• Join Focus on the Story next Friday the 22nd at 4:00 p.m. as Lloyd Wolf reveals the backstory behind his famous image of a young girl wearing a lion’s mask that appears in the opening title sequence for the show Homeland.
• Acclaimed photographers from around the world share a single image reflecting on their experience of the coronavirus outbreak.
• A group of wet plate photographers in North Dakota are mailing objects to each other to use as props in photographs created as part of a quarantine art collaboration.
• Leather Boyz, the second of four books to be published by Exposed alum Chris Suspect in 2020, explores the gay BDSM scene through 51 black and white images photographed over seven years. Presales for the book opened this morning, and the first edition will have a unique design featuring several gatefold spreads and a blue film dust jacket.
• BYT has started sharing COVID photo essay series, ranging from exploring all 131 neighborhoods of D.C. to remembering galleries and venues with Exposed alum Chris Chen. If you’d like to submit a photo essay, you can email info@brightestyoungthings.com. 
• If you’re looking for photography ideas to keep you busy at home, consider putting color theory into practice.
• “Crap Wildlife Photography” is a Facebook Group dedicated to hilariously bad animal photos, from unintentional photobombs to a bird’s awkward landing on water.

Thanks to all who have joined us for our virtual roundtables thus far; we’ve thoroughly enjoyed the experience and being able to hang out and see some of your work. We plan to keep these sessions going for the time being and hope you can join us! Our next virtual roundtable will be held on Thursday, May 14 at 6 p.m., and we’ll be exploring the theme of light and shadow. If you’d like to join, please register here. The confirmation email will include details for the meeting and how to provide the image you’d like to share with the group.

• Focus on the Story will award a grant of $2,000 to one visual storyteller to help in completing a project, reimbursing expenses for a recently completed project, or exhibiting, publishing or promoting a project that brings attention to a critical issue, bridges a cultural gap, or has the potential to spark social change. Proposals will be accepted through June 5.
• An-My Lê’s first retrospective slated to open at the Carnegie Museum of Art on March 14, the date the museum closed due to coronavirus, is now a virtual show with many of her images documenting cultural conflicts playing out in public spaces.
• Photoworks call for entries for their Gender|Space online exhibit closes this Sunday at midnight; the $25 fee includes up to five images.
• A photographer furloughed from his job with Lifetouch set out to document the evolving restaurant industry as owners adapt to stay open during the pandemic.
• The 2020 Pulitzer Prize winners were announced this week with Reuters being recognized for breaking news photography and the Associated Press for feature photography. 
• A new book invites people to dive into the history of the swimming pool through photography.
• The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is making the transition to digital exhibits later this month with an exhibit featuring the work of longtime entertainment photographer Kevin Mazur who has shot all but two of their induction ceremonies.

• The next three Wednesdays, Photoworks is offering an online lecture series on hidden photography gems of Washington, D.C., $39 per session or $97 for the full series.
• Geoff Livingston chats with local rock photographer Rachel Lange and bassist Brett Pocorobba about rock and rap’s most iconic photos on episode 2.7 of the Show Me Podcast.
• Dysturb, a collective that presents contemporary global issues in innovative ways, is using photography to encourage people to follow stay-at-home orders and practice social distancing.  
• Mous Lamrabat combines symbols from his Moroccan heritage and Muslim faith with Western brands and pop culture as he explores existing and creating between many cultures.
• Join journalist and author Vikki Tobak today at noon as she presents “CONTACT HIGH: A Visual History of Hip-Hop” with Focus on the Story. She will be joined by photographers Brian “B+” Cross, Delphine Fawundu, Pedro Vasquez aka AIMOS, and Kirth Bobb.
• Christopher Malcom, a commercial advertising photographer, shares his thoughts on photography in the time of apocalypse, the rise of influencers, and how things have changed and will continue to do so.
• Head to The Guardian site to enjoy a selection of winning images from the Pink Lady food photographer of the year awards as well as the winning images from the German Society for Nature Photography’s competition.

We had a great time at our first virtual roundtable for photographers last week; thanks so much to those of you who joined us! We look forward to the day we can have a good old-fashioned happy hour once again, but in the meantime, we’d love to have more virtual roundtables with you all. If you’d like to join us for our next session on Thursday, April 30 at 6 p.m., you can register here. 

• Looking for something different to watch these days? Barbara Ayotte rounded up some documentaries about how photographers fared during difficult times that are worth a watch.
• If you’re missing live sports, you can experience five decades worth through a camera lens.
• Each week in April, Australian Photography is sharing tips and ideas for photographers during isolation.
• As part of the #StayHomeWithLeica program, Leica Stores are hosting Instagram Live sessions on Saturdays with featured photographers presenting tips and techniques and doing Q&As. Scroll down the page for the schedule; the D.C. one starts at 1:30 p.m. tomorrow.
• Photoworks will be hosting an online exhibition on how spaces have defined genders and genders have defined spaces. Up to 5 images can be submitted, and the entry fee is $25. The deadline for submissions has been extended to May 10 at 11:59 p.m.
• If you find yourself looking through old photos you took on your phones, CNET has some recommendations on apps you can use (iPhone and Android) to make those images look even better.
• The New Big 5 project is an international initiative that aims to do away with the old big five of wildlife, which was based on the toughest animals to shoot and kill, and create a new selection based on photography instead of hunting.

• Join Focus on the Story online tomorrow at 9:30 a.m. as they talk to photojournalists covering the pandemic with Xyza Cruz Bacani in the Philippines, Gabriele Galimberti in Italy, and David Dee Delgado and Jeenah Moon in New York City. The session is free, and you can register here.
• The Historical Society of Washington D.C. launched a new initiative, In Real Time, that invites you to reflect on this present moment of pandemic and disruption with the future in mind. You can share your personal experience in surveys and by sharing your photography.
• The 10 category winners of the Sony World Photography Awards have been announced and will now compete for the $5,000 overall prize.
• Olympus and Leica are now offering free online photography courses and sessions.
• The Professional Photographers of Canada released a statement asking that people stop doing “porch portrait” sessions, noting that it is not essential and there are variables outside of photographers’ control.
• Photojournalists and freelance photographers share how the pandemic has changed the work they are doing, from cancelled gigs to documenting those fighting the disease on the frontlines and incorporating a daily disinfecting routine.
• Sigma launched a #SigmaShotatHome photo/video contest that will be hosted online and run through June 26. A panel of Sigma professionals will select weekly winners, monthly winners from the weekly winners, and an overall contest grand prize winner.
• Some photographers are offering free high school senior sessions and “Portrait for Heroes” sessions that can be gifted to essential workers to show appreciation for the work they are doing.