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Kenn Tam
Toronto, ON, CA

Articles written by Kenn Tam

Coke's PSA Pranks Theatergoers With Some Fast Editing

Ok, sure it's advertising but it's creative, entertaining advertising by global ad agency Saarchi & Saatchi and executive creative director Jason Mendes. Imagine going to your favorite local theater, plopping your butt down with your popped corn in one hand and coke in the other. And just as you settle in look up to find that you have become an advertising superstar.

See A $500,000 Platinum Portrait Being Made

Here's a bit of fun Sunday watching: a halftone portrait made with tens of thousands of platinum balls will soon be available by special order from Platinum Sphere Portrait. Personally, I find this more intersting from an engineering point of view rather than a photographic one. And sure, a 58x80cm portrait done in half a million dollars worth of platinum is mind boggling expensive but let's be honest, wouldn't it be cool to have one of your prints immortalized in an lustrous precious metal that will never tarnish or fade?

Urban Windshield Photography: Seeing Through a Different Lens

You know the old saying, "When it rains, it pours"? Then you probably also know how fitting that expression is for photographers. We can see long stretches between jobs but more often than not, when work is coming in, it comes in heavy. So sometimes it's hard to find the time to get your Sunday Fstoppers' post done. Which brings me to another old saying, "It pays to have friends".

What Do You Have For Your Photographic EDC?

EDC (everyday carry) items have always intrigued me. What people carry with them on a daily basis says a lot about who they are. Not to mention it's a great way to discover those can't-live-without items I never knew I needed. So I'm curious (and I know you are too): What do photographers carry with them on a day to day basis?

BTSV Barbie's Sports Illustrated Cover Shoot

Fashion icon, model, plaything. No matter how you see her Barbara Millicent Roberts (a.k.a. Barbie) proves that she's still got it at the age of 55 by landing the cover of Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition (technically a promotional cover-wrap for the American International Toy Fair). Even though this tongue-in-cheek video was primarily created for humorous reasons you still get a good glimpse behind the scenes with legendary photographer Walter Iooss.

Photography with a Conscience

It's been 3 years since Fstoppers' Patrick Hall posted on the Midway project, where Seattle-based photographer Chris Jordan made us aware of the horrific plight of albatrosses living on the Midway Atoll in the North Pacific Ocean. Since then Chris and his team have put together this short film documenting the tragedy that plagues the inhabitants of the island, where the Great Pacific Garbage Patch continues to kill. This short is a bit of a teaser for their featured film due to be released later this year.

A Clever Idea for Getting a Good Photo Out of Your Kids... a Sound Trigger

In this video Enlight Photo highlights one of their products by showing how it can be used to get the best reactions possible from your kids. I personally haven't tested this product myself but the idea of using an audio trigger to get children involved in the process seems like a... sound idea. Sorry, I couldn't help myself.

Comparing the Sensor in Nikon's Df and D4 Cameras

Lately we've been seeing a lot about the Nikon Df. Everything from Lee Morris' Nikon Df Hipster Review to Chase Jarvis' First Impressions, and it seems like the early popular opinion has judged the Df as lacking. Adding to the growing list of underwhelmed reviews is this video from DigitalRevTV as they compare how the D4 sensor performs in both the Df and D4 models.

A Glimpse into Astrophotography

After our post about ...an Itty-bitty Universe the question was raised as to how such images are produced. For answers I turned to the publisher of "Year in the Life of the Universe", "Capturing the Stars", "Treasures of the Southern Sky" and "Lessons from the Masters", recipient of a "Hubble Prize" for contributions to astrophotography, image producer for both a UK and German national stamp, and the guy responsible for Apple's ubiquitous desktop image of NGC 3190. Meet astrophotographer Robert Gendler.

Watch Buzz Feed Attempt to Explain Film Photography to Today's Kids

Last month Buzzfeed took the time to sit the youth of today down and teach them what photography meant when film was involved. Being an adolescent of the 80's my favorite part of this video was a brief Gizmo appearance but you gotta question the wisdom of using a character from 1984 as a comparison, for a group who apperently knows nothing about film. Wait. Is there actually a group who don't know what film photography is? I'm getting old.

10 Tips on How to Creatively Use a Slider

Are you getting the most out of your gear? In this short video, videographer Jordy Vandeput demonstrates 10 different ways to manipulate your camera angles with a slider and tripod.

Photographing a Moment of Carefreeness

The Mimi-Foundation with Leo Burnett France gave the gift of carefreeness, "Ne Serait-ce Qu'une Seconde" (If Only For One Second), to 20 cancer patients. They accomplished this by applying hair and make-up while the subjects kept their eyes closed. They were then placed in front of a one-way mirror, where photographer Vincent Dixon waited to capture their reactions as they opened their eyes.

How to Capture a 360º Image with a High-speed Camera

YouTuber Mark Rober, the guy who brought us a creative DIY Rotational Filming techique using a GoPro, has taken it 10 steps further with the help of a NASA engineer. Obviously we won't see photographers building rigs like this in their studios but it's a damn nifty idea. Check out the video in the full post to see their, more entertaining, failed efforts with Dustin from Smarter Every Day.

Product Shoot with an iPhone and iPad for Lighting

You've likely seen Lee Morris's iPhone fashion shoot by now. One of the common critiques had been the use of expensive lighting. Well here is yet another prime example, by Philippines-based portrait photographer Laya Gerlock, that creative use beats expensive toys. That's not to say an iPad, iPhone or D3 equivalent are inexpensive but you have those already, right?

C.U.N.T.'s Video: Posing for a Photo That's Actually a Video

To promote C.U.N.T. (aka C U Next Tuesday) Sarah Elizabeth Meyler videos Dublin hipsters under the premise that she was taking a photo. The resulting montage of poses is a good chuckle for all of you who have had a long work week followed by a short weekend of more work. Enjoy.

The Challenge: Change Your Story by Changing Your Lens

In this video Canon Australia challenges singer-songwriter Guy Sebastian and Canon Master photographer Graham Monro to change the story of three different scenes simply by changing between lenses. Specifically the macro Canon EF-S 60mm f/2.8 Macro USM Lens, the portrait Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM Lens , the landscape Canon EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM Lens and the sports Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6L IS USM Lens.

Guns & Girls: A BTSV Of Magpul's 2014 Calendar

Be it with a camera or with a gun, a girl who shoots is unquestionably sexy. So what's that make talented commercial fashion photographer Dixie Dixon as she takes on the role of Director of photography for Magpul's 2014 Calendar? Hot, no doubt, but more importantly she adds professionalism and class to a genre that is traditionaly little more than string bikinis and thongs. Dixie's sophistication and style is a refreshing departure from a genre typically shot far too often through the male lens.

A Hands-On Video of Nikon's Df Camera

UPDATED Post:
Moments after posting our fly by the pants video of the Nikon Df a reader pointed us towards another video by Chris Niccolls of TheCameraStoreTV, which frankly covers it all and generally kicks ass. So I decided to scoot our video to the bottom and share his exception hands-on with you instead.

Empowering Children Through Photography

100cameras.org has to be one of the coolest photography related projects I've seen. The children in this program live in poverty but are given the opportunity to help improve their communities by sharing their stories through photography. Their photos help us understand the difficult conditions more than 1 billion children live in, world wide. The photos are for sale online and 100% of the proceeds go back to that child's community. You can check out some of their work on Instagram and if you