Hacking Photography - one Picture at a time
TV isn’t only for spending countless hours in front of it when you don’t feel like doing anything. Instead, you can turn it into a creative prop, and a pretty awesome one.
Caleb Pike of DSLR Video Shooter will show you how to turn a TV, a monitor, or even a projector into a fantastic background for all sorts of product shots. He guides you through the process step by step, helping you build a setup for some neat stills and videos.
You have to be pretty lucky to capture the northern lights in the UK. But how lucky do you have to be to take a nap and wake up to images of aurora borealis on your camera? Believe it or not, this is exactly what happened to Chris Lowther from the UK.
Chris set everything up to take some photos of star trails during the night. He set a timer and took a nap, considering that it was late at night. When he checked the shots, a wonderful surprise was waiting for him: there weren’t only the stars, but his camera also captured the rare northern lights!
The northern lights have hit headlines lately as solar flares have sent charged plasma hurtling through space at break-neck speeds. We’ve had reports of aurora being visible at seriously low latitudes, including Luxembourg. There’s a reason for this, and any nighttime photographers need to know what’s going on.
I’ve written a book about the northern lights. It’s a huge passion of mine and I’ve made it my mission to educate myself on nature’s greatest light show as much as I possibly can. I was lucky enough to have spent the past winter travelling throughout the Arctic in my van. I witnessed the aurora on an almost nightly basis and enhanced my knowledge through research and observation. While I love to dive into the science and the technicalities, I’ll spare you those details in favour of the more exciting stuff.
There’s light painting, and then there’s this light-painted stop motion film produced by Photographer Darren Pearson. The film is a light-painted Western called ‘Fiat Lux’ and was filmed in classic Western locations such as disused gold mines and abandoned homesteads around Darren’s native California.
Even more incredible is that Darren light painted each frame freehand, combining a total of over 600 images. The amount of work involved was immense and the result is both eerie and beautiful. He explained to DIYP how he created it.[Read More…]
The Canadian Rockies have always offered breathtaking sights, but take this dramatic mountain setting and pair it with a rare comet that won’t be visible for another 6,800 years and you’ve got the recipe for an awe-inspiring photo opportunity – one that photographers only dream of.
For an Australian mechanical engineer turned award-winning travel and landscape photographer, this dream became a reality in July 2020.
Yes, you read the title correctly. Well, almost. If I’m being completely honest actually I used four small wearable LED lights, and admittedly it was a fairly small castle. But you’d be surprised how little light you need with modern mirrorless cameras, a long exposure and a fairly high ISO. These little LED lights really can pack a punch in certain situations (mainly in complete darkness!).
To take amazing photographs of the night sky you need massively expensive specialist equipment that costs thousands of dollars, am I right? No, I am totally wrong, and this video from Trevor Jones at AstroBackyard shows you exactly what gear you need to get started taking spectacular night sky images.
If you love astrophotography, here’s a real treat. Royal Observatory Greenwich has just announced the magnificent shortlisted images of its 2021 Astronomy Photographer of the Year contest. The photos were taken all over the globe, and even beyond: there’s even a photo of the sunset on Mars. So without further ado, let’s dive in and enjoy this gorgeous selection of images.
Phone cameras are getting more complex and more advanced with practically every new phone. But are the manufacturers focusing on the features people actually want? BlinkAI conducted a survey to find out what users want in their next phone and its camera, and it appears that better nighttime capabilities are high among the priority list.
So first a little bit about myself. I mean who would take advice from some random stranger on the internets. I am Dan Stein, I have been taking pics of the stars for over 8 years meow, and I love talking about astrophotography and helping others when it comes to their own star shots. I took my first nightscape back in college, and now I travel and take pics away from light pollution in my free time. This is my first time posting a guide here, so I hope you all enjoy!
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