Steve McCurry will rein in his use of Photoshop after he was accused of manipulating some of his images, the famed photographer exclusively tells TIME

Over a career spanning more than four decades, Steve McCurry’s name has commanded respect beyond photographic circles. His books are bestsellers and his prints continue to fetch tens of thousands of dollars at auctions. So when the famed photographer was accusedof photoshopping some of his images, people started paying closer attention to his work. In the last month, dozens of photographs have been exposed as manipulated. While some have been color processed – an accepted practice in photography – others show marks of cloning (where elements of an image have been removed or replaced).
McCurry’s career started in photojournalism, a field where evidence of manipulation beyond standard color correction and processing can break a photographer’s career (for example, the Associated Press fired photographer Narciso Contreras after he had digitally removed an object from one of his photographs).
Faced with mounting evidence of his own manipulations, McCurry has been forced to address his position in photography
“I’ve always let my pictures do the talking, but now I understand that people want me to describe the category into which I would put myself, and so I would say that today I am a visual storyteller,” McCurry tells TIME. “The years of covering conflict zones are in the distant past. Except for a brief time at a local newspaper in Pennsylvania, I have never been an employee of a newspaper, news magazine, or other news outlet. I have always freelanced.”
Over the years, McCurry took on assignments in the advertising world, he says, and for non-profits. “Some of my work has migrated into the fine art field and is now in private collections and museums,” he adds. “I understand that it’s virtually impossible to assign me to a specific category or classification, but that’s partly a function of working for 40 years, and having a career which has evolved as media itself has changed.”
McCurry is best known for his photograph of the Afghan Girl, which was featured on the cover of National Geographic’s June 1985 issue. The iconic portrait forever linked McCurry’s name with the yellow-border magazine. “No other image in my memory is so immediately recognizable and loved by such a large number of people across the globe,” Sarah Leen, National Geographic’s director of photography, tells TIME. “We are proud of that image and other iconic photographs that Steve created while on assignment for us.”
National Geographic does not “condone photo manipulation for editorial photography,” Leen adds, highlighting the magazine’s stringent photographic practices. “We receive all the raw files for every assignment, our photo editors look at every single frame and we do all of our own color production in house. I do not know of any other publication that has such a rigorous workflow.”
When asked about his own use of Photoshop, McCurry, however, cites National Geographic’s December 1984 issue, which featured one of his photographs. “I recall when my horizontal picture of the tailor in India’s monsoon was published on a National Geographic magazine cover, the water was extended down to fit the vertical format,” he says. “That use of Photoshop ensured that a powerful image wouldn’t be rejected because it was a horizontal orientation. Some would say that was wrong, but I thought it was appropriate because the truth and integrity of the picture were maintained.”
For Leen, this type of alterations is in the magazine’s past. “It was 32 years ago, a different era,” she says. “It would never happen now.”
For McCurry, however, the uproar has continued unabated for more than three weeks, with new examples of photoshopped images unveiled almost on a daily basis, forcing the photographer to announce that “going forward, I am committed to only using the program in a minimal way, even for my own work taken on personal trips.”
He adds: “Reflecting on the situation… even though I felt that I could do what I wanted to my own pictures in an aesthetic and compositional sense, I now understand how confusing it must be for people who think I’m still a photojournalist.”
The controversy has raised the issue of transparencywithin the photographic practice. While editorial photography must adhere to a set of industry-accepted rules, commercial and fine art photography don’t share the same standards. “It is essential that the lines between these genres are clear, well delineated and communicated to the audience,” says Leen. “Blurring these areas of photography creates confusion, skepticism and damage to all reputations involved. In the end honesty and transparency is essential.”


Steve McCurry is, perhaps, one of the most iconic names in the National Geographic pantheon. A travel photography giant, his vibrant images have inspired millions, but he’s recently come under fire over Photoshop use after a botched print at a show in Italy was found to have a serious issue.
The print in question was spotted first by photographer Paolo Viglione, who went to the show in Italy and posted about what he saw on his blog. His intent was not to start a full-scale witch hunt, but in many ways that’s what happened when he posted the picture below showing a closeup of the botched street photograph from Cuba:
Viglione says he, “had no intention to attack [Steve McCurry],” he simply wanted to show something “‘strange’, even a little ‘fun'” that he had seen. He even removed the post after it took off, but the damage was done.
While the original photo was soon removed from Mr. McCurry’s website, people and publications across the Web quickly began digging to see what other McCurry images they could find that had been seriously altered. They did not seem to come up empty handed.
The two versions of an image below were found on Mr. McCurry’s website itself (the photos are linked to their sources), and our anonymous tipster told us the shot has been removed from the Magnum website. Notice the missing player in the second image:
And an astute Facebook user found another two images that allegedly show cloning at work. Two people, two carts, and a light pole seem to have been removed:
After receiving all of these links through various reader tips and parsing through the various Italian articles that have gone up online, we decided the only way to be sure we got the whole story was to reach out to Mr. McCurry himself.
After a polite back and forth with his team (Mr. McCurry is currently traveling), we received the following statement from McCurry himself. We’re reprinting it in full below:
My career started almost forty years ago when I left home to travel and photograph throughout South Asia. I went into Afghanistan with a group of Mujahideen in 1979, and thus became a photojournalist when news magazines and newspapers picked up my pictures, published them around the world, and gave me assignments to provide more images of the war.
Later on, I covered other wars and civil conflicts in the Middle East and elsewhere, and produced photo essays for magazines, but like other artists, my career has gone through many stages.
Today I would define my work as visual storytelling, because the pictures have been shot in many places, for many reasons, and in many situations. Much of my recent work has been shot for my own enjoyment in places I wanted to visit to satisfy my curiosity about the people and the culture. For example, my Cuba work was taken during four personal trips.
My photography is my art, and it’s gratifying when people enjoy and appreciate it. I have been fortunate to be able to share my work with people around the world.
I try to be as involved as much as I can in reviewing and supervising the printing of my work, but many times the prints are printed and shipped when I am away. That is what happened in this case. It goes without saying that what happened with this image was a mistake for which I have to take responsibility.
I have taken steps to change procedures at my studio which will prevent something like this from happening again.
The statement tracks with much of what we read in two Italian interviews with Mr. McCurry about the incident. He said the issue in the Cuba image was, “a change that I would have never authorized,” and “the lab technician who made the mistake does not work with me anymore.”
What we haven’t yet hear back about are the other photographs above. Mr. McCurry mentions in the same interview that using contrast and tones adjustments to alter a section of a photo that is distracting is okay, but that the change shouldn’t be done by “moving elements.” He does allow himself much more leeway when shooting personal projects like the Cuba images (as opposed to some of the photojournalistic work he was known for early on), but it seems the major changes shown above would also qualify as things he would “never authorize.”
We’ve followed up with Mr. McCurry’s team and are still waiting to hear back about the second and third sets of images above. We will update this post as soon as we have an official response.
The overall winners of the world’s largest photography competition, the 2016 Sony World Photography Awards, are named today by the World Photography Organisation. An exhibition of all the winning and shortlisted work will run atSomerset House, London from today until 8th May.
Following a record-breaking 230,103 submissions to its ninth edition, the awards’ Honorary Judging Committee has selected Iranian photojournalist Asghar Khamseh as the recipient of its most coveted prize, the L’Iris d’Or Photographer of the Year.
Chosen from the winners of the awards’ fourteen Professional categories, the winning work, ‘Fire of Hatred’, is a powerful portrait series tackling the social issues around the violent act of acid throwing. Khamseh was announced as the winner of the $25,000 (USD) prize at an awards ceremony in London in front of industry leaders. The winners and finalists of all fourteen Professional categories were also announced at the ceremony.
At the ceremony, the World Photography Organisation announced Kei Nomiyama, Japan, as the Open Photographer of the Year and recipient of $5,000 (USD). In addition, the organisation announced the winners of the Youth and Student Focus Photographer of the Year titles.
Scott Gray, CEO, World Photography Organisation comments: “The awards consistently provide an incredible array of work, from a multitude of countries, and most importantly provide the chance for photographers to be discovered and extend their careers.  I hope that the winning work this year can provide an inspiration to other photographers, helping to push their creative boundaries, whilst also serving to build the wider appreciation of photography.”
The Sony World Photography Awards annually recognises the world’s best photography. Free to enter and open to all photographers, the awards are an authoritative voice in the photographic industry that has the power to shape the careers of its winning and shortlisted photographers.

Maroesjka Lavigne, Winner Belgium, 2016

People - Kevin Frayer, Winner Canada, 2016

Sport - Nikolai Linares, Winner Denmark, 2016


For more amazing images visit: http://www.creativeboom.com/photography/grand-prize-winners-announced-for-the-2016-sony-world-photography-awards/

The truth of life. Only in Groot Marico they truly understand it. Love you Groot Marico


World Press Photo yesterday announced the winners of its 2016 contest, honoring the best news photos captured in 2015. Above is a breakdown of the cameras that were used by the photographers who were honored by photojournalism’s biggest prize.

The graphic was created by the Spanish site Quesabesde, which analyzed the EXIF data found in all the winning photos.
Canon came out on top again. Of the 45 photos, 15 of them were captured with the Canon 5D Mark III and 6 were shot with the Canon 1D X. The top Nikon camera, used by 4 of the photographers, was the Nikon D810.

DSLRs continue to reign supreme when it comes to photojournalism. At least 40 of the winning shots were captured using full frame DSLRs — mirrorless, compact, and action cameras accounted for one winning photo each.
Quesabesde did this same data crunching last year after World Press Photo 2015 winners were announced. There was less diversity in the winning cameras this year compared to last year. Olympus, Apple, Hasselblad, Phase One, Ricoh, Leica, and Mamiya cameras were used by winners last year, but they were entirely absent from this year’s contest — Sony, Pentax, and Fujifilm took their spots.

Image by  Pedro Jarque Krebs
So, this article is for stylish-or-so (mostly wedding) photographers on a budget; if you were looking for a DIY honeycomb speedlight grid that is sleek, easy to mount and efficient, to use on your strobes during balls, parties and any low light dynamic situations that you might face during your events, you might be interested in this tutorial.

WHAT ARE HONEYCOMB GRIDS USED FOR

Honeycomb grids are light modifiers that are able to concentrate light into a straight direction, preventing spilling from the edges. I often use grids on studio strobes when it comes to still life photography and dramatic portraitsand I remember I created my first speedlight grid with corrugated cardboard following this tutorial I think in 2006, before buying my current studio gear. This was really rough and naif, but since the principle is always the same, it worked and I enjoyed to make a couple of experiments with it, back in the days.
Then I completely forgot about it until recently where I started shooting more wedding. I always disliked those flashed wedding pictures, with harsh shadows, white foreground and completely black backgrounds (I bet that there is someone who can turn this to art, but it’s not my case ^^) and, since I like documentary style better, I prefer to keep natural light conditions and play with them.
But, as photographers, we have physics limits to cope with, so what to do when you have to shoot dynamic scenes in low light situations?
You mount your speedlight of course. And you start to see ugly things on your camera’s LCD.
That’s where the honeycomb grid comes into play.

WHAT’S SPECIAL ABOUT YOUR SPEEDLIGHT GRID?

You can find quite a lot tutorials around on how to make a DIY speedlight grid, but when I decided to do mine a couple of years ago, I couldn’t find anything that was enough sleek, stylish, easy to mount and to store, so I asked my boyfriend to help designing one. He took inspiration from this and added a couple of tweaks: no velcro, no rubber bands, no fancy way to attach it to the speedlight.
Our grid just slip onto the flash head and that’s it. I tested it in various situations and it never moved from its place.

HOW TO MAKE THE GRID

First, you need a couple of things:
  • a sheet of plastic corrugated black cardboard
  • some black straws
  • transparent glue for plastic materials
  • 5 cm high gaffer tape
  • a cutter
  • something to measure lengths




The Super Bowl had great ads as always last night. This one from Colgate is a great reminder on what we all can do to help with the drought. Colgate ‪#‎EveryDropCounts‬



A soldier blinded in a rocket attack in Afghanistan has used photography to overcome the trauma of his horrific injuries, with stunning results.
Chris Nowell, 32, lost total sight in one eye and was partially blinded in the other during a Taliban attack on his base in Helmand province.
After a month in hospital the trauma of the attack left him facing an uncertain future and scared to leave the house. But, encouraged by his wife Claire, he started attending Blind Veterans UK events and soon  threw himself into photography.  
The father-of-three said: 'Photography gave me an excuse to get out whereas I was sitting around doing nothing before. I had no motivation to do anything.




The detail of these mummies never sees to amaze me. It is sad that most of them has met with a violent death.

The bogs work their magic upon the flesh through the action of a long-chained molecule called sphagnan, found in decaying peat moss. Sphagnan reacts with enzymes secreted by putrefying bacteria, preventing the microbes from breaking down organic matter. At the same time, sphagnan leaches calcium from bones, leaving them bendy like rubber or dissolving them altogether. And because peat moss also contains humic acid, which expels water from soft tissue, skin steeped in bog water turns to bronzed hide.






His Valentino fashion shoot was almost marred - but in the end made - by a ferocious dust cloud in Kenya

The US photographer Steve McCurry made his name first as a photojournalist, shooting in Afghanistan, shortly before the Soviet invasion of 1979. He went on to shoot photo stories for the likes of National Geographic in exotic and extreme locations across the world from Iraq and Iran to the Lebanon, Cambodia and beond. Despite worldwide fame, to this day he continues his pioneering, story-based photojournalism with similarly harrowing, though effortlessly told, stories on the plight of disenfranchised communities around the world - from the tribes of the OMO Valley in Ethiopia to the abused female domestic workers in Hong Kong.


More recently still, he has tried a little fashion photography, producing photo stories for the likes of Etnia sunglasses, and even shooting the 2013 Pirelli calendar. Yet, just because he’s taken on a few clothing campaigns, it doesn’t mean he’s cut down on the air miles.
One of Steve McCurry's photographs for Valentino's Spring/Summer 2016 campaign. Courtesy of Valentino and Steve McCurry
Steve shot his latest series, for the Italian fashion house Valentino, at the Amboseli National Park, in Kenya. The label’s creative directors Pierpaolo Piccioli and Maria Grazia Chiuri, picked McCurry partly because their Spring/Summer 2016 collection was inspired by African culture. Yet they also chose the veteran photojournalist because, for them, “he’s not a fashion photographer; he’s a culture reporter.”
“Our emotions about African culture, the idea of beauty [achieved by] the interaction different cultures, the idea of tolerance, this is the message we wanted to deliver,” Piccioli told Women's Wear Daily. “That’s why we wanted to shoot in Africa with Steve McCurry. He’s not a fashion photographer; he’s a culture reporter. We wanted to shoot not a fashion vision [of Africa], but more of a cultural vision — and not in a studio with an elephant.”
http://uk.phaidon.com/agenda/photography/articles/2016/january/12/steve-mccurry-fashion-shoot-hit-by-dust-storm/

Hungarian journalist and human rights lawyer Boglarka Balogh recently published a series of photos for a good cause… and it blew up in her face.
Balogh is now being widely criticized online for the project, which featured Photoshopped portraits of her face edited onto the portraits of black African tribeswomen.

The project was originally published by Balogh a couple of weeks ago in a blog post onBored Panda. She wrote that after spending time in Africa, Balogh wanted to share the beauty of the continent and the cultures she found there.
“I became fully aware of the issues regarding a number of endangered tribes, and the speed at which they are fading away,” she said. “These stunning portraits show how beauty varies across the globe and prove that all of us are beautiful in a different way. They’re celebrating stunning tribal beauties at the brink of extinction.”
She decided to raise awareness for these secluded and often endangered cultures by digitally recreating what she would look like as a member of each one. Partnering with a Photoshopper, she replaced original eyes and facial features with her own. Here are a few of the images she posted:


http://petapixel.com/2016/01/08/woman-slammed-for-photoshopping-her-face-onto-african-tribeswomen/



At the close of another year, we gratefully pause to wish you a warm and Happy Holiday season.

Photograph by Kelly Beckta
Socotra Island, located off the southeast coast of Yemen, is known for its lush biodiversity—and strange plant life.Dracaena cinnabari—more commonly known as the dragon’s blood tree—is the island’s iconic species, with its upturned branches perfectly adapted to capturing moisture.


In 1941, legendary photographer Ansel Adams began working for the US Department of the Interior to shoot large format photos of National Parks and other notable locations out in the great outdoors.
Guess what? The same job opening has appeared again: the National Parks Service is looking to hire a black-and-white large format photographer, and the salary is up to $100,000 per year.

A new job listing at USAJOBS shows that the National Park Service of the Department Of The Interior is looking for someone to fill an opening with the title “Photographer, GS-1060-11/12.”
Ansel Adams’ “The Tetons and the Snake River” was shot in 1942 while he was shooting for the National Park Service.
The full time job has a salary range of $63,722 to $99,296 per year, and is based out of Washington, DC. It requires a great deal of traveling (up to 5 to 10 nights per month, the listing says), and is only available to US citizens.
In terms of job duties, the photographer will be tasked with shooting large-format documentary photos for the Library of Congress, developing photographic guidelines and standards, producing exhibition quality prints, evaluating photographic submissions, and making presentations about the photo collection.

Photograph by Davorin Volavsek, National Geographic Your Shot
“[This] photo was taken alongside our Slovenian coast in early September,” writes Your Shot member Davorin Volavsek. “The sight of the sun setting behind the group seemed magical, and I just had to take the photo.”
If you’ve been reading ISO for a while, you’ll already be familiar with the work of Meagan V Blazier. She’s the professional photographer, published on book covers and in magazines, who uses a Canon point & shoot to capture dreamlike landscapes she calls “imaginescapes.”
A lot of people (myself included) throw around the phrase, “it’s not the gear, it’s the photographer.” The phrase is meant to imply that a great photographer can capture beautiful images no matter what camera they use, while a beginner will capture beginner images whether they’re holding a 1Dx or an iPhone.
But while many of us believe and say this, Meagan is living, breathing proof of it.
We recently got a chance to speak more in-depth with Meagan about her work, workflow, and thoughts on this popular-but-controversial idea. Here’s what she had to say.

500px: First off, could you tell us a little bit about yourself and your journey as a photographer?
Meagan V. Blazier: I am from the metro Detroit area of Michigan, a single mother of one and a real estate photographer during the day.
I started shooting about 5 years ago, but didn’t start taking my work seriously until about a year and a half ago when I started shooting desolate landscapes, things I would come across while en route to a property shoot for work. I quickly developed fascination for photography.

You’ve told us before that you first picked up a camera when your son was born. How did you transition from photos of your son to shooting what you shoot now?
Meagan: The more I started to get comfortable with the camera, the more I shot. I started to explore different subjects and sceneries until I found something that spoke to me—something that inspired me—and I found that in old abandoned barns and barren landscapes.
You call your work “Imaginescapes,” why is that?
Meagan: I created the name after receiving quite a bit of backlash from the purists when referring to my work as landscapes. I thought that the word “Imaginescapes” would give the viewer a better understanding of what my work is: photographs that are manipulated in a way that creates dreamlike, atmospheric shots.
Often times, I create the setting & atmosphere through editing, and not by shooting what is necessarily in front of me.


Do you have a favorite photo? What’s the story behind it?
Meagan: That’s a great question, but to be honest, every new shot is my favorite because each time I am learning more and more. I can gradually see my work getting more defined each time I take a new shot.
How long did it take you to learn Lightroom and Photoshop? I mean, I’m sure you’re still learning (aren’t we all?) but how long did it take before you were creating images that matched what you were imagining in your mind?
Meagan: When I first started photography I had no idea people even did such things to photographs—I was naive in thinking most people just post SOOC shots. But after learning a bit more and getting familiar with Lightroom, it was only a matter of weeks before I grasped the concept, and then it was just a matter of using each tool and getting familiar with what they would do and how I could incorporate them into my work.

Would you say you’ve settled on a “signature style”? And if so, what elements do you think make up that signature?
Meagan: I believe that creating one’s own style that is truly unique is very challenging, but after a year or so, it came to me.
My style is very dark and atmospheric. A lot of people can identify my work right away based on either my dark bluish tinted images or my abandoned barns with moody sunsets.
Can you walk us through your post-processing workflow? Is there an order to how you edit images? And how long does it usually take?
Meagan: The majority of my images are edited in Lightroom with the exception of me changing a sky in Photoshop. I always start my post-processing the same way which is to start adjusting the basics such as highlights, shadows, and exposure and go from there.
Post-processing can take me anywhere from 20 minutes to days, it depends on my creative level at that moment.

Okay, on to the main event: your camera. Remind us what you shoot with.
Meagan: I still have the same camera that I have had for about 4 years now, which is a Canon Powershot SX40HS—a simple point & shoot.
I’m sure you hear this a lot, but how come you never upgraded? Most photographers get nowhere near your level of proficiency before they upgrade to something more powerful. Is it the convenience? Simplicity? A combination of things?
Meagan: I have a hard time with change—I hate it! And I love the convenience of this camera.
One of the great things is that I don’t have to carry around a 20-pound camera bag that holds 5 different lenses. For me, it works, I have done amazing things with it and its easy to use. Unfortunately, at some point I will have to join the big kids and upgrade.

What are the biggest challenges you’ve faced as a point-and-shoot photographer, and how have you overcome each?
Meagan: My biggest challenge has been people not taking my work seriously because of the gear that I have; I have been able to overcome that by not giving up and because of that I have had numerous articles & features on my work.
Do you ever think of taking the time to move up to an ILC system, or even upgrade to a newer version of your point-and-shoot? Do you wonder what you could create with more capable tools, or do you not think it would ultimately make a difference?
Meagan: Absolutely! I do get a chance to shoot with my friend’s DSLR from time to time and though it would take some getting used to, I would definitely consider it at some point.
Any advice for newbies?
Meagan: The words I say all the time and stick by them “it’s not the camera—it’s who’s behind it.” If you have a passion for photography you’re not limited by your gear, only your creativity.

Finally, what’s next for you? What should we expect from Meagan V Blazier in the coming months, and where can our readers keep up with your work?
Meagan: I just came back from being invited to Phillips Exeter Academy (the top private school in America) as one of the visiting artists to teach a two day workshop and give a presentation of my work to around 80 of their students. It was an incredible honor and amazing experience.
I am definitely open to more workshop opportunities. I have also been experimenting with some portrait ideas for a new portrait project I am working on.
You can see more on 500px, my website, Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.
  • I know I'm not the best Photographer out there, but one is that I know photography very well. 

The latest Pirelli Calendar by Annie Leibovitz has left me dumbfounded. She claims this is what the client wanted. I don't the images looks like  beginner Photographic Students work.

If i was the client I demand another campaign.

What is your opinion on it?