Art
When Tragedy Strikes, Social Media Posts Can Become Invaluable Artifacts
As Notre-Dame burned, there was controversy over people responding by sharing selfies they'd taken at the cathedral. But there may be public value in this practice.
Photography
Art
The Breathtaking Images That Won the 2019 National Geographic Travel Contest
An arctic village blanketed in snow in Greenland; a pensive boy at a river sunrise in India; and a colossal wave seconds before crashing. The winners of the 2019 National Geographic Travel Contest in their own words.
Interview
Turning Trauma Into Images of Power and Celebration
Ruben Natal-San Miguel’s photographs transform a series of traumatic events into empathetic energy. His new book, Harlem, takes that human connection further.
Art
The Sisters Who Photographed the Stars of Buenos Aires Nightlife
From 1958 to 2009, Estudio Luisita produced iconic portraits that immortalized many musicians, models, comedians, sex workers, and actors.
Art
Photography Still Has the Potential to Reveal the Uniqueness of the Human Body
At the CONTACT photography festival in Toronto, the most compelling pieces are variations on portraiture, searching and incantatory.
Art
A Nonjudgmental Look at Our Impulse to Share Images
Although social media has amped up the sharing of photos, the urge behind it is nothing new.
In Brief
How a 19th-Century Photographic Technique Erased a Māori Tradition
Michael Bradley revisits the wet plate photography technique that had removed Indigenous tattoo traditions from photographic records.
Art
Roy DeCarava’s Intimate Photos of Black Americans, from Billie Holiday to a Loving Father
Over six decades, DeCarava took to the streets of cities like New York City and Washington, DC to cast Black American lives in ways that went beyond documentary or stereotype.
Interview
Photographer Nydia Blas and Her “Black Feminine Lens”
In spaces where many seek to center experiences of the overlooked, Blas begins by challenging why we’re all looking in the first place.
Art
A Photographer Retraces the Underground Railroad's Secret Routes
Midwestern artist Jeanine Michna-Bales’ latest photo series, Through Darkness to Light, is the result of 14 years of research and 1,400 miles of travel along former routes of the Underground Railroad.
Art
Paul Mpagi Sepuya Breathes New Life Into the Genre of Studio Portraiture
Sepuya’s portraits unmask the artifice of studio portrait photography.
Art
An Overlooked Photographer Who Documented Generations
Chicago-raised photographer John Simmons, who almost lost his entire archive in a fire, seamlessly connects decades, cities, and diasporas.