Recent Documentary Articles

Photographer Creates Haunting Reminder of Why We Need Earth Day

Now that everyone's feeds have been flooded with typical Earth Day stock imagery of beautiful rolling hills, ocean waves, and lush trees, Photographer Joe Freeman takes a darker tone and shows us the harsh reality of what future generations will see if humanity continues on the same devastating path.

A Day in the Life of Adventure Photographer Jimmy Chin

With one hundred and fifty pages brimming his passport book, adventure photographer and professional climber Jimmy Chin has traveled the world shooting for The North Face and National Geographic. As a man who radiates both inspiration and motivation, it’s worth taking a look at this day in the life of Jimmy.

Russian Photographer's Talent Goes Undiscovered Until Years After Death

A Soviet woman spent nearly 40 years photographing the world around her, but it wasn't until after her death that her photos — and her significant talent — were unearthed. As her daughter began to develop some of the thousands of negatives that she found tucked away in the family attic, she discovered a skilled genius who sadly never felt herself worthy of recognition.

Mary Ellen Mark To Receive “Outstanding Contribution To Photography” Award

Mary Ellen Mark is one of the world’s greatest and most influential documentary photographers. Next month, 65 years after she took her first photograph, she will be the recipient of the Sony World Photography “Outstanding Contribution to Photography” 2014 Award. What is it that earns a photographer such an esteemed accolade? Let's take a brief look at her work to find out.

'Conversations' with Annie Leibovitz

In 2009, Annie Leibovitz was interviewed on PBS's "Conversations." As one of the top portrait photographers in the world, she talks about the beginnings of her career (and how she went to school to become an art teacher), her history with Rolling Stone and what it was like to photograph the Queen of England. She also speaks about how photographing John Lennon hours before his death had a massive impact on her life - and how she's never really gotten over it.

Adobe Talks About the Method and Challenges of Creating Photo Software

Dream jobs are made where individuals labor in love, and passions are fostered. It is where “working” is hardly the right descriptor for they day-to-day. Seeing people who truly love their work and work for their passion is rare. I want to tell those stories, and I found one worth telling at a place where they produce the tools that make the lives of creative professionals possible- tools that often at first we never knew we needed, but now would find it impossible to live without.

Shoot as if Your Free Time Were a Documentary

During our free time, we often tend to hunt for the big shots and the most impressive images. To become better photographers, we also need to develop our view for the little stories on our path.

Peter Hurley Tells The Story Of How He Became a Pro Photographer

Anyone who reads Fstoppers knows about Peter Hurley and his successful headshot business. Aside from being a great photographer, Peter is also a respected educator and speaker. We always see him in action in the different videos, and see his working techniques and creative direction, but we never really had the chance to hear the story of how he became the successful photographer he is today. Check out this very interesting video where Peter talks about how he went from being on the Olympic team, to being a headshot photographer.

Aaron Draper Takes Stunning Photos of Homeless

Photographer Aaron Draper is using his photography skills to bring awareness about homelessness by providing us gorgeous images of our human society's proverbial underbelly. By taking time to apply his artistic eye to the invisible, he's forcing the average person to stop and think about their respective roles in our world. As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words. Check out this behind-the-scenes video and a few shots of Draper's fine work.

Patrick Brown's "Trading to Extinction" Project

Black bear bile, rhino horns, shark fins and other endangered wildlife and their illicit trade account for more than $10 billion annually. For the past ten years, documentary photographer Patrick Brown has explored this story, shooting from the jungles of Cambodia to the markets of Guangzhou. The work is now collected in the book “Trading to Extinction,” published by Dewi Llewis and released to coincide with this week’s global summit on illegal wildlife trade hosted in London.

'Snow Fall:' A Riveting Piece Which May Just Set The Standard For The Journalism Of The Future

The New York Times just released an absolutely incredible piece of journalism titled 'Snow Fall: The Avalanche at Tunnel Creek,' which is a story told through the use of still images, video, computer animations and one hell of a piece of writing. I have to say that this looks like (I at least hope) the future of editorial journalism. It's been a long time since I've read, watched, or looked at a piece that captivated me like this one.

Drone Footage by BBC Captures Auschwitz-Birkenau 70 Years After Its Inmates' Liberation

Seventy years ago, on January 27, Russian soldiers arrived to liberate less than 8,000 prisoners still remaining at Nazi-Germany's deadliest concentration camp, Auschwitz-Berkinau. During the camp's operation, Auschwitz' officers were responsible for an estimated 1.1 million deaths. To mark the historic liberation of the camp, BBC treated its audience to a unique view that embodies the eerie and gruesome history of the vast camp.

The Photographer Working at the Edge of the World

In one of the most inhospitable regions of the world, where life exists on a knife’s edge, Ragnar Axelsson has spent four decades photographing the beauty of its frozen landscapes and, more recently, the impact of climate change on the lives of the hardy people who call this frozen wilderness home.

Five Photography Series and Documentaries to Help You Out of Turkey Coma

Need a few suggestions to help you take full advantage of that inevitable Turkey-coma that's sure to set in at some point this Thanksgiving? Fstoppers compiled a few photography-related shows and documentaries for you to comb over – just in case you need some “Netflix-and-chill” time while all of that tryptophan hits your system.

Polaroid Feature-length Documentary: 'Instant Dreams'

"Instant Dreams" is a feature-length film about Polaroid that explores the magic of this defunct format, the pioneer of instant imagery, and documents the search for the lost chemical formula. Premiering at the International Documentary Filmfestival Amsterdam a few days ago, the film discusses what it meant to produce imagery that is physical, unique, and, as one of the subjects puts it, "an artifact of time."

The Young 'Amateur' Photojournalist Whose Work Has Been Heard Around The World

As I type this, Baltimore, Maryland is on lock down. After the suspicious death of Freddie Gray in police custody, and the ensuing civil unrest and rioting, photojournalists have been flocking to the scene. But it is the work of a young local, a so-called 'amateur', whose work has garnered international attention. If there is one thing that is a clear positive about the situation of Baltimore right now, it is that the democratization of photography has given rise to the likes of photographers like Devin Allen.

Look "Through the Ground Glass" in a Short Film About Large Format Photography

Through the Ground Glass is a beautiful short film by Taylor Hawkins that features large-format photographer, Joseph Allen Freeman as he — very candidly — talks about the process, frustrations, difficulties, and joys of shooting with large-format film. Even if this type of photography isn't your cup of tea, this video is worth a watch.

Warning: NSFW for language.

Amy Toensing Photographs the Oldest Culture on Earth

At 60,000 years old, the Australian Aboriginal culture is the oldest, longest-running culture on Earth. Amy Toensing photographed them for National Geographic, lending her intimately deep sense of storytelling to the sad and tragic history of their culture and the bond they share with their land.

One Roll of Film

Since digital photography was introduced, our art has become available to most, for better or worse. Releasing a shutter doesn’t cost much anymore, the process of creating an image is easier than ever, and everyone who has a phone is now a photographer. In 2016, going back to film sounds like a crazy idea for many. However, like "One Roll of Film" shows, it still has its place, and it is different from digital.

Photographer Amber Mozo Shoots Pipeline Where Her Famous Father Died

When Jon Mozo, an acclaimed surf photographer based on O’ahu’s North Shore, died in 2005 at the age of 33, he was doing what he loved best: photographing Backdoor Pipeline, which is considered to be one of the world’s deadliest waves. Among the four children he left behind is a daughter, Amber, who has followed in her father’s footsteps, photographing surfers, and recently visiting and photographing the very place where her father lost his life.

Photos Showing the Devastation of the Oklahoma City Tornado Aftermath

On May 20th, one of the deadliest twisters in known history touched down in Moore, Oklahoma, a suburb of Oklahoma City. The Tornado caused catastrophic damage to homes (over 13,000 of them were destroyed), infrastructure, schools and a hospital. Take a look at these powerful images showing the aftermath of the deadly Tornado as found on (the new) Flickr.

Coty Tarr Beautifully Captures Olympic Bobsledders in Training

In November of last year, Coty Tarr traveled to Lake Placid in Upstate New York to document the US Bobsled team as they practiced and prepared for upcoming competitions. Coty, as per usual, has not only photographed these incredible athletes and the work that goes into this level of training, but he's done so gorgeously.

Fstoppers Visits New Zealand, Is Attacked By "Wingless Bird" P.T.W. BTS Ep 5

Photographing The World Behind The Scenes Episode 5 is here. In last weeks episode (episode 4) we spent our last day in Iceland, and our photography guide went on a rant about photographers that is so hilarious, his rant has more views than the entire episode. In episode 5 we leave Siggy behind and fly to the opposite side of the world, New Zealand.