Ron Leach

If a patent published by Canon last week is any indication, the company is exploring the possibility of using diffractive optics to create an EF 1000mm f/5.6 DO super telephoto lens that may be smaller and lighter than could be created otherwise. 

When photographer/naturalist Phil Torres set up a camera trap in the Amazon rainforest, he hoped to capture dramatic nighttime images of jaguars and other nocturnal animals near Peru’s Tambopata Research Center. What he discovered when he returned to the trap in the morning was something else: Leafcutter ants had eaten or damaged his gear.

Ever wonder what goes into the making of a sophisticated $11,000 lens? Well, the intriguing video below offers a remarkable inside tour of Canon’s EF 200-400mm f/4L IS USM Extender 1.4X, a unique super telephoto with a built-in optically matched 1.4X teleconverter.

NY-based photographer Richard Renaldi embarked on his “Touching Strangers” project in 2007, in which he has complete strangers pose together for an affectionate portrait. Since then he’s set up his 8x10 view camera in cities across the U.S. and asked passersby to interact as though they were close friends or loved ones.