It’s ironic that the Side Gallery’s closure due to Arts Council England funding cuts (Report, 6 April) has coincided with the opening, to great acclaim, of Chris Killip’s major retrospective at the nearby Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art. Killip was a founder member of the photographers’ and film-makers’ cooperative that forged the Side, and his indelible cultural mark on north-east England was first cultivated by a two-year Northern Arts funded fellowship.

Such backstories are important to tell, because great art and photography don’t magically appear, gallery-ready, whenever an Arts Council flagship needs a blockbuster exhibition. Significant new bodies of work arise when artists get no-strings funding and commissions, giving them time and space to take artistic risks and leaps.

A vital developmental feature is rigorously discussing art practices among peers within small, artist-run spaces. Arts Council England should rethink its decision to dispense with the Side. It’s an important grassroots organisation with a track record gained over decades both for “telling stories that hit you hard and leave a lasting impression” (as one contributor to the #SaveSide crowdfunder put it) and for fostering the messy, dynamic interrelationships, unorthodox career paths and multiple talents of practitioners on which healthy arts futures depend.
Susan Jones
Rowlands Gill, Tyne and Wear

It was this past Wednesday around 11 p.m. that photographer Ron Shipp parked in his usual spot just past the South Houston Street Viaduct to snap shots of the Dallas skyline.

“Normally, I walk out onto the levee and set my camera up to take pictures of downtown,” Shipp said. “This is a well-traveled area. You can see a lot of photographers use it. I have been out here countless dozens of times, day and night and never once really felt unsafe.”

Shipp walked along the sidewalk onto the bridge. However, this time he skipped the entrance to the levee after he said he heard muffled voices.

“I thought it was safer just to stay on the bridge and keep walking out,” Shipp said. “So at least I can see the assailants come from behind me, if that’s what was going to happen.”

Shipp said the voices would come and go. He eventually spotted a group of at least four men hiding in the shadows of the outer banks of the bridge.

“Every time I walked out, they keep coming closer and closer. They weren’t on the bridge. I knew that much,” Shipp said. “I looked over the bridge again and saw two men maybe 20 yards away, and I realized they were using the outside ledge, the handrails, to approach me from the outside.”

Shipp said he was fearful the group would jump over the railing.

“At that point, I knew this was real, and I was in danger. I kept walking away. Not quite a run yet, but brusquely, walking away, hoping to get more distance,” Shipp said.

However, the group of men, Shipp said, continued to move towards him. He began to run.

“I saw flashes from a handgun and heard six shots right in my direction motivated me to run much faster. I got to be honest with you,” Shipp said. “And I just kept running to the relative safety of downtown.”

NBCDFW.com

Shipp was never shot but reported it to police. Now, he’s going public with his story to warn those who frequent the area, especially at night.

“An empty bridge does not mean you’re safe,” Shipp said. “People would never see the attack coming.”

Although shaken, Shipp said he will come back to snap pictures at this location.

“A lot of photographers have already approached me that they come here frequently. They won’t be doing that alone or even in small groups, just in large groups. I want people… that use this space… it’s dangerous, and they could get attacked out of the darkness in no time.”

Do you remember the days of taking photographs on film? If you are over the age of 35, you likely have shot with film at some point in your life. While the advent of the digital camera nearly killed the film industry in the early 2000s, a growing number of people are shooting with film once again.

The resurgence of film photography began in the mid-2010s but gained major momentum during the pandemic. The reasoning behind its resurrection varies from person to person, but most are drawn to the unmatched aesthetics, nostalgia factors, and stronger image quality.

“Originally it was the only option,” said Jason Thomas, a local photographer who has been shooting with film since the early 1990s. “What kept me shooting it in the age of digital was how it looked, how it slowed me down, and for awhile, how you could still pull a lot more detail from it in a scan. These days, digital is like the house wine and film is the bottle you save for a special event.”

While digital photography allows you to shoot as many photographs as your SD card will hold, film limits you to only a handful of images at a time. The process of analog photography forces the photographer to slow down and think before pressing the shutter button, which some say is part of its appeal in the 21st century.

“It’s a medium that requires you to accept the results,” said Travis Patterson, a local photographer who’s been shooting film since the early 2000s but became more involved during the pandemic. “Maybe it’s perfect, or maybe you blew your exposure. All you can do is learn and be more mindful next roll.”

Many young film photographers, who are beginning to dominate the industry, were introduced to the craft with disposable and 35mm film cameras. Similar to the rebirth of vinyl records, shooting with film provides a sort of authenticity that photos captured on digital cameras or cell phones can’t. This authenticity is something that millennials and Gen Z crave.

“I choose to shoot film because it provides simplicity, creativeness due to limitations, a disconnection from a fast demanding modern world, connection between the photographer’s skill and the results, and it seems to be easier to have a conversation and less distracted with your subject or the people you come across,” said Colby Baldwin, a 25-year-old local photographer who has been shooting with film for six years. “The colors from film feel warmer, less manufactured, and more sensual.”

Another young film photographer, Sydney Negus, reflects on the tangible nature of the medium.

“I bought a disposable camera because I couldn’t take photos of my friends on my flip phone,” said Negus. “I fell in love with how they looked, and having physical copies of my photos to give to friends was really fun. I started a photo album full of all the photos I took on those disposables, which is fun to look at and always brings back great memories.”

“My initial draw to film was how beautiful it was and how simple it was to make a picture,” said Alena Swango, who is new to film photography. “I have a connection with film because my grandma is my best friend. I’m basically her clone and she has shot my entire large family on film our whole lives, so the duty has now been passed on to me to save all of our memories in a beautiful way.”

Although 35mm is one of the most popular styles of film to shoot with, film preference can vary from person to person. Some analog photographers also shoot with cameras that utilize 120, 135, 220, and Polaroid film.

“It’s honestly ten times more satisfying than shooting digitally, especially when you have to wait seven to ten days just to see the image you hoped you nailed,” said Andrew Tesdahl, a local photographer who shoots with a variety of film types. “Oftentimes, it turns out better than expected.”

With the revival of film photography, companies that once specialized in selling film are now struggling to keep up. The unprecedented demand for film and cameras, coupled with inflation, has caused prices to skyrocket. Many photographers have been forced to limit the number of rolls they shoot and develop, keeping their digital cameras close.

“People like to eat and pay their rent,” Thomas said. “That old adage, ‘stay poor, shoot film’ has never been more true.”

Once you shoot a roll of film, you must also develop and scan your photographs, which costs money. Taking matters into their own hands, some local analog photographers develop film at home, utilizing bathrooms or closets as makeshift darkrooms. While doing so can be time-consuming and frustrating to some, others enjoy the tedious process of it.

“I don’t think that everyone has to learn how to shoot, develop, and print film to be a good photographer,” said Scott Rust, a local photographer who has been shooting with film for over 30 years. “But film is what I prefer when I’m doing my thing. I like the process, the steps, taking a little more time to compose and execute the shot, and of course, the delayed gratification of seeing the results by developing and scanning.”

“While it takes time to do the developing and scanning, it’s so cheap that it allows me to buy more film instead of spending it on developing,” he added.

In the fast-paced age of social media and 24/7 new coverage, many are searching for a sense of calm and nostalgia. Some photographers say that shooting with film restrains the unending distractions of the modern day and reminds its enjoyers to live in the moment.

“I believe film photography is making a comeback due to the warm photos it’s able to capture, in the moment atmosphere it generates, and a lower expectation on what to expect compared to digital,” Baldwin said. “You’re not able to retake film photos compared to digital which makes people more comfortable with the results. Plus it’s always a surprise when seeing the developed images come back after an extended period of time has passed.”

While young people are purchasing film and cameras in droves, the hobby has a cross-generational appeal. Film photography allows people of all ages to talk shop, share stories, and connect in a way that inspires.

“There’s a physical record of you being in a place at a specific time, a chemical reaction, a result of your decision to stamp a two-dimensional view of reality onto this delicate three-dimensional flat layer cake of solid chemistry,” Thomas said. “It’s harder to erase than clicking ‘format.’”

“It slows me down,” Patterson added. “I have to be intentional. But I also really like the community I’ve met in our area. They are wonderful, talented artists.”

To see more of their work, be sure to check out these photographers on Instagram:

@beyondthehypnotic

@analogtownie

@sunbleachfilm

@ngs.kng

@aperturealena

@andrew_tesdahl

@rustypants3

@joshwarner.photo

@hunty_morry_photography

NASA has announced the winners of its fifth annual Photographer of the Year awards. The winning photos showcase NASA’s people, places, and projects, as captured by NASA’s talented photographers.

12 photos won awards this year, with first, second, and third-place winners selected across four categories: Documentation, portrait, people, and places.

Documentation

In the documentation category, photographer Eric Bordelon earned the top honor with his photo of the Artemis I Prelaunch. Bordelon’s telephoto image was shot with a Nikon Z7 and 150-600mm telephoto lens at 210mm. The photo shows NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket with the Orion spacecraft aboard a mobile launcher at Launch 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The prelaunch photo was captured on August 30, 2022.

Photographer Bill Ingalls earned second place with his image of the SpaceX Crew Dragon Freedom spacecraft preparing to land off the coast of Florida, with NASA astronauts Kjell Lindgren, Robert Hines, Jessica Watkins, and European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti aboard.

Bridget Caswell’s photo of an engineer mapping out the position of rocks during VIPER testing at NASA’s Glenn Research Center won the bronze in the Documentation category. A test version of the VIPER rover is helping NASA prepare for its mission later this year to find water at the Moon’s South pole. The test rover navigates a simulated lunar surface inside NASA’s SLOPE lab, providing critical feedback to engineers.

Portrait

Photographer Josh Valcarcel won the portrait category with his fantastic portrait of NASA astronaut Bob “Farmer” Hines in an Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) spacesuit at the NASA Johnson Space Center photo studio.

PetaPixel recently interviewed Valcarcel to discuss his incredible Artemis II crew portraits. In the interview, Valcarcel discusses his photographic background, including training as a photographer in the Navy, the in-depth planning and execution of the Artemis II crew portraits, and what it’s like to be a NASA Scientific Photographer.

For her portrait of NASA quality engineer John Tota, photographer Desiree Stover earned second place. Tota is posing inside NASA’s Electro Magnetic Interference (EMI) chamber, where Tota works to ensure the quality of the flight hardware builds on the Ocean Color Instrument (OCI). OCI is an advanced optical spectrometer that will be used to measure properties of light over portions of the electromagnetic spectrum, and it will deliver more precise wavelength resolution than previous NASA satellite sensors.

Valcarcel also earned third place in the portrait category for his hair flip portrait of NASA astronaut Loral O’Hara.

People

Compared to the “portrait” category, NASA’s Photographer of the Year “people” category celebrates images of people that aren’t strictly portraits. For example, Jordan Salkin’s image of the Moog Hover Test shows a lone individual walking through the fog at the NASA Glenn Research Center at Lewis Field.

Bill Stafford’s second-place photo shows a NASA JETT3 engineering night run in Arizona. It was NASA’s third simulated moonwalk in preparation for future Artemis missions. During Artemis III, astronauts will visit the lunar South Pole region, an area no person has ever explored.

Valcarcel is back again, with an image of a Navy pilot and NASA astronaut candidate Jack “Radio” Hathaway inside a NASA T-38 jet. This image was captured during a mission to photograph the Artemis I on the launchpad at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center.

Places

Rounding out the awards is the “places” category, recognizing excellent images that show the environments where NASA’s diverse team of astronauts, researchers, and engineers work.

Photographer Jef Janis won first place with a mind-boggling image of the Aero-Acoustic Propulsion Laboratory (AAPL). Located at Glenn Research Center, AAPL is a world-class facility for conducting aero-propulsion noise reduction research.

Josh Valcarcel’s aerial photo of a squadron of T-38 jets flying overheard the Artemis I rocket on Launch Pad 39B won second place in the category. The image was captured during the same mission on August 23, 2022, as Valcarcel’s second-place winning image in the “people” category.

Valcarcel earned third place, too, with an image of astronaut Loral O’Hara, of hair-flip portrait acclaim, commanding a virtual frontier within the mock-up cupola in NASA’s Systems Engineering Simulator at Johnson Space Center.

More Great NASA Photographs

Many talented photographers work alongside the astronauts and scientists at NASA, and it’s always amazing to see behind-the-scenes looks at the important work NASA conducts. Even more great photos are available in PetaPixel’s coverage of last year’s NASA Photographer of the Year Awards.

There’s a lot of detailed information about the work of NASA photographers like Josh Valcarcel in PetaPixel’s recent interview with him about his Artemis II crew portraits.

Image credits: Images courtesy of NASA

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A well-known chef who’s earned a great reputation as a Dallas restaurant owner as well has a new and different talent to share. Good Day talked to Chef Janice Provost about the photos that make up the new exhibit titled “Captured: Beautiful Strangers.”