Articles written by Wasim Muklashy

Early last year, the Smithsonian announced that they would be opening up their digital collection for the world to see. The first phase constitutes over 40,000 pieces of art, including over 400 photographs, from the Freer and Sackler Galleries and the Freer Study Collection, all of which focus on the museum’s Asian gallery collections. The collections are available for anyone to download and use for free for non-commercial use under a program they call Open F|S.

With last week's big news about America’s renewed relationship with Cuba came much speculation about how it’s going to affect long-established restricted travel to the country. While American photographers wait for the White House to clarify its updated policy, some such as Associated Press, Washington Post, and Time photographer Jim Graham already have a leg up on those that have yet to make the trek. Graham’s 2012 trip resulted in what may be some of the final glimpses of a Cuba before American influence seeps across its borders.

A new photo series on display at the Madison Museum of Contemporary Arts explores the handful of countries that have declared sovereignty that no one knows about. In his “Lands in Limbo” project, photographer Narayan Mahon documents the seemingly non-existent countries of Abkhazia, Transnistria, Nagorno-Karabakh, Somaliland, and Northern Cyprus, all share one thing in common - the lack of international recognition. In many cases, he was surprised to find that many of them actually functioned better than he thought. “It’s not chaos. It’s not lawless,” he tells Slate.

Each year, TIME Magazine picks and highlights the best photography books of the 12 months prior. This year, they’ve put a special focus on the growing trend of bucking the traditional publishing system as many of their choices fall in the realm of self-publishing and self-promotion. This was made most evident when many of TIME’s editors picked the same book for the top spot, Magnum Photographer Peter van Agtmael’s self-published Disco Night September 11, an often brutal look at America post-September 11.

Samsung’s new flagship model, the NX1, will be available in stores on Monday, November 24, just in time for the holidays. Announced at Photokina in September, the NX1 boasts a 28 megapixel BSI (backside illumination) APS-C sensor with 205 phase detection autofocus points capable of firing 15 frames per second. For more information on the camera, check out Jaron Schneider’s post on the Photokina announcement.

If you’ve been following the photography industry in recent years, there’s no doubt that the term ‘boudoir’ has entered your lexicon at one point or another. While the century-old niche has enjoyed renewed momentum as of late, there are many more different groups of people that seem to be losing their inhibitions today than upper-class exhibitionists of the early 1900s. Individuals and couples of all walks of life are seeking boudoir sessions and it’s becoming an increasingly lucrative business. But what exactly is it? And how do you do it?