The Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery will present “Star Power: Photographs from Hollywood’s Golden Age by George Hurrell,” an exhibition exploring timeless images of film royalty from the 1930s and 1940s.
In the heart of a world that throbs with the flutter of shutters and the gleam of lenses, the 8th edition of Xposure International Photography Festival is poised to cast a spotlight on the riveting realm of photography and visual arts. Scheduled to unfold from February 28 to March 5, 2024, at Expo Centre Sharjah, this grand celebration, orchestrated by the Sharjah Government Media Bureau, promises an immersive journey through the lens of 400 renowned photographers. Among the myriad forms of art that speak, perhaps none does so as poignantly as photography, capturing moments that, while silent, echo through the ages. This year, Xposure 2024 is set to be the largest celebration of its kind in the world, with a special emphasis on photojournalism and documentaries, shining a light on pressing global narratives and untold stories.
At the heart of Xposure 2024’s narrative is the towering figure of Bert Hardy, a London-born photographer whose lens chronicled the mid-twentieth century with a blend of grit and grace. Known for his work as a press and documentary photographer, Hardy’s career spanned the tumultuous waves of World War II to the spirited streets of post-war Britain. As a combat cameraman and a pivotal photojournalist for Picture Post magazine, Hardy captured images that not only documented history but also told its stories with an intimacy and humanity that transcended the photographic medium. His successful transition into an advertising entrepreneur further illustrated his versatility and foresight in the evolving world of photography.
Hardy’s extensive social documentary work, which now finds a home in the archives of Cardiff University, serves as a poignant chronicle of an era. This treasure trove includes not just his iconic photographs but also press passes, correspondence, diaries, and original publications. It is a testament to the enduring legacy of a man who saw the camera as more than a tool but as an extension of the human experience. His work, which will be prominently featured in one of the 90 solo and group exhibitions at Xposure 2024, offers a window into the soul of mid-century Britain and the broader narratives of human resilience and community.
With over 200 events and 2,500 unique stories, Xposure 2024 is not just a festival but a global platform for photographers to showcase their talent, share their insights, and inspire others. The festival will cover 16 genres and niches in professional photography, ranging from people and portraiture to technical and experimental photography. This diversity reflects the festival’s commitment to exploring the myriad ways in which photography can capture and influence the human condition.
Apart from the exhibitions, the festival will host 45 talks and panel discussions led by 150 visual storytellers. These sessions promise to be a melting pot of ideas, where industry greats will discuss everything from the technical aspects of photography to the ethical considerations of photojournalism. In a world increasingly dominated by visual media, Xposure 2024 aims to highlight the critical role photographers play in shaping our understanding of the world around us.
At its core, Xposure 2024 celebrates the human element in photography. The festival’s focus on photojournalism and documentaries underscores the power of the photographic medium to not only document reality but also to evoke empathy, provoke thought, and drive change. In a time when global narratives are more complex than ever, the festival reaffirms the importance of storytelling through visuals that capture critical moments and untold stories.
The legacy of Bert Hardy, with his ability to capture the essence of humanity amidst the chaos of war and the vibrancy of peacetime, serves as a guiding light for Xposure 2024. His work reminds us that behind every photograph is a story waiting to be told, a moment of connection between the subject and the viewer. As Xposure 2024 prepares to open its doors to the world, it invites us to see through the eyes of those who have mastered the art of seeing – to witness the world not just as it is, but as it could be, through the transformative lens of photography.
In bringing together the past and the present, the personal and the universal, Xposure 2024 stands as a testament to the enduring power of photography to inspire, challenge, and connect us all. It is a celebration not just of the art form but of the human spirit that animates it, reminding us that in a world of fleeting moments, photography offers us a chance to pause, reflect, and see anew.
Nationally published photojournalist Crush Rush has a talent for capturing the finite moments of ever-changing human emotion and the natural world around him. Born and based in Columbia, the self-taught Soda City native frequently engages different types of people from different backgrounds or demographics to find a common denominator in the grand scheme of life.
(Photo Credit: Forrest Clonts/Forrest Clonts Studio)
“I feel like the best display of emotion is one that can be felt or portrayed with no words involved. My camera grants me the ability to take a person back to a moment in time by simply showing them a picture. I almost feel as if I have the power to steal grains from the sands of time. For me, the love of editing is just as exciting as making the photo, and I strive every day to be a better storyteller,” said Rush in an interview with One Columbia.
Recently named a 2024 Experience Columbia SC Ambassador, Rush intends to use this new role as a platform to let people know he is all about fact-driven dialogue.
“Columbia means the world to me. I love it here. It’s a great opportunity to really represent for Columbia, to really show off more of what I am already showcasing with my photography and the connections here in the city. It is just something that’s great. The other ambassadors, I already know them – it’s like yeah, yeah, this is beautiful. This feels right. These are my people, and I’m with my people showing off my city,” Rush said during his interview with ColaDaily.
More comfortable behind the camera than in front of it, Rush is very analytical about his own work but is quick to point out that his favorite photographs include ones taken during Columbia’s thousand-year flood in 2015 while he was on assignment with Jim Cantore as well as the images that he captured during the George Floyd protests.
Now known for his iconic black-and-white photos, in June 2020, his work also took Rush from Martin Luther King Jr. Park on Green St. to the South Carolina State House to photograph the Million Man March, a Black Lives Matter themed procession that echoed the 1995 march through Washington, DC. Moved by the occasion, while speaking with Historic Columbia about the event that year, Rush said, “This is not a sight that has been common for me in my life outside of church and entertainment venues. The organizers are black, the volunteers are black, a lot of the law enforcement members providing security are black, and I’m not the only black photographer in attendance trying to tell the story. I am emotional, but I am at peace.”
Inspired by great photojournalist Cecil J. Williams, Rush says he intentionally photographed the march in black and white. Speaking about the product of his efforts, Rush said, “It pretty much just stopped me in my tracks, and I had goosebumps. Like I was looking at this photo that I had just taken, but it looked and felt like all the photos I had seen before – the civil rights movement, the march on Washington, and I’m like, man, this is real. This is history right now, and I stepped into a time machine.”
Following his great-grandmother’s battles with dementia, Rush also became obsessed with preserving memories of friends and family members. “I didn’t want to forget. I didn’t want me to forget and if I had photos of the family members and friends that can help – like this is what your uncle looked like. You know, a lot of the younger generations they just hear stories about their uncle that are hilarious, they’d never seen him because there were no photos,” Rush commented.
“The families couldn’t afford to get a photographer back then because it was so expensive, so now, I’m kind of like my family’s, you know, I’m like the photo history of my family. I’m not in any of the photos, but when it’s all said and done and when I’m old and gray, I can say look, I took this photo, I was there in spirit,” Rush added with a smile.
Intentional about his growth in 2024, Rush looks forward to using his role as an Experience Columbia SC Ambassador to promote some of his favorite venues like the Columbia Museum of Art, Columbia’s beautiful green spaces, the Richland Library, as well as the area’s history, culture, and food.
Urging folks to visit the Capital City, Rush said, “We are an award-winning city, and just get out there and experience it – seriously experience Columbia, SC.”
From former Chief White House and Obama administration photographer, Pete Souza, to distinguished winners of the ‘Wildlife Photographer of the Year’; a New York Times bestselling author, a Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer; and the creative mind behind the iconic 1971 Time Magazine cover featuring Beverly Sills ،،،; these legends have chronicled global conflicts and humanitarian crises, captured exclusive images of the world’s most notable leaders, and created photographs that have profoundly impacted the global narrative.
This is just a glimpse of the incredible talent that will be featured at the 8th edition of Xposure International Photography Festival, organised by the Sharjah Government Media Bureau (SGMB), and taking place from February 28 to March 5, 2024, at Expo Centre Sharjah.
Through a comprehensive agenda, held over 7 days, the festival will feature 200 events presented by 150 of the world’s most skilled visual storytellers, including more than 45 inspiring talks and panel discussions, 90 solo and group exhibitions that will display 2,500 unique stories through the lenses of 400 of the world’s most renowned photographers.
The festival, set to extend its acclaim of being the largest celebration of photography and visual arts in the world, will showcase 16 genres and niches in professional photography, including people and portraiture; documentary and photojournalism; nature and wildlife; travel and adventure; fine art and creative expression; urban and street life; sports and action; as well as technical and experimental photography.
In existence for close to two centuries, these two photography genres have only become more popular and talent-intensive in the past few decades. The fresh perspectives and unique approaches developing globally in the fields of people and portraiture photography are being highlighted on the Xposure 2024 platform with 5 exhibitions by leading industry names, including Mark Edwards’ ‘Faces of Mallorca’; Ayed Tadros’s ‘Simplicity in Joy’; ‘Solar Portraits’ by Rubén Salgado Escudero; Adel Al Quraishi’s ‘The Two Holy Mosques’; and ‘Where Do I Go? Fifty Years Later’ by Rania Matar.
Opportunities for further exploration and learning will be provided on vibrant discussion platforms. To name a few, Joel Grimes will lead ‘Navajo: Portrait of a Nation’; while Mark Julian Edwards will explore the role of conditioning in human perception during a talk titled ‘The Lenses of Perception: Seeing the Potential in Others’. The talented portrait photographer, Rania Matar, will offer an intimate account of her personal journey and vast expertise at ‘From Personal to Universal: the Photography of Rania Matar’.
As one of the most arguably important fields within professional photography, whose relevance continues to grow with the rising uncertainties of our time, Xposure 2024 will place a strong emphasis on photojournalism and documentaries through the coverage of pressing global narratives, critical moments, and untold stories by industry greats who have a gift of capturing the essence of the human spirit through their visual storytelling.
Attendees will be enriched by Rick Smolan, who will lead a discussion titled “Against All Odds,” and Nicole Tung with her talk “What is Left,” both highlighting their profound contributions to photojournalism. Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer, David Hume Kennerly, will enlighten audiences at “Behind the Scenes of History”, while Pete Souza, renowned for his tenure as the Chief Official White House Photographer during the Obama administration, will lead the talk “Documenting for History”. Zed Nelson’s “Guns, Beauty and the Anthropocene: A journey to the dark side of modern culture” will explore the complexities of contemporary society.
Around 25 exhibitions will cover photojournalism including the likes of Dalia Khamissy who confronts the past with ‘Missing of Lebanon’; Afshin Ismaeli who presents ‘Shadows & Resilience: Life Under the Taliban in Afghanistan’; Sharwar Hussain who addresses climate change with ‘Tears of Global Warming’; Hans Strand who navigates human impact on landscapes in ‘Man Made Lands’; and Daniella Zalcman who explores identity in ‘Signs of Your Identity’, to name a few.
One of Xposure’s biggest focuses has been to boost public awareness around the majesty and vulnerability of the natural world by bringing leading advocates who have dedicated their lives to protecting and preserving the natural environment and its inhabitants. Angela and Jonathan Scott, both overall winners of London Natural History Museum’s ‘Wildlife Photographers of the Year’, will be giving the talk The Sacred Nature Initiative (SNI): Reconnecting People to Our Planet. Julieanne Kost’s “The Art of Compositing in Photoshop” will offer insights into the creative process.
This year, the festival will curate close to 15 exhibitions, including ‘In the Heart of the Wild – A Photographic Journey into the Last Untouched Realms’ by Sandesh Vishwanath Kadur; Joachim Schmeisser will unveil the “Hall of Giants,” emphasising the profound connection between humans and animals. ‘Visions of the Arctic’ by Florian Schulz; ‘Wildlife or Commodity? Icons of a Ruthless Trade’ by Britta Jaschinski; and ‘Savannah Silhouettes’ by Dhir Jakharia, to name a few.
Xposure 2024 will present a visual journey through the enchanting corners of the earth with captivating exhibitions by leading travel & adventure photographers. Alex Wides’ ‘Extreme Panoramic Landscapes: The Beauty of Nature’; Richard Wilding’s ‘Heart of Arabia’; Marco Grassi’s ‘Nature’s Enchantment’; and Esteban Toro in ‘Spirits of the Earth: An Artistic Voyage Through Hidden Realms’, are part of a curation dedicated to celebrate this fascinating genre.
The weeklong festival will also bring the exciting pulse of bustling cities of the world and the dynamism of ever-changing cityscapes with urban & street photography exhibitions by leading international talents, namely John McDermott’s ‘Le Strade di Napoli-The Streets of Naples’; Hassan Ragab’s ‘The City Will Haunt You’; and Selaru Ovidiu’s ‘Time Travellers’.
Photography enthusiasts and budding professionals will witness the most tasteful and imaginative intersections of art and photography as envisioned and realised by leading maestros of these genres. More than 10 exhibitions will be featured, including acclaimed Zimbabwean fine art photographer Tamary Kudita, internationally recognized for her work that merges cultural exploration with artistic expression, showcasing her series titled ‘Liberty’.
Legendary photographer Eric Meola, a multi-award-winning photographer famous for his Time magazine cover of Beverly Sills in 1971 and known for transforming moments into vibrant visual narratives, will demonstrate his technique in “Bending Light: The Moods of Color”. Acclaimed Australian marine and adventure photographer Craig Parry, who chronicles the majesty of Earth’s oceans and wild frontiers, will offer a window into Wildlife Photography Fundamentals.
The thrill and energy of sports and action will be felt in the exhibitions by Darren Heath and Neil Leifer, who will be showcasing ‘The Art Of Formula 1’ and ‘In Pursuit of Gold’, respectively. Festival-goers will gain a unique window into the fields of technical and experimental photography with Claudio Dell’Osa’s ‘Emotion’ – an exhibition that is equally boundary-pushing and innovative
To know more about the exhibitions, panel discussions and inspiring talks, and photographers who will be featured across all these photography niches, visit https://xposure.net/uae-exhibitions-2024/ and https://xposure.net/events-2024/.
In an era where technology continually reshapes our reality, the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into photography marks a significant leap forward. This fusion not only enhances image quality and organizes vast libraries but also suggests compositions and paves the way for unprecedented creative avenues. At the heart of this revolution lies a suite of AI-powered tools, making waves in photo editing software like Photoshop. These tools, including Neural Filters, Generative Fill, Generative Expand, Sky Replacement, and more, promise a blend of efficiency and creativity. Yet, as we stand on the brink of this new dawn dated February 18, 2024, the photography industry finds itself at a crossroads, grappling with the ethical implications of AI’s burgeoning role.
The allure of AI in photography lies in its ability to streamline complex editing tasks, thereby saving invaluable time for professionals and enthusiasts alike. Features such as Photoshop’s Neural Filters and Sky Replacement have democratized high-quality photo editing, making it accessible to a wider audience. The AI-driven Subject Selection and Intelligent Refine Edge tools refine the art of precision, enabling users to isolate and enhance elements within an image with unprecedented ease. Meanwhile, the Generative Fill and Generative Expand options offer a glimpse into the future, where creating entire landscapes and scenes from scratch could become the norm.
Despite the excitement surrounding these innovations, the integration of AI into photography is not without its controversies. The ability of AI to generate text in images or to create entire scenes raises pressing ethical questions. At what point does enhancement become fabrication? The industry wrestles with the implications of these technologies, particularly in contexts where authenticity is paramount, such as news or reportage. The debate extends beyond the boundaries of technology into the realm of philosophy, questioning the very nature of artistic authenticity in the digital age.
The future of AI in photography remains shrouded in uncertainty. As the industry continues to explore these new tools, the conversations around their ethical use become increasingly pivotal. The balance between embracing the efficiency and creative potential of AI and safeguarding the integrity of the photographic image is delicate. The ongoing debates highlight the need for guidelines that navigate the ethical use of AI, especially in sensitive areas. Meanwhile, the impact of AI on the artistic labor market and its role in redefining artistic authenticity are questions that require thoughtful consideration as we venture further into this uncharted territory.
As we reflect on the integration of AI into photography, it is clear that we stand at the threshold of a new era. The advancements in AI-powered photo editing tools offer a glimpse into a future where creativity knows no bounds, yet they also prompt us to consider the ethical dimensions of such technologies. The journey ahead is fraught with challenges, but it also brims with the potential for innovation. In navigating this evolving landscape, the photography industry must tread carefully, ensuring that the tools that empower us today do not compromise the values we hold dear tomorrow.
A Halifax photographer with an eye for social realism and the experience of his Black family and community has a new exhibit on display at the Dalhousie Art Gallery.
Allen D. Crooks’s collection is titled Family Matters, and is part of As We Rise: Photography from the Black Atlantic, a travelling exhibition by Black photographers of Black subjects.
Crooks spoke with Information Morning Halifax host Portia Clark to explain more about his process and inspiration.
Their conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
LISTEN | Allen D. Crooks on his new photo exhibit, Family Matters
Information Morning – NS9:04Allen D. Crooks on his photography exhibition at Dal
If you stop by the Dalhousie Art Gallery this month, you’ll see a couple exhibitions of photographs that bring Black lives to the forefront. ‘As We Rise: Photography from the Black Atlantic’ is a travelling exhibition by Black photographers of Black subjects… a collection of the familiar and the familial. Allen D. Crooks is a photographer and his show, ‘Family Matters’ is up now.
Tell me a little bit about what you were hoping to capture and have captured in this collection called Family Matters.
The interesting thing is, the photographs didn’t start out as a project — over the number of years, [I was] documenting family gatherings and so on — and then when the opportunity came to do the show, I started to literally reflecting and and rummaging through images I had captured and never really printed or done anything with.
This is all on black-and-white film and so it really caused a reflection on my family and also people who I consider family who aren’t related by blood.
When you’re looking through these photographs, did a theme or feeling emerge since you had to narrow down how many photos you would include?
Absolutely. Some of them have more emotion — photographs have emotion and energy — but I grouped a bunch of photos on my studio wall and Pamela Edmonds, who’s the amazing director and curator at Dal, was coming for a visit. So I thought, I’m going to make it easy for her to say yes. So when she walked in and saw the photo sequenced the way I had envisioned the show being, she looked at them and paused, and I was like “OK, what does that pause mean?”
And then she just said, “This looks like a show,” and I’m very grateful for her giving me this opportunity.
If there is a theme, it seems to be to show every day African Nova Scotian life — both hardship and celebration. How did you find that balance?
Yeah. It’s true because there are photos that are strong, sentimental, warm and fuzzy, and then the harsh reality of life, and the harsh reality of life means death sometimes, and we have to deal with that, and a portion of that is just focused on my mom and her transition after being diagnosed with mesothelioma.
It’s a balance between — it’s just like music, it goes, it goes up and down — so I think the sequence of the photographs is going to reflect that.
Why do you start with a self-portrait, Allen?
Yeah, yeah, exactly. Because I just thought it’s kind of about me. When we talk about self portraits, or now we refer to them as selfies, photographers — especially shooting with proper cameras, I use that term — have long through history made interesting self-portraits and I won’t give away the thunder too much, but a lot of times we’re looking in windows and we’re seeing reflections of ourselves and we’re seeing stuff in the window that may have meaning or psychological undertones.
So that was one of the photographs, especially a self-portrait, where I realized I was really starting to make sense of photography and so I thought it would be appropriate to use that one to kick off the sequence of photographs.
Is there another photograph that you really have spent time yourself just looking at for long periods because it evokes so much and you’re so pleased with how it comes across, Allen?
Yeah, oh man, so there’s one — it’s a young couple, and a lot of times I don’t put the titles on the photographs, but I called them Perfect Strangers.
I met them on Valentine’s Day, and there was this loving connection with this young couple that I came across and as photographers sometimes, mostly with people, you see somebody and you just have this feeling that you absolutely have to have their photograph because there’s something there that’s so authentic.
So I approached this couple and wanted to do portraits of them, and sometimes when you do that, you can lose what you saw that originally attracted you to that image, so once I made a couple of photographs of them, what I got actually was better than what I originally saw.
I think in that moment, you know, there was not only this amazing connection between this young couple, but they felt comfortable with me, and in that moment, we just connected.
When I look at this photograph, it just really gets to me and once again, they’re not family, but it was just like this connection that was so strong that I just couldn’t help myself. So when I see that photograph and I see people’s reactions to it, it really, really makes me feel great that I took the chance to have that encounter.
I mentioned the exhibition, As We Rise, also up at the Dal Art Gallery, which shares the work of dozens of Black photographers. How does it feel to have your work alongside it?
Oh my God, Portia, you’re giving me goosebumps just thinking about that, because it’s such an amazing collection owned by a Canadian, Dr. Kenneth Montague from Toronto.
First of all, having my images breathing the same air as this collection, it’s just so affirming and validating of what I’m doing.
But more specifically, some of the photographs in the exhibition are by photographers that I’ve admired for forever, including the legendary Gordon Parks, who, among being an amazing photographer, directed the infamous Shaft movie, so just having my images in close proximity of some of this legendary work has really been an amazing journey over the last couple of weeks.
For more stories about the experiences of Black Canadians — from anti-Black racism to success stories within the Black community — check out Being Black in Canada, a CBC project Black Canadians can be proud of. You can read more stories here.
The use of artificial intelligence (AI) in photo editing may be a contentious issue, but it’s safe to say that it’s here to stay. While most ethical questions surrounding the use of AI in photography centre around the creation of entire images, most of the AI-powered tools available in the best photo editing software are pretty much benign when it comes to the question of ethics and authenticity.
At this point, you may be wondering where we’re heading because surely any use of AI goes against the veracity of photography, but there’s an extremely simple argument here. Not to mention, one that includes the use of Photoshop’s Generative Fill feature in a specific way. I don’t want to get bogged down in the AI debate so we can cast that aside, and some of this was covered in an interview in the Christmas issue of AP with the Italian photographer Andrea Pizzini who creates incredible images of Sony cameras using AI.
The majority of AI-powered tools in editing software are designed to save time and typically make complex tasks easier to achieve. They’re not there to trick, cheat or anything else, they’re both practical and powerful in equal measure. Photoshop has been gradually growing in this area with many tools now at the disposal of photographers, ranging from intelligent selection refinement to special effects to cloning and much more. Most, if not all of the results of these tools can be achieved in more manual time-consuming ways, so I would argue that taking advantage of them is most often a wise decision.
This is far from a definitive list of Photoshop’s AI-powered features, but some that you can take advantage of include Neural Filters, Generative Fill, Generative Expand, Sky Replacement.
Subject selection, Sky selection, Intelligent Refine Edge and the Remove Tool. Of course, Generative Fill and Generative Expand are by far the most contentious options available, but even these can be used in ways that don’t detract from a photo’s authenticity when used outside of a news or reportage context.
Our focus here is going to be using Photoshop’s AI-powered features for cloning in different situations as well as expending a simple background to change a photo from portrait to landscape format. Everything can be achieved manually, and these changes are frequently made to images for personal, editorial and advertising use, but what’s most important is that the essence of the image ultimately isn’t changed.
1. Set the crop
Select the Crop Tool and set the Ratio to the desired setting and make sure that Fill is set to Generative Expand. Next, drag the Crop Guide over the image so it covers the area surrounding the image that needs to be increased. Here, it was set to convert the portrait format image with a simple background to landscape format.
2. Generate the expansion
Hit Enter and the Generative Fill Crop will begin, and after roughly 20-30 seconds you’ll be presented with three fill options to choose from. Simply left mouse click on each to see what looks best. If you’re happy with one close the dialogue and the Fill will be applied to a New Layer, but if not move on to the next step.
3. Create more expand options
If you’re unhappy with the Fill options presented, simply press the Generate button in the dialogue box to generate three more options. You can continue pressing the button to add more Fill options until you find an option that you’re happy with. Each option presented will have subtle or significant differences to offer choice.
Remove complex elements in seconds using the Remove Tool and Generative fill
Cloning and Healing can be laborious tasks; they’re rarely enjoyable, always a chore, but they can admittedly be rewarding when you finish. One of the great things about some of Photoshop’s AI-powered tools is that they can make light work of more complex cloning work, saving huge amounts of time and sometimes even frustration. You just have to know what to use and when to use it.
Minor jobs like spotting and removing simple elements are still best worked on with tools such as the Healing Brush. But depending on the task at hand, the Remove Tool and in certain cases, Generative Fill can make light work of what needs to be done to produce a seamless result in seconds rather than minutes. What’s more, if you don’t have the skills to perform these tasks manually, AI can help you get to where you want to be.
1. Paint over the object
Select the Removal Tool which is within the Healing Tool menu on the Tool panel. Paint over the object to be removed, making sure you overlap the surrounding area because this will help to facilitate a more effective removal. It takes a few seconds for the object removal to render.
2. Assess the removal
Check the area where the object has been removed to make sure it looks natural. Here, you can see that the left edge of the bush and the reeds look fake, so we’ll need to run some additional passes of the Removal Tool over these areas. Areas like this take a little more work because of the fine detail.
3. Run more passes
The Removal Tool can be applied to the same area as many times as you like, so you can keep painting over this until you’re happy. A good way to work is to create an empty New Layer in Step 1 and make sure Sample all layers is checked so you can delete the Layer if necessary and start again.
Generative Fill is best known for adding elements into images, but it can also be used to remove them. To do this, simply draw a selection around the object that needs to be removed, with space around it included, and then click the Generative Fill button on the Contextual Task Bar. This press of the button opens the prompt box for typing in word prompts, but leaving this empty and then pressing the Generate button forces the tool to remove or change the selected area. For the image used here, the Remove Tool was unable to fill the uniform brickwork effectively, but Generative Fill was able to remove the sign in a matter of seconds while maintaining the texture and lighting present.
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Vanessa PearceBBC News, West Midlands
Andrew Fusek PetersAn “extraordinary mistake” led to a wildlife photographer being able to capture rare pictures of British birds showing light refracting through their wings in a rainbow effect.
Professional Andrew Fusek Peters said he had been left “gobsmacked” by the images.
After first photographing a blue tit’s display in his Shropshire garden he has spent the past few weeks making a collection of other visiting birds recorded mid-flight and surrounded by colour.
“They’re so beautiful,” he said.
Andrew Fusek Peters
Andrew Fusek PetersHe had been taking images of the birds in his garden for the past decade, he explained, with winter feeding the best time to capture them.
But then one recent image caught his eye in particular.
“I set up a stick with hidden seeds and photograph them through the kitchen window,” he said.
“I was doing this around dawn one December day, and it was a blue tit which took off, and I looked at the back of my camera and it wasn’t a blue tit any more, the wings had turned into rainbows and I was just gobsmacked.
“I had no idea what I had done and why it was happening, until then I looked it up and it is obviously to do with refraction on the various layers.”
Andrew Fusek Peters
Andrew Fusek PetersThe “act of transformation” can only be captured in certain conditions, he explained.
“The light has to be at a certain angle, you have to be shooting into the light, because if I was on the other side then all I would be getting was the first sunlight on the birds.
“There is literally about 15 minutes in the morning when the light is at the right angle.”
The photographer shoots in “near darkness” using a camera with “amazing autofocus and low light capability”.
“We live in a valley and as the light comes over the hedge it is going to be hitting that stick and the birds at just the right angle.
“So it’s the coincidence of circumstances,” he added.
“I find it extraordinary. It’s immensely difficult.”
Andrew Fusek PetersAn Australian photographer Christian Spencer became well-known for his images of hummingbirds and the phenomenon.
“But I’m the first person in the UK to do this I think,” said the Shropshire man.
“I think garden birds in themselves are so beautiful but a blue tit is a blue tit is a blue tit, and there’s plenty of them,” he added.
“But a blue tit with iridescent rainbow wings is a one-in-a-billion blue tit.”
Andrew Fusek Peters
Andrew Fusek PetersHe said he was working on a book documenting garden wildlife, including birds, foxes and badgers, which was due to be published in 2025.
He said he had been able to take about 100 images during the past month, but the light was no longer correct to capture the rainbow display.
“I’ve been trying to work out how to keep doing it as it goes into February and March, but it involves me sitting in the garden with my camera aimed upwards, but the birds don’t like that at all,” he explained.
“I had [the experience] for a month and I’m happy with those shots and perhaps think of it as a little bit of a spiritual gift – maybe that’s the way to look at it.”
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Inside Brad Ogbonna’s Journey of Self-Discovery in Senegal | Atmos
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Photo-journalist Chancey Bush was recognized as one of Editor and Publisher’s “25 Under 35” for 2024.
Chancey Bush can be found at protests and parades, vigils and football games, behind the lens of a camera.
The 35-year-old Albuquerque Journal photojournalist was selected as one of Editor and Publisher Magazine’s top up and coming journalists in its annual “25 Under 35” section, which recognizes the next generation of news publishing leaders.
