2016 has been a year that has seen Joey L plunged in to unusual situations. His name is usually associated with is masterful lighting and portrait style of A-List celebrities. Then, in October this year Joey reached out to me about his work for the legendary Lavazza calendar which a more travel orientated series of portraiture. Now, Joey has gone one step further and taken his beautiful image style and applied it to a crisis in Qayyara in Iraq.
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.
Last week we reported on one of the most extreme cases of a photographer having their work ripped off. The story was that of Lauren Bullen, a travel photographer who allegedly discovered one of her followers was quite literally travelling the globe in order to replicate her images. Seem far-fetched? These new clues suggest the whole thing may have been a hoax.
New photos have emerged showcasing the lives of an uncontacted tribal community living in the Brazilian Amazon. The Yanomami Indians, who have taken residence near the Venezuelan border since 1992, are said to be a community of approximately 100 people. They were reportedly at risk of being wiped out in recent years by violent attacks carried out by illegal miners, who had been invading the land in search of gold. The release of these images reveal the tribe are now alive and well, even having increased their population, after concerns grew for the group following their decision to live in total isolation.
Earlier this week, the largest moon of almost 70 years could be seen around the world. This "supermoon," as it is being hailed, occurred after it appeared 222,000 miles from Earth — to put it into perspective, that's some 30,000 miles closer than the most distant point it ever pops up. According to NASA, that caused it to appear 14% bigger and 30% brighter than what we’re used to. Naturally, photographers everywhere were out in full force trying to grab the best photo. But one image in particular is garnering attention after making NASA’s Astronomy Picture of the Day.
The fallout from the recent election has been tantamount to a natural disaster and shows no signs of slowing down quite yet. To say that Donald Trump has had a mixed reception would be somewhat of an understatement, but as a positive person -- whose vote didn't see them on the winning side -- one might feel compelled to initiate Operation Silver Lining. In the face of adversity there is usually one opportunity for the (hardened) photographer: journalistic coverage of events.
As the end of Obama’s eight-year presidency comes to an end, official White House Photographer Pete Souza has unveiled a series of intimate photographs documenting the 44th President’s time in office. Allowed complete access to official activities, Souza claims to have taken over two million photos while occupying the position.
Alex Bartsch has done the incredible. Through a lot of research and after climbing over fences and onto roofs, he sought out 42 locations where reggae artists had photos taken for their album artwork. He even got into the living room of former Trojan label owner Marcel Rodd in Hampstead to take a photo in front of the fireplace. His work documents an era of London's reggae scene between 1967 and 1987.
Bartsch's series looks like it took a lot of hard work. Either the artists, label owners, or photographers had to be tracked down to get the information about where the shots...
Like many photographers, I decided to stop shooting weddings as soon as I was able to. They were sometimes fun, and they could pay well, but they just weren’t for me. In 2013, I finally booked my last one: a destination wedding in early 2014 in Bolivia. Going out with style, for sure.
In the history of modern portraiture, few images have stuck in the collective consciousness of the photography world as firmly as the "Afghan Girl" portrait by Steve McCurry. The photo, taken in 1984 in the Nasir Bagh refugee camp, has become a lasting portrayal of innocence in a heartbreaking circumstance, as relevant today as it was over 30 years ago.
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.
The United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) has just released a campaign short based on the work of photographer Brian Sokol. In the brief production, A-listers such as Cate Blanchett, Kit Harington, and Neil Gaiman recite the rhythmic poem “What They Took With Them" by Jenifer Toksvig. The poem, along with the accompanying video and still imagery, urges us to sign the #WithRefugees petition to help ensure that refugees across the world have the basic necessities needed to rebuild their lives: education, a safe environment, and work opportunities.
Living in a world full of real problems and being a creative person is a challenge. It’s a big challenge until you step to the Black Rock Desert in Nevada for the annual Burning Man festival, where the world turns into the most surreal place you could ever imagine. This happened to photographer Victor Habchy and over 70,000 other people for the largest outdoor festival dedicated to "Da Vinci's Workshop" this year.
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. Because photographer Paul Choy wanted to find out the truth for himself behind media headlines, and because he wanted to tell the individual stories of each refugee, he set out for the refugees’ camps in Calais and Greece with his camera. The result is the ‘Faceless, Forgotten’ – a photo essay and a documentary about the struggles of refugees.
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.
