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UPDATE: Hey this is fun, however (as some commenters indicated), it may be risky to young joint if you're spinning to fast. Holding your loved one under the elbow is safer.

This is by far one of the most fun family projects ever featured on DIYP. (Oh yea, I said this on the title).

We all know what kids like best - spinning. The only thing that kids love even more than spinning is sharing the spinning pleasure with a family member spin Dad till he passes out.

Fortunately for us photogs, spinning creates a great panning like effect. But wait how can you spin and take the image, I mean both hands are holding your precious one.

Reader Mr Din has figure out the secret. Learn how to spin and photograph your kid in 5 easy steps.

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Here's a great project for a weekend. The DIY Light Table, courtesy of Félix Ménard (Flickr).

The idea behind the light table is simple. Things look really great if the light is passing through them. As opposed to light being reflected off them. This is why slides look so good, this is why we love vitrage windows in churches. 

A light table is the perfect way to inspect slides, negs and to do some really interesting art.

This project by Felix uses an old desktop (from when desktops were actually made from wood and did not have any chips in them), however, a similar project can be made with more temporary means which are great for a weekend project. I'll discuss this towards the end.

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It is not a secret that I am a big fan of using 1/4" bolts on just about anything to create ad-hoc tripods.

However, this one by Brian Green tops them all.

Brian is the type of guy that hikes, bikes and generally enjoys the good life (I mean the really good life, not the ones that you enjoy on the couch watching Lost). Click to continue ›

Light tent, or Light box is a piece of lighting gear used mostly for product shots. It creates a nice, smooth, safe light with almost no hot spots. 

We've posted a tutorial for a really simple light box before. This light box was made of a simple cardboard box and was super easy to construct and really dispensable.

Reader Randi Scott constructed a PVC light box skeleton that is both sturdy and, not  dispensable, but can be stowed away so your significant other will not complain. Read all about it and learn how to make one yourself on this link.

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Remember the story about that king from ancient Greek called Midas? Midas was a greedy, greedy king that loved gold more then life itself.

In fact Midas loved gold so much that he prayed the gods to grant him a golden touch. His wish was granted, and now, everything the king touched turned into gold. 

This was quite a party trick with the wooden cup, table cloth and the chicken and apples. Wait a minute, chicken and apples? Yes. Midas could not eat. With his fear of starving to death he prayed the gods again to take his gift away. His new wish was granted. Moral at the and of the post.

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I said is a few times before. Army surplus stores are a great place for photographer to hang out at and find some nice finds. I think that there is a strong connection between the needs of a soldier and the needs of a photographer.

One particular point where needs converge, is carrying equipment. It is only reasonable that both will need systems that will help them carry dedicated equipment. The soldier needs to carry riffle parts, bullets, field accessories; The photographer needs to carry lenses, small strobes, memory cards and so on.

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A while back I posted a great lighting project by Alex Campagna called the DIY Spiderlight.

The project successfully aimed at building the Wescott TD5 Lighting fixture (AKA Spiderlite).

Alex even threw in a DIY softbox to complete the design.

If you've wondered what's so good about them spiderlites, Scott Kelby from Photoshop insider shares a great video that has all the good reasons to buy on (or better yet, to build one). See the video on the full article.

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Jake O'Connell has come up with a great Idea to create a Magic Arm. What is a magic arm you ask? (You can have a look at the Bogen Magic Arm or read on). - Yes it is time for another Reader Project.

A magic arm is a photography magical instrument much like a tripod, but with two major differences:

The first difference is that (unlike a tripod) the non camera side of the Magic Arm is equipped with a stud (or a stud socket) which allows you to mount it on virtually anything. (Well the spiderpod also does this, but I wouldn't place my Nikon D2x on a spiderpod).

Alternatively, you can use the magic arm to mount a lighting device like a flash or a flag.

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The Readers Project column is one of my favorite columns in the DIYP. It is a column that brings you DIYP readers to front page and let you share your experience with the rest of DIYP community. (See the bottom of this post for more projects).

There are actually a few ways to get featured in the Readers Projects column: you can post the setup and explanation to the Flickr Image Pool or Discussion threads; you can drop me a note, or you can give me a call (ok, no one has actually done this yet, but I am open...)

Spiderlights are a great source of light. Basically a Spiderlight is a mount with five sockets with which you can do whatever lighting you want: fluorescent or PL bulbs, hot lights or bulb-strobes (Jim from ProPhotoLife has a great comparison of your options here). The only rebuke is the price: if you want to get your hand on one of those, be prepared to bye-bye a few hundreds of dollars. Click to continue ›

DIYP reader Chaval Brasil came up with an ingenious way to create a ring flash. By routing the light from a hot shoe flash to a CD spindle, Chaval was able to surround his lens with light. Chaval joins a long tradition of readers projects that we had here on DIYP (see The Food Saver Omnibounce, Thomas Schwenger Complete Two Seconds Lighting Kit, and The Christmas Tree Ring Light for more readers projects).

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