Today Crestock photo have released a WordPress plugin that they claim allows users to add images to their posts for free, all from the sidebar when creating a post. We haven’t tested the plugin so we’d love to hear your feedback if you install it.

How does it work?

The plugin uses Crestock’s existing search algorithm, so the search results – and images – are the same as on Crestock.com.

After doing an image search, you’re presented with the search results. To add the images to your post simply drag & drop, in the position where you want the image.

You also get access to most of the advanced filtering options on Crestock.com with a single click, for example:

• Number of images per page
• Image Orientation
• File type
• Pagination

Where can I get it?

The plugin can be downloaded from Freebie Images.com – the Plugin home page.

Quick Installation Guide:

1. Download and extract Zip file on your computer
2. Upload the “freebie-images-free-stock-images-plugin” folder to “/wp-content/plugins/” directory
3. Activate plugin in WP Admin plugin panel
4. blog away

FWAPhoto is a dream photography gallery that showcases one photo a Day. The website has some truely inspirational images and has always been my first port of call when looking for fresh inspiration. FWAPhoto has also released an iphone application so you can now get your daily inspiration on your mobile, and even leave comments if you register.

It’s one of those simple sites that you find yourself returning to again and again. Septembers winning picture of the month is a little bit to risqué to show but you can a glimpse of it below. Visit the site or download the app to see that shot and all the other great photos in their entirety.

Macro photography allows photographers to get up close and personal with a subject, capturing detail and allowing the viewer to see the world from an unseen angle. This collection is themed on flowers and light and is a beautiful collection to both aspire and inspire, enjoy.

A picture paints a thousand words and here are 10 that do that with flair. I love the photo of the storm over the island, such a tremendous image. If you like them why not give it a “Thumbs Up!”

Storm over an island

Massive Butterfly

Penguin Army

Clever cement advertisement

Crazy Soil erosion

Traffic deadlock in downtown hell hole

BIG wave coming

Weird Lego

Summit view

Massive Coconut Crab

HDR (High Dynamic Range) over recent times has been very popular with photographers with most admitting to of dabbled in the technique at some point. It’s a technique that never fails to spark a debate with everyone having their own, extremely valid opinion. I have always sat of the fence with HDR and have never really mastered the art in the past, though I have always sat back and secretly admired it.

This week we visited the fantastic Warwick Castle and I took the opportunity to take some snaps, including this spiral staircase.

HDR treatment

More HDR related posts

• HDR poll – love it or hate it?
• Professional HDR at its best
• 20 HDR BEFORE and AFTER photographs you’ll love (to hate?)
• My first HDRi
• Photomatix Pro coupon code – get an extra 15% off

A stock photograph should be 1) cheap 2) royalty-free 3) usable

Check this photo out…

Photographers description

A husband reads his paper as the rain pours down on him from a leaky roof. The wife glares back at him for his lack of concern. There is no digital enhancement on this photo.

My thoughts…

Firstly WTF! Seriously W.T.F! Who in gods name would use this picture? Where would you use it? How would you use it??? The ‘photographer’ entitled this photo ‘Kitchen Rain’. Do people search for such an image? Oh I’m looking for a photo of a kitchen where in it’s raining!!!

“A husband reads his paper as the rain pours down on him from a leaky roof”
Does rain ‘pour’ down from a ‘leaky roof’? No! It drips!

“The wife glares back at him for his lack of concern”
No way is that his wife. She looks way too young, and may I say, way out of his league. She has an umbrella up inside, now that’s asking for the gods to come down hard on her, it’s bad luck! Plus, you can tell it’s not raining where she’s standing, and why doesn’t she do something?

“There is no digital enhancement on this photo”
I can believe that!

Downloads

This photo has had over 400 downloads – WTF!

Rating

Checkout these ratings of this photo:

WTF WTF WTF!

WTF!

I just don’t get it, I really don’t, I’m lost.

What was that? You want to download it? …… grrrr fine! Here >

Bokeh is a photographic term referring to the appearance of out-of-focus areas in an image produced by a camera lens using a shallow depth of field. Different lens bokeh produces different aesthetic qualities in out-of-focus backgrounds, which are often used to reduce distractions and emphasize the primary subject.

How to make that cardboard hood to assist you in making your own custom bokeh when shooting images. More info here >

DIY bokeh from Eirik Solheim on Vimeo.

You’ve seen them before, funny motivational posters that make you ‘ROFL’, ‘LOL’ or erm…. just giggle… yeah well here is your chance to make your own. This easy Photoshop Action turns any plain picture into one of these posters, with the same styling as the one below. Once complete simply enter your own title and text beneath and you’re done. If you need to know how to install a Photoshop Action read this tutorial.

Photoshop Action Preview

This is one I created earlier of my partner Zoe.

Download Motivational Poster Photoshop Action >

Credit to Action creator: Bellorinna on DeviantArt

More funny Motivational Posters

Boston.com, the online newspaper of the Boston Globe, has a special advent calendar on their website on the moment, counting down the days till Christmas 2008. Every day they upload a picture of Space, taken from the Hubble Space Telescope. Now if you know me you’ll have noted at some point my passion for Astronomy, Space and Beyond (well had to finish the sentence off somehow).

First day of Advent 2008

In January 2002, a dull star in an obscure constellation suddenly became 600,000 times more luminous than our Sun, temporarily making it the brightest star in our galaxy. The star, called V838 Monocerotis, has long since faded back to obscurity, but observations of a phenomenon called a “light echo” around the star have uncovered remarkable new features over the following years (this animation covers two years’ time). The light echo is light from the earlier explosion echoing off dust surrounding the star. Light from the outburst traveled to the dust and then was reflected to Earth. Because of this indirect path, the light arrived at Earth months after light from the star that traveled directly from the star. (NASA, ESA) More (see this on Google Sky)

“On the second day of Christmas”

In early January of 2000, Hubble took this image of Galaxy Cluster Abell 2218, and its massive amount of “gravitational lensing”. Abell 2218 lies some 2 billion light-years away in the Draco constellation and is so massive that its enormous gravitational field deflects light rays passing through it, much as an optical lens bends light to form an image. These magnifying powers provides a powerful “zoom lens” for viewing distant galaxies that could not normally be observed with the largest telescopes. The visible “arcs” are the distorted images of very distant galaxies, which lie 5 to 10 times farther away than the lensing cluster itself. (NASA, Andrew Fruchter and the ERO Team, STScI) More (see this on Google Sky)

Read More >

All images copyright Boston.com

HDR photography, people seem to either love it or hate it, a real Marmite subject.

We’d love to get your opinion on HDR photography so please cast your vote in the opinion poll to the left.

If you have never seen or heard of HDR before, please browse through these examples first.