Thin, branching white filaments spread across a dark background, resembling fungal hyphae or root structures, with a few bright, out-of-focus circular spots in the corners. Lens Fungus: What It Is and How to Deal With It
A black and white artistic photo of a harbor with boats docked, overlaid with film strip borders. The water reflects the boats and the sky above. A crane is visible on the right, and the composition gives a vintage film aesthetic. ‘Extreme Sprocket Hole Photography’ Uses Four Film Rolls to Create One Picture
A mechanical device with gears is shown on the left. An arrow points from it to a vibrant, blurred image of space, Earth, and a distant galaxy on the right, suggesting a connection between the device and space exploration. Designing a Star Tracker for Astronaut Don Pettit to Use on the ISS

Do It Yourself

Sometimes, the best products are the ones you make yourself. PetaPixel is your guide to custom lenses, handmade camera rigs, custom-coded artificial intelligence cameras, and the 3D-printed parts that makes photography truly personal.
Jeremy Gray
On the left, a person with short platinum blonde hair and red lipstick looks slightly down. On the right, there is a vintage-style boxy camera with a metallic lens resting on a wooden surface.

This Awesome DIY Digital Camera Has a Waist-Level Viewfinder

Photographer Malcolm Wilson, who recently converted a broken film camera into an infrared digital point-and-shoot, is back with another awesome camera build. This time, Wilson combined a Mamiya C220 TLR viewfinder, Raspberry Pi, and Sony image sensor to create a waist-level viewfinder digital camera.

Jeremy Gray
On the left, a fisheye photo shows a can of Red Bull and a bottle of Jägermeister on a kitchen counter. On the right, a black and white photo of a man holding a bass guitar and a microphone, standing in front of a brick wall.

Can You Develop Film In a Jägerbomb?

Analog photographers love trying new and unusual things. Whether it's shooting on expired film, skipping film altogether, or developing film using odd ingredients. Sweet Lou Photography opted for this last type of experimenting and developed his film inside a Jägerbomb. Did it work?

Matt Williams
Thin, branching white filaments spread across a dark background, resembling fungal hyphae or root structures, with a few bright, out-of-focus circular spots in the corners.

Lens Fungus: What It Is and How to Deal With It

Pick up a dusty old lens from a flea market, an estate sale, or even your own forgotten storage bin, and you might notice something strange glinting beneath the surface of the front element: delicate white threads, odd patterns like spiderwebs or frost creeping across the inside of the glass. That eerie substance is lens fungus -- an unwelcome guest in the world of photography that quietly invades optical systems, thrives in darkness and moisture, and, if left untreated, can cause permanent and costly damage to your equipment.

John Bilbao
A person's hand holds a Minolta camera lens with reflective glass on the left. On the right, a blue mat displays disassembled lens parts, including rings and glass elements. The mat has labels and a Minolta lens cap.

The (Lens) Doctor is In: Servicing Your Own Glass

As I’ve collected more and more camera equipment, especially vintage film gear, I’ve amassed a collection of quite a few lenses that I found for peanuts at flea markets, thrift, and antique stores, or online through marketplaces like eBay.

Jeremy Gray
A person holding a Sony Alpha camera in one hand and a large camera lens in the other. Various camera accessories, including adapters and rings, are spread out on a wooden surface.

You Can Create an Affordable and Wacky Portrait Prime Using Vintage Projector Lenses

Many photographers over the years have toyed with adapting old cinema projector lenses to their modern cameras. Projector lenses encourage creative experimentation because they are plentiful online, relatively cheap (some can be found for around $50 and sometimes even less), and produce interesting images full of character. James Warner, who goes by Snappiness, created a new video explaining how photographers can create their own "amazing portrait lens" using projector lenses.

Jeremy Gray
Two images of a black camera named "Snapflex." On the left, the camera is on a table, showing its lens and top section. On the right, a person holds the camera with a strap, showing the same features from a different angle.

Photographer Gives Camp Snap ‘Kids’ Camera a 3D-Printed Upgrade

Photographer James Warner recently created a clever $10 do-it-yourself waist-level viewfinder that works with any camera. Now the builder, who goes by Snappiness on YouTube, is back with another fantastic project, this time turning a digital camera made for kids into a twin-lens reflex-style creation.

Ted Kinsman
A mechanical device with gears is shown on the left. An arrow points from it to a vibrant, blurred image of space, Earth, and a distant galaxy on the right, suggesting a connection between the device and space exploration.

Designing a Star Tracker for Astronaut Don Pettit to Use on the ISS

In the spring of 2023, I received a phone call from Peter Blackberg (an old friend, RIT alumnus, and a space enthusiast) when he asked if I would join a call with NASA astronaut Don Pettit. Don wanted to build a star tracker for his next space flight.  

Ted Kinsman
A person wearing glasses and a beanie smiles in front of a black background. They are holding a partially exploded banana, with banana pulp and peel visibly bursting outward. They're wearing a knitted sweater.

How to Use an Arduino to Trigger a Flash With Sound

The high-speed class at Rochester Institute of Technology learns Arduino programming and some simple circuits as an introduction on triggering high-speed flashes in complicated situations. One of the easiest high-speed events to study is a balloon popping. This simple event is also one of the safest high-speed events too.