Penis Photography, Contest Winners and Obama Drones: RAWtalk 166
Who WON the Jigunda camera giveaway contest, we discuss that right at the front of the show. A HUGE congratulations to the WINNER and thank you to everyone who entered.
This week show is brought to you by RODE and MyRodeReel.com. Their HUGE contest is coming once again and this year I highly suggest you get entered. RODE RODE RODE RODE
Yes Stephen’s Photo News happens once a week but when it happens you become updated on all things Photo News.
I love getting your questions so I can answer them during Flying Solo. The questions you ask don’t just help one person, they help many other people who have the same questions.
Who the hell is Noah and why is he sitting on the floor? Finally we have Wheel of FRO.
00:00:16 – Show Intro
00:03:58 – Jigunda Contest Winner
00:08:02 – Photo News
00:48:02 – Flying Solo
00:49:00 – Introducing Noah, Jared’s New Assistant
01:23:10 – Wheel of Fro
Here’s all of Stephen’s Photo News stories in detail:
Vogue: Don’t Hire A Photographer For Your Wedding
Vogue has announced its list of top 10 wedding “rules” to break with one of them being hiring a professional photographer for your wedding. In their write-up, Vogue claims it will “detract” from the “raw, essential celebration of true love.” Instead, the magazine recommends couples rely solely on their guests’ social media photos, or to give them disposable cameras. They say “It made sense back in the olden days, pre–Facebook albums and Instagram hashtags, when the whole world didn’t have phones with cameras on them. Having the actual leather-bound album on your coffee table seemed like the only evidence that the whole thing actually took place. If social media is not your thing, why not scatter some disposable cameras around the party and let your drunken guests go to town? You’ll end up with hilarious and candid pictures without the pressure of ‘likes.'” Along with a photographer, they also note that you should ditch the ring, the first dance, and the honeymoon…Do you agree? (via DIY)
What a 136-Yr-Old Lens Looks Like on a New Age Camera
Photographer Mathieu Stern did another one of his “Weird Lens Challenges,” this time taking a 136-yr-old lens and mounting it on his Sony a7 II. He found the lens on a large format camera from 1880 and says it’s one of the first to have a mechanical aperture. To attach the vintage lens, he attached it to a few M42 macro tubes to an NEX adapter ring, then to the camera. He says of his testing: “The lens is incredibly sharp for a 136 years old simple metallic lens, from my test it’s even sharper than most of my modern canon lenses. The results are amazing… but it also gives some strange lens flares and light leaks that are pretty dreamy (some would say it’s horrible).” Given the lens was originally designed for a large format camera, it seems he’s only using the very center of the image circle, which is why it’s so sharp. Check out sample footage and photos along with how he attached it to the camera below: (via PP)
This Photo Composite Took 26 Hours To Create
Photographer Stephen Wilkes recently posted a composite he took of an African watering hole that took a whopping 26 hours to shoot. The photo is part of his on-going “Day to Night” project, which features composite photos of different locations, captured over a day typically, using a 4×5 digital camera and then blended into a single image in post. In the image below, you see all of the different animals that visit the watering hole throughout the day including elephants, zebras, hippos, meerkats, along with his frame going from night to day from the left to right side of the frame. To get the photo, Wilkes spent 30 hours sitting behind a crocodile blind 18 feet above ground in Seronera National Park in Serengeti, Tanzania. He says it was tough shooting at night as security around the park at night is tight on account of poachers. On average, it takes about 1500 photos–20GB of images–to complete his “Day to Night” pieces. (via NatGeo)
This Photographer Calls Herself a “Professional Dick Photographer”
Sending pictures of your private parts might seem like a creepy hobby, but this girl found a way to turn it into art. Photographer Soraya Doolbaz calls herself a “professional dick photographer.” Yes, she takes photos of penises on a day-to-day basis. She says, “My goal with all this was to make people laugh. I wanted to create comfort and confidence around sexuality for men and women. Men should be proud of their dicks regardless of its size or characteristics.” To photograph her subjects, she dresses each penis up with a costume, including hats for the head. She puts them all together in her online gallery that she calls the “Dicture Gallery.” She has special names for each photo too, from Dong Dapper, to Old Dirty Nutz, to Dicki Minaj. She says she never thought she’d be in this position, where she’s selling limited edition prints in Miami for $10K a piece, and she has a product line of adult novelty items featuring her dick pics as well. She even has her own web app to dress up your privates called the Dicture app: “Follow the instructions on the app to dress up your dick using the clothing filters provided. Each item can be adjusted in size and rotated to fit perfectly. Adjust exposure and saturation and add a photo filter. Once your photo is ready you can text, email or tweet your creation to that special someone.” Check out a behind-the-scenes video where she tells her full story below: (via FS)
This Photographer Managed To Get a Photo Story Out of His Camera-Shy Girlfriend
On the opposite end: photographer Mikaël Theimer put together a new photo series featuring his camera-shy girlfriend. He says of the series: “I love my girlfriend, and I’m a photographer, so I love to take pictures of my girlfriend, right? Problem is, she hates it when I do: whenever I raise my camera and point it to her, she finds a way to hide her face.” Check out the resulting images here. (via BP)
Google Brings Street View to Tiny Miniature World
Google is now taking their Street View to miniature model sets. They just announced “Street View” for the famous Miniatur Wunderland in Hamburg, Germany–the world’s largest model railway, which spans nearly 14,000 square feet of floor space, features 215,000 “people,” 930 trains, a mini airport and much more. To shoot the images, Google mounted tiny cameras to tiny vehicles. They actually made a miniature Street View car that drove around in the small world too, but didn’t really take photos. Click here to see the 360-degree photos (so unlike Street View, you can’t advance yourself) which appear to be taken above the “street” level. Check out a behind-the-scenes video on the tiny project below: (via Engadget)
Photographer Uses Baby’s Umbilical Cord to Spell Out “Love”
Photographer Emma Jean Nolan is receiving some backlash after posting a photo she took of a newborn spelling out “love” with his umbilical cord and placenta. She captured the shot of baby Harper just 1.5 hours after he was born at 3.53AM on Jan. 2. She posted the image on Facebook in order to draw attention to a Maori tradition, as the parents are from New Zealand. She says, “As a Maori baby his placenta will now be returned to the land.” Many commenters reacted negatively, calling the photo “gross,” but she says that’s exactly why she took the image in the first place: “It is generally discarded, ignored and considered disgusting. However without the placenta none of us would be here. In a time when we are so disconnected from ourselves, our history and each other, the response to this image clearly shows that we all still crave a connection.” Check out the image below; thoughts? (via DM)
Intel Sets World Record By Flying 100 Drones Simultaneously
Intel flew 100 drones in the sky simultaneously and performed a choreographed light show to a live orchestra playing Beethoven’s 5th Symphony to set the world record for most UAV’s airborne at the same time. Here’s how it came together: Intel hired a team from Ars Electronica Futurelab in Austria to pull off the project. The team created an original piece of software that allowed the 100 UAVs to follow specific flight paths, manage light colors and changes, and maintain coordinated movement between the aircraft while performing on-time with the music being played below. They ended the light show by spelling out the Intel logo in the sky too. Watch it all unfold below: (via Engadget)
This Spider-Man-Like Drone Captures Other Drone with a Net
Similar to a story we brought you a few weeks back: there’s now another way to catch drones in the sky, by literally shooting a net at them with another drone. The Spider Man-like drone slings a net out to catch other rogue drones in the sky. Developed by researchers over at Michigan Technological University, the patent-pending drone is designed “to intercept and physically remove the intruding multi-rotor drones from the protected areas.” Researchers say, “This system offers a viable solution when force-landing or shooting the drones would jeopardize the safety.” The drone can shoot the net at other drones from up to 40 feet away too. Once the drone is tangled up, it is flown away to a safe location by the master drone. Check out a demonstration video of the Spider Man drone in action below: (via CNET)
Sony Creates 48K 360-Degree Video
Sony has created the world’s first 48K 360-degree video! The company created a special 3D-printed camera rig that uses 12 Xperia Z5 smartphones arranged in a circle. They shot each in 4K and then stitched the footage together, resulting in 48K 360-degree video that you can interact with virtually. Check out the resulting 360-degree video from the Rise Ski & Snowboard Festival in France below. Unfortunately you’ll never see the video in 48K since YouTube only supports up to 4K currently. (via DPR)
Photos of New York City Circa 1930’s Rediscovered
A set of rare images of depression-era NYC in the 1930’s is now online. Photographer Berenice Abbott received funding from the Federal Art Project back in the early 1930’s to photograph NY for a series she called “Changing New York.” She shot 305 photos between 1935-1939 with her goal being to capture the diversity of people in NYC, the places they’re from, and their daily lives. Her work can now be found in the NY Public Library’s Digital Collection’s website and in a photo book called “Changing New York” which is available on Amazon for $30. (via PP)
Photo by Berenice Abbott
GoPro SVP Resigns, Company To Lay Off 7% of Workforce
GoPro Senior Vice President Zander Lurie, who joined GoPro in 2014, has officially resigned. However, he won’t be leaving the action camera company entirely; he will join its Board of Directors. The company is set to lay off 7% of their employees in wake of lower than expected Q4 sales. GoPro said that it expects to report revenue of $435 million for Q4 2015, falling short of analysts’ forecasts of $508 million in revenue by 14%. Go Pro’s stock had fallen 71% over the past year to $14.61 a share. Following the announcement, the stock fell a further 24% to around $12 in trading. (via VI)
