To understand the role of photography today, we have to understand why we take pictures. We automatically tend to associate picture-taking as an addition to our memory function since a lot of our natural visual activity is geared towards storing information for later use. However, with the advent of digital and especially mobile photography, we have … Read More →
Boring. Blaaaaah. That is the first word that comes to mind when looking at the winner of the World Press Award, circa 2015. Don’t get me wrong, this year’s committee, led by Michele McNally, probably the best photo editor of our generation, was full of talent. But it was just that, a committee. And time and … Read More →
While judges from top photojournalism competitions ( World Press, PoYi, etc) are getting ready to sit down and assume their role of gatekeepers of the true art, what is or not acceptable image alteration continues to slow burn deep inside the profession with no clear resolution in sight. Each organization, each publication, and each photographer … Read More →
Ever so often, the topic of the value of a photograph emerges from the bowels of online conversations. Very quickly, the conversation ends with the undisputed point that a photo should at least cover its cost. In other words, the more it costs to take a picture, the higher its value. Photographers, like any small … Read More →
After reading thoroughly the David Campbell’s World Press produced report on image manipulation, one is left with one question : How opinions affect image manipulation..or is an opinion the truth. And rather than answers, guidelines, rules, code of deontology, anything that one could hope to hang on, we are left alone within the silence of … Read More →
The difference is what’s missing. In fact, it is only when a photograph does not show it all that it begins to become powerful and potent. Why ? because it forcefully demands viewer participation by understanding the concept. See, the big difference between a powerful photojournalist image and commercial stock is that one misses a … Read More →
Books and photography have a long-lasting love story. While maybe the empire of the written world, books have always welcomed images as their most supportive partner. It is not a coincidence : Writing started with images and so, even more than Greek or Latin, it is at the very core of any written text. So … Read More →
Who is a curator? what is a curator ? Why do we need them anyways. The hidden paradox of photography is while it vastly assumed it’s the work of a lonely individual, it is not. In fact, it’s team work. We had written previously about the hidden work of assignment editors, fixers, and photo editors … Read More →
It used to be that when trouble hit the streets, autocratic governments would shut access to the media, in particular to photographers. Those were targeted for a few reasons: One, they were easily identifiable with their gear, two, they could quickly communicate a situation via photos, and three, they worked for outlets with large readership … Read More →
There is a massive subterranean shift (no, not paradigm) happening right now in pro photography and it will define photography for at least the next 10 years. Like the movement of the continents, it is slow, hardly perceptible but irrepressible . Let me explain. For a very long time, pro photography was defined by its … Read More →