Sometimes a (camera’s) eye in the sky can cast new light on the world we live in – highlighting changes or celebrating beauty we might be oblivious to on ground level.

And that’s what you’ll see in the winners from this year’s Drone Photo Award winners. From a bird’s eye view, a bright yellow rice field in Bangladesh turns into a symmetrical pattern, a precisely-designed Polish playground looks like a mosaic of precious stones and a holy religious tradition amid the crumbles of a war-ravaged city in Syria conjures up both sorrow and holiness.

The photography competition, now in its sixth year, received nearly 14,000 images from amateur and professional photographers from 104 countries for the nine categories of the competition. All photos were taken from above using a drone.

Drone photography offers “the possibility to see things differently,” says Emanuela Ascoli, head of photography for National Geographic-France and one of this year’s judges. It allows you “to have a global perception of a landscape or scene.”

Ascoli says the caliber of submissions was more impressive than ever this year, making it tough for the judges. To earn an award, the photo must “transmit some emotion,” says Ascoli. “It must teach you something that you might not have known before.” And all of this “should be done in a beautiful, elegant way.”

Here’s a look at some of those award-winning photos and honorable mentions from around the world, including the countries of the Global South that Goats and Soda covers.

The art of rice processing

“Rice Processing” shows the artistic beauty of a mundane task in Rohan’s home country of Bangladesh. “From the ground, it’s not that easy to see how beautiful the [rice] field is,” says photographer Md Tanveer Hassan Rohan, who’s based in New York City. But from an aerial view “you can see the lines and patterns as the [field workers] walk step by step to create this separation.” The symmetry of the lines contrasted against the bright yellow fields turns the workers into artists.

Breaking the fast amid the rubble

Mouneb Taim, a freelance photographer based in Turkey, calls his piece “Ramadan meals among the ruins in Idlib, Syria” and says it shows a “mixture of hope, pain and determination.”

Born in 2001, Taim has been a photojournalist since he was 12 years old, when he began documenting his life under siege in Idlib, Syria. This photo shows that “neither war nor destruction prevented the people from holding a collective iftar, or breaking of the fast, for the people,” says Taim, “which is an important custom in the month of Ramadan.”

Taim, who won many international awards during the ten years he lived under siege in Idlib, says that while he has “thousands of drone photos in his archives that show killings, destruction and war” this photo “shows the hope I want to convey to the world.”

Chaos at the border

“Dominican Republic Haiti Daily Life” depicts the everyday “chaos on the northern border between the two countries,” says freelance photographer Matias Delacroix. They share the island of Hispaniola.

The Associated Press and the Pulitzer Center sent Delacroix, who is now based in Venezuela, to the border for a special assignment. The border is crowded with people on a daily basis, says Delacroix. “[Haitians] try to pass legally to the Dominican Republic, some to trade, others to flee the current violence in Haiti.” Drone photography allowed him to “show this chaos in a subtle way, without harming any migrant” and to convey “the amount of people that want to pass from one place to another that from the ground can not be seen in its totality.”

For Delacroix, this photo highlights the common human experience of migration, which is part of his own story — he was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, but then his family moved to Chile. “Many of us in one way or another have had to migrate from where we were born, that is why I identified a lot with this story and with this photo.”

A cherished wetland drowning in trash

Raj Mohan’s photo “Boon to Bane! – the 300 acres of dumpyard” focuses on his own backyard. A computer scientist and engineer based in Chennai, India, Mohan grew up exploring the local Pallikaranai wetlands to observe the flamingos that flew there during migratory seasons. Seeking to understand recent decreases in migratory birds, Mohan was “baffled to see from a drone view the amount of wetland that was being exploited.”

As a photographer, Mohan says he tries to “offer a captivating glimpse into the beauty and diversity of India, weaving together rich narratives and unforgettable moments.” But this photo has a different aim – showing how the wetlands — their beauty and their integral role in the ecosystem — are being polluted with trash. While the wetlands are only a few miles from where he lives, Mohan faced challenges with this photo: “It was hard to look at and the foul smell was unbearable.”

Strawberry fields forever, Act I, Scene 1

Whales meet boat

Polished Polish playground

Landscape photography is a brilliant genre that enables you to get out and explore the great outdoors with your camera and hone your skills. You can often go at your own pace and take your time to compose on a tripod while waiting for the perfect light to appear.

We recently caught up with award-winning photographer Justin Minns, who is best known for atmospheric landscapes and is regularly commissioned by the National Trust and English Heritage. 

• Elevate your scenic shots with the best cameras for landscape photography

He also runs photo workshops everywhere from Norfolk to Namibia, and is the author of Photographing East Anglia. Justin’s next book, Photographing Essex, a photography and location guidebook to the region, is due to be published soon.

Justin tells us his story, his top tips for landscape photography, as well as the camera set-up he uses, including his favorite lenses. To see more of his fantastic landscapes and check out his workshops, be sure to visit his website.

“I have always been creative but I only recently discovered photography. I got my first camera, a Canon Powershot compact, back in 2006, which was a present from my wife. It was for taking holiday snaps but my interest in photography quickly outgrew the camera.

“A passion for the outdoors led me to shooting landscapes, and as I developed my craft, I chose to stay local and explore East Anglia rather than spend my time traveling the country to shoot the ‘classic’ locations. There is, of course, nothing wrong with photographing well-known spots; they are, after all, popular for a reason. But by staying local I could return to locations time and again, responding to weather conditions and getting to know the landscape better.

“This specialization eventually helped with my career, leading me to work with the National Trust in the region and sharing my accumulated local knowledge on my photography workshops as well as in my first book, Photographing East Anglia.

“I’ve run workshops locally for about ten years, but recently started to concentrate on expanding these around the UK and overseas to countries such as Iceland, Madeira, Canada and Namibia, giving me and my workshop clients a change of scenery.  

“As you can imagine, my kit has changed a lot over the years, but while having quality equipment is important for a pro, I believe capturing mood and atmosphere in my images is of far more importance.”

Justin’s pro landscape kit

“I switched to mirrorless in 2021, rather reluctantly at first after my beloved Canon EOS 5D Mark IV consumed more seawater than was good for it. The EOS R5 became an instant favorite, though. It is packed full of features, from clever things like Eye Detection AF to simple things like ISO being on a separate dial, that make the EOS R5 an absolute joy to use.”

“The 24-105mm is my workhorse lens but I love the dramatic effect of getting up close to the foreground with an ultra-wide-angle lens, so my Canon RF 14-35mm f/4L IS USM gets a lot of use too. At 14mm it is super-wide, but doesn’t seem to suffer from any distortion and is sharp across the frame. It has a maximum aperture of f/4 throughout the zoom range, and is also light and compact.”

“A drone opens up so many more possibilities for composition. For me, it is not just about being able to get up high and see further; it is a camera that I can put almost anywhere – I’m no longer limited to where I can stand. The height is also an advantage here in East Anglia, though, as there aren’t many hills from which you can get an elevated view of the landscape!”

4. Arca Swiss P0+ hybrid tripod head

“I love this tripod head. The combination of a ball head along with two self-locking geared adjustments makes it both quick and precise. It’s brilliant for panoramas, too, because with the panoramic adjustment at the top of the head, rather than the bottom, the tripod doesn’t have to be leveled – just the camera. All this in a very light package, but it’s an expensive tripod so you get what you pay for!”

“Filters are an integral part of my kit and I have used Lee Filters for over ten years. I use a range of them from graduated ND filters, to control the high dynamic range in the scenes I shoot, to ND filters in various strengths – such as the Little, Big and Super Stoppers, which block out 6, 10 and 15 stops of light respectively and enable me to control the shutter speed for creative effects. A circular polarizer helps boost blues in skies and tame reflections in water and glass, so is never far from my lens.”

6. F-stop Tilopa backpack

“These are proper backpacks with an internal frame and decent harness, taking much of the effort out of carrying my equipment over long walks. The build quality is superb (and this bag has been put through its paces around the world) but the best part is the camera inserts are changeable, and come in a range of sizes, so you can tailor the bag to the amount of camera equipment and other non-camera gear you need to carry.”

I finally upgraded my compute,r and what a difference it has made to my photography workflow. Here’s how I worked out what to buy.

For the last year or so, I have been struggling along with my now nine-year-old computer. It’s been great, but it’s starting to get slower and slower. It started having a negative impact on my business, especially when I was culling and editing big photoshoots. Here’s what I have upgraded to and what I found out along the way.

Should I Build a Computer Again?

Historically, I’ve built my own computers. Compared to some of the work I did in the past, it’s relatively easy to do; everything just plugs and screws together. However, now I am busy with my photography work, and time is money. Building a computer takes time that I just don’t have, and I needed it relatively quickly. But I had to balance this with the extra cost of buying a pre-made machine, and the possibility that I would not find what I wanted. I did a lot of research, and this time I looked at the option of buying a complete machine.

This went against the grain with me a bit because there are components in my old computer that are perfectly serviceable and some parts I had replaced not long ago. For the sake of our planet, I’m a great believer in using things until they work no more. However, overall, it just wasn’t up to the job. Photography apps were slow as wading through mud, and downloading images from memory cards took forever. Also, it struggled when it came to using any of the AI-based tools like noise reduction and culling. Furthermore, working with large video files became impossible, and I had some video-editing work coming up.

Two Strange Advantages of an Old, Slow Computer

There were two advantages to me having a slower machine. Besides giving me time to make a mug of coffee while it worked on my photos, it did show up the differences in speed between different programs, perfect for when I was reviewing software. For example, PhotoLab 6 still worked like lightning on that computer compared to Lightroom Classic, where the word “sluggish” was an understatement.

With a new computer that does everything quickly, would I be able to tell the difference in performance enough to write about it? I am very aware that a lot of readers here work with older machines and with far less capacity than it had, and I want to make sure they were aware of some programs’ deficiencies. I’ll answer that question a bit later in the article.

Working to a Budget

When choosing computer specifications, there comes a point when tiny increases in performance make a lot of difference to the price. But, in the real world, those tiny increases are not worth it. If you are a gamer playing at a high level, I can understand it, but if I must wait half a millisecond longer for a photo to load, it’s not going to make a huge amount of difference to me. Consequently, there is no real need to buy the very top-spec machines. However, the better the specifications, the more likely the computer will be future-proof. My last computer ran happily for nearly nine years because I over-specified it. I want similar longevity with the new machine.

Researching What I Should Buy

My first thought was whether to go with AMD or Intel. 

Checking speeds, number of cores, and number of threads, and reading lots of reviews, AMD gave me a better bang for my buck. There are, of course, those that will swear undying loyalty to Intel, but it’s a Canon/Nikon argument; they both work.

I had a fixed budget, so value for money was important to me, I needed to balance performance with cost. I wanted something like the 5th generation AMD Ryzen 7 5700X, 8 Core, 16 Thread, 4.6 GHz Boost AM4 chip. It performed respectably well in benchmark tests against similar processors. Furthermore, it had great reviews.

Similarly, the AMD-compatible motherboards were of better value too. The well-respected Gigabyte B550M DS3H Micro ATX Motherboard had some superb test results.

Importantly for future-proofing, it has four memory slots, which support up to 128 GB of dual-channel RAM that can run at up to 4,733 MHz. I was going to buy 32 GB Corsair Vengeance LPX (2x16GB) DDR-4 RAM, plenty for what I needed at the moment. I had considered going for a setup that incorporated DDR-5 RAM. But that pushed the system beyond my budget.

I would also need a powerful graphics card.

Seeking Expert Advice

Never be afraid to ask for help! I’m relatively knowledgeable about computers, but there are always plenty of people who know much more.

With this sort of specification in mind, I joined a Discord group for a UK retailer of computers and components, AWD-IT.co.uk. I previously bought the components for my son’s machine from that company and had been very pleased with the price and the customer service. 

The members of the group were incredibly generous with their knowledge, and somebody called Keira suggested a customized machine built in a Fractal North case. That was the winner of the prestigious Red Dot Design Award 2023. It has three front USB ports including one USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-C with fast charging support and speeds up to 10 Gbps, easy-to-unclip panels, and can accommodate up to four SATA drives.

The computer included a Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 12 GB graphics card. I had been considering an RTX 3070, but the 4070 was 20% faster. The power supply is a Gigabyte P650B 80 Plus Bronze certified unit.

The processor is cooled with an Arctic Freezer A35 CO Tower CPU Cooler. I considered a liquid cooler, but reading up on it, the air cooler was more than sufficient for the job, especially as I would not be subjecting the computer to a prolonged heavy load like gaming. Also, an air-cooled processor costs less. That allowed me to increase spending in other areas and stick to my budget.

What About the Hard Drive?

The machine arrived with a 480 GB SATA Solid State Drive with an unregistered copy of Windows loaded onto it; I already had a keycode. Its read speed was 550 MB/s and write speed 500 MB/s. As I would only be using it for Windows and installing software, that was sufficient. After loading everything I needed, it’s still only ¼ full.

I subsequently added additional solid-state drives to the machine for storing my images and documents. I had some 1 TB and 2 TB solid-state drives that I could transplant from the old machine to the new one.

What I Liked and What Could Be Improved With the Computer

The UK-based company I bought the computer from, AWD-IT, is very much focused on gaming, although it also produces business machines. USA readers can get great deals from B&H. I’ve always found that gaming machines have the same specs that we need for photo and video editing. However, there is a trend for gaming computers to be lit up with what my son calls “puke lights.” I don’t like them either. Through the glass panel on the side of this computer, it is dark.

It has a lower profile than my old machine and runs almost silently.

It’s so quick, too. It’s always been a bugbear of mine that I must wait for Photoshop to open an image from Lightroom Classic.  Now, from pressing Ctrl + E to Photoshop loading and the image appearing in there takes nine seconds. If Photoshop is already open, it is faster, of course: about three seconds. Switching between modules in ON1 Photo Raw 2023.5 is faster (less than one second), and ON1 NoNoise, Topaz Denoise, and Photolab 6’s Deep Prime are much quicker and better than Adobe’s Denoise.

So, the good news is that Lightroom is no longer a complete slug when it comes to processing raw files, and my caffeine intake has reduced because I am not waiting around for so long for things to happen.

I was worried that with the power supply not being modular, and there were a lot of cables hidden in the base of the machine. I thought it would make it a little awkward fitting the extra drives, but that’s not a major headache at all.

The GeForce graphics card is big. If I fit a fourth and final SATA drive, I will have to remove it to plug the cable into the socket. It also sits very close to the spare PCI socket. So, if I ever need to use that, it will need to be with something small. There are also two M.2 connectors on the board that are hidden behind the graphic card, but the card sits far enough away for NVMe SSDs to slide in between.

I didn’t choose a wireless option, as I have my computer hardwired into local area network. AWD-IT did offer a wireless adapter, but I am unsure how a wireless adapter would fit.

I am always concerned about my carbon footprint and environmental impact. Checking my new setup against the old, it uses less power, which is great. Sadly, the new computer arrived with no small amount of plastic packaging. Considering that almost all plastic that has ever been produced still exists and is gradually working its way into our ecosystems, that’s not great news. Most camera companies are catching up with this, but computer manufacturers still have a way to go.

My other concern on that front is what to do with my old computer. It is still serviceable for lesser tasks like writing and browsing the internet. So, I am loading Ubuntu onto it and trying to find it a home. In these days of increasing hardship, there must be a child somewhere needing a computer to do their homework on. So, my friends are searching for someone it would suit.

Conclusion

Overall, I am really pleased with my new setup. My workflow is now fast, and my blood pressure has dropped because I am less annoyed with Lightroom and Photoshop than I was.

In the competitive world of photography, closing a high percentage of your sales meetings is crucial for success. However, many photographers make common mistakes that hinder their chances of sealing the deal. To help you improve your sales approach and increase your conversion rate, here are five key rules to follow. By implementing these strategies, you’ll be equipped to establish strong connections with clients, effectively communicate value, and ultimately close every sale.

Note: This education is directly from our free 1 hour masterclass called “3 Steps to $100K More.” If you’re interested in learning more about amplifying your business with more leads, more revenue per client, and higher sales conversions, we encourage you to register here.

Rule 1: Get in Person or Zoom!

Don’t make the mistake of simply responding to leads with a generic price list. Clients often lack the expertise to understand what they truly need and value in a complete photography experience.  They perceive all good photographs as equal and resort to making decisions solely based on price.

Instead, prioritize personal interaction with clients. Engage them through phone calls, Zoom meetings, or in-person discussions. This allows you to connect with your clients, show them that you understand their priorities, and add value to their overall experience.

Research by Insidesales.com reveals that contacting a lead within the first five minutes increases the likelihood of reaching them by a staggering 900% compared to waiting for an hour. Additionally, their study found that reaching out within the first hour makes the lead 10 times more likely to qualify compared to contacting them in the second hour. Beyond just a few hours, the chances of qualifying the lead drop significantly, approaching nearly 0%.

While these specific numbers may vary in the photography industry, our own experience confirms that the probability of securing a client decreases with every hour that passes before initial contact.

Rule 3: Stop Feature Selling

It’s crucial to break the habit of “feature selling.” This involves focusing on the technical aspects of your photography, such as the equipment you use, lighting techniques, image processing, and other details that clients generally don’t care about.

What clients truly care about are the results you can deliver. In general, they are not interested in the specific methods you employ to achieve those results. Of course, there are exceptions to this, especially if the clients are photographers themselves.  

Moreover, consider this perspective: you are selling a luxury product. Going back to our Honda versus Bentley analogy that we discussed in the last article, if you were buying a Honda, you might inquire about its features. However, when you step into a Bentley dealership, you wouldn’t ask about “premium sound” or “genuine leather,” would you? Why?

The reason is that, for luxury products, such features are expected and considered standard. When meeting with a potential client, there are far more valuable aspects you can discuss to prepare for closing the sale. Avoid selling features, and focus on other compelling factors instead.

Rule 4: Stop Diving Into The Details

During the initial consultation, focus on stories, connection and emotion rather than the details and logistics of the shoot. Photographs evoke strong feelings and capture meaningful moments in life, making it an emotion-driven decision. Since our product is emotional, our conversations should stay within the limbic system, the part of the brain that governs our emotional state.

A common mistake photographers make is delving into unnecessary details during the initial client consultation. What happens then? The clients’ minds shift to the neocortex, where they start scrutinizing every detail and attempting to solve problems before making a purchase. Consequently, when you present the price, they may respond with: “I need time to think about it.”

When this happens, it’s not because your product isn’t good or you failed to establish value; it’s because you unintentionally prepared them to respond that way. By focusing on nuts and bolts, you shift the clients’ thoughts into the part of the brain where they seek time to analyze everything.

To keep your clients in an emotional state, ask open-ended questions that revolve around stories and emotions, aimed at understanding what your clients truly value.

Rule 5: Never Present the Price Before Establishing Value

Throughout the sales process, our job is to be the client’s advocate and genuinely help them make the best decisions for them. When this is done correctly, you’re creating value through the sales process and making the sale without being “salsey.” 

As we teach in our photography business training, here’s a high-level, simplified overview of the sales process:

• Begin by building rapport and creating trust
• Work to identify the customer’s needs and values
• Develop a value proposition that best fits their needs

It’s only after these steps do we close by making the ask. This is where we present the right package and price. But we fail as sales people when we cut this process short and present the price before we’ve built trust, understood the client’s values, or presented an appropriate solution.

Conclusion

Mastering the art of closing sales in photography requires a thoughtful approach. By prioritizing personal interaction with clients through phone calls, Zoom meetings, or face-to-face discussions, you can establish trust and demonstrate your understanding of their needs. Timing is also critical, as reaching out to leads promptly significantly increases the chances of qualifying them. Moreover, avoiding feature selling and diving into unnecessary details allows you to keep the conversation focused on emotions and connections. Lastly, remember to present the price only after establishing value and building trust with your clients. By following these five key rules, you’ll be well-equipped to close every sale and achieve success in the competitive world of photography.

We hope that this article was helpful to you and your photography business. We know it was a lot of information, so we hope you save it for later reference. Also, to learn more and see the video presentation of this information, see our full one-hour free masterclass on ways to add $100K more to your photography business.

Wyo4News Staff, [email protected] [PRESS RELEASE]

ROCK SPRINGS, WYOMING — The Rock Springs Historical Museum is hosting the Sweetwater County Photography Club Show from June 21 through August 31, 2023.

Fourteen photographs are currently on display in the fire station, part of the original Rock Springs City Hall located at 201 B Street.

A wide variety of works in both color and black and white, on an assortment of surfaces including stretched canvas, metal, traditional photography paper and watercolor paper highlight the diversity of artists in the Club. “There is really something for everyone’s taste and interest” notes museum curator Jennifer Messer. “There is a wide range of both local and, surprisingly international, images. From a black and white view of Boars Tusk to a sunset in Istanbul, Turkey, and a close-up of a ptarmigan in molt and wild horses in the sagebrush.”

Some of the other subjects featured included images of pelicans coming in to land, and a swan taking off, wild horses at rest and fighting, daytime images of the landscape and the ruins people leave behind and a lovley nightscape taken in Green River.

SWC Photography Club members participating in the show are Angela Cable, Kevin Doak, Pat Doak, Gary Mortensen, Terry L. Sell, Stephen Shea, and Sue Smith. All of the photography on display is for sale by the artists.

The Sweetwater County Photography Club meets monthly; their meetings are free and open to the public. The SWC Photography Club frequently arranges group tours to various local sites and has instructions on specific techniques. Members have recently learned how to better mat and frame their photographs, how to frame and crop their images for better results, worked on photographing the most recent aurora borealis, or northern lights, shows, and will be taking a day trip to Browns Park Saturday, June 24. Members are encouraged to bring their latest work both traditional and digital, as well as questions and comments to meetings. The Clubs meetings are held on the third Wednesday of each month starting at 6:30 p.m. at the White Mountain Library.

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B&H – B&H is a world renowned supplier of all the gear photographers, videographers, and cinematographers need and want to create their very best work.

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Would you pose for intimate portraits? For many, it’s self-expression, body positivity, a way to fight back against artificial perfection

Celebs make it look like fun. Mindy Kaling and Ranveer Singh, Martha Stewart and Jennifer Aniston have bared it all… could you?

For most of us, a magazine cover isn’t really on the list of #goals. (Do you want vegetable oil smeared on your legs?). But artful nudes are another matter.

Boudoir photography can be empowering and exciting. At its heart, it is the opposite of the magazine shoot; its aim is to please just one viewer, you; and maybe one or more that you show the images to.

It’s about asking and answering the question: How comfortable are you, really, in your own skin? It’s an intimate exercise.

Choosing the right photographer is vital, and a growing number have built bodies of work, and reputations, in this niche. As with any deeply personal service — wedding planning, spa days, a bikini wax — discussions over what one is looking for, and comfortable with, shape the event.

Mumbai-based photographer Shivaji Sen (@shivajistormsen on Instagram) has one caveat: “I’m not a huge fan of the word ‘boudoir’. I think erotic photography is better,” he says. It’s a question of syntax, to him. “Boudoirs were essentially changing rooms for women, that men weren’t allowed to enter. So, the implication with ‘boudoir photography’ is that a person is seeing something they weren’t supposed to see.”

This isn’t a peepshow; he has a point. Take a look at other points he has to offer.

The process: “There’s a lot of conversation that happens before we meet and shoot,” says Sen. “The client talks about what they want to shoot; lays out the boundaries clearly.” Once it has all been arranged, the actual shoot can take four to six hours. Don’t schedule it for a lunch break, then.

The set-up: Find a photographer who will use some of that time to build a connection. “To makes things less uncomfortable, I break the ice by making tea for the person while we chat.” Spend a little time doing something mundane so you can connect, is Sen’s advice. Don’t overthink it. There’s nothing there the photographer hasn’t seen and shot before. If you want to do this, “don’t let it build in your head.” Don’t worry about what to do. “There’s not a lot of posing. It’s more about playing with light,” Sen says.

The subjects: Who is this for? “There are essentially two kinds of people who sign up for erotic photography,” Sen says. “Those who are very confident with their bodies and those who aren’t. Some of the latter sign up because they feel this will help them become more confident.” Most of his clients in this niche are women, Sen adds. He has shot with a few couples. “It was their anniversary gift to themselves.”

Overall, the numbers are rising. Sen says he had zero clients signing up for nude or erotic photography a decade ago, and about six or seven a year today.

The price: Sen charges between ₹60,000 and ₹1.5 lakh, depending on the number of frames requested, how elaborate one wants the location and set-up to be, and whether styling is required. Payment includes a guarantee of ownership for the client, and privacy protection. Certain terms can be insisted upon. For instance, “I’m the only one who works on erotic photographs for my clients, and the only one who sees them,” Sen says.

The verdict: So, should you do this? “People find it liberating, but they need to come to this on their own,” says Sen. “Nobody should be pushed into it. If they’re eager, if they want to try something, then this is for them.”

From HT Brunch, July 1, 2023

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• Topics
• Ranveer Singh
• Mindy Kaling
• Jennifer Aniston

Rwandan genocide to Russia’s Ukraine invasion, celebrated photojournalist Ron Haviv has long documented the horror of war. Today he works to expose AI threat.

In the time it takes to read this article, around 10 million photographs will be taken. Most will come from the smartphones of users who are compelled to constantly document their lives. By contrast, award-wining US photojournalist Ron Haviv has mostly taken photos to document conflict. He has photographed more than 25 wars, from the US-led invasion of Iraq to conflicts in Afghanistan, Panama, Haiti, and most recently, Ukraine

Born in 1965, he is co-founder of the photo agency VII and works with UNICEF, Doctors Without Borders and the International Red Cross, in addition to numerous publications.

While his thought-provoking images have become a way to raise awareness about the horrors of war and violence, this was not initially by design.

(Also Read | That’s no pizza: A wall painting found in Pompeii doesn’t depict Italy’s iconic dish)

“I wouldn’t say that I chose it,” he told DW at the Globadetl Media Forum in Bonn in June. “My first foreign assignment was in Central America covering elections in Panama that turned violent.”

Then everything changed.

“I took a photograph that became very famous. Seven months after I took the photograph, the United States invaded Panama. And the president of the United States spoke about the photograph as one of the justifications for the invasion,” he explained.

‘Raising awareness and education’

Haviv soon gained “an understanding at that moment that the photography that I could do, especially around conflict, could play a very serious role in conversation, in raising awareness and education.”

This sparked an interest in documenting historical events with his lens, including the 1989 fall of the Berlin Wall or Nelson Mandela’s release from prison in 1990.

But it wasn’t long before Haviv was dragged back into conflict zones, including the never-ending war in Iraq.

It was a steep learning curve for Haviv, and not just in terms of photography techniques. He also had to discover that “it was imperative that there we’re people telling these stories to hold people accountable, not only for their action, but for their inaction,” he explained.

Photography ‘becomes evidence’

“In my career I have documented three genocides – Rwanda, Bosnia and Darfur.”

Within some of the cruelest of human acts, taking photos becomes ever more important.

“The photography moves past this idea of just being journalism, it becomes evidence. Photography can’t stop a war. Photography can’t start a war, but it can play a very important role in the dissemination of information and the way that decisions are made.”

In 2015, Turkish journalist Nilufer Demir took an image that was to prompt responses from European leaders regarding a “human catastrophe.” The image of Alan Kurdi, the two-year old Syrian refugee who drowned in the Mediterranean Sea en route to Europe, lying face down in the sand, led many to ask the question of where the moral line should be drawn when photographers take such images.

‘The power of photography’

Haviv is in little doubt just how important these photos are. “I believe in the power of photography,” he said.

“I’m of the belief that the greater good overrides, that the story is important enough to be seen. Even if somebody’s crying or suffering, the photograph needs to be taken to show the world what’s happening.”

But what about the sensitivities, the intrusion? Haviv is unequivocal. “Having done this for more than 30 years,” he said, “I have never gone to a funeral of somebody that’s died through politics, war, famine, and been told, ‘No, don’t take any photographs.'”

People have instead demanded that he document the plight of their loved ones. “I have been physically dragged by a family member and said, ‘Photograph my son, photograph my child, show the world.'”

Fending off the threat of AI

But is the whole photography craft under threat from transformational technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI)?

“What you should be expecting from people like myself is authorship of an idea,” he said in response to the threat of AI. “This is a story that I’m telling in depth, especially now. There is integrity, that this is not an AI production: This is reality.”

He continued: “I’m showing you a true representation of the way that I saw things. And you have to trust me because I am a valued person or I’m doing it with The Economist and you trust The Economist and therefore you believe what you’re seeing.”

With AI able to easily manipulate images, “we are moving more and more into this place where it will be very difficult to believe what you’re seeing,” Haviv said.

But there is a chance that such dystopian misrepresentations can be avoided.

“There is no place for AI in my world,” the photographer continued. “The goal is to keep AI out and it has to be done in partnership with the publications, in partnership with the camera companies, and most importantly, in partnership with the audience.”

He describes a new initiative led by Adobe called Content Authenticity Initiative, whereby photo files will be given a blue check to confirm they have not been manipulated.

Haviv has been in the photojournalism business for over three decades. Though many things have remained the same, technology now threatens the authenticity of the craft, meaning the way we see the world needs to be questioned more than ever.

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It happens to be his daughter Tess’s 16th birthday on the day I speak with Sheldon Serkin about this photograph, which he took when Tess (on right) was just six. Sheldon and his wife, Tali, had taken Tess and her older brother, Elliot, to visit an exhibition at New York’s Bronx zoo when they came upon the prairie dog enclosure.

“I wanted to take a photo of these bubbles in the ground, which visitors can climb up into as though they are in with the animals,” Serkin says. “It looked like an alien landscape to me. I framed the shot without the surrounding spectators, and as one of the prairie dogs took centre stage, children popped up in all three bubbles. It was brilliant timing and made an even better photo than I had anticipated.”

Back in 2013, Serkin was using an iPhone 5, and the app Hipstamatic for his edits. “I still use it once in a while,” he says. “It has some good filters.”

Serkin has been shooting strictly with iPhones since he began street photography in 2010, and cites their intuitive nature as the main reason he has never felt the need to explore competitor brands. As for how he feels about this photograph after all this time, he says that, despite being the harshest critic of his own work, he still likes it a lot.

“I’m always trying to anticipate what will happen next when I’m shooting, but sometimes things come together in just the right way at just the right time.”