When you first see the swooping, curling, technicolor tendrils in Graham Jefferey’s work, you can’t help but wonder how he can manage to make ordinary gray smoke so beautiful.

Our pal Haje recently collaborated with Graham on a piece that delves into all the details: the lighting, the exposure, the best way to create the right kind of smoke, even the photoshop work needed to create the effect.

Unconvinced? Flip through Graham’s examples and you’ll be fired up to make your own!

A Smoke Photography How-to
www.photocritic.org/2007/artsmoke-photographing-smoke/

Dazzling. Soft, elegant, glowing.

The Orton Effect is a fast way to give your photos a dreamy look. Michael Orton uses this technique with multiple images taken on slide film.

Thanks to modern image editing magic, you can get the same watercolor-like appearance with a single image.

Even better, it’s a great way to improve slightly out-of-focus shots!

The Orton Effect
on pcin.net

p.s. Thanks to our friend Sumul Shah for first cluing us into this technique. Check out some of his pics that use this effect.

p.p.s. Thanks also to our friend Saber Zohir for helping to spread the word about Photojojo! To the hundreds that recently signed up via Chris Pirillo’s pick list, welcome! (And to those not on the list, check out Chris’s great newsletter: picks@lockergnome.com)

The great snow gods have not been kind to us this year. If you’re still pining for wintery white, or just hoping it’d go away, we recommend a quick (and heartfelt) appeal.

Luckily, we have just the thing to melt their frosty disposition: Photojojo’s Make-Your-Own Photo Snow Globes.

Grab a bottle, photo, glitter, and corn syrup and you’re on your way to making an offering not even the gods could refuse.*

* Rigorous, double-blind studies have also proven Photo Snow Globes effective in melting the hearts of spouses, friends, and children.

Put a digital camera in some people’s hands, and they start collecting some pretty weird things.

We admit it’s a bit silly, but we adore Gert Rietveld’s Running from Camera.

His rules are simple: Put the self-timer on 2 seconds, push the button, and try to get as far from the camera as you can.

The results are expectedly goofy and surprisingly awesome.

We also love Nick Gray’s collection of paper towel dispensers, Kate Bingaman’s collection of everything she bought for two whole years, and Adam Seifer’s collection of every meal he’s eaten since October 2002.

What’s your goofy photo collection?

Running from Camera
runningfromcamera.blogspot.com

Three photos, three frames, some vellum paper, a votive candle and a little sephia. How does Martha do it?

Her simple candle-lit photo stands are inexpensive to make and allow you to easily change up the photos whenever you like.

We bet Martha would call ‘em the perfect dinner party centerpiece, but we think they look great just about anywhere.

A few quick tips: use bright colorful frames for a bedroom or kitchen, dark or black frames for your desk, and try these superfly flickering LED candles for longer-lasting everyday illumination.

Make Your Own Candle-lit Photo Stands
www.marthastewart.com/page.jhtml?type=content&id=channel4080127

p.s. Amit’s at CES in Vegas through Wednesday (thanks msft!) checking out the latest photo stuff. If you’re here too and want to hang out, drop us a line!

Smoke pellets from special effects supply houses, glycerin-filled spray bottles, shoe polish, and microwaved cotton balls — standard tools in any food photographer’s arsenal.

If you’ve tried to document a delicious dining experience, chances are you’ve come up short. It’s not your fault.

Food is camera shy.

From framing your shot, to deciding what to focus on, to making your food look its best (or better), Shutterbug’s food photography tips have got you covered.

Read up and next time you and your camera hit the kitchen, whether it’s cakes, crêpes, or crème brulle, we guarantee your culinary creations will be craving the spotlight.

Shutterbug: An Insider’s Look at Food Photography
www.shutterbug.com/features/1204insider/

See also: Tips from O’Reilly and food-styling tricks galore.