photography

 Swedish non-profit foundation Expressions of Humankind want May 15th, 2012 to be the most remembered day in history. They're trying to accomplish this by asking as many people as possible to photograph the things important to their daily lives. Then, after the photos are uploaded Aday.org, they promised to present them in an interesting and rather comprehensive way, so we can all experience the world through photography.

One of the most exciting angles for shooting basketball is from above, a vantage point few spectators experience in real life. But what’s really killer: Getting within inches of the action by placing your camera behind a glass backboard. This is not easy to pull off. It requires precision, planning, and, most important, permission. Because of the obvious liability issues—imagine your rig crashing down on the players!—you should perfect this technique before trying it at an actual high school or college game.

Durable and well designed, Pentax’s DA Limited lenses have long been among our favorites. And this light, compact, aluminum-clad prime ($540, street)—equivalent to 52.5mm on Pentax DSLRs— lives up to the line. Offering greater-than-lifesize magnification and focusing to 5.5 inches, it’s perfect for small subjects that you can reach to adjust from the camera position.