Scarlet

New news on the up and coming cameras from the maker of oaklet sunglasses. ...more

AP drops US Military feed after too many photoshopped pics were released

Another Digitally Altered Department Of Defense Photo; AP Suspends Using Their Hand-Outs ...more

Chung and the new Canon 5D

Guardian photographer Dan Chung takes the new Canon 5D MkII for a spin in Beijing.


Canon EOS5DmkII, One night in Beijing. from Dan Chung on Vimeo.

Also see the world's first short film shot on the same camera.


Tokyo Reality (Canon 5D MarkII) from utsuru on Vimeo.

Milk Contest

Dear Photographer,

We are now only six weeks out from the closing date of the Fresh M.I.L.K. photography competition. We have been excited, amused, moved and inspired by many of the wonderful images from great photographers we have received from around the world, and we would still dearly love to receive an entry from you!

This is a $125,000 international competition to find photographs that capture and celebrate spontaneous and humorous moments shared between friends, families and lovers.

We are inviting both professional and gifted amateur photographers to submit their images now with a free online entry. 150 images will be chosen as finalists and the overall winner, chosen by Magnum photographer Elliott Erwitt, will receive $50,000.

This is a chance to have your photograph become part of a world-renowned collection and be published (under non-exclusive license) in a prestigious international book.

For more information regarding M.I.L.K. and full details of how to enter please visit:

www.milkphotos.com

Competition closes 31 December 2008.

Martin Parr Talks on Flickr

Parr interview ...here no need for much more?

World Press Photo Comp Goes Live on 1st December

On 1 December 2008, the web entry site of the 2009 World Press Photo
contest will go live. ...more

Senior Lecturer Theory and Practice

BA(Hons)/FdA Commercial Photography
Salary £TBC

A Senior Lecturer is required for the internationally acclaimed BA (Hons)/FdA in Commercial Photography.
The course aims to advance contemporary commercial practice, both creatively and critically. Applicants must have a broad understanding of commercial photographic practice with a particular interest in the critical and theoretical debates which inform it. Ideally the candidate will have experience of teaching at undergraduate level, or be prepared to take appropriate teacher training during the first two years of the appointment. The successful candidate must be an enthusiastic advocate of commercial photographic practice, wanting to advance and explore its cultural significance in the 21st Century.

More info

Julia Gets Teaching Post

Congratulations to MA graduate Julia Horbaschk on her appointment as Photography lecturer at City College Brighton &Hove from January 09.

Humanising Photography Conference

Humanising Photography
Durham Centre for Advanced Photography Studies (DCAPS)
Durham University, UK
25-27 September 2009

In the early twenty-first century, the still photographic image continues to be one of the central visual technologies of humanitarianism: from the all-too familiar images documenting successive waves of famine and disease, through those that bear witness to the action and destruction of war, to the photo ops staged in the arena of struggles for human rights. Disseminated across a range of media and spanning geographical distances and cultural divides, photographic images are presented for everyday consumption, produced by practitioners often working explicitly in the name of ‘humanity’ and testifying to acts of injustice and states of destitution and abjection.

And yet: this humanitarian deployment of photography has been vigorously attacked from a variety of angles. The contemporary moment is plagued by anxieties concerning an oversaturated visual sphere and attendant compassion fatigue, a state of anaesthesia said to blunt the photograph’s political and ethical efficacy. Humanitarian photography is predicated on humanist principles even after more than half a century spent interrogating and deconstructing the discourses of humanism. Within photography theory, not only have there been sustained attempts to dismantle ontological notions of photographic reference, but documentary has been pilloried as a practice that is profoundly implicated in the perpetuation of liberal capitalism. Despite all this, however, the fact that photographic images of human suffering, deprivation and also resilience continue to circulate and be deployed suggests an ongoing belief in their power to affect and ultimately to effect change.

‘Humanising photography’ is a single-track conference that aims to establish a creative forum in which to reflect on the political, ethical, historical, and aesthetic questions thrown up by the persistent presence of such images in the context of humanitarian discourses. It will bring practitioners into dialogue with scholars working in the academic fields of visual culture studies broadly construed and representatives from humanitarian organizations. Whilst we welcome papers exploring salient contemporary issues and case studies, we especially encourage those that examine other contexts and histories that have been occluded in the contemporary geopolitical moment, in addition to theoretically-oriented reflections.

Possible areas for consideration might include, but are not restricted to:

What modes of humanist photography might still be valid in the twenty-first century?
What are the histories of humanist photography?
What are the tropes, figures and other rhetorical devices at play in such photography and what are their effects?
What is the political and emotional work that is done by this mode of photographic display and does it work?
What are the modes of appeal of such images, whom do they address and on what terms?
How do the modes of circulation and display impact on modalities of affect and effectivity?

Instructions for submission of abstracts
Please send 500-word abstracts for 30-minute conference presentations and a brief biographical note (maximum 5 lines), together with affiliation and contact details to: photo.group@dur.ac.uk.

Deadline for abstract submission: 19 December 2008.

Notification: by 5 January 2009.

Two Listings of Photo Competitions

Thanks to Photo MA graduate Gemma Thorpe for pointing out these two links to websites that list up and coming photo contests and grants,

www.photocompetitions.eu/

photojournalismlinks.com/awardsgrantsandcompetitions/

Digital Railroad Finally Dies

"The would-be white knight that might have resuscitated Digital Railroad has walked away, leaving DRR with a doubtful future.

Digital media content distributor Newscom and its parent company Mainstream Data have withdrawn a letter of intent to purchase the assets of DRR because they couldn't see how to operate it as a profitable business, says Newscom managing director William Creighton.

"We reviewed the site, we reviewed the technology, we looked at the financials, decided we couldn’t make it work and rescinded our offer," Creighton says." ..more

Fake Photo of Kim Sparks fears of his health

Fresh speculation was sparked about the health of North Korea's "Dear Leader" Kim Jong-il, amid suggestions that an image of Mr Kim was doctored....more

New Salgado Essay

Rolling Stone Magazine has published a new photo essay Ethiopia's Nomad Warriors: Photographs by Sebastião Salgado, a journey to Africa's most remote tribes, whose way of life remains untouched since ancient times ...more

Colin Powell Cites Platon Photo In Obama Endorsement

Photograph by award winning portrait photographer Platon of a woman grieving at a grave of her Muslim American Soldier son killed in Iraq is sited by Powell as a reason for him switching sides to support democrat candidate (and now President to be) Barak Obama. The endorsement demonstrates the power of the portrait to effect change? ...more

100 years of Guardian photography

"Guardian photographer Denis Thorpe and northern editor Martin Wainwright discuss an exhibition of pictures taken by the paper's Manchester photographers. The exhibition, curated by Thorpe, includes striking work taken since the paper appointed its first staff photographer, Walter Doughty, in 1908. A Long Exposure: 100 Years of Guardian Photography runs until March 1 2009 at The Lowry in Salford, Greater Manchester" ...more

Carl Gets 2nd Place in the 20th Sun Awards

MA Graduate Carl Pininngton was awarded 2nd place in the Shot Up North 20th Awards in the prestigious Best Image Category for the picture left. More at Carls website ...HERE

Julia Exhibits at Jubilee Library, Brighton

MA Photo Graduate Julia Horbaschk opens an exhibition, 'Labour of Love' which documents the lives and loves of eastern European immigrants, opens on November 1st in the Jubilee Library, Brighton. Julia's third Brighton Photo Fringe exhibition tackles the stereotypical representation of migrants to this country and is the final piece of her Masters Degree in International Photojournalism. ...more

Sky Falling on Old Media

It’s been an especially rotten few days for people who type on deadline. On Tuesday, The Christian Science Monitor announced that, after a century, it would cease publishing a weekday paper. Time Inc., the Olympian home of Time magazine, Fortune, People and Sports Illustrated, announced that it was cutting 600 jobs and reorganizing its staff. And Gannett, the largest newspaper publisher in the country, compounded the grimness by announcing it was laying off 10 percent of its work force — up to 3,000 people.

Clearly, the sky is falling. The question now is how many people will be left to cover it. ...more

Peu Publishes Term 2 Project

MA Student Peu Azizur Publishes his term 2 project. "The Sundarbans, cover 38,500 sq km, is the world's largest salt-tolerant mangrove forest. Its name literally translates to "beautiful forest", and it is inhabited by about three million people who explore this dangerous terrain for survival." ...more

2 Theory Posts at LCC

Senior Lecturer - Photographic Theory | £38,912 - £46,911 (potential for contribution pay up to £52,282) | School of Media, London College of Communication, SE1

The London College of Communication is a leading international centre for photography education. Join us here, and you will act as Theory Co-ordinator for the BA (hons) Photography, responsible for leading, delivering and developing the theory programme. Drawing on your background in photography history, critical theory and visual culture, you will teach across a wide variety of related topics, as well as contributing to postgraduate theory teaching and research supervision.

Ideally, you will have a particular interest in contemporary photography and art practice, and an understanding of photographic practice and theory from the practitioner's point of view. You will also have a strong research and publication record. As well as being an excellent communicator and enthusiastic teacher, experience of managing the delivery and development of undergraduate photography education will be essential.

In return, we offer a competitive employment package including a salary that reflects working in London; generous annual leave; a final salary pension scheme; and a commitment to your continuing personal and career development in an environment that encourages creativity, diversity and excellence. Relocation assistance is also available.

This post requires you to have a CRB check by the Criminal Records Bureau.

Closing date: Tuesday 11th November 2008

For an application pack, please contact Sandra Borley, School of Media, London College of Communication, Elephant & Castle, London SE1 6SB. Tel: 02075146806; email: s.borley@lcc.arts.ac.uk

Portfolio Sessions for Graduates

Nottingham Trent University has teamed up with the internationally-renowned fine art photographers’ development agency, Rhubarb-Rhubarb, to deliver Cultivate, a two day programme for photographers, featuring some of the country’s most revered names in the sector.

Designed for graduates and early business start-ups, specialising in photography or fine art photography, the course offers state-of-the-art advice and guidance, aimed to assist survival in the competitive image world, and a chance for photographers to show their work to some of the UK’s leading gallerists, publishers, agents and curators.

The event will feature award-winning photographer, Simon Roberts, who last year won bursaries from the National Media Museum and Arts Council England to support his extraordinary project, We English, where he has travelled around the UK in a camper van with his wife, who is expecting their second child. He received the ‘Vic Odden Award’ from the Royal Photographic Society (2007) - offered for a notable achievement in the art of photography by a British photographer aged 35 or under. He was also featured in the Independent on Saturday Magazine’s ‘Talent Issue’ (2007) as one of their rising stars.

On Friday 21st November, Simon will be joined by Michelle Sank – Fine Art Photographer, and Germaine Walker – Commercial Agent, who will all be talking about Becoming Visible – on being represented by galleries, life in advertising and working internationally. Also that day, Rhonda Wilson – Creative Director of Rhubarb-Rhubarb, Gwen Thomas – Association of Photographers, and Richard Wills – Photofusion, will talk about Preparing for Market, with the latest information on putting together a folio, copyright, and the mysteries of digital output.

Saturday 22nd November is the Portfolio day, with a star-spangled glitterati from some of theUK’s premiere galleries and photo publications, including Ashley Givens – V & AMuseum,London; Katy Barron – Purdy Hicks Gallery,London; Neil Walker – Djanogly Gallery, Nottingham; Louise Clements – Quad/Format Festival, Derby, and Simon Bainbridge – Editor of British Journal of Photography.

Rhonda Wilson, Creative Director of Rhubarb-Rhubarb, says, “We are delighted with this partnership with Nottingham Trent University, which shows their absolute awareness of that important leap from education into real world business for their photo students and graduates. The knowledge available through the two day event is crucial for anyone in the early stages of their career in the gallery or fine art world.”

Max Kandhola, Programme Leader of Photography at Nottingham Trent University, says “ We have been working with Rhonda Wilson & Rhubarb for over 15 years, in supporting students and graduates in their formative years, providing advice and critical insight into the fine art photography markets, commercial industries, galleries, networking and business links.”

Details and Bookings for all events are available on-line at: www.Rhubarb-Rhubarb.net

For more information contact: admin@rhubarb-rhubarb.net

Rankin Goes to Congo

Working with Oxfam GB fashion photogrpaher Rankin goes to a refugee camp in Congo to shoot portraits. He talks on the BBC about the experience ....more