A shot of a vintage Canon rangefinder camera photographing a paper crane.  There is a Japanese theme here.

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A black and white shot of a vintage Canon rangefinder camera that screams out to either photograph or be photographed every time I walk past it.

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Second shot from a forthcoming set where I go about tagging some of the things I like the most. In no particular order of preference the second item is perhaps somewhat inevitable – photography. Photography allows you to appreciate the beauty in things that other people simply fail to notice.

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You may remember a few weeks ago when space shuttle Endeavour blasted off for the final time and the unique photograph captured by Stefanie Gordon who was in a commercial passenger plane at the time.  Well that photo isn’t quite as unique today as it once was as Ryan Graff has captured a very similar shot of the final mission for space shuttle Atlantis today.

Images © Ryan Graff/Twitpic

It’s interesting to note than these shots were taken with an iPhone 4.  It’s truly wonderful to live in an age where we all have the potential to capture remarkable shots as and when they occur thanks to the ever more capable little cameras in our pockets, travelling with us everywhere we go!  It may be a sad time for the future of space travel but it’s also a massively exciting time for photography.

You can read the full story behind these images including some comments from the photographer, Ryan Graff on the Huffington Post article linked below.

From: The Huffington Post

What does this mean to us as photographers? Well according to Lytro one of the main selling points will be that it will allow the photographer as well as users viewing the photograph at a later stage to adjust the focus point. It will also allow images to be displayed in 3D as well as 2D, also as this camera will be more heavily influenced by software rather than hardware it has the potential to allow radical changes when it comes to low light photography and camera/lens design compared to the traditional forms of photography that we all know and love.

Here are a few example shots, including the obligatory cat shot (there are lots more example on Lytro’s website). Click on the image to change the focus point:

You would certainly be forgiven for thinking that this is some kind of elaborate April Fool prank but from what I can gather so far this is in-fact a real camera.

I must admit that I do have some reservations about it at this stage, perhaps from a photographic purity perspective. It sounds like it will allow the photographer to be lazy and simply take a shot then worry about the composition and focus during the post processing, which strikes me as a negative thing. I guess we will have to wait and see but putting my fears for the craft aside I am always excited by new gadgets and developments in the industry and I can’t wait to get my hands on one to try it out for myself.

Lytro Picture Revolution

Source engadget.

Just a very quick post to share a photo I took while driving home this afternoon.

I spotted these seagulls resting on the heads of some floating swan rides and immediately had to stop the car to get the shot.  A random passer by looked at me with my camera and then looked out to where my lens was pointing and remarked “That’s really funny, I just wish I’d brought my camera out today”.

So it just goes to show that it’s always worth having a camera handy if possible to capture those quirky unexpected moments.

Have a great weekend!