Hello, and welcome to this week’s selection of top stories in pictures by Los Angeles Times photographers.

A dirt parking lot in the San Gabriel Mountains has become a major flyway for migrating birds. It’s not clear why exactly this spot, in an area known as Bear Divide, has become a magnet for migrating tanagers, orioles, buntings, grosbeaks and warblers; but scientists suspect that it might have to do with a funneling effect from the topography.

Tania Romero, a Cal State Los Angeles graduate student, sets up a net at Bear Divide in the San Gabriel Mountains to catch birds for a study of their migration movements.

(Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

Romero examines the wings of a Townsend’s warbler caught in a net.

(Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

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A terrifying hourlong rampage on Tuesday ended with a teen’s death at Westlake High School in Thousand Oaks, shattering a family and leaving the school community in mourning. Fifteen-year-old Wesley Welling was killed when a motorist linked to a stabbing and a domestic incident earlier in the day allegedly drove into a group of students intentionally.

Students at Westlake High School in Thousand Oaks comfort one another Wednesday at a street memorial for 15-year-old Wesley Welling. Officials say he was killed when a motorist intentionally plowed into a group of students.

(Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)

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Despite the boost from recent storms to California rivers and reservoirs, in the San Joaquin Valley, chronic overpumping of groundwater by agriculture has left homeowners with dry wells, and some 1,800 families still rely on state-funded water deliveries to fill household tanks. On top of dry wells, other water projects await fixes, including systems that draw from groundwater contaminated with hazardous pollutants.

Natalia Ledesma, 9, pumps drinking water from a five-gallon container at her home in Tombstone. Her family has relied on water delivered to a 2,500-gallon tank on their property since their well went dry in 2019.

(Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)

Julio Morales works on a new 240-foot water well in the Tombstone community in unincorporated Fresno County.

(Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)

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House Speaker Kevin McCarthy made clear this week that he would agree to raise America’s debt ceiling for one year, but only if President Biden accepts spending cuts that would leave many of the president’s policy priorities, including responding to climate change, unfunded.

Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Bakersfield) is surrounded by reporters after leaving the House floor on Wednesday.

(Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)

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As of mid-April, 88 inmates at California State Prison Sacramento were being held in “short-term restricted housing,” which critics describe as solitary confinement. The reintroduction of a bill to end prolonged solitary confinement in California’s corrections system has reignited a contentious debate in the Legislature over using isolation as punishment.

Inmates look through their cell door’s windows in the Short-Term Restricted Housing Unit at California State Prison, Sacramento. Prisoners in the unit spend nearly all day restricted to their cells with little human contact other than with prison staff.

(Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)

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In El Salvador, men were leaving gangs and finding God as evangelical churches helped rehabilitate former gang members, including those from the L.A.-born MS-13. Then the country cracked down on gangs and police started arresting anyone who might be connected to one, emptying rehabilitation programs and filling up prisons.

Nelson Sanchez, 39, a former MS-13 gang member, takes part in a conference last month at the Community Worship Center in Gardena. In 2008 Sanchez renounced the gang and became an evangelical Christian, and later a pastor.

(Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)

Francisca de Reynoza talks about her husband, the Rev. José Elvis Reynoza, a former MS-13 member who was arrested in March 2022 during El Salvador’s gang crackdown. He ministered to jailed ex-gang members seeking redemption through the church.

(Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)

Ronnie Reyes, 9, and sister Everly Reyes, 6, in the one-bedroom home they share with their grandmother in San Salvador, the capital of El Salvador. Their father, an MS-13 gang member, is in prison. The children participate in an after-school program for at-risk youth at a church.

(Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)

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The affluent and coiffed Palm Springs faces a $2-billion reparations claim from Black and Latino families who were burned out of their homes 50 years ago during the city’s “slum clearance” to build a fantasy for rich white people.

Pearl Devers was growing up in Palm Springs’ Section 14 neighborhood in the 1950s and ‘60s when officials ran Black and Latino families out of the prime downtown land, burning their homes to clear a path for hotels and shops as the city was being sold as a playground for rich, famous and white tourists and newcomers. “We were not part of the vision, Devers said.

(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

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Coachella‘s Weekend 1 opened the 2023 edition of the popular, hip and lucrative Indio music festival with its most diverse lineup yet, featuring Bad Bunny, Blackpink and Frank Ocean, among others. See our guide to Coachella’s Weekend 2.

Rae Sremmurd performed during the first weekend of Coachella 2023, the wildly popular (and lucrative) music festival.

(Christina House / Los Angeles Times)

Music fans, seen through a tinted-glass installation, mingle during the first weekend of Coachella.

(Christina House / Los Angeles Times)

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An exclusive island town might be California’s biggest violator of affordable housing law. “Coronado officials have thumbed their noses at Gov. Gavin Newsom and state regulators, calling the process ‘central planning at its worst’ and assuring residents that it will be years before the state cracks down,” writes The Times’ Liam Dillon. Meanwhile, some housekeepers at the town’s Hotel del Coronado have to endure hours-long commutes because not one of them can afford to live nearby, let alone in town.

Hotel del Coronado workers Yolanda Ramirez, left, and Myelin Soret walk to the bus stop. Ramirez, who has worked as a room attendant at the hotel for five years, has a 40-minute commute to work. Soret, a housekeeper for nine years, takes two buses from Imperial Beach to get to work — a one- to two-hour commute.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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Three years and $62,000 in medical expenses later, a musician and her caregiving partner struggle to navigate the financial, mental and physical challenges of long COVID.

Courtney Gavin of Irvine, who has been dealing with the effects of COVID-19 since March 2020, must use a motorized lift to climb the stairs in her home. Despite being largely bedridden, she was recently denied disability benefits.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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And finally, on Friday the Supreme Court ruled for the Biden administration on abortion pills, preserving legal access to mifepristone in most of the nation. The medication, one of two used in the most common method of ending early pregnancies, is the subject of a continuing legal challenge to its FDA approval in the battle over abortion access.

Krissy Shields and her daughter take a break on the steps of the Supreme Court on Friday after arranging flowers in a design as a show of support for abortion rights.

(Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)

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Earth Day: Photographer capturing the beauty and fragility of nature – CBS News

Photographs from youth in Happy Valley-Goose Bay and Sheshatshiu Innu First Nation are set to be on display this weekend. 

CBC’s Library Partnership Project, CBC Newfoundland and Labrador, Melville Public Library and Newfoundland and Labrador Public Libraries are holding a community Labrador In Focus photography exhibit on Saturday. 

The Labrador In Focus exhibit will be held at the Lawrence O’Brien Arts Centre from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. AT. Food and drinks will be provided at the free event. 

The Labrador In Focus program is meant to give Labrador youth the tools they need to capture their unique world. The photograph subject is completely up to the young photographers. 

The photographers, aged 13 to 23, chose to depict everything from life celebrations to being out on the land. 

“I loved it so much,” 15-year-old Mary Saunders said of the program. 

“I love this experience and I feel like people should join and try to experience something new.”

Saunders said she learned how to set her white balance and edit images. Saunders’ favourite photograph she took is one of her sister. It was one of the first pictures she took and sparked a love of portrait photography, she said. 

Other photographers took pictures of things that are important to them. Elliot Pike, 20, created his own long exposure photographs showing movements of northern lights with flashlights and lightsabers. 

“I always wanted to learn about photography,” Pike said. “I think I’m really proud to see the exhibit on Saturday.”

The Labrador In Focus program is funded by the CBC Library Partnerships Program. The program is to explore partnership opportunities with public libraries to further community engagement. 

Have thoughts about community programming like the Labrador In Focus photography program? Reach out to the program creator here. 

Read more from CBC Newfoundland and Labrador

Over the past few years, video has pushed its way to the top, shoved mainly by social media algorithms. The change has encouraged some photographers to diversify and offer video alongside photography — but how long-lived is that trend? A new survey by Zenfolio and Format suggests that the amount of photo-video creators have dropped dramatically over last year’s numbers. The same survey also showed that roughly half of photographers use artificial intelligence, but only two percent use the technology that generates images from scratch.

The State of the Photography Industry 2023 is a bi-annual survey of photographers with more than 2,000 participants. This year, most of the photographers were from the US, but the UK, Canada, and Australia also had many participants. The study is done by Zenfolio and Format, both companies behind websites and sales platforms for photographers.

While the survey contains many statistics, one of the more surprising numbers is the change among hybrid photo-video creators. In last year’s survey, 64 percent of the respondents shot photos only, and 34 percent both photos and videos. In the latest study completed in February 2023, 70 percent shot photos only, and just 17 percent dabbled in both.

Despite social media’s prioritization of video, video-only platforms like TikTok remain on the bottom for marketing efforts — only 1.6 percent of photographers earning more than $100k considered it a marketing focus, and only 1 percent among photographers earning less than $10k.

Does that mean video is on its way out? Not necessarily. The two companies conducting the study and the survey itself primarily focus on photographers. Many of the respondents were likely those using Zenfolio and Format. That means the study doesn’t say much about the state of the videography industry or photo-video creators such as social media influencers. The statistic does not indicate trouble for the videography industry.

What it does suggest, however, is that fewer photographers are feeling the need to diversify by adding video to their repertoire. As cameras became capable of doing both in one device, some photographers added video services. Others are investing in high-resolution video cameras and pulling the stills for prints. Some platforms have even theorized that this process of taking stills from video will eventually replace event photography. Yet, the survey suggests that fewer photographers in 2023 are shooting stills and video than the previous year. This is good news for photographers that have felt that video pressure from social media yet lack the time or desire to diversify.

Around half of photographers use AI, but it’s the good kind

The study also dove into the growth of A.I. in photography. While only 20 percent of participants thought the technology was good, almost half said they integrated AI into their workflow. Around 36 percent said they used the tech sometimes, with nearly 14 percent using it regularly.

However, only two percent admitted to using an AI photo generator. A majority use the technology for sharpening and noise reduction. That’s followed closely by auto-subject, background removal, and skin smoothing. Facial recognition and photo culling were also on the list.

Generative AI has mainly been criticized by the photography community, from copyright lawsuits over the training data to a photographer who won a photo contest with an AI image to prove a point. But, not all AI is wrong — 91 percent of those surveyed listed editing among the top three tasks that demand most of their time. Roughly 41 percent said they wanted to spend less time editing. Besides the obvious answer of getting it right in camera, AI-based technology is already helping to make that possible. Just look at Lightroom’s ability to automatically select the skin or teeth in a portrait or Photoshop’s ability to detect and select the subject.

There is a wrong way to use AI — generating an image without properly labeling it as a computer’s creation. Only two percent of respondents said that they used an AI photo generator.

Helsinki-based Felicia Honkasalo’s research-based photography connects history and geography, life and death, and human and animal. The artist’s 2019 book, Grey Cobalt saw her imagine the life of her late grandfather (whom she never met), through the objects, photographs and documents she inherited from him. For Wallpaper’s April 2023 issue, Honkasalo brought a highly attuned perspective to our story on Finnish design icon Björn Weckström’s epic sculptures and chunky jewellery. While the frailties of the human condition are a lifelong preoccupation for Weckström, Honkasalo’s work explores the stories we tell ourselves in order to understand seemingly inconceivable or imperceptible things.

Felicia Honkasalo interview

Wallpaper*: Describe your style and process

Felicia Honkasalo: My artistic process usually starts with something small or seemingly trivial that catches my eye, won’t leave me alone, and then turns into a full-blown obsession. 

Recently, I have been pretty obsessed with gothic horror and different mythologies related to how people understood death and contagious disease before the advent of modern medicine. Vampires stand out from other mythological characters in European folklore because there is actually quite a substantial amount of archaeological and legal evidence of what people in those times believed they were capable of accomplishing. I have also been interested in how profound grief makes us turn to magic and the supernatural, and perhaps this is how we come to understand that the border between life and death is perhaps not as easily defined as humans would like to believe.

During my artistic research, I use photography as a way of arranging and reforming the ideas that I collect. This has been a practice of mine for a long time, and usually, these photographic series morph into the final installation. Creating still-lifes in my studio helps me narrow down what it is I’m actually looking for and distil that idea into one image. 

W*: How did you bring your way of working to our shoot on design icon Björn Weckström?

FH: I actually haven’t had as much fun shooting in a long time as I did during this assignment. I felt like a kid in a candy shop, there were just so many beautiful, intricate and otherworldly objects in his studio. I could have stayed there forever! Archives are something that has a gravitational pull on me, and the influence of sci-fi on his works was something that resonated with my own practice.

W*: What do you think is the most interesting thing happening within photography now?

FH: I have been fascinated by AI and how it is used in contemporary art. Those AI-generated images that lots of photographers posted on Instagram were something really fun to look at, but at the same time, somehow terrifying. I guess reading too much sci-fi doesn’t help, but there is this feeling of unease when you look at computer-generated images that are that good. It seems like a phenomenon that in the beginning is taken up with lots of excitement, and only later the long-term political and social consequences become apparent.

W*: What’s on your radar?

FH: Ever since I was young I have really loved reading, as a way of obtaining knowledge but also as a way of escaping to other worlds, created by other minds. Recently I have been reading authors that use horror as a kind of narrative tool to explore the environmental degradation happening all around us but also embodied experiences of terror and grief. Authors such as Silvina Ocampo, Mariana Enriquez, Vanessa Onwuemezi, Carmen Maria Machado have really influenced my thinking.

Quite a few of Enriquez’s stories are also written from the point of view of teenagers, and I have been interested in this liminal position, and the connected indifference or maybe aggression that society has towards teens. In some ways, teenagers are ostracised, ridiculed and feared, as if their liminal existence really is a threat to the general population. 

W*: What’s next for you this year? 

FH: Currently, I’m finishing a new video work starring the amazing rodeo star Kaylee Barker, which was filmed during my residency in New Mexico. I will also be an artist in residence at Sema Nanji in Seoul, South Korea, which is pretty exciting. I have a solo exhibition coming up so a lot of work goes into preparing new works.

feliciahonkasalo.com (opens in new tab)

Let me be clear from the get go: iPhones are not bad at photography. The problems lie in the finer details that enthusiasts like me and you will spot. These come with Apple’s approach to color, contrast, and sharpening.

In most situations, you will get great shots for the family album, or even to share on Instagram. And don’t even get me started on the video quality, which is the best you can get on any smartphone right now.

However, I found myself thinking something is missing after taking dozens of photos on the iPhone 14 Pro Max and. Nothing overtly bad, but it seems to want to brighten up too much of the picture and oversharpen certain elements.

So let’s take a deep dive on what the problem is, the root cause, and how to fix it.

What’s the problem?

The issue seems to be two-fold: there is a fair amount of oversharpening at play here, and the default approach to contrast seems to be at war with any shadowy areas of a picture.

In some circumstances, like this picture of my pint outside the oldest pub in England, that’s fine. The computation is not having to do that much work, the near subject matter aids the natural bokeh of the lens (accentuated by software), and the sharpening really brings out the crispness of that beer — even down to the bubbly vivocity of this IPA.

The real challenges come at dusk. When the sun starts to set, and you get the dramatic shadow-laden vistas you want a picture of, that’s where the iPhone starts to struggle.

This hedge on one of my big daily walks after work sums up the issue here. It’s a complex shot for sure, with all the intricacies of the sticks in the bush, this is hard for any phone to get. But rather than allow some subtle softening of the twigs that are slightly out of focus, like my iPhone 13 Pro, the 14 Pro Max seems to be over-compensating. 

Eagle-eyed photo geeks amongst you may even notice ever so slight artifacting around some of the shrubbery’s finer ends, which is indicative of sharpening working overtime. 

Image 1 of 2

iPhone 14 Pro Max

iPhone 13 Pro

On top of that, a lot of this bush is coated in shadows as the sun sets just off to the right, but the iPhone has largely worked to eliminate a lot of those. For most people, that’s fine. However, I’m not most people. I’m a photographer at heart and my personal style gravitates towards those true-to-contrast shots over grabbing as much detail as possible.

Nothing sums that up more than a walk down the main high street of my working class mining hometown. Normally, as the sun sets, this street is plunged into relative darkness, as shadows cascade across the landscape. However, the 14 Pro Max has tried too hard to balance everything, taking some of the drama out of the shot.

Meanwhile, my iPhone 13 Pro gave everything a far more moody aesthetic — my kind of aesthetic.

Image 1 of 2

iPhone 14 Pro Max

iPhone 13 Pro

What’s the cause?

Quite simply, it seems to be the computational photography. The hardware itself is stellar, as is proven in many of the daylight shots I take. But the software that processes every picture you take seems to have a problem with pictures taken at this time.

Whether it’s making shots overly warm while over-balancing the contrast, or trying to sharpen too much of a scene rather than giving allowances to some subtle focus blur every now and again, this is the next photography mountain for Apple to climb with its default settings.

How to fix it

The oversharpening is, unfortunately, unavoidable. That is hard-coded into the iPhone’s computational photography DNA for now, and outside of downloading a prosumer-focussed camera app like ProCam 8 or Focus, there’s no getting around it.

However, we can do something about the over-brightening of scenes within the default camera app.

This tackles some of the saturation, and provides a decent contrast depth to a lot of shots. But for the right result every time, you need to go a little further. Say I’m dealing with this bright window and want the contrast. By standard, it throws off the iPhone’s camera, so let’s use AE/AF Lock.

Image 1 of 2

Before AE/AF Lock

After AE/AF Lock

Bottom Line

So, there you have it. Chances are that as many of you agree with my take on the iPhone’s change in photography style, as those who think I’m talking out of my arse. And that’s OK — this is a subjective topic.

If you’re thrilled with the results you get from the camera by default, then ignore me! The pictures have a nice bokeh to them, and the easy-to-use customization means you can make some really cool shots.

But if you’re like me, and you miss the moody contrast-heavy persona of iPhones before, then be sure to hit up that rich contrast filter to get it back.

David Altrath captures Airport Runway Extension in Portugal

After visiting a brutalist church in Neviges, a historic town hall in Hamburg, and a charming bamboo villa in Ibiza, David Altrath now moves on to Portugal to document the Funchal Airport Runway Extension on Madeira Island. In this latest architectural photography series, the German artist captures the complex’s large concrete bridges, its round columns and pre-stressed beams, as well as the mesmerizing sea views they frame.

the photographer captures the airport’s round columns and the sea views they frame | all images courtesy of David Altrath

spotlighting the new runway of Funchal Airport

This new project by David Altrath (find more here) documents the extension of the runway at Funchal Airport on Madeira Island, Portugal. The original length of the runway posed a constraint to the island’s development, as only small to medium-sized aircraft could land. To overcome this challenge, the existing runway was moved slightly and a bridge was built that spans a bay of shallow water and is 57 meters above sea level. The bridge, which is 1020 meters long and 180 meters wide, was designed to withstand the impact of a Boeing 747. Reinforced concrete was used for the structure, with large portal frames with circular columns and post-tensioned girders supporting a bi-directionally post-tensioned deck. Direct foundations, including large concrete footings, were used wherever possible, while indirect foundations with concrete piles at depths of up to 60 m were used in areas with inadequate rock formations at the surface.

Altrath’s series captures the new structure, its architectural features, and the connection between the structural materiality and the natural environment, both green space and the sea. The contrast of light and shadow captured in the series gives the architecture an almost poetic character, while the tall columns and upper arches add to the imposing appearance.

the tall columns and upper arches of the new extension

the series documents the relationship between the architecture and the natural environment

contrast of light and shadow

The connection to others

A marauding with volunteers from a local unit of the French Red Cross in Dijon Métropole.

Is it still necessary to present some of the voluntary actions of the French Red Cross? I think so!, it seems necessary, especially at a time when we see a certain withdrawal into oneself and a form of individualism that continues to progress. Example of one of these volunteer missions: “La maraude”.

This is one of the cornerstones of this humanitarian association, a journey of support for the most vulnerable people in great precariousness. A field action that this association, like others, organizes daily throughout our territory.

Indeed, the long period linked to the Covid 19 health crisis has generated more support for isolated and fragile people.

One evening, I therefore asked to follow a team of these volunteers from the French Red Cross into the field, to be with those who do not count their time to serve as a link and help others.

At the local unit of the French Red Cross based in Quétigny, there are a hundred of all ages to carry out every evening, from November 1 to March 31, 7 days a week, the course of a marauding, from 6:15 p.m. to midnight. In spring, summer and autumn, the maraudes are more spaced out, depending on the month, from 2 to 3 per week.

Among all these volunteers we find retirees together with students. They take turns, for example, 25 first-year BSB students from the Dijon Business School, as part of a 40-hour partnership for these humanitarian missions.

At the Dijon Métropole local unit, everything starts at 6:15 p.m. with the preparation of snacks, sandwiches, soup and hot drinks. Then, departure from the two distribution sites located in the city center of Dijon. There, at times set by the association, people in need meet.

Everyone can, by sharing a snack, discuss, exchange, learn. This is also an opportunity to get emergency clothing, such as socks, gloves, a hat, underwear, a blanket and a hygiene kit.

But the work of volunteers never stops there. After a short break and until midnight, they have to, if possible, look for or find the lonely and isolated people, some they already know or, on the contrary, those they will discover by chance in order, they say, to get in touch to inquire about their needs, if these people wish.

That evening, the leader of a team of 6 volunteers in two vehicles of the French Red Cross, is in direct contact by telephone with 115 for reasons and urgent needs, to take care of victims of spousal violence or a single person in potential danger, looking for an anchor point to spend the night in shelter. In this case, the team made up of three volunteers per vehicle, accompanies the person in suffering to a safe place of accommodation, provided of course that there is a free space that evening. It is clear that places for unplanned sleeping arrangements are often sold out and that accommodation places are not legion either. But there are also those who prefer to remain alone, who have found a place to sleep under a bridge or under a makeshift shelter. For the volunteer, it is therefore here out of respect for this choice of the person met, a short moment of exchange of words and support. Finally, the team goes to the station for the arrival of the last train, the one before the closing of this public place. It is still the opportunity to meet here, the one who could be in need, but the mission is never simple, when the station is about to close. During all these different meetings in the night, the volunteers also find the regulars of the place, each one is called by his first name, Pierre, Catherine, Manu, Cyril, Karim, Christophe, Noëlle, Mohamed… The next day, the volunteers of the French Red Cross will be there again. Thus, the beneficiaries will be able, if they wish, to find emergency food or clothing aid, support and enjoy these little moments of social bonding. With a hot drink, they can talk and discuss their lives…

Jacques Revon

https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacques_Revon