Space!

This video right here, shot by astrovideographer (coolest title ever) Daniel López, is really impressive. Not only does it show off the amazing potential of the newer SLRs out there (he uses a Canon 5D MII), but it also does what good images are supposed to do - inspire and capture the imagination.

This snippet, however, is only the "making of" his videos. More of his original work can be seen here in full HD glory.

Astrophotography is becoming more available to amateurs as technology advances and becomes cheaper. Their are limitations, of course, but some amateurs are capturing stunning images of the stuff beyond our atmosphere. Like this guy, Alan Friedman, who takes some great pictures from his backyard. He wrote an article for space.com that outlines some general tips for beginners to the medium.

It may be expensive, but showing your friends a spectacular picture you took of Jupiter might just be worth it.

Coolest thing ever? Sorta, kinda, maybe.

This past weekend, I stumbled across an article that was introducing a new camera from the company Lytro. Apparently, the revolutionary camera that has been developed can change the focus of a picture after it is taken. Some examples of how that works can be found here. I wont pretend to know how the camera actually works, but they do give a pretty good layman's explanation on their website. Pretty cool stuff, but I'm not too sure that I like the design. There also doesn't seem to be any listing of megapixels, only "Megarays." That kind of leaves me wondering what the picture resolution is and how it stacks up to other cameras.


In other news, my exploration of the abstract/macro continues on with more strange and fun results. Here's a favorite of mine this week. (For the record we flipped the little guy back over and he went on his merry way)

Pulitzer Prizer Winners Announced

The 2012 Pulitzer Prize winners were announced Monday and with it came the list of winners for Breaking News Photography and Feature Photography.

Craig F. Walker, of the Denver Post, won the feature photography category for his gripping portrayal of Brian Scott Ostrom's struggle through the hardships of PTSD after returning home from tours in Iraq. The photos are both haunting and surreal. They also shed light on an often controversial subject among hardened soldiers. Many servicemen and women have difficultly dealing with the traumatic events suffered in war, and the emotions that follow. Walker's photos pierce the core of the issue.

Massoud Hossaini won the breaking news category for his heart-breaking photo of a small girl (Tarana Akbari) screaming after a suicide bomber killed 70 people in Kabul, Afghanistan on December 6, 2011. The photo shows the utter horror of war and puts a real and human face on those who suffer from needless violence in a tumultuous country.

This week is a continuation of my ongoing journey into the strange and wonderful world of abstract photography. Here are the shaky results:

Random thoughts about...The Future!

I've been thinking a lot about the future of digital cameras. The possibilities of where they could go. The idea was sparked a couple days ago when I was looking at a phone, realizing how much was crammed into such a small device. You can talk to people, surf the web, play games, video chat, take pictures. My thought then was this: When is all this cool stuff that phones have going to be crammed into a nice SLR? Wouldn't it be great if you could take photos, upload them to your website etc. all from your camera? To me it's a logical step. The canon 5D III already combines high quality photos with high quality video and has an optional wireless capability. Why not take it a step further and provide 4G coverage with the ability to connect to the web? I can imagine my camera doing so much more than it does currently. All I can do is hope that companies take this next step and make the next generations of SLRs even more amazing.