Photography

In Focus: The best photographs of 2023

Dec 30, 2023 By Admin in Photography

xxxx23-stnd-nws-skating-005.jpg LEAD PHOTO — **HELMET TRY-ON**

Butte Irish forward Patrick Crooks places a helmet on Boone Dallesarra, 5, during a Creativity Factory Preschool field trip to the Butte Community Ice Center to watch an intersquad scrimmage.

JOSEPH SCHELLER, The Montana Standard

Butte Central vs Ronan — **TEAMING UP**

Butte Central’s Michael Peck (left) leads a huddle with the Maroons during the football game against Ronan High School on Aug. 25 at Alumni Coliseum at Montana Tech in Butte.

JOSEPH SCHELLER, The Montana Standard

110223-stnd-nws-treatstreet-008 — **FRAMING HALLOWEEN**

Deagyn Pratt, 12, is seen from the inside a carved pumpkin while trick-or-treating dressed up as the artist Marshmello during the Treat Street event at the World Museum of Mining on Halloween in Butte.

JOSEPH SCHELLER, The Montana Standard

Flags in place for Field of Honor — Chris Rosa places American flags for A Field of Honor ceremony next to the Belmont headframe. The ceremony is organized by the Exchange Club. Rosa has been a member of the club since 2014.

Lukas Prinos

State A football: Columbia Falls at Dillon — From left to right, Dillon’s Carter Curnow (5), Landen Peterson (50), Kee Christiansen (10), Layne Phillips (11) and Ryleigh Plovanic (73) celebrate the Beavers’ 36-35 victory over Columbia Falls during the Class A state championship football game on Saturday, Nov. 18 at Vigilante Stadium in Dillon.

JOSEPH SCHELLER, The Montana Standard

**WINTER’S FIRST FALL**

Snowfall illuminated with a camera flash falls on the Mountain Con during the first snowfall of the season in Butte.

JOSEPH SCHELLER, The Montana Standard

Butte vs. Glacier football — **CHARGING THE FIELD**

Taylor Drakos (right) leads the Butte Student section in their charge of the field after the Bulldogs’ 28-27 win over Glacier High on Sept. 8 at Naranche Stadium in Butte.

JOSEPH SCHELLER The Montana Standard

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Reminisce on World-Herald photographer Rudy Smith

Dec 30, 2023 By Admin in Photography

Rudy Smith, who was the first full-time Black employee in The World-Herald’s newsroom, began his career in 1963 — the same year Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech.

cm-Sheritha — Sheritha Jones Omaha World-Herald Chief Librarian

CHRIS MACHIAN, THE WORLD-HERALD

During his 45 years as a photographer, he captured politicians, football stars, musicians and community leaders.

Being the first — and the only — Black employee was hard. It was three or four years, he said, before another Black person was hired in the newsroom.

Smith, started as a copy messenger at the age of 18. He taught himself photography while a darkroom technician at the paper. He put himself through college by working at the paper, and became the first Black graduate of the College of Communications at the University of Nebraska at Omaha.

Smith always loved taking pictures, but working for The World-Herald was more than that for him. Since he had been on the front lines of civil rights battles in Omaha, Smith knew that his camera could also be a tool for racial justice.

Smith was known for many contributions, chief among them his approach to documenting life in Nebraska, in Omaha and in the city’s African American community.

He said his intention was to capture life, Black life, as it is. He saw himself more as a realist than an artist.

When asked, in 2008, how he felt about being the first Black employee in the newsroom of Nebraska’s largest paper, he said being first wasn’t important to him.

“What’s important to me is that I’m not the last.”

For Smith, his career was about breaking barriers here, in Nebraska, and he did what he set out to do.

123123-owh-liv-reminisce-p2 — **1984:** Gladys Knight and the Pips perform at the Civic Auditorium.

RUDY SMITH, THE WORLD-HERALD

010123-owh-liv-reminisce-p3 — **1968:** During a daylong presidential campaign tour of Nebraska, Sen. Robert F. Kennedy abandoned his traditional speech and invited questions from this audience near 24th and Erskine Streets in North Omaha. Kennedy was in Nebraska campaigning for the May 1968 Nebraska Democratic presidential primary. Two weeks later Kennedy was mortally wounded at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles.

RUDY SMITH, THE WORLD-HERALD

123123-owh-liv-reminisce-p5 — **1994:** The musical “Dream Girls” was performed at the Center Stage. Cast members pictured wearing white, left to right, are Dee Dee Ellis, Julie Valentine, and Shirley Terrel-Jordan. In front is Rudy’s daughter, Q Smith.

RUDY SMITH, THE WORLD-HERALD

123123-owh-liv-reminisce-p6 — **1979:** NAACP organizers called for a boycott of Lewis and Clark Junior High after a teacher there used a racial slur.

RUDY SMITH, THE WORLD-HERALD

123123-owh-liv-reminisce-p7 — **1993:** In Trev Alberts’ senior season he totaled 96 tackles, 21 for loss, 15 sacks and 38 quarterback hurries, earning him first-team All-American honors and the school’s first Butkus Award.

RUDY SMITH/THE WORLD-HERALD

123123-owh-liv-reminisce-p1 — **1970s**: World-Herald photojournalist Rudy Smith’s work was printed in publications like Time and Ebony.

THE WORLD-HERALD

123123-owh-liv-reminisce-p4 — **1976:** Jessica Wells, left, and Veronica Howard, share some table talk at Kellom School.

RUDY SMITH, THE WORLD-HERALD

Rudy Smith’s World-Herald photos through the years

Steel is in place for the Bergan-Mercy Office Building on Dec. 3, 1960.

RUDY SMITH, THE WORLD-HERALD

A civil rights march in Omaha in 1965.

RUDY SMITH, THE WORLD-HERALD

Firefighters work on Louis’ Barber Shop after it was hit with a firebomb in 1968.

RUDY SMITH, THE WORLD-HERALD

Firefighters douse the flames of a church ablaze at 23rd and Clark Streets on the first night of riots on the north side of Omaha on June 24, 1969.

RUDY SMITH, THE WORLD-HERALD

**1970 PHOTO:** Apollo 13 astronaut John Swigert Jr. stuck a model moon probe into a patch of Nebraska prairie and dedicated the land near 120th and Fort Streets as Tranquility Park. Swigert broke the ground for the park after stepping into space shoes and making an imprint in a slab of wet concrete.

RUDY SMITH, THE WORLD-HERALD

In a College World Series game on June 17, 1971, Tulsa center fielder Steve Bowling, right, managed to hang onto the ball, although he and left fielder Rich Stonebraker fell after the collision.

RUDY SMITH, THE WORLD-HERALD

Dizzy Gillespie, a jazz trumpet player noted for the way his cheeks billowed out when he played, entertained at the University of Nebraska at Omaha with an afternoon workshop and an evening concert in 1972.

RUDY SMITH, THE WORLD-HERALD

Omaha Civic Auditorium workers refinished the basketball floor in preparation for the Kansas City-Omaha Kings game in 1973. The workers are, from left, Warren Blimbing, Mike Shevchenko and Clint Walenz.

RUDY SMITH, THE WORLD-HERALD

**1975 PHOTO:** Benson High’s Mashona Marsh, left, set a state record of 13.8 seconds in the 120-meter high hurdles.

RUDY SMITH, THE WORLD-HERALD

The thrill of victory, right, and the agony of defeat, left. Coach Bill Holliday consoles Holdrege’s Brian Kohlscheen, background, while Aurora cheerleader Suzy Sinner celebrates with brother Scott after 1976 high school Class B state championship basketball game. March 13, 1976.

RUDY SMITH, THE WORLD-HERALD

Tom Osborne looks over the team doing warm-up exercises on March 31, 1977.

RUDY SMITH, THE WORLD-HERALD

1978 — Two of the coolest cowgirls in the west are Deana Biocourt, 2, and her sister Michelle, 3. They’re riding the trail in front of their house at 6611 S. 48th St. Looks like they’re in for some company. Out ahead of them is a happy looking snow hombre. On down the trail a piece is a good ol’ snow bear.

RUDY SMITH, THE WORLD-HERALD

The entrance to the Henry Doorly Zoo on July 8, 1979.

RUDY SMITH, THE WORLD-HERALD

Nebraska basketball players, from left, Jack Moore, Andre Smith and Mike Naderer in 1980.

RUDY SMITH, THE WORLD-HERALD

1981 — Jeffrey Money, 9, supports his dad on a march through South Omaha. His father, Robert Money, was an employee at Falstaff Brewery who lost his job.

RUDY SMITH, THE WORLD-HERALD

Mark Mercer, left, and Sam Mercer in the Old Market in March 1982.

RUDY SMITH, THE WORLD-HERALD

From left, Actors Ann Miller, Mickey Rooney and Kym Kaminsky in a 1985 production of “Sugar Babies” at Omaha’s Orpheum Theater.

RUDY SMITH, THE WORLD-HERALD

Foggy conditions to the south at 14th and Chicago Streets in February 1986.

RUDY SMITH, THE WORLD-HERALD

1988 — Lincoln Southeast’s Matt Nitchie pursues Central I-back Calvin Jones, who scored on the 83-yard run.

RUDY SMITH, THE WORLD-HERALD

In 1989, Marguerita Washington, publisher of the Omaha Star, accepted the Distinguished Citizen Award on behalf of Mildred Brown from the Rev. Michael Proterra as then-Creighton President Michael Morrison looked on.

RUDY SMITH, THE WORLD-HERALD

In this 1992 photo, William Kizer, left, chief executive of Central States Indemnity Co., joins Berkshire Hathaway Chairman Warren Buffett and Kizer’s son, Central States executive John Kizer, in announcing Berkshire Hathaway’s purchase of Central States.

RUDY SMITH, THE WORLD-HERALD

Kids run to King Elementary School at 36th and Maple Streets to avoid the wind on Nov. 21, 1994. From left to right are Darnell Jackson, Tryneil Lewis, Jasmine Walsh and Shanika Jackson.

RUDY SMITH, THE WORLD-HERALD

Snow covered a street and crushed trees near Miller Park in Omaha on Oct. 26, 1997.

RUDY SMITH, THE WORLD-HERALD

2000 — Elderly men gather under a shade tree at 24th and Parker Streets for a game of dominoes and friendly chatter on a hot July afternoon. From left to right are John Jerks, James Holley and Jimmy Lockett.

RUDY SMITH, THE WORLD-HERALD

Dark and threatening storm clouds moved into the Blair, Nebraska area on April 9, 2001.

RUDY SMITH, THE WORLD-HERALD

A dozen inner-city kids learned about trees and various farm careers, how to harvest corn, run a combine and about soil conservation on the Ed Andersen farm west of Waterloo on Oct 18, 2003. Maya Brown picks corn to take home.

RUDY SMITH, THE WORLD-HERALD

A view of downtown Omaha looking northwest from 13th and Farnam Streets in May 2004.

RUDY SMITH, THE WORLD-HERALD

A ribbon-cutting ceremony at the Charles B. Washington Library on April 1, 2006, included Councilman Frank Brown, left, actor and rapper Ice-T, center, and Pastor Robert J. Hall.

RUDY SMITH, THE WORLD-HERALD

Volunteers working the last days of the Barack Obama campaign in 2008.

RUDY SMITH, THE WORLD-HERALD

Rudy Smith 2008 — After 45 years at the Omaha World-Herald, photographer Rudy Smith retired in 2008.

THE WORLD-HERALD

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Prime Hook photo contest names people’s choice honorees

Dec 30, 2023 By Admin in Photography

With a capture of two young pileated woodpeckers peering out of their nest, Robert Brown of Milton has won the people’s choice competition in the annual Prime Hook Delmarva Nature Photography Contest.

Brown snapped his award-winning picture while walking with his wife near Abbott’s Mill.

“All of a sudden, we just noticed them about 15 or 20 feet off the trail,” he said. “We stopped on a dime because we didn’t want to scare them.”

His shot of the juvenile woodpeckers is titled “The Lookouts.” Each bird is looking in a different direction from the nesting hole in the tree, creating a nice symmetry to the image.

Brown attributed his award winner to being in the right place at the right time. “I was just happy to get what I got,” he said. “We were shocked and surprised. We couldn’t help but snap a couple of pix and off we went.”

They could hear the adult birds in the woods nearby, but they did not return to the nest immediately.

Brown began to be serious about birding and bird photography after moving from New Jersey six years ago. He has enjoyed photography for many years but focused more on travel and family shots. Nature photography and birding became perfect hobbies during COVID, he said.

Second place in the people’s choice competition went to Bea Hickey of Milton for her photo of an owl. Her “Sleepy Owl” peering out of a tree received only one less vote than Brown’s winner.

Third place went to Buddy Scott for his “Angola Canoes.”

The People’s Choice Award is chosen by visitors to the photography show. Each visitor is encouraged to vote for their favorite photo, and the results are counted and announced after the exhibit closes. A total of 161 ballots were cast, and the competition was a very close one, with many of the photos receiving votes. The show opened Oct. 15 and closed Dec. 9.

The annual contest attracted almost 40 photographers who submitted 207 photographs in six different categories. A panel of judges had already decided on the other awards for the contest.

For full results, go to friendsofprimehook.com.

Everyone is encouraged always to practice responsible and respectful wildlife viewing and photography.

Td garden outside hi-res stock photography and images – Alamy

Dec 30, 2023 By Admin in Photography

Photos of the year: Eagle-Tribune photographers choose their favorites

Dec 30, 2023 By Admin in Photography

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Every day, all year long, Eagle-Tribune photographers take dozens of photos of people and places in the Merrimack Valley and southern New Hampshire. Each photo assignment brings its own challenges and opportunities. Today, staff photographers Tim Jean and Carl Russo present their favorite photos of 2023.

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Pet portraits to raise funds for veterinarian who lost home to a house fire

Dec 30, 2023 By Admin in Photography

ROCHESTER, Minn. (KTTC) – Earlier this month, Dr. Gary Quimby, a Pine Island veterinarian, lost his home to a house fire. Nicole Mills Photography is hosting pet photo sessions to raise money for Quimby on Saturday, December 30.

The sessions are a minimum of $25 or more for donations. All sessions are sold out.

The photography studio is expected to see dogs, a goat and even a bunny.

Nicole Mills Photography has 23 sessions booked for the fundraiser.

All money raised will be donated to Quimby.

Film photography news of 2023

Dec 30, 2023 By Admin in Photography

Harman Photo’s Phoenix film was the surprise film announcement of the year (Pic: Harman Photo)

Two decades after film hit its commercial high-water mark, you could be forgiven for thinking there’s not much new to report on in the analogue photography world.

Well, this past year begs to differ.

2023 saw a surprising amount of new activity in film photography, including the arrival of a completely new colour film by a major producer (who had never made colour film before) and gathering steam behind not one but two 35mm compact camera projects (one of which is by a major camera producer). Along with this was a hive of activity from a growing number of small cottage industries.

Here’s Kosmo Foto’s end-of-year recap of some of the biggest news stories of the year.

FEBRUARY

AgfaPhoto launches half-frame reusable

Agfa film is long gone, but the AgfaPhoto name lives on, and can still be seen on some licensed analogue photography products. The latest of these was a half-frame reusable simple camera – very similar to the Kodak-branded H35.

Hedeco Lime Two meter released

German brand Hedeco released their first Lime hot shoe meter during the pandemic, and wasted no time in coming up with an improved model; similar in size and shape but with much-improved operation.

MARCH

Kodak Alaris price increases – again

Kodak Alaris has had to raise prices several times in the last few years, and in March those prices went up again – by around 17% across the board, though popular consumer films such as Gold 200 and ColorPlus 200 saw smaller rises. (Note: The prices rises were initially announced in late 2022.)

Reveni Lab Dunkbot (Pic: Reveni Lab) — Reveni Lab unveiled its own automated photo processor, called the Dunkbot (Pic: Reveni Lab)

Reveni Labs announces Dunkbot home processor

Among the small businesses which have popped up in the last decade, Reveni Labs is one of the busiest. Founder Matt Bechberger unveiled his latest product – an automated film processor for those wanting to process their films at home.

MiNT Camera 35mm compact is unveiled

Hong Kong’s MiNT Camera, which announced plans for a new 35mm film compact camera in 2022, unveiled the first teaser images of the proposed camera – which looked a lot like a cult compact of yesteryear.

Valoi announces Easy35 film scanning attachment

Finnish film brand Valoi launched an Indiegogo campaign for their Easy35 home-scanning attachment, which clips onto the end of a macro lens to allow quick scanning of film using a digital SLR. The campaign raised more than 150% of its target goal.

Pentax making ‘manual wind’ 35mm compact

Ricoh announced their project to potentially bring back film camera production under the Pentax brand would start with a manual wind 35mm film compact camera; Ricoh’s CEO said it would bring modern photographers a “joy of photography totally different from what they experience in the digital format”.

APRIL

FILM Ferrania releases Orto film

FILM Ferrania, the film-maker bringing back some of the emulsions once made by Italy’s Ferrania, announced Orto: an orthochromatic 35mm black-and-white film. The 50-ISO film was the company’s first release since its P30, which was launched in 2017.

MAY

Foma 400 120 Ortho sees the light

Not to be outdone on the orthochromatic front, Czech film producer Foma Bohemia also announced an ortho film – this time 400-ISO, and in 120. The film, with its increased sensitivity to green tones, can be pushed up to ISO 1600.

Analogue Wonderlands WonderPan film (Pic: Analogue Wonderland) — Analogue Wonderland’s first film, WonderPan, was released in a limited batch (Pic: Analogue Wonderland)

Analogue Wonderland’s limited-edition WonderPan 400

UK film retailer Analogue Wonderland got into the boutique film branding game with WonderPan 400, a film rated at ISO 400 and produced in a batch of just 1,000 rolls to mark the retailer’s fifth birthday.

Zone Imaging releases EcoFix developing fixer

UK photochemical producer Zone Imaging has championed Jay De Fehr’s 510 Pyro and produced its own version – this year it followed it up with EcoFix, an eco-friendly rapid fixer for both film and photographic paper.

JUNE

Chroma Cameras releases Six:17 panoramic

UK camera maker Chroma Camera unveiled its latest 120-format design – a 6×17 panoramic camera called the Six:17. The 3D-printed camera has magnetic lens cones and an integrated darkslide which means lenses can be changed mid-roll.

CatLABS releases X 120 colour film

US photography brand CatLABS unveiled something a little different – 120 film derived from Kodak Aerocolor aviation film. Like the 35mm films cut from this aviation film, the film can be developed in E6 chemicals as well as C-41.

Ondu Eikan in range camera mode (Pic: Ondu) — Ondu’s Eikan was three different large format cameras in one body (Pic: Ondu)

Ondu launches Eikan module large format camera

Ondu, a pinhole-camera maker based in Slovenia, launched a Kickstarter for its most ambitious product yet: a modular large-format camera called the Eikan. The Eikan can be configured as a 4×5 standard camera, a 4×5 range camera with extended bellows and a 4×10 panoramic camera. The Kickstarter was a huge success, raised more than twice the target amount.

JULY

New Widelux camera project announced

Surprise of the year? Well, one of them. SilvergrainClassics, the German analogue photography magazine, announced it was entering into a project with well-known panoramic photography fan Jeff Bridges. The project intends to bring the famous German-made Widelux 35mm panoramic camera back into production.

Lomography Color '92 (Pic: Lomography) — Lomography’s latest colour film – Color ’92 (Pic: Lomography)

Lomography releases Color ’92 film

Lomography had been quiet in new colour film announcements since the unveiling of Metropolis in 2019. It lifted the lid this year on a new colour emulsion marking the company’s founding in 1992. The 400-ISO film – featuring a desaturated palette – was released in 35mm, 120 and 110 format.

Eastman Kodak produced Double-XX film for ‘Oppenheimer’

The cinematographer of Christopher Nolan’s epic film ‘Oppenheimer’, revealed in an interview with the Eastman Kodak blog that the film producer had made its Double-X black-and-white film in a new 65mm format for Nolan’s film. The black-and-white film was used in scenes later in the timeline to make the storylines more distinctive.

AUGUST

TTArtisan launches 100m M42 lens

Chinese lens maker TTArtisan announced a new portrait lens for 35mm photography’s most enduring lens mount – M42. The aluminium lens has 13 aperture blades and produces soap-bubble bokeh similar to the classic Trioplan lens.

Kodak Eastman’s film production promise

Eastman Kodak remains the world’s leading producer of colour film. In August, the company’s CEO Jim Continenza said it had renewed its agreement with Kodak Alaris until 2028 and remained committed to producing film as long as there was demand.

Kodak Ektar H35N (Pic: Reto Project) — Reto Project’s Ektar H35N features half-frame format and a half-glass lens (Pic: Reto Project)

Kodak-branded Ektar H35N half-frame camera released

Reto Project announced an updated version of the Ektar H35 simple camera – the H35N, a half-frame model featuring a partial glass lens for extra sharpness. The camera also came with an in-built star filter for special effects.

SEPTEMBER

Polaroid launches I-2 instant camera

Polaroid made a surprise announcement in September – the release of the highest-specified instant camera in decades – the I-2. The I-film-format camera cost £599 but Polaroid touted a number of improved features, including a sharper lens, manual controls and Lidar-based autofocus.

Pierro Pozella becomes latest repair expert on ‘The Repair Shop’

Pierro pozella is a talented young camera repairer behind the UK-based PPP Cameras and its spin-off film processing outfit PPP Lab. He can add another string to his bow – as the resident camera repair expert on the BBC’s primetime show ‘The Repair Shop’.

OCTOBER

Pentax compact camera in 2024?

There were two updates to the proposed Pentax compact camera in October: first, a French Ricoh representative said there would be not one but two compacts, possibly released as early as 2024. Ricoh’s Japanese HQ then poured water on this, saying that it’s still too early to confirm any compact camera will be released.

Leica Sofort 2 hybrid instant camera

Instant photography might not be the first thing you think of when you hear the name Leica, but the company’s Sofort camera was the German camera maker’s first Instax Mini-shooting camera. In October, they announced a follow-up – the hybrid Sofort 2, which print on to paper instead of Instax Mini film.

Aura 35 scanner and monitor (Pic: Aura 35) — The Aura 35 can scan film at up to 4000DPI (Pic: Aura 35)

Aura 35 lab scanning outfit announced

Processing labs have been forced to use legacy tech for scanning but perhaps no longer: a new French minilab scanner called Aura 35 claims to be tens of times faster than current minilab scanners but still capable of scanning at 4000DPI.

CineStill row over 800T trademark

US film brand CineStill denied it was suing sellers of Reflx-branded colour films in a row over CineStill’s trademark of designation “800T”, which it uses for ones of its most popular tungsten-balanced films. CineStill won the right to trademark the designation (on appeal) and sought to protect the trademark amid Reflx’s marketing of its own 800T film. The row sparked weeks of online debate.

Lomography announces reduction in price of 120 films

Amid consistent film price rises over the past few years, Lomography bucked the trend by announcing a reduction in the price of its three-roll packs of 120 film, including the popular colour negative films.

Nana camera design (Pic: FilmNeverDie) — FilmNeverDie’s Nana has a body inspired by the Contax T2 (Pic: FilmNeverDie)

FilmNeverDie announces Nana camera

Many brands released their own version of the ubiquitous Chinese-made simple camera this year, including the likes of Moment. But Australian brand FilmNeverDie announced one with a difference – the Nana will include motorised film advance, lever-style focusing and a bod inspired by the iconic Contax T2.

Introducing the AGO film processor

No minilab near your home? You could soon buy your own minilab-style film processor, thanks to the Estonian start-up Vintage Visual, which launched the AGO via Indiegogo. The processor automatically agitates the film and also updates the processing time as the temperature of the developing solution changes. The successful Indiegogo campaign raised more than twice the target amount.

NOVEMBER

MiNT Camera design and Rollei 35 S (Pic: MiNT Camera) — The MiNT Camera prototype (eft) strongly resembles the Rollei 35 (Pic: MiNT Camera)

MiNT Camera unveils compact camera design

MiNT Camera updated followers on the progress of their 35mm camera project several times in 2023, but November’s post included possibly the most keenly awaited: it finally unveiled the camera’s outer body, which looks heavily influenced by the classic Rollei 35 camera produced from the end of the 1960s.

Kodak Alaris reduces prices on 120 film

In a welcome reversal of Kodak Alaris’s recent trend, most of the Kodak’s branded range of 120 films fell in price saw a drastic price fall in November; though trailed ahead of the traditional shopping period, it seems this wasn’t just a seasonal price drop either.

The return of Kodak-branded development chemicals

The collapse of SinoPromise’s chemical division earlier in 2023, which had bought Kodak’s photo chemicals during the pandemic, threatened the end of Kodak’s photochemicals and photo paper. Thankfully, US chemicals producer Photo Systems Inc stepped in, securing a worldwide licensing agreement and ensuring Kodak’s photo chemical recipes will survive.

DECEMBER

Harman Phoenix film (Pic: Harman Photo) — (Pic: Harman Photo)

Harman launches its first colour film – Phoenix

In the last gasp of 2023, Harman Technology – the makers of Ilford and Kentmere black-and-white films – unveiled the biggest film news of the year: their first colour film. Launched under a new film brand, Harman Photo, Phoenix is a 200-ISO film with a contrasty look more like cross-processed slide film than traditional colour negative. Very much an experimental first edition, Harman Photo promised improved versions of the film would follow through 2024 and beyond.

I’m Kosmo Foto’s founder and editor.

I’m a New Zealander who has been living in London since the mid-1990s, shooting film seriously since the year 2000. Kosmo Foto was launched in 2012 and has since become a film brand, with the release of my first films Kosmo Foto Mono 35mm (2017) and Kosmo Foto Mono 120 (2019).

I’m doing everything I can to promote film photography in the 21st Century, and help it survive and thrive. If you want to write something for Kosmo Foto, please drop me a line at foto.dowling@gmail.com.

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Photos: A look at photographer Ryan Fischer’s favorite images from 2023

Dec 30, 2023 By Admin in Photography

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The Best Of Forbes Photography 2023

Dec 30, 2023 By Admin in Photography

World-class photography has been a trademark of Forbes for more than 100 years. Whether it’s a definitive portrait of a billionaire entrepreneur on the cover of our print magazine or a Whether it’s an instantly iconic Forbes magazine cover featuring Project Black’s Mellody Hobson or capturing the creative chaos of the top Internet creators, world-class photography brings Forbes stories to life. Ranging from a moody portrait of a struggling solar entrepreneur by Guerin Black to a playful shot of a crime-fighting cowboy by Mary Beth Koeth, these images put a human face on our stories. The best among them write their own stories in color and light.

From travel and scheduling to make-up, lighting, retouching and styling, creating these pictures is an enormous undertaking under the overall direction of Alicia Hallett-Chan and Robyn Selman. Along with a roster of some the best photographers in the business they put in the long hours required to create these unique shots – and it shows.

— The Editors

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Photography by Tim Tadder for Forbes

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2 Post photographers put down their cameras after more than 203,000 images

Dec 30, 2023 By Admin in Photography

Between the two of them, John McDonnell and Bill O’Leary have a combined 85 years of shooting photographs for The Washington Post. Theirs is a legacy rich in images of the nation’s capital as well as the country — some searing, some quirky, some iconic and some simply capturing a moment that otherwise would have gone unnoticed.

“An incredible privilege,” McDonnell says of the work he’s done, camera in hand.

With both journalists closing their careers at the end of 2023, we asked them to pull out a few favorite photos. The ones they picked are grounded in the Washington region, which seems appropriate since each man was born here and never left. Each landed at The Post by happenstance, not design. O’Leary came as a darkroom technician and only planned on a short stint, but the energy of the newsroom, then powered by legendary editor Ben Bradlee, “was undeniably thrilling. It sucked me in.”

Exactly how many images these colleagues have published is impossible to figure; The Post’s online archives mostly represent the digital era, and McDonnell, who started in 1978, and O’Leary, who began in 1984, were shooting film long before that. But the following bridges the divide and the decades. It’s a fitting tribute.

Portfolio: Bill O’Leary

On the night of Mayor Marion Barry’s drug arrest in a downtown hotel — a tectonic event for the District — O’Leary was working late on prints in The Post darkroom. He immediately was dispatched to Anacostia, where he and another staffer waited in the cold in a backyard alley on the chance that the mayor would come home.

Barry did. A big van pulled up, and the mayor exited with a couple FBI agents. One tried to block O’Leary’s camera, but then a TV reporter came running over for a quote. The agent turned, and O’Leary got the crucial image, a harsh strobe of a flash catching the disgraced city leader as he was rushed into his house.

Chaos was raging outside, and inside the Capitol, part of the pro-Trump mob was trying to breach the House chamber. “They were poking holes in the stained glass,” remembers O’Leary, whose assignment that day was the ratification of the electoral college vote. “I thought they were already shooting into the room.”

As security officials scrambled to lead members of Congress, their staffers and journalists to a safe space, O’Leary grabbed his laptop and camera. He took one more look. “That’s when I saw a face in the window.”

The result became one of the defining images of the Jan. 6 insurrection.

O’Leary especially enjoyed photographing the scenic and the offbeat during his career.

“I like planting myself in a place that’s visually pleasing and waiting for the elements to come together,” he says. “I get kind of Zen about that.”

Portfolio: John McDonnell

“I went from shooting the farm with the best butterfat output, cow manure on my boots, to covering the White House.”

It’s a great line, plus it’s really true, and McDonnell was just 21 when he traveled from that one world — a weekly newspaper in rural Loudoun County, Va. — to the other — The Post and 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. His new position was supposed to last one year.

Early on, McDonnell worked as the Style section’s photographer. His days and nights were filled with fashion shows in New York, portrait sessions that might require elaborate staging and society soirees in some of Washington’s most elegant residences.

“There were nights when I would go from one party to the next and get back to The Post on deadline to get photos in the late edition of the paper,” he says.

Often, as at this 1981 gathering, the guests were in their own world and oblivious to the camera. That made for the best pictures.

Among the stats from McDonnell’s lengthy sports coverage for The Post: The NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL. Four Olympics (both summer and winter), four Super Bowls, countless playoffs and epic championships.

For the last game of the 2018 Stanley Cup finals, when the Washington Capitals would defeat the Vegas Golden Knights, 4-3, McDonnell shot 8,000 frames. Yet he knew that three images counted for everything: the Capitals’ winning goal, the team swarming the ice in celebration after the final buzzer, and captain Alex Ovechkin hoisting the massive silver cup over his head.

The next day, the Ovechkin photo ran six columns across The Post’s front page.