photography

Original photo of Amundsen’s trip to South Pole found

Julien — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 15:05:25 +0200

On December 14, 1911, an expedition led by Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen became the first ever to reach the South Pole. The sole existing image of the historic moment shows four of the group’s members standing in front of a tent and the Norwegian flag.

Almost 98 years later, the only original copy of that image has been found by a historian at the National Library of Australia. Harald Ostgaard Lund, also a native of Norway, saw the photo on the library’s website and instantly recognised it. A trip to Canberra confirmed his hunch. He had already seen several cropped and manipulated photos of the landmark event, but this one was an original print.

Why Australia? On his way back from Antarctica, the Norwegian explorer stopped in Tasmania, where he gave his negatives to a local photographer. Decades later, the National Library of Australia bought an album of pictures from the family of that photographer’s assistant. Among the images was the one celebrating Amundsen’s achievement.

Your favourite holiday photos (part two)

Sophie Team Observers — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 12:44:01 +0200

Our second assortment of Flickr-posted holiday snaps.

Send us a link to your favourite holiday photo along with an anecdote.

See part one of the collection.

Your favourite holiday photos (part one)

Sophie Team Observers — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 17:46:17 +0200

It's holiday time Observers! That's why we're taking a little break from international affairs and offering you an assortment of the best holiday snaps posted on Flickr, compiled by our team.

Send us a link to your favourite holiday photo along with an anecdote to go with it.

Media blooper of the year: Bolivian channel uses images from TV drama "Lost" in coverage of Air France crash

Team Observers — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 16:14:52 +0200

A mighty blow for Bolivian television network PAT. Last Thursday, they aired "exclusive" photos supposedly taken by a passenger of Air France flight 447 at the moment the plane crashed. In fact, the mid-air plane dismemberment photos were taken from the television series "Lost."

The Bolivian news presenter even specified that the images were found in a Casio Z750 digital camera, retrieved after the disaster.

As with many other media outlets we received these images via email last week. One can see a passenger spiralling off into the atmosphere in the second shot; in the first shot, the face is obviously that of actress Evangeline Lilly, who plays the character Kate on “Lost.” She is seen seated with an oxygen mask on her face. Another embarrassing tipoff: on the photos, it is clearly daytime, whereas the Airbus A330 crash occurred in the middle of the night.

The Bolivian network was not the only one duped. A Dutch radio station and a Polish television network also fell for it.

Living on the edge in Sao Paulo

Julien — Fri, 15 May 2009 11:49:40 +0200

Photo posted on Flickr by Choque.

Brazilian media can’t decide whether these graffiti are the work of artists or of delinquents. But for their authors, “pichaçao” is all about living dangerously.

Pichador comes from the Portuguese verb pichar, which means to apply “piche” (tar), but also to criticise harshly. Most pichadores come from the poor favelas of Sao Paulo. They paint characters from the runic alphabet (a writing system of uncertain origin used by Germanic peoples of northern Europe from about the 3rd century to the 17th century, exclusively in black), and their purpose is to challenge Brazilian society.

Pichadores tend to strike in the early hours of the morning. Armed with paint sprays, they strive to leave their mark as high as possible on the façades of houses, buildings or any urban structure. The less accessible a pichaçao is, the more it is valued. Pichadores say the reason they risk their lives is to rattle a society that treats them as outcasts. But for Brazil’s popular and conservative channel TV Globo, they are little more than vandals.

Posted on YouTube by CriptaDjan.

The 'festival of colours' in photos

Sophie Team Observers — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 14:30:08 +0100

Photo: Jitendra Singh

Last week was Holi festival for Hindus. In the name of the coming of Spring and of good overcoming evil, Hindus take to the streets to cover each other in colourful paints. An opportunity not to be missed by photographers...

The Rang Barse party, which literally means "rain of colour," takes place on the day of the last full moon before the start of springtime. It's not real paint that gets thrown, but dry gulal powder, which has a similar consistency to talcum powder.

Deborah’s body charts battle against breast cancer

Julien — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 13:54:38 +0100

When Deborah Lattimore found out she had breast cancer in September last year, she decided to document her struggle with the illness and post the photos online. A stark but important message: having a mammogram can save your life.

The most common form of cancer among the female population, breast cancer affects one in eight women. In the US, mortalities from breast cancer have been decreasing since 1990 – largely as a result of treatment advances, earlier detection through screening, and increased awareness.

Raising awareness of breast cancer is precisely the aim of Deborah Lattimore. She says she owes her life to regular screening, and urges other women to do likewise.

Our thanks to our Observer Alberto Celani for directing us towards Deborah’s website.

Best amateur photos of 2008

Sophie Team Observers — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 12:17:36 +0100

We've selected the most impresive amateur photos published on The Observers in 2008. Vote for your favourite.

Olympics: "Cheer Beijing Workers" drafted in to fill empty seats

Ségolène Team Observers — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 06:00:55 +0200

Photo Kevin German

US photoblogger Kevin German took pictures of a gymnasium in Beijing just before the start of a weightlifting contest. He noticed that most seats were empty... until the arrival of professional supporters.

Odd looking photographer? Must be a terrorist

Julien — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 11:16:28 +0100

The London Metropolitan police have just issued new measures in the fight against terrorism. During a five week campaign police officers are expected to stop and search more “odd” looking people and the public are being warned to report anything “suspicious”. But after just two weeks since its launch the public are starting to question whether it’s infringing on civil liberties. Photographers in particular are sick of being questioned by policemen and being told to move on. To voice their complaints, artists are creating their own versions of the campaign’s posters.