The image is iconic. A mother, surrounded by her children brings a hand to her face. A look of worry clouds her visage. This transcendent image, along with other works by its photographer, Dorothea Lange, are on display at the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C.

The exhibit, “Dorothea Lange: Seeing People,” will run from now through March 31, 2024. And for those who might only be familiar with her more famous photographs, this will provide a far more holistic view of Lange’s work. “Seeing People” is divided into six thematic parts and spans her decades-long portfolio.

In her time, Lange explores a wealth of social issues. Having lived from 1895 through 1965, there was certainly plenty to explore. As can be seen in the exhibit, the famed photographer captured images of the Great Depression, Jim Crow South, striking laborers, civil right violations against Japanese Americans around World War II, indigenous Americans, and portraits of those around the world from Ireland, Korea, Vietnam, Egypt, and Venezuela.

“Throughout the course of her 50-year career, Lange created an intensely humanistic body of work that sought to transform how we see and understand people,” Kaywin Feldman, director of the National Gallery of Art, says in a release. “Merging her skills as a portrait artist, a social documentary photographer, and a storyteller, she helped redefine photography through images that emphasize social issues.”

Such was the mission of Lange’s work. The photographer was passionate about documenting issues felt by people throughout the United States, and later in other countries as well. Lange also believed that photography could establish a path to creating social change by exposing oppression.

The National Gallery of Art, including the “Dorothea Lange: Seeing People” exhibit is free to visit and does not require passes. For those who cannot attend in person, selected works are also available to view on the museum’s exhibit page, and there is an exhibition publication. The 208-page illustrated volume is available to purchase in National Gallery of Art stores and online. The book not only provide a look at Lange’s photographs, but it also explores the photographer herself and her approach to portrait taking.

“Drawing on new research, the authors look at Lange’s roots in studio portraiture and demonstrate how her influential and widely seen photographs addressed issues of identity as well as social, economic, and racial inequalities — topics that remain as relevant for our times as they were for hers,” the listing for the Dorothea Lange: Seeing People book reads.

Image credits: Photographs by Dorothea Lange. Courtesy of the National Gallery of Art.

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (Dakota News Now) – The holidays are almost here, and one local photographer is ‘Making Spirits Bright’ by donating all session fees from now until December 21st to the Union Gospel Mission family shelter.

Andrea Jacobson, owner of Beautifully You Portraits, joined us in the Dakota News Now studio to to discuss why she decided to pay it forward this holiday season.

Copyright 2023 KSFY. All rights reserved.

It’s 6 AM, and I find myself gazing through my kitchen window at the dawn breaking over the city, trying to shake off the remnants of sleep. The socialist architecture outside casts a gloomy gray hue.

As the coffee brews, I attempt some stretches and exercises, but after about 10 minutes, the tempting allure of YouTube lures me in. I switch on the TV, eager to explore the latest content — thanks to YouTube’s algorithm, or so I hope.

My viewing routine, oscillating on and off for the past 2-3 years, revolves mainly around photography topics. Gear reviews, photography business tips, posing ideas, lighting techniques – you name it. Lately, though, I’ve found myself increasingly bothered by something. What’s the issue? Well, it dawned on me (pun intended) that almost all the advice on growing a photography business, pricing strategies, and gear recommendations simply don’t cut it for my country, or any other small third-world country, for that matter.

Sure, it might make sense if you’re living in the lap of luxury, what they call the First World, or at least in a place with a more sizable population. But for those of us from “shithole countries,” as some like to call them, the online wisdom doesn’t always translate. Let me give you a snapshot: I’m a wedding photographer based in Eastern Europe, in a country with less than 2 million people and an average monthly salary of about 650 USD. After tax.

Let’s get back to the crux of the matter. I’m about to dissect three business propositions from well-established wedding photographers on how to grow your business.

1. Online Presence

The advice often goes: “Post online what you like to shoot.” Well, sure, that makes sense, to an extent. Post images that resonate with potential clients, but also reflect your own creative vision. So, I started showcasing what I love, hoping that my unique style would attract clients willing to pay a premium for my distinct vision. Reality check: it almost put me out of business. The sheer number of weddings in a small market, combined with limited budgets, made it nearly impossible to pinpoint those few couples who appreciated my style. The solution? Striking a balance between appealing to a broader audience, while occasionally showcasing my more distinctive work.

2. Pricing

Ah, pricing — a real pet peeve of mine. The standard advice? “Charge as much as you think you’re worth. Or a bit more.” Or the classic, “Raise your prices by 10% after every 10 booked weddings.” In a small country, this is a slippery slope. Word travels fast, and recommendations play a crucial role. Adjusting prices mid-season leads to uncomfortable questions and potential client dissatisfaction. Stick to the expected price range. Deviate even slightly, and you risk losing clients.

Yes, there are some situations where you can actually charge a premium, but it comes with a caveat, or was it a catch? I can say this for now: you will need a team of people (four people at least — two for photo and two for video). And everything you can think of that makes you look like you know what you are doing. I think it is a specific of the market, so I need a separate text just for the culture of weddings and wedding photography in Macedonia.

3. Specialization

The mantra of “specialize” echoes through the photography community. “Focus on one type of photography and master it,” they say. Well, in some markets, that just doesn’t work. With technology making photography more accessible, everyone and their neighbor seems to be a wedding photographer, often as a side hustle. In small markets, survival means diversification. Turning down opportunities like corporate profiles, conferences, parties, and birthdays is not just about staying focused; it’s a road to disaster. Most successful photographers I know here juggle 2-3 types of photography, and some even venture into videography. In a market where opportunities are scarce, turning down gigs just because you don’t shoot that particular subject means passing up on connections and future opportunities. So, think twice before you say no to that family portrait session. Specialize, but in 2-3 photography niches. Or find a second job if you are not good enough to be a destination wedding photographer.

These are my three things I personally found that don’t work in my environment. Maybe they are not valid in the western world as well, but having people recommending them, it sure feels that they are something people should consider.

Have you ever took advice at face value without thinking of the market first?

A Vernon photographer who takes great care in capturing the beauty of the natural world around her is once again sharing her best shots — one for every month of 2024.

Carla Hunt is selling wildlife calendars, available to order from carlahuntphotography.com, or be picked up at Teassential on 30th Avenue in Vernon.

The calendars are $25, designed by Carla Hunt Photography and locally printed by Elice’s Printopia in Vernon. Partial proceeds from sales of the calendars will be donated to the North Okanagan Naturalists’ Club.

Flipping through the calendar, one will see in the month of January a picture of a coyote in a snowy, grassy landscape. For February, a red-tailed hawk perches atop a coniferous tree in Armstrong. A number of other animals — and many birds — are featured, including a Cooper’s Hawk captured in Hunt’s backyard.

Hunt is a self-taught photographer focusing on wildlife and landscape photography. Her goal, according to her website, is to bring “the beauty in the Okanagan to the people.”

As the population increases in the Okanagan, her website reads, people need to be aware of their natural surroundings to ensure the protection of the habitat that animals call home.

READ MORE: U.S. proposes plan to help the Canada lynx before warming shrinks its habitat

READ MORE: Endangered Cariboo badgers at roadkill risk on B.C.’s Highway 97

Very few people get to claim a rock legend as their first serious boyfriend. Fewer still can say that the match was made by the musician’s wife. But May Pang said both were true of her relationship with Beatles legend John Lennon.

Pang, who was 23 and working in publishing for Apple Records at the time, was selected to work with Lennon when he and his wife, Yoko Ono, were in New York.

One of her first tasks was to assist the couple with their film, “Up Your Legs Forever.” The film includes hundreds of shots of people’s legs from their toes to their thighs.

“Yoko came over and she was like, ‘Here’s my phone book. Make calls and ask them to come down,’ and then there was somebody else that would go on the street and grab people,” she recalled. “It’s kind of hard to say, ‘Jackie Kennedy, would you like to come in and donate your legs for peace,’ you know, that type of thing. It was quite interesting.”

She continued to work with the couple and, around three years in, Ono and Lennon were going through a rough spot. Pang said Ono approached her with an idea.
“At the end of the day, she looks at me and she says, ‘But, you don’t have a boyfriend.’ And I’m looking at her like, ‘Don’t look at me. I’m not interested,’ Pang said. “She said, ‘No, you’d be nice for him,’ and I said ‘No, I’m not.’”

For Pang, the idea of inviting whatever was happening in their lives into hers was not appealing.

“She was so insistent, so after a while, … (John) just turned around. He said, ‘All right, if she’s going to keep doing this, I’m going to go for it.’”

In spite of Pang’s initial reservations about the idea, she and Lennon grew closer and a romantic relationship evolved.
Though this period in his life became known as “The Lost Weekend,” the Pang-Lennon romance lasted about 18 months.

Pang had picked up photography as a hobby when she was 16 and had been sharpening her focus ever since. Throughout her relationship with Lennon, Pang shot photos of him and his son, Julian Lennon, with her 35 mm Nikomat camera.

At the time, she wasn’t thinking of the photographs as part of a larger archive of Lennon’s life.

“I never thought of it as I’m documenting history,” Pang said. “It was more like I just wanted to do (it) for my pleasure, search for a good photograph, you know, a good picture.”

The images reveal a side of Lennon that the outside world didn’t often get to see.

“He didn’t think he was a great player. He knew he was a good writer, but he hadn’t been out in a long time so there … were a lot of insecurities,” she said. “He would say, ‘Do you think this is good?’ … I think that surprises people.”

Pang said she stayed in touch with Lennon until his death, so if you combine their time working together, living together and post break-up friendship, she knew the musician for about 10 years.

To this day, she keeps in touch with Julian; she shot the cover photo for his album, “Jude.”

As Pang has traveled with this photo exhibition, so have Lennon’s loyal fans. One person drove five hours from Mexico to see the photos in Austin. Another flew from New York to see the show and flew back home the same day.

“I’ve had people just cry. Even the guy who curated (the show) in San Antonio here, looked at all the photos before putting them up … and he sat there and said he just cried because he’s never seen photos like this,” Pang said.

“To me, it’s lovely. … I’ve had the people that come here, they get … to talk to me (with) questions they’ve been wanting to ask. To them, I’m the closest to John they’ll ever get.”

Marcheta Fornoff covers the arts for the Fort Worth Report. Contact her at marcheta.fornoff@fortworthreport.org or on Twitter. At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.

This article first appeared on Fort Worth Report and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.