We're about to take a trip back in time to the early 1960s and learn how a $40 drugstore camera forced NASA to rethink its space missions. Yes, it’s true. A simple camera purchased at the local drugstore played a pivotal role in shaping the future of space exploration and set the stage for space photography in a non-scientific domain. [Read More]
It’s a weird bond and a strange badge of honor that I’ve never strayed from Nikon. I love photography, but I also marvel at the tool itself. I am also honored to have worked on many advertising campaigns for Nikon in Japan, from cameras like the D600 and the never introduced pocket DL, to making […]
After the Apollo 11 mission that successfully landed the first humans on the Moon back in July 1969, a NASA photographer unexpectedly became the first non-astronaut to touch Moon dust with his bare hands.
Photographers often reminisce about the glory days of magazines, when they were given huge budgets, freedoms, and paychecks to create images. Here’s one crazy example of what things were like then: People magazine once paid $10,000 for exclusive rights to a photo it didn’t even want… just to keep it away from competitors. The New […]
Here’s an interesting little factoid: did you know that the iPhone’s shutter sound was originally recorded from a Canon camera? Whenever you snap an iPhone photo (with your volume on) or capture a screenshot on a Mac, that shutter sound you hear is actually a Canon AE-1 film SLR camera manufactured in the 1970s and […]
The word “selfie” exploded into the mainstream over the past 5 years, but self-portraits have obviously been around much, much longer. Sarah Burton of BuzzFeed recently set out to discover the origins of the selfie.
Edward Weston is considered to be one of the most influential American photographers of the 20th century. One of his most famous works, titled Pepper No. 30, is a B&W photo of a single green pepper with beautiful, soft lighting.
Here’s an interesting piece of trivia: did you know that flash memory is named after the camera flash? The memory cards used in digital cameras are a type of flash memory, or “electronic (solid-state) non-volatile computer storage medium that can be electrically erased and reprogrammed.
Here’s something you might not be able to “unsee” if you’ve never noticed it before: during an NBA basketball game, whenever there’s some exciting action around the rim, there’s a good chance you’ll also see a bright flash of light illuminate your screen for a split second.
As 2023 comes to a close, it’s time to look back on the biggest events, moments in pop culture, and news over the last year. Of course, one way the year will be remembered for decades to come is through photographs.
You know you’ve established your photographic legacy when you show up as a clue on Jeopardy, and that’s what happened to photographer Jeff Widener a few days ago. One of the clues on the ever-popular trivia game show focused on Widener’s iconic “Tank Man” photo.
You may have heard the camera brand “Nikon” be pronounced in different ways by different people in different countries. But what’s the official and “correct” way of pronouncing the company’s name? Mike Johnston over at The Online Photographer was recently corrected by someone who rejected his American way of saying NIGH-kon in favor of the […]
Did you know that there are only two known photos in existence that show the US Supreme Court in session? Cameras have been banned inside the courtroom since 1946, so the only two photos were captured many decades ago by people who snuck cameras in. The first photo, shown above, was shot in 1932 by […]
Snapchat is known for popularizing the idea of the self-destructing photo, but did you know that long before Snapchat existed, Polaroid had already offered its own line of self-destructing Polaroid pictures? It was called the Fade to Black line.
Prior to January 22, 1987, Associated Press photographers were given a choice of shooting B&W or color film on photo assignments. But on that day, something happened that caused AP photographers to switch to shooting every assignment in color: it was the suicide of American politician R.
On July 16th, 1945, 35 miles southeast of Socorro, New Mexico, the White Sands Proving Ground was rocked by a massive explosion. [Read More]
Before EXIF data landed on the scene through the rise of digital photography, film cameras could superimpose the current date directly onto your photos, allowing you to see when you shot each one as you flipped through an album.
“Migrant Mother” by photographer Dorothea Lange is an iconic image of the Great Depression and one of the most famous photos in US history. But did you know that the photo was “Photoshopped”? In the new book exploring the photo titled “Dorothea Lange: Migrant Mother,” author and MoMA photography curator Sarah Meister shares that you […]
NASA’s Apollo Program was an audacious mission to send astronauts to the moon — a national goal set by President John F. Kennedy’s in a bold speech in 1961 that was an ongoing part of the Cold War.
Sheep can recognize human faces in photos at a level that’s comparable to humans. That’s what scientists discovered through testing sheep by showing them celebrity portraits. Researchers at Cambridge University led by neurobiology professor Jenny Morton conducted the study by leading 8 different sheep one at a time into a research barn and showing them […]
Arguably the most iconic prop from the Star Wars universe is… a camera flash. It’s not a joke, Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader’s lightsabers (the handle, not the glowing, cut your hand off part) were both made from vintage camera flash guns.