The University of Cincinnati’s independent student news organization, The News Record, is now accepting applications for the chief photographer position for the spring semester of the 2023-2024 academic year.

This is a paid opportunity that offers 12 hours each week. The chief photographer is responsible for photographing events, news, athletics, and stories relevant to the UC campus. Applicants should be well-versed in AP style; be familiar with Lightroom; and have the ability to independently pitch, photograph, edit and caption engaging, localized story ideas. Applicants must be able to work on a deadline in a fast-paced environment. If interested, please apply through this link:

This application will be due at noon on Wednesday, Jan 3. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to me through my email kiehlam@mail.uc.edu. 

In a recent opinion piece, The New York Times delcared that AI is the “future of photography.” Whether that’s true or not remains to be seen but it has undoubtedly been a big year for images generated by artificial intelligence.

The models have come on stronger and stronger, producing images that, in some cases, are indistinguishable from real pictures creating a new reality for the photography world. With that in mind, PetaPixel looked back on a momentous year for AI images.

The First Time an AI Image Wins a Photography Competition

After generative AI technology advanced rapidly in 2022, the staff here at PetaPixel suspected that an AI image would win a photography contest in 2023 — and it didn’t take long.

In February, an AI image won a photo contest run by an Australian electronics company. The company behind it confessed and called it “the world’s first AI-generated award-winning photograph.”

“We did it to prove that we’re at a turning point with artificially intelligent technology by passing the ultimate test,” said Absolutely Ai.

Respected Photojournalist Makes an AI Series

Distinguished photojournalist Michael Christopher Brown sparked controversy after releasing a “post-photography” series that was entirely generated by AI.

Brown was attempting to illustrate stories that are impossible to document with a camera and turned to AI for his project 90 Miles looking at the realities of Cubans attempting to cross the 90 miles of ocean that separate Havana from Florida.

The documentarian came under heavy criticism for his embrace of AI imagery with fans of his photography outraged; calling it “unethical”, his images “disturbing,” and threatening to unfollow his Instagram account.

AI Image Wins at the Sony World Photography Awards

Arguably the most significant AI image story of the year, Boris Eldagsen refused his prize from the Sony World Photography Awards after he revealed that his image that had won the Creative category was generated by AI.

Eldagsen actually crashed the ceremony, that took place in London in April, to announce his image THE ELECTRICIAN was AI-generated.

The Sony World Photography Awards released a statement saying: “Given his actions and subsequent statement noting his deliberate attempts at misleading us, and therefore invalidating the warranties he provided, we no longer feel we are able to engage in a meaningful and constructive dialogue with him.”

Levi’s Use AI-Generated Models to ‘Increase Diversity’

In March, Levi’s announced it was AI-generating models to “increase diversity.”

“We believe our models should reflect our consumers, which is why we’re continuing to diversify our human models in terms of size and body type, age and skin color,” the company said.

Needless to say, the announcement went down badly with photographers and models alike which led to Levi’s walking back in a statement to PetaPixel.

“This partnership and test are still in the very early stages, so we are still working out what this might look like. However, I’d like to emphasize this will not replace or impact photoshoots, this is purely supplemental to our current ways of working.”

Vogue Exhibition Shows AI Images Alongside Real Photos

The PhotoVogue festival this year exhibited AI images alongside real photos in a move that provoked criticism.

The festival held in Milan this month was entitled: What makes us human? Image in the age of AI. The exhibits investigated how AI is “changing our idea of photography.”

Trump Being Arrested

With the list of legal cases hanging over Donald Trump longer than the butcher’s line at Christmas, Elliot Higgins created a series of dramatic AI images showing Trump being jostled to the ground by a group of police officers.

The outrageous set of pictures, posted in March, also showed Trump in a holding cell, the courtroom, and the prison yard.

Higgins used Midjourney to create the images and was promptly banned from the service. Although not many were fooled by the images (at least we hope not) they still went viral across the internet.

Instagram Accounts Masquerading as Photographers

In February, PetaPixel exclusively revealed that two Instagram accounts pretending to post photos taken at the hands of photographers were actually AI-generated.

Jos Avery admitted that his “photos” were fake after duping thousands of Instagram followers. Meanwhile, a photographer featured by Vogue, Emanuele Boffa, also admitted that he had been passing off AI images as real portraits he had taken.

When asked why he doesn’t mark the AI-generated images as such, Boffa replied: “James Cameron or Christopher Nolan and many other directors and cinematographers are continuously generating images with the help of computer graphics or AI. And I don’t think people care much, artificial intelligence, when used correctly, generates exactly what there is in the mind of the author.”

AI-Generated Image of Pentagon Explosion Caused Markets to Dip

In case there was any doubt that AI images could have real-world ramifications, an AI-generated picture of an explosion outside the Pentagon caused a brief market crash in May.

The image went viral on X (then known as Twitter) and shows a huge cloud of black smoke on a grass lawn outside the Pentagon building in Washington D.C.

The incident prompted Twitter to expand its crowdsourced fact-checking program, Community Notes, to fight back against fake or misleading images.

The AI Image That Never Was

And finally, in a story that flipped the script, a real photo was disqualified from a competition after the judges accused it of being AI-generated — even though it wasn’t.

Suzi Dougherty had captured a striking photo of her son with two smartly dressed mannequins in an intriguing pose while visiting a Gucci exhibition.

But she later discovered that her iPhone photo had been declared ineligible after the judging panel had grown suspicious. This story is a fantastic example of the effect AI has had on the photo industry in 2023.

A photographer is taking legal action against a small church in South Carolina for allegedly using his photograph without consent.

Erin Paul Donovan, a photographer from New Hampshire, has initiated a federal lawsuit against Wightman United Methodist Church in Prosperity, South Carolina. Donovan claims that his photograph, depicting New Hampshire’s White Mountains, was used on the church’s website without his permission, specifically as a thumbnail for a sermon video dated June 2021. According to the lawsuit, Donovan contends that the church unlawfully downloaded his copyrighted image to use in its promotional activities. He reported the unauthorized use to the church on two occasions, June 21 and July 20, 2023, but the issue remains unresolved.

The suit further alleges that the church not only used the image without authorization but also removed Donovan’s copyright notice, name, and watermark from the photograph as it originally appeared on his website. Donovan is seeking legal recompense for the alleged infringement and is requesting the court to prohibit the church from using any of his photographs in the future.

The suit was filed in the US District Court for the District of South Carolina on November 21, 2023. The church has until February 20, 2024 to respond to the filing. 

KUWAIT: Kuwait News Agency Center for Development of Media Skills concluded on Thursday a training program titled Principles of Photography, which started on Sunday and was attended by a number of employees from the agency and the Kuwait Anti-Corruption Authority (Nazaha). Mustafa Al-Bader, Head of the Design and Photography Department at the news agency, stressed in remarks to KUNA the importance of media and public relations workers learning about the principles of photography and the difference between cameras and lenses to help them perform their tasks.

Al-Bader explained that the program touched on the types of cameras and lenses and their uses and functions, noting that the program participants did some practical training as well as a field photography trip to integrate the program’s theoretical and practical learning.

The training program also explained some photography theories, applications on the camera, focus systems, and how to use lighting in photography. The center, founded in 1995, is considered to be one of the most important media training centers at the national level, providing hundreds of training programs in various media fields and aiming to develop media capabilities and personal capabilities and improve professional media work — KUNA

Retirement rediscovery: Marianne Skolnik Robillard’s Journey into Nature Photography – DiscoverWeyburn.com – Local news, Weather, Sports, Free Classifieds and Job Listings for the Weyburn, Saskatchewan

<meta content="Catching the spectacular sights of the Saskatchewan Prairie is enjoyable for many, however, few can capture the unique beauty of our local landscape like Marianne Skolnik Robillard, a hobby passion she revisited after retirement. For Christmas in 2015, her family gave her a camera, and Robillard began a new journey learning to capture images at each destination. However, Robillard shares that photography is something she enjoyed when she was in high school. “I loved photography from when I was a kid and had an instant, Kodak Camera and ran around with that just to family events and stuff. And then learned about working a 35mm camera as a yearbook photographer for the high school and darkroom skills so that all kind of went in the back because of marriage, career, and family. So, upon retirement, I took it up again and I'm very glad I did.” googletag.cmd.push(function() { if($(document).width()<900) { s = googletag.defineSlot('/50748803/dwe-all-bigbox', [300, 250], 'div-gpt-1635342687823-bbm1'); s.setTargeting('URL', [window.location.pathname]); s.setTargeting('position', [1635342687823]) s.addService(googletag.pubads()); googletag.pubads().refresh([s], {changeCorrelator: false}); } }); Centered on nature, Marianne delves into the origins of her inspiration. “Nature photography is obviously a love of mine. I think there are three aspects of it that I really enjoy. One is I think it comes naturally because of being a farm kid. I grew up a farmer's daughter. So that's sort of what spurred my appreciation for nature. The second aspect is natural light. From a photography perspective because you're outdoor shooting in that type of light. And Courtney Milne was a big influence. He's a very well-known Saskatchewan photographer in terms of showing me the way there. And just being out in the wide-open spaces, it's quiet. We have so much wildlife in the area that I'm grateful to be pursuing and that's another part of it because it is a challenge, you can't walk up to a bull moose and say oh, can you just sort of turn your head that way and put that back leg out and just stay right there? It's always a challenge and you never know on a given day what you're going to find. I've gone out so many times thinking oh, you know, I would just love to see a great horned owl that day. No luck, you know, but you'll come across something else. So, there's an aspect of surprise too, which is great.” googletag.cmd.push(function() { if($(document).width()

<meta content="Catching the spectacular sights of the Saskatchewan Prairie is enjoyable for many, however, few can capture the unique beauty of our local landscape like Marianne Skolnik Robillard, a hobby passion she revisited after retirement. For Christmas in 2015, her family gave her a camera, and Robillard began a new journey learning to capture images at each destination. However, Robillard shares that photography is something she enjoyed when she was in high school. “I loved photography from when I was a kid and had an instant, Kodak Camera and ran around with that just to family events and stuff. And then learned about working a 35mm camera as a yearbook photographer for the high school and darkroom skills so that all kind of went in the back because of marriage, career, and family. So, upon retirement, I took it up again and I'm very glad I did.” googletag.cmd.push(function() { if($(document).width()<900) { s = googletag.defineSlot('/50748803/dwe-all-bigbox', [300, 250], 'div-gpt-1635342687823-bbm1'); s.setTargeting('URL', [window.location.pathname]); s.setTargeting('position', [1635342687823]) s.addService(googletag.pubads()); googletag.pubads().refresh([s], {changeCorrelator: false}); } }); Centered on nature, Marianne delves into the origins of her inspiration. “Nature photography is obviously a love of mine. I think there are three aspects of it that I really enjoy. One is I think it comes naturally because of being a farm kid. I grew up a farmer's daughter. So that's sort of what spurred my appreciation for nature. The second aspect is natural light. From a photography perspective because you're outdoor shooting in that type of light. And Courtney Milne was a big influence. He's a very well-known Saskatchewan photographer in terms of showing me the way there. And just being out in the wide-open spaces, it's quiet. We have so much wildlife in the area that I'm grateful to be pursuing and that's another part of it because it is a challenge, you can't walk up to a bull moose and say oh, can you just sort of turn your head that way and put that back leg out and just stay right there? It's always a challenge and you never know on a given day what you're going to find. I've gone out so many times thinking oh, you know, I would just love to see a great horned owl that day. No luck, you know, but you'll come across something else. So, there's an aspect of surprise too, which is great.” googletag.cmd.push(function() { if($(document).width()

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Written by Bernadette Mullen
Thursday, Dec 28 2023, 10:17 AM

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Photo courtesy of Marianne Skolnik Robillard, Tatagwa Trail

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Catching the spectacular sights of the Saskatchewan Prairie is enjoyable for many, however, few can capture the unique beauty of our local landscape like Marianne Skolnik Robillard, a hobby passion she revisited after retirement. 

For Christmas in 2015, her family gave her a camera, and Robillard began a new journey learning to capture images at each destination. However, Robillard shares that photography is something she enjoyed when she was in high school. 

“I loved photography from when I was a kid and had an instant, Kodak Camera and ran around with that just to family events and stuff. And then learned about working a 35mm camera as a yearbook photographer for the high school and darkroom skills so that all kind of went in the back because of marriage, career, and family. So, upon retirement, I took it up again and I’m very glad I did.” 

Centered on nature, Marianne delves into the origins of her inspiration.

“Nature photography is obviously a love of mine. I think there are three aspects of it that I really enjoy. One is I think it comes naturally because of being a farm kid. I grew up a farmer’s daughter. So that’s sort of what spurred my appreciation for nature. The second aspect is natural light. From a photography perspective because you’re outdoor shooting in that type of light. And Courtney Milne was a big influence. He’s a very well-known Saskatchewan photographer in terms of showing me the way there. And just being out in the wide-open spaces, it’s quiet. We have so much wildlife in the area that I’m grateful to be pursuing and that’s another part of it because it is a challenge, you can’t walk up to a bull moose and say oh, can you just sort of turn your head that way and put that back leg out and just stay right there? It’s always a challenge and you never know on a given day what you’re going to find.  I’ve gone out so many times thinking oh, you know, I would just love to see a great horned owl that day. No luck, you know, but you’ll come across something else. So, there’s an aspect of surprise too, which is great.” 

Among the various locations to capture nature, Marianne expresses that one of her preferred spots is right here in Weyburn.

“I’ve walk the trails around the city a lot. I have a dog, so we’re out there all the time, and I’m usually toting my camera. And I’m happy to say I’ve spotted a lot of wildlife, foxes, and turtles along the river. I’ve spent a great deal of time along the river catching beavers, moose, deer, you name it, and many, many different species of birds. I drive out of town too, and go in the surrounding area around Yellow Grass, up north to Cedoux, down south to Goodwater area, Mainprize and out to Stoughton, so pretty much the surrounding area.”

Marianne shares when it comes to photography, patience is a requirement, “I think that’s one aspect for sure. When you’re shooting wildlife, you have to invest the time in it and it’s not going to all happen at once. It takes time to find different types of wildlife. So yes, patience is definitely a virtue, and there’s a lot of waiting.”

Eight years later, Marianne has attended several workshops and expresses her gratitude to all the professional photographers who have helped her along the way, including Greg Johnson a well known Saskatchewan photographer and Storm Chaser, who she travelled with to the Yukon on two different occasions. 

“We visited many different parts of the Yukon, photographed bears and eagles, and specifically aurora, which was very, very exciting up there because it’s a fantastic display. And landscape as well, waterfalls, marine life. So yeah, it was a great adventure.”

Marianne already has her next adventure planned, travelling to Alberta in 2024, for the Light Chasers workshop where she will be learning from some of the top Nature Photographers.

To view more of Marianne’s images, you can go to her Facebook page, Prairie Annie Photography.

In response to Canada’s Online News Act and Meta (Facebook and Instagram) removing access to local news from their platforms, we encourage you to get your news directly from your trusted source by bookmarking this page and downloading the DiscoverWeyburn app.  

 

 

 

 

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It’s no secret that most photography equipment is expensive and typically highly specialized. But that doesn’t always need to be the case. In the above video from Adorama, photographer Gavin Hoey walks viewers through how to create studio portraits using a simple sheet of cardboard and some studio lights.

Many photographers are drowning in boxes in this post-holiday period, making it the perfect time to try these effects. In the video, Hoey shows three different looks photographers can achieve with a large piece of cardboard. All three start the same way, though. The first step is to stab holes all over the cardboard. Luckily, this is a great post-holiday activity for those who have spent too much time with family and need to get some aggression and frustration out.

For the first setup, Hoey places a light with a large softbox as close to the back of the cardboard as possible. Then, he pulls the subject away from the background and shoots at a wide-open f/1.2 aperture to create a soft bokeh behind her. An f/1.4 or f/1.8 aperture would work very well, too.

Leaving it like this would result in his model being much too dark, though, so he also adds light to illuminate the subject. Hoey used two lights, both of which he is careful to keep directed away from the cardboard to keep the contrast and dark background. The final image is a well-lit portrait with a dreamy bokeh behind the model.

The second style Hoey creates with the cardboard background aims to create pinpoints of light, as opposed to the soft bokeh orbs. To do this, he places his subject closer to the cardboard and switches to a narrower aperture, in his case, f/5.6.

His two-light setup still needs to be directed away from the cardboard, as the goal is to keep that mostly black with only the points of light visible. But, given the limited room between the model and the cardboard, it didn’t create the look he was going for. So, he leaned into this and turned his subject, creating a profile image.

To add a final special touch to the image, Hoey used a starburst filter. This filter is clear glass, so it won’t change the exposure or white balance. But it creates, as the name implies, a starburst effect for a more dramatic image when there are points of light in the frame. Users could play around with all sorts of filters that modify light to put their own spin on this.

The final setup uses the holey cardboard as a light modifier. First, Hoey removed the softbox and added a snoot for a more intense, focused beam of light. He then used the modeling light to adjust the placement of the strobe, allowing it to cover the entire piece of cardboard.

As with the other shots, the cardboard separates the model from the strobe, but this time, the cardboard isn’t physically in the shot at all. Instead, the light shining through the holes casts speckled light onto the model. Hoey points out that if the photographer doesn’t like the hotspots created on the model, they can either edit these out in post or put black gaffers tape on holes that cast light onto the face to remove them in camera.

With all the highly technical equipment available these days, it is nice to see some tutorials involving basic and cheap materials. Of course, users will need lighting equipment, but they could make do with continuous lights instead of strobes.