Marcus Newey has figured out how to create a multi-light effect using illumination for a single flash. He has posted this creative and highly effective technique in a flicker discussion group in which he explains how to photograph multiple shoots of the same scene with a single flash and then use Photoshop to combine the pictures to create one composite photo.

On the left is the scene as it would appear normally. The photo on the right is a composite image where the photographer shot the scenes using his one flash and firing it five times.

The tutorial is aimed at the real estate photography crowd but I can see some REALLY creative applications for this technique. An example might be how to light a very large interior such as a church using just one flash.

See the entire tutorial here.

Artistic expression naturally covers a wide range. Over the last year or so photographic software has emerged that gives you complete control over that range. Photomatix is such a software and it enables users to create not only HDR images but it also is being used to create highly creative photographic images that some have coined as “grunge.”

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No Photoshop required!

Here’s a fun and creative way to take a photo that appears to have a transparent (ghost) person in the photo. There will be those that’ll swear this image has been manipulated in Photoshop, but the truth is, it’s straight out of the camera.

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Here’s a DIY project from the folks at Popular Science that uses a standard peephole (like the one in your front door) to create a fisheye camera lens for your point-and-shoot digital camera.

In the realm of creative photography nothing is more intriguing than the pinhole camera. There have been many design approaches utilizing various household items but none that we’ve seen thus far even come close to this particularly creative and useful design - The Panorama Pinhole Camera.

This baby uses 120mm medium format ROLL film which means you can take multiple shots without the bothersome task of opening and reloading after each shot as is the case with most pinhole designs. Just take your shot, advance the film and take your next shot. When you’re done take your roll of film to your favorite photo processing outlet and prepare yourself for some pretty amazing pictures.

Oh, this pinhole design is built completely from scratch so you do not need to scavenger parts from other cameras.

This is one of the BEST DIY projects we’ve stumbled across in a long time!

You can find the full PDF tutorial here.

Ever wonder how photographers get those great looking waterfall pictures? Here’s your chance to learn the steps to creating superb waterfall photos. This tutorial is intended for beginners but just about everyone can pick up some helpful hints.

Read the full tutorial here…

How do you derive inspiration for your picture-taking? How do you stay creative? How do you get creative to start with? I'm hoping to open up some answers here, but you're welcome to add to this list in the comments section.

Keep your mind open
There's nothing on this planet that can 'not inspire'. If you look at a piece of trash and say "How could I possibly be inspired by this?" you're not looking beyond the obvious. Here's a couple of different ways in which to look at a piece of trash:

• If it's an interesting piece of trash (not at all as rare as you may imagine), look for interesting shapes, colours, reflections, juxtapositions, etc...
• If its not, look around, look at it in the bigger social context. What can you find that is relevant (or irrelevant) 10, 15 or 20 feet from it. What are the kinds of people in the vicinity? are they affected by it's presence?
• Or you could just figure that the piece of trash should not be there in the first place... so why is it? you could do a series of pictures on why and how it got there.

So, you see, its only a matter of looking at it with the right mental perspective.

Practice
Practice helps you reach perfection, right? Keeps you tuned and humming, in sync with your chosen skill and the mastery over its functions that...

One of the quickest ways to sparkle up your digital pictures is add a frame, edge or border. Professional Photography Magazine reviews three digital framing options:

• onOne Software’s PhotoFrame Pro 3 and the optional Pro Digital Frame Bundle
• Kubota Imaging Tools Sloppy Borders, Volume One
• Graphic Authority Library