Things are winding down for this year in the sale rooms, but there are still a handful of sales to watch this week:

At Sotheby’s New York on Monday, December 18, 128 lots of Pier 24 Photography from the Pilara Family Foundation, the last of this series of sales to benefit several charitable organizations. Lots include a gelatin silver print of Edward Steichen’s 1928 photograph of Greta Garbo  and his 1924 image of Gloria Swanson (each estimated at $15,000–25,000). Henri Cartier-Bresson’s “Rue Mouffetard” has been assigned the same estimate range.

There are a number of book-related lots in the Sotheby’s Paris sale of the Collection Hubert Guerrand-Hermès, Autour de la duchesse de Berry on Monday, including a copy of the 1822 Didot catalog of the Galerie de son Altesse Royale Madame la Duchesse de Berry (€1,000–1,500) in a binding with the initials and coronet of the duchess on the front board. An 1823 Paris edition of Dante’s Opere Poetiche bound by Simier could sell for €800–1,200. These are just two of many different interesting bindings, many by known binders, available in this sale.

Osenat holds an online Books & Autographs sale on Wednesday, December 20, in 215 lots. A corrected proof copy of Albert Camus’ L’Envers et l’endroit (1956) along with a drypoint portrtait of Camus by Hans Bellmer rates the top estimate at €5,000–6,000. A 1762 Pasquale Paoli letter to Gregorio Salvini, a 1924 Albert Einstein letter to industrialist Herman Anschütz-Kaempfe, and a 1609 Pope Paul V letter to Henri IV of France are each estimated at €4,000–5,000. A volume of nearly sixty Jacques Callot etchings in five suites is expected to sell for €3,000–4,000.

Shocking footage filmed on Friday shows a press photographer being beaten by Israel Border Police in East Jerusalem.

Mostafa Alkharouf who works for the Anadolu news agency was accosted by several police officers after covering a prayer protest.

Warning: The below footage is violent and disturbing.

אנחנו מזועזעים מהתקיפה האלימה של חבר הארגון וצלם סוכנות אנאדולו, מוסטפא אל-חארוף, בידי שוטרי מג”ב בעת שסיקר את תפילת שישי במזרח ירושלים. מדובר במקרה התקיפה ה-37 של עיתונאים ערבים מאז תחילת המלחמה, כאשר רוב מקרי התקיפה בוצעו בידי כוחות הביטחון.

מדובר במציאות שפוגעת דרמטית בחופש… pic.twitter.com/ES8lTzVruE

— ארגון העיתונאים והעיתונאיות בישראל (@itonaim) December 15, 2023

The footage shows Alkharouf, who is apparently a well-known photojournalist in the area, being punched in the head by a police officer. Afterward, one of the officers points a gun at him before using the weapon’s barrel as a blunt object to hit the photographer over the head with.

He is then dragged to the floor and repeatedly kicked in the head as he calls out in pain. The person filming the footage is ushered away by another officer.

Alkharouf was taken to hospital and treated for the injuries sustained to his head and face.

The Israel Border Police has suspended two of the officers involved and the Department of Internal Police Investigations has opened an inquiry into the incident.

According to The Times of Israel, a police statement initially said that journalists had interfered with their operations and had refused an order to vacate the area.

Haaretz describes Alkharouf as “a well-known photographer in the city who also documented the aftermath of Hamas’s massacre on the Gaza-border communities.”

The incident comes after a Reuters news agency investigation concluded that an Israeli tank crew was responsible for the killing of one of its visual journalists in southern Lebanon.

While the photography collective Magnum Photos issued a statement last week calling for an end to the killing of journalists and media workers in Gaza and the surrounding areas.

This year the International Landscape Photographer of the Year competition celebrates its 10th birthday and more than 4,000 submissions were received on its first major milestone. Professional and amateur photographers alike are invited to enter the competition which celebrates some of the most breathtaking landscapes from all over the world. 

The coveted title of the 10th International Landscape Photographer of the Year is based on a portfolio submission of at least four images. Australian photographer Tony Hewitt earned the esteemed title with a selection of aerial photographs showcasing a selection of brightly colored abstract aerial photos of river beds and shorelines around western Australia. Runners-up included Canadian photographer Andrew Mielzynski and Matt Meisenheimer from the USA in third place.

• Check out the best cameras for landscape photography and get creative with nature’s most beautiful scenery

For the single image category, the International Landscape Photograph of the Year 2023 was awarded to Blake Randall from Canada for his image Fire and Water taken at Abraham Lake in Canada. The depiction of a smooth, mirror-like lake with frosty colors and fiery red gives the image a true fantasy fiction feel. 

Aside from the two main awards, a winnr was also picked from the Black and White category which went to Jim Guerard from the USA for another image of a crisp reflection of trees on a lake taken at George L Smith State Park in Georgia, USA. The aerial award went to Caey McCallister for his monochromatic, minimalist image of birds on the shoreline of a lake in Colorado, Canadian photographer Thomas Vijayan claimed the Snow & Ice award for Austfonna Ice Cap which is composed of 26 images carefully stitched together to immortalize the transient beauty of the natural wonder.

Irish photographer Cieran Willmore landed the Seascapes award for a stunning long-exposure image taken on the Faroe Islands showing a stream that leads your eye to two freestanding stone formations known as the Petrified Witch and the Giant while John Seager from the UK won the Desert Category for his capture of a spectacular geological formation known as El Cono Arita I the vast salt deserts of Argentina. 

First, second and third place winners will take home anywhere between $5,000 and $500 plus a selection of photographic equipment, inclusion in the 2023 ILPOTY book plus their very own copy. Winners of each of the special awards will receive a one-metre-wide print of their photo, a trophy and inclusion in the ILPOTY book. 

Each of these photographers demonstrated exceptional skill and creativity within their respective categories and was selected by a judging panel comprised of esteemed professionals in the field, who played a crucial role in determining the winners. They included David Burnett, co-founder of Contact Press Images, Tim Parkin, On Landscape Magazine Editor, Benjamin Briones Grandi, 2022 International Landscape Photographer of the Year, Kaye Davis, NZIPP Grand Master of Photography and Jim M Goldstein, a fine Art Photographer and Author. 

Now celebrating its tenth year, the International Landscape Photographer of the Year Awards expressed gratitude to all the photographers who have contributed to this remarkable journey. The competition continues to showcase a broad spectrum of landscape images, from classic to contemporary, demonstrating the richness and diversity of this art form.

With entries from all over the globe, the ILPOTY will appeal to audiences worldwide and provide a platform for landscape photographers to elevate their work to new heights. To view the entire winner’s gallery and find out about entering next year’s competition, head to the ILPOTY website. 

You might also need one of the best camera drones if you fancy having a go at taking aerial shots of your favorite landscapes

There’s no mistaking that you – our audience – have been touched by photographs showcasing the body. Taking the top spot this year is our article on Sarah Piantadosi’s Bone, a series born out of her experience at a techno fetish-sex party in London four years ago, that later grew into a series displaying women’s bodies across a variety of shapes and sizes. But, you weren’t only drawn in by intimate portraits like those in Bone, you were also captured by the bodily connection in Filip Custic’s human product. Examining the connection between tech and our bodies, human product still leaves us wondering if there are truly any boundaries between the two worlds.

Community-centred narratives were also popular this year. Nathaniel Bailey uncovered the personality and livelihood of Jamaica’s people in ongoing series Parish Wells. Then to east Asia we go as Liling Cui and Kin Coedel both document communities Tibet, and Coco Capitán explores the activity of Kyoto’s teens. And, we see a perspective of London beyond its central areas in Sukhy Hullait’s documentations of communities in southeast London and Jack Smethers’ portraits of a community resisting gentrification in north London. But that’s not all; family series were also big hitters. One of your favourite articles was on Emma Hardy’s photobook Permissions, collating her documentations of family over 20 years. Putting her grandfather at the fore, Celine Van Heel shows us that age has no bearing on fashion sense, and James Barnett flips the script documenting his parents going about their everyday lives.