I just read a very cool article by Alex Koloskov over at AKELstudio’s “Atalanta Photographer Blog” about how he was able to get great macro detail on a small medical brush with clear bristles when shooting on a white background (for a catalog, I would guess). Here’s a little taste of what the final product looked like using his techniques (this is a 100% crop of the final photo, click for the full size version):

For fans of the hit AMC series Mad Men, or for fans of the ’40s and ’50s in general, here is a splendid little video called “The Girl on the Magazine Cover” that briefly investigates the world of modeling and magazine advertising photography around the 1940s. Not only is it a glimpse into the harrowing business of commercial photography in those days when view cameras were the best you could get and subjects were all shot under hot lights, but also an entertaining look at the male-dominated professional world familiar to anyone who lived through those decades (or at least watched Mad Men).

If any of you occasionally visit The Luminous Landscape, you may have noticed that it’s not available right now (visitors are met by a 404 error on the front page; never good!) Michael Johnston over at The Online Photographer has spoken to Michael Reichmann and informs us.html that the site experienced a fatal crash and is currently in the process of being restored from a backup. If they’ve crossed their Ts and dotted their Is, everything should be back up again soon.

Yeah, I bet you are. I have around five bags, both shoulder bags and backpacks; in my circle of friends that’s a low number. It seems like photographers are always buying new bags. No bag you buy is ever perfect, there’s always a new bag later on that you feel will better satisfy your lifestyle or your methods or your comfort. So, how do you shop for a camera bag?

Just like HAM radio enthusiasts (of which I am one, by no coincidence), photographers tend to be whores for equipment. If there is one thing that’s more exciting than actually taking pictures, it’s buying all the equipment you think you need before even going out there. Some call it “retail therapy,” which is a deceptively medical phrasing for “it feels really good to buy stuff, and I enjoy feeling really good.