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First, a huge welcome to all the new folks here. Last week’s newsletter about bad photo editors and problematic publications was by far my most popular post to date. A big thank you to all who read it, shared it, commented on it, and/or messaged me privately to have conversations about it.
A quick note about this newsletter: not every week is some big, long, rambling piece — those seem to come once every 2 months or so. In between, you get some breathing room and some links to things I’ve been looking at and loving. They are largely photo-centric, but also span the gamut of my varied interests (from literature to podcasts to bicycles to coffee); they’re things I found interesting enough to share and thought you may like reading or listening to, as well.
So welcome, I’m really glad you’re here and hope you stick around for a while.
I’m in awe of Baldwin Lee’s extraordinary pictures of the American South. I wish I could find more work by him, but instead, I just keep finding more great writeups on this work like this one by Aperture and this op-ed in the NYT.
NPPA’S Best of Photojournalism winners have been announced. Pictures of the Year, too. Congrats to all the winners. But just remember, the most important thing to remember is judging is incredibly subjective and it depends on a lot of factors coming together and aligning perfectly — one of the biggest being luck.
All the Hacks Podcast: How to avoid getting caught in the hamster wheel (it made me reevaluate what I want out of life, what I value, and ask what I’m saving for)
Speaking of podcasts, A Small Voice: Conversations With Photographers is easily my favorite photo podcast. Ben Smith is about to hit episode #200, and that’s no small feat… especially when you’re doing thoughtful, interesting, and well-researched interviews like he is. I just became a member of A Small Voice, because I want to support the work he’s doing — and I’d love to see it continue. You can listen via your favorite podcast app, but if you’d like a good place to start: Eugene Richards, Alejandro Cartagena, Anastasia Samoylova, Naomi Harris, and Chris Killip are all great conversations.
Astrophotography is amazing. Seriously, look at this image of the Christmas Tree and Cone Nebula. If you want to geek out, here are on details on how it was made.
And because we all need some levity, and because I’m a huge fan of The Office... and to the person who replied “that cat's no Sprinkles, but will do” I’m dying.