As Duke men’s tennis forms their pre-game huddle against Wake Forest in late March, a seemingly extra team member walks into Ambler Stadium with a similar sense of purpose — except this team member has long dark hair and a Nikon D5 camera instead of a racket.    

Director of Athletics Photography Natalie LeDonne launches herself into the chaos of screaming Duke athletes.    

“Blue! Devils! Blue! Devils! Go Duke on three! One, two, three!”   

She’s tucked between junior Faris Khan and first-year Pedro Rodenas, close enough to snap the energy while positioned right outside their circle. Keeping a “respectful distance” is overrated. She’s immersed.   

“Go Duke!”   

Poised to shoot, Nat seems more ready to catch the first point than the players are to score it. If you look away for a second, she’s gone, teleported to another court. She’s perched on a bench, squatting behind a recycling bin or crouched next to a bright red Wilson tennis bag so big it almost seems like she could fit into it. Eyes aren’t often on her, but her eyes are on everyone and everything. She doesn’t miss a moment.      

Well, maybe a few. Nat looks behind her shoulder in mild disappointment as sophomore Connor Krug and first-year Teddy Truwit win their first doubles set against the Demon Deacons — even the best of sports photographers can’t catch it all.  

In 2021, Nat was featured in the U.S. Lacrosse Magazine after she captured the winning shots and saves of Duke men versus Syracuse and Carolina a week prior. Her photos have been published on ESPNW, Swimming World Magazine and the ACC Network.    

“When Nat started and came to photograph Duke football practices, I told her to take pictures of the quarterback,” Lunn said. “And she said, ‘What’s a quarterback?’”    

Nowadays, Nat’s finger is on the pulse of all 27 Duke teams. Two hours ago, it was women’s tennis. Tomorrow, women’s lacrosse. Right now, her lens is focused on the tensing jaw of the men’s tennis head coach. 

It almost seemed natural for Nat to end up on a college campus. Nat and her mom Patricia moved around Virginia while Pat worked in college admissions, settling at Roanoke College. Her aunts, uncles and grandparents all worked in education, from kindergarten teachers to biology professors.    

Pat adopted Nat from rural China when she was 9 months old. 

“When I picked her up from the orphanage, they had nicknamed her Yi Feng Zhang, which translates to Mighty Phoenix,” said Pat, who raised Nat as a single mom. “She was sick, stubborn, and feisty, but she was a fighter.”   

The two took to each other quickly, and it’s been Pat and Nat ever since.

After second grade, Nat transferred to Holy Cross Catholic Regional School in Lynchburg, VA. The family started a tradition of shopping for shoes, the only way Nat could show her identity in a school uniform. Neon orange Nikes, to be exact.     

“I think I probably have like 17 or 18 pairs now,” Nat said, laughing. Her current favorites are a pair of Air Max 270s.     

Despite an uncharacteristic dislike for watching professional sports — “It’s only interesting if I know the players,” she said — Nat grew up playing volleyball, basketball and soccer. Sports followed her to Lynchburg College, where she took up photography in the athletics department. In her sophomore year, she won a summer internship with the Minnesota Zoo.

“I left her at a reptile trainer’s house. The place was full of aquariums, snakes, and hawks eating mice on the dresser,” Pat said. “It was probably one of the hardest things I did as a mom, but one of the best things for her.”     

The next summer, Nat interned at the North Carolina Zoo. Fully intending to go into zoo photography, a freelancing opportunity at a Virginia Tech football game upended her plans.

Metallica’s Enter Sandman boomed over the loudspeakers. Students jumped to the beat, waving orange pom poms wildly. The energy was addictive. Nat was hooked.   

Senior year spring brought Lunn to Lynchburg’s campus, where a brief connection and lots of likes dropped by Nat on Lunn’s instagram led to Nat’s first job at Duke — shooting football and basketball games. She made the two-and-a-half-hour commute to Durham two to three times a week.

“Nat’s always been a risk-taker in many ways,” Pat said. 

The long drives in her 2003 Honda CRV and spending Thanksgiving and Christmas freelancing proved worthwhile. Nat graduated in 2018 from Lynchburg with a degree in communications and art, and that very August she was working full-time at Duke.

We planned to meet in her office the day before the Wake Forest tennis match. As she sat down in the oversized swivel chair behind her desk, she admitted that the pictures of the Labrador and the memorabilia on the shelves didn’t belong to her — it was technically Lunn’s office that they shared. 

My offer to move outside was met with a sigh of relief and, “Yes, please! I’m trying to work on my tan!”      

She stretched herself across two chairs, feet up, soaking in the sun. On her wrist was a neon orange watch. At times, I found myself feeling more interviewed than the other way around. Nat is working on a tattoo sleeve of all 50 states on her right arm — her last one was the Kansas state flower — but somehow the attention turned to a corgi sticker on my phone case.  

“Do you have a corgi?” she asked excitedly. My answer was barely out when she started inquiring about the other stickers. “What does this one say …”     

As we chatted about Duke Athletics and I rattled off friends on different teams, Nat’s face lit up. “Oh my gosh, Ellie on tennis! She’s the sweetest!” 

Rarely could I bring up a name that she didn’t recognize. “Alayna? I helped her with her Italian homework! Or tried to, at least,” she said with a small laugh at her dyslexia and ADD. 

This is what she’s good at. 

“In the studio, Nat makes the student athletes she works with feel so comfortable,” said Madison Olmo, a producer/editor for Blue Devil Network and friend of Nat. “She brings out their personalities beyond the stoic athletics photos that you normally see.”

Her role as the observer instead of the observed comes from an innate sincerity and curiosity, a genuine desire to learn more about her subjects. 

“She refers to the athletes as ‘her athletes,’” said Liv Warren, Nat’s girlfriend. “She tries to connect with each and every one of them.” 

Nat would never admit it, but she’s a campus celebrity among Duke Athletics. Every athlete knows the tattooed, Luke Combs-loving photographer with an affinity for puns, and every Duke employee knows of her undying loyalty and meticulous work ethic.     

“Nat’s a unicorn,” Lunn said. He’s right. 

Editor’s Note: Christina Ferrari is co-captain of the Duke fencing team.

Dialect, 2020-2023
Photo: © Felipe Romero Beltrán 2023 courtesy Loose Joints

When Colombian photographer Felipe Romero Beltrán met nine young Moroccan migrants in southern Spain, he felt a sense of kinship that led him to embark on a three-year-long project. Beltrán, a migrant himself, has long been disturbed by the oversimplified and often sensationalized images of immigrants portrayed in documentary photography. “You always see the tragic or the epic, where people are getting off boats or trying to survive in the cold,” Beltrán tells the Cut. “Documentary has this strong way of representing ‘the other’ in a way we know came from the last century, but we have to rethink it. We have to start once again from another point of view.”

His new book, Dialect, captures the agency of these young migrants, allowing them to express their identity on their own terms rather than as society often dictates it. The photographic series follows the boys as they are held in state custody in Seville, Spain, a transit point for migrants crossing the Mediterranean Sea in search of legal status. (Undocumented and underage migrants are often detained by the state for up to three years while they wait for legal documentation.)

Beltrán first met the boys at a theater workshop for immigrant social integration, where he was invited to speak about his own experiences as a migrant. Bogotá-born, he studied photography in Buenos Aires and lived in Israel and Palestine for two years before moving to Madrid to pursue a Ph.D. in photography. When he arrived, he was also undocumented. “I feel really close to them because we spent a good amount of time talking and sharing our thoughts and experiences,” Beltrán says. He’s currently in Mexico, where he’s working on an ongoing series titled Bravo. 

As he spent more time with the boys, he was in awe of their unique communication style, conveyed through their bodies. They projected an image of macho, muscular men that felt vastly different from his own physique, an observation that inspired Beltrán to name his project Dialect. In the images, he uses the body as a striking metaphor for the journeys and state of limbo experienced by these individuals as they await the start of their new lives.

Dialect (2020–23).

© Felipe Romero Beltrán 2023, courtesy of Loose Joints

Dialect (2020–23).

© Felipe Romero Beltrán 2023, courtesy of Loose Joints

Dialect (2020–23).

© Felipe Romero Beltrán 2023, courtesy of Loose Joints

Dialect (2020–23).

© Felipe Romero Beltrán 2023, courtesy of Loose Joints

Dialect (2020–23).

© Felipe Romero Beltrán 2023, courtesy of Loose Joints

Dialect (2020–23).

© Felipe Romero Beltrán 2023, courtesy of Loose Joints

Dialect (2020–23).

© Felipe Romero Beltrán 2023, courtesy of Loose Joints

Photographs by © Felipe Romero Beltrán 2023 courtesy Loose Joints

Dialect (2020–23).

© Felipe Romero Beltrán 2023, courtesy of Loose Joints

Dialect (2020–23).

© Felipe Romero Beltrán 2023, courtesy of Loose Joints

Dialect (2020–23).

© Felipe Romero Beltrán 2023, courtesy of Loose Joints

Dialect (2020–23).

© Felipe Romero Beltrán 2023, courtesy of Loose Joints

Dialect (2020–23).

© Felipe Romero Beltrán 2023, courtesy of Loose Joints

Dialect (2020–23).

© Felipe Romero Beltrán 2023, courtesy of Loose Joints

Dialect (2020–23).

© Felipe Romero Beltrán 2023, courtesy of Loose Joints

Photographs by © Felipe Romero Beltrán 2023 courtesy Loose Joints

When he initially began photographing the boys, he was struck by their heroic energy. “They were really proud of being migrants and acquired this journey as an important and fundamental experience on their identity,” he says. However, over the past year, he has observed a shift in their self-presentation. They stopped speaking Arabic with one another, adopted a taste for Spanish and French trap music, and sported “fake Gucci or fake Balenciaga.”

Beltrán thought this signaled a desire to be seen as Spanish men rather than as migrants. “When I arrived in Spain, I changed my Colombian accent because, unconsciously, I wanted to integrate into society,” he says. “I didn’t want to be portrayed as the Colombian guy with all the implications a Colombian person has in Spain.”

In addition to the reenactments, which were largely led by the boys in Dialect’s images, Beltrán allowed them to decide how to pose, seeking to capture them the way they want to be seen. As a result, we’re offered unguarded moments and an unfiltered peek into their lives — from bleaching their hair to working out to even the raw intimacy of photographic subject Bilal Siasse smoking a cigarette while holding a mirror for Youssef Elhafidi as he pops a zit.

Beltrán even swapped out his usual film camera with a digital one so he could show them the images as they’re being taken; if they didn’t like them, he would discard them. “I can’t be so naïve and say that I portray them as they wanted to be portrayed a hundred percent, because it’s my way of seeing,” he says. As the photographer, he made decisions about lighting, framing, and composition. And while the boys had significant input on posing, Beltrán selected what would appear in the book. For instance, when the boys wanted to pose with fake guns, he snapped the shot but refused to publish it, as he felt a responsibility to protect them. “I’m not showing this because you don’t know the implication it has of you as migrants or me as a Colombian,” he explained to them.

Regardless, Beltrán accepts that he cannot control how others perceive his images. “The viewer is a complicated concept that, honestly, I don’t think about,” he says. He’s more mindful of the power dynamics at play as a storyteller. “If I were a guy from Spain or Colombia with a certain privilege, the relationship would be different. But at the same time, I have the privilege to be educated and to have a camera,” he says, still noting that he wants to maintain a balance of perspectives.

Looking back, Beltrán acknowledges the thematic elements he’d overlooked. “I was completely unaware of this sacred religiousness on the project,” he says. Perhaps it’s Seville that gives rise to this feeling; with a potent Catholic influence and a rich religious history, the city exudes an atmosphere of deep devotion and reverence. “It influenced me, but also the guys who came from an iconoclastic culture,” he says. One photograph that stands out to Beltrán as a favorite is a spiritual reenactment of their journey to Spain, when Siasse’s friends carried his body after he fainted. The boys together in communal support, holding each other up and bearing one another’s burdens.

Dialect (2020–23).

© Felipe Romero Beltrán 2023, courtesy of Loose Joints

Dialect (2020–23).

© Felipe Romero Beltrán 2023, courtesy of Loose Joints

Dialect (2020–23).

© Felipe Romero Beltrán 2023, courtesy of Loose Joints

Dialect (2020–23).

© Felipe Romero Beltrán 2023, courtesy of Loose Joints

Dialect (2020–23).

© Felipe Romero Beltrán 2023, courtesy of Loose Joints

Dialect (2020–23).

© Felipe Romero Beltrán 2023, courtesy of Loose Joints

Assembly, Recital (2020–23).

© Felipe Romero Beltrán 2023, courtesy of Loose Joints

Dialect (2020–23).

© Felipe Romero Beltrán 2023, courtesy of Loose Joints

Photographs by © Felipe Romero Beltrán 2023 courtesy Loose Joints

Dialect (2020–23).

© Felipe Romero Beltrán 2023, courtesy of Loose Joints

Dialect (2020–23).

© Felipe Romero Beltrán 2023, courtesy of Loose Joints

Dialect (2020–23).

© Felipe Romero Beltrán 2023, courtesy of Loose Joints

Dialect (2020–23).

© Felipe Romero Beltrán 2023, courtesy of Loose Joints

Dialect (2020–23).

© Felipe Romero Beltrán 2023, courtesy of Loose Joints

Dialect (2020–23).

© Felipe Romero Beltrán 2023, courtesy of Loose Joints

Assembly, Recital (2020–23).

© Felipe Romero Beltrán 2023, courtesy of Loose Joints

Dialect (2020–23).

© Felipe Romero Beltrán 2023, courtesy of Loose Joints

Photographs by © Felipe Romero Beltrán 2023 courtesy Loose Joints

Beltrán also put together a video installation that underscored the political layer of the project; he included some stills in the book. The video features three of the boys reading the first four pages of Spanish immigration law. “It takes 20 minutes to read, so you can see how they struggle with the actual document that defines them and defines me as a migrant myself,” he says.

He also incorporated stills from his other collaborative project, Instruction. The frames show Siasse performing a choreographed routine alongside choreographer Lucia You, in which he symbolically guides her through movement on the Spanish frontier. “The piece, from my side, is a process of this failure or impossibility to teach someone how to cross the border,” he says. “It also has moments of conversation, because it shows how impossible it is to make a representation of that.”

Dialect is accompanied by six interdisciplinary texts, including contributions from a physicist explaining how boats endure this treacherous journey. Additionally, a choreographer, a philosopher, and an anthropologist specializing in migration offered their perspectives. Finally, two of the featured migrants, Elhafidi and Zakaria Mourachid, contributed their own written pieces.

In Mourachid’s opening note, he writes, “This is the story of a Moroccan guy born in Casablanca, on October 26, 2001. It is a life story that is still in process, but that in the past 21 years has had many changes and has made our guy learn and radically change his way of thinking and seeing the world, a world that is sometimes more unfair and difficult for some. This is a story of overcoming, strength, courage and heart.”

Dialect, by Felipe Romero Beltrán, is published by Loose Joints.

Reframing the Migrant Experience

Miranda Longoria can trace her love of photography back to her childhood.

“As a child, I was the one who had the little camera with the drop-in film,” she said. “I would show up at our friends’ birthday parties or the [high school] senior trip, and I was the one documenting, taking the pictures.”

She took photography classes while attending Sam Houston State University, where she earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in journalism and public relations. In the early 2000s, while running her custom greeting card business, her clients had a new request.

“My clients started saying, ‘I want me and my fiance’s picture on our save-the-date invitation; can you take the picture?’ Or they wanted their baby’s picture on the announcement,” Longoria said. “So, I started taking pictures for the clients.”

Eventually, she found she was taking more photos than doing actual design work. So, in 2011, she and her husband, Eric Longoria, opened Miranda Longoria Photography. “He carries equipment, and he’s been known to scout out locations for me,” she said. “He’s kind of the right-brain, and I’m the left-brain. When I need administrative advice, I go to him.”

The top three requests she receives for photography sessions are weddings, senior portraits and family portrait sessions.

“I capture moments as they happen versus trying to force the moments,” Longoria said. “A lot of times, the first thing I tell my clients is I’m going to put you in a pose, but feel free to laugh, breathe, giggle, snuggle and kiss, because we want to capture real moments.”

Prior to a session, Longoria will visit with clients to get a feel for their personalities.

“I like to narrow down the [photo session] locations based on what their personalities are,” she said. “Are they outdoor people or more urban people? Are they more active or more sit at home and cuddle on the couch? We’re not trying to make magazine layouts here. We want it to be real representations of who they are.”

Miranda Longoria Photography

[email protected]

972-313-5739

www.mirandalongoria.com

The World Photography Organisation has announced the overall winners in the prestigious Sony World Photography Awards 2023 at a special gala ceremony in London, hosted by broadcaster and art historian Kate Bryan. The acclaimed photographer Edgar Martins (Portugal) has won the Photographer of the Year title, the accompanying $25,000 (USD) cash prize, and a range of Sony digital imaging equipment. Additionally, Martins receives a solo presentation of his work as part of next year’s Sony World Photography Awards exhibition.

Also announced today are the ten category winners alongside 2nd and 3rd place of the Professional competition as well as overall winners of the Open, Youth and Student competitions and the first-time winner of the Sustainability Prize – developed in collaboration with the United Nations Foundation and Sony Pictures’ Picture This initiative to recognise the stories, people and organisations whose actions highlight one of the United Nations’ environmental Sustainable Development Goals.

The Sony World Photography Awards 2023 exhibition opens at Somerset House, London from 14 April – 1 May 2023, featuring over 200 prints and hundreds of additional images in digital displays from winning and shortlisted photographers. Also presented are works by this year’s Outstanding Contribution to Photography, the esteemed Japanese photographer Rinko Kawauchi.

See also: Start Your Engines – A Beginner’s Guide to Collecting Classic Cars

PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR

Our War is an original and nuanced tribute to the photographer’s late friend the photojournalist Anton Hammerl, who was abducted and killed on 5 April 2011 by government militia, during the Libyan Civil War. Frustrated by unsuccessful attempts to ascertain the whereabouts of his friend’s last mortal remains, Martins took matters into his own hands and travelled to Libya. He was brought in covertly by a petrol smuggler and was immediately faced with enormous challenges working in such a volatile environment. Realising that he would not be able to carry out a thorough and independent investigation, Martins instead chose to reflect on the question: ‘how does one tell a story when there is no witness, no testimony, no evidence, no subject?’

In Our War Martins conjures and alludes to the absent central figure through a series of portraits of the people Hammerl had connected with and those involved in the fighting (freedom fighters or their descendants, ex-militia, local residents, Gaddafi loyalists or lookalikes, and so on). They were chosen because they either resembled him, had similar ideas and beliefs, or reminded Martins of him at different stages of their friendship. The project explores the idea of absence, of documenting, grieving, and honouring a subject as well as reflecting on the role of photography within a conflict zone. Martins’ approach is to confront these questions head-on: to embrace the idea of the fragmentary and the many contradictions and ambiguities intrinsic to war.

Commenting on his win Martins says: ‘It is a huge honour to be recognised and although I am philosophical about awards and the subjective nature of someone’s choice, knowing that there were over 180,000 entries to this year’s Professional competition, is very humbling. In this case, it is also quite an emotional experience because I get to honour my friend on a world stage and bring attention to the family’s plight to find his remains. There’s no award that has the reach of the Sony World Photography Awards.’

https://www.worldphoto.org/sony-world-photography-awards

Post Views: 187

Some people seem to be out of touch with reality when it comes to how certain services work. Let’s take photography, for example. Once it’s all been said and done and you have paid for a job well done, there is no basis for requesting a refund. Unless the pictures are gone or somehow ruined (which they probably aren’t if you’ve already paid for the service), the chances of you getting the money back are close to none.

This woman thought otherwise and asked her wedding photographer, Lance Romeo, to refund her for reasons completely out of his control. In her message, revealed on Twitter by the South African artist, she complimented the professional on doing a wonderful job and simultaneously asked him for the money, which he thought was a joke. Scroll down to find his conversation with the client below.

Even the best of professionals can’t “untake” pictures, which makes photography a non-refundable service

Image credits: Getúlio Moraes (not the actual photo)

This photographer was stunned at his client’s request for a refund for reasons that were in no way related to him

Image credits: LanceRomeo

Image credits: LanceRomeo

Getting a refund is impossible because the job has already been done and it included more than just taking pictures on the big day

Lance Romeo told his client that he can’t “untake” the pictures, which is why his service is non-refundable. The photographer has already spent his time, effort, and resources, and the fact that she no longer needs the end result doesn’t cancel out all that’s been put into getting it.

And it’s not only about all that’s invested in the wedding day—a photographer’s job entails more than just capturing the actual moment. They also have to sort through and edit hundreds of pictures, which is not less important and often takes even more time than the special day itself. According to Wild Romantic Photography, editing wedding pictures usually takes roughly 14 hours. But this estimate differs with each artist, of course.

Wedding photographers sure have plenty of material for editing, as they usually take roughly up to 1400 pictures during a 12-hour shift. The number of images the client receives is often a matter of agreement, but it’s usually less than half of all that the professional captures.

Putting everything in writing can help prevent similar situations and ensure the client has all the details regarding the service

In her messages, the woman said the photographer should have disclosed his no-refund policy in the agreement. To be fair, when everything’s there in black and white, no one can threaten you with lawyers four years after you provide the service.

According to Your Photo Advisor, it’s better to have a strict policy and not to give out refunds left, right, and center. However, it’s been pointed out that some situations might require the photographer to reimburse their client. At least a partial refund could be offered when the person with the camera disrupts the event or ruins the pictures, for example.

Having all the details in writing also helps to set clear guidelines for specifics, such as the number of photographs the client will receive or the number of hours the professional is hired for. They might also include at least a rough idea of when the photographs will be ready, as most people are understandably eager to see them.

Unfortunately, sometimes clients complain about something that is not in the hands of the artist; the way their smile looks in the picture or the color of someone’s tie, for example. In Lance Romeo’s situation, it was the fact that the client no longer needed the pictures. And that only shows that some people are indeed somewhat out of touch with reality when it comes to how certain services work.

People didn’t hold back their opinions, some mocked the absurdity of the situation

That’s far from the only time photographers had to deal with ridiculous requests or suggestions, here are some examples:

“Surely photographers will line up to pay me to shoot my wedding in the middle of nowhere”

Image credits: InTheRainbowRain

“My dad’s a photographer, this is his most recent client”

Image credits: jonnymoon5

“This guy trying to charge a photographer to share his photographs”

Image credits: pesky_oncogene

“This model looking for a free wedding photographer. Dancing will be free for you too”

Image credits: OldSpiceAquaReef8

“The joys of being a professional photographer”

Image credits: keepsha_king

“Rhino on Lake, Lake Nakuru” by Nick Brandt.

The contest is also using a new submission platform

There’s less than one month until submissions open for the 2023 Hal Prize, and as we move toward the opening, my excitement continues to grow. 

We have some changes this year that will make the contest even better, including new photography categories selected by our partners at Peninsula School of Art. A few popular categories from last year are returning, and a few have been added under the expertise of this year’s photography judge, Allen Morris, whom Peninsula School of Art selected. 

The categories for this year are Analog Alternative Processes, Digital Manipulation, Landscape and Nature, People and Portraits, and Animals. You can learn more about these categories below.

When the Hal Prize began in 1998, all submissions were physical. Then, with the advent of the internet and more online accessibility, we switched to using an online platform. This year, we’re switching that platform to Zealous, which works well for both writers and visual artists. Zealous is easy to use when submitting work, and it has a very active help center and live chat, should any questions arise.

Photography Categories

Analog Alternative Processes 

Share your historical process photo: cyanotype, Van Dyke brown, gum bichromate, lumen prints and more. If it’s old school and analog based, it fits this category.

More example work: Christina Z. Anderson, Mary West Quin, Joseph Minek and Eric William Carroll.

Digital Manipulation

Pixels are meant to be pushed around, and a whole new world can be created using digital-manipulation techniques. Show us your composites, collages and all photographs that are digitally augmented.

More example work: Jenna Marti, Josh Passon, Brooke Shaden and Maggie Taylor.

Landscape and Nature

These are the subjects that always surround us. No matter where you go, there is a vista to behold, beautiful plant life to explore or fungi to focus on. This category invites you to share your images of the beauty you find in the natural world.

More example work: Terry Evans, Camden Hardy, Mark Brautigam and Laura McPhee.

People and Portraits

It’s easy to forget that a portrait is just as much about the artist as it is about the subject or sitter. Share your photography of other humans in this category to help us understand who they are and who you are!

More example work: Lois Bielefeld, Kurt Simonson, Richard Renaldi and  Hillerbrand and Magsamen.

Animals

Whether domestic or wild, scaly or furry, slithery or on Hoff, animals have been favorite subjects for the camera lens since the beginning of photo history. Show us the majesty – or whimsy – of the animal kingdom through photos in this category.

More example work: Joel Sartore, Nick Brandt, Mary Lee Agnew and Karine Aigner.

8142 Review, Vol. 1 and 2 are available for purchase at doorcountypulse.com/shop. The publications feature the winners of the 2021 and 2022 contests, respectively.

PORT TOWNSEND — “I love photography,” said Christopher Rauschenberg, “because it takes me places I haven’t been … and when I look at other people’s photography, I’m looking at the world through other people’s eyes.”

Rauschenberg, curator of the “Wet: Reflections on Water” photo exhibition at Northwind Art’s Jeanette Best Gallery, will give a free public talk this Saturday.

His 5 p.m. discussion will take place at the Best Gallery at 701 Water St. in downtown Port Townsend, so he’ll be surrounded by the show.

An artist whose works are displayed in museums and galleries around the globe, Rauschenberg was the juror chosen last winter to select the 40 photographs in the “Wet” exhibition.

“I’ll talk about how things look together, and what some of the issues are that the show raises,” he said, “and I’ll talk about photography, how it describes the world, and how it’s integrated into everyday life now.”

Photos have a key role to play, added Rauschenberg, who is also a cofounder of Blue Sky, the Oregon Center for the Photographic Arts in Portland, Ore.

In these times, we need to find ways to recognize each other’s shared humanity, and “I feel like photography is one of the ways to do that,” Rauschenberg said.

The “Wet” show “is a nice mixture of people who would describe themselves as photographers, and others who might not,” he said. The doorway into this art form, he added,
has become an open archway.

Rauschenberg, the son of famed artists Robert Rauschenberg and Susan Weil, notes that photography — and art, for that matter — is far less rigid now than it once was when it comes to mediums and boundaries.

Structures have been loosened, and “my father was one of the main looseners,” he mused.

“Wet: Reflections on Water” explores the beauty and power of water, from roaring waves to unexpected colors on pavement. There are images of the Pacific Ocean, of Lake Crescent, of a calving glacier and of a bright-green anemone. Documentary, abstract, color and black-and-white images share the gallery space.

The exhibition, Rauschenberg said, brings together a mix “of beautiful and thought-provoking pictures on the most important subject on Earth.”

“Wet” will stay on display through April 30 at the Jeanette Best Gallery, which is open from noon to
5 p.m. Thursdays through Mondays. Voting for the People’s Choice Award, a $100 prize, will go on throughout the show.

For more information about Northwind Art’s gallery shows and classes at the Northwind Art School at Fort Worden State Park,
see https://northwindart.org.

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A photographer’s runner who watched the late Queen’s coronation while perched high up on scaffolding inside Westminster Abbey has said he hopes the King’s coronation will make people appreciate the power of printed images.

Alex Falk was just 17 and working for the Press Association on Coronation Day 70 years ago.

It was his job on June 2 1953 to assist photographers during the ceremony and afterwards make his way quickly back to Fleet Street from the abbey, carrying a satchel full of precious 5×4 inch double dark slides to be processed.

He told the PA news agency: “What we try to do is show people you’ve got an image… if you don’t print it, you don’t see it for the next generation.

“When you travel the world you see people’s real images, from your parents, your grandparents, your great-grandparents.

He said digital images “travel the world” but get “lost” whereas printed images go on display in people’s homes and “hopefully this coronation will bring it back to people so they can enjoy it”.

Mr Falk, 86, said he cannot visit London on the big day because he has to care for his wife but they will enjoy watching the ceremony on television with a toast of wine.

He described working at the late Queen’s coronation as “wonderful”.

He told PA: “I was a junior runner on that particular occasion, a very long day working with photographers taking their images from wherever they were taking them back to Fleet Street to get them processed and printed to publish in magazines and papers.

“It was wonderful because of course everything was totally new. We were in the abbey and up at the scaffolding right at the top, facing them as they walked down the aisle.

“They were taking pictures, we then took those images on five by four sheet film back by motorbike to Fleet Street.”

He said he is sure the King will not “let us down” next month and hopes it will be an opportunity to showcase the UK to the world.

He said: “We are not an island unto ourselves. We need people to come, we need to travel abroad, take the good news. The Queen was yesterday, the King is today.

“We as a country should gain from it because we are the centre of attraction.

“People are watching us, let us not let the country down and I feel sure that the new King and Queen won’t let us down.”

Lupus Hominarius: Noemi Comi, Italy, (second place, Creative)

Lupus Hominarius refers to the legends of Calabria, Italy, surrounding the figure of the werewolf. According to folklore, you could become a werewolf as a result of a curse or through infections, bites or pacts with the devil. The legend shared by many towns in Calabria relates to the ‘first wedding night’, in which the bride dies at the hands of her werewolf husband while the two are consummating their marriage. Very often, such tales were created to prevent women from going out alone in the village, especially at night.

In the realm of wildlife photography, few can rival the passion and expertise of Robert Sayialel, a captivating personality who has captured the hearts of fellow enthusiasts and professionals alike. From humble beginnings in the heart of Amboseli National Park, where he first honed his skills capturing the majestic big Tuskers, Robert has traversed the breathtaking landscapes of Kenya’s national parks, documenting once-in-a-lifetime safaris for awe-struck guests. Now, as the resident photographer at the sybaritic Angama lodge, perched on an escarpment high above Kenya’s Maasai Mara, Robert shares his wealth of knowledge and unique perspective with emerging photographers who, like him, find the allure of the untamed wild irresistible. HAP spoke with Sayialel about his expertise, all-time favorite shots, and why African safaris remain the holy grail for every aspiring photographer.

Tell us a bit about your background. How did you get into photography, and how did you land at Angama? 

I started my career in the IT department working with the Amboseli Trust for Elephants in Amboseli National Park, close to where I was born and raised. Over time, I started going out on safari drives, documenting and photographing the big, famous Tuskers of Amboseli, which opened a new chapter in wildlife photography. When my time was up in Amboseli, I moved to Nairobi, freelancing with tour companies, traveling with guests through Kenya’s National Parks, and documenting their safaris. When Covid hit and there were no visitors, much of my work turned to portrait photography within the city until I saw an advert that Angama was looking for a photographer to guide and document safaris and wildlife of the Mara Triangle. An opportunity too good to pass, I applied, and it has been an incredible two years now of my life doing what I love in one of the most beautiful wildlife viewing places in the world. The best part about being part of this dear team is that I am not always confined to the studio teaching and editing photos; every now and then, I get to go out and hone my skills even more.

What are some of the experiences that Angama’s photo studio offers and are they unique compared to other luxury safari hotels? 

Angama has set itself apart as one of the travel destinations in Kenya, with a few camps now following suit, that has a dedicated Photographic Studio to cater to guests’ photography needs. In the studio, guests have an opportunity to arrange private complimentary photographic tutorials and editing sessions to learn the ins and outs of a camera. This can either be with their own gear or cameras and lenses available for hire in the studio. Alternatively, one can choose to hire a photographer for one-on-one, in-depth practical classes on game drives. For those who prefer to put down their cameras and enjoy their Mara experience to the fullest, we accompany them on drives to capture these wonderful memories on their behalf, both people and wildlife.

As a way to keep engaging our guests, both past and those we expect, about our wildlife, culture, and experiences, Angama runs weekly blogs, and one of them is titled TWAA (This Week At Angama), which highlights our wildlife sightings and stories from the Mara Triangle. We have intimate knowledge of much of the wildlife in the Triangle, which helps in telling stories about them. TWAA is such a hit with so many viewers as we also feature some incredible photos taken by our guests and our guides as well.

We’ve heard that Angama also runs a photography competition open to the public. Can you tell us more about that?  

The Greatest Maasai Mara Photographer of the Year competition was launched by the Angama Foundation to reinforce the status of the Maasai Mara National Reserve as one of the best year-round wildlife destinations on the continent. Aimed at the community of Mara-based guides, Greater Mara employees, photographers, and visitors, the competition showcases the incredible images from the Mara while raising funds for boots-on-the-ground conservation initiatives to ensure its sustainability for generations to come. 

Each entry includes a donation to one of the competition’s conservation partners active in the Maasai Mara, with more than US$83,000 handed out by the Angama Foundation to the Anne K. Taylor Fund, the Maa Trust, the Mara Elephant Project, the Mara Conservancy, and the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust in 2019. Running from January to October, each month a finalist is selected by a judging panel of acclaimed wildlife photographers and stands a chance of winning the grand prize: a five-night safari for two at Angama Mara and US$10,000 in cash.

Are there any legendary safari photographers that you’ve admired over the years?

Nick Brandt has always been my favorite as one of the pioneers in portraying animals as sentient creatures, not so different from us, showing how deeply our fates are intertwined. Brandt portrays people and animals together, causing us to reflect on the real-life consequences of climate change. In the end, what is a wildlife photographer if there is no wildlife to photograph?

Can you explain what prompted the shift from traditional game hunting to photography safaris? Why this was pivotal to conservation, and the types of experiences offered by safari lodges? 

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Africa was a popular destination for European and American big game hunters who traveled to the continent to hunt exotic animals. This was seen as a sport and a means of demonstrating one’s masculinity and courage. However, in the early 20th century, a few pioneering photographers began to challenge these notions by capturing images of African wildlife instead of killing them, creating the idea of “photographic safaris” and safari travel as we know it today—a pivotal change to shooting with a camera instead of shooting with a gun.  

And finally, if you could pick one or two of your very favorite photos, which are they and why? If the animal has a name and story, please share!

In the two years with Angama in the Maasai Mara, I have photographed many incredible photos, but one that sets all my photos apart is when I witnessed a zebra earning its stripes even in the face of death. During the migration season, a dazzle of zebras was crossing the Mara River from the greater reserve towards the Triangle at one of the highly crocodile-infested crossing points. We spent hours on the river’s edge waiting to witness this extremely world-popular animal migration river crossing. Eventually, the urge to cross became too much, and the animals had to cross despite the imminent danger awaiting in the river. Almost immediately, more than a dozen crocodiles swung into action, grabbing a few zebras here and there. There was chaos and blood flowing in the river, which gave the rest of the zebras an easier pass while the crocodiles fought for a piece from those that succumbed, or so it seemed. A lone croc away from the melee managed to grab a zebra by its leg followed by a death roll, rendering it immobile, hence the ensuing fight for survival. Zebras are revered for their kicks and bite. The zebra was able to fend off the single croc by giving it a good bite, but only for a while. The damage already done, the poor zebra was a sitting duck, and eventually, more Crocs descended on it. It’s the circle of life.

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