Photo: Everett Collection / Adobe
Humble editors recommend standouts in 2019 (online) photography writing
How often do you read – beyond a quick skim – the text accompanying a gut-heavy photo essay someone you respect shared on some social network? One that happened to algorithmically line up to your endless scroll? What was the last piece of writing on photography that truly made you stop, think, and maybe twitch for more than a few seconds or the “five minute read?” What writing sat with you for more than a glance?
As photography writers and quotationally proclaimed “critics,” we try to read as much as we can to keep us both pulsed and pleasantly distracted. But it’s more than that. Great photo writing, whether it’s an honest Q+A or a thoughtfully researched essay or even an inspired exhibition review, can help us wade deeper, can help clarify, and in many cases, can change how we see what we see.
The following list barely nicks the skin of all the inspiring photography writing in 2019, but we hope will help move, distract, change your view of the world. In some cases, they may even help you navigate your own process of shooting, editing, curating, or making a living from making pictures.
Thanks for reading the reading,
Jon Feinstein - Co-Founder and Director
Roula Seikaly - Senior Editor
Money Talks: Jacqueline Bates and Amelia Lang in Conversation
Authors: Jacqueline Bates and Amelia Lang
Publication: Rocket Science Magazine
Date: October 2019
In this informative and honest conversation, California Sunday mastermind photo director Jackie Bates speaks with Aperture associate director Amelia Lang about the challenges and joys of getting paid to work in photography.
Charlotte Doesn’t Work Here (And Other Changes in the NYC Art World)
Author: Kat Kiernan
Publication: Don’t Take Pictures
Date: October 9, 2019
Kat Kiernan, like Sex and The City’s fictional Charlotte York spent years working at NYC’s Louis K. Meisel Gallery. While York’s unrealistic character lived a top-shelf-champagne, upper east side-livin’ luxe life, Kiernan’s time in the “Charlotte’s role” – like most un-trust-funded gallerists – was quite the opposite. In this funny and thoughtful piece, Kiernan writes about her experience and the evolution of gallery life.
The Importance of Photographing Women in Sports
Author: Laura Mallonee
Publication: WIRED
Date: June 26, 2019
Laura Mallonee profiles skateboarder-turned photographer Alana Paterson on her series Title IX, which documents young female hockey players defying gender expectations in a male-dominated arena.
Author: Miss Rosen
Publication: The Luupe
Date: October 30, 2019
Expanding on Pam Grosman’s pivotal New York Times profile, Sara Rosen discusses the history and revived interest in witchcraft as cultural rebellion, its parallels to contemporary feminism, and three women redefining it with photography.
Kathy Ryan: Top Photobooks + In Conversation
Author: Kathy Ryan
Publication: The Observers
Date: March 2019
The Observers regularly asks top curators, editors and other photography “luminaries” what inspires them, with a focus on photobooks. In this feature, New York Times photo editor Kathy Ryan dives into her favorite photo books and discusses everything from her process for selecting today’s top photographers, to the essential ingredients for establishing tension within a frame.
Vulnerable Portraits of Men in The Nude
Author: Ellyn Kail
Publication: Feature Shoot
Date: Feb 18, 2019
Ellyn Kail profiles Laura Stevens’ series Him where the photographer transformed her bed into a stage set for a series of portraits of more than fifty unnamed men who agreed to pose nude on a single white sheet.
How Archaeology is Unraveling the Secrets of WWI Trench Warfare
Author: Megan Gannon
Publication: National Geographic
Date: Dec 23, 2019
Megan Ganon discusses how lasers and aerial photography are helping uncover the hidden stories of the first world war. She profiles archaeologist BirgerStichelbaut, who, among a small group of archaeologists is investigating the physical marks that remain more than a century later.
How One Meme Reveals the Difference in How Humans and AI “See.”
Author: Layla Fassa
Publication: Hyperallergic
Date: July 5, 2019
As AI technology grows more sophisticated, neural networks can generate pictures people are comfortable looking at. Layla Fassa discusses how surreal image rejections can remind us of how differently a computer perceives the world.
Robert Frank Dies; Pivotal Documentary Photographer Was 94
Author: Phillip Gefter
Publication: The New York Times
Date: September 10, 2019
To say Robert Frank was one of the most influential American photographers for countless generations is an understatement. When he passed this past September, the photography community, young and old, felt it in our bones. Philip Gefter’s warm and thorough obituary-of-sorts did Frank justice, and if you missed it, it’s worth a warm thorough read.
Sarah Lewis Reflects on Vision and Justice
Author: Lance Oppenheim / Sarah Lewis
Publication: Cultured Mag
Date: May 6, 2019
Cultured Mag interviews esteemed Harvard professor Sarah Lewis on her experience guest curating Aperture’s Vision and Justice issue, her history working with these issues in photography, and the transformative power of images.
Now What? Thoughts on the Future of Photography
Author: Aline Smithson
Publication: Lenscratch
Date: Oct 10th, 2019
Lenscratch founder and editor Aline Smithson asked photographers who applied for the Lenscratch Student Award to describe what the photo world looks like from their perspective, what they need in terms of support from the photo world and how they plan to make their mark.
In Photography, Who Gets to Shape Narratives?
Author: Hassan Ghedi Santur with Suchitra Vijayan
Publication: Bright Magazine/ Medium
Date: April 16, 2019
Hassan Ghedi Santur, journalist and Managing Editor of the now-shuttered Bright Magazine interviews Polis Project founder Suchitra Vijayan. In this thoughtful exchange, they discuss the state of photojournalism, how and why certain media voices are privileged, and who has the power to tell stories that shape perceptions of the world.
To Be a Photographer is to Be Male
Author: Carol Evans
Publication: Disphotic
Date: May 27, 2019
Carol Evans, a guest contributor to Lewis Bush’s blog, explores how equity, particularly in terms of gender and race, is still a far-off goal in the art world. Her well-supported argument that gender-specific competitions (open calls, juried exhibitions) fail to support diversity efforts, undermines participation and further limit artists will likely spurn mixed and controversial responses from our readers – it’s worth a look. Whichever way this hits you, we’d love to know. Feel free to email us at hello@hafny.org
Q & A: Jess T. Dugan interviews Alexa Becker
Author: Jess T. Dugan
Publication: Strange Fire Collective
Date: November 7, 2019
Photographer and Strange Fire Collective co-founder Jess T. Dugan speaks with Kehrer Verlag Acquisitions Editor Alexa Becker on how she sources new projects, what factors artists should consider when proposing a book for publication, and how publishers can support diversity and equity in the projects they take on.
When the Camera Was a Weapon of Imperialism (And When It Still Is)
Author: Teju Cole
Publication: New York Times Magazine
Date: Feb 6, 2019
In his final essay for the On Photography column, Cole addresses photography as a tool wielded by the state to expose and exploit vulnerable populations. The prediction that photography will continue to illustrate, not interrogate, both power structures and the unquestioned belief that consumers have a right to see the horrors that flow from unchecked power, reads like a soothsayer’s grim, brilliantly articulated warning.
Author: Wanda Nanibush
Publication: Aperture Magazine
Date: September 27, 2019
Art Gallery of Ontario curator and First Nations activist Wanda Nanibush highlights the work of artists Meryl McMaster, Robert Kautuk, Shelley Niro, Jeff Thomas, and Greg Staats. Each briefly-described project addresses the effects of racism, ethnic cleansing, and colonization as experienced by Indigenous populations, and photography’s early role in that trauma. Each project demonstrates command of a medium that was originally used to document the “demise” of native populations on the North American continent, and Nanibush’s eloquent article contextualizes each in terms of historical and contemporaneous import.
Author: Zoé Samudzi
Publication: Zoe Samudzi on Medium
Date: Dec 23, 2019
The San Quentin Project: Nigel Poor and the Men of San Quentin State Prison opened at Berkeley Art Museum Pacific Film Archive (BAMPFA) in August 2019, furthering a collective consideration of linked topics including criminal justice form, and the history of slavery and its ties to and mass incarceration in this country. In this write-up, Samudzi critiques the exhibition - which received wide praise - for reinforcing negative stereotypes and assumptions about incarcerated populations.
How Pictures Work: Down the Rabbithole with David Campany
Author: Gregory Eddi-Jones
Publication: In The In-Between
Date: June 25, 2019
David Campany is among the most widely published and respected photography writers and curators working today, having contributed over two-hundred published essays for high-profile monographs and museum exhibitions. In this informative exchange, Gregory Eddi Jones and Campany discuss his prolific work, mind, and key issues in contemporary photography. .
Maja Daniels: The Elf Dalia Interview
Author: Brad Feuerhelm
Publication: American Suburb X.
Date: July 4, 2019
Brad Feuerhelm interviews Maja Daniels about her new book: The Elf Dalia. They discuss the blurry lines between her not-quite documentary work, her use of archival material to build a cryptic journey and how ritual, customs and isolation play into her practice
New York City in the 21st Century, Part 2
(AKA - Jonathan Blaustein breaks the sad news of the death of the beloved NY Times Lens Blog)
Author: Jonathan Blaustein
Publication: A Photo Editor
Date: May 10, 2019
Published two days before the New York Times sent out its official press release, former contributor Jonathan Blaustein offered the sad, heartfelt news that The Lens Blog was being shuttered. Led by James Estrin, it was a blog that had helped launch his, and many photographers’ careers, and consistently provided deep insights to us all. Blaustein’s recap was an honest mix of pain, personal anecdotes, and meandering writing that reflected this loss to the global photography community.
The Beauty and Burden of Being a Nigerian Bride
Author: Yemisi Arbisala
Publication: The New Yorker Photobooth
Date: Sept 19, 2019
Yemisi Aribisala profiles the work of Lakin Ogunbanwo whos photographs of Nigerian Brides, break the stigma often associated with wedding photography among Nigerian photographers, in what the writer describes as “an ingenious investigation into the elements of our culture’s wedding traditions that have been taken for granted.” It’s remarkable photography paired with a remarkable analysis.