Adventure Photographer Attacked By Stag In Scotland

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Adventure Photographer Attacked By Stag In Scotland

Wild video out of the highlands of Scotland where adventure photographer Dan Milner got a face full of wild stag during a trip to snap pics for the now defunct magazine Transworld Snowboarding around Cairngorm, The Lecht and Glencoe ski resorts back in March of 2011.

Dan got a puncture wound on his nose and scratch on his camera lens which ended up costing him £1,400. Dan had a sense of humor about the incident and posted this quote to his personal blog:

“You’d think I’d be braced for pretty much anything the weather can throw at me by now with 15 years of pro shooting in remote corners of the world tucked under my belt, but hey ho, Scotland was playing its joker when it came to photographer-bashing last week.”

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Scottish stags, or red deer (Cervus elaphus), are iconic symbols of the Scottish Highlands, embodying the rugged and majestic beauty of the region. With their impressive antlers, these majestic creatures are a common sight in the expansive landscapes of Scotland. The stags play a central role in Scottish folklore and traditions, often symbolizing strength, resilience, and the untamed spirit of the Highlands.

During the autumn rutting season, male stags engage in fierce battles for dominance and mating rights. The haunting sound of their echoing roars fills the air as they establish their territories and compete for the attention of hind groups. The sight of a powerful stag silhouetted against the dramatic Scottish scenery is a testament to the wild and untamed nature of the Highlands.

Conservation efforts have been crucial in preserving the red deer population, balancing their presence with the delicate ecosystems of the Scottish landscape. These efforts contribute to the overall biodiversity and maintain the ecological balance of the region.

Encountering a Scottish stag in its natural habitat is a captivating experience, evoking a sense of awe and connecting visitors with the untamed spirit of the Scottish Highlands.

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A model subject gets his close-up in ‘Chuck: Photographs by George Platt Lynes’

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A model subject gets his close-up in ‘Chuck: Photographs by George Platt Lynes’
George Platt Lynes, American (1907-1955), “[Chuck Howard],” circa 1950. Vintage gelatin silver print. From “Chuck: Photographs by George Platt Lynes” at Childs Gallery.George Platt Lynes

A trope about the artist’s gaze suggests the model is merely an object. But in front of a camera, Charles “Chuck” Howard was a force. “Chuck: Photographs by George Platt Lynes” at Childs Gallery provides an intimate peek into Lynes’s work with a favorite model.

George Platt Lynes, “[Self portrait with Chuck Howard],” circa 1950. Vintage gelatin silver print.George Platt Lynes

Lynes, who died at 48 in 1955, was known for his often surreal, always formalist fashion and celebrity photography for Vogue. He photographed dancers from Lincoln Kirstein’s American Ballet Company, now the New York City Ballet.

His place in LGBTQ history and stamp on mid-20th-century modernism is prompting a re-examination of his life and work. He was a gay man in an accepting cultural community in pre-Stonewall-era New York, as detailed in “George Platt Lynes: The Daring Eye,” Allen Ellenzweig’s 2021 biography from Oxford University Press.

This year, filmmaker Sam Shahid’s documentary “Hidden Master: The Legacy of George Platt Lynes” explores the photographer’s male nudes — a collection Lynes donated to sex researcher Alfred Kinsey’s Institute for Research in Sex, Gender, and Reproduction. “Body Language,” a new MIT Press book by Nick Mauss and Dr. Angela Miller, considers his work as a precedent to social media’s performance for the camera.

George Platt Lynes, “[Chuck Howard Sitting],” circa 1950. Vintage gelatin silver print.George Platt Lynes

Howard, Lynes’s lover and model from 1948 to 1951, had chemistry with the camera, and with artists. He also modeled for painters Paul Cadmus and Jared French. Twenty years Lynes’s junior, Howard later worked as a designer for Bill Blass and Anne Klein. He died in 2002 at 75.

A glamorously handsome man with a boyish grin, Howard brought nuanced energy to each photo. In a portrait with Lynes, he’s the picture of an all-American boy, his face animated and open. Then, shirtless on the floor of a porch in “[Chuck Howard Sitting],” he plays the role of an erotic object who is nonetheless in full command.

The artist and model appear to have been in creative sync. In “[Chuck Howard Laying Down with Arrow],” it’s as if they’re solving a problem — how to get all the angles right. In photos featuring a Christmas tree, Howard poses first in shadowy profile, and then as if ensnared by glowing tinsel.

George Platt Lynes, “[Chuck Howard Posing Among an Adorned Tree II],” circa 1950. Vintage gelatin silver print.George Platt Lynes

The holiday photos are goofy failures; the tree dominates the model. But they capture a spirit of playfulness and experimentation. Lynes’s artist partnership with Howard wasn’t about power; it was about electric collaboration.

CHUCK: PHOTOGRAPHS BY GEORGE PLATT LYNES

At Childs Gallery, 168 Newbury St., through Feb. 3. 617-266-1108, www.childsgallery.com

Cate McQuaid can be reached at catemcquaid@gmail.com. Follow her on Instagram @cate.mcquaid.

My favorite photography books of 2023: perfect gifts for photographers

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My favorite photography books of 2023: perfect gifts for photographers

With hundreds of photography books published every year, it can be easy to miss a classic. I’ve rounded up my favorites of 2023, from inspirational monographs to practical technique guides. And so, in no particular order…

The School of Photography Beginner’s Guide

(Image credit: Octopus)

$24.99/£19.99
Octopus

Could this be the best photo technique book published in 2023? TSoP founder Marc Newton takes the reader through the basics of photography. 

My verdict: An excellent photography primer that eschews slabs of text for an easy-to-follow visual approach.

Life, Death and Everything In Between

(Image credit: Gost)

$95/£80
Gost 

A new book celebrating the work of revered British photographer Don McCullin, Life, Death and Everything in Between showcases new and previously unseen work. Publisher Gost Books says that the new volume is neither a retrospective nor a definitive publication, but presents “a selection of images valued by McCullin with the benefits of both hindsight and wisdom, encapsulating his prolific, varied, and ongoing career.” 

My verdict: From images of postwar London to recent works in the Middle East via his gritty war photos, this is a must for fans of McCullin’s photography.

Landscape Photographer of the Year Collection 16

(Image credit: Ilex)

$40/£35
Ilex

The 16th edition of the Landscape Photographer of the Year book proves that this is the competition to win if you’re serious about shooting scenics. The latest collection of winning entries is a visual treat for followers of landscape photography. 

My verdict: Keep your LPOTY books set up to date with another superb set of landscape photos to explore.

Tokyo Unseen

(Image credit: teNeues)

$45/£19.95
teNeues 

Another volume in this ‘unseen cities’ series from teNeues. Lukasz Palka takes the reader on a tour of one of the most intriguing and captivating places on earth. A riot of modernity and kinetic energy that’s home to 14 million people, Palka still manages to capture moments of calm and reflection away from all the bustle.

My verdict: Straddling the genres of street and urban photography, this is a fascinating document of Tokyo.

Lee Miller: Photographs

(Image credit: Thames & Hudson)

$45/£30
Thames & Hudson

Cover model turned fashion and war photographer, Lee Miller had an extraordinary life. Introduced to photography by her father, she turned to the medium after studying art. This collection of her work comprises 100 photos taken between 1930 and 1953.

My verdict: Showcases the breadth of Miller’s oeuvre – there’s something here for all photographers to savor. 

Remembering Leopards

(Image credit: Remembering Wildlife)

$60/£49.50
Remembering Wildlife

Remembering Leopards is the eighth book in the Remembering Wildlife series and celebrates the beauty and wonder of this elusive and endangered big cat. Eight sub-species of leopard appear over the 196 pages of this hardback book, including African, Indian, Sri Lankan, clouded and snow leopards. High production values show the photos at their best and profits from the book will support various leopard conservation efforts around the world.

My verdict: This is a visual treat for leopard lovers, and a must-buy book for wildlife enthusiasts looking to do their bit for conservation.

Joel Meyerowitz: A Question of Color

(Image credit: Thames & Hudson)

$27.95/£20
Thames & Hudson

We take color photography for granted these days, but it wasn’t always so. In this book, a photography legend makes the case for equal billing for colour.

My verdict: A compelling and well-argued case for color from a leading exponent of the form.

ViewPoint: Human Stories through the Smartphone Lens

(Image credit: Ilex)

$39.99/£30
Ilex

Jo Bradford has compiled a volume of human stories told through the medium of smartphone photography. Bradford interviews 54 people about their lives and photography, each of whom describes the images they supply.

My verdict: A wide-ranging survey of photos from around the world, and a real insight into the image makers.

David Hurn: Photographs 1955–2020

(Image credit: RRB Photo Books)

$85/£60
RRB Photo Books

Hurn is a bona fide great of documentary photography, and this new book features famous photos as well as lesser-known ones. 129 black-and-white pictures, taken around the world, appear with explanatory notes.

My verdict: An essential collection of Hurn’s ‘non-fiction’ photography from one of the masters of the craft.

Store Front NYC

(Image credit: Penguin Random House)

$40/£28.60
Penguin Random House

Over two decades, the photographers James and Karla Murray captured frontages of ‘mom-and-pop’ shops in New York City. Many have now been lost to development, so Store Front NYC freezes slices of time in the evolution of a city. With this second volume on shopfronts, the Murrays have created something special.

My verdict: An exploration of local communities in NYC and the small businesses that serve them.

Other photography book guides:

Rare Sense unleashes AI tool that may disrupt fashion photography landscape | Retail Tech News USA

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Rare Sense unleashes AI tool that may disrupt fashion photography landscape | Retail Tech News USA
Image Courtesy : https://www.pressrelease.com/

Rare Sense, a venture-backed tech firm specialising in AI, has unveiled an AI tool revolutionising fashion photography. This tech enables fashion brands to produce high-end photoshoots for real-world fashion items using Artificial Intelligence. Brands can transition from a handful of clothing item photos to intricate photoshoots within minutes, eliminating the need for elaborate, time-consuming, and costly traditional photoshoots.

Conventionally, fashion brands allocate substantial resources to complex photoshoots, involving models, makeup artists, locations, photographers, equipment, and extensive post-production. These shoots can span weeks to months, straining time and finances. Rare Sense’s AI offers customisation options, previously unattainable in conventional shoots. Furthermore, it aligns with the industry’s sustainability trend by reducing the demand for physical resources.

Sophia Pervez, Rare Sense’s Chief Sales Officer, highlights the tool’s impact on fashion photography, providing creative freedom while circumventing logistical challenges and costs. The AI facilitates:

Unprecedented Creative Control: Empowering creative directors to customise models, poses, lighting, and locations, transcending traditional limitations.

Cost-Efficiency: Slashing product photography expenses by up to 90 per cent, eliminating costly elements like models and locations.

Time Optimisation: Rapidly generating stunning photoshoots, in contrast to the prolonged timelines of conventional methods, expediting marketing campaigns.

Rare Sense currently offers a concierge AI service for fashion brands, catering to campaign shoots, lookbooks, editorials, and social media visuals. It aims to introduce AI assistants enabling brands to autonomously create photoshoots, moving toward a ‘text-to-photoshoot’ service. Operating across nine countries, the company collaborates with 50+ fashion brands, influencers, and gaming apps.

Nevertheless, Rare Sense faces growing competition in fashion photography, notably from Botika, Picaai, and Blend AI Studio. These platforms leverage Generative AI to transform product photos into professional fashion shots, allowing easy creation of realistic AI images and professional product photo designs, challenging Rare Sense’s innovation in the industry.

Read Between the Lines of RYTM, an Architecturally Inspired Turntable

By in Design

Read Between the Lines of RYTM, an Architecturally Inspired Turntable

Industrial designer Jorge Paez describes his creative process as one driven by a “professional daydreamer’s perspective.” If so, his mind must harbor a great degree of appreciation for the architectural alongside aspirations of an audiophile in equal measure, noting the design of his contemporary interpretation of the classic record player, RYTM, which references both with imaginative clarity.

At first the RYTM’s vertical slat arrangement seems merely an aesthetic motif. Then you may notice there’s no tonearm, when in reality the component is slyly integrated into the turntable’s linear arrangement, designed to pop-out when playback is desired. Additionally, a trio of user controls are nestled between the slats to the right of the integrated tone arm, dedicated to powering on/off, adjusting the volume, and choosing between 33/45 rpm speeds.

Close up of RYTM turntable's sliding dial controls in between the slat design.

RYTM turntable tonearm counterbalance with red color detailing.

Robotic arm holding and adjusting RYTM turntable tonearm

A hint of red punctuates the industrial-inspired modernity of the RYTM across the turntable tonearm’s counterbalance and across the turntable’s on/off switch.

Corner detail of RYTM turntable deck showing subtle typographic branding.

Unsurprisingly, Dieter Rams’ iconic 1957 Braun SK4/1 turntable is cited as an inspiration, exhibiting a similar linear simplicity as its design classic predecessor. Additionally, Paez lists the Stripes, Rhythm, Direction: Exhibit and graphic design by Stockholm Design Lab for Nordiska museet, the Hermès exhibit from Milan Design Week 2022, and the lines/colors of the Messe Frankfurt cargo center as other sources referenced by his turntable concept.

Robotic arm holding and placing a vinyl record onto the RYTM turntable platter.

Close up of RYTM turntable's sliding dial controls in between the slat design.

Before you begin counting your pennies in hopes of purchasing a RYTM for your own listening setup, note the turntable was designed by Paez as a personal project, meaning the architecturally-inspired record player only exists as a concept for now.

Gregory Han is a Senior Editor at Design Milk. A Los Angeles native with a profound love and curiosity for design, hiking, tide pools, and road trips, a selection of his adventures and musings can be found at gregoryhan.com.

Natural decay and squabbling swallows

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Natural decay and squabbling swallows
image

Hillsboro, Oregon, US

‘I came across this pair of tree swallows sharing a post. They seemed as if they were having a dispute, with the male shouting at his mate, while she is looking away, as if to say, “Whatever!”’

Photograph: Karen Smith/Guardian Community

48 views of photography and its vast variousness

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48 views of photography and its vast variousness

CAMBRIDGE — The Photographic Resource Center’s annual “Your Work Here” exhibition operates on a simple working principle. Any PRC member gets to submit a photograph they’ve taken and those submissions are what the show consists of.

“Your Work Here 2023: A PRC Members Exhibition” runs at Lesley University’s VanDernoot Gallery through Jan. 20. It’s not the only current show organized by member submission. The Griffin Museum of Photography’s “Winter Solstice” runs through Jan. 7.

Doug Johnson, “Dawn,” 1972.Doug Johnson

Forty-eight PRC members are participating. That means there are 48 perspectives or visions at work. That randomness isn’t incidental. It’s the point, and that gets at what may be the greatest strength of photography as a medium: its capacity to engage with the vast variousness of the external world (sometimes the internal world, too). “Your Work Here” predicates itself on that variousness.

Most of the photographs were taken this year, but not all. The earliest, Doug Johnson’s “Dawn,” dates to 1973. “Dawn” stands out by being black and white (most “Work” photos are in color) and, whether intentionally or not, pleasingly allusive. It chimes with Imogen Cunningham’s “The Unmade Bed.”

Some other images here can also be seen to nod to predecessors. The enchanted tonalities of Bruce Hamilton’s “Peaceful Paddle” are kin to those in Joel Meyerowitz’s landmark collection “Cape Light.” Jennifer Erbe’s “Linger,” with its black-and-white view of two forks, recalls André Kertész’s classic solo view of said implement. Within the show, “Linger” also connects, both kitchen-wise and very handsome-wise, with Judith Aronson’s “Eggs, Spoon, Plate.”

Heidi Straube, “The Bath,” 2014.Heidi Straube

“Dawn,” showing a bed in morning light, has its own in-the-show connection, with Heidi Straube’s “The Bath,” which shows an old-fashioned tub lit to almost spectral effect. Making connections like this is part of the fun “Your Work Here” offers, and one imagines it was part of the fun — and challenge — for the PRC’s creative director, Jessica Burko, in hanging the show.

Kay Mathew, “North Beach,” 2018.Kay Mathew

An announcement of connectivity comes with the very first photograph (assuming a visitor goes through the gallery clockwise). Several patrons of a cafe fill the foreground of Kay Mathew’s “North Beach.” Filling the background is a wall covered with several dozen photographs. So it’s a photograph about photographs. There’s also a jukebox in the picture; and, really, seeing a jukebox is almost (almost) as good listening to one.

Or, regarding connectivity, consider the letter B. Begin with Straube’s bathtub. Add the quite-charming bird found in Paula Aguilera’s “Lilac Breasted Roller.” Also add butterfly, in Glen Scheffer’s “Wings,” butterfly wings being the kind we see a child wearing. Include boxing glove, along with the young man wearing it, in Kelly Conlin’s “Ready.” Another B: the ballyard in Michael Hall’s “Fenway.” Except there’s a twist: The emphasis in this aerial shot is on the greenspace of that name which shares the same neighborhood as the place where the Red Sox play. As for Sophia Koevary’s “Balloon Baby,” the B’s are self-explanatory.

David Ricci, “Pileup,” 2023.David Ricci

Moving from B to C, colorful cars are to be found in David Ricci’s “Pileup” (toy cars, though, Matchbox-size, which adds to the already-considerable sense of fun) and Sean Sullivan’s “1957 Chevrolet Corvette.” The vibrancy of said vehicle’s orange-red interior isn’t so much a matter of chromatic documentation as vehicular imperative: Floor it!

Frank Armstrong, “Redwood National Park, California,” 2023.Frank Armstrong

Trees are another sub-category, and one Burko has further fun with. Frank Armstrong’s “Redwood National Park, California” faces Bruce Myren’s “Privately Owned American Elm,” Parrish Dobson’s “The Oldest Apple Tree on the Island,” and Porter Gifford’s “Beech Bark Orthography.” On another wall, Robert Morin’s “Fish Shack Shingles, Menemsha” is not only a very pleasing study in grain and texture. Its (literal) woodenness pays ex post facto tribute to arboriculture.

Robert Morin, “Fish Shack Shingles, Menemsha,” 2023.Robert Morin

With all due respect to the other 46 photographers, the prize for best title has two contenders. Jeffrey Heyne, with “Hapi Region of Comet 67P with Mine Excavator and Copper Ore,” which could be the title of a Sun Ra composition; and R. Lee Post, with “Within: Curiosities in Rust.” Not only is that verbally arresting. It’s symmetrical, too. Don’t be distracted by that colon. It’s preposition/noun/preposition/noun.

Steve Dunwell, “Sample Weaver,” 1973.Steve Dunwell

The man in Steve Dunwell’s “Sample Weaver” might be seen as a stand-in for visitors to “Your Work Here 2023.” He looks at the machinery he’s operating and his handwork so intently. It’s an intentness worth bringing to bear here, too.

YOUR WORK HERE 2023: A PRC Members Exhibition

At VanDernoot Gallery, Lesley University, 1815 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, through Jan. 20. 617-975-0600, prcboston.org

Mark Feeney can be reached at mark.feeney@globe.com.

Pilot, photographer killed in television news helicopter crash in New Jersey

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Pilot, photographer killed in television news helicopter crash in New Jersey
image

Dec. 20 (UPI) — A pilot and news photographer working for a Philadelphia news station died after their helicopter crashed in New Jersey, the station said.

Philadelphia’s WPVI said the crew members died after the chopper crashed in Washington Township, N.J., at 8 p.m. EST Tuesday.

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“We know that a pilot and a photographer from our news team went down with Chopper 6 while returning from an assignment at the Jersey Shore,” the station said.

The television station has not released the names of the victims of their Action News team because their families have not been fully contacted.

Tracking data from FlightAware said the helicopter, an American Eurocopter AS-350-A-STAR, left the Northeast Philadelphia Airport at 7:23 p.m., Eastern time, to New Jersey, and made several loops around the Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge in Atlantic County near Galloway and the Atlantic City International Airport, before returning at 8:03 p.m.

The cause of the crash remained under investigation Wednesday morning. The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board are both expected to start probes.

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Officials said the helicopter was last known to be flying over Wharton State Forest when it crashed in a remote section of the woods.

News helicopter crashes in woods, killing the pilot and a photographer

By in Photography

News helicopter crashes in woods, killing the pilot and a photographer

PHILADELPHIA – A Philadelphia news helicopter crashed in a wooded area of New Jersey on Tuesday night, killing the pilot and a photographer on board, the television station said.

The helicopter was returning to Philadelphia from an assignment at the Jersey Shore when it went down in Washington Township, New Jersey, around 8 p.m., WPVI-TVreported early Wednesday.

The cause of the crash is under investigation and the pilot and the photographer who died were not identified.

To continue reading, visit nbcnews.com.

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