final time by combining six separate photographs.

Each image was taken at a different exposure setting, then composited to balance the brightness of the rocket engine output with the regular daylight levels at which the orbiter can be seen. The processing software digitally removes pure black or pure white pixels from one image and replaces them with the most detailed pixel option from the five other images. This technique can help visualize debris falling during a launch or support research involving intense light sources like rocket engines, plasma experiments and hypersonic vehicle engines. [#]

Michael Zhang

Make a Giant Holga Camera Piñata

The next time you're planning a birthday party for someone who loves photography, try making a giant camera piñata using cardboard and paper-mache. You can fill it with candy and treats, or take your photo-geekness to the next level by filling it with photography-related gifts and accessories.

Michael Zhang

Childhood Photos Reshot in the Present

DEAR PHOTOGRAPH is a neat photo project by Taylor Jones that collects pictures of pictures from the past in the present. These are images that show old photos held up and aligned to the present day location, offering a glimpse into what once was.