I woke up the other day and turned on the news. One of the big stories of the day was the controversy about a modified image of Kate Middleton and her family. Being a photographer, I was highly intrigued by this story.

By now, most of you have seen the image.

At first, people were talking about one or two areas of the image that were manipulated. Now that a couple of days have passed, experts have located many areas of the photo that have been retouched.

But my question is: Why is this such a big deal?

I can tell you that every family portrait I have ever taken has been retouched to one extent or the other.

Here is what I am typically modifying:

• Adjustments to exposure, shadows, highlights and white balance (if needed)
• Removal of fly away hairs that are distracting (either going through the face, flying into the air, or going into another person)
• Removal of dust or pet hair on people’s clothing
• Removing skin imperfections (bad acne or shaving cuts)
• Removal of strings hanging off clothing
• Removal of distractions in the background (bright spots, exit signs, polls)

And sometimes I will even do the following:

• Whitening of eyes if needed
• Lightening of wrinkles (typically around the eyes)
• Head swaps (if a person had their eyes closed in a group shot)

During the CBS newscast, one of the anchormen said “I don’t understand why any photo needs to be retouched” to which I laughed. I am sure that this same person has plenty of portraits that have been taken and modified, whether he knows it or not.

I have said this many times in the past. I think that every photo needs some retouching, in one form or another. So I don’t understand why people are making such a big deal about this photo. Kate Middleton is known for being a photo enthusiast and she has taken many of her own photos in the past. But she is not a professional, and would not have the same Photoshop skills as we would. It looks to me like she was making the same modifications I would do, but just not as proficient at the process.

Yes, she is a royal which means that the spotlight is on her and her family. But is this photo controversy really worth the scrutiny that they are putting her through? I think that there are much bigger and more relevant issues in the world.

I just thought I would put my thoughts out there. What do you think?

On the second floor of the prestigious Saatchi Gallery in West London, small circular splotches of ruby, slate and marigold fill a large framed print hanging on the wall.

Passersby from a photography group remark that it looks like the work of 19th-century Austrian painter Gustav Klimt. But it’s not a Klimt. In fact, it’s not even a painting.

It’s an aerial photograph of salt ponds in Senegal, captured in 2019 by Canadian photographer Edward Burtynsky. Digging shallow ponds allows workers to harvest the salt, which from Burtynsky’s vantage point made the Earth’s surface look like a porous, multi-coloured sponge.

The Saatchi is currently devoting two floors to an exhibition entitled ​​Burtynsky: Extraction/Abstraction, the largest of his storied career. The collection, which he calls a survey of what he’s been doing for the past 40 years, features 94 large-format photographs, 13 murals and an augmented reality experience curated by Marc Mayer, the former director of the National Gallery of Canada and Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal.

Burtynsky’s photographs take the audience from a waste transfer site in Scarborough, Ont., to the swirling grey swaths of a tailings pond at Wesselton Diamond Mine in South Africa, the world’s fifth-largest diamond producer by volume (about 9.6 million carats a year).

“The urgency that I’ve been feeling over the last decade has now hit a kind of a fever pitch,” Burtynsky told CBC News.

Burtynsky, who is also showing some of his work at the Flowers Gallery in London, says he has spent more than four decades “bearing witness” to the way civilization has transformed the planet, and hopes this exhibition will “move us all to a place of positive action.”

Whether or not Burtynsky has been successful in his mission, however, is uncertain. Some critics say that rather than confronting viewers with the reality of environmental destruction, his undeniably arresting photos distance them from it. 

Indeed, some visitors to the Saatchi Gallery said they were more interested in the images than the sobering context.

“I’m not sure I need to know the details of whether it’s in Senegal or Turkey, Chile or, you know, the Skeleton Coast or Russia,” said Tony Greenwood, a self-proclaimed Burtynsky fan. “I mean, it’s interesting, but to be honest with you, I prefer to just stand back and just be a bit awestruck.”

A quiet kind of activism

Others think Burtynsky fulfils his brief. 

“It has an impact on you from an environmental perspective that you don’t get from looking at it on a small scale,” said Mark Smith, an amateur photographer who visited the exhibition with his wife, Helen.

The exhibition, which opened last month and runs until early May, features a “process room” that houses some of Burtynsky’s cameras and behind-the-scenes images of him in the field, as well as a personal journal from 1983.

In it, Burtynsky outlined what would become the thesis for his work: “We as a species are taking voraciously from nature. But my work will focus on both nature and how we take from nature; the industry and the conversion of nature into the products that we consume.”

Smith thinks Burtynsky’s work is “a far better way” of getting people to think about environmental degradation than protests.

“This is reflecting back what’s actually happening. This scale just makes you think, wow, there is something that needs doing here. Whereas somebody gluing themselves to the top of a train or whatever — it’s just getting in my way. It’s just irritating me. And I just think these people are fools.”

Smith is referring to Just Stop Oil, a British environmental activist group that uses civil disobedience to demand “the U.K. government stop licensing all new oil, gas and coal projects,” according to its website.

Group members have made headlines in recent years for gluing themselves to central London streets, forcing the shutdown of major roads and disrupting international sporting events such as the Wimbledon tennis championships.

“We’re basically talking about the need for a revolution on so many levels at this point in our history,” said Adrian Johnson, a spokesperson for Just Stop Oil. “The government, the media in general, are just not getting the message through reliably, accurately and fully enough to the general public: We are destroying our only home.”

Targeting galleries

Just Stop Oil has also targeted cultural institutions. In 2022, two supporters threw tomato soup over Vincent Van Gogh’s Sunflowers in London’s National Gallery. The painting was unaffected, thanks to its protective glass case, but the two activists then glued themselves to the wall beneath the painting, which has left a mark from where the wall was repaired, according to Johnson. 

“I was recently in the National Gallery and, to be honest, the most moving thing that I saw amongst all of the beautiful art was … the marks of where their hands were,” he said. 

Johnson says the reason cultural centres are a frequent focal point of disruption is because of funding from the fossil fuel industry. For example, last December, it was announced that BP had made a £50-million ($86 million Cdn) deal with the British Museum to help fund a structural redevelopment project.

In 2017, a report released by the Carbon Majors Database showed 100 fossil fuel companies have been the source of more than 70 per cent of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions since 1988.

Burtynsky told The Telegraph newspaper in January that the choice many art institutions are facing between accepting funding from “big banks and other hugely profitable businesses” or going bust is a difficult one. 

“At a certain point, if every artist and arts organization worldwide turns down hugely valuable funding, there’s an undeniable risk of them being starved out of existence. The objections and criticisms are valid, because this [climate] crisis we’re facing is real … But perhaps those energies can be shifted,” he said in an email statement to CBC News. 

“These are big issues that we’re facing,” he said. “At this time in my life, to wade into those issues is beyond me. And it’s not where my strengths lie. My strengths lie, I think, in visualizing and storytelling.”

When asked about Burtynsky’s form of activism — capturing and displaying evidence of the planet’s destruction — Just Stop Oil’s Johnson says he supports it, but that it’s “not going to be enough.”

“That is why I would say there is the need and the legitimate invitation for civil disobedience, kind of like a radical flank … Changes in society for the better have shown us time and time again that you basically need to address it on all fronts.”

For the last decade in my job as a photographer, I have traveled the country to take pictures of young people and listen to their stories.

I am confident when I tell you the most important thing I’ve learned:

They are going to be fine.

Yes, the kids stare at their phones. A lot. And yes, they watch mind-numbingly inane videos, and yes, they share way too much on social media.

They also survived a once-in-a-century pandemic, live with economic uncertainty and an especially nasty political environment — and they are growing up with the frightening and unpredictable effects of climate change. Let’s cut them some slack.

Through interviews and photoshoots with thousands of kids, many of them shown in my new book, “Force of Nature: A Celebration of Girls and Women Raising Their Voices,” I have been privileged to spend time with young people who are kind, inquisitive, ambitious, creative and desperate to make the world a better place.

Meet Zoe, who created a line of dolls with hair just like hers. At 10, she is the CEO of her own company. Lindsey, at 16, along with three classmates, started a lawsuit against the US Department of Education due to numerous changes to Title IX that limited protections of those reporting and protected the accused. And Sunny, 8, who is fighting for her right to play sports in her home state of Texas.

Perhaps the thing I find most inspiring about these kids is their commitment to inclusivity and diversity and simply being nice to each other. They are more open to differences in race, gender, sexuality, body type and background, and are actively working to create a more welcoming society. The hang-ups and prejudices of older generations are not theirs.

There is a tendency when talking about younger generations to mythologize what times were like “in our day.” The grass was greener, the sky was bluer, and movies cost $4.50.

However, “in our day,” we were also less accepting to kids who were different, less understanding of mental health issues, less attuned to the dangers of bullying, and we were more likely to acquiesce to preconceived gender roles. Children today care deeply about those issues and are actively working to make things better.

Witnessing the potential and hope embodied by the younger generation fills me with pride and not a small amount of awe. This generation has found their voices and is using them to create lasting change.

Elizabeth, who earned valedictorian of her college class as a nonspeaking autistic emphasizes how important it is to find and use our voice. Through the technology of her adaptive speaking device, she told her class: “God gave you a voice. Use it. And no, the irony of a nonspeaking autistic encouraging you to use your voice is not lost on me. Because if you can see the worth in me, then you can see the worth in everyone you meet.”

Here are some of the amazing kids I met, in their own words.

CG, 15

“My twin brother wrestled, and I asked my dad if I could do it too,” CG said. “I never felt like I couldn’t do something because I was a girl.”

Zoe, 10

“I am on a mission to empower the next generation of curly and confident girls that will change the world,” Zoe said. “I make dolls with relatable skin tones and hairstyles for other girls that look like me.”

Sunny, 8

Sunny wants trans kids in the future not to have to fight like her.

“I like playing sports because I love making friends and running fast. When my mom told me about the anti-trans bills in Texas, I wanted to speak for myself. I will keep speaking out until my voice is heard. I’d be so sad if I couldn’t play softball anymore, but it’s not just about losing sports. It is about my right to live.”

Mistura, 16

“I advocate for refugee and immigrant issues,” Mistura said. “I emigrated from Nigeria when I was six, so I know what it is like growing up in a place that is not home and then having to push yourself to call that place home. Speaking up about this issue brings me so much peace because I am constantly thinking about those who don’t have a voice like I do.”

Elizabeth, 25

Elizabeth has a nonprofit organization that helps others like her find their voices.

“God gave you a voice. Use it.  And no, the irony of a nonspeaking autistic encouraging you to use your voice is not lost on me.  Because if you can see the worth in me, then you can see the worth in everyone you meet.”

Jai, 17

Jai is part of Brown Girls Do Ballet, which increases representation of underrepresented populations in ballet.

“When I dance, my movements tell a story: the story of a brown dancer, an artist, an advocate, and a voice for the voiceless. My tights match my brown skin tone, which represents my past, my present, and my bright future.”

Regan, 18

Regan lost her sister to cancer and, in the wake of that loss, made it her mission to bring light to those going through the same battle as her sister, Emerson.

“When I was 15, I lost my sister – my best friend to cancer.  Ever since that day, my mission has been to bring light to people about childhood cancer.  I believe the only way to bring attention to something is to use your voice.  Through Smasherson, the foundation that my family created to honor my sister, I am able to tell her story to so many people and help them to understand how important it is to support these causes.”

Lindsey, 18

Along with three classmates, Lindsey started a lawsuit against the US Department of Education due to numerous additions to Title IX under President Donald Trump that they say limited protections of those reporting Title IX violations and protected the accused.

“What could a group of high schoolers possibly do about a federal law? Turns out, we can use the power of the law ourselves. Although the lawsuit did not succeed, the Biden administration announced an executive order that overturned the regulations the same day our lawsuit went public.”

Sydney, 10

Sydney endeavors to make her school a safe and bully-free zone.

“I was elected a Love Leader at my school.  I try to let people know to stay strong.  Hurt people hurt people. It’s not you, it’s them.  There’s been some bullying at my school, and it is not okay.  It’s important to take words seriously.  I want to make school a place where everyone can feel welcomed, safe and comfortable.”

A new exhibition in a Paseo art gallery aims to show how Oklahoma is as captivating as any place in the world.

JRB at the Elm is featuring the work of filmmaker and Prairie Surf Media co-founder, Matt Payne.

However, this exhibition features his work through a different medium, still photography.

The world through 105 millimeters, may give you a lens into his world.

“You’re capturing beauty in these places that are totally unique to these moments in time,” says Payne.

Payne works to capture beauty in the small and large, but he also works to see beyond beauty.

“I want there to be more than a photograph,” Payne explains. “I want there to be a story.”

There are stories across the 6 continents he’s travelled to displayed in the JRB gallery.

“Some of the most beautiful places in the world,” he says – adding there is none he finds more beautiful than where he calls home.

“To me, the Oklahoma photographs are the ones I’m most proud of. They’re the most unique,” he says. “As much natural beauty, or as much cultural beauty as everywhere I’ve been.”

Payne’s Oklahoma home called to him during his time in L.A. It’s the home where he helped open Prairie Surf Studios and started Prairie Surf Creative.

It’s a home where skies have no limits.

“These post storm mammatus clouds, these collapsing super cells, a super cell spinning up, foggy morning,” Payne says of his favorite weather events to shoot. “What ultimately I want is, I want the world to celebrate Oklahoma the way that I celebrate it; the way we collectively celebrate it.”

It’s a way to celebrate the beauty captured in 46.9 pixels. It’s all through a lens picked up when Matt’s own story took a turn.

“When a friend of mine passed away,” Payne said. “I tried really seeking out beauty to get through some of the pain that caused.”

There’s salve in each shutter and beauty in each story. The story of a unique moment in time and of the one who see it in 105 millimeters.

“They’re a deeper beauty. It’s the beauty of our people,” Payne says. “How beautiful the souls of the people are here.”

The exhibition will be open through the end of April.

National Geographic is justly renowned for its incredible photographs and eye-popping video footage, capturing all manner of natural marvels in gorgeous, jaw-dropping detail. Now the people behind those amazing shots are getting their moment in the spotlight with the documentary series, Photographer.

If you’ve ever wanted to know more about what it’s really like to be a NatGeo photographer, this series will take you behind the scenes as the photographers strive to meet the challenges and inevitable surprise obstacles to get that timeless shot. Each episode focuses on a different photographer, combining vérité footage with in-depth interviews and archival footage to help viewers see the world through their eyes—whether it be capturing a hummingbird in flight, chronicling a campaign against oil rigs in the Bahamas, or recording protests, rocket launches, tornadoes, or the behavior of whales, to name a few.

The exclusive clip above features photographer Anand Varma, who started out studying marine biology, intent on following in his father’s footsteps as a scientist, But after taking a job as a camera assistant, he fell in love with photography and has carved out his own niche at the interface of science and art. His latest project is a photographic series centered on metamorphosis—in this case, trying to capture the formation and hatching of a chicken embryo on camera.

That’s a daunting challenge, and as the opening scene reveals, Varma’s first attempt failed. “The Saran Wrap eggs are not doing very well at all,” he tells the camera after working well into the wee hours. Environmental conditions have to be tightly controlled but overnight both the main humidifier stopped working and the backup humidifier didn’t kick in. That made the embryos’ environment 18° F hotter than it should have been. But Varma perseveres and eventually succeeds, commenting that a new growing embryo after 12 days resembles “a little velociraptor foot.” The embryo is actually blinking inside its unshelled yolk.

Photographer premieres on the National Geographic Channel on March 18 and will be available for streaming on Disney+ and Hulu on March 19.

Listing image by YouTube/National Geographic