Building a Photography Studio
You’ve probably been wondering where I’ve been and why I haven’t been writing. Well, maybe not, but I haven’t had an article here for the last three weeks or so. And the reason is that we’ve been in the process of moving from Florida back to Texas. Still not settled in and far from back...
Cross Photos Showing the First and Last Light of the Winter Solstice
Starting in 2001, photographer Mary Mattingly has created an image every year on the winter solstice — the day of the year when daylight is shortest — showing the first light of the day and the last light of the day blended into a single photo. The series is called “First Light / Last Light“....
Ghostly Portraits Captured Using Stencils and Light-Painting
France-based photographer Fabrice Wittner has a neat project titled “Enlightened Souls” that consists of ghostly portraits created by light-painting with stencils (which are themselves created from actual portraits). Wittner first started the project in May 2011 after the earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand. I first thought of it as an artistic and morale contribution to...
No, But I Can Learn
Do you know how to load a roll of film? Work a light meter? Edit slides on a light table? Scan film? Color correct scans? Track a photo inventory? Submit photos to clients? Work with a stock agency? Make prints? Pack a camera bag? Ship equipment? Set up lights? Scout a location? Drive on the...
Give Your Tripod Some Extra Stability By Adding a Weight Hook
Heavier tripods are generally more stable than lighter ones — wind doesn’t affect them as much — but hauling them around can be a pain. Instructables user Andrew Axley came up with the brilliant idea of making his simple tripod more stable by adding his own weight hook. The tripod is light when not in...
Turn Your Old Point-and-Shoot Camera Into a Creative Nightlight
Perhaps inspired by the vintage camera nightlights we shared last year, photographer Laura Merz decided to upcycle her old Kodak digital camera by turning it into a nightlight for her house. She writes, I took out all the tiny screws and gutted the camera very carefully as to not crack the exterior case. Be careful...
Studio Backdrops/Backgrounds
When you look at most professional portraits you might think that the photographer had a really nice studio in a room of their home or even a really nice space in an office building or a retail building. The truth is that most photographers have their studios in old warehouses, garages of their home or...
Long Exposure Light Streak Photo of the Eiffel Tower at Night
Flickr user Chris captured this remarkable photograph of the Eiffel Tower at night by panning his medium format film Hasselblad 500CM while snapping a long exposure photograph.
(via Photojojo)
Image credit: 10160008 by chrisdigsdesign and used with ...
A Glimpse at the MIT Camera That Shoots at the Speed of Light
Here’s an interesting look at the amazing camera being developed at MIT that shoots a staggering one trillion frames per second — fast enough to create footage of light traveling: [...] the researchers were able to create slow-motion movies, showing what appears to be a bullet of light that moves from one end of the...
Light as the Subject of Photographs
Photographer Alexander Harding has a beautiful project titled “Visible Light” in which he turns light itself into the subject of photographs. Other photographs in the series show light in different forms, whether it’s as reflections in water drops or as a rainbow in a sprinkler. Check out the entire series here. Visible Light by Alexander...
Make a DIY Diffuser Using a Paper Towel Roll and Some Aluminum Foil
Flickr user Twin-Reverb made this nifty DIY flash diffuser using a cardboard paper towel tube, a paper towel, and some aluminum foil. Here’s how it was put together: …and here’s an example photo showing the light quality it produces: Not bad for something created in a few minutes for less than a buck. You can...
Understanding Light in Photography – Beginner Level
The word “photography” comes from the Greek, photos – light – and graphos – writing, delineation, or painting. In other words, photography is light painting. As humans, we don’t see color, we see light. The retina of our eyes contains two types of photoreceptors (light receptors) called rods and cones. The rods are more sensitive...
