Editorial

World-renowned photojournalist David Burnett recently published an open letter to the National Press Photographers Association in response to the recent debates surrounding photojournalistic ethics and the controversial new Photo Bill of Rights that calls for, among other things, consent from subjects in public spaces.

Why do I do landscape photography? I've been trying to conceptualize an answer to this question as I delve deeper into my self-expression through creating imagery.

I recently set out to see what collaborating on an automotive campaign would look like when done virtually. In the words of the always colorful Jeremy Clarkson, “How hard could it be?” TL;DR: Not that hard!

In 1987, choreographer Margo Sappington came to Houston to set her dance "Rodin, mis en vie" on the world-famous Houston Ballet at the invitation of Artistic Director Ben Stevenson. Not knowing who she was, but attracted by her energy and persona, I introduced myself.

Every so often a photo shoot comes along that both excites you and terrifies you at the same time. Today’s article is about one such experience.

Okay, I know the title of this article sounds a bit clickbaity -- and to be honest, it is. Proclaiming anything to “be dead” always sounds alarmist. But really, I don’t see a bright future for the medium I love.

Insects and other animals have fascinated me since I was a small child. I remember well how I used to pick them up and simply stare at them in wonder for hours. The concept of photographing insects indoors had been on my mind for years, even when photography and playing with light was a hobby, and long before I considered photography a profession and way of life.

Editor’s note: Veteran photojournalist Yunghi Kim (@yunghi) sent me the following thoughts after the publication of my article about the ethics of showing protestors’ faces.

For those who are anywhere near the microstock photography industry, you may have noticed that there is a lot of shouting going on at the moment about the latest release from Shutterstock.

The image above was shot in one of the old town lanes around Pom Prap in Bangkok in October 2019 using a Nikon F3 analog SLR camera loaded with Kodak Ektar 100 expired film roll.

Any event photographer gets tons of requests from people asking for specific photos from an event. Sometimes they will acquiesce, but often not. Don't nag them if they don't get back to you or say no. Here's why.

Discussing what makes a “photographic” photograph can seem like a bit of a tautology, but I think that my understanding of what I’m trying to achieve with my photographs has been helped by this idea.

When you’re very early in your photography career, getting an agent will seem like a mysterious process. Many photographers feel that signing with an agent will offer the key to their fortunes. When they do sign, some photographers will feel they have finally made it.

The third of this month marked two years since I took my first foray into the Sony Alpha Ecosystem. I thought it would be a good idea to look back to see how I’m liking the system and if my views have changed since my 12 month a7 III review.

I look at hundreds of photographs everyday and I’ve noticed that how people take photos is in direct correlation to how they live their day to day lives. This may not sound like a startlingly profound fact but, put simply: your personality can create the biggest barrier to achieving interesting and unique photographs.

It's funny how deceiving a photograph can be. I wouldn't blame anyone for thinking that this roller skater has turned his head to check out the girl on her phone as he skates past her. Without any context, that does appear to be the story here.

A few months ago I found out about the upcoming Google Licensable badge. Provided you embed the required metadata in your image files, it’s a label that will be added to your photos in Google Images, with links to a page that includes your Web statement of rights and a link to license the photo.

One of the most hotly debated questions for landscape photographers is how to answer the age-old question, “Where did you shoot that?” While the question is simple enough, whether to answer (and how to answer) is an internal question many shooters contend with in the age of Instagram.

Should your photograph have a name? If not, why not? If so, then why? And does anyone really care? I’m of the opinion that it should always have a name, an identity, a personality. Well, all of mine at least. What you do with yours is entirely up to you. And as it should be.

There are many different reasons that photographers love photography. Almost always any individual photographer’s interest is a mixture of multiple aspects.

Whenever a discussion touches on the subject of RAW processing and photo management applications, digiKam rarely comes up. Even when talking about open source photography software, RawTherapee and darktable are often the only names that are thrown around. So let me give you an elevator pitch that makes a case for digiKam.

I don't normally rant, but this has been bothering me for quite some time. I try not to worry about what gets written on the Internet because I believe everyone is entitled to their own opinions and it's healthy to have many different opinions for others to pick and choose what works for them. Let's face it, there is no hard and fast rule that photographers must abide by.

Helsinki-based photographer and filmmaker Anders Lönnfeldt loves drone photography, architecture, and geometric compositions that draw you in. Now that he's found himself out of work due to the pandemic, he's bringing all three of those sensibilities together in a new series of done photos called Urban Aerials.

In most parts of the world, life has turned upside-down over the past few months. People are staying in their homes, freedom of movement is restricted, schools, parks, restaurants and many shops remain closed, and businesses are suffering.

The sudden global stop of many types of content production, ranging from full-blown TV/film through to commercial photo shoots, has hit the creative industry hard. With agencies unable to organize a shoot for a brand in the usual manner, and most photographers unable to leave their homes, we are in a situation where we are having to really think outside the box.

It’s very easy to get stuck in grooves in photography, to find something that makes sense or comes from a position of authority; once habits are formed around ideas about genre, style, or technique, it can be very difficult to break out of those constraints.

If you’re lucky enough to have a wonderful dog around while you're stuck in lockdown, this is the perfect opportunity to hone your pet photography skills and try to get some beautiful portraits of your furry friend.

If another social media craze comes out, I think I just might tear out my eyelashes one-by-one. I’m sure many of us professional photographers have thought that (or something similar) when we’re daunted by the task of keeping up with today’s culture. However, Instagram turned out to be pretty powerful for photographers. Snapchat, maybe not so much. What about TikTok?

The Pentagon made headlines around the world this week when it officially released several UFO videos that were internally declassified in 2017, confirming their authenticity. And while this has sparked a flurry of "aliens among us" speculation, some are pointing out that there is an optical explanation behind each of the three clips.

It was early 2000, and the world looked on towards a new and exciting millennium, thankful that their worst fears surrounding Y2K never surfaced. At the time, I was getting ready to launch my portrait photography business using a completely digital capture and workflow, and was intent on investing in the Nikon D1 as my primary camera.

Celebrating Earth Day – and its 50th anniversary – against the backdrop of COVID-19 is something we’ll likely remember for quite some time.

A few months ago, I was hired as an on-court, fixed broadcast camera operator for an Association of Tennis Professionals event as an independent contractor. While we were not broadcast live on a network, we were broadcasting throughout the stadium and event village as well as being taped for the network.

In many parts of the U.S. the reality of social distancing policies have only been in place for about a month. Yet during that time and the few weeks that preceded it, photographers have already churned through a number of phases to document and depict the outbreak.

One of the byproducts of the new-wave approach to street photography, which champions anonymity, mystery, and a cinematic aesthetic, is that there is an absolute abundance of images featuring silhouetted figures and shadow play. These are the kind of images I started off creating, and there are some fantastic artists who have utilized this style over the years, my favorite of these being Fan Ho, one of the classic progenitors of this style.

I get asked all the time about my process: what applications I use, what gear I use, how I do what I do. So I figured, since I'm locked in my apartment by myself because of COVID-19, I might as well write my first blog post about it.

The past few years have made it abundantly clear that platforms hold disproportionate power in the online sphere – from Uber to Grubhub to Amazon. Online success is predicated on building both utility as well as a critical mass of users, and for that, platforms should be congratulated.

I’m a wildlife photojournalist, my work and my personal project focus on stories related to wildlife conservation. I’ve seen first-hand the destruction left behind by the horrific illegal wildlife trade.