Black & White Minimalism Magazine has announced the winners of its 2024 Black and White Minimalist Photography Prize, with the top photographer earning themselves a nice $1,000 award.

Despite the narrowly focused theme of black-and-white minimalist photography, the contest still received 1,300 submissions, which the organizers say demonstrate “the enduring appeal of minimalism in black-and-white photography.”

The competition was judged by professional photographers Alexandra Manuel and Tim Nevell, as well as the magazine’s chief editor, Milad Safabakhsh.

Yvonne C. Krystovsky won the 2024 Grand Prize for her image, “In Great-Grandpa’s hands.”

Daniel Zaleski’s “Minimalist Concrete Staircase” nabbed the runner position, and Alexandre Caetano’s “On top of Serra da Capelada” rounded out the top three.

Alongside the awarded winners, the judges all selected nearly 90 honorable mentions. These won’t all be featured below, but they are available in a gallery at Minimalism Magazine‘s website.

PetaPixel has selected a dozen of its favorite finalist images to feature below while also trying to ensure that a diverse range of photographic styles are represented. The judges must have had their hands full picking the top three, as even picking 12 photos to share proved very challenging.

For enthusiastic fans of incredible black and white photography, PetaPixel recently covered the winners of the reFocus Awards’ 2023 Black and White Photo Contest and the stunning winners of the Black and white Photo Awards. For those who want to improve their monochromatic imagery and maybe win future contests, PetaPixel‘s “Black and White Photography: The Beginner’s Guide” is full of great advice.

Image credits: Black & White Minimalism Magazine. Individual photographers are credited in the photo captions.

The National Hedgehog Monitoring Programme of the United Kingdom has a new tool to monitor the declining hedgehog population: artificial intelligence.

Images taken from trail cameras in urban parks, private gardens, woodlands, and farmland will first get sorted by AI, hopefully removing blank images or those capturing people. Human volunteers will then go through the animal images for further identification, according to Durham University, a partner on the project. It’s a first for tracking hedgehog populations, but one conservation group in the U.K. holds high hopes for it.

“Sadly, our much-loved hedgehogs are threatened, having undergone considerable population declines in recent decades. To reverse this trend, we need to remove the threats they face and put in place practical conservation measures. But before we can do this effectively we need to understand where and why hedgehogs are struggling,” a release from The British Hedgehog Preservation Society explains.

The hedgehog population in the U.K. has declined between 30 and 75 percent since 2000, the University noted in its release, explaining the need for this new AI-backed effort.

“Volunteer partner organizations are coordinating surveys in their local area, in parks, gardens and more rural areas, forming regional hubs to recruit volunteers who will put out cameras, and then collect them after 30 days,” The British Hedgehog Preservation Society release states. “The cameras will capture images of hedgehogs and other animals, which we will analyze to understand how we can better help hedgehogs.”

The British Hedgehog Preservation Society encouraged those who are interested and eligible to get involved as well through the People’s Trust for Endangered Species. The program is reportedly still looking for volunteers.

“It’s fantastic for our platform to be part of this important collaboration,” Russell Hill, professor at Durham University’s Department of Anthropology and Director at MammalWeb, says in a news release. “We’re looking forward to working with new ‘trappers’ and ‘spotters’ to generate the critical data needed to understand the status of hedgehogs in the UK and to develop strategies for their conservation.”

This is just the latest in increasing conservation projects using AI to help track, monitor, and help struggling species. Last year, PetaPixel highlighted the efforts of scientists using AI-powered camera traps to protect endangered animals.

Image credits: Header photo licensed via Depositphotos.

Acclaimed photographer Ami Vitale is extending a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for one female photographer. Organized by the non-profit Vital Impacts, which Vitale founded, the contest is giving one lucky winner a chance to travel to Antarctica on a 22-day Polar Latitudes expedition. Locations visited on the trip will include the Falkland Islands/Malvinas, South Georgia, and Antarctica.

The exceptional opportunity includes the 22-day trip (valued at $28,000), one roundtrip economy ticket to the departure point, airport transfer, shipboard food, and accommodations. Throughout the trip, the winner will be exposed to incredible photographic opportunities and learn about how Vital Impacts uses art to affect change.

“The decision to offer a trip to Antarctica to a female photographer stemmed from a deep-seated belief in the power of representation and inclusivity within the photography community,” Vitale tells My Modern Met. “Recognizing the field’s historically male-dominated nature, I felt compelled to provide a platform specifically tailored to empower and showcase the remarkable talents of women photographers.

“This initiative is about more than just capturing stunning images—it’s about sparking meaningful dialogue, fostering connections, and igniting a collective call to action for the preservation of our planet.  My goal is to equip participants with the essential storytelling tools needed to advocate for environmental conservation. In a world facing unprecedented challenges, it’s crucial to harness the unique perspectives and voices of women in photography to amplify the urgency of our planet’s plight.”

The trip departs on November 1, 2024, and the contest is open to anyone female identifying with a demonstratable interest and history in visual storytelling. The winner must also be at least 18 years old by October 31, 2024. Entrants who can show a specific leaning toward environmental stories will be given preference. For the full list of requirements, expenses—like insurance—and details, please see the contest page on Vital Impacts’ website.

If you are interested in entering the contest, don’t wait. Entries are being accepted until March 28, 2024. If you’d like to skip the contest and secure your spot with a 10% off early bird special, visit Polar Latitudes and use the code travelwithami.

“When women see others like them succeeding in photography, it inspires confidence and ambition, encouraging them to pursue their own creative aspirations without reservation,” shares Vitale when asked why she felt it was important to support women in the industry.

“We need diverse perspectives to enrich the art of photography. Women bring unique insights and experiences to their work, and by amplifying these voices, we ensure that a wider range of narratives is represented in visual media.

“Ultimately, supporting female photographers is not just about gender equality—it’s about recognizing and celebrating their immense talent, creativity, and contributions to the world. It’s about creating a more equitable and inclusive industry where everyone has the opportunity to thrive.”

Renowned photographer Ami Vitale is offering one female identifying photographer the trip of a lifetime.

Her non-profit Vital Impacts is offering an opportunity to travel to Antarctica on a 22-day expedition.

The trip, valued at $28,000, is open to anyone over 18 who is interested in visual storytelling.

“Women bring unique insights and experiences to their work, and by amplifying these voices, we ensure that a wider range of narratives is represented in visual media.”

Anyone interested has until March 28, 2024, to enter the contest on Vital Impacts.

Vital Impacts: Website | Facebook | Instagram

My Modern Met granted permission to feature photos by Vital Impacts.

Related Articles:

Wildlife Photographers Unite in New Book To Highlight Beauty of Endangered Animals

100 of the World’s Top Photographers Use Their Art to Help the Environment [Interview]

New Film Follows Endangered Rhinos and Explores How Technology Can Bring the Species Back

Photographer Shares How a Community in Kenya Came Together to Help Orphaned Elephants [Interview]

ROWLETT, TX (March 25, 2024) Artists ‘Round Texas “Paint and Photograph Rowlett 2024” Juried Art Competition is accepting entries in three categories: 2-dimensional media, photography, and drawing.

Entry form and fee is due by Saturday, April 6, 2024.

This art event is organized by Artists ‘Round Texas, a 501c3 visual arts organization, supported in part by the Rowlett Arts & Humanities Commission, the City of Rowlett, the Rowlett Public Library, and the Rowlett Chamber of Commerce.

More details below and on the A.R.T. website here.

Blue Ribbon News staff report. 

  Art, artists round texas, call for entries, paint, photograph, Rowlett, Rowlett Chamber

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Spotify is best-known for being the world’s most popular music streaming service but it is adding video learning courses to its app — including photography courses.

In recent times, Spotify has expanded into podcasts and audiobooks, and its new tutorial service will make video-based lessons from Skillshare, BBC Maestro, Thinkific, and PlayVirtuoso available for customers to purchase.

For now, the online courses are only available to customers in the U.K. with no immediate plans to expand the experiment. Courses for “Outdoor Photography” and “Photo Storytelling” are available to British patrons for the price of $63 (£47.90).

Other courses include “Introduction to Pet Photography” hosted by Australian Belinda Richards and “iPhone Photography” which teaches students how to create conceptual photographs on an iPhone, it is taught by Munich-based iPhone shooter Amelie Satzger.

“One of the most interesting things and trends that we started noticing was more and more people were starting to come to Spotify with some intent of learning,” product director Mohit Jitani tells The Verge. “And we thought, how can we take this core insight and build something on top of it?”

Spotify says that around half of its Premium subscribers have engaged with educational podcasts or self-help podcasts, per a press release.

The courses offered by Spotify fall into four categories: make music, get creative, learn business, and healthy living. Spotify says it hopes to directly target potential customers based on their existing listening habits.

“It becomes much, much easier for us to find the right people for this course and just provide a much more efficient kind of distribution,” Jitani adds.

Existing Spotify subscribers will be able to watch at least two video lessons per course for free, but will have to pay money if they want to complete the full course. This freemium model is similar to the audiobooks Spotify rolled out toward the end of last year.

Users cannot buy a course in-app because of Spotify’s refusal to pay Apple and Google’s transaction fees. Users must request a purchase link via email or the courses are available via a dedicated URL.

Image credits: Header photo licensed via Depositphotos.

The 20 or so images now featured in Daniel Arsham’s first photography exhibition were never meant for our eyes. The sculptor had shot these photos purely for pleasure—amassing thousands upon thousands of them over three decades—never intending to put them on view. “I never thought about showing my photography,” he told me. “It was just what I was drawn to.” 

We’re walking through “Phases” at Fotografiska New York, for which Arsham has disgorged his extensive archive, now numbering about 200,000 images across negatives and hard drives. “I had some crazy stuff that I had forgotten about,” he said. The mostly black-and-white photos in the show are thematically grouped: cityscapes in one section, portraits in another, and close-ups of birds in yet another.

Installation view of “Daniel Arsham: Phases” at Fotografiska New York. Photo: Min Chen.

On one wall hangs a series of long exposures of the night sky, their stars crystal clear. Arsham explained that he shot some of these with the digital Leica M9 until a software update curtailed the shutter speed on bulb mode (he even fired off an email to the company about the issue). “So, I have now gone back to analog for that,” he told me, pointing to one photograph. “I think this exposure is, like, three minutes. You can even see the stars moving.” 

This meticulously technical, almost geeky, approach to photography is long nurtured. Arsham received his first camera, a Pentax K1000, at age 11, a gift from his grandfather, who also taught him the basics of focus, shutter speed, aperture, and ISO. It launched a steady, lifelong pursuit that has run alongside his sculptural practice, built on his signature “eroded” forms.

Installation view of “Daniel Arsham: Phases” at Fotografiska New York. Photo: Min Chen.

But while a handful of Arsham’s sculptures are dotted throughout the exhibition, he sees his photography work as separate. “It feels so different,” he said. “When I’m in the studio, I’m often working towards an exhibition and I’m creating a body of work with an intention around the full experience of the show. In this case [of photography], it’s more just playing.” 

Still, the motifs in Arsham’s photographs do echo elements of his sculptures. One can see how his knack for dramatic framing and his eye for negative space might come into play in his studio. There’s even a smattering of photographs of sculptures, including one of the Winged Victory of Samothrace installed at the Louvre in Paris, each of them framed to emphasize their scale or textures.

Installation view of “Daniel Arsham: Phases” at Fotografiska New York. Photo: Min Chen.

The exhibition is accompanied by the hardcover volume Daniel Arsham: Photographer—Arsham’s first photography book—its vast contents spanning street scenes, self-portraits, nature shots, casual snaps, and far more than is included in the show. Flipping through it, he points out various images: one of a sunrise as seen through some fog in Battery Park City where he once resided, a darkly silhouetted portrait of A$AP Rocky, and a perspective view of the Fushimi Inari Shrine in Kyoto, Japan.

Viewed as a body of work, one gets the sense that photography is as much a creative outlet as it is a personal project for Arsham. The book is dedicated to his late grandfather and its introduction, penned by the artist, discusses “using a camera to both document and understand life.” 

Installation view of “Daniel Arsham: Phases” at Fotografiska New York, with wall text handwritten by Daniel Arsham. Photo: Min Chen.

As he does in the book’s introduction, Arsham told me about receiving his first camera and turning it on the Miami suburb he grew up in. “The houses were basically the same, but the landscaping was different. People would paint their doors different colors and they had different door knockers,” he said. “So, I took photos of all the doors in the neighborhood—they’re all the same but they’re all different.” 

He lost those images when Hurricane Andrew struck the neighborhood, wrecking his family’s home. What remained, however, was a photograph of a young Arsham posing alongside his beloved Pentax.

“It’s cool,” he said, showing me the image on the last page of Photographer. “I never thought that I would ever get to do an exhibition like this.”

“Phases” is on view at Fotografiska, 281 Park Ave South, New York, through June 14. 

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