photography

Call it fate, or just pure luck. One insect species recently gained a scientific name due to an eagle-eyed taxonomist browsing images on Flickr.

Our short story begins with a simple upload: Amateur photographer Hock Ping Guek posted a series of close-up photos featuring a strange green lacewing insect to the photo-sharing service in May 2011. Guek, who observed the lacewing at a state park in the Malaysian state of Selangor, has a penchant for macro insect photography. … Read more

We all know how gaudy, camera-branded neck straps can stick out and sometimes clash with an outfit at formal events.

Made from soft, cotton tweed, the Camera Strap Necktie is a quirky neck strap that can doubles as a necktie. It is adjustable to a maximum of 3.9 feet long and measures just less than an inch wide. This neck strap supports cameras that weigh up to 4.8 pounds -- it'll work whether you are carrying a dSLR with a 70-200mm telephoto lens or a midrange mirrorless interchangeable lens camera (ILC). … Read more

Your iPhone comes packing a pretty decent camera, but there's no camera on the planet that doesn't benefit from the stability of a tripod.

Just one problem: Tripods tend to be long, large, unwieldy accessories, not the kind of the things you can just slip into your pocket.

Until now. Photojojo's Tiltpod Mobile puts an iPhone tripod on your keychain.

If the name sounds familiar, you might be thinking of the original Tiltpod, which combined a magnetic tripod-mount screw head with a small base designed to be worn on your wrist. It was built for small point-and-shoot … Read more

The internal flash of a dSLR comes in handy when shooting in low light and indoors but can sometimes be too harsh on your subjects. Bouncing the flash is a great way to distribute the light more uniformly, allowing for more than just foreground assets to show up in the photo. Bouncing the flash is also great for avoiding harsh shadows and those pesky red eyes.

So how do you bounce a flash? Well, the easiest way is to use an external flash attachment. The problem is that external flashes are bulky, heavy, and cumbersome to travel with. This makes them less desirable to carry around and decreases the chances you'll actually have one when you need it most.… Read more

What I always say to friends saving up for a dSLR is this: you'd better be saving for a lot more than just the camera.

Memory cards and camera bags are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the suite of accessories dSLR owners depend on. And that goes for casual, amateur photographers, GWC (guys with cameras), and pros.

Whether you're a new or prospective dSLR owner, these are the accessories you'll want to pick up as you build your photographer's arsenal.

1. Extra batteries This one's a no-brainer, but newbies often … Read more

The X-cap lens accessory can be mounted on interchangeable lens cameras that use retractable zoom lenses, such as Panasonic's 14-42mm pancake zoom, that require lens caps. Unlike conventional lens caps, the X-cap has a tiny mechanism below that activates the X-cap's lens opening when it's extended, and closes when it's retracted.

We think this is a very handy accessory as it means not having to remove (or lose) your lens cap ever again during a photo shoot. No details have been released yet on price or availability, but you can see the X-cap in action below. … Read more

A federal judge has denied Apple's request to transfer its patent dispute with Kodak out of bankruptcy court, a move that could have disrupted the troubled photography company's plans to auction its digital-imaging patent portfolio.

U.S. District Judge George Daniels denied Apple's request for a change of venue to his court today, deferring to the judge presiding over Kodak's bankruptcy proceedings, according to a Reuters report. Judge Allan Gropper should have "an opportunity to render a decision on the motion and to have an opportunity to control and move forward the process," Daniels … Read more

Who says you can't take a picture and eat it too?

Cocoagraph, a company based in Philadelphia, provides a unique service that allows shutterbugs to turn any image (be it a scan or a smartphone snapshot from Instagram) into various sizes of chocolate. You even get to choose the kind of chocolate you want depending on the level of cocoa content. … Read more

If you've grown bored with Instagram and are looking for a new photo-sharing app, Tiny Post might fit the bill. This free iPhone app lets you add three lines of text to photos, creating one of those hilarious or poignant images you undoubtedly see daily in your Facebook News Feed or elsewhere on the Internet.

Tiny Post boasts a slick interface and a number of sharing options. After signing in via Facebook, Twitter, or e-mail, you can find other Tiny Post users to follow by tapping the people button in the upper-right corner. Tap the camera button in the … Read more