Learn how to build an incredibly photography rig to take detailed macro photos of insects, water drops, or anything else you desire.  The project was built by (believe it or not) a grandpa who goes by “fotoopa.”  The entire setup is detailed on his Flickr page as well as collections of his insect and waterdrop high-speed photograph collection.

• Don’t Miss: Our entire photography collection

The setup obviously yields incredibly results, but it’s quite complex.  If you’re looking for a more simple solution, check out the Arduino laser triggered camera rig.

Camera Rig Setup:

Insects:

He has literally thousands of photos of all sorts of insects both in flight and still.  A massive collection of superb photography.

Water Droplets:

The classic water drop shots catch stunning visuals of colored droplets which are trigged by the droplet breaking a laser beam.

Popular DIY Photography Projects:

• DIY Macro Photography Kit on the Cheap
• Mindblowing LED, Light and Laser Photography
• Incredible DIY Aerial Kite Photography

While you may think that the glasses shown below would be rather expensive, you can actually make them for less than $15.  It’s as simple as buying two small digital photo frames on eBay for $6 and sacrifice an old pair of glasses.  Of course, you can’t see out of them

The overall idea is pretty absurd and I can’t believe I’m posting something related to Lady Gaga on HacknMod.  Nonetheless, the use of cheap LCDs is still pretty unique. The project is simple enough – the only critical components are the cheap digital photo frames. Just be sure that the digital frames fit into the glasses frames.

The video glasses certainly won’t be a regular fashion accessory but hey, maybe you can wear it around to costume parties or next year’s Halloween.

Related Projects:

• Cheap and Easy DIY Digital Picture Frame
• DIY Heltmet Cam Inside Ski Goggles
• EyeBorg: False Eye Camera Implant

Strangely enough, we’ve featured loads of Star Wars projects, but rather few Star Trek builds. Not to fear! Here’s an extraordinary U.S.S. Enterprise model which has been turned into a submarine. This is just one of many outstanding models featured at the recent Aqua Modelers Meeting.

The detail is amazing and the motions in the water are quick and smooth.  Definitely a noteworthy RC project to add to our collection.

Related Projects:

• DIY Star Trek Phaser Raygun
• Near Space Photography for Under $150
• Remote Control Robotics Projects

Believe it or not, it’s possible to take high quality photos of near-space using parts for under $150.  It’s been done by a group of MIT students and hobbists and you can do it too.  Typically this is done by simply lifting a camera as high as possible using a weather balloon until it pops.  If space is a little too high for your tastes, learn the spectacular art of kite photography to capture incredible DIY photography shots.

Typical Supplies:

• Camera or cell phone Cam
• Picture taking mechanism
• Weather balloon
• GPS tracking (to find it when it lands)

How-to Video:

Similar DIY Projects:

• Mindblowing LED, Light and Laser Photography
• X-Ray Photography of Gaming Controllers, Consoles
• DIY Macro Photography Kit on the Cheap

Even taking simple photos for items we’re tying to sell on eBay can be tricky. Most of us want to have a certain degree of professionalism to our photos that say something out us.  You have to have a fancy, expensive setup, right? Nope: Learn make a DIY photography studio in your closet.

The Setup

This guide shows you how to set up a small but completely functional DIY photo studio in a space no bigger than a closet. It works by using some basic framing and material which could be soured from a hardware shop or even your tool shed.

Above is the inside setup with a watch on a reflective surface on top of a black cloth.  For such a simple setup, the results are astounding!

The Final Result:

Superb quality photos!  There are also instructions to set up the different kinds of lighting which are nothing more than basic domestic lights you can but at your local home furnishings store.  Overall, the guide is very well written and has great illustrations and pictures to help you along the way to building your own photography studio in your closet!

DIY Photograph Articles:

• Incredible DIY Aerial Kite Photography
• DIY Macro Photography Kit on the Cheap
• How to build a simple iPhone 3GS Tripod Mount

A 300mW laser might not burn through a wall, it delivers fantastic results as a CNC plotter. This Motori plotter is all about precision and speed. According to the maker, the laser’s power is sufficient to cut into thin films and make a hole 10-12mm deep in high density foam and pyroengrave wood. Definitely good enough to use it in laser plotter projects.

• Don’t Miss: Our massive selection of DIY laser projects

Demonstration Photos:

The Motori laser plotter came later. It started out as a flatbed pen plotter built from salvaged parts of old printers and scanners. The use of junked parts makes this a cheap but viable DIY project.

Lasers and pens is not the only thing this machine does.  You can also make your own PCBs with it.  The photos above are part of maker’s photostream showing the plotter’s handiwork.  The project site features plenty of detail, but here is a basic list of materials:

Materials:

1. 2 bipolar stepper motors recycled from printers
2. Timing belts and tension pulleys
3. Precision hardened shafts of different kinds
4. Carriages matching the shafts
5. Power supply recycled from the printer
6. A supply of springs and plastic pieces

The results were great for demo purposes as the pen did a fine job with 0.8mm patterns on a PCB. Though it’s not industry grade as the precision is low and the marker pen wears out quickly. The great thing about the project is the complete project documentation that’s provided.

Man, I love the power of lasers! You don’t want to miss our past laser projects:

• Powerful Blu-Ray Laser on a Keychain
• Fantastic DIY 7 Color Laser Tutorial
• Mindblowing LED, Light and Laser Photography

More details on the project’s background can be found in this video.  Not too much detail of the project such as source code is available, but setting up piezo’s with an Arduino is pretty straightforward.  Check out some of our other Arduino projects below:

• Incredible DIY Aerial Kite Photography
• Arduino Real Time DIY Pan & Tilt Camera
• Twitter Robot makes Popcorn, starts a Movie

• Stainless Steel UltraFire C3 host
• 50mW Green Module
• CR2 batteries

Here are the pictures that show the modifications:

These are all the basic parts you really need for the project. It’s a super simple setup really, just the laser module, the battery, and housing. That’s it!

The only major modification I had to make is to simply shorten the barrel of the laser.  A simple mod to get everything to fit in our steel housing.

Final Results:

It is a very heavy and solid design with good heatsinking for the module. This design offers the option of using CR2 primaries, or RCR2 rechargeable batteries. I am using a CR2 primary and am very happy with the results, so I will not need to push the module with the slightly higher voltage that the rechargeable battery has. More Exceptional Laser Projects:

• Powerful Blu-Ray Laser on a Keychain
• Fantastic DIY 7 Color Laser Tutorial
• Mindblowing LED, Light and Laser Photography

We just received word on our tip line about this outstanding UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) project.  You can learn to build your own completely autonomous aircraft to run recon missions or spy on the neighbors.  You could even rig it to drop water bombs if you’d like.  At the flip of a switch, you can even take control of the plane too.

• For another UAV project, check out previous DIY UAV build featuring a 22 page instruction manual.

Full build details can be found on the author’s website with plenty of detailed information regarding circuitry and software information.  MIT has a similar Autonomous UAV project (pictured at the top of the page) which you can find more info about on their build page.

Related Posts:

• Build your own AutoGyro Flying Machine
• Top Gun: World’s Largest RC Airplane Competitiong
• Incredible DIY Aerial Kite Photography

Going ‘macro’ on your photographic subjects reveals details that escapes the human eye. You wouldn’t expect close-up photography of a wafer thin circuit board or a Pentium chip to be eye-catching. But they are; as these collection of photographs show. Macro-photography like any other photographic technique is about focus and lighting. But macro-photography goes up, close and closer to capture the essence of objects we usually skim over.

Take another look at the symmetric beauty that can be found in the inner workings of our electronic gizmos. From LEDs of speakers to high end wafer thin chips. Macro-photography needs the right object, the right gear and the right inspiration. Our DIY Macro Photography Kit on the Cheap post can help you with the gear part. The full blown wallpapers featured in the gallery should take care of the inspiration. Take a look at five of them from the twelve featured in gallery.

Bluechip by Brian Shaler


Penryn with Original Pentium Die

Tukwila Glamour 1 by Intel Photos

Silverthorne Wafer Shot with eye of a Needle

Silverthorne Die on Tukwila (Itanium) Wafer

Circuit board macro-photography produces a lot of variety in color and look. Check out some of our other popular photography how-tos:

• How to Snap Fantastic LED Photos
• Incredible DIY Aerial Kite Photography
• X-Ray Photography of Gaming Controllers, Consoles