Cynthia Boylan

Designer toys got their start in Japan and China but their uniqueness (and the fact that they are so freaky/cute) soon propelled them to red-hot global collectable status. Produced as limited editions, some of these vinyl creations can be worth thousands of dollars to dedicated collectors.

Nashville-based photographer Ryan Roberts began by creating whimsical images of vintage toys but he soon discovered the odd (and a bit warped) world of designer vinyl toys by artists such as Frank Kozik (Mongers Menthols series), Doma (Acid Sweeties series) and Pete Fowler (Monsterism series). It was then he knew he had the perfect photo subject for the fantastic scenes he saw in his head.

Lomo introduced the retro-style but new Lomo LC-A Minitar-1 Art Lens this morning. This unique lens features the original optics from the Lomo LC-A and is compatible with many analogue and digital cameras.

The new TLC200 Pro from Brinno is an HDR video camera (an upgrade to Brinno’s TLC200 model) that can be used both indoors and outdoors to create cool time-lapse videos over pre-set variables of time.

The jury of the world’s largest photography competition recently announced American photographer John Moore as the 2015 Sony World Photography Awards’ L’Iris d’Or/ Professional Photographer of the Year, amongst other awardees.