On the heels of a triumphant Thunder Ball last year, Fresh Arts is getting ready to come back with its annual costume gala on Saturday, February 17 at Silver Street Studios. Themed Wonder Ball, the evening promises to take Houstonians down a rabbit hole and into a wonderland of creativity and imagination. 

This year, the gala introduces a new event offering: the Wonder Ball Dinner Party, featuring dishes from Hungry’s to commemorate the restaurant’s 45th birthday. This themed and seated dinner will include live entertainment, an exclusive live auction and early building access to the gala’s silent art auction. 

The Dinner Party is available to underwriters, sponsors and Individual Dinner Party ticket holders. Seats are limited.

“The annual Fresh Arts Ball is an ever-evolving event with changing themes, but this year we’re excited for the opportunity to turn it up a notch with the Wonder Ball Dinner Party,” Fresh Arts’ executive director Angela Carranza says. “Since curiosity plays into our theme this year, it is really the perfect time for us to explore a new aspect of the gala that will only add to such an otherworldly, storybook experience.”

Fresh Arts is also partnering with Art is Bond gallery curator and director Janice Bond to fuel the art auction with affordable pieces that represent Houston’s incredible range if talent.  

Event chairs Eva Sagisaka and Morgan Holleman, Erika Mei Chua Holum, Rachelle Maldonado, Matt Manalo, and Merry and Palmer Schooley are excited to honor Ruby Rivera, the founder of Texas Salsa Congress, and Houston-based commissioner Theresa W. Chang of the Texas commission on the Arts. 

A defining feature of a Fresh Arts gala is its out-of-this-world costumes, which revolve around a different theme each year. For this year’s ball, expect costumes inspired by whimsical fairy tales and fantasies that evoke a sense of wonder. Alice in Wonderland is just the beginning.

With extravagant outfits, eccentric signature cocktails, an outlandish atmosphere and live entertainment, this gala should have partygoers saying, “We’re all mad here!” 

Wonder Ball is set to take place Saturday, February 17, from 8:30 pm to 11:30 pm at Silver Street Studios (2000 Edwards Street). The Wonder Ball Dinner Party takes place 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm and is exclusive to underwriters, sponsors and Dinner Party ticket holders. Learn more information and get tickets here.  

Scroll through the photo gallery above this story to see the most eclectic and eccentric costumes from past Fresh Arts galas.

A bird in flight photographed from inside a hollowed-out tree stump wins the £2,500 cash prize and title of Close-up Photographer of the Year 2024.

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Celebrating the teeny tiny details most people overlook, the Close-up Photographer of the Year (CUPOTY) competition, devoted to macro and micro photography, has selected this year’s winners from nearly 12,000 entries from 67 countries.

Established in 2018 by photojournalists Tracy and Dan Calder, the Close-up Photographer of the Year is an annual competition made in collaboration with Affinity Photo. 

Photographers competed in the following 11 categories: Animals, Insects, Butterflies & Dragonflies, Invertebrate Portrait, Underwater, Plants, Fungi & Slime Moulds, Intimate Landscape, Human Made, Micro (for images created using a microscope) and Young Close-up Photographer of the Year (for entrants aged 17 or under.)

Hungarian photographer Csaba Daróczi has been awarded the title of Close-up Photographer of the Year for his mesmerising shot of a Eurasian nuthatch bird in flight, taken from within the confines of a hollowed-out tree stump. 

Below are all the winning entries from this years competition:

‘The Bird Of The Forest’ by Csaba Daróczi

(Animals 1st Place & Overall Winner)

‘The Wedding Guest’ by Csaba Daróczi

(Butterflies & Dragonflies 1st Place)

‘Wood Ants Firing Acid Secretion’ by René Krekels

(Insects 1st Place)

‘Undertow’ by Csaba Daróczi

(Intimate Landscape 1st Place)

‘Beach Grass’ by Gerhard Vlcek

(Micro 1st Place)

‘Reflexion’ by Ria Bloemendaal

(Plants 1st Place)

‘Dreamtime’ by Simon Theuma

(Underwater 1st Place)

‘Asymmetrical Threads’ by Elizabeth Kazda

(Human Made 1st Place)

‘The Ice Crown’ by Barry Webb

(Fungi & Slime Moulds 1st Place)

As the year comes to a close and another begins, it’s a natural time to take stock. I like to look back on the past year and decided what lessons I’ve learned, and what I can do better next year. Perhaps it’s time to think about new habits – which immediately brings to mind the specter of resolutions. Do you make any? Want to share with us?

I used to love, and still love, Septembers. The new school year always felt like a chance for new beginnings. Adult life doesn’t really have those same fresh starts. Maybe that’s why so many of us make resolutions. A chance to put into practice lessons learned and to create new habits.

I chatted with a few photographer friends and colleagues in a variety of different industries to find out what they think about resolutions and to share what resolutions they’ve made for 2024. Of course, as Ajani Charles will talk about below, don’t put off changes that you need to make to be a healthier you. If you feel something slipping or spiraling, reach out to your support network and effect change as quickly as you can.

Wildlife and Expedition Photography: Tell People What You’re Passionate About

Jeff Garriock, a filmmaker and photographer, has worked on Children of Chernobyl (2020) and Galapagos: Secrets of the Ocean Giants (2021), and more recently, Incredible Animal Journeys, narrated by Jeremy Renner, that you can find on Nat Geo. One piece of advice that Garriock always gives new photographers is to tell everyone what you do for a living, not how you make money, not what your job is, but what your passion is and why you love it.

Garriock grounds this advice in the idea that opportunities don’t simply come from thin air. In order for people to know whether to offer you a new opportunity, they need to know what to ask you about. You never know whose sister, whose colleague, or whose third cousin you may be speaking to at any given time. By putting what you love out into a conversation, sometimes, somewhere down the road, someone might say “Oh, I know someone who actually needs an underwater video specialist.” Jeff finds that this approach is often the best way to expand your network, and to find new opportunities. For Garrick, that meant resolving to be specific. Don’t say, “I’m a photographer.” Instead, say “I’m a conservation storyteller” or “I’m a polar wildlife documentarian” or whatever it is that speaks to you that you want to spend more time doing. Garriock is confident that this resolution is how he’s managed to grow his network and increase his opportunities to work in his chosen field.

As a side note, Garriock also thinks that this is a helpful exercise for deciding how you want to present yourself and what you want to see more of in your own future in terms of the work you want to be doing.

Commercial Music Photography: Focus on Self

Ajani Charles, a Canon Canada Ambassador, is a music and commercial photographer who defines himself as a mental health advocate as much as he identifies as a photographer. Before going too far down this road, Charles doesn’t believe in New Years’ resolutions. Sure, Charles has business plans and strategies that he wants to implement each year, but as far as making critical behavioral changes that have an outsized impact on most or all aspects of his life, he does not put off making such decisions. If Charles feels that he needs to make a change, he makes the change immediately. Charles pointed out the truism that tomorrow isn’t guaranteed. So, what about resolutions that don’t necessarily revolve around New Year’s Eve?

I do not put off making critical behavioral changes.

As noted, Charles is a mental health advocate, working with many different organizations to help foster resilience in the photography industry and our wider communities. 

As most of us are aware, photographers place a lot of emphasis on gear, which for Charles means that we all place too little on understanding how our minds work. For example, we’re often more concerned with dynamic range of a new camera than we are with understanding and transcending our fears and insecurities. Charles would suggest that for those that don’t already, January would be a good time to implement introspective practices like different forms of meditation, other mindfulness practices, and journaling into their daily lives.

Charles is confident that his mindfulness practice leads to less anxiety than he would have otherwise, in business or when creating art.

Excellent photography equipment is essential, especially for professionals; I am grateful for all my professional Canon gear. I am fortunate to be a Canon Canada ambassador, but cultivating one’s mind and mental health is more important. 

Wildlife: Who Needs Comfort Zones?! 

Michelle Valberg, a Nikon ambassador, fellow of the Royal Canadian Geographic Society and the Explorer’s Club, has had her images used by the Royal Canadian Mint and Canada Post. As a professional, Valberg’s resolution is to constantly push herself. I’ve talked with Valberg several times about photography and, despite her success, she is always hungry to find new ways to see and represent our world. Valberg insists that pushing herself outside of her comfort zone fosters growth and helps her to embrace transitions over her evolving career. Valberg explained that stepping into the unknown and facing challenges is where we’ll all find opportunities for improvement and development. For one, Valberg is committed to a path of continuous artistic exploration.

Wedding Photography: Focus on the Fundamentals to Develop Your Craft

John and Veronica Park operate a very successful wedding photography studio in Toronto, Canada. The Parks have won 26 Wedding & Portrait Photographers International Awards (WPPI) and were named by Nikon Canada as one of their top 30 professionals. John Park noted that when he first embarked on his photography journey, his primary objective was to master the foundation skills of taking pictures. He wanted to leverage technology only as a supplementary tool, ensuring that each capture reflected his original vision rather than relying on post-production adjustments. For Park, this meant that he resolved to be mindful and deliberate in his compositions, particularly when utilizing prime lenses. Park acknowledges that although there are always instances, like fast-paced events such as weddings, where capturing a broader frame and later cropping becomes necessary, it should not be the go-to approach. In Park’s opinion, adopting a crop later practice, risks fostering complacency and compromising the integrity his craft.

Boudoir Photography: Be Bold Enough to Be In Front of the Camera

Trever Sherwin is a successful boudoir photographer in Toronto, Canada. Sherwin has resolved to be out in front of the camera more. Working to develop the trust between client and photographer that is critical to long-term success in his industry, Sherwin wants to make more long and short form content for various platforms and start showing the behind-the-scenes side of his shoots to prospective clients. Being in front of the camera is something that Sherwin (and most photographers) find challenging. To help with potential anxiety his clients may have about being vulnerable, Sherwin wants to take on his own shyness to easy his clients’.

Wildlife and Expedition Photography: See Beyond Your Camera

Aris Apostolopoulos is a photography guide I work with at G Adventures on Antarctic expeditions. Over the last few years, Apostolopoulus has won Nikon, Nat Geo and FIIFA recognition. As a self-taught photographer, Apostolopoulus first impression of his own photography was that his entry level camera was limiting his growth. He always felt that if he could just upgrade his camera that he would be a better photographer. After saving up to buy a new camera, Apostolopoulus realized that his photographs were no better, that from his perspective, they were failures in all the same ways.

At this point, Apostolopoulus resolved to study the best historical and contemporary photographers to understand where to improve his craft and to stimulate his creativity. Standing on the shoulders of giants is always a valuable exercise. 

Travel Photography: Take A Long Term Approach To Success

Esteban Toro is a world-renowned travel photographer, acting as a Sony and BenQ ambassador. Toro resolved to take a long-term approach to his success. Toro decided that he should look at the growth of his skills and success from the perspective of decades. For Toro, it’s not about the new photographs or successes year over year, but about the body of work he’s produced throughout his life. Toro believes that this approach has helped him to manage the anxiety of having to be ‘extremely’ successful each and every year. Instead, actively recognizing that each year can’t be a new personal best and that successes should be savored over multiple years so as to give himself the chance to develop new projects without the pressure of immediate success.    

Wildlife Photography: Save Your Subject

Ricardo Peralta Ayala is a successful wildlife photographer. We recently crossed paths in Churchill, Manitoba, Canada while photographing polar bears. Ayala told me that his resolution is to visit places where he can embrace wildlife that is under pressure, perhaps that is facing extinction. Ayala believes that the only way to really generate empathy for these animals at risk, is to share the real situation, through his contribution of photography.

What about you? Do you believe in annual resolutions? Anything you want to share?

All images provided by the credited photographers.

Windsor, Ont., born photographer Brandon Broderick drives tens of thousands of kilometres each year, crisscrossing the backwoods of British Columbia capturing photos of beautiful, but elusive, wild animals.  

All of that hard work paid off this week when Broderick was named the Canadian Geographic Photographer of the Year for 2023. 

“My knees buckled. I almost fell to the floor. It was quite an email to receive,” Broderick said. “When I got that email that said I won the whole thing, that was that was surreal. It still doesn’t feel real. It’s a really weird situation to be in. I’m not used to this.”

Broderick has spent the last 14 years living and working in B.C. and is currently based in Tumbler Ridge, B.C., though he often spends time travelling in search of the perfect shot.

In last year’s Canadian Geographic photography competition, he was a runner-up in the landscapes category. 

He says he knew he was a finalist this year about a week before he got the news he’d won — but given the photos they had picked were wildlife shots, he thought he had won in the “wildlife in action” category. 

“Every year, our team is blown away by the talent and passion of our photography community,” said Alexandra Pope, editor-in-chief of Canadian Geographic. “Although they all portray different locations and subjects, these images have one thing in common: they made us stop and say ‘Wow.'”

Broderick says he started taking photos in 2007, and he and a few friends began using them as computer backgrounds as he honed in on wildlife photography. 

“It’s a great way to spend time and, you know, do as a living now,” he said. 

Wildlife photography can take plenty of patience, he says: depending on the kind of photo he’s hoping to capture, he can sit in the same spot all day. For others, he’ll drive — at least 40,000 kilometres a year — looking for animals. 

“That allows me to cover lots of ground because these animals can move quick, their job is to just feed. If I’m just sitting somewhere and hoping for the best, I need to know that my time is spent well in that spot,” he said. 

“So I like to just keep moving and and cover ground, especially now that there’s finally snow on the ground. I can track animals better … that’s how I do it.”

Broderick says he practises ethical wildlife photography, which means making sure his presence and behaviour doesn’t impact animals. When it does, he says it’s time to leave. 

Of the photos that won him the award, Broderick looks back on the photo of the lynx — one of the times, he says, when he knew “there’s something really good coming.” He said he had about five or 10 minutes with the animal, which seems quick — but for a lynx is a lot of time. 

“I pulled over and sat in my truck for a bit, just kind of watching what it did, it had moved into the forest and kind of started paralleling the highway,” he said. “It was really thick, thick forest, but eventually it came to this little … snowy, mossy covered piece of dirt and just sat there and stared at me for a bit.

“Every once in a while, one you know, in the moment, you know you’re getting something good.”

He says he’d love to photograph wolverines and polar bears — in fact, he says last weekend he missed wolverines by about six hours. 

“I know I have a zero per cent chance of seeing anything if I’m sitting at home, so I just try to put the time in,” he said. “A lot of people ask me how to find stuff and you just have to go out and spend time out there.”

Broderick’s Photographer of the Year feature will be in the March/April issue of Canadian Geographic, available later this week.

Cristina Mittermeier

Topic: “Putting a Human Face on Climate Change: A Photographic Journey”

Speaker: Marine biologist and photographer Cristina Mittermeier

“Mitty” was born in Mexico City in 1966 and grew up in nearby Cuernavaca. She graduated from the ITESM University in Mexico with a degree in Biochemical Engineering in Marine Sciences and attended the Fine Art Photography program at the Corcoran College for the Arts in Washington, D.C.

In 2005, Mittermeier founded the International League of Conservation Photographers to provide a platform for photographers working on environmental issues and coined the phrase “conservation photography.”

In 2014, she co-founded SeaLegacy, a non-profit organization dedicated to protecting and re-wilding the ocean to benefit biodiversity, humanity, and the earth’s climate.

Robert Capa and Henri Cartier-Bresson get a surfeit of coverage as the founders of Magnum Photos. They’re also two of the earliest. Ernst Scheidegger isn’t heard or talked about anywhere as much — yet he’s one of the first the agency brought on. But starting on February 18th, photographers can see his work at the MASI Lugano in Switzerland until July 21st. The event explores the many photographs that he’s done in his early work and those he’s taken of several artists. Most importantly, they dive into a very fascinating time in history that most Americans perhaps never gave much thought to.

All images by Ernst Scheidegger. Provided with permission on behalf of MASI Lugano. Be sure to check out the exhibit and read more about it here.

Here’s a quote on what people should expect at the exhibit:

The exhibition traces Scheidegger’s photographic oeuvre, exploring two groups of works: a selection of early shots from 1945-1955, most of which have not been exhibited before, and his famous artist portraits, done on commission from the mid-1950s. In this second section of the exhibition, the photographic portraits are presented alongside a selection of works by the artists themselves.

The exhibition is accompanied by the publication “Ernst Scheidegger. Fotograf” with texts by Tobia Bezzola, Philippe Büttner, Helen Grob and Alessa Widmer. The German and English edition is published by Scheidegger & Spiess, the Italian edition by Edizioni Casagrande Bellinzona.

Analyzing the Early Work of Ernst Scheidegger

The exhibit dedicates a portion of the space of Ernst’s early imagery. These photographs focus on the people of Switzerland, Italy, the Netherlands, Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia. During this time, Europe was still reeling from war and eager to get back to some sense of normalcy. That’s something that should be kept in mind throughout the viewing as some of these images are from before his days at Magnum, if we’re reading his biography correctly. In fact, if you didn’t necessarily know any better, you probably would’ve thought that these were just normal images of normal people shot on a Rolleiflex. From that perspective, they do a terrific job. But we don’t see any real evidence of cultures torn apart by war in the images.

As an American, I’d personally wonder about the people who society forgot about. There are people who were disabled, suffering economic hardships, and more. However, that answer possibly won’t be provided at the exhibit despite his interest in various social issues. Instead, we can see this as a study in mental health. People often complain about the monotony of their days, but they don’t truly know what they have until it’s gone.

This is a lesson that echoes into today. We’ve recently seen this with the war in Ukraine, Gaza, and even as recent as the COVID era in Trump’s America.

His Work With Artists

Beyond the documentary of every day life, there is also another part of the exhibit dedicated to artists that he’s photographed. This is something that many portrait photographers should find truly fascinating. Ernst Scheidegger makes some of the earliest photographs that would eventually be known as environmental portraits. It includes telling images of people in their spaces channeling what defines them. These photographs are a stark contrast to the images of every day life that we see in the rest of the exhibit.

If you’re curious about a completely different type of Magnum photographer, we recommend that you check out Ernst Scheidegger and give a visit to the exhibit at MASI Lugano.

I recently finished reading Michael Kimmelman’s The Intimate City, a freewheeling tome in which the longtime architecture critic meets with urban planners, developers, historians and designers for walks around New York City neighborhoods. It was a pandemic project, and the interviews naturally reflect that, but Kimmelman and guests offer decades of context, timely critique and hopeful prognostications for each area they amble through, from Jackson Heights to Rockefeller Center.

I picked up some different architectural terms in the course of reading (and learned some fascinating bits of city history, too), but ultimately my relationship with the book was more spiritual than technical. The Intimate City reminded me to look up, to savor, to consider what’s there and what isn’t. Buoyed by the read, I recharged the memory pack in my Canon Rebel TS7 and set out for some city strolls of my own.

What Is a Photo Safari?

Simply put, a photo safari is a long walk with a camera. I’ve taken them for years, off and on, sometimes forgetting I ever did them at all, until something like The Intimate City drops into my life and I start them back up again. Sometimes I’ll remember I should take one thanks to a seasonal peg, like when the leaves get golden-red in Greenpoint’s Msgr. McGolrick Park. Last year I took one in my home neighborhood, Williamsburg, to shoot the area’s ever-growing collection of hand-painted murals.

There’s actually no such thing as a proper “photo safari.” At its core, it’s just an animated walkabout, predicated more on the intention of getting outside than going anywhere in particular. The inclusion of the camera is meant to anchor the activity, imbuing it with a sense of adventure and focus. You’re on the hunt for vignettes that mean something to you. There are no wrong answers.

Don’t Worry About the Quality

Now, that doesn’t mean you’re going to take good photos — although, in the process, you will probably get better at taking them. But it doesn’t really matter either way. As Vox recently covered in an interview with Thomas Curran, author of The Perfection Trap, it’s okay to suck at hobbies. Mediocrity shouldn’t dictate the intensity or lifespan of your connection to photography, especially when the stakes are this low. (Consider: everyone with a phone in their pocket these days is a photographer.)

This is more about finding another way to get outside for a walk, which we know is one of the the best natural mood-boosters available to us. And it’s also about embracing an offbeat way to engage with the world around you.

As Trent Dalton’s protagonist Eli Bell masters in Boy Swallows Universe, life’s lived in details. Aspirational photography has a tendency to turn on one’s detail-hunting sensors; all of a sudden you’re studying the tops of townhouses, sitting in parks you’ve never stopped by before, spotting license plates from out of town, seeing dogs everywhere, stumbling into new coffee shops or old boxing gyms.

Instead of fretting over your imperfect “fitness” this year, try embracing existence’s endless backdoors to improved “wellness.” Wellness is as simple as the eagerness of your worldly interactions. It’s checking yourself back into the game. Bring your kid along if you like, leave your phone at home (I rate this one as an excellent starter camera, by the way) and go see what’s out there.