This spring, camera maker Canon will hold a unique tactile exhibit to allow visually impaired people to enjoy photography.

The free exhibit, “World Unseen,” will be held at Somerset House in London from Friday, April 5 through Sunday, April 7. It welcomes all visitors, whether they are blind, sighted, or partially sighted, and is held in partnership with the Royal National Institute of Blind People.

“World Unseen” will include images taken by “world-renowned photographers,” according to Canon, including multi-award-winning South African photojournalist Brent Stirton, Brazilian photojournalist Sebastião Salgado, Nigerian photojournalist Yagazie Emezi, sports photographer Samo Vidic, fashion photographer Heidi Rondak, and Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist Muhammed Muheisen. These displays will include inclusive elements like “elevated prints, audio descriptions, soundscapes and braille for a tactile experience that helps visitors connect with these powerful images and the stories they tell,” Canon explains in its press release.

“There are at least 2.2 billion people globally who have some form of visual impairment, for whom photography remains largely out of reach,” the release notes.

Additionally, the “World Unseen” exhibit offers new perspectives for sighted visitors. There will be images obscured in various ways, showing examples of different types of visual impairment, Canon explains, including glaucoma and diabetic retinopathy. There will also be an accompanying video series featuring people who are partially sighted, including disability activist Lucy Edwards and Paralympian Menna Fitzpatrick. This is viewable around the world, as well.

“While this raises awareness of accessibility in arts and cultural spaces, it also draws attention to how inclusive design heightens the experiences for everyone,” the release from Canon adds.

The camera company also noted this isn’t the first time it’s employed elevated print. “Through its proprietary PRISMAelevate XL software and Arizona printer series, Canon has been making arts more accessible for blind and partially sighted people for many years, supporting art galleries and museums globally with tactile printing and braille signage,” the company says.

“The World Unseen exhibition opens up the world of photography and enables more blind and partially sighted people to experience the emotive stories, and physical touch, of these iconic images,” Dave Williams, RNIB Inclusive Design Ambassador, explains. “As a braille user, it’s fantastic to be working with Canon to raise awareness of the possibilities of textured print and to see in action how technology can make art more accessible for people with sight loss.”

Image credits: Canon/RNIB

Photography is an art form that allows us to document life’s journey and encapsulate moments that hold profound significance. This fantastic video details one photographer’s transformation from a corporate professional to a passionate artist, giving a compelling narrative about pursuing happiness and finding solace in photography.

Coming to you from Belinda Shi, this inspirational video weaves Shi’s personal story with practical photography tips, illustrating how adversity and a drastic career change led her to discover her true passion. Shi’s tale begins in Shanghai and traverses continents, from the corporate towers of the financial district to the serene landscapes of San Francisco, eventually leading her to embrace photography. This journey is not just about leaving a high-paying job for soul-searching but also about the realization that photography can be a powerful medium for storytelling and personal growth. Shi’s experiences, from waking up at 3 a.m. to photograph an active volcano to sleeping in hammocks in jungles, underscore the richness that photography adds to life, emphasizing that the value in photography lies not in the camera equipment but in the photographer’s vision and perspective.

Moreover, Shi’s insights into photography as an art of observation and her advice on camera equipment and settings serve as a valuable resource for photographers at any skill level. By sharing her learning curve, including the trials and the failures, she inspires photographers to embrace their journeys, highlighting that the beauty of photography lies in how one sees and captures the world. Shi stresses that it’s not about the sophistication of the camera but about the photographer’s ability to find something interesting in ordinary places, a philosophy that can transform one’s approach to photography and life. Check out the video above for the full rundown from Shi.

A spectacular image of birds hunting in the waters off the Shetland Islands has been named the winner of the World Nature Photography Awards’ grand prize.

The photograph, taken by Tracey Lund from the UK, was selected from a pool of entries from across six continents.

The image features two gannets capturing a fish.

“Our winners never fail to take our breath away with their stunning images,” Adrian Dinsdale, co-founder of the WNPAs, said.

Other entries can be found on the WNPA’s website: www.worldnaturephotographyawards.com

Updated: March 26, 2024, 5:27 PM

From Rihanna to David Bowie and Billie Eilish, Superfan is an exhibition in which artists pay homage to the artists who inspire and obsess them

Concrete is the single most widely used material in the world for constructing residential homes, roads, bridges, dams and skyscrapers. But we don’t tend to see this ubiquitous material as particularly interesting or attractive and as Thomas Guillot, Chief Executive of the GCCA (Global Cement and Concrete Association) says, “we don’t always appreciate it but if we didn’t have it, we’d certainly notice” and it does “offer the potential for beautiful design, as well as durability and strength.”

Concrete in Life, an annual global photography competition founded five years ago by the GCCA, shows just how essential concrete is to our lives and how beautiful it can be. And, this year for the first time, there’s an exhibition at the Brunswick Art Gallery in London, showing this year’s winners and over 100 shortlisted images from previous competitions.

A striking image of a boy flying a kite playing on the steps of the Teopanzolco Cultural Center in Mexico, has just been named Concrete in Life Photo of the Year. It was selected from a record 21,000 entries and has won the top prize of US$10,000. The winning photograph was taken by Saeed Rezvanian, at the triangular concrete building in Cuernavaca, which was architecturally designed to pay tribute to nearby Aztec pyramid-shaped ruined temples. Saeed Rezvanian said that his “photo shows how concrete develops both artistic and functional environments in our lives. I was captivated by the children playing amongst the beautiful structures.”

This year’s judges, Thomas Guillot of the GCCA, Chris George of Digital Camera World and Paul Makovsky, of Architect Magazine chose a shortlist of images from every continent that included striking images of skyscrapers and the modern urban world, as well as key infrastructure such as sea defences, dams and piers, irrigation channels, bridges, roads and walkways. There are also photos of more intimate human interaction in rice fields, sports centers, places of worship, playgrounds and skateparks, communities and homes.

New this year, was a special people’s vote prize chosen by the public, to mark five years of the competition. The $5,000 prize was won by Muhammad Nurudin, for his image of the Mandara Toll Road in Bali. Mr Nurudin explains that the road “connects the city of Denpasar, Ngurah Rai International Airport, and Nusa Dua in Bali. Under the toll ring road there are several plots of land planted with mangroves. Farmers routinely take care of them.” Four other category winners were announced, each receiving a prize of $2,500. Owen Davies was named category winner in the urban concrete section, for his photo of the Armstrong Rubber Building in New Haven, Connecticut, in the USA.

Andre Hidayat Arrasuli won the Concrete Infrastructure category for an image of the New Priok Container Terminal in Indonesia. Alexander Arregui Leszczynska, won the Concrete Beauty and Design section for his image of the Maurerhalle, a lecture hall and multifunctional space in Basel, Switzerland. And A.P. Hari Wibowo was named category winner for Concrete in Daily Life, for a photo of the Aquatic Stadium Gelora Bung Karno, also in Jakarta. A.P. Hari Wibowo said, “the photo shows the scene at the Aquatic Stadium Gelora Bung Karno in Jakarta, and paints a vivid picture. The combination of the athletes warming up for the platform diving competition, the architecture of the stadium, the vibrant colors, and the interplay of light and shadow must indeed create a captivating and harmonious scene. It’s fantastic that I was able to capture this beauty through my camera lens.”

The Concrete in Life exhibition is open from 09:00-21:00 until 28 March 2024 at the Brunswick Art Gallery in London. It is free to visit. All the winners and shortlisted pictures can also be viewed online.