Nature Photography – Page 69

Top tips for capturing nature from photographer Sheena Jolley

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Eye on Nature, RTÉ’s wildlife photography competition, has returned for the third year, giving wildlife photographers across Ireland the opportunity to showcase their immense talent and highlight Ireland’s biodiversity and the beauty of the natural world around us.

Both amateur and professional photographers are welcome to enter photographs of landscapes, flora, and fauna in the competition for a chance to win a cash prize of €1,000.

Director of the National Botanic Gardens of Ireland Dr. Matthew Jebb returns as a judge for the third year. He will be joined on the judging panel by Niall Hatch from Birdwatch Ireland and award-winning nature-photographer Sheena Jolley.

We caught up with Sheena ahead of the competition’s closing date to share some top tips for budding photographers.

“I’ve always been into nature and I’ve always been into art so the combination of the two sits really well,” says the award-winning photographer.

It’s intuition, it’s talent, but above all, it’s luck. It’s RTÉ Eye On Nature, Ireland’s wildlife photography competition.
Follow Mooney Goes Wild on @RTERadio1 for updates.
Presented by RTÉ with @opwireland and @NBGGlasnevinOPW pic.twitter.com/Yvo4g5bAnp

— RTÉ (@rte) February 20, 2023

The Wicklow woman studied the artform full time at North Oxfordshire College of Art from 1999-2001, and now uses her work to increase the awareness and appreciation of our natural world.

Her work has been purchased by collectors in Europe and America and has featured many times in a number of National Publications. In 2009 one of her pieces made it to the finals of the Veolia Environment Wildlife photographer of the year competition.

Reflecting on advice she would pass on to amateur photographers, Jolley says that they should start shooting with “whatever camera they’ve got” as the best way to learn is by doing.

“Just get out and do it,” she insists. “You should also learn about your subject, know what you’re photographing, and learn their behaviours – that way you’ll get closer to nature before it takes evasive action.”

“Preparation is key,” she adds. “To know when you’re going, what type of light you might expect, the lenses you may need. If you have an idea of what you’re trying to capture and whether it involves fast movement, you have an idea of how to prepare your camera but also how you can make fast adjustments. You need to know your camera.”

“Time to Duck” – Fine art photograph of Shelduck about to be disturbed by a Grey Heron taken in a quarry lake in Irish Cement in Limerick. Delighted to be exhibiting my wildlife images at the Blue House Gallery in Schull until 20th July #wildlifephotography #irishcement #irishart pic.twitter.com/MNxi7R30rc

— Sheena Jolley (@SheenaJolley) July 15, 2022

When it comes to nature, Jolley says patience is key as she would spend days camping out in order to get her shot. If you’re not quite at that level, though, she insists that you can simply visit your local park on spend time in your garden.

“The key is to be there very early when the weather is good,” she says. “Aim for that golden hour, when the sun is low. It’s dawn and dusk, and you’ll get maybe a more emotional image and nicer detail in the golden light.”

As well as capturing some spectacular images, Jolley says that spending time outdoors and observing the natural world can be a huge personal benefit.

“I love being outside and being in touch with nature. Yes, it’s calming but you’re also thinking of what you’re doing and observing behviour and trying to catch that magic moment.”

The closing date for entries to Eye on Nature is midnight on Wednesday 22 March 2023. Entries can be submitted to www.rte.ie/eyeonnature. Terms and Conditions can be found here.

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Are Humans Falling Out of Love with Nature?

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When Masashi Soga was growing up in Japan, he loved spending time outside catching insects and collecting plants. His parents weren’t big fans of the outdoors, but he had an elementary schoolteacher who was. “They taught me how to collect butterflies, how to make a specimen of butterflies,” Soga recalls. “I enjoyed nature quite a lot.”

That early exposure helped foster Soga’s appreciation for nature, he says, and today, Soga is an ecologist at the University of Tokyo. Soga specializes in the psychological benefits of nature. He studies how people’s interactions with nature affect their attitudes toward it, and his research contributes to the growing body of scientific literature showing how spending time outside has a positive effect on people’s well-being.
Within Soga’s field, research on biophilia — which explores the consequences of humans’ affinity for the natural world — is much more extensive than studies of biophobia, the fear of nature. But in a new opinion paper, Soga and a team of researchers argue that biophobia is a growing phenomenon that seems to be increasing with urban development.

They go a step further, positing that biophobia is being reinforced and proliferated through society in a vicious cycle, which can have harmful consequences for people’s well-being. Existing research already shows that people who are biophobic are less likely to support conservation efforts, meaning growing biophobia is hurting wild ecosystems as well.

In their paper, ecologist Masashi Soga and his colleagues outline how they envision ‘the vicious cycle of biophobia’ playing out.
Illustration courtesy of Masashi Soga and his colleagues.

To prevent or even reverse biophobia, it’s important to understand how it begins. The researchers’ vicious cycle of biophobia is based on the premise that humans tend to fear pain and seek to avoid it. Negative reactions like disgust can also lead to avoidance behaviour.

When a person begins to view nature as something to be avoided — because of direct experience, family or friends, or the media — it sets the stage for biophobia, say Soga and his colleagues. Over time, this may cause someone to increasingly avoid nature, or worse, try to eliminate it. The person’s progressively infrequent experiences with nature can lead to a feeling of disconnection. And since people are generally afraid of the unknown, this can feed into the phobia.

Even just one person’s phobia has worrisome implications, the researchers say. If a person lacks the knowledge to interact with wildlife safely, or never learns to tell the difference between approachable and potentially dangerous species, aside from avoiding nature, they become ignorant of the natural world. This ignorance often leads to the sharing of sensationalist stories and spreading of misinformation. The result is growing biophobia at the societal level and fewer people interacting with nature. And, since people are unlikely to protect something they fear, the end result is a cycle of environmental degradation.

To reverse the cycle, the researchers say, education is essential. Children are especially impressionable, and multiple studies show that early exposure to nature in a safe environment, such as with a schoolteacher or parent, greatly impacts their attitudes. Parents’ behaviours have a big impact on kids, too, Soga says.

Outside school, educational outreach programs at places like museums or parks can boost people’s knowledge about nature. Naturalist-guided walks, or activities like gardening, can provide firsthand positive interactions. In places where it’s not easy to access nature, Soga suggests virtual reality can play a role.

Creative solutions will be necessary because as cities grow bigger and denser accessing green space is increasingly difficult for many, especially those in lower-income communities, says Linda Powers Tomasso, an environmental health researcher specializing in human-nature interactions at the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health in Boston who was not involved with the study. What used to be routine daily interactions with nature are disappearing, which is negatively impacting people’s attention spans, physical activity levels and resilience to stress, she says — not to mention the spiritual benefits of connecting with something larger than themselves.

While Powers Tomasso “absolutely agrees” with the researchers’ ideas, she points out that there is another mindset between biophilia and biophobia that leads to the same consequences as biophobia: indifference.
“If you don’t care about something, you’re not going to take that next step to protect it,” she says. That’s why education, nature mentorship, and making natural places and urban green spaces welcoming and accessible are so important for conservation and human well-being, she says.

“We only protect and care for what we know, what we love,” Powers Tomasso says. “If we don’t have an opportunity to get to know something, we will never develop that sense of love.”

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These are the 2022 World Nature Photography Awards Contest Winners – NBC Chicago

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The World Nature Photography Awards announced the winning photographs from its 2022 photo competition.

The contest aims to use the power of photography to put a spotlight on the wonder of the natural world, reminding viewers to take action now to protect the planet and secure a better tomorrow.

The contest, which opened to U.S. residents last year, invited readers to submit a digital photograph in over a dozen categories, such as animals, plants and fungi and people and nature. The grand prize winner receives a cash prize of $1,000. Here are all the gold medal winners by category:

Animal Portraits

Winner of World Nature Photographer of the Year

A crocodile in the mud at Mana Pools National Park, Zimbabwe. (Jens Cullmann)

Behaviour – Mammals

Japanese macaques in Awaji Island, Japan. (Hidetoshi Ogata)

Behaviour – Amphibians and reptiles

Japanese stream toads in the Owase Mountains, Mie, Japan. (Norihiro Ikuma)

Behaviour – Birds

A male Hooded Merganser in Huntley Meadows Park, Alexandria, Virginia. (Charles Schmidt)

Behaviour – Invertebrates

A red crab (Grapsus adscensionis) in La Gomera Island, Spain (Javier Herranz Casellas)

Nature Art

Spawning coral in the Red Sea. (Tom Shlesinger)

People and Nature

The view from inside a glacier looking up at the night sky in Solheimajokull, South Iceland. (Virgil Reglioni)

Plants and Fungi

Eucalyptus in Mount Barker, Western Australia (Julie Kenny)

Urban Wildlife

Common kestrel (Falco tinnunculus) in Stara Zagora, Bulgaria. (Vladislav Tasev)

Planet Earth’s Landscapes and Environments

Grand Teton Peak in Wyoming, USA (Jake Mosher)

Black and White

Lesser Antillean Iguana in Grenada Island, West Indies. (Alain Ernoult)

Animals in their Habitat

A snow leopard in the Indian Himalayas. (Sascha Fonseca)

Nature Photojournalism

Australian fur seal in Port Kembla, NSW, Australia. (Nicolas Remy)

Underwater

Harlequin shrimps in the Hymanocera Lembeh strait, Indonesia. (Adriano Morettin)

To see the full gallery of winners, visit the World Nature Photography Awards website.

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8 Nature and Wildlife Photography Competitions You Can Join to Gain Exposure

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Are you a nature and wildlife photography enthusiast? Participating in a photography competition can help you improve your skills and showcase your work before others.

Most of us may think of competition as bad, but it is indeed a double-edged sword. If you’re all about winning, it’s better to avoid competition because it will put undue stress on you. But, if you want to study the work of others, appreciate them, and learn from them, competition can be an excellent tool to gain skills—not to mention the financial benefits.

Here are a few annual competitions to help you get started.

1. National History Museum Wildlife Photographer of the Year

The Wildlife Photographer of the Year is the creme-d la-creme of all wildlife photography competitions. The prestigious competition by the UK’s National History Museum has been around for nearly six decades.

To enter the competition, you must pay the entry fee of £30 (approx. $36). The fee is in place to cover the various costs related to the competition and the exhibition. However, residents of certain countries may be exempt from the entry fee.

There is a strict set of rules that your images must adhere to enter the competition. You cannot harm or manipulate the animals in any way while taking photos. Also, you must keep your post-production to an absolute minimum—no adding or removing stuff from your photos.

You can submit your images in JPEG format with at least 1,920 pixels at the longest dimension. You must produce the original RAW file to check the edits if you qualify for the final round.

The title winner gets £10,000 ($12,000), a trophy, and a certificate. Other category winners get monetary prizes and a trip to the award ceremony in London.

2. Sony World Photography Awards – Wildlife and Nature

The next on our list is the Sony World Photography Awards, a popular competition for all types of photographers. The competition has different categories, including Wildlife and Nature for nature aficionados.

There is no entry fee to the competition, but you can buy additional image bundles if you want to submit more photos. You can submit your images in two categories—professional or open. You must submit a set of pictures for the professional category and single images for the open category. There are also youth and student competitions.

The photos you submit must be taken within a specific timeline, usually the year before. The professional category winner gets $25,000, while the open category winner gets $5,000. The winners also get Sony digital equipment and a trip to the awards ceremony. We do love a good Sony mirrorless camera.

3. Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards

If you are a fun wildlife photographer who wants to start a discussion about conservation in a lighthearted way, this is the competition for you. As the name suggests, the Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards celebrates the humor in the natural world through funny pictures and laugh-out-loud videos.

The competition is entirely free for all levels of photographers, from novice to expert. However, each photographer is allowed only ten entries. The winner gets the title, a trophy, and two camera bags.

4. BPOTY

Are you more fan of the avian world than terra firma? Then, check out the Bird Photographer of the Year competition. You have eight different categories to enter, plus special categories like portfolio, conservation, and video. Here are some tips for getting started with bird photography.

There is an entry fee starting at £10 ($12) for one image to £60 ($72) for 50 shots. You can submit as many photos as you want. There are strict rules, though—you cannot use live baits and domesticated or captive birds.

The title winner gets £5,000 ($6,000), while other category winners get different cash prizes and Olympus gear.

5. NPOTY

Nature Photographer of the Year is a relatively new competition. Starting six years ago, NPOTY has gained momentum in recent years. To participate, you have to pay an entry fee of €29 ($31) for standard submissions and €17 ($18) for portfolio submissions.

The overall winner gets €3,000 ($3,200), and the category winners each get €500 ($532). When you participate in the NPOTY competition, you also support various conservation agencies, including Photographer Against Wildlife Crime.

You can also submit high-resolution smartphone photos, provided they are at least 3,000 pixels on the long side.

6. W/N/P/A

The World Nature Photography Awards is an independent organization that aims at using photography as a tool for change. The competition is currently in its fourth year.

The entry fee is £30 ($36) per entry, and you can submit six images. You can buy more entries if you want to submit more photos. The winner gets a prize of £1,000 ($1,203).

W/N/P/A will plant a tree for every entry, so your entry fee will go to a good cause.

7. National Wildlife Federation Photo Contest

The National Wildlife Federation Photo Contest is a long-running competition with nine categories to enter. You can buy different entry packages from $15 for one image, $20 for 10, and $25 for 15 photos. Also, you can buy a portfolio package for $20.

The grand winner gets $5,000, while the first and second-prize winner gets $500 and $250, respectively. In addition, some selected images will also be published in the National Wildlife magazine.

8. Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest – Natural World

Running for over 20 years, the Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest is a must-do to expand your skills and get recognition. There are six categories but only one Natural World category for entering wildlife and nature photos.

There is no entry fee; you can submit 15 photos per category. If you win the title, you get $2,500 plus various prizes. The category winners get $500, and an additional Reader’s Choice winner will get $500.

Join a Nature Photography Competition to Boost Your Confidence

With tiny smartphone cameras packing a punch, photography is more accessible than ever before. But, if you’re using it only to take snapshots, it is time to change that.

Of all the photography that you can try, nature is the easiest to start with. So, take time to learn more about taking pictures and participate in competitions to discover different styles and showcase your work.

Most of the competitions are happy to accept smartphone photos. So whether you use your mobile phone or have state-of-the-art camera gear, try a photo competition this year. It can be so enlightening and fun.

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Top nature photos from around Sarasota, Longboat Key, East County in 2023-24

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Go to YourObserver.com/weather to submit a photo or several photos! Each week, we will choose a photo to run on the weather page of our print edition.

All submissions will be entered for the 2023-24 Weather and Nature photo contest. In February 2024, you will vote for your favorite photo, and the submission with the most votes will win a $500 gift card.

To see past entries, also visit our Facebook page: Facebook.com/ObserverGroup.

Pam Ringquist took this photo of these six baby alligators just off Deer Road near a pond in Waterside at Lakewood Ranch.

John Harkness captured this white pelican taking flight from sandbar on Sarasota Bay.

Mary Kondrat captured this cloud formation over Longboat Key.

Gordon Silver captured this photo of a yellow leg sandpiper along the water’s edge at a lake in Del Webb of Lakewood Ranch.

Mary Kondrat captured this photo of sandpipers lining the beach at sunset on Longboat Key.

Julie Ann Bakker captured this photo of an egret catching some sun at Marina Jack.

Gordon Silver captured a sunrise off University Parkway in Lakewood Ranch.

Jenelle Alber captured this photo of a white ibis at Beer Can Island on Longboat Key.

Diane Suner captured this photo of a great blue heron looking for dinner at Bird Key Park.

Gordon Silver captured a black bellied whistler duck with her seven kids along a lake in Del Webb.

E.J. Benioni captured this photo of a crab coming out of its shell on Longboat Key.

Becky Edwards took this photo of an orchid in bloom in Sarasota.

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An elegant portrait of a pole dancer in Oman celebrates a woman’s strength in nature

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In her sunlit portrait of the pole dancing instructor Nusaiba Al Maskari, the UK-born Omani photographer Eman Ali creates an arresting visual simile between the strength of Al Maskari’s body and the Hajar Mountains in the background. Gracefully extending herself horizontally from her pole, she aligns with the peaks above Muscat, a single fluid line across the picture plane.

Ali, who currently works between Oman and Bahrain, began practicing pole dancing herself while living in London years ago. She wanted to meet and photograph Al Maskari in particular after hearing about the instructor’s private studio, Rock & Rhythm, she explained over email.

“I am drawn to like-minded women who aren’t afraid to be themselves,” Ali said.

Though pole dancing has become a popular form of fitness around the world over the past two decades, having such a studio in the Gulf country is “highly unusual,” Ali explained.

“I admire her bravery in bringing a sport that celebrates female sensuality to a more conservative environment and am inspired by how she helps women feel confident and empowered by their body.”

The striking portrait is part of Ali’s meditative series about life in Oman, “The Earth Would Die if the Sun Stopped Kissing Her,” part of a global project from the NFT platform Obscura in which nearly 140 photographers documented contemporary life during the same month.

Eman Ali’s series, “The Earth Would Die if the Sun Stopped Kissing Her” is a love letter to the people and places of Oman. – Eman Ali

Ali’s contribution, which she also exhibited at the international fair Paris Photo last fall, is a love letter to Oman’s land and people, “highlighting the beauty, imperfections and strength” that bind us, she explained. In other images, she plays with the poetic qualities of light, casting star projections across a portrait of a man whose eyes are closed in reverie, and setting another portrait of a woman against the deep purple hues of sunset.

Some of Ali’s fondest memories in Oman are of time spent in nature — from “magical” childhood camping trips in the country’s wadis, or oases, to diving in the Gulf of Oman, she said. So, rather than take Al Maskari’s portrait in her studio, she asked her if they could meet outdoors at the Bousher Sand Dunes. Known locally as “Urooq,” the dunes rise high above buildings in southeastern Muscat but have been “slowly disappearing” because of urban growth, she explained.

The morning she met Al Maskari and her husband it was sweltering, giving them little time to shoot before Al Maskari’s portable pole became too hot to touch. Ali only had time for a handful of photographs as Al Maskari moved through the poses she had planned, but was quickly drawn to this image for its symmetry; the “harmony between the female body and nature herself,” Ali described.

Al Masakari used the photograph on her studio’s Instagram page to celebrate Eid al-Fitr, calling it “such (a) beautiful picture.”

Ali plans to attend one of Al Maskari’s classes when she next returns to Muscat, and praises the instructor for her dedication to the sport.

“She’s providing a safe and fun space for women,” Ali said. “She’s also promoting body positivity…as well as helping to create a sense of community among her students. I think it’s really great how she is helping to normalize pole dancing as a legitimate form of exercise and art form.”

Top image: Nusaiba Al Maskari in Muscat

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World Nature Photographer award winners 2022

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A crocodile whose striking yellow eyes lurk just above the mud in a Zimbabwe park earned German photographer Jens Cullman the grand prize in the World Nature Photography awards.

With entries from 45 countries, ‘Danger in the mud’ was taken while Cullman staked out Mana Pools National Park’s largest, drought-ridden pool, which has been reduced to muddied pits.

When temperatures reach 113 degrees (45 degrees Celsius) during the dry season, crocodiles will attempt to aestivation — or reduce their body temperature by burying themselves in mud for up to a month without eating, by living off its fat reserves.

“I had to be very careful not to disturb the crocodile, even though it was buried in dry mud,” Cullman told the competition. “They will launch themselves with tremendous speed and power at any animal foolish enough to come too close.”

See the other stunning winning images.

French photographer Alain Ernoult captured the critically endangered Lesser Antillean Iguana on Grenada Island in the West Indies.

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Australian photographer Julie Kenny won gold in the plants and fungi category for her aerial perspective of a fallen tree surrounded by sheep tracks

The tree is seen as a sacred symbol, which carries significant meanings in both religious and spiritual philosophies,” Kenny told the competition. “While this represents many different things, for me it communicates the interconnection of all things, beginnings and endings, the cycling of life.”

More coverage from USA TODAY

Camille Fine is a trending visual producer on USA TODAY’s NOW team.

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BirdLife Africa inaugurates a new office in La Maison de la Conservation (Conservation House) with the support of the Mava Foundation for Nature.

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By Cheikh Bamba Ndao

BirdLife Africa has officially inaugurated a brand-new headquarters in Dakar within the Maison de la Conservation offered by the MAVA Foundation for Nature. After a 28-yearpresence in West Africa, supporting various conservation initiatives the MAVA Foundation for Nature exits the region, counting among its legacies, the La Maison de la conservation which will house four environmental organizations namely BirdLife Africa, Wetlands International Africa West Coast and Gulf of Guinea (WIACO), the Regional Partnership for Coastal and Marine Conservation in West Africa (PRCM), the Regional Network of Marine Protected Areas in West Africa (RAMPAO).

Photo credit: La Maison de la Conservation (LMC) BirdLife Africa, PRCM, WETLAND, RAMPAO with the two representatives of the MAVA Foundation inauguration ceremony on March 1^st 2023 in DakarSenegal

The inauguration ceremony which took place on March 1, 2023 at the Capucine building, Zone B district in Dakar was graced byMs. Lynda Mansson, Executive Director MAVA Foundation, and Ms. Charlotte Karibuhoye Saïd, MAVAProgram Director for West Africa. Also noteworthy was the participation of several representatives of state organizations and BirdLifes strategic partners such as the Royal Society for the Birds Protection (RSPB) and the Nature Communities and Development (NCD).

Photo Credit: La Maison de la Conservation (LMC) – Family photo during the inauguration ceremony on March 1, 2023 in Dakar, Senegal

The inauguration of this headquarters marks an important step in creating synergies between conservation organizations for the benefit of biodiversity management in Senegal and West Africa.

Given the special relationship between the four organizations and the MAVA Foundation, a warm gesture of recognition was made to their representatives.

Photo Credit: La Maison de la Conservation (LMC) Mr. Jean-Baptiste Deffontaines, Head of BirdLife Africas sub-regional office for West Africa, presenting the Certificate of Recognition of La Maison de la Conservation to Ms. Lynda Mansson, Director of the MAVA Foundation – Inauguration Ceremony on March 1, 2023 in DakarSenegal

Guests and representatives of the MAVA Foundation were given a guided tour of the new workplaces of the four different organizations.Other dignitaries who attended the event included Executive Secretary of RAMPAO, Ms. Marie Suzanna Traoré, PRCM, director, Mr. Ahmed Senhoury, and the director of WIACO Ibrahima Thiam, in addition to diplomats, and government officials among others.

Photo Credit: The Conservation House (CML) Ms. Lynda Mansson and Ms. Charlotte Karibuhoye visiting the BirdLife Africa offices inauguration ceremony on 1 March 2023 in DakarSenegal

“This new headquarters funded by the MAVA Foundation for Nature will indeed strengthen the historic collaboration between conservation actors. This synergy of actions will allow us to better develop, promote and implement strategies to meet the priorities of countries and sub-regional organizations”

Dr. Paul Kariuki Ndang’ang’a, Regional Director for Africa at BirdLife International.

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Incredible Sony World Photography Awards Shortlist Revealed For 2023

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When it comes to celebrating the world’s most mind-blowing photography, it doesn’t get much better than the Sony World Photography Awards. 2023 marks the comp’s sixteenth edition, with the shortlist for the ‘professional’ category having just been announced – and the selected snaps are as brill as ever.

This year’s competition saw over 400,000 images submitted from photographers in more than 200 countries or territories. Overall, there are ten categories – architecture and design, creative, documentary projects, environment, landscape, portfolio, portraiture, sport, still life and wildlife and nature – and three shots were shortlisted per category.

Make no mistake: these are some of the absolute best works of photography you’re likely to see all year. The winner of the Sony World Photography Awards will be announced on April 13, with an exhibition of the finalists and shortlisted photographers set to take place at Somerset House in London from April 13 to May 1 (find out more about all that here). In the meantime, here are our picks from those that are in the running for the big prize.

‘Cement Factory’ by Fan Li

Photograph: Fan Li, China Mainland, Finalist, Professional competition, Architecture & Design, Sony World Photography Awards 2023

‘Untitled’ by Tariq Zaidi

Photograph: Tariq Zaidi, United Kingdom, Finalist, Professional competition, Documentary Projects, Sony World Photography Awards 2023

‘Untitled’ by Simone Tramonte

Photograph: Simone Tramonte, Italy, Shortlist, Professional competition, Environment, Sony World Photography Awards 2023

‘Untitled’ by Bruno Zanzottera

Photograph: Bruno Zanzottera, Italy, Finalist, Professional competition, Landscape, Sony World Photography Awards 2023

‘#053kids’ by Toby Binder

Photograph: Toby Binder, Germany, Shortlist, Professional competition, Portraiture, Sony World Photography Awards 2023

‘Untitled’ by Jerome Delay

Photograph: Jerome Delay, France, Shortlist, Professional competition, Portraiture, Sony World Photography Awards 2023

‘Below the Surface’ by Martin Broen

Photograph: Martin Broen, United States, Shortlist, Professional competition, Wildlife & Nature, Sony World Photography Awards 2023

‘Full Extension’ by Martin Broen

Did you see that this spectacular shot triumphed at National Geographic’s ‘Pictures of the Year’ awards?

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you should know the compulsive photography of Andy Warhol

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Review: Andy Warhol and Photography: A Social Media, Art Gallery of South Australia.

Andy Warhol is well known for his slick pop art imagery which fetches staggering amounts at auction. His Shot Sage Blue Marilyn sold in 2022 for US$195 million.

But there is a little-explored side to Warhol-the-photographer, whom curator Julie Robinson explores in a brilliant new exhibition.

Here, Warhol emerges as a compulsive photographer whose images range from snapshot polaroids of the everyday, to portraits of the rich and famous, to Warhol himself in various self-portraits.

His camera was the iPhone of today, obsessively putting out images well before the phrases “social media” and “selfie” were invented.

Gerard Malanga, born Bronx, New York, United States, 1943, Andy Warhol, 1971, New York, gelatin-silver photograph, 33.7 x 22.6 (image), 35.6 x 27.8 cm (sheet); National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, Purchased 1973.

Read more:
Five reasons Andy Warhol is so popular right now

Warhol and the camera

Warhol began using a polaroid camera in 1957 to record himself and his friends. He was a leading magazine illustrator in New York and he moved to using the camera as a source for imagery in commissions such as a photo spread for Harper’s Bazaar in 1963, and a cover image for Time Magazine in 1965 – both on display in the exhibition.

Photography for Warhol was a key part of his working method, even though some of his images have a snapshot quality.

He famously said:

I think anybody can take a good picture. My idea of a good picture is one that’s in focus and of a famous person doing something unfamous.

By 1961 he was using his photo-based imagery for his pop art silkscreens in his Campbell’s Soup Can series. His polaroid photographs continued to be the basis for many silkscreens, such as his exuberant Mick Jagger series (1975), co-signed by each.

Andy Warhol, born Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States 1928, died New York, United States 1987, Cream of mushroom soup, 1968, New York, colour screenprint on paper, 81.0 x 47.5 cm (image), 88.8 x 58.5 cm (sheet); South Australian Government Grant 1977, Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide, © Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. ARS/Copyright Agency.

His Ladies and gentlemen (1975) captured Black and Latino trans and drag queens. The models were sourced from the Gilded Grape bar, a nearby haunt of Factory photographers.

Installation view: Andy Warhol and Photography: A Social Media featuring Andy Warhol’s Ladies and gentlemen, Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide; photo: Saul Steed.

A stunning set of photographs on show come from his time in the 1970s and ‘80s producing gelatin-silver photo portraits of the celebrity figures based on initial Big Shot Polaroid images.

The dazzling array, which includes David Hockney, Henry Kissinger embracing Elizabeth Taylor, Liza Minnelli and Joseph Beuys, come from a mix of polished and in-situ photoshoots.

Andy Warhol, born Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States 1928, died New York, United States 1987, Liza Minnelli, 1978, New York, PolaroidTM Polacolor Type 108, 9.5 x 7.3 cm (image), 10.8 x 8.5 cm (sheet); V.B.F. Young Bequest Fund 2012, Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide, © Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. ARS/Copyright Agency.

Late in his relatively short life, Warhol began stitching photographs together. Empire State Building (1982), showing multiples of the same image in grid formation, signals this new direction.

The Factory

This isn’t just an exhibition of Warhol, but also of his collaborators and contemporaries. The exhibition begins recreating the famous silver-lined Factory, the studio of Warhol and fellow photographers from 1964-68.

The Factory is remembered now as a site of legendary photographs and experimental films.

Warhol’s loosely scripted and silent experimental films on show from this time include the touchingly intimate Haircut (1964) and the delightfully chaotic Camp (1965). The “actors” were all, in fact, friends and acquaintances.

You sense the intensity of life there. Billy Name, the Factory’s archivist, said

it was almost as if the Factory became a big box camera – you’d walk in, expose yourself and develop yourself.

In this exhibition, Warhol’s photographs sit alongside photographs from Name, Steve Schapiro, Brigid Berlin and Robert Mapplethorpe.

Robert Mapplethorpe, born Queens, New York, United States 1946, died Boston, Massachusetts, United States 1989, Andy Warhol, 1986, New York, gelatin-silver photograph, 61.0 x 51.0 cm; Purchased 1989, National Gallery of Australia, Canberra.

Warhol himself is the subject in some photographs. Warhol would hand the camera around to other photographers like Jill Krementz who would capture him on film.

She is the photographer of Andy and Hitchcock, but the image is credited to Warhol, as often happened.

Andy Warhol born Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States 1928 died New York, United States 1987 Andy and Hitchcock 1974, New York PolaroidTM Polacolor Type 108 7.2 x 9.6 cm (image) 8.5 x 10.8 cm (sheet) V.B.F. Young Bequest Fund 2012 Art Gallery of South Adelaide © Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. ARS/Copyright Agency.

Other polaroids on show include Warhol’s homoerotic male torsos (1977), and the kissing series by Warhol’s collaborator Christopher Makos for a Valentine’s Day issue of Interview magazine, including Andy kissing John Lennon (1978).

Christopher Makos, born Lowell, Massachusetts, United States 1948, Andy Warhol Kissing John Lennon, 1978, New York, gelatin-silver photograph, 27.7 x 41.7 cm (image), 40.7 x 50.4 cm (sheet); V.B.F. Young Bequest Fund 2022, Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide, © Christopher Makos.

Fleshing out the character

This is a large exhibition of 250-plus exhibits, including marked-up contact sheets, photobooth strip images, various cameras including the polaroid camera, issues of Interview magazine featuring Warhol’s photographs, and a video of his last exhibition in London in 1986 (he died unexpectedly in February 1987).

Christopher Makos, born Lowell, Massachusetts, United States 1948, Andy taping Christopher Reeves for ‘Interview’ magazine, 1977, New York, gelatin-silver photograph, 21.2 x 32.2 cm (image), 27.5 x 35.3 cm (sheet); Private collection, © Christopher Makos.

The final painting on show from that exhibition is Warhol’s camouflage-covered Self-portrait no. 9 (1986), an image that could be a composite of the many photographic portraits such as Makos’s Andy Warhol in American Flag, Madrid (1983).

Andy Warhol, born Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States 1928, died New York, United States 1987, Self-portrait no.9, 1986, New York, synthetic polymer paint and screenprint on canvas, 203.5 x 203.7 cm; Purchased through The Art Foundation of Victoria with the assistance of the National Gallery Women’s Association, Governor, 1987, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne © Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. ARS/Copyright Agency.

The many portrayals of Warhol himself add flesh to his reputation as self-seeking, but they also penetrate the mask he so successfully cultivated. The Altered Image by Makos shows Warhol with a blond wig and wearing female make-up.

Makos recalled Warhol saying “I want to be pretty, just like everyone else”.

Christopher Makos, born Lowell, Massachusetts, United States 1948, Altered Image from the portfolio Altered Image: Five Photographs of Andy Warhol, 1981; published 1982, New York, gelatin-silver photograph, 44.8 x 32.2 cm (image), 50.6 x 40.8 cm (sheet); Purchased 1982, National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, © Christopher Makos.

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An astounding output

This exhibition is a wholly immersive time capsule capturing life in New York for Warhol and his circle in the 1960s, ’70s and early ’80s. It shows just how astounding Warhol’s output was as a photographer, and how photography underpinned his entire oeuvre.

As Makos observed at the opening, he had seen many a Warhol exhibition, but never one that captured this side of Warhol – and so perfectly too.

It is well worth a trip to Adelaide. It is not a touring exhibition and brings together key work from international and national collections.

Andy Warhol, born Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 1928, died New York City, New York 1987, Debbie Harry, 1980, New York, PolaroidTM Polacolor Type 108, 10.8 x 8.6 cm (sheet), 9.7 x 7.3 (image); V.B. F. Young Bequest Fund and d’Auvergne Boxall Bequest Fund 2018, Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide, © Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. ARS/Copyright Agency.

The only inexplicable aspect is the lack of an exhibition catalogue, from a gallery with a reputation for producing prize-winning catalogues. Exhibitions are, by their nature, ephemeral events; the record lies in the catalogue.

For a groundbreaking one like this, presenting a new side to Warhol and his collaborative photographic practice, a record is needed.

Andy Warhol and Photography: A Social Media is at the Art Gallery of South Australia until May 14.

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