Indian Street Photography: Portraits of Daily Life and Struggles
Photography
‘My friend in hospital said she really missed fresh fruit and bright colours’: Georgia Glynn-Smith’s best phone picture
‘Where do we start … all ice-cream is mashed potato?” asks Georgia Glynn-Smith, food photographer and creator of the London School of Food & Film online masterclasses. When it comes to the industry secrets on photographing food – something she has done for cookbooks by the likes of Gordon Ramsay and Mary Berry, and Tesco and M&S TV adverts, she knows it all.
“Anyone can photograph food, but one of the things you need to figure out is what is it that makes you hungry? Is it the melting cheese, the flutter of icing sugar, the drizzle of chocolate, the falling slice of perfectly cooked beef, the crunch of the roast potato? Focus here will make your audience want to dive in and eat it.”
This photograph was inspired by a friend of Georgia who had been in hospital for months with leukaemia.
“I was being filmed for a TV show with Jamie Oliver and we needed footage of me in the studio. I needed a brief, so I called my friend and asked her what she really missed. She said fresh fruit and bright colours. I created this image for her with love, shooting it on a professional camera but then again on my iPhone so she could see it happening immediately,” Georgia says.
While she adds that she wouldn’t feel confident shooting on a phone for anything that will be used on a billboard or packaging, she sees it as more than sufficient for social media and online.
“But I do teach my students to never use a filter, as it will end up looking rather crude.”
As for Georgia’s friend?
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“She is fortunately so much better and now travelling a lot in her bright colourful campervan with family, eating all the food she can get hold of,” Georgia says.
‘I got the sense the youngest child would always win’: sibling relationships
Maxime Michelet was doing a photoshoot with three sisters when he got the idea to photograph sets of siblings. “It was the first time I’d worked with models who were related,” says the 29-year-old from Marseille, “and the connection between them was just so obvious. I immediately thought, ‘I have to do that again.’”
As he worked on the project, Michelet became increasingly fascinated by the chemistry between people who are related by blood or have simply grown up under the same roof – as he puts it, “the bond that unites and sometimes divides them”. Subjects were initially recruited from his circle of friends, with the net growing wider as word of the project spread. Michelet set up a separate WhatsApp group for each participating family, where creative discussions could take place.
“It was a collaborative process. We discussed their childhood memories and how people wanted their bond to be represented. There weren’t any major disagreements, though some fought hard for their particular idea,” he says. “None of them were professional models. They all had to feel comfortable. There was a degree of therapy involved, too – participants reflected on what it meant for them to have grown up together.”
Inspired by techniques used in fashion photography, Michelet encouraged his models to bring props and accessories to help him stage their ideas, and items found on the day were also used in some pictures.
Most of the participants were in their 20s and 30s, and many now live far away from each other. In some cases, the shoots were the first time that siblings had been photographed together in years, so as well as being shown on gallery walls, the resulting pictures have taken pride of place in family homes. “For so many of us, the earliest photographs we have of ourselves shows us with our siblings,” Michelet reflects. “In revisiting those moments, we ended up creating images that happened to make great gifts for the models’ parents and grandparents.”
Adrien and Adèle
“We wanted to recreate a memory of these two playing on their terrace and in the garden as kids,” says Michelet. “The idea of using a paddling pool came up and I jumped on it. The pose – the older sibling sitting while the younger one stands with her hand on his head – speaks to the power dynamics I felt on the day. We usually expect the eldest child to be bossier and more confident, but as a model, Adèle was more on top of things than Adrien. That sense of competition is central to many sibling relationships, and is something I explored in a number of the photos. This was taken on quite a cold day, so the swimwear was a bit of a challenge. Plus we were in a park, so there were quite a lot of passersby. It was in central Paris though, where people dressed in seemingly random outfits don’t really attract attention.”
Lucie and Rémi
“There’s no specific meaning behind the gigantic helpings of spaghetti and meatballs in this photo, I just included them to make the picture more impactful. I was keen for it to be quite messy. Mealtimes are often when we see family dynamics unfold – I was thinking about that at Christmas, while spending time with my own family. These two are friends of mine, and their family history has shaped their bond as adults and made them strong allies. This photo was taken in a rooftop garden on a very windy day and the backdrop kept falling down. It’s a miracle we got one good picture, it was so chaotic.”
Darius, Attila and Virgile
“A lot of people have embarrassing pictures of themselves in the bathtub as kids. These brothers remembered taking baths together, so that’s what we recreated. They’re close in age and still play rough. I saw that during the time I spent with them. Sometimes two of them would gang up against the other, but the roles kept changing and it was never the same brother being bullied for long. They’re very integrated into each other’s lives – they call all the time, have friends in common and go on holiday together. This picture makes it clear these three belong to each other.”
Margaux, Philippine, Martin and Adelaïde
“This was shot during a storm, and everyone was soaking, but we couldn’t reschedule. Four kids in one family is quite a lot in today’s France, and I was trying to introduce an element of competition. I had them stand in order of age, with the oldest sibling far left. She mentioned that she had always felt like an only child, and each time a new sibling arrived, she thought of them as a new ‘contestant’. I wanted to speak to this by having them engaged in sport or a game. I also asked them to dress as if they were characters in The Matrix, because those movies are so full of fights. However, I got the sense with this family – as with so many others – that the youngest child would ultimately be allowed to win.”
Emma, Tess, Lise and Fanny
“This is about the magic that happens between siblings regardless of blood ties. Emma and Lise (first and third from the left), have the same parents, who later divorced and each had another child with someone else. So the other two girls are not sisters, but still have two half-sisters in common. Tess and Fanny are the same age, go to the same school and hang out together. There was never any question they wouldn’t be included. All four would have sleepovers and this shoot plays with that idea. The father of the older sisters owns some farmland, and we took a bed into one of his fields and staged a pillow fight. Some photographers say the best picture sometimes happens after the action, when the subjects slow down and breathe, and that’s what happened here.”
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Annabelle and Margaux
“These sisters are the only members of their family to have moved to mainland France – everyone else lives thousands of miles away on Réunion, an island in the Indian Ocean. The idea was to show them picking daisies, but on the day of the shoot there was frost on the ground and the daisies weren’t open. I rushed to a shop to buy the flowers you see on the rock. When I started shooting, I spotted the swans approaching across the lake. I’ve had a bad experience with swans before, and at first was worried for the safety of my models, but I think they just wanted to see if we had anything to eat. We ended up luring them into the picture with food. The rock represents where the sisters are from, and also how they’ve become each other’s island.”
Agathe, Max, Louise, Jeanne and Juliette
“One of these siblings is autistic, and she wasn’t involved when we started discussing the shoot. But the others said the thing she most loves doing with them is playing dress-up, so that’s the approach we took. This was taken at their home, where there’s a huge chest of costumes. I just let them play and didn’t direct them in any way – the autistic sister would often become distracted and wander off, so the others were working hard to keep her focused and in the frame. This picture tells a beautiful and deep story about the way the five of them interact. They’re playing different characters – a soldier, a pirate – but they’re all very much equal parts of a family, like five fingers making one glove.”
Marilou and Maddy
“This was improvised on the day, using whatever was available. The first thing the sisters told me was that Maddy, the older sister (right), was pregnant, so I’d asked her to bring a scan and assumed it and her belly would be the focus. The shoot was in Marilou’s tiny apartment. They told me they’d spend hours snuggling together and chatting, so I thought, ‘OK – a bed, two sisters and the image of the baby in the womb.’ There were clothes scattered around and I gathered them up and wrapped them around the sisters, like a textile sculpture. That meant you can’t see which sister is pregnant, and the scan is only just visible. The poster was already there, but it fits – like the two hands you might place on a pregnant belly.”
Marine and Maxime
“Every time I did these shoots someone would ask, ‘Why don’t you pose for one of these yourself?’ I knew it wouldn’t be easy as my sister lives in a different city, has a young daughter and a busy life. And she hates being photographed. But eventually, one weekend when we met up in the Pyrenees, she said yes. It has been snowing, and I had to act quickly. The red liquid in the bottles is meant to represent the blood we share, and the cheap plastic bottles reflect our working-class background. I feel a little guilty that I asked Marine to sit on a frozen lake as she’d just told me she was pregnant with her second child. But that adds to the lyricism of the picture.”
Lili and Jacob
“These two are twins and British. At the time, they were working in the same bookstore in Paris. This photo is meant to demonstrate that although they are comfortable looking the same and even happy to dress alike, Jacob and Lili like very different things when it comes to reading – we made books the theme for their photograph. The shoot took place in Jacob’s flat. After we’d tried some other poses, I asked him to grab a book at random for the last shot, which we agreed was the best. As it happens, Sempé is one of my favourite illustrators. The fact the book is called Face to Face is a great coincidence, as is the fact that the colours on the cover match what they’re wearing.”
Wildlife photo winners revealed
Nima Sarikhani’s ethereal capture titled “Ice Bed,” has been crowned the winner of the Wildlife Photographer of the Year People’s Choice Award, a testament to the overwhelming support from over 75,000 nature enthusiasts worldwide. His mesmerizing image transports viewers to Norway’s Svalbard archipelago, where a young polar bear carves a resting place from a small iceberg, encapsulating the fragile beauty of our planet.
Director of the Natural History Museum Douglas Gurr praised Sarikhani’s work for its poignant reminder of the interconnectedness between animals and their habitats, highlighting the urgent need to address climate change and habitat loss. Sarikhani himself expressed gratitude for the recognition, hoping his photograph inspires hope amidst environmental challenges.
Among the finalists, Tzahi Finkelstein’s “The Happy Turtle” and Daniel Dencescu’s “Starling Murmuration” also received high commendation for their captivating narratives. Finkelstein’s image captures a heartwarming moment between a Balkan pond turtle and a northern banded groundling dragonfly, while Dencescu’s work showcases the breathtaking spectacle of a starling murmuration forming the shape of a bird.
The Happy Turtle: A Balkan pond turtle shares a moment of peaceful coexistence with a northern banded groundling dragonfly in Israel’s Jezreel Valley.
Tzahi Finkelstein for Natural History Museum, Wildlife Photographer of the Year
Starling Murmuration: Daniel was mesmerised by the movements of the starlings as they formed colossal organic shapes in the sky.
Daniel Dencescu for Natural History Museum, Wildlife Photographer of the Year
Mark Boyd’s “Shared Parenting” depicts a tender scene of lionesses grooming one of their pride’s cubs in Kenya’s Maasai Mara, while Audun Rikardsen’s “Aurora Jellies” offers a stunning fusion of moon jellyfish illuminated by the aurora borealis in a Norwegian fjord.
Shared Parenting: Early in the morning, Mark watched as these lionesses groomed one of the pride’s five cubs in Kenya’s Maasai Mara.
Mark Boyd for Natural History Museum, Wildlife Photographer of the Year
Aurora Jellies: Moon jellyfish swarm in the cool autumnal waters of a fjord outside Tromsø in northern Norway illuminated by the aurora borealis.
Audun Rikardsen for Natural History Museum, Wildlife Photographer of the Year
These remarkable images, along with Sarikhani’s winning photograph, will be showcased online and in an exhibition at the Natural History Museum in London through June 30, 2024.
The Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition continues to serve as a platform for photographers worldwide to share compelling stories from the natural world, fostering advocacy for environmental conservation. As judging for the 60th competition is underway, anticipation builds for the forthcoming awards ceremony in October, where the next generation of impactful images will be celebrated.
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Td garden celtics hi-res stock photography and images – Alamy
Viral Video: Watch How Flash Photography Shocks Tuna Fish at Aquarium in Japan
Viral Video: Watch How Flash Photography Shocks Tuna Fish at Aquarium in Japan
Trending News: Have you heard about the recent viral video causing a stir online? At Japan’s Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium, a startling incident occurred when a large tuna fish collided with the aquarium glass, captured on camera and rapidly circulated on Reddit. The footage has sparked a serious discussion surrounding the impact of flash photography on marine life in aquariums. In the viral video, spectators are seen gathered around the massive tank, some observing the aquatic life while others engage in flash photography. Regrettably, the intense flashes appear to have startled the tuna, leading to the fatal collision with the glass.
Initially appearing unremarkable, the video takes a distressing turn as the tuna accelerates its swimming pace and crashes into the glass barrier. Blood is visible, causing alarm among nearby marine inhabitants. Some observers noted that the photographer continued taking pictures even after the flash was turned off, possibly unaware of the incident’s severity.
Watch the viral video below:
The video, posted on Reddit, garnered over 100,000 upvotes, prompting discussions about the necessity of restricting flash photography in aquariums to protect marine life. Comments expressed a range of emotions and observations. Some people felt really sad about what happened to the fish. One person said, “I feel sad about that fish now.” Another thought maybe it was better that the fish didn’t suffer, saying, “It looks like it was instant death at least, so no suffering, poor thing.” And someone else noticed that the person with the camera turned off the flash after the incident but still took more pictures of the fish.
It’s also interesting to learn about tuna. They’re super fast, like the Ferraris of the ocean. They can go up to 43 miles per hour. And get this, some can grow up to ten feet long and weigh as much as 2000 pounds. That’s heavier than an average horse. They have special bodies and fins that help them zip through the water super fast.
Photographer Zoe Ghertner on her new wellness venture, neoNutritions
Zoe Ghertner is one of the most revered fashion photographers working in the industry today. Having collaborated with the likes of Chanel, Gucci, The Row, Miu Miu, and Hermès, the American-born image maker and creative director is renowned for her editorial work showing subjects in a naturalistic style. Now, Ghertner has partnered with Fee Steinvorth, an artist and wellness practitioner, to found neoNutritions, a health and wellness-focused brand that has been years in the making. ‘Though neoNutritions launched in late 2023, we planted the seed long ago and it took four years for us to bring our 100 per cent organic, vegan, gluten-free, and high-vibrational nutritional supplement powders to fruition,’ Ghertner and Steinvorth tell Wallpaper*.
(Image credit: Photography by Zoe Ghertner)
Zoe Ghertner and Fee Steinvorth on neoNutritions
These powdered supplements are designed to help build on ‘body, mind and spirit’ through food and vitamins. The two hero supplements the brand has launched with are called The Ultimate Foundation, and a booster named The Ultimate Beauty. ‘I like to call The Ultimate Foundation a liquid lifeforce,’ says Steinvorth. ‘Food is the quickest route to live in this state of flow. This idea has been around for thousands of years. “Annamaya Kosha”, or as we know the phrase today, “we are what we eat“.‘
The Ultimate Foundation is made with seeds, greens, fruits, algae, adaptogens, and restorative roots, and The Ultimate Beauty contains sea buckthorn, birch leaf, and manjistha, which are rich in antioxidants. ‘The benefits are as holistic as the formula, lowering inflammation and detoxifying, improving gut health and digestion, and boosting immunity and energy.’ (These additions to your diet are also said to have effects on your rest, sex drive, and focus.) It is recommended that the powders (which are contained in sachets) are added to about two litres of dairy or nut milk, ghee, aloe vera juice, or water. They can also be added into smoothies or juices.
(Image credit: Photography by Zoe Ghertner)
The branding and visual identity of neoNutritions are true to Ghertner’s signature aesthetic. ‘[The branding] is minimal and direct but always with a strong connection to both human and technology, science and spirit,’ says Ghertner. ‘Colour is important to us and so is leaving space and breathing room that allows for interpretation. Our photography speaks to the bold possibility of change. It is important to me that our imagery, our packaging and everything we do is open and allows room for contemplation, wonder and breath.’
For the campaign, Ghertner worked with casting director Rosie Vogel, to assemble a crew of models including supermodel Kirsty Hume, skateboarder, entrepreneur and breathwork teacher Alex Olson, athlete and model Jeneil Williams, and dancer and choreographer Vinson Fraley. ‘Each person we photographed was intentionally chosen to represent different aspects of what we stand for. Kirsty, as a herbalist, represents eternal beauty and plant wisdom. With Alex, body alignment has always played a big part in who he is, both through his skating and yoga/meditation practice. Movement is an integral part of neoNutritions, and Vinson expresses this with strength, beauty and honesty.’
(Image credit: Photography by Zoe Ghertner)
For Ghertner and Steinvorth, these initial supplement launches are the beginning of a longer journey, with conscious production methods at its heart. ‘We source all ingredients from responsible producers who use organic farming practices and offer sustainable wages for the humans who care for them,’ the duo explain. ‘It allows us to provide the most meticulous, exceptional ingredients and create thoughtful formulations that feed the mind, body, and soul. neoNutritions takes a no-compromises approach to our formulations and their quality.’
Both neoNutritions products are manufactured in the USA in a TGA-registered, Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) compliant facility, which is recognised by NSF International. ‘We maintain entire batch manufacturing records, which ensures all finished products are 100 per cent traceable. We also maintain rigorous independent audits of our manufacturing facility and toxicological reviews that verify product formulation and label claims and prevent unsafe levels of contaminants.’
(Image credit: Photography by Zoe Ghertner)
‘My work and my life are intrinsically linked by an ethos. Everything I create is born out of a set of values I hold, namely trying to put good out into the world,’ concludes Ghertner. ‘This is also the mission of neoNutritions. We want to allow everyone the opportunity to create change in their bodies and whole beings in different ways and learn deeply about themselves.’
The Ultimate Foundation and The Ultimate Beauty powdered supplements are available now.
(Image credit: Photography by Zoe Ghertner)
Ned Jilton II: Simple tips for taking better photographs
There are millions of people out there with cellphones and digital cameras just loaded with photos. Odds are you are among them.
But I have a question for you. Are you happy with the photos you make?
Nikita Teryoshin goes into the backroom of war
Shot in arms fairs around the world over the last eight years, Nikita Teryoshin’s Nothing Personal reveals the chilling business of conflict
In a conflict-ridden world, weapons are instruments of both war and politics. In October 2023, the Swedish defence ministry offered its Gripen fighter jets to a western coalition that was considering sending planes to Ukraine, on the condition that Sweden be admitted to Nato. Turkey’s President Erdoğan had previously used his veto over Sweden’s membership, before dropping it in July. He is currently adding new conditions to the talks, indicating he would support Swedish membership once F-16 jets are passed from the US to Turkey.
Before all this, weapons have to be designed, licensed, manufactured and sold – ostensibly to legitimate actors, but also to proxy wars, militias and paramilitaries. Much of the window shopping happens at arms fairs, which Russian-born photographer Nikita Teryoshin has been photographing since 2016. His first visit was to the International Defence Industry Exhibition (MSPO) in Kielce, Poland, while he was still a student at the University of Applied Sciences & Arts in Dortmund. He was met with a reception for military helicopters held by Airbus – champagne and finger food next to killing machines.
“I was thinking, ‘Wow, it’s like the opposite of war – great weather, people are super polite, you get food and drink for free’,” he recalls. Teryoshin has since travelled to at least 17 fairs for Nothing Personal – The Back Office of War, a series of cold, flash-heavy images in which the weapons command more attention than people. The project is now being published by GOST Books. Teryoshin decided not to photograph anyone’s face.
“The way I show this business is through metaphor, because it’s a shadowy business,” he says. It is an outsider’s view, but also “a comment, an essay”, a provocation for viewers to research the industry. “Mixing capitalism and stock markets with the arms trade is one of the worst things that can happen,” he says ruefully.
“Mixing capitalism and stock markets with the arms trade is one of the worst things that can happen”
In 2020, the estimated value of the global arms trade was $112billion, but the conflicts in Ukraine and Israel-Gaza have bolstered sales; German manufacturer Rheinmetall’s share price more than doubled in the two months following the Russian invasion into Ukraine. The UK’s arms exports doubled during 2022 to a record £8.5billion, with Qatar the biggest buyer. Nothing Personal shows the full breadth of the equipment behind these numbers. Tanks, armoured suits, rifles and intelligence devices are shown in prototype or unused form, with an unnerving sterility which matches the attendees’ tailored suits.
Most of all, Teryoshin is attuned to the ways the industry justifies itself – a combination of wilful ignorance, profit-chasing and close ties to the security architecture of superpowers such as the US, China and India. By holding these narratives alongside the realities of today’s wars, dark ironies emerge. Slogans are a straightforward example: Kalashnikov Concern rebranded in 2014 under the slogan ‘Protecting Peace’; ITT Inc uses the line ‘Engineered for Life’. Nothing Personal is about conveying these ironies, exposing not just these closed fairs, but the implications of a world in which militarisation is incentivised. A huge battlefield-inspired cake at the UAE’s Navdex fair in 2019 is the most absurd example of these juxtapositions, while red carpets, copious wine and ornate bouquets feature across the series.
“For people working there, it doesn’t actually matter what they’re selling,” Teryoshin says. “You can sell vacuum cleaners, cars, killing machines, as long as you maintain the idea that what you’re doing is good because it’s for security, fighting against ‘bad guys’.” An earlier project, Hornless Heritage, saw him go behind the scenes in Germany’s dairy industry, where cows are genomically selected and artificially inseminated. Teryoshin sees similarities with the arms fairs in terms of ethical triangulation – millions of people eat meat despite knowing about the extractive and abusive nature of factory farming, and people continue to develop and sell weapons while civilians and soldiers are killed.
“These ironies are coming not just from my point of view, this world is isolated from the public,” Teryoshin says. “People are living in a parallel universe.” Even so, he picks out the fairs’ banality as perhaps their most sinister quality: “For a weapons trader, the best thing is to sell to both sides of the conflict.”
A New Exhibition Honors the Late Italian Photographer Tina Modotti
In 1923, after starring in a string of silent films, the 26-year-old Italian émigrée Tina Modotti shed her femme fatale persona and decamped for Mexico with her partner, the photographer Edward Weston. In the wake of the Mexican Revolution, Weston and Modotti landed in the midst of the country’s cultural renaissance, and while acting as both an apprentice and a muse for Weston, Modotti began working as a photographer in her own right.
She entranced the artists around her. Pablo Neruda, who eulogized her in a poem, wrote in his memoirs of his struggle to capture her essence, likening it to trying to capture fog in his hands. He could recount her face only in vagaries: “A pale oval framed by two black wings of hair, gathered at the back, and huge velvety eyes that go on watching the years.” Diego Rivera drew her in soft black chalk and asked her to photograph his murals. In the 1990s, Madonna signed on to portray Modotti after wrapping Evita, but the film never materialized.
