Culture

Sunflower Farms Are Being Trampled by Instagram ‘Zombie Apocalypse’

The Instagram generation has been bad news for beauty spots around the world as people flock to the same picturesque locations and shoot similar-looking photos to boost their social media status, often leaving a trail of destruction in their wake. Now you can add sunflower farms to the list of places affected.

Wim Wenders: Phones Have Made Photography ‘More Dead Than Ever’

Renowned German photographer and filmmaker Wim Wenders thinks that photography "is more dead than ever" and that smartphones are to blame for the art form's demise. In this 1.5-minute video produced by BBC News, Wenders stops at an exhibition of his Polaroid photos to share some of his thoughts on the current landscape of photography.

Guy Proposes to His Photographer Girlfriend with a Camera Tattoo

Charlene Trickey is a professional photographer based in Florida and the owner of Trickey Photography. When her boyfriend Travis Durham proposed to Charlene yesterday, he did it with a large tattoo on his thigh with a vintage camera and the words: "Can't Picture Myself Without You. WYMM?"

The Cameras Seen in Movies and TV Shows

Want to see which cameras are used by characters in movies and TV shows? Product Placement Blog is a website that tracks brands that appear on screen, and one of the categories on the site is cameras.

Playing 3rd Wheel to a Camera: 6 Tips for Partners of Photographers

The sky was still dark when we left our lodgings in northeast England. My husband, photographer Luke Collins, carefully drove the narrow hedge-lined roads. I closed my eyes for a few more precious moments of sleep. “Why am I doing this?” I wondered.

Nature Photography: Where Are the Women?

It’s an undisputed fact; there are fewer women in the arena of nature photography than there are men. But why? Do men bring something special to the arena? Or is it simply a stereotype that this is a man’s profession? There doesn’t appear to be a clear reason for the disparity between the numbers of men and women in this profession.

Using Drones to Shoot War Zones

Photographer and director Joey L has been using camera drones to capture aerial photos and videos in conflict zones. Here's a 21-minute talk he recently gave on his work at Hardwired NYC.

On Photo Contests: Opinions Matter… but Please, Can’t We Be Civil?

I write a version of this story every year around this time: photo contest result time. And every year, it’s addressing the same grousing and whining and complaints about everything from non-diversified juries to images being too newsy or not newsy enough.

Do Photojournalism Contests Glamorize Pain and Suffering?

In a break from the past, World Press Photo (WPP) released the short list of finalists in advance of naming the winners to their annual contest – arguably the most prestigious in all of photojournalism. The photos are remarkable for their composition, exposure, and intimacy. But judging by the subject matter one might surmise that we’re living in a hellish dystopia, or that the jury believes pain and suffering is the most valid form of photojournalism.

#MenToo: On Sexual Misconduct in the Photo Industry

In light of another prominent figure in the photography industry being accused of sexual misconduct, I feel compelled to pen my feelings about it all, specifically what it has done to MY profession of choice; photojournalism.

This is What Camera Bag Marketing Hype is Like

It seems like every month there's an earth-shattering new camera bag that can hold ridiculous amounts of gear in an absurd number of compartments. Fstoppers decided to poke fun at this niche in the photo industry and created this humorous 3-minute sketch showing what camera bag marketing hype is like when you buy into it.

When Photographers Become Pitchmen

It’s not surprising when camera companies hire photographers to pitch their products. But photographers have also been enlisted to sell other types of products -- the result of Madison Avenue trying to romanticize the occupation, even though the reality often fails to meet the expectation. Nowadays photographers are more likely to spend the majority of their time sitting at a desk in post-processing or trying to collect on invoices that are 6 months past due.

Uncut: Here is a Portrait of the Real Me

I've been wanting to take this photo for a while. Years, actually. The reason it's taken me so long is it terrified me. The idea of taking a photo showing the real me, the unretouched me, was an idea that filled me with dread and empowered me at the same time, equal measures of the opposing emotions.

Here’s Something Every Photographer Needs to Hear

SLR Lounge recently published this 8-minute video on 10 ways you can light and shoot the same scene. But it's the short monologue at the end, starting at 6m38s, that has received quite a bit of attention in the online photo community. Pye Jirsa talks about how every photographer can help foster a culture of supporting one another.

Comic: Who Needs a Fancy Telephoto Lens, Anyway?

xkcd's comic today pokes fun at the growing world of lens adapters and extenders. With so many ways to convert between camera systems and with so many ways to extend your reach, who needs a fancy shmancy telephoto lens... right?

How Photoshop is Used to Censor Ads and Album Covers in the Middle East

I admit, the first time I saw these images I though they were fake. Someone probably added their clothes on as a joke. But when I realized the context and saw the source of the images, it made sense. The fact that the execution was bad made it hilarious.

21 Signs You’re a Cocky Photographer

Over the years, I’ve joked frequently with my best friend Marc and my brother about things that are cocky in life. We sort of have this ongoing dialog pointing out cocky things and cocky people in the world, which is pretty cocky of us. They’ve also given me a lot of s**t since I became a photographer a decade ago.

Foreigners Are Photo Ops in China

If you're a tall white guy walking around in touristy parts of China, there's a good chance you may be stopped by random people and asked to pose for a photo. This strange phenomenon can be seen in this 3-minute video recorded a few years ago by comedian Paul Ogata. It's titled, "Yes You May Photograph My White Guy."

Photos of Europe’s Most Spellbinding Libraries

Nestled away in some of Europe's most culture-rich cities are libraries that have stood the test of time. They are filled from floor to ceiling with books of all sorts, but the architecture of these buildings often speaks volumes about the time periods they were built in.

F**k Photojournalism: It’s Time for the Industry to Change Before It Dies

If you were to ask me whether or not I was surprised that there is another scandal in the photojournalism community, I would reply with a resounding and exasperated, “Hell no.” It seems that we can’t go a year without a new photo manipulation scandal. The Souvid Datta scandal is no different.

Stop Taking Photos

Nestled within the Seto Inland Sea in Japan sits the island of Naoshima, population 3,583. The island would be otherwise unknown to outsiders except that in the mid 80s, publisher Testuhiko Fukutake and Naoshima mayor Chikatsugu Miyake dreamed up an idea of making the island a cultural center.

The Real Behind My ‘Pretty’ Instagram Feed

Today, while casually scrolling through someone’s perfectly curated Instagram feed (#FeedGoals for sure), I all of a sudden had to fight the urge to hurl my phone against the wall.

13 Celebrities Who Are Serious About Photography

Everyone is a photographer, and that includes celebrities. But some celebrities take their photography more seriously than others, investing both significant time and money into developing their craft. Here’s a small sampling.

20+ Students Suspended for Liking Instagram Post About School Shooting

20+ students in North Carolina were suspended from school this week over an Instagram post, but it wasn't even a photo they posted. The suspended students are being punished for "liking" the photo, which implied, allegedly as a joke, that the school would be the victim of a shooting.

Fetishizing an Entire Culture Through Photography

In September 2016, Vogue España featured Kendall Jenner in a ballet-themed photo shoot. The ballet community was up in arms over the “ballet appropriation” and disregard for the years of training that goes into being a ballet dancer. Jenner responded by explaining that “ I didn’t even know I was going to be a ballerina until I went into hair and makeup.”

Why Street Photography Matters in 2017

“Street photography is dead”, declare forum threads and thinkpieces far and wide. The Internet and phone cameras have watered the quality down. The uniformity of the modern world means nothing is interesting anymore. Privacy and security issues make it immoral and dangerous. From a lot of angles, it seems, the photographic discipline I love is under attack.

A Mothers Anguish: The Story Behind a Photo in India

Varanasi, India is an incredible place, a real eye opener and a step back in time. You witness events you may have never imagined, or have ever wanted to see. It's completely unavoidable and totally unpredictable. It's the kind of place that you shouldn't expect anything, but embrace every moment.

Dear Men: Stop Disrespecting Women Photographers in the Field

Before last week, I hadn’t talked about this outside of my circle of close friends, but I can no longer afford to keep it quiet. As a woman shooting assignments around male photographers on a daily basis, I commonly feel the need to act with bravado in order to prove myself worthy around other -- primarily older, primarily male -- photographers.

This Press Photographer Captured the Perfect… Pokemon

In addition to capturing all kinds of photographs, traveling press photographers also have a nice advantage when it comes to finding new Pokemon in the wildly popular game Pokemon Go. This 1-minute video shows a sports photographer who was recently spotted dividing his time between capturing photos and capturing Pokemon.