Peter Spurrier, the indisputable father of modern rowing photography, passed away on April 18 at the age of 77, with his longtime partner Karon by his side.

Pete had a long and storied career as the dean of rowing photographers, starting in 1982 after having rowed in school and at British clubs. Pete’s photographs have been published in countless newspaper, magazines, books, and websites; he was given an exhibit at the River & Rowing Museum in 2011, given a Sports Journalists Association Award in 2015, and published one of the first (and few) coffee table books of rowing photography. If I have the math right, Spurrier photographed at least nine Olympics.

Peter took countless rowing photographers under his wing, sharing with them with tricks of the trade, teaching how to read the ‘room’ at the start line, finish line, and medals stand, and bringing his hard working but calming presence into play.

After a World Championships week with Spurrier, you knew what to do, where to be, who to trust – and what not to do, where not to be, and who not to trust. Peter had the situation wired, and held none of it back from young photographers who could use and appreciate the master’s touch.

A superb storyteller, Peter told serious, hilarious, historical, and even ribald stories along the banks of racecourses worldwide; never a bore, a session alongside Spurrier was a don’t-miss opportunity at Henley, the Charles, Worlds, the Olympics, and anywhere he was working.

Spurrier was also a consummate pro, never getting caught up in politics, rivalries, or petty arguments; he got the job done beautifully and with humor – his sly, sometimes nearly silent laugh was legion, and the perfect play and antidote for a long day on the starting pontoons.

Even in the most intense situations in photo scrums at the Olympics and elsewhere, Peter kept his head and humor in ways that most of us could only aspire to, and be forced to admire without matching.

Peter and his partner Karon Phillips have been fixtures at international events for years, Peter behind the lens and Karon working with WorldRowing and in other capacities. At the end of each day they met in the media center before leaving the venue for the day, and sent the lot of us off with warm banter and warmer feelings until the next morning of racing.

Peter was a mentor and friend to truly every row2k photographer and writer who has spent time with him on the international racing circuit; row2k takes a lot of photos obviously, and Peter’s tutelage and friendship is embedded in every one of them. Talk about the one guy you will miss spending time with on the racing circuit, Peter is that guy.

A photographer traveled thousands of miles to the darkest place on earth to shoot the night sky.

Professional landscape and astrophotographer Aaron Jenkin captured a stunning timelapse video of the milky way galaxy in Aoraki Mount Cook National Park in New Zealand — which is regarded as one of the darkest places on earth for night photography.

Jenkin’s incredible and awe-inspiring timelapse videos racked up over 3.1 million views on TikTok.

“Aoraki Mount Cook National Park is one of the darkest places for night photography. The area is recognized by the International Dark Sky Association as a dark sky reserve,” Jenkin, who is based in Cornwall, U.K. tells PetaPixel.

“It’s Bortle Class 1, the Bortle Scale measures the brightness of the night sky from 1 to 9. 1 being the darkest available on Earth.”

Jenkin, who has been a full-time photographer for almost a decade, traveled from Cornwall, U.K., to New Zealand to explore and photograph the beautiful landscape.

Jenkin, who offers night photography workshops in Cornwall, faced extremely chilly temperatures to film the timelapse clips.

“There are so many areas of New Zealand free from light pollution, it’s an astrophotographer’s dream,” he says.

“It was winter when I captured the timelapse, so the main challenge was keeping warm. It can get really cold here, I ended up bringing a hot water bottle stuffed up my coat and a mat to sit on,” he continues.

“Apart from briefly filming a Possum on the walk in (unfortunately an invasive species in NZ), I spent the night with all lights off.

“Just watching the stars above, in awe of how much I could see with the unaided eye. I could clearly see The Dark Horse Nebula, and could even make out the dust clouds of the milky way reflected in the water. I’ve never seen such a clear reflection, and after seeing that I knew my timelapse was going to be pretty special.”

More of Jenkin’s work can be found on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and his website.

Prints of Jenkin’s image are available on his website shop.

Image credits: All photos by Aaron Jenkin.

“Just spin the door, step in, and swing it around,” Gregory Veizades said, stepping into the black and white darkroom’s round revolving door. He gives it a spin to demonstrate, disappearing from view within seconds and entering the windowless room on the other side. 

Spin. Step. Swing. 

Inside the small darkroom, the mix of scents from the unique blend of chemicals used for developing film are pungent, a permanent part of the room. It’s a familiar scent to Dirk Hatch, one of the owners of a four-year-old West Oakland business that offers Bay Area residents what some would call a last-century service: it processes, develops, and sells photographic film. 

Hatch got his start in film photography back in high school during the ‘80s. “I immediately fell in love with the darkroom and making my own prints,” said Hatch, who six years ago was managing a San Francisco photo lab called Light Waves. There he met Jesse Hitchins and Matt Osborne, who in 2019 joined Hatch in opening Underdog Film Lab. 

“Oakland had been vastly underserved in the photo community,” Hatch said. “In hindsight, it was the perfect location for us.”  

By “the photo community,” Hatch means photographers who still like shooting with film cameras—the kind whose images must be coaxed into view through photographic processing inside places like Underdog. The lab he helps run is just one of five dedicated photo labs remaining in the East Bay. There are still handfuls of such labs scattered across the country; although they’re scarcer today than they were a few decades ago. Choosing one depends on what a photographer wants done with their film, and what kind they have: not all film can be developed at every photo lab, and not all labs offer physical prints. Some digitize film only without returning the negatives, others may be able to take disposable Kodaks, but not black and white film rolls. 

Above: A collection of photo prints acquired and captured by staff hang on the walls inside of Underdog Film Lab on Apr 14, 2023. Credit: Amir Aziz

Above: Developed film hangs to be identified by staff at Underdog before getting picked up by customers in Oakland, Calif. on Apr 14, 2023. Credit: Amir Aziz

Hatch and his partners knew what they were looking for when they began scouting a location for their lab in 2017 after Light Waves closed: a place where photographers, professional or hobbyist, could develop their photos without breaking the bank. Osborne had some old film processing equipment he had saved from another shuttered lab, and as they pooled their resources and began exploring, the team visited more than 100 potential spots around the Bay Area. They originally had their sights set on San Francisco, but it was just too expensive. After two years of searching, they finally found a narrow two-story building in West Oakland that once housed a saloon. 

“If more people had the understanding of how to use a [film] camera, they could take better photos, even with a cell phone,” said Veizades. 

For film photography enthusiasts, photo-finishing labs like Underdog act not only as a way to find and keep like-minded community, but to slow life down, letting photographers document their lives using the cameras their parents and grandparents used. Veizades, who has worked at the lab for almost two years, remembers both his parents shooting film when he was growing up and visiting Costco with his mom to pick up supplies and dig through the alphabetized negatives for their prints. He’s a millennial who got his own start in photography using a digital camera. But in 2018 for an upcoming vacation, he switched to film. He said he enjoys the experience of being more present with a film camera, instead of worrying about what the image looked like in a digital camera’s tiny viewfinder. 

“I grabbed my film camera, a Canon AE-1, and took that to Europe for 10 days and shot roughly 10 rolls of film,” Veizades said. “It was my first real experience shooting for myself—and I really liked the process, the freedom of shooting where I can experience what’s happening around me. I take the pictures but I’m not constantly looking at a tiny screen. I live in the picture.” 

Anya Kamenskaya (they/them pronouns), a Moscow-born Oakland resident and Underdog customer, said they also grew up surrounded by film photography in their family’s home in Russia.

“My folks had a makeshift darkroom in their bathroom that they would set up,” said Kamenskaya. “They developed photos in the tub sometimes. And then, you know, there would be photos drying on these papers around the house. Sometimes I’d help them trim the photos.”

Above: The film processing room of Underdog Film Lab where customer film rolls are placed in a series of developer chemicals and wash tanks to process the film in Oakland, Calif. on Apr 14, 2023. Credit: Amir Aziz

Above: Inside of the lobby at Underdog Film Lab, where customers can pick up their film after their order is finished in Oakland, Calif. on Apr 14, 2023. Credit: Amir Aziz

Neither Veizades’ nor Kamenskaya’s parents were professional photographers. They were just people who liked to take photos. Kamenskaya’s stepdad was an experimental filmmaker who also had a fondness for film photography, and after moving to the United States, Kamenskaya grew up going to various Bay Area film houses and seeing films with friends over the years. They even found their very first film camera on the street by chance. 

“It was a Pentax K 1000,” Kamenskaya said. 

These days, Kamenskaya shoots with a camera they received from their grandma in Moscow while visiting family a while back. “I have this old Soviet camera called the Kiev 6S,” Kamenskaya said. “My paternal grandmother used to work for the Russian space program and was one of their in-house photographers that would shoot their equipment. I love that camera for portraits—it’s got a great depth of field.”

Generational connections to film photography and the delayed gratification that comes with developing film have helped ensure that its popularity will be around for years to come. Still, the future of film is at risk as the machines and equipment that develop photos—and film cameras themselves—become older, more expensive to purchase and maintain, and harder to obtain. 

Veizades’ previous experience in repair work helped land him his current job at Underdog; he maintains and repairs the lab’s photo scanners, film processing machines, and other equipment. “I was originally brought on because the machines are old,” Veizades said. “The newest processing machine we have is from ’97, I think. And that’s about as new as they come.”

He said it’s often hard to find an original user manual for the machinery. At best, there are PDF scans on Google of some of the manuals to look at for guidance. At worst, it’s careful guesswork. 

Above: Gregory Veizades, who works at Underdog Film Lab, poses for a photo at the shop in Oakland, Calif. on Apr 14, 2023. Credit: Amir Aziz

Fixing dated equipment may be a hassle, but replacing it altogether isn’t really an option. Well-functioning photo processing machinery, no matter how old, can cost a photo lab like Underdog up to $25,000 to replace. 

Another challenge for labs like Underdog: scores of companies that once produced film cameras and replacement parts have gone out of business, leaving photographers unable to restore old cameras or purchase new ones. 

Without the development and release of new film cameras and film processing machinery, the price of film, camera and film-development machinery repairs, camera lenses, and camera bodies will continue to rise in price and scarcity. 

“Every camera, with a few exceptions, is 30, 40 years old,” Veizades said, referring to film cameras. “They don’t last forever. Some of them are more durable than others, but without new, inexpensive, high-quality cameras.…” he pauses.

“I would like to go back to the way it was 20 years ago. But that is a very strong ask. What’s most important right now in order for film to grow is new cameras.”

It sounds daunting now, but Veizades has hope for the future of film. In 2022, Ricoh, a Tokyo-based camera company, announced it was considering rolling out a new Pentax film camera model. Veizades is optimistic that other camera companies like Olympus may follow suit. 

In the meantime, he’ll be at Underdog, helping keep the film community afloat for new and seasoned photographers. 

“Our customer base is growing,” Veizades said. “And for a lot of them, this is their very first roll.”

It’s ironic that the Side Gallery’s closure due to Arts Council England funding cuts (Report, 6 April) has coincided with the opening, to great acclaim, of Chris Killip’s major retrospective at the nearby Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art. Killip was a founder member of the photographers’ and film-makers’ cooperative that forged the Side, and his indelible cultural mark on north-east England was first cultivated by a two-year Northern Arts funded fellowship.

Such backstories are important to tell, because great art and photography don’t magically appear, gallery-ready, whenever an Arts Council flagship needs a blockbuster exhibition. Significant new bodies of work arise when artists get no-strings funding and commissions, giving them time and space to take artistic risks and leaps.

A vital developmental feature is rigorously discussing art practices among peers within small, artist-run spaces. Arts Council England should rethink its decision to dispense with the Side. It’s an important grassroots organisation with a track record gained over decades both for “telling stories that hit you hard and leave a lasting impression” (as one contributor to the #SaveSide crowdfunder put it) and for fostering the messy, dynamic interrelationships, unorthodox career paths and multiple talents of practitioners on which healthy arts futures depend.
Susan Jones
Rowlands Gill, Tyne and Wear

It was this past Wednesday around 11 p.m. that photographer Ron Shipp parked in his usual spot just past the South Houston Street Viaduct to snap shots of the Dallas skyline.

“Normally, I walk out onto the levee and set my camera up to take pictures of downtown,” Shipp said. “This is a well-traveled area. You can see a lot of photographers use it. I have been out here countless dozens of times, day and night and never once really felt unsafe.”

Shipp walked along the sidewalk onto the bridge. However, this time he skipped the entrance to the levee after he said he heard muffled voices.

“I thought it was safer just to stay on the bridge and keep walking out,” Shipp said. “So at least I can see the assailants come from behind me, if that’s what was going to happen.”

Shipp said the voices would come and go. He eventually spotted a group of at least four men hiding in the shadows of the outer banks of the bridge.

“Every time I walked out, they keep coming closer and closer. They weren’t on the bridge. I knew that much,” Shipp said. “I looked over the bridge again and saw two men maybe 20 yards away, and I realized they were using the outside ledge, the handrails, to approach me from the outside.”

Shipp said he was fearful the group would jump over the railing.

“At that point, I knew this was real, and I was in danger. I kept walking away. Not quite a run yet, but brusquely, walking away, hoping to get more distance,” Shipp said.

However, the group of men, Shipp said, continued to move towards him. He began to run.

“I saw flashes from a handgun and heard six shots right in my direction motivated me to run much faster. I got to be honest with you,” Shipp said. “And I just kept running to the relative safety of downtown.”

NBCDFW.com

Shipp was never shot but reported it to police. Now, he’s going public with his story to warn those who frequent the area, especially at night.

“An empty bridge does not mean you’re safe,” Shipp said. “People would never see the attack coming.”

Although shaken, Shipp said he will come back to snap pictures at this location.

“A lot of photographers have already approached me that they come here frequently. They won’t be doing that alone or even in small groups, just in large groups. I want people… that use this space… it’s dangerous, and they could get attacked out of the darkness in no time.”

Do you remember the days of taking photographs on film? If you are over the age of 35, you likely have shot with film at some point in your life. While the advent of the digital camera nearly killed the film industry in the early 2000s, a growing number of people are shooting with film once again.

The resurgence of film photography began in the mid-2010s but gained major momentum during the pandemic. The reasoning behind its resurrection varies from person to person, but most are drawn to the unmatched aesthetics, nostalgia factors, and stronger image quality.

“Originally it was the only option,” said Jason Thomas, a local photographer who has been shooting with film since the early 1990s. “What kept me shooting it in the age of digital was how it looked, how it slowed me down, and for awhile, how you could still pull a lot more detail from it in a scan. These days, digital is like the house wine and film is the bottle you save for a special event.”

While digital photography allows you to shoot as many photographs as your SD card will hold, film limits you to only a handful of images at a time. The process of analog photography forces the photographer to slow down and think before pressing the shutter button, which some say is part of its appeal in the 21st century.

“It’s a medium that requires you to accept the results,” said Travis Patterson, a local photographer who’s been shooting film since the early 2000s but became more involved during the pandemic. “Maybe it’s perfect, or maybe you blew your exposure. All you can do is learn and be more mindful next roll.”

Many young film photographers, who are beginning to dominate the industry, were introduced to the craft with disposable and 35mm film cameras. Similar to the rebirth of vinyl records, shooting with film provides a sort of authenticity that photos captured on digital cameras or cell phones can’t. This authenticity is something that millennials and Gen Z crave.

“I choose to shoot film because it provides simplicity, creativeness due to limitations, a disconnection from a fast demanding modern world, connection between the photographer’s skill and the results, and it seems to be easier to have a conversation and less distracted with your subject or the people you come across,” said Colby Baldwin, a 25-year-old local photographer who has been shooting with film for six years. “The colors from film feel warmer, less manufactured, and more sensual.”

Another young film photographer, Sydney Negus, reflects on the tangible nature of the medium.

“I bought a disposable camera because I couldn’t take photos of my friends on my flip phone,” said Negus. “I fell in love with how they looked, and having physical copies of my photos to give to friends was really fun. I started a photo album full of all the photos I took on those disposables, which is fun to look at and always brings back great memories.”

“My initial draw to film was how beautiful it was and how simple it was to make a picture,” said Alena Swango, who is new to film photography. “I have a connection with film because my grandma is my best friend. I’m basically her clone and she has shot my entire large family on film our whole lives, so the duty has now been passed on to me to save all of our memories in a beautiful way.”

Although 35mm is one of the most popular styles of film to shoot with, film preference can vary from person to person. Some analog photographers also shoot with cameras that utilize 120, 135, 220, and Polaroid film.

“It’s honestly ten times more satisfying than shooting digitally, especially when you have to wait seven to ten days just to see the image you hoped you nailed,” said Andrew Tesdahl, a local photographer who shoots with a variety of film types. “Oftentimes, it turns out better than expected.”

With the revival of film photography, companies that once specialized in selling film are now struggling to keep up. The unprecedented demand for film and cameras, coupled with inflation, has caused prices to skyrocket. Many photographers have been forced to limit the number of rolls they shoot and develop, keeping their digital cameras close.

“People like to eat and pay their rent,” Thomas said. “That old adage, ‘stay poor, shoot film’ has never been more true.”

Once you shoot a roll of film, you must also develop and scan your photographs, which costs money. Taking matters into their own hands, some local analog photographers develop film at home, utilizing bathrooms or closets as makeshift darkrooms. While doing so can be time-consuming and frustrating to some, others enjoy the tedious process of it.

“I don’t think that everyone has to learn how to shoot, develop, and print film to be a good photographer,” said Scott Rust, a local photographer who has been shooting with film for over 30 years. “But film is what I prefer when I’m doing my thing. I like the process, the steps, taking a little more time to compose and execute the shot, and of course, the delayed gratification of seeing the results by developing and scanning.”

“While it takes time to do the developing and scanning, it’s so cheap that it allows me to buy more film instead of spending it on developing,” he added.

In the fast-paced age of social media and 24/7 new coverage, many are searching for a sense of calm and nostalgia. Some photographers say that shooting with film restrains the unending distractions of the modern day and reminds its enjoyers to live in the moment.

“I believe film photography is making a comeback due to the warm photos it’s able to capture, in the moment atmosphere it generates, and a lower expectation on what to expect compared to digital,” Baldwin said. “You’re not able to retake film photos compared to digital which makes people more comfortable with the results. Plus it’s always a surprise when seeing the developed images come back after an extended period of time has passed.”

While young people are purchasing film and cameras in droves, the hobby has a cross-generational appeal. Film photography allows people of all ages to talk shop, share stories, and connect in a way that inspires.

“There’s a physical record of you being in a place at a specific time, a chemical reaction, a result of your decision to stamp a two-dimensional view of reality onto this delicate three-dimensional flat layer cake of solid chemistry,” Thomas said. “It’s harder to erase than clicking ‘format.’”

“It slows me down,” Patterson added. “I have to be intentional. But I also really like the community I’ve met in our area. They are wonderful, talented artists.”

To see more of their work, be sure to check out these photographers on Instagram:

@beyondthehypnotic

@analogtownie

@sunbleachfilm

@ngs.kng

@aperturealena

@andrew_tesdahl

@rustypants3

@joshwarner.photo

@hunty_morry_photography

NASA has announced the winners of its fifth annual Photographer of the Year awards. The winning photos showcase NASA’s people, places, and projects, as captured by NASA’s talented photographers.

12 photos won awards this year, with first, second, and third-place winners selected across four categories: Documentation, portrait, people, and places.

Documentation

In the documentation category, photographer Eric Bordelon earned the top honor with his photo of the Artemis I Prelaunch. Bordelon’s telephoto image was shot with a Nikon Z7 and 150-600mm telephoto lens at 210mm. The photo shows NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket with the Orion spacecraft aboard a mobile launcher at Launch 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The prelaunch photo was captured on August 30, 2022.

Photographer Bill Ingalls earned second place with his image of the SpaceX Crew Dragon Freedom spacecraft preparing to land off the coast of Florida, with NASA astronauts Kjell Lindgren, Robert Hines, Jessica Watkins, and European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti aboard.

Bridget Caswell’s photo of an engineer mapping out the position of rocks during VIPER testing at NASA’s Glenn Research Center won the bronze in the Documentation category. A test version of the VIPER rover is helping NASA prepare for its mission later this year to find water at the Moon’s South pole. The test rover navigates a simulated lunar surface inside NASA’s SLOPE lab, providing critical feedback to engineers.

Portrait

Photographer Josh Valcarcel won the portrait category with his fantastic portrait of NASA astronaut Bob “Farmer” Hines in an Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) spacesuit at the NASA Johnson Space Center photo studio.

PetaPixel recently interviewed Valcarcel to discuss his incredible Artemis II crew portraits. In the interview, Valcarcel discusses his photographic background, including training as a photographer in the Navy, the in-depth planning and execution of the Artemis II crew portraits, and what it’s like to be a NASA Scientific Photographer.

For her portrait of NASA quality engineer John Tota, photographer Desiree Stover earned second place. Tota is posing inside NASA’s Electro Magnetic Interference (EMI) chamber, where Tota works to ensure the quality of the flight hardware builds on the Ocean Color Instrument (OCI). OCI is an advanced optical spectrometer that will be used to measure properties of light over portions of the electromagnetic spectrum, and it will deliver more precise wavelength resolution than previous NASA satellite sensors.

Valcarcel also earned third place in the portrait category for his hair flip portrait of NASA astronaut Loral O’Hara.

People

Compared to the “portrait” category, NASA’s Photographer of the Year “people” category celebrates images of people that aren’t strictly portraits. For example, Jordan Salkin’s image of the Moog Hover Test shows a lone individual walking through the fog at the NASA Glenn Research Center at Lewis Field.

Bill Stafford’s second-place photo shows a NASA JETT3 engineering night run in Arizona. It was NASA’s third simulated moonwalk in preparation for future Artemis missions. During Artemis III, astronauts will visit the lunar South Pole region, an area no person has ever explored.

Valcarcel is back again, with an image of a Navy pilot and NASA astronaut candidate Jack “Radio” Hathaway inside a NASA T-38 jet. This image was captured during a mission to photograph the Artemis I on the launchpad at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center.

Places

Rounding out the awards is the “places” category, recognizing excellent images that show the environments where NASA’s diverse team of astronauts, researchers, and engineers work.

Photographer Jef Janis won first place with a mind-boggling image of the Aero-Acoustic Propulsion Laboratory (AAPL). Located at Glenn Research Center, AAPL is a world-class facility for conducting aero-propulsion noise reduction research.

Josh Valcarcel’s aerial photo of a squadron of T-38 jets flying overheard the Artemis I rocket on Launch Pad 39B won second place in the category. The image was captured during the same mission on August 23, 2022, as Valcarcel’s second-place winning image in the “people” category.

Valcarcel earned third place, too, with an image of astronaut Loral O’Hara, of hair-flip portrait acclaim, commanding a virtual frontier within the mock-up cupola in NASA’s Systems Engineering Simulator at Johnson Space Center.

More Great NASA Photographs

Many talented photographers work alongside the astronauts and scientists at NASA, and it’s always amazing to see behind-the-scenes looks at the important work NASA conducts. Even more great photos are available in PetaPixel’s coverage of last year’s NASA Photographer of the Year Awards.

There’s a lot of detailed information about the work of NASA photographers like Josh Valcarcel in PetaPixel’s recent interview with him about his Artemis II crew portraits.

Image credits: Images courtesy of NASA

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