Andrea Bruno Diodato, the photographer injured when Sergio Perez and Kevin Magnussen crashed in Monaco, says he won’t “accuse” the Haas driver as that was probably his “only glimmer of opportunity” in Monaco.

Magnussen and Perez, as well as Nico Hulkenberg, saw their Monaco GP hopes obliterated on the very first lap of the Grand Prix when Magnussen tried to power past Perez around the outside only to collide with the Red Bull driver as he took the racing line.

Andrea Bruno Diodato was not seriously injured in the Sergio Perez crash

It was a spectacular crash as Perez lost all four corners of his RB20 and Magnussen the front end of his Haas while a glancing, but hefty blow, also put his team-mate Nico Hulkenberg out of the race.

With debris spewed, never mind strewn, across the track, the race was red-flagged as marshals cleared up the carbon fibre debris.

However, it later emerged that while Perez’s RB20 was shedding bodywork against the barriers it injured one photographer standing on the side of the track by the Beau Rivage corner, but behind fencing.

That photographer, Andrea Bruno Diodato, was taken to the track’s medical centre but soon released.

He told Sky Italia: “I’m fine and there were no serious consequences for anyone. And this also explains that there isn’t a safety problem on that circuit. And I don’t even feel like accusing the Haas driver, as an enthusiast I can understand that.”

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“My job sometimes teaches us to listen even before seeing certain situations,” he added. “And so in those moments, the uniform noise as the cars passed was as if it had stopped for a moment and I understood that something was about to happen. Then the collision.

“There were about ten of us, now I only have a bruise after the impact with a fragment of the ‘ala Red Bull. It went well, those who suffered the most damage may have thrown themselves to the ground to take cover.

“If I put myself in the driver’s shoes, I must say that in a certain sense, I understand Magnussen.

“In a race where it is very difficult to overtake, perhaps in that situation, he saw the only glimmer of opportunity to succeed. I don’t feel like accusing or condemning him.”

But as images of photographers scrambling for their safety did the rounds, he was asked if he was ever afraid at those moments.

“No, no fear,” he said.

“In Monaco there is no safety problem. I know that circuit well and if there were no serious consequences after the impact it is also because the guardrails are very solid, as are the posts in the asphalt.

“I think that track offers many more certainties when compared to others and other situations. I’m thinking for example of the accident involving Zhou (with Albon) at Silverstone in 2022.

“Well, that’s a dynamic, I certainly wouldn’t want to find myself in Monaco, maybe the show isn’t exciting on the track, but the safety standards are high. And in any case we are all aware that there is a risk in doing this job.”

A trick of the trade for wanna be F1 photographers?

“Making your head and all your senses work at their best. And also trusting your sensations, because it can make the difference.”

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A long-term photography study has revealed how woodland is increasing and peatland is being restored at a number of nature reserves in the Scottish Highlands.

NatureScot has carried out repeat photography to illustrate the changes at national nature reserves (NNR) over time.

The Scottish government agency said this involves retaking historical photos at the same location and at the same time of year – in some cases dating back 70 years.

A new “storymap” has been launched that showcases the expansion of the Caledonian pine forests at Invereshie and Inshriach NNR, Beinn Eighe NNR and Dell Woods NNR; the spread of birch woodlands at Creag Meagaidh NNR and Craigellachie NNR; and the changes following peatland restoration at Ben Wyvis NNR.

Use the sliders below to see before and after images at the sites:

The visual record supports recent data from NatureScot NNRs showing that:
• Trees increased by around 25% at Invereshie and Inshriach NNR between 2017 and 2023 through natural regeneration, aided by deer management undertaken by Cairngorms Connect deer stalkers.
• Woodland at Beinn Eighe NNR has increased by 41% since it was designated as the UK’s first NNR in 1951, through a combination of tree planting, natural regeneration and sustainable deer management.
• More than 200 hectares of peatland has been restored on the mountainside at Ben Wyvis NNR as part of landscape-scale habitat restoration stretching from summit to sea.

There are 43 NNRs across Scotland.

Ian Sargent, NatureScot’s nature reserves manager for central Highland, said: “Our aim over the years has been to restore nature to allow it to function naturally with minimal intervention on our NNRs.

“In turn, these nature-rich areas provide many benefits, including increased biodiversity, carbon storage and resilience to climate change.”

Read more from Sky News:
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Mr Sargent said even when “very familiar” with an area, it is sometimes “difficult to appreciate change, especially when it happens slowly”.

He added: “Repeat photography allows us a fascinating look back in time and an insight into the dramatic but sometimes unnoticed changes to the landscape down through the years.

“While of course these images can’t tell us the full story of a place and its people, it is certainly encouraging to see and reflect on the restoration of woodlands and peatlands over the years at some of our most beautiful and special sites for nature.”

Oluremi Onabanjo fills her week with early morning writing sessions, a live show at the Village Vanguard, time with other Black scholars and art all around New York City.

In an age of fast, easy, and ephemeral digital images, Kansas City photographer Megan Karson is part of a movement to preserve antiquated photographic methods.

For half the year, Karson hunkers down in a West Bottoms studio to create dreamy, metallic images of men, women, children and pets. The rest of the time, the Kansas City native travels around the country capturing wild landscapes and one-of-a-kind photographs using silver, light and a 100-year-old wooden camera.

“I like to think of myself as an adventurous, old-timey camera lady,” Karson said. “I like to joke about how my camper van is my covered wagon and my dog, Rosemary, she’s like my little road companion.”

Using her 1979 Chevy camper van as a traveling darkroom when she’s on the road, Karson makes images using a process known as wet plate photography, invented in England in 1851.

Last year, she made more than 400 tintype portraits from her van in 10 states. Her roadside adventures attract attention from other travelers and often spark conversations with strangers.

“It’s fun sometimes to be on the side of the road with my gigantic camera and my cloak wrapped around myself while I’m working,” she said. “It’s fascinating to people and I enjoy sharing that experience, because I’d like this art form to continue on in the world.”

Karson’s large, antique camera was gifted to her by a client who found it at a barn sale. It was moldy, the wood was broken, and it was missing a lens.

“I spent like days and days with little pieces of sandpaper cleaning it and polishing it, and staining it and resealing it,” she said.

Over the course of several months, Karson rebuilt it in her studio in the Holsum Building, an old, industrial food processing warehouse in the historic West Bottoms.

“Now, that’s a very special camera to me because I felt like I made it and created it,” she said.

An archaic method revived

The practice of early photography is a combination of art and science. It’s a slow, deliberate process that begins in total darkness.

The first step is creating a light-sensitive plate with collodion, a flammable, syrupy solution of nitrocellulose in ether and alcohol, followed by a bath of silver.

“It’s such a rare form of photography that it’s kind of hard to find information,” she said. “I think over the last five years I’ve kind of honed in my skills and gotten better and better, but there’s still stuff to learn and mistakes to make.”

The heyday of wet plate processes lasted until the 1880s, when tintypes fell out of favor as more modern photographic techniques evolved. By 1925, handheld cameras like Kodak’s Brownie made taking a photo cheap, easy and convenient.

The tintype’s cumbersome, expensive, not to mention toxic methods were cast aside for decades. In the 1970s, artists like John Coffer, who traveled in a horse and buggy taking photographs at Civil War reenactments, revived them.

“The history of it was just really fascinating to me and I wanted to learn,” Karson said. “Five years ago, I mentored under Will Dunniway in Southern California. He’s since passed. I went out there and did a two-day workshop, one-on-one with him and learned that way.”

The process, Karson said, creates tangible objects that will last centuries and hopefully become meaningful family heirlooms.

While the art form is perhaps more suited to the controlled confines of a studio, Karson’s passion is working outside. She creates diptychs and triptychs, or multiple exposures of a scene, to create a panorama effect of the untamed places she experiences on her forays into nature.

“I shoot a lot of landscapes,” Karson said. “Photographing portraits is my main source of income, but I love shooting landscapes and I love working outside and making images of nature.”

“That’s what makes my heart the happiest,” she said.

But working on the road means Karson is often tested by the elements.

“I’m dealing with the temperature and the wind and the dust and the sun,” she said. “All that is very challenging.”

Photographer Steve Wilson is another artist in Kansas City who has spent years creating images with early and alternative photographic processes.

“What she’s doing is not easy by any stretch,” Wilson said. “Logistically, you have to have a place to land and chemically, there are so many variables that you have to deal with – especially in the heat — so she has some really technical issues she has to deal with.”

Wilson also admires what he called Karson’s ruggedly individualistic spirit.

“What a great life adventure she’s having. I’m so impressed with her work and the verve that she chases that with,” Wilson said “She’s taking it to a whole new level with her wet plate tours and I find it fascinating.”

Karson said it’s nice to know there’s another photographer in Kansas City who might be able to troubleshoot a problem.

“We nerd out a lot,” she said. “We’ll borrow things from each other when I’m out of a chemical that’s impossible to find.”

Karson’s new project has her photographing musicians as an artist-in-residence at the New Orleans Photo Alliance. She captures her subjects in the comforts of their homes, in their backyards or on their porches. She plans to make the environmental portraits an ongoing series.

“I have a lot of friends down there who are musicians, many who spend the majority of the year touring and traveling,” she said. “As someone who also tours and travels a significant amount, I really understand and relate to how special the moments that you get at home are, because they’re very fleeting.”

With clear skies and summer months ahead, she’s packing up her camper van. Karson will spend June in Montana hosting pop-up portrait sessions, and will make her way to Washington state for August.

By Selva Ozelli

SNPIT is a groundbreaking snap-to-earn blockchain platform that allows photographers to monetize their photography by creating NFT’s and selling them.  Developed by Gallusys and published by Zeal Nova, SNPIT has garnered significant attention and success in Japan.

SNPIT a blockchain solution for photography

SNPIT taps into the contemporary habit of frequent photography by allowing photographers to earn rewards for their work by creating NFTs.  Tokenizing photography is the practice of creating and selling unique digital editions of photographs as NFTs on blockchain platforms like SNPIT. These NFTs can include anything from fine art prints to press photos, to photos of art work and they are often accompanied by exclusive content like videos or audio recordings.

A photographic NFT is more than just an expensive jpeg or a digital license allowing a collector to share photographer’s art freely. It is a digital asset and photographer’s proof of provenance traceable to the photographer at its origin on the blockchain.

Since its beta launch in September 2023 after the NFT market boom, the SNPIT platform has garnered immense attention. Within a mere 21 hours, SNPIT completely sold out its collection of 10,000 Camera NFTs priced at 150 $MATIC each.  In the US, on June 5 and then again on November 20, 2023, the Securities Exchange Commission (“SEC’)  named Polygon’s $MATIC as an ‘unregistered security’ involved in the digital asset trading on the Binance and Kraken crypto exchanges.   Since then, CoinMarketCap’s data revealed that $MATIC’s price dropped considerably.

This swift sell-out of NFTs in exchange for $MATIC in Japan, underscores the platform’s rising popularity and the considerable interest in its unique features.  SNIPIT is now expanding globally to introduce its innovative features to new markets focusing on Korea, MENA, and English-speaking regions Website hopefully with regulatory compliance in each new jurisdiction as the company expands globally following the  tokenized collectibles trend.

Toshiyuki Otsuka, the visionary CEO and founder of SNPIT, explained “SNPIT transcends being just an app; it’s a movement empowering users to transform everyday moments into valuable assets. Our successful debut in Japan validates our vision, and we are excited to introduce SNPIT to a global audience. We firmly believe that our innovative blend of lifestyle and GameFi, powered by DePIN technology, will resonate with users worldwide, and we remain committed to expanding our influence.”

Strategic partnerships have been instrumental in enhancing SNPIT’s visibility and attracting a diverse user base.  Recently, SNPIT has launched the “World Repository,” a photo database leveraging DePIN (Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Network) technology, allowing users to upload photos with precise timestamps and location data. The “World Repository” aims to revolutionize how we document, share, and use visual data, fostering a more connected and informed world by  enhancing map services with detailed area information.

By inviting global contributions, the “World Repository” securely stores and makes these photos accessible worldwide. The database supports various applications, including cultural heritage restoration, metaverse content creation, environmental conservation, and generative AI training.

For example, photographers could celebrate World Environment Day on June 5th hosted by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia with theme of land restoration, desertification and drought resilience by uploading their photos of the desert from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to the World Repository.  Or photographers can celebrate World Oceans Day on June 8th, hosted in-person at the UN Headquarters in New York and broadcast digitally  live worldwide with a theme Awaken New Depths by uploading photos from the UNESCO OCEAN DECADE TIDES OF CHANGE WAVES OF HOPE ART SHOW hosted by Art on the Ave NYC at Fulton Center of art work of artists:

Alfons Rodriguez (Melting Age):  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QZLvhiDDlwI&embeds_referring_euri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.trvst.world%2F&source_ve_path=MjM4NTE&feature=emb_title

Ian Hutton (Sea Slugs):  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HCDAiQCc6lk

Selva Ozelli (Healing Waters):   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=94fa9hxoa9Q

Blockchain-based digital collectibles in the form of NFTs experienced an euphoric period in 2021 and changed how art is bought, sold, and made.    Several metrics, including the number of unique buyers and collectible NFT trading volume in USD have slumped to multi-year lows, according to data from non-fungible.com shows.  Nevertheless, the global collectibles market—valued at more than $360 billion in 2020—is expected to grow at a significant rate of around 4% during the forecast period 2022-2028.

Boston Consulting Group believes that in less than ten years from now, or by 2030, 10% of the global GDP will be held in Real World Asset (RWA) tokenized illiquid assets—including real estate, land, commodities, natural resources, fine art, and private equity– valued at more than USD $16 trillion to USD $68 trillion.

Real World Asset (RWA) tokenization revolutionizes traditional investment strategies by digitizing real assets –including collectible art on the blockchain. This approach breaks down highly valued assets into smaller, purchasable tokens, creating investment opportunities for collectors.  Because illiquid assets, pose challenges such as limited affordability to investors, inability to fractionalize, exclusivity, and regulatory issues. Once tokenized, collectible assets such as art can be fractionally owned and are affordable to small-scale investors, increasing their liquidity.

In expectation of this tokenized collectible market growth, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) reently issued the draft 1099-DA form for NFT marketplaces.  If the draft 1099-DA form is finalized in its current form,  NFT marketplaces like SNIPIT will need to issue 1099-DA’s on sales of NFTs. Afterall, collectible NFTs are taxed at a higher long term capital gains tax rate of  28% instead of 20%.

Selva Ozelli Esq, CPA, is the Author of Sustainably Investing in Digital Assets Globally.  She regularly contributes opinion articles to Cointelegraph,  Crypto.News, Coincub, The Irish Tech News, Hackernoon  which are republished by over 200 publications around the world and translated into 43 languages.

See more breaking stories here.

Over his 20-year career, Danish photographer Marc Hom has captured some of our most famous celebrities in striking, intimate portraits. But his newest show, Re-Framed, offers a completely fresh way to experience these iconic images.

The Fenimore Art Museum in Cooperstown, upstate New York, has mounted 28 larger-than-life prints of his photographs on its lawn overlooking Otsego Lake. These 11-foot tall sculptures, displaying Mark’s images in flexible 3m-high frames, expose the portraits to the evolving elements, creating an ever-changing viewing experience.

“It’s about seeing these familiar faces in an unexpected context,” says Mark. “The wind, rain, and shifting light constantly reframe how you perceive the images.”

Indoors, the museum hosts a more traditional display of his photography. But the outdoor installation, with its monumental, weather-exposed prints, remixes just what a portrait exhibition can be.

Taylor to Tarantino

To complement this groundbreaking show, Mark has published a retrospective book also titled Re-Framed. The 160-page volume gathers 80 of his most famous celebrity portraits from the last two decades, including images of Samuel L. Jackson, Rafael Nadal, Taylor Swift, Woody Harrelson, Cher, Angelina Jolie, Lupita Nyong’o and Quentin Tarantino.

The book not only brings together his most iconic work but also provides a behind-the-scenes look at how the exhibition was developed and installed. Its documentary-style photos and first-hand insights provide a real insight into his ambitious vision.

The book will be available through the museum from 1 June and via Bookmare in New York from 20 June. Alternatively you can preorder it online here.

“It’s the beauty of the unexpected that awaits you in this book,” says Mark. “My portraits are reframed yet again on the printed page.”

Whether you visit the Re-Framed exhibition or experience it through the book, this ambitious project showcases Marc’s masterful portrait photography in an innovative, thought-provoking way. The combination of the museum’s traditional exhibiting space and the unconventional outdoor installation pushes the boundaries of how we view and appreciate our favourite stars.

Re-Framed runs at the Fenimore Art Museum through to 3 September. It is set to embark on a global journey, offering audiences around the world the opportunity to experience its immersive nature, with Denmark as one of its anticipated stops. The accompanying book is available now from teNeues Publishers.

The SpeediGimbal is a monopod/tripod head that is designed to offer instant support to take the weight of a camera with large lens attached. Unlike other tripod heads it is not designed to provide a secure attachment – but offers unrivalled manoeuvrability for capturing moving subjects.

It’s the brainchild of wildlife photographer Colin Brister, who developed it after having spent many years handholding heavy lenses, but found standard gimbal heads didn’t offer the manoeuvrability he needed.

It consists of a two-part ball-and-cup design, with one part mounted to the lens bracket and the other fitted atop a monopod or tripod. Both parts have 3/8in UNC threads, and come with standard 1/4in UNC adapters, too. 

Manufactured from Black Nylon 66, it’s a high-performance product designed to withstand long-term wear and tear effects. The device is perfect for sports, wildlife and macro, and also works with spotting scopes, making it ideal for birdwatchers too. The lightweight, compact head is less than three inches in size, enabling it to be easily stashed in a spare corner of a camera bag. 

The SpeediGimbal is available directly from Colin Brixter’s website and the £79 price (around US$100 or AU$150).