Deanna Dikeman (Charlotte Street)

In 1985 Deanna Dikeman left her corporate job to take photography classes at Purdue University, a leap in the dark that more than paid off. Dikeman was born in Sioux City, Iowa, in 1954 and now lives in Kansas City. She has received numerous awards over the decades for her photography, including the Aaron Siskind Foundation Fellowship, the United States Artists Booth Fellowship, and, this year, the prestigious John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowship,
which is given to established artists.

Dikeman has exhibited frequently in Kansas City, including her celebrated “Leaving and Waving” sequence of pictures she took of her parents for 27 years as they waved goodbye to her, in all kinds of weather, after her visits to their red ranch house in Sioux City. One of the images was shown on the Kansas City Art Institute’s Block Artspace Project Wall from 2002 to 2003, and the series has been featured in several local exhibitions.

Dikeman showed her inspired 2006 installation “Wardrobe” at the Society for Contemporary Photography. While working in a charity thrift store in Columbia, Missouri, she took panoramic photos of clothes, which she positioned side-by-side on racks, in a variety of colors and arrangements. For the exhibit, she wrapped her dramatic, yards-long installation along the walls of the gallery. It was a witty formalist exercise hinting at the excesses of American culture.

In 2018, KC Studio featured Dikeman’s “Sprinklers, Birdbaths and Puddles” series, a tribute of sorts to her late father, in our September/October Artist Pages. Other series have focused on lost pets, evocative domestic interiors and the pageantry of ballroom dancing.

In a recent interview, Dikeman acknowledged that the Guggenheim Fellowship is the culmination of worldwide acclaim for her “Leaving and Waving” photo series and book.

“I never set out to make this series,” she said in a recent interview. “I’ve always taken family portraits. I just happened to notice when I was looking through a group of those photos that there was a series of my parents waving to me as I drove away after visiting them.”

If people tell her that her parents look like the couple in Grant Wood’s painting “American Gothic,” Dikeman just laughs. “Well, they are from Iowa,” she says.

In 2009 there is a photo where for the first time her father is no longer there. She continued to take pictures of her mother waving goodbye until 2017. After her funeral that year, Dikeman says, “I took one more photograph of the empty driveway. For the first time in my life, no one was waving back to me.”

The response to Dikeman’s photographic chronicle has been viral. In 2020 “A Photographer’s Parents Wave Farewell” was one of the top 25 stories in The New Yorker, and the photos were reproduced in magazines around the world. Dikeman produced a book of the series, “Leaving and Waving,” which is now in its third printing.

“I really can’t believe it,” she says. “I’ve heard from people from all over the world. A fashion designer from Italy even sent me a couture outfit!

“The pandemic has clearly made people more sensitive to ‘Leaving and Waving,’” Dikeman says. The stories in her photographs are universal: They are about family, and ultimately about the pain of saying goodbye.

This is the image that sums up my son Manus. He’s absolutely in love with doors – obsessed. He had these little yellow suits we put on him because he liked to bum-shuffle around. We call him space man. He’s in his own world and he’s happy. That’s the main ingredient.

I live on a farm in the west of Ireland, on my husband’s family homestead. We’ve always had horses so there’s a couple of little old stables. I’m guessing Manus is about six-and-a-half there; he’s coming up to 10 now, but I could repeat this image today. He still goes to this same spot and wants to play with the door to the washing machine.

It was evident when Manus was born that he had a disability; I identified it very quickly. I spend a lot of long, lonely late nights walking around the yard with him, trying to tire him out to go to bed; our life inside is very fraught. It’s beautiful and amazing but also so bloody hard.

There’s reputed therapeutic value in equestrian therapy for children that have disabilities but it’s not always so. In this case, Manus wants the washing machine door, not the horse. Opening and closing doors are part of his extreme obsessions and rigid routine. That horse is a bright spark. I didn’t have to do anything to get its attention – it seems to be looking at me asking, “What the heck?”

All the stuff in the background just comes and goes: the washing powder, the numnahs, the horse blankets, the pitchfork. I carry my little 35mm camera around and this shot was instinct. I loved 5×4 large format for years and I was always a staunch maker of images that use negatives but with this work I had to use something more practical – so I could dump the camera to save the child, if necessary, from hurting itself – and now I’m shooting on a DSLR with just your bog-standard 50mm lens.

One of the first images I made in this series is of myself pregnant with Manus. I was grieving that I’d never take photos ever again. I already had three children, I thought my career was going down the toilet. But a few years after Manus was born I had to give myself a bit of kick and said, “Lorraine, you have to start taking pictures of your family life.” The kids are good – they don’t tell me to stop. And I don’t spend ages setting up the shot, it’s just a natural flow. In the work, I also talk about how hard it is for the siblings to grow up in a house with a child with a disability. They’re little heroes.

I studied photography in Newport in Wales but I was making photographs long before I went to university. I had a grandad in Connemara who was an image maker. His name was Tommy Tuck and he had a little dark room in his basement. He was a fisher and had a fishing tackle shop but he also made all these images. I loved the mismatch of the two things.

I have an uncle Owen in Connemara and he comes to visit me. He’s in his 50s and has Down’s syndrome. He’s living independently in the city, with help, and he is gender fluid. He and Manus are absolutely in love. They can sit down and look into each other’s eyes for ages and Manus won’t do that with anybody else. They have a knowing.

Inclusion is a word that people are throwing around too handily. Sometimes inclusion can be claustrophobic to someone who needs space to breathe and time to think.

Lorraine Tuck’s CV

Born: Connemara, County Galway, 1978.

Trained: Self-taught in darkroom at home after I borrowed an old enlarger from the Science lab at secondary school. BA Hons in Documentary Photography at University of Wales, Newport, graduating in 2003.

Influences: “Dorothea Lange and the Farm Security Administration – Lange has empathy for those who have less and recognised quickly how photography can be used as a social tool as well as an art form.”

High point: “Being commissioned by Photo Museum Ireland to develop Unusual Gestures. This work has been produced as a touring solo show premiering at Galway international arts festival, and then showing at Photo Museum Ireland (Dublin) and Regional Cultural Centre (Letterkenny).”

Low point: “Having no clear time to make work after having a family.”

Top tip: “Go back again and again.”

A jarring contrast of blue lips, white teeth and a pink tongue are the focus of this image. Correia said: “I dived deeper in futuristic reins and electronic circuits to produce images that feel more intimate, challenging, empowered, and emotional — as I call it I just simply dare to be daring”

NADIA CORREIA

Here is a story of a partial failure in capturing fireworks this past Fourth of July. Is there a reason for sharing this story? You bet! Find out below.

Why?

“Why on Earth would sharing a story on not getting the image you tried for be a reason for an article?” There is a tendency to share all of the winning photographs and to totally shelve the less-than-stellar images. It’s human nature. Readers see all of the solid photographs and begin to lose heart in their ability to keep up. Because you are only seeing the “A” work and never the “B-roll” images that land on the cutting room floor, newer photographers become frustrated. They don’t know that solid photographers fail forward — we make mistakes. A LOT of mistakes.

The difference between an up-and-coming photographer and one who is established is the established photographer has probably made more mistakes than the up-and-coming photographer has even attempted to make.

The story

Last year, I shared a story from my photographer friend Heidi Mixon about a technique called Focus Pulling. I didn’t get the opportunity to try it out last year so I looked forward to creating some cool images during this year’s fireworks. Well, that was not to happen because I didn’t study hard enough and practice before the actual event.

If I had practiced rather than thinking I understood the process because I read about it, I’d have learned that the manual focus on my lens was not locked down the way I thought it would be. Below you can see the less-than-wonderful results I achieved because I couldn’t get the camera back to an in-focus position.

The lessons

A few lessons came from my experience.

1. Make sure you practice a technique and not just read about it before going out to make images. Especially, if you’ll do it at an event that will not be repeated for a year!
2. Know that there will be failures when you are trying new techniques. And that’s a good thing. We learn more, and more in-depth when we make mistakes than when something comes too easy.
3. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes. Mistakes are nothing more than learning opportunities. The more learning opportunities you attempt, the faster you will become a better photographer.

Not the only mistake

Not to be outdone, I also made another error with my second camera. I set it up to capture a time-lapse of the fireworks show. A time-lapse sequence makes it possible to capture plenty of images to make a video which is another way to tell a story with your camera.

It also gives you raw materials to use Photoshop techniques to show extra bursts on a single frame.

“So Bob, what was the mistake here?” I didn’t double-check and set the exposure to 3.2 sec at f/11 ISO to 800 when it should have been ISO 200. Two stops over the exposure I wanted to be led to images that were quite overexposed.

Saved by RAW capture

If I was capturing the time-lapse images in JPEG, almost all of those files would have been toast. Because I used the RAW format, I was able to recover 85-90% of the images. That enabled the time-lapse. It also made it possible to create the final blended image that headlines this article. Before going out to photograph, especially something as rare as fireworks, it pays to review ideas and concepts before going out.

I hope you learn a bit from my mistakes. I know I did!

Yours in Creative Photography, Bob

Whether you’re out to capture pics of wildlife, people, or the cosmos, the Canon EOS R5 is one of the top cameras you can get your hands on. And, thanks to Prime Day (and the competitive spirit it triggers in other retailers), it’s $1054 off at Abes of Maine, minus lens. 

The EOS R5 features in our list of best cameras for wildlife photography and its lower-megapixel brother, the EOS R8, made our best camera for astrophotography guide. The EOS R5 is powerful but easy to use and you’d be hard pressed to go wrong with it, especially at this price.  It’s currently down to just $2,845 at Abes of Maine.

You’ll need to couple this with an appropriate lens (see our best skywatching lens guide) but with $1054 off, this is a great deal for serious or semi-serious snappers. Amazon is running it’s own sale on the EOS R5 at the moment, but it’s only offering $500 off the MSRP. 

Canon EOS R5 (Body Only)
Was: $3,899
Now: $2,845 at Abes of Maine
Overview: A superb still camera, this easy to use Canon EOS R5 sports a 45MP sensor and, if you suddenly need to catch something on the go, 8K video capabilities.” data-widget-price=”{"amount":"3399","amountWas":"3899"}” data-widget-type=”deal” data-render-type=”editorial”>

Canon EOS R5 (Body Only)
Was: $3,899
Now: $2,845 at Abes of Maine
Overview: A superb still camera, this easy to use Canon EOS R5 sports a 45MP sensor and, if you suddenly need to catch something on the go, 8K video capabilities.

View Deal

Key features:  45MP Full Frame Sensor, ISO range 100-51200, 8K 30p / 4K 120p video, dual memory card slots

Product launched: July 2020

Price history:  This Amazon price of $3,399 is the lowest it’s been at Amazon.  It’s a little cheaper at Walmart, priced at $3,224.45. It has been even cheaper at Walmart, dropping as low as $3199.99. Abes of Maine has them all beat by a good margin though.

Price comparison: Amazon: $3,399 | Walmart: $3,224.45 | Best Buy: $3399.99 | B&H Photo: $3,299.00

Reviews consensus: This is a superb camera, one of the best we’ve put to the test. It’s an outstanding performer, particularly if you’re into wildlife photography or astrophotography. 

We remarked that it’s “..so good at photographing wildlife, it’s effectively a cheat code for capturing images of animals – not to mention humans or any other subject.” And with a great battery life, you won’t be losing out on any fantastic shots. 

LiveScience: ★★★★½ | Digital Camera World: ★★★★ | TechRadar: ★★★★½ 

Featured in guides: Best wildlife cameras

Buy it if: You’re after a powerful, easy to use camera that captures high quality images no matter what you point it at. 

Don’t buy it if: You’re just starting out and don’t need the power or megapixel count that the camera offers. Perhaps consider the EOS R8 instead.

Extreme photographer Mikala Jones — famed for shooting incredible images and videos from the inside of huge, curling waves — has died in a surfing accident at the age of 44.

According to Surfline, Jones, who relocated from Hawaii to Indonesia years ago, had gone out into the ocean on Sunday morning during a trip with his family to the Mentawai Islands in Sumatra, Indonesia.

Jones’ surfboard fin severed his femoral artery from a 10-centimeter wound inside his left groin. The femoral artery is a large blood vessel in the thigh that delivers blood to the lower limbs.

Surf photographer Woody Woodworth, who says Jones took the best overall surf photo he had ever seen, tells AP that cuts from surfboard fins are common.

He said some surfers like to keep their fins sharp because they believe doing so will help them ride waves more precisely — but a fin can be like an axe or a cleaver when combined with a wave’s power.

Jones is survived by his wife Emma Brereton and daughters Isabella and Violet. His daughter Isabella confirmed the news of his death on Instagram on Sunday and shared a touching tribute of photographs with her father.

A Pioneer in Point-of-View Surf Photography

Jones was considered a pioneer in creating point-of-view surf photography and videos. Unlike other photographers who would take pictures from the beach or of other individuals in the water, Jones shot images and footage of gigantic waves curling around him while he crouched on his board.

In some shots, a sunset or sunrise is visible through the curved wave opening in front of him.

Born in Kailua, Hawaii, Jones started surfing at about seven or eight years old and went on to become a pro surfer.

AP reports that Jones began to experiment with taking first-person images of himself on the water in the 1990s. Jones attached a camera to fabric fastener on his board and then held the camera under his chin while paddling out to waves lying on his stomach. He would grab the camera upon standing and hold it behind himself to take pictures.

Having initially achieved these shots by attaching a camera to his board, Jones began to use a GoPro after the lightweight cameras were invented.

He was later sponsored by the company and used software to stitch together images from multiple GoPro cameras for 360-degree views.

Hands Down, The Best Overall Surf Photo

Surf photographer Woodworth singled out one of Jones’ shots in particular for praise, calling it “beyond spectacular.”

The photograph, which was featured on the cover of The Surfer’s Journal, shows Jones in a wave tube with his left arm outstretched.

The wall of the wave looks like a glass mirror, and it reflects both the sunlight shining into the barrel and Jones himself.

“It’s 10 points on the surfing and 10 points on the photography technically and 10 points on the concept,” Woodworth tells AP. “This is like, hands down, the Olympic-winner-of-all-time photograph.”

Image credits: Featured photo via YouTube/GoPro.

The Photography Show, the longest-running fair devoted specifically to the medium, will mark its 43rd edition in April 2024 with a return to the Park Avenue Armory in New York, organisers say. Put on by the Association of International Photography Art Dealers (Aipad), the fair is open for applications only from member galleries.

“The Park Avenue Armory has always been the favourite venue of our members, collectors and curators,” Aipad executive director Lydia Melamed Johnson said in a statement, adding that the organisation has “evolved post-Covid with a renewed sense of optimism and vitality and a burgeoning membership of young galleries offering new perspectives on the medium”.

The fair previously took place at the Park Avenue Armory on 67th Street and Park Avenue from 2006 to 2016. The event moved to Pier 94 in Hell’s Kitchen in 2017, where it was held until 2019. After the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, the fair was held at Center415 in Midtown Manhattan in 2022 and 2023. Last year, the Photography Show welcomed 44 galleries to the fair.

Aipad’s new president, Martijn van Pieterson, says the expansive Park Avenue Armory will give the fair more space for galleries to take part. Aipad says between 70 and 80 galleries will be able to participate in next year’s edition, similar to the exhibitor numbers of other fairs held at the Park Avenue Armory, such as Tefaf New York and the Art Dealers Association of America’s fair, The Art Show.

Originally built as a headquarters for a militia regiment made up of many members of New York’s social elite during the American Civil War, the sprawling Gothic Revival building is now leased to the non-profit arts organisation Park Avenue Armory Conservancy, which works to support art, music and performances in the Armory’s 55,000-square-foot drill hall and historic Gilded Age rooms.

Mum’s astonishment as iPhone photo of her 18-year-old son taken at a museum is rejected by a photography competition because judges thought it was faked by AI: Here’s the REAL story

• Suzi Dougherty’s photo disqualified after being mistaken as AI
• The mum entered the picture of her son in a local competition

By Ben Talintyre For Daily Mail Australia

Published: 03:19 EDT, 12 July 2023 | Updated: 03:59 EDT, 12 July 2023

A genuine picture taken on an iPhone was thrown out of a photography competition after judges suspected it was generated by artificial intelligence.

Suzi Dougherty’s photograph of her 18-year-old son Caspar was deemed ‘suspicious’ by judges despite the mum insisting it was taken on her mobile phone.

The picture was taken at a Sydney Powerhouse Museum exhibition, with her son dressed in the same colour of the bathroom of the installation and mimicking the stance of the mannequins.

Ms Dougherty told Daily Mail Australia she photographed her son Caspar next to two mannequins at the Gucci exhibition.

‘We really liked the picture and so we printed it for my mum who loves Gucci but couldn’t go as she was sick and she told me I should enter it in this competition,’ Ms Dougherty said.

Despite never entering a photo competition, she entered it into Charing Cross Photography competition under the theme Fashion.

The entry was viewed by four judges who loved it but rejected it as they were suspicious it was AI-generated. 

‘In our most recent photo competition, CCP received an image that first intrigued all the judges and then suspicion set in so we decided not to include the photo for judging,’ the competition organisers said.

‘We have already indicated (in the socials as well as the T&Cs of the competition) that though we may in the future include a section for AI images we are not accepting them now so ask that you do not submit any.

‘We want the images to come from YOUR real-life experience, and not sourced from cyberspace.

‘There is no way we can be completely sure the image submitted was made by AI but you really can’t ignore the gut instincts of four judges.’

Ms Dougherty was flummoxed by the decision but said that she was ‘flattered’ as she wouldn’t have the slightest clue how to create an AI image.

‘I was a bit confused at first, I thought it was a bit of a prank but no, I actually was disqualified,’ she said.

‘I think it is really funny and I was very flattered that they thought it was good enough to be AI.’

While she had never entered a competition before Ms Dougherty didn’t rule out a future entry joking: ‘I think I might have the photography bug now’.

‘I don’t know now I might try again, there is a kangaroo photography competition I saw and I might take my trusty iPhone out and have another go,’ she said.

Ms Dougherty also says she has no hard feelings for the photography store who runs the competition saying they are a great place and have offered to make things right.

‘They have offered me a print in a frame and are going to put the picture in the window to sell the picture of my son in the shop which is amazing (that) they think it is good enough to do that.

‘It is just hard and obviously people can’t tell anymore what is real and what’s not real.’

Iain Anderson, the owner of Charing Cross Photo Sydney, shared an update following a conversation with Ms Dougherty where she informed them that the picture is real.

‘It’s a great play on what is real and not in our world indeed,’ Mr Anderson said.

‘Sadly, for the entrant, the timing was not great considering that AI is such a hot topic and without the background info we felt the need to question the entire image.

‘We can confirm that this photo did not contravene our T&Cs.’

To understand the challenges at Lake Okeechobee, a vast inland sea in Florida, The New York Times piloted a drone.