Friday Happy Hour: Boston Magazine Cover Shows Unity

The first part of this week’s Happy Hour pays tribute to just a few stories that have come out in the wake of the Boston Marathon bombing and subsequent search for those responsible.

Boston Magazine‘s May cover features heart made of runners’ sneakers

The May issues of Boston Magazine will feature a heart created from the shoes of Boston Marathon runners, photographed by Mitchell Feinberg. The team hastened to get shoes from anyone they knew who had run, and ended up with 120 pairs. Everyone on staff worked to interview each runner who donated, and many of their stories were included in the latest issue. Editor John Wolfson says, “To me the cover is about two things: perseverance and unity. By itself, each shoe in the photograph is tiny, battered, and ordinary. Together, though, they create something beautiful, powerful, and inspirational.” (via Boston Magazine)

Behind the camera that found Boston bombing suspect #2

The infrared camera that spotted Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, one of the suspects in the Boston Marathon bombing case, was spotted hiding in a boat in Watertown, MA with the Star SAFIRE III made FLIR corporation. This 15-inch gimbal is packed with a 640 x 480 Forward Looking Infrared camera operating at the 3-5 μm wavelength, as well as an optional color zoom camera, spotter scope, low-light camera, 25km laser rangefinder, pointer, and illuminator. Those features made it possible to see under the plastic shrink wrap covering the inside of the boat. (via Gizmodo)

Boston candlelight vigil by Elan Kawesch

Last Sunday, Boston residents of the tight-knit North End neighborhood came together for a candlelight vigil. Photographer Elan Kawesch captured some of the most poignant moments. (via The Photo Brigade)

Associated Press Director of Photography on preparing your portfolio

AP’s Director of Photography Santiago Lyon gave a presentation at CUNY Graduate School of Journalism sponsored by The New York Times on preparing your portfolio review. In the short six minute talk, he emphasizes the importance of viewing your portfolio as your “calling card”. If you’re a news photographer, your portfolio doesn’t need to be filled with the most important or breaking news, he says. Your work should show your ability to deal with difficult situations and still concentrate on the task at hand. The portfolio should present your work in a way that’s coherent, with a clear beginning and end, and flow that links everything together. Watch his talk here.

10 essential accessories for shooting video with a DSLR

Shooting video with your DSLR is relatively simple, but having the right accessories can take the experience up a notch. Popular Photography has a list of 10 accessories you need to shoot video with a DSLR, including a sturdy tripod with a pan head, screen loupe, and neutral density filter. Read the full list here.

FocusTwist for the iPhone lets you re-focus images after you get the shot

Think of FocusTwist like the Lytro camera for your iPhone photos – you can re-focuse your images after the fact. The difference is that FocusTwist snaps multiple photographs of a scene with different focal planes and then merges them together into a single interactive image that can be refocused. Some examples of the interactive photos below (click the photo to change the focus) and you can learn more on their site focustwist.com.

The 100 most important cameras ever made

Pop Chart Lab is selling “A Visual Compendium of Cameras” that essentially acts like an infographic of the 100 most important cameras ever made. The list starts with the original Kodak in 1888 and takes us up GoPro Hero 3 released this year. You’ll notice surprising similarities throughout the years, especially in shape and size. (via Fast Co.Design)