Art
A History of Photographing Ghosts
In 1860, William H. Mumler set up the first photography studio that claimed to capture the dead, and his success started a movement of spirit images.
Photography
Books
Vintage Cameras and the Imperfect Photographs They Take
David Ellwand has collected over 100 vintage cameras and published the photographs he’s taken with them in RetroPhoto: An Obsession.
Books
The Posthumous Fame of the 19th Century's Greatest Vegetable Photographer
Charles Jones photographed hundreds of vegetables in the 19th century, but it was only in 1981 that his work was rediscovered by chance.
Books
An Artist Who Cultivates Deadly Plants and Photographs Them
Matthew M. Kaelin takes pictures of carnivorous plants to highlight their beautiful and fatal details.
Art
When Edward Weston Took Photographs for Walt Whitman's 'Leaves of Grass'
Although the book was a failure, Edward Weston considered his 1941 photographs for Walt Whitman's 'Leaves of Grass' as some of his best work.
Books
Nocturnal Photographs of the World's Oldest Trees
Photographer Beth Moon documents the world's oldest trees by the starry light of the night sky.
Art
A Photographer’s Multifaceted Scenes of Mexican Street Life
An exhibition at the Aperture Foundation gathers pictures taken by Alex Webb over more than 30 years, all across Mexico.
Books
Japan's Islands of Monsters
Every year around September, mud-covered figures run amok in the streets of the Shimajiri District in Japan's Okinawa Prefecture, smearing dirt on anyone they encounter.
Books
Inexplicable Found Photographs of Women in Trees
It all began at a flea market in Frankfurt, when photo collector Jochen Raiß came across a picture of a woman wearing a summer dress and high heels.
Interview
Looking at the Invisible Children Growing Up as Refugees
While many photographers focus on either aesthetics or rigorous documentation, Rania Matar fuses them — and adds a generous dose of humanity for good measure.
Art
The Belgian Town Where the Mentally Ill Are Part of the Community
The treatment of mental illness has often involved removing patients from society and placing them in their own institutions.
Art
Questioning the Idea of Progress in an Exhibition on the Black Panthers
I’m looking at photographs of the Black Panthers: men in formation wearing black leather jackets, with buttons featuring Huey P. Newton’s image fixed to their lapels.