XXI
January – was that a long month, or is it just me?
February 1, 2024
NEWS – It’s all local
What happened in the industry this month?
#ONPA MATTERS
It’s all about us.
1/ Our 73rd Annual Still & Multimedia Contest is almost here …
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2/ ICYMI, as seen over on onpa.org:
- Jeremy Wadsworth repeats as ONPA Clip Contest Photographer of the Year
- The Buckeye Visualist is back! This time, host Lori King sits down with Signal Akron editor-in-chief, Susan Zake, and multimedia reporter/producer, Kassi Filkins.
#OTHER INDUSTRY MATTERS
Where to begin? Where to end?
1/ PhotoMechanic users, a #PSA: MacOS14.3 (Sonoma) has been breaking PM. As always, check in with CameraBits’ forums for updates, here.
2/ On AI, (I can’t believe we’re still living this):
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- PetaPixel – Cameras, Content Authenticity, and the Evolving Fight Against AI Images
“The point is that a media outlet like the Associated Press, Reuters, or The New York Times would be able to institute a policy where each would not publish an image unless it had an intact digital signature, therefore protecting them from unwittingly sharing a fake image. That is, in essence, all the CAI and the Verify web app are able to do. Of course, achieving even this goal requires buy-in from camera makers. They have, luckily gotten it and it will start to widely roll out this year.”
- Techradar – Sony, Canon and Nikon set to combat deepfakes with digital signature tech in future cameras
- NPPA: Advocacy: Oversight of A.I. – The Future of JournalismU.S. Senate Committee of the Judiciary held a subcommittee hearing on Jan. 10, 2024, in the Dirksen Senate Office Building, presided by Chair Sen. Richard Blumenthal. This recording is two hours long and a valuable window into the processes and discussions being held in Washington, D.C. The committee addresses anti-trust laws in an unbalanced marketplace of a few high-tech companies that have monopolized data and information. They acknowledge the news deserts and inequity that communities are experiencing as newspapers fold across the nation at an astonishing rate. The witness’s testimonies map out the pros and cons of AI and “… journalism’s moral obligation to an informed democracy … and please let us rethink copyright for this age,” as Prof. Jeff Jarvis, CUNY Graduate School of Journalism, stated.
- WaPo – AI is outrageous — and wonderful. It’s also prompting a new art form.
- WaPo (Upcoming, LIVE) – New breakthroughs in artificial intelligencecould lead to one of the largest technological shifts in generations and already have governments around the world racing to develop guardrails. On Tuesday, Feb. 6 at 9:00 a.m. ET, Anne Neuberger, deputy national security advisor for cyber and emerging technologies, and other key players join Washington Post Live to discuss the big questions that could shape the path forward for AI.Watch Live: wapo.st/futuristfeb2024
- The Journalists Toolbox (Mike Reilley) – Not all AI is bad. On data tools: AI SPREADSHEET AND SCRAPING TOOLS
3/ NPPA – ICYMI: the NPPA Best of Photojournalism Contest has been the ire of many photojournalism for controversy surrounding language within the rules for this year’s contest. In a nutshell, it was decided that only published works would be eligible. What’s more, the language used to define the rules reclassified what is and isn’t photojournalism based on publication status. Many have taken to social media to express outrage, concerns, and more. You can read those conversations and comments mostly on FB by looking at the feeds of Scott Strazzante, Louie Palu, and more.
4/ Freep – In an announcement on X and also via their website (paywalled), Nicole Avery Nichols, editor at the Detroit Free Press, has announced that “Starting Feb. 1, the ‘View Comments’ button will disappear from our articles. While we believe in the importance of engagement, we are making the hard choice to move away from the space due to the time investment needed to produce a safe and constructive dialogue.”
As expected, the comments in that initial post on X are, well … don’t read the comments.
5/ NeimanLab – In nonprofit startup news, TheMessenger might not make it past month 9, according to Joshua Benton in his recent article, “No need to shoot The Messenger: Its muddled ideas are doing the job”.
6/ The Columbus Dispatch – From staff photographer Adam Cairns on X, did you know that “In 1980 @DispatchAlerts became the first newspaper available online thanks to UA-based CompuServe”? Thanks Adam, that was a really great read and gallery!
#PEOPLE
Movement, Highlights & More
1/ Molly Walsh is a staff writer at Cleveland.com/The Plain Dealer. She recently wrote about having her car stolen out of Cleveland. It was a Kia. I’m a crime reporter covering car thefts, and my car was stolen. Now what?
Ps: Did you know that Molly was crowned 2023 Miss Dyngus? Don’t know about Dyngus Day in Cleveland??? Yeah, its a thing.
Update: the car was recovered and is still in the shop. She’s planning writing a follow-up to the experience, according to a post on X, Jan. 30.
2/ Freep photographer Kirt Dozier was an immensely talented journalist, and an even better guy
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3/ Congratulations to Jonathan Aguilar, staff photographer at the Toledo Blade for recently tying the knot!
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4/ NYT – Peter Magubane, 91, Who Fought Apartheid With His Camera, Is Dead
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“When I saw ‘Europeans Only,’ I knew I would have to approach with caution,” Mr. Magubane told The Guardian. “But I didn’t have a long lens, so I had to get close. I did not interact with the woman or the child, though. I never ask for permission when taking photos. I have worked amid massacres, with hundreds of people being killed around me, and you can’t ask for permission.”
5/ AP – Hal Buell, who led AP’s photo operations from darkroom era into the digital age, dies at 92. Among other things, “Buell made the crucial decision in 1972 to run Ut’s photo of a naked young girl fleeing her burning village after napalm was dropped on it by South Vietnamese Air Force aircraft. The image of Kim Phuc became one of the most haunting images of the Vietnam War and came to define for many all that was misguided about the war.”
#RESOURCES and #INSPIRATIONS
Helpful things and eye-catchers
1/ I have a handful of Bluesky Social invites available – email me if you’d like an alternative to some of the other more frustrating services still in existence.
2/ It’s likely that a majority of those of you reading this have covered or experienced some form of trauma as a photojournalist – whether at home in your own coverage area, or somewhere else. The task will forever be hard. How we deal with whatever it may be unfolding before us and our lenses, is complicated. From the NYT, That Numbness You’re Feeling? There’s a Word for It.
3/ Clay Stark, a current OU sophomore, has started a new project, the National College Sports Photography Association, “a platform dedicated to empowering and showcasing the talents of college photographers immersed in the dynamic world of sports.” It will be interesting to see what they end up doing over the next calendar year. You can also follow them on IG.
3/ From The New Yorker comes The Women Who Mother Lifelike Baby Dolls, an uncanny and somewhat disturbing work I’ve had bookmarked for several years. I return to it now and then as I think about my own three children’s lives as well as a few pregnancies lost with partners over time. Do you have a deeply personal project in which you appear, dealing with deeply personal subject matter?
4/ Dina Litovsky has been sharing “A somewhat serious guide to photography do’s and don’ts” over on her IG feed. There are some important nuggets of information to consider for sure. Dina is a frequent contributor to NatGeo, the New Yorker, NYT, and TIME. Her feed is a great follow if IG is your thing. She’s a tremendous photographer.
5/ Are you planning on covering the upcoming total eclipse of the moon? Space.com has some good tips.
6/ BBC News has published a profoundly beautiful, powerful and moving photo essay by Helen Rimmell of her mother as she struggles with dementia: Dementia: Photos lay bare agony of slowly losing mum. We’ve seen essays on the subject before, but this one is breathtakingly beautifully photographed, with such compassion and sensitivity — often only achieved by being so close to the person.
7/ Reed Hoffman shared a veritable treasure trove of information in a recent self-published online article, MANAGING THE COLD AS A PHOTOGRAPHER, after covering the NFL playoff game between the Chiefs and the Dolphins for the AP.
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8/ TheGaurdian – Dive into the surreal: strange views of Cuba – in pictures, from Cuban photographer, Raúl Cañibano.
9/ AP – On the heels of so much change in our industry, “What to do if you’re concerned you might be laid off — or if you’ve lost your job”.
I normally don’t read over these typically click-bait-ish articles, but since it was penned by a real human being on the business beat, I gave it a go. There’s some great nuggets of information; although, I would have rearranged the order of things to do presented. Leading off with ‘start saving now’ probably could have been edited. Saving is something you should ideally be doing already, if possible.
One thing that isn’t mentioned, and may be classified as a micro-action: save your work. If you’re a photographer, this goes without saying. You should already have a portfolio somewhere at the ready if not already published. If you’re like me and spinning lots of plates, make sure material is well organized and thoughtfully presented. For instance, I have just shy of 100 written bylines in less that 3 years. What do I do with samples behind a paywall than contain good photography as well? (I don’t have that solved yet, but tear-sheet PDF’s are usually the answer.) Of course, that kind of presentation gets complicated if the publishing entity also serves up unending advertisements, embedded or via pop-ups.
10/ Music photographer, staff photographer for The Tonight Show, and Nikon Ambassador Todd Owyoung shares 10 TIPS TO CREATE YOUR BEST PHOTOGRAPHY PORTFOLIO.
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11/ Ap staffer Julio Cortez, who also served as a judge for last year’s annual still and multimedia contest, made probably one of the most memorable sports feature pictures from the Chief’s win over the Ravens on Jan. 28. It appears (from photos across the internets) that he was the only still photographer to clearly capture the, ahem, action. I think Julio’s arm can clearly be seen in the air at center in the screenshot below.
11/ WCPN Ideastream – Northeast Ohio families recount Camp Lejeune exposure as claims deadline nears. Ryan Loew made some nice pictures for the radio on this story.
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12/ Visual inspirations as I see them across social media from time to time:
- One
- Two
- Three
