Fearless South African photographer Peter Magubane, who captured 40 years of South Africa’s apartheid era, has died.

According to Reuters, Magubane’s daughter Fikile Magubane said that the photographer died peacefully around midday on Monday at the age of 91.

Magubane was a celebrated photographer across the world. His searing images captured the cruelties and violence that Black South Africans faced for four decades under apartheid.

While his images drew global acclaim, Magubane was punished for his photography at home in South Africa. He was regularly harassed, assaulted, arrested, and spent 586 days locked up in solitary confinement

Magubane was born in 1932 in the Johannesburg suburb of Vrededorp (now known as Pageview).

According to Reuters, Magubane gained prominence as one of the few Black photographers documenting the repressive apartheid era after he joined the South African magazine Drum in 1955.

One of his most renowned images, taken a year later in a wealthy Johannesburg suburb, showed a White girl sitting on a bench with a sign reading “Europeans Only” while a Black nanny sat behind her combing her hair.

Magubane went on to photograph decades of apartheid South Africa, including the 1960 Sharpeville massacre, the trial of Mandela and others in 1964, and the Soweto uprising of 1976 — when thousands of Black students protested against the apartheid government’s law making the Afrikaans language compulsory in school.

A Photographer Who Fought Apartheid With His Camera

According to AP News, Magubane became a target of South Africa’s apartheid government after photographing a protest outside a jail where Mandela’s then-wife Winnie Madikizela-Mandela was being held in 1969.

Following this, Magubane was jailed and kept in solitary confinement for over a year-and-a-half.

The photographer was imprisoned numerous times during his career and subjected to a five-year ban that prevented him from working or even leaving his home without police permission.

Magubane said that he was shot 17 times with shotgun pellets by apartheid police while on a photography assignment and was beaten and had his nose broken by police when he refused to give up the images he took of the Soweto uprisings.

Faced with the option of leaving South Africa to go into exile because he was a marked man by the apartheid regime, Magubane bravely chose to stay and continue taking photographs.

“I said, ‘no I will remain here. I will fight apartheid with my camera,’” Magubane reportedly said in a recent interview with national broadcaster SABC.

Magubane was appointed official photographer to Mandela after the anti-apartheid leader was released from prison in 1990 and photographed Mandela up until he was elected the first Black president of South Africa in historic all-race elections in 1994.

Following news of his death this week, the South African government paid tribute to Magubane — saying the photographer “covered the most historic moments in the liberation struggle against apartheid.”

Image credits: Feature photo licensed via Flickr/BBC World News.

The Mobile Photography Awards, recognized as the world’s longest-running contest dedicated solely to smartphone camera photography, has once again showcased an astonishing level of quality in its entries this year, rivaling any traditional photography competition.

Frankly speaking, this serves as proof of the advanced capabilities of modern smartphone cameras. As of now, the winners of the twelfth edition are yet to be revealed. Interested participants still have time to register, with the deadline set for January 3rd of 2024.

More info: mobilephotoawards.com | Instagram | Facebook | twitter.com

The City of Zephyrhills and the Zephyrhills Community Redevelopment Agency has announced the 2024 City of Zephyrhills Photography Contest, open to all ages, both professional and amateur. Images should depict “how you would jump right in to the #cityofzephyrhills community.” For inspiration, visit ci.zephyrhills.fl.us/288/About-Zephyrhills. The deadline for submissions is Jan. 17 at noon. Prize money will be awarded to first place ($300), second place ($200) and third place ($100) photographs. The City of Zephyrhills also will enter the first-place photo into the Florida City and County Management Association Photo Contest, with a chance to be featured on the cover of the FCCMA 2024-2025 Membership Directory and/or the FCCMA website. For more information, email

*protected email*.

This is an image from my recent trip on a ship, which I wrote about in my previous column. It was taken toward the end of the voyage, and I had been at sea in the north Atlantic for about five days without seeing land. While there were a bunch of passengers and crew, I was traveling solo: on the whole I don’t mind that, but it can start to feel a bit weird after so many days in the ocean. 

This lone rock was taken not long after arriving in the Newfoundland port town of St John, conveniently on Canada Day. It was a glorious day, and delightful to set foot on land again. I chose this image to talk about because, apart from quite liking it, I feel it also has an autobiographical element, which can be an interesting way to approach landscape photography.

I often refer to American photographer Robert Adams. Adams suggests in his wonderful book Beauty In Photography: “Landscape pictures can offer us, I think, three verities – geography, autobiography and metaphor. Geography is, if taken alone, sometimes boring, autobiography is frequently trivial, and metaphor can be dubious. But taken together… the three kinds of information strengthen each other and reinforce what we all work to keep intact – an affection for life.” 

This has stuck with me since reading the book at college over 30 years ago, and something I always strive to achieve. For me, this is what I think Adams means: by ‘geography’, he is referring to the visual record of a place, topography, weather, light and so on. In this case, a rock on another rock in the mist. By ‘autobiography’, he’s asking for an element of personal expression. For me, the lone rock speaks to how I was feeling at the time – maybe a little bit lonely. Finally, by ‘metaphor’, Adams asks if the image can be used to imply an alternative meaning or message, of which there are myriad interpretations. What does it mean to you?  

• Other articles in the Art of Seeing series

Read more:
• The 50 best photographers ever
• 100 best photography quotes from famous photographers
• The best coffee-table books on photography

I’ve seen too many photographers these days shoot portraits at 20 frames a second or more. But beyond that, they then need to sift through all those images in post-production. These days though, it’s becoming increasingly ridiculous, with cameras shooting way more images than you possibly need. Years ago, I used to go through and manually delete those photographs to clear up space on my memory cards. But these days, there’s another camera trick you can use that will become much more important: star rating.

The Camera Trick

The camera trick is none other than star ratings. I’ve been using it for years but haven’t seen many photographers using it too. However, it truly does help. Other photographers have used the “protect” feature on their images. But then it’s annoying because those can’t be deleted, so you often need to unlock them afterward when you format the card. With star ratings though, you’re telling yourself that the image you’re rating is one that you think is a winner beyond the others. It can help you cull 1,000 images down to 120 photographs instead.

Compared to several other journalists that test cameras, I don’t tend to shoot nearly as much. But even if I only have 300 images, I don’t want to sit there sifting through all of them. So when I’ve got a spare moment, I’ll look at the images. Then I’ll zoom in and make sure that they’re in focus. If they are acceptably so, then I’ll add a star rating. And even if it isn’t, I’ll add a star rating if it’s a nice enough photograph.

Often, this has more involved, though. If I’m shooting portraits or photographs of a human, it’s all about capturing an emotional moment. The same goes for photographing pets. But if I’m photographing food, a cityscape, or something else, then it’s all about eliciting a feeling in the image. If I can get a feeling from that photograph, then I roll with it.

And if really needed, then I can fix it in post-production. However, I shoot in a way that I often don’t need to do so. This is still really helpful when shooting wildlife, sports, weddings, events, etc.

How to Use the Star Rating Function on Your Camera

Every camera manufacturer does this camera trick differently. However, here’s how I’ve set it up with different camera manufacturers over the years.

• Canon: I use the rate button. If the camera doesn’t have one, I program it to something else. If you keep pressing the rate button, it will give it more stars. For example, it’s different on the R5 vs the EOS R.
• Nikon: I rewired the protect button to star rating.
• Sony: I often rewire one of the buttons to do this during playback. It works like Canon.
• Leica: Usually, when reviewing photos, Leica cameras let you do this by default with the push of a button. I can usually just give something a star or not.
• Fujifilm: It’s the most complex here. You have to choose the image, then choose a menu setting, and then assist the star rating using a combo of the buttons and the dials.
• Panasonic: I set a button to automatically give the image three stars when pressed.
• OM System: I assign a button to do this. Usually, it’s the protect button

It’s always a lifesaver when it comes to looking at images later on.

What to Keep in Mind

Here are some things to keep in mind when using the star rating camera trick.

• Make sure you’re viewing the image from the memory card that you intend on importing the photographs from. When you make your star ratings, the ratings will often be applied to this card and not always the other one.
• I’m legally blind, and a lot of photographers say that they want to view the image on a bigger screen before making their final selections. But if I can do it, then I’m positive that most other photographers can, too.
• The mindset here involves cutting down on timing. You could just not shoot as many images, to begin with, and get better at understanding the moments in front of you. But an AI algorithm can only really understand what’s in focus or not. We’d know; we’ve tested a bunch. It doesn’t understand the moment — and it really doesn’t understand the context and how it relates to your client or the intent. So, if anything, you can star rate those images yourself or have an assistant do it.

This year, camera manufacturers are just going to keep plugging in all these features that older generations have asked for, and not those that younger photographers have. So get ready for a world where there are tons of frames being shot per second.

Through her photo exhibition, ‘Broken’, Asha Thadani hopes to start conversations on caste, power hierarchies, and our complicity in discrimination

There is constant news about atrocities against the Dalit community but rarely do people delve into the intricacies of their lives and the reality that’s forced upon them. Self-taught photographer Asha Thadani’s new photography exhibition, Broken, in Delhi is an attempt to spotlight their lives to force people to pause and interrogate their role in perpetuating the bias.

The ongoing exhibition at India Habitat Centre is focused on ten Dalit communities across India. Thadani, who has been working on the project since 2016, stayed with these communities for long periods to understand their daily life  in depth and not just capture a glimpse of it. “I have always been interested in power hierarchies dominant in our society, and how they manifest for different communities. This project was rooted in wanting to talk about the Dalit communities beyond what is seen in mainstream media,” says Thadani.

In the series, the Bengaluru-based photographer made a deliberate choice to portray the ten communities—the mine workers of Jharia, the boatmen and fishermen of Varanasi, the Joginis of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, and the goat head processors, the Holeyas—, in black-and-white. “There is an inherent discrimination, prejudice, and bias. In modern times, we call it black-and-white thinking. Also, when a frame is devoid of colour, there are no distractions, it compels you to look and feel,” Thadani explains. 

The stark ignorance about the lives of Dalit communities is something Thadani finds striking. For years, the life-threatening work that manual scavengers are forced to do, has been reported about, and yet they continue to do the job without any protective clothing or equipment. There are more such communities, which are forced to do the work that the so-called upper castes avoid because of their convenient distinction between pure and polluted.

“These communities—as seen in the photo series, ‘Coalminers in Jharia’— work in one of the worst polluted places in the world, which is dangerous for them. But this work is pushed onto them,” Thadani explains. The coalminers often have debt, so they work like bonded labour for 17 to 18 hours.

There are also the goat head processors, the Holeyas, who are given the task of harvesting the brain from the goat head, a process that involves burning its fur and hair in primitive furnaces using low-grade coal for 12 hours a day. Often their faces have burnt patches as a result of the hellfire they are made to endure every day. Thadani explains, “This happens across the country; I have shot the photos in Bengaluru. They are not allowed to enter the meat or the offal markets, and the slaughterhouse because if they touch the meat of the animals, upper caste Hindus won’t eat it. The butcher will come to collect the heads after the processing.” Their life expectancy, because of this work, is only about 40 to 45 years, she adds.

In the series Thadani has looked at discrimination from different angles—from the labour economy to sexual slavery.  “Whatever is considered as taboo, is assigned to them,” she says. 

If there’s one thing that has stood out for Thadani during the process of shooting this photo series, it’s the contrast between belief and practice. Discrimination is practiced against the Dalit communities, but in situations such as that of Joginis, it is relaxed to suit the upper castes, she explains.

Joginis are a subset of Mala, the largest Dalit community in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. Girls from the community, sometimes those as young as five, are married to the village deity and referred to as a ‘goddess’. “On one hand, they are ostracised and limited to the outskirts of the village. But it’s also not considered wrong to have sex with them when convenient,” Thadani says, pointing out the irony.

Joginis of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh
(Asha Thadani)

Through the exhibition, Thadani aims to make people think about the prejudices that they hold and how caste manifests in their lives. She hopes the photography exhibition starts conversations on caste, power hierarchies, and the discrimination against different communities.

Thadani is currently working on documenting ten more Dalit communities as part of this project. 

The ongoing exhibition, Broken, be on display at the India Habitat Centre, Delhi till 7 January. 

I recently spoke with Matt Barker, the CEO and founder of global marketplace MPB, a world-leading online platform for buying and selling used photography gear. Barker offered some incredibly insightful advice on how to navigate the growing recommerce market of secondhand goods as we enter 2024.

MPB has released a report on The Psychology of Recommerce, along with Retail Economics, which uncovered that a large 71% of consumers in 2023 had bought or sold used products. This change in consumer motivations is down to plenty of factors, as the report delves into, but the high price of new flagship camera models has been called into question.

The price of new camera bodies and lenses has more than doubled over the last few years, and this fancy new kit is becoming unaffordable and inaccessible to a large portion of non-professional photographers (myself included), forcing creatives to shop and swap for used gear instead of brand new products. 

If you aren’t familiar with MPB’s platform, now is a good time to get acquainted. It offers a user-friendly way to shop online for used photography and videography gear, with transparency around the item’s exact condition and history. You can also receive a speedy quote for selling your tech to MPB, and the shipping process is straightforward too (believe me, I’ve used it). 

Part two of my conversation with Barker on secondhand cameras and the recommerce market (short for reverse commerce), has more of a photographic focus rather than picking apart the report, but it’s important to understand where the photography industry is heading, now that the barriers to entry for buying and selling pre-owned photo equipment have significantly decreased.
I asked Barker: 

And I would say the main thing that we see, and it’s something that people should be conscious of, is lenses that have optical issues as a result of moisture or fungus. Because if you store your lenses in a humid environment, or a damp environment in any sense, that can be a problem.

And you see it more as you get into hotter climates like Southern Europe, because we operate all across the UK. So we see it a little bit more in the warmer climates. And it’s just something for people to be conscious of because it’s the only thing that can be an issue with lenses over time. It’s a fixable thing, and we can get lenses clean, but if people have stored their lenses in a slightly damp environment then this will cause a bit of fungus.

Keep your kit dry, but not too warm. It’s really important, and then they’ll last forever. And with the film camera market especially, the analogue market, that’s super important because we’re kind of seeing a lot of that stuff fall out the ecosystem, which is a shame, just because it was stored badly.