Tyre Nichols Loved 4-Year-Old Son, Photography and the San Francisco 49ers: ‘Free Spirit’

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New details continue to emerge about what happened after Tyre Nichols, 29, was pulled over in Memphis, Tenn., on Jan. 7. 

Nichols died following a confrontation with police that was captured on police body cam and surveillance video. Officials have alleged the officers’ actions were extremely violent and disturbing, and all five officers present have been fired and charged with second-degree murder.

Nichols, a Black man and father who worked at FedEx, was transported to the hospital in critical condition and died three days later.

RELATED: 5 Former Police Officers Charged with Murder in Death of Tyre Nichols

As the country awaits the release of police video footage that could answer further questions about what happened to Nichols, here’s more about who Nichols was. 

Nichols was the devoted dad of a 4-year-old son

At a Friday press conference, one of the Nichols family’s lawyers, Benjamin Crump, said Tyre — who called himself “Ty” on his Facebook page — was a dedicated, loving father.

“Everything he was trying to do was to better himself as a father for his 4-year-old son,” the lawyer said. “When he comes through the door, he wants to give you a hug.”

He thought he’d be famous one day

Nichols’ mother, RowVaughn Wells, told CNN her son was a “good boy,” and was the youngest of four kids. During the press conference, Wells recalled Nichols always saying he would be famous one day.

But she added grimly that she “didn’t know this is what he meant.”

Photography and skateboarding were Nichols’ passions

At the press conference, RowVaughn Wells shared that her son had loved skateboarding, and had regularly skated at Shelby Farms Park on Saturdays. He’d been skating since he was a little boy, she said.

His other passions were photography and sunsets: “My son every night wanted to go and look at the sunset,” she said.



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Nichols posted his photography work on a dedicated website, and his snaps ranged in subject from sports photos, to nature shots, to landscapes, which he described as his “favorite.”

RELATED:  Family of Man Who Died After ‘Savage’ Encounter with Memphis Police Say He Called Out for Mom During Beating

“My vision is to bring my viewers deep into what I am seeing through my eye and out through my lens,” he wrote. “I hope to one day let people see what I see and to hopefully admire my work based on the quality and ideals of my work.”

RELATED:  Family of Man Who Died After ‘Savage’ Encounter with Memphis Police Say He Called Out for Mom During Beating

He moved to Memphis from Sacramento before COVID-19 hit

Wells said Nichols had relocated to Memphis from Sacramento, Calif., shortly before the pandemic began in 2020. He remained there when lockdown kept him stuck in place. “He was OK with it because he loved his mother,” she said at the news conference.

He had been working for Fed-Ex for about nine months before his death.



Brandon Dill for The Washington Post via Getty Activists holding signs showing Tyre Nichols


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Brandon Dill for The Washington Post via Getty Activists holding signs showing Tyre Nichols

RELATED: Tyre Nichols Had Extensive Bleeding, Was ‘Brutalized’ During Traffic Stop: Lawyers

Angelina Paxton, a childhood friend of Nichols’, told the Commercial Appeal that Nichols didn’t care much about societal norms.

“He was his own person and didn’t care if he didn’t fit into what a traditional Black man was supposed to be in California. He had such a free spirit and skating gave him his wings,” she told the outlet. 

He had his mother’s name tattooed on his arm

Wells said her son loved her deeply, and vice versa. He even tattooed her name on his arm to show his devotion forever.

“He had my name tattooed on his arm, and that made me proud because most kids don’t put their mom’s name, but he did,” she said.

The San Francisco 49ers were his favorite team

Nate Spates Jr., a friend of Nichols’, told CNN that the two of them — plus a small group of other friends — met up at a local Starbucks a few times per week. They would talk about sports, and Spates said the San Francisco 49ers were Nichols’ team of choice. He described Nichols to CNN as “a free-spirited person, a gentleman who marched to the beat of his own drum.” 

Spates also recalled Nichols being sweet with his wife and toddler, telling CNN, “When we left, my wife said, ‘I just really like his soul. He’s got such a good spirit.'”

The officers involved in Nichols’ traffic stop — Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Emmitt Martin III, Justin Smith, and Desmond Mills Jr. — were indicted on murder charges Thursday, as well as a slew of other charges. They have reportedly posted bond and are now out of jail.

Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for PEOPLE’s free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases.

The body cam footage is expected to be released later this evening.

To help combat systemic racism, consider learning from or donating to these organizations:

  • Campaign Zero works to end police brutality in America through research-proven strategies.
  • ColorofChange.org works to make the government more responsive to racial disparities.

National Cares Mentoring Movement provides social and academic support to help Black youth succeed in college and beyond.

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Nature’s stunning exodus – Chinadaily.com.cn

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An ever-alert wolf and a Tibetan antelope featured in the documentary Biodiversity on Earth — Zhuonai Lake, produced by the second comprehensive scientific expedition team to the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.[Photo provided to China Daily]

Every summer, thousands of pregnant antelopes return hundreds of kilometers from their scattered habitats to Zhuonai Lake, in Northwest China’s Qinghai province, to give birth. The lake, located in the remote Hoh Xil region, has been dubbed a “delivery room” for the once endangered species, long studied by animal behavior researchers as an example of mass animal exodus to rival the Serengeti in Africa.

A group of scientists from Yunnan University and the Kunming Institute of Zoology, affiliated to the Chinese Academy of Sciences, spent a total of 18 months starting in early 2020 shooting a thousand hours of footage of the spectacle and other animal activities.

After six months spent in post-production, the materials were edited down into Biodiversity on Earth – Zhuonai Lake, a 57-minute documentary which has earned a score of 9.7 out of 10 in aggregate review on Bilibili, one of the country’s most popular video-sharing platforms.

The documentary, produced by the team of China’s second comprehensive scientific expedition to the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, also captured a variety of other wildlife, from wandering yaks to fluffy plateau pikas and galloping Tibetan wild asses.

This is the directorial debut of Luo Jie, a 36-year-old scientist at the Kunming Institute of Zoology. A native of Kunming, the capital of Southwest China’s Yunnan province, Luo developed a strong interest in nature in his childhood, recounting his obsession with programs such as Animal World, a series of remarkable longevity, broadcast on China Central Television since 1981.

Around six years ago, Luo started to combine his passion for research and film by shooting beneath the ocean while researching coral reefs and clownfish in Indonesia.

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As a rare green comet gets closer to Earth, get the best view with these tips

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How to see the 50,000-year comet

While it might sound like a pulp-fiction hero, the green comet is an actual celestial body visible from Earth for the first time in over 50,000 years. If you know where to look and have the right equipment (such as binoculars or a telescope) over the upcoming week, you just might be able to catch a glimpse of this nighttime wonder.

In this article: Celestron NexStar 102SLT Computerized Telescope, Vortex Optics Diamondback HD Binoculars and Celestron SkyMaster 25X70 Binoculars.

What is a comet?

Comets are, more or less, frozen chunks of planetary debris that scientists believe have been around since the formation of our solar system. They’re usually less than 10 miles across and are made of materials such as dust, rocks and frozen gasses. Typically, these celestial bodies can be found far beyond Pluto in either the Kuiper Belt or the Oort Cloud (a theoretical location that has yet to be proven).

Scientists also believe that the gravitational force of a planet or star can pull the much smaller comet out of its home in the Kuiper Belt or Oort Cloud and tug it toward the sun. On its journey, a comet passes close enough to Earth so it may be seen briefly before heading back out to where it came from (or meeting a fiery demise in the sun). 

What is the green comet’s actual name?

The green comet is just a catchy nickname the media has given this celestial body. Its actual name is a bit more boring: ​​Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF). The “C” indicates this comet is classified as a non-periodic comet, meaning it won’t appear again for over 200 years (if ever). The “2022 E3” lets you know it was discovered in the first half of March, along with three other comets in that two-week period. And, “ZTF” simply identifies the Zwicky Transient Facility, the facility that discovered the comet.

Why does this comet look green in photographs?

The frozen part of the comet is called the nucleus. As it gets closer to the sun, the ice heats up and turns into gas, creating an enormous cloud around the nucleus. This dusty cloud is called the coma. The coma of this news-making comet is made of a relatively rare type of carbon called diatomic carbon. Diatomic carbon gas is green, which gives C/2022 E3 (ZTF) its unearthly hue. 

The best way to see C/2022 E3 (ZTF)

If you aren’t familiar with the night sky, the best thing you can do is get a stargazing app, such as Stellarium, which is a free, open-source planetarium for your mobile device (or computer). If this is the route you take to learn about where to look, make sure you’re using an updated version of the app that includes C/2022 E3 (ZTF).

If you want to try it on your own and you know your constellations, in the evening, face north-northeast and look up. The comet will change positions a little each night, so you’ll have to set your gaze accordingly. As January ends and February begins, the comet will pass Ursa Minor and move into Camelopardalis. However, the longer you wait, the brighter the moon will become and the harder it will be to find C/2022 E3 (ZTF). To have the best chance of seeing this comet, go out on a clear night, get as far away from the city as possible and use a quality pair of astronomical binoculars or a telescope.

Now for the bad news. The green comet is probably not going to appear to be very green when you find it. The photos you’ve been seeing are a product of long-exposure astrophotography. To the naked or even assisted eye, the green comet will be more of a dull, glowing, but colorless smudge in the sky. However, since this is the first time the comet has passed by in 50,000 years, it’s worth hunting for.

What you need to view C/2022 E3 (ZTF)

Best Celestron NexStar 102SLT Computerized Telescope

Celestron NexStar 102SLT Computerized Telescope

If you think stargazing might be more than a one-time fascination, this computerized telescope comes with a database of over 40,000 objects. It can not only locate an object with extreme accuracy, this model is capable of tracking it as well.

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Best National Geographic 70 Computerized Refractor Telescope

National Geographic 70 Computerized Refractor Telescope

This automatic telescope has a wide-field lens and a red dot viewfinder to make it easier to locate objects. The compact size makes it great for travel and the simple operation makes it suitable for beginning astronomers.

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Best Vortex Optics Diamondback HD Binoculars

Vortex Optics Diamondback HD Binoculars

These quality binoculars are specifically designed to deliver crisp images with excellent color fidelity and light transmission. The adjustable eyecups twist for comfortable viewing, while the rubber exterior provides a secure grip.

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Best Celestron SkyMaster 25X70 Binoculars

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The SkyMaster binoculars are manufactured to provide maximum image brightness in long-range, low-light conditions, making them ideal for astronomical viewing.

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Best Allkeys 16x55 HD Monocular Telescope

Allkeys 16×55 HD Monocular Telescope

If you aren’t sure if stargazing is going to be for you but you still want to have a quality experience, consider this entry-level monocular telescope. It comes with everything you need to get started, including a tripod and a cell phone holder.

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Sign up here to receive the BestReviews weekly newsletter for useful advice on new products and noteworthy deals. 

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Tyre Nichols remembered as beautiful soul with creative eye

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On most weekends, Tyre Nichols would head to the city park, train his camera on the sky and wait for the sun to set.

“Photography helps me look at the world in a more creative way. It expresses me in ways I cannot write down for people,” he wrote on his website. He preferred landscapes and loved the glow of sunsets most, his family has said.

“My vision is to bring my viewers deep into what I am seeing through my eye and out through my lens,” Nichols wrote. “People have a story to tell, why not capture it.”

Nichols, a 29-year-old father, was on his way home from taking pictures of the sky on Jan. 7, when police pulled him over. He was just a few minutes from the home he shared with his mother and stepfather, when he was killed in what authorities have described as a brutal attack by five Memphis police officers, who have since been charged with second-degree murder and other offenses.

“Nobody’s perfect, nobody. But he was damn near,” his mother, RowVaughn Wells, said at a news conference this week, moments after she watched the video of her son being beaten to death. “He was damn near perfect.”

He was the baby of their family, born 12 years after his closest siblings. He had a 4-year-old son and worked hard to better himself as a father, his family said. He was an avid skateboarder from Sacramento, California, and came to Memphis just before the pandemic and got stuck. But he was fine with it because he was with his mother, and they were incredibly close, Wells said. He had her name tattooed on his arm.

Friends at a memorial service this week described him as joyful and lovable.

“This man walked into a room, and everyone loved him,” said Angelina Paxton, a friend who traveled to Memphis from California for the service.

Growing up in Sacramento, Nichols spent much of his time at a skate park on the outskirts of the city. It could be a rough place sometimes for younger kids. But when Niko Chapman was 10-years-old, his parents would let him walk to the park alone as long as they knew Nichols was there.

“You remember people that are really kind to you, and Tyre was just a really kind person,” Chapman said. “He just always made me feel really welcome.”

Chapman’s dad, Curtis Chapman, ran a youth group at a local church that would often meet at the skate park for pizza. Nichols quickly became a regular, bringing his energetic spirit and quick wit. But away from the group, Nichols would often show up at the Chapman’s house to talk about life — including coming to grips with being a young parent.

“What drew me to Tyre was just – he’s real,” Curtis Chapman said. “He would talk about being a dad and wanting to be a good dad and seeking advice.”

There was a Bible study on Thursdays that Nichols would attend with his friend Brian Jang. One day, the group watched a sermon about how the world is filled with distractions. Jang said Nichols was so moved by it that he pulled out his flip phone and dropped it in a cup of water.

“I thought it was awesome, just seeing his growth and his commitment,” Jang said.

The last time Jang saw Nichols was in 2018 at the food court in a local mall. The two hadn’t seen each other in awhile, but Jang said Nichols came up behind him and gave him a big hug as the two caught up.

“It’s honestly pretty devastating to see such a good human go through such unnecessary brutality, such unnecessary death,” Jang said.

His mother said she raised him to love everyone openly — until they give you a reason not to. So Nichols was quick to make friends.

In Memphis, Nichols went to Starbucks every morning, and Nate Spates Jr. would hang out with him there. They chatted about sports or life. Spates was with his wife once when they ran into Nichols there, and they all talked for a couple of hours. Afterwards, Spates said his wife commented, “He’s got such a good spirit and soul and calm presence.”

Nichols worked second shift at FedEx with his stepfather. Every day, they’d come home together on their break at 7 p.m., and his mother would have a meal waiting for them.

Wells said she’d offered to buy her son Jordans, the popular athletic shoes, but he didn’t want them.

“He was just his own person,” she said. “He didn’t follow what anyone else was doing.”

When he wasn’t working, he went to the park to skateboard and take pictures. His website, called This California Kid, starts with an invitation: “Welcome to the world through my eyes.”

He included a gallery of what he considered his masterpieces: bridges and railroad tracks rendered in black and white, the neon lights of Beale Street at night. He took pictures of pink flowers, sunsets over the Mississippi River, fields of grass, statues of Elvis. He highlights a quote from another photographer: “A good photographer must love life,” it begins.

After she watched the video of her son’s death, she stood with her family and their lawyers at a lectern, shaking, to convey what the world lost.

A lawyer described the beating shown in the video — “he was a human pinata” — and Wells turned her head away, burying her face into her hands.

In the video, which will be released Friday to the public, Nichols is heard saying he just wants to go home, family lawyers said. He was less than 100 yards from his mother’s house.

Lawyers described the last words Nichols is heard saying — calling for his mom, three times.

“Oh my God,” she wailed as they spoke. “Oh my God.”

She still finds herself waiting for him to walk in the door every day at 7 p.m.

“It’s not even real to me right now. I don’t have any feelings right now,” she said. “I know my son Tyre is not here with me anymore. He will never walk through that door again.”

__

AP reporter Adrian Sainz contributed from Memphis, and AP researcher Rhonda Shafner from New York. Loller reported from Nashville, Beam from Sacramento, California, and Galofaro from Louisville, Kentucky.

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Cochrane photographer wins Best of Nation Award in 2023 World Photographic Cup

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After eight hours of waiting for the lives of a bear and a salmon to intersect at Brook Falls, Alaska last fall, Jo-Anne Oucharek pushed the shutter on her camera at – she hoped – the exact moment she had visualized.

After eight hours of waiting for the lives of a bear and a salmon to intersect at Brook Falls, Alaska last fall, Jo-Anne Oucharek pushed the shutter on her camera at – she hoped – the exact moment she had visualized.

The float plane that was there to pick her up along with her best friend and fellow photographer Jacquie Matechuk was leaving in five minutes to bring them back to camp when the sought-after “Yes!” moment fell into place.

The fish jumped, the bear’s jaws opened, and the shutter was released, all at the same instant. , “I thought ‘Oh my god, I can’t believe that just happened,’” the Cochrane-based wildlife photographer said.

Although she wasn’t sure at the time if she’d captured it or not, she found out last week she had bagged the Best of Nation Award in the World Photographic Cup (WPC).

Reflecting on the moment the shutter was pushed, Oucharek said she had been visualizing a certain photo for some time before it actually took place.

“It was all day, waiting for that image,” she said.

So out of all the photographs in the competition in all categories (not just nature) her shot of the Alaskan brown bear in Katmai National Park was named the top photograph in Canada.

Oucharek was surprised by a visit from her son Mitchell on Jan. 23, who showed up unannounced at her home with his girlfriend and a bottle of champagne to watch the announcement on a Zoom call with photographers from around the world.

The usually reticent Oucharek had to be told by her son that this was a big deal.

“You made it on Team Canada, c’mon, give yourself some credit,” he said.

All the Team Canada members on the Zoom call sported Canadian colours, waving flags and cheering each other on. The WPC has been likened to the Olympic Games for photographers.

“It was a fun night,” she said.

Just like athletes in the Olympics, the team aspect and the camaraderie and support were what stood out in Oucharek’s mind.

“It’s an amazing opportunity for a photographer in every genre, to be part of that,” she said.

Photographers and judges from 32 countries and five continents have been involved in the weeding-out process for months.

In Canada, entrants from B.C. to Newfoundland submitted photos. From those, 24 were selected in eight categories to enter into the world-wide competition.

Oucharek isn’t preoccupied with laurels.

“It’s what I love to do. I get to be out in nature and see amazing things. And every once in a while, you get that shot and go ‘Wow,’” she said.

Oucharek offers a one-on-one course she calls Photography 101 for novice shutterbugs looking to understand their cameras betters. To learn more about the offering, go to natureinmybackyard.ca.

To see all the Team Canada images submitted in the WPC, go to: wpcteamcanada.com/2023-two-canadians-top-10-in-the-world



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Astrophotography in February 2023: what to shoot in the night sky this month

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February could be one of the best months for astrophotography (opens in new tab) for 50,000 years. That’s because it should see the brightening of comet C/2022 E3 (ZHF), a long-period comet discovered last year that last visited in the Stone Age. That’s not unusual for a comet, and nor is it hyped up green color, but nevertheless the appearance of this icy visitor is something to get excited about for night sky images. 

Add a Jupiter-Moon conjunction, a brightening Venus after sunset and the rise of a full ‘Snow Moon’ and February 2023 has plenty to make going out in the cold seem like a good idea. 

February 2: Comet C/2022 E3 (ZHF)

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Inside Frank Horvat’s Fashion Photography Exhibition In Germany

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Frank Horvat was one of the world’s greatest fashion photographers. He helped elevate the medium into high art, and with his thoughtful photographs, changed how we look at fashion altogether.

Now, his latest masterpieces are on view in a solo exhibition at the Leica Galerie Wetzlar, opening on February 3, and running until April 30 in Wetzlar, Germany. The exhibition is called Please Don’t Smile, something he would tell his subjects before snapping their portraits.

The exhibition highlights the fashion photography from the photographer who had a 70 year career. He showed the world how fashion photography was more than just a way to sell purses, noting that: “Without stories to tell, fashion would never have really interested me,” he famously said during an interview.

Horvat is known for his fashion photographs, which were published in Vogue, Elle and Harper’s Bazaar. Based in Paris, he captured the city in all its romantic glory, from foggy night scenes to unconventional shots of the Eiffel Tower.

And yes, he did own a Leica camera, and was introduced to the brand by his friend and fellow photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson (who now has his own namesake museum in Paris).

Horvat was born in Croatia, lived in Italy, and moved to Paris in 1955. He started working as a fashion photographer in 1957, doing photo shoots for fashion magazines in Paris, London and New York, until 1962. He worked in black-and-white film, and some of his best photos were captured during this time, like his shots of Coco Chanel, Jean Cocteau and Yves Saint Laurent.

After working as a commercial photographer, he then started working on photo books, like New York Up And Down, a tribute to the city’s street life, and Please Don’t Smile, which was published in 2015.

He not only told models to refrain from smiling, but also told them to be themselves. “Later, when there was this natural type, the girl next door, I didn’t like it anymore, because it had also become a stereotype,” he said in an interview in 2015. “I have fun showing something that only I see. Showing something that the model wants to show doesn’t interest me.”

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Alternative landscape photography tips – Amateur Photographer

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Conventional bucolic views of the British countryside only tell half the story, says Tracy Calder. By adopting a new mindset, we can find beauty in even the bleakest corners of the land. She takes a look at the book This Pleasant Land: New Photography of the British Landscape. Plus, shares guidance on an alternative approach to landscape photography.

The British Landscape

In his wonderful book The Lost Continent: Travels in Small-Town America, Bill Bryson describes his experience of the British landscape. ‘For months the sky had remained a depthless grey. Sometimes it rained, but mostly it was just dull, a land without shadows. It was like living inside Tupperware.’

Anyone who lives on this North Atlantic island will be familiar with the ‘depthless grey’ Bryson refers to. While we might dream of dramatic skies and colourful sunsets, most of the time we go about our daily business under a dispiriting blanket of white. As photographers, we deal with this ‘Tupperware’ effect by adding an ND grad, hoping to eke out some drama. But dramatic and bucolic views of the British countryside only tell half the story.

In reality, the British landscape has been heavily shaped by human hands for centuries: quarries pockmark hills, fences criss-cross fields and roads slice through woodland. Arts and culture writer Rosalind Jana agrees. ‘In its wilder hinterlands we might think that it remains untouched, but our fingerprints – real and imagined – are all over it.’

China Clay Pit, Rocky, Ivybridge, England, 2018.

China Clay Pit, Rocky, Ivybridge, England, 2018. © Jethro Marshall

Jana provided the text for This Pleasant Land: New Photography of the British Landscape (published by Hoxton Mini Press). The book contains projects that form a post-millennium portrait of Britain where ‘Tupperware’ skies are not just tolerated but actively sought out. ‘This selection of fine art photography captures the beautiful, the bleak, the uncontainable and the marginal,’ says Jana.

It’s an exploration of overlooked corners, from the humble hedgerow to WWII pillboxes and shapeshifting floods. There’s an overriding sense that the landscape is in a state of flux – people come and go, boundary lines are drawn and redrawn, tides nibble away at the fringes of land. The photographers selected for the book present their own personal ‘reading’ of the landscape.

Each image is an expression of their memories, associations, interests and, at times, preferences. None of these artists are interested in the chocolate box view of the landscape. ‘Instead, they raise questions about how we inhabit it, own it, work it, protect and destroy it,’ says Jana.

Glencoul, Northern Highlands, Scotland, May 2016. alternative landscape

Glencoul, Northern Highlands, Scotland, May 2016. © Nicholas JR White

Fingerprints of man

Each photographer has a story to tell – projects range from the autobiographical to the environmental and political. What unites them is a desire to be immersed in the landscape. To hear the cry of gulls as they descend on ploughed fields, to taste salt on the air as you approach the coast, to feel snow underfoot as you walk to a mountain bothy.

These are essential visceral experiences. Few of the views would be considered classically beautiful, but each photographer has found beauty in the scene – a shaft of light illuminating abandoned cars in a slate mine, cement cubes scattered on a beach like toy building blocks, a suburban hedge that looks like a Beefeater hat. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder after all.

One photographer who has found beauty where seemingly none exists is Paul Hart. For ten years he has been capturing the effects of large-scale agribusiness on the Fens in East Anglia. The area has always been popular with writers who, Jana argues, are attracted by the flat fields, ‘domed by an unrelenting sky’.

Walpole St Andrew, Reclaimed, England 2019. black and white alternative landscape

Walpole St Andrew, Reclaimed, England 2019. © Paul Hart

While it might seem ‘damply atmospheric’ to the likes of Graham Swift, most photographers seem less keen to embrace the tilled fields and monocultural crops here. Hart, however, is an exception. Through a triptych of projects evocatively titled Farmed, Drained and Reclaimed, Hart uses a Hasselblad loaded with black & white film to describe how farming has shaped the region. ‘Many of Hart’s images have a ghostly feel, full of misted horizons and bare trees,’ says Jana. ‘They often feature lines vanishing into the distance: electrical cables, narrow lanes, silver waterways, the hard ridges of tilled fields.’

Jethro Marshall’s work also celebrates manmade participation in the landscape. For him there’s beauty in the abstract brutalism of coastal defences and quarries. ‘His trademark monochrome imagery is sparing but unafraid of drama,’ says Jana. These sculptural structures are set against natural backdrops – a cliff stabiliser mirrors the shape of the rock face behind it, a curve of anti-tank cubes nestles into shingle.

‘Whether used as military defence or to ward against erosion, there is something powerful in this idea of protection,’ notes Jana. While shooting Rocky (Marshall’s quarry project) the photographer was often asked to leave the site – a bid to protect Marshall or something else entirely? ‘Much of this land is not as free to explore as we might hope or assume,’ concludes Jana.

Places, Seven Sisters, England, 2016.

Places, Seven Sisters, England, 2016. © Toby Coulson

Impact of the military

If you’ve ever come across an MOD red flag while out walking – indicating possible life-threatening activities – you may have wondered how military manoeuvres impact the British landscape. Some military sites have the potential to become reservoirs of biodiversity, but others support ‘temporary’ structures that have been left to decay. Photographer Richard Brine used a combination of satellite imagery and local hearsay to pinpoint a number of Britain’s remaining 6,000 pillboxes (there were once around 30,000).

These concrete forms were built during WWII to defend Britain, but, according to Jana, ‘Many now house sheep (or furtive teenagers looking for somewhere to smoke).’ Brine has a background in architectural photography, and this preoccupation with precision (and the use of a large-format camera) carries over into his pillbox project. These defences may be dressed in moss and ivy, but Brine’s compositions are full of clean lines and negative space.

Melanie Friend is another photographer who explores how war is embedded in the British landscape. For her 2020 book The Plain, she made repeat visits to the chalk grasslands of Salisbury Plain, ‘a preparation ground for war’ since 1897. Here Friend captured the eerie presence of rusty tanks, battered telephones and stark warning signs. Her contribution to This Pleasant Land has a similarly disquieting air. For this project she travelled around the country attending air shows, which Jana describes as, ‘the respectable face of war’.

In this context, we see war as spectacle. ‘I remember feeling very sad on one particular beach – just this sense [that] here we are watching these planes as entertainment,’ recalls Friend. ‘In other countries people are terrified by what’s in the sky: the bomber, the fighter jet, the drones.’ On the ground, alongside the photographer, we stare up at the sky tracking the dark silhouettes of planes as they perform for our entertainment.

Avro Lancaster bomber (part of a Battle of Britain memorial flight), Southport Beach, Merseyside, England, 24 July 2011.

Avro Lancaster bomber (part of a Battle of Britain memorial flight), Southport Beach, Merseyside, England, 24 July 2011. © Melanie Friend

Effects of climate change

Floods, wildfires and droughts used to feel like problems that only (directly) affected the Southern hemisphere, but climate change has brought extreme conditions closer to our door. In 2022, for example, the NFCC (National Fire Chiefs Council) estimated that there were more than 500 wildfires in England and Wales – twice as many as the previous year.

Spencer Murphy spent summer 2018 recording wildfires as they transformed the landscape into an apocalyptic vision. In his images, patches of green are rare – the earth is blackened and charred, wounded and scarred. Yet there is a strange beauty in this disturbance of nature: the smoke in the air leads to muted colours, the skeletal vegetation provides focal points. ‘There is a weird beauty in it…Not like the surface of the moon, but maybe another planet,’ says Murphy.

Max Miechowski also documents the consequences of extreme weather – in this case the effects of coastal erosion. Along the coast of Britain there are pockets of land being lost to the sea at an alarming rate. ‘Gardens disappear overnight, as landslides redraw the boundary between ground and water,’ says Jana.

Land’s End, England, 2003. © Robin Friend alternative landscape

Land’s End, England, 2003. © Robin Friend

Buildings cling to the land as it slips beneath them, cracks widen in roads, landslides create otherworldly scenes. ‘I felt very much on the precipice…[with] this idea of being on a particular piece of land that will not exist in the future,’ admits Miechowski. ‘Once it’s gone, it’s really gone.’ But, once again, there is beauty in this shifting, impermanent environment. Miechowski often slept in his car to catch the sunrise. His pictures have a warmth and softness that acts as both a salve and a warning of what we stand to lose.

This collection of fine art photographs offers an alternative view of the British landscape. A place where people picnic by the side of the road, quaff beers in pillboxes, and plough, drain and slice the land to suit their own (temporary) needs. But that doesn’t mean it’s a bleak landscape. If you adopt the right mindset there is genuine beauty to be found in every puddle, hedge, house and ditch.

Imber Village Open Day, Merrie Albion, Wiltshire, England, 3 August 2013. alternative landscape

Imber Village Open Day, Merrie Albion, Wiltshire, England, 3 August 2013. © Simon Roberts

5 Tips for alternative landscape photography

Experiment with mono

Paul Hart and Jethro Marshall documented our human impact on the landscape in black & white to emphasise form and texture. Their work has a sparing quality about it, which really draws attention to every line and element in the composition.

drained farmland reclaimed landscape

© Paul Hart

Put some legwork in

For his project Black Dots, Nicholas JR White walked to remote mountain bothies – always feeling the ground beneath his feet. On one occasion he hiked for six hours through the Cairngorms, before camping out for three days to get his picture.

alternative landscape photography

© Nicholas JR White

Look to the skies

Sometimes the land can only be truly understood when it’s set against the sky, and photographer Melanie Friend takes this to extremes. In her pictures of air shows our feet are firmly planted on the ground, but our attention is in the clouds.

look to the skies for alternative landscape photography ideas homefront planes

© Melanie Friend

Show the people

Most of the photographers in This Pleasant Land focus on the imprint we make on the landscape, but few pictures contain people. Alex Ingram, by contrast, captures portraits of island wardens as they go about their work.

portrait of a walker show people in your alternative landscape

© Alex Ingram

Seek inspiration outside of photography

Harry Cory Wright’s images have the formalism of classical paintings. Wright uses a 10x8in camera and the cost of film is one factor that makes him slow down and appreciate each step of the process.

misty landscape

© Harry Cory Wright

Alternative landscape photography: how to see landscapes in a new light

Rise early

Max Miechowski slept in his car to catch the sunrise, Simon Roberts travelled around in a camper van, Nicholas JR White camped out in the cold. Put the effort in and you will be rewarded.

Talk to the locals

For his pillbox series, Richard Brine asked locals for their advice and combined this with satellite data to pinpoint the exact location of the defences he wanted to photograph.

Embrace serendipity

Sometimes it’s good to introduce an element of chance. Toby Trueman, for example, captures beautiful long-exposure seascapes. But instead of tracking the tides he just turns up to see what the shore reveals.

Stay curious

As children, we have a desire to see what’s around the corner, but in adulthood this seems to diminish. Ian Potter, however, encourages an appreciation of overlooked patches and a natural curiosity to see what’s around the bend.

Remain grounded

If you’re faced with an expanse of flat and empty land, much like Paul Hart was in the Fens, look for elements that will ground the space – trees, pylons or the ‘line’ of a furrow in a field.

Near Strathpeffer, Ross-shire, Scotland, January 2017. © Iain Sarjeant alternative landscape

Near Strathpeffer, Ross-shire, Scotland, January 2017. © Iain Sarjeant

Ignore obvious beauty

The colourful Americana of amusement parks, piers and fairgrounds can be alluring, but try to look beyond the surface. Rob Ball, for example, looks for evidence of weathering and decay in seaside attractions.

Keep close to home

After the restrictions of the past few years, many of us are keen to travel long distances for our photography fix. However, photographers like Iain Sarjeant are keen to prove that there are adventures right on our doorstep.

Stay in the margins

Joseph Wright, Paul Hart and Ian Potter are all fine examples of photographers who have found great riches in the hedgerows, ditches and hinterlands of Britain. Explore marginal places for maximum gain.

Shift your perspective for an alternative view of the landscape

Simon Roberts makes work that understands the landscape as an active process. To gain greater control over the narrative he often stands on his camper van roof to shoot.

Don’t fear change

Landscapes undergoing transformation make great subjects. Think Max Miechowski and his coastal erosion project. Spencer Murphy and his wildfire series and Joseph Wright’s images of flooded woodland.

This Pleasant Land: New Photography of the British Landscape book cover alternative landscape book

This Pleasant Land: New Photography of the British Landscape, with text by Rosalind Jana, is published by Hoxton Mini Press.

Also available here.

Feeling inspired? View our landscape photography tips and get shooting some spectacular shots!

Similarly, if you are new to landscapes, check out our beginners guide to Landscape Photography.

Improve your landscape photography

Put your landscape photography to the test. Learn more alternative landscape skills on one of our upcoming landscape photography vacations. Including Isle of Skye with Jeremy Walker, Faroe Islands with Serkan Günes and Lofoten Winter Magic with Serkan Günes & Florian Warnecke. See all upcoming landscape photography holidays here.

More reading:

The best landscape photography books for inspiration

The top 20 best landscape photographs

Follow AP on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.



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Most of you think the Pixel needs more camera accessories

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Google Pixel 7 Pro camera housing

Robert Triggs / Android Authority

Google’s Pixel phones generally stand out thanks to the camera experience (among other features), offering great image quality and some handy features.

In saying so, we recently wrote an article calling for more camera-focused accessories for the Pixel line. We also used the article to ask whether you thought the Pixel needed more camera accessories. Here’s what you told us in that poll.

Do you think the Pixel needs camera-focused accessories?

Results

Almost 2,000 votes were counted in this poll, and it turns out that almost two-thirds (64.4%) of respondents indeed want more camera accessories for the Pixel line. Readers supporting this stance in the comments suggested possible add-ons like a telescope attachment for improved astrophotography as well as snap-on lenses.

Meanwhile, over a third of surveyed readers felt that the Pixel series didn’t need camera accessories. Several readers in the comments felt that they might as well carry a DSLR camera instead of an add-on for a Pixel phone. Then again, it’s worth noting that add-ons like camera grips and lenses are much smaller than a typical standalone camera (while add-ons are much cheaper than a camera too).

It’s also worth noting that some readers pointed to other issues with Pixel phones, such as exposure accuracy, photo quality in mixed-lighting, and the dearth of camera controls.

Comments

  • Nacelle: There IS a problem with pixel cameras. The low light and flash photos are atrocious. I’m not talking about night photos. Low light before it switches to night is where it’s bad. I have a OnePlus 9pro and it’s low light photos are SO much better
  • Heist99: How about exposure control. What good is 30x zoom if the moon is too bright
  • Mike Lumaro: I received a shiftcam grip for Christmas. But like everything else, it’s designed for iPhones. So while it works fine, the volume rockers are lower on a pixel than an iPhone, so it grips right on rocker. It’d be nice if companies would just make more universal accessories, then they wouldn’t have to pay Apple For their specific crap.
  • Freakin: I’d love to see the Pixel line create some attachment points on their camera bump out for extra lenses and commit to the design for a number of years. That way Google or 3rd parties could commit to making those and both they and consumers would benefit from a useful standard.
  • TopherT1: Not so sure about the accessories but more camera controls would be nice. I know they are going for minimal but more control options would be nice.
  • ChrisPollard77: Look at the examples of camera-related accessories in your own article to see why there are none for the Pixel. If you make it, it doesn’t mean ANYONE will come. If I’m going to lug around a camera grip for my phone, just in case I might want to use it on the go, I may as well carry around my dSLR “just in case.” The whole point is that you have your phone with you anyway. If anyone has a chance to make this work, it’s either Apple or Samsung. Guess what – they have no interest, for good reason.
  • J.R. Buckley: I would love to see expansion of astrophotography to include a Pixel-specific telescope attachment with deep-space and planet-focused shooting modes, with auto image stacking.
  • sao_paulo: If I have to carry accessories then I might as well carry a dedicated camera with me
  • Albin: Global stats for Pixel market share are hard to find, but reaching around 3% in North America was counted a big jump a couple of years ago. Simply doesn’t repay the cost of development and production of specialized peripherals for any specific models other than for Apple or Samsung. I was lucky Moto supported well-designed and clever “Moto Mod” accessories for the Z series, but has terminated that line.

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Four ways to kickstart your photography business for the new year

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Blink, and January is almost over already. Set yourself up for success in the new year with these four ways to kickstart your photography business and get ready for the year ahead.

There’s something about refreshing your goals and intentions for the year ahead. Even if last year didn’t go to plan, there’s always time to change things up and set a new plan in motion.

Plan a content calendar for your photo business

kickstart your photography business with content calendar
You can use an online tool like Trello to organize your content calendar, or a social media scheduler, or just pen and paper. It doesn’t have to be fancy to get the job done. Photo of me by EKP Studios.

Depending on your photo industry it’s likely you need to spend some (or a lot!) of time attracting new clients. Planning a content calendar for your social media, paid ads, email marketing and blogging is a time-saver. Doing the thinking in advance lets you be strategic, establish a regular pattern of useful information your clients can rely on, and makes it easier for your ideal client to find you.

Here’s a deep dive into planning a content calendar for your personal brand. All you have to do is think about where you post, what you want to talk about, and how often you can keep it up.

Swap photoshoots with another photographer to organise your own personal brand assets for the year

Part of planning out your content is getting the images you need for your promotions and social media. Find a photographer friend and get together with your content calendar in hand to plan out the photos you need. Make sure everyone’s on the same page, and return the favor promptly.

If you don’t have any photographer friends (you’re missing out: photographers really are awesome people to be friends with!) then approach someone with a style that works for your brand, and do what your clients do: Book yourself in.

Review your prices and prepare your clients for increases

toddler using cricut machine
Your accountant might be able to help you crunch the numbers when reviewing your cost of doing business. Photo of me and my assistant by EKP Studios.

Assess your cost of doing business and check for shortfalls. Are you covering costs – including the cost of paying yourself a salary? Some things you need to consider are costs of:

  • Your time: Promotion, client meetings, preparing for photoshoots, doing the photoshoot, editing photos, photo delivery, album or sales meetings, album design, client follow-up
  • Second photographers, assistants, external photo editors or designers
  • Album and print production costs, including delivery to you and to clients
  • Software subscriptions
  • Gear rental, replacements and upgrades
  • Website hosting and URL registration, design and maintenance
  • Paid ads: Print, online, directories
  • Professional development costs: Conferences, learning new skills, competition entry costs
  • Business insurance, registration, costs of managing tax obligations and any other legal requirements in your location

If you decide you need to increase costs, email your clients (because you have all your clients in an email list now, right?) to let them know with plenty of warning (e.g. a month or two in advance). You might want to offer the option to book now before prices increase, presell album add-ons in advance, and so on.

Kickstart your photography business by updating your photography website

kickstart your photography business by updating website
Updating your website should be at least an annual job – make sure you’re still on the same page as your site! Photo of me by EKP Studios.

It’s a good idea to review your brand script annually and make adjustments to your website accordingly. Freshen up your text and images while keeping your ideal client front-of-mind.

Here’s some questions to ask yourself when updating your website for the year ahead:

  • Is it 100% obvious what you want clients to do when they visit your website: i.e. Book Now? Are there Book Now buttons above the fold? Regularly throughout every page? In the footer?
  • Are you still talking to the right kind of client on your website? Has your ideal client changed since you last updated your site?
  • Is your site reflective of your ever-increasing expertise and experience?
  • Are your prices accurate? Check social media too, or automated welcome emails. If there’s no end date listed, you might have to honor old prices if clients find them. Remember, you don’t have to list your prices on your website – not everyone does.
  • Are you giving too much information: Is your site confusing?
  • Are you giving too little information: Do clients ask you the same basic questions over and over? Can you create an FAQ on your site to send to new clients?
  • Do you use everything on your site? If there’s an empty blog page with tumbleweeds blowing across it that you never got around to starting, then maybe it’s time to delete it.
  • Are your very best photos being showcased? Have you added glorious new hero shots from the past year–and removed the ones they are better than? Keeping your portfolio fresh, and the best-of-the-best, is important.
  • Have you been published, awarded or featured anywhere in the last year? Add badges and logos to your site to show clients your authority.
  • Are internal and external links all still live and working? Have you changed social media handles but forgotten to update website links? Has any of your “recommended providers” gone out of business or changed their URL?
  • How are clients getting from your website to you? Can you make it more efficient? Is it time to start using a CRM (such as Dubsado)? Is your CRM lead capture form accurate?

Don’t have a website yet? Maybe it’s time: Check out SlickPic Portfolio Websites for the quickest and easiest way to integrate your photography portfolio and client delivery with a sleek, modern website to kickstart your photography business.

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