Phillip Toledano documented the last few years he spent with his aging father, and shares that experience with a touching photo memorial called Days with My Father. It’s a bit of a tearjerker though, so grab a few tissues before you click on the link.

[Days with My Father]

I’m not sure when celebrities decided that supporting their favorite cause meant taking their top off, but Kim Zolciak from the TV show Real Housewives of Atlanta has taken a page from PETA’s playbook for the NO H8 Campaign (an effort to legalize gay marriage) by posing with little more than duct tape to cover her bits and pieces:

If only all of the world’s problems could be solved this way…

[NO H8 Campaign]

Joshua Hoffine creates surreal photographs for what he calls horror photography that will amaze and inspire you. (And potentially haunt your dreams, so proceed with caution.)

[Joshua Hoffine]

Last week, Esquire teased Megan Fox’s June Cover, in which she posed in front of a Red One video camera so that they could pick and choose moments to convert into stills.

This week, the tease continues, as they’ve released a preview video of Megan ‘acting’ out the routine that she performed for the shoot.

Careful though, as this one isn’t for the weak of heart (and it’s semi-NSFW):

[Via: Esquire]

For the June issue of Esquire magazine, Greg Williams used a RedONE video camera to capture Megan Fox for the cover.

The shoot, which apparently involved about 10 minutes of Megan Fox ‘acting’ out various scenes, will be chopped up into an infinite number of potential cover photos, and one will make the cover thanks to the RedONE’s resolution, which is four times that of HD.

Could this be the future of photography as we know it?

[Esquire - Megan Fox Shoot]

If you do a Google Image Search or a Flickr Search for the number “241543903”, you’ll see pictures of people with their heads in their freezer.

Why?

Why not?

[Via: David Horvitz Via: Laughing Squid]

To create a single image, Peter Funch stakes out an area of New York City for a few days and snaps people as they walk by. Then, he stitches together pieces and parts from each image to create a final composition that is thematically unique and almost unbelievable.

The above image is his comparison of black vs. white, but you should definitely check out the site for more of his work.

[Peter Funch]

[Via: Boing Boing]

Microsoft has been testing their Photosynth software for some time now, but with so many people snapping away with their cameras during the Inauguration, now’s probably the perfect time to see what getting ‘synthy’ is all about.

The goal of Photosynth is to take a bunch of photos and create an experience that has the cinematic quality of a movie, the control of a video game, and the mind-blowing detail of the real world. Photosynth was the result of two independent breakthroughs: The ability to reconstruct a scene or object from a bunch of flat photographs, and the technology to bring that experience to virtually anyone over the Internet:

It works by examining images for similarities to each other and using that information to estimate the shape of the subject and the vantage point each photo was taken from. With this information, Photosynth then recreates the space and uses it as a canvas to display and navigate through the photos. Here’s a little video on the history and inspiration behind Photosynth:

It’s probably one of those ‘see it to believe it’ technologies, so head on over to Photosynth’s special Inauguration page and check out the different Synths that were created during the event.

[Microsoft Photosynth - Inauguration]

[Via: FlowingData]

Fans of Gary Larson and his Far Side comics should appreciate the Far Side Reenactments pool on Flickr.

In it, fans recreate their favorite comics using original or retouched photos that mimic Larson’s famous drawings, and the results are often impressively accurate and surprisingly funny.

[Flickr - Far Side Reenactment Pool]

[Photo Via: Capt. Tim]

The start of a new year is always the perfect time for planning and preparation, and if you’re the type that likes to map out your life inside of the structure that a calendar provides, then DYH is here to help you pick out a good one:

First, there’s the 2009 Nerdcore Calendar, a return of the geek culture pin-up collection (2009 is their third annual calendar), and this year, they’re highlighting science fiction themes and motifs, from epic space operas to more intimate retro-chic, ala your favorite sexy super spies from the 60s.

Inside you’ll find portraits of a fiery redhead being carried off by giant robots (starring geek goddess Justine Joli), a purple-haired vixen presiding over a futuristic metropolis (European sensation Jana Cova), and a topless cyborg adorned in western gear, revolvers and all (starlet Bobbi Starr).

Plus, the Nerdcore calendar is designed to help you remember all those regular and nerdy holidays, such as major movie releases; conventions like San Diego Comic-Con, Alternative Press Expo, etc.; anniversaries for major franchises and cult classics; birthdays for of genre favorite creators, actors, writers, and directors; and key fictional happenings, from obscure to awesome.

Second, Pirelli’s famous/infamous calendar is back, and this year they’re taking the girls on a safari (and ditching any reference to automotive culture in the process).

Though the calendar is sent out by Pirelli to only the best of the best in the auto industry, I wouldn’t be surprised to see a few of these end up on the eBay auction block, and even if you can’t get your hands on an actually copy, Pirelli has been kind enough to put most of the images (as well as a few outtakes) online for your NSFW browsing pleasure.

Lastly, if you spend all day staring at blogs anyways, then why not buy a calendar that helps to support some of the hottest bloggers around?

The 2009 Hot Bloggers Calendar can be ordered as either a collection of Male or a collection of Female bloggers, and each features some of the hottest hands to ever grace a keyboard. It’s as social as social media is ever going to get, and part of each sale goes directly to the bloggers themselves, so buying one helps them to keep doing what they’re doing for another year or more.

So there you have it, there calendars for three very different audiences, but all with the same goal: Give you a little bit of eye candy to look at while you’re planning out what to do with your days.

[Nerdcore Calendar]

[Pirelli Calendar]

[Hot Bloggers Calendar]

Robin Soulier has an interesting way of looking at a city that could definitely provide some inspiration for the next time you’re out taking pictures and want something a little different: He photographs buildings form their reflections in puddle water.

The end result is a mixture of texture, light and color that adds a whole new dimension to the typical building photograph, and turns the otherwise ordinary into the extraordinary.

[Robin Soulier]

[Via: Josh Spear]

W/ Extra Duck was a fantastic Flickr Photo Set, but its crown has now been passed to my new favorite Flickr Photo Set: Disinterested Pug With Found Objects.

As the appropriately labeled title suggests, the set is filled with pictures of a pug that couldn’t care less about his surroundings, standing next to objects that have been found by his owner on what I presume must be rather entertaining walks.

From SpongeBob costumes and spare tires to the nine of spades and a porta-potty named ‘Honey Bucket’, the pug manages to remain steadily and consistently disinterested throughout the entire set, though he does behave himself rather well for a dog without a care in the world.

Guess it must be nice having more wrinkles on your face than objects that interest you…

[Flickr - Disinterested Pug With Found Objects]

David Friedman recently had a chance to tour through a denim factory in Kentucky that specializes in high-end jean distressing for top labels and designers, and if you’ve ever wondered what goes into making the perfect fade or loosening just the right amount of fabric to make those hundred dollar and up jeans you always see at the stores, then it’s definitely worth a look.

[David Friedman - Photo Essay: The Denim Factory]

[Via: Kottke]

In September of ’06, Vanity Fair changed the format of their opening to the Vanities section to feature a full-page, 50s-style pinup of an up-and-coming star.

These shapely ingénues are on the cusp of fame or have just hit it big; they have names you need to know and faces you won’t have trouble remembering.

Thankfully, they’ve taken those beautiful photos and turned them into an online slideshow for your viewing pleasure.

[Vanity Fair - The Vanities Girls]

Denis Darzacq’s photography is fantastic (and almost unbelievable) when you consider the fact that “there is nothing false in these scenes. These moments really occurred. There is no fiction, no retouching or special effects”.

Instead, he uses athletic and gymnastic young folks as well as good timing to make it look like his subjects are about to smack the ground face first.

In Denis’ own words, “at the moment of the leap, chance and gravity also intervened”.

[Dennis Darzacq]

[Via: Kottke]

Continuing the theme of interesting photo techniques, this one involves putting parts of a face on your chin and then taking an upside-down photo of your face:

[Via: Popgive]

Considering last week’s Iranian missile story, I though that Henry Hadlow’s Tell A Lie project was rather fitting:

The most controversial lies told with photography today are those told by news photographers who manipulate their work photographs to tell a different story, for example, Liu Weiqiang‘s faked photograph of antelope and the China-Tibet rail link.

He also ads that he wanted to “flip this lie on its head and use a camera to mimic common Photoshop effects”.

Along those same lines, I thought that Fubiz’s Google Images idea was another fantastic way to take a photo with a digital spin that gives it a simple yet fun effect:

[Henry Hadlow - Tell A Lie]

[Fubiz - Google Images]

RETROnoob’s Retro Reality series of photos is a wildly imaginative idea.

By taking classic video game characters and Photoshopping them into actual pictures, they take on a realism that is somewhat creepy yet definitely cool.

[deviantART - RETROnoob - Retro Reality]

[Via: Neatorama]

Jamie Livingston took a Polaroid photograph every day from March 31, 1979 through October 25, 1997, when he passed away.

The end result is a collection of photos that are an amazing documentation of an eccentric life, and cover an entire spectrum of subjects, emotions, and time.

Check out Photo of The Day for digital versions of each pic, or the Mental Floss article for some of the highlights.

[Photo Of The Day]

[Mental Floss]

This has got to be one of the craziest pictures ever!

What you see here is the crash that killed one and left 10 others injured after the driver, who apparently had been using cocaine before this crash, fell asleep at the wheel and plowed into a bicycle race taking place in Monterrey, Mexico.

There really isn’t anything else to say besides “Wow!” and “Pay attention when driving near a bicycle race!”

[CNN - Car Crashes Into Bike Race]

[Via: The Inquisitr]