He photographed them all: from Tina Turner, to Coco Chanel and Andy Warhol. But there’s photographing someone, and then there’s capturing a moment; Richard Avedon’s mastery of the latter saw him become one of the defining photographers of an era. 

Now, a wave of exhibitions (including ‘Avedon 100’ at the Gagosian) is marking what would have been Avedon’s 100th birthday. For ‘Avedon: Glamorous’, Hamiltons gallery in London has collaborated closely with The Avedon Foundation to curate an exhibition celebrating the power of the artist’s capacity to draw out the human emotion and individual mannerisms of his subjects and imbue his images with resplendent glamour. 

Since he first picked up a camera aged 12, Avedon engaged with photography in many guises. During the Second World War, he was tasked with taking identity photographs (‘I must have taken pictures of one hundred thousand faces before it occurred to me I was becoming a photographer,’ he said). Avedon then studied under art director Alexey Brodovitch (then at Harper’s Bazaar) at the Design Laboratory of the New School for Social Research. He began working as a freelance photographer, primarily for Harper’s Bazaar. Initially denied a studio by the magazine, he was forced to get inventive, photographing models and looks in more obscure locations, such as the streets, in nightclubs, on the beach. 

This instilled in Avedon a zest for carving out his own approach as a fine art photographer, which led him to be included in early solo shows at major institutions at The Smithsonian (1962) and the Minneapolis Institute of Fine Art (1970). He then became the first living photographer to be honoured with a solo exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1978, followed by a retrospective in 2002. 

‘We live in a time where contemporary culture is even more obsessed and fixated on celebrity, beauty, wealth and fame. Avedon documented this and so much more in his decades-long career with a camera,’ explains Tim Jefferies, principal of Hamiltons gallery. ‘These days our smartphones make us all budding photographers, but the exhibition shines a light on the skill and experience that is needed to extract the ultimate ingredients for a truly great photograph.’

Avedon’s subjects were wide-ranging, from anonymous sitters to friends; activists to celebrities. Throughout all, his work challenged the status quo, subverted beauty conventions, and, as illustrated in the show at Hamiltons, filled with wit, charisma and a deep grasp of human psychology. 

‘Avedon: Glamorous’, until 11 August, Hamiltons gallery, London. hamiltonsgallery.com (opens in new tab)

A Humboldt photographer is leaving a lasting legacy on his community following his passing. Tom Tierney is known for being a phenomenal photographer, supporter of his community, and friend. The 71-year-old died on Monday. Jim Crabtree, who owns V&S Variety Store in Humboldt and was a good friend of Tierney and his family, said Tierney’s community spirit is one of the things that always showed brightly through his friend.His love for his community is something seen in his photography. Every photo taken by Tierney captured the wonders of Humboldt County, leaving a lasting impression on anyone who sees them.”He helped develop a lot of people’s interest in photography nationwide,” Crabtree said. “His pictures would go out on Facebook and he’d get a lot of responses from all over the country.”Crabtree sells a number of products at his store, but what always sells out quickly are the calendars showcasing Tierney’s photos. “A lot of people would look at the pictures and say, I’ll just get next year’s calendar,” Crabtree said. “And it’s too late now.”Tierney is gone, but what remains now are the memories of him and his photos.Many of those photos, in some capacity, are found in many homes and buildings across Humboldt.One of those buildings is Humboldt’s library, where the executive is the Tierney family’s friend and neighbor, Julie Larsen.Larsen has a wall in the library dedicated to displaying Tierney’s artwork.However, Larsen said Tierney was about more than showing off his work; he wanted to help others follow their passion.”He even did a program for us here at the library on how to run a camera and how to capture pictures,” Larsen said.Larsen says if there’s one thing she knows is that Tierney was all about Humboldt.”He was just passionate about supporting anything with the town, like from here at the library and the school,” Larsen said.The Humota Theater is another place Tierney was passionate about.The theater has been run by a nonprofit since 2018, with Tierney as one of the first board members.”Once I had him on the board, it was excellent talking to him because he was very passionate about it,” said Chad Theesfeld, the theater’s board president. “He was an artist and that’s just the way it is.”Tierney may be gone now, but like all artists, his work will live on, as will his legacy.”Everybody will just keep remembering Tom every time they get out a camera or take a picture with their phone,” Larsen said.

May 13 | Matamoros, Mexico

Migrants, who had been waiting on the Gateway International Bridge in hopes of getting interviews for asylum in the United States, are turned back to Mexico to wait as lightning crashes and rain floods the area. When Title 42 expired and Title 8 went into effect, the repercussions for crossing the border illegally became more severe.

Carolyn Van Houten/The Washington Post

Various online communities and social media platforms have been abuzz lately over the recent alleged video released of BTS‘ V and BLACKPINK‘s Jennie taking a romantic stroll next to River Seine in Paris.

After the video was released on May 17, there have been many debates and discussions over whether the individuals in the footage are actually Jennie and V. However, the French photographer Amar Taoualit who released the video, confirmed that the two are indeed the two global K-pop idols and even released clear photos taken by another photographer to verify that V had worn the exact outfit seen in the video.

Then on May 18, the photographer took to social media and also clarified that the video was actually taken on May 15 at 11:36 pm Paris Time, and he released the video two days later to ensure the safety of both Jennie and V.

Both agencies – HYBE and YG Entertainment –  have responded that they are unable to confirm due to the artists’ privacy in response to the latest video of the stroll in Paris that was released.

Around a dozen photographers looked through their viewfinders as the sun began to set around Norse Way on May 10. Their lenses pointed toward flowers, shops and interesting architecture along the way.

During the monthly meetup, Long Beach Night Walks, photographers ranging in experience from first-time amateurs to professionals gather in different areas of Long Beach to take photos together.

“One of my favorite things is just going out and doing something that I love, and being around people that love the same thing that I do,” said Sirley Ramirez. “It’s really exciting.” 

Long Beach Night Walks is the brainchild of local photographer Travis Stock-Tucker. After living in Long Beach for 13 years, Stock-Tucker set a goal to meet other creatives while giving back to the community.

“I’ve never really connected with the other photographers and what I wanted to do,” Stock-Tucker said.

Stock-Tucker inherited his love of photography from his grandmother, who bought him his first 35mm camera when he was 7 years old, and captured the moment he unwrapped it on her own camera. 

His grandmother could always be seen on the periphery of family events clicking away on her camera. Throughout her life, she amassed a personal collection of thousands of photos.

Inspired by his grandmother’s passion, Stock-Tucker has continued taking photos and building his unique style for over 20 years, and is now sharing the art form with others. Stock-Tucker said his photos are typically darker night shots using long exposure.

During the last Long Beach Night Walk on May 10, participants formed a loose circle as Stock-Tucker explained the guidelines for the evening, which included announcing the monthly theme, “service,” and instructions to respect local business owners who may not want their establishments photographed. In line with the theme, some photographers focused on tables where people could be served, with others peeking through shop windows to take photos of the services offered within.

At each Long Beach Night Walk, photographers are invited to take photos based on the theme and submit them to Stock-Tucker, and the best one is recognized. Last month, Ramirez took the best photo for the theme “pastels,” with her photo of the Aquarium of the Pacific during sunset.

Stock-Tucker said Ramirez is a new photographer using her first camera, and has become a regular fixture at Long Beach Night Walks.

Among the other burgeoning photographers at May’s Long Beach Night Walks was 9-year-old Julien Del Solar, who was still wearing his elementary school uniform as he walked along Norse Village Way taking photos with his father.

“For me to help somebody that’s brand new, that’s probably my favorite part,” Stock-Tucker said.

Long Beach Night Walks take place on the second Wednesday of each month from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. To learn the location of each meet-up, visit @happilybeardedafter on Instagram.

… rummaging through folders tonight trying t find an image or two that talked to me … and finally I came up with these two. Above is beautiful piece of wood at Sunset Crater National Park. I have not been there hiking since the Museum Fire, but prior to that they boasted wonderful stands of tree trunks, standing and fallen that take on life in other forms as you look at them … and they are fun to work with.

Below is a photo of a Snowy Egret taking a closer look in the shallow water … perhaps tracking a small fish preparatory to spearing it with his beak? The water level at Lake Pleasant is up another two feet since Monday … another trip soon.

Into the weekend for me … keep breathing, smiling and making it a better world to live in. Always your choice!

Cheers,

Ted

I bring but this one common thought
My life has wrought;
That from the dregs of drear despair
Still everywhere
There is a joy I yet may sip—
‘Tis comradeship
With all mankind, the high and low
I know.

excerpt from I Know 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 …

One of the hardest parts of a wedding day to take portraits is after dark. But it’s also the time of day with the most potential. 

While today’s image is part of a bridal session, this is absolutely something I do on a real wedding day. When it comes to doing these on a wedding day, what I normally do is wait for all the traditional parts of the wedding reception to be over, and I simply leave for a few songs to try to find an idea or find a place that works for an idea I might already have in mind. Then, I get everything set up as much as I can and go back to the reception to let the couple know I’m ready wherever they are. Sometimes, they are ready right that second. Other times, it takes a few songs. The idea here is to get them a super cool and epic image without them feeling like I’m pulling them away from the fun. So, it’s just a matter of waiting until they are ready to take a break from dancing.

As for the gear, for this image I’m shooting on the Sony a9 paired with my 24mm f/1.4 GM lens. For lighting, I’m using two Stella Pro Reflex S lights on top of C8 automatic light stands from Cheetah Stand. The reason I love using the Reflex S is that it is a constant light that can also act like a flash with its digital burst mode. This is really important for this image because we are actually going to be using one light in constant mode and the second light in burst mode. 

The idea here is to use a slow shutter speed in order to get some blurry motion through the frame. But with that, I don’t want the bride’s face to also be a blurry mess. So, I have one light set to burst mode with a spot optic attached in order to just light the bride’s face. Because the light is in burst mode, the quick pop of light freezes the bride’s face, even if she is moving or if the camera is moving. 

The second Reflex S is going to be set to constant mode with a medium optic attached. This optic allows me to get enough spread of light in order to cover the dress. But I still have enough control so that I’m not lighting the floor or walls or letting this light spill onto the bride’s face. And because I’m in constant mode, my camera’s sensor will gather this light for as long as the shutter is open. So, to recap, one light is a quick pop that freezes her face. The second light is constantly on, so it gets seen the entire time the shutter is open. 

From here, I have my camera set to a .6-second shutter speed, ISO 100 and f/6.3 on the aperture. The reason I’m at f/6.3 is that I want my shutter speed to be long. And even in this pretty dark room, with this low of a shutter speed, I needed f/6.3 to fully remove any ambient light. Then, I set the power of my lights to match my camera settings. From here, I asked the bride to simply wave her dress around as I took photos. This waving motion paired with the constant lights shows a blur through the frame. But the pop of light from the other reflex S freezes the bride’s face. 

And that’s it. Hopefully, you found this walkthrough useful and have a few ideas for your next session. If you have any questions, make sure to drop them in the comments. 
 

Multiple photographers and writers for Outdoor Photographer Magazine say they haven’t been paid for their work since last year and the publication’s new owner indicates that these contributors only have themselves to blame.

Outdoor Photographer Magazine (and the associated website) has been a major player in the photography space for many years. It was purchased by The BeBop Channel Corporation earlier this year as part of an acquisition of Madavor Media.

It seems that in that acquisition, BeBop also picked up significant debt as Outdoor Photographer has allegedly not paid multiple contributors for several months, stretching back into the fall of 2022. PetaPixel spoke to multiple photographers who say they are still owed upwards of thousands of dollars. All photographers mentioned are being kept anonymous for their legal protection.

One photographer says that an article he wrote that was accompanied by eight photos was published last November, for which he delivered all of the assets on August 16, 2022.

“Outdoor Photographer’s own contract stipulated payment within eight weeks,” they say. “Here we are, without payment, six to nine months later depending on how you’re counting [and] BeBop will not respond to anybody’s emails.”

“Outdoor Photographer Magazine owes me $1,500 for a cover photo and article that ran [last year]. The way they have handled their cash flow issues has been appalling and I’d personally never work with this publication again,” another photographer says.

“I have a long history with Outdoor Photographer, from the second issue in 1985,” another photographer adds. “Only two times since then have I not been paid. The first time was when the founders walked away in bankruptcy in 2015. When Madavor took over, they made restitution for my loss caused by their predecessor Werner. The second time is for my most recent column.”

This photographer says that they understand the publication’s editors were laid off last week and claims that at this point, Outdoor Photographer is effectively defunct.

“I worked with excellent editors Rob Sheppard, Chris Robinson, and Wes Pitts, and they gave me a forum to write whatever I wanted since my column launched in 1997. In my efforts to improve the overall quality of the magazine, I recommended many photographers that have appeared in their issues.”

BeBop CEO Foists the Blame on Contributors

BeBop’s CEO and Artistic Director Gregory Charles Royal responded to PetaPixel in an email regarding the claims and effectively says that the fault for this situation lands on the shoulders of contributors. He does not, however, deny that many remain unpaid.

All quotes from Mr. Royal are unchanged from the email PetaPixel received, and all grammar, syntax, and spelling errors in said quotes are his.

“In taking over this company that was grossly mismanaged on an unbelievable level, one glaring question arises for the 100+ contributors that find themselves in this predicament: Why on earth would you continue to work for a company that was not paying you. For months upon months!” Mr. Royal says.

Mr. Royal indicates that he believes these recent social media outbursts are tied to the displeasure that BeBop has elected to shut down multiple publications — for example, Imaging Resource was closed earlier this month in a fashion that was so sudden, it caught the publication’s founder by surprise.

“Your community wants to criticize because we have taken sites down etc,” Mr. Royal says.

“But these properties lost a lot  of money, as to why the contributors were not paid- and it was reckless for them to be hired to the extent they were in the first pkace.   No you can’t blame it Covid or paper shortages, it was arrogance and a total disregard by some in management and certain editors,” Royal continues.

“The chickens come home to roost.”

Broken Contracts, Payment Plans, and Unpaid Bills

When asked directly if The BeBop Channel Corporation would honor the payments owned to contributors, Mr. Royal said yes, but noted that such payments would be delivered over time.

“Of course, but they receive weekly payments (all be them incremental) to at least pay down their balances. They are distributed evenly across the board as to why some contributors are upset on the nominal weekly amounts.”

PetaPixel has learned of no less than 15 contributors to Outdoor Photographer remain either mostly or fully unpaid for their work. While some have been paid in part as Mr. Royal claims, others have not received any replies to their communications and remain fully unpaid.

Additionally, those that are seeing payments are seeing extremely low values. Some photographers claim they have only received about $60 to date out of the thousands that are owed and others say that the weekly payments range anywhere between $15 and $20.

“The new owners have been making steady payments to me, albeit at only $20 per week, since April 21,” one photographer confirms.

Another photographer tells PetaPixel that at the rate of $15 per week that they are currently receiving payments, it would take two years for them to be paid in full.

“I met their deadline to submit my materials in September 2022 but they have not honored the contract I signed which states that payment would be made no more than eight weeks after publication,” they say.

“I have at least three colleagues who had work in issues before mine who have not yet seen a dime, so the CEO is either mistaken or lying,” another photographer says in response to Mr. Royal’s claims.

BeBop CEO to the Photo Community: Pool Your Resources

As mentioned, Mr. Royal tells PetaPixel that he believes most of this outcry is related to his choice to shut down multiple photography websites. He believes that if the photography community truly misses these outlets, they should put their money where their mouth is, so to speak.

“In response to the scores of emails we receive from contributors and readers, we offer you to pool your resources and purchase these beloved photo properties that have this support we are constantly hearing about,” Mr. Royal says.

Mr. Royal shared a banner advertisement (below) that his company is currently running on several of the publications BeBop now owns, which is offering the “as is” bundle of Digital Photo Pro, Imaging Resource, Digital Photo, Image Creators Network, and Outdoor Photographer for $500,000.

A second, larger version of the ad is also running across the network of sites.

“Even though I am a horn player, I will not hold my breath or maybe the community proves me wrong!” he says, indicating he either does not believe the photo community is dedicated to preserving these outlets or that they are incapable of raising the capital — or both.

After PetaPixel thanked Mr. Royal for his time, he responded only with, “👍🏾👍🏾👍🏾✌️✌️✌️.”

The Close Up Photographer Of The Year (CUPOTY) contest has released the winners of its ‘Minimal’ Challenge, decided by the CUPOTY community each year and running separately from the annual main competition and with a different theme.

This year, it celebrates images with a minimalist style.

‘We asked photographers to show us work that fits the description ‘minimal’,” explains Tracy Calder, co-founder of CUPOTY. “Essentially, what we were looking for was clean, uncluttered images with few elements. What we got was so much more. Everything from stink bugs to springtails and plant seeds were put before the judges, each picture a beautiful example of how simplifying a scene can really amplify its message.”

CUPOTY, founded in 2018 by photojournalists Tracy and Dan Calder, is an annual competition organized in association with Affinity Photo to encourage photographers to slow down, enjoy their craft, and make long-lasting connections with the world around them through close-up, macro- and micro-photography.

The main competition is open for entries now. The Early Bird deadline is May 31, 2023. The final deadline is July 9,2023.

Hungarian photographer Ferenc Kocsis is the overall winner of CUPOTY’s Close-up Challenge: minimal, with a beautiful image of Danube mayflies in flight (below).

“Danube mayflies take flight some time in August for about a week, flying at nightfall for only an hour or so,” said Kocsis. “The important thing is to be there at the right time.”

“This female Danube mayfly, swollen with egg clusters, flies over the Danube River in Hungary and lays its eggs close to where it was born. The larvae that live in the riverbed hatch in April, and in the last stage of their development, in August, they fly for the last dance of their one-year life.”

The third place of the competition went to this mountain hare sitting at midnight during a snowstorm in Norway. ‘”It was a rough winter evening in the very far north of the country and, my goodness, I was chilled to the bone, waiting for signs of life,” said Stefan Gerrits. “This hare seemed to have goose bumps, which made its hair stand on end.”

“A spider had spun its web right in front of our attic window, allowing me to photograph it against the sky,” said Gabi Swart. “Due to overexposing, it appeares almost plastic and transparent as the spider’s web disappeared.’”

“

“I love finding hidden details within ordinary macro subjects and this rough stink bug was no exception,” said Benjamin Salb. “I encountered it while out at 4 a.m. during a hunt last autumn. It was a chilly morning and the few subjects I found didn’t move that much. As a result, I was able to position the stick the stink bug was sitting on in the air to isolate it from the background and show off its complex details.”

“I found a colony of carpenter ants in the Black Mountain Nature Reserve in Canberra,” said Yicai Chang. “They kept shuttling among the leaves of a grass tree as if looking for a new food source. When one ant climbed onto one of the leaves, this simple but miraculous scene came into view. The ant, the leaves and the focal plane seem to be a split fraction of time. This perfectly fits with the theme that I was longing to express: the connection between nature and the universe.”

“This is not Earth from outer space, but the swirling body of an elephant seal,” said Alex Pansier. “A few years ago, I went on a photo tour to Antarctica with a stopover in South Georgia. The beaches were teeming with fur seals and elephant seals. This particular one was so relaxed I managed to photograph it quietly with some nice backlight in low key – my favourite style.”

“I love the beautiful trumpet-shape of the Calla Lily and wanted to create a minimal, uncluttered image with simple lines,” said Jane van Bostelen. “I found the strongest composition to be one where the tip of the petal was in focus and the rest was thrown out of focus using a shallow depth of field.”

“Walking with co-students of my photography class in the forests of Normafa, Budapest, during the fall looking for interesting macro subjects I noticed that the forest was full of Cyclosa spiders,” said Krisztina Macsai. “I searched to find one of these orb-weavers that would allow me to photograph it at this unusual angle.”

“This bird’s-eye view of an American crocodile was made over the Tarcoles River of Costa Rica, from a bridge,” said Lovre Culina. “Crocodiles are ambush predators and spend most of their time being still and waiting. My aim was to depict this incredible marvel of nature in its element, while leaving the viewer slightly unsure about what is being shown.”

Despite their painterly appearances, each Colour Study starts with a camera and a series of photographs of papers and colour acetates, layered three to five deep on a stack of glass shelves.

“The images are layered and blended in the computer to create abstractions that reference contemporary art, including pointillism, color fields, transparencies, collage and painterly techniques,” said Paul Gravett. “The hallmark of this experimental process is unpredictability and discovery, leading to startling and unexpected images that blur the boundary of photography and contemporary art, tricking the eye and testing our assumptions about photography.”

All the finalists here.