Michael Zhang

Founder, Editor

Michael is a photography enthusiast, entrepreneur, and programmer based in Northern California near San Francisco. He graduated from the University of California, Berkeley with two degrees in computer science.

Articles by Michael Zhang

Long Exposure Light Painting, MIT-style

Here's a long exposure light painting tutorial by a couple MIT Media Lab students. In addition to teaching the basics of the technique, they also show off a robot arm that they programmed to do extremely precise light painting photos and animations.

Interview with John Sypal of Tokyo Camera Style

John Sypal is the photographer behind Tokyo Camera Style, the "Sartorialist of the camera world".

PetaPixel: Can you tell us a little about yourself and your background?

John Sypal: I had a very typical middle class and middle American childhood. A semester followed by a year abroad at a university in Japan led me to the place I am today, namely a suburb just outside of Tokyo. I’ve been interested in photography since high school and upon studying and living in Japan have been enjoying the photographic scene of Tokyo and the people who make it all possible. In 2008 I was taking part in a weeklong photography festival and asked a guy if I could take a picture of his camera. And since there were lots of people around with film cameras at this event I asked a few more. I had just seen my first tumblr a week earlier, and so after getting a few more pictures Tokyo Camera Style was born.

Amazing Light-Painted Dinosaur Photos

San Diego-based graphic artist Darren Pearson takes light-painting to a whole new level with his Light Fossil series -- long-exposure photos with detailed dinosaur fossils carefully drawn into the frame.

Allowing Free Use of Your Photos Could Actually Save Your Business

Could allowing the use of your photos for free actually be a way to increase income? Portrait photographer Jonathan Worth -- the man behind Coventry University's free photo courses -- used to send take-down notices to any website that shared his work without permission. Then he met author Cory Doctorow, a proponent of Creative Commons licensing, who suggested that he try giving away his work for free. Worth then made a high-res photo freely available online and quickly sold 111 signed prints, netting him £800 (~$1,270).

Sad News: Fujifilm Cuts a Number of Films from Its Lineup

Things aren't look very bright in the world of film. Citing plummeting consumer demand for silver halide films, Fujifilm has announced that they're cutting a number of films in the lineup in order to ensure that production of films -- presumably the more popular ones -- will continue. They've already stopped producing the discontinued films, so you might want to grab some rolls and freeze them before they become extinct...

Your Rights as a Photographer in the US

In response to the "widespread, continuing pattern of law enforcement officers ordering people to stop taking photographs or video in public places", the American Civil Liberties Union has published a helpful article that clearly details what your rights are as a photographer in the United States.

Samsung May be Working on a Retro X100 Competitor Called the R1

With the success of the Fujifilm X100, camera companies are starting to realize that consumers love both the design of old school cameras and the ease of shooting digital. Samsung may be looking to join the retro party -- the latest rumor to hit the Internet is that Samsung is planning a X100-style camera called the R1... with interchangeable lenses!

Taking Versus Making a Photograph

Here's an uber-inspiring video in which National Geographic photographer Sam Abell discusses the difference between "taking" and "making" photographs through his experience of shooting one particular photograph for a story on painter Charles M. Russell. He explains that taking an image is shooting a photo as a reaction, without any preparation, while making a photograph is a process.

This Photo May Have Been Taken with the Upcoming iPhone 5

What you see here may be the first leaked photograph shot with the upcoming iPhone 5. The EXIF data claims it was shot with the iPhone 4, but other EXIF details indicate otherwise. Although the leaked image was cropped, the original size of the image was 3264x2448 (roughly 8MP), the rumored resolution found on the next iPhone. The lens info was recorded as "4.3mm f/2.4", more similar to a point-and-shoot than then 3.85mm f/2.8 lens found on the iPhone 4. Finally, the geotag info in the photo shows it was taken at 37.33216667,-122.03033333 -- the location of Apple's headquarters. Check out the full-res file with EXIF intact here.

Cameras Sculpted Using Found Paper

Artist Jennifer Collier uses found and recycled paper as if it were fabric to recreate common household objects, including cameras! Here are a few that were made using maps, postcards, and letters.