documentary

I Shoot Instax Photos That Document Victims of Violence in Chicago

In 2016, there were 762 murders in Chicago, the most by far anywhere in the United States -- more than the total of New York and Los Angeles combined. This year there have already been over 600 homicides. I was born and raised in Canada, where there are fewer murders in the entire country than Chicago has in one year.

Photos of the Cuban National Circus

Some people run away to Cuba for the sunshine. Some people run away to Cuba for the rum. And some just run away with the circus.

Tombo’s Wound: Portraits of a Sierra Leone Village Without Clean Water

Unity over adversity. It’s a running theme in the story of Tombohuaun, translation “Tombo’s Wound,” a remote village tucked into the jungle of Sierra Leone’s Eastern Province. The community’s founding legend states that a villager named Tombo cut his foot on a catfish in the river, and the then chief ordered the fish to be caught and killed. Back then, as now, the community came together to put things right: they caught the fish, ate it, and went on to name the town after this symbolic triumph.

Revisiting ‘The Americans’, Robert Frank’s Influential Photo Book

In this post, we're going to revisit The Americans by Robert Frank. This influential photography book, first published in France in 1958, appears highly relevant today with the United States divided in so many ways. However, the odds are that these honest, and often sad images, have always been relevant.

Can(‘t) You See? Or, The Ethics of Photographing Vulnerable People

My name is Simon Sharp, and I'm a documentary photographer. In this article, I will explore why I believe a photographer took pictures he should have refrained from taking and why the industry -- both print and NGO -- promoted them without apparently seeing what they were.

Out West: A Visual Narrative of China’s Westernmost Region

Borrowing from romanticized notions of the American frontier, synonymous with ideals of exploration and expansion, I captured a visual narrative of China’s westernmost region, Xinjiang. Whereas the American West conjures images of cowboys and pioneers, of manifest destiny and individualistic freedom, the Chinese West has not yet been so defined.

Mea Shearim: B&W Photos of One of Jerusalem’s Oldest Jewish Settlements

Mea Shearim was established in 1874 as the fifth settlement outside the walls of the Old City of Jerusalem. Its name is derived from a verse in the weekly Torah portion that was read the week the settlement was founded: "Isaac sowed in that land, and in that year he reaped a hundredfold (מאה שערים, Mea Shearim); God had blessed him" (Genesis 26:12).

When Everything Looked Like a War Zone, I Saw Nameless Heroes

The first 24 to 72 hours are the most crucial when it comes to recovery in the aftermath of the devastating earthquake like the one we had in Mexico City just a few days ago. As a human being, my first reaction was to help.

Photographer Uses Burned Teapot as a Camera to Shoot Wildfire Damage

Back in August 2016, the Blue Cut wildfire tore through Cajon Pass in Southern California, burning 37,000 acres, dozens of cars, and over 300 homes and structures. Local photojournalist James Quigg documented the fire's damage in a creative and unusual way: he found a burned teapot and turned it into a pinhole camera.

Flight Attendant’s Photos Show Life in a Virgin America Crew

Molly Choma of Portland, Oregon, has spent nearly a decade working as a flight attendant on Virgin America planes. In addition to her work in the skies, Choma is also a talented photographer. Her series The Secret Life of Virgins is a look at life in Virgin America flight crews.

Photo Essay: The Wildfires Leaving Portugal in Ashes

Wildfires have been burning across Portugal, causing tens of deaths and scores of injuries. Yesterday, I stumbled upon a village called Pereiro De Maçao. For the last 4 days, a wildfire has consumed a large quantity of forest, destroying villages on its way. And yesterday it was reaching this town.

Why I Burned My Own Property and How I Photographed It

I was committed to burning my property. I know this sounds a bit crazy but we’re talking about a prescribed burn. My wife researched programs in our area for homeowners to reduce fire hazard. In our area the firefighters are cross-trained for both wildland and structure fires so they are perfectly qualified to do prescribed burns on a residential property.

What My Camera Saw as My Parents Died of Cancer

There is a whole range of feelings that happen with the delivery of bad news. In my case, like many others, knees lock, the heart speeds up and the hairs on my arms get a funny little tingle. My circumstances, however, were a little less expected.

The Boys Who Grew Breasts: Portraits of the Effects of Risperdal

Johnson & Johnson has been fined over $3 billion for marketing the antipsychotic drug Risperdal to children. Over 18,000 boys and young men are now suing the company over a side effect of the drug called gynecomastia, which causes adolescent boys to develop female breasts. Photographer Richard Johnson recently completed a photo project to tell the boys' stories: it's titled Risperdal Boys.

How Nature Documentaries are Fake: A Filmmaker’s Perspective

When you watch nature documentaries like the BBC's famous Planet Earth series, do you take for granted that everything you're seeing is 100% real? We wouldn't blame you if you did, but as Simon Cade of DSLRguide explains in this video, you'd be wrong.

Photo Essay: The Homeless Children on the Streets of Kitale, Kenya

It's five o’clock in the morning, and a cold mist lies upon the small Kenyan town of Kitale. Only if you walk around the empty town at the break of dawn will you notice the part of life that society is hiding. On cold, concrete floors, all over the city, lie hundreds of children fast asleep.

This is the Camera Tech Used to Film Animals in Pitch Dark for Planet Earth II

Wildlife photography and videography is more incredible today than ever before, thanks in large part to the last decade's amazing leaps in camera technology. This behind the scenes look at the cameras used by the BBC to shoot Planet Earth II shows you how advances in camera tech have allowed us to see the creatures of the night in ways never before thought possible.

The Story of Oskar Barnack, Inventor of the Original Leica

In the annals of photography, few people have made the kind of impact that Oskar Barnack can claim. While working for Leitz, then a microscope manufacturer, the master entineer and photography enthusiast invented the original Ur-Leica: a camera that would change the world.

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.

Telling Stories Through Photos: A Visual Journey into Argentina’s Food Politics

In May of 2016, I had the opportunity to travel to Argentina through my university for the purpose of researching food politics with our anthropology department. I jumped on the opportunity when it was offered, and had the experience of a lifetime learning about conducting anthropological work.

Photographing a Double Mastectomy: My Friend’s Fight with Breast Cancer

Every photographer should photograph a cancer patient at some point in his/her life. It teaches you how little of a person you are and how you’re but one character in the story of life. That’s what I learned at least when I had the privilege of photographing the double mastectomy of my friend, Diana Sheldon, 38, last fall.

Photos of Cabramatta, the Melting Pot Suburb of Sydney

Cabramatta is not your typical Australian suburb. If you took a stroll through the streets of this south western Sydney hub you may feel like you are in southeast Asia. However, the suburb of Cabramatta is emblematic of modern Australia -- urban, busy and brimming with multicultural activity.