Peter Magubane, a South African photojournalist who chronicled decades of violence during the country’s apartheid era including the Soweto student uprising of 1976, died Monday aged 91, his family announced.

Magubane also became the official photographer of Nelson Mandela when the anti-apartheid leader was released from prison in 1990 and until he became president four years later.

They can act inadvertently witty, comically clumsy, laughingly foolish or simply truly funny. But are they aware of it? Do wild animals have a sense of humor? Or are humans the only species to possess that characteristic?

It’s an old debate with many experts trying to define what constitutes “humor” and research in the field concluding that animals probably lack that particular sense. In which case, the funny side of animals is in the eye of the beholder — in this particular case, of the photographers lucky enough to be at the ‘right time, right place’ to capture the unwittingly amusing actions of wildlife across our planet.

And it’s from that rich source of material from around the world that the Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards, with their annual competition, has been bringing smiles to millions of people.

“Funny animal photos are felt to be harmless, yet retain a trace of the taboo: a conflict that stems from the knowledge that, as endearing and relatable as their behaviour may appear to be, we will never truly understand what’s going on in their minds,” The Guardian aptly concludes.

The funniest photos are usually those in which the animals look more like humans. Or, as Jason Moore — this year’s winner of the competition with his image of a kangaroo seemingly practicing its air guitar — explains to the paper: “I will always look for opportunities to capture examples of anthropomorphism. This type of image is among the most successful in attracting and holding an audience’s attention.”

Here is a selection of winning photos since the start of the competition in 2015. I hope they’ll remind you of the less-serious side of life and trigger some smiles to start the new year.

Enjoy!

Here are all the winners and finalists.

“I was swimming with this turtle at Lady Elliot Island on the Great Barrier Reef when he flipped me the bird!”

An Eastern Chipmunk stuffing her cheeks with corn until they looked ready to pop in Wasaga Beach, Ontario, Canada.

African Lions seem to share an ironic moment in the Maasai Mara region of Kenya.

This photo is the beginning of a one-minute scene in which each of the Rose-ringed parakeets used a foot to clean the partner’s beak in Kaudulla National Park, Sri Lanka

“Among a group, this parrot fish with a crooked mouth looked like it was smiling,” the photographer said. “I don’t know if it was caused by a fishing hook, or just something hard that it tried to bite. It took me several minutes until I got this frontal shot… and yes, it made my day!”

Atlantic Puffins are amazing flyers and their fishing talents are, as you see from these in Scotland. some do better than others.

A South sea elephant in Isla Escondida, in Argentina’s Patagonia, has a thing or two to say, like it or not.

Shooting the most common can be more challenging. Langurs are very common but getting the right image requires lots of patience. “I had made 15 trips to India in search of a perfect frame until I got this playful monkey with its family,” the photographer said.

In the center of the small town of Hampi. India, there was a bicycle parking lot that suddenly got a flock of langurs jumping on the bicycles and having lots of fun.

“As this Azure damselfly slowly woke up, he became aware of my presence,” the photographer recalled. “I was lined up to take a profile picture of his wings and body, but quite sensibly the damsel reacted to the human with the camera by putting the marsh grass stem between us. I took the shot anyway. It was only later that I realized how characterful it was. And how much the damselfly looks like one of the muppets.

Two wide rhinos in Laikipia, Kenya, organized into back-to-back defense formation, seem to transform into the rarest creature in Africa. Location: Laikipia, Kenya

Coastal Brown Bear cubs interacting on the beach while Mom is fishing in Alaska.

Young fox playing with — or lighting up? — a piece of wood.

With this image of two greenfinches called “Dispute,” young photographer Jacek Stankiewicz won not only the Junior Award but also the Affinity Photo People’s Choice Award, a first for a junior entry. Either the young, naughty kid is arguing with a parent or one kid is reporting to the parent that its brother did something wrong, like: “Look, he broke a window!”

“I was driving past a mob of Western Grey Kangaroos feeding in an open field that was filled with attractive yellow flowers, in Perth, Australia,” the photographer said. “I had my camera with me, so I stopped to grab a few photos. I suddenly noticed this individual adopt a humorous pose – to me it looks like he’s practizing strumming on his Air Guitar.”

Readers around Steamboat and Routt County make the Steamboat Pilot & Today’s work possible. Your financial contribution supports our efforts to deliver quality, locally relevant journalism.

Now more than ever, your support is critical to help us keep our community informed about the evolving coronavirus pandemic and the impact it is having locally. Every contribution, however large or small, will make a difference.

Each donation will be used exclusively for the development and creation of increased news coverage.

Donate

Peter Magubane, a South African photojournalist who chronicled decades of violence during the country’s apartheid era including the Soweto student uprising of 1976, died Monday aged 91, his family announced.

Magubane also became the official photographer of Nelson Mandela when the anti-apartheid leader was released from prison in 1990 and until he became president four years later.

One of his most iconic images, from 1956, captured a young white girl sitting on a bench marked “Europeans Only”, her black maid sitting behind her on the other side of the bench.

“He was very passionate about his work, everything else would stop when it comes to his work,” his daughter Fikile told SABC television.

No cause of death was given, but the SACEF journalists’ association said “he passed on today peacefully surrounded by his family”.

Magubane worked in the photography lab of the black urban culture magazine Drum before moving behind the camera, where he quickly focused on documenting the harsh reality of apartheid, and key moments in the struggle for equality.

In 1969 he was arrested while covering protests in front of the prison where Winnie Mandela and other activists were being held.

He was imprisoned and spent 586 days in solitary confinement, and upon release ordered to stop his photography activities for five years.

Magubane was again arrested in 1971 and held for several months, and then continued to work while trying to evade police surveillance.

During the Soweto uprising of 1976 he captured some of the most striking images of the student revolt and gained widespread notoriety.

“South Africa has lost a freedom fighter, a masterful storyteller and lensman… Peter Magubane fearlessly documented apartheid’s injustices,” Culture Minister Zizi Kodwa wrote on social media.

AFP

It’s time to bid farewell to 2023 and say hello to 2024! The new year is always a great time to start afresh and to reassess your ambitions and aims for the year. As well as thinking of the personal changes you want to make, you can also think about what you want to achieve from your photography – and we are here to help you do just that. 

To get you started, we’ve curated 24 fabulous photo projects for you to try throughout the year. The aim is to tackle one project every fortnight so you can explore different genres and use different skills that will help you grow as a photographer.

To make it easier to follow, we‘ve themed the projects into seasonal categories, starting with winter, but mix and match as you see fit. You can also adapt our suggestions to suit your own shooting and editing style – feel free to put your own creative stamp on them!

Creative photography projects for winter 2024

Project 1: Fabulous flora

You may think that spring and summer are the best times of year to take stunning garden shots, and while this is true, the winter garden also has plenty of photographic opportunities. Look for structural and skeletal plants such as dead thistles or cow parsley to shoot as your main subject. Remember to get down low to compose your shots. Bring along a bag or old cushion to save your knees from getting dirty and wet on the ground.

• Convert your images to black and white. This style of photography lends itself to the monochromatic medium as your winter garden shots should all be about the form and structure of the plant. 
• Isolate your subject. Think about your background and how to make your subject stand out. A wide aperture setting will help you do this. 
• Consider how you are going to present your image. A double or triptych can work well.

Project 2: Bleak landscapes

Instead of waiting for the perfect golden hour, embrace the dull weather by shooting bleak and minimal landscapes this winter. Misty conditions are ideal and use negative space to aid your composition. This type of project can be shot in both rural and urban locations, so wherever you live, you can achieve great results. Trees work particularly well as a main subject, but so do man-made structures such as water towers and industrial power plants. Have a look at the works of Hilla and Bernd Becher and Josef Koudelka for some inspiration.

• When converting your image to black and white, it’s easy to over-boost the contrast and make the blacks too dark and the whites too light. Pulling it back a little will let the image speak for itself.
• A wide-angle lens is useful for this style of photography.  
• When it comes to composing your image, as well as using the rule of thirds, you can also think more symmetrically.

Project 3: Light the way

Winter months are the perfect time to shoot light trails. Head out into the urban environment or look for a busy and interesting piece of road for your location. Essential kit includes a tripod, high-vis (if you stand near a road) and a wide-angle lens. Experiment using different shutter speed settings (starting at 30 seconds) to see how they add to the final effect. The speed of the traffic and the number of vehicles will also affect the result.

Project 4: Serene still-life

On those days when it’s freezing cold or the rain is hammering down and you can’t face the outdoors, find some household objects to create a simple still-life setup. In our example, we used some candles as our main subject and draped a household plant around to add some interest to the shot. Your background choice is also important as this sets the feel and tone of the image.

Project 5: Creative portraits

This project is easy to do at home but it will require some planning, milk (around six liters), a model and flowers, although these are optional. We shot our image using flash and elevated our position above the model using a step ladder. Make sure you have your camera strapped and secured to your body to avoid any accidents. To create the milky effect, fill your bath about halfway with warm water and then add the milk. If you don’t want to use fresh milk, you can also use milk powder.

• Bounce the flash to achieve a clean look. You want to avoid heavy or distracting shadows. 
• If you’re going to add floating flowers to the milk, add these after your model is in position; otherwise, they will go underneath the water as your model gets into the bath.  
• Once you’ve added the milk, the water cools down reasonably quickly – be ready to shoot so that your model doesn’t get cold!

Project 6: Festive bokeh

Bokeh comes from the Japanese word boke, which means blur or haze. In photography, you can achieve an easy bokeh effect using a lens that can be opened to a wide aperture setting – the wider the better, so prime lenses are ideal. You will also need some lights in the background, and small lights work best, so Christmas trees are perfect for this type of effect.

Creative photography projects for spring 2024

Project 7: Bring spring indoors

When the first signs of spring start to emerge, we all seem to breathe a sigh of relief… However, we are also aware that April showers can go on way beyond April, so on those rainy days, bring the spring indoors. A flat lay is a great way to do this and can be achieved in a few easy steps.

Set up the background

Lay down a piece of coloured card on a table and place it next to a large window. As you want to make your image bright and vibrant, colored card will work best.

Bounce the light

To reduce the shadows, place a reflector on the opposite side to your main light source. This lifts the image and removes the stronger shadows for a more even result.

Set up your camera

Put your camera into Aperture Priority mode and set the aperture to f/4 and the ISO around 200. You can either shoot this handheld or on a tripod if your shutter speed is too slow.

Project 8: Animal portraits

Many animals are born in the spring, so take advantage of this to create some characterful animal portraits. For a winning shot, keep the focus on the eye or the face of the animal to create a connection between the subject and the viewer. Animals can be tricky to work with (especially those that aren’t domesticated) so be patient and keep shooting to ensure you get a winning shot.

Project 9: The Bartocha technique

Sandra Bartocha was one of the first to invent this popular technique where you layer images on top of each other (often nature images) to create a beautiful effect. To achieve this, shoot multiple images of your subject at different focus points and then build your image using an editing software program like Photoshop, where you can blend multiple layers together.

Project 10: Garden lifestyle

The spring garden is the perfect setting for a lifestyle project. Although this shot looks as though it has been taken candidly from behind the flowers, it has in fact been carefully composed and thought through to sell the dream. Placing items such as a blanket and a magazine on the table adds that lifestyle element to the scene and enables the viewer to picture themselves in that setting.

Project 11: Beautiful butterflies

By late spring, many different varieties of butterfly are starting to hatch. To shoot our spring butterflies, we grew them ourselves. We ordered some caterpillars from Insect Lore (insectlore.co.uk) and watched them grow from caterpillars into Painted Lady butterflies – this is also a particularly interesting project to do if you have children. When we released the butterflies into our garden, they were completely docile, meaning we could spend time getting them into a good position.

• Head to your back garden or the local park and look for flowers (such as the daisies in our example) or for interesting backdrops where the butterflies can rest.
• Use a long lens such as a macro 100mm prime for best results.
• When shooting at a close proximity, your aperture setting is affected. For example, our images were shot at f/8, which on a wide-angle image would be sharp from front to back. For our butterfly images, f/8 was the perfect setting as it softened the background while keeping some of the butterfly sharp, which was the effect we were after.

Project 12: Wide and shallow

As spring leaps into action, you’ll find fields of flowers starting to bloom. Our instinct and habit when we shoot a wide-angle shot is to set the aperture to a narrow setting to keep the scene sharp from front to back. On this occasion, however, you should do the exact opposite. Open your aperture to a wide setting and blur the background and foreground. This works best in-camera if you have a lens that can go as wide as f/2.8. However, if you don’t have an f/2.8 optic, shoot as wide as you can and then exaggerate the blur effect at the editing stage.

• Look for a colorful setting. Fields of tulips or lines of flowers are the perfect arrangement for this technique (lavender fields also work in the summer months).
• Think about where you want your focus to sit in the image. About a third of the way up often creates a pleasing result.
• Plan your shoot to coincide with good weather. Avoid the brightest part of the day and opt to shoot in softer light at the beginning or the end of the day.

Creative photography projects for summer 2024

Project 13: Splash and shoot

Jumping into the sea or a large body of water is great fun to do and you can get some eye-catching photographic results at the same time. To make sure your shots are sharp, set your camera to fire in the fastest burst mode you have and ensure your AF setting is set to the tracking feature, so you can follow your subject. You may need to get your model to do a few jumps to get the perfect shot.

• It’s all about communication. Speak to your model first to tell them where they need to jump so you can be ready to get the action shot.
• Shoot a sequence of images and either pick the best of the bunch or present them as a sequence. 
• Sea salt and cameras do not mix! Protect your camera with a waterproof cover and keep it clear of any big splashes. A long lens will help you get close to your subjects.

Project 14: Divine drinks

Cold drinks on a hot summer’s day make the perfect combination for a winning photograph. Not only is it better to shoot into the light here, but you also want to make sure your drinks are ice-cold so that they bubble with condensation, which adds to the overall effect.

• Think about your setting and how that adds to the overall look. In the summer, an outdoor setting such as a garden is the best way to go.
• Open your aperture to a wide setting to blur the background and isolate your subject.
• Bring in additional props to add interest to the corner or side of the frame, but make sure they don’t become the main focus. Here, we used a pair of sunglasses as a prop.

Project 15: Summer scenes

The first or last light of the summer day are the best times to shoot spectacular summer scenes. Blackpool Sands in Devon, pictured here, were shining as the sun set behind the fields. Shoot in raw format and bring those warm tones back into your image at the editing stage to make the most out of it.

• Calm and still days are the ideal settings to shoot scenes like the one below. Have a recce beforehand to work out the best spot from which to compose your shot.
• Use a wide-angle lens to frame the full scene and look for curves and shapes in the landscape to help you with your composition.
• At the editing stage, bring some detail back into the shadows. You may also need to warm the shadows up as the light is much cooler there compared with the rest of the scene.

Project 16: Perfect portraits

The long summer days are blissful and at the start and end of the day, the light begins to soften meaning you can achieve excellent results with your portraits. Coordinate your sitter’s clothing to match the scenery. In our example, the girl’s blue flowery dress matches the flowers on the ground perfectly. We’ve also added a creative filter and toned the image to make every element in the scene work together.

• Have fun and engage with your subject as you are shooting. Although it might be tricky to think about camera settings while directing a model, you should make sure they are comfortable.
• If working with children, you need to be quick as they won’t stand still for long. To hold their attention, do your research first – find out their interests so you can engage with them for longer.
• Keep the focus fixed on the face, but if shooting closer up, focus on the eyes.

Project 17: Capture fun at a festival

If you like people-watching and listening to loud music, there’s nothing better than photographing a music festival. These images were taken for the Dart Music Festival last summer and are the perfect example of how to get great results…

Look for light

Photography is all about finding the best light and this is also the case at a festival or an event. Natural or ambient lighting can be used to your advantage so look for opportune moments with your subject in the setting.

Crowd fun

As well as photographing the musicians at a music festival, there are lots of images to be captured in the crowd. Look for fun moments, especially when people are unaware of your presence for a more candid and natural result.

Capture the moment

It’s all about being ready to capture the perfect moment. A shake of the head or someone jumping in the air are always winners. Keep your ISO above 800 to ensure your shutter speed is fast enough to freeze the action.

Project 18: Shoot big group photos

Shooting a large group of people is never easy so think of fun ways you can get them to engage with each other. People feel a lot less awkward if they have something to do or are given good direction. These colorful bridesmaids naturally formed around their bride, creating the perfect lineup for a group picture. Luckily, it was a hot day so it didn’t take much encouragement to get them to paddle in the water! Make sure you keep your aperture setting around f/8 so everyone in the frame stays sharp.

Creative photography projects for fall 2024

Project 19: Fall close-up

As well as offering plenty of opportunities for wide-angle shots in the fall, the small details of the season are also a joy to photograph. Look for slithers of light to frame your subject and when it comes to editing your images, follow our steps for atmospheric results. We think Lightroom is one of the best image-editing software programs for toning and styling your images, so we opted to use this.

Open Lightroom

Import your images and then go to the Develop Module. Start by adjusting the controls in the basic tab. Correct the Exposure and White Balance, boost the Contrast and use the Whites, Blacks, Shadows and Highlights sliders to tone your image. Also, play around with the Tone Curve setting below for further effects.

Profiles and presets

Profiles and presets are easy ways of toning and styling your image and are a great starting point. You can create your own or import them. There are plenty of profiles and presets for sale on the internet. We added a touch of a profile called Soft Fade as the base for our image. You can adjust the amount applied by any profile or preset using the Amount slider – sometimes a hint is all you need.

Color grading

Now take it a step further and go to the Color Grading feature. This enables you to color-tone the mid-tones, highlights and shadows separately. Start by picking your color, for example, warmer mid-tones and highlights and cooler shadows; you can then adjust the amount added by clicking further out on the circle. Again, less is more, so have a play around for subtle results like ours.

Project 20: Location portraits

Although landscape photographers search for that perfect autumnal light, portrait photographers also do the same when out on location. This image taken of a girl at an outdoor adventure club is the perfect example of what a setting sun in autumn can bring to an image.

• Keep your camera in Aperture Priority mode and knock the exposure meter down a stop to ensure your highlights aren’t overexposing.
• Shoot into the light, keeping the focus on your subject.
• Color is important for a shot like this so think about what you want your subject to wear. In our example, the red jumper is perfectly matched to the light conditions.

Project 21: Shoot abstract architecture

Sometimes less is more, such as in this example of an image of a beach sauna. The contrast of the patterned orange tiles placed against a clear blue sky is what makes it such an effective result. You don’t need to go far to find this type of image, so have a search around your local area to see what you can find.

Project 22: Still-life around the home

If you need a day at home, you can still take great photographs. The home has plenty of areas you can style, from living room areas to a shelf and dresser in the bedroom. If you have busy surfaces, remove the clutter and style your shots using a few books, plants, candles, blankets, cushions or whatever you have lying around… it’s also a good excuse to have a clean and sort out household items at the same time.

• Use a tripod as you want to keep your ISO down low to ensure your shots aren’t grainy. Using a tripod indoors enables you to keep your ISO low, at 100, as you will need to use a longer shutter speed. 
• Unless you have a library of beautiful old books that all match in color and style when shooting books, turn them around so you can’t see the spine to create a neutral look. 
• For scenes where you have a big difference between the highlights and shadows of the image, try bracketing exposures and merge the shots at the editing stage.

Project 23: Fire and food

Smoky and fiery conditions are perfect for food photography in action. Look for flames created by dripping meat to capture effective results. When it comes to selecting the right camera settings, don’t be afraid to push the ISO up if you are shooting in low light. Here, we set ours to 1600 and the aperture at f/2.8 to get a shutter speed of 1/400 sec. This meant the action of the flame and the hand stayed sharp.

Project 24: Present your photos

On those rainy days later in the year, take time to reflect on your photography, go through and organise your photos and edit them accordingly. Try printing out some of your images, thinking of different ways to present them, and if you need to share images with a client or a friend then find a pleasing presentation method, such as the wooden box in our example, or frame your favorite photos of the year and hang them on a wall.