Culture

Photography is about far more than capturing an image. How photos are shared and what social issues are impacting the profession are just as important. PetaPixel regularly covers the stories around the culture of photography, how it affects society, and what cultural changes affect the art.
On the left, a black-and-white vintage portrait features two women, one standing behind the other. On the right, a headless flamingo stands on white sand near gentle blue ocean waves.

A Necessary Critique of Fontcuberta’s Algorithmic Photography

This March, Spanish conceptual artist and photographer Joan Fontcuberta published a new book in Italy. Immagini Latenti concludes with a chapter on AI and photography, referencing the debates surrounding Boris Eldagsen’s submission of an AI-generated image to the Sony World Photography Awards in 2023 and Miles Astray’s submission of a photograph in the AI category of the 1839 Award in 2024.

A man holding a camera with a large lens stands outdoors. Beside him, a green sign reads "Photographer No. 24 Masters" with the Masters golf tournament logo.

New Doc Follows Ken Griffey Jr.’s Photography Journey at The Masters

Hall of Fame baseball player Ken Griffey Jr.'s passion for photography is well known. The slugger-turned-photographer is a mainstay at major sporting events, including NFL games, soccer matches, and last year's Masters Tournament at the iconic Augusta National Golf Club. Griffey's experience behind the camera at The Masters is the focus of a new documentary, "Photographer No. 24."

Mario and Princess Peach stand together on a rooftop at night, gazing at a sky filled with colorful shooting stars and glowing trails. The scene is vibrant, magical, and illuminated by the falling stars.

Anamorphic Lenses Are Everywhere in Hollywood, Even Animated Movies

Anamorphic lenses are everywhere these days. From the small screen of television to the big screen of IMAX theaters, cinematographers often reach for anamorphics. These lenses not only deliver an ultra-wide, cinematic look but also feature distinct oval bokeh and exaggerated flare. The look is so prevalent in live-action filmmaking now that even animated movies, like the brand-new "The Super Mario Galaxy Movie," are following suit and simulating the "look" of anamorphic lenses.

Three posters: left shows small, clear camera lens adapters labeled "4.1g" with the word "Air"; middle has a colorful quilted backpack on a tripod outdoors; right displays a white CineMaster-V 16K cinema camera.

The Best April Fools’ Day Photography Jokes of 2026

April 1 has once again delivered a fresh roll of photographic absurdity, with brands and creators leaning into the strange, the impossible, and the technically questionable. While some years feel phoned in, 2026’s crop of April Fools’ Day gags shows the industry still has a sharp sense of humor about its own obsessions.

Two groups of soccer fans cheer in stadium stands; on the left, fans wear red and black, while on the right, fans wear blue and yellow, all with arms raised, celebrating excitedly.

Momento Captures Photos of Sports Fans Celebrating All the Big Plays

Sports fans are plenty familiar with cameras at sporting events. 4K broadcast cameras catch the action from every angle, and specialized overhead cameras deliver dynamic angles for instant replays. Even referees sometimes have body cams to complement coverage. However, some venues also have an array of HD cameras pointed at fans rather than the sports action, capturing souvenir photos of people celebrating key plays and moments.

A smiling man in a short-sleeve button-up shirt kneels outdoors by the ocean, holding a vintage movie camera, with palm trees and a building in the background.

Documentary Celebrates Legacy of Ice Skater-Turned-Photographer Roy Blakey

The late photographer Roy Blakey (1930-2024) lived an incredibly interesting life wholly unlike anyone else. A world-traveling professional ice skater-turned-pioneering photographer, Blakey's life and legacy are captured in a new documentary film, "Uncle Roy," directed by his mentee and niece, award-winning director, cinematographer, and photographer Keri Pickett.

A special edition 18mm F6.3 camera lens themed after Ultraman is shown in packaging with an Ultraman figure on the left and a close-up of the lens with Ultraman graphics on the right.

Ultra-Thin SG-image Pancake Lens Gets the Ultraman Treatment

The famous Japanese science fiction franchise Ultra Series, also known as Ultraman, is celebrating its 60th anniversary this year. The relatively new lens company, SG-image, is getting in on the party with an Ultraman-themed limited edition version of its 18mm f/6.3 pancake lens for APS-C mirrorless cameras.

Split image: Left side shows a woman with blond hair posing as a man photographs her with a camera; right side shows an older man with gray hair holding a film camera, standing in front of patterned wallpaper.

Check Out These Rare Stereoscopic Photos of Andy Warhol In His Studio

The Smithsonian’s Archives of American Art in Washington D.C. has acquired more than 400 rare stereoscopic slides documenting daily life inside Andy Warhol’s New York studio, The Factory. Created in the early 1970s by artist and Warhol assistant Ronnie Cutrone, the images are now available for research, offering a three-dimensional view into one of the most influential creative spaces of the 20th century.

Collage of twenty diverse children posing in front of colorful backgrounds, each holding school supplies like books, notebooks, and backpacks, while smiling, gesturing, or expressing excitement and curiosity.

Lifetouch Promises It Didn’t Supply Photos of Children to Jeffrey Epstein

Rumors have swirled in communities across the United States that Lifetouch, the photography company famous for school pictures, has a connection to Jeffrey Epstein. The rumors have become so prolific that Lifetouch's CEO had to issue a statement refuting any claims that the company has any connection whatsoever to Epstein.

A triptych showing close-ups of fashion accessories: left, a person holds a green utility bag filled with red-handled tools; center, a foot in a black shoe and blue disposable shoe cover; right, a belt with tools and cords over denim.

‘Assistants’ Celebrates the Unsung Heroes of Fashion Photography

Behind nearly every iconic studio fashion photo is a stylist assistant. These unsung heroes often go entirely unnoticed to the outside world, but they are essential to the photographic process and vital members of the team. A new photography book, Assistants, brings fashion stylists from the background and puts them front and center.

Split image on a pink background: left half shows a pixelated camera icon, right half shows a Canon EOS R6 camera. Large white text reads "FLICKR'S 22ND IN NUMBERS" across the image.

The Most Popular Cameras on Flickr

Flickr is celebrating its 22nd birthday, a remarkable achievement. To mark the occasion, Flickr shared some interesting data and insights into how photographers use Flickr, which cameras they own, and what types of shots they like to share the most.

A black-and-white split image shows a woman’s emotional face with a tear on the left and her looking upward hopefully on the right. The word "unavailable" is vertically overlaid on both sides.

You Won’t See Another Super Bowl Ad Like This One

Oscar-nominated filmmaker Yorgos Lanthimos teamed up yet again with famous actor Emma Stone for what is very likely to be the only Super Bowl commercial this year shot on 35mm Kodak 2302 black and white film stock with Panavision lenses.

On the left, a man in sunglasses and a cap smokes in a busy street; on the right, in black and white, a person in a suit covers their face while a woman in front looks tired or sad among a crowd.

Photographer’s New Book Is a Time Capsule of Life in New York City

After surviving his fight with cancer and leaving behind his career as a lawyer, Xiomáro pursued photography as a career. His latest book, "Street Photography of New York City: Street Haunting in the Big Apple," embraces a candid, gritty look at New York City, seeking to capture culture and history as it happens.

A hand holds a smartphone displaying a white "X" logo on a black screen, with a blurred blue background and some silhouetted shapes visible.

French X Offices Raided as Authorities Investigate Explicit Deepfakes

French authorities have raided the Paris offices of social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, as part of a widening investigation into allegations that include the spread of child sexual abuse material and sexually explicit deepfake images, marking a significant escalation in European scrutiny of the company and its artificial intelligence products.

A black-and-white photo collage of a bearded man making three faces: surprised with hands on cheeks, smiling with pixelated "deal with it" sunglasses, and grinning while holding an object over one eye.

Uncovering the Secret Lenses Inside Old-School Analog Photo Booths

Photographer and YouTube creator Mathieu Stern loves vintage lenses. He also loves vintage analog photo booths. So Stern set out to find out exactly which lenses are used in old-school film photo booths so he could recreate the exact look at home. It was much harder than one might think.

A U.S. postage stamp featuring a scenic Colorado mountain lake is shown next to an older man in glasses and a yellow sweater standing in front of a framed landscape painting.

‘Colorado’s Photographer’ John Fielder Honored With Commemorative Stamp

One of the late landscape and nature photographer John Fielder's most famous photos captured in Colorado will be featured on the upcoming Colorado Statehood Stamp, released by the U.S. Postal Service to commemorate the 150th anniversary of Colorado becoming a state. It is a fitting honor for Fielder's legacy, who Colorado's governor calls, "Colorado's Photographer."

Three photographs of the Great Wall of China are displayed side by side against a pale background, each showing different angles and lighting of the wall winding through mountains.

Uncovering the History of How China Fell in Love With Photography

China is one of the world's biggest photography markets, even besting the Americas in terms of camera and lens sales earlier this year. However, China's rich photographic history is not well known in the West, something American photographer Ben Fraternale, who runs the excellent photography YouTube channel "In An Instant," hopes to change through his new three-part documentary series, "Inside China."