Smithsonian Archives

In Frame: October 19, 2016

October 19, 2016 By Caroline Space

Ooh—this photo is satiating. Photographers and artists are gifts to society—they look up and down finding new ways of seeing a scene. Here Flickr user ep_jhu spies upon those below framing them in a grey box surrounded by blue rectangles. The lights create a cool flow of luminosity making me feel like I am looking down to the ocean floor.

In Frame: July 6, 2016

July 6, 2016 By Caroline Space

I’m trying to find the words to describe how much I enjoy this image by Bill Coyle. The foggy, quiet backdrop of the Basque country with grazing sheep is very different than the energetic chaos of the Folklife Festival on the National Mall. The moment of the girl eating her ice cream while the boy waits impatiently provides a hint of what is behind the artificial severity of the printed picture.

Friday Links: October 16, 2015

October 16, 2015 By James Calder

The Washington City Paper profiles one of our favorite local photographers, Chris Suspect.
Last call for Artomatic 2015 – claim your spot now!
After a recent survey showed a significance number of photographers admitted to staging pictures, the New York Times Lens Blog asked several editors and photographers to address the issue.
Sail across the Indian Ocean in this stunning, online exhibition by the National Museum of African Art of the earliest photographic history of the Swahili Coast. It’s the Smithsonian’s first major online project, cost $1.8 million and took three years to put together.
Jonathan Ernst documents Morgan Tolley, a third generation crab processor working on the shores of the Chesapeake Bay who worries that his industry may be under threat as more and more young people shun the traditional family-oriented trade.
The geography of poverty – a journey through forgotten America. Photographs by Matt Black, words by Trymaine Lee.
Away from Che, cigars and colorful Cadillacs, Havana’s “Jesus Maria” barrio is too dangerous for the tourist trail. Photographer Matt Wilson has delved into its streets to show the laughter, despair and hair-curlers of a crumbling labyrinth.
Urban growth, sporting events, financial crashes and political turmoil have left a trail of city airports and airfields deserted around the globe. While some lie abandoned or face redevelopment, others are being creatively reused.
Fans from all over the world attending the ongoing 2015 Rugby World Cup in England and Wales.
The winners of this year’s wildlife photographer of the year contest have been announced at London’s Natural History Museum. Warning: the overall winner’s image is a bit gory.

Friday Links: April 17, 2015

April 17, 2015 By Heather Goss

A photo posted by Messay (@streetamatic) on Apr 16, 2015 at 9:51pm PDT

Need some inspiration? Keep up with our calendar for exhibitions, meet-ups, classes and more. Send us your event here.

Don’t get out of the Jeep on safari, even if you might get a great photo.
LIFE Magazine’s photo essay of a working mother in the 1950s.
Alison Nastasi had published a compilation of photos of famous artists and their cats.
“Through the African American Lens,” culled from a Smithsonian collection, shows how photography — and black photographers — reshaped a people’s image.
NY family loses legal battle against photographer who secretly shot them through the windows of their apartment and then put them in an exhibit.
For three years, photographer Michael Soluri had exclusive access to the astronaut crew, labor force and tools of the shuttle mission that saved and extended the life of the Hubble Space Telescope.
These photos could be better, but the idea and subjects here are interesting: Where did John Wilkes Booth run after he shot Lincoln? Nate Larson shows in his series “Escape Routes” that the path Booth took is a mix of truck stops, suburbs, highways, and back roads.
The Atlantic’s CityLab writes about citizens’ rights to photograph and videotape the police, discussing some of the same cases covered in this National Press Club panel with local officials we reported on in 2013.
“When I photograph my subjects, I do not set out to construct a narrative, though each photograph ends up marking moments and landmarks from my life.” A photo essay by Texan photographer Armando Alvarez.
Local Craigslist ad seeks mustachioed individual to pose with turtles. I hope this is real, and that we get to see the resulting images.
Pete Souza tweets that this is last term in the White House.
It’s that time of year again — the Aaron Siskind Foundation is accepting applications for their Photographer’s Fellowship program. Grants up to $10,000 are up for grabs.
Imagine yourself decidedly out of town with these Icelandic mountain peaks in blue by Andy Lee.
Sony and the Sea Life Aquarium in New Zealand trained the world’s first Octographer because they’re good with animals and cameras but now how words work, I guess.

Friday Links: March 6, 2015

March 6, 2015 By James Calder

Adaptation by Noe Todorovich of her winning "Morning Paper" image — Adaptation by Noe Todorovich of her winning photograph “Morning Paper“

The snow has had its last hurrah (right?), the sun is out, and the forecast for Thursday’s Exposed DC Photography Show opening is sunny and mild! So get your tickets now and get ready to enjoy your free Bluejacket beer in the courtyard at 1358 NE! After you’ve done that, treat yourself to this week’s pile of links:

Suspect Device opens tonight at Leica Store DC. We’re pretty excited about it after getting a sneak peak at the show’s video earlier this week.
Hamiltonian is extending its call for artists for its fellowship program to March 14.
Four Chicago Sun-Times photographers were among 15 staffers who took buyouts last Friday. They had been rehired in March this year after being laid off in 2013 along with the rest of the Sun-Times photography department.
World Press Photo announced that, based on new evidence, they’ve revoked a controversial First Place award.
We’ve been forced to endure our share of slush around here lately, but these photos of “Slurpee waves” off Nantucket are beautiful.
“Mediocre forces good out of the market place and great all but disappears” – Kenneth Jarecke opines on the demise of photojournalism as art.
Ukrainian photojournalist Serhiy Nikolayev was killed in shelling in eastern Ukraine on Saturday. His newspaper says he wasn’t there on assignment.
Peter Lik’s artistic merits may be debatable, but the supercilious photographer – who claims to have sold the world’s most expensive photograph last year – has built a terrifyingly successful market for his work.
A weasel catches a ride on the back of woodpecker and a photographer catches it. No, really.
An octopus has figured out how to work a camera. We advise sheltering in place during the great cephalopod uprising.
The final episode of Invisible Photograph video series explains how particle physicists are using photography at the Large Hadron Collider.
Smithsonian Magazine just announced the finalists of its 12th annual photo contest. Readers can vote for their favorite
Meanwhile Smithsonian tells visitors they’re still welcome to take selfies but “leave the sticks in your bags“.
Chilean volcano Villarrica erupted beautifully on Tuesday.
Serious Eats has put together an excellent beginners guide to food photography.
The Financial Times writes at length on “Why photobooks are booming in digital age“.
Along the tiger’s trail: where are the cats found and why? Field surveys are performed on foot for months across vast areas of India. New word alert: pugmark!