National Geographic's 2011 photo contest is currently underway, which means you can submit your very best pics and maybe win $10,000 plus a trip to National Geographic headquarters to participate in their annual National Geographic Photography Seminar. Good luck, though, because you're up against some serious competition.

Polariod has just released their new Z340 "instant" digital camera. It's a less-cool version of the GL30 that we saw at CES, featuring an integrated photo printer. It's a neat idea, but does it give you the "classic Polaroid instant experience" like the press release says it does? Our gut: No way.

Back at the start of 2011, photographer Kristina Alexanderson made a challenge to herself: take a picture every day of Star Wars stormtroopers new and old in a variety of situations. She's kept up with it, and even 11 months out she hasn't run out of clever and unique ideas. Even more interesting is the fact that, for only using action figures and tiny props, her "CClone 365-2011" photography collection — which is up to 305 days including 345 photos — has an odd humanizing effect on the Galactic Empire's iconic soldiers. (We're guessing it has something to do with Alexanderson cleverly recruiting a Lego figurine to act as a child Stormtrooper.) Below are 20 of our favorites from Alexanderson's excellent project.

Behold the power of a pair of high-end Canon DSLR cameras. This beautiful tranquil time-lapse video by filmmaker Joe Capra was shot in Iceland over 17 days for almost 24 hours and it captures the natural "midnight moon" — a natural occurrence where the sun never fully sets.