… there is a universal manner to settle disputes which crosses the lines of all species and that is combat … food gathering is also a necessity common to all species.

In the photo above we have a coopers hawk that has found captured, de-feathered and is consuming its dinner … quail … we like them too! coopers hawks primarily dine on other birds.

In the photo below we have a coopers hawk in combat with a pair of crows that delight in terrorizing other creatures in the neighborhood. The coopers hawks are favorite targets, but usually the coopers hawk comes out on top in these disputes. I have a photo of the same birds in the same tree on another day in which I got a sequence where a crow was coming in for an attack on the perched coopers hawk and the hawk reared back and body slammed the crow as he came buy, sending him tumbling through the air towards the ground.

We used to have ravens in the neighborhood, but quite a few years ago a large group (murder) of crows moved in and chased out the competition … crows are incredibly intelligent and pursue other birds in groups such as below one on one is not smart!

Both of these shots were taken in my yard … the back deck is a very good place to be, with camera and mug of coffee … take the time to learn more about your neighbors too, not just the human ones … many life lessons can be observed and learned.

Have a beautiful day … stay cool, keep breathing and smile.

Cheers,

Ted

Forbid that I should judge others
lest I condemn myself.
Let me not follow the clamor of
the world, but walk calmly
in my path. Give me a few friends
who will love me for what
I am, and keep ever burning
before my vagrant steps
the kindly light of hope.

excerpt from A Prayer by Max Ehrmann

###

The easiest way to reach Mr. Grussing is by email: ted@tedgrussing.com

In addition to sales of photographs already taken Ted does special shoots for patrons on request and also does air-to-air photography for those who want photographs of their airplanes in flight. All special photographic sessions are billed on an hourly basis.

Ted also does one-on-one workshops for those interested in learning the techniques he uses.  By special arrangement Ted will do one-on-one aerial photography workshops which will include actual photo sessions in the air.

More about Ted Grussing …

There are so many talented photographers, and sometimes they pop up in unexpected ways. When scouring a Nikon Z8 Facebook group while writing the story about the Nikon Z8 strap lug issue, an incredible image of a Great Gray Owl carrying its prey through the air popped up.

The photo, captured by Washington-based photographer Betsy Carmona, spurred a conversation with Carmona, where PetaPixel learned more about her photography and how her new Nikon Z8 helped her make the stunning wildlife image.

It is always exciting when the work of a photography enthusiast, someone who is genuinely passionate about capturing images, catches a PetaPixel writer’s eye. For example, while wildlife photographer Ateeb Hussain has a fairly large Instagram following, his incredible shot, “A Mother’s Desperation,” caught PetaPixel’s attention on Reddit.

Not to take anything away from the incredible work of established professionals with huge online presences, but there is something special about seeing a breathtaking shot in places other than Instagram or a pro’s website.

Photographer Betsy Carmona Captures Stunning Great Gray Owl Photos

Carmona’s Facebook feed features multiple excellent photos of Great Gray Owls. Carmona tells PetaPixel that she made a few trips to photograph this family during a recent trip to eastern British Columbia. She made three visits to the area during a four-day trip. “We spent about one to one and a half hours per visit. We went at times when we knew they would be active and kept our visits short and spread out.”

The image at the top shows the owl family patriarch bringing a meal to his children, which Carmona says he was doing nearly nonstop all day as the owlets cannot yet fend for themselves.

“Dad does most of the wing work getting meals to mom and the kids until they fledge, but he’ll keep feeding them until they can hunt on their own. Mom tends to be the lookout and protector and keeps her ears open for predators. They have remarkable hearing. She’ll get out and feed them when they are more capable,” Carmona writes.

Carmona’s favorite subject is wildlife, although she describes herself as a “generalist” who “likes to shoot everything.” Aiming to accurately reflect nature as her camera sees it, Carmona explains that she tries to “get the best capture in camera” and perform only “light editing.” She tries to “present nature as I saw it,” Carmona tells PetaPixel.

Carmona’s Move to Mirrorless Has Resulted in More Keepers

The Nikon Z8 is Carmona’s first mirrorless camera, and she says that it is her fastest transition ever to a new camera. “It’s a new and super-improved D850,” Carmona says to PetaPixel — her most recent camera was the Nikon D850.

Despite a few hiccups here and there, the camera has proven extremely popular with many photographers. It is one of the best cameras for wildlife photography.

“I’m a hand holder and was shooting with a D850, with a grip, and it weighed between seven and eight pounds. Since switching over to the Z8, I have dropped around two pounds. The compact form of the camera and its lighter weight makes it easier to maneuver the camera in hand,” Carmona explains.

She had previously used the D850 with the optional battery grip. “One of the reasons I had a grip on the D850 was to get those two extra frames, but now it’s a non-issue, and I have solved the battery issue by attaching a power bank to it, which I keep in a shoulder bag.”

“I have seen the light,” Carmona tells PetaPixel of the move to mirrorless. She says she had been a longtime holdout as she was worried that Nikon’s mirrorless cameras could not quite match the image quality of her Nikon D850, which Carmona describes as “a good soldier.”

“The Z8 is outstanding for wildlife, a big improvement over the D850 on keeper rate. Coming from a D850, the autofocus on the Z8 is outstanding,” Carmona says. “But the camera is not a mind reader, and you have to choose the right autofocus for the conditions and be flexible to make changes on the fly.”

Nikon 500mm f/5.6 PF Lens is a Lightweight Dream for Handheld Photography

Carmona captures wildlife photos with the popular Nikon 500mm f/5.6E PF ED AF-S Nikkor VR lens, a very compact and incredible super-telephoto prime lens for Nikon F mount. Nikon’s FTZ adapter lets photographers use F-mount lenses on Nikon’s mirrorless Z cameras. Given that she moved from a D850, Carmona’s suite of lenses for that DSLR will work perfectly well on her new Z8.

The Nikon Z8 and 500mm f/5.6 PF lens make for a very powerful, lightweight combination. Being able to easily handhold the kit allows Carmona to accurately follow owls in flight. While a photographer’s talent and perseverance are always vital to making great photos, Carmona’s new Z8 mirrorless camera has helped her find additional success.

For now, the best place to see Betsy Carmona’s photography is on her Facebook page. She is currently working on relaunching her photography website.

Image credits: All images © Betsy Carmona

Every year since 1970 the international photo community descends upon the South of France to celebrate Les Rencontres des Arles, the international photography festival. For the last six years, as part of the annual photography event, Dior has partnered with Luma Arles and the Ecole Nationale Superieure de la Photographie in Arles (ENSP) to present the Dior Photography and Visual Arts Award for Young Talents, which honors one winner from the selected finalists, as well as an exhibition of works by 12 finalists at LUMA Arles.

This year, the photo series of 12 unknown artists, which reflected upon the recurrent annual theme of “face to face” were presented to a jury, which was presided over by Brazilian fashion photographer Rafael Pavarotti, as well as other notables such as Dior Creative and Image Director for Dior Make-Up, Peter Philips. Ultimately, the jury selected the photography series Mont Lion, by Iris Millot as the winner. Millot’s work was celebrated (along with the other finalists) at a cocktail reception and awards ceremony, and subsequent seated dinner at LUMA in early July.

Millot (second from the left) pictured with the panel of jurors for the sixth annual Dior Photography and Visual Arts Award for Young Talents at the cocktail reception and awards ceremony on July 7.

The winning series explores the life Millot’s great aunt Helene who has spent the last 40 years cultivating isolated family farmland. Through both still life and portraiture, Millot presents an illustration of life choices and the traces that they leave behind, interweaving time, personal decisions, and social strata for a unique meditation on both farming history and the women’s liberation movement. Millot describes her project as an almost literal interpretation of the theme “face to face,” explaining that it’s the meeting of two women from two different generations.

“It was the rediscovery of someone’s life and past, through a young gaze,” she said. “I tried to collect a piece of her story and through my own gaze, make it my story too. At the meeting of both of our gazes, it becomes a new story. Almost like it’s part fiction, too.”

At the nexus of both personal and historical, is Millot’s talent for merging the technical with a creative outlook. In this project in particular, the young visionary describes the process as taking the banal and the documentarian quality of the subject matter, and moving it into the space of fiction as well. “I would like to make a movie based on this project and this story, because it’s almost like there’s a cinematic quality to it, in its many fragments,” said Millot.

On what the honor of this award means to her, Millot explained that she was very proud of the opportunity to take the story of her great aunt and expose a wide audience to it. “It is my hope to evolve it into many other exhibition projects.”

Juror Peter Philips explained why Millot’s photoseries was a natural fit for the award. “The winner told a very moving story with her images about an older woman, it’s visually compelling, emotionally touching, while also technically masterful. She ticked off all of the boxes.”

On the recurrent theme face to face, Philips notes that this concept galvanizes emotions because there’s an element of confrontation inherent to it. “With face to face, there’s a confrontation of a story that you want to tell. It’s not just about what you see. It’s also about telling a story while looking inward. That duality is like a confrontation. And how to visually share that confrontation is such an expression of creativity.”

Millot’s work will be on exhibition at the Grande Halle at LUMA in Arles alongside that of the 12 finalists until September 24, 2023.

Though Philips, no stranger to photography in both his schooling and professional life on set as a makeup artist, is not keen on judgement, he is emphatic about the value of Dior presenting this annual exhibition and award. “It’s a great platform and a different way to get exposure or discover new parts of the industry. It’s a reminder that there’s a world out there that appreciates the value of visual art, and there are people all over the globe who may not normally have the opportunity for this kind of exposure. In all of this, there’s also not just the possibility, but the potential to push them and stimulate their work further,” he said.

A view of the seated dinner to celebrate this year’s finalists and winner of the Dior Photography and Visual Arts Award for Young Talents.

Upon the awarding of the 2023 Dior Photography and Visual Arts Award for Young Talents, which was celebrated on July 7, Iris Millot received a grant from the House of Dior as well as a creative commission. Her photographs are now in exhibition at the Grande Halle at Luma Arles along with the works of the 12 finalists until September 24.

Deputy Digital Lifestyle Director

As the deputy digital lifestyle director at Town & Country, Roxanne Adamiyatt covers fashion, beauty, wellness, design and travel. 

“What is more powerful than fear?” SeaLegacy asks, “Hope. As a simple word, it holds a sheer strength to propel you forward when it appears you have little left to hold on to. A wanting glimpse, an immense presence, or a passing thought, hope draws into any mind that seeks its guidance. And it is the very word that leads and embodies our co-founders, Cristina Mittermeier, Andy Mann, and Paul Nicklen.”

To truly understand the depth of this message, the Town of Greenwich is co-hosting cool Arctic and nautical images by celebrated wildlife photographers and partners Paul Nicklen and Cristina Mittermeier at C. Parker Gallery in Greenwich, Connecticut. This gallery showcase of the Canadian and Mexican-born photographers has been extended a full month through July 30th. But as with the realities of climate change, time is running out!

Greenwich is an affluent enclave 40 minutes from Manhattan, and these works have also drawn attention from such pedigreed stars as Justin Timberlake (rumored Connecticut resident) as well as Prince Hussain Aga Khan, Jennifer Garner and Katie Couric. But celebrity aside, both photographers co-founded the organization SeaLegacy.org in 2014, where they use their images spreading the message to save the planet to as wide an audience as possible.

Their work has been published in hundreds of prominent magazines, including National Geographic, TIME, the Washington Post, and CNN among others.

“My photographs are a way of lowering the price of entry into the most important conversation we can have,” Mittermeier explained to Zain Asher in a CNN International video shared with the press release, “And that is the future of life on earth.”

“If we don’t acknowledge the system that has been keeping us alive for millions of years, then we’ll disappear,” Nicklen echoed.

If you are not interested in solely acquiring an image, Mittermeier and Nicklen invite smaller-donor members to join The Tide, an ocean-focused initiative to save turtles and other important marine wildlife directly through SeaLegacy.org.

Two years ago, The Los Angeles Times declared that hashtags had “fallen out of style.” A decade after they were first introduced on Instagram, hashtags were starting to feel “dated and cringeworthy.” But that shift came with one major caveat: influencers still relied on hashtags to monetize their content. The emergence of TikTok, where people used hashtags to surface on the main feed, was largely to thank for the hashtag renaissance of the early 2020s.   

In 2023, are hashtags “corny” or relevant? Maybe both. In any case, they can be effective: using the right photography hashtags helps to make your content more discoverable, increasing the likelihood that potential clients will be able to find your work. That’s true whether you’re using TikTok or Instagram. 

According to research conducted last year by HubSpot, 80% of Instagram marketers report that hashtags were effective in their Instagram strategy. 32% say that optimizing posts with relevant hashtags is an effective strategy when gaining your first 1,000 followers. What’s more, those surveyed indicate that 19% of Instagram impressions come from hashtags. 

Research photography hashtags

As for the number of photography hashtags you should use, less can be more. In 2021, Instagram made the recommendation to use between three and five hashtags per post. Boosting that to ten to twenty will not increase your reach, according to Instagram. This point is a bit controversial, and Instagram allows up to thirty, so it’s not a hard and fast rule. 

No matter the number, your hashtags should be a mix of broad hashtags (e.g. #wildlifephotographers) and niche hashtags (e.g. #ilcp_photographers, the official hashtag of the International League of Conservation Photographers, a collective of ethical photographers focusing on conservation). 

Using a mix of “bigger” hashtags with 100,000+ posts and “smaller” hashtags with 10,000+ means you’re hedging your bets: you’re more likely to show up in searches for hashtags with fewer posts, but you’ll potentially reach more people if you crack the ‘Top Posts’ for a frequently used hashtag.

The best way to determine what hashtags will work for you is to research your target customer. Nina Mace, a family photographer and mentor, limits herself to up to three hashtags per post. “I use hashtags that I know my potential customers are using, which is derived from my keyword research for my website,” she tells us. 

Clients looking for local talent sometimes use location-based terms in their search, so it’s a good idea to include them if you’re hoping to reach those in your community. Mace, for example, has used hashtags like #ukfamilyphotographer, #camberleyphotographer, and #surreyfamilyphotographer to reach clients in her area. 

Take a look at what other photographers in your niche are tagging (look at ‘Top Posts’), and tailor them to suit your work. Check out what hashtags your dream clients and existing clients are following as well, and start a spreadsheet with those hashtags so you can pull from them in the future. 

It’s good practice to have a library of many hashtags that you can choose from so that you’re not using the same ones over and over. None of your photos are exactly the same, so your hashtags shouldn’t be either: resist the urge to copy and paste. 

Later, a social media management tool, also has a hashtag generator that can help you find targeted photography hashtags. Even better, their software will analyze what hashtags are actually working for you by driving engagement, likes, saves, and so on. These analytics can be invaluable when it comes to improving your hashtag strategy. 

Another tool to consider is IQhashtags, especially if you use Reels: they’ll provide detailed metrics for what’s driving engagement and what isn’t.

Avoid banned hashtags

Instagram punishes you for using banned hashtags by not showing your posts to other users. The company does not publish official information about banned hashtags, but you can regularly find outside companies compiling their own updated lists. You might be surprised by what you find: this list from Kicksta, for example, includes photography hashtags such as #iphonegraphy, #mirrorphoto, and perhaps most confoundingly, #streetphoto. 

Get your work featured using photography hashtags

Generally speaking, there are two different types of photography hashtags: searchable and submittable. Searchable hashtags are general terms that people can follow, while submittable hashtags belong to specific accounts that regularly feature new work. 

For example: When you tag #filmphotography (searchable), you’re hoping to show up whenever anyone searches that hashtag. But when you tag #analoguepeople (submittable), you’re directly submitting your work for consideration for the Instagram page Analogue People. (You can check out some of our favorite submittable film photography hashtags here.)

When you’re building your account as a photographer, submitting to these kinds of “hubs” or feature accounts can help you get more eyeballs on your work because someone’s checking them consistently. If you do get featured, you open yourself up to a whole new audience. 

Don’t rely on hashtags alone

Let’s face it: hashtags aren’t as essential as they once were, even though they’re still relevant. Algorithms are advanced enough these days that users can surface relevant content without ever having to click on a hashtag: keyword searches, for example, make categorizing posts easy—and they rely on captions rather than hashtags. 

For that reason, hashtags by themselves are very unlikely to make you an overnight influencer. Instead, a good hashtag strategy will blend seamlessly into your overall social media strategy. As Instagram puts it: the content itself and the way people interact with it can affect distribution more than the hashtag.

Post great photos consistently, experiment with different formats (Reels, Stories, posts), and engage with other people in the photo industry. Then, use relevant photography hashtags to fully optimize your content. 

Discover More

Alton, IL

(62002)

Today

Some sun this morning with increasing clouds this afternoon. High 89F. Winds ESE at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Cloudy skies early with scattered thunderstorms developing late. Low 72F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 50%.

Updated: July 19, 2023 @ 9:51 am

Wed, 19 Jul 2023 21:40:29 GMT (1689802829055)

ea5eafbbedfb91d0742359b84ee7e1d0f50d5c11

ad90b597c2a4abdca69cece0352a97aeab338f3b

Fallback Presentation. Using deprecated PresentationRouter.

by Jenise Silva

Wed, July 19th 2023, 9:18 PM UTC

Former Microsoft CTO Nathan Myhrvold debuts his latest masterpiece, “Food & Drink: Modernist Cuisine Photography.” (Photo provided by Nathan Myhrvold)

Loading …

It is rare for a photo to make you laugh, but one street photographer has a distinct talent for capturing perfectly-timed humorous images that connect different elements within a frame.

Anthimos Ntagkas from Athens, Greece has traveled the world looking for juxtapositions in his photos. It could be a playful use of a billboard, a genius angle, or the blending of similar patterns.

Ntagkas’s images teem with spontaneity and he tells PetaPixel that his method of working has changed over the years.

“When I first started to take photos, I used to find a place in the streets that I liked and wait for people to come by,” he explains.

“But this has changed. Nowadays, I don’t choose the place, but I make every location work for me. I combine people with elements everywhere I am!”

Ntagkas’s keen eye is always searching for a connection within a scene.

“The photographs that I found most interesting are the ones with juxtaposition. The connection between two different themes or even more inside one photo is very intriguing to work for,” he says.

“Luckily the themes in this type of photography are endless and I never lose interest in photography and that’s why I love street photography!”

Ntagkas uses a Ricoh GR compact camera for his photos. The small camera allows him to blend in better and the people he photographs are not as uncomfortable with the less intrusive camera.

Ntagkas says he doesn’t even know how to use Photoshop and if one of his images needs brightening he has to use a “picture program” on his PC.

“The Decisive Moment”

Henri Cartier-Bresson is the photographer most famously associated with the “decisive moment” photographic style. “The difference between a good picture and a mediocre picture is a millimeter,” he once said.

For Ntagkas, he is influenced by street photographers such as Cartier-Bresson but he tells PetaPixel that he is mainly concerned with doing something “completely different” each and every time.

“Street photography is more challenging, artistic, and creative than other forms of photography and that was very appealing to me,” he explains.

“It’s not only capturing the moment and the people in the streets but you also have to be an artistic director in order to combine people and elements in a fascinating perspective,” he continues.

“It is very important to see the work of other street photographers, and always try to incorporate your own personal identity in your photos.”

Ntagkas adds that while “experience and persistence” play an important role in this type of photography, sometimes a big slice of luck is needed.

More of Ntagkas’s work can be found on his Instagram.

Image credits: All photos by Anthimos Ntagkas.

Dunedin, New Zealand

Little blue penguins, also known by their Māori name korora, exit the sea at the Royal Albatross Centre, a wildlife sanctuary in Harington Point

Photograph: Alessandra Tarantino/AP