The astronauts onboard the International Space Station get new cameras delivered from time to time -- 10 Nikon D5s arrived in late 2017 after NASA ordered 55 of them. But did you know that it's extremely expensive to stock the ISS astronauts' camera arsenal? That camera kit you see above cost at least $150,000 to send to the space station.
Edward Weston is considered to be one of the most influential American photographers of the 20th century. One of his most famous works, titled Pepper No. 30, is a B&W photo of a single green pepper with beautiful, soft lighting. Here's a fascinating, little-known fact about the piece: it was shot at an aperture of f/240 with an exposure time of 4-6 hours.
Here's an interesting piece of trivia: did you know that flash memory is named after the camera flash?
Ever wonder how astronauts manage to take cameras outside the International Space Station, where the temperature of an object can reach 250°F in the sun and -250°F in the shade? Here's your answer!
Have you ever wondered why some Canon lenses are white while most other lenses in the industry are black? No, it's not just for aesthetics and marketing... Canon has a technical reason for it: heat reduction.
Did you know that sports and political TV commentator Keith Olbermann used to be a photographer? A number of his photos were purchased by Donruss (now known as Panini) back in 1981 for its first set of baseball cards.
Here's a quirky fact about photography and life: the lids of certain Häagen-Dazs ice cream containers make for perfect lens caps for 72mm lenses.
60 Minutes just aired a fascinating segment on Apple this past weekend, offering a behind-the-scenes look at the secretive and dominant company. Here's one of the crazy facts that was mentioned: Apple has 800 employees whose work is dedicated solely to the iPhone's camera.
In 1966, Bob Dylan released his 7th studio album, titled "Blonde on Blonde," which went double-platinum and contained some of Dylan's best-known songs. It's also known for it's unusual cover photo. It's a blurry portrait of Dylan, created by photographer Jerry Schatzberg in New York City's meat-packing district.
The blur was the result of camera shake and, despite what many people think, was unintentional -- the photo is blurry simply because Schatzberg was cold and shivering.
Rich Clarkson’s photo of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, then named Lew Alcindor, in the 1968 NCAA Men’s National Basketball Final Four semifinal game in Los Angeles is a masterpiece of composition, timing and exposure. The square format is the result of shooting the game action with a Hasselblad – a practice that continued into the early 2000s. But that isn’t what makes this photo historically interesting.
Did you know that certain wide angle lenses offer slots on the rear mount that allow you to insert gel filters? Often this design decision is due to the fact that the bulbous front element prevents the use of a standard filter that screws onto the front, but sometimes it's not.
Have you ever noticed that the watches and clocks found in product photographs and advertisements usually show the time 10:10? If you haven't, pay attention the next time you're flipping through a publication and come across a watch ad---the rule is almost always true.
If you have noticed this, do you know why 10:10 is the default time for watch photographers?
"How's the image quality on the TriPod 5?" That's a question you would perhaps be hearing these days if certain decisions had been made differently years ago over in Apple HQ. When the Cupertino-based company was brainstorming names for the smartphone that would eventually be called the "iPhone," one of the names that was being considered was "TriPod."
In in 1946, the United States conducted a series of nuclear weapon tests at Bikini Atoll in what's known as Operation Crossroads. A total of two bombs were detonated to test the effects nuclear blasts had on naval warships. The second, named Baker, was the world's first nuke to be detonated underwater. Due to the unique properties of underwater explosions, the Baker test produced a number of unique photographs that the world had never seen before.
Barack Obama broke online photo-sharing records this week after winning Tuesday's presidential election. When his victory became evident, Obama shared the above photograph on his Facebook timeline with the simple caption, "Four more years." That photograph quickly attracted "likes" faster than any other image shared through the social networking service. When it hit more than 2.1 million likes shortly after midnight Wednesday morning, Facebook announced that it had become the most-liked Facebook photo of all time.
Yesterday we reported that Nikon Photo Contest is no longer accepting film photos starting this year. Turns out it's not the only prestigious photo contest with rules that are causing some discussion. Check out what National Geographic Photo Contest 2012 says under the rules section "Who May Enter":
Contest is open only to individuals who have reached the age of majority in their jurisdiction of residence at the time of entry and who do NOT reside in Cuba, Iran, New Jersey, North Korea, the Province of Quebec, Sudan, Syria or Vermont. Employees of National Geographic Society, and its subsidiaries and affiliates [...] CONTEST IS VOID IN CUBA, IRAN, NEW JERSEY, NORTH KOREA, THE PROVINCE OF QUEBEC, SUDAN, SYRIA, VERMONT AND WHERE PROHIBITED.
Iran and North Korea? Those are understandable... but New Jersey and Vermont? Turns out there's a pretty simple answer for those states as well: state laws.
Canon released a new firmware update for the 1D X this morning that gives the DSLR cross-type autofocus when using certain telephoto and extender combos that have a max aperture of f/8. The announcement page includes a list of lens/extender combinations that are now compatible.
The first lens listed in the 1.4x Extender column is the "Canon EF 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM." Problem is, that's not a lens that exists...
This is probably a "duh" fact for many of you, but one that some of you have perhaps never heard or realized before: Did you know that the flashes in the Canon Speedlite lineup are named after their maximum guide numbers? To figure out the power of your Speedlite, just take the model name and hack off the zero at the end to get the GN (e.g. 430EX has GN 43, 580EX has GN 58).
Have you ever wondered why computers always indicate that your hard drive or memory card has a smaller storage capacity than what's advertised on the box (and the card itself)? No, it's not because you got a defective card, it's not because your card came preloaded with a bunch of unwanted files (your hard drives, maybe), and it's not because the manufacturers are cheating you by skimping out on the storage space (well, not directly, at least). The reason has to do with math and marketing.
Did you know that there's US currency on Mars? It's true: when NASA's Curiosity rover was launched back on November 26, 2011, one of the things it carried with it was a penny from over a century ago. The 1909 Lincoln cent is part of the rover's onboard calibration target used to check that the cameras are working properly.
Recognize this photograph? It shows 14-year-old Mary Ann Vecchio screaming and kneeling over the body of 20-year-old Jeffrey Miller, shot during the Kent State Massacre. Kent State photojournalism student John Paul Filo -- just 22-years-old at the time -- captured the image, and was later awarded the 1971 Pulitzer Prize for Spot News Photography.
You know the infinitely long tunnel that appears when you look into two mirrors that are pointed at one another? Have you ever noticed that the tunnel becomes more and more green, the deeper you go?
YouTube personality Vsauce has a fascinating new video titled "What Color Is A Mirror?". In it, Mr. Sauce explains that this is due to the fact that there is no such thing as a perfect mirror (i.e. a mirror that perfectly reflects 100% of light). The fact is, a typical mirror best reflects light in the 510nm range, which we perceive as green light.
Take a look at your camera, and there’s a good chance it’ll have this symbol: Φ — a small …
You may have heard that digital cameras can be made sensitive to infrared light by removing the IR filter found inside, but did you now that something similar can be done with the human eye? People who have aphakia, or the absence of the lens on the eye, have reported the ability to see ultraviolet wavelengths. Claude Monet was one such person.
Here’s your completely random photography fact of the day: Nutella lids can double …
Have you ever wondered why newer Canon DSLR battery covers have a small rectangular hole punched into them? It’s …
Captured on April 1, 1995 by the Hubble Telescope, the photograph Pillars of Creation is one of the most …
Here’s your interesting photo fact of the day: did you know that sepia …
In interviews published on Sony's website, the company's designers talk about how its latest DSLRs are based on a styling technique called "Tensile Skin", in which sharp lines and curved surfaces giving a "natural sense of tension". What's interesting is the tool they used to explore this idea: an ordinary sock.
Ever wonder why most DSLR cameras capture images with a 3:2 aspect ratio, while most other cameras …