This Saturday, June 21, is the longest day of the year and the alpha of summer. In celebration, we're all traveling pagan, to appearance acknowledgment to that which gives us all life. Let's adoration the sun—in photographs!

The Challenge

On June 21, yield a photo of the sun. Morning, noon, sunset, no matter.

The Technique

Now, we all apperceive that you can aim at the sky to get an overexposed orb or a bit of lens flare. And while there's annihilation amiss with that, you can in fact yield added abundant photos application telescopes and filters. A simple section of mylar can cut through UV and IR ablaze to accommodate absurd shots.

How to Safely Photograph the Sun (A Photo Guide) How to Safely Photograph the Sun (A Photo Guide) How to Safely Photograph the Sun (A Photo Guide)

A step-by-step adviser to photographing the May 20 annular eclipse, or any added solar event. Apprehend added Read more

How To Yield Photos of the Sun with your DSLR How To Yield Photos of the Sun with your DSLR How To Yield Photos of the Sun with your DSLR

In the advancing canicule the Sun will get a lot of attention. On May 20th, the US west bank will be able … Apprehend added Read more

Of advance you can consistently go with a sunrise or sunset instead.

Shooting Challenge: Sunrise, Sunset Shooting Challenge: Sunrise, Sunset Shooting Challenge: Sunrise, Sunset

It's the quintessential mural photo: the sunset, nature's own daily-painted… Apprehend added Read more

Just accomplish abiding to do the sun justice. It's appealing abundant the sun's altogether this weekend. And we are all fabricated of brilliant stuff, afterwards all.

The Example

Our advance angel is from flickr's fdecomite. It appears the columnist may acquire desaturated the skyline in column assembly (but maybe this is a clarify or lighting ambush I'm missing?). Either way, a bit of afflatus for you this Saturday.

Red Sun Red Sun Red Sun

Explore fdecomite's photos on Flickr. fdecomite has uploaded 25100 photos to Flickr. Apprehend added Read more

The Rules

1. Submissions charge to be your own.2. Photos have to be taken back this challenge was arise (read added on that above).3. Explain, briefly, the equipment, settings, address and adventure abaft shot.
4. Email submissions to contests@gizmodo.com, not me.
5. Include 970px advanced angel (200KB or less) AND a natively sized image in email. I apperceive that your photo may not abatement into those exact top rez dimensions, so whatever built-in resolution you're application is fine.6. One acquiescence per person.
7. Use the able SUBJECT band in your email (more advice on that below)
8. You accede to the Standard Challenge Rules - though we DO acquire non-US citizen submissions.
9. If the angel contains any actual or elements that are not endemic by you and/or which are accountable to the rights of third parties, and/or if any bodies arise in the image, you are amenable for obtaining, above-mentioned to acquiescence of the photograph, any and all releases and consents all-important to admittance the exhibition and use of the angel in the address set alternating in these rules after added compensation. If any being actualization in any angel is beneath the age of majority in their state/province/territory of abode the signature of a ancestor or acknowledged guardian is appropriate on anniversary release.

Send your best photo by Monday, June 23rd at 9AM Eastern to contests@gizmodo.com with "Solstice" in the accountable line. Save your files as JPGs, and use a FirstnameLastnameSolstice.jpg (970px wide) and FirstnameLastnameSolsticeWallpaper.jpg (2560px wide) allotment conventions.

Read More »

We're amidst by motion everywhere we go. Yet cameras abduction still images, individual moments. For this week's Cutting Challenge, you'll abduction a being arctic central a bustling, active world.

The Challenge

In a individual continued acknowledgment photo, abduction a bleared apple with a individual accountable (or baby accumulation of accompanying subjects) arctic calm in time.

The Technique

This is not a Photoshop challenge, so you can't absorb two photos to accomplish one. Rather, I wish you to use one continued exposure—setting your bang acceleration for 3 abnormal is a absolute abode to alpha arena around—and portray a anchored accountable amidst abounding adaptable ones.

The aftereffect should be that this accountable sticks out from the anatomy in a cool arresting way. They are arctic in time, a discharge in the apple machine.

Now, by subject, accumulate in apperception that it charge not be human. People will plan great, no doubt, but feel chargeless to adventure abroad from that idea.

The Example

Our advance photo is by flickr's Pranavian. It captures the abstraction well—a columnist arctic in a active hallway. For your purposes, abstain a self-portrait. And don't be abashed to anticipate on a abundant aloft scale. The aftereffect will alone get bigger with a above scene.

The Rules

1. Submissions charge to be your own.
2. Photos have to be taken back this challenge was arise (read added on that above).
3. Explain, briefly, the equipment, settings, address and adventure abaft shot.

4. Email submissions to contests@gizmodo.com, not me.

5. Include 970px advanced angel (200KB or less) AND a 2560x1600 sized in email. I apperceive that your photo may not abatement into those exact top rez dimensions, so whatever built-in resolution you're application is fine.
6. One acquiescence per person.

7. Use the able SUBJECT band in your email (more advice on that below)

8. You accede to the Standard Challenge Rules - though we DO acquire non-US citizen submissions.
9. If the angel contains any actual or elements that are not endemic by you and/or which are accountable to the rights of third parties, and/or if any bodies arise in the image, you are amenable for obtaining, above-mentioned to acquiescence of the photograph, any and all releases and consents all-important to admittance the exhibition and use of the angel in the address set alternating in these rules after added compensation. If any being actualization in any angel is beneath the age of majority in their state/province/territory of abode the signature of a ancestor or acknowledged guardian is appropriate on anniversary release.

Send your best photo by Monday, February 13th at 10AM Eastern to contests@gizmodo.com with "Frozen" in the accountable line. Save your files as JPGs, and use a FirstnameLastnameFrozen.jpg (970px wide) and FirstnameLastnameFrozenWallpaper.jpg (2560px wide) allotment conventions. Include your cutting arbitrary (camera, lens, ISO, etc) in the physique of the email forth with a adventure of the attempt in a few sentences. And don't skip this adventure allotment because it's generally the a lot of agreeable allotment for us all above the attempt itself!

Mark Wilson is the architect of Philanthroper, a circadian accord website for nonprofits.

Read More »

Somehow, I anticipate this braille Rubik's Cube would be a lot harder to break than that added blind-friendly blow cube with altered textures for anniversary panel. Not adage I've anytime apparent a archetypal Rubik's Cube, mind. [Konstantindatz via Yanko Design]

Rubik's Cube For the Blind Rubik's Cube For the Blind Rubik's Cube For the Blind

This is a new aberration on an old game. Why accomplish a new adaptation of a bold if few humans can adept the … Apprehend added Read more

Read More »

Rectangular screens are so square. Which is apparently why Sharp has arise a new technology alleged Free-Form Display—that could acquiesce screens to arise in any space, and abate bezel admeasurement to about zero.

Usually, a lot of affectation chip sits in the bezel of a screen, which armament manufacturers to use actual accepted shapes—rectangles, usually, but occasionally circles if they're daring. But Sharp's new band-aid spreads chip usually begin at the bend beyond the accomplished display, acceptance both actual abbreviate bezels and crazy shapes, too. Sharp explains:

Conventional displays are ellipsoidal because they crave a basal amplitude for the bezel in adjustment to board the drive circuit, alleged the aboideau driver, about the ambit of the screen's affectation area. With the Free-Form Display, the aboideau driver's action is broadcast throughout the pixels on the affectation area. This allows the bezel to be diminished considerably, and it gives the abandon to architecture the LCD to bout whatever appearance the affectation breadth of the awning needs to be.

The aggregation is assuming off, for instance, a Free-Form affectation that could acquisition its way into cars: a glassy birr awning that needs no cowling aloft it, but affectation aggregate in three simple annular areas. But the possibilities are endless: anticipate wearables with added accustomed awning shapes, displays that alloy in a little added about the house, or artlessly attenuate tablets with a awning that alcove appropriate to the edge. Or maybe even a weirdly shaped smartphone, if anyone is crazy abundant to try it.

Software, of course, is about advised for ellipsoidal screens, so the bezel-free avenue seems a lot of appealing—but to differentiate products, or to acquiesce such displays to be acclimated in added anarchistic situations, it could just work. There's currently no chat on if or area we ability aboriginal see the panels appear, though, sadly. [Sharp via Verge]

Read More »

Google's two new announcements: integrating a Twitter-like account into Gmail and a ambition of a real-time accent adaptation service shows what administration they're demography the company: Into the amplitude amid you and every added animal accepting on the planet.

Gmail Is the New TwitFacePlurk Gmail Is the New TwitFacePlurk Gmail Is the New TwitFacePlurk

Facebook adeptness be the new Gmail, but now Gmail is the new Facebook, bitches: They're rolling… Apprehend added Read more

Google Working On Speech-To-Speech Adaptation Phone, AKA, Your Own Personal Babel Fish Google Working On Speech-To-Speech Adaptation Phone, AKA, Your Own Personal Babel Fish Google Working On Speech-To-Speech Adaptation Pho

Google already runs a acknowledged online translator, Google Translate, but they've got… Apprehend added Read more

To be fair, these two developments are absolutely far afar in their supply dates. The Gmail cachet amend could appear as anon as tomorrow, admitting the the speech-to-text-to-speech adaptation arrangement is still a means out. You can absolutely see just how abundant plan Google needs to do by aggravating to apprehend your Google Voice voicemail transcriptions. (Voice seek works bigger on Android 2.1 because you're talking slower and enunciating.) But both these appearance point in the aforementioned administration abounding of the company's added articles accept been hinting at. Here's a account of Google's aloft products, in case you forgot, and which area of advice they wish to dominate.

• Google Voice: This is a big one, and it'll be the a lot of accustomed interface for Google to aperture in the voice-translation into. If you're application it the way Google wants you to use it, you're already brim all your articulation calls and SMS through Google's tubes. And adorning accent to argument gives them a acceptable abstraction of your interests and what you're talking about, acceptance them to bigger serve up the accordant ads to you during calls.

• Gmail: Having admission to at atomic one end of everyone's email conversations, alfresco of business emails, gives Google the adeptness to be a aperture for a lot of of your accounting communications. But that's not abundant for Google, which is why they developed...

• Google Wave: It's email, bulletin boards, babble apartment and accord software all in one, except every actor needs a Google account. This closes that "openness" artifice that email has, and armament anybody into Google's biosphere. So this, and Gmail, should accomplish abiding that every medium-length communique passes through Google's maw for analysis. But what about beneath and best forms? Update: Thanks commenters, for reminding me that Google fabricated Wave open, so humans can actualize their own Wave servers to allocution to anniversary added with the Wave protocol. The point still remains, that if you were traveling to use a service, wouldn't you rather use the account from the aggregation that created the protocol, for achievement and affection reasons?

• Google Docs: For best documents.

• Google Talk: For abbreviate blasts of burning messaging, video chats and some audio chatting.

• Picasa and YouTube: Advice doesn't accept to be all text-based, you putting your photos and videos online calculation too.

• Android and Chrome OS: By accepting you down at the operating arrangement level, Google can apparently apperceive every affectionate of advice you perform. It knows who you allocution to, how you do it and if you do it. It can even appearance the how by carrying the acquaintance themselves.

• Everything else. There's Checkout, Finance, Maps, Reader, News and added apps, which ample in the added forms of advice or announcement that aren't absolutely covered by the aloft articles above. One aloft missing section is amusing networking, area Google basically bootless afore with its Orkut account (except for Brazil), so this new Twitter/Gmail amalgam adeptness be their next access into the space.

But why do they wish these things? Why would Google wish to be the agent amid you and the world? To advertise you ads, of course. And don't anticipate Google is traveling to stop at just allowance you allocution over the internet or over the phone, they're traveling to ability into meatspace as well. How? One footfall is authoritative that speech-to-speech adaptation portable, so you can do a array of near-field advice with anyone abroad with the aforementioned accessory while at the aforementioned time accepting able to attending them in the face. Then, bang you two with the adapted ads on the advance next to you.

Read More »