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Incredible Macro Photos of Insects with Drops of Water On Their Heads

Dmitriy Yoav Reinshtein is a 26-year-old photographer based in Tel Aviv, Israel. He works as an advertising photographer and creative retoucher, but one of his personal passions is shooting highly detailed macro photographs of tiny insects. While all of his macro photographs are amazing to look all, there's a particular subset that caught our eye: Reinshtein managed to capture a number of insects with water drops sitting on their top of their heads.

A Blurry Double Standard? A Photo from the Boston Marathon Bombing

Before I begin with an observation of a photo that emerged from yesterday’s horrific bombings, I’d like to first take a moment to acknowledge the insignificance of my thoughts vis a vis the tragedy that has unfolded. There have been many great pieces that have already emerged in the first 24 hours like this one from Bruce Schneier of The Atlantic. That said, I blog about salient issues in photography, and there is no better time to discuss an issue than when it is in our collective …

Greentoe Lets You Save Some Dough on Camera Gear by Naming Your Own Price

If you're a frugal photographer who's constantly searching for ways to save some dough when buying gear, you might want to look into the new Los Angeles-based startup company Greentoe. It's a shopping site that's trying to turn the e-commerce world on its head by taking pricing power from merchants and putting it into the hands of consumers.

Google Glass Specs Outed: 5 Megapixel Camera and 720p Video

Google has officially announced the specs for its Glass wearable computer/camera. Of interest to readers of this blog is the fact that the camera will be able to capture decent photographs -- at least resolution-wise. It'll be a 5-megapixel camera that has WiFi capabilities. The camera will also be able to capture 720p video and audio.

Photos of Giant Billboard People Looming Over Pedestrians in New York City

When Israeli photographer Natan Dvir visited New York City in 2008, he was taken aback by the massive advertising billboards dominating commercial hubs and the fact that giant models on them loomed over the pedestrians walking by. Dvir began documenting these billboards and the juxtaposition of huge fake humans and tiny real humans through his project titled "Coming Soon."

2013 Pulitzer Prize Winners Announced, All Depict Syrian Civil War

Columbia University has announced the winning photographs of both the Breaking News and Feature Photography Pulitzer prizes for 2013 -- all of which depict the heartrending civil war in Syria. At first glance that may not seem like a big deal, but when you consider that the Breaking News prize wasn't awarded to one, but five AP photographers jointly, the power of these photos begins to sink in.

Space Enthusiasts Find Missing ’71 Soviet Lander Using Mars Orbiter Images

It turns out that the sharing of images taken by orbiters and rovers in space may have more of a purpose than just being cool to look at. According to a NASA press release published last Thursday, a group of amateur Russian space enthusiasts may have found a missing soviet Mars lander using nothing more than images from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.

The Father of Stop Motion Animation and His Films Starring Dead Bugs

Stop motion animation was already being used in the late 1890's as a way to make objects in films move by "magic," but full stop-motion animated films like the ones of today didn't come to be until around 1910. When they did, one of the great pioneers of the technique was Russian photographer and entomologist Wladyslaw Starewicz.

NPPA Joins Fifteen Others in Copyright Suit Against Google Books

The National Press Photographers Association has decided to throw their hat in the ring with 15 other organizations that are all suing Google over what they see as "widespread, well-publicized, and uncompensated infringement of exclusive rights" perpetrated by the search giant's Google Books program.

Adobe Launches Lightroom 5 Beta, Adds Several Exciting Features

From the very first version of Lightroom in 2006, Adobe has been releasing public betas prior to shipping to make sure that the final product has all of the kinks worked out, and this year is no exception. Earlier today, Adobe released the public beta of its upcoming Lightroom 5, complete with video and photo examples of a few exciting new features.

Photog Uses His Imagination to Bring Joy to Boy with Muscular Dystrophy

Slovenia photographer Matej Peljhan has a touching series of photographs titled The Little Prince, which stars a 12-year-old boy named Luka. The images show the boy exploring an imaginary world created by laying colored sheets and household objects on the ground. Peljhan created the images to give Luka the feeling of being able to do things he can't.

Publishers Need Better Photography to Stay Relevant on the Web

Magazine and newspaper stories have traditionally revolved around the writer. A writer would pitch stories and was almost always the architect of the piece. When the story needed visuals, a photographer or illustrator would be brought in, often after the story was finished. This order of operations placed the writer in the driver's seat.

Photographer Creates Emotive Images to Help Cope with Depression

What does severe depression look like in photographs? The work of photographer Christian Hopkins may offer a clue. The 20-year-old photographer has been battling Major Depression (AKA clinical depression) for the past four years, and many of his photographs are a reflection of the dark thoughts and feelings swirling around in his mind.

Ashton Kutcher is Reportedly Out as the Face of Nikon, Company Denies It

One of the most prominent celebrity endorsement deals in the camera industry has been actor Ashton Kutcher serving as the face of Nikon. Since 2009, Kutcher -- a guy who boasts over 14 million Twitter followers -- has been appearing in commercials and print ads hawking Nikon digital cameras. In 2012, TIME voted the partnership as a top 10 celebrity tech endorsement.

The Great Compositions of Photographer Alfred Eisenstaedt

Has someone ever asked you why you like an image? Beneath the surface of great picture, there is a geometric design in hiding. During World War II, photographer Alfred Eisenstaedt worked for the early version of the Associated Press and went on to become a Life Magazine photographer, taking over fifty cover shots for them. Without getting too deep into Eisenstaedt’s personal story, I will say that he started photography with very little formal training.

Project OneRollFifty2: Shoot One Roll of Film Each Week for a Year

For a long time, photographer Travis Lawton had been toying with two ideas: shooting film for the first time since he was 6 years old, and doing a 365 project where he shot something every day for a year. Instead of choosing one, he decided to mix the two desires into a project he felt he could realistically keep up with for an entire year; that's how he came up with Project OneRollFifty2.

Sony Launches Helpful Tutorial Website for New Photographers

With more entry-level DSLRs on the market now than ever, the camera manufacturers seem to understand that it's time to woo the beginners. Canon is doing it with a new DSLR simulator website, and now Sony has launched a helpful microsite of its own, focusing on video tutorials that'll get Sony α beginners off to a good start in the world of photography.

Photographer Documents Berlin’s Unique U-Bahn System One Line at a Time

Kate Seabrook is an entirely self-taught Australian photographer who fell in love with the art of picture taking after laying her hands on her first DSLR in 2009. For the next couple of years, she made a name for herself photographing Melbourne's underground music community, but when she moved to Berlin in late 2011, something entirely different caught her eye -- the U-Bahn system.

BTS: Shooting the ‘Persons of the Year’ Cover for Time Magazine

Greg Heisler is one of the great photographers of our time, and one of his strengths is meticulously planning his shots. Whether his subject is an NBA player or an olympian, Heisler's photos always capture the essence of that person, and his approach makes his BTS videos particularly educational and interesting to share.

The Science of Meaning and How to Stay Motivated in Our Work

At TEDx Rio de la Plata, author Dan Ariely gave an interesting talk on motivation and how to feel good about our work. Challenging the conventional belief that money equals motivation, he shows how injecting meaning into our work -- be that by making the work itself harder or having others acknowledge it -- has a huge impact on why and how we stay motivated.

Strange Photo Project Keeps Daily Tabs on a Vending Machine, Apologizes for It

We've seen some strange photo projects in the past, but they're typically making a statement or serving some purpose. Haley Morris-Cafiero's photos of herself getting strange looks turned the tables on judging onlookers. Theron Humphrey's photos of his dog Maddie balancing on things across America allowed him to document his trip in an interesting way.

How to Create an Instagram-Inspired DIY Photo Booth

Using just a few pieces of wood, some serious DIY know-how and an Arduino, photographer and Instructables user Alexander Morris built this really cool, Instagram-inspired photo booth as a fun extra for events and parties. Fortunately for us, he uploaded a ton of pictures and instructions so that anybody with a little bit of time and skill can put one together for themselves.

The History of Photoshop as Told by Its Founding Fathers

Back in 2010, Adobe put out a short documentary called "Startup Memories -- The Beginning of Photoshop" to celebrate the program's 20-year anniversary by recalling its past. Somehow, that documentary slipped through our fingers at the time, but seeing as we've already started a conversation on how Photoshop is "remixing the world," we thought it was an opportune time to share this blast from the past.

How to Take Quality Product Shots for an Online Store

There are many niches in photography, but one we don't talk about often is taking product photos. Even though these types of shots don't fall under the professional umbrella -- we're not talking professional product photography, just product shots for an online store -- almost everyone at one time or another has had to sell something on eBay or (not for the faint of heart) Craigslist.

‘Can I Take Your Picture?’: How to Talk to Strangers Without Upsetting Your Mother

Photographing strangers can be a daunting proposition. It was one of the focuses of the workshops I held in NYC this past summer. What if they get mad, what if they yell at me, or what if they go completely psycho on me? Odds are, most people will simply say no pictures. Even the school of Bruce Gilden photographers have hardly been bothered with their “mugging style portrait.”

Nat Geo Photographer on Storytelling and Striving for Authenticity

National Geographic's Stephen Alvarez is part photographer, part filmmaker and part explorer. That triad makes his photography great because while some photographers take pictures, Alvarez has learned to tell stories -- and as the years have gone by and his gear has improved, his stories have continued to get more compelling.

Creative Market Launches PS Extension, Lets You Buy Your Assets In-App

Following on the heels of a similar announcement by Adobe itself, design marketplace Creative Market has announced that it too has set up an in-app marketplace for Photoshop users. Out now, Creative Market's Photoshop extension allows users to browse and buy from the company's massive catalog of templates, fonts, infographics and more without ever leaving the comfort of Photoshop.

500px Upgrades Portfolios, Adds Features and Hikes Prices

Earlier today, online photo community and Flickr competitor 500px announced that it would be releasing an overhauled portfolio system very soon. Rebuilt from the ground up, the new system offers a slew of features that 500px "Awesome" users will be able to take advantage of in order to build online portfolios they're proud of.

Super Colour: Exploring the Play Between Color, Light, Motion and Emotion

By his own admission, photographer Andrew McGibbon doesn't like using natural light. It's not that there's anything wrong with shooting natural light -- he's done it before when the situation called for it -- it's just that he prefers the wow factor that he knows he can get by experimenting with crazy lighting setups.

Immersive 360° Panorama Timelapse Lets You Experience the Aurora Borealis

If you've always wanted to feast your eyes on the aurora borealis but haven't had the time or the money to travel to areas of the world where the light display occurs, photographer Göran Strand has a treat for you. He has created an immersive 360-degree panorama using time-lapse photographs shot during a particularly active aurora. The video lets you pan around in the scene, offering a small taste of what experiencing the northern lights feels like.

This LEGO DSLR Comes with a Flexible Strap and External Flash

If you thought the LEGO Nikon F SLR we shared earlier this week was neat, check out this LEGO DSLR created by Taiwanese LEGO enthusiast RGB900. The realistic toy camera is created entirely out of various LEGO pieces, and features an external hotshoe-mounted flash unit and a flexible camera strap!

Man Attacked and Killed by the Beaver He Was Trying to Photograph

When snapping pictures of wild animals in the great outdoors, there are some animals that photographers generally know to be careful around. These include creatures that are massive (e.g. moose, elephants), anything at the top of the food chain (e.g. lions, tigers, bears), and anything venomous (e.g. snakes). Well, you might also want to add the beaver to that mental list of yours.

Hink Says Its Spacefish Flashgun Will Be “Modular with a British Voice Inside”

I recently sat down with the founders of Hink, the British startup that wants to take the photographic lighting industry by storm. The company — based in Bedford — has been running a teaser campaign since March for their mysterious first product, the “Spacefish” flashgun, which is due to be unveiled and released this summer.