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Here is a little trick to play back a google slide animation at 10 fps without using the arrow key

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New Palestine High School 2021 Spring Art Exhibition

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New Palestine High School 2021 Spring Art Exhibition

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K-8 Demo Lesson Topics by Grade (ELTA 2018)

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PBS

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A photographer's Brief But Spectacular take on documenting the pandemic

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Experimental portrait: Elliot Fahrnow 2021

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Experimental portrait: Elliot Fahrnow 2021

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2D animation software, Flash animation | Adobe Animate

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Create Flash animation films, GIFs, and cartoons with Adobe Animate. Buy the 2D animation software that has tools for puppet design and tweening.

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Graphic Novel Layout: Emma Everhart 2021

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Graphic Novel Layout: Emma Everhart 2021

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Emma Everhart: Sketch Idea for Graphic Novel: 2021

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Emma Everhart: Sketch Idea for Graphic Novel: 2021

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Emma Everhart: Digital Dragon Study3 2019

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Emma Everhart: Digital Dragon Study3 2019

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>> In this garden, and in the

house almost hidden within it,

one finds the home base of

a photographer, Dorothea Lange.

Her name is listed among the

masters of photography, but this

is not about photography.

It is about Dorothea Lange,

who, in her long, rich, and

frequently painful life, has

used the camera vastly to enrich

our perception of ourselves and

of the human condition.

>> How do you tell others

about what you think is worth

telling -- what you have either

discovered or uncovered

or learned or been endowed

with in one way or another,

and what you think is

meaningful -- not moral, but

meaningful?

If you have been fortunate

enough to have an instrument

that's flexible for these

purposes...

you try -- you find your way.

And...no one can assure you

of where you've been successful

and where you haven't.

You never really know that.

But that's what the job is.

What you hold onto is

a revelation to you,

and it's of some things

as you are ready to say,

"This served its purpose.

This is now over.

This is final" --

all of this to a person with

a sense of time.

This is "Wartime."

"Closing Days of

the War with Germany,"

"End of the Roosevelt Era,"

"Opening of the UN Conference."

And this is where -- right in

here is where I -- where

I stopped.

I didn't work for three years,

I think.

That finished it.

No, it wasn't the conference

that finished me, but I --

I couldn't go any further.

It was a very exciting thing,

and it overtook me very much.

>> For the past 20 years, all

that Dorothea Lange has done

has been under a deepening

shadow of illness, until...

>> August, I was told

at Kaiser that I have cancer

of the esophagus.

And so, I worked for the

exhibition, and contemplate

things as they are.

>> The Museum of Modern Art

invited Dorothea Lange to

prepare a major exhibition of

her work, and she accepted.

This meant, however, giving up

a cherished project for

Look magazine, photographing

at the family cabin fronting the

Pacific, photographing the

family.

>> Not a summer cabin --

much more elemental.

A protection from the wind and

weather.

One-board thick, and it shakes

when the ocean is high and it

beats on the rocks.

That cabin shakes, and you feel

every wave.

And the children respond

to that.

Oh, they get elemental, too.

We found that we could spend

very good weekends there,

Paul and I, taking the

grandchildren there.

Then I began to wonder what

it was that made us all feel,

the minute we went over the

brow of that hill,

a certain sense of...

not peace, particularly,

or enjoyment -- freedom.

Then I thought, I could do

a real sequence series of

photographs on the subject of

freedom, of which the cabin

would be the device.

I don't want to build up this

idea of this story of the cabin

to be anything greater than it

is, excepting that it really

took hold of me.

And I really think -- to tell

you the truth, I would rather

do the story of the cabin

than do my big show at the

museum.

I would rather do it.

I mean, that's the thing

I would like to do.

>> Well, this is something new,

and the...

>> The other goes back,

and is making use of material

that I have already approached,

just approached.

>> To prepare for the

exhibition meant that

a lifetime of work must be

examined negative by negative,

print by print.

Born in 1895, Dorothea Lange

decided to become a photographer

at the age of 17.

At 20, she set out with a friend

to photograph her way around

the world, but she became

stranded in San Francisco.

And a year later, she opened

a portrait studio, which, over

the years, prospered.

But in the 1930s, in the years

of the Great Depression,

Dorothea Lange's attention

shifted literally from the

studio to the street.

She was hired by the economist

Paul Taylor, who sought to use

the camera as a research tool.

Their first work together was

a study of migratory labor in

California.

Soon thereafter, Dorothea Lange

became a part of that remarkable

group of photographers working

under Roy Stryker for the

Farm Security Administration.

>> Here, we have this one that

I can't...remember.

I know it for sure, 'cause

I know it's cotton,

and I believe it's Texas.

I am quite sure it's Texas.

Let's put it in Texas for the

time being.

>> The FSA file represents

perhaps the highest point yet

achieved in documentary

photography.

>> Not good enough, Dorothea.

Well, that's better.

You know, I got "A" for effort

on this, but not for --

[ Laughs ]

Sometimes just "A" for effort,

that's all.

But here's one.

>> In 1940, Dorothea Lange

continued to work for the

government, photographing the

conditions and problems of

farmworkers for the Bureau of

Agricultural Economics.

In 1941, she began work under

a Guggenheim Fellowship,

but then came Pearl Harbor and

the war, and photographs for the

War Relocation Authority.

In 1943, she worked for the OWI.

>> '44, I worked for OWI, where

there are no negatives here.

'45, I worked for OWI, and then

went to the hospital.

See, up to that time, there was

no illness.

It starts right there.

And we are through that box, and

I feel as though I've made

a visit.

I feel like I've gone back

on a trip.

But I'm going to stop for

a few minutes.

>> Right.

>> And see...

I'll just sit over here for

a minute.

Oh, boy.

Ah.

[ Grunts ]

Oh, my.

[ Sighs ]

'46, a total loss.

'47, we'll see.

I didn't know if I was

going to live or die.

>> Exhausted and under constant

medication, every hour spent in

reconstructing the chronology

of her life's work cost much.

>> I had one "Man" exhibit in

the Museum of Modern Art in '53.

'53, I went to Utah.

'54, I went to Ireland.

And '55, I went back to the

hospital.

At the end of '55, I started

the "Public Defender."

This man is the judge in the

Superior Court, where I tried

to make photographs which showed

what a man does and what he

encounters when he's

public defender.

The nature of the job is what

I tried to describe.

'58, I went on a trip around the

world, and I said to the doctor,

"Shall I go?" and he said,

"What's the difference whether

you die here or there?

Let's go."

'61, I worked for

the "Remembrance of Asia."

'63, I was in Egypt and Syria,

and back to the hospital.

I would very much like to avoid

it, and on the other hand,

I feel I can't.

I must do it.

Get that exhibition together

and put it on the wall for other

people to look at, which will

spell out what I would like to

speak about in photography.

>> Your working methods are not

likely to get the job done.

>> I well know it.

>> One of the first people

Dorothea talked with about the

exhibition was her son

Dan Dixon.

>> I know it.

Become -- I know.

>> And I think maybe the time

has come now for you to make

some decisions.

>> I -- I well know.

>> Okay.

>> It is not really modesty on

my part.

Don't mistake it.

>> I know that.

>> It's not modesty -- it's that

I'm afraid.

>> I know that.

>> I'm afraid.

Uh, you know...

one's photographs,

really, I mean, in a case like

mine, when you've been

a photographer all your life,

there is no ducking -- that

that's where the content is.

The time for me is past to do

what is called the documentary

thing.

I have done that.

But out of those materials,

I want to extract the things

that are, the items that are,

in a sense -- I don't know --

"sublimations" is the word that

comes to my mind.

Give me another.

An essence of a situation,

the universality of the

situation, not the circumstance.

I have a million things to do.

A million.

I never have had so many things

to do, and I've been busy

all my life.

Really busy.

But busy and working is

different.

Often, we keep ourselves

darn busy, so we don't have to

work.

But now it's guesswork on my

part.

Guesswork plus fear [laughs]

is a bad combination.

I can't cut out the fear, but

I can cut out the guesswork.

John Z's coming on Tuesday.

>> John Szarkowski, curator of

photography for the

Museum of Modern Art...

>> Sound right.

>> ...scheduled a visit to the

Lange/Taylor household in

Berkeley, California.

In the meantime, the print

selection and the 1,001 other

activities in the house

continue.

>> Will somebody bring you

a knife?

>> Where's the cheese?

Is it cut up?

>> It's in the soup.

>> Oh, it's already done?

>> Yeah.

>> Oh, I was going to do them --

give you a hand

in the cutting of the cheese.

The fact that I'm getting the

things ready for this show gives

me an added incentive, and

some things are better than

I knew.

You ask yourself kind

of questions like,

"Why was I working so well that

two weeks, and then all of

a sudden, no good at all?

What was it?

Was it the weather?

Did I get tired?"

That was better, or...

Do you go back?

This is very curious.

I'm just really beginning to

sense what's in this medium.

I go over, as I've been doing

lately, my old negatives over

different periods for the show.

And, my, how much -- how much

I could have made of the things

I actually did had I understood

those negatives as well as

I understand them now, and the

different choices I would have

made -- things I pass by now

with very little interest, that

I once thought were the good

ones.

And I stop short at some, and

look and look at them.

And I feel it isn't my

negative -- it's just what a

great capturing that was of

something, you know?

I'm glad to see you.

I see you've been...

>> Szarkowski's arrival marked

the beginning of long hours of

intensive work.

>> Out of what I have -- Out of

what I have, I would like one of

those walls to be centered and

to speak about my own life here

in this place.

It's a great thing to decide

where you live.

It's a great thing.

This is the photographer's

environment.

It started by being a...

You know, I had that, "Home is

where..."

Well, where is it, you know?

It's a very deep and complicated

subject, especially a family

like ours, which is, for want

of a better word, I'd say,

irregular and extended.

We've lived in this house

since 1941, I think.

And many have grown up here,

left here, returned here with

their families.

This could be an attempt to

describe an environment.

That's what it is, an attempt to

describe an environment.

But if I say it's the

photographer's environment,

then I've -- I've lain myself

wide open, which I like to do.

No, I like to do that, rather

than -- than probe into other

peoples' environment.

You start with your own, and

you can only do it in others

if you have been able to do it

in your own.

>> You really believe in that

kind of personal risk-taking?

>> Yeah, I do.

At my age and in my situation,

it's the only chance in the --

that you ever get.

Oh, my God, here he goes!

[ Gasps ]

>> Dorothea's husband,

Paul Taylor, tried to keep

Dorothea on some kind of

schedule for both medication

and, even more difficult,

eating.

>> We'll get these on the wall

first.

>> Well, she didn't drink enough

yesterday.

>> The woman with that

apple pie, she was my neighbor,

and there was a well-beaten path

between our kitchen door and

her kitchen door next door.

And it's now no longer there,

because she's been gone

10 years.

But she held my home together

for me when my boys were in

high school, and I was in the

hospital for weeks and weeks

and weeks.

She held it together for us.

Now, let me have the one.

I don't want that up.

>> Would you like me to...?

Would it be helpful if -- in any

way, if I reacted to these

things without...

>> Sure.

>> ...without knowing any

personal, you know...

>> Sure. Sure.

>> ...looked at it impersonally?

>> Of course.

Of course.

>> Beautiful.

>> That'd be all right.

>> And big and they should

really -- nothing should

compete with them.

>> They'll make...

>> Beautiful.

No.

>> No? All right.

Uh, no.

>> No. I don't like that one.

>> No.

>> No?

>> No.

>> Okay.

>> I don't think so.

>> All right, I'm willing.

I'm willing.

If I go and go back over

it, I don't find that it's

getting sterile, you know.

>> Well, this is just quickly --

>> Good. Good.

>> Possible reactions.

>> I agree with everything you

said.

I agree with it.

>> Yes. Maybe. Yes.

>> Yes.

>> And these three no.

>> Right. Okay.

>> Uh, beautiful.

>> Okay.

>> I don't know.

I -- I --

>> That's a personal thing

with me.

The crown of a child's

head is one of the most

wonderful spots.

>> Mm-hmm. Yeah.

>> This one...

>> Yes.

>> ...yes.

And that one...

>> No.

>> ...yes.

That one, I -- I -- I've got

to have that one.

>> Okay.

Yes. I don't know.

I could live without, I think,

all of them.

>> No, I couldn't.

That one of Gregor running

is -- if I took it out, it would

violate something around this

place, because that is almost

a motif.

Underneath those three trees is

a beautiful statement.

Just those three.

>> Mm-hmm.

>> A beautiful statement.

Do you -- Can you see that?

I can.

Just as they're on the wall

there.

>> Mm-hmm.

>> None of the others are big

enough.

And the dark, the big, dark

ones.

In that case, it would be

two trees, not three.

>> Why?

>> Oh, I think -- well, maybe

not -- but I think --

>> I don't mean the same

thing --

>> At any rate, I'm just playing

with it now.

I don't want to do that.

>> Mm-hmm.

>> I don't want to do that.

I think I can build a little

more out of it, but, okay.

>> Should we go on?

>> Yeah.

What I'm going to do now is to

decide from all of these, which

have an Irish mood to them,

where it really resides the

best and how I can find the

quality that I would like to

maintain to it.

Something -- John liked the

quality of the Asian ones,

which is different than anything

else on the walls.

I'm a little lost here.

>> I am, too.

>> I'm a little lost.

You'd better sit down quick,

because it's confusing to have

them come up and come down,

come up and come down.

We'd better let this one --

maybe put this one away, and

go back to it.

>> Okay, with these prints.

>> Put the whole thing away --

the selected prints and come

back to it, because I don't

think -- I don't think I'm

making it.

"Tell me, for what reason one

takes photographs?"

And we were just so surround--

That wasn't the words,

but it was of a good word.

A person, you know, really

wanting to know what the Dickens

you're doing with a camera when

you stand in a strange country,

surrounded by people, you know,

nothing that you understand.

What are you doing there,

for the love of God, with

a camera?

>> Mm-hmm.

>> I mean, that's a fair

question.

You know, there is a big

difference between what you

choose out of travel when time

has elapsed and what you

immediately choose.

Memory enters into it.

The things that I would put on

a wall now from Asia and the

things that I picked when

I first came home from Asia --

utterly different.

Curious.

I would like to produce an

exhibit.

People's minds might be stirred,

not by the variety of things

that I have looked at, but by

the immense variety and

richness of human life.

This is not the final step

at all.

This is -- This is sort of

discovering what the core of

this woman's work's about.

I'm sure that this idea takes

not only working out, but some

reworking.

I've gone through this kind of

a process before, but I have

always, most of the time, done

it alone.

I think that wall is about

something.

I mean, that collection is

about something.

Shows an interest in human life.

I think it does, doesn't it?

Or am I kidding myself?

See, that's my bad dream --

that's my nightmare.

>> What?

>> Am I kidding myself?

Am I kidding myself?

I don't only mean

photographically, but...shame.

It started by being death and

disaster, by which I meant

all kinds of death.

I didn't mean sudden and violent

death -- I meant death by

inches.

And that was more than I could

deliver on.

That was more.

A news photographer could do

a great one on that.

Then the words -- one day,

I was I was working here, and

it came to me.

The "deprived and the

dislocated."

And then the word came to me,

"rootless."

And "helpless."

And then the phrase that's used

by -- I think the sociologists

use it -- "the walking wounded."

There was another phrase that

was in my mind --

"the last ditch."

The last ditch.

Now, this group of pictures is

just like all my groups of

pictures.

It just suggests the

possibilities of this medium.

It's all I hoped ever to do with

this show or anything --

not to achieve it, but to

suggest it to someone else to

carry it on.

And that I think this wall

might do.

I'm not -- I'm not doing it

in terms of achievement.

I feel it in terms of

possibilities --

provocation, because -- well,

you've heard me say it often

enough -- the possibilities of

this medium is -- we're just

on the threshold of it, and

I'd like to give it a push!

Slight push.

But on the final wall is

something that I'm not sure

I have the materials about.

But this I have to work on.

And that is a wall on

the new California.

This is the unfinished

business, and this is the one

where I could not demonstrate,

but suggest the possibilities

of this medium in revealing

the passage of time and what

happens in it.

I would say this new California

is one for someone else to

finish.

I...would love to work on it.

I would really love to work on

it.

I can't, but I can start it.

Your viewer -- and he's very

mysterious person --

you have to keep him in mind

always, too.

And you don't know him.

When he looks at such a wall

on relationships, what my hope

would be -- that he would say

to himself, "Oh, yes.

I know what she meant.

I never thought of it.

And I never paid attention

to it."

Or something like, "I've seen

that a thousand times...

but won't miss it again.

Won't miss it again."

You've told about the familiar,

the understood, but in -- in

calling attention to what it

holds, you have added to

your viewer's confidence or his

understanding.

And the most complimentary

thing, in my opinion, that

anyone could ever say to you is,

"I saw something today that

you would've liked."

Then you know you've reached

him.

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Dorothea Lange- Part One: Under the Trees | THIRTEEN Specials

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In this garden, and in the house almost hidden within it, one finds the home base of a photographer, Dorothea Lange. Her name is listed among the masters of photography, but this is not about photography.

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Emma Everhart: Digital Dragon Study2 2019

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Emma Everhart: Digital Dragon Study2 2019

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Emma Everhart: Digital Dragon Study 2019

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Emma Everhart: Digital Dragon Study 2019

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Self Taught!

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[Henri] I always photograph

with my eyes wide open and with my heart.

I always look to show the personality

of the subject as they really are,

not the personality they project to the public,

and that's the key.

I was able to communicate

what was in my heart

and got to know very special people

that had a great deal of influence on our world.

I wish I had deeper conversation with Andy Warhol.

He was a very shy guy.

It's very difficult to overcome shyness.

[interviewer] Are you shy?

[Henri] Of course.

I think all actors, directors, photographers,

they go into the art field to express themselves

because it is difficult to speak what you feel.

It's very difficult thing.

[interviewer] You never told any of your subjects

about your story, did you, when you were photographing them?

[Henri] Of course not, no.

-No? -No.

Okay, c'mon.

[interviewer] All right so,

why don't you tell us exactly who you are?

My name is Henri Dauman.

And I am a human being, a photographer.

Happen to be a photographer.

-[soft jazz music] -[phone ringing]

[Henri] Yes, hello.

[interviewer] Hello, how are you doing?

[Henri] Okay.

So the way the opening is, I mean,

doesn't look good for me.

I understand you wanted to get some humor out of it,

but this is not funny.

I mean, reducing myself, and you took me by surprise there

and make me look like an old guy to start with.

So, are you willing to re-shoot this?

[phone ringing]

This is Cary Grant.

[woman] Okay.

We're re-shooting the info.

So what should I say, I'm French, maybe?

I'm French.

I'm a photographer, it's in my blood.

My name is Henri Dauman.

I'm a photographer?

No. I was motivated by... no.

Motivated by a quote.

[interviewer] Whenever you're ready.

That if you shoot 10 great photographs in your career,

you've really made it.

And that's what I tried to do.

[phone ringing]

[Henri] We need to polish this up.

The opening should be serious.

Maybe we can do it someplace. Where was it?

A small theater where there's a red curtain.

I would love a good red curtain.

[interviewer] That would be great.

Do you have a theater in mind?

[Henri] I think we can find something.

[interviewer] Okay. So yeah, all right, we'll talk soon.

-Yeah, okay. -All right.

-Bye-bye. -Bye.

[soft jazz music]

-Okay, to Grampy. -To Grampy.

-To Grampy. -To another 84 years.

-Oh my god, another 84 years. -Another 40.

♪ Happy birthday to you

♪ And many more

Happy birthday.

You ready? But you should be on the other side.

[man] Here, come stand over here.

[exhaling]

-[woman claps] Wow, bravo. -Good job, Lily.

[Henri] That's a Polaroid?

[laughs]

[Lily] That's Cece's picture.

[Henri] Oh, this is nice.

The future Brigitte Bardot.

I wasn't aware of Henri's work really before I knew him,

but I knew that he had made some very important pictures,

such as Jackie walking down Pennsylvania Avenue.

I didn't know who the photographer was.

Because in the '50s and '60s, except in fashion,

you didn't care about who the photographer was.

I mean, you knew the name of the magazine,

Life Magazine, things like that.

But the photographer was quite

an anonymous character.

He had a few beautiful prints,

black and whites on the wall in his office,

in the apartment.

But I had no idea the depth of the assignments,

the people that he met along the way,

because those were all in the negatives hidden away.

There is a lot, a lot of box everywhere in this office.

Little office of Henri.

He say, "Okay, take this box", la la la,

and I put my hands inside.

I take the photography. Effectively, it is a reading.

But not the reading of somebody.

The reading of Jean Saber.

Another photo I see Elvis.

I see Marilyn Monroe. Maria Callas.

All the great peoples of the '50s and the '60s.

And I said to Henri, "But Henri, I don't understand.

You are photographer, okay.

But what sort of photographer you are?"

And he explained only in one word.

"I'm a journalist."

[reporter] Four decades as a feature photographer

for Life Magazine.

He's journeyed all over the world.

[reporter 2] He's been called the greatest

photo journalist of the 20th century.

-Isn't that you? -Looks like me.

[audience laughing]

Yeah, that's me.

[laughing]

It was a long time ago.

[reporter] He's documented some of its most historical events,

personalities and cultural changes in particular

within American society.

[Guy] I think his photos are more influential today

because many photographers did follow his technique and style.

[Guenola] He was the first to bring a glamorous aspect

within a newspaper.

That was news, especially at the time.

[Ted] It's really working with a true artist.

Somebody that knows what he wants.

Knows what he's doing. That's a true perfectionist.

Everything had to be done in an honest way

to give you an insight into the subject.

[Thierry] You almost feel a kind of joie de vivre

in these images.

The trust that was built is visible.

How?

He knows how to talk to people.

He knows how to make them comfortable.

He got access.

[Guy] All these photos tell a story of culture in America.

But it wasn't considered art.

This is why we know the photos.

We didn't know the man called Henri Dauman.

[soft jazz music]

Well, I've been known to be a perfectionist.

I can be painful sometimes to work with,

and I have broken many an assistant.

If I was holding a light stand for an hour and a half,

I could whimper but not complain.

On the set, we worked as professionals.

He was always in charge.

There was only one director and that was Henri.

Stop.

Fire the producer.

Director.

What, are we on golden time here?

Come on, let's get going. Come on, let's go.

[interviewer] I'm trying, I'm trying.

You need to have the light go further to the right.

That's very sideway.

Let me see when I look at the camera, what it look like?

Holy S#*#t.

[interviewer] Well the light's nice on your face

-from this angle. -[groans]

What do you think?

A little space above the lamp, I think would be good.

There we go.

You see that you were way too far there, right?

[interviewer] I mean, I like it.

You like it, okay.

[interviewer] But I'm not the expert.

You'll be the only one to like it.

Okay, ready?

[claps]

What is this?

[Nicole] An assortment.

Who knows what we're gonna get in here.

[Henri] This is Marilyn Monroe out of a window

on Park Avenue in New York in 1959.

[Nicole] Did you make all of these prints yourself?

Most of them, yeah.

Jackie during the campaign.

A nice portrait there of Jack.

This was almost a Newsweek cover but didn't make it.

And this is the morning of the election

in Hyannis Port Armory in 1960.

He just learned that he had won the US presidential election.

This is in his house in Massachusetts.

November 9, 1960.

Here we go.

This is the kingdom of the contact sheets.

This is Elvis.

Easy to reach.

Okay, Elvis.

So the contact sheet are just notes.

Just like a writer takes written notes,

I take notes with my camera

and eventually it leads to the story.

We try to tell a story,

and we are storytellers.

You can see the imperfection.

You can see everything.

And then once in a while, you hit with the right one.

Picture of Elvis leaving

for Germany in 1958

to the great chagrin of his fans.

Unbelievable.

All the girls were crying over Elvis.

And then I rode the train

to return to Memphis

in 1960 to Graceland.

So I stayed with him several days.

When we got to Memphis,

it was interesting to know

what a simple guy he was.

Just like Marilyn Monroe.

He will look as young as he did in the photograph

and that's the image that people have of him.

These people never age.

We were telling and hopefully enlightening people

of what's out there in the arts,

in politics,

and keeping people abreast

what's going on in our world.

And at the end of many years,

it all seemed that what I had photographed

turned out to be the history of our half century.

Unbeknownst to me.

He said to me,

"Ah, Marilyn Monroe?

Okay, I know.

Jacqueline Kennedy.

Okay, I know I have a lot, a lot.

But if you photograph her,

do this photography exactly this."

It was two dancer, two black dancer.

Movement.

He said, "If you do this sort of photography, okay,

we're going to New York

and we go to see exactly who is Henri Dauman."

When we came back, I said to Francois,

"We really have to do this".

[Henri] I was not sure of this idea

because those photographs were not shot

to be on the wall.

He don't believe one second

about this story of exhibition.

[Henri] I never considered it art.

They were done for magazine for commercial purposes.

For the first time, I saw my pictures

on the wall as an exhibit.

-[people chattering] -[soft jazz music]

And I was shocked to see

that people reacted to my photographs

in a way that I had not known before.

I get they could relate to all these events

which affected their lives,

and they were coming out of the show in tears.

I said, "My God, I'm a rock star".

Thanks for coming.

I thought my pictures were dead,

but they still live.

People still reacted to them.

When I sat at the opening night dinner,

we were a little more than 35 people around the table.

So I'm very proud to have ended up

with a large extended family.

This is what I have dreamt for

all my life before this.

Okay.

[camera beeping]

And look straight into the lens of the camera.

More the film camera. The bottom one, yeah.

This one?

No, this one.

Yeah, look at this one.

Head down a little bit, yeah.

Smile.

[camera beeping]

Okay.

Come on, shoot the damn thing.

[Nicole] I knew about all the great success he has had

in his career and the people that he's met

and the icons that he's photographed.

But I didn't know any intimate details

about his survival and how he got

from point A to point B.

I recently went to Israel a few years ago

and I wanted to find out some more information about

my great grandfather who I knew had perished in Auschwitz.

And when I looked up my

great grandfather's last name, which is Dauman,

my grandfather's Holocaust testimony

arrived on the screen.

There is a slate of his name

and he pops on screen,

and I immediately was in hysterics.

I had no idea that it even existed.

I didn't know that he had done this.

I look at my grandfather

and he's so full of life,

and you would have no idea

that this had happened to him.

There was a shop around here.

My mother used to take me to have the soft ice cream.

After playing in the sandbox.

It's been over seven years since I've been back home.

I never thought I would return.

But it's coming full circle for me.

[soft music]

[soft music]

This was our bedroom.

We had a bed here like this.

There was no doorway.

And the living room was next door.

It was nothing like this.

When the war broke out, I was six years old.

So I remember very little

except for the fact that I came from a very loving family.

And it was a very pleasant childhood.

Many people thought they would not touch French Jews

and that we were safe.

And at some point,

I know my father received

something from city hall.

My mother had argued with him not to go.

But being a good citizen,

he thought nothing of it and he did go.

And that's when he was arrested, I guess.

And taken to a French camp called Pithiviers.

I remember we went to visit him,

and I also recollect that my mother

had asked my father to escape one more time.

Apparently, my father did not see fit to escape.

[interviewer] Are you angry with him?

No, I cannot be angry.

He didn't know better.

[interviewer] How did your mother and you live?

With great difficulty.

And I recall one morning,

the French police came knocking at our door.

I remember we saw them arrive.

My mother heard some noise.

Saw them coming in the courtyard.

Since we were not answering the door,

somebody must have told them we were inside the apartment.

We were lying on the floor of the kitchen.

My mother told me to be quiet.

And they tried to force the door open.

My mother went crawling on the floor

and closed down the second lock above the door.

I was getting hungry.

I was a young kid and I got hungry,

and I think my mother went to boil an egg

or something like that.

I guess the kitchen was here,

but it was a long hallway here.

I think they heard some noise.

And that's when they started to want

to break down the door.

[pounding]

I thought I was responsible for the doors

possibly being opened.

[soft music]

So they came through that doorway there.

A whole bunch of them,

and they came to the first floor.

We were in the dark and crawling on the floor.

Because of foresight of my mother,

we had installed two locks on the metal door.

The French police could not bring the door down.

I think the second lock that my mother

had installed was here.

It's just a lock that held it, that saved us.

Shows you a little thing can mean a lot in life.

Yeah.

They tried to bring the door down all morning,

and then like good Frenchmen,

they went away for lunch.

So while they went away for lunch,

we left and left everything behind in the apartment.

We went to the country.

Had we been arrested,

we probably wouldn't, I would not be here.

Because many people that were arrested that day

never came back.

These were something to write with.

And one was for my mother,

one was for me.

And it has a picture of the camp,

and it says, "Souvenir of Pithiviers Camp, 1941, 1942".

It has a picture of my father.

To me he writes, "Separated from you in captivity.

Always with you in my thoughts.

Your father."

So, these are the last mementos that we have of him.

[interviewer] Why tell your story now?

Why did you never tell it before?

Well, I'm willing to talk about what happened to me

because I am on my third act in my life,

and my granddaughter Nicole asked me.

I would not have done it for anybody else.

And even then, now, I didn't realize

the work involved in this.

[Nicole] Thank you.

Thank you.

Wait a minute, let me focus and see if I see the house.

Oh, my God, don't recognize anything.

Okay, hold on, hold on.

Oh, my God, this is like looking for

a needle in a haystack.

[Brigitte] What drives him is the dream of a better life.

Which all emanated from his passion for photography.

It was a means of escape.

With that escape, he became the best

that he could be in that field.

And he wouldn't accept any less.

And I just think that is just

something that's inside of him.

Ingrained in him.

You can't tell.

[dog barking]

We're hot, I mean, it's around here.

[Henri] I was hiding in Limay,

which is maybe 50 kilometers from Paris.

And my mother was living across the river.

It was very close, but I saw her very seldom

because we didn't want to be seen together

and people recognize us.

She left me with this couple.

My mother must've paid them

for them to take me on.

I took their name, which is Morin.

M-O-R-I-N.

All of a sudden, I find myself with basically strangers,

even though I knew them.

I was too young to have any major recollection of them.

And I was there alone.

Every night, there were bombings.

I remember Mr. Morin building a shelter in the garden.

He had told me when the planes come,

just go in the shelter.

Which we did several times.

[interviewer] How'd you feel?

[Henri] Very scared.

And I even remember once,

I was walking in the garden.

I was holding a black cat named Pompom.

All of a sudden, the plane appears,

coming from the river.

They had just come from a bombing

of the factory across the Seine.

It flew very low, straight at our house,

at the garden where I was walking,

and it was spraying bullets.

[gunshots]

The black cat got killed.

He got the bullets.

And I didn't get a scratch.

I still, to this day, don't know what happened.

Maybe it came from the side, I don't know.

But I survived.

The Germans were bombing a factory across the river

on a daily basis.

My mother did not get hurt

because the house that this French family lived in

was right near the cathedral,

and I guess they spared the cathedral.

Everything else was destroyed completely.

Which is amazing.

[bells chiming]

[interviewer] Henri, can you just tell me what's going on?

Yeah, he walked over from his house

to see if he could find us here

and tell us about what he just remembered.

Because it has the drainage pipe right next to the wall.

-Google Maps. -Google Maps.

[doorbell buzzing]

[crew member] Yo, guys, put down the camera.

The shelter must've been here

because that is soft ground.

This is where I was walking with the cat.

Pompom pussycat.

And they came over this at an angle like this.

It made a loud noise as it was passing by.

[imitates machine gun]

The cat got hit, died instantly.

Not a scratch, I'm still here.

It's a strange feeling to be back so long

after the event

of one of my lives spent here.

But I told you before,

like a cat, I've got nine lives and a half.

And I've almost spent most of them.

[Odiana] We always go back to the past.

And I think this is where his nine lives come from.

Nine and a half?

[Henri] I've spent nine lives.

No, you haven't.

We still have a long way to go.

I've got to be here to continue the mission.

[interviewer] Sum up all the photographs you've taken

in a single word.

What a collection.

[interviewer] That's three words.

-[laughing] -Oh.

[interviewer] What do they all have in common?

-Huh, one word? -What do they, one word.

What do they all have in common?

Oh, the one thing that all these photographs

have in common is Henri Dauman.

[interviewer] That's two words.

-Huh? -That's two words.

Okay, I cannot use one word.

[laughs]

I did quite a bit of work with Jane Fonda.

For different magazines.

I said, "My God, you look so much like Vadim's women".

Brigitte Bardot, Kathleen Turner.

All the blonde women that he seduced and put in film.

And kiddingly I said to her,

"Listen, if you ever go to France,

he may spot you and you may meet him".

And she laughed, and not long thereafter,

Jane Fonda did meet Vadim in Paris,

and eventually, made a movie, "Barbarella",

and married Vadim and had a daughter with him.

So, my prediction apparently became true.

This is Brigitte Bardot in bed

on the set of Vie Privee, the Louis Malle film.

She plays a celebrity

who is being hounded by journalists and photographers.

So, I was drafted as a photographer.

I appeared in about four or five scenes.

So, how convenient,

because I was able to take photographs

even during the shooting of the film.

So, that was fun.

Kind of a reverse role.

[soft music]

[Brigitte] People would get their magazines

and the newspapers in their homes,

and in the privacy of their environment,

would see his photographs,

and he'd never know how they react.

But lo and behold, all of a sudden now,

he's there to see people reacting to his images,

and it's absolutely overwhelming to him.

[clapping]

[clapping]

[Nicole] For him to have the perseverance

to immigrate to America

and to create a career for himself

and not feel sorry for himself or stuck in the past,

that kind of work ethic

is just inspiring.

Because he could see the potential.

The theory of photography can be learned in an hour.

The elements of practicing it in a day.

What cannot be learned is that instant understanding

which puts you in touch with the model,

guides you to his habits, his ideas, and his character,

and enables you to produce an intimate portrait.

My guest's name is Henri Dauman.

What's this statement all about,

as far as you're concerned?

Well, I always get questions from my assistants.

How do you like this?

How do you like that?

And where do you place the light?

And I say, "You've gotta feel it".

I have no formula.

For each new assignment, it's a new ballgame.

I come in with my lights

and I try to create the mood

of what I feel the subject relates to.

At the moment, I try to get to know them in advance

and have a little chat before I shoot.

This helps me a great deal

to find what they're all about.

And you don't have too much time.

[interviewer] Mm-hmm.

[Henri] We worked very quickly.

You have to.

Most of the time was not spent in shooting.

Often, I spent more time talking to the subject

than taking the photograph

because it's important to get to know each other.

To smell each other.

It's more important than the equipment.

The subject reacts to the person behind the camera.

I was dealing with the most intelligent,

creative people on this planet.

I haven't explored another planet yet.

My profession gave me the opportunity

to get to know these people.

Intimately, sometimes.

The first time I photographed Andy Warhol

was a gallery on Madison Avenue.

I didn't know who this guy was.

He was very shy, white hair.

Kind of an albino kind of guy.

This is the so-called American supermarket.

They recreated literally a market

full of fruits, cheeses.

It was called pop art.

At the end of the shoot,

Andy offers me a can of Campbell's soup.

I was surprised.

I said, "Andy, I appreciate it but

I have many Campbell soups at home".

Like a fool, I didn't take the proposed gift.

So, you never know.

I had an assignment to do a story

on a typical young American girl.

I ended up with a young blonde.

Her name was Martha Kostyra.

And she married a gentleman named Stewart,

and she became Martha Stewart.

Federico Fellini.

I did my number by lighting him

with my famous backlight.

I needed to move him a little bit that way.

I guided him by the nose and said,

"This way, Federico".

And he laughed.

And that was the picture.

You must have by now about two million

negatives and slides lying around your studio.

It's very hard to keep up with them.

My wife complains all the closets at home

are full of negatives and transparencies.

And thank you, Henri Dauman, for being on the show.

It was a pleasure.

-Great pleasure. -And that's the end.

[Henri] My mother and I were reunited

and we went back to Paris

to find strangers living in our apartment.

We got our apartment back.

The people were occupying it had to leave.

And it was very nice to resume our lives.

I had been very lonely.

Missing very important years of a child's life

with his parents.

My mother was a very courageous woman.

Working those long hours, I remember,

to try to rebuild a home for us.

And, uh...

And I remember distinctly one day, 1946,

coming back from school.

I remember walking in the street with my books.

From a distance, I saw an ambulance

parked in front of our house.

And I remember, let's see, 1946,

that would make me 13 years old.

It crossed my mind immediately.

Oh my God, don't tell me it's my mother.

I ran over to the house,

and it turned out to be my mother.

She had bought some bicarbonate

at the pharmacy across the street,

and apparently, we didn't know then,

but she was gravely ill.

They took her to the hospital, Lariboisiere.

They did some tests.

The pharmacist, it turns out,

had bought this bicarbonate on the black market,

and it was poisoned.

I'll never forget, I went to the hospital

to visit my mother,

and then the next time I saw her,

she was on some kind of a table.

And I gave her a kiss on the forehead,

and I remember how cold she was.

And I was too young to realize what had happened.

Nine people in the neighborhood, including my mother,

died from that substance.

I was so joyful to have found my mother again.

It was so short-lived.

After surviving such traumatic experience in World War II,

there she was, gone again.

So, tragedy number two.

I remember going to my Aunt Anna

for a few days.

And I overhead a conversation

when they thought I was asleep.

Apparently it was decided to put me

into a children's home.

Most of the time, adults don't realize

the understanding that children have

of what they overhear.

You hear a word here, a word there.

And I knew distinctly that I had been rejected.

So, I was very angry for my relatives

not seeing fit to make some effort

to do better than to send me to an orphan's home.

It took many years to get over that.

I did get over it, I forgave them.

But it was extremely traumatic.

This is a set of photographs taken of Simone

on November 12th, 1950, yeah.

This is Simone, who's sitting by my side now.

These pictures were taken about

a month before I went to the United States.

That's Simone at 19.

Not bad, huh?

It was 1950.

I was 17 years old, yeah. Not too bad.

Playful sisters.

They're always laughing.

[chuckling]

Hey, she's laughing now.

And this is their mother,

my Aunt Anna...

at her apartment at 34.

My Aunt Anna, yeah.

It's hard to believe that this was done

last century.

Such a long time ago.

But memories never go away.

I felt kind of lost in this home.

I just could not participate.

I was not a happy camper there, let me put it this way.

That really forced me to survive on my own

and work to become independent.

And get out of those orphanages,

which I disliked greatly.

What really sustained me was seeing movies.

Even when my mother was at the hospital,

I was so traumatized by it.

I remember coming back from the hospital.

Just going to a movie.

I remember seeing a lot of American movies,

like "The Great Ziegfeld",

Bing Crosby's "Blue Sky", Esther Williams.

Sometimes I would skip school, or right after school,

go to see a Laurel and Hardy movie.

I had never seen this kind of funny stuff before.

And it really took me into a new world.

I saw Cary Grant movies.

Charlie Chaplin.

Marx Brothers.

I asked for a match, not a fire starter.

Hey, what's going on?

I said, "My God, what a wonderful world this is.

Where have I been?"

I enjoyed the American film noir

with their backlights and the dramatic lighting.

I always admired that feel.

So yes, of course,

my work was very influenced by the movies.

So many movies that I had seen

in order to forget my present at the time.

Cinema taught me how to tell a story.

And that has stayed with me

during my whole career.

So, when I arrived in Courbevoie, a new home,

they knew of my interest

and they placed me in the local photo shop.

So, first contact with photography.

[cheering]

[announcer] Now Patterson knows the title is there

for the retaking.

[cheering]

[Henri] I think it was Yankee Stadium.

The fight of Johansson, Patterson.

I took only a few pictures of the fight.

The KO, I turned around and photographed the KO.

But the main part of that story was

a sequence of Elizabeth Taylor and Eddie Fisher,

her husband at the time.

That sequence made the story.

Another similar case, Sugar Ray Robinson.

I photographed his wife reacting to the fight.

And that told the story better than looking at the fight.

These are the kind of cinematic sequences

that I would often do

because of my influence of American

and French cinema.

[Merry] He could be in this chaotic,

emotional, charged situation,

photographing a really important assignment or subject,

and you feel as if the world falls away.

And it's just him and the subject.

And while doing that,

there's also this incredible sense of lighting.

So, I think he's unusual,

in that he would have the ability

to sort of make these calculations quickly

and on his feet in any situation,

and give the attention that the subject deserves

in order to really create a captivating image.

[Henri] In 1949, I received a letter from my Uncle Sam

in the United States,

who had heard of my plight,

asking me if I would like to come

to the United States.

[interviewer] Had you ever spoken to him before?

Never.

♪ Strong and mighty

♪ Feel my temperature rising

[Henri] I thought here, maybe living in the United States

might be what I see in movies.

[Henri] I was here, boarding the Le Havre.

I had no idea what was awaiting me in New York.

So on December 14th, 1950,

I landed in the United States and met my Uncle Sam.

I saw the dockers were eating white bread sandwiches.

It looked like cotton to me.

I'd say, "Oh, my God, what are they eating?"

I was always fascinated with New York.

The most visual city in the world.

And it was a natural thing for somebody

new to New York to just look up.

♪ A hunk a hunk of burning love ♪

♪ A hunk a hunk of burning love ♪

♪ A hunk a hunk of burning love ♪

I hardly spoke English,

and I got myself a job at the Belgian Chamber of Commerce.

At least they spoke French.

And I must have been an office boy or something.

And I took night courses in English.

And I started to propose pictures

to a French newspaper called France-Amerique.

And that's how I really got into it.

I started to take pictures for that newspaper.

He was in charge of photographing

French politicians, movie stars, artists,

and also documenting the everyday life

of the French community in New York City.

[Guy] It's after seeing the exhibition in Paris

that I decided to ask him to do a portfolio for us.

I discovered, and I didn't know about it,

that actually started his career

as a photographer with France-Amerique,

but a long time ago, meaning late '40s, early '50s.

It was quite a coincidence that I would bring him back

to a magazine where he had worked

40 or 50 years before.

[Henri] My eye was my only defense against poverty.

I photographed all kinds of Franco-American events.

And at one of those events, a ball,

I met my future wife, Denise.

I remember going to the Lover's Paradise with her

to see "Singing In The Rain".

And it was raining that night.

She became everything for me.

She was my assistant, my mistress,

she was my mother.

Everything.

[Henri] It was of great comfort to me

to be surrounded with such love,

which I have missed since my mother's death in 1946.

I sought the company of somebody

who would be in the image of my mother.

You could certainly construe that.

I learned from her sister that she told her

that she wanted to take care of me

where my mother had not been able to do.

So, she felt that way.

I was still very young.

We married when I was 20 years old.

She was so receptive to me and I to her.

It was a pleasure to have a companion

who shared common goals

to build a new life

in a country that was unknown to both of us.

We raised two children, Philippe and Brigitte.

It is with the help of my wife

that I was able to accomplish what I did

because the work was extremely hard.

I worked 24/7.

[Brigitte] My mother was very dependable.

She always took care of everything.

So he could concentrate fully

and give his 100% attention to his work.

She helped to keep him organized.

She really did.

Oh, this is a record of all the assignments that I did.

These are the notes that Denise wrote.

This is her handwriting, all of these.

This record goes back to '57.

Quite a few years.

This is a profession that requires complete commitment.

Any creative work is difficult.

It takes everything you've got.

You have to work your ass off.

So, I did.

♪ Wow, I feel good

I knew that I... ♪

[Henri] After working for the French paper,

and as I got more sophisticated,

I started to do stories on my own.

I bought myself a Leica with a 21 millimeter lens

and started to test the lens

by putting the camera down on the ground.

♪ I feel nice

[Henri] And I found some graphic design

in the city looking up.

♪ I feel nice

♪ Like sugar and spice

[Henri] It was a new way to look at New York,

and I eventually sold the story to the New York Times Magazine.

I became a one man agency.

Shooting during the day,

processing the film and making prints during the night.

I would transform my bathroom

and part of the kitchen into a darkroom.

I started to cover events that I was

reading about in the newspapers.

♪ And I feel

I went then without anybody asking me to.

I just got myself into some events.

Often with famous personalities.

A lot of photographers were screaming at me to get down

because I was very close,

on top of the subject,

to get the perspective that I sought.

I would get out of the way

when they were screaming too loudly,

but only after I got the picture.

It's a tough business.

Very competitive.

And it's all instinctive.

I had the idea of contacting European magazines

in France, Germany, and the UK.

So I would FedEx packages of photographs

and it grew very quickly.

Little by little, I infiltrated myself

in the magazine world.

Because I had photographs that they were eager to print.

Life Magazine in those days was rich.

They could afford to send three, four teams,

maybe more if necessary, to cover a story.

And they would see this European magazine.

There's this little young green French kid

beating them regularly on the same type of story.

So, I started very innocently at life in '58.

It was very exciting. This was a dream come true for me.

Finally, it was paying off.

[mellow rhythmic music]

♪ Hey

[upbeat rhythmic music]

By 1962, I was a successful photographer

working for Life, one of Hugh Hefner's magazines,

Show Business Illustrated, and Newsweek Magazine.

I did a lot of traveling,

working for Life, other magazines.

I went to Cuba during the Castro Revolution.

The reporter that came with me

was wearing a red dress.

I said, "My God, they're gonna shoot at us.

You're wearing a red dress."

She said, "On the contrary, I'm wearing a red dress

and it will show my curves.

Nobody's gonna shoot at us."

And she was right, we never got shot at.

We maxed out whatever we could do.

He wanted to do the most that he could to survive

and to grow and to thrive.

[Henri] Now, I must tell you that when I'm wearing

a camera around my neck,

I basically have no fear.

I have taken pictures in waters

that I cannot swim.

To this day, I still don't know how to swim.

But with a camera, I go in the water

and take pictures if I must.

And it's possibly the reason why I love to photograph.

I feel invincible.

If the subject sees you wavering,

you've lost the battle

to tell the story.

That's why it requires a lot of discipline

and readiness at all times.

From Dallas, Texas,

the flash, apparently official, President Kennedy,

died at one p.m. Central Standard Time.

[Henri] I believe I had the first five or six pages

of the funeral issue.

I had the credentials to walk with the cortege.

And there was one moment

where I could walk in front of Jackie

and seize that picture that became a double page in Life.

Jackie with the black veil.

It happened in one moment.

I got two frames out of that.

You only need one that crystallizes the subject.

The photograph that you were taking for L'Express

of the monk in Saigon,

when his arms crossed,

and the next week,

Time Magazine made--

The same week.

-The same week? -Yep.

My cover that ran in L'Express Magazine,

a French magazine,

is dated 18 to 24 April 1966.

And this is a Time Magazine cover

of April 22, 1966.

Here they are.

A few days later,

comes Time Magazine with a copy of my photograph.

I went to Vietnam in the mid '60s

to do a story on the Buddhists

who were emulating themselves.

This was a country at war.

Life had already sent several photographers

to penetrate the leadership of those Buddhists

and then what moved them,

what their ideas were.

And everybody had been unsuccessful.

The Vietnamese in those days

forget that they spoke French,

but they did speak French.

And I was able to infiltrate

the leadership of the Buddhists

and I photographed Thich Quang,

who was the leader encouraging the movement

of protesting the war.

[Denis] When I learned about Henri's childhood,

it changed the way I viewed his work ethic

and his attention to detail.

He doesn't, to this day, believe in the 80 20 solution.

He believes in perfection.

Whatever that means in his own mind.

But he doesn't believe in half measures.

I think that was his coping mechanism.

So, I think he definitely has an ability

to connect with people.

I don't think it's a quick ability.

I think it's something he's learned over time,

and a skill he's honed.

He makes it all look so deceivingly easy,

as anybody who's really good at what they do can do.

[reporter] What is the ways in which photojournalism itself,

because that is what you've done,

you've covered the world's events,

how has that changed over the course of your time?

Oh, it has changed tremendously.

The magazine world started to go downhill

in the, I would say, late '60s, early '70s,

where the press was consolidating

and it was very expensive to publish

a magazine such as Life,

which had a circulation of eight and a half million copies.

Mailing those magazines for subscribers became expensive,

and television was encroaching the magazine world.

There came a time where

most photojournalists like me

did not have a stage in which to perform anymore.

Magazines were dying off.

They were already stating in their annual report

that the future for media company would be

owning the intellectual property.

So, I felt it was very important to own

negatives and transparencies for our future.

They wanted to retain the rights,

and they would favor those that would cooperate.

[Ted] He stood up for the rights of photographers and artists.

Perhaps Henri had had enough.

He did not want to be bullied by anybody.

He did not want to be abused

by any authority.

And he wanted to stand up for what he believed was his,

his right as a person

and his right as an artist.

[Henri] We were able to recruit

a couple thousand photographers to cooperate

and not do assignments,

which required to give up the rights

to their negatives and transparencies.

Some of them would not want to jeopardize their career,

and I understand it.

And those who did paid dearly for this.

We worked a lot less.

But I think that it was the right thing to do,

even though it was done at a great sacrifice.

[Brigitte] I saw the struggle.

He tried to adapt.

He rented a studio on the West Side

to be able to do more editorial work,

more commercial work.

So, it was really, what was he gonna do next

to put food on the table.

My mother went back to work.

And it was a lot tougher.

There is no smoke.

-[interviewer] There is. -There is? Oh, you see it?

Oh, my God, I don't see it. Does it dive right?

-I don't see it there. -Yeah.

Yeah, okay, yeah.

-Okay, great. -Yeah, the rays are not

really okay but it's fine, yeah.

[interviewer] Oh, this is really nice.

What is it?

That's my wife.

[interviewer] Can you tell us what's going on here?

This is taken in Brittany in France.

My wife was from a village called

[indistinct] in Brittany.

And we're celebrating my daughter's fourth birthday.

A happy moment.

In 1983, I guess,

on a routine visit to the doctor,

my wife was diagnosed as having ovarian cancer.

She was operated on, I think, three or four times.

She had a wish to go and see her sister in France.

She got progressively worse.

On the third day, we had to call an ambulance,

and she went to the hospital in Nantes,

where she passed away a couple days later.

And how shall I say it?

I remember the same kiss I gave my mother,

giving it to my wife. Again, the cold kiss.

And I was devastated to go through this

one more time.

It's even hard to talk about it today.

And it's been 10 years that she passed away.

We had a pretty full life for over 30 years.

Paradise does not last very long.

You move from one paradise to the next.

Sometime, it's not paradise, and sometime, it is.

Sometime it's ecstasy.

It all depends at what stage of life you are at.

Maybe that's why I'm alive.

This is what probably is keeping me alive.

Is this quest for

always a better future life.

So, I always look forward to the future.

[Merry] There is this light around him

that is really incredible.

And I think it affects everyone he meets.

And I think a lot of that is just from

not taking things for granted

and appreciating things around him.

What's especially important and special about

Henri's photography is this sheer

time period of documentation.

They also read a whole narrative

about a period of time in America

that I think reflects on what's happening

socially, culturally, politically now.

But it's so interesting

that this is his first U.S. exhibition,

and it's capturing so much of American history.

I think what related us,

I know that he cared deeply for his mother.

And his mother had passed away a year or two before.

And of course, you know I lost my mother

when I was 13 years old.

So we could relate here

on what it is to lose a mother.

And he changed completely

after the loss of his mother.

And then of course, later on,

his manager, Colonel Parker, which we see here,

in front of Graceland,

was a Dutch citizen.

And funny enough,

he could not take Elvis on tours in Europe

because he was in the United States illegally.

We found out later, at the time it was a secret.

So, Elvis never performed abroad because of that.

Yeah, this is my introduction to the savage nomad.

I first went with this detective.

She looks at him so lovingly,

and yet, in him,

I didn't see that loving look.

And of course, she spoke French.

So we could communicate in French, which helped.

This guy works with dirt.

That's his art.

Her husband would call me out in the crowd.

They'd say, "Henri, come closer, come closer".

It worked out well. I could not have done better in a studio.

I mean, she doesn't even know I'm taking the picture.

Sometime I'm like a fly on the wall.

Nobody knows I'm here.

Other times, we create moments together

in partnership.

And that's what it's all about.

Some people write with pencil.

We write with light.

[Merry] Generationally speaking,

artists were considered people who studied art formally,

that got a certain degree in studio art.

And I don't think Henri would ever assume

to claim the title of an artist,

but that's what he's become.

[upbeat band music]

[Henri] Photography became a

form of escapism at the beginning.

But as I moved on in my profession,

the camera allowed me to be in the forefront.

To express myself and to communicate

about what I have seen.

So you could say that

I've been an eyewitness to history.

Even after I'm gone,

the pictures will speak for me

about what essentially it was like.

And show that I existed.

That I came by in this planet.

[clapping]

Thank you very much.

Okay.

Look down at the bottom of the lens.

[people chatting]

Hey Odiana, take a look, here.

No, I had it right on the Sacre-Coeur for you.

[Odiana] Oh, all I see is the sky.

Here.

[Odiana] Oh yeah.

-Oh, nice. -Nice.

A mutual friend of ours

invited us for lunch at their--

-Brunch. -Brunch?

-Oh, sorry. -Brunch.

[Odiana] Neither one of us knew that we were gonna be there.

I was told this is a brunch.

But she planned it because she has been

trying for us to meet for the longest time.

I was not interested in going to the brunch

'cause I wanted to go to the beach.

[Henri] And I had to go to a

Fourth of July party in Westchester.

So, I had to delay that departure.

-So both of us went there-- -To go to the brunch.

Really reluctantly.

Absolutely.

[laughs]

And then when I went there and I met him,

I said, "Oh, my God, what have I been missing all this time?"

[laughs]

[Odiana] And of course, a few days after,

he calls me and we plan about having dinner on Saturday.

And I thought I was picking him up from his apartment.

And then when I arrived to the apartment,

he had set up the most magnificent dinner.

He filled the house with flowers.

He was cooking the whole day.

Preparing a five course meal.

And it was a magic evening.

-Taking that. -No, no, not good.

They're not doing anything.

It's coming, it's coming.

There we go.

I thought that I had lost something again

that could not be replaced.

And lo and behold, found love again.

So another minor miracle to find

this thing I was missing for so many years.

To regain it again.

She's the extra heartbeats that his

heart has been missing.

With his ailing heart over the years.

She's kept him alive.

[Odiana] The second time we met,

I heard the whole story of his life.

But I didn't realize that I was the only one

being told besides Denise, his first wife.

He never opened up to anybody.

Nobody knew professionally what he had gone through

or where he came from or what happened to him.

Nobody helped him in his childhood.

He was left alone to fend for himself.

He has that capability of putting himself

in somebody else's shoes.

He's able to capture

a vulnerable moment in his subject

that only he can see, nobody else.

And that's what makes it so unique.

It's mostly his sensitivity

to the subject he's photographing.

[Henri] Well...

It's difficult to say whether or not

I have a philosophy.

I think...

Trying to overcome

major traumas in life

makes you a permanent optimist

if you want to survive.

Because no matter how dark things get,

you always hope that you will pull out of it.

And that's what I did so far.

[Nicole] Yeah, who knows. If you had stayed in Paris,

if your mother had lived,

you maybe would not have had the career that you had.

You wouldn't have met Grammy.

You wouldn't have had Brigitte and Philippe and me.

And it's a ripple effect.

Yes, well that is most likely not, yeah.

Would've been different.

It shows you that just

slight events that you don't know

will affect your whole life.

You're not aware at the time.

It's very strange.

But it turned out okay at the end.

But I had to go through a lot

to get back and rebuild a family.

The whole family was,

many of them were deported and die in Auschwitz.

So, we were lucky.

A few lucky ones.

And I was able to rebuild a family.

And I met your grandma.

The rest is history, right?

We built a new family.

And you're the proof of it.

[Nicole] The proof of the pudding.

The proof of the pudding, yes.

So, I'm happy that that's the,

everybody asks me, "What's your best

achievement in photography?"

I always say, not photography.

The rebuild up of a family.

Don't cry.

[laughs]

So.

You never want to repeat the war again.

People who are anti-government,

they should think two or three times before they

think of making war.

Because the effects on the children

is incredibly bad.

-Yeah. -Yeah.

Lifetime changes.

It was painful and difficult sometimes.

I did not have the normal childhood life

that most children get.

But if you're on the dance floor, you gotta dance.

I danced.

So I had to grow up very fast.

Of course I missed her love.

It takes a long time to stabilize in that situation.

But it might have helped me,

unbeknownst to me, to have to survive.

[soft music]

She would be so happy to see

how the family expanded.

I discovered in only 1987

that my father had been deported to Auschwitz

and died there soon thereafter.

The first name is misspelled, should be a J,

and the last name, of course, is misspelled.

It's D-A-U-M-A-N.

We're gonna need to have this corrected.

[laughing]

I hardly knew my father because he was deported in 1942.

I was only nine years old.

Of course, my parents would be ecstatic

to know that we got out of the dire poverty

that we were in.

Fortunately, the grandchildren are knowing

a much better life than I ever knew.

I expect more great things.

I will see some, and some of them I'll miss.

But I know that they will all succeed

and do very well in life.

So I would call it a tremendous success.

So after more than half a century,

I got a new perspective of where I have been

and how that, little by little,

I have built my stairway to paradise.

It's been a long climb.

It only took 65 years.

I guess, not too bad.

[soft music]

[mellow cheerful music]

[Henri] You want to put the backlight?

Yeah, we're gonna run it, do it really quick.

-You tell me when it's good. -Yeah.

Improving but there's no light on the panels.

The panels are not capturing it.

Down, oh there, what happened?

-I started it. -Turned it, yeah.

No, that's it, okay.

Shoot it.

Okay.

Come on, everybody, clear the set.

One more shot.

Here, like this, yes, right here.

About a foot.

[Nicole] Are you tired?

No.

[chuckling]

I'm back working.

It was nice that way.

[crew member] My finger was in there.

-Your finger? -Yep.

It was in the corner.

S#*#t.

Okay, keep going.

Good, freeze.

Nice.

Do it over.

Try to be fluid, huh?

Do my best.

Yeah, no, best is not good enough.

Better.

[mellow cheerful music]

[groaning]

Ah, S#*#t.

If you hold it there--

-Yeah, okay. -Yeah.

[mellow cheerful music]

Finished?

-It's finished, yes. -All right.

-Pleasure doing work with you. -Thank you, sir.

Thank you.

-Okay, I'm off to the race. -See you later.

Bye.

[mellow cheerful music]

[mellow playful music]

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Henri Dauman: Looking Up | THIRTEEN Specials

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Self-taught photographer Henri Dauman took the international photojournalism scene by storm with his cinematic images that redefined the methods of capturing historical icons. Leaving behind his past as an orphaned Holocaust survivor, Dauman created a new life for himself in New York City, where his timeless style quickly gained momentum amidst high society and celebrity culture.

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Elliot Fahrnow's Animation Portfolio Topaz.Studios: 

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Elliot Fahrnow's Animation Portfolio Topaz.Studios: 

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https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdoB5NO_IO_I4f3-RT17yZg

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Interesting photos, silly interviews.

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Today, if a hundred other news stories haven't already alerted you to this fact, is International Women's Day. It honors, it celebrates, it congratulates all the important things women do. It also, more and more, has evolved into an annual race by every brand to find some novel way to get in on the hype.

Here at WIRED Photo, we didn't want to be one of those brands, but we also wanted to acknowledge the great work of the female photographers we've commissioned over the past 12 months. So we decided to let them commemorate themselves-in their own words. Understandably, they want to be recognized for their photos, not their gender, but in an industry where they're more likely to experience sexism, less likely to be hired, and often paid less than their male counterparts, championing their contributions feels essential.

"I know I'm standing on the shoulders of giants to even be able to say this, but what it means to me is to not be labeled as a female photographer, but rather a photographer," says Dolly Faibyshev, one of the shutterbugs profiled below, all of whom provided portraits. "We don't refer to male photographers as male, you know? That's the ultimate sign of progress to me."

Want to know what progress looks like for some of the other photographers WIRED has worked with in the past year? Focus in below.
Other than your camera, what three items can you not live without?
Akasha Rabut: Palo santo, frankincense essential oil, and my sunshine necklace that a close friend made.
If you were to have a meal with anyone, living or dead, who would it be, and what would you eat?
AR: I would have a meal with Hilma Af Klint and I would take her to Burma Superstar in Oakland.
Last book you read? Favorite film?
AR: That's super hard. I love so many films. My two favorite films right now are Dina and Moonlight and my all time favorite film is The City of God.
What does it mean to you to be a female-identifying photographer?
AR: It's complex, and it has its benefits. I find that I am invited into sacred spaces and trusted by many people because of my feminine energy. There is an incredible bond amongst female photographers. I think women understand how daunting this industry can be, especially since it's male-dominated. I've been in situations with male and female photographers and I always find that we have this inclination to stick together, support each other and treat each other with respect. This summer I was on the road with a group called Black Voters Matter. There were several photographers on the road covering the story. There were about four female photographers and one male. We stopped at a church and there was this really beautiful moment that happened between a mother and daughter. It was tranquil and soft. All the female photographers in the room saw it, and we all looked at each other and acknowledged what was happening. There was a mutual understanding that the woman closest in vicinity would capture this stunning and intimate moment. We all stayed out of her way and watched as she did. The only male photographer in the room loudly ran over as fast as he could. He stopped right next to the female photographer and shot rapidly over her shoulder. I was the next closest person to the situation and could have easily taken that photo.

Do you have a relevant photo-related story that specifically involves working as a female photographer?
AR: See above.
Advice to your younger self?
AR: Friendships and experiences are the most valuable things you'll ever have. Don't take yourself too seriously and always follow your intuition.
Which other female photographers do you admire?
AR: Susan Worsham, Sarrah Danziger, Jody Rogac, Kristin-Lee Moolman, Molly Steele, Cara Stricker, and Alexis Gross.
Other than your camera, what three items can you not live without?
Amy Lombard: This question is a nightmare for me because I like to collect things -antiques and various memorabilia. If I had to choose three, it would be my Canon Speedlites, a large antique leopard statue I've named Angela, and a portrait I have of my mother with a cat under a tree.
If you were to have a meal with anyone, living or dead, who would it be, and what would you eat?
AL: I'm going to have to go with Tony Soprano. In an ideal world he'd come to Queens and we'd eat Italian food at Park Side in Corona.

Last book you read?
AL: Lane Moore's How to Be Alone: If You Want To, and Even If You Don't.
Favorite film?
AL: I'm not exactly a film snob, to a borderline embarrassing fault-I prefer TV and documentaries. My favorite movie is Romy and Michele's High School Reunion.
What does it mean to you to be a female-identifying photographer?
AL: It means I'm often frustrated. I'm incredibly proud to be a working female photographer today-but to be a female photographer often involves people thinking you're the assistant, or constantly dealing with someone undermining you. I wouldn't say my gender necessarily informs my work or how I see every subject I photograph, but it's important to have a diversity and range in voices of the people telling stories in our industry. It feels like a broken record at this point, yet we're not seeing enough of a change in hiring practices to be inclusive of both women and people of color.
Advice to your younger self?
AL: I'd tell myself to continue letting my curiosity of the world around me lead the way. Hard work and dedication do pay off.
Which other female photographers do you admire?
AL: Barbara Crane, Rosalind Solomon, and Cindy Sherman are my all-time favorite photographers (who just so happen to be women).
Other than your camera, what three items can you not live without?

Andrea DiCenzo: Phone, obviously. Not just for the usual stuff (though I'm a podcast junkie)-in the field it's invaluable. Lip balm. A compact comfort on the road, and a night routine staple. Hot water bottle. I run about 5 degrees cooler than the average human, and one of these is necessary to get me through winter.
If you were to have a meal with anyone, living or dead, who would it be, and what would you eat?
ADC: My mum's father, who passed away when I was too young to remember him. I'd ask him about his life over lobster rolls, since my family's from Maine and lobster rolls are a Maine delicacy.
Last book you read? Favorite film?
ADC: Bridesmaids, a go-to on a down day.
What does it mean to you to be a female-identifying photographer?
ADC: In an ideal world, focus on me and others as female photographers would be irrelevant, and I hope sometime soon it just goes away and we can just do the work. But while we're a long way away from the ideal, I think it's been useful to benefit from groups like Women Photograph, and to have strong colleagues who together instill a bit of a feeling of community in a profession that can often be isolating. There is more awareness about gender discrepancies today then even 10 years ago. I think there's an important push to recognize other voices within photojournalism, whether it's gender, sexuality, race, or ethnicity. I think people understand that diversity behind the camera simply leads to more good work being done.
Do you have a relevant photo-related story that specifically involves working as a female photographer?
Implicit in this question is the idea that being a male photographer, you might lack some sort of sensitivity or access to women that would bar you from accomplishing a story, or something like that, and that's not been my experience. Furthermore, in the conservative communities where I work, pointing the big black machine that goes click is often more the issue than my gender, whether it's been front-line coverage or portraits in family homes. I assume most people see an outsider with their own set of motives, which is weighed enough. I never like to go into those situations with my camera up. Sometimes, I'll need to sit and drink tea and chat for an afternoon, no photos at all. Then go back another day and see how people feel about photos then. It's important to be patient.
Advice to your younger self?
ADC: I think learning to trust in your own vision is a really important lesson. I think that's a life thing as well. It's not unique to photographers. That can be difficult to do when you have financial issues (which you will definitely have as a photojournalist). There have been times when I've been broke- refreshing my account balance all day to see if a payments hit broke-on top of being in the middle of some city where you don't know anyone and think 'What am I doing here?' In times like those, you have to trust in that earlier ambition.
Which other female photographers do you admire?
ADC: I really admire the work of Lynsey Addario. She became a very visible female photographer and I think that inspired another generation. Also colleagues and friends, particularly Alice Martins and Alex Potter. Their work is so strong and their dedication to the stories they focus on is very admirable. And they're doing it at a time when the industry's never been tougher.
Other than your camera, what three items can you not live without?

Anna Huix: Really the only thing I can't live without is chocolate.
If you were to have a meal with anyone, living or dead, who would it be, and what would you eat?
AH: The writer Roberto Bolaño. I would eat mussels and grilled fish on a bonfire by the sea.
Last book you read? Favorite film?
AH: Mustang by Deniz Gamze Ergüven is the film I love the most right now. A film I can't stop watching since I was young is Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown by Pedro Almodóvar.
What does it mean to you to be a female-identifying photographer?
AH: First of all, it means to be thankful to the women who worked hard to get us where we are now but it also means working on improving the world the next generation will find. For me, it translates to both working on photographic projects that cover women who create change and projects that point out the unequal opportunities and treatment women get too often.
Do you have a relevant photo-related story that specifically involves working as a female photographer?
AH: Yes, I often get editorial commissions photographing inspiring women who shake the world somehow. One of the best projects I was ever commissioned for was a story given to me by Telegraph Weekend Magazine. It was a project on recovering female drug addicts in Nepal. In Nepal, the help recovering from drug addiction is historically only available to men. Women drug addicts are even more stigmatized than men, and generally left without a space to get better. I went to photograph Dristi Nepal, which gives women a safe place to work on their addiction.
Advice to your younger self?
AH: Don't doubt yourself. Follow your instinct. Things happen when you work hard.
Which other female photographers do you admire?
AH: Ruth Ginika Ossai and Lea Colombo.
Other than your camera, what three items can you not live without?
Ashley Armitage: My cats Chichi and Archie. My phone. My bed.
If you were to have a meal with anyone, living or dead, who would it be, and what would you eat?
AA: Honestly, I'm such a homebody I'd just want to eat steak with my boyfriend at home. That's my ideal meal and my ideal person.

Last book you read? Favorite film? What does it mean to you to be a female-identifying photographer?
AA: To me it means carving new spaces in a male-dominated world.
Do you have a relevant photo-related story that specifically involves working as a female photographer?
AA: YES. Just a few days ago I was on set directing a music video and when we wrapped the set designer came up to me and said, "In my years of working in the film industry, you are the third female director I've ever worked with." That reminded me why I'm doing the work I do. There are so few female directors in the world and that needs to change.
Advice to your younger self?
AA: Everything will be OK. Honestly, that's still something I need to remind myself of.
Which other female photographers do you admire?
AA: Right now my favorite female photographers are Leslie Zhang, Carlota Guerrero, and Renell Medrano. They're incredible.
Other than your camera, what three items can you not live without?
Christie Hemm Klok: Headphones, Bolt Flashes, my pillow.
If you were to have a meal with anyone, living or dead, who would it be, and what would you eat?
CHK: This is a hard one but I'd love to have pizza with Alice Paul.
Last book you read? Favorite film? What does it mean to you to be a female-identifying photographer?
CHK: Ten years ago I would have said it was an obstacle I had to overcome, but today I feel lucky to be exactly who I am. The support and encouragement I have from other female-identifying photographers is amazing and I rely on that network of support so much.
Do you have a relevant photo-related story that specifically involves working as a female photographer?
CHK: I'm small (4'11"), and a woman, so there have been many times where I show up to a shoot and am immediately not taken seriously. A lot of times I can mend the situation but having a conversation with the subject but more than once I have been yelled at, asked my age and/or told how to to do my job. But of course that's not all the time. I often photograph strong, amazing women and men who are open and happy to see me behind the lens.

Advice to your younger self?
CHK: Trust yourself. For so long I cared too much about what other people thought of me. I feel like I've finally reached a place in my life where I know who I am and I'm proud of that person. Don't waste your time on people who don't appreciate who you are and focus too much on their image. That probably sounds like super cliché advice but it's true and is definitely something I wish I would have done earlier in my life.
Which other female photographers do you admire?
CHK: I've been lucky enough to surround myself with women I love as people and who are also some of the most badass photographers around. Jessica Chou, Cayce Clifford, Rachel Bujalski, Sunny Strader and Rozette Rago are photographers who impress me with every shoot they do. The level of thought and dedication is amazing and they keep me inspired to keep pushing forward.
Other than your camera, what three items can you not live without?
Dee Williams: My cell phone, specifically for calling my family back home. I FaceTime my parents up to three to four times a day. Speaking with them is the highlight of my day. Mascara. I'm not much of a makeup person, but mascara is that little pop that makes me feel complete in the morning. Peppermint and ginger tea. I drink about five cups a day.
If you were to have a meal with anyone, living or dead, who would it be, and what would you eat?
DW: I would have a meal with Rihanna and eat jerk chicken with rice and peas.
Last book you read?
DW: [Clarissa Pinkola Estés'] Women Who Run With the Wolves.
Favorite film? What does it mean to you to be a female-identifying photographer?
DW: To me, it means disrupting an industry and using my art and talent to tell visual stories about people and communities that aren't "mainstream" (until it's time to make a profit).
Do you have a relevant photo-related story that specifically involves working as a female photographer?
DW: A the moment I do not, but that just put some ideas in my head.
Advice to your younger self?
DW: Enjoy the moment and be patient. Everything works on God's timing, not yours.

Which other female photographers do you admire?
DW: Nadine Ijewere, Dana Scruggs, Elizabeth Wirija, Makeda Sanford, and Renell Medrano.
Other than your camera, what three items can you not live without?
Dolly Faibyshev: My laptop, iced coffee, and art (I love experiencing art in person so I'm always checking out galleries, art fairs, and museums).
If you were to have a meal with anyone, living or dead, who would it be, and what would you eat?
DF: Andy Warhol. I watched a video where he filmed himself eating a cheeseburger at the recent Warhol exhibition at The Whitney and I thought it was brilliant. So I'd love to relive that moment and have a cheeseburger with him.
Last book you read? Favorite film?
DF: I have a hard time choosing favorites for anything, because I love so many, but I'll say Martin Scorsese's New York, New York. I loved the mix of visually dazzling and emotionally devastating. I really was absorbed into its world.
What does it mean to you to be a female-identifying photographer?
DF: I know I'm standing on the shoulders of giants to even be able to say this, but what it means to me is to not be labeled as a female photographer, but rather a photographer. We don't refer to male photographers as male, you know? That's the ultimate sign of progress to me.
Do you have a relevant photo-related story that specifically involves working as a female photographer?
DF: I feel like it plays out differently in different situations. There's an alternative parade to the Pride Parade that refers to itself as the Dyke March, and covering it as a female for Vanity Fair, I felt there was an overall feeling of a bond and a sisterhood, I was welcomed and celebrated as a woman. I also photographed a pair of nude female sunbathers on a beach in St. Bart's for Le Monde's M Magazine, and as I approached them, I felt that my presence to the nude women felt distinctly less invasive and seemed to help them let their guard down.
Advice to your younger self?
DF: I was doing completely different stuff out of college for a long time, trying to find myself and always feeling unfulfilled because I wasn't doing something I loved. I'd tell her to relax and enjoy life and have patience knowing that it will all work out, but then again I think it was the gnawing feeling of dissatisfaction that forced me to work harder and strive to find the creative outlet that was right for me, and if I hadn't had that period of self-doubt and frustration, I might not have found my way to the thing I love doing most. So looking back, I guess I would try to advise myself to embrace that internal struggle and let it guide me.

Which other female photographers do you admire?
DF: Nan Goldin, Alex Prager, and Cindy Sherman are some of my favorites. They're so different from each other, but they each created a world of their own through their work and fearlessly continue to pursue it.
Other than your camera, what three items can you not live without?
Elinor Carucci: My lipstick, reading glasses (since turning 45), and a sweatshirt (because I am always cold).
If you were to have a meal with anyone, living or dead, who would it be, and what would you eat?
EC: With my grandmother, with whom I was very close and died 15 years ago while I was pregnant with my twins. I would eat watermelon, my favorite food, and I would try to, for the millionth time, convince her that it is OK to eat fruit as a meal!
Last book you read? Favorite film?
EC: Amadeus by Miloš Forman.
What does it mean to you to be a female-identifying photographer?
EC: It means compassion, emotion, and humanity, connecting and intimacy, and maternity will lead my photographer's heart.
Do you have a relevant photo-related story that specifically involves working as a female photographer?
EC: I feel that many parts of my work, and many if not all the editorial stories I do, involve the fact that I am a woman. From photographing births or a family who lost their mother, to photographing children and highly sensitive situations, I know they come to me because I am also a woman, a daughter, a mother. I also feel that about my experience as a professional belly dancer, who for 15 years danced for different families from different communities, socioeconomic backgrounds, races, nationalities, sexual identities, and religions. In those years I was learning how to find a way to be welcomed, and open up to who the people I was dancing to. Also, being a parent myself for almost 15 years, raising a boy and a girl, with all the complexities, challenges, and understandings of human nature that comes with mothering, it all becomes a part of my identity, of who I am, a part that I can bring into the photo shoot and hopefully into the images themselves.
Advice to your younger self?
EC: Stop worrying all the time! (OK, worry just a little since it's such a big part of your motivation, but just a little!)

Which other female photographers do you admire?
EC: Nan Goldin, Mary Ellen Mark, Sally Mann.
Other than your camera, what three items can you not live without?
Elizabeth Renstrom: My various half-filled notebooks lying around everywhere. I tend to fill them with drawings/collages/and ramblings that sometimes take me awhile to remember the point of. Perfumes. I'm very comforted by scents. My grandpa's foot locker from his time in the Air Force that he passed down to me. I keep all my old photo gear and small C-prints (made in a color darkroom, never forget) inside as a reminder to whatever my future creative self is doing.
If you were to have a meal with anyone, living or dead, who would it be, and what would you eat?
ER: The easiest thing for me to say would be the first people I've been thinking about lately. That would be Kim Deal (alive) or Serge Gainsbourg (dead). Mainly because I think it would be a party with either of them. I think I'd eat a delicious falafel platter with Kim. Serge, I'd eat something traditional, French (obviously) and comforting. We would smoke Gitanes inside the restaurant and have a lot of wine.
Last book you read?
ER: My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh. I assigned a lot of imagery for her short stories in Vice over the years, but only recently finished several of her books.
Favorite film?
ER: That's so hard! I'm so inspired by film when it comes to my personal work. Some top ones that I always go back to are Fat Girl by Catherine Breillat, Welcome to the Dollhouse by Todd Solondz and Repo Man by Alex Cox.
What does it mean to you to be a female-identifying photographer?
ER: Professionally, I think it means I spend more time trying to lift the voices of other female-identifying photographers. In my personal work, I think because I talk about feminism and the ways in which things are marketed and gendered-my passion and experiences as a female-identifying person are what motivate me and inform my visual style if that makes sense?
Do you have a relevant photo-related story that specifically involves working as a female photographer?
ER: I've had instances that are familiar to any female-identifying person. Instances where a man in power has used it inappropriately to make situations uncomfortable and now only years later do I understand how screwed up those situations were. Instances where I've literally been asked by a guy if I'm qualified to do the job I was just hired for. Photo/art bros explaining stuff to me all the time. Being asked when I get to set if I'm the assistant. Tons of stuff that I try not to let in and make me doubt my own work.

Advice to your younger self?
ER: I think I'd provide myself the same advice I give to younger photographers. Figure out what you care about and find a way to translate that vision. You know when you're making work that you're proud of because you don't care where it goes, you just care that you were able to actualize it. It gets harder and harder in our social media economy when we're all expected to be living as individual human brands-but I believe in you!
Which other female photographers do you admire?
ER: I'm admiring these photographers always: Delphine Diallo, Sue de Beer, Eva O'Leary, Keisha Scarville, Chuck Grant, Namsa Leuba, Glenda Lissette.
Other than your camera, what three items can you not live without?
Esme Rice: My headphones, a pen, and probably my wardrobe. Style means a lot to me.
If you were to have a meal with anyone, living or dead, who would it be, and what would you eat?
ER: Lin-Manuel Miranda, and I'd let him show me some of his favorite Puerto Rican dishes.
Last book you read? Favorite film? What does it mean to you to be a female-identifying photographer?
ER: Being a female photographer means constantly having to prove your vision. It means bringing something new to the scene so it is impossible to be overlooked.
Do you have a relevant photo-related story that specifically involves working as a female photographer?
ER: Every time I shoot a form of activism, like a protest or movement, it reminds me of who I am. As a female photographer, when I shot the Women's March it was incredibly easy to connect to the emotions of the crowd. When you can really feel what you're working on, it makes the end result so much more real.
Advice to your younger self?
ER: As a 17-year-old, I gave myself the advice every day to jump at everything. Any opportunity, just go for it. I have nothing to lose, only lessons to learn.
Which other female photographers do you admire?
ER: I've been obsessed with Sasha Samsonova. Probably because she shoots mainly film, beautifully, and I have a soft spot for that medium. Another is Petra Collins. Her work is so different, yet you can immediately tell when something is hers.
Other than your camera, what three items can you not live without?

Heather Sten: AirPods, a notebook, potato chips.
If you were to have a meal with anyone, living or dead, who would it be, and what would you eat?
HS: I'd have a big bowl of bún bò huế with my grandmother.
Last book you read?
HS: Becoming by Michelle Obama.
Favorite film?
HS: I don't have a favorite, but I recently just watched The Handmaiden and was blown away.
What does it mean to you to be a female-identifying photographer?
HS: I'm able to navigate my way through the world and with my subjects with a certain tenderness, power, and warmth.
Do you have a relevant photo-related story that specifically involves working as a female photographer?
HS: I've been very fortunate in the past year to be able to photograph other female-identifying people with their #MeToo stories-the kinship, power, and inspiration that I've received from that has been very moving.
Advice to your younger self?
HS: Who cares what anyone else thinks!
Which other female photographers do you admire?
HS: Ah, so many! Sasha Arutyunova, Oriana Koren, Miranda Barnes, June Kim, Dana Scruggs, Naima Green, Joyce Sze Ng, Valerie Chiang, Carlota Guerrero, Cara Stricker, Cait Oppermann, Peyton Fulford, Eva O'Leary, Jody Rogac, Deana Lawson, Harley Weir, Alexandra Leese...
Other than your camera, what three items can you not live without?
Jessica Chou: My cell phone, my passport, my house keys.
If you were to have a meal with anyone, living or dead, who would it be, and what would you eat?
JC: My grandmother and we would be making and eating dumplings.
Last book you read?
JC: Elena Ferrante's My Brilliant Friend series-I binge-read those books the way someone would binge-watch a TV show.
Favorite film?
JC: Hard to say. I'm notorious for forgetting the plots and storylines to movies. What generally stay with me are the moods and themes. There are scenes from Blue Velvet by David Lynch and Mystery Train by Jim Jarmusch that I watched 15 years ago that are burned into my brain. A more recent film I really liked is Sorry to Bother You by Boots Riley.
What does it mean to you to be a female-identifying photographer?
JC: Just the pure act of being present and visible as a female photographer and a POC can take back the control of how we're seen and understood and challenge any misconceptions of what place we have in the industry and the arts. And as a creator who is fueled by my identities that shape my experience, I'd like to make sure I'm adding a new and meaningful perspective that supports my community and contributes to the conversation at large. It also means supporting the voices of my colleagues as much as my own. Whether I mean for it to be this way, everyday is a small political act.

Do you have a relevant photo-related story that specifically involves working as a female photographer?
JC: I've been lucky in that the people I've worked with have generally been decent, respectful people, but I've also seen how tenuous that respect can be when people's insecurities are involved and how easy it can be to use a women's gender against them. I certainly do not let that stop me. I think the more interesting story for me has been the fact that my career thus far have largely been supported by women. The first person who encouraged and gave me confidence in my own ideas was a female classmate. The first person who encouraged me and gave me room to grow as an editorial photographer was a female photo director. The people who've reached out to me and made me feel part of a photography community have largely been women. The ones who've been the most generous with their help and resources tended to be women (Women Photograph, Authority Collective). And aside from my husband and a few personal friends and colleagues, I can't imagine my career without the women who've supported me along the way.
Advice to your younger self?
JC: Save your money. Think about what you want and make bolder steps. If an idea scares you, it's probably what you should be doing. Find a community and ask for help. And if things don't go as imagined, it's far from the end. Also, edit more.
Which other female photographers do you admire?
JC: Vanessa Winship and Deana Lawson are some of my favorite photographers, no descriptors needed. But for photographers who I know on a personal level, Marilyn Montufar, Teresa Eng, and Oriana Koren are just a few among the many I admire.
Other than your camera, what three items can you not live without?
Meiko Arquillos: My Hobonichi planner (it changed my life!), my favorite pen, a bunch of stickie notes (to jot down ideas).
If you were to have a meal with anyone, living or dead, who would it be, and what would you eat?
MA: Maira Kalman. Spaghetti with meatballs.
Last book you read?
MA: Sad Premonition by Banana Yoshimoto.
Favorite film? What does it mean to you to be a female identifying photographer? Do you have a relevant photo-related story that specifically involves working as a female photographer?

MA: I try to be a good role model for my daughter. She still gets excited for me whenever she sees my photographs in a magazine or on an advertisement. In general I feel I am more in touch with my creativity since I became a mother. I am a bit more brave. Maybe I feel responsibility to be this way so that she can do the same when she grows up.
Advice to your younger self?
MA: Be yourself.
Which other female photographers do you admire?
MA: I really love some of Kayo Ume's images . It feels so raw, candid, and brave. Very different than my work.
Other than your camera, what three items can you not live without?
Michelle Groskopf: A really good bookstore, the weight room at my gym, my PlayStation 4.
If you were to have a meal with anyone, living or dead, who would it be, and what would you eat?
MG: Billy Wilder, matzo ball soup at the original 2nd Avenue Deli in New York.
Last book you read? Favorite film?
MG: Too many to list but I have a soft spot for Seventeen by Joel DeMott and Jeff Kreines and The Philadelphia Story by George Cukor.
What does it mean to you to be a female-identifying photographer?
MG: I have to work harder, be louder, stay longer, and hang on tighter. It's made me a stronger person for it.
Do you have a relevant photo-related story that specifically involves working as a female photographer?
MG: Thankfully no major horror stories yet other than the daily dismal grind of being under-represented and often overlooked.
Advice to your younger self?
MG: I jumped around career-wise so much as a younger person. I would definitely go back and tell myself to focus on the one thing that excites and inspires me and stick with it. "Young eager Michelle, you love photography so much, just go for it, don't wait till you're older to take it seriously, quit messing about."
Which other female photographers do you admire?
MG: So many. The list can go on and on so here is just a few: Hana Mendel, Stacy Kranitz, Isadora Kosofsky, Christie Hemm Klok, Jessica Chou, Sasha Tivetsky, Nichole Washington, Robin De Puy, Maggie Shannon.
Other than your camera, what three items can you not live without?

Natalie Naccache: My laptop, passport, and my phone so I can annoy my family abroad.
If you were to have a meal with anyone, living or dead, who would it be, and what would you eat?
NN: My maternal grandmother, whom I never got enough time to know.
Last book you read? Favorite film? What does it mean to you to be a female-identifying photographer?
NN: In the Middle East, I have a lot more intimate access to stories that I wouldn't be able to cover if I were a man in certain communities and circumstances. When on assignment in delicate political areas, my subjects don't see me as very intimidating, I think it's because I'm a polite Middle Eastern 5'4" petite lady with a camera.
Do you have a relevant photo-related story that specifically involves working as a female photographer?
NN: Is it bad that I don't yet?
Advice to your younger self?
NN: Be more confident when on assignment and dealing with difficult subjects. You run this show. Be unapologetic, experiment with different mediums, get outside that box. And be proud of your work.
Which other female photographers do you admire?
NN: Diana Markosian, Maggie Steber, Tanya Habjouqa.
Other than your camera, what three items can you not live without?
Oriana Koren: A good, inky pen, a notebook to write my thoughts in with said inky pen, good speakers. I'm an audiophile and I like playing my music loud so it envelopes my senses.
If you were to have a meal with anyone, living or dead, who would it be, and what would you eat?
OK: It'd be a tie between James Baldwin and Zora Neale Hurston, either way we'd all be sitting on someone's front steps, eating just picked peaches and sticky sweet summer watermelon.
Last book you read? Favorite film?
OK: In the Mood for Love by Wong Kar-wai. It's quiet and thoughtful and certainly one of the most beautiful films I've ever seen. The cinematography, the intimacy it carried, I'm always chasing after that when making images.

What does it mean to you to be a female-identifying photographer?
OK: It means I may be twice as good as my white colleagues, three times as good as my male colleagues, and I will likely end up with a quarter of the opportunities to thrive and succeed.
Do you have a relevant photo-related story that specifically involves working as a female photographer?
OK: I accompanied some chefs to Tokyo for a research trip and had to hear all manner of jokes about women's appearances, watching the writer (a woman) "turn" the constant mansplaining of one of the chefs into a joke so as to tolerate them. I often feel when I'm doing work with men/masc people, I end up having to do my job along with everyone else, because who else is going to carry that weight on a set? After that trip incident, I made a promise to myself not work with men who think acting like children is all they will contribute to a project. Not on my set, not on my projects.
Advice to your younger self?
OK: Always trust your gut.
Which other female photographers do you admire?
OK: Heather Sten and Kayla Reefer. I'm impressed with the way they peel back the veil when making portraits of their sitters. I've seen them both in action and the ease and confidence in their skill is really something to behold.
Other than your camera, what three items can you not live without?
Pooneh Ghana: Caffeine, music, and my psycho chihuahua Dolma.
If you were to have a meal with anyone, living or dead, who would it be, and what would you eat?
PG: I wanna eat bags and bags of Gardetto's with Karen O.
Last book you read? Favorite film?
PG: American Movie (the documentary).
What does it mean to you to be a female-identifying photographer?
PG: While there are clear obstacles women face every day in any work field, whether it's fighting for more pay or even something as simple as just being taken seriously, I never wanted to go into this field with this mindset of being a "female" photographer, per se. I went in wanting to get thrown into the pit with everyone and proving myself through my work alone, unrelated to gender. I will say that with being a female photographer, the most rewarding moments for me are when other women/girls (usually high school or college kids) email asking for advice or expressing appreciation, or to say that they started taking photos or listening to a band because they follow my work. That's really what gets me and keeps me so motivated. I will say that, on this note, it is hilarious how many people have assumed that I'm a male photographer before actually meeting me in person. I'm sure it partially has to do with how weird my name is, but still a funny thing that still happens often.

Advice to your younger self?
PG: Keep listening to your gut and pursuing your dream, even though the idea of it might make your future look scary and unpredictable now. Everyone that's telling you that a career in photography is a pipe dream doesn't know how driven you are. You have one chance at life and there's no way you're gonna be miserable sitting behind an office desk five days a week. Also, drink more water.
Which other female photographers do you admire?
PG: Off the top of my head, I have so much love for Sarah Eiseman, Jackie Lee Young, Yana Yatsuk, Sheva Kafai, Dana Trippe, just to name a few.
Other than your camera, what three items can you not live without?
Prarthna Singh: My nail clipper, a diary for my endless to-do lists, my jar of turmeric.
If you were to have a meal with anyone, living or dead, who would it be, and what would you eat?
PS: A home-cooked meal by my mother (some delicious Indian food) with David Bowie.
Last book you read? Favorite film?
PS: Aligarh, a Hindi movie based on the true story of a professor of Marathi at the famed Aligarh Muslim University, who was suspended on grounds of morality.
What does it mean to you to be a female-identifying photographer?
PS: It means everything! It means I need to get out there, prove myself, and share my stories more than ever before.
Do you have a relevant photo-related story that specifically involves working as a female photographer?
PS: Ha! I have too many. But I prefer to not focus on the bumps along the way.
Advice to your younger self?
PS: Authenticity is key. There's nothing more important than making work you truly believe in.
Which other female photographers do you admire?
PS: Dayanita Singh is always an inspiration. I recently saw a Vivian Maier exhibition and was absolutely blown away. Nan Goldin and Diane Arbus. I also love Juno Calypso's work.
Other than your camera, what three items can you not live without?

Ramona Rosales: Music (my favorite tunes and ability to hear it), sketchbook (with something to write with), flavor (I do keep hot sauce in my bag).
If you were to have a meal with anyone, living or dead, who would it be, and what would you eat?
RR: I would love to share a pie with Lucille Ball, Carol Burnett, Juila Louis-Dreyfus, and Tina Fey ... not only the funniest women to ever grace us with their presence, but badass businesswomen who have paved the way for women in entertainment, and a constant inspiration for me.
Last book you read? Favorite film?
RR: This is a hard one to narrow down, but it's a tie with John Waters' Cry Baby Cohen Brothers' Raising Arizona.
What does it mean to you to be a female-identifying photographer?
RR: Work-wise, I really just identify as a photographer that just happens to be female. I know as people we have a unique voice and I do feel that voice comes through in my work to a degree, but I feel that the message is more ambiguous since I'm telling other peoples' stories. My personal work takes on a deeper side that can be described as more feminine since it taps into more raw memories and colors of my childhood and being brought up in somewhat "traditional" standards even though I was very much a tomboy getting dirty in my dad's garage. I feel overall I try to push more joy and color though my work which I identify more with than my gender.
Do you have a relevant photo-related story that specifically involves working as a female photographer?
RR: I'm always mistaken as the makeup artist when I roll into set with my camera bag and always get the surprised look that I'm actually the boss. My first name is often misspelled and the masculine version of my name is sometimes in its place, also creating surprise on set. I'm looking forward to the day when being a photographer while female isn't a surprise or a novelty.
Advice to your younger self?
RR: Fear is just a speed bump, stop saying you are sorry and speak up.
Which other female photographers do you admire?
RR: Off the top of my head, I love Collier Schorr, Natalia Mantini, Carlota Guerrero.
Other than your camera, what three items can you not live without?

Rose Marie Cromwell: Coconut oil, notepad, and a secret good luck charm.
If you were to have a meal with anyone, living or dead, who would it be, and what would you eat?
RMC: My husband Roman and I would eat fresh raw tuna on the beach in Panama after a surf session.
Last book you read? Favorite film?
RMC: Not possible to answer this, but La Ciénaga by Lucrecia Martel just came to mind.
What does it mean to you to be a female-identifying photographer?
RMC: That you carry the burden to always subvert the ever-present male gaze.
Do you have a relevant photo-related story that specifically involves working as a female photographer?
RMC: The photo world is a boy's club for sure, and that is why it's so important we as women work together and collaborate. We should not only ask for help, but reach out to younger women who may need our guidance. We must be intersectional feminists as well-that is the key to more diverse storytelling, and we all benefit from that.
Advice to your younger self?
RMC: Drown out the noise, and stay focused on what your intuition tells you to do.
Which other female photographers do you admire?
RMC: Susan Meiselas, Carrie Mae Weems, Collier Schorr, Rinko Kawauchi, Graciela Iturbide, and many more.
Other than your camera, what three items can you not live without?
Sam Cannon: My PC (her name is Birtha, named after my grandmother), my greenscreen (oh the possibilities), my passport (NY, I love you, but this relationship only works if we take breaks).
If you were to have a meal with anyone, living or dead, who would it be, and what would you eat?
SC: A munchie-fueled feast of Taco Bell with my big sister.
Last book you read? Favorite film?
SC: A few that were very impactful to me when I was young: The Matrix, What Dreams May Come, The Fall, Akira Kurosawa's Dreams.
What does it mean to you to be a female-identifying photographer?
SC: That I have my own stories to tell; some that are born from my own identity and experiences and others that are not. It also means I get asked this question a lot but I am really grateful to be creating in a time when more diverse voices are being heard.

Do you have a relevant photo-related story that specifically involves working as a female photographer?
SC: A lot of my personal work focuses on the way images of women's bodies are manipulated and shared online. I often photograph myself for those works, so I would say the subject, the gaze, and the story I'm telling in those images are steered by my identity as a woman.
Advice to your younger self?
SC: Just because you love it, doesn't mean it isn't work.
Which other female photographers do you admire?
SC: Aleia Murawski, Christelle de Castro, Parker Day, Miranda Barnes, and Marie Tomanova.
Other than your camera, what three items can you not live without?
Yuri Hasegawa: I can't live without my fur-son, Buddy, and Gizmo, who passed away last year (he's always with me). They save me. My family in Japan. They're my rock. iPhone. I'm 100 percent relying on my iPhone for running business.
If you were to have a meal with anyone, living or dead, who would it be, and what would you eat?
YH: Absolutely with my husband/soulmate, who unfortunately passed away. If I could see him again, that's the ultimate wish. We'd eat anything amazing delicious. There's lots of food I'd love to check out with him these days in LA.
Last book you read? What does it mean to you to be a female-identifying photographer?
YH: It's been quite awesome for me that I feel like I got more exposure being female photographer last year, got lots of great opportunities working with lots of amazing creatives, including talented female creatives. But in the end, it should be 100 percent equal opportunities for everyone. I feel like the goal of society and the industry should be that we are just identified as "photographers" and get equal opportunities to start with.
Do you have a relevant photo-related story that specifically involves working as a female photographer?
YH: My very first editorial assignment was from Japanese men's street culture magazine. The editor-in-chief, a Japanese man, told me, "Most subjects I feature in this magazine are hardcore street dudes. I want a female photographer photograph them. Trust me, it works better. It's psychology and when 'male egos' hit each other, it can be horrible and I've had problems in the past. It depends, of course, but in most cases male subjects try to keep their macho image going if a male photographer shows up. I want to strip that wall down. A female photographer can break that wall, they can bring a different perspective to the table, and I want that." I soon realized what he was talking about.

Last year, I photographed actress Cynthia Erivo. At the end of the shoot, She told me, "This was my very first photo shoot with a photographer who is a woman of color. We gotta make this happen more in industry. Keep going girl!"
Advice to your younger self?
YH: Have eyes/sensitivity to see both the big picture and the details. Just do it more! Travel more! Have dogs in life!
Which other female photographers do you admire?
YH: One of my mentors, Coral Von Zumwalt. She's just awesome to begin with. A kick-ass mom, and a natural-born photographer. I had years of amazing opportunities assisting her. She showed/taught me a lot, and still gives me advice and encouragement and checks in to make sure I'm OK.

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23 Amazing Female Photographers You Should Know

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Today, if a hundred other news stories haven't already alerted you to this fact, is International Women's Day. It honors, it celebrates, it congratulates all the important things women do. It also, more and more, has evolved into an annual race by every brand to find some novel way to get in on the hype.

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Evan Shaw's Digital Art Portfolio including Fractal Terrain Generation imagery.

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Evan Shaw's Digital Art Portfolio including Fractal Terrain Generation imagery.

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https://evanshawart.weebly.com/

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For Black History Month, LightBox gathered a panel of experts-from major artists such as Carrie Mae Weems to curators such as Azu Nwagbogu and educators like John Edwin Mason-and asked them to each nominate one under-the-radar, exciting African American photographer. By no means a definitive list of panelists or nominees (for that, check out TIME's " 100 Photos " project), this is instead a personal and subjective tribute to the thriving field of contemporary African American photography.

While some artists such as Joshua Rashaad McFadden make use of archival material, others like Jasmine Murrell incorporate sculpture, while Gerald Cyrus' work is firmly documentary in nature and Shamayim's is clearly fashion-based.

The nominators include Awol Erizku, artist; Azu Nwagbogu, director African Artists' Foundation; Carrie Mae Weems, artist; Deborah Willis, chair of the Department of Photography & Imaging at the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University; Derrick Adams, artist; Jamel Shabazz, artist; John Edwin Mason, Associate Professor at University of Virginia; Rujeko Hockley, Assistant Curator of Contemporary Art at Brooklyn Museum; Kalia Brooks, Adjunct Professor in the Photography and Imaging Department in the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University; and the staff of The Studio Museum in Harlem.

Contact us at letters@time.com.

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12 African American Photographers You Should Follow Right Now

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Artists and editors nominated under-the-radar, exciting black photographers

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Professor Sands' Student Animation Work2

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Think about the fact, when photography had been discovered in 1839 and slowly matured over time, the painters of the late nineteenth century were forced to adopt a new style. This change resulted in a substantial shift in the forms - Realism to Impressionism, Post-Impressionism, Expressionism, and Cubism, and so on. How different it is from paintings when photography, as a medium, is quite easily available and, everyone has access to it. Not much, I believe. In this article, The Photography of the 21st Century, I want to discuss how it is relevant in today's photography context, comparing it with the evolution of different forms in paintings.

The Perspective

We have millions of photographs, if not billions, are being produced every day. For instance, if just 1% of the world population, which is 7 billion as we speak, take one shot with their camera, mobile device, or by any other means, we will be producing 70 million pictures in a day. Sounds crazy, right? That is to say, does not warrant that it is the time to come up with new ideas of visual storytelling - a complete paradigm shift, and an approach for new standards?

In the 21st century, science and technology do not wonder us anymore. We are fortunate to witness many innovations. As humankind, we have gone through a series of advancements subsequently. The technology behind capturing an image is no more a costly affair, and accessibility is not an issue anymore.

Certainly, it's not a privileged tool as it used to be in 10 years back. Even a low-end mobile phone can capture a decent image now. And we can also print it on paper or canvas. Mostly, we use a mobile phone camera to capture photos for social media. As a result, we have too many photographs are being produced every day. All are good in terms of look and appearance.

Simplicity and Complexity

Having said that, it outwardly seems photography is the easiest art medium to pursue. At the same time, it is very difficult to make images that can stand out from the crowd. That is to say, it's hard to make images that can be remembered and treasured for a long. Advancement of technology has imposed some challenges to serious photographers. It forced them to think out of the box, and come out with new standards, redefine their approach. On the other side, its simplicity has continually encouraged all the photo lovers to pursue photography as a medium for art. So, many newcomers want to give a try. It was never before like that in film days. In fact, all this is good for photography as a fine art medium. It is equally good for the evolution of a new set of standards.

A Lesson from History

History repeats itself. In the seventeenth century, artists used camera obscura, which is the Latin word for "room dark". It is a darkened enclosure or box with a small opening or lens on one wall through which light enters to form an inverted image on the opposite wall. It is believed that some artists used this method to project images onto the canvas during the Baroque period (1600-1750). However, due to the inability to create a truly permanent image, this technology could only be used as a tool to assist artists in drafting their artwork. In 1839, Louis-Jacques-Mandé Daguerre used a silver iodide covered copper plate and mercury fumes to make a single fixed image. Since then, photography has truly become a fusion of science and creativity and matured over time.

Realism

With the development of photography, nineteenth-century painters were challenged to position themselves from the newly developed medium. It was the era of Realism (1850-1900) of modern art. At that time, the realist artists were interested in accurately depicting the human condition, with an element of social awareness. Realist artists had focused themselves to precisely represent the visual world. But then, a photographer could do this with a camera and flashbulb. Because of the camera, artists of the latter half of the nineteenth century began to experiment with optical realism and capturing of movement in a whole new way.

Impressionism

Impressionism (1870-1900), a new style was evolved in painting, a slight shift from Realism. The name of the style derives from the title of a Claude Monet work, Impression, Soleil levant (Impression, Sunrise). In Édouard Manet's great painting, Bar at the Folies-Bergère (1881-1882), has a sense of the depth of field and blurriness, as they would be in a photograph, and is an indication of movement. In The Rehearsal on Stage (1874), Edgar Degas, an impressionist artist, painted ballet dancers featuring a dynamic form of the human body. It depicts two dancers in motion, limbs askew, blurry instructor's coat, and dancer's dresses. Soon after Post-Impressionism (1890-1910), again, there was a shift of style and form. Here in this era, we have great artists like Vincent van Gogh, Paul Cezanne, Paul Gauguin to name a few.

Édouard Manet, Bar at the Folies-Bergère (1881-1882)
Image Courtesy: The Courtauld Institute of Art

Edgar Degas, The Rehearsal on Stage, 1874
Image Courtesy: The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Expressionism

Vincent van Gogh is considered the greatest after Rembrandt van Rijn, and one of the greatest of the Post-Impressionists. The striking color, emphatic brushwork, and contoured forms of his work powerfully influenced the current of Expressionism in modern art. Vincent van Gogh produced emotional, visually arresting paintings over the course of a career that lasted only a decade. Rather than faithfully depicting his surroundings, he painted landscapes altered by his imagination, memories, and emotions evoked within him.

Vincent van Gogh, The Starry Night
Image Courtesy: moma.org

Different Styles of Paintings

The radical shift in paintings happened with (1900-1930) and Expressionism (1900-1940). Henri Matisse's work is an example. And finally, a substantial shift happened with . It is characterized by fragmented images or images that had been broken up and viewed from multiple angles. It was a truly revolutionary development in modernist art in the early twentieth century. Pablo Picasso is credited with developing Cubism. His Guernica, painted in 1937, is a visual representation of the atrocities of war - an accurate depiction of a cruel, dramatic situation. It rendered through nearly abstract figures that stepped into symbolism.

Pablo Picasso, Les Demoiselles d'Avignon (1907)
Image Courtesy: wikipedia.org

Pablo Picasso, Guernica, 1937, Oil on canvas
Image Courtesy: museoreinasofia.es

Influence of Photography on Paintings

Photography and its influence have definitely changed the style, form, and approach of paintings. It played a strong role in evolving new forms of paintings in the early nineteenth century. Similarly, easy accessibility of camera at mass level and excessive photographs produced every day, demand a change in photography. It should evolve in terms of innovative storytelling, forms, styles, and approaches.

In the 21st century, photography definitely needs a new roadmap, a whole fresh new medium. Now, photographs are not just being displayed on fine art paper, but many other digital forms like a webpage, PDF, slideshow presentation, and that makes it a different art medium altogether. The level of commitment needed to print and frame a photograph is much more than putting it on a webpage, or a blog, or simply on a social media site.

Personal Extension and its Importance

To give another perspective, let me take the example of a pen and paper. This is the cheapest medium available. Even though, every one of us is not a novelist, an essayist, or a columnist, or even a blogger. Because it requires a story to tell, or an idea to communicate, or a personal standpoint to share that should interest others. Similarly, today's photography, at the peak of its technological avant-garde, in my point of view, is the communication of an idea and thought process involved with it. It could be to showcase a dreamland fantasy with a personal extension. That being said, colorful, good looking, and well-composed photographs are still not enough and adequate with the given perspective. In the 21st century, photography as a medium demands a new approach or a strategy to adopt.

Joel Meyerowitz once said -
"We think of photography as pictures. And it is. But I think of photography as ideas. And do the pictures sustain your ideas or are they just good pictures? I want to have an experience in the world that is a deepening experience, that makes me feel alive and awake and conscious."
This echo with the current situation and absolutely relevant from the perspective where we stand now.

Some Questions

Questions often whirl in my mind - what should be the approach to photograph a subject. Is it the subject itself, or is it the way perceived by the photographer? It's a weird concept. But when a personal extension is important, it is obvious to come up with this question. That would the quality which will make a photograph different from one another. If it's important to fill up the frame with feelings, energy, frustration, wonder, or interaction of the subject with the photographer, we have to put a personal touch in the frame or series of the images, right?

Once again, I admire Joel's viewpoint towards photography and his words. In his words -
"I think about photographs as being full, or empty. You picture something in a frame and it's got lots of accounting going on in it - stones and buildings and trees and air - but that's not what fills up a frame. You fill up the frame with feelings, energy, discovery, and risk, and leave room enough for someone else to get in there."
This makes total sense to me. It indicates adding a third dimension in a two-dimensional photograph. In other words, it emphasizes having a personal viewpoint towards the subject, scene, situation, or whatever it is.

The Truth about Photography

I realized from my own photography practice that it is not as trustworthy as it seems. It may not be the absolute fact - it could be an altered version of what is being displayed. Imagine how difficult it is to alter a fact when Photoshop already released its Creative Cloud suite.

Joan Fontcuberta, one of Spain's most prominent and innovative artists, produced a series of landscape photographs in his "Landscapes Without Memory" work where the landscapes do not exist in the earth. In fact, those aren't the photographs but computer-generated images created by software initially designed to produce 3D images based on cartographical data.

Having said that, it is the photographer who you can trust - what he perceived, and how he realized the event or the scene. You just cannot trust what you see in the print or in the digital version. The photographer, his works, and reputation matters. This again justifies the importance of personal extension in the craft of photography.

Today's photography, at the peak of its technological avant-garde, in my point of view, is the communication of an idea and thought process involved with it.

Storytelling

I believe our interest in stories - truth or fiction, will never demise. It never did in the past. However, the storytelling matters. We have experienced in the movies that even a simple story of a boy becomes interesting if presented with artistry and skill. The richness of a story and creativity in storytelling makes it more valuable and admirable.

Similarly, in photography, we can make stories of whatever we can think of, that has to be unique. But it needs to be presented in a way that generates interest. And it should not be a clichéd one. I was going through some YouTube videos on writing, and they also talked about avoiding clichéd similes or phrases, suggested discovering something new and fresh. In photography, developing a story and presenting it in a fresh new way itself could be a possibility.

Most importantly, it should have a message, or an idea, or a statement, or even a fantasy. However, it has to be unique, non-clichéd. There has to be an innovative approach to storytelling. In short, it has to delineate with a fresh style that touches our minds. There are bright minds. I am sure they will come out with breathtaking ideas and continually surprise us.

Story vs. Information

On the contrary, the story should not be mistaken with information. If I take a simple photo of my son standing in front of the Taj Mahal, it's a piece of information that we visited the Taj Mahal. However, if I put it in a context, sequence it along with other photos, then the entire series will talk a story. We can use a photo for information or as a medium of storytelling.

Hypothetically, if I captured an alien with my mobile camera after the spaceship landed in a lonely sea beach and I was the only person present over there, would that be regarded as photography? Or the image that I captured would be seen as highly valuable information? I'm sure it's a trophy. Finally, there is no solid line, no better way for demarcation.

It's the evidence that I was there. It's a piece of information. However, it carries valued information. To conclude - if we can put some standalone and fragmented information in a sequence, it can lead to a thesis, a or story, or even an abstract expression. It can be a valuable piece of art, a mind-blogging material with artistic values.

To conclude - if we can put some standalone and fragmented information in a sequence, it can lead to a thesis, a or story, or even an abstract expression. It can be a valuable piece of art, a mind-blogging material with artistic values.

Photo and Video

I think videography is the best medium for capturing information. In that case, photography needs a shift from video in terms of storytelling. Now we have 4k video technology available. Also, we have high-speed shutter cameras. We do not have any reason to believe that a good decisive moment is the actual credibility of the photographer. Technology has the power to capture decisive moments - only we need to choose the best from them later on. However, the advantages of technology have imposed some restrictions as well.

The Last Words

In conclusion, photography as a medium has been diversified - from fine art paper prints and books to various digital formats like slideshows, eBooks, PDFs, webpages, and social media platforms. Based on the media and format used, the level of commitment and involvement varies. If we want to make it to the same standard as a movie, or a novel, or a music album, we have to put a similar effort. Is that what are we doing? Do we have the realization where we stand right now on image-making pursuit? Instead of making individual leaves, I think, it is time to create a complete tree with leaves, branches, stems, and roots - a whole product using the advantages of tools and technologies.

To me, photography is a visual language for storytelling, making a statement, or passing a clear message, or sharing an idea; on the other hand, it is a medium for expression - like a piece of classical music with no lyrics, or as a scent of a flower, very hard to define in words.

Think about it. I would be extremely happy if you share your thoughts and leave a comment below. Please sign up for a new post. Thank you.

Another blog post of my personal photography though and practice.

https://www.sudarshanmondal.com/to-be-honest-with-photography/

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The Photography of 21st Century - A Transition to Modern Photography.

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Think about the fact, when photography had been discovered in 1839 and slowly matured over time, the painters of the late nineteenth century were forced to adopt a new style. This change resulted in a substantial shift in the forms - Realism to Impressionism, Post-Impressionism, Expressionism, and Cubism, and so on.

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Professor Sands' Student Animation Work1.

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I made my first picture using camera obscura techniques in my darkened living room in 1991. In setting up a room to make this kind of photograph, I cover all windows with black plastic in order to achieve total darkness. Then, I cut a small hole in the material I use to cover the windows. This openi…

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Scroll down to the bottom of the blog post!
http://clydegaw.blogspot.com/2014/

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While the term photography was coined in the early 19th-century, Greek mathematicians had been making pinhole cameras since the 4th century BCE. The history of photography has always been filled with innovation, as imagery has continued to develop along with the technology photographers have on hand. With such a long history, it's no surprise that photography is full of important firsts, from the world's oldest photograph to the first photo uploaded to Instagram.

Most early photos used the daguerreotype process invented by Louis Daguerre, but technical inventions have created endless possibilities for photographers. Let's take a stroll down memory lane to learn about some of the famous first photographs that have changed how we view the world.

First Photograph Ever

The world's first photograph-or at least the oldest surviving photo-was taken by Joseph Nicéphore Niépce in 1826 or 1827. Captured using a technique known as heliography, the shot was taken from an upstairs window at Niépce's estate in Burgundy. As heliography produces one-of-a-kind images, there are no duplicates of the piece, which is now part of the permanent collection at the University of Texas-Austin.

World's First Self-Portrait

We may be used to selfies now, but it's Robert Cornelius's 1839 image that lays claim to the first self-portrait. Taken in Philadelphia, Cornelius sat for a little over one minute before covering the lens.

Oldest Photo of New York

This 1848 daguerreotype of Manhattan's Upper West side is the oldest surviving photo of New York. In 2009, it was sold at Sotheby's for $62,500. Unfortunately, the first photo of New York, which shows the Unitarian Church, is now lost.

First Photograph of the Moon

This daguerreotype by John W. Draper from 1840 is the first photo of the moon. Taken from his rooftop observatory at New York University, the image has since sustained extensive damage.

First Photo with People

Louis Daguerre-the inventor of daguerreotype-shot what is not only the world's oldest photograph of Paris, but also the first photo with humans. The 10-minute long exposure was taken in 1839 in Place de la République and it's just possible to make out two blurry figures in the left-hand corner.

First Photo of War

Carol Popp de Szathmari is the first known war photographer, capturing hundreds of images of the Crimean War. But it's this image from 1870 that is thought to be the first photograph of an actual battle. Showing a line of Prussian troops as they advance, the photographer shot the image as he stood with French defenders.

First Photo of a President

John Quincy Adams holds the distinction of being the first U.S. president photographed, though he wasn't in office at the time. Captured at his home in Quincy, Massachusetts in 1843, fourteen years after he left office, the daguerreotype was shot by Philip Haas. The first photograph of a sitting president was taken in 1841, but has now been lost. It depicted short-lived president William Henry Harrison before he passed away from pneumonia just 31 days after taking office.

Oldest Photograph of the Sun

Just five years after the first photo of the moon, in 1845, French physicists Louis Fizeau and Leon Foucault took the first photograph of the sun. Even with just a 1/60th exposure, it's possible to see sunspots.

First Photo of a Tornado

It only seems fitting that the first known photograph of a tornado was taken in Kansas. On April 26, 1884, a tornado moved slowly across Anderson county, which allowed amateur photographer A.A. Adams to set up his box camera. A pioneering image in meteorology, Adams' image is a pre-cursor to the storm chasers we still see today.

Oldest Aerial Photo

In the age of drones, aerial photography is often taken for granted, but this 1860 image actually pioneered the technique. Showing Boston from over 2,000 feet in the air, this aerial photograph was taken by James Wallace Black and Samuel Archer King. Unfortunately, the first aerial image, which was taken by French photographer and balloonist Gaspard-Félix Tournachon, has been lost.

First Photograph of Earth from the Moon

On August 23, 1966, a lunar orbiter snapped this image of Earth from the Moon. The incredible image was captured during the orbiter's 16th lap around the Moon.

Oldest Color Photograph

Physicist James Clerk Maxwell is responsible for taking the world's first color photograph. In 1855, Maxwell developed a three-color method, with the actual shutter being pressed by Thomas Sutton in 1861. The subject of the image? A colored ribbon, also known as a tartan ribbon.

First Color Underwater Photo

In 1926 National Geographic photographer Charles Martin and botanist William Longley took the first underwater photograph in color. Taken off the Florida Keys, it shows a hogfish. The duo took this pioneering shot by encasing cameras in waterproof housing and using a magnesium-powered flash.

First Digital Photo

The first digital photo was taken earlier than you may have thought. Almost 20 years before the original Kodak digital camera, in 1957, this square image of Russell Kirsch's son was taken. The photo is a digital scan of a film image, resulting in a square photograph that makes it Instagram ready.

First Digital Photo of a President

It was only in 2009 that a digital camera was used to photograph POTUS. Official photographer Pete Souza holds the honor with his portrait of Barack Obama. Taken with a Canon 5D Mark II and no flash, the image shows the shifting gears of technology that have reached the White House.

First Photo on Instagram

On July 16, 2010, Instagram co-founder Kevin Systrom uploaded the first post on Instagram. Actually, it was uploaded using an app called Codename, which three months later became the app we all know and love. It's only fitting-given how many pets have become famous from the app-that the first photo on Instagram shows Systrom's cute pup sitting at a taco stand in Mexico.

First Photo Inside the Sun's Corona

On November 8, 2018, NASA's Parker Solar Probe took a groundbreaking photograph at 16.9 million miles from the Sun. That's incredibly close when one considers that Earth is located 91 million miles from the Sun. This first-ever photo from inside the Sun's corona is a breakthrough in the field of heliophysics and researchers are hopeful it will help us learn more about this giant star.

First Photo of a Black Hole

In April 2019, NASA released the first known image of a black hole. This mysterious entity sits in the center of the Messier 87 galaxy-55 million light years from Earth-and was captured by the Event Horizon Telescope. The luminous disk we see is actually the black hole's accretion disk, where hot gases swirl around the vacuous space.

All images via Wikipedia except where noted.

This article has been edited and updated.

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18 Famous First Photographs in History: From the Oldest Photo Ever to the World's First Instagram

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While the term photography was coined in the early 19th-century, Greek mathematicians had been making pinhole cameras since the 4th century BCE. The history of photography has always been filled with innovation, as imagery has continued to develop along with the technology photographers have on hand.

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Professor Sands Student Photography Work2

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Digital Artist and other diverse makers in many media

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Digital Artist and other diverse makers in many media

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- [Announcer] This is a production of WEDU PBS,

Tampa, St. Petersburg, Sarasota.

Major funding for "WEDU Arts Plus" is provided

through the Greater Cincinnati Foundation

by an arts loving donor who encourages others

to support your PBS station, WEDU,

and by the Pinellas Community Foundation,

giving humanity a hand since 1969.

- [Dalia] In this edition of "WEDU Arts Plus,"

a local food photographer shares tips

for getting the perfect shot.

- Never shoot on a red plate.

Red does not render well in digital photography,

unless there's an absolute reason to do it

and you know what you're doing.

- [Dalia] Art that reflects the human form.

- [Artist] Even though they're black silhouette images,

it doesn't limit itself because

most people can relate to what is taking place.

- [Dalia] Public art collaborations

bringing communities together.

- [Woman] The idea behind it is to get people

in neighborhoods to work with artists

and collaborate with each other.

- [Dalia] And a festival that celebrates diversity

in the classical music world.

- When I walk out on stage, I'm thinking that

there probably will be someone in the audience

who's never seen anyone look like me

that is doing what I'm doing.

So I need to always put my best foot forward.

- It's all coming up next on "WEDU Arts Plus."

(upbeat music)

Hello, I'm Dalia Colon, and this is "WEDU Arts Plus."

if you eat an amazing meal,

but you don't post a pic on Instagram, did it even happen?

In this first segment, we'll learn hacks

for taking better food photos from south Tampa

based photographer Chip Weiner.

(upbeat music)

- My name is Chip Weiner. I am a photographer here in Tampa.

I have been a photo journalist and a food photographer,

photographer in general, probably for 30 years.

So way back in the days of film is when I started.

I think I was given a film camera

for high school graduation.

It's such a typical story, and a lot of photographers,

older photographers will tell you this,

that they've taken some pictures

and then they go in a dark room.

This photograph appears on this piece of paper,

and fell in love like that,

which eventually led into shooting

for Creative Loafing newspaper here in Tampa

for the last 12 years,

doing everything from photo journalism

to food photography for them.

They had a food critic who would go in and eat

and then they would send me in

to take food photos of what he ate.

There's kind of a share generation now,

that people are around and they want others to experience

what they have experienced.

That is relatively new,

especially with the advent of Instagram.

Some tips as far as taking some better photos.

First thing is put a little extra effort into it.

Pay attention to what you're seeing through the camera.

Desserts tend to photograph the best,

because restaurants put a lot of time and effort

into making them just look awesome.

If you're going to shoot in a restaurant,

don't be afraid to ask for a table next to a window.

If you don't have a large light source,

so if you don't have that large window,

there are other ways.

Listen, I've seen people light food photography

with their phone.

A lot of the photography that I do at least on social media

is I call it run and gun,

no special consideration from the kitchen,

no special consideration from the restaurant.

I want to show in my photography and I want to experience,

if you go into a restaurant

and you sit down and eat this dish, what does it look like?

- The cool thing about Chip

is that he doesn't let you know he's coming.

Now that's a good thing 'cause then you're not

running around, you know, pulling out gold lobster tails

out of the freezer and making it happen.

You know, he's a customer just like anybody else,

but it's very impactful.

- What we're looking at is these are some of the photos

that I've seen on Yelp.

I looked at an egg sandwich at a restaurant recently,

and what I like to do first is sometimes go online

to see what they're serving, which is what I did.

And there, I saw some photos and I went oh, okay,

it's shot in a styrofoam box.

It's a good looking food, but it gives it no context.

So as I went in there, I'm looking around,

how can we set this up so that you get a feel of the place?

'Cause it's sort of a nostalgic place.

And I went in and reshot the egg sandwich

and it looks very different

from what I originally saw on Yelp, not criticizing Yelp.

They have a lot of good food photos on there,

but there are some on there

that could certainly be improved.

So what I wanted to do with the egg sandwich

is I wanted to show what the context of the place was.

Again, it's a nostalgic restaurant.

It's been around for a long time

and they had a lot of nostalgia around.

So I put items on the table.

One of the things that I encourage in food photography

is give food a presence.

Instead of shooting it from above, shoot it from the side.

If something is tall, let it be tall in your photograph.

Then show what's in the background.

So this was at a brand new restaurant in town.

Believe it or not, that's grouper.

Brown food, by the way,

is really difficult to photograph.

So what I did with that same dish

was I put it on a plate, I put something in the background.

I lit it a little different.

I added some color and some candlelight,

and it's same dish just with a very different view.

So that is a meat dish served right here

at Factory 4914, which can be a beautiful photograph.

Unfortunately, that one, there's just not a lot of lighting

or composition consideration.

So I saw that and I came in and again,

wanted to add some color, wanted to add some background,

wanted to show this is what it's like

to sit in this restaurant and eat this dish.

It's got some candlelight,

it's got a nice drink in the background.

I typically will put some flatware in

so that you get some scale.

Everyone knows the size of a fork.

They don't always know like the size of a scallop,

which can be small or large.

And I think the last one that we'll see there

really speaks to color.

How do you use color?

And you can go on any retail website online

and buy a color wheel for a couple of bucks.

Learn what complimentary color is and use that.

Even if you're in a restaurant,

if you've got something blue,

a lot of times something brown will go with that.

If you've got red,

a lot of times something green will go with that.

So here's some tips for people at home,

because one of the cool things about cooking at home

is you control the whole place.

You're not waiting for someone else to deliver food.

Go to a secondhand store

and find some different kinds of dishes.

If you spend $10, you're spending too much.

One tip that I will use strongly

is never shoot on a red plate.

Red does not render well in digital photography

unless there's an absolute reason to do it

and you know what you're doing.

White, light blue plates tend to work well.

Darker plates are a little tougher to render.

Put those muffins, stack them up or cut them.

I love cutting food and seeing the inside of it.

- Food only stays for maybe a couple of minutes,

if not maybe an hour, but when you get a fantastic photo,

that's a memory, that's something that you can share

and project to other people that can last a lifetime.

- One of the things that I like putting food on Facebook,

for example, is to encourage people.

If you're out taking photos, make it better.

Take a little extra time to really make that shot delicious

and make people want to eat it and try it.

And when you're ready,

look online and learn about two things,

aperture and shutter speed.

Those two things interact on most cameras,

and if you learn how to adjust those,

your food photography is going to improve significantly.

(relaxed music)

- For information on Chip Weiner's photography classes,

check out chipshotz.com.

Art imitates life in the work

of Chesapeake, Virginia native Elginia McCrary.

See how the artist's elongated, stylized images

embrace moments in time.

- You can learn from watching and listing to other people.

It comes out in my work, so it's not just my experiences.

It is the experiences of other people.

(upbeat music) (crowd chattering)

- [Customer] You did these paintings?

- [Elginia] Yes I did.

- [Customer] Wow, beautiful.

- Thank you.

When I started doing the elongated silhouette images,

this was one of the first ones that I started with.

Even though they're black silhouette images,

it doesn't limit itself,

because most people can relate to

what is taking place in the pictures.

- Do you have the original, or what'd you do?

- No, the original is gone.

- [Customer] I love her.

- I wanted to do something that identified me.

You know, everybody kind of has to find their niche.

I started out with images.

The first one I did really was a group of dancers.

They had on no clothes,

but I try to distort to fit their bodies some.

And after I did that, I said, hmm,

I could put clothing on them

and put them in settings and tell stories.

(relaxed music)

I like the latest one on the front

with the couple of walking away.

And I love it because it's called "The Golden Years."

It's wonderful to see people

whose relationships last through the years

and who still have that close bond as they get older.

And I get that. (upbeat music)

- Love it, love it.

- You know what that one is called?

- No, tell me about it. - It's called "Morning Joe."

I'm a coffee drinker. Are you a coffee drinker?

- I am too, yes I am. I love it.

- There's your coffee.

(upbeat music)

I like that piece because it makes me think in terms of

just people in general,

that people can aspire to do many things.

And it's like, the world was their oyster.

They can accomplish much.

And when I look at that, I think a good location for it,

to me would be in a school or in a children's hospital.

- I like almost all of her work

because all of her work symbolizes to me,

family, love, relationships, and music.

(relaxed music)

I remember when she started drawing,

and this was when we were very young in elementary school,

she would sit at the kitchen table.

And if she had a pad or anything that she could write on,

she would doodle, she would doodle all day if she could.

- Well, I do mixed media

and different other types of drawings,

and I think that's a reflection of me teaching

and giving students projects, I give myself projects.

I like doing different things,

working with different mediums.

It kind of rolls over into the different types of artwork

that I do, so everything I do has painting in it,

but it varies because with the mixed media,

it has painting, but then I go in and I add other materials.

The mask came from my own head.

I was thinking about doing masks,

but I wanted to do something that was a little different.

So all my masks, I said, well,

to identify them as my personal work,

I would always put the mouth

at the very bottom of each mask.

So there's no chin or anything like that.

It's just the lips.

So that would identify all my masks.

(upbeat music)

- [Son] How are you coming along over there, Ma?

- I'm doing pretty good, how about yourself?

- I'm proud of everything my mother does, to be honest.

I have to draw a little bit,

but I've never had to take a art class because of my mother.

Okay, I'm stuck now, Ma.

- Because he got this shoulder,

let's just put his shoulder and stuff in.

You got his shoulder here, that's gonna go here.

His shoulder's gonna come down like this.

Don't make it so narrow.

- One of my earliest memories,

I think I was about three, three or four years old.

I was on punishment.

I was in my bedroom coloring,

and my mother came and took my coloring book

and colored all the people purple and their hair was orange.

I'll never forget that, it really made me upset.

And then she told me that when you do art,

there's no boundaries.

Just use your imagination.

You can make people look like however you want them to look.

- It's so vibrant and it's so rich and full of color.

And I just love it.

I love it, how she makes things pop.

- I like to use colors that compliment each other.

And I like to use contrast,

where you have lights against darks.

That kind of really helped, to me,

make a piece pop or stand out.

- She went to art school in California,

and so when she moved back to the east coast,

which has been pretty much my entire life,

she's been doing art.

So she's one of my favorite artists,

and actually inspired me to do art.

And now I'm an artist too.

She inspired me just with her ability to capture

the simple vibrancy of simple everyday life

of African-Americans.

And I think that each piece, it speaks volumes.

(relaxed music)

- That's an oil painting. That's called "Uncle Joe."

Everybody has an Uncle Joe.

He might be a little strange, very vocal,

maybe a little silly at times, but I did that piece,

and when I did it, I was, I was laughing the whole time.

It made me feel good. It's a funny piece to me.

It's a take off when you look at it,

of cubism, Picasso's work.

And I wanted to kind of show that in this piece

and that's what I did, I like it.

I hope other people like it when they see it.

I hope that when people look at my work, it touches.

I wanted to touch the hearts of all people and all ages.

- See more of her work at elginiamccrary.com.

Public art is remarkable for its ability

to rejuvenate environments and bring people together.

Up next, check out an initiative in Reno, Nevada

that promotes collaboration

and brings art to the public space.

(upbeat music)

- The Art Belongs Here grants initiative

is a neighborhood creative place-making

project for public art.

The idea behind it is to get people in neighborhoods

to work with artists and collaborate with each other

to create art projects that exist outdoors in public space,

in their neighborhood,

projects that reflect community identity, heritage,

the personality or character of a place.

One of the projects that got approved is a sculpture

titled "Good Luck Horseshoe."

That's happening at the Reno rodeo.

So the Reno rodeo partnered with artist Michael Gray

to bring the sculpture to Reno and permanently locate it.

- [Michael] You had to use the chipping hammer

to bust out the concrete so that it would sit flat.

And then we drilled holes on the outsides

for concrete anchors.

- [Deb] And then we put the banner on the top for stability.

- Keeps the horseshoe from separating,

because you know people are going to climb all over it.

- The good luck horseshoe to me

is a real piece of inspiration I think that Mike had

to take something out to the Black Rock Desert

that sort of symbolized the horses of our area,

the Western culture and things like that,

and be able to provide it to the people

that were at Burning Man.

And it's just completely appropriate

that it ends up full circle back here.

Mike was able to source the materials like the horseshoes

that are in the "Good Luck Horseshoe"

are all repurposed horseshoes that he collected

from different farriers and different people

with horses in the area.

But a lot of those folks that are our neighbors,

they have horses that are in the drill team

and things like that, so the likelihood that

those horseshoes have been in the actual Rena rodeo grounds

are probably pretty good.

- [Megan] There's a project happening along Fourth Street,

the artist that's working on that

is actually doing bike benches.

So he's taking bike parts and making them

into these really cool benches.

- I'm involved with the Reno bike project

and the brewery arts district from Fourth Street.

We're putting out a series of artistic bike benches

that are also bike racks.

It provides somewhere for cyclists to park on Fourth Street

and produces some art for the community

and promotes cycling in the area.

Today I'm assembling the first finished version

of our latest prototype.

While working on this project,

a lot of things have affected our overall design.

We've had to take into account ADA regulations

as well as sidewalk regulations,

and developing a bench that will conform to the codes

as well as be a piece of art and be functional

as far as parking a bike and noticeable

that it is a bike rack and a bench and for cyclists.

(upbeat music)

- [Megan] Another project that's happening

is on Rita Cannan Road at the 395 overpass,

and that is a community mural project.

It's Be The Change project working with artist Asa Kennedy.

- The mural is going to be a Day of the Dead themed piece.

The wall behind us is just, it's ugly,

and it's always been ugly and it gets tagged

and it gets painted over to gray,

and then it gets tagged again,

and that can easily be changed.

And as we talked to the community

and kind of got some feedback,

people were really positive about the idea.

We just went with it after that.

- About a week or two ago, we went to the elementary school,

kind of ran through the concept with them

about what it was going to be

and went through some small exercises,

asking them what images, what elements and ideas

do you kids think represent this cultural festival?

And from then we went from the answers

being provided to them drawing.

Part of their actual more direct inclusion

is going to be structuring some of the panels

and the work for students' own original work,

where my job as the lead artist is to come in

and weave all that together.

- Part of it is incorporating their own designs

and bringing their ideas right to the wall itself.

So that at the end of the day when the mural's done

and they're walking past it to go to school,

they can say, you know, I did that.

- We see public art as being an integral part of city life.

- A lot of times, while I'm working on public art,

people when they see it, they get so excited

and they really do feel like a sense of ownership

over some of the art.

- It's good for the people. It's good for the town.

It's good for the city itself.

I mean, art makes people happy.

- And when people come here that haven't,

that aren't from here and they're traveling and visiting,

they see it and it's character, it's our city.

(upbeat music)

- Learn more about the arts in Reno, Nevada at reno.gov.

The Color of Music Festival celebrates contributions

that people of African ancestry have made

to the classical music genre.

From vocalists and musicians to composers,

the festival gives artists a stage to perform

and values inclusion, diversity, and accessibility.

(relaxed piano music)

- Why do I sing?

(singing in foreign language)

I sing because I know that I have something to say,

and I know that it's important.

There's a challenge involved in singing classical music.

It's the memorization component. It's the style component.

It's the component of actually communicating

what the composer has asked of you to communicate.

One is constantly thinking about your focus.

At this moment, what is the character thinking?

At this moment, how would the character sit?

At this moment, how would the character

look into the eyes of someone that she loves?

And so when you have those things running in your mind,

the music lends itself to be sung.

(singing in foreign language)

I'm involved with the Color of Music Festival

because I think it's a fantastic premise.

The idea is quite amazing.

- The Color of Music exists to showcase

the extraordinary talents people of African ancestry

have contributed to the classical genre.

We are truly the largest Black

classically-presenting organization.

The talent of the musicians that perform

in the Color of Music Festival is truly global.

From the natural voice, having Miss Laquita Mitchell,

who's a phenomenal soprano,

to conservatory trained musicians

that come from the Curtis Institute, Oberlin,

Julliard, Manhattan School of Music,

the Royal Conservatory, I can go on and on and on.

- I think something like this can thrive

because the importance of inclusion and diversity is needed.

And with classical music, I think there's,

it's like 0.01% of orchestras have people of color.

- So like many Black institutions that start,

it's out of necessity.

We have to create our own institutions

when they're not giving us access.

The classical music world is a very complicated,

expensive world.

That's where it started, by aristocrats who used to pay

very poor composers to do things

that they could show off their wealth.

So it still carries all of those standards

of what classical music should be

and how it should be presented.

These people of African ancestry,

many of whom can't get the coveted spots,

and there's limited spots in orchestras around the world.

This is an opportunity for them to present these huge works.

(singing in foreign language)

- Ms. Jessye Norman is probably one of the most celebrated

African-American sopranos of our time.

She has sung in every major opera house

there is in the world.

So at the age of 14, I was able to meet Jessye Norman

and then I was able to see her onstage.

I'm a kid from Brooklyn.

I had no idea that that was actually a possibility for me.

So the importance of diversity on stage,

it's paramount, it must happen.

It's really, really important that young people understand

that there is a possibility.

When I walk out on stage, I'm thinking that

there probably will be someone in the audience

who's never seen anyone look like me

that is doing what I'm doing.

So I need to always put my best foot forward

when I'm performing.

(singing in foreign language)

(audience applauds)

- Discover more about the festival at colorofmusic.org.

And that wraps it up for this edition of "WEDU Arts Plus."

For more arts and culture, visit wedu.org/artsplus.

Until next time I'm Dalia Colon. Thanks for watching.

(upbeat music)

- [Announcer] Major funding for "WEDU Arts Plus"

is provided through the Greater Cincinnati Foundation

by an arts loving donor who encourages others

to support your PBS station WEDU,

and by the Pinellas Community Foundation,

giving humanity a hand since 1969.

(dramatic music)

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Discover something new+local. WEDU ARTS PLUS is a weekly arts and culture series produced by WEDU PBS. It is devoted to telling stories of the individuals and cultural organizations that make West Central Florida's Cultural Coast such a vibrant region.

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This guide is dedicated to helping you with the nitty gritty of smartphone photography - how to take a great shot on your phone, what editing apps to use, how to share and print your images and keep them safe. Whether you're totally new to photography, or a seasoned pro, there's a lot to be gained. Let's get into it.

Note: This is a super extensive guide. Use this navigation below to jump around to different sections on this page. You can also press the back button on your browser to jump back to this navigation.

Photograph More

Unless you're one of those admirable people who carries their favourite camera with them at all times, at the ready, chances are that you often watch great photographic opportunities pass by you. (Not quite there yet? Start taking photos with your phone regularly, and in no time, the world will be full of photographic potential!)But nowadays, most of us keep our phones with us all the time, which means most of us have a camera with us all the time too. And because of the advances in smartphone design, that camera does a pretty decent job! Awesome shots are now within your reach, every where you go. You can easily practice your craft - and add to your visual record - every single day.

Build fundamental skills

Smartphone cameras are nowhere near as powerful as DSLRs, and even some point-and-shoots. The megapixel count is low, and they lack the manual controls that let you achieve shallow depth of field and super-crisp shots of subjects in motion. And the editing apps are nothing compared to programs like Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop. So, what's the plus? When you can't rely on your technical or editing powers to create a great shot, you have to go back to the basics: Composition. You need to think more about the light, the colors, the lines, the placement of your subject. Being forced to focus on those fundamentals will do amazing things for your photography.

Connect​

If you're taking photos on a smartphone, chances are you'll want to share them at some point too. Plug into a photo-sharing community like Instagram or Flickr, and get ready to reap the benefits: you'll connect with friends and other photographers, gain valuable feedback, and get inspired. There are even stories of people gaining new clients, lucrative sponsorships and entire careers thanks to their participation in those communities!

My Experience with Smartphone Photography

First up, introductions! I'm Stephanie. I'm Lauren's younger sister, and a part-time ninja here at Photography Concentrate. I'll be guiding you through the exciting world of smartphone photography!

Until just two years ago, my cell phone was just that - a phone. I took fewer than 20 photos with it over the four years I owned it!

If I wanted to use my camera, which I'd been doing regularly for three years at that point, I used a DSLR. And then it was time to upgrade. I bought a new shiny smartphone.

The day it arrived, Lauren challenged me to share a photo once a day for a year. I accepted and signed up for Instagram that afternoon. And over the past year, things for me have changed.

I've taken over 8,000 photos on my phone. I've captured big moments - adventures, birthdays, holidays - moments that, as usual, were also recorded on my DSLR. More importantly, I've captured the small moments that tend to go unrecorded and so are easily forgotten, but that ultimately form the bulk of our lives: bike rides, dinner parties, afternoons at the playground with my nephew. I've shared over 450 photos on Instagram and looked at thousands of images shared by other people.

I've connected - even if only in a small way - with people I haven't seen in years.

I've made acquaintances with photographers I've never met and been inspired (and intimidated) by their incredible work.

Photography was exciting again. I started running more often, running further, in search of a great shot, getting to know my hometown better in the process. I got up for sunrises, I stayed up for northern lights. I learned more about the technical stuff and experimented with new styles. I saw more, I experienced more. There was a cost, too.

I've spent hours editing and captioning (and re-editing and re-captioning) photos. I've battled little insecurities about what I say and share online. But those costs are so small, compared to the record I have: The photos of family, friends and adventures, and the emotions and lessons attached to those images.Sometimes, I look back on those photos and wish I'd taken them with a better camera, but I know too that if I had only used my DSLR, so many of those photos simply wouldn't exist. So until the day arrives where I bring myself to tote around multiple devices, always at the ready, it's me and my smartphone. And I'm so excited to see where it takes me.

A Note on the Photos in this Post

Essentially all of the photos you'll see in this guide were taken with and edited on my smartphone, a Nexus 5. Scroll through, and you'll get an idea of what you can (and, in some cases, can't) do with a camera phone. When I used a different camera or edited a shot on my computer, you'll see a note saying so.

If you're in the market for a new smartphone, we unfortunately can't tell you exactly what to buy. For one, we don't know everything there is to know about every smartphone out there! But even if we did, we couldn't say what's right for you, because we don't know you as well as you do! You'll need to think about what's available to you, what you want out of a phone, how much you're willing to pay and so on.But we won't leave you totally in the dark here. We can, at least, tell you a bit about what to look for in a smartphone from a photographic sense. In the box below, you'll find some of the main points you may want to consider from a photography perspective. Don't think that every phone needs to be a winner on all of these fronts - we simply want to open your eyes to some of the features that are out there and relevant to photographers. Ultimately, it's up to you to decide how to prioritize the things below!

A few things to consider from a photography perspective
Image quality
What do the photos coming out of the camera look like? Check for things like sharpness, contrast, saturation and color (white balance and tint). Online reviews with photo examples are a great help here!
Megapixels
If you're looking to share or print your images at larger sizes, as a very general rule more megapixels on a phone is better.
Screen
Consider things like screen size, resolution, and the quality of the contrast. These'll all make a difference in how easy it is to use your camera, especially in tricky lighting conditions, like low light and direct sun. They'll also influence how similar the image on your phone looks to that same image when it's posted online or printed out.
Image stabilization
These days, some smartphone cameras come equipped with image stabilization - a function that reduces blurriness caused by movement of the camera. This can make a big difference in the quality of your photos and videos, especially in low-light conditions!
Video quality
Almost all camera phones can shoot HD video (1080P). But some camera phones support shooting at faster frame rates (for slow motion video). And a few cutting edge smartphone cameras can shoot at an ultra high definition (4K) resolution.
Popularity
As a general rule, if you choose a more popular phone you'll have more options when it comes to apps and accessories, and you'll have an easier time tracking down replacement parts (like USB cables and chargers).
Operating systems & device compatibility
If you're used to working with a particular operating system or want your phone to be compatible with your other devices, you may want to choose a phone from the same brand.
Storage space
If you plan to take a lot of photos (and/or use a lot of apps) you may want to opt for a phone with lots of storage space. Our current phones have 32 GB of space, and we wouldn't want any less.
Battery life
Your battery life will depend on a lot of things (like how much you use your phone and what apps you run in the background), but it's worth getting an idea of what the maximum battery life is.
Other camera features
Do you care about having burst mode, exposure control, panorama capabilities, etc.? If so, do your research and see whether the phone you're eyeing comes with those features (or a relevant app).
Price
As a general rule, the better the camera features, the more expensive the phone will be. If you're serious about smartphone photography, it may be worth it to pay the premium. But don't lose sight of the fact that smartphones still don't match the quality of DSLRs or even advanced point-and-shoots (the photos from which you can share on platforms like Instagram and Flickr).

Read Reviews

If you're not camera savvy (or phone savvy), check in with someone who is! Don't know anyone? No worries. The internet is full of reviews by people who know their microchips from their megabites. Here are a couple of review sites we recommend checking out before you buy.

This site will give you an in-depth review of the camera on almost every major smartphone out there. We particularly like the intuitive design of the reviews, which awards a score out of 100 for things like exposure and contrast, color, autofocus, noise, stabilization, noise and more - for both photos and videos!

Here you'll find a ranking for the best smartphone cameras of 2015, as chosen by the tech website, Tom's Guide. Each pick comes with a full review, so you can get a good sense of what makes each camera stand out.

iPhones vs. Android Phones

​A virtual ton has been written on the merits of iPhones and Android phones (as a quick internet search will attest!), so we're going to keep this brief.There are two main types of smartphones that dominate the market: iPhones and Android phones. iPhones are made exclusively by Apple, and run the iOS operating system. In contrast, Android phones can be made by a bunch of different companies (Samsung, LG, etc.). The name instead comes from the operating system those phones run - the Android system developed by Google. If you're not sure whether to get an iPhone or an Android phone, here are a few things to consider:

Accessories, Apps & Compatibility

Historically, iPhones have been the popular choice among smartphone users (or at least users who are willing to invest in expensive gear) and so companies have been eager to develop apps and accessories that are iPhone-compatible. On the accessories front, this is helped by the fact that there are relatively few models of iPhone being used at any given time. Manufacturers can know that if they make an iPhone accessory, it will be compatible with a huge number of phones.Now contrast that to Android phones. Though they occupy a larger share of the market than they once did, there are considerably more types of models out there - and so less incentive to make accessories. On the apps front, things are levelling out a bit, though iPhone users still seem to have a bit of an edge (iPhone users enjoy higher quality uploads to Instagram, for example). Finally, some tech gear is compatible only with certain phones. Anyone who wants an Apple watch, for example, will need an iPhone 5 (or a newer model).

Camera quality

iPhones are generally considered to have the best cameras, and Apple is always pushing to improve the camera between models. Android phones tend to lag behind a bit, though the latest round of Android phones - especially phones developed by Google - are edging in.

Price

If you want a new, unlocked iPhone 6 with a decent amount of storage space, it will cost you over US$700. Equivalent Android phones are considerably less expensive.

What We Prioritize

We personally look for a smartphone that has a great camera and suits our other phone needs, prioritizing an easy-to-use operating system, great aesthetics, a good price and a fair warranty.

A photo straight out of my smartphone's camera, taken in low light.

On the camera front specifically, we want a camera app that's easy to use (or to know that we can download a better alternative) and great image quality. We recommend looking at reviews that show how image quality changes under different conditions, paying attention to things like contrast, color quality, saturation and sharpness.

A photo straight out of my smartphone's camera, taken in direct sunlight.

All that being said, your priorities may be different from ours - it's your call! But if we can recommend one thing above all else: try the phone before you buy. See if you can play with a friend's phone, or head to a store to try out a test model. Is it intuitive to use? Do you like the look of the photos? Does it seem like the right fit for the price?

Accessories For Mobile Photography

When it comes to accessories, all you really need to get started with smartphone photography is a smartphone with a camera app and a charger.

But a case and screen protector should be bought ideally the same day you get your phone.

The essentials - case and screen protector

Make sure you set yourself up with a good phone case and screen protector.

You'll kick yourself if you scratch your pricey phone because you were unwilling to shell out a few extra bucks for the protective gear!

A quick Google search of your model plus the terms 'case' or 'screen protector' will help you track down good options. We bought ours at Best Buy.
As mobile phone photography becomes more popular, all kinds of new accessories and gadgets pop up. Here are a few (usually) non-essentials that you might want to consider, beyond the run-of-the-mill case and screen protector.
TELEPHOTO LENS ATTACHMENT

This lens magnifies x18 so distant objects appear extremely close. It attaches to the phone's lens by using a clamp.

It also comes with a tripod that helps steady the phone to avoid blur caused by camera shake.

I took this lens for a spin in the zoo, and you can see the results below.
You can get this lens from Amazon here

PORTABLE BATTERY PACK

A portable battery pack allows you to recharge your phone from a battery. It's a great extra for campers, hikers, travelers and anyone whose phone runs out before their desire to take photos does!
Here's the battery pack we use.
Waterproof case

A fully waterproof case will allow you to submerge your phone in water for a period of time - you'll be able to snap shots without a problem in rain, snow or even in a pool or the ocean! Some of these heavy-duty cases are so thick that they may reduce the responsiveness of your touch screen, so read reviews before you buy.

Lenses

These days, you can find a whole suite of lenses specifically designed for smartphone photography, including wide-angle and macro lenses. We haven't tried them ourselves, but reviews abound!

Alright, so you've got yourself a fancy smartphone - congrats! You're probably itching to start taking awesome photos, but first things first: Let's make sure you've got the best camera app for the job

Choosing a Camera App

​When you purchase a smartphone, it will most likely come pre-programmed with a default camera app. In some cases, this app will be exactly what you need! And in some cases...well, let's just say you can do better. To evaluate the quality of your camera app, first make sure it has all its features enabled (in some cases the default setting may be for the extra features to be turned off). Once your camera app is fully enabled, test it out to see what it lets you do. If you like the functionality, awesome! If not, you might want to try an alternative from your app store. Not sure what you should be looking for? Here are a few things we think a camera app should allow you to do:

Camera apps - basic features to look for

Add gridlines to your frame: This makes it easier to get your subjects centred, your horizons level, etc.

Enable or disable flash

Set a timer

Adjust your exposure level easily

Lock your focal point and exposure level: Once you've locked focus or exposure, you should be able to recompose your shot without the focal point or exposure level changing

Shoot video

There are some camera apps out there now that allow you to gain even more control over the look of your images. For example, some let you adjust your settings manually, shoot in Haigh Dynamic Range, and even shoot in .tiff or .dng formats to minimize image compression. You can definitely get by just fine without this level of control, but feel free to experiment with these more advanced camera apps if that sounds like your kind of thing!And note too that some editing and sharing apps (like Instagram) include a camera function as well. There's a lot of choice out there!

When it comes to our smartphone photography, our general philosophy is to see the camera's limitations as its advantages. Here's what I mean. Camera phones are not nearly as powerful DSLRs. They're not even as powerful as some point-and-shoots out there. For the most part, they lack the manual controls or the hardware you need to say, create a dreamily shallow depth of field, get a crisp shot of someone in motion, or produce a shot in low light that's not peppered with noise.

Here's the good news: When you're limited technically, you have to push yourself in other ways to make a shot work. And, as you'll soon see, in pushing yourself to get great shots from your camera phone, you'll be developing fundamental skills - some of the nuts and bolts of great photography! So let's dive into it, and learn how to take compelling shots with your smartphone camera. Once we've got the basics down, we'll hook you up with some ideas of what to photograph, to help you dive right into smartphone photography.

Know Your Camera

First things first: Get to know your camera. Test out its various modes (panorama, video, etc) in different conditions - like low light, direct sun, and when your subject is moving - to see what the different modes excel at and where they fall a little short.For example, my phone has both a standard mode, where I can manually adjust my exposure, and an high dynamic range (HDR) mode, that produces a single shot from several images taken at different exposures.

My default is to shoot on HDR, as the resulting shot looks more true to life in its gradation of light to dark tones and its color (counterintuitive, but there we are!). I switch over to the standard mode whenever I need to seriously increase or decrease the exposure, or in low light conditions (where the HDR mode struggles to focus). My camera also has a lens blur function that allows me to mimic a shallow depth of field, but it's a bit clunky so I don't use it much. Knowing how your camera's different modes work will help you have more control over the final look of your shots. All it takes is a little bit of practice!

And don't forget that you can download 3rd party camera apps that can give you additional functionality.​

Nail Your Composition

Spend a bit of time on Instagram, and you'll discover that photographers with big followings have something in common, whether they photograph fashion, families, wildlife or waterfalls . That common feature: A great compositional style.What is composition, you ask? In essence, when you compose a shot, you're choosing how to arrange the visual elements in your frame - elements like lines, shapes, colors and light. The resulting arrangement is your composition.

Your composition impacts not only the look of your image - like whether it feels static or dynamic - but also how your viewer thinks and feels about it. A shot of a several pedestrians crossing a street may not catch your eye, but a shot of a single pedestrian could convey a range of feelings or ideas, from loneliness to adventure. With smartphone photography, composition is key because, for the most part, everything in your frame will be in focus. You can't adjust your aperture to blur out all the background details, so you have to work a bit harder to make sure the elements in your frame make for a great shot that communicates your message.

Plus, chances are that if you're posting to Instagram, you're going to be doing the bulk of your editing with a not-so-powerful editing app, rather than Lightroom or Photoshop (incidentally, see our article on Lightroom vs Photoshop here). You have to get it right in-camera - your app's not going to save you from bigger mistakes! Here are a few things we look for when we compose photos with our smartphones:

LIGHT

Light can have a big impact on the look and feel of your images. Imagine the same scene lit by the soft golden light of sunrise versus the harsh, shadow-creating light of midday.

Light can also help direct attention. We tend to look first at things that are brightly lit, or lit in way that differs dramatically from the rest of the scene.

Light can change the color of your shot, too! For example, daylight tends to be neutral or slightly blue, sunrise and sunset light tends to be warm, and the light before sunrise and after sunset is much more blue. Because cameras don't adjust for changes in the color of light as well as our eyes do, these colors can show up quite strongly in your photos.

Above: After sunset, natural light tends to have a blue cast. My eyes knew that the snow was white, but my smartphone camera registered it as super-blue - no editing applied!

Keep the different effects of light in mind as you shoot, and look for light that enhances your message. If you don't like the effect a light source is having on your image, change it up - turn off an overhead light and shoot only with window light, come back to your shot at sunset instead of midday, or reposition yourself (or your subject) until the light falls where you want it to.

LINES

Lines are hugely powerful elements! See, our eyes love a good line. Whether it's wavy, straight or curved or implied (like a line created by loosely spaced people), our eyes will latch onto the line and follow it to the end. Here's what that means for your photos: If you want your viewer to look at your subject, place them at the end of a line (or a series of lines, for even more attention-directing power!).

Above: The diagonal lines of the staircase are a magnet for your eye! Place your subject at the end of those lines, and your viewer is sure to see them!

There are all kinds of lines out there, and they do different things for our photos. Horizontal and vertical lines tend to feel static, diagonal lines tend to feel dynamic, and wavy or curved lines are both dynamic and a little gentler. If you want to create a particular feeling in a shot, incorporate the types of lines that enhance that feeling!

Above: In the first image, the diagonal lines of the trees and picnic table give the shot a more dynamic feel. In the second image, when those lines are straight, the shot feels much more static.

Space

Look at the two photos below. Which photo makes the subject stand out more? It's the one with all the empty space!

Above: Against a stark blue background, the branches and leaves of the tree really grab your attention. In the second shot, it's not as clear where you're supposed to look first.

When you surround your subject with empty space - or negative space, as photographers call it - it simplifies your frame. There are fewer things to distract from your subject, so that subject really pops. The sky makes for great negative space, but look for non-distracting space elsewhere too - in architecture or even nature! Just make sure there aren't any major elements (like bursts of color or major lines) that draw your eye away.

Above: There are tons of elements at play in the shot above, and no real negative space. If we dropped a subject in there - like a person - all of those elements would likely distract. But, on its own, it's an interesting shot full of details!

And sometimes, you may want no negative space at all! An image that's purposefully brimming with elements can be interesting too!

frames

Like empty space, frames can help put the focus on your subject. They seem to shout out: Hey look! This thing here is so important that it gets its own frame!

Above: Placing your subject in a frame - in this case a literal one (the doorframe) - is a great way to draw attention to them!

Frames have the bonus feature of adding cool visual interest to your shot. Get creative with your frames, finding them in trees, architectural features - you can even make frames with your hands!

color

Color can play a huge role in your images! Just think about it! Color can change the mood of your scene: an image filled with rainbow shades will feel a lot different than one with muted tones, and an image in color will feel different than that same image converted to black and white. Color can also direct your viewers attention: a pop of color that differs from the rest of the tones in your scene is going to stand out.

Above: Even though the texture is pretty similar across the frame, your eyes can't help but jump to the bright pop of red.

So pay close attention to the colors in your scene. Do they enhance your message, or conflict with it? Do they direct attention to your subject, or distract from it? If the colors aren't working, and you don't intend to convert to black and white, consider recomposing!

INSTAGRAM TIP: COLOR

Some Instagrammers take their consideration of color a step further by paying attention to how the colors mesh across different photos in their gallery. You'll find people who chase particular shades, and some whose galleries seem to change color over time. It takes work and restraint to post only photos that fit within a color scheme, but it's a great way to push yourself to get out and look for a shot!

REFLECTIONS & Shadows

Reflections and shadows are great elements to play with in your photos!

Above: In this photograph of a puddle (flipped upside down), the reflection of the trees serves as the subject and allows the viewer to imagine the scene that exists outside of the frame.

An interesting reflection or shadow can be a subject in its own right. It can also be used to suggest that space exists beyond the frame, adding intrigue to your image.

Above: In the first photo, strong shadows create lines that frame the napping cat. In the second, my reflection forms part of the subject (along with my rubber boots), while the reflection of the trees serves as a frame.

Plus, reflections and shadows can create other elements like lines or frames - elements that can be used to direct your viewers' attention to a particular part of your scene. Give it a try!

Quick tips for better smartphone compositions

Straighten up: When a line that should be straight - like the horizon - looks askew in a photo, it can be distracting. So unless you purposefully want a line to be askew, take extra care to get your lines straight. Enabling the gridlines on your camera makes this a lot easier!

Get your subject out of the center: Placing your subject in the center of your frame can get a little boring after a while. Give the rule of thirds a try: Imagine your frame is divided into a 3×3 grid, and place your subject along one of the resulting gridlines or where two gridlines intersect.

Leave a little room at the edges: When your subject is pressed up right against the edge of your frame, it can be a little uncomfortable to look at. Give it some breathing room by leaving some space between it and the edge of the frame. (And of course, break with this idea entirely if it doesn't suit your intended effect!)

Check your corners: Before you snap your shot, do a quick check of all four corners of your frame. Is there anything there that'll distract from your subject (like a pop of color or a line)? If so, consider recomposing to eliminate distractions.

LEARN THE SECRETS OF GREAT PHOTOS

The best ways to improve your photos is to build composition skills. Our photo-packed eBook, Incredibly Important Composition Skills will give you the knowledge and techniques you need to be a composition master!

Use the Limitations for Stylistic Effect

SHUTTER SPEED

Sometimes, your phone is going to reduce your shutter speed to let more light in. And that means, anything that's moving may end up being blurry. So take advantage of it! Purposefully create images that capture with blurry elements - they can lend your photos a more dynamic feeling. In some cases, they can even result in some pretty cool, abstract-looking shots.

Above: To combat the low light conditions of the restaurant, my phone automatically selected a low shutter speed. As a result, the waitress walking through the shot ended up blurry. And that was great - it better conveyed the bustling nature of the place!

AUTOfocus

While we've found the autofocus on our phones to be pretty good, it's not perfect - sometimes, it misses the focus altogether. Use that! The resulting blurry shots may look a bit like impressionist paintings. Kinda cool!

Above: To be fair to my phone, I was taking this shot while I was on a moving bicycle, and my subject was moving too. The camera struggled to find focus, but the blurry result is kind of cool!

Dynamic range

If you're used to shooting with a DSLR or other advanced camera, you'll quickly learn that your phone can't capture the same dynamic range - the range of tones between the lightest and darkest point in your scene. But that's ok! Darker darks can add more mystery to your photo, and blown highlights can look ethereal.

And if you absolutely need to capture more dynamic range, try shooting on your phone's HDR mode (if it has one), or leave your phone in your pocket and switch back to your more advanced camera.

What to Photograph: A Few Ideas

Even with the technical limitations of a smartphone camera, there's still a huge amount of choice when it comes to deciding what to photograph. If you're not sure where to start, here are a few basic ideas to help get you in the smartphone photography mindset. Don't feel like you have to do all (or any!) of these. Use them as a starting point to get your own ideas flowing. Pretty soon, you'll find your (smartphone photo) voice!

Daily Life

One of the big trends with photo-sharing services - especially Instagram - is to use the service as a visual diary or journal. That means that instead of just sharing your commercial work or your holiday snaps, you use photography to give people a look into your everyday life - what you're eating, where you're going, who you're hanging out with, little details in your everyday environment that catch your eye.

There's even a dedicated hashtag - #widn or "What I'm Doing Now" - that some Instagrammers use to show their followers what they're up to at that very moment (typically at the request of another user who's asked them to share!).

It may seem a little silly at first, to photograph such small things. But in our experience, looking for photo-worthy moments in everyday life makes us better photographers in the long run because it forces us to practice seeing. Plus, we have to admit, it's awfully nice to be able to scroll through our shots and have a visual record of moments we might otherwise forget!

Vacations & Adventures

​There are plenty of reasons to take photos on your next vacation or adventure: You'll be doing cool things that you'll want to remember, you'll be visually inspired by a change of scenery, you'll have more time for it. But chances are, if you're like us, you'll want to capture most of those things on one of the best cameras you have - the memories you create when you're travelling are special ones and you want to do them justice!So, when we travel, do we let our smartphone camera take a break? Nope, no sir, no ma'am! Let me tell you why.

Travelling is great for a ton of reasons (you can read some of them over here). And one of the big ones for us is that it helps us build relationships - not just with folks we meet along the way, but also with family, friends and friends-to-be scattered across the world. And part of the reason we can build those relationships is because we stay connected - even just a little bit - while we're away. See, by sharing photos of your travels while you're travelling, you keep your loved ones up to date. You give your friends the chance to enjoy your adventures and give you travel tips of their own. And if you drop the local hashtags on your shots, you give locals and other travellers in the area the opportunity to engage with you. Scroll through the photos associated with those hashtags, and you'll find out what cool things other people in the area are doing - instant travel guide!

Above: Before we visited Alberta's Icefields Parkway, we'd seen tons of photos of it on Instagram. When we came across a particularly stunning shot, we made a note of its location and plans to check the place out. The photo of the canoes above was taken at one of those spots!

Before we had smartphones, we all tried to keep up with blogging while we were away from home, but we struggled with it. The process of uploading, editing, exporting and posting our images ate into time we felt we should be using to experience and photograph our surroundings.Now, with smartphones and sharing services, we can take a photo and have it online, edited, with a caption, in a minute or two. Plus, we get all those bonus benefits of plugging into an online community that just doesn't exist with a standalone blog. So for us, when it comes to photographing our travels, we take a two-pronged approach: We shoot with our DSLR as much as we can, saving the bulk of the editing and sharing for when we get home. But when we come across a scene we want to share immediately, we shoot it with our phone too. (Lauren and Rob have a DSLR and point-and-shoot equipped with near field communication, so they can easily share shots from those cameras via Instagram as well.)

Above: While flying at an altitude where large electronics had to be tucked away, I was able to grab this shot with my smartphone.

And for times when we can't pull our more expensive gear out - like when it's at risk of getting damaged or the situation prohibits proper cameras - we use our phones exclusively and are glad for it! A quick example: Say you're interested in snapping some underwater shots on your next trip but can't bear to shell out for an underwater housing unit for your DSLR - a much more affordable waterproof case for your smartphone can make it possible!

Above: I recently went cross-country skiing for the first time in ages. My skiing partner predicted (correctly) that we'd do a lot of falling, and so I left my DSLR at home and stuck to my phone's camera.

We've recorded some great sights that would have otherwise gone unrecorded, if not for our trusty smartphones!

Events

​Nowadays, when you attend an event there's a good chance that it will have its own hashtag. Here's the idea: If you share anything on social media about the event - a Twitter tweet, a Facebook post, an Instagram photo - you can tag it with the custom hashtag, so that other social media-using attendees can get your take on the event. It's a fun way to connect with other people who are into similar things as you, and to get more eyes on your work!

While you can share and hashtag images of the event that you took with your DSLR, the general trend with event-specific hashtags is to post phone shots. And in cases where you don't want to be lugging a heavy (and more valuable) camera around - say at a rowdy music festival - your phone camera may be perfect for the job.

Both shots in this section were taken at the 2014 Edmonton Folk Music Festival using my smartphone camera. By shooting only with my phone over the course of the weekend festival, I sacrificed image quality (especially on the night shot), but saved myself from lugging around and worrying about my DSLR.

Watch for event-specific hashtags popping up at weddings, music festivals, fundraisers, workshops and even plain old parties. And if you're hosting an event of your own and expect your attendees to be social media types, hook them up with a unique hashtag they can use when they share photos of the festivities!

People & Pets

If you're a professional photographer or an avid hobbyist, chances are that you've taken some shots of your family and friends with your best camera. Chances are, too, that they may be some of your favourite images because they capture the people in your life that are most important to you. But unless you're one of those admirable, dedicated folks who always has that camera on them all the time, at the ready, you're likely not taking as many photos of people as you like. Especially of those candid moments, where there wasn't a specific reason to tote your bulkier gear along - like a quick trip to the park or an impromptu soccer game.

So make an effort with your smartphone instead. It is your phone after all, so you probably have it with you on all of those occasions anyway! The photos may not be technically as strong as they would be if you used your DSLR but - and here's the important part - they will be there. Pull out your phone, snap the shot, and the memory is preserved.

We humans are inquisitive creatures. We love getting a look into someone else's life - and that means not only seeing what you do and what you like, but also seeing who you are and who you share all of that with. So, if you're up for it, share the smartphone photos you capture of your friends, family and pets - and of yourself too!

We personally gravitate towards candid shots and save the more creative stuff for our DSLRs, but there are tons of great photographers creating impressive portraits of people and animals with their smartphones. Whole communities dedicated to sharing smartphone portraits have sprung up on social-sharing sites. You can easily find them by looking at photos submitted under the hashtag #portraits, and seeing what other portrait-related hashtags people have added to their shots. You'll be sure to walk away with tons of ideas on how you can use your smartphone to capture great images of people and animals.

Street photography

Sometimes, as a photographer, your goal is to go unseen by the world around you and capture a moment that's unspoiled by your presence. That's really the heart of street photography!

But with a camera around your neck, it can be hard to blend in, especially nowadays when there are more photographers out there. The average person on the street may be more attuned to the photographer's presence and more likely to change their behaviour as a result (for example, by politely stepping out of your shot).

Above: With this shot, I could have got away with using my DSLR, but using my smartphone made me a little less conspicuous.

​While we wait for Google to invent an invisibility cloak, we have to find other ways to blend in.

Enter: The smartphone. Because most of us have them - and a lot of us have them out, all the time - people may not take much notice when you use it as a camera . It doesn't guarantee invisibility, of course, but it can help to take some of the pressure off the folks around you, making you more able to capture that unspoiled scene. And because it's light and easy to wield, it may also allow you to take shots in situations where a larger camera just wouldn't work.

Above: When I took this photo, I was packed into a busy (and moving!) subway car and had to keep one hand on the subway handrail. With a larger camera, I might not have been able to compose the image. I might have also drawn too much attention to myself and inadvertently spoiled the moment!

There are a few things to think about here. First up, respect: Just because you can take a shot with your phone doesn't mean you should. It's your job to think about how your photo can affect the person you're photographing, especially if you intend to share it. If you're planning to get into street photography (check out our list of the best cameras for street photography), it's not a bad idea to know the laws with respect to photography and image sharing in the place where you live. We say that not to deter you from taking photos - street photography can be incredibly important, not to mention that it's lots of fun - but just as a friendly heads up!Second, quality: Though some smartphone cameras offer impressive quality, they're still not on par with DSLRs, and even some pocket-sized point-and-shoots. If you intend to print your work, you may want to weigh the invisibility benefits against the quality costs. You may find you're better off working with a proper camera in some cases.

Link-throughs

If you host a blog or another kind of website, smartphone photography and social sharing sites can help you engage an existing audience, and build a new audience, for your work!See, when you post an image to a social sharing site, so long as you have an open profile, pretty much anyone on that site can find it. And with the help of some thoughtful hashtagging, you can increase the chance that it gets in front of folks who will like what you're doing.

Above: A smartphone photo of homemade popsicles, shared on Instagram to direct people to the food blog where the recipes were published.

So whenever you publish a great new blog post, or add new images to your portfolio, consider sharing a relevant image on a social sharing site like Instagram to give folks a heads up. Make sure you provide them with a link to your work, too!

The general rule of thumb here is to make sure your image meshes with the style of the social sharing site. For Instagram, that generally means sharing a photo snapped with your smartphone. If you can, then, make a habit of grabbing a few shots of your work on your phone, for sharing purposes. There's a fine line between giving eager readers a heads up and spamming people, so keep a close eye on how people respond to your images.

Art Projects

While we've talked so far about sharing photos in their own right, these days more and more people are using photography - and image-sharing sites - to share their non-photographic artwork. This is especially true of sites like Instagram and Tumblr (the latter of which isn't specifically geared towards photos). In our own Instagramming experience, we've come across drawings, paintings, paper art, collages built from flowers, famous paintings rendered in Playdough (yep, really!) - all snapped and shared with the artist's smartphone!

Above: A smartphone shot of a paper parrot - part of a series of paper animals I've been sharing on my Instagram account.

If you have non-photo art you want to share, consider posting shots of it alongside your photography, or create a totally new account dedicated to your craft!

Above: A shot of a finished watercolour painting, and a behind-the-scenes look at a similar project, both taken with my smartphone camera.

While it's great to show your audience the finished product, people really enjoy getting a glimpse of the behind-the-scenes action too! Consider zooming out every now and then, to compose a photo that captures your process (or your mess!). It's a great way to engage your audience with your art, and allows you to keep with the spirit of sharing service that's more geared towards photography.

Out of the Box Ideas

If you're looking for ways to make your photography stand out - whether you're shooting with your smartphone or a different camera - check out awesome eBook, The Creativity Field Guide. Learn a bit more about it in the box below, then head this way for the full details and to grab a copy for yourself!

Get creative with your photography

Want to take your photography to new heights?

Check out The Creativity Field Guide! This super-fun eBook is packed with over 100 photography project ideas, plus tons of photos, illustrations and other fun stuff too - like field trips, quotes and even a scavenger hunt! Get ready to get inspired!

Editing On A Smartphone

Above: A shot of the golden fall leaves, before and after editing with the VSCO Cam app.

Digital photos need to be edited to look their best - and that's true whether you're shooting on a DSLR or a smartphone! In this section, we give you a few tips on how to bring out the best in your smartphone shots, whether you're editing them on your phone or your computer.

Editing On Your Phone

The basics

If one of your goals with your smartphone photography is to share your work quickly, chances are you'll be looking to do your image editing straight on your phone using a photo-editing app.While these apps aren't as powerful as the professional-level editing programs you might have on your computer, they do allow you to make coarse adjustments to your images, quickly, often for no cost or just a few dollars. There are a lot of editing apps offering a huge range of functions, and the mix is always changing, so take a look at the photo editing apps in your phone's app store to see what's popular. It may take a few tries to track down an app you find intuitive to use and that contains the features you're after.

EDITING Features TO LOOK FOR

Nowadays, apps offer tons of ways to manipulate your original smartphone image. Here's a quick rundown of some of the options available to you. To the best of our knowledge, no one app allows you to do ALL of these things. But in reading the list, you should get a sense of what functions you want, which'll be a big help when you start exploring your app store and looking at what each editing app offers. And hey, if you're overwhelmed or aren't into editing on your phone, no worries! Share your shot as-is and let the world know that you've gone for #nofilter. Or don't. Totally your call!
PicTapGo Instagram No Crop
Useful editing features:

Brightness

Contrast

White balance

Color temperature or tint

Saturation

Shadows

Highlights

Sharpness

Crop: to zoom in on part of your image or change its aspect ratio

Straightness

Image orientation

Vignettes

Blur: to mimic a shallow depth of field or tilt-shift lens

Borders: to work around Instagram's 1×1 crop and maintain a different aspect ratio

Border shape: to remove hard edges from around your frame

Text

Virtual stickers

Collages

Filters

Popular EDITING APPS

If you need a little more guidance on what app to use, here's a quick rundown of the major players in the editing app market (but make sure to take a look at your app store to see what's available - you may find something that suits you better!).

This editing app for iOS- and Android-enabled phones is one of the most popular out there, thanks in part to its range of filters (both free and paid). In addition to applying filters, with the VSCO Cam app you can adjust the basics - brightness, contrast, sharpness, warmth, tint (one of the few we've found that does this!), crop and orientation. You can also change the tone of highlights and shadows, add grain or fade, and make a few other stylistic adjustments.It's very much geared towards creating a particular aesthetic (that washed out look that's popular at the moment) and so only lets you, say, take the highlights down (no up option) and take the shadows up (no down option).

VSCO Filters in action

Above: A single photo with various VSCO filters applied. Clockwise from top left, the filters are: No filter (original image), HB2, M5, B5, T1, and A4. The filters come from the following series (some series may no longer be available): HB2 = Hypebeast X VSCOM5 = Subtle FadeB5 = Black & White MoodyT1 = Faded & MoodyA4 = Aesthetic Series

This popular app lets you combine multiple filters to create custom looks, and remembers what filters you like for faster editing! For iPhone only.

Most folks may think of Instagram simply as a sharing app, but it also allows you to edit your shots. You can make both upwards and downwards adjustments to brightness, contrast, sharpness, shadows, highlights and warmth (no color temperature) and more. You can also add filters and blur part of your shot using their radial and linear blur using their tilt-shift function.

If you're posting shots to Instagram, you'll learn very quickly that the app crops your images to a square aspect ratio. But say you don't want to crop your shot. You'll need an app that will build borders onto your rectangular shot, so that the image plus the borders creates a square.No Crop lets you not only maintain the shape of your shot, but also allows you to perform basic edits, apply filters, create collages, apply text - a lot of the extras you won't find in a straight editing app. This one's Android only, but there are plenty of similar apps out there for other operating systems!

No crop app in action

Above: The same image with two different crops. Yellow borders have been added to show the edges of the image. On the left, the image has been cropped to the 1×1 aspect ratio that Instagram automatically applies. On the right, the No Crop app has been used to apply white borders above and below the original 4×3 image, so that the final image+borders fits Instagram's 1×1 requirement.

Editing On Your Computer

If you want to use a more powerful editing program than what you'll find in a phone app, not to worry! Simply upload the photos to your computer and edit them with your editing program of choice. If you're new to editing your images on a computer and are looking to get into it seriously, we recommend checking out Adobe Lightroom - a powerful and intuitive professional editing program. If you're not sure you want to commit, you can download a free 30-day trial here.

Above: Lightroom can help you make more complex and subtle edits than a camera editing app. We used Lightroom to straighten the horizontal and vertical lines, and made the colours pop by increasing contrast, whites and saturation.

If you want to get more creative with your shots - for example by combining multiple images into one, removing or adding major features, or adding text - check out Adobe Photoshop CC (or the pared down version, Adobe Photoshop Elements). You can download a free 30-day trial of either program here.

LEARN TO EDIT YOUR PHOTOS

Want to bring out the best in your photos? Check out our Lightroom editing tutorials! They'll teach you:
The Basics
Click the links above to learn more!
The Pros
Sharing Your Images
​The Cons

One of the big draws of smartphone photography is that it allows you to create and share your work - with folks from all of the world, if you want - in just a matter of seconds!You see, when you have a phone that connects to the internet, you can upload your shots to all kinds of places - photographic communities, social networking sites, messaging services, emails, and on and on.

It's easier than pie, takes just a little effort to get started, and the potential benefits can be huge! In this section, we'll go over the basics of sharing your work online, talk about some of the pros and cons, and tell you a bit about the vibrant smartphone photography communities out there today.

#1 Connect to the Web

In order to share a photo on one of the major sharing platforms via your phone, you'll need an internet connection. Either Wi-Fi or your phone's data plan (if you have one) will do the trick! If you're not online, you can't share.
How it Works
#2 Know Your Phone Plan

Anytime you do something on your phone that requires internet access - like share or download a photo, check your email, or run a backup to a cloud server - you use something called data.Typically, smartphone users will purchase a certain amount of data from their phone provider, which specifies how much data they can use per billing cycle before they're charged an overage fee. You'll want to keep an eye on how much data you use, to make sure all your image sharing isn't costing you a fortune! Make sure you find out too whether sending photos by text message costs extra.

TIPS to keep your fees down*

Share via Wi-Fi: In general, home/business internet plans allow for more data than phone plans, meaning you're less likely to go over your data allotment if you share via Wi-Fi. That being said, you should know how much data you're using on a home plan, and whether your connection is secure.

Run auto-backups of your photos over Wi-Fi: Running a backup can use a lot of data, so unless you have a super-generous data plan you may want to save the backup for when you're connected to the internet via Wi-Fi. That being said, the longer you go without backing up your work, the more at risk you are of losing your photos. Do what you're comfortable with!

*You know your situation best, so use these tips at your own discretion. You are responsible for any charges you incur!

#3 Places to Share Your Work

Once your phone is internet-connected, you'll need to choose which photo-sharing services you want to use. There's a lot of choice - we'll give you a quick rundown of some of the more popular options.

Instagram is by far the most popular sharing service geared mainly towards smartphone photography. As of December 2014, over 300 million users were signed up for the service, including everyday folks, artists, athletes, famous photographers from tons of disciplines (fashion, nature, documentary), talent scouts, brands and more.

One of the things we like most about Instagram is its focus on community: There's a real push towards genuine interaction, even when you're connecting with folks with much larger followings than yours (though don't expect to get a response from people whose posts gets tons of comments - there are only so many hours in a day!). And though there will be exceptions, most folks emphasize positivity and encouragement.Instagram also offers potential for growth: There are tons of stories of people developing huge followings on Instagram and having amazing opportunities come their way (and probably even more stories of people finding new clients, developing friendships, an>d so on). With so many folks using the service now, it's harder to get your work noticed (though hashtagging can help - more on that in section 5).

Above: Photos on my Instagram feed, and a single photo enlarged with comments and likes visible.

One of the biggest drawbacks of Instagram is that, for a photo sharing app, it doesn't always make your photos look very good. If, like roughly half of Instagram users, you're using an Android device, your photos will be seriously compressed and the quality seriously degraded (iOS users don't seem to have the same problem). The jury is out on whether the issue is mainly caused by Instagram or Android, but either way, the result is the same.

Above: A shot of a log, straight out of my smartphone camera.

Above: The same shot, with minimal editing, after posting to Instagram. Notice how much less sharp it is compared to the original image.

Some folks aren't happy with Instagram's Terms of Use, which gives the company license to use your work (your use of the service serves as your permission).

Getting started with Instagram is easy: Simply download the app and create an account. You can choose to have a public account, which anyone can see and follow, or a private account, which only people you've approved can see.Once you have an account, you can start sharing your photos - either by feeding them into the app via your camera app or editing app, or by taking a photo directly through the Instagram app itself. Apply any additional edits you want, add a caption or location information to your shot (which'll allow people to see that location on a map), and hit 'share'. Note that the app isn't a storage service - it doesn't hold a library of your unshared shots.The trend is towards posting smartphone photos, but expect to see a good number of videos, shots taken with other types of cameras, and non-photographic material (like paintings or digital creations) too.The culture of Instagram is fairly relaxed, though some folks do play by certain rules: Tag photos you haven't that day with the hashtag #latergram or share those photos on a Thursday (deemed "Throwback Thursday" - hashtag #tbt). And it goes without saying: Get permission before you repost someone else's work.

Flickr is a photo-sharing site that's been around since 2004. While historically it's been more geared towards sharing photography in general, and not smartphone photography, the platform is becoming more user-friendly for smartphone users, especially with the most recent update of the Flickr smartphone app. And like Instagram, you can use hashtags to get your work in front of other users. We haven't shared our smartphone images on our Flickr accounts (yet), but we can see the advantages of giving it a try: The terms of use are more generous than Instagram's, the community is serious about photography, and the platform makes it easier to license use of your images. Plus, Flickr allows you to store your images on their site, which Instagram doesn't. A free membership gets you a terabyte of storage space (and you can purchase more if you so please!). That's a huge draw!Another bonus of Flickr: The site has been around for over a decade now, so there's a reasonable chance that it (and your carefully cultivated gallery) won't just disappear on you overnight.

Sites like Tumblr, Twitter and Facebook aren't specifically geared towards sharing smartphone photography, but they can be an attractive option, especially if you want to streamline your social media use and share photos, news, and thoughts all from one place. A few words on each:

Tumblr

Tumblr is a free micro-blogging platform that allows you to create short-form blog posts with images (photos or otherwise), videos, gifs and written content. If you're wanting to share a lot of writing alongside your photos, you may appreciate the Tumblr format, as it isn't so rigidly focused on promoting images over words. There are over 200 million blogs registered on the site, so the community is expansive (and probably more varied than what you'll find on a photo-specific site). Hashtag your posts effectively, and they can be seen by a huge number of users!

Twitter

Twitter is a free social networking site that allows you to share writing and captions of no more than 140 characters. At the moment, it's geared much more towards written content - like news, jokes, life updates - than images, but the capacity is there (and it seems to us like the company is trying to emphasize that, so better image-sharing features may be on their way!). If you're looking mostly to share written insights and updates, with the occasional image thrown in, Twitter might be a good place to start. As with the other sites we've talked about so far, hashtags can be used effectively to get your tweets seen by some of its 284 million active users.

Facebook

Facebook is the world's largest social networking site, with over 1.3 billion active users. The site is a sort of social media catch-all, allowing you to send public and private messages, post articles and videos, and share photos - either one-offs or whole albums with dozens of images. (You can also make phone and video calls, send instant messages, and do a suite of other things.) The things you post publicly to your Facebook page will show up in your friends' news feed - alongside posts from all of their other friends, plus advertisers. As a result, your work can quickly become buried and go unseen by people who would otherwise be interested in it - a major downside. However, chances are that while some of your friends and family may be on the other sharing platforms, almost all of them probably have a Facebook account. So if you want to have even a chance of sharing images with the people closest to you, you may need to be on Facebook (though an emailed link to a Flickr gallery would do the trick too). If you want to share your images with strangers, but keep your personal page private, consider making a separate page dedicated to your photography. Keep in mind though: Hashtagging isn't widly used or very effective on Facebook, so chances are your page won't be seen by as many people as an Instagram or Flickr page would, despite Facebook's larger user base.

#4 Read the Fine Print

Before you sign up for a sharing service, you're typically asked to agree to that service's Terms & Conditions of Use or a similarly-named policy outlining what you and the service provider can and cannot do as it pertains to the service.

Though these policies tend to be long and written in legal jargon, we absolutely recommend looking through them carefully before you start sharing your work through that service. In some cases, these terms outline that in sharing your work through the service, the service provider gains the right to use your work without seeking further permission (you implicitly provide permission when you sign up).

#5 Post

Once you're set up with a sharing service (or two, or three) and you have a photo you want folks to see, it's time to actually share your shot!This can be as simple as taking your photo, applying any edits you want, and posting it through your sharing service. But chances are that your service will give you a few more options.

Writing

Most, if not all, sharing services these days give you the option of presenting writing alongside your images. So before you post your shot, think about whether there's anything you want to tell people about the image - like who it's of or why the scene captured your attention.

The caption for the shot above was simply, "Shall we?", inviting viewers to imagine themselves in the scene, getting ready to venture down the path.

If your goal in sharing your work is to build a strong audience, think about how you can use words to get them to connect more with your images (and possibly with you as an individual and an artist).

Hashtags

Most sharing services these days allow you to add hashtags to your images - words or phrases preceded by the number sign (#example) - typically in the same space where you'd add a caption or description of the image. When anyone searches that particular hashtag, your image will show up (along with anyone else's image tagged with that hashtag).

Hashtagging is a great way to get your eyes in front of a particular audience. For example, lots of brands and organizations these days have not only a social media presence, but a hashtag of their own for fans to use. If you think your image is relevant to them, you may want to apply their hashtag to it to increase the chance that they see it. It doesn't happen often, but they may just get in touch with you to see if they can repost it or license it!

LOCATION INFORMATION

Some sharing services allow you to attach location information to your images, so folks can see on a map where you took your shot (and so that, down the road, you can remember where you went!). It can be a fun feature to use, especially when you're travelling, but some folks aren't comfortable divulging that much information. It's totally your call!

Including location information allows people to see on a map where you were when you took your shot!

POST!

Once you've considered all of those extras, it's time to get your image out there! When you post, and how often, is totally up to you, but you'll quickly get a feel for what works best - for yourself and your audience - as you spend some time on the sharing service.

#6 Interact

Many sharing services these days encourage users to interact with each other. Depending on the service, you may be able to: leave a public comment on an image, send a private message to a user, add your name to a list of people who enjoyed an image (by 'liking' or 'hearting'), and sign up to see future images from a particular user.

This means that not only are you able to follow along with other folks' images and tell them what you think - but they can do the same for you!

Social sharing services are a great place to make connections!

If you want to receive feedback, the etiquette on these services is that you should be providing it as well, and responding to comments too. Folks aren't as open to engaging with people who don't engage back. That doesn't mean you have to reciprocate every single time you get feedback - by following someone who follows you, or liking someone's work who likes yours. But don't ignore your friends and fans either!

#7 The Bigger Picture:Pros & Cons of Sharing Your Work

Now that I've walked you through the nuts and bolts of sharing your work, let's take a second to reflect on why you'd want (or not want) to put your smartphone photos online for the world to see. Here are a few of the pros and cons.

PROS

Attract new clients

Make personal and professional connections with other artists (in your area and around the world!)

Keep your family and friends up to date

Get feedback on your work

Direct people to your personal website or portfolio

Create a sense of responsibility to share more (and practice more as a result)

Get exposed to and inspired by other artists using the platform

Create a visual record of your life

Cons

Open yourself to unwanted attention or criticism

Open yourself to image theft

Invest a lot of time in things you may not enjoy, like captioning your images or responding to feedback

Compromise your vision in order to do what's trendy and gain more likes, comments or followers (it happens!)

No guarantee that the time you invest will pay off

Fujifilm Instax SHARE Smartphone SP-1
There are definitely more pros and cons to sharing your work, but those are some of the biggest ones we weighed up when deciding whether or not to share our smartphone photos (and other photos) online. We all decided that sharing was the right decision for us. Whether you go the same route or not is your call!
Blurb Instagram Photo Book

Imagine the photos that'll be on your phone six months from now: Birthday parties and family holidays, a great adventure or two, awesome shots of the scenery around your town, the little pleasures of everyday life. Now imagine you drop your phone and it won't start up again no matter what you try. Or you spill your drink on it and it dies. Or you lose it. Or it gets stolen.
Artifact Uprising Instagram Photo Book
There are a ton of ways you can lose the data on your phone. You need to make sure you don't lose it - and all your photos - for good. You need a backup system.

Cloud backups

These days, most smartphones will automatically back your data (including your photos) up to a cloud server...so long as you have that function enabled.

Some phones will allow you to automatically back up your photos to a cloud server!

Make sure to check your phone to see if it has this capability and how it can be customized. For example, some phones allow you to specify what you want to back up, and whether you only want to run backups when you're connected to Wi-Fi (this'll save you from eating up a ton of your phone data).

In addition to helping keep your photos safe, enabling your phone's auto-backup system can make life a whole lot easier should you ever need to wipe your phone entirely, as it may allow you to restore some of your apps and settings with the touch of just a few buttons.

OFFLINE BACKUPS (DON'T NEGLECT THIS)

When it comes to backups, there's no guarantee that any one system you use is going to work. The photos that are stored on your phone may be wiped out. You may think you're backing up to a cloud server, but it may turn out that you accidentally disabled that function ages ago.So what do you do? When it comes to backing up photos, you need to store your files in at least three distinct places, to minimize the chance that you totally lose your data.For phone users, this means that in addition to keeping your photos on your phone and on a cloud server, you need to put them on a computer and, preferably, on a hard drive or two as well. That means getting in the habit of regularly transferring your images (and any other essential data) to your computer and an external hard drive.As a plus, if you run regular backups of your images to your computer and hard drives, you'll be able to delete old shots from your phone and free up precious space for new images!

Learn to back up your photos

Learn how to keep your photos safe from theft, human error, disaster and dragons - the easy way! We'll teach you to create the perfect backup plan for your needs, whether you're shooting only with your smartphone or creating tons of content with your trusty DSLR too. Start keeping your photos safe, now!

One of our favourite things about taking shots with our phone is getting those images off of our phone and into our hands. There's nothing like a tangible print that you can hold in your hands! With smartphone photography growing in popularity, there are now plenty of great options for printing your work. Here are a few that have caught our eye recently.

Ways to Print Your Smartphone Shots

This little printer - it's not much bigger than your phone - lets you print images from your phone, wirelessly, on Instax film! It's a bit of a novelty, but we had tons of fun with it when we tried it out, and can see it being great for portrait photographers and anyone with young kids. Read our full review here to see if it's something you might want to add to your kit.

Above: The Fujifilm Instax Share Smartphone Printer SP-1 and a few of the prints we created from smartphone shots and DSLR shots that we transferred to our phone.

Blurb is one of the biggest names in self-publishing and album printing. Now, they offer Instagram-specific photo books that allow you to make a book that draws images directly from your Instagram feed. A 60-page, 7×7-inch book starts at US$20.99 (taxes, shipping and other fees not included).

Another popular name in the photo book market is Artifact Uprising - an American printer owned by VSCO (the same ones who make the apps). Like Blurb, they offer an Instagram-specific photo book option that allows you to populate your book with images taken directly from your feed. A 40-page 5.5×5.5-inch book starts at US$17.99 (taxes, shipping and other fees not included).

Other Photo Books & Prints

If you don't post your photos to Instagram, or don't want to populate your book with compressed images (in general, the shots on your Instagram feed are much smaller than the originals on your phone), try creating a photo book or photo prints from the full-sized images on your phone. We go this route to preserve photo quality, pulling our phone shots into Adobe Lightroom for a quick edit and exporting them as full-sized files before printing. To keep the quality of the print high, we keep the size of the print small - with our 8 megapixel smartphone camera, prints of 4×6 or smaller looked the best.

Above: A 6×8 Artifact Uprising book, made with smartphone photos. I wanted to ensure the image quality in the book was as high as possible, so instead of filling the book with images imported directly from Instagram, I used full-sized files that I had edited in Lightroom.

Small though it may seem, taking photos with your smartphone can be a hugely rewarding experience. It can help you improve your fundamental skills, get you inspired, help you build friendships and work relationships, and create for you a visual record of the moments in your life, big and small. We hope you've found this guide helpful, and that you feel equipped with everything you need to know to take, edit, share, save and print awesome shots right from your phone. We can't wait to see where your smartphone will take your photography. It's going to be great!

STEPHANIE SIMPSON

Hi! I'm Stephanie! I'm an occasional ninja here at Photography Concentrate and a photographer at www.stephsimpson.ca. I share smartphone shots daily on Instagram at @stephanie.simpson.

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Smartphone Photography 101 - The Ultimate Guide to Smartphone Photography

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This guide is dedicated to helping you with the nitty gritty of smartphone photography - how to take a great shot on your phone, what editing apps to use, how to share and print your images and keep them safe. Whether you're totally new to photography, or a seasoned pro, there's a lot to be gained.

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Professor Sands Student Photography Work!

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Professor Sands Student Photography Work!

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Art21 is a celebrated global leader in presenting thought-provoking and sophisticated content about contemporary art, and the go-to place to learn first-hand from the artists of our time. A nonprofit organization, Art21’s mission is to inspire a more creative world through the works and words of con…

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Tinker Lab

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If you want to introduce your child to stop motion animation, this post is written for you. I'll show you how to do this with an iPad or similar device, and you'll be making your first movie in minutes.

While my girls have been in a little bit of camp this summer, it's mainly been Camp Mom for our family: local adventures, crafts, and lots and lots of unstructured play. We're lucky to have some great neighbors with kids, and our girls have been lost in imaginative play that expands beyond the reach of anything I could possibly fabricate for them.

However, we've had a few mornings filled with creative projects and this stop motion animation project is a winner.

If you're looking for a STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math) project, this is for YOU!

This project would be great to set up on the STEAM Table.

Stop Motion Animation, explained

For the uninitiated, stop motion animation is a film making technique that makes inanimate objects appear to move on their own. Think Gumby or Wallace and Gromit.

To make it work, you place an object in front of a camera and snap a photo. You then move the object a tiny bit and snap another photo. Repeat this process twenty to ten thousand times, play back the sequence in rapid progression, and the object appears to move fluidly across the screen.

While my older daughter, age six, really flew with this project, her little sister who's just two months shy of four also got in on the stop motion animation action. I'll share their finished projects in just a moment. But first, let me show you just how simple this set up can be. Take this as a starting point and feel free to add your own flourishes.

Supplies for Stop Motion Animation
This list contains affiliate links for your convenience
Method

1. Set up a backdrop. This could be a wall or pice of foam core.

2. Gather toys to include in your animation.

3. Set up your touch pad or smart phone on a stand or tripod, across from the foam core.

4. Start the Stop Motion Animation App and make your movie!

The Stop Motion Animation Set Up

As you can see, there's nothing too fancy about the set up. While you could certainly add some elaborate lighting, we set this up by a window to keep it simple. I added the trash can behind the piece of foam core to keep it from falling over during filming. I know, super glamorous, right? Any heavy object should do the trick.

The kids had fun sorting through what we call the Character Basket for their just-right objects. My six-year old was up first, and my little one took it as an opportunity to play with cars and mini sheep while she waited her turn.

Using the stop motion app was really easy and intuitive. I did a demo run to show the kids how it worked, and then my six-year old took over and worked on her video for a solid half hour. When she was done, her little sister took over. I was surprised at how easy it was for her too.

Easy Stop Motion Ideas

My kids jumped in on this with tons of enthusiasm. Here are a few easy stop motion ideas that you can show to your children.

From three-year old R...

From six-year old N...

Benefits of Stop Motion Animation

Offers children ownership and autonomy in the film making process

Teaches children how stop motion animation works

Debunks the mechanics of how movie-making happens

The creative constraint of the medium encourages problem solving

It's a simple, hands-on technology that young children can achieve

Encourages children to project and plan out where a story is heading

Fosters iteration and experimentation through trying and testing

Supports storytelling

So, are you ready to give it a try?

More Stop Motion Resources

You can't really beat the classic stop motion animation of Gumby! Gumby on the Moon, YouTube. This would be an inspiring thing to show a child as an intro to stop motion animation.

Best Stop Motion Videos from Short of the Week. Lots of good inspiration here.

How to make things fly in Stop Motion Animation, using PhotoShop: YouTube. This is for the super-advanced students, and worth checking out if you're curious about how these things work.

More Projects like this one
DIY Paper Tube Marble Run Fort Building Kit DIY Water Wall, it's like a marble run, but with water! Build an easy light table Make Gumdrop Sculptures Build a Rube Goldberg machine for Little Engineers

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Easy Stop Motion Animation for Beginners - TinkerLab

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This Stop Motion Animation project is easy to set up in minutes, and a great way to encourage STEAM concepts with children.

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Melissa Purtee's students in North Carolina

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What is Stop Motion Animation?

Stop motion animation (also called stop frame animation) is animation that is captured one frame at time, with physical objects that are moved between frames. When you play back the sequence of images rapidly, it creates the illusion of movement. If you understand how 2D drawn animation (early Disney) works, stop motion is similar, except using physical objects instead of drawings.

The basic process of animation involves taking a photograph of your objects or characters, moving them slightly, and taking another photograph. When you play back the images consecutively, the objects or characters appear to move on their own.

FRAME 1

FRAME 2

FRAME 3

FRAME 4

ANIMATED

You see stop motion animation all the time-in commercials, music videos, television shows and feature films-even if you don't realize it. While it is common for people to think of stop motion as just one specific style, such as clay animation, the reality is that stop motion techniques can be used to create a wide range of film styles:

Capturing Stop Motion Animation

Early stop motion was captured with film cameras. Animators could not see how their work looked until they got their film processed. They used surface gauges to keep track of where their characters were, and how far to move them. If the animation was not fluid, if the set had been bumped, or if the lighting was bad, the work was lost and the animator had to start all over again.

Later, special video machines allowed the animator to view the last one or two frames, and compare those to the live video from the camera. This allowed them to get a sense of how their animation was progressing.

Using DSLRs for Stop Motion Animation

In 2005, Corpse Bride was shot with the Canon EOS-1D Mark II, making it the first stop motion feature film captured with a digital still camera. Early DSLRs did not have live view, a feature where the camera can provide a video stream of the image through the lens. So, the studio had to use a secondary video camera to provide the video assist.

In 2007, Canon and Nikon introduced DSLRs with live view. Since then, DSLRs have been used to capture most of the professional quality stop motion that you see, from feature films to music videos to broadcast television series and commercials.

Dragon 1.0 (the original release of Dragonframe) was released March 1, 2008, and was the first stop motion software package to support both the Canon 40D and the Nikon D90 DSLRs with live view. This meant that the animator could see a fairly accurate through-the-lens preview of their animation as they went.

What Dragonframe Does

Dragonframe is the premier frame-grabbing software for stop motion animation and time-lapse photography. Using the live view of a supported digital camera, Dragonframe provides video assist tools for the animator, and is the central hub for capturing and organizing the high-resolution frames from your camera.

Dragonframe is an excellent frame-grabber, with tools such as step-to-live, onionskinning, auto-toggling, and drawing (virtual grease pencil). Dragonframe has innovated in the world of stop motion software by pushing the functionality beyond frame grabbing to provide a full assortment of production tools.

The five workspaces of Dragonframe software provide these tools:

Animation tools for video assist, frame-grabbing, and editing

Cinematography tools to check focus, set exposure, and make sure you get the perfect shot

Full lighting automation with the DDMX-512

Integrated audio and dialogue track reading tools

Multi-axis move editor to quickly program complex camera moves

Whether you are an independent filmmaker working on a project in your garage, a small crew working on a commercial, or a major studio making a feature film, you will find that Dragonframe has the tools you need to create amazing stop motion animation.

Dragonframe software 30-day free trial
Full list of features in Dragonframe
Inspiring stop motion projects filmed with Dragonframe
List of supported cameras
Stop motion video tutorials

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Introduction to Stop Motion Animation - Dragonframe

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Stop motion animation (also called stop frame animation) is animation that is captured one frame at time, with physical objects that are moved between frames. When you play back the sequence of images rapidly, it creates the illusion of movement.

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What is the "decisive moment?" What can you find out about this critical component of contemporary photography?

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To fully appreciate the technological advancements of our modern day cameras, it's important to consider the initial science that inspired the medium of photography as we now know it. Practice this ancient art of photography and make your very own room with a view.

Camera obscuras form the basic principle of photography with the use of a lens (or pinhole in this case) and light travelling through it. The camera obscura is in essence, a room or device that allows light to pass through a small opening, which projects the external image inside the room or device. The image is projected upside down, much the same as the way our retinas see the world before our brains correct the image. As camera technology developed, mirrors were used in these boxes or devices to flip the projection its right way.

This simple yet sorcery-like concept has been an artistic tool for artists throughout the ages. The invention of the camera obscura is contested, but without delving into a history lesson, let's just say that its oldest mention dates back to around the 5th century BC.

Though performed throughout history, Abelardo Morell's projects of New York and other popular locations in the United States spring to mind immediately as an exemplar of work using the camera obscura technique and an indication of what's visually possible with dedication, time and ingenuity.

Your house is just one novelty-sized camera for viewing the world outside your window.

The best part about making a camera obscura at home is that you can do it with materials most likely already in your cupboard, and of course, it's a fun experience for all ages. My three-year-old daughter and I turned her bedroom into a camera obscura and we both had a blast! Okay, she thought it was only kinda cool. But the point is, making camera obscuras can be a great activity for children and experienced photographers alike.
Let's get started. Materials Needed

Cardboard, builders' film, black sheets or garbage bags

If you don't have the above materials required or any substitutes lying around the house, make a quick pit stop at your local hardware store.

Step 1: Darken the Room

Now, to darken the room. The visual impact of this activity relies heavily on darkness so don't take any shortcuts. Use cardboard, black sheets or black garbage bags to cover the windows of the room, securing them tightly with tape.

Tip: It's sometimes easier to measure the window first and then cut your material accordingly before taping to the wall. And if you're covering the window with cardboard, it's definitely easier to gouge a hole in the middle of the cardboard curtain before taping to the wall. Remember to measure twice, cut once.

Step 2: The Lens

Now the windows are completely blocking any incoming light, it's time to make the pinhole. Depending on the material used, this can be really easy. If using builders' film or garbage bags, fashion a small hole, about the size of a 10 cent coin into the material in the middle of the window area.

Step 3: Turn Off the Lights

Kill the lights. Now wait. Your eyes will immediately begin to see the inverted outside world on your walls. The longer you allow your eyes to adjust to the darkness, the brighter the projection becomes.

Once you've mastered this simple method and seen its results, you can begin experimenting with different hole placement and different sized pinholes.

Room With a View

Too cold to go shoot this weekend? Too hot? Wherever you are in the world, know that your house is just one novelty-sized camera for viewing the world outside your window.

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How to Make a Camera Obscura at Home | Urth Magazine

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To fully appreciate the technological advancements of our modern day cameras, it's important to consider the initial science that inspired the medium of photography as we now know it. Practice this ancient art of photography and make your very own room with a view.