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Watch: How film and developing actually work – It’s both magic and science

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This is one of the deepest dives into film photography and the developing process I’ve seen. Not surprisingly, it’s from Destin at Smarter Every Day. He says that he went looking to find a definitive video that explained it all and he couldn’t find one. So, he made one.

Destin begins by talking of the “magic” of film and the unique look and character it has that’s impossible to reproduce digitally. He also mentions film’s resurgence of late (I guess it’s mainstream now – the hipsters will be disappointed). But it’s not magic. There’s actual science behind it and Destin takes us to visit Indie Film Lab to see how the process works.

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This video explains the science behind photographic film

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I think many of us agree that there’s still something special about film photography even in the digital age. Film photos have some magic to them, and there’s a lot that comes before we see their final look. In this video, Destin Sandlin of Smarter Every Day shows you the magic and the science behind shooting, developing, and scanning a roll of 35 mm film.

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What causes this weird line in this super blue blood moon photo?

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The photos of Super Blue Blood Moon have been all over the internet in the past couple of days. Destin Sandlin from Smarter Every Day took some shots too, and he captured a phenomenon that got him utterly confused.

Destin and his friend Trevor Mahlmann shot the moon aligned with Saturn 5 rocket in Alabama, USA. As the tip of the rocket and the moon got aligned, a dark line appeared, and it stayed in line with the rocket’s tip all along. Destin has a great knowledge of both astronomy and photography, but this phenomenon got him so confused that he turned to the community for help. Can you tell what this line is?

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How to record slow-motion sound for a tomato exploding at 60,000fps

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Have you ever wondered how ultra slow motion videos get their sound recorded? They don’t just record the real sound and slow it down along with the footage. In this video, Destin Sandlin from Smarter Every Day walks you through the process of recording sounds for slow-motion videos. Particularly, for a tomato exploding at 60,000 fps and a few other fun slo-mo videos.

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Handheld mini explosions at 20,000fps are absolutely beautiful

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The humble spud gun, which may or may not be illegal to actually use, own or even make where you live, is a wonderful thing.  Packed into this potato launching barrel of fun, however is a lot of very cool looking science.

A month or so ago, Destin Sandlin of YouTube’s Smarter Every Day, built one using clear pipes, so that we could see what was happening as he hurled potatoes towards some watermelons.  In his latest video, he brings the spud launcher back out with a high speed camera shooting 20,000fps and the results are amazing.

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Using Lasers To Shut Down Street Lights And Get Better Space Photos

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One of the biggest obstacles of taking good astronomical photos is light pollution, this is why almost every tip article on night photos has a tip about getting away from the city. But what if you want to take photos in your driveway? In that case, street lights will most probably kill each and every one of your photos.

Astronaut Don Pettit (previously) has a neat little trick he uses to shut down that annoying street light he has just outside his driveway. He points a laser at the street light sensor which tricks the street light into thinking that it is still day outside and preserve energy by shutting down.

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Jellyfish Stinging In Microscopic Slo-Mo Shows They Don’t Rub Against You, They Use Syringes

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Have you been to the beach in the last few years? If so was the only thing you could think about was “Please don’t let that jellyfish touch me! Please don’t let that jellyfish touch me! Please don’t let that jellyfish touch me!”. And was that because of those slimy tentacles that smear venomous pain-inducing mucus on you?

I had those thoughts too. But it turns out that if you actually take a strong microscope coupled with a 2,200 fps Phantom Miro camera you see that it is not the slime that hurts you, it is millions of small syringes that extend from the jellyfish and inject venom into your skin.

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