Fujifilm‘s House of Photography based in Covent Garden, London has been closed for refurbishment but it won’t be long until the newly renovated store and event space is reopened to the public. 

In honor of the grand reopening, scheduled on May 31, 2024, Fujifilm has launched a photography competition with the chance to win one of the best Fujifilm cameras on the market, and cash prizes for 2nd and 3rd place. Exclusively open to residents of the UK, the Life as You See It competition invites all levels of photographers to enter up to 5 images that represent how they see life. 

Fujifilm states, “Photography is the most accessible form of self-expression there is, and we’d love to explore how you see the world through your lens.”

Entries to the competition will not solely be judged on technical prowess, as the judges are looking for the emotion behind the image and the reason why entrants (perhaps you?) decided to click the shutter button. 

The competition winner will receive the recently released Limited edition version of the Fujifilm X100VI, worth £1,934, with 2nd place winning a £500 Fujfilm House of Photography store credit voucher, and 3rd place winning a £250 voucher.

All three winners will have their photos exhibited in the Fujifilm House of Photography gallery and feature in a new Fujifilm brand film. The film will premiere on June 28 at the Fujifilm House of Photography, with the winners announced on the same day. The top 50 entries will also be featured in the film, so lots of reasons for you to enter.

Located in Covent Garden, London, the freshly refurbished Fujifilm House of Photography will reopen to the public on May 31, 2024, and be a creative hub for all things Fujifilm. The grand reopening will launch with a program of immersive events, as well as refreshed facilities and services.

The new space will include a redesigned print workshop, a Fujifilm School learning space, an extended gallery space, a dedicated area for the GFX and X Series camera range, an Instax creator booth, plus many more fun and exciting things to experience. 

The competition is open now until June 14 and is a fantastic opportunity to get your images seen in the brand-new Fujifilm UK hub.

See our guides for more information on the best Fujifilm cameras, the best Fujifilm lenses, and the best compact cameras. 

The world-famous V&A – or the Victoria & Albert Museum in London – has revealed the recipients of the V&A Parasol Foundation Prize for Women in Photography, now in its second year. The Prize was established to identify, support, and elevate women artists, and is a key component of the broader V&A Parasol Foundation Women in Photography Project. 

The four winners of the Prize; Aisha Seriki, Mia Weiner, Nancy Floyd, and Silvia Rosi will all showcase their work at Peckham 24, a dynamic week-long contemporary photography festival in South London, opening on Friday, May 17, 2024.

In collaboration with Peckham 24, this prize aims to amplify the voices of women, celebrate diversity, and advance equality in the arts. It has been made possible by the generous support of Ms. Ruth Monicka Parasol and The Parasol Foundation Trust, which actively empowers women across science, health, heritage, and the arts.

This year, the Prize attracted over 1,400 submissions from artists globally, spanning established and emerging talents, and offering a compelling panorama of contemporary photographic approaches. Submissions showcased innovative interpretations of the theme ‘Histories’, prompting artists to explore the interplay between history and photography, delve into historical techniques and archives, and envision reimagined or speculative futures.

The four artists were selected by the V&A’s external prize selection committee, co-chaired by Fiona Rogers, the inaugural Parasol Foundation Curator of Women in Photography at the V&A, and Vivienne Gamble, co-founder of Peckham 24. Joining them were Bruno Ceschel, founder and director of Self Publish, Be Happy (SPBH), Dr. Zoé Whitley, director of Chisenhale Gallery, London, and Deborah Willis, professor at the Tisch School of the Arts, New York University.

Of the winners, the selection committee said: ‘

These four artists brilliantly demonstrate a nuanced understanding of the theme ‘Histories’, capturing the concept with diverse and sophisticated visual approaches. Drawing on performative self-portraiture and studio techniques, each artist interrogates personal and social narratives, including the history of photography itself. Through their work, they offer compelling insights into the complexities of the past and its enduring influence on the present.’

The Winners:

Aisha Olamide Seriki is a Nigerian, London-based multimedia artist pursuing an MFA in Arts and Humanities at the Royal College of Art. Grounded by the principles of Ìṣẹ̀ṣe (Yorùbá Spiritual Tradition), her work uses photo-manipulation techniques to explore the relationships between photography and the self. 

Influenced by the concept of Orí (a Yorùbá reference to one’s spiritual destiny) Seriki’s series Orí Inú investigates the history of photographic ‘keepsakes’, drawing on the metaphor of the calabash and the comb as cultural symbols of African diasporan histories, empowerment, ritual and self-care.

Nancy Floyd is an American artist raised in Texas and based in Oregon. Weathering Time is an ongoing series of environmental self-portraits which began in 1982 when Floyd was just 25 years old. 

40 years later, this ‘visual calendar’ now comprises 2500 photographs which reflect the artist’s personal experience of aging whilst also reflecting on the cultural, technological, and physical changes that have occurred over the past forty years.

Silvia Rosi works with photography, text, and moving image to explore ideas of memory, migration, and diaspora. Born in Italy and living and working between the UK and Togo, Rosi’s practice is inspired by West African studio photography and the artist’s Togolese heritage. 

Her series Teacher Don’t Teach Me Nonsense combines photography and video to explore the artist’s connection to Mina, a Togolese language regulated by colonial rule.  

Responding to historical textiles, Los Angeles-based artist Mia Weiner creates hand-woven tapestries that explore mythology, identity, gender, and queerness, reflecting on personal relationships, memory, and the body. 

In Sirens, Weiner interrogates how the human figure has been represented in art history and in particular how female subjects have often been depicted as objects. Working with her own body along with other female, non-binary, and intersex models, Weiner explores how figurative representation can hold power and agency.

The V&A Parasol Foundation Women in Photography Project is a major new programme celebrating the achievements of women in photography, spanning a curatorial position, acquisitions, research, education, and public displays.

Ruth Parasol is its Principal Benefactress giving much of her time as one of the Trustee Directors, guiding grant-making, continuing to fund the Trust with her additional money, and her private family office providing administrative and investment support.

A few years ago, while walking my sons to school, I found myself thinking that, although I held their hands daily, one day they wouldn’t need me alongside them, that we would lose that sense of physical closeness. I decided to photograph my own father and grandfather holding hands – but it was the start of the pandemic, my grandfather was 95 and we wanted to keep him safe. We couldn’t meet for over a year.

In the meantime, while walking around Bulgaria’s capital Sofia, where I live, I stopped to photograph a house that caught my eye and a woman came out pushing a man in a wheelchair. I assumed they were going to chase me away, but instead she showed me a framed picture of a young man, aged about 30. She said he was their only son and he had died eight months before. She asked if I would photograph her husband with the portrait.

I was stunned – it felt like a sign. This was exactly the kind of picture I’d been thinking about. I did as asked and later took the portrait I’d planned – of my father and grandfather holding hands. My grandfather passed away shortly after. It’s the only image my father has of just the two of them.

That became the first in an ongoing series. So far, I have photographed fathers and sons holding hands in Bulgaria, Georgia, Turkey, Armenia and around the western Balkans. Many live far apart. Sometimes, the whole community joins in – someone might suggest a neighbour who has his son around and say maybe we could bring them together. People also call me asking for a portrait.

Other pictures are the result of a chance encounter, which is how I prefer them – when I’m somewhere nobody knows me and I have to approach people as a stranger. That was the case with this image. While travelling around Georgia, I saw these two on the road. I had only a minute or two to explain the idea and convince them to take part. When I took the picture, I had just a few seconds before it got too awkward for them. There’s always the challenge of choosing the right background, one that’s somehow relevant to the participants, and of preserving the authenticity of this very special act.

There are cultural differences between countries, of course, and the gap between generations seems bigger in places that have had recent conflict or a change in political systems.

There are various reasons, too, why fathers and sons might not want to take part. For the older generation, perhaps there’s a feeling that men shouldn’t express emotion. For sons, there can be timidity and awkwardness, related to stereotypes about masculinity and openness. If it’s so hard for a father and son to hold hands, I wonder how difficult it would be for strangers.

I send everyone a copy of their portrait and they sometimes reply with their stories. Some haven’t held hands for decades, or ever. In some cases, relationships have been changed for the better – and even estrangements have been overcome. In others, the father and son already had a close relationship. Even the hardest guys seem to accept that father and son relationships are somehow sacred: there’s something incontestable about them. I’ve been distributing free postcards of my portraits and, even when looking at pictures of strangers, people can recognise themselves.

I see all these images – even the one of my father and grandfather – as icons, representations of something bigger than individual identities. I’m trying to bring in as many countries and cultures as possible. I wouldn’t be surprised if it becomes a lifelong journey.

Valery Poshtarov is winner of the portraiture category of the Sony World Photography awards at Somerset House, London, until 6 May

Valery Poshtarov’s CV

View image in fullscreen

Born: 1986, Dobrich, Bulgaria.

Trained: National High School of Arts in Varna, Bulgaria, and Plastic Arts at the Sorbonne, Paris.

Influences: August Sander and Alec Soth.

High point: “I have evolved from capturing candid shots to more deliberately preserving the lives of those who consciously stand before my camera. The encounters with these individuals – this merging of souls that transcends personal identity to collaboratively build a shared vision of humanity – represent my true reward from photography.”

Low point: “Early in my career, I made a choice to maintain my integrity by rejecting commercial projects. This decision meant years away from photography, during which I supported my family by dealing art, not creating it.”

Top tip: “Artists dedicate their days to creating art, and their nights to doubting it. Ensure that each new day brings experimentation and growth.”

Alexander McDonald

Alexander is a self-taught portrait photographer with a varied body of experience.
His clients include Samsung and Cosmopolitan magazine and his work has been featured in internationally published hair magazines. Alexander teaches photography and lighting tutorials and enjoys shooting hair and beauty, fashion and events.

When did you start out in your current photographic genre?

I started photographing portraiture in the early 2000s. That led to a path of mainly hair and beauty in recent years. As a self-taught photographer at a time when digital was still in its relative infancy, I felt drawn towards photographing friends and family and followed an organic route to where I am today. 

What challenges did you face as a startup and how did you overcome them?

I found it became competitive quickly when digital photography took off, and now with even greater advances in technology, it’s even more important to stay on top of your game and be relevant. As a startup, networking and keeping your body of work
up-to-date as well as marketing yourself can be quite challenging on top of everything else that comes with running a business.

What key skills are needed for your line of work?

I’d say the ability to feel confident in what you can bring to the table. In regards to when working with a client, be realistic with your expectations of yourself and help manage theirs too. A good understanding of how you want the end product to look and what process it would take to get there. Technical ability will get you so far and artistic visions can be difficult to communicate, so it’s always important to be able to work through a project with lots of inspiration, concepts and a strong idea of what the client is looking for.

Which social platforms are you on, which are your favorites and how do you use each for your business?

I use mainly Instagram for marketing my work, but I also use a website to direct my clients to view my full body of work.

What are your future plans for the business? Are there any other genres you’d like to try or expand into?

I’ve actually recently gone back to university as a mature student to study photography at degree level at Anglia Ruskin University. I found that whilst I adore portraiture, I felt that my work could grow. I now take on more personal projects and enjoy working on other creative photographic practices, such as analog photography, as well as shooting different styles of imagery.

How would you describe your style and what are your main influences?

I have traditionally stuck to a commercial style but as I progress, I have found that my style isn’t linear and it’s developing. I recently did a personal project, inspired by the works of Martin Schoeller’s celebrity portraits, that demonstrates the depth of human emotion. 

Alexander’s main photo gear

The essential kit for a pro portrait photographer

‘I’m genuinely excited for tomorrow because I’m interested in what the next generation have to say’: We spoke to the influential fashion photographer about his latest show and his ongoing fascination with youth culture

Raf Simons (left), Olivier Rizzo (middle), Willy Vanderperre (right)
Photo: Boy Kortekaas/ (c) MoMu Antwerp

The photographer Willy Vanderperre is the focus of a new exhibition at MoMu, the fashion museum in Antwerp, Belgium. It’s the first time the museum has invited a fashion photographer to have a solo show. And as the director and chief curator, Kaat Debo, said in her catalogue essay, “It seemed natural and fully in line with the spirit of the time — in search of hope and prospects for the future — to select Willy Vanderperre, with his predilection for youth and subcultures.”

From left: Anja Rubik (left), Ferdinando Verderi (middle), Natasha Poly (right) Photo: Boy Kortekaas/ (c) MoMu AntwerpModel Rianne Van Rompaey Photo: Boy Kortekaas/ (c) MoMu Antwerp

From top: Anja Rubik (left), Ferdinando Verderi (middle), Natasha Poly (right) Photo: Boy Kortekaas/ (c) MoMu AntwerpModel Rianne Van Rompaey Photo: B…
From top: Anja Rubik (left), Ferdinando Verderi (middle), Natasha Poly (right) Photo: Boy Kortekaas/ (c) MoMu AntwerpModel Rianne Van Rompaey Photo: Boy Kortekaas/ (c) MoMu Antwerp

Vanderperre has been taking pictures professionally for nearly 30 years, often in collaboration with the stylist Olivier Rizzo, his partner, whom he first met when they were students at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp. The show is indeed inspiring: an enormous body of work that ranges from early portraits of young people to well-known fashion editorials to campaigns for brands like Prada and Calvin Klein to lovely images of flowers. There are some 180 pictures in all, arranged in a kind of black-walled maze. Vanderperre said he wanted to consider “the art of the editorial,” but seeing the work printed on such a huge scale, and masterfully so, gives it extra depth and feeling.

From left: Willy Vanderperre singing his book with Osana Ekue (left) and Natasha Poly (right) Photo: Boy Kortekaas/ (c) MoMu AntwerpModel Luca Lemaire Photo: Boy Kortekaas/ (c) MoMu Antwerp

From top: Willy Vanderperre singing his book with Osana Ekue (left) and Natasha Poly (right) Photo: Boy Kortekaas/ (c) MoMu AntwerpModel Luca Lemaire …
From top: Willy Vanderperre singing his book with Osana Ekue (left) and Natasha Poly (right) Photo: Boy Kortekaas/ (c) MoMu AntwerpModel Luca Lemaire Photo: Boy Kortekaas/ (c) MoMu Antwerp

The Antwerp fashion scene still seems like the most communal on earth, and it has been ever since the days of the Antwerp Six in the 1980s. The opening of the exhibit on Friday night brought out the designers Raf Simons, Pieter Mulier of Alaïa, Matthieu Blazy of Bottega Veneta, Walter Van Beirendonck, and Ann Demeulemeester; the makeup artist Peter Philips of Dior, an early collaborator of Vanderperre’s; and a number of models. About 600 people poured into the museum for the opening, with a small group meeting afterward for a stand-up dinner next door and then going on until the wee hours — Antwerp style — to a rave. The exhibit, “Willy Vanderperre: Prints, films, a rave and more …,” will continue until early August.

From left: Pieter Mulier (left) Matthieu Blazy (middle) Raf Simons (right) Photo: Boy Kortekaas/ (c) MoMu AntwerpModel Kiki Willems Photo: Boy Kortekaas/ (c) MoMu Antwerp

From top: Pieter Mulier (left) Matthieu Blazy (middle) Raf Simons (right) Photo: Boy Kortekaas/ (c) MoMu AntwerpModel Kiki Willems Photo: Boy Kortekaa…
From top: Pieter Mulier (left) Matthieu Blazy (middle) Raf Simons (right) Photo: Boy Kortekaas/ (c) MoMu AntwerpModel Kiki Willems Photo: Boy Kortekaas/ (c) MoMu Antwerp

The Fashion Party That Brought Designers Together

Moderator, BoredPanda staff

Hi there! I’m Gabrielė, but you can also catch me responding to Gab, Gabi, Gabert, or Gabe – take your pick. Professionally, I’m the senior community manager over at Bored Panda, helping people share their awesome work and connecting artists with a worldwide audience.

Beyond work, you’ll catch me traveling, listening to vinyl and diving into movies, art exhibitions, and concerts. I’m a culture buff at heart, always eager to explore and embrace the richness of the human experience.

Read more »

Pipo Nguyen-duy ’83, professor of studio art and photography at Oberlin College, will deliver the Carleton convocation address on Friday, May 3 from 10:50 to 11:50 a.m. in Skinner Chapel. His address is titled, “A Dust of Life.”

Nguyen-duy was born in Hue, Vietnam. Growing up within thirty kilometers of the demilitarized zone near the 18th parallel, he describes hearing gunfire every day of his early life. He immigrated to the United States as a political refugee.

Nguyen-duy has taken on many things in life in pursuit of his diverse interests. He has competed as a national athlete in table tennis, spent time living as a Buddhist monk in northern India, and majored in economics at Carleton. While living in New York City’s East Village, where he worked as a bartender and later as a nightclub manager, his interests turned to art after meeting people such as musician Don Cherry and artist Keith Haring. He then earned an MA in photography, followed by an MFA in photography, both from the University of New Mexico–Albuquerque.

Nguyen-duy has received many awards and grants over the years, including a Guggenheim Fellowship in Photography; a National Endowment for the Arts grant; an En Foco grant; a  Professional Development Fellowship from the College Arts Association; a National Graduate Fellowship from the American Photography Institute; a fellowship from the Oregon Arts Commission in Salem, Oregon; a B. Wade and Jane B. White Fellowship in the Humanities at Oberlin; and two Individual Artist Fellowships from the Ohio Arts Council in Columbus, Ohio. Nguyen-duy has been an artist-in-residence at Monet’s Garden through the Artists at Giverny Fellowship from Lila Wallace-Reader’s Digest Fund as well as at the Headlands Center for the Arts in Sausalito, California through the Light Work Artist-in-Residence Program. He has also lectured widely and his work has been exhibited and is in public collections in the United States, Europe, and Asia.

This convocation will also be live streamed — please register in advance to receive information on how to attend via Zoom. Carleton convocations are free and open to the public. Find upcoming events and archived recordings (including in podcast form) on the convocations website. For more information, including disability accommodations, call 507-222-5461 or email nponder@carleton.edu.

After each convocation address, Carleton hosts a luncheon with the speaker. Convocation luncheon is held in the Alumni Guest House Meeting Room (unless otherwise noted) from noon to 1 p.m. and is generally limited to 35 people. If you are interested in attending, please RSVP on the convocations website.

Erica Helgerud ’20 is the news and social media manager for Carleton College.

Chris Killip was one of the greatest photographers to have picked up a camera. His ability to embed himself and capture various communities from within, with a sense of grace and dignity, inspired generations of photographers, myself included. His new book highlights this even further. 

Skinningrove is a body of work created in the Eighties featuring some of Killip’s most intimate and adored images, alongside previously unseen work. Before passing in 2020, he worked with prominent publisher Stanley/Barker to consolidate it into this exceptional new book.

Killip is one of Britain’s most recognized documentary photographers. Starting as a commercial shooter he turned to creating important personal projects in the Sixties, photographing his home in the Isle of Man and the working class in the North East of England, producing the books Inflagrante and Isle of Man, which are considered landmark works of documentary photography. 

It is in the North East of England that Skinningrove was created, named after a village hidden in a steep valley neighboring the North Sea between Middlesborough and Whitby. 

The images that Killip made there could be considered among his most intimate and touching. His skill of immersing himself within a community gained him access to photograph the people as if he were one of their own – and in a way, he was. When documenting a location and its people, Killip would live among his subjects, getting to know them and their way of life, enabling him to capture them as an invisible observer. 

The work featured in Skinningrove was taken between 1982 and 1984, many images having previously featured in Inflagrante Two and Sea Coal, and are considered among Killips’ best-known photographs. They are evidence of his mastery of composition and ability to capture an intimate scene in the unlikeliest places. 

Throughout his career, Killip has always provided great insight into his experiences with creating the work, and Skinningrove was no different. 

“Like a lot of tight-knit fishing communities, it could be hostile to strangers, especially one with a camera,” he said of his experience.

“‘Now then’ is the standard greeting in Skinningrove; a challenging substitute for the more usual, ‘Hello.’ The place had a definite edge, and it took time for this stranger to be tolerated. My greatest ally in gaining acceptance was Leso (Leslie Holliday), the most outgoing of the younger fishermen. Leso and I never talked about what I was doing there, but when someone questioned my presence, he would intercede and vouch for me with, ‘He’s okay.’ This simple endorsement was enough. 

“I last photographed in Skinningrove in 1984, and didn’t return for 30 years. When I did I was shocked by how it had changed, as only one boat was still fishing. For me, Skinningrove’s sense of purpose was bound up in its collective obsession with the sea. Skinningrove fishermen believed that the sea in front of them was their private territory, theirs alone. Without the competitive energy that came from fishing, the place seemed like a pale reflection of its former self.”

Published by Stanley/Barker and available now for $60 / £50 (Australian pricing to be confirmed). 

Killip is one of my favorite photographers and has inspired me throughout my entire career. Skinningrove will no doubt join his other works as a landmark photography publication and is among my top picks for the best photography book of the year so far. 

If like me you are mad about photography books, see our guides to the best coffee table books on photography and the best street photography books.