Ibrahim Salem had been missing for months.

In December, the Israeli military attacked his home in Jabaliya refugee camp, northern Gaza. Many of his family were killed or injured.

Ibrahim made arrangements for three of his children to be treated for their wounds in Kamal Adwan hospital.

While he was at the hospital – located in the city of Beit Lahiya – it came under an Israeli attack.

The Israeli troops went on a killing spree. Those who stayed alive were arrested.

Ibrahim’s family have been unable to contact him since that time.

At first they thought he had been killed. But there was no sign of his body in the hospital.

When it appeared that he had been taken into detention, the family sought assistance from lawyers and other human rights advocates. Yet they were unable to find information about him.

“This made me feel more helpless,” said Wasim, Ibrahim’s brother.

A CNN report broadcast in May provided the family with some basic details.

The report focused on Sde Teiman, the Israeli military camp in the Naqab desert, where Palestinians from Gaza are being detained. It featured leaked photographs from the camp.

One of them showed a prisoner standing up, blindfolded and with most of his face covered.

When Wasim saw the image from the CNN report, he was taken aback at first. When he zoomed in on it, he was sure that it was Ibrahim.

Despite how the detainee’s face was mainly covered, the family are sure from the features that were visible that it was Ibrahim in the photo. As Ibrahim was barefoot in the picture, the family could confirm that one of his toes has a distinctive shape as he had undergone surgery.

Although it was a relief to learn that Ibrahim was still alive, his family are distressed by how he looked unwell.

“He was very thin and it appeared that his health was failing,” Wasim said. “It was obvious that he had been abused and tortured.”

Located in the Naqab desert, Sde Teiman has been used to lock up thousands of Palestinians since October.

Detainees who have been subsequently released have given testimony of how they were beaten and subjected to electric shocks while being interrogated. Medical neglect is rife and food inadequate.

Dozens of detainees in Sde Teiman have died.

As prisoners have been prevented from communicating with the outside world, Ibrahim’s family lacks solid information about him. All they have is a grainy photograph indicating that he is still alive.

Doaa Shaheen is a journalist from Gaza.

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Dallas’s own Bath House Cultural Center is about to dive into the local art scene with a splash, showcasing the lens-based wizardry of Adam Velte in the upcoming exhibition, The Eye of White Rock Lake. Starting on Saturday, art lovers will be treated to a visual feast of photography, all inspired by the natural splendors of White City’s beloved aquatic gem — White Rock Lake Park. The exhibition, which is free for the public to attend, promises to beam till August 10, capturing the peak of summer vibrancy.

According to a release by the City of Dallas, the local shutterbug and Green Spot Market and Fuels manager, Velte, has dedicated four years to roaming — camera in hand — the grounds of the park that’s a stone’s throw from his day job. His works, many already embraced by collectors, delineate a fervent affair with the lakeside tableau. Capturing everything from the serenity of the waters to the kinetic energy of the local wildlife, Velte’s photographs are an invitation to explore familiar sights through his immersed lens.

Impassioned by the daily dance of light and shadow, Velte shared with the City of Dallas his artistic ethos: “I look ahead into each day for the opportunity to co-create with nature and my camera at the lake,” adding that the lake provides “The water, the trees, plants, and birds. They all infuse into my images as the ingredients to the perfect recipe for creating something visually artistic and satisfying for me to enjoy and to share with others.” His art is as much about his process as it is about the final image.

The exhibit does not only wish to flaunt Velte’s photographic prowess but to sew the same seeds of inspiration the artist reaped from White Rock Lake’s vistas in the hearts of its visitors. Ranging from candid wildlife shots to serene landscapes — Velte brings forth the park’s unpretentious elegance into the Bath House’s gallery space. His hope, encapsulated by the City of Dallas declaration, is that “patrons will enjoy his commitment to recording the magnificence of one of Dallas’s most popular recreational areas and feel a deeper connection to the park through his artistic vision.”

The imagined female scientists, explorers and adventurers seen in Tonje Bøe Birkeland’s photographs are echoes from a footnote in women’s history. In her ongoing series, The Characters, the photographer frames herself in the guise of Victorian and early-20th century pioneers – dressed in period costume, holding binoculars and bellows cameras – snapped in widescreen vistas of mountains, fjords and ice flows. Each picture is a performance.

The project began in 2008, when Birkeland was on a course about photography’s role in shaping historical truths. “It was all about did Neil Armstrong go to the moon? Did Roald Amundsen actually get to the Pole first?” she recalls. “That made me want to do something about women.” Her first character was a glaciologist.

Her photographs are puzzles and her work taps into the names, appearances and biographies of real, unrecognised women, such as Louise Arner Boyd, a polar scientist who traversed the north-east coast of Greenland in the 1920s. As well as stepping into the boots of her creations, Birkeland writes their journals and creates installations of their travel cases (packed with maps and geological samples), which she both photographs and exhibits. She has immortalised her intrepid alter egos in various settings, from the snowdrifts of Svalbard to the foothills of Bhutan.

In the top photo, she is seen as desert traveller Tuva Tengel on a camel in Mongolia. The three other photos show her as Arctic explorer Anna Aurora Astrup in Greenland.

Birkeland’s work will be at Forum Box in Helsinki, Finland, from 22 August to 19 September.

SAN ANTONIO Wildlife in Focus, a non-profit organization which targets wildlife and ecosystem conservation in Texas, recently expanded its popular biennial photography competition in order to reach more landowners and photographers across the state.

The expansion includes plans to encourage the owners of any and all privately owned land across the state to participate in the contest. In addition, the organization has added a new category that allows individual photographers to compete for separate prize purses without being part of a landowner/photographer team.

The competition, which has existed for 20 years, has three entry levels: landowner/photographer team, videographer, and individual photographer. The two photography contests both span 50 categories and the videography contest has 8 opportunities for entries. Total prize purse for all three contests, all categories, is $45,000.

The goal of the competitions is to promote conservationism and to create a visual story of the beauty of native Texas land and wildlife, from insects to sunsets, from borders to bayous. The prize-winning photos for each competition are then used to produce a coffee-table book as well as promoting the educational outreach program of the organization, Kritters 4 Kids, which targets school-age children grades K-8, a news release said.

“We are very excited to share that our upcoming contests are now available for landowners anywhere in the entire state of Texas,” Miles Phillips, Wildlife in Focus photo contest director, said in the release. “Photographers and videographers from anywhere and with all levels of skill and time now have additional entry options.”

Registration for the competition is now open at the wildlifeinfocus.org website. Deadline for entry is Dec. 1, 2024. The active window for photography is from Feb. 21, 2025 to May 31, 2025. Photographers and landowners can set up their own teams, or WiF will assist in pairing teams.

The registration fee is $500 for each participant on the landowner/photographer teams. The individual photographer entry fee is based on the number of categories and photos entered and includes entry into the videography competition. The fee for entering the videography contest alone is $100 each for landowner and videographer. Full rules for the contest, including equipment requirements, technology specifications, categories and prize purses, are available at wildlifeinfocus.org.

Any questions or concerns regarding the competition can be emailed to [email protected] or left in a voicemail at 361-342-9585.

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Transforming Reality: Mastering the Miniature Effect with Tilt-Shift Photography and Drones

by DRONELIFE Contributing Editor Paul Rossi

Don’t miss Paul with co-pilots Terry and Samuel on the new Weekly Wings podcast! Drone news from the pilot perspective.

Tilt-shift photography is a technique that can transform real-world scenes into miniature-like models. The technique traditionally involves using a specialized tilt-shift lens that can change the orientation and position of the lens in relation to the image sensor. However, with advancements in technology, drones such as the Sony Airpeak have enabled photographers to simulate this effect from a unique aerial perspective, and software like Adobe Photoshop allows for the post-processing miniaturization effect without the need for specialized hardware.

The History of Tilt-Shift Photography

Tilt-shift photography has its roots in the early days of photography where movements in large format cameras were used to control the orientation of the plane of focus (tilt) and the position of the subject in the image area (shift). The movements were initially designed to correct perspective distortions or to extend the depth of field in landscape and architectural photography.

The rise of small format cameras led to the development of special lenses that could mimic these movements, known as tilt-shift lenses. It wasn’t until much later that photographers began to use these lenses creatively to produce the ‘miniature effect’ that is often associated with tilt-shift photography today.

The advent of digital photography and sophisticated software such as Photoshop allowed this effect to be replicated digitally by selectively blurring parts of the image. This made the technique more accessible to photographers who did not have tilt-shift lenses.

Tilt-Shift Photography in the Drone Era

With drones, tilt-shift photography entered a new era. Drones like the DJI Mini series and Skydio S2+ allow photographers to capture images from elevated perspectives that were once only possible with the use of aircraft or tall structures. The bird’s-eye view naturally lends itself to the tilt-shift effect, which is why drone photography has become a popular medium for this style.

In 2019, I used the DJI Phantom 4 Pro to capture aerial shots of a baseball stadium being built, then crafted tilt-shift miniatures in Photoshop. Below are the photos I created along with information and tips to help you get out and create your own ‘miniature effect’ photos.

Capturing the Image with DJI Phantom 4 Pro

The DJI Phantom 4 Pro is an advanced drone equipped with a 1-inch 20MP camera capable of capturing high-quality images. Its gimbal stabilization ensures sharp photos, crucial for the tilt-shift effect. To capture images suitable for tilt-shift photography, follow these steps:

• Plan Your Shot: Tilt-shift works best from a high angle looking down at your subject. Scout your location, in this case, the construction of a baseball stadium in North Carolina, and plan to shoot during times when shadows are present to enhance the three-dimensional feel.
• Positioning the Drone: Position the drone between 100 to 300 feet above the ground to capture a broad view of the subject while maintaining sufficient detail.
• Camera Settings: Set the camera to manual mode to control the exposure settings, ensuring the entire scene is in focus. A smaller aperture (high f-number) helps achieve a greater depth of field.
• Capturing Multiple Images: Capture multiple images to have options during the post-processing phase. Different angles can offer unique perspectives for the tilt-shift effect.

Post-Processing in Adobe Photoshop

Once you have your images, the next step is to process them in Adobe Photoshop to create the tilt-shift miniature effect:

• Selection of Focus Area: Open your image in Photoshop. The first step is to select the area that will remain in focus. This is typically a horizontal strip across the image that simulates the shallow depth of field of a macro shot.
• Creating a Tilt-Shift Blur: Go to Filter > Blur Gallery > Tilt-Shift. Adjust the blur handles to set the area of the image that will be blurred, creating the illusion of a narrow depth of field.
• Adjusting the Blur: Fine-tune the amount of blur to enhance the miniature effect. Be careful not to overdo it; subtlety is key.
• Enhancing Colors and Contrast: Miniature models often have saturated colors and high contrast. Adjust the vibrancy and contrast sliders to mimic this look.
• Final Touches: Add sharpening to the focused area if necessary and consider cropping the image for the best composition.

Tips for Success

• The angle of the shot is crucial; the more top-down the angle, the more convincing the miniature effect will be.
• Morning or late afternoon when shadows are longer can add to the miniature effect, providing more depth and contrast.
• When applying the tilt-shift effect in Photoshop, make sure the transition between the in-focus and out-of-focus areas is smooth and gradual.
• Experiment with different levels of saturation and contrast to see what gives the most realistic ‘miniature’ look.

By combining the aerial capabilities of the drones available today and the powerful editing tools in Adobe Photoshop, photographers can create stunning, miniaturized representations of real-world scenes, such as a baseball stadium under construction. With practice, this technique can yield captivating images that offer a fresh perspective on everyday scenes.

Conclusion

The history of tilt-shift photography is a testament to the evolution of photographic techniques and the ingenuity of photographers in exploiting technological advances. Drone photographers continue to push the boundaries of this technique, using platforms like the Autel Robotics EVO series to capture the world in miniature and share a fresh perspective on our everyday environments.

Paul Rossi, US Army Veteran, is the President at Nine Ten Drones, a N. C.-based drone services company, training center, and reseller. A graduate of Embry Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU) and the U.S. Army Aviation Logistics School, Rossi is passionate about the aviation industry.  He holds both a Private Pilot’s License w/ Instrument Rating for manned aircraft and a Part 107 Remote Pilot’s Certificate.  Rossi is currently studying for his MS Space Operations from ERAU, energized to expand his reach beyond Earth’s atmosphere. You can see more videos and product information on the Nine Ten Drones YouTube channel and connect with Paul on LinkedIn.com

Miriam McNabb is the Editor-in-Chief of DRONELIFE and CEO of JobForDrones, a professional drone services marketplace, and a fascinated observer of the emerging drone industry and the regulatory environment for drones. Miriam has penned over 3,000 articles focused on the commercial drone space and is an international speaker and recognized figure in the industry.  Miriam has a degree from the University of Chicago and over 20 years of experience in high tech sales and marketing for new technologies.
For drone industry consulting or writing, Email Miriam.

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Sepia Bride TikTok Drama Leads To Wedding Photography Debate – Betches

Image Credit: TikTok @alexandrajaye5

Brides get a lot of flak for being bridezillas when it comes to their wedding day. And while some of these judgements are totally justifiable (I’m looking at any bride that makes their bridesmaids drop their life savings on their big-day events), sometimes they have a bit of a point. Weddings are fucking expensive okay, even when you’re not getting Rihanna to perform at a marriage ceremony. And when you drop literally thousands of dollars for a wedding service, I understand wanting to be 100% happy with what you get. And that’s exactly what Alexandra Conder wanted from her wedding photographer. And because she decided to take to TikTok to air her grievances, she’s now being called the “Sepia bride.”

Who Is The Sepia Bride On TikTok?

@alexandrajaye5 Wedding photographer horror experience. Story time. #legal #weddinghorrorstory #weddingstories #weddingphotography #weddingphotos #weddingphotographer #greenscreen #storytime ♬ original sound – Alexandra Jaye Conder

Alexandra, or @alexandrajaye5 on TikTok, is the cosmetic artist turned TikTok sensation who’s shaking things up with her wedding photo drama. This queen did her own makeup for her big day (because, of course she did) and at first, she was over the moon about her $8,000 Instagram-discovered photographer’s work. But after 30 days of staring at her photos (we’ve all been there), Alexandra realized something was way off. Her radiant bride glow was MIA, replaced by a ghostly pale, sepia-toned version of herself. Even the ocean behind her in the pictures had been so filtered it looked like it was raining out. And she wasn’t having it. She reached out to the photographer and they had a quick back-and-forth and decided that they wouldn’t come to an agreement so the photographer decided to send her the RAW photos (aka before edits). That’s when Alexandra realized it looked like she threw the same sepia-preset filter on every single photos, basically drowning out the real radiance of her wedding photos.

Who Is The Sepia Bride Photographer?

@alexandrajaye5 Replying to @Sinke Floral #greenscreen needed to get these off my chest #weddingtiktok #weddingphotos #photographer #bride #bridal #destinationwedding #weddingdrama ♬ original sound – Alexandra Jaye Conder

Now, let’s talk about the mystery photographer who delivered these questionable edits. Well, not-so-mysterious anymore I guess — you know the power of the internet.

Alexandra found this photographer on Instagram, dropping a cool eight grand for their services. Initially, the shots were everything she dreamed of — until the honeymoon phase ended and reality set in. Her teeth, usually pearly white, looked yellow, and her makeup was a dull shadow of its former self. The photographer who is now being dubbed the “Sepia Bride Photographer” is allegedly photographer Hannah Ellis.

In her “story time,” Alexandra explained that as soon as she realized she didn’t like her photos, she got on the phone with her photographer and asked for all of the RAW photos she wanted so that she could edit them herself for a wedding album she wanted to put together for her family. Apparently the photographer refused, saying that Alexandra knew her style before booking her. When she became super frustrated, her new husband took the phone and tried to reason with the photographer, even offering another $1,000 for all the RAW images. The photographer then said it would be another four grand for all the photos.

Sepia Wedding Drama Explained

@alexandrajaye5 Replying to @Kacee Payne #greenscreen #weddingphotos #weddingphotography #storytime #bride ♬ original sound – Alexandra Jaye Conder

So here’s the big deal: Because Alexandra decided to spill the tea on Hannah on TikTok, it sparked a massive debate among brides and photographers alike. Some photogs jumped in, defending the edit as a matter of lighting and consistency, some even cited that RAW photos are usually very pricey. But others were quick to call out the need for stellar customer service — if your client’s not happy, you fix it, no questions asked… especially when that client dropped eight big ones. Brides from all corners shared their own tales of woe and redemption, proving that Alexandra wasn’t alone in her sepia struggle.

Including the original two videos explaining her issues with her wedding photos, Alexandra has made a total of 29 (!!!) TikTok videos that are related to the Sepia bride drama going on. She still clarified that she wasn’t trashing her photographer’s skills entirely. She said that the moments captured were beautiful — it was the post-production filter that turned her into a sepia stranger.

Everyone should speak up if they’re not happy about a service they paid for. Should they make 29 videos about said unhappiness? You be the judge of that, but one thing I do agree with: You paid for perfection and you deserve photos that reflect that — sans yellow teeth and sepia filters.

Syeda Khaula Saad

Syeda Khaula Saad is a sex & dating writer at Betches despite not remembering the last time she was in a relationship. Just take her word for it.

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