Feature Shoot

Climate Change, Drought, and Water Contamination: The Untold Story of California’s San ...

Fri, 15 Jan 2021 13:20:00 GMT

Photo by @mettelampcov. Jennifer, a mum of three small children, is drying off her three-month-year-old baby, after giving him a bath in Three Rocks, in the San Joaquin valley, California. The water she just bathed her son in is contaminated. As she is drying her son, she talks about how the water smells bad and tastes awful.

The Wellcome Photography Prize 2021 is free to enter and open for submissions. They’re looking for the human stories behind three urgent health challenges: mental health problems, infectious diseases, and global heating.

This year, they’ll award £26,000 to photographers covering three of the most pressing health issues of our time: Managing Mental Health, Fighting Infections, and Health in a Heating World.

To coincide with the call for submissions, Feature Shoot is highlighting groundbreaking work from photographers exploring these themes. In this story, we speak with Mette Lampcov, who has spent years documenting climate change and its consequences on public health.

“When I hear people talk about climate change, I often hear them ask, ‘When is it going to happen?’” the California-based documentary photographer Mette Lampcov tells us. “Well, it’s here. We are living it. And we’d better start looking it straight in the eyes.”

Lampcov’s ongoing project Water to Dust has taken her on countless trips across the state, where she’s borne witness to the devastation wrought by climate change. In 2018, she saw the aftermath of the deadly Woolsey Fire, which burned more than 96,949 acres. That same year, she photographed the death of 129 million trees amid California’s rising temperatures and drought. In 2019, she documented the story of the majestic giant sequoia trees, killed by bark beetles, a species made more dangerous by the climate crisis.

By 2050, climate change is predicted to cause 250,000 deaths annually, making it one of the most critical health issues of our time. Sea levels are rising faster than they have in millennia, and there’s more CO2 in our atmosphere than there’s been in millions of years. In the last twenty years, major floods have more than doubled, while severe storms have gone up by 40%. Climate change has also been linked to mental health issues like trauma, depression, and anxiety.

Photo by @mettelampcov. A horse rider stops abruptly filling the air with a cloud of thick dry dust as he performs and shows off his skills on his horse. It is the end of the 39th Joaquin Murrieta Cabalgata, a horse ride or parade started in the 70s to bring attention to poor living conditions and water issues in the area. The San Joaquin Valley Three Rocks. CA

Lampcov focuses not just on the headline-grabbing issues like wildfires but also on the subtler underlying causes and repercussions of climate change and related issues. “As a photographer, I have decided that my job is to try to tell broader and more nuanced stories to help us understand the effects of climate change,” Lampcov says. “From the most complex stories to the simpler ones, they are all equally important.”

Photo by @mettelampcov. In the summer months, Delia says her tap water comes out brown — and at times there’s no water at all. “You can’t flush the toilet, you can’t do laundry, and if you do, the clothes come out brown and dirty-looking.” Seville. San Joaquin Valley.CA.

Still, perhaps no story underscored the human cost of our changing climate more than the one she found in the San Joaquin Valley, where resident farmworkers deal not only with drought but also contaminated water. In California, Lampcov says you can’t talk about climate change without talking about water–and vice versa.

“These stories are all connected, from the snowpack in the high Sierra Nevada mountains to our California drinking water,” she explains. Snow provides up to 80% of the state’s usable water, and residents rely on the Sierra Nevada snowpack to flow slowly and evenly throughout the spring and summer. When temperatures rise, the snowpack shrinks, and water supply suffers. “In our changing climate, this water source is very fragile, and supply and demand don’t match up,” Lampcov says.

Photo by @mettelampcov. The California Aqueduct. It carries water collected from the Sierra Nevada mountains and valleys of Northern and Central California through the San Joaquin Valley to Southern California, where it’s made safe and clean for Southern California homes.

The state does not have enough water, but its water issues do not affect everyone equally. In the Central Valley, the imbalance is compounded by water contamination, due in part to the surrounding “Big Ag” or factory farms, themselves a major culprit in global climate change. Lampcov learned about the situation through a contact; residents of the unincorporated towns of the San Joaquin Valley, most of whom are from communities of color and low-income communities, had to rely on allocated bottled water, as the tap water was unsafe.

Over one million residents in the San Joaquin Valley, many of them immigrant farmworkers, face the problem of contaminated drinking water. Many families deal with yellowish, foul smelling water that causes diarrhea, rashes, headaches. Some of the chemicals in the water are cancer-causing.

Photo by @mettelampcov. Cesar plays in the bath. His mother Carolina says she “does not have a choice” but to use tap water for his baths. Cantua Creek. San Joaquin Valley. CA.

The water is most dangerous to children and older adults; PBS recently called it a “Silent Death.” “It was here that a mum told me she is left with no other option but to bathe her child in bad water, knowing it has chemicals in it,” the photographer remembers. “Here, people told me about how they know they are getting sick, but no one is listening to them.”

Although the water contamination itself isn’t directly caused by climate change, it is intertwined with the state’s water crisis; in areas like the San Joaquin Valley, there are fewer supply options for clean water. For the families living here, the situation means paying triple for water. First, they pay high prices to purchase the unsafe water. Second, they pay for safe but expensive bottled water, and third, they pay the high health costs associated with living with bad water. According to the Community Water Center, a non-profit clean-water group in the area, some families pay up to 10% of their income on water each month.

Photo by @mettelampcov. A delivery man delivers boxes of plastic water bottles allocated to each family for consuming and cooking. Cantua Creek. San Joaquin Valley.CA.

Many of these families are contact workers; for those making minimum wage and below, paying for the water they need to take showers, make coffee, and wash their clothes can become a significant financial burden. Lampcov saw the difficult working conditions in the area first-hand while documenting people working in the onion fields; picking and cutting onions by low light with sharp scissors from sunset until 11:00 PM or 12:00 AM, they make $1.30 for a sack of onions.

Photo by @mettelampcov. A woman is trimming and picking onions. Onion picking is considered some of the hardest work mostly done after sunset, often late into the night. Near Three Rocks. San Joaquin Valley.CA.

Many of these families came to California and put roots here to provide a better life for their children, but their futures remain uncertain. According to research from the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), rural areas like the San Joaquin Valley will bear the brunt of continued climate change, as they’re more vulnerable to flooding and extreme heat. In California, the climate change issue is inextricably tied to questions of socioeconomic and racial injustice and inequality.

Photo by @mettelampcov. Antonio is about to take a sip of cold bottled water, after arriving home from a long day’s work in the pistachio fields. Cantua Creek, San Joaquin Valley. CA.

Lampcov is glad to know that people are talking more about climate change and water issues, but stories like these–from marginalized communities–still aren’t getting the attention they deserve. “These stories should be on the front pages of our newspapers,” she says. She’s interested in extreme events like wildfires and flooding, but she’s also concerned about the aftermath–the hidden, long-term effects of climate change that linger for months and years after the news and media have packed up and moved on.

We all have a role to play. “A little recycling is not going to change a lot at this stage, so what we need to do is put a lot of pressure on public officials and lawmakers.” The lack of safe and affordable water in the San Joaquin Valley is an urgent public health threat, and it also goes against the state’s Human Right to Water Bill.

Photo by @mettelampcov. Farm workers are weeding a field of watermelons, near Heron. San Joaquin Valley. CA.

Lampcov will continue working on Water and Dust for as long as it takes for people to start paying attention. “Just before I started, I had been accepted to a mentorship program at Anderson Ranch with James Estrin and Ed Kashi,” she says. “I thought this subject was a good fit for that three-year program, except I am still working on it, and three years is long gone.” The more she researches climate change and its effects on the state’s population, the more motivated she feels to persevere.

Photo by @mettelampcov. A water container next to a school in Seville bears a warning about the quality of its contents. San Joaquin Valley.CA.

She doesn’t know what will happen to the families she met in the San Joaquin Valley, but their stories continue to inform her life’s mission. “When you care about the people you photograph and spend so much time with them, it affects you,” she tells us. “I see so much inequality, and I know many of the people I meet live hand to mouth.

“When telling these stories, I get to drive home once I am done, but they stay in a place where they know they will be exposed to unhealthy chemicals. During Covid, there is not a day that goes by that I don’t think about the people in those fields picking the food that ends up on our plates.”

Wellcome, one of the world’s leading research-based charities, is looking for photographic work that sheds light on overlooked and unreported stories related to Health in a Heating World. This new theme is meant to draw global attention to environmental disasters reshaping our planet–as well as the people and communities working to prevent them.

They’re seeking images that reveal the human side of global warming while also advocating for international cooperation and collaboration during this crucial moment. As part of the Wellcome Photography Prize 2021, they’ll award an overall prize of £10,000, given to a series and single image winner; six nominees will also receive £1,000 each.

Feature Shoot Media has teamed up with the Wellcome Photography Prize to encourage photographers around the world to apply and make their voices heard on the most critical and urgent issues affecting our health, society, and planet. Submissions are open through January 18th, 2021. APPLY FOR FREE HERE.

The post Climate Change, Drought, and Water Contamination: The Untold Story of California’s San Joaquin Valley appeared first on Feature Shoot.

5 Photographers Cope with Anxiety Amid the Covid-19 Pandemic

Fri, 08 Jan 2021 13:25:39 GMT

Lindokuhle’s birthday cake at his girlfriend’s home in Thokoza township, Johannesburg. June 2020. Lindokuhle Sobekwa / Wellcome Trust

Lindokuhle visits his mother in Tsakane. They had to keep a distance apart, which they found really hard, and it emphasised the importance of closeness. She took solace in reading her Bible. May 2020. Lindokuhle Sobekwa / Wellcome Trust

This spring, Lindokuhle Sobekwa turned twenty-five years old in lockdown. The photographer, who stayed with his girlfriend’s family in Johannesburg’s Thokoza township, was separated from his mother, sisters, and brother, making for a season peppered with worry and homesickness. When visiting his mother in Tsakane, he kept a social distance; in the other room, she found comfort in reading the Bible.

Still, Sobekwa found ways to cope; when the electricity cut out, as it sometimes did, Sobekwa, his girlfriend, and her sisters made hand shadows on the wall, forming animal shapes in the candlelight. Outside, while the school remained closed, neighborhood children created a mat to play with using packing materials. During those uncertain months, time slowed down, but life went on.

Lindokuhle, his girlfriend and her sisters would play with shadows during powercuts. Games like these were a way to keep their bodies and minds in a good state. May 2020. Lindokuhle Sobekwa / Wellcome Trust

Kids in Lindokuhle’s neighbourhood were making a mat to play with out of packing they had found. It was a good way of keeping themselves busy after their school was closed. May 2020. Lindokuhle Sobekwa / Wellcome Trust

Sobekwa’s portrait of life, loss, and hope during the pandemic is part of Wellcome’s Covid-19 Anxiety Project, an ambitious and singular commission by Wellcome and the team behind the Wellcome Photography Prize. The project spans five countries and five photographers, each addressing the question, “How are you, your family, and your friends coping with anxiety related to Covid-19?” The project and the Wellcome Photography Prize 2021, which is currently open for entries, are part of Wellcome’s continued commitment to challenging stigmas and bringing to light the unseen realities of mental health.

A self-portrait of Hayleigh in her mum’s bedroom. This felt like an honest way to document how she was feeling, creating images that would act as emotional anchors of the days throughout lockdown. She was quite deflated at this point, two months in, and washing her hair felt like a huge task. May 2020. Hayleigh Longman / Wellcome Trust

Meanwhile, more than 12,000 miles away in Harlow, Essex, another photographer, Hayleigh Longman, spent lockdown with her mother and her mother’s partner, filling long days with gardening and cleaning. The photographer and her mother went on walks along a nearby canal. Across her garden fence, her seven-year-old neighbor Harry entertained the family by playing tricks in the pool and putting on shows in the yard, making costumes out of old bedsheets.

Harry, aged seven, who Hayleigh spent a lot of time talking to over the fence throughout lockdown. He missed his friends and grandparents, but he and his brother were home-schooling in the garden. In this activity, they drew characters on old bedsheets to cut up into costumes. They would perform shows with the characters over the fence to Hayleigh and her mum. June 2020. Hayleigh Longman / Wellcome Trust

Seven-year-old Harry from next door played in his paddling pool a lot during lockdown, showing Hayleigh tricks and asking to be timed as he tried to break his record for holding his breath. He became a big part of her daily life in lockdown and she liked feeling more connected to the neighbours. However, since lockdown has finished, they haven’t spoken as much due to life becoming busier again. May 2020. Hayleigh Longman / Wellcome Trust

Hayleigh’s mum on one of their walks along the canal, not long after the start of lockdown, when the government had strict restrictions on daily exercise. The fly landing on her arm was a small moment that reminded Hayleigh that life was bigger than their present stressful situation. May 2020. Hayleigh Longman / Wellcome Trust

Manu’s dad has a coffee while looking at his new cannabis vaporiser. It helps him with his pain and helps him get to sleep. May 2020. Manu Brabo / Wellcome Trust

For all five photographers who were part of the project, life and work changed markedly with the pandemic, forcing them to discover hidden stories closer to home. For Manu Brabo, a conflict photographer based in Gijón, Spain, that meant documenting the daily experiences of his father, who was at high risk for the virus, as he navigated his own fears and strove to get back into the swing of life following the lockdown. Even as Brabo spent time on the frontlines of the fight against Covid, covering patients and medical personnel in hospitals and ICUs, he returned to his father again and again, accompanying him on afternoon walks and watching movies at home.

After his first open-air activities, Manu’s dad was exhausted. He had lost 6 kilos of muscle mass due to the inactivity of the lockdown weeks, and getting back to physical activity is not as easy as he was expecting. May 2020. Manu Brabo / Wellcome Trust

Manu likes the way that his dad acts as if nothing is wrong – like sitting around, vaping and watching a movie. He has always been good at hiding his fears, but Manu knows he has been scared. May 2020. Manu Brabo / Wellcome Trust

Manu’s dad’s birthday was in March, two days after the lockdown was announced. Three months later, they could finally celebrate: out for a family dinner, then he drove back home and parked here in the garage. Manu is pleased to see him enjoying life. June 2020. Manu Brabo / Wellcome Trust

The prospect of returning to school looms for Lola, who is not enthusiastic. May 2020. Tatsiana Chypsanava / Wellcome Trust

Immediate family becomes a throughline running across the project, continuing in Tatsiana Chypsanava’s sunlit photographs of her daughter Lola, age thirteen, at home and her favorite burger spot in Nelson, New Zealand. Like Sobekwa and Brabo’s father, Lola had her birthday that spring. As restrictions eased, Chypsanava was able to visit her neighbors, who navigated at-home chemotherapy, managed the family business, and spent downtime watching TV and completing puzzles.

Tatsiana’s neighbours, including Ian, who had been having chemotherapy at home. They’re watching Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, after three weeks without a new coronavirus case, announcing the lifting of all social distancing restrictions. It was a wonderful moment to be a part of. June 2020. Tatsiana Chypsanava / Wellcome Trust

Elizabeth, Tatsiana’s closest neighbour, spent the lockdown on her own while managing the family property business. One of her favourite pastimes is solving puzzles. May 2020. Tatsiana Chypsanava / Wellcome Trust

On a trip out, Lola reads the contents of a Pringles can after being told that these are the worst thing she could eat in terms of environmental and health impact – getting back to more ordinary concerns. May 2020. Tatsiana Chypsanava / Wellcome Trust

Black Lives Matter posters at Sunset Park, Brooklyn. June 2020. A mask floating in the air in Cait’s apartment. June 2020. Cait Oppermann / Wellcome Trust

The Covid-19 Anxiety Project comprises countless ordinary, everyday moments taking place behind-the-scenes in ordinary, everyday households, but these photographs are also an enduring testimony to our collective and global history during an unprecedented year. In New York, Cait Oppermann photographed her partner reading and eating a mango on their Brooklyn terrace in June; that same month, the city erupted in protest over the killing of George Floyd, and the photographer and her partner, like many across the country, donned masks and took to the streets to call for justice.

Cait’s partner cutting and eating a mango outside on their terrace. June 2020. Cait Oppermann / Wellcome Trust

Water pouring through the sink in Cait’s apartment. June 2020. The shadow of Cait’s partner reading on their terrace. June 2020. Cait Oppermann / Wellcome Trust

Graffiti near the Manhattan Bridge after protests over George Floyd’s killing. June 2020. Cait Oppermann / Wellcome Trust

The connection between pandemic life and mental health issues have been studied and reported throughout the year, with a major study from the UK revealing that 57% of those who participated reported symptoms of anxiety during the early stages of lockdown.

In January 2020, Wellcome, one of the world’s leading research-based charitable foundations, launched an ambitious five-year mental health programme, making a £200 million commitment toward improving the understanding, treatment, and prevention of anxiety and depression in young people.

With one in four people experiencing mental health problems annually, Wellcome’s programme aims to transform mental health science while giving voice to those who have lived experience of mental health difficulties. To coincide with this critical work, the Wellcome Photography Prize 2021 spans three themes, including Managing Mental Health.

This year, there are two categories within the Managing Mental Health theme, and Wellcome will accept both single images and series. Submission is free, and you can submit one image for the single image category and three to five images when entering the series category. The category nominees will receive £1,000 each, with £10,000 awarded to a single and series winner overall. All winners and shortlisted photographers will be part of the prestigious exhibition and awards ceremony in London.

Last year, the Moscow-based photographer Arseniy Neskhodimov won the Wellcome Photography Prize for his innovative approach to visualizing depression. His self-portrait series Prozac delves into his lived experience with depression, while also highlighting various coping skills he’s employed during the Covid-19 pandemic. As the artist explained, the project itself served as a kind of therapy, allowing him to fend off feelings of despair during months of isolation.

Neskhodimov’s series won him the cash prize, but one of the most fulfilling aspects of receiving the award has been hearing from others. “People wrote to me to say that seeing my photos made them feel less alone,” he tells us. “It is very rewarding when your work resonates not only in the professional community, but also among people suffering from depression. It is important to me that my work could have a therapeutic effect for someone.”

Neskhodimov’s work, and the work of the five photographers included in Wellcome’s Covid-19 Anxiety Project, reveal the multifaceted power of photography in this new decade–as a therapeutic tool, a driver of awareness and change, and a means of visualizing mental health, a topic that has remained all too invisible for far too long.

This year, the judges of the Wellcome Photography Prize will look for images that further the discussion surrounding mental health, break down harmful stigmas, highlight innovative solutions, and show the human side of issues relating to mental health. Projects and single images focusing on any mental health topic, anywhere in the world, and relating to any demographic are welcome. In particular, they’re seeking images that empower underrepresented communities, inspire hope, and explore mental health in creative ways.

Feature Shoot Media has partnered with the Wellcome Photography Prize to encourage further discussion of these critical topics and inspire photographers to share their work. Submissions are open through January 18th, 2021. ENTER FOR FREE HERE.

The post 5 Photographers Cope with Anxiety Amid the Covid-19 Pandemic appeared first on Feature Shoot.

Meet the Jury: Feature Shoot Emerging Photography Judge Cheriss May

Wed, 06 Jan 2021 21:44:43 GMT

© Cheriss May

As part of this year’s Emerging Photography Awards, Feature Shoot is offering two major exhibition opportunities to up-and-coming photographers of all genres working across the world. Three to five photographers will show their work at the renowned FORMAT21 Festival, the UK’s leading international contemporary festival of photography, and ten photographers will be selected to be part of a group poster run in select locations around East London.

This year’s esteemed panel of judges includes prominent photographers, photo editors, photo directors, curators, and more. We were honored to have a chance to interview one of our judges, Cheriss May, about her experiences in photography, education, and advocacy and the places where they intersect.

Beyond her career as a leading editorial and portrait photographer Cheriss May is also the current President of Women Photojournalists of Washington, an organization fostering success for women in photojournalism and educating the public about the role of women in the field. She’s also an adjunct professor at her alma mater, Howard University, where she teaches visual communications. Read on to learn more about May’s work and her hopes for the future of the industry.

Please tell us about your role at Women Photojournalists of Washington. How did you get involved, and what has been the most rewarding experience you’ve had so far as President?

“My time as president of Women Photojournalists of Washington, also known as, WPOW, was truly a natural progression of my advocacy for inclusive storytelling. WPOW supports women, and those who identify as women, in visual journalism. This industry is traditionally, and heavily white males. I first joined the organization to connect with the community, share my voice, and get support for my work and aspirations as a photojournalist.

“What I’ve enjoyed most is advocating for and seeing more diverse voices and stories come to the forefront. I’m hopeful in this moment as I’ve seen the needle move, but there’s still much work to be done. My term as President ends this year, but I will continue my advocacy.

“I started an initiative at WPOW to connect with and support visual journalists of color; that will continue. I have accepted a position on the Board of Directors for Focus on the Story, an organization whose mission is to support and encourage visual storytellers of diverse backgrounds, address critical issues, bridge cultural gaps, and spark social change.”

In your career as a photographer, what has been one of the highlights? Any experiences you’ll never forget?

“That’s a tough one. There have been many highlights and pivotal moments. I’ll say the time I was commissioned by the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art to photograph Maya Angelou for her portrait unveiling at the National Gallery of Art. I grew up reading her poetry, inspired by her words, and to now be in her intimate space documenting this historical moment, which was her last public appearance before she passed. It was a surreal day.

“I got to have a conversation, hold her hands, tell her how honored I was to meet her. To have her say it was her pleasure and honor to meet me, we celebrated her birthday after the event, she sang, recited poetry — I still get goosebumps and will never forget that day.”

What do you predict for the future of photojournalism? Any movements or trends brewing?

“This year there has been a national reckoning on racial and social injustice. There have been uprisings and marches for Black lives in communities across the country in the midst of the global Covid-19 pandemic. There has been a trend to hire Black photographers across the industry — to hear our voices. I don’t know if this is just at this moment while emotions are high, or if it’s something that will continue in the future.”

You’re also a professor at Howard University. What inspires you most about the rising generation of photographers, and what have you learned from your time teaching?

“I am definitely inspired. My students know how to and are not afraid to use their voice. Their stories are powerful, and they know how to harness the power of social media to connect to people. I’ve learned to first listen. Then to give just enough direction and guidance to put them on the path to take the lead to tell their own stories in their own voice.”

Might you tell us about one of your students’ work and a project that has inspired you recently?

“In our last assignment for the semester, they were instructed to tell their ‘Covid story’— what this pandemic has taught them. One of my students beautifully told her story in a humorous, yet tasteful way. This semester has been challenging — not meeting in person, students spread out across the country, and the isolation. In the midst of these challenges, the exhaustion — a trying, heavy time of loss and destruction, she found a way to tell a story of hope.”

What’s the number one lesson you hope to impart on your students?

“To not be afraid to use their voices and tell their stories.”

What excites you most about working in photography in 2020 (and beyond)?

“I love telling those stories of hidden heroes. Stories of marginalized people and issues, that are untold. I’m working on a couple of projects that I can’t wait to share!”

The last year has brought with it a reckoning for the photo industry, where racism and discrimination are still pervasive. What has it been like for you to witness this moment? What moments have given you hope for the industry?

“This moment has been a long time coming. There’s been this frantic movement to hire and seek out Black and diverse voices. Some of it has been disingenuous ‘window dressing.’ There’s still so much work to be done. I love to see inclusive storytelling. It’s beautiful to see photographers of color commissioned for magazine covers, portraits, and assignments, that we weren’t considered for in the past. Advocation to include our voices, to lead the conversation, and to share our views and perspectives. My hope is in the genuine initiatives to make real, systemic changes that will last beyond this moment.”

What kind of work will you be looking for in this year’s Feature Shoot Emerging Photography Awards?

“This year has been a year of the pivot. I look forward to fresh perspectives that challenge the status quo. Images that connect to change and hope beyond this challenging year.”

The post Meet the Jury: Feature Shoot Emerging Photography Judge Cheriss May appeared first on Feature Shoot.

A Searing Look at Zoonotic Disease Beyond Covid-19

Thu, 17 Dec 2020 07:43:25 GMT

The Wellcome Photography Prize 2021 is free to enter and open for submissions. They’re looking for the human stories behind three urgent health challenges: mental health problems, infectious diseases, and global heating.

Feature Shoot Media has partnered with the Wellcome Photography Prize 2021 to encourage professional, amateur, and student photographers to submit and help raise awareness of the most important health challenges of our time.

This year’s awards feature a new theme: Fighting Infections. During the open call, we’re featuring work from extraordinary photographers exploring these topics; here, we interview the renowned photojournalist Lynn Johnson about her work covering zoonotic diseases.

Norbert Lohalo-Nkoy, 21, sits in his family’s small hut in Lomela, Democratic Republic of Congo, life-saving saline solution dripping into his arm. He says that he feels as if “a freshness is entering my body,” after nearly a week of suffering with monkeypox in a village far from medical care. © Lynn Johnson

“I asked Norbert many times if it was okay to photograph him,” the photojournalist Lynn Johnson remembers of her time covering zoonotic diseases for National Geographic. Norbert was a young man living in the Congo; he had contracted monkeypox after eating meat that his cousin had picked up from the forest floor, and by the time he met Johnson, he was already quite ill. “I explained the nature of its magazine and its reach,” she tells us. “I asked his permission, again and again, with language and eyes. Every time, he said yes.

“I visited him in his village, I believe, three times, the first quite late at night after a rather harrowing ride into the bush on the back of a motorcycle—many hours through mud and jungle in pitch black. It was difficult to see him by flashlight and the ‘guide’ was treating him as a specimen, not a human being who was suffering and close to death.

“So, I asked to visit again when there was a more sensitive translator or helper available. I returned in the day with the researcher I was also documenting, trying to balance documenting her work but constantly drawn to being with Norbert. Most of the images were made in Norbert’s mother’s hut. His cousin was also there helping to care for him. It was difficult for him to speak with those horrible pustules all over his body inside and out. But we managed to communicate.

“After over 35 years of being a photographer, I believe that people say ‘yes’ for very few reasons—because one has built a relationship based on trust and collaboration or because the person on the other side of the camera understands that through sharing their story and image, they can help deepen understanding in those they will never meet. Certainly, this was the case with Norbert.”

These are two of the main culprits—nonhuman primates and Gambian rats, held aloft by workers at a local hospital. The carcasses of these two animals fill the basket of a child on her way to market in a village outside Lomela. It is animals in this raw state that present the greatest risk of infection. Transporting, butchering and other handling of animals is often done by women and children with the youngest being at highest risk. © Lynn Johnson

Johnson traveled throughout the United States, Congo, Indonesia, Bangladesh, and Australia for the Zoonotic Disease project; the magazine gave her plenty of time to make connections and research the subject in-depth, and she estimates she spent about three months in the field on and off. “Of course, the issue is even more relevant today than it was then, with all the concern about the way diseases routinely move across the human-animal barrier,” she says. “In 2007, zoonotic disease was just language. Now it is a painful reality visiting every community in the world.”

How much would you pay for this bit of bush meat—a monkey head, arm, leg, lightly smoked to keep in the juices for market day? This is the main source of protein for most of the residents in the town of Lodja in central Democratic Republic of Congo. On any given day, hundreds of women and children begin their morning by butchering domestic and wild animals in a stew of guts, blood and offal. Dogs at their feet scramble for the discards, lapping up blood and carrying it on their paws into the streets and homes of the city. Such practice promotes disease mutation, spillover and transfer on multiple levels. © Lynn Johnson

Throughout the project, Johnson came face-to-face with the brutal realities of our relationship with animals and the consequences of unnatural contact between species, wrought by man-made environmental degradation and the mistreatment of wildlife. “One of the most challenging pieces of this story was the mindless brutality of humans toward animals caged and starving in the sprawling markets—particularly in Indonesia,” she says. “It is always challenging to look another person or suffering animal in the eye.

This is one of the holiest days for Muslims. It commemorates the willingness of Abraham to sacrifice his beloved son as dictated by God. According to scripture, at the last minute, an angel appeared, giving him permission to substitute a camel for his son. Today’s version is a traditional ritual slaughter of a valuable, domestic hoofed animal during the first day of the New Year. Blood from literally thousands of cows and goats pooled and flowed into the city streets in Dhaka, Bangladesh, as each family had a local Imam kill the animal in the prescribed manner (one fast slice) after saying prayers and blessings. © Lynn Johnson

Dhamrai, Bangladesh: #12 is a juvenile macaque monkey. The biological samples taken from him by Lisa Jones-Engel, John Heidrich (those are his hands), and the rest of the research team will be tested for SIV (simian immunodeficiency virus), SFV (simian foamy virus), TB, Malaria, measles, flu, and hepatitis—the diseases that flow back and forth between non-human primates and humans. © Lynn Johnson

“We humans so often live in ignorance and denial about our relationship with animals and the impact of living in closer and closer proximity. In many countries, humans and animals drink from the same water source, hunt the same prey, and live in the same house. Traditions and cultural mores keep us intertwined and therefore at risk for sharing, transforming, and amplifying disease. Most often, it is simply a matter of survival. At the time of this story, we in the developed world; were just beginning to live in fear of microbes traveling across time and space. But those who live in the developing world live with these microbes every moment of the day.”

Only dead animals are allowed in this building. They come wrapped in 3 layers of plastic, sealed in boxes and containers, wrapped with evidence tape. Here in the U.S. fish and Wildlife Forensics lab in Ashland, Oregon, pathologists, morphologists, DNA specialists and others work to identify the bits and pieces of animals confiscated in the battle against the thousands of illegal and potentially dangerous animal products killed, traded and shipped into this country everyday. © Lynn Johnson

During a visit to the Doctors Convalescent Hospital in Whittier, CA, Lori is constantly measuring the impact of the animals on residents as she places a bunny in one person’s lap, a chicken in another and hands the alpaca’s leash to a third. Eric Legaspi, director of nursing, said that Lori’s visit with the animals transforms the nursing home. Though elderly people are normally considered high risk in their exposure to infections, Eric is unconcerned. The benefits are too great he said and they have never had a problem. Residents who are normally reclusive join in making the sense of community stronger. © Lynn Johnson

The photographer stayed safe during her time in the field by listening to the experts, but she knew it carried a degree of risk. After work that day in Norbert’s mother’s hut, she changed her clothes, washed them on a rock, and let them dry in the sun until they were ready to be worn the next day.

Looking back, Johnson tells us, “At the time, this was an assignment, not a passion. Of course, assignments can become passions, and after working on a project like this, it’s difficult to wash it out of your system.” When Covid-19 hit, she went back into the field again, this time close to home.

From China, Malaysia, Australia to Congo, Gabon and the Americas, bats are now considered likely carriers of numerous zoonotic diseases—Ebola, SARS, Nipah, Hendra, Malaria, Rabies. This particular bat is a Flying Fox or “Little Red” that is being held in a pillowcase by Raina Plowright. She has been studying their habits and bodily fluids for several years, marking the changes that may be contributing to greater possibility of disease transfer from animals to humans. © Lynn Johnson

“With the help of a small grant from National Geographic Society, I’m documenting the less dramatic and often less visible ramifications of Covid on rural health systems, at least a quarter of which will close in the U.S. due to financial losses,” she says. “The stresses seem to be not just Covid but a mental health crisis. Isolation, delay of treatment, lack of all manner of resources is degrading access to all health care at an alarming rate.”

It’s been nearly fifteen years since she first documented zoonotic disease, but it’s followed her throughout countless stories and assignments: “It is stories like this that make one understand that all stories are woven together.

“We are now the developing world. Neither status and wealth nor education will protect us. It is humbling. We have been deeply distracted by the politics in the U.S. and this has cost and will continue to cost lives. For me, the most critical question is how can we narrow this divide so we can fight, not just zoonotic diseases, but diseases of prejudice as well. They are intertwined, and both are deadly.”

Lombok Indonesia: This woman is suffering from a form of malaria that is transmitted by mosquitoes that are in close contact with monkeys, which is potentially a more complicated and dangerous strain. She is surrounded by family. © Lynn Johnson

Johnson’s in the field right now, and we’re communicating via email whenever she has time. “Working to tell stories, even complicated and emotional stories, is my life,” she says. When asked about the most powerful memory she has of her time photographing zoonotic diseases, she responds with a name: “Norbert.” He died about six months after they met of complications related to monkeypox.

“You know, photographers are taught to be ‘objective,’ not to get involved but work from arm’s length emotionally,” she tells us. “But I no longer believe we have to subvert our humanity to tell stories that have power and are grounded in integrity. In Norbert’s mother’s hut, I realized that part of his pain could be helped by better hydration. I knew that the scientific team was carrying IV bags of fluid and there was a nurse with the team who could start an IV. I asked the nurse to do so, and the fluid helped him survive that moment of crisis.” Of course, she’d make the same decision today.

The Wellcome Photography Prize 2021 is free and open for entries. In addition to two other timely topics–Managing Mental Health and Health in a Heating World–the £26,000 prize will include a Fighting Infections theme as part of their call for submissions. Two overall winners across all topics will receive £10,000 each, while six category winners will bring home £1,000.

In 2020, the novel coronavirus has disrupted life globally; the Fighting Infections category includes images relating to Covid-19 and all other infectious diseases. Wellcome’s judges will be looking for stories about how communities are battling infection; they want images that show how the pandemic has helped bring attention to infectious disease response and how it’s obscured other outbreaks taking place in communities worldwide. During this crucial moment, they’ll look to highlight personal stories as well as political actions.

SUBMIT YOUR PHOTOS FOR FREE HERE.

The post A Searing Look at Zoonotic Disease Beyond Covid-19 appeared first on Feature Shoot.

These Photos Are Painful, But We All Need to See Them

Wed, 16 Dec 2020 03:48:48 GMT

HIDDEN: Animals in the Anthropocene, a revelatory new book from We Animals Media

Last summer, the photojournalist and animal rights activist Konrad Lozinski went undercover to document life inside an integrated pig fattening barn in Poland. “This photo was taken during the daytime, in the early morning, but only bits of light could get through the little windows of the farm’s building,” he tells me.

“I realized very quickly that this pig was in poor condition. He moved apathetically, as though every step caused him pain. Many, if not most, of the pigs here had fiery eye infections, including this one. Sadly, this is a very common problem on farms where pigs spend all their time in filth with poor to no ventilation. It is a perfect breeding ground for all sorts of bacteria.

“What strikes me every time I photograph places like this is that, even though we are their oppressors, animals still seem to crave some kind of contact–especially pigs. They are curious and like to interact. As soon as this pig realized my presence, he responded with interest. I can’t tell you much more about him, but I can say that he suffered a lot.”

This pig, photographed by Lozinski early that summer morning, appears on the cover of HIDDEN: Animals in the Anthropocene, a revelatory new book from We Animals Media. Edited by Jo-Anne McArthur and Keith Wilson and featuring a forward by Joaquin Phoenix, the 320-page volume includes the work of 40 animal photojournalists, documenting animal exploitation across six continents and two decades.

Steel barriers, concrete floors, tiled walls and push-button technology make up the habitat of the modern day dairy herd. Poland © Andrew Skowron

A pig screams as she is clubbed before slaughter. In some small Asian slaughterhouses, clubbing is used to stun pigs. This often fails to render the animals fully unconscious before their throats are slit. Thailand © Jo-Anne McArthur

One of hundreds of emaciated long-tailed macaques at a monkey breeding facility for use in scientific research. Laos. © Jo-Anne McArthur

“There is a common, bloody and stinking thread that remains strong across all continents and cultures–and has done so for thousands of years,” Wilson says. “This thread is one that connects all animals as a resource, a commodity, for our use and abuse.” HIDDEN contains the untold stories of animals trapped in a world dictated by humans, including those who live and die behind closed doors in industrial farms, live transport trucks, sale yards, wet markets, and slaughterhouses.

The book documents the suffering of animals used in entertainment, sport, research, and labor, from the performing monkeys who endure beatings and starvation to the horses who are killed on race tracks or forced to pull carriages, from the beagles poisoned for research and experimentation to the bulls bleeding out in bullfights.

Who’s next? At this dog slaughterhouse, a butcher chooses the dog he will beat to death with an iron bar while the other dogs look on. China © Jose Valle

A sick pig left to die on the floor of a farm corridor. Finland © Kristo Muurimaa

These factory-farmed ducks are kept for egg production and live two to three per cage. Taiwan. © Jo-Anne McArthur

It is a heavy book, both physically and emotionally. For the photographers featured in its pages, this once-in-a-generation tome is the result of countless all-nighters and early mornings and, in many cases, a lifelong dedication to exposing a brutal truth many would like to keep concealed.

McArthur developed the idea for the book in her hotel room after spending a long night covering a night market in Taipei, when hundreds of thousands of fish, sharks, and stingrays were boxed, weighed, and sold. She saw people cut shells from the bodies of living turtles, their naked and exposed hearts still beating.

A turtle writhes in agony as his shell is sliced off. He will die painfully and slowly of his wounds. Taiwan © Jo-Anne McArthur

A silver fox in a fur farm in Poland during an investigation by Otwarte Klatki and Ekostraz. The property held 60 caged and neglected foxes and dogs. All were rescued and the farm was closed down. The owner faces charges of animal cruelty. Poland © Andrew Skowron

“We [the photojournalists in HIDDEN] have documented cows having their legs and skins cut from their bodies while still conscious,” she says. “We have witnessed minutes-old calves licked lovingly by their mothers, even as they are snatched away to live short, lonely lives so that humans can drink milk.

“We have seen despondent animals ceaselessly pacing their enclosures at zoos, hens standing on their dead cage mates, and millions of mink in fur farms skinned for the sake of fashion. In each case, these animals’ eyes look back at us, full of fear. In this broken and forsaken relationship, they have all the questions and we have all the answers. But none are given.”

Her words recall Lozinski’s pig portrait, made in Poland a year and a half ago. It’s been mere months, but in many ways, it feels like a lifetime; soon after that photo was taken, we would face a global crisis–a deadly disease born from that same broken and forsaken relationship we share with animals.

A macaque performs in a popular street show in Jakarta, known locally as Topeng Monyet (Mask Monda). Indonesia © Joan de la Malla

Tingerup, Denmark, March 2019. The body of a dead piglet sticks out of a broken bin outside one of the industrial pig farms affecting the small rural villages in the area. More bodies of dead piglets can be seen inside the bin through the broken lid, dumped as trash on the side of the road. Tingerup farm is known for regularly dumping dead pigs on the side of the road. © Selene Magnolia

An emaciated working horse at a veterinary clinic for treatment. Ethiopia. © Jo-Anne McArthur

HIDDEN was released on November 17th; that same month, Denmark culled 17 million minks across more than 200 mink farms after a coronavirus mutation spread to humans. Many have resurfaced from the mass graves, forced out due to gas from their decomposing bodies.

Lozinski was able to photograph the conditions on that pig fattening farm and others like it without much suspicion in part because they’re legal. “This is systematic, everyday violence inscribed in contemporary animal agriculture,” he says. “And you can document it on almost every farm. I wouldn’t say the conditions of the animals on this farm were better or worse than everywhere else. After a while, you start to see the similarities, not the differences.”

The pig on the cover of HIDDEN would have spent a total of eighty days in that dark barn. He would have then been sent to slaughter about a month after the photo was made. “By the end of summer, he was already gone, along with the other pigs from this farm,” Lozinski tells me. “And then the cycle started again.

“All animals photographed in HIDDEN are ambassadors of change. Their expressions and stories should haunt and push us to act on their behalf. I am grateful that, because of this book, the voice of this pig can be heard by so many. This voice is an indictment of what we did to him and what we do to other animals farmed for food, entertainment, or fashion today. This pig was brought to life by us, but this gave us no right to determine it.”

Get your copy of HIDDEN today and help spread the word to inspire change.

Straining for a single leaf to quench thirst and hunger, but freedom remains out of reach for this doomed cow. Turkey. © Jo-Anne McArthur

Ear tags are removed from animals after slaughter and stored temporarily for record keeping. Spain. © Aitor Garmendia

The post These Photos Are Painful, But We All Need to See Them appeared first on Feature Shoot.

15 DIY Cameras That’ll Blow Your Mind

Sun, 13 Dec 2020 04:43:42 GMT

Camera by Alireza Rostami

“The history of photography is based on the experiments of amateurs,” the photographer Samuel Trachsel, who works at an analog photography store in Zurich, tells us. “Even today, a century and a half later, there is a very cool and active DIY community devoted to the craft of building cameras.”

He’s right; as of this writing, Instagram has more than 7,000 posts under the hashtag #DIYCamera and 5,600 under #HomemadeCamera. Meanwhile, The Homemade Camera Podcast with Nick and Graham features some truly inspiring ideas, while the popular Instagram account ShittyRigs show just how far photographers are willing to go to get the perfect shot in a pinch.

Even though every phone these days has a built-in camera, the allure of the DIY camera remains as powerful as ever. We asked eleven camera-makers to tell us about some of their most intriguing creations. We’ve included wooden cameras, 3D printed cameras, and even some made of old film cassettes and doll parts. You’ll also find pinhole cameras galore, creating using everything from clay to beer cans.

Each of the experts we interviewed offers a different aesthetic and point of view, but they share a passion for making the most of what they have. From professionals with camera shops to amateurs with a vision, they were also kind enough to reveal their best tips for getting started building your own.

The extraordinary creations of Alireza Rostami

Camera by Alireza Rostami

Alireza Rostami, who is based in Hamadan, Iran, always had a curious mind; even as a child, he wanted to know how things worked. Today, he’s a photographer, lens researcher, and inventor of cameras. One of his first experiments, a lens technique that produces gorgeous (and affordable!) bokeh, went viral around the world a few years ago.

His goal, then and now, is to write his country’s name in the history of photography, as there aren’t yet any major international camera brands from Iran. “When Michael Zhang wrote an article about my ‘magic bokeh’ for PetaPixel in 2018, that gave me the energy and encouragement I needed to continue my research,” he remembers.

Unity Camera, made using film cassettes, courtesy Alireza Rostami

Self-portrait with ‘Camera watch’, courtesy Alireza Rostami

“After that, I made the ‘gadget shutter’ using the shutter from a vintage Chinese Seagull TLR, which I then turned into a wearable wrist watch-shaped camera that effectively takes pictures.” Many other innovations followed. To start, there was a view camera made with a broken LCD laptop screen; since then, he’s repurposed a number of old computer parts to create a working camera. He made film cameras using 35mm film cassettes. Most recently, he made a “talking camera” using doll parts.

Golden Calf “Talking” Camera, courtesy Alireza Rostami

Across his many projects, Rostami’s work almost always merges the old with the new. Instead of throwing away “outdated” materials–old film, computers, dolls, camera parts–he transforms them into something new. In our age of mass production and wastefulness, his oeuvre serves as a reminder of the power of ingenuity.

He hopes to inspire other young photographers and inventors to make the most of what they have, especially if it means getting creative and doing what others might have thought impossible. Recently, he found a broken FM player in the trash; he plans to incorporate it into a camera in the near future.

Pro Tip: “Never give up! In the beginning, nobody helped me build my Iranian camera, so I decided to continue my research alone. I started by researching and studying websites. It was difficult, but Google Translate was very helpful!

“From there, I started buying photographers’ broken ‘cameras’ and discovered how they worked by performing ‘autopsies.’ Get ahold of old cameras, and ask yourself how they work. Don’t get discouraged if someone tells you not to pursue your idea. You can even call me too if you have questions.”

Follow Alireza Rostami on Instagram at @alirizarostami.

Brendan Barry‘s shipping container camera

Shipping container camera, courtesy Brendan Barry

“I have always had an interest in making things,” the photographer and camera-maker Brendan Barry tells us. “As a kid, I would dismantle my toys and build new ones out of the composite parts, creating hybrid tractors or Frankenstein-ed fire engines.

“My interest in making cameras started when I was teaching photography. There is no better way to learn how a camera works than by making one yourself, so I, like many teachers, would make pinhole cameras with my students.

“We started with shoeboxes, but I began to look at other things and wonder if that could become a camera: the bin in the darkroom, an upturned table, the classroom itself. Then one day I was walking past a fruit and veg stall, saw a pineapple and thought, ‘I wonder if I could make a camera out of that?’ You can, so I did, and things snowballed from there.”

Pineapple camera, courtesy Brendan Barry

Camera creations by Brendan Barry, courtesy the artist

Since then, Barry’s made cameras out of watermelons, bread, pumpkins, and butternut squash, but his favorite is his shipping container camera. “This is a giant walk-in camera with a built-in darkroom, a workable teaching space capable of producing ultra large traditional analogue photographic prints,” he explains.

“The camera is wheelchair accessible, fully ventilated, solar powered, and capable of accommodating large groups of all ages and abilities. It has a built-in print washing system, lens movements and a working mechanical shutter.

“The thing I love most about it is its educational potential. Being able to operate a camera from the inside is the best way to learn the mechanics of photography: the relationship between aperture and shutter speed, depth of field, focus, etc. These are things that can be hard to wrap your head around conceptually, but when you can see them physically with your own eyes, it can establish a much deeper understanding.

Shipping container camera, courtesy Brendan Barry

“It also has huge creative potential, and I love working with diverse groups of people using it to capture portraits, landscapes, still lives or even something more abstract, and then playing with a range of different processes inside to bring the images to life.

Shipping container camera print, courtesy Brendan Barry

“My ultimate dream camera project would be a boat camera! I’d love to create a camera that sails. I’m excited about all the challenges that this would produce and the potential of what it could capture.”

Pro Tip: “Mistakes are not to be avoided; they are to be embraced! Everything I know and can do comes from trial and error–trying, failing, trying again, failing a little less, trying again, and eventually getting it right. Start simple, and work your way up.

“Get ahold of an old broken camera, and take it apart; see how it works. A camera is just a box with a hole or lens at one end that lets light in, which is projected onto a light sensitive material or sensor. It really is that simple, so just have a go and see what happens!”

Follow Brendan Barry on Instagram at @brendanbarryphoto.

The B35 camera by Lucus Landers

B35 camera, courtesy Lucus Landers

Lucus Landers has made everything from pinhole cameras to large-format cameras, mini view cameras to instant press cameras, and he’s not slowing down anytime soon. “The motivation started very practically,” he says. “I needed a large format camera for school but didn’t have the money to buy one. So I made my own.

“At that point in my life, this mentality was very natural to me. Growing up, my family didn’t have the means to buy much. So when I wanted something, I often had to find an alternative to just going to the store and buying it.

“After my first camera, I fell down a rabbit hole. I started learning more and more about design, machining, and craft–so much so that I eventually made a whole career shift away from Photography and into Engineering.

B35 camera, courtesy Lucus Landers

“Today, I build my cameras around a few ideas. Each camera was designed and built with very specific goals in mind–goals that are driving me towards my idealized destination of what is in my mind the best camera in the world.

“I’m fascinated with Swiss watchmaking, so my most recent cameras have been more and more influenced by the level of design and polish that goes into them. My end goal is to make a small rangefinder camera that has the polish of a Swiss watch and the beauty and ease of use of a Leica. In short, I like small, easy-to-use, and well-made cameras that are unique to me.

B35 camera, courtesy Lucus Landers

“What I love about the cameras I make is that each one was designed and built to scratch a very unique itch. For instance, the most recent camera I made, the ‘B35,’ was built with stealth street shooting in mind. I wanted something small and light enough that I could fit it inside of a jacket pocket, and a quiet leaf shutter. At the time, I was researching classic clock making and wanted to incorporate these methods into the design and constitution. So far, that one has been my favorite.”

Pro Tip: “Most people get into camera building through large format, myself included. I would recommend reading ‘The Camera’ and ‘The Negative’ by Ansel Adams before building a large format. He has a lot of information on what is and isn’t important when it comes to using a camera.

“When deciding to build a camera, I would recommend thinking long and hard about how you want to use the camera. I think too often people build a camera that ends up limiting them. I think it should be the opposite. Try starting with a shooting style and an idea of the photos you want to create before making anything. This concept-driven design will often push someone to drastically expand their abilities!

“Camera making is very easy to get into, but getting good at it will take years of work. That being said, I have found it to be some of the most rewarding work of my life.”

Follow Lucus Landers on Instagram at @cropped_camera.

Heather Oelklaus’s camera truck

Little Miss Sunshine, courtesy Heather Oelklaus

“For the past 28 years, I have been exploring the photographic and sculptural possibilities of homemade cameras,” the artist Heather Oelklaus tells us. ‘After dropping out of the sculpture program at the Kansas City Art Institute in 1992, I came across the most inspiring book for pinhole photographic artists: Eric Renner’s Pinhole Photography: Rediscovering a Historic Technique.

“This book gave the history alongside wonderful examples of pinhole photographs and the cameras that produced these ethereal and distorted images. Within the first few pages of the book, I was hooked. I made my first camera out of a box and a soda pop can.

“Making cameras out of existing objects is what drives me to further explore this DIY attitude toward art-making. Over the years, I have made cameras out of many unlikely items, such as a silver teapot, nesting dolls, a Wonder Woman lunchbox, a cinematic film can, cigar boxes, an iPhone box, and most recently, a dollhouse.”

Her favorite of the bunch? A bright yellow 1977 Chevy truck. “In 2012, I converted a 14’ truck, which I’ve nicknamed Little Miss Sunshine, into a pinhole camera to drive around town and to photograph the world on 84 sheets of light sensitive 8”x10” photo paper.

“These paper negatives require an exposure time of anywhere from twelve minutes on a sunny day to three hours on an overcast day. While the exposure is taking place, I enjoy sitting on a bean bag chair inside the truck watching the world transfer itself onto the delicate photo paper. These ultra large images, as big as 5’x 10’, are displayed in galleries and museums as one-of-a-kind works of art.

“Sitting inside this camera on wheels is an experience you do not soon forget. The outside image is projected against the opposite interior wall, and as your eyes slowly adjust to the darkness, the outside world appears upside down and backward.

Chuck Wagon, silver gelatin prints, 60″ by 100″, courtesy Heather Oelklaus

“For me, this time inside the camera is very similar to this time in isolation during COVID-19. The words used to describe this moment in history can also be used to describe the feeling of being inside my camera obscura truck…unusual, pause, unsettled, empty, hollow, reflective, unstable, contained, disconnected, illuminated, and curious. I am in the process of making work that confronts these shared feelings.”

Decades after Oelklaus first started making cameras, she continues to find inspiration in history–and in some ways, everything has come full circle. “In 2015, I was invited by the New Mexico History Museum to shoot with the truck camera as part of their programming during the ‘Poetics of Light: Pinhole Photography’ Exhibition,’” she tells us. “On display were the same inspiring pinhole photographs and the cameras that were in the pinhole book that started me off this path of DIY camera making all those years ago.”

Little Miss Sunshine, courtesy Heather Oelklaus

Pro Tip: “I keep a camera design journal to sketch out ideas and to ask myself, ‘What do I want this camera to do?’ Sometimes, the camera comes before the question, but I believe the two objects, the photograph and the camera, should be in conversation with each other. How delightful that this art form can facilitate such a remarkable union!

“For example, when I wanted to make a three pinhole camera out of a bellhop cart, traditionally used to carry baggage, I asked myself, ‘What baggage can my camera photograph?’ I first made the camera, tested it for light tightness, and studied how the overlapping images caused by the multiple pinholes distorted the photograph. Thorough testing of any homemade camera is essential for embracing the limits and the possibilities of a camera. I then proceeded to make images that reflected my ideas of emotional baggage.

“Here’s an exercise for observing the possibilities that surround you and using those observations for your own DIY camera. Take a moment and look ten feet in all directions from where you are right now. What object do you see that sparks your interest? Can you construct it into a camera? What kind of images do you want that camera to yield?”

Follow Heather Oelklaus on Instagram at @heather_oelklaus.

The CAMERADACTYL Brancopan by Ethan Moses

CAMERADACTYL Brancopan, courtesy Ethan Moses

Ethan Moses is the creator of BUTTER GRIP and CAMERADACTYL, a pro range of 3D-printed camera parts and accessories you can buy for yourself. He’s made many cameras over the years, but his favorite to date is the CAMERADACTYL Brancopan. “It’s a 35mm panoramic camera that shoots in cinema anamorphic aspect ratio,” he tells us.

“I originally designed it for an old friend of mine, who is a bigtime Hollywood DP these days, as he was getting ready to shoot his first feature on film. He wanted a camera to shoot the same film stocks as he would be shooting a movie on, for production stills, location scouting, etc.

“I got sucked into that project for a bunch of months and came out with a camera that worked really well. I love that the camera is built like a tank and you can really whack it around and it’ll keep working. Mine has been frozen at 13,000+ feet overnight, left out next to my sleeping bag; had sand in it from hiking through the desert, and banged around on a shoulder strap all over the US, Canada, and Spain.

CAMERADACTYL Brancopan, courtesy Ethan Moses

“I love that it’s really fast to use, and while mine is hot pink and baby blue (pro colors), it doesn’t attract too much attention for street photography so long as I mostly keep it down at my side while walking around. I love that it shoots panoramic pictures in the same aspect ratios as the movies.

“The Brancopan takes something like 120 hours to print and eight to twelve hours to assemble, which was just too much time cost to sell it as a camera or even a kit in the same way that I sell all of my other cameras on the internet.”

While he doesn’t sell completed Brancopans, he has since released all the build files and instructions so that followers can create their own. “The files are now available on GitHub, along with video manuals, links to buy laser cut accessory dials and focusing aids (not necessary, but nice).” It’s free to download, and you can make a donation here.

“It’s a great camera, but what I love most of all about it is that since the files are all online for anyone to print for free, every few weeks, I get a message or get tagged in an Instagram post, where someone on the other side of the world has built my design, is using it to take incredible pictures, and loving it themselves,” Moses says. “It’s been greatly satisfying to watch.”

CAMERADACTYL Brancopan, courtesy Ethan Moses

In the meantime, Moses continues to focus on new projects. “I keep a ‘dream camera journal’ with ideas and drawings and diagrams that I go back to frequently,” he tells us. Stay tuned via the CAMERADACTYL Shop.

Pro Tip: “A camera is just a box that holds film inside and keeps light outside. Start with a pinhole camera if you haven’t ever made one before. Keep it simple at first. Small projects and quick successes can be built upon, and are less likely to bog you down in a seemingly unfinishable project.

“Build up to more complicated mechanical and maybe electrical systems. There are no mistakes; there are just failed prototypes, which are necessary to learn from and improve the next version. I have never released a camera without at least seven visually identical cameras sitting in a drawer somewhere that range from a total brick, to semi-functional. Engineering is an iterative sport. It requires ‘failures.’”

Follow CAMERADACTYL Cameras on Instagram at @cameradactyl.

The ‘Big Tuna’ by Samuel Trachsel

Big Tuna, courtesy Samuel Trachsel

“My interest started a long time ago with building simple pinhole cameras, which is a very good way to start,” Samuel Trachsel tells us. “After building really tiny and then slightly bigger ones, I started to take a lot of pictures on direct positive paper.

Big Tuna photo, courtesy Samuel Trachsel

“Direct positive images on paper straight out of the camera have a very cool feel to them; they are all unique and never exactly repeatable. That’s when I ultimately gave in to the urge to go bigger in size. After finding a Lomo 600 Lens on eBay for next to nothing, I had to do something with it. Without ever having built such a large camera, I just started building, without knowing exactly if or how it would work.

Big Tuna, courtesy Samuel Trachsel

“My favorite camera to date would definitely be my ‘Big Tuna.’ It’s such a weird, bulky, and cumbersome camera that is really hard to operate, and the pictures have such crazy colors. I love it! Creating 16×20 color pictures straight out of the camera is just way too cool. Seeing the color picture appearing in daylight is just magic. You can read more about it here.”

Big Tuna photo, courtesy Samuel Trachsel

Pro Tip: “It is good to think carefully about these projects, but don’t overthink it. Even if you don’t have any previous knowledge of camera craftsmanship, you fit right in and you are absolutely capable of taking great cameras and pictures–just do it!”

Follow Samuel Trachsel on Instagram at @trachselsam.

The ‘Quarantena’ camera by Sandeha Lynch

The ‘Quarantena’ camera, courtesy Sandeha Lynch

“My first attempt at a pinhole camera in 2003 was a simple wooden frame that could take paper negatives,” the artist, sculptor, and creative technician Sandeha Lynch remembers. “I added a Polaroid back and then began modifying cheap medium format cameras, constantly adjusting to get a result I was happy with.

The ‘Quarantena’ camera, courtesy Sandeha Lynch

“By then, the building bug had taken me over, so I had to try out some other camera types as well. I wasn’t alone in this pursuit either; other photographers were generously sharing their findings and experiences on forums. There was a growing trove of information online on making pinholes and adapting other cameras.

That was seventeen years ago. “I’ve since made view cameras from 3″x3″ up to 4″x5″, point-and-shoots for 4″x5″, and a stream of pinhole cameras from 35mm to 8″x10″,” Lynch tells us. “Some of the builds carry lenses, while most are dedicated pinhole cameras, the most recent ones using 120/220 roll-film backs.

“I’m quite fascinated to watch today’s makers designing new cameras using 3D printing technology, sometimes adapting their engineering skills to the task, sometimes learning a raft of new skills to bring their concepts into the real world.

“But I’m old-school and more at home with using simple metal and woodworking hand tools. I can’t use a lathe, but I’m pretty good at wielding a file. I like hardwoods and brass, and making a camera this way reflects how the very earliest cameras were made, often by early photographers themselves.

The ‘Quarantena’ camera, courtesy Sandeha Lynch

“I guess my most recent pinhole camera is the one I am most proud of, if only because it threw up the greatest number of challenges and I had enough experience to resolve them. It’s called the Quarantena, and it is so new that I’ve hardly used it yet. It’s 6×8 format and built around a Fuji GX680 220 roll-film insert. I used cherry wood and maple and a handful of metal parts. I designed and built it at the beginning of the COVID-19 lockdown (hence the name), and got to test it as conditions gradually improved.”

Photo courtesy Sandeha Lynch

The ‘Quarantena’ camera, courtesy Sandeha Lynch

Pro Tip: “The pinhole camera offers the widest range of creative camera options. I’ve seen some made with eggshells, vegetables, discarded packaging, Legos, or even an assortment of broken camera parts cobbled together. After all, it’s only a light-tight empty space, with a receptive surface for the photographic emulsion at one end and a hole at the other.

“Making a camera that is durable and reusable requires some thoughtful planning. In deciding how to approach a new camera, the first decision is likely to be the film surface and dimensions. Sheet (film, tin, or glass), Instant pack, or roll film? It’s best to choose a familiar substrate the first time. Once that is decided, you build forwards from there.”

Follow Sandeha Lynch on Instagram at @sandehalynch.

Steve Irvine’s ceramic cameras

Ceramic camera, courtesy Steve Irvine

“I have been a potter for over 50 years, and I’ve had a passion for photography for just as long,” the Ontario-based artist Steve Irvine says. “It made sense at one point to combine the two creatively, and pinhole cameras were the perfect solution. A pinhole camera can be just about any size or shape, and there is no limit to the forms that can be made with clay. There are endless possibilities.

“Having a camera that requires a darkroom to change the negative after each image means that I must think carefully about each photograph attempted. Instead of the ‘click-click-click’ of a digital camera, I might spend hours preparing for one image, which makes me think differently about the image-making process.

Ceramic camera, courtesy Steve Irvine

“My favorite ceramic camera so far would be a large, lidded cylinder with a flat front. The metal disk pinhole is set into the flat front, and the distance to the curved back wall where the negative is held is 10 cm. Since the pinhole is about .3 mm in diameter, this gives an equivalent aperture of about f/300, which is a good number for a reasonably sharp image. I use photo paper for my negatives, cut into pieces of 5×8 inches.”

Photograph taken with a ceramic camera, courtesy Steve Irvine

Pro Tip: “Pinhole cameras must have an absolutely light tight construction made from totally opaque materials; I have a section on my website about how to construct a ceramic camera. The exposures are usually long; for instance, my photo paper negatives often take an hour or more for the exposure, so the camera must be able to sit solidly once the exposure starts. Since the exposures are long, choose subjects where the passage of time is something of importance for the image. Experiment, and keep good notes about what you’ve done.”

Follow Steve Irvine on Instagram at @steveirvine.clay.

Matt Bigwood’s beer can cameras

Pinhole camera photo, courtesy Matt Bigwood

Matt Bigwood’s roots in camera-making date back to the 1980s, when his uncle Brian Candy introduced him to darkrooms and pinhole cameras. “We made a pinhole camera from a biscuit tin and took a picture in the garden,” he remembers. “When I developed the sheet of paper, there was that moment of amazement as I saw the image appear under the safelight.”

As an adult, he returned to pinhole cameras–this time using beer cans and six-month-long exposures. “The equipment for these cameras was very simple: an empty beer can with the top removed and a hole made with a needle or pin, a card lid for the can held on with gaffer tape, and a sheet of 5”x7” black and white photographic paper inside,” he says.

Pinhole cameras, courtesy Matt Bigwood

“I set up five cameras at different heights and locations around a school building, hoping I might get a good composition with the building framed by the sun’s rays. They were secured to fences and lamp posts using cable ties and tape.

“Two of the cameras were damaged, probably by over-inquisitive children or a ball hitting them. One can was deformed and the pinhole got covered by the paper inside, so it didn’t produce an image. I had a quick look at the other cameras every week or two to make sure they were still in place.

Pinhole camera, courtesy Matt Bigwood

“To make a six-month-long exposure, the camera needed to be pointing south towards the sun. Composition was an educated guess–it needed to be south-facing and the bottom of the can raised slightly to get more sky in the picture. Because the paper was wrapped around the inside of the can, it gives a distorted arc shape to the sun’s path across the sky. Despite being used during one of the wettest summers in the UK for many years, the cameras still recorded the sun’s path across the sky.

“My biggest concern was that someone would think they were junk and throw them away before the exposure had finished. Luckily, this didn’t happen, probably because most of them were more than six feet from the ground and hard to reach.

Pinhole camera photo, courtesy Matt Bigwood

“One of the interesting things about the long exposures was that so much had happened in front of the cameras during those six months. Children had been playing in front of them in the playground, the sun had risen and set each day, and the seasons had changed–and only the sun rising and setting was recorded in the image.”

Follow Matt Bigwood on Flickr.

Antoine Loncle’s Afghan camera

Afghan-style camera, courtesy Antoine Loncle

The Malaysian film photographer Antoine Loncle first started researching camera builds for practical purposes; he wanted an 8×10 camera but didn’t want to spend a fortune buying one, so he made his own. “This DIY camera is based around the Afghan camera style,” he tells us. “This is to say that the camera is both able to capture and also develop a paper negative (or positive), resulting in a print. It’s a camera that’s had quite an interesting history, and I would encourage anyone to look into it.

“A few people were very helpful during my research. First is Lukas Birk; he is responsible for much of the research done around Afghan cameras and how they have become popular over the past few years. Without his work, it wouldn’t have been as easy to build. Another is Joe Van Cleave on YouTube. He has quite a few videos on box cameras, using direct positive paper and such, plus he’s a super friendly guy. Last is Brendan Barry (featured above)–

A Photographer Finds Strength and Resilience in Transgender Youth

Tue, 01 Dec 2020 21:08:41 GMT

Elio and Luci

Jayne

Nearly three years ago, the London-based photographer Reme Campos met Elio, a young man with a passion for art, poetry, and social justice. She photographed him and his partner Luci on a quiet, gray February day in Queen’s Park, and although she had initially reached out to them as part of another project, she found she didn’t want to say goodbye.

Elio was the first transgender person Campos interviewed as part of her ongoing series Trans(ition), and she’s photographed him multiple times throughout the last year. Over time, she’s met a small community of young trans and non-binary people, sharing their stories through hushed, understated portraits, audio recordings, and poetry. “This is the first work where I’ve asked my sitters to write or record something about their lives, experiences, and feelings, but I think it is a way for them to express themselves a bit more,” she tells us.

Trust came with time and experience. “They are part of a community that has to be careful of who they let into their lives, so they often rely on word of mouth and anecdotes from others,” she says. “I think the more I photographed people like them, the more they understood that I was an ally and someone that could be trusted.”

For Campos, portraiture has always been about vulnerability and empathy, but what struck her again and again about these kids was their strength and resilience. She didn’t dictate what they wrote; some choose poetry and others prose. She also refrained from directing or telling people how to pose. “There is always an emotional exchange while I take a portrait,” she explains. “Sometimes I forget I have a camera and it is like I am just seeing the person with my naked eye.”

Campos prefers to stay quiet and let her images do the talking. Earlier this year, during an exhibition in Bologna, she heard a visitor say that the work needed no explanation; just through looking, she understood more than could be expressed in words alone. As the photographer reminds us, transitioning means something different to everyone; it’s a complex and individual process.

Throughout lockdown, Campos continued to work on the series, creating portraits through Zoom. She interviewed and photographed Elio via webcam in May. He told her, “After an adolescence of living as someone that felt alien to me, I’m finally taking my first steps in the world as Elio.”

That image of Elio and Luci, captured all those months ago in the park, was recently shortlisted for the Taylor Wessing Portrait Prize and was named winner of the Portrait of Britain 2019. Still, the most rewarding part of the project has been getting to know her sitters–and representing them truthfully and authentically. As for Elio, she plans to stay in touch. “He is not sure about his future dreams yet, but he knows that he would like to make an impact on this world and make it better,” the artist tells us. “We will have to wait and see!”

You can follow Reme Campos on Instagram at @remecampos; she regularly shares new portraits from the series, accompanied by words from her sitters.

Naissa “The hardest part for my transition has been self acceptance. As a dancer my body has been my vessel of self expression, but it has also been the most restrictive part of my training to be in the wrong body. To accept my need to socially and medically transition is terrifying seeing as my body is my insurance for my career. I don’t know what my journey holds but I’m excited to see how my transition evolves my training and the changes that will come for my body. I have never felt more afraid and more empowered to come out in this day and age..”

Elio. “I have always found such beauty and comfort in that which was established as ‘feminine.’ All things soft and delicate, all things intricate and detailed, they all pleased me. But I soon came to learn that that is not what makes a woman. Femininity and Womanhood are two separate entities. The former is an energy, a set of characteristics. The latter is an intrinsic state of being. We all possess masculine and feminine energy, shaped into different characteristics and qualities that define us.

“But I am not a woman. I never was and I never will be. My gender is present to my core. How I decide to show myself to the world is a statement of what a man can look like. I am most comfortable when I am not confined by a set of expectations.”

Zac.

This isn’t a new age

This isn’t another “phase”
I’m sure of myself and can say it
For the first time in my life
I’m not bothered about what society thinks is right
But it’s hard to have faith in a human race that doubts my very existence
Dismisses my identity
Leaves my hope empty
I took time to say it confidently
Talk about my masculinity
That trans masculine is me
And of course you may not know what that means
Cause we live in a binary society
Where gender is an two word topic
I want to scream where is the logic
Because I am living proof that there’s learning to do
People need to know it’s okay to be like me and you
I must warn you
This is going to hurt
The curt words and the waiting
For medical help that takes years in the making for a first appointment
In what kind of system does treatment seem forbidden
It what kind of a world are true identities forced to hidden
This world
This system
Friend please listen

To what I have to say
This problem is not going to go away
Because simply it is a human right
Right?
If I have the right to privacy
But not to my own body
Surely that’s not fair
Surely you would care
That your body isn’t yours

That your identity isn’t on the menu
When society sets it before you
And says you must choose “

Mattie. “I feel like many people’s idea of the trans experience is one of a physical journey with surgery and hormones. But for me and so many others its very internal. I struggle a lot with OCD and anxiety and it can make it really difficult to see myself the way I want to. It’s a really strange experience looking in the mirror and being so close to liking the way I look, but always being held back by a reminder that when a lot of people see my face, they see a man. My obsessive tendencies mean there’s not much of a break from this. There are of course good days and good is an understatement. On these days where I feel like my mental health isn’t ruling my self-perception, I truly love myself. And even for that I’m so grateful. Its these days that tell me that despite all the difficulties it can bring, I love being a trans woman.”

Alana and Blue

Elio Zoom portrait

The post A Photographer Finds Strength and Resilience in Transgender Youth appeared first on Feature Shoot.

Meet the ‘Virtual Photographers’ Snapping Photos in Video Games

Mon, 30 Nov 2020 02:13:00 GMT

From Star Citizen by Mr. Hasgaha

Casey Lee has braved the freezing weather of the Siberian steppe to photograph a lost city. Megan Reims has traveled to Jackson, Wyoming in the aftermath of a deadly pandemic. Yuri Iliaev has explored the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, and Mr. Hasgaha has space-walked to Jupiter. And they’ve all done it from the comfort of their own homes.

From Rise of the Tomb Raider by Casey Lee

These artists are part of a growing “virtual photography” community that’s exploring uncharted territory, traveling backward and forward in time, and discovering make-believe locations as part of the popular “Photo Modes” found in modern video games. Like RL (real life) photographers, these virtual photographers can spend hours and days seeking the right light and the perfect composition; instead of a traditional shutter button, they use in-game screenshots.

From Mirror’s Edge Catalyst, released in 2016, shot within Nvidia Ansel by Matthew Goring. A close up portrait of a random AI character, a smaller detail of this virtual world.

“VP is like a gateway into a different world of photography,” Matthew Goring, the director of the Society Of Virtual Photographers, tells us. His training is in traditional photography, but while earning his degree, he stumbled into the brave new world of video game photography enthusiasts. “VP as a whole is really broad and can be created across all platforms, from high-end PC’s to smart phones,” he explains.

From Assassin’s Creed Odyssey by Megan Reims

For Reims, who became a virtual photographer in 2018 and now works as an administrator at GamerGram, video games always served as a portal into another world, especially during turbulent times. “The original reason as to why I started was to escape reality,” she tells us. “It had been a particularly tough year to deal with, and games always helped me feel better.

“Virtual photography added a surprisingly rewarding layer to something I’d always loved; while playing these amazing stories, I was also looking for the best opportunities for captures. I stumbled upon the photo modes in Assassin’s Creed Origins and Odyssey by pure luck, and, at the time, I had no clue there was a whole virtual photography community flourishing already.”

It’s accessible to everyone with the tools, including those who can’t travel in the “real world” as well as those without traditional training in photography. “Photo modes are easy to use and straight to the point, with no manual settings like on a DSLR camera,” Reims says “Everything is simplified, so there are plenty of possibilities.”

From Star Citizen by Mr. Hasgaha

At the same time, the “rules” of photography in the real world still hold true in a virtual world, and many virtual photographers crop and edit their images in post for the perfect shot.“I’ve been working as a professional graphic designer for over 20 years now and have been a hobbyist photographer for even longer,” Mr. Hasgaha explains.

“Taking the technical training and theory behind composition that I already possessed and translating that into a virtual environment started to appeal to me: ‘Could I use what I knew about lighting, color, framing, focus, etc to execute ‘photography’ in a video game? That led to me following a white rabbit down a very deep hole.

“From there, I found out many people were already doing this with incredible success and I became a sponge, learning everything I could. As I soon learned, it’s much more than just playing a game and snagging a screenshot. There is so much work that goes into it.”

‘Lost Road’, from Chernobylite, by Yuri Iliaev

As virtual photography is still in its infancy, many developers haven’t quite perfected their photo modes; as a result, today’s artists have to get creative and think outside the box. “The toughest part is getting access to the best range of tools to capture both high quality images and to allow the user to have creative freedom,” Goring says.

“Consoles and phones only have what the developers provide for them, and in most cases it’s a simplified camera experience. For beginners using these, it is a great way to develop your understanding of how to compose and frame the shots.

“To access the best tools available, however, artists should invest in a computer, as you get access to third party photo tools including Nvidia Ansel, which provides an advanced freecam for a range of titles. There are also mods created by the community, which users can add into their games for even deeper control, like Frans Boulma’s injectable Generic Camera System.

“With the upcoming release of the next generation of consoles, I think we’re going to see a lot more professional grade photos being created by a greater portion of the community. It will give them access to advanced lighting and higher resolution images, closing the current gap between amateur VP and more professionally created images.”

From Death Stranding by Casey Lee

Lee, who has been part of the virtual photography community for two years now, tells us, “Coming up with original and creative shots for popular games is also a challenge at times, as there are so many talented VPs out there taking very similar photos.” He found his voice by experimenting and taking tons of pictures: “There is no cost to taking in-game pics (other than time and disk space), and you can always delete those that you don’t like.”

The future of virtual photography remains uncertain, but video game publishers are catching onto the growing movement. “One of my favorite VP experiences is when I won a publisher-sponsored photo contest with Assassin’s Creed Odyssey early in the VP journey,” Lee tells us. “Aside from the terrific prize, the real award for me was that my creativity, originality, and quality of my entry was being recognized.”

The marketing potential here is significant, but in many ways, VP represents a new frontier, where there are few rules. “The advertising that comes from virtual photography is massive, but we still don’t know where we stand in terms of rights with the shots we capture,” Reims explains. “As far as I know, we can’t sell our shots because of copyright issues. There’s a huge communication gap between developers and virtual photographers, so there’s no real way to actually find out about our rights, if we have any to begin with.

From The Last of Us Part II by Megan Reims

“We at GamerGram hope to be part of the bridge between developers and virtual photographers. The marketing opportunity that lies in virtual photography is something to be on the lookout for in the coming years. What could be beneficial for both parties might be some kind of partnership; perhaps virtual photographers get a percentage based on the marketing materials they create.

“The dream would be for people to be able to work as full-time virtual photographers. Virtual photographers spend a lot of their time in these games–can you imagine if they were hired by every studio, who had their very own virtual photographers for different marketing purposes? I’m dreaming, I know, but I hope one day this dream comes true.”

‘Rider of the Night’, from Days Gone, by Yuri Iliaev

For Iliaev, who got into virtual photography in 2013 and only recently started sharing his work, being part of the community has been a reward in and of itself. “Meeting new talented people has been the best experience,” he tells us. “This is a community that helps each other and learns from each other.

“I also love that we’re getting more frequent feedback and appreciation from the game developers on social media. It shows that they do care and love what virtual photographers shoot in their games, and that’s a big bonus. Over the past few months, I’ve seen so many novice virtual photographers joining in on the fun, and it’s really amazing to witness how this thing is gaining popularity. The future looks good!”

The post Meet the ‘Virtual Photographers’ Snapping Photos in Video Games appeared first on Feature Shoot.

Beauty, Pain, and the Therapeutic Power of Photography

Mon, 23 Nov 2020 08:26:00 GMT

Without thinking we find ways to distance ourselves from the discomforts and indignities of life, denying the horrors that befall strangers, downplaying those may touch our lives, for trauma is one of the most difficult tragedies to manage and heal when it befalls our lives.

Though it surrounds us in countless forms, we seek ways to buffer its relentless effect, trying to mediate the toll it takes on our physical, psychological, and spiritual state. Whether we keep ourselves disconnected and numb or become volatile and reactionary, the wound often goes untreated, festering and growing worse while the pain seeps deeper into our being with the passage of every day, month, and year.

It is only when we have the courage to expose our most vulnerable selves that we may begin to transform the harrowing nightmares we have lived into something greater than ourselves for understanding requires mutuality. We must lay ourselves open to other people’s pain if we ever hope to heal our own.

At the age of five, American photographer Margaret Durow (born 1989) discovered a benign tumor in her lumbar spine that caused it to curve over time, resulting in severe scoliosis. In 2007, Durow experienced severe complications when “a surgeon fused my spine by replacing the cartilage between thirteen of my vertebrae with bone graft,” she writes in Margaret Durow (Setanta Books/Open Doors). “Ten titanium screws – one of which was misplaced and impeded my spinal cord, and two metal rods were also put in.”

After going long periods of time where she was unable to stand or leave the house, Durow underwent more reconstructive spinal surgeries that were unsuccessful and caused additional impairments. “In 2018, I had the rods and screws removed from my back, plus another surgery months later to treat the additional nerve damage caused by the hardware removal,” she writes. “I’ve re-learned how to walk twice. Part of my right leg hasn’t worked for the last two years because of damage to the nerves in my back, and my spinal cord continues to leak fluid inside my body.”

These words, so heavy to hear, only begin to convey a fraction of the horrors Durow has enduring living with chronic pain caused by surgery that was supposed to fix the problem at hand. With only herself to rely upon, Durow turned to photography, a practice she had known since a young age.

Durow’s lyrical images are alternately aching, agonizing, ethereal, majestic, and mellifluous moments of her life — tender, sometimes mundane, scenes that remind us existence in and of itself is magical. To live, to breathe, to survive, and to attest to this fact is proof of the ineffable, unknowable divinity that prompts us to fight, to find ways to overcome and heal that which has tried to decimate us.

In Durow’s most stark images there is the understanding that reality cannot be denied. You can close your eyes, you can say it isn’t so, but not amount of pretending will ever make it true. Durow invites us to open ourselves not only to her pain but also to our own. For in recognizing her suffering and witnessing her courage and strength, we are empowered to take root in all that lays at our doorstep.

“Photography allows me to express how I feel, and transform the pain and isolation of my deformed and disabled body into beauty and strength,” she writes. “I try to mirror what I feel inside when I capture the subtle changes in light, mood, and landscapes around me. I take pictures to remember how I feel, and I hope they make you feel something personal for yourself.”

All images: © Margaret Durow

The post Beauty, Pain, and the Therapeutic Power of Photography appeared first on Feature Shoot.

9 Artist and Photographer website builders you should know

Thu, 19 Nov 2020 22:49:00 GMT

From Cheryl Eng’s Artspan website

This year, the art world moved online, as everyone from The National Portrait Gallery to the Musée d’Orsay, The Metropolitan Museum of Art to the Uffizi Gallery, offered virtual tours to people from around the globe. Meanwhile, individual photographers and artists of all genres took the time at home to revamp their business, open online stores, organize their archives, and re-edit their websites.

2020 reminded us of the importance of building a solid online presence, whether you’re selling prints or showcasing your portfolio to potential clients. Building an artist website has also never been easier for photographers; while custom websites once cost upwards of $3,000, fresh and modern website builders like Artspan and Wix have since made creating an online portfolio easy and affordable.

These days, you can make a professional photography or artist website for less than $10 per month, without any experience in coding required, and launch a store and start selling your work in a matter of hours. We’ve reviewed and compared nine popular website builders for artists to help you choose the right fit for you, based on your budget and preferences.

Artspan

Artspan was created for artists by artists, so it’s a great all-in-one solution for creatives. Artspan is also unique in the sense that it’s not just a web builder; it’s also a Marketplace, similar to Etsy or Fine Art America. As a result, your work is more discoverable; collectors and clients can browse your site directly, or they can find you while searching the Marketplace. On top of that, all Artspan packages include eCommerce features, meaning they offer eCommerce sites for far less than you’re likely to find elsewhere.

From Cheryl Eng’s Artspan website

What artists love about Artspan: eCommerce features.

“The biggest factor in my decision to go with Artspan was the ability of customers to order prints, which would be shipped directly to them,” the digital, photo-based artist Cheryl Eng says. “I do have a few pieces I have already printed that I am in the process of listing, but packing and then shipping original artwork takes time I don’t always have. Letting the customer pick the size of the print they want and having someone else deal with the shipping just takes one thing off my plate.”

This print-on-demand feature works hand-in-hand with Artspan’s newly-developed Augmented Reality (AR) feature. Visitors can preview your work – at scale in their own homes – before buying. The feature works seamlessly on mobile and tablets, where many buyers browse. Once they’re ready to purchase, they can order prints easily, saving you the hassle of printing, mounting, and shipping.

“Another reason I chose Artspan is that they have different levels to choose from, as well as templates that looked elegant and professional,” Eng continues. “They also offer videos that walked me through getting started. I still wanted to play with settings and such, just because that’s how my brain works, but if I got stuck, it was easy to find instructions.”

Pricing: $9.92/month for the Basic package; $16.58/month for the Professional Artist website package; $24.92/month for the Pro Plus Artist website package. Free 30-day trial.

FASO

Fine Art Studio Online (FASO) is similar to Artspan in the sense that it was made specifically for artists. All plans include a listing in the FASO Artist Directory, Free Monthly Contest Entry, and more. FASO also offers members an array of marketing tools to boost their sales and increase their brand presence.

From Kimberly Santini’s FASO website.

What artists love about FASO: Newsletter services.

“I needed a tool that allowed for regular updates of my site, as I update new content – paintings and class information – weekly. And I also needed something that was affordable, beautifully crafted, and fit the model of a studio business,” painter Kimberly Santini explains.

“FASO’s platform addressed my needs, while adding other benefits like newsletter services and seamless email capture, along with easy template upgrades at an affordable price. The Gold Plan best manages my imagery needs, allows me to promote workshops, and integrates eCommerce.” All FASO plans include automatic email marketing and email newsletters, while Silver, Gold, and Platinum plans have eCommerce included.

Pricing: $12/month for the Intro plan; $19/month for the Silver plan; $26/month for the Gold plan; $40/month for the Platinum plan. 30-day free trial.

Format

Format is a leading name in the photography world, but their easy-to-use website builder appeals to artists of all genres. They have tons of templates to choose from (with literally thousands of variations), and you don’t need any coding experience to get started.

From Anthony Smith’s Format Website

What artists love about Format: Easy customization.

“I love the ability to achieve a custom look and feel with changes to the custom pages and typography,” the photographer Anthony Smith tells us. “I want to have a custom feel to my site, but I don’t want the process of building it and keeping it up-to-date to take up too much time. I’m working off a stock template but have been able to make enough changes that I feel like my site is unique.

“The integration of a store is also great. Everything is self-contained within the Format backend. I’m not having to rely on any other service to keep track of orders. They think of everything a creative will need to present their brand digitally.”

From Sophie Huntley’s Format Website

Format also has a magazine, chock-full of resources, articles, and videos, bringing together a wider community of photography and art enthusiasts. “I love how involved Format is with the creative community,” the photographer and moving image artist Sophie Huntley says. “It’s not just a website provider; Format has also given my work exposure across their platforms.”

Pricing: $12/month (billed annually) for the Pro plan, $18/month (billed annually) for the Pro Plus plan; $25/month (billed annually) for the Unlimited plan. Free 14-day trial.

Squarespace

Squarespace is a popular choice among creative entrepreneurs because they make building a website easy and intuitive. With a vast range of award-winning templates, eCommerce options, email campaign and social tools, Squarespace offers just about everything you could need – without eating up all your time.

From Carmen Deñó’s Squarespace website.

What artists love about Squarespace: Ease of use.

“I chose Squarespace because it’s intuitive and incredibly easy to use,” illustrator and graphic designer Carmen Deñó tells us. “There’s also a vast array of well-designed templates that are easily customizable. When I initially set out to build my website, the idea of coding was definitely intimidating, but in using Squarespace to build my site, I didn’t need previous coding knowledge. That was a game-changer.

“What I like the most about my website today is its cleanliness and easy navigation. It also displays well on mobile, which is important. For me personally, the biggest benefit has been customization; I was able to modify anything from typography to the tiny icon that displays on a browser tab for my website.”

Pricing: $12/month (paid annually) for the Personal plan; $18/month (paid annually) for the Business plan; $25/month (paid annually) for the Basic Commerce Plan; $40/month (paid annually) for the Pro Commerce Plan. 14-day free trial.

Art Storefronts

Art Storefronts offers everything from domain names to product pages to print-on-demand services, and it also comes with a daily marketing plan and a team to help you along the way. Essentially, it’s both a website builder and a marketing product; for that reason, it’s pricier than some of the other web builders listed here, but for many, it’s worth the investment.

From Temi Ayodeji’s Art Storefronts website.

What artists love about Art Storefronts: Augmented Reality.

Along with Artspan, Art Storefronts is one of the very few website builders to offer this feature specifically to artists. “This feature/tool makes me stand out from the competition and was the icing on the cake for me,” abstract painter Temi Ayodeji tells us.

“I learned about ASF through Instagram, and it just seemed too good to be true. Anyway, I spoke to the agent, and upon seeing that they had their own printing companies they worked with, I was sold. I must admit, I did research the printing companies and was blown away by the quality of their prints.

“I built my website myself, to my specifications. It’s all me and not the ‘image’ of someone else. Being a mom who homeschools a special needs child while starting a business and building a site from scratch, I’m proud of everything I’ve accomplished.”

Pricing: Varies, but includes a one-time activation fee of $999 and monthly hosting fees from $44/month. You can contact them for a demo and pricing information.

22Slides

22Slides was founded by Bryan Buchanan, who previously worked as a freelance photographer and designer. They provide elegant, powerful websites for photographers, designers, and other artists. With 22Slides, you can easily mix and match design elements for a unique look outside of traditional premade templates.

From Brian Flaherty’s 22Slides website.

What artists love about 22Slides: Customer service.

“My favorite thing about 22Slides is that you can have a completely different template for each page,” the photographer Brian Flaherty says. “For photographers, in particular, this gives you the flexibility to have different layouts for different projects and galleries. I also like that 22slides is a pretty small operation and the few people who run it are very responsive to unique requests for help.

“They even did some quick custom coding to change how my image captions appeared on the site. Overall, I find 22Slides easy to use and tweak. It’s flexible and gives lots of options, and the customer support is great.” This is where 22Slides shines; they’re a smaller company, and they spend a lot of one-on-one time with their clients.

Pricing: $10/month. Free for 30 days.

Wix

While they don’t cater exclusively to artists, Wix has tons of tools available for creatives, from stores and blogs to advanced booking features. Users can choose from more than 500 templates or create their own from scratch for a one-of-a-kind online presence. It might take longer to get used to than something like Squarespace, but it offers almost unlimited creative freedom.

From Ariel Sun’s Wix website.

What creatives love about Wix: Creative flexibility.

“I can tell you what I like about Wix in two words: flexibility and possibility,” the multidisciplinary designer Ariel Sun says. “I consider myself pretty quirky, and I’d like my website to reflect that about me in an authentic and creative way.

“I’m also pretty specific about how I want my website to look, and Wix offers that level of flexibility, as well as the technical capability to bring my vision to life. I’m able to place gifs wherever I want and create a layout exactly as I envisioned. Best of all, Wix Code allows even more possibilities and customizations if you know how to code JavaScript. The ‘filling the blanks’ as visitors scroll down my home page is my favorite detail, and it’s made possible through Wix Code.”

Pricing: Website plans available for $14/month, $18/month, $23/month, or $39/month; Business & eCommerce Plans available for $23/month, $27/month, $49/month, and custom pricing. Free sites also available. You can try a Wix Premium plan for 14 days, and if you’re not 100% satisfied, you can get your money back.

Cargo

Built for designers and artists, this portfolio builder offers an array of customizable templates with a fresh, bold look and tons of fonts to choose from. You can use it to build a portfolio, shop, zine, or archive. Plus, you won’t have to pay until your site goes live, so you can tweak it as much as you want in the meantime.

From Blythe Plenderleith’s Cargo website.

What artists love about Cargo: Video uploads.

Another perk from Cargo? You can upload video directly to your website, without having to embed from elsewhere. “Cargo came highly recommended to me at The Glasgow School of Art, and I found uploading videos onto Cargo much easier than I expected,” the sculptor and environmental artist Blythe Plenderleith tells us.

“There are a great range of layout templates, which are easy to navigate with informative supporting ‘help’ videos to watch and then copy when building your website. Their responses to my queries were very prompt, helpful, and straightforward.”

Pricing: Standard site upgrade is $99 per year or $13 per month; Commerce is an additional $66 per year or $9 per month. Cargo sites are free to try or build.

OtherPeoplesPixels

Like a few of the other builders on this list, OtherPeoplesPixels has portfolio websites designed specifically for artists, and they’ve been doing it since 2005. All OPP websites come with a personal domain name of your choice as well as a professional email account. OPP specializes in portfolio websites, as opposed to storefronts, but you can make anything in your portfolio available for sale.

From Martina Nehrling’s OtherPeoplesPixels website.

What artists love about OtherPeoplesPixels: Affordability.

OPP is a small, independent, artist-owned business that offers a nice, easy-to-use product for a reasonable price. “I’m not very tech-savvy, and yet I found OtherPeoplesPixels very user friendly and affordable,” the studio artist Martina Nehrling tells us. “Their tech support is also fast and friendly. It’s meaningful to me that OPP is run by other local creative professionals here in Chicago–for artists by artists.”

Pricing: $16/month for the Standard Plan; $26/month for the Multimedia Plan. 2-week free trial available.

This article was sponsored by Artspan with clear instructions that all opinions be those of the reviewer and not of Artspan. Learn more about Artspan by visiting their website.

The post 9 Artist and Photographer website builders you should know appeared first on Feature Shoot.

13 Artists & Activists using Photography to Explore Body Image

Tue, 17 Nov 2020 01:15:20 GMT

Astra Marie. Body Paint/ Styling: Nneka Gigi / @nnekagigi. Photography: Zachary Bxllion / @zacharybxllion

In 2018, Astra Marie teamed up with the artist Nneka GiGi and creative director and editor Zachary Bxllion to create the portrait above. A few days after the shoot, she was waiting on the metro with a friend when she noticed an email pop up on her phone: the images were ready. “When I saw this one, I was speechless for a moment,” she remembers. “Tears just started falling–man, I was proud.”

She shared the image on Instagram with a seven-word caption: “I used to think I wasn’t beautiful.”

“I never understood how beautiful I was until that moment captured,” she says. “I saw the full image of my body and how beautiful my rolls stacked, my dark brown skin still shining, even in black and white. I got stuck when looking into my eyes and expression my face was so powerful yet soft and fierce. I’m all over beautiful.”

The modern body positivity movement dates back to the 1960s, but it’s evolved rapidly in recent years.* While social media can be a place for toxic beauty ideals and the censorship of bodies, it’s also given birth to a new wave of activists, creators, and muses who use their platforms to promote representation, end discrimination, and empower others.

For many, portraits and self-portraits, whether taken in a professional studio or with a mobile phone, have become an essential element of this work. We asked thirteen creatives to tell us about the role of photography in promoting body acceptance and creating a more inclusive world. Along the way, they shared the stories behind some of their most powerful images.

*Please note: Many of the artists and activists in this article identify with the body positivity movement, but not all of them do. You can find some of their reasons described below.

Astra Marie (@funkychunkyy)

Astra Marie is is an actress, entertainer, influencer, and the creator of #MFfatgirl, a mantra, hashtag movement, and tee shirt line. “It all started when I went to my first plus size pool party put on by Essie Golden, The Golden Confidence Pool Party,” she remembers.

“It was life giving! I was surrounded by a sea of beautiful fat women in their swimsuits partying and celebrating our bodies. I wore a bikini aka fatkini for the first time and had the time of my life. I was dancing the two-step because the DJ was on point with the jams–my body had to move. At one point, a young lady came up to me and asked if she could ask me a few questions about my experience.

“What I didn’t know was there were candid shots being taken of me in the midst of all the fun. Maybe a few days after the pool party, I was featured in Cosmopolitan! I was on such a high, and felt the need to share it with everyone, including my coworkers. I told one of the girls I shared it with, a slender woman, ‘Look, my fat ass made it to Cosmo!’ She responded, ‘No, don’t say that; you’re not fat’ I just rolled my eyes and laughed as I said, ‘Girl, I just said I’m fat. I am fat.’

“I then held on to that annoyance for the rest of my shift until I got home and decided to turn on my camera and speak my mind. With all the attitude and audacity channeled, the first words out my mouth was ‘I am a mutha fuccin Fat girl, OK?’ I declared right then my full acceptance of my fat ass, and I shared it to my social media.

“It became a declaration–a mantra, even–and then my friend Jervae put a beat on it and made it a bop. About a year later, I decided to make it a tee because I just had to make it something we can wear and share with the world because we fat and we proud and that word can no longer hurt us.”

As part of her art and activism, Astra Marie also shares self-portraits and portraits made in collaboration with others. “It’s important for me to put images like this out there or to simply show my face to the world because I am a fat dark skinned black woman, and there are many of us out here being taught we are not beautiful, desired or deserving,” she says.

“This was my true thought–I never felt worthy because of how society has been told to see me or even ourselves; it’s been ingrained in us for centuries. I am learning to unlearn. So I want other eyes to see my images and see the worth, strength, power and beauty in my melanin.”

“This image from the EveryMAN Project first-year anniversary has always spoken to my spirit. We celebrated by creating an underwear campaign showcasing an inclusive cast of 12 men across various body types and ethnicities. I was Inspired by Solange Knowles’s music video for “Cranes in the Sky” and the work of photographer Carlota Guerrero; the intention on camera and behind the camera was one to celebrate unity, brotherhood, and embracing vulnerability.” © Tarik Carroll

Tarik Carroll (@tarikcarroll, @theeverymanproject)

Tarik Carroll is the photographer behind The EveryMAN Project, an exploration and celebration of male identifying bodies, outside of society’s obsession with “perfection.” All backgrounds, orientations, races, genders, colors, and personal classifications are welcome.

“After years of being in the fashion industry, creating imagery that felt vapid and lacked intention, I started to become a bit depressed,” Carroll tells us. “I decided to take a step back and dig deep and really tap into my purpose.

“I wanted to create imagery that would ultimately heal and showcase male beauty in a way that felt authentic and encouraged men to love themselves. My goal has always been to have a visual conversation by creating imagery of true representation and healing, shattering unrealistic and toxic ideals of beauty and desirability.”

Since its inception, The EveryMAN Project has touched the lives of people of all ages. “Over the last three years, I’ve had numerous parents, teachers, and teens email me about how much my work has influenced and encouraged them to feel confident in their own skin. In addition to that, sharing my work has been instrumental in my own healing, which has been beyond rewarding.”

“The most important image on my page is a runway photo of me. This was taken at the DapperQ fashion show at the Brooklyn Museum for New York Fashion Week. It’s a yearly queer fashion show dedicated to un-gendering and diversifying fashion. I was the only person in a wheelchair at that show, so I was very proud to be there. I had been working for years to attend NYFW and do something big. This opportunity rolled around at the right place at the right time. I’ve never felt so invigorated in my entire life. I had been working from my bedroom for years so to see this come to life was indescribable.” © Julian Gavino

Julian Gavino (@thedisabledhippie)

Julian Gavino is a model, writer, activist, and the co-founder of Disabled with Dignity, a publication for Disabled stories. “It’s important for me to be the person I needed when I was younger,” he explains. “We’re starting to see some improvement, but when I was growing up, I was surrounded by a lot of toxic beauty standards. I don’t want other transgender and disabled kids to grow up that way– or anyone else for that matter. I just want them to see me and feel seen, heard, represented, and empowered to do the same thing one day.

“The most rewarding part of my work is seeing it come to fruition. This could mean something big like raising money for my community or starting a campaign. This could also be something small like a younger disabled person reaching out to me and saying, ‘You gave me the confidence to post a photo with my feeding tube because I had never seen someone else take such an impactful, sexy, and powerful photo with their tube.’”

“The most important photo that I’ve posted on Instagram is of me at the in lingerie with ‘Why can’t fat Black Women be centered?’ across my body. It was my way of celebrating the work that @CurvyNyome is doing with Instagram to stop censoring Fat Black Bodies on Instagram after her photos were removed.

“It was a very political statement. My choice to post a picture in lingerie wasn’t just a reminder that I own my body and sexuality but a reminder that while I may not be the standard of beauty, body positivity comes from the people who looked like me. Big belly, dark-skinned, and hella femme.” © Danni Adams

Amapoundcake (@amapoundcake)

Amapoundcake is a body image coach, body positive advocate, and Black feminist who regularly speaks and hosts discussions on size-inclusivity, mental health, and weight-based discrimination in media, healthcare, and fashion.

“Fat Black Femmes created what we know as Body Positivity today,” she tells us. “We are the least recognized and often are censored–not just by social media platforms but by society. Beauty standards aren’t just about vanity for me as a fat Black Woman–it impacts my livelihood. Weight discrimination impacts jobs, health care, dating, public spaces, you name it.

“Being present is a reminder that I’m human and that I get to look good doing it. People are starting to become more aware of body privilege and are starting to do more about it. I love the shift that is happening.”

“I took this photo after realizing I had an eating disorder. The photo is of me stood, in my bra and pants, allowing my loose skin to hang and my fingers forming a hart shape in front of my torso. It’s probably the first time I felt like life could be more than another diet, another few pounds to lose, another societal box to tick. It was also the first time I spoke openly about just how awful I had been feeling.

“I had been using my Instagram as a weight-loss account; I had a modest 5000 followers, mostly people who wanted to change their body shape themselves and followed a number of different paths to do just that. I had found myself stuck, eating a Paleo diet, counting calories, exercising excessively and with a disordered voice that was punishing. This photo and the ones that followed marked my desire to change the record and in turn, change the way bodies were viewed in general.” © Imogen Fox

Imogen Fox (@the_feeding_of_the_fox)

Imogen Fox is the creator of The Feeding Of The Fox, a blog documenting her journey, her recovery from disordered eating, and her role in the body positive community. “In all honesty, I didn’t know what body positivity was when I set out,” they admit. “My focus was selfish; I wanted to feel better within my body. It was a quick learning curve for me, understanding the political and radical roots of body liberation and fat activism.

“These days, I don’t really use the term Body Positivity, as over time this community has become whitewashed, flooded with capitalist messages and harmful displays of racism, ableism, fatphobia and homophobia. Now, my focus is a much more political one, working to ensure all bodies are part of the conversation, liberating us from the constraints of capitalism and societal pressures to conform.

“Sharing that work is vital because so few people, especially Queer Disabled people, have access to powerful messages of radical body liberation. Through the work I’ve done online, I’ve been able to connect with the most amazing range of humans, each equally invested in the idea that our futures will be inclusive.

“You will often hear the word ‘ally,’ but few truly know how to do that. We still live in a very self-focused society; people want to feel better about their own bodies but forget that there are so many who’ll never have the privilege to do that without us fighting to change the status quo. If you aren’t fighting for all bodies, then you’re not actually helping anyone but yourself. It’s time we all took a step back and reflected on how we are altering the world we’re leaving behind.”

“The photo below is the most powerful image I feel I have posted on social media for a couple of reasons. Firstly, it’s breaking down the narrative that body hangups aren’t experienced by men and that men don’t get insecure about their bodies. Plot twist: they do! This was the entire point of me starting my page on Instagram–to show that men do suffer with body hangups and the pressures to ‘be a man’ and look a particular way are suffocating.

“With this photo, I help to shift the narrative away from men being these strong, unmoving objects with no emotions and abs harder than rock. Instead, I’m showing that it’s okay to be vulnerable to open up about the worries we have about our bodies. Doing that doesn’t make us any less of a man; it just makes us human.” © Stevie Blaine

Stevie Blaine (@bopo.boy)

“I started my page to be what I needed to see when I was 14,” the body acceptance activist Stevie Blaine tells us. “If I saw someone like me back then, it would have saved me from a decade of abusing my body, eating disorders, and destructive habits that destroyed my relationship with my body and nearly killed me in the process.

“It’s important to create a safe space for people to come and talk about their feelings and body hang ups without feeling emasculated and persecuted. To show boys and men that it’s okay to look exactly as you are and you don’t need to look like you have just stepped out of a Calvin Klein shoot to be considered a man or to be considered beautiful.

“I want people to find my page and realize that they don’t need to force themselves into a box through restrictive diets, excessive exercise, and celebrity endorsed slimming shakes to be worthy of love, respect, and validation. The boxes society tries to put us inside was designed without us in mind.

“The most rewarding part for me is finding a community, When I started on Instagram, it was a way of documenting my journey to self love and finding peace within my body. It’s now grown into a global community of people of all bodies celebrating and uplifting one another, and for that, I’ll always be grateful.”

“I think the most powerful photo I’ve posted on my Instagram would be the most recent one of me on the beach in Mexico wearing a full ruffled white dress, photographed by @cancunphotographer_mexico. I have worked so hard to get to where I am. I am the first fat, Black Muslim from Detroit to get the modeling opportunities that I’ve gotten and the book deals that I’ve gotten. I decided to treat myself to a vacation to celebrate how my body–that was once ridiculed–got me through. Lifted me. Carried. And dragged me into greatness. This photo shows everyone the grace and beauty of living in your truth. And how liberating that is.” – Leah Vernon Photo: @cancunphotographer_mexico

Leah Vernon (@lvernon2000)

Leah Vernon is a model, public speaker, and the author of the memoir Unashamed: Musings of a Fat, Black Muslim. “Representation is so important,” she tells us. “It’s a matter of self-worth. Mental health. Confidence in one’s self. Do you know how much better the world would be if we took the time to love ourselves as is? Self-hatred is the reason why society is in such shambles. If one could truly love themselves, how much more could they love on others?

“I create the body positive, fat positive content that I make not just as a rebellion to the powers that be–the powers that tell us that someone who looks like me could never thrive-but also so that baby Leah V, and anyone who was, is like me, can find hope in seeing themselves win on the big screen, on a billboard, in an ad.

“That is so important to see yourself win. When I get messages and notes and letters from people who have never seen themselves, telling me that finally they’ve seen me and that they know they can win, that fulfills me in ways that I can’t even explain.”

“This photo was taken in April of 2020. My partner Micah is standing on the bed above me (you can see his two feet in the bottom right-hand corner of the frame, and I’m sitting on the bed below him, my back against the wall, my paralyzed legs stretched out, my right hand rubbing my very pregnant belly.

“We’d just gotten home from the hospital after a scare with the baby who wasn’t due for a month an a half. Everything turned out okay, but during our stay in the hospital, I’d had to repeat my medical history again and again and again to doctors and nurses. It’s a complicated medical history, and repeating it in this context– pregnant and scared–felt vulnerable.

“For a lot of history, people have believed–some quite strongly–that disabled women can’t or shouldn’t be mothers, and I grew up without a single image of paralysis and motherhood to picture myself into. With that context surrounding our hospital visit, I imagined the medical staff wondering why I thought I–this paralyzed woman with a complicated body–could make and carry and birth a whole human baby.

“But over the course of our stay, these medical details about my body started to hit my ear differently. At first, they’d been an embarrassment or a confession. As out visit went on, though, they became a sort of anthem. I listened to the details as I felt this baby turning inside me, and instead of faults, they were evidence of fierce survival. By the time I got home and back into my own bed, I was so proud of my resilient body and knew it was a safe home swaddling our baby. That shift–that moment of recognition–was a game changer for me. Sharing it with other people felt vulnerable and important. © Rebekah Taussig

Rebekah Taussig (@sitting_pretty)

Rebekah Taussig a writer, teacher, advocate and the author of the memoir Sitting Pretty: The View from My Ordinary Resilient Disabled Body; she started her Instagram account @sitting_pretty to “share more beautiful, nuanced photos of a body that looks and moves differently than most.” Taussig tells us, “I spent most of my life never seeing beautiful, vibrant photos of disabled people. The vast majority of images that did include disabled people were stark and medical or dramatic and pitiable.

“In a lot of ways, that erasure left me believing I existed on the fringes of life–I didn’t know how to picture myself growing into a fulfilling life with a career or a home or a partner, let alone a baby. Taking and sharing photos of my disabled self living a full, complicated, rich life has become a disruptive reclamation–a joyous insistence–that a disabled life is just as vivid and valuable as any other. I think these pictures are important, not just as a signal to myself, but to anyone watching. I want them to enhance the one-dimensional narratives we have about disabled bodies.”

“This photo is from a segment on Good Morning America four years ago. My sister was a correspondent at the time, and we were doing a piece on different approaches to loving your body and body-positive yoga. I remember so vividly standing in the middle of Times Square, in polka dot yoga pants and a clingy tank top – my thunder thighs, voluptuous arms, and visible belly outline on display for the world to see.

“I was claiming my space unapologetically at the intersection of my blackness, fatness, and chronic illness. As someone who has struggled with an eating disorder, perfectionism, and body dysmorphia, this moment was a mental and emotional triumph for me. It was deeply empowering to stand confidently in a body that does not fit the thin white ideal we are told to strive for. Let’s just say it was a #BlackGirlMagic moment!” – Pia Schiavo-Campo Photo: Good Morning America

Pia Schiavo-Campo (@mixedfatchick)

Pia Schiavo-Campo is a transformational coach, fat feminist, writer, and yogi with a focus on social justice, body liberation, mental health, and ED recovery. “Having grown up during a time when models like Christy Turlington and Cindy Crawford were the beauty ideal made it difficult to find the magic in me,” she tells us.

“The representation of women of color and non-mainstream bodies was nonexistent. I, like so many other girls my age, was trying desperately to attain something that wasn’t even in the realm of possibility. But I tried anyway. For such a long time.

“Now, being in my 40’s and having done so much work (the work never ends, BTW), makes me feel like I can offer that hope, strength, and courage to others. I urge people to look at how societal definitions of beauty and worth are rooted in white supremacy and then encourage them to throw that notion in the trash and do whatever the fuck they want. Body acceptance requires the dismantling of the systems that make it hard to do this work in the first place. To do that, we have to honor and acknowledge the historical trauma these systems cause marginalized bodies.

“The most rewarding part of this journey is getting to hear the stories of others who are healing from the trauma of fatphobia, body dysmorphia, perfectionism, food policing, and eating disorders. Knowing that in some small way I may be making an impact on the body liberation movement is what keeps me going. I’m deeply grateful for all the wisdom I’ve gained from others on the path to body liberation.”

“Mercedez is someone I met by chance when she was visiting her partner in Melbourne from London (via Chicago), and we became close friends very quickly. I’ve since photographed her engagement and spent many hours laughing, talking about emotional vulnerability, and queer community care.

“Her openness and honesty are two of the wonderful qualities I was drawn to, so when I asked her if I could photograph her in her partner’s spa bath , we both jumped at the opportunity. This image is of Mercedez on her back, surrounded by florals floating in the water around her, and features a double exposure over her face.

“What I love about the image is your eyes cascade over her body in the image; the softness emits a sense of vulnerability, which to me is also power. Compositionally, it is really interesting to gaze over as you are trying to figure out the flow of a fat body, but the trick is- it doesn’t need figuring out. Why is our first thought of an image to try and figure out the way a body sits or reclines?

“I hope this piece has made many straight size viewers consider how fat bodies are perceived and seen outside of a straight-sized narrative. What also makes this image so special is the idea of rebirth. Mercedez is wearing her wedding dress in some of the other images from this series. It is seen in the top corner overlay. This dress signified her past relationship, her past marriage, and the rebirthing of herself into a positive, communicative, and supportive relationship with herself, and her new partner.” © Laura Du Vè

Laura Du Vè (@femmeplastic)

“I create images that include representation of all sorts that I didn’t see growing up,” the photographer and model Laura Du Vè tells us. “I want to create images that people can see themselves reflected in. I never once saw a fat woman adorned beautifully in a fashion magazine while also expressing her queerness.

“The first fat woman I saw on the cover of a magazine was in 2007, and it was Beth Ditto nude on the cover of NME. It was the first time I saw a woman whose belly looked like mine. She was talking about never being a size zero and staying punk forever, and I still regret feeling too shy and embarrassed at 17 to pick that magazine up and buy it because I was with my straight-sized friends. I wasn’t ready to center myself in a conversation about body image or my fatness.

“I create images so that my ten-year-old self can see her body as worthy of existence, support, and care. It’s not just about creating more complex beauty standards. I know fat bodies are beautiful, but that’s not all that they are or can be. Connecting with queer and fat-positive/fat liberation community has been the most rewarding experience. I love connecting with other queer and fat people and creating work that I’d always dreamed of.”

“As a fat person, I’ve been taught that I should hide my body 100% of the time. I’ve been taught to feel ashamed of my skin and stretch marks. I’ve been taught to cinch up and suck in. I think even after I became body positive and felt beautiful and sexy for the first time, I still found myself wanting to emphasize certain parts of myself and edit others.

“I think this photo meant a lot to me because it marked a transition in how I saw myself. I didn’t need this photo to be sexy. It doesn’t feel sexy to me. It just feels like me, not having to earn the right to be documented because I deserve to exist (belly and all!). My nail polish had begun to fade and scrape off, and I was holding my belly up a little, and there’s hair on my belly.

“These are things women–especially fat women–are taught to hide, but I love the color composition. I love the way my belly looks. I love the chartreuse (which is so me, always wearing bright colors). A few weeks after I posted it, Self.com reposted it and I got some criticism for Glorifying Obesity (TM), which so entirely missed the point of this image. It hurt my feelings, but it didn’t make me feel ashamed of myself. That was a big deal.”

Virgie Tovar (@virgietovar)

Virgie Tovar is the author and activist behind the viral hashtag #LoseHateNotWeight. Today, she’s an expert on body image and weight-based discrimation and can be found writing for Forbes and hosting her online course Babecamp, where she helps people learn to challenge and “break up with” diet culture. Her most recent book is The Self-Love Revolution: Radical Body Positivity for Girls of Color.

“Before fat people started documenting ourselves on social media, our representation was pretty much 100% in the hands of people who have bigoted views about fat people,” Tovar explains. “We were (and often still are, unfortunately) always protrayed as the butt of the joke, the best friend whose love is never requited, the dumb person who can’t stop eating, the person whose life doesn’t even begin until they lose weight. It’s astonishing how people don’t question these dehumanizing portrayals.

“Documenting my life, my outfits, my joys, my relationship, my work, my double chin–these are all ways of being the author of my own story. I hope this helps people become the author of theirs.”

“The very first photo I posted of myself in a bikini is also one of the most important. I was nervous to post, but didn’t think it was a big deal–until I saw the response.” © Jessica Rihal

Jessica Rihal (@jessicajadeyoga)

Jessica Rihal is a meditation and yoga instructor who advocates for the inclusion of average people with larger bodies. “I post realistic images of myself doing the things I love because visibility is powerful,” she says. “It informs how we move through life. If, as a young person, I saw others who looked like me pursuing an active lifestyle, out of love and not weight loss, I would have been compelled to explore more of myself in that regard.”

“I had six participants in the water the day of this photo. What being submerged in water does to buoyant bodies is fascinating, and in this case, rendered these bodies unrecognizable even to the photo subjects themselves. There’s a lesson in that. A lesson in the benign nature of variations in size and shape. Also, it just straight-up takes my breath away. Delibes’ ‘Flower Duet’ from Lakmé plays in my head every time I look at it.” © Substantia Jones

Substantia Jones (@adipositivity)

The photographer Substantia Jones created The Adipositivity Project to promote body acceptance and foster discussion on body politics. She has photographed educators, executives, mothers, musicians, performers, clerks, artists, activists, writers, and more in the nude, revealing their bodies. In her words, it’s “Part fat, part feminism, part ‘fuck you.’”

“The aim of the Adipositivity Project is to give visitility to those with non-conforming bodies who are shut out of seeing themselves represented in our Western media and culture,” she tells us. “Most specifically, fat people. Fat bodies are so varietous; I regularly hear from folks telling me they’ve waited years to see a body that looks like theirs to appear in the growing collection of 800 on my website, and are overjoyed to find that one finally did.

“Giving people (of all sizes) a fueling station of images of unapologetic naked fat people is my preferred contribution toward bringing folks to Fat Liberation and bolstering their acceptance of true body diversity. The most effective way to reset your brain to accept that which you’ve previously found fearsome or repulsive is a steady diet of images depicting that thing positively or neutrally. One cannot fight for body equality until we’ve first worked on the implicit social cognition within us all.”

The post 13 Artists & Activists using Photography to Explore Body Image appeared first on Feature Shoot.

A Black Father’s Homage to His Young Son

Mon, 09 Nov 2020 23:55:55 GMT

LJ and his Fort, 2020

Superman, 2019

Rashod Taylor has photographed his son LJ since the day he was born. Over the last five years, the artist had made countless pictures of his son’s many homemade forts, backyard adventures, naps, and more, creating an ever-evolving record of one boy’s childhood, his father’s love, and his place in history. “These images tell you more than my family story,” Taylor writes. “They’re a window onto the Black American experience.”

LJ, who just recently turned five, loves superheroes and action-adventure movies and television shows. Like his father, he also likes creating and building things from scratch, whether it’s making forts or taking self-portraits on an iPad. He enjoys spending time with his grandparents, who live just fifteen minutes away. He also has a lot of fun making pictures with his dad.

“What inspires me about LJ is that when he wants something he will go out and get it, no matter the cost,” Taylor tells me. “He is a little negotiator, whether it’s going to his Nana’s or Papa’s house, getting ice cream, or bedtime, he will negotiate and not take no for an answer. I hope this attitude stays with him when life doesn’t go the way he planned, that he would continue to fight for what he wants and, more importantly, fight for what is right.”

Right now, we’re seeing that second fight–the fight for justice–play out across national and international headlines, but it’s something that Taylor has always understood, first as a young Black man and now as a father to a young Black boy. When LJ goes to school or plays outside, his father sometimes fears for his safety and wellbeing.

“He can’t live a carefree childhood as he deserves; there is a weight that comes with his blackness, a weight that he is not ready to bear,” the artist writes. “It’s my job to bear this weight as I am accustomed to the sorrows and responsibility it brings, the weight of injustice, prejudices, and racism that has been interwoven in our society and institutional systems for hundreds of years.”

Taylor himself appears from time to time throughout the images–in the reflection in the window and on the coach–making his ongoing series Little Black Boy, at least in part, a self-portrait as well as an ode to family. “I am part of the story,” the artist tells me. “My journey of fatherhood plays a role in his childhood.

“Putting myself in some of the images shows his future, and then also for me, I see my past in him. What can I give him that I didn’t have growing up? How can I give him a head start? These things, along with others, come to mind as I step in and out of the frame with this series.”

As he’s grown, LJ has also taught his dad a few things. He’s encouraged him to see the world with fresh eyes, and as he gets older, he takes on more of a collaborative role within the project. “When it comes to ideas, he will come up to me and say, ‘Papi, take my picture,’ so, of course, I always oblige,” the artist says. For instance, it was LJ’s idea for his father to photograph him in a fort he built, and it was also LJ who took the American flag and draped it over the fort for the picture.

“The flag is a heavy symbol for me,” Taylor says. “It’s rich with meaning and with this series, I call it out because it plays such a large role in the everyday life of black people and people of color who live in America. You can’t discuss the life of a little black boy without bringing up the country that he lives in.

“More than anything, black history and American history are part of this marriage where they go hand in hand. There is no United States of America without the black slaves that were used to build it. This history, even 400 years later, is the backbone of the Country that we live in today. The remnants of this past are woven in the fabric of the systems and institutions that govern America, where we still fight for equality.”

The weight of injustice, one Taylor has carried throughout his life, also comes with hope for a better and more just future for LJ. He wants his son to see the whole world without fear of racism, to carry on his family’s legacy of standing in their convictions, respecting others, and fighting for what’s right, and to remember how much his dad loves him and always has.

“The ultimate dream would be for him to grow up where people didn’t judge him for the color of his skin,” the artist says. “We are not there, and may not get there in his generation. However, I am hopeful that the change that is happening now will continue, and the country will be at a better place for it.”

As for Taylor, he will continue the project for as long as he can. “I will be making photographs of him and the rest of my family until they take me up out of here,” he says. “In terms of the series, I am flexible to see what it can turn into. I do think as he transitions out of childhood, that would be a good transition into something else.”

When I asked Taylor what he hopes his son will see when he looks at these images years and even decades from how, he replies, “I hope he finds strength in his faith and from the example his parents have been in his life. I want him to see how important he is not only to me but how he has a special place in this world. How he is just as good as anyone else out there.”

Hiding, 2019

LJ Sitting on Bench, 2020

I Only Shoot 3 Pointer, 2020

Its complicated, 2020

Bath Time, 2020

Self-portrait with LJ, 2020

Best Buds, 2020

All images © Rashod Taylor

The post A Black Father’s Homage to His Young Son appeared first on Feature Shoot.

Unflinching Photojournalism from Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2020

Thu, 05 Nov 2020 09:17:03 GMT

“A young pig-tailed macaque is put on show chained to a wooden cage in Bali’s bird market, Indonesia. Its mother and the mothers of the other youngsters on show, would have been killed. Pig-tailed macaques are energetic, social primates living in large troops in forests throughout Southeast Asia. As the forests are destroyed, they increasingly raid agricultural crops and are shot as pests. The babies are then sold into a life of solitary confinement as a pet, to a zoo or for biomedical research.

“Having convinced the trader that he was interested in buying the monkey, Paul photographed it in the dark backroom using a slow exposure. Much of the illegal wildlife in the open-air bird market is traded in the backroom areas. Macaques can be legally sold; banned species such as baby orangutans are kept boxed out of sight. Such animal markets facilitate the international illegal trade, supplying on demand what isn’t in stock. So many animals stacked so close together also facilitates the spread of disease.” Photo: Paul Hilton / Wildlife Photographer of the Year

In his natural rainforest habitat, this young macaque would have lived in a large group with other animals. By the time the photojournalist and wildlife trade consultant Paul Hilton found him, he was alone, tied to a cage at an animal market in Indonesia. His parents would have been killed, and after this photo was made, the orphaned animal would have been sold, perhaps as a pet, to a zoo, to be eaten, or to be used in biomedical research.

Early this year, after following news of the coronavirus outbreak, and recognizing the connection between the global wildlife trade and future pandemic threats, Hilton shared this photograph along with an urgent question: “When will it end?” Days later, China’s top legislature banned the trade of wildlife for consumption, though exemptions exist for non-food products, including research, fur, and medicinal uses and conservationists warn violations are widespread.

Wildlife Photographer of the Year, the annual award produced by the Natural History Museum in London, has been a fixture of the photography world since 1965, but this year might be the most important in history, with Hilton’s photograph taking home the prize for the Wildlife Photojournalist Story Award. In many ways, the award’s photojournalism category stands out, serving as an urgent cry for action and highlighting the disastrous consequences of exploiting animals and the natural world.

In 2020, the death toll for the novel coronavirus surpassed one million, sparking overdue conversations about the rise in zoonotic diseases and the dangers of global wildlife trade, the exploitation of animals, and the degradation of the natural environment. Wildlife trafficking is now the second biggest threat to species, following habitat destruction.

Wildlife Photographer of the Year has never shied away from painful images that highlight our precarious relationship with the natural world. In previous years, the Natural History Museum has awarded some of the most important work of photojournalists on the frontlines of the wildlife trade, including images of screaming macaques being used for street shows, the fins of 30,000 sharks killed for shark fin soup, and 4,000 frozen, trafficked pangolins.

“One hand raised signalling the bear to stand, the other holding a rod, the trainer directs the ice-rink show. A wire muzzle stops the polar bear biting back, and blue safety netting surrounds the circus ring. It’s a shocking sight – not because of the massive predator towering over the petite woman in her ice-skating outfit but because of the uneven power dynamic expressed by the posture of the bear and the knowledge that it is not performing by choice.

“But for the visitors to the travelling Russian circus – here in the city of Kazan, Tatarstan – it is entertainment. They are ignorant of how the polar bear has been trained and what it might endure behind the scenes – including the fact that, when not performing, it probably spends most of its time in a transportation cage. The polar bear is one of four females, reportedly captured in Russia’s Franz Josef Land when two years old (‘abandoned’, according to the trainer) and still performing 18 years later – valuable property for the Circus on Ice, the only circus known to own polar bears. For the photographer, who has spent a couple of years reporting on animal exploitation and abuse, this was the most symbolically shocking of all the scenes of exploitation she has shot, featuring as it does such an Arctic icon of wildness.” Photo: Kirsten Luce / Wildlife Photographer of the Year

This year, the Single Image winner for Wildlife Photojournalism is Kirsten Luce‘s documentation of what is believed to be the world’s only circus act with performing polar bears, where the bears are fitted with metal muzzles and the trainer holds a metal rod. “Though controversial, it is not illegal in Russia for these bears to perform,” Luce says. “Polar bears are a threatened species and are often used as a symbol for conservation.” The image was part of a National Geographic story on wildlife tourism and the unseen suffering animals endure as part of attractions around the world.

Wildlife Photographer of the Year is developed and produced by the Natural History Museum, London. The exhibition is open now through June 5th, 2021. Below, you’ll find the stories behind just a few of this year’s Highly Commended images. During this moment of environmental (and human) crisis, these visceral, often challenging photos can take on new and transformative power, highlighting recent tragedies and inspiring long-term change.

We encourage you to explore the other categories as well; check out all the winning images here. Wildlife Photographer of the Year is now open for entries for next year’s competition. The deadline to enter is Thursday, December 10th.

A risky business by Quentin Martinez, France. Highly Commended 2020, Wildlife Photojournalism: Single Image. “A market trader slicing up fruit bats is surrounded by his other wildlife wares: pythons to his right, with bamboo-skewered ‘bush’ rats beneath them.

“This is Tomohon Market in northern Sulawesi, Indonesia. Local hunters and traders bring wild mammals and reptiles for sale here, along with domestic cats and dogs–some dead, others alive, to be killed and butchered on site. Quentin observed the reality of the bushmeat trade, with wild animals in poor condition kept alive, tied to ropes or piled up in cages, awaiting butchery. He was struck by the juxtaposition of contrasting economies: the name-brand clothes of the stallholders amid the wild-animal body parts.

“The variety of bushmeat on sale here –which at one time included that of endangered primates –has put Tomohon, billed as an ‘extreme’ food market, on the tourist trail. Since the arrival of Covid-19, suspected to have originated in a food market in China, there have been calls to ban the sale and butchery of live wild animals in Indonesia. Where many different species are confined together in inhumane and unhygienic conditions and then butchered on the same surfaces, there is a perfect opportunity for viruses to cross species barriers. But being informal, such markets are difficult to regulate.

“The United Nations has, however, warned that most emerging infectious diseases originate from the wild and that ‘as we continue to relentlessly encroach on nature and degrade ecosystems, we endanger human health’. At the very least, scientists are calling for the separation of wild animals from farmed animals in markets, together with a crackdown on the massive worldwide illegal trade in wildlife.” Photo: Quentin Martinez / Wildlife Photographer of the Year

World of tar by Garth Lenz, Canada. Highly Commended 2020, Wildlife Photojournalism: Single Image. “As twilight falls on the Alberta tar sands, the stripped landscape takes on an oily blue tint. This vast expanse –once boreal forest –is just one section of the Mildred Lake Tar Mine, itself just one of the region’s many tar mines that together form the world’s third largest oil reserve. But the low-grade tarry oil –bitumen–is obtained by strip-mining the shallow layer of sand, clay and bitumen and then extracting the bitumen using energy-intensive and potentially chemically polluting processes.

“To convey the scale of the operations, Garth chartered a plane and flew over the desolate landscape, choosing the early evening light for contrast and mood. The trucks in the foreground are the height of a two-storey house but are dwarfed by the giant open pit behind. The terraced strips lead towards a refinery –fronted by enormous yellow sulphur piles–and the Athabasca River beyond. All around the pit are tailings waste ponds, which contain a slurry so toxic that birds have to be prevented from landing on them. Currently, most of the bitumen is shipped, diluted, by pipeline to refineries in the US for processing.

“The environmental impact of the whole operation is three-fold. First, the mines are created by clearing boreal forest, a rich ecosystem and a vitally important terrestrial carbon sink. Second, the process of extracting the low-grade oil is hugely energy intensive and, according to the region’s First Nation indigenous people, continues to pollute. Third, fully exploiting this massive emissions-intensive fuel source will result in the further release of huge amounts of carbon that will, say climate scientists, contribute disproportionately to global emissions and make it impossible to keep under the 2°C global warming threshold and avoid catastrophic climate change.” Photo: Garth Lenz / Wildlife Photographer of the Year

Amazon burning by Charlie Hamilton James, UK. Highly Commended 2020, Wildlife Photojournalism: Single Image. “A fire burns out of control in Maranhão state, northeastern Brazil. A single tree remains standing –‘a monument to human stupidity’, says Charlie, who has been covering deforestation in the Amazon for the past decade.

“The fire would have been started deliberately to clear a logged area of secondary forest for agriculture or cattle farming. In 2015, more than half the state’s primary forest was destroyed by fires started by illegal logging on indigenous land. Burning has continued in the state, exacerbated by drought, as land has been cleared, legally and illegally. In the past year, invasion of indigenous reserves and conservation areas by loggers and land-grabbing ranchers has increased, emboldened by President Jair Bolsonaro’s commitment to open up the Amazon for business and his attacks on indigenous groups.

“The group most imperilled in the state are the Awá. Just a few hundred Awá remain ‘in a pocket of forest amid devastation’, says Charlie. Deforestation doesn’t just cause destruction of biodiversity and the loss of the livelihoods of the people who depend on it. Burning trees means losing their oxygen output and letting back into the atmosphere the carbon they have sequestered. Then cattle brought onto the cleared land add to the greenhouse gases. In 2020, there have been record levels of deforestation in the Amazon, with illegal loggers emboldened by a lack of law enforcement and with cattle ranching fuelled by the global demand for beef.” Photo: Charlie Hamilton James / Wildlife Photographer of the Year

Memorial to the albatrosses by Thomas P Peschak, Germany/South Africa. Highly Commended 2020, Wildlife Photojournalism: Single Image. “Unlikely as it seems, this display illustrates a South African conservation success story. It represents the comparatively smaller number of deaths of seabirds–hereshy albatrosses and a yellow-nosed albatross (a longline hook still in its bill) and white-chinned petrels –caught in 2017 on longlines set by Japanese tuna-fishing boats off South Africa’s coast.

“A boat’s main line can extend for more than 80 kilometres (50 miles), with thousands of baited hooks. When small seabirds dive down and bring the baited hooks to the surface, petrels and albatrosses try to swipe their catches whole, hook themselves, and drown.

“In recent years, more seabird-friendly fishing practices–setting lines after dark, using weighted hooks that sink more quickly, dragging bird-scaring lines –have dramatically reduced the annual bird bycatch off South Africa, now numbering in the hundreds instead of tens of thousands. But worldwide, every year, more than 300,000 seabirds, including 100,000 albatrosses, are still killed elsewhere by longlines alone.” Photo: Thomas P Peschak / Wildlife Photographer of the Year

The post Unflinching Photojournalism from Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2020 appeared first on Feature Shoot.

Photography as Self-Therapy: An Introduction for Beginners

Tue, 03 Nov 2020 19:31:46 GMT

© and courtesy Judy Weiser

In 1977, Psychology Today published a short blurb about a growing movement: people who were using photographs to help others. During that decade, consumer cameras became widely accessible and easy to use, and at the same time, psychologists, photography enthusiasts, and more started to explore the potential of taking photographs as a therapeutic tool for helping people of all ages improve their lives.

One of them was the psychoanalyst Dr. Robert Irwin Wolf, then the clinical director of the Henry Street School, a special education junior and senior high school run by the Henry Street Settlement in New York. “We had a wonderful photography teacher, Nancy Starrels, whom I supervised to enable her to work with our challenging students,” he remembers.

“She inspired her students, who had mostly dropped out from regular schools due to learning disabilities, to create photos; they would readily take cameras out into their world and bring back images that we would work with therapeutically.”

The students held exhibitions; one of them had an image selected to be part of the Time-Life Photography book of the year. Most importantly, through capturing their world from their perspective and then sharing it with others, they were able to build confidence and overcome obstacles. Some of them continue to be avid photographers today.

In 1975, the psychologist Judy Weiser became the first to publish an article with the term “PhotoTherapy” in the title. By 1979, she had attended the first-ever International PhotoTherapy Conference, where many of those early pioneers came together to realize that they were not alone in combining their therapy training with a hobby of photo-taking. As she puts it, it was just a matter of time before these techniques emerged and developed, and the ’70s proved fertile ground for new ideas.

Over time, experts say more mental health professionals have started integrating photo-based techniques into their practice. “Currently, I have been asking some clients in my private practice, with whom I work exclusively online due to COVID, to email me photographs that they have taken before a session,” Dr. Wolf tells us. “We then explore the unconscious content of these photos during their online sessions.” On November 21, he will give a one-hour presentation on remote PhotoTherapy as part of The Expressive Therapies Summit New York, taking place virtually.

To better understand the potential of photographic images within a therapeutic context, we spoke with art therapists, therapists, and even a photographer who has been independently using her camera to cope with the COVID pandemic. Read on for insight into how therapists today are using photographs with their clients plus some inspiration for using image-making as a coping skill in your life, whether it’s on your own or with a mental health professional.

Disclaimer: This article does not contain medical advice. It is meant purely for informational purposes. Please consult a qualified professional for medical advice.

‘Fern’ © and courtesy Melissa Kay Cohen

Defining the terms

Judy Weiser, Founder and Director of the PhotoTherapy Centre in Vancouver, Canada, has been teaching internationally for decades and currently runs a comprehensive website and Facebook group dedicated to these techniques. Before we start, we had her clarify some common misconceptions about the terms “Therapeutic Photography,” “PhotoTherapy,” and “Photo-Art-Therapy.”

“Therapeutic Photography activities are done by people to help themselves or others in situations where the skills of a trained therapist are not required,” she explains. PhotoTherapy techniques, on the other hand, used by any trained therapist or mental health professional, even those with no training in art therapy. They involve the use of photographs, sometimes created by the client but also found or collected (family snapshots, for instance, can be used in PhotoTherapy).

Finally, Photo-Art-Therapy techniques are a subset of PhotoTherapy techniques that can only be done by art therapists who have had additional education and training in how to successfully adapt PhotoTherapy techniques for use during Art Therapy Sessions.

You can use photo-based helping techniques as a form of self-therapy or do this under the guidance of a qualified therapist or art therapist. If you’d like to learn more about any of these techniques, Weiser has tons of resources available via The PhotoTherapy Centre, so check out her website and, if you’d like, request to join her Facebook group. Her book PhotoTherapy Techniques: Exploring the Secrets of Personal Snapshots and Family Albums is now in its third printing (with translations to three other languages) and about to be released as an ebook, and she will soon be releasing a comprehensive package of online courses (you can stay updated here).

It’s not about ‘good art’

Weiser has a signature saying: “This stuff isn’t about the art part of the photo. It’s about the heart part.” She tells us, “This is where it gets touchy for a photography-focused website, where it’s based on whether something is ‘good art.’ In my world, that doesn’t matter. In my world, it’s not about what you photograph–it’s why you photograph it. It’s not what appears visually on the surface of the image; it’s the meaning and feelings and memories triggered by viewing the photo– its emotional content that gets evoked as you view or remember it.”

For that reason, in her work, she’ll often ask people why they took one photo instead of another, what they might want to title it, what it might say if it could speak, etc. Creating the photograph isn’t the end goal; it’s a beginning point for further exploration. You don’t have to have any experience in photography to use these techniques; you can use personal snapshots or any other photographic media of your choice. You might not even know yet why you photograph what you photograph; that could come later, upon reflection.

The New York-based Creative Arts Therapist Melissa Kay Cohen puts it this way: “Nothing is ever forced in Art Therapy, not in the use of materials or in conversation. Art Therapy is about the process, not the product. In image-making with photographs, at times I like to have my clients lay out all their photos and edit them. We discuss light, shape, contrast, composition, subject matter, and exposure, but we don’t focus and discuss in technical terms. Instead, we relate the images to what is going on personally, both challenges and joy. We explore the self through photography and images.”

The unique potential of photography

When Kristen Shortell, an art therapist at Paint the Stars Art Therapy, LLC, was accepted into graduate programs early in her career, almost all of them encouraged her to refocus her attention from photography and back onto more traditional media. Still, she stayed the course. “I feel very strongly that art therapists should use photography more, and I think it’s incredibly valuable.”

One of the reasons, Shortell says, is the medium’s accessibility. “Photography is possibly the most far-reaching art form in today’s world,” she tells us. “Anyone with a phone can take a photo. They may not have the art history background, or the technical skills in a darkroom, or even understand the basics of aperture and shutter speed, but I’m seeing more and more children as young as two years old beginning to use smartphones and tablets.

“It can be really difficult to do much of anything when you’re severely depressed–paint, draw, build–but a camera only takes a little energy to use and you have an instant product that can be shared and reflected upon and explored by an individual, a group, or a clinician depending on its purpose.

“I’ve worked with children with severe medical needs, some of whom could barely move or speak, but we had a special camera that was modified to their needs, allowing them to press a large button after aiming the camera attached to their wheelchairs. They were able to share their perspective and experience in a way that hadn’t been possible before, and it was, quite frankly, fantastic.

“I’ve also seen it used in a geriatric population to help with memory care. And I’ve used it with teenagers with behavioral issues and trauma histories. It can promote empathy in groups–literally allowing others to see from another person’s point of view. It makes no mess, can be edited an infinite amount of times, and is easily saved for later reference and exploration. The possibilities are endless.”

Stories, insights, & tips for getting started

The following tips come from firsthand experiences among the licensed art therapists we interviewed. While most of these experts refer to their professional experiences with clients, we also hope they will serve as inspiration, as many of these activities can be adapted for people using Therapeutic Photography techniques to help themselves improve their wellbeing. Not every suggestion or technique will suit everyone, so feel free to explore those that resonate with you.

“While you can explore these tips to explore your own life, it’s important to keep in mind that there is always the chance that doing this might evoke a surprisingly strong memory or feeling inside you,” Weiser says. “If you find that happening, you might want to explore this further in conversation with a professional therapist.”

“These are photos with ‘Found Antique photographs’ that I repurposed. These are not clients work, but my own processing response art work.” © and courtesy Emily Davenport

Try a mindfulness exercise.

Emily Davenport, the Founder and Director of Davenport Creative Arts Therapy, shared a few exercises with us, and while it’s often best to do them with a professional, you can also try them on your own, including this exercise in mindfulness. “I’ve found it to be helpful to ask clients to take photographs of subjects/objects that bring up certain emotions,” she tells us.

“This involves asking the clients to practice intentionally and mindfully connecting inward while looking at everyday objects. Noticing their own emotional reactions is an important element of change, as we can’t change what we’re not aware of. In this way, it’s also an exercise in slowing down, mindfully looking, and connecting to our internal world.

“After taking a few photographs, it can be helpful to engage in a short journaling exercise about what the photograph(s) brought up for them. I ask clients to use non-judgmental language when processing their photographs such as, ‘I’m noticing these colors are bringing up a feeling of joy and relaxation for me right now.’ They can also express what the process of capturing the photograph was like.”

Whether you’re working with a pro or on your own, go slowly. “Follow your gut and listen to what feels good for you,” Davenport advises. “Sometimes, having a time-limit can be helpful too. “I think what makes photography therapeutic is being able to connect with your art-making and yourself on a deeper level. Hence, creating small practices or rituals such as meditating, journaling (or other forms of mindfully connecting) may be a helpful tool before or after you start photographing.”

Document a day in your life.

“There are so many specific photography-related exercises out there, but one that I sometimes do with my clients is asking them to tell the story of a-day-in-the-life of yourself,” says Dr. Rachel Brandoff, an Assistant Professor and Coordinator of the Art Therapy Specialization in the Community & Trauma Counseling Program at Thomas Jefferson University. “Tell the story of an event or episode in your life through a series of photos. Consider the number of photos that are necessary to tell that story of something you experienced or witnessed.”

To clarify, you can try this exercise or others mentioned here on your own, but unless you are doing them with an art therapist, they would not be considered art therapy. “Art therapy happens when a client is working with an art therapist–a trained mental health professional,” she stresses.

“This does not mean engaging in art-making and reflective practice on one’s own cannot be beneficial and provide greater insight and increased awareness. It is important that if a person who is not a therapist is using a therapeutic technique that they only use it personally and not with another person.”

Challenge yourself to take a photo a day.

During the COVID-19 crisis, the photographer and photo mentor Karin van Mierlo, along with her group and website Photography Playground, has been doing photo-a-day challenges, and she says these activities have helped her cope with stress during difficult periods throughout her life.

“Two and a half years ago, I received a call from my brother-in-law that my sister was in the hospital,” she remembers. “We knew this would happen, as she was diagnosed with several terminal brain tumors seven months before. I rushed to the airport to be with her and her loved ones. At the airport, while waiting in line to board the plane, I took my first photo.

“When we were growing up we always had the same birthday cake from the same bakery. We shared that cake one last time.” © and courtesy Karin van Mierlo

“Knowing that my life would be completely dedicated to caring for my sister and others, I made a promise to myself right then and there. To make at least one photo every day. I left in such a hurry I did not bring my camera. All I had was my iPhone. But that didn’t stop me.

“Some days, it would be just the one photo, and other days, I made a lot more. Some photos are interesting or compelling or ‘good,’ and some are not. It was not about making ‘good’ photos with a professional camera. It was about me navigating through a heartbreaking time in my life.

“I knew going in, in order to cope, I needed those little moments of being focused on something that was uniquely me. To make. No matter the tools, no matter the outcome. Looking back, I’m sure that it helped me to stay connected to a vital part of me. And that helped me to care for others. This string of photos is one of the most precious possessions I have. But apart from a few, I don’t feel comfortable sharing them. I did it for me.”

“This is an excerpt from a recent art journal that incorporates mixed media collage and three photographs made with an instant camera. The nest photo is of my mom and I–she holding the nest she found in the garden out towards me.” © and courtesy Dr. Erin Partridge

Experiment.

For experienced photographers, one challenge with therapeutic photography techniques can be letting go of expectations. One way to do that is through experimenting and trying new things. “Do not get caught up in learning a ‘skill’ or doing it ‘right,’” Dr. Erin Partridge of Wings To Fly Art Therapy Studio in California urges. “Instead, focus on what you feel curious about or are interested in exploring.

“When I was working with a teenage client who was experiencing extreme anxiety and depression, we used macro and fisheye lenses on a smartphone to take experimental digital images. The process encouraged her to slow down, look at small details, and see the world around her in a different way.”

You don’t need a top-of-the-line DSLR; your phone or even a toy camera can be used for this kind of work. Swap out your regular gear for something else, or photograph a brand-new subject. Dr. Partridge says, “I also love playing with all sorts of different cameras–old polaroids, digital cameras, instant photo printers, weird lenses, etc.”

Get outside.

“Photo walks in nature can be a type of Therapeutic Photography,” Weiser explains. “First of all, when you decide to go out on a walk, you’ve already changed your behavior (e.g. you’re too depressed to move or too anxious to go out). You then go out with a focus to do something that’s positive–you have a goal in mind–and when you’re doing it, you feel good, often because you’re out in nature. For those moments, you’re actively engaged, and your mind is no longer on the problem.”

Respond to a prompt.*

Weiser’s website is a treasure trove of inspiration and ideas, including this page illuminating one of the techniques she uses with clients. Here, you’ll find some prompts or assignments you can do with yourself or a therapist, like “Go take photos you’d like to leave as a visual legacy for your grandchildren” or “Take or find photos that show things you can’t explain in words.”

*Please note this important disclaimer from Weiser: “These sample questions are provided only to illustrate the kinds that trained therapists might ask clients when using this technique during their therapy session. You are welcome to try them out using your own personal photos, but unless you are professionally trained in conducting therapy, please do not try to use them with other people, as the results could be harmful.”

Go abstract.

While some of these tips center around specific exercises or prompts, it can also help to start from a place of openness, without any fixed intentions.

“I work in a day treatment facility (ages 5-21) with those with mental health issues, development delays, trauma and behavioral concerns,” Michelle Belanger, a Creative Arts Therapist in Brooklyn, tells us. “Due to some needs with processing, cognition, and other perhaps physical or emotional limitations, I would prompt students to think more abstractly as opposed to a set directive or something concrete.

“For instance, I’d ask them to explore within our school yard and take images of a certain color, shape, something that felt interesting or meaningful to them. It’s nice then to come together and not compare but take notice of our subject choices and share why or what they may mean to us.

“I am a big fan of intuitive art/photography, abstract work, and not having a set intention. I like to be more organic and work within my internal world, as well as what is within my home or community. With that said, I know intention setting is helpful for some, and some prefer to focus on an issue or something they would like to work through while taking pictures.”

Visualize your emotions.

Dr. Brandoff has also had clients document their emotions and explore them symbolically. “I had one client who used photography on her own as a way of documenting her emotions and emotional process,” she tells us.

“She would smash dishes in her kitchen, and then photograph the shards– sometimes wherever they fell, and sometimes in a more composed manner. In this way, the photograph took on enormous meaning because it held the emotions that she had difficulty tolerating. It was also a way that this client could turn destructive impulses into something constructive and even beautiful.”

Explore self-portraiture.

“I am often inspired by the way clients turn their cameras on themselves,” Dr. Brandoff tells us. “For some people, ‘selfies’ are a normal part of their personal documentation and expression, but many people still have great difficulty in photographing themselves. I will sometimes ask clients to take a self-portrait that reveals something about them but is not of their face. I’m continually impressed with the ways that this directive is interpreted.”

Organize a mini photo shoot.

Deborah Adler, a Licensed Art Therapist in New York, incorporates portraits into her practice as well. “I’ve created mini photo shoots with clients and incorporated the imagery into self-expressive collages,” she says. “I’ve often used this technique with children struggling with self-esteem, confidence, and emotional regulation issues. I will provide a wide range of props, such as hats, glasses, boas, microphones, necklaces, dolls, etc. that can be worn or incorporated in some creative manner.

“He or she has the freedom to pose, either sitting or standing, in whatever place in the room. This creative experience allows clients opportunities for letting go and becoming whoever he or she wants to be. It gives them the safe space to express whatever they are going through at that given time.

“The client is in control of how they want to use their body and what facial expression they want to convey, and they have the witness of a Therapist to be present in this enactment. Whether it’s expressing wishes, fears, sadness, anger, joy, or trauma, posing for a photo or creating a metaphoric character can elicit many deep emotions.

“After the ‘photo shoot,’ prints of the clients are made for the following session for them to create an expressive collage. He or she can incorporate other media into the collage, such as drawing materials and words to further express themselves. This process offers the opportunity to self-reflect and have an honest dialogue about his or her feelings and emotions.”

Doing these kinds of activities with a mental health professional can deepen the experience and help you get the most out of it, while in a safe environment, but for those interested in expressing themselves in this way, Adler’s idea could potentially be adapted into a mini self-portrait shoot (using a remote shutter release, for instance), with props and poses of your choosing.

While you can try it yourself, keep in mind that these exercises should never be attempted with anyone else, unless you are a licensed therapist or art therapist. “Incorporating personal photographs and especially client self-images can bring up a lot of emotion, insecurities, and trauma,” Adler says. “It is important that one has the appropriate training and license to work on such delicate imagery and raw emotion that come up in the therapy session.”

Play with collage.

Collage is one technique the experts we spoke to brought up time and again. “I find that cutting figures (either self or others) out of the photograph and putting them into a new context really enables a conversation about how we can do that in our own lives,” Dr. Partridge says. “We are not as stuck as we may feel sometimes. We can recontextualize ourselves.”

Adler has also used collage in her work. “One of my first experiences utilizing photographic images was with an elderly woman who suffered from a stroke and was bound to a wheelchair,” she remembers. “This woman was once a successful artist, who was agile, spirited, and very connected to her family. But with the passing of her husband, having a stroke and rheumatoid arthritis, she had restrictions in her way that left her physically limited, sad, and longing for family connection.

“The first project we worked on was creating a series of photo collages that honored and displayed all her loved ones in her life. Actual photos of her family members, as well as photocopied ones, were all used to create eye-catching collages. Words that described each family member, clip art, and colorful paper were all incorporated with the photographs for each collage page.

“Each of the pages was set in a clear protective covering and placed in a photo flip album stand. The client was extremely motivated, energized, and pleased as she worked on each one of these special dedicated pages to the ones she loved. It gave her a sense of purpose and control, as well as a reflection of her life and all the positive memories she had for them.”

Try mixed-media.

Like collage, mixed media can be another avenue to explore. “Using a photocopied or printed photograph of yourself (if not the real thing), you can ‘color’ the photo to reflect the thoughts and feelings that are unseen in the picture,” Dr. Brandoff explains.

“Or, using a photocopied photograph of themselves, I sometimes have clients color, draw, or in some way identify a change that has been made in them (or has happened to them) in the past, and a change that they want to make in the future. This explores our personal changes over time, as we will not always look or feel the way we do now.”

“Alternatively, you could center a photograph of yourself on a larger piece of paper. On the paper surrounding the photograph, draw, write, or indicate aspects of yourself (visible or invisible) which you might attribute to other people (genes, experience) or events. (i.e. I have my mother’s eyebrows, my father’s nose, a light in my eye that’s my own imagination, that scar near my lip where I fell 19 years ago, etc.). These types of exercises can be eye-opening, and can serve as a catalyst for insight and realization in treatment.”

Create a book or box.

“One of my clients, an older adult, brought in photographs of her travels to incorporate into an altered book,” Dr. Partridge tells us. “It was a way for her to assert her worldliness, to remind us that she hadn’t always lived in assisted living–that her world was very large and expansive. It also prompted reflection on what she learned and experienced from her travels and engaged her in a reflective reminiscence.”

Boxes or other types of photo displays can also work. “Photographs can be used as a way to process grief, to memorialize certain people, places, or animals that someone has lost,” Davenport says. “You can make a ‘grief box’ and use photographs to either create a box or a frame that represents a comforting memory.

“Or, the photograph can be a stand-alone way to memorialize and help process emotions surrounding grief and loss. Sometimes, instead of speaking about how a client is feeling in the wake of a loss, a client can literally show me how they are feeling–which is incredibly powerful.”

For many, keeping images and even displaying them in some way can become an important part of the process. “A lot of in-patient and group therapy settings limit the use of cameras, due to HIPPA privacy laws, but, when I’ve been able to use it, I’ve seen people make books or albums to bring home with them, creating a keepsake to remember the positives and negatives of treatment–the growth that took place,” Shortell says.

“I’ve seen people fill their walls with images that symbolize happiness and love and freedom. Mostly, people using photographs in this way express feeling as if they finally have a voice, and that they’re being heard, even when there are no words.”

Finding a professional

“The best training comes from self experience, so I would recommend finding someone trained to work therapeutically with photography to work with for your own personal growth,” Dr. Wolf suggests. This tip was mentioned again and again by a few of the experts we interviewed; depending on your needs, you might find an art therapist (ATR or ATR-BC, LCAT credentials) or a therapist who has experience in PhotoTherapy techniques to guide you through the process.

“Working with a therapist can help people reflect in different ways than they might on their own,” Shortell explains. “Anyone who tries these exercises on their own and maybe doesn’t find much as a result shouldn’t discard the idea altogether. I would hate for someone to think, ‘I did this on my own and it didn’t help, so I’m not going to try it again with someone.’ Doing anything on our own isn’t the same as doing something with a professional.”

While people can and do use Therapeutic Photography techniques by themselves or in groups, a qualified therapist can create a safe environment for exploring these techniques more fully while also avoiding potential triggers. Of course, if at any point, you find that mental health issues are disrupting or affecting your life, the first step should be to reach out to a mental health professional for help.

“The use of photography as a therapeutic tool (as with any art material or therapeutic tool) can be delicate, and sometimes, what is revealed is unsettling,” Dr. Brandoff explains. “This is a good reason why it can benefit people to engage in therapeutic work in the context of therapy with a trained professional.

“A therapist can help hold the space, create a safe container, guide the process, and help a client to close a session of inquiry in a way that will not leave a person emotionally open and raw as they resume typical life activities. Sometimes, when we start working on things, processing life events and even trauma, considering our own personal growth– it can feel great. But it can also feel challenging and difficult and it is not a linear process. Going down this road with a guide help a person stay the course when the journey becomes challenging.”

Davenport has some affordable recommendations for getting started. “Through a site such as Open Path Therapy Collective, people can find affordable, licensed therapists nationwide (including Art Therapists). Some practices (like mine) offer very affordable therapy with therapists-in-training; right now, we offer a sliding scale with our graduate-level intern.”

Therapeutic Photography communities

Many people participate in therapeutic activities individually and without a group, and for some, that’s ideal, especially if you can benefit from time alone or feel uncomfortable sharing this part of your life with others. But even if you choose not to work with a mental health professional, you can still seek out a community or self-help group for support and encouragement as you explore these activities, if you wish, at any point in time.

“Sometimes, there are groups that do ‘photo activity’ days once each week,” Weiser says. “It’s a shared experience–like group therapy but with no therapist. If five people are going out on these walks, and they’re talking as they do it, and sharing about their thoughts and feelings as they do this, you bet they’re improving their mental health.”

You can also join or create your own local group. “I know of one in England, run by Ruth Davey, who is not a therapist, that goes out together on a regular basis,” Weiser explains. “They meet at a particular place, and then they go out exploring together, photographing what catches their attention. The group decides the theme. They’re not only taking photos, but they’re chatting with each other too. They’re having normal conversations, which can be helpful if they’re very isolated emotionally.”

If you’re looking for a community to join, Weiser recommends Look Again, Ruth Davey’s Mindful Photography group in England. The One Project, a platform created by Bryce Evans after he used Therapeutic Photography activities to cope with his own depression and anxiety, also has photowalk meetups, guides, resources, and more.

Final thoughts

“This is a very challenging and stressful time for everyone,” Cohen admits. “I think it’s nice to always have a reminder that it’s okay to take a few minutes for yourself and take notice of what comes to you with no intent in mind. That you can always find inspiration and purpose by using your inner wisdom.

“When making images, look at what doesn’t fit for you and why. Explore the place, theme, subject and your connection. Try not to listen to the inner critic, that deep dialog we all have at times with ourselves about what is right or good, who will like this, but focus on your feelings and the process. It’s important to honor and acknowledge this inner critic: ‘I see, I hear.’ But remember it is about the process. Art making and photography is for oneself. Follow and accept the process and feelings that come up, while practicing self-care and self-love.”

The post Photography as Self-Therapy: An Introduction for Beginners appeared first on Feature Shoot.

£26,000 Wellcome Photography Prize 2020 focuses on our most urgent health challenges

Wed, 28 Oct 2020 20:53:08 GMT

Hashem Shakeri / Wellcome Photography Prize 2020

In 2021, Wellcome will award £26,000 to photographers telling provocative visual stories about the health challenges of our time as part of its world-renowned Wellcome Photography Prize, culminating in an annual exhibition in London, a prestigious awards ceremony, and international press coverage.

As one of the world’s leading research-based charities, Wellcome is at the forefront of improving health around the globe, and this year, the photography Prize will center on three of the most important issues of our time: Managing Mental Health, Fighting Infections, and Health in a Heating World.

Each topic is divided into two categories: one for series and one for single images. It’s free to submit, and each of the six category nominees will receive £1,000, with £10,000 going to a series and single image winner.

David Chancellor / Wellcome Photography Prize 2019

“I believe that the Wellcome Prize is incredibly important, possibly one of the most important awards in our industry today,” says David Chancellor, the documentary photographer who won the Outbreaks category in 2019. “Photography is a tool for seeing science, health, and social issues.

“It allows us to visualise real issues, influencing all of our lives; no matter age, demographic, or gender, shedding light on health-related subject matter that might otherwise remain unseen. These particular awards allow us to bring these stories, that work, to the very forefront of public and professional awareness.”

Isabel Permuy / Wellcome Photography Prize 2020

In the past, winning projects and images have focused on topics as far-reaching as depression, pediatric cancer, maternal healthcare, zoonotic disease research, and more. In 2021, as we navigate several public health crises, the Prize takes on an additional layer of meaning and significance.

This year’s jury will look for photographs that raise awareness about mental health, bring us to the frontlines of the fight against infectious disease, and highlight communities most affected by climate change. They’re also seeking images that shed light on underrepresented communities, challenge stigma, and inspire people to work cooperatively and internationally to discover innovative solutions to the more pressing challenges of this decade.

These issues are global, but they do not affect everyone equally. The Wellcome Photography Prize seeks to amplify stories that have been overlooked and underrepresented; for years, it’s brought together voices and communities across the world. In 2020, the Prize drew thousands of entries from professional, student, and amateur photographers across 127 countries. Diversity, inclusion, and equality has always been at the heart of the award.

“We can’t solve complex topics alone, so we’re continuing to listen through our open call,” Jeremy Farrar, the Director of Wellcome, says. “Our aim, through images of human stories, is to show what an incredible impact international cooperation and local action can have on these challenges and the lives of millions of people.”

Nils Stelte / Wellcome Photography Prize 2020

Feature Shoot has always believed in the power of photography to inspire action, and in many ways, the Wellcome Photography Prize embodies its far-reaching potential. “It was Eve Arnold who said, ‘If a photographer cares about the people before the lens and is compassionate, much is given. It is the photographer, not the camera, that is the instrument. If you are careful with people, they will offer you part of themselves,’” Chancellor reminds us.

“When looking at the work brought together within these particular awards, one can see how true, and how vital, her words are today in the complex environment that we as documentary photographers, and visual artists, must navigate through, in order to access these stories.”

Feature Shoot Media has teamed up with the Wellcome Photography Prize to share this opportunity with our readers. Submissions are open now through January 18th, 2021, and entry is free.

We’ll continue to share updates throughout the open call. We encourage you to join in this critical moment in medical research and submit your work for consideration today.

Enter the Wellcome Photography Prize for free here.

The post £26,000 Wellcome Photography Prize 2020 focuses on our most urgent health challenges appeared first on Feature Shoot.

One Photographer’s Quarantine Diary with His Mom and Ex-Wife

Tue, 27 Oct 2020 04:46:37 GMT

April 7, Quarantine in Queens, Day 26. A Facebook friend recommended a gentle bubble bath as a great way to relieve stress during a lockdown in my one bathroom apartment in Queens. Not sure the plan worked.

March 24, Quarantine in Queens, Day 12. Tensions are already rising.

Earlier this year, the photographer and writer Neil Kramer’s mother, Elaine, moved in with him, returning to the Queens apartment where they lived together during his childhood. Soon after, his ex-wife, Sophia, was forced to move out of her Los Angeles home due to a ceiling leak; during the transition, she joined the family at the two-bedroom, one-bath New York apartment. “This was all supposed to be temporary,” Kramer remembers. “And then March hit, and Queens became the epicenter of the COVID-19 virus, and we found ourselves stuck together.”

Kramer, his mother, and his ex-wife spent the spring and summer together in that same apartment, as the pandemic raged on in the background. “For a while, my neighborhood in Queens was the epicenter, and it really felt like the end of the world,” he remembers. “For a few weeks, at least in my mind, I could imagine what it must feel like to be in a war-torn country, afraid of leaving the house, and needing to protect your family at all costs.”

Throughout it all, the headlines and the tragedies, they navigated everyday life as a trio. There’s Elaine, who’s 86, loves mystery novels and British mysteries, and keeps her son up-to-date on pop culture; there’s Sophia, whom the photographer calls “the first big love of my life. And then there’s the artist himself, an ever-curious street photographer who suddenly found himself homebound.

“There has been a lot of tension living in such close quarters,” Kramer admits. “From Sophia and my mother battling over who controls the kitchen. From battles between Sophia and I over what exactly ‘our relationship’ now is about. To the sudden awareness that my mother is 86, and that I was now in the position of almost being the parent, restricting her from going shopping or getting the mail, fearful of her getting sick.

“Learning how to buy food online, getting it delivered, and using lysol on each object was a major pain and caused a lot of stress. But as time went on, we adapted, and eventually it became like an assembly line, and we were proud of that.”

They also developed new family traditions. Before the pandemic, Elaine spent much of her time with friends, playing cards and mahjong, and attending the theater; to distract her in quarantine, the photographer and his ex-wife started playing cards too so they could all play together. “Eventually, it became something we looked forward to each night after dinner,” Kramer tells us.

Kramer never stopped taking pictures; in those first few weeks, he took a documentary approach, photographing his family as they went about their daily lives, but it soon evolved into a collaborative undertaking. “This project became a form of therapy, like ‘putting on a show’ for ourselves as personal expression,” he says. The scenarios might be staged, but they are based on real events–often events that happened just a few days earlier.

This series also marked the first time Kramer has jumped into the frame himself. “During the moments that had some drama, like the anxiety of dealing with the new experience of getting our groceries delivered, I was so involved in the process, such as scrubbing each package, that I was unable to be the traditional observer/ photographer,” tells us. “Eventually, I put myself in the shots, something I have never done before, hating self-portraits.

“But I felt it was important to see all three of us as the family. I taught myself how to tether to my laptop. I started to restage the scenes, almost like a movie, and I learned that fictional recreations can sometimes deliver a bigger truth than documentary. Most importantly, it gave us all something to think about rather than just doing the laundry and making dinner.”

Like everything else in quarantine, the project wasn’t without its hiccups. “There is one photo in the series where I am taking a bath and being interrupted by my mother and Sophia, a classic example of lack of privacy,” the artist says. “The behind-the-scenes story is more dramatic than the photo itself, and I will always remember it.

“We were all in a very tiny bathroom, along with a tripod, a light stand and my tethered laptop precariously on the sink, and my mother freaking out that the laptop would fall into the water and electrocute me. It was incredibly tense, uncomfortable, and crazy, as if the pandemic itself wasn’t stressful enough. But it was also at this moment that I began to really appreciate them for doing this project with me. I respected them even as we all fought with each other. It was a real moment of family togetherness.”

As the summer draws to a close, plans remain uncertain for the family. They speak about next steps, but they’re still living together for now. “In some ways, it has gotten easier,” Kramer admits. “We have adapted and developed habits. But it has also gotten harder. The newness of our situation has worn off, and now we fear that this might be a long time thing. We appreciate having each other, but it can be lonely at times. We shouldn’t be forced to be with each other all the time.”

For Kramer, this time has been important in many ways; it’s helped him appreciate how hard his mother worked when he was a child, and it’s helped him to resolve some lingering questions with Sophia. But it’s also been complicated. “There is something very touching and family-oriented by the way we have adjusted to this quarantine,” he tells me.

“We now see each other outside of our traditional roles–wife, son, mother-in-law, etc. We have become roommates and friends. The boundaries have been knocked away. We have walked into each other while in the bathroom. We have taken responsibility for each other in new ways.

“On the other hand, none of this is psychologically healthy. I wish I could say that I will only remember the togetherness of this eccentric little family. Unfortunately, I will also remember the stress and the fear. The photography helped us deal with that.”

“When this is over, I will miss the comfort and security of my world being so small. It reminds me of the intimacy of childhood again, when life revolved around your family. But at the same time, it’s not real life. I will remember this period of my life as a very strange one, almost out of a novel–the story of a guy unexpectedly living with the two most important women of my life.”

You can follow Neil Kramer and the evolution of Quarantine in Queens on Instagram at @neilochka.

March 30, Quarantine in Queens, Day 18. Unexpected Family Closeness. We all were looking terrible, so we decided to help each other look presentable in case we have to FaceTime with someone.

April 12, Quarantine in Queens, Day 31. A beautiful friend from Colorado finally mailed us toilet paper and we are celebrating and in tears.

April 23, Quarantine in Queens, Day 42. Friends have asked about the sleeping arrangement in my apartment in Queens. My mom has her own bedroom. My ex-wife, Sophia, sleeps in my bedroom. And I sleep on the pullout couch in the living room. But we’re still human and need intimacy and touch, even if it is not sexual. No matter the relationship, Sophia and I have been connected in some way for over twenty years. There are some nights where one of us is crying, exhausted and unhappy. We watch the news on TV in the bedroom at 3AM, and we are filled with fear and sadness for the thousands who have died. Our government has failed us. We hug for an hour, almost too tightly, because we need to remember what love feels like, and then we go back to our separate beds.

April 27, Quarantine in Queens, Day 46. Sophia and my mother have always had a very good relationship, with few of the stereotypical mother-in-law/daughter-in-law conflicts you always hear about. Their good relationship continued even after our divorce. But the last forty-odd days have put a slight strain on their relationship. It is difficult to be in lockdown during a pandemic, especially while having having a lunatic in the White House. Someone needs to take charge in this house, and it’s been Sophia who has been the rock of the family during this – she is basically keeping us alive. She does all the Instacart shopping, she cooks, she makes us wear masks, and she coordinates what needs to be done to protect the family. But my mother doesn’t like being told she can’t go shopping or do the laundry downstairs. Her role as matriarch has been upended. I’m a good mama’s boy and don’t like to go against my mother’s wishes, but during these stressful times, I often have to take Sophia’s side to protect my mother from herself. This shift has caused some tension, and like all men worldwide who find themselves caught between two women, the only solution is to hide in the bathroom. It makes me happy when I see Sophia and my mother connecting with each other with love, remembering that these are not normal times.

May 5, Quarantine in Queens, Day 55. Need a haircut? The Quarantine Salon is now open. By appointment only.

May 14, Quarantine in Queens, Day 64. ?? One of the inconveniences of the last two months has been doing the laundry. We don’t have a washer and dryer in the apartment, so we usually use the laundry room in the lobby of the building. The last time I was in our laundry room, in early March, it seemed scary – too crowded and too many surfaces shared by others. That’s when we started washing our clothes every other day in the bathtub. We used a clothing rack in the bathtub to dry the clothes, but because of poor ventilation and poor hand-wringing, it would take twelve hours to dry one sock. I suggested we dry the laundry on our outdoor terrace by the dinette, but my mother adamantly refused. ??
??
“I’m not going to have all our neighbors look at our laundry,” she said.??
??
It became an ongoing conversation. I didn’t understand why my mother was being so paranoid about hanging the laundry on the terrace. Did it remind her of her childhood in a poorer section of the Bronx? Was it considered low class? She insisted that our apartment building had an expressed law “in the books” that no one should hang their laundry on the terrace. ??
??
“That’s ridiculous,” I said. “It’s a pandemic. The rules are out the window. No one cares if we hang the laundry on the terrace.”??
??
But she didn’t want to have anything to do with it ??
??
I was washing the laundry in the bathtub today when I saw that that my mother was napping. I told Sophia that this was a good idea to dry the laundry on the terrace and prove to my mother that it is a good idea. I hung some wet sheets on the terrace railing, and the wind almost made my mother’s fitted sheet sail away off the terrace towards LaGuardia Airport. People waiting on the line downstairs at the Key Food Supermarket looked up at our terrace with disapproving looks, almost as if saying “What is this – the Bronx?”??
??
The laundry dried quickly and ended up smelling terrific, and my mother gave limited approval to drying small amounts of laundry on the terrace, as long as she is never seen doing it.

July 11, Quarantine in Queens, Day 119. We bought a third TV this week, and put it into the bedroom. 55″ widescreen. So now all three of us can retreat into our own spaces and watch whatever show we want. Ironically, I haven’t watched the TV since. I’m not sure it is what I really wanted.

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A Feminist Guide to Sex Education (Illustrated)

Thu, 22 Oct 2020 23:30:52 GMT

Virginity: A Concept

If You Have a Vulva, You Have a G-Spot

“When Zoe met Liz” reads like a page from a Hollywood film about two young women coming of age in New York City during 2010s. Nearly a decade ago, photographer and now-New Yorker photo editor Elizabeth Renstrom met Zoe Ligon, who would soon become a sex education and entrepreneur, while the two twenty-somethings were working at a local American Apparel store.

After realizing they both lived in the same neighborhood, they started commuting to and from work together. A friendship quickly blossomed, and theirs has become a relationship that has grown both personally and professionally. Together, Renstrom and Ligon have authored their first book, Carnal Knowledge: Sex Education You Didn’t Get in School (Prestel)

The book features 52 progressive sex-positive tips that explore sexuality from a diverse array of perspectives. Renstrom’s brightly colored pop-art style images offer a wholesome look at the subject of sex with the wit and wisdom of a big sister whose “been there, done that” knowing offers a space for warmth, understanding, and acceptance.

“I am always inspired by Zoe’s openness and passion for education—she’s someone that makes me feel safe and heard when talking about my own pleasure,” Remstrom says. “I think what’s empowering is the accessibility she brings to her business that helps diminish feelings of stigma.”

Here Renstrom shares her experiences creating a wholly original visual language of sexuality and desire unlike anything you’ve ever seen before.

Keeping Long-Term Relationships Healthy

What inspired you and Zoe Ligon to collaborate on a series of illustrated sex tips?

“I was commissioned by the online magazine, Topic, to create a series of photos focused on sex education—they pitched it as “6 things they never taught you in Sex Ed class.” I knew immediately I wanted to collaborate with Zoe on conceptualizing the text to make sure I had an informed voice and one that was pleasure-focused. I had just done some product photography for her incredible shop, Spectrum Boutique, and felt like I would need her expertise when it came to toy curation as well for the shoot.

“Zoe came up with seven incredible tips that I paired with some visual metaphors that I would set design and photograph. The story ended up being a lot of fun to create and it was a dream to co-author something with Zoe for the first time after many years of knowing and growing with her. I also feel like across the board—most people didn’t have a positive experience with sex education growing up, and this feels like a great entry point for the kind of information I wish I had in school.”

Could you speak about your decision to take a creative approach to illustrating these images, creating a symbolic language that is lighthearted and fun, rather than going in either a more explicit, clinical, lascivious, or clichéd direction?

“I knew I wanted the book to feel both accessible and fun to engage with even on the heavier topics we dive into. Oftentimes the greatest barrier to entry with sex education can be shame or uncertainty. My reasoning for still lives, bright colors, and ambiguity on models, is so the viewer can read the information and have a visual to remember it by versus something they could potentially compare themselves against or get intimidated by.

“Zoe is comprehensive in her approach so there are tips surrounding issues of trauma, relationships, and identity. I see my images as a whimsical entry point into robust information that can hopefully lead people to more self-love and pleasure!”

Love, Lust, and Attraction Are Not Mutually Exclusive

Could you share your thoughts on the idea of the “female gaze”?

“I think a lot about how cis, heterosexual men curate our culture and how that affects what we all value about ourselves and our sexual experiences. I see a lot of my personal work challenging the hypocrisy of these messages. Whether that’s advertising selling any kind of sex except one that centers female pleasure one moment to shilling feminist products the next—I like exploring all this consumption and what it means. I think that’s the ‘female gaze’ at work in my photography and what I continued in this book that centers a path to self-pleasure.”

Could you speak about the importance of women leading a conversation about sexuality, desire, agency, relationship, body image, and other topics covered in the book that allow us to expand the way we think about and discuss these subjects amongst ourselves and in public?

“I think it’s particularly important that people like Zoe, who are both sex positive and comprehensive in their education, lead the conversation so it can shift from one that talks about everyone else’s pleasure but our own.

“In the introduction, Zoe writes, ‘The world around me reinforced the message that pleasure was something intended for a penis; sex was something a vulva, mouth, or anus bestowed upon a phallus. Before I’d ever touched my own body, I was having every kind of sex except solo sex. It’s not that I wanted to try it and was embarrassed; I just had no desire to know my own body.’

“I think a lot of people can relate to this. I certainly do. We often save our own sexuality last for a myriad of reasons–and what I love about this book and a new conversation around sex. What are those reasons, how can we talk about them and figure out what’s holding us back from giving self-pleasure a chance?”

Birth Control That Suits You

With Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion debuting at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with “WAP” with a record breaking 93 million streams in America the demand for a women-centered approach to sexuality is very clear. Yet doing so is also met with so much pushback. Why do you think people are still so uncomfortable with women leading the conversation?

“I think people love to sexualize women but can’t deal with their sexual liberation or expression of sexuality—which always leads to policing it. People are terrified of female sexuality when they can’t control it and this pushback isn’t new. So many female rappers have faced this type of vitriol in the past when male rappers can haven’t for similar expressions of their own pleasure.

“‘Slob on my knob,’ anyone? We are in a moment, especially in rap, where it seems like we’re finally allowed to have more than one female star at the top of her game. I think people are excited that Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion can share this together with an incredibly catchy, amazing song. I think that energy is infectious.”

Lastly, can you share any advice for photographers who are looking to speak about gender, sexuality, body positivity, relationships, or other intimacies in their work, and what approaches might be helpful to allow them to break out of the clichés of representation on this front?

“In any project I always recommend making sure you take the time to educate yourself on the topic you’re trying to illustrate to avoid over-simplifying. Consider the different types of audiences that this work will be shared with and think about how you want to get your message across.

“Do you want to document to confront? Do you want to educate? Do you want to make a public record of something? Or are you just trying to express your personal experiences through a series? I always think having a thesis or some end goals can make how you create a little clearer.”

All images: © Elizabeth Renstrom. From Carnal Knowledge: Sex Education You Didn’t Get in School by Zoë Ligon and Elizabeth Renstrom © Prestel Verlag, Munich · London · New York, 2020.

Saying Yes, No, and Setting Boundaries

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35+ Ways the Photo Community Can Support the Black Lives Matter Movement

Wed, 21 Oct 2020 00:42:45 GMT

This year, two years after National Geographic famously acknowledged a history of racist coverage, the photo industry faced an unprecedented reckoning. The call for accountability, equality, and representation in the wake of the murders of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd touched all corners of the community, from artists and editors to brands and publishers.

The Nieman Foundation for Journalism published a report on how photography can work for–and against–the Black Lives Matter movement, and leading voices in the industry put together anti-racism resources for their audiences. As Black photographers risked their lives to document the protests, camera companies faced pressure to support them in tangible ways, and leading magazines were called on to change their hiring practices–not just their Twitter feeds.

Since early this summer, Feature Shoot and 500px have been working on a new project: a guide for members of the photography community who want to help support the Black Lives Matter movement during this critical time in our nation’s–and our world’s–history. We interviewed more than two dozen photographers about the mistakes that have been made, and they also told us about the moments that have given them hope. They shared their experiences, insight, and wisdom, helping bring this initiative to life.

The guide, now available through Feature Shoot and 500px, is for everyone. We hope it helps to foster these overdue conversations about injustice and inequality in the photo community, and we hope to see these discussions continue to evolve well beyond this moment. As many of the featured photographers reminded us, this is a long-term problem that requires long-term solutions; it will continue to inform the community next year, the year after, and the year after that. It’s up to all of us take action and commit to doing better as individuals and as a collective.

As part of this guide, Feature Shoot has made a donation to the Black Lives Matter movement, and 500px has donated to Black Lives Matter Canada. We encourage readers to donate what they can to the movement as well. Get the guide here.

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Playing War Games on American Soil, in Photos

Mon, 19 Oct 2020 23:29:51 GMT

Smoke Bomb

House of Worship

Misbaha

“We’re an empire now, and when we act, we create our own reality,” Karl Rove told the New York Times Magazine in 2004, under the guise of anonymity as a “senior advisor” inside the Bush II White House. By playing a page from his own book, Rove’s words and actions served to underscore the wisdom of Edgar Allen Poe who sagely advise the American public, “Believe nothing you hear, and only one half that you see.”

It’s apt guidance for anyone engaged in political theater, be it as a participant or mere observer. We are surrounded by fictions masquerading as fact, narratives and ideologies designed to prop up systems of power for reasons we may never know that trade on our fears and desires, beliefs and hopes At a time when “fake news” is both a truth and canard, we’re living in a hall of mirrors that doubles as an echo chamber.

Yet regardless of what reality we hold in our mind, there is simply the fact that another one is playing out every day in real time. In 2016, photographer Debi Cornwall began visiting ten military based across the United States to create her new book, Necessary Fictions (Radius), which has just been short listed for the 2020 Rencontres d’Arles Book Award. Selections of work from the series are now on view in “Leica Women Foto Project Exhibition” at Photoville in Brooklyn, NY, and Leica Women Foto Project Award Exhibition ar Leica Gallery in Boston MA.

Back in 1983, the American public was held spellbound when a young hacker unwittingly accessed a US military super computer that innocently asked, “Shall we play a game?” in John Badham’s Cold War sci-fi film, War Games. In retrospect, the early Matthew Broderick vehicle seems quaint. The threat of nuclear war was real, but a slacker hacker as the unwitting protagonist a touch absurd.

But perhaps fiction is less disturbing than fact, as Cornwall’s tour or the “industrial fantasy complex” reveals. In Necessary Fictions, Cornwall documents mock-village landscapes in the fictional country of “Atropia” and its denizens, costumed Afghan and Iraqi civilians, many of whom have fled war, now recreating realistic training scenarios in the service of the US military. “We are patriotic Americans,” one role player from Afghanistan tells Cornwall.

Real soldiers, dressed by Hollywood makeup artists in “moulage” (fake wounds), then pose front of camouflage backdrops, turning the entire exercise into a performance — but for whose benefit, and at what cost? These are just some of the questions Necessary Fictons raises, but answers do not easily come. Here Cornwall shares her journey into the dark heart of America.

Fawzia and Nabil H.

To begin we would love if you could share what inspired you to take up photography as a second career in 2014 after you worked for 12 years as a civil rights lawyer handling cases of wrongful convictions and police shootings?

“I had freelanced for a newswire and worked for documentary photographers Mary Ellen Mark and Sylvia Plachy in college but the job I landed out of college was as an investigator and trial assistant for the federal public defender’s office. That led me toward law school and a career as a civil-rights attorney. By 2014, I was itching to be creative again, still looking at questions of power but from a new vantage point, fueled by curiosity rather than outrage.”

Could you share some of the lessons you learned working with Mary Ellen Mark and Sylvia Plachy, and how their approaches to photography may have informed or shaped the way you think about visual storytelling?

“I worked in Mary Ellen’s library when she was in the process of digitizing her archive, so I saw years of her contact sheets. It felt like this was a rare opportunity to understand the way she approached documentary photography. I learned from her not just to make the photograph you thought you wanted and move on, but to get to know the people you’re looking at. Spend time, build relationships. And keep making photographs until you get it right.

“I printed for Sylvia in her home darkroom when she was at the Village Voice. Fine-tuning each print for publication was its own incredibly valuable education in looking and seeing. What I remember most from that experience was Sylvia’s warmth, her generosity, the stories she told over lunch in the garden each Saturday afternoon that summer. That planted a seed about what an artist’s life could be.”

Sentry

What was the inspiration to create Necessary Fictions, and what are the key themes you wanted to explore in this body of work?

“Those in the ‘reality-based community’. . . believe that solutions emerge from your judicious study of discernible reality. . . That’s not the way the world really works anymore. We’re an empire now, and when we act, we create our own reality.”

“This 2004 quote from George W. Bush’s chief political strategist, Karl Rove, opens my book, because Necessary Fictions is about “state-created realities.” The project developed as a result of my experiences making photographs at the offshore prisons of the U.S. Naval Station in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, for my first book, Welcome to Camp America (Radius, 2017).

“The U.S. military controls everything there, including who gets to visit, what you see, and which images you may leave with. I was told that, ‘Gitmo is the best posting a soldier could have. There’s so much fun here!’ Which obscured a much darker truth about what was happening to the men held for years as uncharged ‘War on Terror’ detainees. Reality was stage-managed for public consumption. At the same time, I spent long days with military escorts, who told me their Iraq and Afghanistan war stories to pass the time. I began to wonder about the human experience of preparing for war, wrapping one’s head around the enormity of it.

“In my research, I discovered something that encapsulated both of these questions: military sites across the United States where mock villages populated with costumed Afghan and Iraqi civilians hosted realistic, immersive military wargames for soldiers and marines preparing to deploy. In my new book, these photographs are interspersed with text that asks larger questions, about the performance, commodification and consumption of war and its impact on us all.”

Issa A

Could you speak about being inside the war set for “Atropia” and the ways in which the construction of this fictional country conflates aspects of the military, Hollywood, and media narratives to create a “training ground” for soldiers who may one day be sent to war in the Middle East or Afghanistan?

“There’s a critical theory term I learned in college that I never thought I’d use again: simulacrum. In sociologist Jean Baudrillard’s framework (Simulacra and Simulation, 1981), it’s a copy without an original. But it came to mind as soon as I set foot on the first mock village. The idea of these spaces and scenarios is to construct an environment that is close enough to what soldiers will encounter when deployed—the sights, sounds, and even smells of battles in foreign lands—that they already have sense memory when they arrive.

“To me these sites felt like stage sets gesturing in the direction of realism, of over there, and yet were unquestionably a product of here, of American contractors who build the sets, who cast and costume the roleplayers, of Hollywood makeup artists who are flown in between Hollywood film gigs to paint the soldiers in “mouage” (fake wounds), for mass casualty-event training. Author Ben Fountain coined the term, ‘fantasy-industrial complex,’ and I felt as though I had discovered its epicenter. The text in my book expands on this idea.”

Could you speak about the idea of objectivity in photography, and the way in which it has long been used to maintain ideologies of Western cultural hegemony under the guise of “fair and balanced” reporting?

“I agree with the premise of your question, of course. Tomes have and will continue be written on this subject. I’ve been asking this question of myself from the beginning. My senior college thesis involved examining three bodies of photographs of Native Americans: the staged portraiture of Edward Curtis, my own documentary photographs of Narragansett people in Rhode Island, and their family photographs.

“I came to understand that my vision was not ‘objective,’ but necessarily influenced by my own lived experience and subject position as a white American woman. My thesis essentially reasoned me out of pursuing social documentary photography. It took me 18 years doing other things to return to visual expression. Now I make work that tries to visualize invisible systems of power and their impact on society. If I’m looking to expose the performance of power, its staged show, I have to keep the same critical eye on myself.”

On the Move

Could you speak about the role advocacy plays in your photography, particularly when you are working in highly sensitive environments within the military industrial complex?

“As a lawyer, I was seeking concrete results on behalf of a client, whether compensation or systemic reforms that would help others as well. As an artist, I’m looking at similar kinds of questions, speaking to both the personal and the systemic, but I’m under no illusion that my work will have tangible results. My goal now is to understand. And to facilitate a conversation.

“When making work I am professional and respectful toward individuals, even as I am critical of the operation of state power. Certainly I have opinions, but the point is not so much to express those views as it is to invite viewers to grapple with these questions along with me.”

At what point did you begin to think about the idea of a “fantasy industrial complex” and what does this suggest about the nature of empire in the United States?

“As I was starting my research on Necessary Fictions I discovered a remarkable novel, Ben Fountain’s Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk. It’s hilarious and profane and dark, all at once, in telling the story of a decorated 19-year-old Iraq War veteran who is caught up in the media circus of a publicity tour culminating in the halftime show at a Thanksgiving Day Dallas Cowboys football game. It completely captured the complicated mood I was developing in my own work.

“I was able to contact Ben in 2017, and he sent back a speech he had given to the Air Force Academy where he spoke about the “fantasy-industrial complex,” this web of iProducts and Instagram feeds and memes and games and stuff that distracts us from looking at how state power shapes our lives, who it serves, and what it is doing in our names. This concept really resonated as I made Necessary Fictions. So much so that a quote from his speech appears at the end of my book.

“If we are comfortable and consuming and distracted, then we aren’t concerned. We are less inclined to look, or to see clearly. It’s not a coincidence that the scaffolding of the fantasy-industrial complex is increasingly exposed now, in this year of COVID lockdowns, international borders closing to us, the rising tide of mass protests against police violence, and a presidential election inundated by “fake news.” Within what may be the first moment of national discomfort in many of our lifetimes, the nature of American empire is laid bare.”

Insurgent

Lastly, why do you think so many Americans (and for such a long time, so much of the West) bought into the fantastical narratives about “fighting for freedom and democracy” when there has been so much evidence to the contrary?

“This kind of state messaging is reinforced in so many ways—in our textbooks, our news media, our movie culture, what is considered acceptable to say and what is off limits, what is considered ‘patriotic’—and it also taps into a deep human need to be the “good guy” in the stories we tell about ourselves. We inevitably cast ourselves as the protagonist, the star, in the movie of our lives. It’s probably the most fundamental question I’m asking in my work: what if we’re not ‘the good guy’?”

Ongoing Exhibitions:

Photoville, Leica Women Foto Project Exhibition. Sponsored by Leica Camera USA. Through November 20, 2020 (Outdoors, Brooklyn Bridge Park, under the Brookyn Bridge)

Leica Women Foto Project Award Exhibition, Leica Gallery, 74 Arlington St, Boston, MA 02116, through November 30, 2020.

Suicide Bomber

In Atropia

All images: from Debi Cornwall: Necessary Fictions, published by Radius Books © 2020. All images © Debi Cornwall. from Debi Cornwall: Necessary Fictions, published by Radius Books © 2020. All images © Debi Cornwall.

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The 6th Annual Feature Shoot Emerging Photography Awards Is Now Open for Entries

Fri, 16 Oct 2020 00:14:17 GMT

We’re thrilled to announce that 6th annual Feature Shoot Emerging Photography Awards is now open for entries! This year’s prizes include a group exhibition at the renowned FORMAT21 Festival in the UK, featuring three to five selected photographers, as well as a poster run in East London, featuring ten winners. In total, as many as fifteen photographers could be selected this year to have their work seen by tens of thousands of people.

We also have an all-star jury this year, made up of industry leaders like Feature Shoot Founder Alison Zavos; the artist and creative entrepreneur Joshua Kissi; Chelsea Matiash, a senior editor for digital storytelling at The New York Times; Alessia Glaviano, the Brand Visual Director of Vogue Italia and Director of the Photo Vogue Festival; the photographer Cheriss May, who is also the President of Women Photojournalists of Washington as well as an adjunct professor at Howard University; the multimedia journalist, digital editor, and photographer Polly Irungu, who founded Black Women Photographers, a global community and online database of Black women and non-binary photographers; the Visuals and Photo Director Tracey Woods, most recently of recently for Essence Communications; and Louise Fedotov-Clements, the Artistic Director of QUAD in and the Director of FORMAT International Photography Festival in the UK.

As always, the Emerging Photography Awards is open to all genres, from documentary and street to portraiture and fine art and everything in between. We’re looking to kickstart the careers of emerging talent around the world, and in addition to our two exhibition opportunities, we’ll be spotlighting contenders over on our Instagram feed and offering our collection of curated PDF guides to one People’s Choice Award Winner every two weeks.

In light of the financial difficulties experienced throughout the last year, we’ve lowered our submission fee to $25 per entry. All photographers who are not currently represented by a gallery or photographers’ agent are eligible. The deadline for submissions is midnight EST on January 8th, 2021, and winners will be announced in late January or early February. We can’t wait to see your work! Submit here today.

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