This year’s shortlist was narrowed down from over 3,000 entries to 25 images.

The annual Milky Way Photographer of the Year competition features the best photos of our galaxy as selected by the travel photography blog Capture the Atlas. This year’s 25 winning images, revealed on Wednesday, were captured everywhere from places like Madagascar and Yemen to New Zealand and Patagonia. 

On its website, Capture the Atlas said, “Modern cameras can capture vibrant details and colors in the night sky beyond what our eyes can see. However, what really matters in any great image is the photographer behind the camera, who provides the idea, plan, and creativity to bring the image to life.”

Now, here are a few of the finest images from the competition, which include pictures captured from the remote deserts of Socotra, Madagascar, Atacama, and Namibia. It also includes spectacular pics taken from Patagonia, Australia, and New Zealand.

Argentina – “Cafayate Star Factory” by Gonzalo Javier Santile

Madagascar – “Night Under The Baobab Trees” by Steffi Lieberman

This year’s shortlist was narrowed down from over 3,000 entries to 25 images, that were snapped in 16 countries around the globe. According to its website, the entries were judged not just on the quality of the images, but on the story behind the shot and how well it might inspire others to get out there and snap their own photos. 

Namibia – “South Of Home” by Lorenzo Ranieri Tenti

Spain – “Celestial Shield” by Ivan Ferrero

Sharing a collage of winning images on social media, the organisation wrote, “Be inspired by the best Milky Way images taken around the world!” 

✨THE 2023 MILKYWAY PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR✨https://t.co/gaSaoIlrS5

Be inspired by the best Milky Way images taken around the world! pic.twitter.com/2kUwblXctj

— Capture the Atlas (@capturetheatlas) May 30, 2023

Sharing tips with those hoping to hone their astrophotography skills, Capture the Atlas also noted that the Milky Way season ranges from February to October in the Northern Hemisphere and from January to November in the Southern Hemisphere. The best time to see and photograph the Milky Way is usually between May and June on both hemispheres, it revealed.
 

A photographer who claims Kanye West threw her cell phone to the ground in a confrontation is suing the troubled rapper for assault, she said Thursday.

Nichol Lechmanik said the artist, who is now formally known as Ye, caused her “great mental and emotional pain” in the January confrontation.

A paparazzi photographer is suing Ye — also known as Kanye West — for assault, battery, and negligence. West was caught grabbing her phone and throwing it into the street, according to Variety.

What is Kanye West being sued for?

Photographer Nichol Lechmanik filed an official lawsuit this week with the Ventura County Superior Court, according to Variety. This comes after the photographer initially called 911 and filed a police report. Following an investigation, the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office said that Lechmanik declined to press charges against Ye.

However, it seems she changed her mind on the matter. Lechmanik now seeks damages against Ye, claiming that she sustained “great mental and emotional pain.” The photographer has also been unable to do her job, resulting in a loss of income.

According to Lechmanik, an encounter she had with Ye led to him grabbing her phone and throwing it onto the street. In a press conference on Thursday she recounted the story, where she accused Ye of reaching into her car and grabbing her phone.

“He reached into my car as if he were going to hit me, he grabbed my phone out of my hand and then angrily threw it into the street,” Lechmanik said. “He caused so much fear that I have not been the same since.”

When did the incident take place?

According to the lawsuit, the incident itself occurred on January 27, 2023, while Ye was outside a sports academy while attending his daughter’s basketball game with ex-wife, Kim Kardashian. The lawsuit states after Ye “angrily” confronted a paparazzi that was taking photos of Kim, Lechmanik began to film the altercation. This led to Ye allegedly grabbing her phone.

“Given Defendant Ye’s reputation for violence against photographers, his history of physically harming them, and based on his threatening body language, Plaintiff became fearful for the photographer’s safety,” the lawsuit states. “She did not want to get out of her car because she was afraid of Defendant Ye.”

The lawsuit goes on to note that Ye claimed “You all ain’t gonna run up on me like that,” before saying “if I say stop…stop with your cameras.” The photographer responds to Ye by mentioning that he is a celebrity, which escalates into Ye taking the phone and throwing it “onto the street towards oncoming traffic.”

“I just think that people do not understand the hardship that we go to as far as photographers,” Lechmanik said when asked if she believes paparazzi invade celebrity’s privacy. “I’ve never had any other incident happen like this with any other celebrity… I want people to know is that there are good people that do this profession. We’re mindful fo the celebrities. We’re always concerned of their well being. I would never do any harm.”

Attorney Gloria Allred, who was with Lechmanik at the press conference, backed up her client, noting that photographers should be able to do their jobs without being “interfered with by a celebrity.”

“Professional photographers who earn their living by being photographers have the right to do that without being interfered with by a celebrity,” Allred said. “He can express his displeasure using words, but he does not have a right to grab someone else’s property — in fact, that property being that tool used by a photographer to make his or her living as a photographer — and stop them from earning a living by filming what is going on at that moment. He needs to understand he was in a public place. The street is a public place. Anyone has the right to film in a public place. If he doesn’t want to take the risk of being filmed, he can choose to stay in his home where he’ll have privacy.”

British professional photographer Mark Dobson of Wild Seascapes is well-known for his spectacular seascape and water photography. His work enchants viewers by showcasing water’s staggering power and beauty, especially violent ocean waves. PetaPixel spoke with Dobson to learn more about his brilliant work.

A Focus on Mood over Moment

While many landscape — or seascape — photographers focus on the entirety of a scene and try to capture brilliant, sweeping vistas, Dobson’s focus is recognizing the “mood” of a scene and starting from there.

“My main approach is to capture the mood rather than the overall scene. This is achieved by studying the waves and watching where the drama takes place. When arriving at a location, the camera will stay in the bag for thirty minutes or so. I’ll watch the light and how it interacts with the waves,” Dobson tells PetaPixel.

When surveying the ocean, it seems like there can easily be too much to consider. There’s a lot there. Dobson looks for areas where waves are colliding, as “this can create incredible shapes,” he explains.

“One other thing I’ll be looking out for is seabirds. They can add so much to an image. Patience is needed here waiting for the birds and the wave to work together in unison. Composition is still required to achieve an impacting photo,” Dobson adds.

Scouting and Focal Length

Having grown up along the British coast, Dobson is intimately familiar with coastal regions’ ever-changing tidal conditions and rapidly shifting weather. It’s not a matter of him throwing his gear in a bag and heading to the seaside; he plans around tidal conditions and keeps a close eye on the swells.

“Depending on the direction of the swell, tide times, and light. I’ll decide on a location the day before. Different beaches or coves can work best on different tides. I have areas that work for waves on low, mid, or high tide. This opens up a great choice for sunrise or sunset shooting. I’ll always spend a while studying the waves when arriving at the location. Before settling on a position to shoot from,” he explains.

He also adds that researching ocean charts is extremely helpful.

“Researching charts is a massive help; predicting when the conditions will be optimum for shooting waves. Looking at the larger picture, I’ll check the swell charts in the North Atlantic during winter. Storms often start to materialize around Greenland and Northern Canada before making their way across the Atlantic, and intensifying before they reach our shores in the UK and Northern Europe. During the summer and early Autumn, I’ll keep a close eye on hurricane season, tracking any potential swell that may head our way,” Dobson says.

As for focal length, Dobson’s go-to choice for shooting waves is around 400mm — much longer a lens selection than most other genres of landscape photography.

Shooting Speeds

For a long time, Dobson says he used his camera’s continuous high shooting mode, to ensure that he captured the perfect moment. However, with experience, he has shifted away from that and mostly uses continuous low.

“Memory cards can fill up quickly when shooting in high burst modes,” Dobson remarks.

As for shutter speed, it depends on the mood he’s trying to capture. In cases when Dobson wants to capture every droplet of water, he starts at 1/1000 second shutter speeds.

“Depending on lighting conditions, the ISO sometimes has to be increased to achieve this speed. In constantly changing light, you’ll need to keep a close eye on your exposure and adjust as necessary,” Dobson explains.

Sometimes there’s just not enough light to capture high-speed action.

“I’ll make the conditions work in my favor. I’ll shoot long-exposure shots of the waves. I’ve found this to be a creative advantage. You’ll always return home with images regardless of what the weather throws at you.”

Composition and Color are Critical to Mood and Impact

Dobson previously explained that he constantly scours the seas for areas where waves collide and light breaks through the water. These areas of light are vital to his compositions.

“I’ll concentrate on getting the right balance of darks and lights within the frame, honing the viewer into the most important part of the image. Our eyes are attracted to light, and this is where I’ll compose the most important part of the image,” Dobson says.

When translating the ocean’s mood into a photograph, color is essential. Dobson is especially adept at capturing the critical colors of the ocean.

Dobson explains his color workflow: “I used to shoot in auto white balance until about four years ago. I changed to primarily shooting using K (Kelvin mode). This has proved to be much more effective. While white balance modes can be changed in post-processing. I’ve found the Kelvin setting to give reliable results. If I decide to make any color changes within Adobe Photoshop, the selective color adjustment will be my go-to process.”

Dobson’s Return to the Coast Sparked a New Career

“I grew up on the South Coast opposite the Isle of Wight. We lived close to the sea, and I’d spend weekends with friends riding our bikes on the seafront. I later moved to London and spent a great deal of time living the city life. It wasn’t until 2017 that my wife and I moved to Cornwall and began a new chapter. That’s when my professional career as a photographer began. I was originally a postman for fifteen years,” Dobson says.

Serenity Has Its Appeal, Too

While Dobson is perhaps best known for his images of violent, crashing, turbulent waters, he also has images of traditional landscape scenes and even more abstract photos of still waters.

“While shooting clam waters may not carry the thrill and excitement of a storm. It does offer the opportunity to slow things down. I like this approach. Watching the ever-changing patterns on the ocean’s surface looking for pockets of light,” says Dobson.

While he often uses a telephoto lens when photographing wild seas, his approach is quite different when shooting calm waters.

“The technique is to get as level with the ocean surface as possible without getting the camera wet. Patterns are particularly important here for an impacting image. Both slow and fast shutters will work here, try both and see which results stand out the most,” Dobson explains.

More from Mark Dobson

A lot goes into capturing beautiful seascape photography, including location scouting, understanding the weather, and of course, all the artistic and technical aspects of making photos. Mark Dobson offers numerous workshops through his website, including storm chasing in Cornwall, England, and workshops in beautiful European locations including France, Iceland, and Portugal.

More of Mark Dobson’s brilliant seascape photography is available on his website and Instagram.

Image credits: All images © Mark Dobson / Wild Seascapes

People come to Alaska for a variety of reasons. Award-winning photographer Mark Kelley came with the hopes of meeting a whale, and almost 50 years later, he’s still here. On this episode of Outdoor Explorer host Martha Rosenstein and Kelley talk about the challenges of photographing wildlife in Alaska, turning his passion into a career and what it’s like to return to a special spot year after year to observe and photograph bears.

HOST: Martha Rosenstein

GUEST: Mark Kelly

LINKS:
Mark Kelly Photography
Facebook
Instagram

BROADCAST: Thursday, June 1st, 2023. 10:00 am – 11:00 a.m. AKT

REPEAT BROADCAST: Thursday, June 1st, 2023. 8:00 – 9:00 p.m. AKT

The world is frothing for a new Frank Ocean album. Judging by the mess that was Ocean’s long-awaited Coachella headlining set, it doesn’t seem like it’s happening anytime soon — and in fact, it appears that Ocean has been exploring his other creative talents, which he’s sharing in a new photography book. It might not be an album, but in his benevolence, Ocean is releasing Mutations, a collection of his photographs, which is now available from Homer.

It’s been two years since Ocean launched his luxury brand Homer — which proved to be a refreshing departure from sexless celebrity brands by selling things like a jeweled cock ring. We’ve only gotten a sneak peek at Mutations, but it appears to be more tonally and less obviously sexual.

Like most things when it comes to Ocean, the details are obfuscated by hype, which is part of the fun of it all. What we do know is Mutations is a 48-page booklet on tissue-weight paper, featuring a retrospective of Ocean’s artwork from October 19 through December 22, 2022. It’s not clear exactly what the book entails, but judging from the web preview it appears we can expect grainy product shots of Homer’s germ-like pendants in slime-green and cerulean; photos of the singer in his bowl cut wig, as well chilling images of Ocean wearing a lime-green plastic mask that looks like what he carried at the 2021 Met Gala.

A new Homer campaign and collection is also coming, per a press release, but as expected, details were scarce. However, there do appear to be new silver pendants featuring figures poised with forks and knives, ready to chow down, as well as new campaign photos displaying a pendant with the words “BEEF.” (No Netflix collab detected.)

Mutations is available to purchase in store at Homer, 74 Bowery, NYC or online at www.homer.com for $75.

The Simi Valley Cultural Arts Center is sponsoring a pop-up art exhibit featuring current and recently graduated students from the Moorpark College Photography Department.

The exhibit, titled “Finding Our Voices,” will be on display through July 31 inside the Simi Valley Public Library, 2969 Tapo Canyon Road.

An opening reception and artist talk will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. Thurs., June 29 at the Simi Valley Library. The public can come and meet the featured artists who will be in attendance at the reception. Light refreshments will be available

Admission to the library and the opening reception are free.

Library hours are from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and from 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday.

“Finding Our Voices” showcases the artwork of Brooke Andraus, Felipe Araneda, Gabrielle Biasi, Kat DeGuzman, Gerardo Delgado, Blake Fagan, Richard Gonzalez, Karissa Haff, Cameron Han, Ryan Interrrante,

Jesus Isabeles, Mary Maki, Victoria McLaughlin, Joseph Mercado, Joseph Moche, Rolla Parks, Chistopher Pineda, Olivia Ricketts, Ruth Salazar, Madeleine Salvay, Becky Savell, Cristina Serrano and Kaela Watso.

Students are using the medium of photography to find their voice as they navigate private and public life in this exploration of self, time and place, curators say.

The Moorpark College photography program teaches the technical and aesthetic principles of fine art and commercial photography as students learn to work in a traditional black-and-white laboratory as well as with new digital software and equipment.

The art displayed in “Finding Our Voices” showcase the skills and techniques that are being explored within the photography department.

For more information, call (805) 583-7905 or go online to simi-arts.org.

Kanye West is being sued by a photographer after the rapper threw her phone into the street during an encounter earlier this year.

Photographer Nichol Lechmanik filed a lawsuit against West for assault, battery, and negligence this week.

The incident took place in January when West realized several photographers were following him after he and his new wife Bianca Censori attended his daughter’s basketball game in California.

According to the lawsuit obtained by TMZ, Lechmanik alleges that West was confronting another photographer and was going through the man’s pockets.

However, she then claims West turned his attention to Lechmanik and approached her as she sat in her car.

In footage of the encounter filmed by Lechmanik’s business partner who was in passenger seat of her car, West approaches the photographer and tells her: “You didn’t have to run up on me like that. If I say stop, stop with your cameras.”

In the clip, West then grabs Lechmanik’s cell phone from her hand and throws the device into the street. The photographer claims the phone landed into oncoming traffic.

‘Traumatized and Humiliated’

In the lawsuit, Lechmanik claims the encounter has left her traumatized and humiliated, and that she lost earnings as she was unable to return to her occupation of photographing celebrities.

She is also seeking an injunction blocking Kanye from “touching, annoying or threatening not just herself, but any photographer.”

Lechmanik filed a report at the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department in California on the day of the January incident and deputies were called to the scene around 16:30. West was initially named a suspect in a battery investigation into the incident, but was never charged.

According to TMZ, the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office revealed that the cellphone had only suffered “minor damage” to its $30 protective case and Lechmanik had decided not to press charges at the time.

This is not the first time West has found himself in legal trouble with a photographer. In December, photographer Katelyn Mooney was reportedly left unable to pay rent after West failed to pay her $110,000 for a last-minute photo shoot.

Mooney is now suing West’s Yeezy Inc after the rapper allegedly only paid the Brooklyn-based photographer $15,000 — instead of the $110,00 he owed for the photo shoot.

Image credits: Featured photo via Wikimedia Commons.

The latest product to come out of Frank Ocean’s independent luxury brand Homer isn’t a piece of jewelry but rather, a collection of the artist’s photography.

Mutations is a 48-page booklet of images captured by Ocean last year between October 19 and December 22. Printed in the U.S. on tissue-weight paper, the book was published in-house by Homer and serves as a retrospective of his winter, featuring images of his friends wearing the jewelry.

A quick flip through the booklet online offers a glimpse at Ocean’s buddies modeling the green Sphere Legs Pendant, blue Sphere Cross Pendant and more.

Mutations retails for $75 USD and is available for purchase online and in-store at Homer’s New York flagship.

Homer at The New York Jewelers Exchange
70-74 Bowery
New York, NY, 10013

Elsewhere in art, a gallerist accused of $1.6 million USD in art fraud is set to strike a deal with authorities.

Have you questioned your own work or struggled with constantly feeling like you aren’t finding success as an artist? Hearing this might help remind you that we all experience similar struggles and many times, we are our own worst enemies.

This past winter, I took a trip to northern Norway to try to capture the northern lights. This video showcases just how hard it can be to show up to a beautiful location and walk away feeling like we got nothing at all. It leaves me questioning myself: “how on earth can I be somewhere this beautiful and not capture anything?” Most importantly, I speak vulnerably about how the experience left me feeling, and it’s something I think every photographer needs to hear, no matter what genre you shoot.

As artists, we tend to put heavy, many times unnecessary, weight on our shoulders to create new work, to stand out in a sea of millions or, at the very least, find satisfaction in ourselves. We create expectations based on all of those around us, and many times, there is no upside to these feelings. Satisfaction with our work is completely defined within ourselves. If you stick around for this entire video, it will hopefully connect to your own experiences. 

I wish more people got to see what struggles we can go through to capture an image rather than just the final result. We all consume the end product and never quite know what it took to get there.