Recent Documentary Articles

The Deadline To Enter Red Bull's Illume Competition Is NOW!

Every couple of years Red Bull hosts one of the coolest photo competitions in the world called the Red Bull Illume. If you aren't familiar with this photo contest, the Illume showcases some of the most unbelievable sports photographs in the world. Many of the photos are landscape in a nature which give them an almost fine art feel but there are plenty of edgy closeup shots to grab your attention as well. The deadline to contribute to this year's Image Quest has been extended by 12 hours to April 1st 12:00 (CET) which I believe to be 6:00 PM Eastern if my brain is working correctly.

Is Crowdsourcing Right For You?

Having ambition, creativity, and passion are not enough to make an independent documentary or photo project a reality. To see the movie play or hang the photo project in a gallery you will need money. It is a cruel reality for creatives, but money is needed to make large and ambitious projects happen. So what does one do?

Bearing Witness With James Nachtwey

Powerful photojournalism and the service the press provides in raising awareness of issues is no longer held in the regard that it once was. In his 2007 TED Prize acceptance speech, James Nachtwey not only displayed some of his haunting imagery and talked about its meaning, but discussed the duty the press has. It seems more and more relevant as time passes.

Memories of Overdevelopment and 9/11

On the morning of September 11th, 2001, many NY based photographers and film makers found themselves documenting one of the most traumatic events in American history, the terrorist attack on the Twin Towers.

Behind The Scenes With Ryan Allen: Creating An Iconic Skateboarding Image That Will Make Your Palms Sweat

Ryan Allen, the founder of SBC Skateboard Magazine, has worked tirelessly for over 15 years to create timeless images of skateboarders risking life and limb. Check out this incredibly down to earth behind the scenes video, which gives some insight into what it took to create a jaw-dropping image of a skateboarder ollieing (jumping, in non-skateboard slang) between two towers of shipping crates. The sweaty palms are included at no extra cost!

Adams, Curtis, Weston, Levitt, Oh My: Stanford's Cantor Center Wins Again

The Cantor Arts Center at Stanford and The Capital Group Foundation have announced that The Center has been gifted a collection of photographs by some of the most esteemed photographers working in the United States throughout the 20th century: Ansel Adams, Edward Curtis, John Gutmann, Helen Levitt, Wright Morris, Gordon Parks, and Edward Weston.

A Photographer's Journey Back To Chukotka

Two years ago, we posted this video from photographer, Sasha Leahovcenco. His mission was to literally travel to the end of the earth to photograph people who never had their photo taken. This March, he and his crew are going back to reach even more people - people who have never even had visitors. Sasha has put his project on Kickstarter to help raise funds for his amazing project.

Capturing 20 Years of China Through Their Negatives

An interesting documentary that Emiland Guillerme filmed about collecting photographs from all over china and putting them together which you can see at 9:45 in the film. "Beijing Silvermine is a unique photographic portrait of the capital and the life of its inhabitants following the Cultural Revolution. It covers a period of 20 years, from 1985, namely when silver film started being used massively in China, to 2005, when digital photography started taking over. These 20 years are those of China's economic opening, when people started prospering, travelling, consuming, having fun."

One Day On Earth Begins Now! 12.12.12

For the past 3 years the One Day On Earth community has set out to capture video of the entire planet on triple digit days (10.10.10, 11.11.11, 12.12.12). In short the project is comprised of amateur and professional filmmakers from every country, background, technique, etc. and creates a beautiful, geotagged video archive of the day. If you have something to say to the world, or to ask of it now, is the time to do so. For more info, go to the ODOE website and find out how you can participate!

Beneath the Surface: The First Time-Lapse to Record Coral Bleaching

Scientists are constantly capturing the devastating effects of environmental decline all over the world. However, doing so underwater has always proven to be a challenge. In the latest documentary binge watch, a team has successfully shown just how the world below the surface is declining at an advanced rate.

Five Things Photography Helps You Appreciate in Life: A TED Talk

In a thought-provoking TED Talk, artist-photographer Felisa Tan takes us on a journey through her life and the profound lessons she has learned through photography. With over 15 years behind the camera, Tan’s insights offer a unique perspective on how photography can help us appreciate life’s beauty and complexity. Her poetic narrative, paired with captivating images, challenges our preconceptions about photography and invites us to explore universal truths often overlooked in our daily lives.

Tan begins by sharing her early struggles with understanding her place in the...

A Chemical History Of Photography

When I bought my first DSLR 4 years ago, I offered a very enthusiastic "SAYONARA!" to the film era. This wasn't because I'm not grateful for the journey that photography has endured to end up where it is, but because my ADHD spark plug of a mind needed a process that was faster and more efficient than it's film and darkroom roots. Even with the mindset that I have towards the film era and the process of early photography, this video is pretty cool and goes through a brief history of photography via the paradigm of a chemist. Enjoy!

The How and Why of Making a Travel Photo Essay

Instagram, in particular, is full of high-quality travel photography — there's no end to it. But if you want to tell a personal story from your adventuring or pique the interest of a commercial entity with the hope of landing a new photography client, then you need to be able to produce a cohesive set of images.

A to Z of Photography: X-Trans Sensor and Xiaoxiao Xu

With the letter X we move on to looking at Fuji's highly regarded X-Trans sensor which is very different from nearly all the sensors in other digital cameras, before looking at the work of contemporary Chinese photographer Xiaoxiao Xu.

"The Neighbours Project" Creates Tintype Portraits Of The Homeless To Raise Awareness And Donations

As a writer for Fstoppers I hear about a lot of personal projects. This past weekend, my attention was grabbed when I read about how Denver-based photographer Dylan Burr undertook a project to create wet plate collodion photographs. It wasn't his image making process that stood out to me though- it was his subject matter. Read on to see the images Dylan created, but also hear how he is hoping to impact the community through his efforts.

Magnum Photographer Stuart Franklin Discusses His Version of the Iconic ‘Tank Man’ Photograph

The various versions of Tank Man are among the most iconic photographs of the 20th century, having a lasting impact on history to the point that the Chinese State banned the use of the word “Leica” on social media last year. In this short video, Magnum photographer Stuart Franklin discusses how his image came about, and the consequences of its publication.

Andrea Bruce Documents an Iraqi Family's Journey West

Publications allowing individual photographers access to their Instagram accounts is an increasingly common practice, and helps to foster a more intimate look at a photographer’s process. For example, Time Magazine allowed several photographers access to its Instagram account after Hurricane Sandy, enabling the magazine to update its almost 600k followers in real time.

'Killing the Rock' - Escaping Civil War Through Creativity

The best photographs and films don’t just bring beautiful visuals to the table. They also place story right at the center of their very make up. “Killing The Rock” (KTR) is a five minute demonstration of this, and reminds us of how commitment to our craft combined with small collaborative like-minded souls can tell stories that go deeper and reach further than we ever could going at it alone.

Using Photography to Fight Gender Inequality

Gender inequality is an unfortunate fact of life in many parts of the world. One company is seeking to reduce the gap by using the documental power of photography to enable women to share their stories with the world.