Documentary Photography

Last year, my husband and I traveled to Greece. While we were in Athens, we could not avoid crossing paths with the same couple at every sightseeing location we went to. I must have seen the entire wardrobe of the girl during those hours we walked. Her eccentric wardrobe change was not the only thing that caught my attention.

This past summer I dove deep into an article on the long time debate: does a photographer's gender alter the way in which he or she photographs a subject. Is there really a difference in how one gender sees the final image, or is it just artistic preference?

Balint Alovits is a photographer based in Budapest, Hungary who created a showcase of Bauhaus and Art Deco caracoles. He calls them "Time Machines." He assures me that these stairways really exist and that they aren't computer generated.

When doing a documentary-style video production, an interview or series of interviews is often at the heart of the content. Uncontrollable lighting, background noise, and the size of the space you have to work in all play a significant role in capturing a quality testimonial, so location scouting to check on these is an important facet of our production process.

Instagram has always been a tricky one where nudity is concerned; “Free the Nipple” movement, anyone? But Los Angeles-based photographer Magdalena Wosinka has garnered much attention after posing naked in a series of snaps taken across California. 

A new upcoming BBC four-part series titled "Spy in the Wild" uses 34 realistic animatronic creatures, equipped with UHD cameras to observe wildlife activity from closer than ever before. The myriad of undercover animals were placed all over our planet, from deserts, to rainforests, as well as the polar regions.

Hungarian photographer, Robert Capa is regarded as being one the greatest combat and adventure photographers in history. That’s no small remark, considering the immense amount of danger involved and the technological limitations that were present during the time he created his body of work. 

I'm a sucker for short-form documentaries and analog photography, so when I came across Filmmaker David Drill's "Master of Camera," I had to watch. It's a very well-done story of camera repairman, Gian Luigi Carminati, who's been repairing cameras for almost sixty years.  

I’ll admit that I’m in a creative rut. And like any photographer that feels frustrated, there’s only one thing to do: go in a different direction. For well over a year I’ve been shooting hardly anything besides studio portraits. While I love that genre and the work that I’ve created in that time, I feel like my work has hit a wall creatively.

Photography has a different meaning to almost every photographer. We may learn from one another but it is our style and vision that makes us unique to the the others out there. In this video, Paul Zizka travels out to Greenland to photograph the beauty of the "big white island," a place that not many get to see. 

Every year photographers launch personal projects. Some of the projects will have tremendous impact by artistically contributing to our world. Naturally, many of the projects need funding and now, more than ever, the photo community is pitching in to ensure that the projects are seen by a greater audience.

Can iconic photography be passed from father to son? This was the question that caught my attention at the beginning of this short film. Los Angeles-based street photographer Estevan Oriol’s style is intense. It’s raw and it’s edgy. It depicts a side of street culture that isn’t always positive, yet within the images a captivating reflection of humanity can be witnessed. 

Over the past few months, the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe in North Dakota have successfully managed to temporary halt construction of the $3.7 billion Dakota Access oil pipeline. The subject of much debate and media coverage, one incredibly powerful and emotive photo has emerged from the site, encompassing the ongoing battle.

A Scottish photographer has captured a rare photo of what is being nicknamed a "Fog Bow" (or fog rainbow!) over the snow-covered moors. Melvin Nicholson took the photo whilst out walking through Rannoch Moor, Scotland.

Nicholson spotted the colourless rainbow - made up of tiny water droplets that cause fog – earlier this week.

London-based photographer Harry Skeggs began his love affair with traveling at the age of 17 with what he describes as a "rubbish little camera." He says it was his disappointment with the quality of the images that pushed him to seek out better. Here, we take a look at some of his finest wildlife images from around the world. 

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. 

New photos have emerged showcasing the lives of an uncontacted tribal community living in the Brazilian Amazon.

Much can change in 40 years. Just ask photographer Camilo Jose Vergara, who has spent the last four decades documenting the evolution – and often disintegration – of some of the most impoverished neighborhoods in America. 

This article is a twist on the more common behind the scenes post. Instead of writing about the thought process of the shot in retrospect, I am starting this article several days before the full moon, to showcase my process and mindset when planning for a once in a lifetime shot of the Supermoon.  

As large as the photography community is in a whole, it seems small and intimate when a crisis attacks one of our own. We have seen photographers unite and rally when another is hit with tragedy. However the way one couple decided to deal with the crisis themselves leads to a whole new way of thinking for personal projects and photography shoots.  

I just got my hands on IKAN’s new Rayden Bi-Color LED kit, and man, it is a huge improvement from their last model!  The lights are sturdier, the dials are stronger and easier to use, and the quality of light has improved drastically from the last series.  

When Mihaela Noroc, a photographer from Romania, decided to quit her job at the age of 27 to travel the globe and capture the diverse feminine beauty of the world, she had no idea it would turn to an ultra popular project in less than three years. 

Sometimes we receive weird messages or threats through social media, email, or text, but it's not all the time that we look into them. Maybe they are fake, maybe they are real, but this is the story of one filmmaker who looked into things a little bit deeper. 

Mario Testino is without a doubt one of the most famous fashion and portrait photographers currently alive. He has worked for the biggest magazines and brands in the world, including Vogue, GQ, Vanity Fair, Calvin Klein, and Burberry. Over his 35 years of experience in the industry, he more than certainly shot some of the sexiest, most important, and most famous people on earth.

The United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) has just released a campaign short based on the work of photographer Brian Sokol.

15 years after the tragic day, Time Magazine published a video from their "Behind the Photo" series about "The Falling Man,” captured by well-known Associated Press Photographer Richard Drew. Apart from the published images of 9/11 attacks, this photo made viewers feel the despair and horror in an unusual way. 

A photograph that does not tell a story, is a lifeless picture – it’s a failure to capture the viewer and therefore, his heart. One single photograph can inspire a person if a photographer knows how to tell a good story.

The concept of permanence is flawed. Nothing can keep its state, unchanged indefinitely. What is young and vibrant will eventually wither and fade. I never fully grasped this simple truth until my father lay dying in the next room. While he would always be my father, I realized my dad wasn’t as permanent as I once thought.

It’s the moments between our accomplishments that define us. Particularly in an age of social media, with its carefully curated posts, profiles, and portfolios, it can be hard to appreciate the part of your persona that nobody was ever meant to see. That is until you realize that little bit of you just might be the most real.

Producing an interesting audio-only podcast about a visual-only medium is one task I wouldn't want to take on. Over the past few years, I've downloaded, listened to, and deleted countless photography podcasts that were too dull or boring to justify more than a few minutes of my time.  

The filmmakers of “The Muir Project,” known for their first documentary, “Mile… Mile and a Half,” have just released their latest film, “Noatak: Return to the Arctic.” I interviewed Director Ric Serena who told me about the production challenges his team faced when working on a remote river deep in Alaska and why they chose to go with the Canon 1DC as their camera of choice. 

There are certain images that have become so ingrained in our psyches, they are almost dismissed outright. If you've ever been in a bookstore, browsing the photography section, you've seen the docile faces of the Weimaraners of William Wegman. The images are always clean, crisp, and have become immensely popular in the last 20 years, gracing coffee tables and calendars alike.

Perhaps the most famous person in the art of documentary filmmaking is Ken Burns. The act of panning and zooming around a still image has been coined "the Ken Burns effect"; it was made famous in his historical documentaries.

Los Angeles is a sprawling and forever-evolving metropolis that has tried on many faces over the years. That's never more apparent than in this short film, which pairs modern footage of the city with archival clips and syncs them, showing off just how much LA has grown and changed. 

Sometimes being a "creative" really sucks. But it's also the best thing to be in the entire world. But did I mention it can suck? Well if you feel like you're in a rut, then watch this preview, and prepare to be inspired. Today, Musicbed released their feature-length documentary, "Make," which explores why creatives continue, well, creating. 

Documentary videos have always been there to grab my attention. These short, yet powerful videos can really pull you in, making you want to know more about what you're watching. I have made a few videos like this myself but none that I have really liked until now.

Let’s be honest, it is very rare we come across photographers who shake us instantly, make us believe in the magic of photography at its very rawest again; photographers who get engraved in our hearts from the first sight to their work. Fan Ho was that kind of artist for me.

Mark Wallace is a great friend of ours, and also one of the leading photography educators on the planet (subscribe to his series on AdoramaTV). Mark has been traveling the world for over two years now, but in the beginning of 2016 he traded the trains, planes, and automobiles for a single BMW R1200 motorcycle.

From Star Wars to Rogue One, we just can't get enough of this series as it continues on to the new generation. I know that I myself can't get enough of the Star Wars saga, let alone the numerous examples of fan art out there, including photography concepts. Photographer Steve Brown has created an amazing Last Supper with The Emperor, Darth Vader, and Imperial Stormtroopers.

We all know that wedding photography is not easy, and at our wedding, we want a record of moments that will last a lifetime. After working for Tom Harmon as an intern in the summer of 2015, I saw what went into shooting a wedding. It was a lot more than I expected.

Everyone’s life journey is different and often the road of the bravest leads to the most unexpected discoveries and inspiring experiences. It is never someone else’s decision of which path we take in our way and what we become. Henri Matisse, one of the giants of modern art, once said that creativity takes courage and I can’t agree more.

When it comes to shooting homes, Emile Rafael takes it to the next level. As a real estate photographer and videographer, I see the potential in shooting videos for agents; the only problem is they don't typically want to pay much, and they need things turned around fast.

In our never-ending pursuit of artistic perfection in our photography, it’s easy to forget that the real power of an image is to capture and preserve a moment in time. A new short documentary/advertisement for Google Photos shines a light on just that. 

This incredible year-long project by the 70 photojournalism students of Rochester Institute of Technology plays to the depths of photography in light, movement, emotion, and connection — Ideas laid out in short photographic bursts that create tangible emotions for the viewer to experience alongside the subjects in the photographs.

If I ever find myself wallowing in a creative rut, I have a few surefire ways out of that hole. My most effective method, although probably not the quickest, is to watch a documentary on another photographer. They need not be similar to your own brand of photography; in fact, I often feel it's better when they aren't.

Canadian digital camera store, Vistek, has been interviewing photographers that have exhibits in the Scotiabank Contact Photography Festival, in an ongoing video series called, "The Story Behind My Photo." In case the series title hasn't given it away, Vistek asked talented Canadian photographers to take us behind-the-scenes and share the stories tha

Birth photography has become a popular sub-genre of documentary photography that shows the raw, real, and beautiful journey of bringing new life to the planet.

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. 

COOPH Video Director, Matthew Rycroft, continues to make my job easier by sending me engaging content to share with the Fstoppers' community. Their latest video focuses on the ability, we all have as photographers, to capture unique, iconic, and fun moments.

On one side, we have advertising photography, where everything is contrived and meant to look a certain way. It might as well be a painting with how planned out each step is. On the other, we have photojournalism. As the opposite, true photojournalism should never be staged, posed or "created." The idea is to capture what is and has happened.