The Cold War is the conventional name for the period of political and military competition between two blocs led by the US and the USSR. This rivalry was mainly ideological and economic, intensified by the conventional and nuclear arms race.
An unusual and rare vintage Russian spy camera has appeared for sale. The 35mm rangefinder film camera was designed to photograph through tiny holes drilled in walls and capture photos for blackmail or target manipulation.
Several examples of the height of concealed camera technology are set to go up for auction on February 13 as part of the first and most comprehensive offering of rare artifacts ever assembled from the Cold War era. Many of the items come straight from the KGB museum in New York.
The former CIA Chief of Disguise spoke with Wired for this 8.5-minute video that discusses some of the most crucial photography tools used for espionage in the Cold War. Some of what she describes sounds like myths but were actually hugely helpful in intelligence gathering operations.
During the Cold War, the US enlisted the help of Kodak to create a satellite camera for spying on the Soviet Union. This 4-minute video by CNN is a look at the program and the former Kodak employees who "helped prevent World War III."
If Instagram is the digital version of Polaroid, then SnapChat is the digital version of those Mission Impossible messages that would self-destruct after you listened to them. Of course, one of those only exists in the movies... or we should say 'existed.'
Thanks to artist Diego Trujillo Pisanty and his project This Tape Will Self-Destruct, there is not a real-world printer that creates self-destructing photos ala. SnapChat.
Check out this beastly camera used by Signal Corps during the Cold War. It featured a 100-inch infrared lens that was capable of seeing through over twenty miles of hazy air -- perfect for capturing reconnaissance photographs of enemy strongholds. The camera was so massive that it required two people to operate: one to frame the shot, and one to snap the photo.
100-inches is 2540mm and the camera appears to use 4x5 large format film, so the equivalent 35mm focal length of this cannon-like lens is roughly 760mm.