Articles from Mark Dunsmuir

Picfair's new Urban Wildlife Photography Awards has released its funniest submissions to date. If you need a smile or a laugh (and who doesn't these days), take a look.

"Use your platform for good. Don't worry about your platform, be concerned with your impact." Very few people find success without a helping hand or barrels of luck. As one of photography's stars, Rankin is using his influence to help out young and emerging photographers through the Visual Noise art fair at Maryland Studios and online catalog through Public Offerings Ltd. 

Coming to you from Andrew Budziak, filmmaker and photographer, as part of Picfair's promotion of their Urban Wildlife Photography Awards: three locations for elevating your wildlife images in the big cities.

Picfair is sponsoring a new Urban Wildlife Photography Awards competition intended to celebrate our growing connection with urban wildlife. Enter here. Hurry, entries close May 31, 2022 at midnight.

Photos are, at their essence, about acting as a witness to a feeling or emotion. Neal Treadwell and Hugh Nini's accidental collection, 100 Years of Men in Love, is a witness to love and hope. Showing on HereTV, David Millbern's documentary about Nini and Treadwell's collection is well worth the 60 minute investment.

Following the success of its inaugural competition last year, the African Wildlife Foundation and Nature's Best Photography have launched the second annual Mkapa African Wildlife Photo Awards. Get your entries in before the June 1, 2022 deadline.

Istituto Veneto di Scienze, Lettere ed Arti, in Venice, Fondazione Culture e Musei and Museo delle Culture (MUSEC) of Lugano, and 29 Arts in Progress, of Milan are supporting the fourth edition of the open call: UNPUBLISHED PHOTO 2022 – UP22. The open contest is designed to showcase young talents (under 36) in contemporary photography.

Sir Ernest Shackleton's ship, Endurance, which was crushed by ice and sank in 1915, has just been found. How is this photography related? Somewhere on board the ship is a treasure trove of Frank Hurley images documenting one of the last expeditions of the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration. 

Wanted: Photographers to shoot in exotic, sometimes inaccessible locales. Needed: Photographer to set up shop and work with clients among the icebergs and penguins of Antarctica, the bears and icy tundra of Hudson Bay, the apex predators on the wide-open veldts of the Serengeti or Maasai Mara. If this sounds like something you yearn for, how does the position of photography guide sound?

Non-photographers often complain about black and white images: they’re dated, they’re just a gimmick, or they’re elitist and boring. These are personal preferences; however, we live in a color world, so you can't discount that black and white images can create a disconnect for modern viewers. To bring history alive, is colorization a solution?

Clint Bentley’s new film, Jockey, is an intense character study that contrasts the ending of a veteran jockey’s career with the ascendance of a younger jockey. Under the watchful eye of director of photographer Adolpho Veloso, the filmmakers use some exciting photography and lighting techniques to complement the strong script and award-winning acting.

I recently wrote a piece for Bradt Guides' Travel Club offering tips on how to get the most out of a trip to the Southern Ocean and Antarctica. I, for one, am feeling serious withdrawal from travel. If you're planning a trip to Antarctica or love landscapes and wildlife, climb aboard.

As part of its 60th anniversary celebrations, the African Wildlife Foundation just launched the Benjamin Mkapa African Wildlife Photography Awards exhibition. The exhibition displays the winners of a worldwide competition that received almost 9,000 entries from 50 different countries. If you're a fan of wildlife photography, this exhibition is worth a look. 

We Are Lady Parts, the story of an all-Muslim-female punk band in London, is a groundbreaking collaboration between creator Nida Manzoor and cinematographer Diana Olifirova. Not only is the plot compelling and refreshing, but Olifirova and Manzoor also use a variety of filmmaking techniques to develop character, move the story along, and visually excite their audience. I had a chance to speak with Olifirova about putting Manzoor’s project on screen.

Intention in filmmaking has the potential to elevate movies. As a photographer, watching a movie with thoughtful cinematography is my favorite way to pass a Friday night. Maz Makhani’s work on The Guilty, starring Jake Gyllenhaal and directed by Antoine Fuqua, is an example of realizing this potential. 

The Supreme Court of Montana has made it harder for photographers and filmmakers to use exotic animals as photo props.

Canon Canada has opened its first-ever mentorship incubator. If you're a creator looking for a helping hand up to the next level, applications are being accepted until August 16.

The Great British Photography Challenge ended with a twist: Rankin picked joint winners. Although each and every participant of the series will have a chance to take advantage of the doors that only someone like Rankin can open for them, Tyrone Williams and Jackson Moyles were named co-winners of the inaugural season. I had the chance to speak with Tyrone and Jackson to find out what their participation in BBC's series was like.

Museo delle Culture of Lugano and 29 ARTS IN PROGRESS gallery of Milan are supporting the third edition of the open call UNPUBLISHED PHOTO 2021 – UP21. The open contest is designed to showcase young talents (under 36) in contemporary photography.

Somewhere between Allen Funt and season 245 of Survivor, reality television has become the most popular genre of television. We’ve seen a handful of photography-centered shows, but not nearly enough. Frankly, even I got tired of watching the drama of America’s Next Top Model just so I could watch 10 minutes of photography. Thanks to Rankin and the BBC, we’ve been giving something much better. 

She Dies Tomorrow has been celebrated for its unsettling sensibilities and unorthodox filmmaking techniques. Independent Spirit Award-nominated cinematographer Jay Keitel's work on the film is one of the main factors in the film's moody success. I recently had the chance to ask Keitel a series of questions about his approach to filmmaking on She Dies Tomorrow. 

Renowned Scottish photographer, Rankin, has teamed up with Relate, the UK's largest relationship support provider, to help reduce the stigma related to later life sexuality. Shot with a stark black and white style, Rankin and Relate have produced something quite special.

About a year ago, I wrote an article about the importance of cleaning your camera as we faced the reality of a COVID-19 pandemic. Based on the science at the time, I strongly advocated for a "better safe than sorry" approach. Recently, the CDC has published a brief explaining updated science on surface transmission.

We're being treated to another short-form behind the scenes tutorial from Nathan Elson. This time, Elson is taking us into the studio to show us his techniques for using a single light to create soft even light across a subject.

A little different from the last handful of episodes, Nathan Elson’s How I Got the Shot, Episode 7, moves into a darker-toned portrait set marked by its emphasis on moody overhead lighting.

Nathan Elson is back with another installment of his "How I Got the Shot" short-form tutorials. This time, Elson is sharing his process for creating an image using light reflected from his seamless as his key. 

One of them spent decades making decisions with the intention of fitting into community norms, creating stability. The other threw caution to the wind and jumped into a world of creativity with both feet before really understanding what life and responsibility were all about. Both Fin DAC and Mick Rock have ended up in the same place, near the top of their chosen artistic fields — inspirations for anyone following in their footsteps. What's even better, they're collaborating on a new show.

If you haven't seen the tempest growing in Wyoming, a fox named 15M was euthanized this week because of its growing habituation to humans. You might be asking, why is this news on a photo-centric site? Throw in an as-of-recently much-maligned, world-famous photographer and maybe you're interested?

Nathan Elson is back with another installment of his How I Got the Shot. As always, it's the little details he shares about his process that makes tuning in so valuable.

There are hundreds if not thousands of posts discussing why creative vision is the most important aspect of photography. Why, then, are we so obsessed with gear?

It has almost become a truism: social media creates mediocrity. In an effort to gain a share of the social media pie, artists are rewarded for blending in, not standing out.

YouTube and photography blogs seem to be all stocked up with quick BTS videos these days. We see photographers swinging lights around and talking about post, but I don’t think we see enough of their thought processes. Here, with Nathan Elson, we get a little bit of everything.

If you haven’t had a chance to watch Julia Hart’s recent film, I’m Your Woman, make a point to add it to your list. Bryce Fortner’s photography isn’t just eye-candy, it shows what you can do when you use style along with intention.

As Gray Kotzé points out, there are bushels of reviews for entry-level cinema lenses on the web, lenses you might look to pick up on sale maybe. However, most feature films are shot on prohibitively expensive lenses that were always intended to be rented out over their multi-decade lifespans. The cost for these lenses puts them out of reach for most filmmakers who aspire towards ownership, but, if you have a budget and you're looking to shoot feature/cinema quality films, it's important to understand what's available for rent.

Without doubt, there is a sub-culture of photographers who adore Lego. Count Benjamin Bezine among them. Bezine has used Lego, a Raspberry Pi personal computer, and an integrated LED to create an automated film to digital, erm... contraption, scanner.