DIYPhotography.net

I know it sounds like an oxymoron, however, this is one of the best examples of hack'n mod beating the cr*p out of store bought solutions.

Canberra Australia based photographer Jamie Carl, rigged together a great system that will wireless your USB setup (can you use wireless as a verb? not sure). This is so trivial that it just shouts, Why didn't I do this before.

Jamie says this setup helped hum nail a difficult car-rigged setup where he did not know how fast the car will be going, and as a result did not know what shutter speed to use for good motion blur on the road, but no camera blur on the car. Using a wireless USB Carl was able to sit shotgun and adjust the settings on the go. Click to continue ›

Nikon, Canon, Leica, Pentax, Sigma, Tokina, and a host of other lens makers are all striving to bring you the sharpest lenses with all optical aberrations reduced to the minimum. That's too bad! Because with lenses, as with life, sometimes it's the imperfections that make things interesting.

The image on the left was shot with the imperfect optics of a homemade lens. Exploring the soft, dreamy world of DIY camera lenses in surprisingly easy. Let me show you.

There are two components necessary for a homemade camera lens suitable for use on a SLR or DSLR: the optics (to focus the light) and the mechanics (to hold the optics in place and hopefully provide a method of adjusting the focus and aperture). Click to continue ›

In the following post, Jay Scott shares how he built an oral autofocus shutter release to enable him to take better photographs from his wheelchair. Jay is a talented photographer and a Strobist in heart, you can check his portfolio here.

Ever since I first began photography with a DSLR the possibility of having a problem with the weight of the camera existed for me. Why, you might ask? Because my hands (and the rest of my body from the chest down) are paralyzed. I have plenty of arm strength, but my dexterity with somewhat stiff, lifeless, fingers leaves something to be desired. I won't go into details about the cause of my paralysis, but you can read about it here if you are interested.

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Finally, the Bokeh Masters Kit gets mod. I could not be more proud.

It is a simple mode, a modal'e. Yet DIYP's kit is now a proud member of the modifiable products family. Kudos to Guy Tismansky for submitting it. If you have absolutely no idea what I am talking about and see this kit introduction post.

The mod is simple and really takes only 30 seconds to complete, once done it will allow you to easily carry your bokeh discs by attaching the discs wallet to the camera strap. If you already have a kit, simply follow the instructions below. [The image above was taken by Marco_Parc using the bokeh masters kit] Click to continue ›

About three weeks ago I got a mail asking me why I don't do any video related DIY's. This mail got me thinking that with recent photographers going video, there is actually no reason not to include video DIYs on the site. Au contraire, Photographers looking to start on video may benefit from some low $$$ video tutorial. We started with a great video DIY roundup, and now...

Here it comes, my first video DIY, an iPhone Dolly.

[If you are getting this via RSS or by mail, click the title to watch the movie]

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Weapon stores are a cool place for photogs to hang out in, not necessarily because photographers use firearms (though we are constantly treated as terrorists), but because photogs share some of the same concerns of hunters.

Readers Michael Page just spotted that bullet cases or ("Ammo" boxes) can be used to store batteries on long trips where you have no chargers. Or when you need lots of batteries to stay dry.

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The idea of a custom camera is quite appealing. Like any other custom item there is a bit of personality in having something that is not replicated all around you.

This is why I thought that creating a custom Nikon would be so awesome. If there was a way to customize your camera, you could be both Nikon and unique. Now, just before all the Canon photogs hit me on the head. I assume the same goes for Canon (putting aside the already "customized" white lens).

The video after the just shows how DigitalRev TV, a Honk Kong retailer customized pink-nuked their D90.

I'll let you see the vid to judge the results and outcome of this project.

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Four days ago, we had a post about making gloves that fit taking pictures in a cold weather. We also had a giveaway for Etre Touchy gloves.

Well, the Etre Touchy Contest is over and we have our three winners. Scroll to the end to find out if you are one of the Lucky bare handed who get a pair of the coolest photog gloves ever. We had 215 submissions, some had some great tips, some were hilarious to read (yup, I read them all) and some were simply opt-in which is also cool. Thanks for everybody who took the time to chim in.

Random.org provided us with the winning numbers. However, just before we announce the winners, I'd like to share some of the really useful tips we got through the comments Click to continue ›

We all love a photo that tells a story. In stories we talk about sub plots. Subplots can relate to the main plot and enrich in it many ways.

It can prelude the main plot and help create emotional attachment to the characters. It can contradict the main plot and provide irony. It can resonate with the main plot, making its point stronger.

In photography we have subject and background (or far plain). The background can relate to the subject, in similar ways that a sub plot relates to a main plot.

To illustrate that point I decided to use images with shaped bokeh.

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Have you ever tried to photograph a wolf on a wild terrain when it is sub-zero outside? If you have, you must know that gloves are a photographer's friend. Of course, gloves can be a nemesis as well, if they are making you clumsy and take away your ability to press them little camera buttons.

I am going to show three ways to handle gloves clumsiness fever and then we will have a giveaway at the end. Click to continue ›