Photojournalistic

I'm sure by now everyone reading this is familiar with the work of photographer and interviewer Brandon Stanton and his long-running project Humans of New York. His crisp, shallow depth of field portraits and poignant interviews have gained international attention since the project's start in 2010. For the last four years, Stanton has quietly been filming his interviews, saving the footage for "something special." Now, that special something has arrived, in the form of a video series which will premiere next week on Facebook's Watch platform.

Stories like this one fill my heart back up with inspiration after times of discouragement. On August 16th, 2016 James Quigg, chief photographer of The DailyPress offered to cover the Blue Cut California wildfire as news of it came into the newsroom. They had just finished covering The Pilot Fire which had changed to a contained status that very day. He expected it to be a quick and easy story as he has learned over 25 years of being a journalist, the second fire was always smaller. When he arrived at the intersection of Interstate 15 and Highway 138 he stood in awe surrounded by flames in all four directions. As he observed the destruction he realized he'd be covering the largest fire of his career and this time he wanted to do something different that would be remembered for years.

The National Press Photographers Association (NPPA) reported Bill Frakes, a former Sports Illustrated photographer and 1983 Photographer of the Year in the Pictures of the Year competition, will not return to his position as a lecturer at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln after a Title IX harassment complaint was filed against him. The complaint was accompanied by notes from "at least ten other students" including photojournalim majors and those from other universities who also worked with Frakes.

The inauguration of Donald Trump meant the end of Pete Souza’s position as official White House photographer. Stepping into his shoes, Shealah Craighead has spoken for the first time about the experience of shadowing President Trump.

A photographer recently completed a project that involved setting herself the task of taking a portrait of all 626 of her Facebook friends from across the globe.

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.

Lukasz Palka, a Polish travel photographer currently residing in Tokyo, embarked on a photo series aiming to document the more intricate details of such a gigantic metropolis. We chatted with him to find out more about his thought process throughout the project.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has weighed in after several reports came from prominent news outlets that Capitol Police were blocking reporters and telling photojournalists not only to stop taking pictures, but to delete the photos.

After years of working in typical areas of photography, Eneil Simpson, has found his calling in a very surprising place: the operating room. As a former flight instructor, Simpson stumbled into very unique and rarely seen world of ophthalmic and surgical photography, after asking his eye doctor if he could sit in on and take an environmental portrait of him. This intended “one off”, resulted in further opportunities, as surgeons began to recommend him to their colleagues.

American renowned former White House photographer and photojournalist, Pete Souza, for his first ever audio interview hosted by Ohio University, speaks of his time documenting the professional and personal life of former President Barack Obama.

Perhaps no single photo is more symbolic of America’s troubles during the Great Depression than Dorothea Lange’s “Migrant Mother.” Depicting an itinerant farm worker, Florence Owens Thompson, and five of her children apparently in the grips of despair on the side of the road, this single image came to surmise an entire era.

There’s no question that the New York Times photo of James Comey during his Senate Intelligence Committee hearing, where he detailed his uncomfortable and suspect dealings with President Donald Trump, is going to be one of the iconic ones of our time. There’s also no question about who overwhelmingly seems to dominate the photojournalism field based on this photo: white men.

This year’s Travel Photographer Society (TPS) competition culminated in a beautiful exhibition of interesting and unique work from travel photographers all over the world in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Surrounding the exhibition, TPS also held a series of talks by prominent travel photographers. In his standout presentation and follow-up blog post, Pics of Asia’s Etienne Bossot questions us deeply about the ethics surrounding travel photography and just what constitutes the genre.

When President Trump announced he would be skipping the White House Correspondents' Dinner to speak in Harrisburg, Pa., right in my backyard and on day 100 of his presidency, it was like the stars aligned. Among many avenues, I’m a stringer for a Harrisburg news journal, photographing politics and business news. Immediately after hearing the news at 10 p.m. on a Saturday night I applied for credentials and the wait began. A week later, on day 99 of the Trump Presidency, it was starting to look like I would be watching from my couch. With just 24 hours to spare, I got the green light. Here’s a behind-the-scenes look at what it was like to photograph President Trump from a local photojournalist’s perspective.

A war photographer managed to capture the final second of her life by photographing the moment a mortar bomb accidentally exploded.

In what has the potential to be a landmark case in U.K. news history, a freelance photographer is taking legal action against the broadcaster for their usage of his photo, which they included by embedding a tweet.

Former Chief Official White House Photographer Pete Souza announced a new book chronicling his second presidential assignment. The book, titled, "Obama: An Intimate Portrait: The Historic Presidency in Photographs," will have more than 300 pages and as many photographs according to Souza's Instagram feed. The book is due out November 7, 2017, and is currently available for preorder on Amazon as well as at Barnes & Noble for $40 as a hardcover.

The 2017 Pulitzer Prize Winners were announced today at Columbia University in New York, N.Y. Pulitzer Prize Administrator Mike Pride made the announcement, and the following are a few of the many standouts.

Almost every photographer has created some sort of personal project in their time. In fact, many photographers’ work is comprised entirely of personal projects. Rarely though do I see projects that are truly personal. I mean that in the sense of their projects having a real emotional connection to the photographer that easily shows through in their images. Small Steps Are Giant Leaps, a father/son project started by photographer Aaron Sheldon and his son Harrison, is one of those projects.

Can photography be more than just work? Can it be a calling? How do you know? And what if that calling coincides with a transformational period in world history and you are called upon to document every move? Lauren Greenfield’s new exhibition and book, “Generation Wealth” is a time capsule a quarter century in the making.

When I first heard about Chase Guttman’s book on drone photography, I was intrigued. Not so much at the subject, or the photos, but in the person behind them. As a person who loves to travel and photograph while doing it, I’m always curious as to how people get their foot in the door in this very competitive industry, especially at a young age. The answer is: he didn’t do it alone, as none of us do.

One of the differences between a great image and a snapshot is story telling. If your picture doesn’t narrate anything, it won’t serve any purpose. It’s crucial that your viewers understand what you tried to say with your work, but it's not always an easy task! Thanks to Joe McNally, we now have three tips to keep in mind for stronger journalistic images.

Joe McNally is one of those photographers that almost everyone in our industry knows. Perhaps you’ve seen his name in a Nat Geo, Life Magazine, or Sports Illustrated, or you’ve learned from his educational content, or maybe you simply have discovered him through his role as Nikon Ambassador. McNally is really everywhere. He’s one of those versatile photographers who can do everything from commercial to journalistic work! He’s the proof that specialization is great but not always required to be successful. Recently, he sat down with Chase Jarvis and shared his experience as a professional photographer.

Photojournalist Mannie Garcia recently won a $45,000 settlement in a lawsuit brought forth over an incident in which he was arrested in 2011.

The story behind a photo of an impala a split-second from death has been dispelled as totally false by its photographer Alison Buttigieg. She describes how "a highlight of [her] photography career has turned into a nightmare."

Pete Souza has been extremely active on his new Instagram account to the extent that even CNN has taken notice. The former White House photographer for President Barack Obama, Souza's visual political and social commentary are arguably as relevant as ever. His activity and media recognition underscores the power of social media, especially when there’s a tremendous following and story to go with it. His most recent posts make note of current events including refugee camps, specifically of ethnic Albanians displaced from Kosovo, and Supreme Court Associate Justice Nominee Merrick Garland.

YLE, a Finnish Broadcasting company, were on a mission to attract a younger audience. They needed to make a change to their strategy and get some new programs produced. They knew these shows had to tell stories that were going to speak to a younger audience. Stories that would captivate the senses - and get people excited about the outdoors, to travel and explore.

A renowned photojournalist has spoken out after she was forced to cancel her planned attendance at the World Press Photo event in Amsterdam due to complications from Trump’s travel ban.

The tradition of the White House photographers, now officially known as the Chief Official White House Photographer, was started by John F. Kennedy in January of 1961. A free press is responsible for accurate reportage and is essential to a democracy, though access can provide certain limitations. Having unprecedented access, where the press are typically held at a greater distance, the President’s photographer adds a level of transparency for the American public to engage and see the President working for the country within the context of current events.

Inauguration weekend was an absolute whirlwind for Washington D.C. as well as the nation at large. Opposing forces converged on the nation's capital, and this short film from NPR is a striking encapsulation of the events and people of varying personalities, gender, beliefs, race, and walks of life that made their voices heard as Donald Trump became the 45th president of the United States.

Like it or not, in just a few days, President Obama will leave office and Donald Trump will take his place. Filmmaker Ryan Scafuro spent election night in a London pub that was fixated on what was happening across the pond, and his short film is an elegant look at the evolution of real-time reactions as the night wore on.

In the last eight years, White House Photographer Pete Souza has taken around two million photographs. Now, as President Obama prepares to leave the White House, both he and Souza talk about spending nearly a decade together.

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.

Every year Getty Images releases their forecast for visual trends in the coming year as chosen by "visual anthropologists" who have analyzed vast quantities of data. This forecast not only predicts trends that will influence every facet of the creative industry, but the forecast itself has immeasurable impact on design, advertising, and myriad other formats of visual media. On behalf of Fstoppers, I spoke with Pam Grossman, Director of Visual Trends at Getty Images about trends and the coming year.

Work of many talented street photographers in San Francisco is being recognized at The Harvey Milk Photo Center. The exhibition includes 52 works of 28 street photographers, with all images captured within San Francisco, California. The exhibition was the brainchild of David Christensen, the Director of the Harvey Milk Photo Center. A group member, CJ Lucero, brought the group to David’s attention and, after having reviewed the images from the SF Facebook page, he became determined to present the work to the public. The groups' administrators then labored over several months to put together this amazing show: that team included Michael Kirschner, RE Casper, Denis Englander, and James Watkins.

If you are a professional filmmaker or photographer working with a regular camera from any of the large makers, there is no simple and reliable way to encrypt your files in camera. To put pressure on camera makers to provide such an option, the Freedom of the Press Foundation released open letters to Canon, Nikon, Olympus, Fuji, and Sony requesting that the manufacturers add encryption. The identical letters to five major camera makers were signed each by over 150 journalists, photographers, and filmmakers and sent out on December 14.

Ad hominem is often the type of fallacy rolled out when Trump has come under-fire for his misogynistic quotes in the past. The problem is, Trump's words about women and his political acumen are not easily separated out. This wide-spread difficulty has lead to backlash manifesting itself in a number of ways. One of the recent and most powerful ways has been Student Aria Watson's photo series.

Tis the season. Around the time of December, photography websites worldwide recap last year with their selection of the cream of the crop. To many photographers, National Geographic is a well-respected media platform to get your work selected and exposed. And now they have made their selection curated from 91 photographers, 107 stories, and 2,290,225 photographs.

The race to conquer new frontiers of innovation is not a new event, but it is well known. What can be learnt from history about these types of competitions, however, is that it is not always to the winner go the spoils; the lightbulb and telephone are infamous examples, but the moving picture can be added to that list.

After initially refusing to allow Photojournalist Robert Levine permission to use a drone to document the events surrounding the Dakota Access Pipeline at Standing Rock, the FAA has reversed their position, allowing him a three-day waiver.

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...

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.