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Bet you wish you knew where you’d buried that thing. Digging around the backyard isn’t the only way to get a blast from the past. Here’s a quick photo time capsule project inspired by an old camera our pal Adam found a couple years ago. STEP 1: Buy a cheap disposable camera. STEP 2: Take your disposable camera everywhere you go for a week, or on a vacation. Take pictures of all your friends. Fill it up with photos. STEP 3: Write your name, address, phone, email, today’s date, and the words “Photo Time Capsule! Develop me in a few years” on the camera. Sock it in a drawer. STEP 4: Let time pass. Move in and out of relationships, jobs, apartments. Find happiness and live life fully. STEP 5: Rediscover camera in some dusty box, bookshelf, or corner. Develop it. STEP 6: Admire the odd stains and scratches on the photos you get back. Marvel at what your sepia-toned life was once like. Sigh, smile. Adam notes: I like to think that disposable cameras are like wine. The longer you wait to develop them (or drink them) the better they are. We couldn’t agree more. Adam Varga’s Lost Kayaking Trip Photos |
Remember that awesome time capsule you and your brother/sister/best friend made when you were kids? A box full of tattered Archies, tapes of |
We admit it’s a bit silly, but we adore Gert Rietveld’s Running from Camera. His rules are simple: Put the self-timer on 2 seconds, push the button, and try to get as far from the camera as you can. The results are expectedly goofy and surprisingly awesome. We also love Nick Gray’s collection of paper towel dispensers, Kate Bingaman’s collection of everything she bought for two whole years, and Adam Seifer’s collection of every meal he’s eaten since October 2002. What’s your goofy photo collection? Running from Camera |
Put a digital camera in some people’s hands, and they start collecting some pretty weird things.|
Party photos are tough to take, especially if you’re the host and your guests are camera-shy. A surefire method to great snaps? Power to the people! Yes, friends, the photo booth is back. And it’s not just for drug stores and shopping malls any more — several enterprising photographers have reimagined the humble automatic photographic machine as the life of the party. Here’s a couple of our favorites along with instructions for rolling your own: Mark Van S’s Futuristic Digital Photobooth [via A VC] The Shine Flickr Photobooth The Do it Yourself Digital Photobooth
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No, we’re not talking about |
We can relate… Sometimes having a mission and some snap-happy friends can be just the motivation you need to get off your tuchus and start shooting. With that in mind, we’ve compiled a few fun ideas to get you out having fun with your camera with friends or fellow photo enthusiasts. Read on to learn how you can make your town or city your photo playground. |
There’s one sure-fire way to improve all of your shots: practice. Sure, you think, easy enough to say.|
When Taylor McKnight started taking a photo a day on January 1st, 2004, he never imagined the project would not only serve as a way to remember a year, but also help him understand what was important to him in his life. Whether it was his relationships, his career, or his fashion sense, recording a photo a day for a whole year left him with a rich visual history of his life. And it made him a better photographer to boot! Now that he’s in the middle of doing it for a second time, we asked Taylor to write about it for us. Read on for our tutorial on how and why to create your own daily photographic history. |
People will often say that their whole lives flashed before their eyes after they experienced a traumatic event. Perhaps it’s a bit morbid, but we think that sounds pretty incredible.
 Photography isn’t just about capturing a moment, it’s also about seeing the ordinary in a new light. A wise photo teach of ours once told us that no matter where you are, no matter how ordinary your surroundings may appear, there are always great photographs to be made. You just need to figure out where and how to look. Here’s a fun exercise for gaining new perspective on the ordinary: examine how your world might appear to someone much, much smaller than you. Whether your star is an old G.I. Joe, a Barbie, or a mini Steve Jobs, this exercise is sure to give you fresh eyes. Here are a few examples to get you started: Slinkachu’s Little People Karin Stack’s Believe You Me Ernie Button’s Cereal Landscapes |
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But wanna know the real reason your camera records video? It’s so you can enjoy a good laugh while making friends and loved ones look silly. You see, when you hold up a camera, people expect you to take a photograph, not a video. So flip your camera into video mode and pretend like you’re taking a photo. Feign technical difficulties while your bud tries patiently to hold his smile and you’re virtually guaranteed an amusing minute or so of strained footage. Don’t believe us? Check out comedian Katie Dippold’s collection at Long Awkward Pose. (Some favorites: Anthony, Deniz, Jack Jack — what a sport!) Life is too short and too serious not to play the occasional practical joke. And trust us, you’ll both laugh about it afterward. Long Awkward Pose
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Last week we told you that the video mode on your digital camera was a fine way to make yourself a flipbook. It is.|
But as you grew bigger, the pictures grew smaller. Eventually, words replaced them altogether. If the rise of the graphic novel is any indication, we still like our stories better with pictures. Here’s a fun project that marries our love of words and photography: Go through your photos and find an event with lots of shots (your friends hanging out, a party, a vacation, whatever.) Now pick five photos, give or take, that tell a story when put in sequence. Ideally, it should make sense without any words. Your story may be true or made up, silly or serious. The point is to look at your photos as narrative building blocks. To put a new spin on it, next time you’re out with your camera, consider how the photos you’re shooting would look in sequence. Or start with a plot and take the photos necessary to illustrate it. For inspiration, check out Isuru’s Moon Day Massacre or this story of Homeland Security told using stormtroopers and care bears. Flickr Visual Storytelling Group |
When you were small, you got to read books full of big, beautiful pictures.|
You and your brother/mother/significant other, squinting in the sun and staring glumly at the camera, pleading for it to go off. What if we told you that there’s a magic word that will make any posed photograph leap off the page? Four magic letters that will bring a smile to the most tightly pursed lips? “Jump” Yes, jump. Don’t believe us? Check out the Jump Project for proof: gleaming mid-air grins from Vegas to New Zealand, Moscow to the Moab. The project’s curator puts it simply, “It’s been a long time since any of us jumped for anything… jumping makes people smile.” Jump Project Gallery |
We’ve seen your vacation albums.|
Sound good? Then we’ve got the perfect photo project for you! Armed with a camera and a few simple tools, you too can conquer the art of the impromptu street portrait. Find out how in this simple tutorial by our friend Youngna. How to Shoot Impromptu Street Portraits |
This weekend, spend some time outdoors, explore a new neighborhood, hone your portrait-taking skills, make strangers smile, and walk away with some amazing photographs.