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.
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.
Love music just as much as you love photography? Want an extra music stand? You can make a makeshift one by combining your tripod with a music stand! The IKEA BRÄDA stand is perfect for this, and only costs $2.50. Peter Janssens of grow for it make his stand connect to the tripod using a bolt and the mount on an old camera.
Photographer and craftaholic Parul Arora sells beautiful Polaroid picture ceramic coasters through her Etsy shop justnoey for about $12 each. If you're feeling ambitious, you can also try buying some blank white ceramic coasters and making your own, though transferring your photos onto the tiles might be a bit difficult. One option might be to glue a print onto the tile and then paint over it with Mod Podge to seal it.
QR codes have become an extremely popular way of linking to digital things from the physical world, and more and more businesses are displaying them in order to direct customers to their websites. Photographer David Sykes (whom we previously featured here) decided to take advantage of the craze to promote his new website and blog. Instead of an ordinary QR code, however, he decided to create an 8-foot square model of the code using things such as boots, calculators, briefcases, boomboxes, and …
Want to go beyond using ordinary wrapping paper for your Christmas gifts? You can make some DIY wrapping paper out of photographs. Print out your favorite photos at home onto ordinary copy paper for smaller presents, and tape multiple sheets together for larger packages.
Here's a neat idea for photographic experimentation: create a pinhole camera out of photographic paper by folding it into an origami box with the light-sensitive side on the inside. The hole that is used to blow the box into its shape is also used to expose the inside to the outside world. After exposing it, simply unfold it and process it using standard developer and fix.
Eve Johnson of Evalicious wanted to turn some old digital photographs into Instax-style prints for a travel journal, so she decided to make some fake ones. She arranged two photos on each template, saved them as 4x6 prints, had them made at a local print shop, and then cut them out in Instax dimensions. You can find the low down over on her blog.
Talia van der Wel of New Zealand wanted a simple and beautiful way to display instant photos, and came up with the idea of an empty frame in which photos are hung on clothespins from twine. After sharing the idea with her husband, he went and created the frame out of an old wood lattice.
Wanna add some photo-geekery to your Christmas tree this year? Try making custom Christmas ornaments out of strips of film or printed photographs! twinklecat has written up a film ornament tutorial over at Lomography, and Shelley Haganman has an easy-to-follow photo ornament tutorial over at scrappergirl.
Wanting a cheap and compact way to carry, protect, and manage his SD cards, Instructables member FrankenPaper discovered that the plastic cases that come with Sunstar GUM Soft-Picks are the perfect size for holding 2 cards. To keep the cards from jostling around and to track whether they're full or empty, he created an insert that you can print, cut, and fold yourself (download the PDF here).
Want a clever way to use your Christmas tree as a photo display? Simply print 1.5-inch photos onto acetate sheets, tape them to the outside of translucent film canisters, and then illuminate them by sticking clear Christmas lights through the caps! …
Jill Gillen has a fun photo craft idea for customizing any clear hand sanitizer bottles you have sitting around the house: add photographs of trapped family members!
Photographer Matthew Nicholson, the guy behind the amazing Lie-ca paper pinhole camera, is at it again. This time he's building a working paper camera that looks just like a Polaroid One Step Rainbow camera! Branded as the Fauxlaroid Land Camera, it will apparently use actual instant film that the user "processes" manually.
These photos might look like they were computer generated, but they're actually unmodified photographs. Ron Brinkmann took 6 mirror tiles and made a box with them with the help of some duct tape. He then placed a camera inside and triggered shots using the timer.
Have a habit of losing your lens caps? Add a clip to them to keep them attached to your camera strap when not in use! All you need are a lapel clip -- the kind found on old wired cellphone headsets work great -- and some strong mounting tape. It's basically a DIY version of the Nice Clip, which we featured back in October.
If you have an unwanted silk scarf lying around, you can combine it with some key rings to turn it into a stylish camera strap. All you need are some key rings and a sewing machine (and some leather if you want extra style points). Stacie over at Scarves.net has written a step-by-step tutorial on how you can make your own.
If you have a potato chip tube lying around, you can convert the tube into a super simple DIY snoot. All you need to do is cut an opening in the closed end that's the size of your flash head (tip: use some duct tape to prevent it from scratching your flash).
Check out this awesome picture frame: it's an old french door that was cut in half, stripped, painted, distressed. Old windows can make for unique frames as well! …
In this short video, photographer Allen Mowery shows how you can create a super-simple DIY Gary Fong Lightsphere for about $1 using some vinyl drawer liner and some velcro.
Canon's 50mm f/1.8 Mark II is a terrific lens for its price, but its build quality definitely leaves something to be desired. Do a quick search, and you'll find legions of broken-hearted Canonites who had their 'Nifty Fifty' split into two pieces after accidentally bumping or dropping it. Flickr user tastygiant is one such Canonite, but he subsequently discovered an awesome use for the broken lens: …
Want a super simple macro lens for your phone without shelling out big bucks? You can use 3D printing to assemble your own! Shapeways user Lens42 has created a 3D model for a slide-on iPhone lens -- all you need to do is have the 3D model printed for $11 and to attach a $4 glass lens from Surplus Shed (part number L4471) using some superglue. If you have something other than an iPhone but know your way around 3D modeling programs, you make some measurements yourself and have a custom 3D model …
In the past week, two different lens dial camera cases have been announced for iPhoneographers: a Holga toy camera case and a more serious lens dial case. If you don't want to shell out cash to add a lens dial to your phone (and don't mind it looking ridiculous), you can make a do-it-yourself lens dial using a jar lid and random lenses scavenged from various devices. The dial is attached to the back of your phone using a suction cup, and can give you magnification on-the-go.
Last week we featured Jason Hull's awesome nightlights created out of old (and cheap) vintage cameras. If you've been dying to learn how you can make one yourself, today's your lucky day: Hull has written up a step-by-step tutorial showing how the conversion is done. If you do attempt this project, try to find a broken camera -- working ones are happiest when they're used for photo-making! …
Kevin Klein has a hobby of miniaturizing Victorian technology, and recently he made the world's smallest wet plate camera using 1/32-inch plywood and other wood materials. The camera is only a little bigger than a quarter, and shoots miniature 1/2-inch square plate images.
Caleb Barrett wanted a simple ring light to play around with, so he built himself one for just $20 using built himself a makeshift ring light using eight cheap compact fluorescent light bulbs. The lights are pretty dim and have a horrible color rendering index, but are fun to play around with if you're just looking for something to experiment with.
John Sypal of Tokyo Camera Style spotted a photographer on the streets of Tokyo using this homemade lens created out of a potato chip tube. It captures photos that show the world in a glass-like sphere, with everything else blurred.
We've featured special gloves and mittens designed for photographers before, but what if your camera uses a touchscreen instead of physical controls? Here's a video by Make's Becky Stern showing how you can sew some conductive thread into your glove to make it compatible with capacitive touchscreens.
Many extreme athletes these days use helmet-mounted HD cameras for photos and videos captured from a first person point of view, but photographer Justin Olsen does things a little differently: he uses a chest-mounted DSLR. Using a custom rig created for him by a local sewing shop, Olsen snaps his unique photos using a 15mm on a Canon 1D Mark III or a 5D Mark II, and a PocketWizard to trigger the shutter wirelessly.
Faking toy camera effects with apps or software is a big fad these days, but Joel Pirela of Blue Ant Studio went a step further: he built his own homemade digital Lomography camera using some walnut wood, hand-polished aluminum frame, parts from a 5-megapixel Vivitar Vivicam, and an Olympus OM series lens.
Photographer Jason Hull has a hobby of taking old cameras from the 1950s and 1960s and turning them into beautiful nightlights for his house. He writes, …
For his wedding, designer Matt Frank built this photo booth that looks like a giant Lomo camera. It comprises a Mac running Photo Booth, a monitor for reviewing photos, halogen lighting, and a hacked Easy Button that acts as a shutter release. Frank writes, …
Haven't found a small camera case that's stylish enough for your taste? Matt over at Wood&Faulk has written up a tutorial on how you can make your own protective camera wrap using some heavy wool fabric and a leather or canvas strap: …
If you're looking for a creative way to display your photos (and decorate your home), papernstitch has a tutorial on how you can make circular picture frames using embroidery hoops. The photographs are printed onto PhotoFabric and then held taut between the hoop rings.
Photographer Jesse Rosten wanted a more efficient and mobile way to do off-camera lighting, so he invented this backpack-style apparatus that he calls "The Strobist Jet Pack". Although it's pretty ridiculous looking (it reminds us of Ghostbusters), it works well for placing lighting equipment in exactly the place needed while still being able to move about.
Flickr user Twin-Reverb made this nifty DIY flash diffuser using a cardboard paper towel tube, a paper towel, and some aluminum foil.
Photographer Tyler Card's uber-creative Nikon DSLR costume was the talk of the photo world this past Halloween. If you've been wondering how he managed to make a fully functional giant DSLR, you're in luck: Card has written up an extensive tutorial explaining how it was done: …
Photographer Peter Wirén came up with a super cheap and easy way to record sliding shots using his DSLR. Instead of buying an expensive slider or dolly system, he simply cut the fingers off an old glove and used them as "socks" on his GorillaPod.
When husband and wife photography duo Jodi and Kurt got married last year, they were determined to do something photography-related for the guys' boutonnières. Luckily for them, Kurt's sister Lynn is a brilliant wedding stylist who helped make these one-of-a-kind designs. Kurt's featured an old camera lens, while the best man's was a flower made from film negatives.
Many digital cameras are battery-only, and can't be directly connected to an outlet for an infinite source of power. That's ordinarily not a problem, but can become an issue if you attempt to do things like time-lapse imagery, for which the camera needs to stay powered and perfectly stationary for extended periods of time. That was the problem faced by Instructables member txoof with his Olympus E520. Handy with electronics and woodworking, he decided to build his own AC/DC interface for the …
Dutch artist Purr Anders transforms old photographs into beautiful jewelry. After printing the images onto fabric, Anders crafts them into leaf and flower-shaped brooches. You can visit her Etsy store to order a custom one for $37.
Editor's note: Since we featured in back in August, Justin Jensen's Cineskates project has raised nearly half a million dollars. Here's a DIY tutorial by Ed Lewis on how to make your own.
Photographer Chris Keeny came up with a nifty design for a pinhole camera made using an Altoids mint tin. It's pretty fancy too, utilizing a re-loadable film take-up spool that uses a metallic turn key to advance the film.
Want to create a photography-related costume this halloween? Here are some fun costume ideas to give you some ideas. The above is a standard Canon point-and-shoot that has a tiny camera in the lens.
Want a pair of mittens that don't interfere with your love for photography? If you know how to knit, you can make your own! Norwegian knitter Bea created a nifty pair of mittens that have a hole your index finger can poke through when your camera shutter summons it. You can find the free pattern on her site if you'd like to make your own.
Earlier this month we shared a hugely popular post on transferring a photo onto a block of wood. Well, the same technique can also be used to create a canvas print. All you need, besides the stretched canvas, is some gel medium and a photo printed with toner (e.g. made with a laser printer or photocopier). The gel medium is used to "steal" the toner from the paper, and once the paper is rubbed away, the print remains. Check out the full tutorial over on A Beautiful Mess.
For Halloween this year, photographer Tyler Card decided to made a giant Nikon DSLR costume. Not just any DSLR costume, mind you, but a fully functional one. The camera actually takes pictures when the shutter release button is pressed, and the photograph is displayed on the giant LCD screen on the back. The built-in flash also works, and the camera is even capable of triggering Alienbees strobes.
If you have some translucent film canisters lying around, you can turn them into DIY glow sticks for light painting photography. Fuse three of them together into one translucent tube, stick a small flashlight into it, wrap it with a colored translucent sheet, and voilà, you have yourself a cheap and simple glow stick. It's a way to add some thickness to your light painting "brush".
Inspired by Caleb Ungewitter's giant poster project, Andy Beckmann decided to try his hand at making a nicer version. Instead of attaching prints to the wall directly, Beckmann purchased 36 210x297mm wooden boards to mount the prints on (the photo was split into smaller prints using PosteRazor). The result is a more durable and professional looking display that can be easily reused in a different location.
Sending cameras to the edges of space on a weather balloon has become a pretty popular activity as of late, but up to now people were mostly sending up cell phones, compact cameras, and small HD video cameras (e.g. GoPros). While those devices are light and relatively cheap, the quality of images produced isn't the best.
