Emilio Morenatti began photographing the elderly in Spain during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, when it was decimating communities throughout Europe, and provided a glimpse into what was happening to the most vulnerable populations internationally for the remainder of the year.
We recently talked with Lee Shulman, Film director, Founder and Curator of The Anonymous Project. He was kind enough to give Lenscratch an interview on the process of collecting photographs, building stories and entering so many people’s lives several dec
We recently talked with Lee Shulman, Film director, Founder and Curator of The Anonymous Project. He was kind enough to give Lenscratch an interview on the process of collecting photographs, building stories and entering so many people’s lives several decades later.
For more than 20 years, from the start of the Soviet-Afghan War through the rise of the Taliban and their control of the country, Edward Grazda photographed Afghanistan. The photographs he made show an Afghanistan going through great changes, and mirror w
For more than 20 years, from the start of the Soviet-Afghan War through the rise of the Taliban and their control of the country, Edward Grazda photographed Afghanistan. The photographs he made show an Afghanistan going through great changes, and mirror what is going on in the country today.
The Roadmaker is a new retrospective of work by photographer James Barnor drawing from across his career, demonstrating his modernism and inherent ski…
The Roadmaker is a new retrospective of work by photographer James Barnor drawing from across his career, demonstrating his modernism and inherent skill as a colorist.
In this feverish photographic hallucination, Cristiano Volk takes a critical look at capitalism, capturing the signs and symbols of our consumerist culture in electric shades of neon
In this feverish photographic hallucination, Cristiano Volk takes a critical look at capitalism, capturing the signs and symbols of our consumerist culture in electric shades of neon.
To begin this week of celebrating artists using vernacular or found photographs, we need to describe this ever expanding genre. We use the term vernacular to illustrate this week’s images because they employ the visual language of the everyday, photograph
Artist Greg Sand has a legacy of considering other people’s photographs, transforming the images in new ways to speak about memory, the passage of time, mortality, and the photograph’s role in shaping our experience of loss. We are thrilled to have Greg as our juror this month for the Vernacular Exhibition which will run on Saturday. Greg shares his own thoughts on the subject and Roland Barthes words from Camera Lucida, “Photography’s unique ability to capture a fleeting moment allows it to expose the temporality of life. “By giving me the absolute past of the pose… the photograph tells me death in the future… I shudder over a catastrophe which has already occurred.” These words from Roland Barthes’s Camera Lucida precisely describe how I feel when I consider a photograph so old that the subject must be dead. My response has a number of layers: I feel an immediate connection to the living person in the photograph, followed by a dread of what inevitably is to come for them, completed by a sense of grief over what has, of course, already transpired. This reaction is why my work utilizes found photographs, which I manipulate to create a narrative exploring mortality. My work aims to question the nature of photographs and challenge the traditional definition of photography.
Cai Dongdong History of Life Captured through the eyes of ordinary Chinese citizens before, during, and after the cultural revolution and curated by one of China’s most talented visual artist…
Captured through the eyes of ordinary Chinese citizens before, during, and after the cultural revolution and curated by one of China’s most talented visual artists, “History of Life” presents a fascinating story on the determination of the human spirit. A collection of 415 restored photographs chronicling the history of modern China from the 1910s to the late 1990s.
As America enters its third wave of the opioid epidemic, a new exhibition brings together the work of four photographers to grapple with the ongoing questions surrounding the crisis.
As America enters its third wave of the opioid epidemic, a new exhibition brings together the work of four photographers to grapple with the ongoing questions surrounding the crisis.
Returning to his childhood neighborhood of Spring Valley, Al J Thompson’s first book is a loving testimony to a shifting landscape and the faces of those living in it
Returning to his childhood neighborhood of Spring Valley, Al J Thompson’s first book is a loving testimony to a shifting landscape and the faces of those living in it.
In April 2021, photographers Carmen Chan, Emiliano Granado, and Jared Soares launched Fuck Gatekeeping, a “professional photographic knowledge base” composed of a website and Instagram account to share their business experience with other photographers. A
In April 2021, photographers Carmen Chan, Emiliano Granado, and Jared Soares launched Fuck Gatekeeping, a “professional photographic knowledge base” composed of a website and Instagram account to share their business experience with other photographers. Although there’s no dearth of business books, trade associations, and YouTube videos, reaching younger and/or emerging photographers to disseminate best business practices has always been challenging. Intrigued by the trio’s irreverent approach, I reached out to them for answers.
The new film Minamata starring Johnny Depp explores the final chapter of Smith’s career. Here, his widow Aileen Mioko Smith recounts their extraordinary work.
The new film Minamata starring Johnny Depp explores the final chapter of Smith’s career. Here, his widow Aileen Mioko Smith recounts their extraordinary work.
Sembène, meanwhile, offered an eviscerating criticism of both, famously accusing them of looking at Africans like insects. Sembène’s opening question to Rouch was: “Will European cinematographers, you for example, continue to make films about Africa once there are a lot of African cinematographers?” Regrettably, they do
The most gruesome images of COVID-19’s wrath in the Western press have originated from the formerly colonized nation and stand in contrast with an imageless COVID-19 crisis in the United States.
The most gruesome images of COVID-19’s wrath in the Western press have originated from the formerly colonized nation and stand in contrast with an imageless COVID-19 crisis in the United States.
Sometimes people say these photos are beautiful, but I just want to show people what’s happening. Right now you don’t want to show people how good you are, with composition or whatever. What matters is how well you can convey the message through your pictures that it’s not safe out here. If people see my pictures on social, maybe they will be more cautious. Photographers are the ones who see everything—hospital, graveyards, cremation grounds.
In a report from Reuters, the complaint alleges that Instagram’s embedding tool allowed publishers to display copyrighted images without obtaining permission from artists or paying a licensing fee. The class-action lawsuit could include “many thousands” of photographers who claim Instagram “induced online publishers” to embed links to Instagram in order to drive traffic — and by association advertising revenue — to the site.
Since Spring 2015, Jacob Ehrbahn has been documenting the worst refugee crisis in recent history. He is determined to make sure the issue, which is still devastating lives, does not fade from public attention.
Since Spring 2015, Jacob Ehrbahn has been documenting the worst refugee crisis in recent history. He is determined to make sure the issue, which is still devastating lives, does not fade from public attention.
Some photo projects are organic, made for personal memory keeping or a desire to document familial events, large and small. I have been a long time friend and fan of Deanna Dikeman and have so enjoyed the decades long documentation of her family doing ord
Some photo projects are organic, made for personal memory keeping or a desire to document familial events, large and small. I have been a long time friend and fan of Deanna Dikeman and have so enjoyed the decades long documentation of her family doing ordinary things, living ordinary lives, resulting in an extraordinary body of work that speaks to time, memory, and routine. One of those routines that Dikeman captured each time she said her goodbyes was to photograph her parents waving to her as she departed. This simple gesture seems unremarkable as a singular event, but when you gather 27 years of goodbyes, the work is poignant and profoundly meaningful. Starting in 1991, she has chronicled this simple and heartfelt gesture, with a history that comes to a inevitable end. Though personal, this project has a universal appeal that speaks to familial love and the quiet gestures that bond us together.
Hyperallergic interviews Jia about Swimming Out Till the Sea Turns Blue and finding people to testify about their experiences in rural villages over the past seven decades.
Hyperallergic interviews Jia about Swimming Out Till the Sea Turns Blue and finding people to testify about their experiences in rural villages over the past seven decades.
One in five US adults experiences mental illness each year. I happen to be one of them. At least 8.4 million Americans provide care to an adult with an emotional…
These artists have explored mental health in different ways through a variety of media, from documentary photography to mixed-media collage. Some have documented their personal experiences, while others have collaborated with loved ones as they navigated mental health issues. Still more collaborated with mental health organizations and refuge centers to help bring unforgettable stories to light. While their experiences are unique, each one of them serves as a reminder of the importance of sharing our stories and listening to others.
That’s how AFP photographer Luis Robayo captions two Instagram posts featuring recent images of himself on assignment covering protests in Columbia (1, 2). The protests started in opposition to a tax reform bill and then quickly escalated into expressions of outrage against police violence, government corruption, a poorly handled pandemic, and increasing poverty.
