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NASA photographer Lauren Harnett captured this photograph of the International Space Station passing in front of the moon. What's amazing is that it didn't require any fancy astronomy equipment -- Harnett was shooting from a parking lot using a Nikon D3S, 600mm lens, 2x teleconverter, heavy duty tripod and sandbag, and a remote shutter release. She shot at 1/1600, f/8, and ISO 2500 in burst mode, and then combined the resulting photographs into this one image.

After nearly a year of rumors, speculation, and leaks, Nikon has finally announced its new flagship D4 DSLR. The specs were already leaked, but here they are: 16.2MP, ISO that expands to 204,800, 10fps stills (11 if AE and AF locked), 51 AF points, a new full frame sensor, 1080/30p video recording, a 91K pixel meter (up from 1,005 pixels in the D3S), backlit controls, a 3.2-inch LCD with an ambient light sensor, a 0.12s startup time, and dual card slots (CF+XQD). It'll cost $6,000 when it hits …

Toronto-based photographer Jeff Harris started a photo-a-day project back in 1999 in an effort to document his life through self-portraits. Since then, he has captured 4,748 beautiful photographs that show everything from reckless stunts to a fierce battle with cancer (warning: there's a graphic image). Harris states, …

Earlier this week, photographer Jeanine Thurston shared a letter that she received from a client that powerfully illustrates the value of photography. Thurston writes,

Street View Stereographic is a fun little web app that creates a "little planet" (i.e. stereographic projection) using the photos from any Google Street View location you provide it.

The Impossible Project and Polaroid have teamed up to launch the Polaroid Classic line. Every year the two companies will be collaborating on 6-10 Polaroid Classic branded products. Guess what the first product is? A DIY paper camera kit! …

Don Hong-Oai was a San Francisco-based Chinese photographer who created beautiful images that resembled traditional Chinese paintings.

The folks over at Triposo wanted to know when people around the world take pictures, so they harvested the timestamps and geolocation data from photos shared on the Internet and created this beautiful visualization showing one year of photos taken around the world (be sure to watch it full screen and in HD). It's neat seeing certain parts of the world light up with photo activity on special days.

The Nikon D4 wasn't the only upcoming camera to have its photos and details leaked today: Fujifilm's retro-styled system camera also got the same treatment. Réponses Photo (the French magazine that leaked the D4) has leaked an article about the Fujifilm X-Pro1 -- previously believed to be called the X1 or LX10. A press release about the camera also appeared on Wells Fargo's website (screenshot here). We now know that the camera will offer a custom 16MP CMOS sensor, use Fujifilm's EXR processor …

French magazine Réponses Photo has spilled the beans on the Nikon D4, one day ahead of its official announcement. A two-page scan from the magazine leaked onto the Internet, revealing photos of the camera and confirming the specs that we shared yesterday and last December. Some confirmed details: 16 megapixels, ISO 100-12800 (expandable to 50-204800), 51 autofocus points, 100% viewfinder coverage, 10-12fps, 91000 point metering system, 1080p video recording, CF/XQD card slots, 1.34kg weight, …

Guess who joined in on the Instagram party? President Obama. While the White House Flickr Photostream publishes a steady stream of official images captured by Pete Souza, the new Instagram stream will be broadcasting casual behind-the-scenes glimpses at Obama's reelection campaign -- with vintage filters, of course. His username is @barackobama.

Photographer Kien Lam quit his job last year and embarked on a 343 day backpacking journey around the world. He ended up traveling through 17 different countries and capturing 6237 photographs in the process. To share his incredible journey, he created this beautiful time-lapse video with short glimpses into various locations he visited. Each 2 second segment is made up of about 40-60 still photographs.

Fatescapes is a series of images by visual artist Pavel Maria Smejkal consisting of iconic photographs with their subjects Photoshopped out of them. The New York Times writes, …

Kodak was warned by the New York Stock Exchange yesterday that its stock will be delisted if its price remains under $1 for the next six months. The stock has had an average closing price of below $1 for over 30 consecutive days now, and is no longer compliant with the NYSE's requirement for minimum share price. Sadly, the company might not last another six months: the Wall Street Journal reported today that the company is now preparing to file for bankruptcy, which will likely happen in the …

Freelance photographer Bill Rhodes captured this X-Ray photograph that reveals what various pieces of camera equipment look like on the inside. There's lenses, a camera, a radio transmitter, remote shutter release, light modifiers, and batteries.

Nikon will reportedly announce its new D4 DSLR at a press event this Friday, but new details beyond previously leaked specs are emerging. The 16.2MP camera will be available starting next month for $6,000. Its ISO goes up to 102,400, but can be expanded to 204,800. There's also a heavy emphasis on video: it'll have a dedicated video button, H.264 B frame compression, contrast detect AF during recording, a low pass filter, and a smooth aperture change feature.

If you're in the market for a new digital camera this year, buying it in January or February might get you the best deal. Lifehacker has published a comprehensive list of when to buy things based on when you're most likely to see low prices: …

Ever wonder how the photographs found on the pages of National Geographic come together? Here's a fascinating behind-the-scenes video showing how the images of the 1992 cover story titled "The Sense Of Sight" -- photographed by Joe McNally -- were shot, edited, and arranged. McNally writes, …

Philanthroper founder Mark Wilson was at a photography exhibition at the Art Institute of Chicago when he came across this sign. His response? …

Update: Turns out this is actually a mockup created by Jonker Burger back in November of last year. We hear it's very close to what the camera will actually look like, though. (Thanks Peter) …

J. Mettälä took a camera under a frozen lake in Finland and captured this beautiful (and mind-bending) footage of his friends fishing in an upside-down world.

This is the latest leaked photo of Fujifilm's upcoming interchangeable lens camera, reportedly called either the X1 or LX10. The camera will probably be closer in size to the X100, though it will have an all black look that resembles the X10. There also appears to be some kind of handgrip on the camera, something that seemed likely after handgrip mounts were spotted in earlier leaked photos. We'll probably see an official announcement sometime in the next month or two.

While we're on the subject of photos captured over the course of one year, check out this crazy time-lapse photograph by Eirik Solheim of Oslo, Norway (whose time-lapse video work we've featured before).

Most people like to stand inside photos taken during travels, but photographer Tom Robinson documents his adventures by showing his family's feet. Robinson started his project Feet First back in 2005 while sitting on a beach which his girlfriend Verity, and has added over 90 photos captured from all over the world since then. In 2011, his photos began showing an extra pair of feet: those of his daughter Matilda.

Here's the proper way to respond whenever you're asked what your photo resolutions are for 2012.

On January 1st of last year, photographer Michael Chrisman began shooting a solargraph by placing a pinhole camera in the Port Lands of Toronto and aiming it at the city's skyline. Over the next 365, the rising and setting sun slowly exposed the photo paper inside. The total exposure time? 31,536,000 seconds. Instead of developing the image using traditional darkroom chemicals, he instead used a scanner to capture the extremely overexposed image -- destroying the original image in the process …

The Always-On Wrap-Up is a nifty camera case that attaches to your camera via the tripod mount. The case never gets separated from your camera, and all you need to do is unwrap it to take a picture. It costs $6 over on Amazon, and there's also a version with a built-in tripod that costs $9.

If you thought our Leica iPhone skins are geeky, check out this new case made by the Japanese brand Gizmon. It gives your iPhone a fake rangefinder-style body that isn't entirely useless: the case's shutter button actually takes pictures and the optical viewfinder can be used to compose shots. Additional features include a lens mount, a tripod socket, and camera strap holes.

Hope you guys had a good holiday season. Welcome to 2012! As is our tradition, here's our annual "state of the blog" post, in which we'll briefly share on how this blog grew in the past year and where it is now.

Ever wonder how the US government managed to capture spy photos with satellites during the Cold War without the help of digital cameras, computers, or wireless transmission? The Atlantic has a fascinating article on the various techniques that were used: …

Digital Photo Blog shot these beautiful long exposure photographs of gold fireflies in Japan during the June to July rainy season, when they come together to mate.

Here's a short video in which photo instructor Bryan Peterson shows how you can use sunlight and a simple reflector for creative macro shots -- perfect for people who have a macro lens but lack lighting equipment.

As 2011 comes to an end, here’s a look back at 10 of our most popular articles from the past year: …

Curious as to what Sony's A77 pellicle mirror looks like on the inside? Here's an interesting look at the camera broken down into its main components.

Here's a quick and simple tip for better portraits by Reddit user rmx_: …

Filmmaking brothers John and Richard Ramsey came up with the brilliant and hilarious idea of unearthing some old home videos and adding directors commentary over them. It's a great way to have a laugh with family members, and could make a fun present.

Barbie Trashes Her Dreamhouse is a photo series by photo instructor Carrie M. Becker that shows what Barbie's dollhouse would look like if she was a compulsive hoarder and complete slob. The scenes ares 1/6th scale models, the objects are either repurposed Barbie toys or made by hand. Becker used a Nikon D40 with the on-camera flash.

Etsy seller missquitecontrary sells her fine art photographs printed onto vintage dictionary pages. You can try your hand at doing this yourself -- just be sure to use archival inks and find an old dictionary or encyclopedia with thick pages.

Steve 21 has an interesting trick for finding good available light: he places a marble in his hand to simulate what the light would look like on a human face: …

Accidentally expose an entire roll of film to light? Instead of throwing it away, you can turn it into a geeky greeting card! Lomographer brilliantgreen made a Christmas-themed one using small illustrations and letters cut out of a magazine, but you could do it for any occasion.

Here's an inspiring video in which we hear war photographer Joao Silva discuss the biggest fight of his life: losing his legs to a land mine in Afghanistian and fighting to return to his career. We've reported on Silva's story a number of times before.

News photo agencies EPA, AFP, and Reuters have all issued kill orders for a photo of Kim Jong-il's funeral procession released by the Korean Central News Agency, the state news agency of North Korea. The photo (above at bottom) raised red flags after a comparison with a Kyodo News photo taken just seconds earlier revealed that a number of people had vanished from the scene. The New York Times writes, …

Astrophotographer Stéphane Guisard captured this time-lapse video showing Comet Lovejoy rising above the Andes mountains like a giant paintbrush stroke across the sky. Guisard shot four different sequences with four different lenses to zoom into the scene.

Before We Begin is a project by photographer Christopher Jonassen (whose frying pan photos we featured here) that consists of diptychs showing clouds and cloud watchers. The images capture peaceful "moments of reflection between thought and action."

For his project titled "Unrealistic Scenes", photographer Nathan Spotts composited his own landscape photographs with digital artwork of planets floating in the starry night sky.

Back in the spring of 1980, Magnum photographer Bruce Davidson began to photograph the subway system in NYC for his project titled Subway. NYRBlog has published an interesting essay -- an excerpt from the introduction of Davidson's book -- in which the photographer talks about his experience: …

Earlier this month we shared some advice from an anonymous airline baggage handler, who revealed that hard-sided “spinners” suitcases are safest if you must transport valuables (e.g. camera gear) in checked baggage. To see why, check out the video above by Delta Airlines. They drilled holes into a hardcase and installed six outward-facing cameras to document what a bag goes through after it disappears behind those black rubber flaps and before it emerges onto the conveyor belt in the …

A Swedish hacker and robotics student named Björn Mabrö is claiming that he has successfully developed a custom firmware for the Canon 5D Mark II that adds Apple's Siri voice assistant to the DSLR. Mabrö claims that the hack allows the camera to respond to 124 different voice commands that control everything from the shutter to changing values in settings.

Looking for a lost camera on the web by searching for its serial number in uploaded photos is nothing new (see Stolen Camera Finder), but GadgetTrak's new CameraTrace service takes it one step further. For a fee of $10 per camera, the service will actively monitor the Internet for your camera's serial number. If it ever pops up in a photo uploaded to popular photo sharing services, you'll get an email notification. Back in August, GadgetTrak's manual Serial Search helped a photographer recover …

Qamar Hashim is an eight-year-old boy who works as a professional photographer in Iraq. He's a local celebrity, and has his photographs on display in exhibitions across Baghdad.