Photo FOMO: A tripod with literal strings attached, Flickr’s new look for albums

Afraid of missing out on the latest photo industry news while you’re out, well, actually taking pictures? Photo FOMO is all the news you might have missed this week, published on the weekends. Alongside the biggest stories of the week, like Canon’s full frame mirrorless EOS R and Fujifilm’s new 4k 60 fps X-T3, find briefs on the latest in accessories and photo industry news from this week with Photo FOMO.

Flickr albums get a refresh — but it’s just the start

Flickr’s albums tool has a new look. On Wednesday, September 5, Flickr shared an update to albums that enhances the look and experience of its sharing tools. Jordan Sendar, a web developer at Flickr, says that the album update is just “the first step of various new features that will expand your ability to tell visual stories on Flickr.”

The update displays the albums in a larger format, a change prompted by new screen sizes and resolutions according to Flickr. The new look also displays albums in a card style format including brief metadata and larger cover photos. Albums are no longer limited to 50 photos, but 500. A new batch Faves tool streamlines the process of creating a gallery of images you admire from other Flickr users.

The update, Flickr says, adds those new features without ditching earlier options to adjust albums.

Mission Workshop launches the Integer Camera Pack

Mission Workshop’s latest backpack is both minimalist and large — the Integer Camera Pack organizes camera gear, a laptop and accessories inside a waterproof bag. The main camera compartment can house a camera body along with a few extra lenses or flashes and can be accessed from a front zipper, a fast access side zipper, or through the top of the bag.

On top of the main camera compartment is a roll-top compartment for sliding in other large items. A tripod pocket and straps sits at one side, a hidden water bottle pocket at the other, while a 15.5-inch laptop sleeve sits at the back of the pack. The backpack uses padded shoulder straps and a sternum strap along with a luggage pass-through for travel. The exterior is constructed from a weatherproof nylon.

The bag retails for $485 and is available in black and gray from the Mission Workshop website.

The Lumapod is a tripod with literal strings attached

Tripods are essential for some types of shots, but are bulky and time-consuming to set-up. A start-up may have a solution called Lumapod — with strings attached. No, we’re not saying that to refute Lumapod’s claims (yet), the tripod system actually uses a tensioning system for stability with “strings” extending from the tripod’s head to the feet.

The Lumapod looks like one of those monopods with pop-out legs that are designed for added stability but not actually designed for you to let go of the camera and walk away. The Lumapod uses what the company says is a patented tensioning system to help those short legs stabilize the camera enough to call it a tripod. There are no full specifications yet, but Lumapod says there are two different size models, and shows both compact cameras and interchangeable lens cameras used on the odd tripods.

The legs pop up and the long center column telescopes down to what appears to be a rather compact fold. The company claims a four-second set-up time. The tripod system also uses interchangeable legs including rubber feet, terrain leveling, and dolly wheels.

The company is aiming to launch the Lumapod with the help of crowd-funding — the tripod is slated for a campaign that starts on September 12. There’s no word yet on pricing or full specifications.

Wannabe wildlife photographers may have inadvertently killed a moose

Here’s one to add to the annals of how not to photograph wildlife — a fish and wildlife expert in Vermont reported that a moose drowned after being scared into a lake by people trying to take the animal’s picture. The moose had already swum across Lake Champlain before ending up near a bike path, officials said. Exhausted after the swim, when people near the bike path tried to take the moose’s photo, the animal was scared back into the water, where he drowned. Witnesses suggested around half a dozen people were crowding the moose.

Another specialist later suggested the animal may have also had a parasite like a brainworm that causes disorientation, but the moose wasn’t tested for the possible infection. Either way, wildlife officials stress keeping a distance from wildlife, since trying to snap an Instagram could injure the animal — or the person trying to take that photo.