Photos

Microsculpture : The Insect Portraits of Levon Biss

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what I loved most about these pictures and his process was the reminder that everyday things, everyday annoyances can often become something very different, very beautiful even, if only seen in a different way.

And that is encouraging. 

 

Microsculpture is a ground breaking project by the British photographer Levon Biss that presents insect specimens from the Oxford University Museum of Natural History like never before . . . Microsculpture was first exhibited in the main court of the Oxford University Museum of Natural History.  Surrounded by the museum’s stunning Neo-Gothic architecture, the largest of Microsculpture’s photographic prints measured up to three metres across and surrounded the visitor.  Seen alongside the tiny insect specimens themselves, this huge transformation of scale offered a unique viewing experience" (via). 

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Although much smaller than three meters, these images are still stunning.

Jewel Longhorn Beetle

Jewel Longhorn Beetle

At high magnification the surface of even the plainest looking beetle or fly is completely transformed as details of their microsculpture become visible: ridges, pits or engraved meshes all combine at different spatial scales in a breath-taking intricacy. It is thought that these microscopic structures alter the properties of the insect’s surface in different ways, reflecting sunlight, shedding water, or trapping air (via).
Marion Flightless Moth

Marion Flightless Moth

Levon photographs the insect in "approximately 30 different sections, depending the size of the specimen.  Each section is lit differently with strobe lights to bring out the micro sculptural beauty of that particular section of the body.  For example, I will light and shoot just one antennae, then after I have completed this area I will move onto the eye and the lighting set up will change entirely to suit the texture and contours of that specific part area of the body.  I continue this process until I have covered the whole surface area of the insect" (via).

Paris Peacock

Paris Peacock

Ruby Tailed Wasp

Ruby Tailed Wasp

You can see many more of these ridiculous images here, and if you do, don't pass up on the Treehopper. It might be my favorite.

Treehopper

Treehopper

But the Branch Back Treehopper is pretty amazing too . . . and the Tricolored Jewel Beetle. 

Here's the madness behind the process:

You can also check Levon Biss' TED Talk and more of his non-insect work here.

 

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-N- Stuff  :  Photography  :  National Geographic

 

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Some pretty awesome drone shots

Nature and Romance

Nature and Romance

 Niaz is a director, commercial photographer and film maker based out of Los Angeles who loves "creating awesome stuff!" 

These arial shots seem to fall easily into such a category.

Laguna Beach

Laguna Beach

Lost in a Forest

Lost in a Forest

California Sunset

California Sunset

Pursuit of Happiness

Pursuit of Happiness

Floating

Floating

Santa Monica

Santa Monica

You can see more of Niaz's work in his portfolio or follow him on Instagram.

 

For more on . . .

-N- Stuff  :  Guardian's best drone photography  :  Photos

 

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Standing, for a moment, with refugees

Refugees, primarily from Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq prepare to board a train at a refugee transit camp, or reception center for refugees and migrants, in Gevgelija, Macedonia on October 2, 2015.

Refugees, primarily from Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq prepare to board a train at a refugee transit camp, or reception center for refugees and migrants, in Gevgelija, Macedonia on October 2, 2015.

The refugee crisis is inescapable in today’s news. Striking visuals emerging from Europe, the Middle East, and Africa illustrate a story of both desperation and hope. These images allow viewers to stand for a moment alongside migrants and refugees fleeing their home countries in search of a new life and new opportunities.
Refugees and migrants enter a registration and transit center in Opatovac, Croatia, on October 7, 2015. Approximately 4000-5000 people, mostly from Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria, pass through this border town every day on their way to Western Europe.

Refugees and migrants enter a registration and transit center in Opatovac, Croatia, on October 7, 2015. Approximately 4000-5000 people, mostly from Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria, pass through this border town every day on their way to Western Europe.

On November 14-15, the Tufts Institute for Global Leadership (IGL) and VII Photo Agency mark 10 years of collaboration with a series of seminars and workshops at VII Perspectives: Migration. VII founder and Chair of IGL’s Program for Narrative and Documentary Practice, Gary Knight, will be joined by leading VII photojournalists for two days of dialogue and hands-on experience. A selection of several of the photographers’ work on the refugee crisis is highlighted below (via).
One thousand migrants and refugees from countries including Iraq, Syria, Pakistan, and Afghanistan, as well as regions of the Balkans and Africa at an emergency shelter at Olympia Stadiom in Berlin, Germany on September 24, 2015.

One thousand migrants and refugees from countries including Iraq, Syria, Pakistan, and Afghanistan, as well as regions of the Balkans and Africa at an emergency shelter at Olympia Stadiom in Berlin, Germany on September 24, 2015.

 

Photos by Ashley Gilbertson

Ashley Gilbertson’s images capture refugees – mostly from Iraq, Syria, Pakistan, and Afghanistan, as well as regions of the Balkans and Africa – on their way into and through Europe during September 2015.

The exodus of people from Africa, Central Asia, and the Middle East to Europe is the largest movement of people since World War II. Working in the refugee transit centers, which see thousands of people daily, the photographer notes that conditions at some of the camps are getting slightly better. However, some conditions – such as five hour train rides packed so tightly there is no room to move beyond the spot people are standing – reflect challenges in addressing the scale of the crisis.

Refugees primarily from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan are called to by volunteers as they land near Scala, on the island of Lesvos, Greece on September 30, 2015.

Refugees primarily from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan are called to by volunteers as they land near Scala, on the island of Lesvos, Greece on September 30, 2015.

Refugees primarily from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan are helped by volunteers as they disembark boats near Scala, on the island of Lesvos, Greece on September 30, 2015. The Agean sea is particularly rough, with the first signs of winter storms beginn…

Refugees primarily from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan are helped by volunteers as they disembark boats near Scala, on the island of Lesvos, Greece on September 30, 2015. The Agean sea is particularly rough, with the first signs of winter storms beginning today. Many refugees were sea sick, some to the point of life threatening conditions due to dehydration and cold.

Kadoni Kinan, 26, a volunteer, helps a young Syrian boy as he disembarks a boat near Scala, on the island of Lesvos, Greece on September 30, 2015. Kadoni Kinan left his home in Saragep, Syria five years ago. Kinan successfully filed for refugee stat…

Kadoni Kinan, 26, a volunteer, helps a young Syrian boy as he disembarks a boat near Scala, on the island of Lesvos, Greece on September 30, 2015. Kadoni Kinan left his home in Saragep, Syria five years ago. Kinan successfully filed for refugee status, and today lives in Belgium, where he studies Flemish at school and volunteers for the Red Cross.

 

Photos by Ed Kashi

In November 2013, photographer Ed Kashi went to Iraq and Jordan, working with the International Medical Corps (IMC). IMC is a humanitarian non-profit organization that provides aid and relief to those affected by conflict and crisis.

The photographer’s work reflects IMC’s efforts to increase awareness and improve not only the physical, but also the mental health of young refugees plagued by depression, fear, suffering, and the sense of a life turned upside down. His images intimately llustrates the plight of this lost generation.

Children gather in an enclave of tents at the Al Za'atri refugee camp for Syrians near Mafraq, Jordan on Nov. 25, 2013.

Children gather in an enclave of tents at the Al Za'atri refugee camp for Syrians near Mafraq, Jordan on Nov. 25, 2013.

A young girl enjoys a lollipop while watching shoppers in the Domiz Camp for Syrian Refugees just outside of Dohuk, Iraq on Nov. 23, 2013.

A young girl enjoys a lollipop while watching shoppers in the Domiz Camp for Syrian Refugees just outside of Dohuk, Iraq on Nov. 23, 2013.

Refugees walk through the overcrowded Al Za'atri refugee camp for Syrians, near Mafraq, Jordan on Nov. 17, 2013. There, International Medical Corps, IMC, is pushing to increase awareness and improve not only the physical, but also the mental health …

Refugees walk through the overcrowded Al Za'atri refugee camp for Syrians, near Mafraq, Jordan on Nov. 17, 2013. There, International Medical Corps, IMC, is pushing to increase awareness and improve not only the physical, but also the mental health of young refugees plagued by depression, fear, suffering, and the sense of a life turned upside down.

 

Photos by Ron Haviv

Like Maciek Nabrdalik’s, this selection of Ron Haviv’s photographs are centered on the Lesvos, Greece. There, he has captured the work of volunteers helping refugees to arrive safely, as well as the migrants’ journey once they have made it to shore.

A refugees looks towards Turkey after arriving on the Greek island of Lesbos.

A refugees looks towards Turkey after arriving on the Greek island of Lesbos.

Refugees arrive on the Greek island of Lesbos.

Refugees arrive on the Greek island of Lesbos.

A Spanish volunteer lifeguard helps refugees arrive on the Greek island of Lesbos.

A Spanish volunteer lifeguard helps refugees arrive on the Greek island of Lesbos.

While looking at these images of hope and love, I couldn't help but think, "Where is America?"

Then I remembered. We're building walls.

 

For more on . . .

-N- Stuff  :   Amazing Photos  :  Humanity

 

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Nat Geo's Travel Photos of the Year

"The results of the 2017 National Geographic Travel Photographer of the Year Contest are now in, with grand-prize winner Sergio Tapiro Velasco set to receive a 10-day trip for two to the Galápagos Archipelago with National Geographic Expeditions, for his incredible shot of lightning striking the erupting Colima Volcano in Mexico (below). National Geographic was kind enough to allow {ALAN TAYLOR} to share the winners and honorable mentions with us here, from three categories: Nature, Cities, and People. The photos and captions were written by the photographers, and lightly edited for style" (via)

The Power of Nature - Grand Prize and 1st Prize Nature Category. Powerful eruption of Colima Volcano in Mexico on December 13th, 2015. That night, the weather was dry and cold, friction of ash particles generated a big lightning rod of about 600 met…

The Power of Nature - Grand Prize and 1st Prize Nature Category. Powerful eruption of Colima Volcano in Mexico on December 13th, 2015. That night, the weather was dry and cold, friction of ash particles generated a big lightning rod of about 600 meters that connected ash and volcano, illuminating the dark scene. In last part of 2015, this volcano showed a lot of eruptive activity with ash explosions that raised 2-3 km above the crater. Most of the night explosions produced incandescent rock falls and lightning not bigger than 100 meters in average

Al Ain - Honorable mention, Cities. New city on the desert.

Al Ain - Honorable mention, Cities. New city on the desert.

The Man’s Stare - Honorable mention, People. The photo was taken on July 23rd 2016 at Tongi Railway Station in Gazipur, Bangladesh. I was there taking photos and waiting for a moment. A train from Dhaka toward another district stopped at the platfor…

The Man’s Stare - Honorable mention, People. The photo was taken on July 23rd 2016 at Tongi Railway Station in Gazipur, Bangladesh. I was there taking photos and waiting for a moment. A train from Dhaka toward another district stopped at the platform for 5 minutes for lifting passengers. It was raining a lot. Suddenly I found a pair of curious eyes looking at me through the window and on his left an umbrella has been put to protect from the rain. I got the moment.

Interesting Moment - 2nd Place, People. Museum visitors curiously watching Rembrandt's painting "Syndics of the Drapers' Guild" where it gave the illusion that the people on the paintings too are curiously watching the visitors.

Interesting Moment - 2nd Place, People. Museum visitors curiously watching Rembrandt's painting "Syndics of the Drapers' Guild" where it gave the illusion that the people on the paintings too are curiously watching the visitors.

 

My favorite is "The Man's Stare." What a captured moment. 

 

For more on . . .

-N- Stuff  :   Amazing Photos :  Nat Geo 2016 Year in Photos  :  Portrait Photography of Martin Schoeller

 

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Michel D'Oultremont : More than a Photograph

The following video, and Michel D'Oultremont's works, are breathtaking. But, hidden in his words and disguised by the beauty of the film, is something bigger, something beyond photography, that I can't quite pin down. It's there, gnawing, scratching, and unrelenting, like a thorn, buried in the flesh, that won't go away.

I've watched it several times, till, finally, I watched it with my eyes closed, substituting people in for animals. Then, some truths for life come into focus (see what I did there? Clever!).

 

Truths like:

"I tried to put more distance between me and the {people}, to have more breathing space in the image, to have something more constructed . . . I tried to put more importance on the environment or the play of light, rather than the {person themselves}."

 

 

"Patience is one of the most important things to have. Without patience it's not possible to see {people}" because, "When challenges accumulate, they shouldn't hold you back, they should be an extra motivation. Because the next day, everything might change." But only if we're patient, and if we're there. 

 

 

"I think this kind of project is really important for our future, for all of us really." 

Perhaps the most important of it's kind.

 

 

For more on . . .

-N- Stuff  :  Faces of Humanity  :  Photography  :  Humanity

 

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The Guardian's Best Drone Photography

Aerial photography platform SkyPixel received 27,000 entries to its 2016 competition. Here are the winning shots plus some of The Guardian's favorites.

Published by The Guardian

Wednesday 25 January 2017

A line in the sand ... SkyPixel’s competition was open to both professional and amateur photographers and was split into three categories: Beauty, 360, and Drones in Use. This image – of a camel caravan in the desert – won first prize in the Profess…

A line in the sand ... SkyPixel’s competition was open to both professional and amateur photographers and was split into three categories: Beauty, 360, and Drones in Use. This image – of a camel caravan in the desert – won first prize in the Professional Beauty category.

Photograph: Hanbing Wang/SkyPixel

Dam near perfect ... second prize in the same category was of the Huia Dam in Auckland, New Zealand. Hong Kong-based SkyPixel was launched in 2014.Photograph: Brendon Dixon/SkyPixel

Dam near perfect ... second prize in the same category was of the Huia Dam in Auckland, New Zealand. Hong Kong-based SkyPixel was launched in 2014.

Photograph: Brendon Dixon/SkyPixel

Dead straight ... this image of a road bridge in the US won first prize in the Amateur Beauty category.Photograph: SkyPixel

Dead straight ... this image of a road bridge in the US won first prize in the Amateur Beauty category.

Photograph: SkyPixel

Green waves ... this shot, taken in Italy, won second prize in the Amateur Beauty category.Photograph: Mauro Pagliai/SkyPixel

Green waves ... this shot, taken in Italy, won second prize in the Amateur Beauty category.

Photograph: Mauro Pagliai/SkyPixel

ce art ... third prize in the Amateur Beauty category. This image is of a frozen river in the US.Photograph: SkyPixel

ce art ... third prize in the Amateur Beauty category. This image is of a frozen river in the US.

Photograph: SkyPixel

Catching the winning image ... fishermen close the net in Fujian province in China. This was the grand prize winner in the competition.Photograph: Ge Zheng/Ge Zheng/SkyPixel

Catching the winning image ... fishermen close the net in Fujian province in China. This was the grand prize winner in the competition.

Photograph: Ge Zheng/Ge Zheng/SkyPixel

On the terraces … the competition – the first run by SkyPixel – attracted 27,000 entries, including this one of a rice terrace in China, which was one of our favourites.Photograph: SkyPixel

On the terraces … the competition – the first run by SkyPixel – attracted 27,000 entries, including this one of a rice terrace in China, which was one of our favourites.

Photograph: SkyPixel

Where did you park the car? Another of our favourites, though not a category winner, is of a huge parking lot.Photograph: SkyPixel

Where did you park the car? Another of our favourites, though not a category winner, is of a huge parking lot.

Photograph: SkyPixel

City cool … people play amid the fountains.Photograph: SkyPixel

City cool … people play amid the fountains.

Photograph: SkyPixel

And they were all yellow … uncredited landscape shot.Photograph: SkyPixel

And they were all yellow … uncredited landscape shot.

Photograph: SkyPixel

Rainbow lines … a track runs between the multicoloured lines of tulips in the Netherlands.Photograph: SkyPixel

Rainbow lines … a track runs between the multicoloured lines of tulips in the Netherlands.

Photograph: SkyPixel

 

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-N- Stuff  :  On Living  :  Critical Thinking

 

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Portrait Photography : Martin Schoeller

I first came across portrait artist Martin Schoeller when he published his "Faces of America," and I've since seen him pop up in various places. 

What I love about his work is that, as he says on his About page, the people he is photographing "are treated with the same levels of scrutiny as the un-famous. The unknown and the too-well-known meet on a level platform that enables comparison, where a viewer’s existing notions of celebrity, value, and honesty are challenged." 

And I just love that.

You can see more of his work on identical twins, close ups of famous people who are still on the same level as the rest of us, female bodybuilders, and portraits.

"Schoeller’s close-up portraits emphasize, in equal measure, the facial features, both studied and unstudied, of his subjects— world leaders and indigenous groups, movie stars and the homeless, athletes and artists— leveling them in an inherently democratic fashion" (via).

Corey Arnold : ALEUTIAN DREAMS

Corey Arnold can take pictures. 

"Fifteen years ago," he writes on his info page, "I wrote a job-wanted sign and hung it outside of a bathroom near Seattle’s Fisherman’s Terminal. It read: “Experienced deckhand looking for work on a commercial crab or halibut fishing boat in Alaska --- hard worker --- does not get seasick” I was 24 years old, energetic and ambitious, with a few years of salmon fishing experience but naive to the world of high seas fish-work. After a few shifty respondents, I was hired by a seasoned Norwegian fisherman and flew on a small prop plane past the icy volcanos and windswept passes of Alaska’s Aleutian Islands, eventually slamming down onto the short runway in Dutch Harbor. The experience would forever change the direction of my life and shape my identity as both a fisherman and photographer. Isolated from the mainland by some of the world's roughest waters, Dutch Harbor is a thriving, working-class commercial fishing port surrounded by steep mountains and lonely windswept valleys. It’s a place where industry and nature collide in strange and beautiful ways, a place where people harvest seafood on a massive scale, and share their meals and their refuse with local wildlife --- from rapacious bald eagles to curious foxes. That first year I worked jigging for Codfish in the Bering Sea and continued to return for work as a crabber for the next seven seasons. What lured me back though wasn’t only the money, but the curious and often masochistic realization of the American dream happening in the Aleutian Islands. Those who come here often possess a desire to escape the safety of home to work in an environment filled with risk and visual grandeur that is far from ordinary. In recent trips, I joined fisherman at sea aboard crabbers and trawlers, and on land documenting the surreal landscape of fishing culture that once captured my imagination as a young greenhorn. Aleutian Dreams is a collection of images from my journey through this wild and unforgiving frontier of Western Alaska.

You can follow his blog here, or see more of his work here. Some of his works include exploring modern man's complicated relationship with animals, Great White Shark diving near Guadalupe Island, Mexico, and Chum Salmon season on the Yukon River in Alaska. And more.

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Steve McCurry Photography : its own place and feeling

"What is important to my work is the individual picture. I photograph stories on assignment, and of course they have to be put together coherently. But what matters most is that each picture stands on its own, with its own place and feeling." - Steve McCurry

Steve McCurry has taken some of the worlds most iconic images, and he's been doing so for the past thirty years.

This picture of Sharbat Gula, an Afghan refugee, has been described as one of the most recognizable photographs of the world.

But there are many more of equal beauty and splendour. 

Here are a few from his Portraits gallery:

"Most of my photos are grounded in people, I look for the unguarded moment, the essential soul peeking out, experience etched on a person’s face."

His other galleries include "On Reading":

"The photograph is an undeniably powerful medium. Free from the constraints of language, and harnessing the unique qualities of a single moment frozen in time."

His work on Kuwait is astonishing. 

"A picture can express a universal humanism, or simply reveal a delicate and poignant truth by exposing a slice of life that might otherwise pass unnoticed."
 

After several years of freelance work, McCurry made his first trip of what would become many trips to India. Traveling with little more than a bag of clothes and another of film, he made his way across the subcontinent, exploring the country with his camera (via).

"There are certain, inescapable images, forever part of our collective consciousness, that influence who we are, whether we are cognizant of it or not."

All works by Steve McCurry.

 

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Photography  :  -N- Stuff  :  Stories

Ebrahim Noroozi: Iranian Coal Miners

Iranian coal miners shower after a long day of work at a mine near the city of Zirab 132 miles northeast of the capital Tehran on a mountain in Mazandaran province, Iran on May 6, 2014. (Photo: Ebrahim Noroozi/AP)

Iranian coal miners shower after a long day of work at a mine near the city of Zirab 132 miles northeast of the capital Tehran on a mountain in Mazandaran province, Iran on May 6, 2014. (Photo: Ebrahim Noroozi/AP)

Ebrahim Noroozi was born in 1980 in Tehran, Iran. He began working as a professional photographer in 2004, with Fars News Agency.

His photographs have appeared nationally and internationally in such publications as the New York Times, Time and the Washington Post, and have been distributed by Agence France-Presse, the Associated Press, Reuters, United Press International and the European Press Photo Agency.

Noroozi has worked in India, Afghanistan and Iran, and served as head of the photo department for the Iran Daily, as well as for the Alvefagh newspaper, Iran Sport, the Iran Photo Agency, the Jamejam newspaper and Jamejam online.

He has won seven awards in Iranian photo contests, and a gold medal from the Asahinewspaper. Noroozi has sat on the juries of several Iranian photo contests (via).

 

Iranian coal miners

A coal miner lights a cigarette after a long of work at a mine near the city of Zirab 132 miles northeast of the capital Tehran on a mountain in Mazandaran province northern Iran on May 8, 2014. (Photo: Ebrahim Noroozi/AP)

A coal miner lights a cigarette after a long of work at a mine near the city of Zirab 132 miles northeast of the capital Tehran on a mountain in Mazandaran province northern Iran on May 8, 2014. (Photo: Ebrahim Noroozi/AP)

An Iranian coal miner takes a break at a mine near the city of Zirab 132 miles northeast of the capital Tehran on a mountain in Mazandaran province, Iran on May 8, 2014. (Photo: Ebrahim Noroozi/AP)

An Iranian coal miner takes a break at a mine near the city of Zirab 132 miles northeast of the capital Tehran on a mountain in Mazandaran province, Iran on May 8, 2014. (Photo: Ebrahim Noroozi/AP)

Iranian coal miners eat lunch at a mine near the city of Zirab 132 miles northeast of the capital Tehran on a mountain in Mazandaran province, Iran on Aug. 19, 2014. (Photo: Ebrahim Noroozi/AP)

Iranian coal miners eat lunch at a mine near the city of Zirab 132 miles northeast of the capital Tehran on a mountain in Mazandaran province, Iran on Aug. 19, 2014. (Photo: Ebrahim Noroozi/AP)

Iranian coal miners pose for a photograph before taking a shower after a long day of work at a mine near the city of Zirab 132 miles northeast of the capital Tehran on a mountain in Mazandaran province, Iran, May 7, 2014. (Photo: Ebrahim Noroozi/AP)

Iranian coal miners pose for a photograph before taking a shower after a long day of work at a mine near the city of Zirab 132 miles northeast of the capital Tehran on a mountain in Mazandaran province, Iran, May 7, 2014. (Photo: Ebrahim Noroozi/AP)

Iranian coal miners make their way back home after a long day of work at a mine near the city of Zirab 132 miles northeast of the capital Tehran on a mountain in Mazandaran province, May 8, 2014. (Photo: Ebrahim Noroozi/AP)

Iranian coal miners make their way back home after a long day of work at a mine near the city of Zirab 132 miles northeast of the capital Tehran on a mountain in Mazandaran province, May 8, 2014. (Photo: Ebrahim Noroozi/AP)

An Iranian coal miner moves wagons to be loaded with coal at a mine near the city of Zirab 132 miles northeast of the capital Tehran on a mountain in Mazandaran province, Iran on May 8, 2014. (Photo: Ebrahim Noroozi/AP)

An Iranian coal miner moves wagons to be loaded with coal at a mine near the city of Zirab 132 miles northeast of the capital Tehran on a mountain in Mazandaran province, Iran on May 8, 2014. (Photo: Ebrahim Noroozi/AP)

Iranian coal miners work in a mine near the city of Zirab 132 miles northeast of the capital Tehran on a mountain in Mazandaran province, Iran on Aug. 19, 2014. (Photo: Ebrahim Noroozi/AP)

Iranian coal miners work in a mine near the city of Zirab 132 miles northeast of the capital Tehran on a mountain in Mazandaran province, Iran on Aug. 19, 2014. (Photo: Ebrahim Noroozi/AP)

An Iranian coal miner with his face smeared black from coal poses for a photograph at a mine near the city of Zirab 132 miles northeast of the capital Tehran, on a mountain in Mazandaran province, Iran on May 7, 2014. (Photo: Ebrahim Noroozi/AP)

An Iranian coal miner with his face smeared black from coal poses for a photograph at a mine near the city of Zirab 132 miles northeast of the capital Tehran, on a mountain in Mazandaran province, Iran on May 7, 2014. (Photo: Ebrahim Noroozi/AP)

 

Other Works:

Iranian Shiites cover themselves with mud during Ashoura, marking the death anniversary of Imam Hussein, the grandson of Islam’s Prophet Muhammad, at the city of Bijar, west of the capital Tehran, Iran, Nov. 14, 2013. (Photo: Ebrahim Noroozi/AP)

Iranian Shiites cover themselves with mud during Ashoura, marking the death anniversary of Imam Hussein, the grandson of Islam’s Prophet Muhammad, at the city of Bijar, west of the capital Tehran, Iran, Nov. 14, 2013. (Photo: Ebrahim Noroozi/AP)

The wreckage of a boat is stuck in the solidified salts and sands at Lake Oroumieh, northwestern Iran, Feb. 16, 2014. (Photo: Ebrahim Noroozi/AP)

The wreckage of a boat is stuck in the solidified salts and sands at Lake Oroumieh, northwestern Iran, Feb. 16, 2014. (Photo: Ebrahim Noroozi/AP)

Iranian women pray during the Eid al-Fitr prayer in Tehran, Iran, July 18, 2015. (Photo: Ebrahim Noroozi/AP)

Iranian women pray during the Eid al-Fitr prayer in Tehran, Iran, July 18, 2015. (Photo: Ebrahim Noroozi/AP)

 

For more on . . .

Photography  :  -N- Stuff  :  Humanity : Ebrahim Noroozi

Photos of NYC in the early 1970s

In the early 1970s, Camilo José Vergara trained his camera on scenes of everyday street life in New York City. His photographs captured kids playing on the street, subway cars before graffiti, sections of the Bronx that look bombed out, and the construction of the World Trade Center in progress.

See also his Tracking Time project, specific locations around the US photographed repeatedly over periods of up to 40 years. Vergara was awarded a MacArthur Genius Grant in 2002 for this work (via). 

For more on . . .

Photography  :  Humanity  :  -N- Stuff

Hong Kong in the 1950s

These stunning photographs of Hong Kong in the 1950s are captured beautifully by a teenager. Ho Fan who arrived from Shanghai in 1949. The streets, filled with vendors, coolies and rickshaw drivers, fascinated Ho. Taking pictures in a studio was the norm then, but the Ho was more interested in random, candid shots of strangers. His targets, however, did not always smile into the lens of his Rolleiflex. But it is great street photography that gives a peek into daily life in Hong Kong at that time. The photography is part of his book “A Hong Kong Memoir

Time, Travel, and Road Signs

There is nothing quite like a good road trip. The music, the scenery, and the adventure of the road. It's simply the best. And America is made for it.

Steve Fitch, a photographer and anthropologist, has been photographing roadside motel signs since the late 1970s. He was inspired by road trips his family took when he was young, between Northern California and South Dakota.
The photographs, all taken in the same square composition, depict more than signs but rather unique highway sculptures of a lost era. While back in the 1970s there was no nostalgia for neon motel signs, Fitch says, I do think I had some kind of subconscious premonition that things were going to change; I think that my photographic interests have always been driven, to some extent, by an eye towards history.
Part of the realized nostalgia of these signs is the change in road culture: Fitch notes that there are now standard signs made by corporate-owned motels that create an unexciting monotony along the highway. But the old signs all stand out independently of one another, representing a sense of freedom and the spontaneity of road trips. From a wrapped gift at the Christmas Motel to an elaborate stagecoach at the Butterfield Stage Motel, the designs are matched to their locations.
Prints from the book are exhibited at Photo-Eye Bookstore Gallery in Santa Fe, New Mexico, through February 18. And Fitch's book, American Motel Signs, is available to purchase online.

Repost from Yahoo Style

“It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no knowing where you might be swept off to.”

Bilbo Baggins

jtinseoul : Loud yet Clear

JT White is a street and documentary photographer based in Seoul, South Korea. "Noise" in digital photographs is used to describe visual distortion - grain for example, and JT White's photography has a lot of noise. But it works.

Each photograph is full of emotion - tone even.

And his ability to capture a moment is truly mesmerizing. 

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Here's a few images from his tattoo project entitled, "The Culture."

JT White has also been featured at Lensculture and can be followed on instagram: @jt_inseoul. 

Jump!

Philippe Halsman was a renowned portrait photographer who was particularly active in the 40s, 50s, and 60s and most famous for his iconic photos of Salvador Dali and Albert Einstein. For a period in the 1950s, Halsman ended his portrait shoots by asking his famous subjects to jump. The results were disarming.

When you ask a person to jump, his attention is mostly directed toward the act of jumping and the mask falls so that the real person appears.

Halsman got all sorts of people to jump for his camera: Richard Nixon (above), Robert Oppenheimer, Marilyn Monroe (above), Aldous Huxley, Audrey Hepburn (above), Brigitte Bardot, and the Duke & Duchess of Windsor (above). He collected all his jump photos into the recently re-released Philippe Halsman’s Jump Book.

Repost from kottke.org

First off, kottke.org is just a great resource for fun information so thanks to kottke for yet another inspiration/stolen post!

Second, what's so great about these pictures is the "other side" of those being photographed - the "real person." Everyone has a child inside, often hidden and suppressed by expectations, judgements, and "maturity." Jumping seems to be the key to unlocking the cage. If only for a little while.

Thanks Philippe Halsman for the great photos!

2016, The Year in Photos

Brexit, climate change, Trump, Syria, white nationalism, Turkey, racism and police violence, the Flint water crisis, natural disasters, terrorist attacks, drowned migrants. I was tempted to just post a photo of a burning dumpster or the this is fine dog and leave it at that. But professional photographers and the agencies & publications that employ them are essential in bearing witness to the atrocities and injustices and triumphs and breakthroughs of the world and helping us understand what’s happening out there. It’s worth seeking out what they saw this year.

Several sites, publications, and agencies have published lists of the best and most newsworthy photos of the year. Among them are In Focus’ Top 25 News Photos of 2016as well as their three-part 2016: The Year in Photos (part 1part 2part 3), National Geographic’s The 52 Best Photographs of 2016, Time’s Top 100 Photos of the Year 2016, AFP’s Pictures of the Year (part 1part 2part 3), 2016: The Year in Photos from CNN, Pictures of the Year 2016 from Reuters, the AP’s Top Photos of 2016some of the top images from the World Press Photo exhibition, which “highlights the best photojournalism of the year”, The Top Photos of 2016 from Maclean’s, and The Best Weird and Wonderful Photos of 2016 from totallycoolpix.com.

I’ve selected five of my favorite photos from these lists and included them above. From top to bottom, the photographers are Jonathan Bachman, Brent Stirton, Kai Pfaffenbach, Anuar Patjane Floriuk, and Mahmoud Raslan. The top photo, by Bachman, pictures the arrest of Ieshia Evans while protesting the death of Alton Sterling by the Baton Rouge police and is just flat-out amazing. In a piece for The Guardian, Evans wrote:

When the armored officers rushed at me, I had no fear. I wasn’t afraid. I was just wondering: “How do these people sleep at night?” Then they put me in a van and drove me away. Only hours later did someone explain that I was arrested for obstructing a highway.

There’s so much fear in that photo — institutional fear, racial fear, societal fear — but none of it is coming from Evans. Total hero.

Update: Buzzfeed shares The 46 Most Powerful Photos of 2016 and the BBC has the 15 finalists in the 2016 Art of Building architectural photography competition.

A REPOST FROM KOTTKE.ORG