‘What I find fascinating about the bed is precisely the extreme richness of its connotations, of its clichés even, the rapidity with which this object can pass from one action to another and that its image can slip from one interpretation to another,’ says photographer Vincent Ferrané, who considers the multi-layered purpose of the bed in an upcoming photography book Embedded.

The book – set to be published by Art Paper Editions, after a recent show of the photographic series in Paris – follows Ferrané’s dive into domestic intimacy, Inner, published in 2022, which explored fragments of a life lived during lockdown.

Vincent Ferrané, ‘Embedded’

Embedded was inspired when curator and artist Thomas Lélu got in touch with the photographer to propose joining an art residence organised by Les Hotels Amour in Paris – which came with the use of a hotel room – and Ferrané was excited by the opportunities it presented. 

‘I then asked Pauline Lavogez, who is both a performer and choreographer, to accompany me on this series,’ he adds. ‘Pauline has a fascinating work on bodies in her productions and in her own performances, in many dimensions, from desires to violence, which makes me think that she would be able to embody the multitude of characters and actions that could give rise to a space that is both very arid and very connoted by the bed.’

The playful meets the sensual in the resulting series of images, which take the quotidian as their starting point, with Ferrané working to categorise these mundane activities before rethinking the purpose of the bed entirely. 

‘[I made a] precise list of them in an attempt to exhaust the collective unconscious and then to work to free ourselves from them, to propose new combinations. Actions such as: going to bed, sleeping, not waking up, lying down from the day before, removing hair, massaging yourself, crying, seeking sleep, watching your neighbours across the street, looking at the stars, calling on the phone, masturbating, stretching, getting depressed, taking selfies, smoking, singing, undressing, getting dressed, fleeing the outside world, and so on, as these actions take shape and the movements slowly move away from their initial position.’

Ferrané worked closely with Lavogez to bring a performative element to the clean rectangle of the bed, intertwining photographic and choreographed strands throughout the visual narrative. ‘The bed is treated as a microcosm. Derived from the ordinary situations specific to this intimate and universalising play area haunted by our fantasies, our fears or our passions, the images created offer enigmatic representations behind closed doors: ethereal presences, bodies, suspended faces taking hold of this original setting.’

Embedded will be published by Art Paper Editions, vincentferranephotography.com

Taylor Kennedy is a photographer who owns and operates Taken by Taylor Photography. She spent time in the Tide Studio talking with Andy Harris, and she shared how her family has been an inspiration for her photography (especially family portraits and maternity shoots), how she collaborates with her clients before, during and after a photo shoot, and how she helps them overcome shy or self-conscious feelings while on camera. She reminisced about her experience capturing the Strictly Business networking event on Oct. 4 at Kingsmill Resort, and also looked ahead to how potential clients can book her for the holiday season. Listen here:

Disclosure: Hometown Radio interviews are conducted by 92.3FM The Tide. WYDaily.com does not endorse any products, services, companies, or claims mentioned during the interview.

The Colorado Department of Agriculture encourages you to share your ag photos in its 2023 Colorado Best in Show Photography Contest. Submissions are due December 31. (Photo by Marcos Paulo Prado on Unsplash)

William Taufic ’77 grew up in Austin, Minnesota, a small meat-packing town best known for being the birthplace of SPAM.

Yet when he returned to his hometown in 2017 after spending decades developing a career as a professional photographer that took him around the world, he was struck by how much the community had changed. A substantial number of immigrants, refugees, and other newcomers have made Austin their home, hailing from countries such as South Sudan, Mexico, Benin, Myanmar, and numerous others. Together they have created a community rich with diversity, where more than 40 languages are spoken.

“What’s more, the town has welcomed the newcomers from all over the world with open arms, helping them to become part of the community and eventually new Americans,” Taufic writes on his photography site. “I am the son of an immigrant, who was the son of immigrants. Most of us here in our beloved United States of America, unless you have Native American roots, are immigrants. Unfortunately, in recent years we have become not so united.”

What he saw in the way that Austin has embraced its diversity inspired him to create a photography project titled “Our Austin, Our America” that features portraits of community members paired with personal narratives. The Minnesota State Capitol Art Gallery displayed his exhibit through this fall, and Taufic published a book highlighting the project that is available for purchase online at Sweet Reads, a locally owned bookstore in Austin, and at the Minnesota Historical Society.

“I am really hopeful that what I have done will help other communities understand that there is nothing to fear — the more you welcome people regardless of the color of their skin, the more likely that your community will be successful and diverse and have a richer culture,” he says.

“I am really hopeful that what I have done will help other communities understand that there is nothing to fear — the more you welcome people regardless of the color of their skin, the more likely that your community will be successful and diverse and have a richer culture.”

William Taufic ’77

The roots of Taufic’s appreciation for multiculturalism and diversity begin with his family, with his father’s parents migrating from Lebanon to Brazil. Taufic’s father would himself later immigrate to the United States. That link to global engagement continued to Taufic’s own time at St. Olaf during the 1970s.

During a biology lab during his sophomore year, while counting fruit flies for a genetics project, his professor, Arnold Petersen, approached him with a question: “I’m going to take some students to Liberia next summer to do an independent research project. Would you like to join us?” For Taufic, the answer was easy.

He spent the rest of his year planning a psychology memory experiment in Liberia with a group of other students from the University of Minnesota Student Project for Amity Among Nations (SPAN). He also collaborated with a psychology fellow from Rockefeller University in New York, Michael Cole, and  spent the summer of 1975 traveling across villages in northern Liberia collecting data for the research. Taufic documented his time there by taking photographs — lots and lots of photographs. Once he returned to campus, his work was displayed in a photography show, co-sponsored by St. Olaf Professor Emeritus of Art A. Malcolm “Mac” Gimse ’58, in the old student center. It was also printed by the Minneapolis Tribune for a story on the SPAN organization.

Little did Taufic know that this would lead to his first post-St. Olaf career opportunity.

“Three weeks before I graduated, I didn’t know what I was going to do with my life,” he says. Then he received a call from his uncle, who knew a photographer in New York who was hiring. Taufic sent him a letter and some photographs from Liberia. Three days later, he received a call from the photographer. A week after graduation, he was living at the YMCA on New York’s 34^th Street.

That initial job led to work assisting many known fashion, still-life, and corporate photographers, and then eventually to his own successful business as a corporate annual report photographer. It is a career that has led Taufic to travel across all 50 states in the U.S and more than 40 countries, doing work for Fortune 500 companies like United Technologies, Xerox, JP Morgan, UBS, Chubb, and many more. The world became his studio.

After that initial 2017 visit to Austin, Taufic spent the next three years living in Austin, where he worked closely with community leaders like former mayor Bonnie Rietz and retired Riverland Community College President Adenuga Atewologun. He presented his work to the city of Austin in August 2022 in a photography exhibit and a coffee table book.

“I am just so very grateful that I have been blessed with the ability and opportunity to do this work. It has made a difference in the world, in Minnesota, in Austin,” Taufic says. “People are wanting to come to Austin to see what is going on.”

Pulitzer-prize winning journalist and Harvard lecturer B.D. Colen is coming to Burlington to talk about photography.

Laureate College will welcome Colen to its campus on Saturday, Nov. 18, from 10 until noon. The session is part of Laureate’s Master Class series, which is an outreach program of the private co-ed, day and boarding school for Grade 9-12 students. The series aims to support the arts and build a creative hub in the community.

Colen will discuss documentary and street photography and his day-in-the-life photography (literally shooting photos of a family from sunup to sundown). He’ll then take questions.

Everyone is welcome to listen to the photo/journalist, who covered events that shaped the world, at the campus, 1921 Snake Rd., the 50-acre property of the former Notre Dame Convent.

Colen, 77, now calls London Ont. home. He shared some stories with BurlingtonToday about his impressive career that’s spanned more than six decades behind the lens.

He was working at Newsday in the 1980s when he shared a Pulitzer Prize for local reporting along with his colleague Kathleen Kerr. 

Colen started his journalism career when he was 17 years old, covering the historic March on Washington for a small weekly in Connecticut. He went on to work at The Washington Post,among several esteemed newspapers in the U.S.

For years, he commuted on the Boston subway to teach students at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and that’s where he began his collection of photographs called Alone, Together.

His commute became even longer when he moved to London.

“It was the longest commute; it wore me down,” he admitted. But it also gave him the opportunity to continue his series on individuals who appear alone in crowds of people.

“I photographed whatever caught my eye from the window of the train, to my getting a flu shot at MIT,” said Colen, who’s written several books on medical subjects, one of his specialties as a reporter.  “It started as something to distract me.”

He’s known for his black and white photography that speaks volumes, especially on such subjects such as death, NGOs, civil rights and famine.

Over the years, he’s shot with every brand of camera – Fuji, Leika, Pentax, to name a few. But, he says, a passion for photography is not about the equipment.

“You get hooked very quickly and in that sense the camera doesn’t matter much,” he said. “It’s about being in the right place at the right time and knowing what to do with it, and it either comes together or it doesn’t.

“I used to tell students either you have an eye or you don’t. I can help you focus it, refine it, why you’re doing it, teach technical aspects, techniques, but I can’t give you the eye.”

He says people have asked him,”‘Why photographs?’ Because I can’t not. I have to do it. I don’t know why.”

As for shooting endless photos of a single subject, he said it happens easily. 

“I always say, we’re all our own worst editors. Every photo is one of our babies, and nobody is an ugly baby. It’s learning to put some up for adoption.”

He enjoys reporting and talking to people equally as much.

“I’d tell my feature writing students that being a journalist is stepping on a ladder and looking over the fence into the neighbours’ yard and saying what’s going on. You see and learn things that other people don’t. Writing has come automatically to me. I think it’s having an eye. Anybody can learn to write basic English, but to get beyond that it’s either there or it’s not.”

He said although writing medical stories can be sad, he found it really interesting. In fact, he never took a single biology, physics or chemistry class throughout high school, and he ended up as a medical reporter.

“You ask questions. You learn where to go to get the basics you don’t have,” he said.

Although he says he’s retired, it’s a rare day when he doesn’t lift a camera. Most common, he laughs, his subjects these days are his three dachshunds: Webster, Edna and Cookie.

He said he spends more time now going through digital photos and trying to sort through those than actually shooting. Up until 2001, he only shot on film and he jokes “I was never particularly good at keeping those in order.”

Colen, who’s now married to a fellow dog lover, also has three children. Everyone is artistic: his daughter Karen is director of New York City’s Howard Greenberg Gallery for 20th century photography. His eldest son Ben is a renowned skateboard photographer in California and his youngest son, Nick, 41 is a graphic artist in Boston working on a comic book.

Three members of his family had works selected for this year’s 100KelloggLane London, an art competition which sees 100 works chosen out of thousands of submissions.

Learn more about Colen and find his photography at http://www.bdcolenphoto.com.

Colen’s Nov. 18 talk at Laureate is open to the community and admission is free, but guests are asked to register in advance.

“Fire Dragon Dancer
at the Night” by Zhuowen Ao. Grand Winner. Shot with OnePlus 11

Tech brand OnePlus showed off the creative power of its mobile phones at the renowned Lucie Awards. Held annually to celebrate achievements in photography, the Lucies is a prestigious event that OnePlus helps sponsor. And, as part of the celebrations, eight winners from the OnePlus Photography Awards were exhibited in New York along with other top winners from the International Photo Awards.

“The partnership between the International Photography Awards and OnePlus has given rise to a global photography sensation. This is a magnificent showcase of artistic flair, creativity, and talent hailing from every corner of the globe through the power of mobile phones,” said Hossein Farmani, IPA Founder and President. “We are thrilled to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the International Photography Awards with OnePlus. Our collaboration with OnePlus is a milestone we take immense pride in. Throughout the partnership, we have seen the true potential and power of mobile photography, and we look forward to continuing to work together with OnePlus to make great photography more accessible while encouraging everyone with a phone camera to become a photographer capable of capturing and sharing special moments with the world.”

The winners of the OnePlus Photography Awards were announced in August, with photographer Zhuowen Ao taking home to top prize. His exceptional image of a fire dragon dancer at Chinese New Year shows the power of the OnePlus 11. Sparks of light from the celebration are perfectly captured as the dancer walks through the darkness, showing that the mobile phone can handle tough lighting situations.

The other images placed on display were taken from the competition’s three categories—Infinite Nature, City Voice, and Visions of Night. Each image is a masterclass in mobile photography and fits in beautifully with the other work in the exhibition. From a mysterious ice cave to a crowded subway car, there was nothing that these photographers couldn’t capture with their phones.

Check out some of the incredible winners of the OnePlus Photography Awards.

“Ice Cave” by Chen Ma. 1st Place, Infinite Nature, Official Website. Shot with OnePlus 11

“Crowded Metro Station” by Hhersher Sun. 3rd Place, City Voice, Official Website. Shot with OnePlus 8T

“The Hangrang Valley” by Samyak Jain. 1st Place, Infinite Nature, Social Media Group. Shot with OnePlus 9 Pro

“Ferris Wheels” by Rijan Sangat. 3rd Place, Visions of Night, Official Website. Shot with OnePlus 10 Pro

“The Golden Spruces” by Luca Camminati. 2nd Place, Infinite Nature, Official Website. Shot with OnePlus 9 Pro

“Orion Stars” by mohandravid. 1st Place, Visions of Night, Social Media Group. Shot with OnePlus 9 Pro

“Midwest Midnight” by Justen Christensen. 1st Place, Visions of Night, Official Website. Shot with OnePlus Nord N20

OnePlus: Website | Facebook | Instagram

My Modern Met granted permission to feature photos by OnePlus.

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Since its origins in the 19th century, photography has proven to be a powerful medium for documenting human life and bringing awareness to social issues. When a photograph captures an injustice or iconic moment, it can resonate around the world and galvanize people to take action. Photography’s unique ability to convey visual information makes it an unparalleled tool for social change.

The Power of Visuals

Photography derives immense power from its ability to show rather than tell. As the old adage goes “a picture is worth a thousand words.” A well-composed image can encapsulate complex emotions, narratives, and themes in one frame. Unlike the written word, photos convey information instantaneously. They transcend language and cultural barriers.

A photograph of a starving child or bloody conflict scene elicits an immediate visceral response. Photography captures a split second that communicates volumes through visual details. The way a subjects’ eyes gaze, clothes drape, or limbs contort tell a vivid story. Photography makes it impossible to ignore harsh realities. When people open a newspaper or website and see a photograph of war victims, they cannot dismiss the human costs. The memorable visuals etched in society’s collective conscience have significant psychological impact. Photos of such subject matter play upon human empathy and advance calls for change.

Furthering Social Causes

Many photographers have actively sought to spur societal reforms by documenting relevant subject matter. During the Great Depression, Dorothea Lange captured impoverished farming families, bringing attention to their plight. Her famous “Migrant Mother” photograph became one of the most iconic images of that era. The worn look on the mother’s face, matched by her children’s tattered clothes, tell a bleak story. Lange once said: “The camera is an instrument that teaches people how to see without a camera.” Her social realism photos showed inequalities that needed addressing.

Likewise, Lewis Hine used his camera as a tool for social justice and labor reform in the early 1900s. As an investigative photojournalist, he uncovered the exploitative use of child labor in factories, mines, and canneries. His exposes led to new workplace regulations and business practices. Hine’s photos of children operating heavy machinery potently illustrated why child labor laws were necessary. The innocence of their faces juxtaposed with harsh industrial equipment pulled at the heartstrings.

Other influential photographers such as Jacob Riis, Gordon Parks, and Sebastião Salgado have used their cameras to advance social causes like improving slum conditions, ending segregation, and protecting marginalized groups. Their photos did not just document historic moments – they actively worked to drive social progress and change people’s attitudes.

Turning Points for Human Rights

Certain iconic photos have underscored human rights abuses and spurred international outcry. Nick Ut’s 1972 photograph of a naked Vietnamese girl fleeing a napalm attack conveyed the horrors of the Vietnam War. The disturbing image contributed to growing anti-war sentiment. Similarly, the photos that emerged from Abu Ghraib prison, showing U.S. soldiers humiliating Iraqi prisoners, sparked global condemnation.

Kevin Carter’s 1993 photo of a vulture stalking a starving child in Sudan highlighted the human toll caused by famine and civil war. The UN’s food aid policies toward Sudan changed after this photo’s publication. Modern smartphones have enabled more firsthand documentation of human rights violations. Citizen journalism has exposed atrocities that repressive regimes try to hide from the world.

Photography has proven pivotal for the civil rights, feminist, and LGBTQ+ movements. Photos of peaceful protestors being attacked by police or sprayed by fire hoses conveyed why the cause was just. Iconic images from marches, sit-ins, and riots fueled momentum during the 1960s. Photos of groups marginalized and victimized because of gender or sexual orientation generated solidarity and advanced legislation protecting rights.

Preserving Collective Memory

Beyond inciting immediate reactions, photographs cement significant historical events in society’s collective memory. Photos allow people to visually engage with history beyond what written accounts provide. Seeing those moments resonate more deeply than words alone could.

Photography preserves the raw emotions and humanity from days gone by. Looking at Dorothea Lange’s Depression era portraits or Ellis Island immigration photos creates human connections to the past. Iconic news images of historic events carry immense visual power and context. Anyone seeing the lone Tiananmen Square protestor blocking a tank understands his defiance and courage. Photography solidifies historical moments as shared visual reference points across generations in a way that language alone cannot.

The Advent of Citizen Photojournalism

In today’s digital era, nearly everyone has a camera in their pocket. The rise of smartphones equipped with HD video and sharing apps has transformed eyewitness photography. Citizen photojournalism has allowed pivotal events to be spontaneously documented from multiple angles. Protests, riots, revolutions, and other breaking news can be captured in real-time from the scene.

Average people can quickly share photos or even livestream events as they unfold on the ground. While professional photojournalists still provide invaluable service, citizen footage now significantly expands photographic documentation of historic social moments. This degree of spontaneity and accessibility was unimaginable not long ago. Citizen photos offer street-level perspectives that news outlets cannot always provide.

The framing and vantage point of citizen images can portray events in novel ways as well. The role of photography in social change will only continue evolving in new directions thanks to citizen journalism. Any bystander can potentially capture the next image that spurs major social impact and consequences.

Photography’s ability to incite reactions, shape narratives, and sway opinions explains its enduring impact as an agent of social change. The written word cannot match photography’s immediacy and ability to elicit empathy. Statistical data and facts do not resonate emotionally the way visualized suffering does. Of course, that is not to say that the written word and data are not just as important in their own ways, but neither can elicit the immediate visceral impact an image can. 

Hearing about atrocities secondhand does not compare to seeing photographic evidence. Photography’s influence endures because seeing truly is believing for most people. That timeless maxim will ensure photography’s continued role in advocating for social reform far into the future. Photos that reveal injustice possess unmatched power to spur public outcry and demands for change.

Challenges and Ethical Questions

Despite photography’s immense capacity for positive change, the medium also raises many ethical challenges. Some critics argue that graphic images of human suffering are exploitative and unethical to disseminate regardless of good intentions.

The notion of consent is problematic, as many subjects are unable to give permission or voice objections to how their likeness is used. Audiences often consume troubling photos as spectacle while remaining complacent. Photography can aestheticize and commodify trauma in troubling ways.

Photographers have been criticized for altering the normal behavior of subjects to maximize drama and pathos. Dorothea Lange famously posed her “Migrant Mother” rather than capturing a spontaneous moment. Photojournalists must balance truthful representation with respect for human dignity. They must consider how personal biases, framing, editing, and captions shape perceptions. They hold tremendous power in their hands. 

Finally, the legitimacy of digital photos as accurate documentation faces scrutiny. Continually advancing editing capabilities have enabled convincing image manipulation. The audience must determine whether viral photos are authentic evidence or altered misinformation, and one can easily argue that the audience is always behind the curve of the latest possibilities. Responsible practices and ethics are paramount.

Photography’s Enduring Role

Despite ethical complexities, photography remains an unmatched medium for motivating social reform. Responsible image-makers consider how to respectfully capture human struggles. The power of photography to influence public opinion endures regardless of staging controversies and emerging technologies. A well-composed image will always speak volumes more than words.

Modern camera phones enable any passerby to similarly document injustice. That unprecedented capability will only enhance photography’s role as an agent of social change in the time to come.

Lead image of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. arrested for “loitering,” by Charles Moore (public domain).

The judges (BBC Wildlife Magazine editorial team and photographer Tony Rath) unanimously picked a remarkable photograph of a grizzly bear fishing – by Simon Roberts – as the overall winner in BBC Wildlife Magazine‘s Wildlife Photography Awards 2023.

The grizzly bear went through to the final judging stage after winning the behaviour category in a public vote.

Simon has won an incredible holiday to Belize – home to the second-largest reef system in the world, lush tropical rainforests and picturesque beaches – courtesy of Belize Tourism Board.

Overall winner

Grizzly bear fishing in Alaska by Simon Roberts

The category winners

Entries in each category were whittled down to a shortlist of five by our judges, before going to a public vote.

The five category winners will each receive a Regatta gift bundle, worth £412. Each Regatta gift bundle includes a Volter waterproof insulated jacket, power bank for jacket, Montes fleece, Atholl 35L rucksack and insulated bottle.

Environment winning photograph

Cheetah brothers with rainbow, Maasai Mara, Kenya by Serkan Hussein

Plants & Fungi winning photograph

Honey bee on sunflower, Powys, Wales by Paul Williams

Behaviour winning photograph

Grizzly bear fishing in Alaska by Simon Roberts

Camera phone winning photograph

Camel thorn trees, Deadvlei, Namibia by Ana Amarawansa 

Portraits winner

Elephants, Amboseli, Kenya by Sam Hankss

BBC Wildlife champions ethical wildlife photography that prioritises the welfare of animals and the environment. At heart of the brand is a respect for the natural world.

BBC Wildlife Magazine’s Wildlife Photography Awards were sponsored by Belize Tourism Board and Regatta

Belize Tourism Board

Belize has something for everyone – spot spectacular birds and howler monkeys in the tropical rainforest; visit a jaguar reserve; snorkel in the UNESCO-listed Belize Barrier Reef; look for whale sharks between April and June, and go on an island-hopping tour of cayes and beaches. You can find your trip with Responsible Travel, travel partner of Belize Tourism Board, by browsing an exciting choice of Belize holidays that all support nature and local communities. travelbelize.org

Regatta

Regatta’s mission is to produce affordable clothing, footwear and camping equipment not only for adventurers, but for those who want to open their front door and just have fun. regatta.com