It’s probably one of the most useless conversations I can have with a young person: the way things used to be. You can’t imagine the effort it once took to take a simple picture. It required not just possession of an actual camera but also the foresight to carry it around with you, not to mention lighting, manual focus, the cost of film. Nowadays I take more pictures on an average day than I did in entire years in the eighties or nineties, of things I would have never thought to chronicle back then: plates of food, funny street signs, chance encounters with friends. We are awash in images. They feel inevitable.
I’d tell this imaginary young person that we were once so starved for pictures of the world that we would study the ones we had over and over. We would horde and exchange them; entire movements grew out of photographs that captured humanity at its very worst. I would want to explain to this person that we are so lucky that Corky Lee never wavered, never seemed to feel tired or jaded. For fifty years he devoted himself to chronicling the Asian American community—a tricky proposition given the diverse complexities of the category, but he never ran from the complications of this assignment. For Corky, photography was more than the daily registration of our whereabouts. Photography was a way of seeing. And, for generations, Corky taught us how to see ourselves—as individuals and as a community.
Corky was everywhere. The protests and concerts, rallies and opening-night premieres, demonstrations and parties, as well as the rehearsals and planning sessions that preceded them. He took some of the only photos that survive of Chinatown in the seventies, back when it was a nexus of activism: protests against the Vietnam War or police brutality or cruel bosses or miserly landlords. “Every time I take my camera out of my bag,” he once said, “it is like drawing a sword to combat indifference, injustice, and discrimination and trying to get rid of stereotypes.” But he was still just a photographer; he had to show up and wait for the right moment.
For generations, Corky taught us how to see ourselves—as individuals and as a community.
Some don’t expect to be noticed at all; they’ve been conditioned to see themselves outside of American history, even when they are central to it. These were the people of Corky’s community, the spirit that runs through his portraits of forgotten merchants, old couples showing off their cramped apartments, kids dancing and playing in the street. Pictures of restaurants, factories, cabs, newsstands, and laundries, full of people who didn’t comprehend why he was bothering to take pictures of them.
Chinatown rock gigs and beauty pageants, teenagers hanging out on the corner trying to look as cool as possible for the man with the camera. Sparsely attended readings or community meetings that suddenly seemed important since Corky had shown up to document them. Perhaps they were doing something important after all. For Corky, the commitment to community required constant renewal and reaffirmation. Each new organization or collective could be the one that changed the world.
It’s humbling to survey the range and breadth of Corky’s five decades of work, as the tight focus on Manhattan’s Chinatown widens to consider neighborhoods, experiences, and ethnicities throughout the nation. There are factions and disagreements, moments when stress is applied to any sense of common purpose. The Asian American community remains an unfinished project. But for Corky, the work that remained was a reason for hope, not despair.
My imaginary young friend, by now weary from my lecture, gives a perfunctory nod. We no longer feel invisible, the way Corky once did, even if we sometimes still feel unseen. And this young person, fed up with playing the part of a stereotype, finally scoffs. These pictures aren’t meant to anchor us to the past; they are meant as gifts for the future, too. My young friend would recognize that Corky’s gifts were his patience and curiosity.
The point of Corky’s work, they would continue, was never to dictate a single way forward. His pictures are as much about honoring overlooked visionaries and leaders as they are attempts to valorize the masses, the possibility of change that draws strangers together, across neighborhoods and generations. And this young person would leave me behind and go into the world in search of their own interpretation of community.
Back then was the same as now, it’s just the cameras that have changed. We await our moment, in pursuit of the picture that Corky envisaged, a portrait of a community that is too large and too brilliant, it can only come into focus in these beautiful, fleeting fragments.
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Reprinted with permission from Corky Lee’s Asian America: Fifty Years of Photographic Justice. Copyright © 2024 by the Estate of Corky Lee, Mae Ngai, and Chee Wang Ng. Text copyright © 2024 by Mae Ngai unless otherwise noted. Photographs copyright © 2024 by the Estate of Corky Lee unless otherwise noted. Published by Clarkson Potter, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House LLC, New York.
The winner of this year’s Saltzman Prize has recently been announced, photographer Keisha Scarville, whose photographs explore themes of cultural identity, transformation, and loss. Born to immigrant parents from Guyana in the USA, Scarville has addressed the issue of immigration in her series Passport (2012-2016), in which she manipulates dozens of nearly identical black and white passport photos of her father, delving into the concept of identity. This is one example that validates her award. The Saltzman Prize indeed recognizes the value of voices that provide new perspectives to the community, both technically and thematically. An example that underscores her research and language is the artist book published by Scarville last year, titled Lick of tongue, rub of finger, on soft wound. Let’s find out more.
Archive images, black and white photographs, landscapes, collages, personal texts, and film frames. All of this is encapsulated in Keisha Scarville’s artist book. A project that fully reflects her long research along migration routes between the Caribbean and America. Revisiting multiple times the same journey undertaken by her parents even before her birth, Scarville explores the transformation of identity from personal to collective with the aim of generating and spreading an alternative narrative of the black diaspora. Opposing the conventional and linear one. This book encapsulates part of the projects that the photographer has carried out over twenty years, becoming emblematic of her research and artistic work.
It all begins in 2001 when Scarville returns to Guyana with her mother, «I used this trip as an opportunity to actively observe how the landscape can shape our identities, documenting everything with my camera,» she explains in an interview with Americansuburbx. With Lick of tongue, rub of finger, on soft wound Scarville seeks her belonging, initially looking at the territorial and landscape differences and similarities between America and Guyana and then seeking a language that could translate the power of the landscape into words.
Courtesy Keisha Scarville and MACK
The winners of the British Wildlife Photographer Awards. (PHOTOS: Ross Hoddinott/ Ryan Stalker/British Wildlife Photography Awards)
Choosing winning images out of a sea of fabulous photos can’t be easy – especially when there are 14 000 submissions to choose from, each taken by photographers who all believe their pic is the best.
This was the task of judges for this year’s British Wildlife Photographer Awards – a panel spoilt for choice when it came to deciding which pictures best captured the challenges and beauty of the natural world.
But the job had to be done. Here’s a selection of the remarkable images that inched ahead of the competition.
South Africans need to be in the know if we want to create a prosperous future. News24 has kept the country informed for 25 years, and we’re about to enter a new chapter of fearless journalism. Join our free subscription trial to unlock this story and a world of news aimed to inform, empower, and inspire.
The Sony World Photography Awards 2024 has announced its category winners and shortlist, showcasing the best single images from around the world captured during the last year. With over 395,000 submissions from 220 countries and territories, the competition aims to highlight established and emerging photographers from around the world. The Open Competition is divided into 10 category sections, covering a diverse range of themes, from Architecture and Landscape to Portraiture, Lifestyle, and Wildlife photography.
For the Architecture category, ArchDaily collaborator Ana Skobe has been declared the winner with a photograph titled “Falling Out of Time.” Bathed in the soft hues of evening light, a sleek geometric structure rises from the coastal landscape, its clean lines contrasting with the natural elements surrounding it. Positioned at the base of the lighthouse, a solitary figure gives a sense of scale to the composition, as it contemplates the vastness of the ocean.
Read on to discover the Open Competition 2024 shortlisted photographs, along with descriptions provided by the photographers.
Color, Composition, and Scale: Analyzing Brutalist Photography
CopenHill, also known as Amager Bakke, is a new breed of waste-to-energy plant, which is topped with a ski slope. It embodies the notion of hedonistic sustainability while aligning with Copenhagen’s goal of becoming the world’s first carbon-neutral city by 2025.
The design of the Pearl Ring Roundabout in Beijing, China, harmonizes seamlessly with the detailed patterns of its surroundings.
Hermitage of Our Lady of Carmen Obra Don Orione in the province of Mendoza, Argentina
Temples sit on top of the New Golden Summit, a lonely spire in the Wulung Mountains in Guizhou province, southeast China.
The recently constructed expansion of the SCA Obbola paper mill outside Umeå, Sweden. This building houses one of the largest paper machines in the world.
Many of Cairo’s buildings are unfinished because their owners have to pay higher taxes when they are complete. This makes me think of Penelope’s weaving in Homer’s Odyssey, constantly in progress, and this is not the only point of contact between the city and Greece: Cairo owes its name to Kairòs, a Greek word meaning ‘at the right time’.
The Seda Wuming Buddhist Academy consists of thousands of red Tibetan-style bungalows that stretch for several kilometers and surround several magnificent temples to form a spectacular small mountain city. The vast scale often leaves first-time visitors stunned and it is difficult to truly capture its visual impact in a photograph.
Afternoon sunlight in the Awaji Yumebutai complex in Awaji, Japan. I liked the way the column divided the staircase and the pond into different shapes.
The Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias (City of Arts and Sciences) in Valencia, Spain.
Dubai’s architecture is one of its stand-out features and has helped make the emirate internationally recognizable. This photograph showcases a striking pyramid-shaped building set against a serene pink backdrop, symbolizing modern architectural innovation in a world of boundless creativity.
When the previous night’s weather forecast pointed to a foggy morning, I woke hours before sunrise to travel to Tai Mo Shan, the highest point in Hong Kong. The sprawling metropolis was covered in a layer of fog below me, creating surreal silhouettes of the skyscrapers, which looked like toys.
In the streets and alleys of Quanzhou, the hometown of Overseas Chinese in Southern Fujian province, there is a Western-style building that combines traditional red brick and white walls with the characteristics of Nanyang architecture. With the help of the local government, this building has been protected from the surrounding development and will be relocated as a whole.
The Spanish city of Madrid, seen from the sky. The orderly lines of Plaza Mayor appear like rules in the midst of chaos.
If the green screen is like a large meadow then the distant urban buildings are like trees, growing constantly upwards.
Showcasing millennia of Egyptian history and culture, the Grand Egyptian Museum is a monumental project in Cairo, Egypt, designed by the Irish firm Heneghan Peng Architects. Home to over 100,000 artifacts spanning Egypt’s storied past, the museum is on the brink of opening its doors to the public after multiple setbacks. Recent updates offer glimpses of the structure’s progress, with photographs captured by Egyptian photographer Farida Bustani providing sneak peeks of the architectural landmark.
Framed against the iconic Pyramids of Giza, the museum stands as a beacon of cultural heritage. Originally slated for completion in late 2020, the museum’s journey has been marked by numerous hurdles. Spanning 500,000 square meters, the design seeks to be a testament to the intertwining of modern architecture and ancient heritage.
Designed by Heneghan Peng Architects to echo the timeless grandeur of Egypt’s iconic pyramids, the museum’s stone façade integrates into the surrounding landscape. Featuring a triangular opening made of locally sourced alabaster, the striking façade changes from day to night, reminiscent of the sands in the surrounding context. The museum showcases three visual axes, each aligning with either pyramid in the backdrop. Additionally, the three axes carve the museum into distinct zones, inviting visitors on a journey through Egypt’s past. At the heart of the museum lies the great court, acting as the permanent exhibition space.
The court features a monumental sculpture of Egyptian Pharaoh Rameses II and offers a curated preview into the world of Ancient Egypt. According to the Independent UK, the 3,200-year-old statue stands at 11 meters tall, requiring the museum to be built around it after its early installation. Following this entrance is a secondary forecourt, hosting a grand shaded staircase that ascends to the original plateau level. The artifacts placed are a testament to the legacy of one of humanity’s oldest civilizations, from the Tutankhamun Collection to the iconic Solar Boat.
Cairo, the bustling capital of Egypt, is a vibrant metropolis where ancient history and modern life intertwine. In other similar news, Downtown Cairo’s Jameel Center was recently captured by photographer Ebrahim Bahaa Eldin. Established in 1989, the Center serves as a hub for modern management education, boasting Mamluk-inspired arches and wooden mashrabiyas. In November, CulturVator – Art D’Egypte launched its third edition of the annual international exhibition “Forever is Now,” set against the backdrop of the Great Pyramids of Giza. The display featured the work of 14 international artists creatively responding to and interacting with one of the world’s most iconic historical sites.
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Getting to see even one total solar eclipse is a rare occurrence. Photographer Stan Honda has three under his belt. His first experience took place in Svalbard, a Norwegian archipelago in the Arctic Ocean, in 2015 — what he saw was a singular spectacle and chance for anyone wielding a camera.
“At that latitude the sun, even at noon, was only about 11 degrees above the horizon, which is pretty low,” Honda said. “So we didn’t really have to look up into the sky — we just sort of looked straight at the horizon to see the eclipse taking place. When it went total, it was against this incredible foreground of ice and snow, and it was 2 degrees Fahrenheit there. We were all pretty bundled up, but it was a pretty remarkable scene. That has stayed with me.”
The upcoming April 8 total eclipse will likely be the one of the most photographed events of the year, with almost 32 million people in the United States alone living in the path of totality — the corridor along which the moon will completely cover the sun — and another 150 million living within 200 miles of it.
Crossing from Mexico into Texas and then across a dozen US states before reaching Maine and ending over Canada, the path will range between 108 and 122 miles (174 and 196 kilometers) wide, offering up to 4½ minutes of totality in the Southern states.
Weather permitting, it is an incredible opportunity for photographers of any skill level. Whether you’re working with a high-end DSLR camera or a smartphone, Honda — an experienced astrophotographer who in addition to total eclipses has captured a whole lot of partial ones — has some tips on how to make the moment last through images.
For the upcoming eclipse, Honda will be in Fredericksburg, Texas, taking pictures on behalf of international news agency Agence France-Presse.
“I was looking at weather maps and historically, as you go further south, there’s less chances of clouds. Texas is as far south as you can go in the US to view the totality part of the eclipse,” he said. “Fredericksburg is just west of Austin, so it’s easy to get to. It seems to be a pretty popular choice, and it looks like this area of Texas is getting ready for pretty big crowds.”
Honda said he usually plans two kinds of pictures. One is taken with a wide-angle lens to capture the eclipse and also the landscape around it. “To me, that’s actually a better photo, because it kind of puts the eclipse in a location, it puts it in a setting,” he said. “And also, it shows you where you were at the time.”
The other kind of image he aims for involves using a telephoto lens and prioritizes the celestial event. “You’ve probably seen a lot of those shots, just focusing on the sun itself,” he said, “and the sun makes up a large part of the picture.”
As part of his professional setup, Honda will have a third camera with a really wide-angle lens to try to get even more of the landscape, and a fourth camera around his neck, with a wide-angle zoom lens, to photograph the people around him and document their reactions.
But you don’t need all that.
“With pretty much any kind of camera or any lens, you can get a good picture of the eclipse,” he said. “I would just recommend a fairly sturdy tripod, to make your setup pretty steady, and a remote shutter release, because that allows you to take the pictures without jarring or moving the camera too much.”
Just like your eyes need protection during the partial phases of the eclipse — ISO 12312-2 compliant eclipse glasses or a handheld solar viewer to watch it safely — your camera does, too.
Remember that it’s not safe to look at the eclipse through an unfiltered camera, even when wearing protection on your eyes. That’s because optical devices can concentrate solar rays, which can then cause eye injury, according to NASA.
“A safe solar filter really is a necessity for the partial phases, and the American Astronomical Society has a whole section on its website about solar eclipse glasses and filters that they approve as being safe to use,” Honda said.
The filter cuts out a huge amount of light, and different filters produce different colors, depending on the material they’re made of, Honda said, adding that you should switch your exposure setting to manual mode.
“The automatic settings just won’t work with the filter on, because most of the frame will be black, so it’ll be like taking a picture at night,” he said. “Manually focusing would be a big help, too — you can autofocus on the sun, but then you have to disable the autofocus so that your camera doesn’t try to keep focusing through the filter. It’s so dark that it’ll be fooled by the darkness, and it won’t be able to focus.”
Right at the beginning of the totality period, you might be lucky to capture something called the “diamond ring” effect, which happens just before the moon completely covers up the sun.
“It’s this very bright section of the sun, just on one corner of it — it looks like a ring with a diamond on it, and that lasts for just a few seconds, maybe 10 or so,” Honda said.
Equally as elusive are Baily’s beads, which might appear right as the moon and sun appear to align.
“The moon isn’t perfectly smooth — there’s mountains, craters and other formations — so as it’s covering up the sun, some of the sunlight will stream through these formations and create spots of light along one edge,” Honda said. “Again this lasts a couple of seconds before you transition to the full totality, when you see the corona.”
During the eclipse, there could even be the chance to witness a coronal mass ejection — a large, spectacular plume of material rising from the sun’s surface, weighing billions of tons, according to NASA.
Once the moon covers up the face of the sun, you will have to take the filter off the camera; otherwise, you won’t be able to see the sun’s corona, which is really the money shot, Honda said.
“When you take the filter off, you’ll have to increase the exposure by quite a bit, because the corona itself is fairly dim, about the brightness of a full moon, so compared to the brightness of the sun that’s a pretty big difference,” Honda said. “Keep the shutter speed and the ISO consistent and just slow down the shutter speed, because that will give you more and more exposure as you increase the time of the shutter speed, and you’ll catch more and more of the corona on each frame.”
During totality, you can also look at the eclipse directly with your naked eyes, but knowing exactly when it’s safe to take filters and glasses off can be tricky. If you’re in a group of people, it’s likely that the moment will be announced. Otherwise, you should look out for when the sun reaches a super-thin crescent, Honda said.
Of all the stages of a total solar eclipse, the moment of totality is special and the one most photographers covet. “That’s also a pretty dramatic shot, especially with the wide-angle lens,” Honda said. “Everybody wants that picture during totality, to show the sun’s corona.”
Luckily, you’ll have plenty of time to photograph this phase in April as this event’s totality will last at least 2½ minutes and up to well over four, depending on your location. Once it’s over, the cycle that reveals Baily’s beads and the diamond will start in reverse.
“As you get closer toward what’s called third contact, when the moon is ready to move off the face of the sun, then you have to remember to reset your shutter speed back to the original setting — when you were shooting the partial phases before totality — and put your filter back on,” Honda said.
How many pictures should be taken during the eclipse is up to you, but Honda recommends buying the largest memory card you can find.
“What I do is, I’ll set my remote trigger to take a picture every minute as the eclipse progresses. During transition for Baily’s beads and the diamond ring, I’ll take a picture at least every second, maybe a couple times a second, because that only lasts a very short time. And then during totality, I’ll probably try to shoot as many as I can. So the idea is to try not to run out of space.”
If you get a good exposure in your camera, Honda said you don’t really have to do too much afterward in terms of image processing, but you should shoot in the “RAW” setting if you have the option, because it will give you the highest quality.
After each eclipse, he always creates a composite shot showing the sequence from the start to the end in a single image.
If you want to get some practice beforehand, you can simply put your filter on and take pictures of the sun (without looking at it unless through your camera): “That will help you determine a base exposure setting for your camera, or the lens you’re going to use,” Honda said. “You can shoot with a variety of exposures and see what looks good on your computer. On eclipse day, you might have to adjust a little bit here and there, but you probably won’t be very far off.”
And if you only have a cell phone? “I used one on the past eclipses, just on the automatic settings, and it actually seemed to work OK,” Honda said. “Just leave it on the standard wide-angle setting — if you start to zoom in on the sun to try to make it bigger, it throws off the automatic exposure.”
A wider shot with a phone might be less dramatic, but it will capture either the people or the landscape around you, and that might make for a better picture, Honda added.
However, don’t forget to make looking at the eclipse the priority, he advised. “Photography should be the secondary objective, because this is a truly amazing natural event that you might not ever see again,” he said. “So, if you’re in the path of totality, make sure you spend more time looking at it with your eyes than with the camera.”
