Turning points in the lives and works of photographers often span the extremes—from global and national events to the most personal moments. Photographers such as Alec Soth and Zun Lee are able to not only bear witness to events that shape our collective history, but also to map more intimate transitions within their craft and their everyday lives.
What happens when a major photo magazine shuts down? That question has reverberated throughout our office ever since Emerald Expositions, the owner of Photo District News (PDN), announced that the beloved magazine was ceasing publication. The decision to
We’ve been big fans of PDN‘s gear announcements, industry news and attention to advertising and commercial photography for a long time. But today we’re focusing on one legacy in particular, PDN 30, which introduced us to an incredible set of photographers in the early stages of their promising careers. After checking in on some past PDN 30 honorees for nostalgia purposes, we want to highlight where a few of them are in their careers today.
Tasneem Alsultan was browsing in a Dubai bookstore a few years ago when she found “She Who Tells a Story,” a collection of photo essays by members of Rawiya, a collective of Arab women. Ms. Alsultan then had a thriving wedding photography business in Saudi Arabia and the gulf states, but she had no idea what possibilities awaited beyond that. As she paged through the volume, however, Ms. Alsultan saw clearly a new path — to tell dignified stories of Arab women.
Alsultan also talked to us about how her dual perspective shapes the work she’s done in the US. And she touched on another topic we’ll be covering in our September issue: how photographers cover stories about vulnerable subjects without stereotyping or re-victimizing them. While she’s examining a culture we rarely see, she hopes her images inspire us to examine ourselves
