The winners and runners-ups in a tree photography competition that attracted more than 70 entries have been awarded their prizes.

In the end it was Oliver Necesito’s striking image of stars shining through the branches of a mature tree in an Exeter park that was declared the winner of Exeter City Council’s Tree Photography Competition for 2023.

Cllr Ruth Williams, Lead Councillor for Place and City Management, was on hand to present Oliver with his prize of a framed photograph of his image, along with a Haynes Tree Manual.

Oliver revealed his love for photography and how he had mounted his iPhone on a small tripod to capture the night-time shot with a five-second exposure.

The competition is held every year in the run-up to National Tree Week (26 November to 4 December), inviting people to take a picture of their favourite tree in Exeter.

Prizes for the competition were kindly donated by the City Council’s arboricultural contractors, Devon Trees Services.

A close second was Rob Geare’s delayed exposure shot of a tree in the middle of a busy road junction at the bottom of Fore Street. Rob receives a framed photograph of his image.

In the Junior section, eight-year-old Raef Harvey wowed judges with his beautiful image of a young girl hugging a giant oak tree in Rougemont Gardens. Raef wins a framed photograph of his image and a Haynes Tree Manual.

Runner up in the junior section was 12-year-old Austin Lake for his shot of a tree on the Cathedral Green starting to change colour. He also wins a framed photograph of his image.   

Cllr Williams, who was one of the judges for the competition described the standard of entries as “remarkable”.

“It was a considerable challenge coming up with the winning images from over 70 submitted. In the end choosing the winners and runners up was down to those images that left an indelible mark on my memory well after I viewed them. Congratulations and thanks to everyone who submitted an entry.”

National Tree Week is the UK’s largest annual tree celebration, marking the start of the winter tree planting season (November to March each year). This year it will take place from 25 November to 3 December. Further information about national events can be found on the Tree Council website at https://treecouncil.org.uk/seasonal-campaigns/national-tree-week/

In partnership with

The company took centre stage at the recent Paris Photo 2023 as an associate partner, the only smartphone brand taking part. During the exhibition, OPPO and Hasselblad announced plans to co-develop next-generation HyperTone Camera Systems. Following aesthetics, this next-generation camera system will help to redefine mobile imaging, blend technology with artistry, and usher in a new era in computational photography.

Paris Photo proved to be the perfect platform for OPPO to showcase its smartphone imaging capability, including its latest Find N3 series, which brings premium mobile photography to foldable smartphones. Taking another step towards smartphone camera supremacy, HyperTone will be followed by advanced camera systems developed in close collaboration with legendary Swedish camera manufacturer Hasselblad.

Showcasing the 2023 OPPO imagine IF Photography Awards

The event also provided the smartphone giant with an opportunity to showcase work from the 2023 OPPO imagine IF Photography Awards, a competition that explores new dimensions in smartphone photography. Over 700,000 entries were received from over 50 countries, all working to the theme of ‘Beyond the Image, Beyond Imagination’.

The judging panel included prize-winning documentary photographer Liu Xiangcheng, Norwegian photographer and Hasselblad Master Tina Signesdottir Hult, landscape photographer and member of the China Photographers’ Association Wang Jianjun, and Hasselblad Ambassador and fashion photographer Yin Chao.

A total of 15 awards were given, with Chinese photographer Ahei Huan receiving the OPPO imagine IF Master of the Year (Gold Award). Huan’s series, Daughters of the Moon, documented the lives of the Yi people in the Daliang Mountains in Sichuan; work that also won him an invitation to the Hasselblad Image Training Camp.

The shortlisted entries to imagine IF were showcased across eight distinctive ‘chapters’, The Distant View, Portrait, Night Scenery, Colours, Landscape, The Taste of Memories, Light & Shadow, and Chapters of a Life. Paris Photo also provided an opportunity for OPPO to exhibit work by the judges, including Tina Signesdottir Hult’s intense portraiture and Wang Jianjun’s dramatic landscapes.

OPPO believes that smartphone photography can unlock the world, revealing new insights into destinations and cultures. With this in mind, continued its photographic journey with a trip to Seville. Invited participants were given the chance to try out the new camera’s capabilities in one of Europe’s most photogenic cities. The Find N3 marks the first time that OPPO and Hasselblad’s flagship-level imaging quality has been incorporated into a folding device.

In 2024, OPPO and Hasselblad will launch their next generation of the ‘HyperTone Camera System’, building on the sophisticated set of aesthetic-driven algorithms that enhances portraiture, low light situations and even the way that photographs are displayed and rendered on the device’s folding screen. The HyperTone Camera System is poised to become the new benchmark for smartphone photography, by pushing the limits of what’s possible in smartphone imaging, and by blending unparalleled image quality with the artistic legacy of one of the most iconic names in photography.

The OPPO Find N3 combines all the advantages of a folding device – compact, discreet and elegant – with the photographic capabilities of a flagship device. Thanks to the ongoing collaboration with Hasselblad, OPPO is ensuring that perfect images are on hand, regardless of the conditions. 

For more information on OPPO’s activities at Paris Photo, the imagine IF Photography Awards and Project, and devices like the OPPO Find N3 and N3 Flip, visit OPPO.com and ParisPhoto.com

parisphoto.com

Film photographers: it’s time to get very, very hyped. It’s no secret that film photography hasn’t just experienced a revival, but it’s been back. And at 11am EST today, news is coming that’s going to get you excited in a way that you haven’t been in a while. We’re not talking about something new from one of the companies that make people divided on their responses: so immediately, Fujifilm and Lomography are out of the question. It’s not coming from Kodak either; they had a moment to shine with their exorbitantly expensive super 8 camera. Nor is this coming from CineStill, who has been under some fire recently for eye-rolling drama on social media and in email inboxes. So who else is left?

So what’s coming? Well, here are a few hints:

A First of its Kind in Several Years

There hasn’t been a product like this released in a very long time. And we’re going to explain why and how that’s possible later on today at 11am EST. In fact, we think we’re one of the only reputable photography publications with the knowledge and staff that can talk about this specifically.

Landscape Photographers are Going to Adore it

When you’re out hiking during the golden hour, you’re going to be really in love with the results you get. More importantly though, you might really also like what it can do during the blue hour or with cityscapes in inclement weather. It’s going to make vivid scenes that much better.

Portrait Photographers Will Love it

The jokes about DEM TONEZ are going to be very real with what’s coming. The coatings on this are also going to give you the vintage feeling that everyone loves.

Street Photographers are Bound to Find a Great use For it

I’m really looking forward to my upcoming vacation where I can go around NYC and shoot street photography unburdened by the pressing deadlines of gear reviews. What’s coming today is bound to create beautiful street photography images. In fact, it reminds us of what Jane Dickson made many years ago when we interviewed her.

Conceptual Photographers will Want to get Experimental with this Stuff

We’ve interviewed a ton of photographers over the years, many of them being conceptual shooters. And considering how they like imperfections in their photographs, and many of them don’t like using Photoshop, this is going to excite them with possibilities.

It’s Going to Slap Clinical Perfection in the Face

Perhaps my favorite thing about what’s coming later today is that it’s slapping clinical perfection in the face. Remember a few years ago when Sony thought that onion bokeh was an issue but literally no one else did? Well, this new product is bringing it back. At 11am EST, you’ll be able to pay attention right here on the Phoblographer as the news breaks.

Since it was founded in 1917, London’s Imperial War Museum has quietly built up a vast collection of art created in response to conflict, said Simon Heffer in The Daily Telegraph. Its holdings include not only “some of the finest paintings of warfare in the nation’s possession”, but also hundreds of drawings, prints and sculptures, as well as some “12 million photographs, and 23,000 hours of film footage”. Where previously this “fine” trove of art and images was scattered throughout the museum, it now has a dedicated home courtesy of a purpose-built extension that at long last gives the public a chance to fully appreciate it. The new Blavatnik Art, Film and Photography Galleries contain all manner of materials, from wartime masterpieces by the likes of Eric Ravilious and Paul Nash to art created in response to recent conflicts in the Middle East, as well as ephemera including “propaganda posters”, “documentary footage of battle” and newsreel films. If there is one complaint about this “handsome” display, it is that it “could never hope to be big enough”. 

In the context of today’s geopolitics, the new space feels “not just topical, but essential”, said Stuart Jeffries in The Guardian. The centrepiece of the gallery is John Singer Sargent’s epic “Gassed”, six metres wide, depicting “a procession of wounded men stumbling, blindfolded, towards a dressing station”. Other works range from the angry – Peter Kennard and Cat Phillipps’s 2007 photomontage of Tony Blair “holding his phone for a selfie against a background of burning oilfields” – to the reflective. Steve McQueen, appointed an official war artist in 2003, commemorated each of the 179 UK military personnel killed in Iraq with a postage stamp, juxtaposing images of the dead soldiers with “the silhouetted head of the Queen”. The stamps were deemed too controversial for Royal Mail to issue – almost, McQueen suggested, as if people were “ashamed” of the dead. 

“There is enough engrossing material on display here to keep you sobbing for a week,” said Waldemar Januszczak in . Doris Zinkeisen, the first official artist to enter Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, for instance, depicted its inmates as “grotesquely skeletal and white, thrown out of the death huts like discarded rubbish”. More subtly, Walter Sickert’s “Tipperary” (1914) sees a woman at a piano in one of his trademark “gloomy” interiors: “the mournful notes counting the miles to Tipperary are as audible as a party next door”. Meanwhile, documentary material including letters, timelines and photographs “keep us grounded in the facts”. If the Imperial War Museum once felt like a “spooky” institution without a clear role, the new galleries grant it “gravitas and sincerity”. The Blavatnik Galleries have “achieved extreme pertinence”, and confirm art as “war’s most truthful witness”.

Imperial War Museum, London SE1 (020-7416 5000, iwm.org.uk). Now open (free entry)

Sign up to The Week’s Arts & Life newsletter for reviews and recommendations 

As the latest addition to the staff, I know I’ve wondered why The Phoblographer is like it is and what makes us work the way we do. Is it the inclusivity? The authenticity? Our commitment to journalism and its core values? The fact that we certainly despise the word content and the devaluation of the arts associated with it? The short answer is a resounding yes. The long answer? The Phoblographer is what it is, thanks to Chris Gampat, founder, publisher, and editor-in-chief. And you can learn more about this by heading to Something New Every Week and listening to Chris’s interview with Jason Groupp and Jackie Tobin.

Head to SNEW at Buzzsprout, Spotify, or iTunes and give it a listen. You won’t regret it.

The Episode, a Not-so-quick Summary

Starting with a personal overview —including, of course, his legally blind status, which gives him a very different, fascinating view of photography— the episode goes over the fourteen years the Phoblographer has been running and, of course, some insights into what the future may hold for us.

The Early Days

Back in the late 2000s, Chris graduated into a terrible recession and a period where, even with many internships under his belt, he couldn’t secure a full-time job. This led to the creation of the Phoblographer, a job balanced with internships at places like PCMag and Magnum for monetary reasons and the need to learn from more experienced journalists.

In the podcast we also learn about something Chris and The Phoblographer were pioneers at, changing the way the industry approaching gear testing.

What’s Hard About Interviewing Photographers

Our approach to interviewing photographers has certainly changed over the years, and Chris delves into those changes. From the earliest extended interviews to our new format, focusing on the who, what, when, why, and how, including, of course, the difference between our work and what can be achieved through the use of generative tools.

He also touches on how hard it is to meet deadlines when you’re collaborating with external people who may be late — or very late — at answering.

How To Find a Creative Balance As a Freelancer

One of the hardest things about being a freelancer — and I should know — is dealing on your own with what other companies need a whole team for: social media, emails, meetings, public relations, advertising, funding, etcetera. Chris shares with us his approach, based on what the different sides of our brain are good at, and how switching and mixing things up can be quite good at keeping anyone in top shape.

Where is The Industry Heading?

As photographers, we’re going through a major paradigm shift right now, and it’s all about intentionality and connection. We need to go back to thinking about how photography is an art, rather than a quick snap. Chris is more than aware of this trend, of this devaluation, and he talks about how we should ditch the word content and all its variants, as well as how we should know more about our history as artists so we can know about where we might be heading.

Where Is The Phoblographer Heading To

To finish with, Chris Gampat talks to us about zines and news that may have been in the making for a while that no one else is telling because of the need to maintain relationships within the industry. Of course, these relationships are no more important than the story, the core of journalism. And there are leads he’s following, dealing with things like child labor and other major problems.

A Recap: Why You Should Head To Something New Every Week Right Now And Listen To This Interview With Chris Gampat

This interview provides you with a particularly interesting insight on the person —no, the driving force— behind this website. Work ethics, performance tips, culture and arts, and of course, the art of blending your own beard oils.

Kingston-based photographer Andrew Moore creates richly hued images that recall Hudson Valley school painters like Thomas Cole and Frederic Church. “I am particularly fond of Asher Durand for his attentiveness to detail. There’s no way I could make pictures in the Hudson Valley without acknowledging these antecedents. The challenge is to make landscapes that feel modern and relevant,” he says. 

Whiskey Point, East Kingston takes its title from an old map of Kingston and refers to the spit of land seen in the image. “If you look carefully, you can see remnants and ruins of old docks and piers left over from the days when that area was lined with brickmaking factories. Those bricks were loaded directly onto barges that brought them down to the city,” says Moore. “The ‘natural’ landscape is actually second growth, since most of the ground was completely cleared for industrial purposes. The area is now a state park named Sojourner Truth State Park after the famous resident who was born in Esopus. So, the image reflects the past, the present, and the future.” 

Moore’s photography combines both the narrative approach found in photojournalism as well as the formal strategies of fine art photography and painting. He finesses his images with sprezzatura (studied carelessness) and invites viewers to enter the world of the photograph, find hidden details and feel a depth of space, which is enhanced by the gigantic scale of his prints—nearly six by eight feet in this case.

There’s a meta aspect to Whiskey Point, East Kingston—notice the photographer and tripod by the water’s edge. “Although I rarely take self-portraits, this is a kind of self-portrait, albeit a portrait of the photographer as a young man. It’s also obviously an homage to classical landscape painting, from the 17th-century Dutch painters to the American luminists of the 19th century, where little mortals are portrayed against majestic shorelines,” he says. “It’s a photograph that employs all the strategies of realistic painting but is also a photograph of a photographer. What is the photographer photographing and what is he not seeing at the same time? There’s also a nod to the pandemic era and of all these people going out into nature and making pictures.” 

Moore’s work will be on view as part of a show called “Whiskey Point and Other Tales” at Yancey Richardson Gallery in Manhattan through January 6. The exhibition consists of seven large prints drawn from photographs Moore made over the past three-and-a-half years. “It’s a very tight selection in which all the images are in dialogue with one another and present a landscape which has been activated in some way,” he says. “I’m hoping that people will be able to view the pictures at the gallery, as these photographs were conceived from the onset to be finished, and seen as very large prints. That goes for me too, as this exhibition will be the first time I’ve been able to look at all these pictures together in one space.” 

Will it be a picture that reflects the pristine beauty of the natural world, or one that shows the potentially devastating impact of human beings on their surroundings?The choice is yours, as fans of wildlife photography around the world are being urged to vote for the Wildlife Photographer of the Year’s People’s Choice Award.In the video player above: Winners of 2023 International Pet Photography Awards capture the souls of our furry friendsAs always, the prestigious contest has a section that it throws open to the public, with the chance to vote from a selection of 25 outstanding images.These were chosen by the Natural History Museum in London – which hosts the overall exhibition – and an international judging panel. They narrowed the field down from a huge 49,957 entries, sent in from 95 different countriesThe public can now vote for their favorites online, choosing from a selection that includes a pair of seemingly kissing hares, a polar bear sleeping on an iceberg and an upright grizzly bear in a shimmering lake.Also featured are an Adélie penguin approaching an emperor penguin and its chick, and a striking image of a rail of clothing fashioned from some of the world’s most endangered big cats.Other shots that highlight the negative impact of man on his surroundings include a young fox dining on an overflowing trash can in London and a male elephant striding through a heap of rubbish.Voting is open online until Jan. 31. The winner and top four images will be announced in February and displayed online, as well as in the in-person exhibition at the Natural History Museum.

LONDON —

Will it be a picture that reflects the pristine beauty of the natural world, or one that shows the potentially devastating impact of human beings on their surroundings?

The choice is yours, as fans of wildlife photography around the world are being urged to vote for the Wildlife Photographer of the Year’s People’s Choice Award.

Advertisement

In the video player above: Winners of 2023 International Pet Photography Awards capture the souls of our furry friends

As always, the prestigious contest has a section that it throws open to the public, with the chance to vote from a selection of 25 outstanding images.

These were chosen by the Natural History Museum in London – which hosts the overall exhibition – and an international judging panel. They narrowed the field down from a huge 49,957 entries, sent in from 95 different countries

The public can now vote for their favorites online, choosing from a selection that includes a pair of seemingly kissing hares, a polar bear sleeping on an iceberg and an upright grizzly bear in a shimmering lake.

Nima Sarikhani/Wildlife Photographer of the Year via CNN

Also featured are an Adélie penguin approaching an emperor penguin and its chick, and a striking image of a rail of clothing fashioned from some of the world’s most endangered big cats.

Other shots that highlight the negative impact of man on his surroundings include a young fox dining on an overflowing trash can in London and a male elephant striding through a heap of rubbish.

Voting is open online until Jan. 31. The winner and top four images will be announced in February and displayed online, as well as in the in-person exhibition at the Natural History Museum.

Will it be a picture that reflects the pristine beauty of the natural world, or one that shows the potentially devastating impact of human beings on their surroundings?The choice is yours, as fans of wildlife photography around the world are being urged to vote for the Wildlife Photographer of the Year’s People’s Choice Award.In the video player above: Winners of 2023 International Pet Photography Awards capture the souls of our furry friendsAs always, the prestigious contest has a section that it throws open to the public, with the chance to vote from a selection of 25 outstanding images.These were chosen by the Natural History Museum in London – which hosts the overall exhibition – and an international judging panel. They narrowed the field down from a huge 49,957 entries, sent in from 95 different countriesThe public can now vote for their favorites online, choosing from a selection that includes a pair of seemingly kissing hares, a polar bear sleeping on an iceberg and an upright grizzly bear in a shimmering lake.Also featured are an Adélie penguin approaching an emperor penguin and its chick, and a striking image of a rail of clothing fashioned from some of the world’s most endangered big cats.Other shots that highlight the negative impact of man on his surroundings include a young fox dining on an overflowing trash can in London and a male elephant striding through a heap of rubbish.Voting is open online until Jan. 31. The winner and top four images will be announced in February and displayed online, as well as in the in-person exhibition at the Natural History Museum.

LONDON —

Will it be a picture that reflects the pristine beauty of the natural world, or one that shows the potentially devastating impact of human beings on their surroundings?

The choice is yours, as fans of wildlife photography around the world are being urged to vote for the Wildlife Photographer of the Year’s People’s Choice Award.

Advertisement

In the video player above: Winners of 2023 International Pet Photography Awards capture the souls of our furry friends

As always, the prestigious contest has a section that it throws open to the public, with the chance to vote from a selection of 25 outstanding images.

These were chosen by the Natural History Museum in London – which hosts the overall exhibition – and an international judging panel. They narrowed the field down from a huge 49,957 entries, sent in from 95 different countries

The public can now vote for their favorites online, choosing from a selection that includes a pair of seemingly kissing hares, a polar bear sleeping on an iceberg and an upright grizzly bear in a shimmering lake.

Nima Sarikhani/Wildlife Photographer of the Year via CNN

Also featured are an Adélie penguin approaching an emperor penguin and its chick, and a striking image of a rail of clothing fashioned from some of the world’s most endangered big cats.

Other shots that highlight the negative impact of man on his surroundings include a young fox dining on an overflowing trash can in London and a male elephant striding through a heap of rubbish.

Voting is open online until Jan. 31. The winner and top four images will be announced in February and displayed online, as well as in the in-person exhibition at the Natural History Museum.

Will it be a picture that reflects the pristine beauty of the natural world, or one that shows the potentially devastating impact of human beings on their surroundings?The choice is yours, as fans of wildlife photography around the world are being urged to vote for the Wildlife Photographer of the Year’s People’s Choice Award.In the video player above: Winners of 2023 International Pet Photography Awards capture the souls of our furry friendsAs always, the prestigious contest has a section that it throws open to the public, with the chance to vote from a selection of 25 outstanding images.These were chosen by the Natural History Museum in London – which hosts the overall exhibition – and an international judging panel. They narrowed the field down from a huge 49,957 entries, sent in from 95 different countriesThe public can now vote for their favorites online, choosing from a selection that includes a pair of seemingly kissing hares, a polar bear sleeping on an iceberg and an upright grizzly bear in a shimmering lake.Also featured are an Adélie penguin approaching an emperor penguin and its chick, and a striking image of a rail of clothing fashioned from some of the world’s most endangered big cats.Other shots that highlight the negative impact of man on his surroundings include a young fox dining on an overflowing trash can in London and a male elephant striding through a heap of rubbish.Voting is open online until Jan. 31. The winner and top four images will be announced in February and displayed online, as well as in the in-person exhibition at the Natural History Museum.

LONDON —

Will it be a picture that reflects the pristine beauty of the natural world, or one that shows the potentially devastating impact of human beings on their surroundings?

The choice is yours, as fans of wildlife photography around the world are being urged to vote for the Wildlife Photographer of the Year’s People’s Choice Award.

Advertisement

In the video player above: Winners of 2023 International Pet Photography Awards capture the souls of our furry friends

As always, the prestigious contest has a section that it throws open to the public, with the chance to vote from a selection of 25 outstanding images.

These were chosen by the Natural History Museum in London – which hosts the overall exhibition – and an international judging panel. They narrowed the field down from a huge 49,957 entries, sent in from 95 different countries

The public can now vote for their favorites online, choosing from a selection that includes a pair of seemingly kissing hares, a polar bear sleeping on an iceberg and an upright grizzly bear in a shimmering lake.

Nima Sarikhani/Wildlife Photographer of the Year via CNN

Also featured are an Adélie penguin approaching an emperor penguin and its chick, and a striking image of a rail of clothing fashioned from some of the world’s most endangered big cats.

Other shots that highlight the negative impact of man on his surroundings include a young fox dining on an overflowing trash can in London and a male elephant striding through a heap of rubbish.

Voting is open online until Jan. 31. The winner and top four images will be announced in February and displayed online, as well as in the in-person exhibition at the Natural History Museum.