April 2012

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Instagram Now Available for Android

It's been a long time coming, but today the popular photo snapping and sharing app Instagram finally launched for Android phones. While it offers the same filters as its iOS counterpart, the new app has a look and feel that's geared towards Android's interface. Some features are absent from the initial release (e.g. tilt shift, blur, live preview), but upcoming updates will bridge the gaps. The app is available as a free download from Google Play.

Use a Nutella Lid as a 72mm Lens Cap

Here's your completely random photography fact of the day: Nutella lids can double as lens caps. Belgian photography enthusiast Frans Leys lost the 72mm cap to his 18-200mm Nikon lens, but found that the cap from his 220g jar of Nutella was a perfect fit. 220g isn't the standard size sold in the US, but can be found in some shops.

Wet Plate Photography with a Giant Van Camera

Los Angeles-based photographer Ian Ruhter creates amazing photographs using a van that he turned into a gigantic camera. He uses the collodion process (AKA wet plate photography) to turn large sheets of metal into photographs, and spends upwards of $500 making each giant one-of-a-kind print.

A Simple Explanation of F-Stop Numbers

Even if you have a good command of using f-stop numbers and properly exposing photographs, you might not understand the math behind why f-stop numbers are what they are. Here's a simple (albeit math-filled) explanation by Dylan Bennett of what f-stop is, including a simple trick you can use to memorize the f-stop scale.

A Canon Rebel T2i Fit for a Stormtrooper

Leica charges thousands of dollars extra for its limited edition white cameras, but a Boston-based photo enthusiast named Andrew successfully customized his camera for only a few dollars by going the DIY route. After spending two hours strategically placing green painters tape onto his Canon Rebel T2i DSLR using a razor, he hung the camera by the strap mount and applied six coats of white spray paint and three coats of matte clear.

A Portrait of Street Photographer Joel Meyerowitz

Leica recently put out this short portrait of renowned street photographer Joel Meyerowitz, who talks about his beginnings as a photographer and also his role in creating an archive of the destruction and recovery at Ground Zero. Starting from a few days after the 9/11 attacks, Meyerowitz shot over 8,000 in and around the site with the help of a special workers pass that gave him privileged access.

April Fools’ 2012 in the Photo World

April Fools' Day 2012 has come and gone. Even though we didn't publish any bogus stories this year, here's a quick roundup of other photo-related sites that did. The screenshot above shows Kodak's homepage yesterday, which advertised a new kitten printing machine. Interestingly enough, there was a serious news ticker just below it that discussed the company's bankruptcy status.

How Carl Zeiss Lenses Are Stress Tested

Want to see how high end camera lenses are tested for durability? Here's a video in which Carl Zeiss researcher Norbert Wittekindt shows off the various tests lenses are subjected to, ranging from temperature tests to mechanical vibrations.

If Carpenters Talked Like Camera Geeks

With the recent camera releases (or maybe Spring fever) I’ve been rather amazed watching various photography forums have major melt downs during the last few weeks. I said something about cameras and lenses just being tools, not life and death, and got immediately annihilated. They aren’t just tools, I was told, they are the means to make a living for some people, and the passionate hobby of others. That got me thinking, though: I have friends who make their living as carpenters, and others …

DIY Large Format Camera Created From Photography Books

Artists Taiyo Onorato and Nico Krebs create homemade cameras out of bizarre objects such as turtle shells and large stones. The large format camera above was crafted out of a stack of photography books. Their experiments are documented in a book titled As Long As It Photographs It Must Be a Camera. You can find a recent interview with the artists over at American Photo.

Nigo: Limited Edition Instant Film with Colorful Frames

The Impossible Project has partnered up with Japanese music producer and designer Nigo for a limited edition version of its PX 70 Color Shade Film. Instead of its traditional white frames or the newer black frames, the film comes in 10 different colors: yellow, orange, red, pink, lilac, dark blue, light blue, green, black and white. Each pack comes with eight frames with randomly selected colors and costs $25 over at The Impossible Project shop.

How to Compose Shots When Shooting Skateboarders

Here's a tutorial by skateboarding photographer Michael Burnett in which he discusses various composition tips and techniques. His area of expertise is in shooting skateboarders, but the tips are very applicable for other types of photography as well.