Is there or isn’t there a new line of compact system cameras (CSC) up Leica’s sleeve? Well, it depends on who you ask.
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Editors have always been wary of sending photographers into war zones since the practice began in the early 20th century, but the speed at which the Internet distributes photography is increasing both the danger to photojournalists and the reluctance of the backers. The British Journal of Photography has an interesting look at the costs of conflict photography:

This situation, said [Jon] Jones, had led to a catch-22 in which young photographers are unable to get assignments because magazines and agencies refuse to take responsibility for the risks involved. “I think there’s a reluctance to send people into conflict zones. It doesn’t mean it’s right, but it’s the economic reality.” But that’s nothing new, he added. “When I went to Bosnia [in the 1990s], I didn’t have any support. I went with no money, then went back with £300, then again with £400, and built it up each time. It takes a while. But the initial step was just to go. Today, you get the same answer I was given 20 years ago: ‘Great. I’m not going to assign this to you, but I’d love to see you when you come back.’” And somewhere down the line, after a young photographer has proved his worth, it changes, he explained.

“You basically have to earn the right to get an assignment,” Knight added. “Nobody is going to assign you to a conflict zone right out of college. They want to see what you’ve done and what you are capable of. When I started it was the same. Once you’ve done that enough times, they might give you an assignment,” he told the audience. “When I started, I had to sell my own blood to eat.”

“I had to sell my own blood to eat”… Now that’s dedication to photography.

Photojournalism: The cost of covering conflicts [BJP via APhotoEditor]

Image credit: amc_in_bosnia_mid_1990s by U.S. Army Materiel Command

If you keep up with the world of photography, chances are you have at one point or another read The British Journal of Photography; if it’s one of your main reads you may even have their popular iPad app. And now you’ve been given a smaller, more portable option, because the magazine has officially released its first iPhone app, an app that the creators say will “change your expectations about how a magazine should look on an iPhone.” Read more…

Last month there was quite a bit of buzz among photographers when photographer Michael Wolf‘s Google Street View “photographers” (or screenshots) were awarded Honorable Mention at the prestigious World Press Photo 2011 contest. A month later, the British Journal of Photography tracked him down and interviewed him regarding the work.

While you might not agree with the World Press Photo’s decision to award him Honorable Mention, Wolf does have some pretty interesting thoughts on Google Street View and its place in photography. He points out that Google Street View will be a treasure trove of imagery in the future, when people will look back on our time and place in the same way we look back on Atget‘s documentation of Parisian streets.

Michael Wolf welcomes World Press Photo controversy (via Photoxels)

The British Journal of Photography is reporting today that Geoffrey Crawley — the world-renowned photographer who debunked the Cottingley Fairies hoax in the 1980′s — has died. The hoax began in 1917 when two cousins named Elsie Wright and Frances Griffiths (aged 16 and 10, respectively) claimed to have discovered fairies and, after borrowing a camera, produced photos to prove it. The controversial photographs captured the world’s attention for decades and even deceived Sir Arthur Conan Doyle before finally being debunked by Crawley in a series of articles published in the early ’80s. In 1983 the cousins admitted that the photos were faked using cardboard cutouts.

It’s interesting seeing how little it took to fool people with photographs in the early days of photography.
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A couple days ago we covered the winning image of the British Journal of Photography’s international photo contest and how many readers disagreed with the photo’s merits. The prize for that contest was a one week exhibition and a Sigma digital compact camera. Now compare that to the above photograph, which won AU $80,000 in the 2010 Moran Contemporary Photographic Prize, one of the richest prizes in the world. Like the BJP photo, this photograph became the subject of debate.
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The British Journal of Photography announced recently that South African photographer Michelle Sank’s image “Man asleep on the Golden Mile, Durban, South Africa.” had won the single image category of its International Photography Award.

The image, which shows a man asleep in a park just off the Golden Mile in Durban, was described by judges Nick Galvin, Bruno Ceschel and Diane Smyth as both surreal and disturbing, and was picked out from 338 other entries because of its quiet, enduring intensity. “The more I look at it, the more powerful it becomes,” commented Galvin, who manages the archive at Magnum London.

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The Impossible Project’s new instant film for Polaroid cameras will go on sale later this week, but the British Journal of Photography has already gotten their hands on a pack of PX100. They were mailed a comprehensive press kit that included a box of the black and white film, and promptly exposed the film with a SX-70, publishing the results on their blog.

Of the eight exposures they had to play around with, only a few of them produced semi-recognizable images. Olivier Laurent writes,

But my initial impressions are that PX100 behaves like a expired pack of 669 or Time-Zero. You’re never sure of what you will get. To be fair, Impossible did warn us about this during its press conference yesterday. A slight change in temperature or pressure can ruin or enhance your image. One thing is sure, do NOT use this film outside in the winter or early spring, when there is still a cold breeze. Also, in some situations, you will need to keep your ND filter on.

Apart from some disappointing results (especially when shooting outside), it feels good to load a SX-70 with some new film.

$21 a pack means this is some seriously expensive experimentation. However, lets wait until the film is in the hands of the masses before coming to a verdict on this new film. Here’s to hoping the film is a success!

Image credit: Photographs by 1854.