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There are celebrity deaths that bring nations to a halt—musicians, actors, iconic heads of state, the inventor of the Crunchwrap Supreme’s fold pattern—and then there is the passing of Martin Parr, the one photographer who managed to hold up a mirror to Britain so faithfully that the British squinted at the reflection and asked, “Do I really look like that?” Meanwhile, France clapped, swooned, ordered another espresso, and called him très magnifique . Parr’s death was front-page news in France, a televised event in Japan, and fodder for nostalgic devotion across Europe. In England? Let’s call it a hesitant embrace—like the way people in London greet each other with a single stiff nod so they don’t accidentally experience joy. Because while the rest of the world saw Parr as a global chronicler of the human condition—an affectionate spotlight on the oddities that bind us together—Britain occasionally responded as if he had photographed it mid-chew holding a melting Cornetto. Welcome t...

🩸 Prelude: Vampires of Veracity Every year, the Deutsche Börse Photography Prize crawls out of its crypt with a new set of images that make you question everything—reality, your eyesight, and why you ever thought a ring light was a good investment. The 2026 shortlist is no exception. This year’s fang-baring finalists sink their artistic teeth into exile, memory, gender inequality, and—naturally—AI hallucinations. If that sounds like a dinner party thrown by your therapist, congratulations: you already understand contemporary art. 📷 The Line-up: Four Artists Walk Into a Gallery … Weronika Gęsicka, Jane Evelyn Atwood, Amak Mahmoodian, and Rene Matić —four photographers, one £30,000 prize, and roughly twelve existential crises per square foot of wall space. The Photographers’ Gallery in London will host their collective fever dream from 6 March to 7 June 2026. Bring curiosity, tissues, and perhaps a stiff drink. 🧠 1. Weronika Gęsicka — The Encyclopaedia of Things That Never Were...

If you thought baseball was slow, let me introduce you to the people who spend thousands of dollars to make it look like it’s moving fast. Yes, welcome to the glorious world of sports photography—where shutter speeds are higher than your cousin Chad at Coachella, and where one Jean Fruth has managed to become the Yoda of snapping men in tight pants sliding into dirt. Before you grab your dusty Canon Rebel T3i and think you’re the next Annie Leibovitz of the dugout, let’s take a deep dive into Fruth’s “pro strategies” and apply just the right amount of sarcastic side-eye to every sacred commandment she lays out. Spoiler: It involves knowing the sport, buying cameras that cost more than your car, and pretending ISO noise is a creative choice. Chapter 1: Know Thy Sport (Because Apparently Guessing Is Bad) Jean Fruth’s opening pearl of wisdom: “The more you understand the sport, the more likely you are to anticipate decisive plays.” Revolutionary. Who knew? Because up until now, we’v...

Let’s be honest: dragging around a camera the size of a small child is a choice. And a bad one at that. Unless you’re shooting a National Geographic cover story from a war zone, there’s simply no reason to strap a telephoto torpedo to your chest like you’re auditioning for Die Hard: ISO Edition . Enter the humble pancake lens — the flat, sleek, modest optical biscuit that says, “Yes, I take beautiful pictures, and no, I don’t need a chiropractor.” Pancake lenses are for people who know that great street photography isn’t about waving around a DSLR with a lens longer than your existential crisis. It’s about subtlety. It’s about vibe. It’s about not scaring people into thinking you’re from the FBI . So let’s talk about four of the best pancake lenses for street photography — and why these sleek glass pancakes are what your mirrorless dreams and back muscles have been begging for. 1. Leica Summaron-M 28mm f/5.6: The Hipster’s Trophy Lens Let’s start with the Leica Summaron-M 28mm f/...

Oh, Sebastião Salgado is dead. And with him, possibly, dies the last sliver of hope that we’ll ever again experience photography not filtered through the dopamine-slick lens of Instagram influencers, AI-generated cheesecake shots, and wedding photographers who somehow make love look like a furniture commercial. Salgado was 81, and after photographing war zones, burning oil fields, famine, genocide, deforestation, endangered tribes, and the quiet dignity of humanity itself… the man had the audacity to go and die from leukemia. As if death could do justice to a life like that. Let’s just acknowledge upfront: if you've ever looked at a Salgado photo and thought, “Wow, that’s a beautiful shot,” you're missing the point and proving it simultaneously. His pictures weren’t pretty; they were tectonic shifts disguised in black and white. This was a man who could photograph a line of migrants trudging across a dust-blasted wasteland and make it look like God’s own hands were trembling. ...

April 7, 2025. Bryan F. Peterson has left the building. Your poorly exposed photos have no one left to blame. Let’s not pretend this is just another obituary. Bryan F. Peterson wasn’t your average camera monkey with a tripod fetish. The man was the photography evangelist. He didn't just shoot pictures — he taught you why your picture of a tree looks like a crime scene under fluorescent lights. And now? He’s gone. You, dear reader, are left with your underexposed regrets, your blown-out highlights, and your complete misunderstanding of the relationship between aperture and depth of field. Bryan tried. Lord, did he try. But first, let’s pour one out for the man who made “Understanding Exposure” more famous than your cousin’s wedding photography business. The Self-Appointed Jesus of Exposure If Ansel Adams was the Moses of photography, bringing down the tablets of tonal zones, then Bryan F. Peterson was Jesus — photogenic, bearded, and telling everyone, “You can shoot in Manu...

Ah, air travel—the magical experience of being herded like cattle through security, packed into a flying tin can, and aggressively charged for anything heavier than a peanut. And if you're a photographer? Congratulations! You've just unlocked a whole new level of airline-induced suffering. Between weight limits, overzealous TSA agents, and baggage handlers who treat your checked luggage like a soccer ball, flying with photography gear is an extreme sport. But fear not! With some sneaky tricks, a bit of clever packing, and just the right amount of passive-aggressive compliance, you can glide through the airport without sacrificing your precious gear—or your sanity. 1. Carry-On Weight Limits: The Arbitrary Nightmare If you’ve ever been on a budget airline, you know their goal is to charge you for literally everything. If they could get away with it, they’d charge for oxygen. But for photographers, the real scam is carry-on weight limits. Airlines insist your carry-on bag must wei...

Oh, Hebden Bridge. A town nestled in West Yorkshire’s Calder Valley, so achingly picturesque it’s practically a tourist board cliché. A place where vegan cafes outnumber public conveniences and the hills have eyes—mainly those of hikers trying to figure out where the heck the trail went. But beneath the surface lies a tale of grit, determination, and a local legend who deserves more than a footnote in history. Enter Alice Longstaff: photographer, trailblazer, and—of course—a woman whose talent got buried under the weight of societal indifference. Yes, Longstaff. A name that should echo through photography history books but instead lives in whispered anecdotes and the occasional Hebden Bridge pub conversation. How does someone with a seven-decade career of brilliant photography manage to remain invisible? Spoiler alert: it’s not because her work wasn’t good enough. It’s because she was a working-class woman. And if there’s one thing history hates more than admitting it got things wrong,...

In an era where motherhood is synonymous with Pinterest-perfect feeds and peaceful smiles, Steph Wilson’s portrait “Sonam” enters the scene like an unexpected slap of realness. Wilson’s work has always danced on the edge of provocation, and with “Sonam,” she’s taken home the 2024 Taylor Wessing photography prize by embracing all things unconventional, unpolished, and unapologetic. The National Portrait Gallery crowned Wilson the winner, awarding her £15,000 for a portrait that throws maternal stereotypes out the window with the grace of a bowling ball. The image, part of her larger “Ideal Mother” project, centers around Sonam—a woman who might shatter all of your preconceptions about motherhood in one defiant look. She’s not glowing, she’s not smiling, and she’s not trying to convince anyone that she’s thrilled to be here. Instead, she’s staring down the camera with a blunt gaze, her moustache firmly in place, baby clinging to her chest like a protest banner. The Moustache Heard ‘Round...