Welcome to Cool Stuff, a weekly feature where we post our favorite links from the past week, including our favorite articles and how-tos, videos, images and more.

• First, from our friends over at PetaPixel, this one gave most of us butterflies just thinking about it. Actually doing this? No thank you. But we’ll watch the video anyway.
• Our tablets (like the iPad) are getting increasingly powerful, and Adobe has a plan to put that power to good use. The fun stuff starts at 18:09 in the video below.
• Budding photojournalists, heads-up! The folks over at Fotopedia have launched an iPad app that lets you create and view stories on the go. If you haven’t checked out Fotopedia, you should – they have a pretty nice platform for telling photo stories.
• We love our timelapses, but this one takes the cake. Two months of an Antarctic ice breaker’s journey, compressed into 5 minutes.
  
• And finally, to those who have a hundred questions about photography, here are your answers. Zack Arias, photographer and educator extraordinaire, has taken the best of his Awesome “Photography Q&A” Tumblr and turned it into an awesome book.

 And now, for the BorrowLenses.com Roundup!

• To anyone who doesn’t live close to a pickup location, this one’s for you: We have new shipping rates that make it even more affordable for you to rent gear.
• The Canon 800mm f/5.6 isn’t the only game in town anymore! Nikon’s 800mm is finally here…
• A big thanks to everyone who came by and said hello to us at Photo Video West last week!

That’s it for this week’s Cool Stuff. As always, questions and feedback are welcome in the comments below.

Welcome to Cool Stuff, a weekly feature where we post our favorite links from the past week, including our favorite articles and how-tos, videos, images and more.

• The shootout at Gulf Photo Plus is always a fantastic thing to watch. Luminaries such as Greg Heisler, Zack Arias, and David Hobby have been past participants. Here’s the latest one.
  
• Joe McNally talks to Marc Silber about lighting. A good, quick 4-minute video that’s more about philosophy than technique.
• Speaking of Joe McNally, if you haven’t seen his photo from the top of the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, here it is.
• Now, we’re not going to be able to provide the castle, the swimming pool, the giant print or the model, but we will soon have the Hasselblad H5 line of cameras in our rental inventory. Here’s what photographer Henrik Sorenson did with one of these gorgeous machines.
  
• And finally, via our friends at PetaPixel, the story behind some amazing portraits taken with an iPhone and a $10 lamp.

That’s it for this week’s Cool Stuff. As always, questions and feedback are welcome in the comments below.

Welcome to Cool Stuff, a weekly feature where we post our favorite links from the past week, including our favorite articles and how-tos, videos, images and more.

• We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again: any time Joe McNally talks, everyone should listen. This latest video will only be only till Feb 20, 2013, so make sure you watch it before then.
  
• Here’s another photographer you should always listen to/watch/study with if you get the chance: Gregory Heisler. From the guys over at the Profoto Blog comes a recounting of Greg’s shoot with Yasser Arafat.
• Yet another photographer we love is back with his series of image critiques. Here’s Episode 15 of Zack Arias’ “Photography Critiques.”
• Budding auto photographers should head over to Scott Kelby’s blog and take a look at his detailed post on how he shot details on an Aston Martin Vantage. Mmm…. car porn!
• And finally, from our friends over at PetaPixel, classified in the “Oh, Iran!” category: another Photoshop blunder from that country makes us chuckle all over again.

That’s it for this week’s Cool Stuff! As always, questions and feedback are welcome in the comments below.

Welcome to Cool Stuff, a weekly feature where we post our favorite links from the past week, including our favorite articles and how-tos, videos, images and more.

• There are a few foodies here at BL, and one of them brought this series of videos from world-famous food photographer David Loftus and chef Jamie Oliver to our attention. Food and photography? Um, yeah! You’re welcome, internet!
• We love out timelapse movies as well, and Jess Dunlap has created an absolutely spectacular one called “Monolation.”
  
  Monolation from Jess Dunlap on Vimeo.
• And since we’re talking about timelapse, there’s a great article over at Philip Bloom’s website talking about things to consider when making a timelapse film.
• Nikon has a neat film out showing how their lenses are made, in time for their 80th anniversary.
• And finally, a bit of solid, no-nonsense advice from one of our favorite photographers, Zack Arias: If I Had to Start My Photo Business Today.
  Zack Arias: If I had to start my photo business today from PhotoShelter.com on Vimeo.

 And now, for the BorrowLenses.com Roundup!

That’s it for this week’s Cool Stuff. As always, questions and feedback are welcome in the comments below.

Welcome to Cool Stuff, a weekly feature where we post our favorite links from the past week, including our favorite articles and how-tos, videos, images and more.

• We begin this week’s Cool Stuff with photographer and teacher Zack Arias’ guest entry on Scott Kelby’s blog. Four years ago, Zack made a similarly awesome and inspiring video for Scott; this one is, I think, even better. Check out the video below, then head over to the article for some solid advice.
  
• This one’s for the video geeks out there. Dale Grahn has been a color timer on a variety of different films, including Gladiator, Saving Private Ryan and The Lion King. Now he has an iPad app out that helps teaches color grading to aspiring video pros.
• Speaking of one for the video geeks out there, this one’s also for you – and for the time-lapse fans as well. Omni-Tracker is a San Jose-based company that recently started a Kickstarter campaign for their new product, called the L’il Mule. Check it out here (the campaign already has 200% funding), and watch the video below, which features footage from BorrowLenses.com alumni Seventh Movement.
  
• From our friends over at the Profoto blog comes an outstanding behind-the-scenes look at Gregory Heisler’s portrait of Michael Phelps. Check out the video below, then head over to Profoto’s Master Series page for more videos from the master of portraiture.
  
• Here’s something a bit more philosophical for image makers of all ilk. Daniel Milnor, whose blog Smogranch is one of our favorites, lays out some first-rate inspiration in a recent post called, “Blurb tip: Learn from Bruce Lee.” Though on the surface it’s about the company he works for, there’s a fantastic message there about following your heart.

 And now, for the BorrowLenses.com Roundup!

That’s it for this week’s Cool Stuff. As always, questions and feedback are welcome in the comments below.

Just a quick “You gotta see this” post for you today. The folks at DigitalRev.com had Zack Arias on their show last week. Zack, who is visiting Hong Kong for a workshop with Joe McNally, appeared on the show that he calls the Top Gear of photography.

DigitalRev does a segment called “Pro Photographer, Cheap Camera,” which last featured Chase Jarvis. Now, Zack makes an appearance, shooting with a Kodak C142. The result? Sheer awesomeness.

Welcome to Cool Stuff, a weekly feature where we post our favorite links from the past week, including our favorite articles and how-tos, videos, images and more.

• I posted this as part of my Op-Ed yesterday, but it’s worth mentioning again. Here are two articles by Zack Arias on wedding photography, along with a video introducing one of the posts.
  • Wedding Photographers Deserve Our Respect.
  • We Need To Be About Our Work.
    
• This article and video comes to us by way of David “The Strobist” Hobby. Photographer John Jackson cris-crosses the country in a 1960′s van, shooting cars. Talk about dedication to one’s craft!
• Daniel Milnor’s Leica Files videos have become something of a staple for me. The newest one, #10, is up now. Nothing fancy here; Daniel essential just deconstructs an image he took with one of his Leicas. Definitely worth checking out.
• Our friend Alexis Cuarezma recently put together a portrait of 19 athletes from 14 sports at his alma mater, Washington High School. Check out this video for a behind-the-scenes look.
• Seventeen magazine has issued a “Body Peace Treaty” where they promise not to change face or body shapes in their images. Is this the start of a trend? I hope so – but really, a “Treaty?” This isn’t international diplomacy, folks.
• We love photographer Jay P. Morgan’s video tutorials. Here’s his latest on ringlights.
• And speaking of video tutorials, here’s one on composition for video, by way of our friends at FStoppers.

That’s it for this week’s Cool Stuff. As always, questions and feedback are welcome in the comments below.