One thing that Google arguably does better than any other phone maker is AI, and this is used to great effect by the company’s cameras. In the past, we’ve seen how AI can remove unwanted people and objects from scenes with Magic Eraser, but with the Google Pixel 8 the company looks to have a new – and slightly creepy – AI trick up its sleeve.

Leaker @MysteryLupin (via The Verge) has shared a new video advert for the Pixel 8 line, which starts by showing how easy it is to switch to Pixel, but then moves on to photography features, with the most eye-catching being Best Take.

This feature – which has been mentioned in a previous leak but only now shown in action – snaps multiple photos and combines them to create the best possible composite image.

Now, composite images aren’t a new idea – you can use them to create HDR shots for example. But here it’s not combining different exposures, it’s swapping out facial expressions, poses, and other aspects to make something of a Frankenstein’s monster, albeit one that might look a lot better than any of the individual photos.

Most of the other things in this clip are existing features, though we do catch another glimpse of the now extensively leaked and teased Pixel 8 Pro.

And this isn’t the only recent Pixel 8 leak, as leaker @Za_Raczke has also taken to X (formerly known as Twitter) to show off a selection of what appears to be official Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro cases.

In the case of the Pixel 8 these will apparently be available in Rose, Mint, Charcoal, and Hazel colors, while the Pixel 8 Pro’s cases are said to come in Bay, Charcoal, Mint, and Porcelain shades.

These are different to the shades we’re expecting from the phones themselves, with the Pixel 8 previously rumored to come in Haze, Jade, Licorice, and Peony shades, while the Pixel 8 Pro will reportedly come in Sky, Porcelain, and Licorice colors.

We’ll know all the official colors and everything else about the Pixel 8 line soon, because these phones are set to land on October 4. TechRadar will cover the launch in full, so head back then for all the announcements; in the meantime do check out our Pixel 8 event hub, and how to watch the Pixel 8 launch live. 

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Lampung, Indonesia

An endangered female Sumatran rhinoceros, recently born at the Sumatran Rhino Sanctuary of Kambas national park, seen next to her mother, Ratu

Photograph: Antara Foto/Reuters

What is a border? A limit, a beginning, but also an end. A constantly moving (in)visible line that demarcates a “this way”, which we know well, and a “that way”, which is other than us and doesn’t belong to us. Characterizing this term has always been its changeable nature. This is how, over time, it has extended to many fields of human experience, changing form and substance. Just think how, each time the border concept has crossed spheres of creativity, it has achieved ever different shades of meaning. An evolution that in some ways would seem to be similar to that of mankind, and perhaps the reason is because it ideally represents that window through which we can observe our actions, that window that offers us the opportunity to get to know ourselves better. Consequently, every time we talk about it, we are talking about ourselves. Here, the shots of Viktoria Andreeva, Loc Boyle, Alessio Bucciero, Sara Camporesi and Gaia Caramellino investigate the elusive nature of the boundary concept from different perspectives.

The Bulgarian photographer Viktoria Andreeva explores in her series Relay the most primordial of boundaries, that of our skin. The project delves into the complex relationship between individuals, exploring themes such as identity, human duality and metamorphosis. Within each composition, the absolute protagonist is the body, which becomes the instrument to give life to a series of contradictions. In her photographs, the subjects can appear close and intimate and at the same time shy and distant. This is because Andreeva intentionally depersonalizes them, capturing their curves in an abstract and surreal way and hiding and revealing parts of their bodies each time. By distorting the figures, the photographer aims to cross the boundary between reality and illusion and, in doing so, makes us realize how this concept depends entirely on our perception and is therefore subjective and undefined, hence abstract. 

The distortion of perception adopted by Andreeva returns in Loc Boyle‘s photography. In this case, the Australian photographer imagines new forms of the body and experiments with a different kind of boundary: the ability of a man to “be art”, framing bodies as if they were monolithic sculptures. They are covered in paint, trapped in lycra, stretched and sometimes even folded in on themselves; all the while holding abstract, dramatic or simply bizarre poses. The result is images full of contrasts: powerful, delicate, still, moving, abstract, human. Images that, at the same time, are able to intrigue and confuse the observer, who, stunned, asks himself “Is this a work of art, a sculpture or the essence of something as yet unknown?”.

For Alessio Bucciero, the border should not be understood as a synonym for separation, “For me it means getting closer to something”, says the Italian photographer. This is evident from the first glance in the photo of the two lovers caught in an embrace, which Bucciero makes appear as if they were two parts of a single identity. Here, that threshold that distinguishes – as was said at the beginning of this text – a “this way” and a “that way” is no longer posed as a line of inclusion/exclusion, but becomes increasingly rarefied until it disappears, creating something that has never existed and that must be explored. And so, unintentionally, we forget that ancestral need to feel protected within a delimited space, overcoming the more traditional definition of a border once and for all. 

While Andreeva, Boyle and Bucciero investigate the concept of boundary in the body dimension exclusively, Sara Camporesi‘s research focuses on the definition of “presence” that the body occupies in its surroundings. So what the Italian photographer examines is the space that is created between the body and architecture, between fullness and emptiness. “The moment in which everything is still suspended, in which we are and are not, in which we hold something elusive, something that precedes us and without which nothing could begin,” says Camporesi. In the shot taken in the Metaphysical City of Tresigallo, in the plain of Ferrara, we see that border become the beginning of a shared journey to discover a new and unimaginable elsewhere. An elsewhere in which to immerse ourselves and be amazed by what it is able to reveal: something of us that we didn’t know existed, that helps us (re)know or rediscover.

Different, but in some ways similar to Camporesi’s, is the border understood by Gaia Caramellino. In her photographs, this concept suddenly takes shape, becoming that place where you can find yourself again and again. Therefore, it is not an unknown space, but one of which one has experience. A cradle or rather “a safe place, crystallized in time, in which one can be weak, open to blows, to falls. A kind of waiting room aimed at nowhere, a no-man’s land where you arbitrate on an equal footing with your own history”, says the photographer. In front of her shots, the observer therefore finds himself staring at a boundary that does not belong to him. 

In the research of the five photographers examined, we have realized that the concept of a boundary is subjective and abstract. However much we try to delimit its perimeter, the result will never be definitive because it is nothing more than an idea that does not exist. An idea that we have constructed, with the sole purpose of narrating it. 

A child standing barefoot, seemingly playing with a bag over their head; an old woman sticking her tongue out during an medical examination; a family sitting in an empty room on Holi Day, staring into the camera; a girl hanging upside down from a tree, her head in another girl’s hands.

For a portfolio that included these images captured in rural Rajasthan, Indian photographer Gauri Gill has won the prestigious Prix Pictet, a global award for photography and sustainability.

During her visits to western Rajasthan for the past 24 years, Gill said in a statement that she “witnessed a complex reality,” previously unknown to her as “a city dweller,” as she engaged closely with the marginalized communities living there.

“To live poor and landless in the desert amounts to an inescapable reliance on oneself, on each other, and on nature,” she added. “These fragments of shared experience now inhabit a large photographic archive called Notes from the Desert.”

First launched in 2008, the Prix Pictet photography award aims to capture and highlight issues of work on themes connected to sustainability. Each of its 10 editions has focused on a different facet of sustainability and this year’s competition was themed “Human.”

Eleven other portfolios of work were shortlisted for the award. They included Ragnar Axelsson’s series of photos depicting Inuit hunters and Nenet reindeer-hunters, whose ways of life are being threatened by the climate crisis, and Siân Davey’s images capturing visitors to her back garden, all in various poses among the wildflowers.

Alessandro Cinque was also shortlisted for his images “chronicling the difficult coexistence between the indigenous Quechua people in Peru, their land, and the mining industry,” he said in a statement.

By focusing on the “Human” theme, organizers of the award aimed to “foster a deeper understanding of our shared humanity and inspire meaningful conversations about the issues that impact us all,” said Isabelle von Ribbentrop, Executive Director of Prix Pictet, in a statement.

The shortlisted photographs will be exhibited at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London until October 22 before being shown in museums around the world, including in Istanbul, Dublin, Bangkok and Stockholm.

A selection of the images can be viewed in the gallery above.

WOODSTOCK, Vt. (WCAX) – Juancarlos Gonzalez has been working as a photographer for about eight years.

Now, living in Windsor County, he’s constantly surrounded by Vermont’s lush landscape and an abundance of agriculture. The faces behind those farms are the topic of his recent exhibit profiling Vermont’s female farmers.

The inspiration for this new exhibit at Billings Farm and Museum didn’t come in a dream but rather from a farm to a dinner table.

“A couple of the tables next to us asked the staff, ‘Who’s the guy you get your veggies from? Or who’s the guy that you get your meats from?’” Gonzalez, who is from Puerto Rico, says hearing that question brought him back to childhood.

“My grandmother used to have a farm stand and people would come by and say, ‘Who’s the guy that runs the farm? Or who’s the guy that I can talk to?’” said Gonzalez.

Because sometimes, it’s not the guy running the operation, it’s the woman. It’s a population of farmers Gonzalez feels is underrepresented, especially when it comes to women of color.

“I think there is an opportunity here to amplify the female farming industry that I feel is in a shadow for all these decades,” said Gonzalez.

And so the seeds for this show were planted. He started with an Instagram message to Waitsfield’s Emily von Trapp.

What was supposed to be a show featuring 10 farmers quickly grew as these powerful women nominated more powerful women to share the spotlight. Gonzalez traveled all over the state to photograph these farmers, and he says he developed a unique relationship with each one.

“Thirty-five minutes will turn into two to three hours because you just created this synergy, and it was a beautiful, magical time,” said Gonzalez.

The now 38 farmers are featured in 45 images at Billings Farm and Museum, a seemingly perfect venue for the project.

Sherlock Terry, the curatorial and exhibits manager at Billings, says this exhibition fits seamlessly with their mission.

“Our farm has been run by women since the 1890s, and so we just have this long tradition. This ties in nicely with that. One of our main things is educating people about food and agriculture and where their food comes from, and an exhibition like this is 100% about that,” said Terry.

Terry also says the show has drawn in much attention from locals and visitors here to take in the foliage. Gonzalez hopes this project prompts more support for local farmers.

“By reading about each farmer, I hope people can dig into it, get to know the farmer, learn more about the industry, and not just see the cute little front stand. There’s more to it behind that,” said Gonzalez.

The exhibit runs at Billings Farm and Museum in Woodstock until Oct. 31. The photos and information have also been compiled into a book.

Copyright 2023 WCAX. All rights reserved.

Imtiaz Ali, known for his directorial prowess with films like Jab We Met, Love Aaj Kal, Rockstar, and Highway, has also ventured into the world of photography. Besides his recent foray into production for OTT shows like Dr. Arora and She, Imtiaz had also taken on the role of a judge in a photography-based reality show. What many may not realize is that Imtiaz is a talented photographer himself, a passion he doesn’t often indulge in due to his role as a film director.

In a conversation with News18, Imtiaz confessed his deep fondness for photography but lamented the limited opportunities he gets to pursue it while directing films.He explained that having a skilled photographer in his cinematography team, operating alongside him, often demotivates him from engaging in still photography. He admitted that the majority of his personal photographs are taken using his phone camera and typically capture food, places and faces.
Imtiaz expressed regret about not fully pursuing his passion for photography but he remains hopeful that one day he’ll have the chance to dedicate more time to it. One constant theme in his movies is the city of Delhi, which holds a special place in his heart due to the time he spent there. He believes there’s still much of Delhi left unexplored and sees the city as an endless source of visual storytelling possibilities, brimming with drama.
Currently, Imtiaz is preparing for his upcoming project, a biopic on Amar Singh Chamkila, featuring Diljit Dosanjh and Parineeti Chopra in lead roles. Both actors have also lent their voices to the film’s soundtrack. The movie is set for a direct-to-digital release.

New Delhi: A photography exhibition opening on October 2 in Delhi explores the curious histories behind the most iconic photographs of M.K. Gandhi. Titled ‘The Light Has Gone Out — Photography and Gandhi’s Assassination’, the exhibition is a culmination of 20 years of research by co-curator Ram Rahman.

The project features unpublished photos by French photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson, rare photos from Cartier-Bresson’s original Magnum press prints, writings from Nayantara Sahgal and newspaper clippings on Gandhi’s assassination.

Rahman’s interest in this project sparked years ago when he found the Life magazine issue on Gandhi’s assassination — a multipage tribute with the famous photo of Gandhi and his spinning wheel by Margaret Bourke-White featured at the top.

He then became fascinated by the history uncovered by former journalist and historian Claude Cookman, who researched the professional relationship between Bourke-White and Cartier-Bresson, their varying approaches and their challenges while photographing Gandhi.

In his exhibition, Rahman will use Cookman’s research to tell the stories that happened behind the photos. These stories explain how Bourke-White’s use of flash stopped her from getting the perfect photo at Gandhi’s death and the real story behind Cartier-Bresson’s famous photo of the cremation grounds during Gandhi’s funeral.

To build on the photos themselves, co-curator and art historian Saarthak Singh compiled newspapers and archived texts for the project.

“We’re putting up lots of newspapers from that time in different languages — English, Hindi, Urdu — which covered that moment of the killing,” Rahman said. “So, it’s a way of looking back at a key moment in our history, but through a different lens.”

After years of research, Rahman and his team chose to release the exhibition now given current attitudes toward Gandhi’s assassination. In the past few years, Gandhi’s assassination has become a polarising historical event, with some Hindu nationalists praising Nathuram Godse and NCERT deleting texts relating to the assassination in school textbooks.

“It’s a way of reminding people of who killed Gandhi and why, because history is being re-written, re-interpreted in a very shallow manner,” Rahman said. “And we thought that this is a good way of bringing some kind of memory, particularly to the younger generation, which doesn’t know a lot of this history.”

‘The Light Has Gone Out — Photography and Gandhi’s Assassination’ will be open to the public from October 2 to October 21 at Jawahar Bhawan in Delhi. Rahman said he has designed it as a travelling exhibition and hopes it can be displayed in other parts of the country going forward.

Yasmeen Saadi is an intern at The Wire.