Instant film photographer Tom Robinson founded “Through the Lens and Lead,” a project consisting of Polaroid portraits paired with pencil drawings. In collaboration with Bob Greco and Dan Hureira, the installation opened in the Brooklyn Film Camera (BFC) gallery on Friday, July 5, and will be on view for the month.

“‘Lens and Lead’ was started by my friend Tom in 2017, but it took off in 2019-2020. It involves a Polaroid portrait and a representation in pencil, a self-portrait,” said Greco. “When he started posting these online, it was something that I resonated with. It felt special, intimate and tied to themes of nostalgia within Polaroid.”

Based in Newcastle, U.K., Robinson’s project expanded internationally when other photographers expressed interest in adapting Lens and Lead to their city. Hureira joined from Philadelphia, where he was active in the music scene, and Greco photographed fellow instant photographers in New York. 

“I reached out to Tom in 2021 to be in the project. My contribution was submitting pages for the book from Philadelphia, and then Bob has his in New York and Tom has his in Newcastle,” said Hureira. “In general, photography is parasitic and one-sided; one person is taking the photo, and the other is not contributing or getting anything from it. The idea of the project, from my end, is a way for both parties to contribute and create a work of art versus it being one-sided.”

The project started with Robinson asking his friend, James, to draw his perspective of a Polaroid portrait Robinson had taken. From there, Lens and Lead took shape with Robinson photographing other people and having them draw in pencil beside their Polaroids. 

“There’s a beautiful thing in the naivety of people who haven’t held a pencil in years. There’s a beautiful silence at some point when no one’s saying anything, and people are just drawing. You watch them and see their brain tick away, and how they’re about to create something, then seem proud once it’s finished. You can always see that feeling of ‘Yeah, this represents me,’” said Robinson. “I know everyone in my city, and I like to talk to people, to give something back, show my appreciation and say we’re creating this book together. My real first creative output was ‘Lens and Lead.’”

Each photographer’s rendition is unique. Greco’s book is a compilation of index cards and Polaroids, whereas Hureira and Robinson used paper books. Locations and subjects vary depending on the artist.

“You can see their individual personalities in the way they’ve chosen to approach the project and present it. It’s still got that common theme going into it, so you can tell it’s all part of the same project, but different personalities,” said Rosie Lazzari, Robinson’s partner who attended the show and helped set up the exhibit. 

On opening night, the artists took Polaroid portraits of attendees, who then chose a space on the wall to draw their pencil perspective. This version of “Lens and Lead” is plastered through the hallway. At the end of July, the pages will become a book permanently displayed at BFC.

“Photography can be two-sided. Both parties can contribute and have fun,” said Hureira. “It doesn’t have to be this crazy, serious thing. It can be light-hearted and fun. I hope when people come, they have fun.”

Kyle Depew, owner of BFC, previously worked at the Impossible Project, the group responsible for reviving Polaroid and instant film photography, from 2011-2014. Originally a studio in Bushwick, BFC moved to East Williamsburg, where it serves as a community hub for a broad spectrum of photographers.

“New York needed a film photography camera store. It’s beyond instant film. It’s community-focused, fully celebrating analog photography,” said Depew. “I had this dream of Brooklyn Film Camera 10 years ago and started it in 2015. It started humbly. We were a project in my basement. Two years ago, we moved here, and this feels good, like the final form. It ticks a lot of boxes of what we’ve always dreamed up for this project.”

While analog photography was never completely extinct in Brooklyn, the medium has undergone a resurgence in recent years. 

“The more digital our lives become, the more we reach for real things,” said Depew. “All these digital communities and platforms aren’t satisfying us on a basic spiritual level. [Analog photography] feels like an expected backlash to the over-digitization of our lives.”

BFC hosts events and workshops, sells film and cameras, services cameras, displays art and houses a vintage photo booth. The BFC gallery showcases different analog artists and works each month. 

“We had this extra wall in the space and decided to turn it into a gallery. We’re doing our second open call for work in August. We’ve put out a call for submissions on our Instagram and mailing list, and we asked artists to submit work to us to showcase new stuff.” said Carly McGoldrick, gallery and operations manager at BFC, who spearheaded the gallery and the zine collection. “Print media is important. Looking at photos on a wall is important. We do so much viewing on screens, and it’s nice to physically see a picture.”

McGoldrick noted that Hureira and Greco work at BFC alongside their artistic endeavors, and called the installation a “friends and family show.” 

Local photographers and BFC regulars noted the value of the space and its events and expressed how BFC has allowed them to tap into the analog photography community in Brooklyn.

“The nice thing about this place is that they focus on Polaroids,” said Toh Ling, a photographer and loyal BFC patron. “The community space is great, and they organize events. It’s more than a store; they have things where people apply and show in-person, and you meet people from the community. It’s a medium that might feel intimidating, but they do it in a way that feels like anyone could do it.”

Others noted the personal connection to Robinson, Greco and Hureira which brought them to the show. 

““Dan’s my boy. He’s an incredible photographer,” said Zach Schlein. “I know Dan from his music scene stuff, and there’s a rich tradition of photos capturing distinct moments. There’s something to that raw, ready immediacy and the long-standing element of having a permanent physical totem of a fleeting moment.” 

“I wasn’t aware of everything Brooklyn Film Camera did, but they do so much. It’s something so niche that not many people take an interest in, know about or know how to explore,” said Lazzari. “[BFC] does such a good job of championing that, getting people involved and seeing it as a medium that is cool.”

The show is free to visit at 855 Grand Street and will be up until the end of the month.

Every year, Greenwich’s Royal Observatory considers photos of the cosmos for its Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition. The 16th rendition of the contest does not disappoint. From distant spinning galaxies to brilliant auroras on our very own planet, the entrants in this year’s competition show off everything the heavens have to offer.

If you’re in the London area, you can see the shortlisted photos in person at the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich. But if you’re not, you can check out the shortlisted finalists below.

“A Cosmic Firework the Geminid Meteor Shower”

© Jakob Sahner

The starbursts of color are the Geminid meteor shower as seen from La Palma, one of the Canary Islands. The Milky Way also appears in the background.

“A Milky Way Mimic”

© Kevin Morefield

The galaxy NGC 6744 sits 30 million light-years from Earth, and resembles how our own galaxy would look from such a distance.

“A Night with the Valkyries”

© Jose Miguel Picon Chimelis

A beautiful combination of pinks, yellows, and greens illuminate the sky over Iceland’s Eystrahorn Mountain during a geomagnetic storm in December 2024.

“A Whale Sailing the Sun”

© Eduardo Schaberger Poupeau

This strikingly detailed image reveals the Sun’s surface. Towards the top left quarter of the Sun, a plasma filament that looks a bit like a whale “swims” across the star’s surface.

“Abandoned House”

© Stefan Liebermann

An abandoned home in Namibia’s Namib Desert, with the Milky Way hanging above it, presents a stunning contrast. The shot reminds me a bit of the landscapes in Courage the Cowardly Dog—anyone else?

“Ancestral Rocks”

© Andrea Curzi

These rock formations are located in a caldera in the Canary Islands’ Teide National Park. Behind the formations is the arc of the Milky Way.

“Arctic Dragon”

© Carina Letelier Baeza

Per the title, the aurora above Iceland’s Arctic Henge resembles a bright green dragon.

“Auroral Touch the Milky Way’s Close Encounter”

© Chester Hall-Fernandez

The deep reds of the Aurora Australis beneath the arc of the Milky Way, as seen from New Zealand’s Castle Hill.

“Cosmos in Reflection”

© Jianfeng Dai

This trippy shot captures the reflection of light from various sources across the night sky, reflected in some of the 12,000 mirrors at a power station in China.

“Earth and Milky Way Galaxy Show”

© Yoshiki Abe

A volcanic crater in Japan, the Milky Way above it.

“GUM 12 the Gum Nebula (Vela Supernova Remnant)”

© Charles Pevsner

This filamentous blue structure is a part of the Vela supernova, which exploded roughly 11,000 years ago.

“Hunter’s Moon and the ISS”

© Tom Glenn

October’s full moon is also called a Hunter’s Moon. In the foreground of the natural satellite is the International Space Station (bottom right).

“M81, a Grand Design Spiral Galaxy”

© Holden Aimar

A galaxy 11.75 million light-years away, sitting in the constellation Ursa Major.

“M100 (The Blowdryer Galaxy) and Ceres”

© Damon Mitchell Scotting

The dwarf planet Ceres is seen here as four bright spots, transiting in front of the Blowdryer Galaxy (formally M100).

“The Scream of a Dying Star”

© Yann Sainty

This eerie shot of a supernova afterglow gets its name from Edvard Munch’s “The Scream”; indeed, the stellar remnants resemble a howling person.

“Misty Mountains”

© Bence Tóth

The Pelican Nebula’s dust and gas structures, seen through a telescope in Hungary.

“Martian Dementors”

© Leonardo Di Maggio

The Martian landscape as seen by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. The image abstracts the landscape to the point that the terrain looks like a chunk of some menacing creature.

“Observations at Night”

© Jakob Sahner

A spellbinding shot of the Isaac Newton Telescope in the Canary Islands, with the Cygnus region of the Milky Way visible at top right.

“Run to Carina”

© Vikas Chander

This captivating photo from Namibia features a stone sculpture of a person in mid-stride.The Carina Nebula—which the Webb Space Telescope imaged as one of its first science targets—is visible top right.

“Saturn with Six Moons”

© Andy Casely

Behold Saturn, the ringed planet, accompanied by six of its moons. To the left, you can spot Rhea, Enceladus, and Mimas as tiny specks. Dione is visible at the bottom right, Titan at the top right, and Tethys is just about to disappear behind Saturn itself.

“Serpentine”

© Paul Haworth

These are the remains of a jetty on Norfolk’s Snettisham Beach, under a long exposure of the stars in the night sky.

“Solar Pulsation”

© Wenlian Li

A sunspot is shown here erupting on the surface of the Sun. Sunspots are darker regions on the Sun’s surface associated with the star’s magnetic field.

“The Blue Details of M45 The Pleiades”

© Sándor Biliczki

The luminous blue lights of the Pleiades, as seen from Nerpio, Spain.

“The Dance of Jupiter’s Moons”

© Marco Lorenzi

Jupiter with its moons Io and Ganymede. Io is a compelling research target for scientists, given its desolate and volcano-covered landscape.

“The Fire-Spitting Dragon”

© Moritz Telser

Here’s another aurora reminiscent of a mythical flying serpent. This photo is in black and white, an interesting approach to one of the most famously vibrant natural phenomena on Earth.

“The Galaxy Devourer”

© ShaRa

This ominous shot portends doom for a galaxy (top left), threatened by CG4, a giant cloud of gas and dust in space.

“The Inner Dust Lanes of M104 (The Sombrero Galaxy)”

© Kevin Morefield

This image, captured using a telescope at Chile’s El Sauce Observatory, shows the incredibly flat M104, or Sombrero Galaxy, including the dust that permeates the object.

“The International Space Station Daytime Moon Transit”

© Kelvin Hennessy

A composite image showing the transit of the ISS across the face of the Moon.

“The Palette of the Himalayas”

© Geshuang Chen

An iridescent rainbow of the Sun’s corona as it appears in altostratus clouds above the Himalayan mountains.

“Total Solar Eclipse”

© Gwenaël Blanck

An arguably obligatory image of a total solar eclipse. This one was captured in Australia in April 2023; the image is made of seven superimposed photos that capture different states of the eclipse.

Experience the breathtaking beauty and spirited essence of horses through the lens of acclaimed photographer Jesse Frohman, whose latest exhibition, entitled “Equine Elegance,” will be showcased at The Adelphi and Salt & Char beginning July 16, right after the start of the annual Saratoga Race Course meet.

Photographed at two major show barns in Florida—Uphill Farm and Evermore Farm—this collection features champion show horses such as Circa and the legendary Catch Me. For this exhibition, Frohman has used his distinctive visual style to capture horses’ magnificent grace, power and soul, set against the charming landscapes of beautiful Wellington, Florida. This collection celebrates the profound impact of horses on human culture and history, perfectly complementing Saratoga Springs’ rich equestrian heritage.

Renowned for his compelling portraiture of cultural icons, Frohman cemented his reputation with his iconic photo series “Kurt Cobain: The Last Session.” Beyond celebrity portraits, his work spans fashion and editorial photography and has been featured in major publications such as Vogue, Vanity Fair and Rolling Stone. His work is also in the permanent collections of the National Portrait Gallery and the Musuem of Modern Art (MOMA).

Join us for this captivating exhibition, curated by Nicole Ianniello, and immerse yourself in the majestic beauty of Frohman’s photography. Don’t miss this unique opportunity to witness these stunning works during Saratoga’s vibrant summer season—and come back this fall for Frohman’s artist talk, to be scheduled soon.

[email protected]

“…imagine waiting for the train, with no interest or even familiarity in wrestling, and then seeing the doors open with people fighting in costumes and people screaming and cheering it all on,” says the incredible NYC Street Photographer Willie Velazquez in an interview with the Phoblographer. “LOL, that just made me laugh thinking about it from an elderly woman’s perspective.” Similar to photographer Steven Ferdman, Willie has gained the trust of the organizers to be able to photograph some of the wildest fights we’ve seen on the NYC subway.

All images by Willie Velazquez. Used with permission. Please visit his website and his Instagram for more.

NYC’s subways have been home to some pretty insane happenings since before the 1980s, as we’ve seen from Steven Siegal. While working on our Panasonic S9 review, we photographed dancers doing moves that would mesmerize and bedazzle any tourist. Stephen Hearst and Aaron Peg have done incredible fashion portraits on the subway. At the same time, Gretchen Robinette is in-part known for her series of candid portraits on her commutes. So it was only a matter of time until an underground wrestling federation formed.

We’d never condone any photographer to risk their life for their images. In fact, we’ve even called Drift, his work, and his representation by Robert Mann Gallery out for this. It’s a matter of our existence in this city that crazy performance art happens all the time. But this time around, it’s based on the attention economy — and Willie is there to document it.

Like pretty much all other wrestling, it’s all fake. Coined Subwaymania, it’s organized and created by content creator and wrestling aficionado/fanatic Tim “HANN” Rivera.”As chaotic as it looks, they’re really well organized and conscious of everybody’s safety.” explains Willie. “Tim takes the time to let everyone in attendance know to be alert and aware of their surroundings. If there’s anybody in the car that’s not part of it, just a regular commuter, he politely lets them know what’s going on so they can make a choice to get off.” To keep things low-key, they make no noise when the subway stops at platforms. This makes the safety not much of an issue, Velazquez claims.

“Overall safety’s no more an issue than any other train ride, honestly. “Yeah, we’re all bouncing around and pushing into each other, but everybody’s respectful and … I mean, you’re watching guys wrestle on a train for fun… you kind of should know what you’re signing up for. There’s even been kids in attendance, with their parents, of course. And those kids have a ton of fun and are made to feel like champs themselves.”

Willie Velazquez

After seeing it happen online, Willie thought it was hilarious and, by pure luck, happened to be at the wrestling matches. He find it fun and nostalgic. Like so many of us, he was into the WWF, WCW, ECW, etc. There are entire generations of us who did Stone Cold Stunners and the D-Generation X symbols. “Me and my nephews had our own federation along with finest hand crafted championship belts made out of leather and cardboard,” explains Willie. “…Frankly, I find it to be just as good as the real thing, if not better. The performers are hilarious and really selling it, and they’re definitely taking the hits, too; there is absolutely no padding anywhere in a subway car.”

Rising junior Oliver Marks already has worlds of experience with both written journalism and photography, and is using them to make an impact this summer.

16-year-old High School Insider summer intern Oliver Marks is already covering all of the bases, so to speak. Aside from being an adept pitcher and third baseman on Pasadena’s Polytechnic School’s baseball team, Silver Lake native and rising high school junior Marks has proven a valuable resource to the Poly Paw Print, serving as both the Sports Section Editor and Photo Editor. 

Evidently, he’s a bit of a journalism renaissance man; Marks decided to continue journalism after an introduction to it in middle school, and has kept it up into high school. A newer pursuit for him, however, is photography—a skill that transfers perfectly into the field of photojournalism. 

“I took a [journalism] class in eighth grade just because all my friends were taking it. We only met, like, once a week. But the teacher was really nice, although we didn’t write too many of our own articles; we would kind of just piece together other articles and, like, pass them off as news. But it got me into it, “ said Marks. “So I decided to join the paper at the start of my freshman year, and then I started photography, I’d say around last May.”

Travel photography is another focus of Marks’, besides sports. (photo by Oliver Marks)
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Travel photography is another focus of Marks’, besides sports. (photo by Oliver Marks)

According to Marks, the two facets of producing content for a newspaper are both crucial to his work.

“They definitely go hand in hand, especially because even before I was doing sports photography, I was doing sports writing.” 

“One of the reasons why [I started] is while I was writing, I was always complaining that the pictures they would pair with my articles were not very good, and it would kind of make my writing look a little like meh,” he said. “So I decided, oh, I could do that. I could do that better. So my dad happened to get a camera around the same time, because he also used to do photography, and I kind of stole it. And so then, yeah, I started experimenting with it. And I think it definitely helps tell my story.”

So by honing both skills simultaneously, Marks cuts a striking image for a possible future in journalism. With the ability to capture events he covers both verbally and visually, he takes his coverage to new heights, avoiding the disconnect that threatens stories with accompanying photographs by a different person. From writing articles for the popular “Athlete of the Issue” series to taking travel snapshots for his photography-based Instagram account, Oliver Marks has skills for media that are rare among journalists. 

And within the fields of both writing and photography, sports are big for Marks; he has been playing baseball since he was in preschool, and quickly took to sports writing upon joining the staff of the Paw Print. Having moved up the ranks, he will start his second year as both the Sports and Photography Editor this coming school year. In fact, sports are such a big focus of his time in journalism that Marks will be spending his summer as a High School Insider Intern covering the rise of flag football in high school and international athletics, as a safer and more inclusive alternative to the tackle version of the traditional American sport. 

Marks was just four years old when he started playing baseball, and now plays for both his school and his club team. (photo courtesy of Oliver Marks)
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Marks was just four years old when he started playing baseball, and now plays for both his school and his club team. (photo courtesy of Oliver Marks)

As for his plans for the rest of high school and beyond, he is still unsure, beyond knowing that he wants to continue to focus on exploring and photography, especially sports photography.

“I think I’m gonna see where [photography] can take me. I’ve only been taking pictures for myself and for my high school, so I’m going to see if I can start branching out a little more and doing commercial work, or working with colleges or even professional teams. So that’s that would be the dream,” said Marks.

“I like all kinds of photography, except, like, studio photography; it’s so artificial. I prefer just kind of being in the moment. But yeah, I think if I were to pursue it further, it would be in sports photography.”

Besides journalism and photography, Marks also occupies his free time by playing baseball, cooking, listening to music, watching television, and taking walks. 

As he looks to expand his photography horizons with new types of work, Marks snaps photos whenever he can. (photo by Oliver Marks)
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As he looks to expand his photography horizons with new types of work, Marks snaps photos whenever he can. (photo by Oliver Marks)

Marks attributes the most significant positive impact in his life to his parents. His father has a background in journalism, but it was their combined encouragement throughout his life that he claims has contributed to his current-day successes.

“They both pushed me to be my best, and they’re really inspiring. So they’re always giving me guidance,” he said.

Overall, as a journalist and a person, Oliver Marks has a lot to take pride in, but highlights one aspect of his life as most valuable.

“I’m proud of the confidence I have in my work, I think. Just putting myself out there and kind of trying to build a brand, and an image for myself.”

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