Renowned Associated Press photojournalist Elise Amendola — a determined, joyous and patient journalist who masterfully photographed pivotal global news and sporting events spanning decades — has died. She was 70.

Amendola, who recently retired from the AP, died Thursday at her home in North Andover, Massachusetts, after a 13-year battle with ovarian cancer, her wife and fellow photographer Mary Schwalm said Friday.

Amendola documented many important moments in history, including the fall of the Berlin Wall, the Boston Marathon bombing, the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center, U.S. presidential campaigns, and many Super Bowls, Olympics, World Series and other major sporting events.

“I owe the AP for our beautiful life,” Schwalm told the AP Friday. “I first met Elise when I was a photo runner at the Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia. By Athens in 2004, I was a staff photo editor on the sports desk and we’d become friends. I had the pleasure to edit her photos … It was so easy, she never missed.”

The two worked together for years — Schwalm in New York and Amendola in Boston, often collaborating on assignments.

In the fall of 2006, Schwalm said she left her photo editing position in New York to live with Amendola in North Andover. “Seventeen years of pure joy, 11 of them as her wife,” she said. “I am heart broken.”

Her longtime friend and teammate, fellow Boston photographer Charles Krupa, described one of his favorite photographs that Amendola made when the two were on assignment together covering golf.

Davis Love had just won the PGA championship in 1997.

“After a hard week of work in the rain,” Krupa remembered, “Love tipping his cap to the crowd with a panoramic rainbow tying the moment together as one.”

“I knew she had the angle on it, and when we were done with the day she absolutely nailed that picture. She nailed pictures like that throughout her career,” Krupa said. “(Love) found his pot of gold that day, and Elise did too.”

Amendola started her career with the AP wire service as a freelancer in the early 1980s before being hired onto staff in 1983. She retired in 2021. She was born in New York and was a graduate of Tufts University.

“The word legend is often overused, but in this case, it’s not big enough,” said Associated Press Director of Photography David Ake in a note to staff. “She was a superior photographer but, more importantly, a fabulous person.”

Ake remembered his days “chasing candidates” around New Hampshire with Amendola.

“Her coverage of the first Clinton presidential campaign should be a textbook,” Ake said. “It didn’t matter how cold, hot, wet, or miserable an assignment was; Elise never caved and stuck with it until a picture was made. If I had to describe what drove that determination, I would say ‘joy.’”

AP business photo editor Peter Morgan first met Amendola at the Boston bureau around 1980, when she brought in tennis photos for consideration. Morgan was trying to get started as a stringer at the time, and worked with her on dozens of assignments over the following decades.

“Elise was one of the greats — not just as a photographer, but as a person,” Morgan said. “It was a joy to know you would be working on the same assignment – her presence guaranteed good photos and good company.”

AP photographer Julie Jacobson said she admired Amendola and her work before the two ever met, when she was still working for a newspaper in the 1990s.

“There weren’t a lot of women photographers who shot sports back then,” Jacobson said. “But she did, was good at it and she was one of a few whose bar I looked to when setting my own goals.”

Then Jacobson was hired as a staff photographer at the AP, and said she was “star struck” when she met Amendola.

“Meeting Elise for the first time at the Salt Lake Olympics in 2002 was really exciting for me,” she said. “We would end up working together multiple times at various events through the next 19 years or so, mostly sporting events. And I was always star struck.”

Jacobson said Amendola was the “the epitome of team player, happy to shoot anywhere and share knowledge with the rest of the crew.”

More importantly, she said, Amendola treated everyone with respect. “As good as she was, no one was beneath her,” Jacobson said.

Bill Sikes, a retired Boston AP photo editor, recalled a moment after the Boston Marathon bombings in 2013.

“Elise and her longtime teammate Charlie Krupa slept in the lobby of the Westin Hotel overnight so not to be forced outside the police perimeter that had been set up around the site,” Sikes said. “The next morning, Elise went to the upper floors of the hotel and knocked on doors till she found a room that provided a view of both bombing sites. She rented that room so all AP platforms had that vantage point for the remainder of the week.”

Remembering her dedication to the craft, Sikes said, “There was never a doubt she would deliver compelling photos from every type of assignment, no matter the challenges.”

Amy Sancetta, a fellow retired AP photographer, remembered her friend on Friday.

“She fought her illness with the same tenacity, courage and good nature that she carried in all aspects of her life,” Sancetta said. “Elise never, ever gave up: not climbing the hill on 18 at Augusta, not freezing all day at the base of an Olympic ski mountain, and not with cancer. Working, playing hoops, enjoying her life and her friends and her beloved wife Mary Schwalm, Elise showed her joyous spirit and firm determination.”

Schwalm said Elise, who loved basketball, preferred to not have a service or flowers.

“She’d love for you to go to the courts, and shoot a basketball from the baseline, her best midrange jump shot,” Shwalm said in an email to the AP. “Or make an assist in some way, Elise loved to make a good pass.”

Artnet’s current auction, Signature Works, features career-defining photographs by influential and daring creators, spanning from classic shots by Helmut Newton to Zanele Muholi’s bold, contemporary work.

The sale also features iconic photographs that originate from the commercial photography industry, including images by Horst P. Horst, Annie Leibovitz, and Steve McCurry that were originally produced for print publications. We spoke to Artnet’s Head of Photographs, Susanna Wenniger, about how these works represent profound artistic accomplishments while simultaneously satisfying a commercial practice—as well as contributed to artists’ long-standing fight for photography to be considered fine art,  which has been ongoing since the medium’s inception in the early 1800s.

Horst P. Horst, Mainbocher Corset (1939)

Horst P. Horst, Mainbocher Corset (1939). Est. $30,000–$50,000.

One of the earliest and most important fashion photographers in history, Horst P. Horst created distinctly modern photographs that drew inspiration from the Surrealist movement. Mainbocher Corset (1939) is Horst’s most famous work, and it was the last photograph he took in Paris before World War II. Seen from the waist up and obscured in dramatic shadow, Horst’s model resembles a classical sculpture.

The image was initially published in French Vogue in December 1939. There are two versions of the image: one with a loosened corset and the other tightened. The latter is shown here and was the version that appeared in Vogue, as the original image with the loose corset was deemed too provocative for the time. The print in our sale is a rare, large platinum palladium print from a small edition of 10. It stands out as one of the most important fashion images ever made, and it is even directly referenced in Madonna’s 1990 music video for her song Vogue.

Annie Leibovitz, Kate Moss (1999)

Annie Leibovitz, Kate Moss (1999). Est. $20,000–$30,000.

As her first foray into photographing high fashion, Annie Leibovitz was approached by Anna Wintour in 1998 to shoot a spread for American Vogue on Sean Combs—then known as Puff Daddy—and Kate Moss in Paris. “I could never be a bona fide fashion photographer,” stated Leibovitz in an interview with the New York Times. Rather, through her elaborate costumes and set designs, Leibovitz considers herself a “conceptual artist using photography.”

Leibovitz captured this image of Moss wearing an intricate headdress from fall 1999 Christian Dior couture that appropriated designs from the Hindu god Vishnu. While the accompanying article in Vogue focuses on Puff Daddy’s taste for all things luxury, this arresting image of Moss stands out as the artistic highlight of the shoot. Moss dons bejeweled earrings and a head covering while staring powerfully at the lens. A decade after its initial publication, this timeless image was jointly selected by Moss and James Danziger for the Kate Moss Portfolio, published in an edition of 30.

Annie Leibovitz, Keith Haring, New York (1986)

Annie Leibovitz, Keith Haring, New York (1986). Est. $40,000–$60,000.

Annie Leibovitz’s practice as a self-described conceptual artist is epitomized through her unconventional photographs of fellow artists, such as her iconic celebration of Keith Haring, pictured here. Leibovitz was commissioned by a Floridian magazine to capture images of the pioneering artist Keith Haring in 1986. Although the images were not published, since the magazine folded shortly after, the collaboration between Haring and Leibovitz is a testament to the important relationship between editorial and fine art. Once Leibovitz provided an all-white living room of thrifted furniture, Haring painted an array of black graffiti in his characteristic style all over the walls, sofa, and finally himself. His first time painting his body, Haring initially whitewashed just his torso. “When he came out of the dressing room he was wearing white painters’ pants,” stated Leibovitz, “but it just seemed obvious to both of us at that point that he should paint the rest of him.” Although initially intended for commercial purposes, Leibovitz’s image is a powerful conceptual portrait of one of the most important 20th-century artists, and offers lasting insight into both Haring’s and Leibovitz’s minds as creators.

Steve McCurry, Sharbat Gula, Afghan Girl, Pakistan (1984)

Steve McCurry, Sharbat Gula, Afghan Girl, Pakistan (1984). Est. $12,000–$18,000.

One of the most immediately recognizable photographic portraits of all time, Steve McCurry captured this mesmerizing shot while on assignment in Afghanistan for National Geographic. Much like how Dorothea Lange’s Migrant Mother humanized the Great Depression, McCurry’s image offered an important representation of the toll on humanity caused by the conflict in Afghanistan.

This image is a powerful example of how a photographic image can initially serve a functional purpose but then transcend its original intentions. The June 1985 cover of National Geographic has a Mona Lisa-esque intensity both from its compositional mystique and art historical prominence.

Signature Works is now open for bidding on Artnet until May 24. Browse the sale and place your bids.

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Editor’s Note: This article was originally published by The Art Newspaper, an editorial partner of CNN Style.

Prints of photographs from Madonna’s wildly popular 1992 coffee table book “Sex” will be available for purchase for the first time at Christie’s New York this fall, part of ongoing projects to mark the 30th anniversary of the controversial publication.

In October, over 40 prints first published in “Sex” will go up for sale as part of a special standalone auction. Each print will be an edition of one and signed by Madonna and fashion photographer Steven Meisel, who shot the book, with prices ranging from $50,000 on the low end up to $300,000, according to Darius Himes, Christie’s deputy chairman and international head of photographs. Some of the proceeds will go toward Raising Malawi, a nonprofit founded by Madonna in 2006 to support orphans and vulnerable children in the southeast African country.

“Thirty years on, ‘Sex’ is still somewhat controversial, but it still reads as a very body-positive, sex-positive book,” Himes said. “It was both shocking and titillating and captured so much white-hot energy coming off of Madonna in the early 1990s.”

The publication of “Sex,” which was released in tandem with the pop star’s fifth album “Erotica,” caused a worldwide commotion in the early 1990s. The book included photographs of Madonna and others in the nude and simulating sexual acts. “Sex” also featured Madonna’s then-boyfriend, rapper Vanilla Ice, and stars like supermodel Naomi Campbell and socialite Tatiana von Fürstenberg. The Vatican told its followers to boycott the book, which was banned in countries like Ireland and Japan. Still, “Sex” was an instant hit commercially and sold more than 1.5 million copies.

The photographs featured in October’s auction were selected by Madonna, Meisel and Anthony Vaccarello, the creative director of Saint Laurent, which released a limited second run of “Sex” last year in Miami to coincide with Art Basel in Miami Beach. Those 800 copies — all signed by the “Like a Virgin” singer — sold out, and a pop-up exhibition of the photographs was a popular draw.

Himes described the series of photographs as “both playful and erotic,” adding that Meisel’s images hold up well, even three decades later.

“The series captures a moment in time of one of the great fashion photographers of his generation and the queen of pop. While there’s playfulness and campiness, there’s also a classical nude study thing going on. I think they resonate across multiple generations,” Himes says.

“Sex” was released around the peak of the AIDS epidemic in the US, Himes notes, and the book featured frank depictions of homosexuality at a time when gay relationships were less accepted in the mainstream.

In an October Instagram story, Madonna said she helped pave the way for other female artists to express their sexuality, though at the time she faced backlash for including images of “men kissing men, women kissing women and me kissing everyone.”

“I spent the next few years being interviewed by narrow-minded people who tried to shame me for empowering myself as a Woman,” Madonna wrote. “I was called a whore, a witch, a heretic and the devil.”

“Sex” wasn’t Madonna’s only controversial foray into art. Last year, she teamed up with digital artist Beeple to release a line of three NFTs (non-fungible tokens) based on a 3D scan of the singer in the nude. The NFTs show Madonna giving birth to creatures like butterflies, centipedes and even a tree.

After facing backlash over what some characterized as a vulgar cash grab, Madonna defended herself by saying the project only depicts her doing “what women have been doing since the beginning of time, which is giving birth.”

“We’re always operating and living under the male gaze, and unfortunately pandering to what we think people want us to do,” Madonna said during a Twitter Spaces interview with Beeple in May 2022. “It is often a challenge to create works of art … and it isn’t always pretty.”

Before the auction in October, the photographs will be exhibited at Christie’s London from May we until June 2, then in Paris from June 27 to July 6 before heading to New York on 30 September, where they will be on display until October 6.

Do your photos get noticed? Do you have a sizeable Instagram following? If you answered yes to those, you are probably in for a shock.

The Evolving Art of Photography

Once was a time when photography was limited to a select few. Although there were exceptions, these tended to be rich men who dabbled in what would now be considered junior school science. Their work was studied and celebrated by their peers.

Contrary to the artists’ fears, photography didn’t replace other arts. Nevertheless, new digital technologies do displace analog methods. For example, CGI in the movie industry replaced traditional skills. Consequently, most animatronic model makers, matte painters, and stop-motion animators became redundant and were replaced by people with computers.

Sometimes, the work of the photographic pioneers was denounced by other artists: it’s not real art. That negative opinion of photography has long since melted away and, with hindsight, can be seen as other artists fearing change and attempts at gatekeeping by those with skills in pencil, brush, and chisel.

Much the same arguments used against photography being art we hear today about A.I. A.I. offers a gateway to creativity that is accessible to the masses. Of course, people fear it because it’s new and its place in our future is unknown. It’s clear to see that, similar to the way that CGI displaced some other arts, A.I. will inevitably be used instead of some commercial photography. Product photographers, for example, would do well to start retraining to use A.I. now before their work is superseded.

Nevertheless, for most of us, the joy of using a camera, and the appreciation of photographic art produced by skilled and feeling humans, won’t go away.

Photography will continue evolving despite A.I. It may about bring another quantum leap in that evolution. Previous leaps included when photography became democratized during the First World War. Kodak Vest Pocket Cameras were mass-produced and used by soldiers, despite it being illegal to use them. By the armistice in 1918, almost two million cameras had been sold. Then, with digitalization, the diversity of photographs and photographers has grown along with the population of those who wield a camera.

Since then, things have changed in a way that would be inconceivable to those early pioneers.

An estimated 1.72 trillion photos were taken during the last year, and that’s growing. That’s an unimaginable number, about seventeen times as many photos as there are stars in the Milky Way galaxy or eleven times more photographs than insects. It’s the equivalent of 305 photographs for every camera-owning person on the planet; bear in mind that only about 42% of people own a camera of any form, includingphones, which account for nearly 90% of cameras.

These are incomprehensibly high numbers, so why would our photos, insignificant drops in the flood, ever be noticed? If you think yours are being noticed, think again. About ten billion photos get uploaded to the Internet every day.

Forget the Photographic Numbers Game

Not only are our photos lost in that flood, but most of those that see them are not moved by the work.

If I post the photo online, most viewers will look at the picture and, at best, think, “that’s pretty,” give it a little red heart, before swiping it away and moving on to someone else’s pretty picture that will be similarly dismissed.

Consequently, when think about what is happening with photos we post to Instagram and Facebook, or even 500px or Flickr, we are in for a shock. Unless you are a rockstar of a photographer with a name that’s known around the world for your sublime work, hardly anybody is taking any real notice of your pictures, no matter many followers you have or likes your photos get.

Think back to the last time you went on social media and liked some photos there. Can you remember what they were? Can you even remember who took them? There’s a good chance you don’t. Everyone else does the same to your photos too.

But all your followers, their little red hearts, and blue thumbs mean nothing. Most comments are throwaway too. All they mean is that your photograph was noticed for a few seconds because it cropped up in someone’s timeline. Those photos are just as quickly forgotten.

The Spotlight Effect and Photography

Everyone is convinced that they are being noticed more than they are. This is part of what is known by psychologists as the Spotlight Effect. As we are in the center of our own little sphere of awareness, we have a limited view of the world and believe everything revolves around us. Consequently, our evaluation of how the rest of the world sees us is exaggerated. It is why we crave those little red hearts on Instagram, it means we have been noticed and reinforces our false belief in our importance.

For most of us, the idea that our photos have any impact on anyone else is a deluded one. On social media, our photos are lost under a pile of other meaningless information. Instagram could be renamed Instaforgotten.

Great photographers may get a large following, but a large following does not mean you are a great photographer. Assuming you aren’t already up there with the likes of Arnold, Adams, and Arbus, social media leads us to suffer from delusions of mediocrity.

There’s a darker side to social media too. For those with social anxiety, the Spotlight Effect can be much exaggerated. Sufferers believe that everyone is looking at and judging them negatively. Therefore, those little red hearts reinforce the belief that they are being noticed when they are not.

Even If They Notice Them, Most People Are Not Affected by Your Photos

When I look at photographs, I want to be wowed. There is little better for me than viewing someone else’s fabulous print and recognizing the thought and skill that has gone into every step of creating it. That isn’t just the photographer’s technical ability, nor is it their perfect compositions, important though both of those often are, it’s the stories they tell and the emotions that their photos evoke.

Not only do I derive enjoyment from seeing superb images, but I learn from them too, especially so if they elicit an emotional response.

But that is something so hard to achieve. Consequently, I rarely see a photo that makes a lasting impression.

Equally, I love shooting seascape photography, yet I am under no illusion that my images will affect anyone else in the same way they do me. For me, my photos are part of the experience I had when I knelt on an icy cold, windswept beach capturing a sunrise. I’m often overawed by that moment and the photo helps me to evoke that. But that feeling is mine and not yours. So, how could I expect you to feel anything like that when you look at any of my photos? I cannot.

For example, I met a client on the beach at 4:20 a.m. last week. I instructed for an hour until the sun burst through between the horizon and a bank of clouds, flooding the scene with golden light. We were both in awe of the spectacle. Would the photos shot mean as much to you as they do to me? Probably not. For me to expect that would be an unrealistic expectation.

The same applies to your photos. Nobody will have the same emotional connection to your images that you do.  Trying to portray that same feeling to a third person with a photo is nigh on impossible.

There’s Good News About Realizing You Are Not Being Noticed

You might be depressed by what I have written. However, it is good news.

Once you are unshackled from the burden of chasing those disinterested followers and meaningless likes, you are free to photograph what you want, how you want. You are being true to yourself and will get much more satisfaction from that. It will allow you to experiment with your images and grow as a photographer, instead of producing Like Bait images that looked the same as the last one you shot.

Does that mean that your photos will be noticed more? Definitely not. In fact, you might alienate some of your viewers. But, as I’ve shown, a phone-scrolling, like-button clicker means nothing. Their ignoring your work doesn’t mean anything, either.

Most sportspeople do sports for the joy of taking part. They are without any expectation of being world-class or having dedicated supporters. The majority of actors don’t expect to win an award. Musicians play their instruments without any expectation of becoming the next Mozart. The same is true of any other creative process, including painting, pottery, and prose.

Yet, Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok have cloned a generation of photographers and videographers who are striving for recognition. Consequently, they produce vast qualities of disposable art. Instead of making throwaway work, they would find greater rewards from improving their work.

It’s the creativity, the process of taking the photo, that is important. Learning new proficiencies, honing them with practice, and then moving into new uncharted territory are all rewards in themselves.

Whatever you do, you are unlikely to achieve fame and fortune, or become the next Anna Atkins or Elliott Erwitt, so you might as well learn from shooting what you want in the way you enjoy.

Does this mean I am suggesting you stop posting images online? No, not at all. As someone who earns my living from photography, sharing my work online is an effective marketing strategy. It is essential, or my customers would not know I exist. Moreover, it is a good thing to share your art. Otherwise, is there any point in creating it? It’s a great thing to allow others to see the world through your eyes, and doing that online is easy. But we must accept that using that easy route will result in most people just giving your work a brief, casual glance.

Possibly, as a result of developing your own way of working, someone may connect with it and send you a message saying how much they liked it. Maybe it will inspire them to shoot similar photos. Alternatively, it might challenge their tastes and they will abuse you for it. Either way, it is a success.

I Am, Of Course, Writing This Article as an Instruction to Myself

Just like photography, writing is an art form. So, I follow my advice and write articles for myself and not for others. If someone reads it and gets something from it, even if they don’t enjoy it, that is a bonus for me. It’s the same with photography. As long as I enjoy shooting, then that’s all that matters.

Since adopting that attitude, I have been much more comfortable with what I do. It’s a healthy approach.

Do you chase followers and try to work the social media algorithms? Or are you disillusioned with likes and followers? Do you disagree with me and think that you have made it when your photos get hundreds or thousands of likes? It would be great to hear your opinions in the comments.

Samuel Fosso has been announced as the recipient of the prestigious Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation Prize 2023. The Nigerian photographer and contemporary artist is renowned for his extensive self-portraits depicting himself in the style of leading historical figures, and his dedicated near 50-year career has a definitive focus on performative photography.

The prize was awarded to Fosso in recognition of his retrospective self-titled exhibition, which was displayed for four months at the Maison Europeìenne de la Photographie in Paris, and cultivated his iconic as well as lesser-known series plus previously unseen works and archival content.

• These are the best lenses for portrait photography (opens in new tab)

One of the most distinguished awards that a photographer could receive in their lifetimes, the Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation Prize was awarded to Fosso last night at a ceremony hosted at The Photographers’ Gallery, London, in addition to receiving the grand prize of £30,000 ($37,000 / AU$56,000 approximately).

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Born in Kumba, Cameroon, in 1962 but raised in Nigeria, photographer Samuel Fosso opened up Studio Photo Nationale in 1975 at the age of just 13 – after having fled the Biafran War a few years prior. 

Specializing in commercial work as well as portraiture for most of his career, Fosso was given the title of ‘a man with 1000 faces’ as he creatively reshapes himself into another for each image. 

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Leading historical figures that have been portrayed by Fosso in his self-portraits include Martin Luther King, Angela Davis, Muhammad Ali, Tommie Smith, Patrice Lumumba, Malcolm X, and Haile Selassie, many of which form his series African Spirits (2008), while his earlier works from the 1970s are reflective of performance and social archetypes. In 2017, he created a self-portrait as the “Black Pope”. 

On winning the Deutsche Börse Prize, Fosso has shared that: “Winning this prestigious prize, recognised as one of the most important in the field of photography, means that my work is recognised by the artistic community. This recognition is very important to me. I feel a lot of joy and pride.”

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Deana Lawson, last year’s winner of the Deutsche Börse (opens in new tab)Prize, was praised for reframing the black experience through photography with her solo exhibition, Entropy which was displayed at the Kunsthalle Basel art gallery in Switzerland. 

The Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation Prize itself was founded in 1996 by The Photographers’ Gallery, and now in its twenty-seventh year, aims to reward artists and their projects which have stood out as having made the most significant contributions to the fields of international contemporary photography. 

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The other shortlisted Deutsche Börse photographers (opens in new tab) for 2023 included Bieke Depoorter, Arthur Jafa, and Frida Orupabo – who all received £5,000 (and $6,000 / AU$9,000 approximately). The exhibition showcasing all four artists will be on display at The Photographers’ Gallery (opens in new tab) until June 11 2023.

• You might also be interested in the best camera for portraits (opens in new tab), or more specifically – the best Canon portrait lenses (opens in new tab), plus the best Nikon portrait lenses (opens in new tab), and not forgetting the best lenses for creating bokeh (opens in new tab).

• Take a look at the best books on portrait photography (opens in new tab) to brush up your skills, and see these Three prime lenses every portrait photographer needs to consider (opens in new tab), plus our 14 tips for getting your best-ever portrait shots (opens in new tab)

Shin Noguchi, a talented photographer based in Kamakura and working in Tokyo, possesses a remarkable ability to capture intriguing snapshots of peculiar, and even somewhat whacky moments involving passers-by.

His photographs, taken in various locations throughout Japan (mostly in Kamakura), present an unbiased perspective, offering glimpses into authentic, unguarded moments that evoke a sense of mystery and occasional humor. Noguchi’s keen eye for detail and his aptitude for seizing spontaneous instances allow him to create a captivating visual narrative that showcases the quirkiness and unique charm of everyday life in Japan.

The photographer has also been featured on Bored Panda previously, and if you’d like to see more of his photographs, then make sure to click here!

More info: Instagram | shinnoguchiphotography.com

With beautiful spring and summer weather on the horizon, you may be looking to get out of the house and explore. Whether you’re searching for the perfect photography location or just want to go for a walk in some of Raleigh’s most beautiful locations – here are some of the most Instagram-worthy spots in the Raleigh area.

1. North Carolina Museum of Art

The North Carolina Museum of Art is, not surprisingly, full of beautiful locations – both indoor and out.

There are always interactive exhibits outside – like their giant metal brain, their enormous science-fiction rings, their ever-popular ‘Hobbit house’ and a literal ‘talk bubble’ that encourages you to pose with a friend or loved one.

You can see here that I’m all my dog Willow ever talks about!

The museum has rotating exhibits that feature unique photographic opportunities as well – including unusual uses of light, shadow, sound and flowers. Their You Are Here: Light, Color and Sound experience brought incredible opportunities for surreal photos. Their Art in Bloom also brings unique photography opportunities.

While their rotating exhibits bring a string of temporary photographic opportunities – and you can always check their current and upcoming exhibits on the NC Museum of Art’s website.

Their rolling, grassy field is always perfect for a beautiful day outside, and it includes enchanting natural spaces like gardens, wooden bridges and even a weeping willow over a bubbling stream.

Plus, the NC Museum of Art has several Instagram-worthy views and secret messages you can only see from above. Take a look!

2. Pullen Park

If you’re looking for blue skies, arched bridges and gazebos over a sparkling lake, Pullen Park offers countless Instagram-worthy spots.

Pullen’s meandering pathways and ornate gardens are perfect for a day outdoors – and they’ve been drawing crowds for more than century.

Their historic, century-old carousel offers a colorful and artful backdrop for any photo; plus, it’s just fun to ride on a beautiful spring day!

Plus, the park has several ‘hidden’ locations that are as aesthetic as they are fascinating: Take a selfie with Andy Griffith and Opie alongside a monument that has quite a history of drama and intrigue – including causing strife between Raleigh and Mt. Airy.

There’s also a ‘secret garden’ that hides the historic remnants of an era when Pullen Park had its own zoo. Today the lovely circular garden is planted in the footprint of the old alligator pit.

Pullen Park is located at 520 Ashe Ave, Raleigh, NC 27606.

3. Historic Yates Mill County Park

Take a selfie with history!

If you visit the beautiful trails and dazzling lake in the woods surrounding Yates Mill, you’ll almost always see several people stopping to pose for a picture on the rocks.

Featuring one of the only waterfalls in Raleigh, couples can often be seen snapping engagement photos with the water rushing in the background.

Even if you’re not there for photography, the hiking trails and scenic views offer a perfect mixture of nature and history.

The Historic Yates Mill County Park is located at 4620 Lake Wheeler Rd, Raleigh, NC 27603.

4. WRAL Azalea Gardens

The WRAL Azalea Gardens have been open since the 1950s, when a thousand colorful azalea bushes were planted outside the WRAL studio.

In the decades since then, WRAL’s gardens have become a popular springtime destination near downtown Raleigh, with thousands of visitors coming for picnics and walks, to snap prom or quinceañera photos, or even to celebrate a wedding.

The meandering pathways surrounded by dozens of colorful petals offer the perfect floral backdrop. Many families also love posing with the ornate fountain tucked away in the foliage and hedges.

Even better, WRAL currently has a very unique photo opportunity already drawing crowds: Our ‘once-in-a-century’ blooming of the enormous century plant. These rare plants look like something out of Jurassic Park. Already around 10 feet tall, the blooming plant is expected to grow to over 20 feet before bursting into yellow flowers. It’ll only last a few weeks, and then the plant dies – so this photo opp is limited!

Here’s everything you need to know about visiting the WRAL Azalea Gardens — and here’s everything you need to know about visiting our century plant!

The WRAL Azalea Gardens are located at 2619 Western Blvd, Raleigh, NC.

5. Lassiter Mill

Did you know a beautiful waterfall is hidden right in the middle of a Raleigh neighborhood?

Another blend of history and nature, this hidden gem is tucked away inside the Beltline at the intersection of Lassiter Mill Road and Lassiter Falls Circle.

Originally known as the ‘Great Falls of Crabtree,’ this section of creek has been used as a mill site even before the City of Raleigh existed. Today, you can see remnants of a mill, including a grand stretch of falls reaching across the entire body of water. Beautiful homes surround the site, which today serves as a popular city park.

6. Boylan Bridge

If you want a skyline shot of Raleigh, this is one of the most popular places to snap that photo.

Boylan Bridge offers sweeping views of Raleigh, including the iconic shimmer wall on the convention center, the glowing point of the PNC building and the train tracks entering the historic warehouse district. The view is equally aesthetic on a sunny day with blue skies, during a dazzling purple sunset or with the glowing lights at night.

Bonus: You can stand on the bridge and pose with the city skyline behind you.

7. Annie Louise Wilkerson Nature Preserve

Blue skies, rolling green fields, giant boulders, nature trails and even a secret fairy garden – there’s plenty to see and photograph at the Annie Louise Wilkerson Nature Preserve. Deer frolic past. A tranquil lake sits in the distance.

A doctor who delivered more than 8,000 babies in Raleigh donated her home and land to become a nature preserve after she died. Now, her scenic home sits frozen in time for thousands of locals to explore and enjoy.

Wilkerson’s home and farm, which she bought in 1953, sat on over 150 acres of land near Falls Lake. Today, her farm and house are still there – and her land has become yet another gift for Raleigh’s mothers and children.

When she passed away in 2005, she left the entire site to the City of Raleigh. She required the land remain mostly untouched so generations of future children could roam the wild, open landscape where Wilkerson once gathered her own nephews and nieces.

There’s even a secret trail that leads to a fairy village in the forest – a quiet haven of magic amidst a busy world.

The Annie Louise Wilkerson Nature Preserve is located at 5229 Awls Haven Dr, Raleigh, NC 27614.

8. Dix Park

Like many locations on this list, Dix Park offers multiple sites worthy of Instagram photography.

Every summer, thousands of people come from across the Triangle to see the incredible sunflower fields. Often, families come wearing their finest yellow dress to match the aesthetic and snap everything from family photos to Instagram-worthy feature images.

Even when the sunflowers aren’t in bloom, however, there’s plenty to see at Dix Park. Their field offers a beautiful view of Raleigh’s skyline. It’s the perfect place to snap a photo with a unique and scenic backdrop.

Dix Park can be found at 1030 Richardson Dr, Raleigh, NC 27603.

Honorable mentions – not far from Raleigh

Not far from Raleigh is a world of Instagram-worthy spots in the Triangle area – they’re worth the day trip if you enjoy traveling!

Cary Town Hall campus: With hedge mazes, public art, picturesque water features and gardens and even a redwood forest, the Town Hall campus in Cary is one of the most beautiful town halls you’ll ever see.

It’s not technically in Raleigh, but it’s only 15 minutes from downtown Raleigh – not far to drive for the experience!

With tropical trees, historic buildings and beautiful artwork, the scenic stroll is worth the trip.

Occoneechee Speedway: The abandoned remnants of an entire 1940s NASCAR speedway frozen in time on a hiking trail.

Its located near the Eno River and can be found at 320 Elizabeth Brady Rd, Hillsborough, NC 27278.

Rocky Mount Mills: These historic mills sit on the very ‘Rocky Mound’ for which the city gets its name. Preserved and renovated, these mills have become a hotspot for visitors, including trendy breweries and restaurants.

They even have a tiny home hotel so you can stay on campus and enjoy the aesthetic a little longer.

Secret garden in Tarboro: Did you know North Carolina has its very own ‘secret garden’? Enclosed in a gothic-style churchyard, the ground and graves alike are cloaked in ivy. Century-old trees, crooked with age, create a green dome that, in some places, blocks the sky.

The Calvary Episcopal Churchyard is located at 411 E Church St, Tarboro, NC 27886.

What did we miss?

Do you have an incredible Raleigh view that you think we should have included? Let us know about it! Email hleah@wral.com.

On the southern tip of the Greek mainland lies the rugged Peloponnesian peninsula, an ancient cradle of civilisation – the land of Sparta, Corinth, and Argos, named after the classical chariot-riding hero Pelops, grandson of Zeus, king of the gods. 

Taken from the June Travel Issue of Wallpaper* (on international newsstands now), photographic duo Melanie + Ramon and Wallpaper* fashion director Jason Hughes journey to the peninsula’s Amanzoe – the Ed Tuttle-designed outpost of the Aman hotel group, a modern-day acropolis surrounded by olive groves and the Aegaen Sea beyond. In marble and stone, its minimalist columns and gently peaked pagodas reference classical architecture anew. 

Summer fashion at Greece’s Amanzoe, photographed by Melanie + Ramon

It makes a fitting setting, then, to capture this season’s womenswear collections, where designers reimagined and refined fashion’s most timeless silhouettes – whether the gentle Romanesque drape of a Ferragamo gown from Maximilian Davis’ debut at the house, the braided bodice of a suede dress from Hermès, or the looping golden straps of a gladiator sandal by Jimmy Choo.

Together, it is an ode to elegance – a collation of modern classics, set against the sea, sun, and skies of Greece.

Model: Fenne Talens at Platform Agency. Casting: Suun Consultancy Hair: Andrea Idini at WSM using Oribe. Make-up: Victoria Martin using Victoria Beckham Beauty. Fashion assistant: Kris Bergfeldt. Digital operator: Konstantinos Kokonos at Postmode. Production: Anya Hassett. Production support: Poplight Productions. With thanks to Amanzoe. 

A version of this story appears in the June Travel Issue of Wallpaper*, available now in print, on the Wallpaper* app on Apple iOS, and to subscribers of Apple News +. Subscribe to Wallpaper* today (opens in new tab)

You have bought your camera and lens, the memory card is installed, and the battery is charged. Now what? There are some fundamentals every new photographer should learn before they head out shooting, as having these down will help you take greater control of your images and gain more confidence with your camera. This great video tutorial will show you the basics of photography in just 10 minutes. 

Coming to you from Teppo Haapoja, this helpful video tutorial will show you the ins and outs of basic photography technique. While you might hear from a lot of professionals that manual mode is the way to go, there is absolutely nothing wrong with using a semi-automatic mode, such as aperture priority. In fact, this can actually be beneficial in some situations and will allow you to work with a single parameter at first. The key is to get out of full automatic mode so you can begin taking technical and creative control of your images, as that is where the true growth begins. Check out the video above for the full rundown from Haapoja.

If you would like to continue your photography learning journey, be sure to check out our range of tutorials in the Fstoppers store.

Coronation photographer Hugo Burnand reveals ‘lovely buzz’ in throne room during historic photoshoot with Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis ‘milling about’

By Maria Chiorando For Mailonline

Published: 07:32 EDT, 12 May 2023 | Updated: 07:38 EDT, 12 May 2023

The atmosphere in Buckingham Palace‘s iconic throne room was ‘cosy’ during the coronation photoshoot, according to the official photographer.

Hugo Bernand, who was behind the official royal snaps, has opened up about his experience during the historical day on May 6.

According to the photographer, who also snapped Prince William and Kate Middleton‘s wedding, there was a ‘lovely buzz’ while he set up and took the coronation images.

Speaking to the Independent, he said: ‘There was definitely a happy feeling. It was cosy with family, children and friends milling about.’

He said the ‘beautiful’ and ‘uplifting’ atmosphere was partly due to the presence of Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis.  

‘It was like the last bit of the race [for the royal family]’, Hugo added. ‘There was an energy there which I know I got in the pictures.’

The set of portraits, which were taken just minutes after the family’s balcony moment, includes images of King Charles and Queen Consort Camilla, as well as other members of the ‘slimmed down’ monarchy.

The Prince and Princess of Wales, the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, and Princess Anne also feature in some shots.

Hugo, who revealed to the outlet that he cycled to the Palace that day, said he had just an hour to take the photographs. To save time, he had four cameras set up on tripods.

He added that knowing the people he was photographing also helped create images with humanity, within the limited timeframe – he was also the snapper at Charles and Camilla’s 2005 wedding.  

The father-of-four has had an enormous amount of success regardless – he is now the only portrait photographer with a Royal Warrant given by the king.

He has been capturing royal portraits for almost two decades. But he first turned down the opportunity that launched him into his career as a royal photographer – Charles’ wedding to Camilla wedding in 2005.

Mr Burnand, a society photographer for Tatler magazine, had taken a career break to take his young children to South America for six months in 2004.

Disaster struck when thieves stole the family’s money, passports and Hugo’s camera equipment.

It was only when the photographer found an internet cafe to try to contact his insurers that he saw an email from Clarence House, asking him to get in touch.

He initially said no to the job but said he realised while trekking in the jungle that he had just turned down the chance of a lifetime – the future king’s wedding.

This change of heart changed his life and he has since photographed William and Kate’s 2011 wedding, and taken official portraits of Charles on his 60th and 70th birthdays, and of Charles and Camilla in the run-up to the Coronation.

He also photographed the Princess Royal to mark her 70th birthday, and took the official pictures for the wedding of Lady Gabriella Windsor in 2019.

Born in Cannes, France, Hugo was raised in Berkshire and went to Cheam School in Headley, Hampshire, the prep school attended by the King and the late Duke of Edinburgh.

He won his first photography competition at the school, aged seven, and practised his skills while at Harrow, taking portraits of school-leavers.

His mother Susan Gordon was killed in a car crash in 1964, the year after he was born, and he was raised by his father Peter and his stepmother Ursy, from whom he learned his early photography skills.

After working as a stable hand and then as an insurance broker at Lloyd’s of London, he became a professional photographer at 27 and worked as Tatlers’ society photographer for its Bystander party column for more than 20 years.

He took the photos at David and Samantha Cameron’s wedding in 1996 and his other famous subjects include Spike Milligan, Victoria Beckham and Michael Jackson.

But he is best known for his images of the Royal Family, following in the footsteps of Cecil Beaton, who photographed Queen Elizabeth II after her 1953 coronation.