There are over 10,000 acid attacks throughout the world every year.

And availability of acid originally intended for use in industry, particularly textiles, is a proven factor in regions having higher than average numbers of incidents.

Now, the fashion industry, often criticised for its lack of action on headline issues, is partnering with the Acid Survivors Trust International (ASTI) to raise awareness of the issue and encourage industry partners to strengthen processes for a more responsible supply chain.

Legendary British photographer Rankin was asked to shoot acid attack survivor Patricia Lefranc for a series of powerful photographs which frame the physical destruction the substance can cause when thrown at another human.

The Tear Couture Look Book/campaign aims to start highlighting the devastating effects of acid attacks, and in particular, the specific link to the fashion, textiles, retail and manufacturing industries, based on research which shows a correlation between legitimate business uses of acid and the incidence of acid attacks in parts of the global south.

According to ASTI, Over 700 acid attacks were recorded in England and Wales in 2022, compared to 421 in 2021. The total economic cost of all the attacks that year was more than £44 million.

The total cost of reported acid attacks to UK society over the past five years exceeds £200 million. However, the actual number of attacks (and associated costs) is likely to be even higher as not all police forces respond to FOI requests.

ASTI estimates that the number of global attacks exceeds 10,000 each year. But this is a very conservative estimate as governments in many countries do not maintain official records of acid attacks.

Rankin comments: “I have a special affinity with the fashion industry, and I’ve been delighted to see the changes that have taken place within the industry in recent years to make it more sustainable and responsible. When ASTi explained to me the issue of acid misuse within supply chains, I knew I had to take action.”

His photography is the powerful heart of the campaign, stark imagery of the horrendous damage to the face and body of 59-year-old Patricia, attacked with sulphuric acid by her former partner in 2009, whose strength in the wake of multiple surgeries is awe-inspiring.

Following her attack, Patrica spent 12 weeks in a coma and was in hospital for nine months. She has undergone over 100 surgeries, including multiple skin grafts.

In one of Rankin’s photos, she is staring straight at the camera, holding up a picture of herself that was taken before the attack. The shot offers a stark contrast with her former appearance.

Patricia adds: “Many people are unaware of the enormous pain and suffering that acid attack survivors go through. I’m so grateful to Rankin for this opportunity to raise awareness of our situation and to take steps together to prevent further attacks.”

Another feature of the Look Book is an image of one of Patricia’s tears, captured, photographed, magnified and preserved on textile as a reminder of all the crying she has done in the wake of the attack.

The majority of acid attack survivors are women, and the first recorded cases of such violence in the UK were recorded in the 18th Century, as the Industrial Revolution took hold and corrosive materials became easier to obtain.

Sadly, the correlation between the availability of acid in industrial regions and the number of attacks is still strong. Research shows that incidents often occur in districts and provinces with a large textile production base, such as the ‘Cotton Belt’ in southern Punjab, Pakistan.

Campaigners believe there is a significant opportunity to improve how corrosive chemicals are transported, stored, dispensed and handled within factories to both reduce the risk of injury to workers and to reduce access to those substances that could be used in premeditated acid attacks.

Jaf Shah, Executive Director of ASTi, says: “Industry has a key role to play in stopping incidences of acid attacks. We’re so grateful to all those helping to bring this issue into the spotlight: HRH Princess Anne for writing the foreword to the Look Book and, of course, Patricia and Rankin. With their support, we aim to partner with businesses and make the changes needed to achieve this goal together.”

In her foreword to the Look Book, ASTI patron HRH Princess Anne concludes: “Businesses that use corrosive substances in their supply chain have a vital role in preventing attacks. Multiple interventions are required, including prevention of easy access to dangerous corrosives.

“I encourage companies to partner with ASTi and share its mission to end acid violence. We all have it in ourselves to help prevent this enormously harmful act of violence.”

The Tear Couture Look Book has been created with McCann Health London.

Wildlife photography can be simultaneously one of the most frustrating, yet rewarding genres the art form has to offer. Having patience is often more important than the kit you have, as you stake out hides and wildlife hotspots waiting for an animal to appear – then hoping the lighting, your camera settings, and focus are just right!

When you only see the end results on sites and apps like Instagram, it can be easy to romanticize wildlife photography and forget about the weeks, months and even years that can go into planning and waiting to culminate in the perfect shot. Wildlife shoots rarely go to plan, and the weather often doesn’t play ball.

• To shoot stunning wildlife of your own, check out the best lenses for bird photography

Reader of PhotoPlus: The Canon Magazine, Thomas Lechthaler, is based in Manchester and is currently retraining as a HGV driver. Photographing landscapes is his main passion and he uses it to unwind in his spare time when not working.

While he’s a very capable landscape photographer, he has a love for all things outdoors and was keen to learn more about wildlife photography, which he sometimes struggles with. We paired him up for the day with professional wildlife photographer Paul Fowlie at his wildlife hides in Yorkshire to show him the ropes on an unusually rainy summer’s day! Sometimes that’s just how it goes though, here we’ll run through Paul’s top tips to achieve top wildlife portraits even in a downpour.

Paul Fowlie

Paul has been a pro wildlife and landscape photographer since 2010. Based in Yorkshire, he runs photography workshops in the Lake District, the Yorkshire Dales, Scotland and Scandinavia, and is also the author of A Year with Nature: A Photographic Guide to Wildlife.

1. Manual mode

Tom shoots in Manual mode when photographing his landscapes and Paul recommended he stayed in this mode for wildlife shots too. The weather was rainy and overcast so the light levels were fairly constant throughout the day. He suggested starting with an aperture of around f/8 for good sharpness with the owls and boosting the ISO until he had the desired shutter speed. Usually 1/2000 sec would be good for wildlife, but with more stationary subjects around 1/400 sec is usually fast enough.

2. High speed burst

For landscapes you usually have the luxury of taking your time and firing off just a single exposure. Wildlife photography can be a lot more fast-paced and frantic, so a high speed burst, such as the top 20fps continuous modes on both Tom and Paul’s Canon EOS R5 cameras is ideal. A faster burst rate gives you more chance of catching the best moment, and hopefully more than one frame will be sharp and in focus too.

3. It’s a sign!

Paul has set up signs, logs and tree stumps in front of his wildlife hides. This is a convenient place for the birds and wild animals to perch on, and also makes for more interesting and photogenic shots. He’s screwed some plastic containers onto the rear side of his perches where he can top up the food so that these don’t appear in the shots. Any small bits of bird feed or droppings can then be easily removed in post production. Why not try placing some photogenic logs in front of your bird feeders at home and give it a go?

4. Pop-up wildlife hide

While Paul has dedicated timber bird-watching hides at many of his sites he also uses these one man pop-up style hides from Nitehawk. They come in various colours and camouflage options and conveniently fold away into a backpack for easy transportation. These were handy when photographing the little owls in the rain as they allowed us to stay out of the drizzle and remain hidden so we wouldn’t spook our skittish subjects. See our guide to the best portable hides for wildlife photography

5. Autofocus cases

Pro Canon cameras like the EOS R5 allow you to fine-tune the autofocus so it’s more or less responsive. You need to go into your AF Menu and change the AF Cases in the third menu. The camera can be more or less sensitive when tracking, or ignore items in the foreground – for example when tracking an animal. Paul uses Case 3 for wildlife with tracking sensitivity and accel/decel tracking at +1.

6. Animal Eye subject detection

Up until recently Paul had been shooting on a Canon EOS-1D X Mark III DSLR, but made the move to mirrorless with the Canon EOS R5. One of the greatest advantages of the new system he’s found is the animal eye subject detection mode, which makes it much easier to lock onto an animal’s eye and keep it in focus even as you track your animal or it moves within the frame. If your Canon EOS has this feature you’ll find it within the AF Menu under ‘Subject to detect’.

7. Battery grip

Paul has paired his Canon EOS R5 with the BG-R10 battery grip which makes it feel a bit more like his old EOS-1D X Mark III, which had a built-in grip. Using a grip makes it easier and more natural to shoot with the camera in the portrait orientation as it has an extra shutter button and command dials on the grip. It also means he can use two of Canon’s LP-E6NH batteries to power his EOS R5, so he can go for longer periods without needing to change batteries, making him less likely to miss that magical moment.

8. Short telephoto zoom lens

Paul and Tom use short telephoto lenses such as a Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM, Tom uses his with his EOS R5 via the EF-EOS R mount adapter. A 70-200mm zoom range is ideal for larger animals so you can get closer – used for the red squirrels at the reflection pool hide. 

When used with a Canon EOS body with an APS-C sensor they’ll appear even more ‘zoomed in’ due to the 1.6x crop factor. The wide and constant f/2.8 aperture in the zoom range is great for blurring the background (and foreground) of animal portraits and helps draw attention to your subject with this shallow depth of field.

9. Wait for the right moment

Patience is key to taking top wildlife shots, so it often pays to frame up and wait for your subject to move into an interesting pose, or turn to face the right direction. For this shot of the red squirrel, Tom framed up shooting through the heather but the squirrel was facing away to begin with and was looking out of the frame. He kept still and waited for the squirrel to turn so that it was making eye contact with the camera which makes a much stronger composition.

10. Keep your lenses dry

While professional Canon cameras and lenses should be weather-resistant and sealed to a degree, it’s certainly worth taking some extra precautions when shooting in a heavy downpour. A rain shield for your lens is a great idea to keep water off, and a lens hood will also help keep rain from landing on the front element of your lens. You may need to wipe your lens with a microfibre cloth regularly to clear any water drops which will cause soft spots, and be sure to pat your lenses thoroughly with a towel once you’re back home so that they can dry out properly indoors.

See our guide to the best rain shields for cameras

If you’re really into wildlife photography, you’ll want to check out the best lenses for wildlife. Paul uses a Canon EOS R3. 

Paul Mpagi Sepuya’s photography is instantly recognisable in its content and its composition. His practice, which he considers more art than photography, has gone back two decades and has looked at queer bodies, sexuality, race and colonial history through the captured image. Spanning portraiture, self-portraiture and collage, his studio-based work uses mirrors, found objects and the camera itself to explore our perceptions of bodies in relation to photography. 

Now, a survey of his recent work, ‘Exposures’, is on view at Nottingham Contemporary, in the artists’ first UK institutional show (until 5 May 2024).

Sepuya never casts his images, and everyone who features in his work is a friend or a friend of a friend. Captured organically, he might shoot images at a party or while a friend is staying with him in Los Angeles. In 2023, he photographed creative movement director Stephen Galloway for the Wallpaper* USA 300 (a guide to creative America in which they both featured).

Paul Mpagi Sepuya, ‘Exposures’, Nottingham Contemporary

‘There are friends and there are some friends that I’ve photographed for 15 or 20 years at this point,’ Sepuya explains over video chat. ‘There are some friends too, I’ve known for a long time, but have only recently started to photograph. Maybe there’s some people that I’m just getting to know, but I don’t photograph strangers or models.’

The viewer is simultaneously played with and drawn in, whether we are looking at a full nude silhouette of the male body, on the diagonal, or two nude male figures, one sitting on the other’s lap, with the contrasting colour of their skin, the face of the photographer obscured by the camera.

Reflecting on the organic nature of what he does, Sepuya explains that the work he produces can vary depending even on the time of year: ‘[There’s] an ongoing cycle of things I’m thinking about in the studio. Maybe it’s just about the seasons. Right now it’s freezing-cold in the studio, and it’s the time of year when one kind of picture is getting made. I was making a portrait with a friend who is also a photographer yesterday, and some still-lifes and it’s very different from, let’s say, in the spring or summer, when it’s just incredibly hot in the space and then it is a much more comfortable time to make nudes or something like that.’

Over the last few years, the objects brought into his images have evolved to include not only the items of the studio – such as velvet backdrops, tripods, mirrors and cameras – but also plants and antiques, referencing the colonial legacy of portraiture. With the presence of people, he introduces questions about queerness, race and history, creating complex, compelling images. 

Of the objects, he says, ‘There are some things that are from the 19th century, there’s an object from the 18th century, there are things I have found that date from the 1980s. [My approach is a] postmodern take on [the appearance of] 13th-century objects in 19th-century photographs. So, they are contemporary objects really,’ he explains. ‘I was just interested in seeing what it was like to be in a space with these things, because [after] taking initial photo history classes and thinking about that stuff when I was an undergrad, I never felt any sort of interest or connection to 19th-century photographs.’

‘Exposures’ looks at Sepuya’s work from 2017 to 2022, and while there are changes in the composition, the staging of the subjects remains at the heart of the works in a play on the idea of the capturer and the captured, the watcher and the watched.

‘Portraiture is the constant,’ Sepuya says of the body of work, which has a liberating, relaxed sexuality that has led to comparisons to Robert Mapplethorpe. A curve of the arm here, the line of a back there, the elegance of the naked body, and so much more for the viewer to unpack or simply to enjoy. 

‘Exposures’ is on at Nottingham Contemporary from 27 January – 5 May 2024

nottinghamcontemporary.org

The RSS headquarters is located in the Mahal area of the city.

The Nagpur police have declared the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh headquarters here a “no-drone” zone and banned photography and videography of the premises till March 28, citing potential threat to it.

The RSS headquarters is located in the Mahal area of the city.

In an order issued on Sunday under Section 144 (1) (3) of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), Joint Commissioner of Police Aswati Dorje said the RSS HQ sits in a densely populated area surrounded by hotels, lodges and coaching classes.

Due to this, the order said, individuals passing through the vicinity could take pictures, and videos, or employ drone videography, posing a potential threat to the headquarters.

“Therefore, I am prohibiting the taking of pictures, videos, or drone photography in the area,” she said in the order.

Those violating the order will face action under Indian Penal code section 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant), officials said.

The order will remain in effect from January 29 to March 28 of this year, they said.