Part of the Ringling’s continuing series of photography, Posed: Portrait Photography from the Permanent Collection features many preeminent 20th-century artists such as Richard Avedon, Cindy Sherman, Diane Arbus, Edward Weston and Andy Warhol. The Warhol images include Polaroids from his entourage and inner circle dating from the 1960s and ’70s. Several recent acquisitions will also be on view, including works by Mike Disfarmer chronicling a generation of people in Heber Springs, Arkansas, during the early- to mid-1900s. The exhibition will be on view through October 29.
(24 July, 2017)

Lynsey Addario, Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist, will be celebrated by the International Center of Photography at its seventh annual ICP Spotlights event on November 7. Addario regularly works with the New York Times, National Geographic and Time magazine and has covered conflicts in Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya. American Photo named Addario as one of the five most influential photographers of the past 25 years in 2015. Funds raised from the Spotlights event benefit ICP’s education and exhibition program.
(24 July, 2017)

As drones become an increasingly common sight in UK skies - esp ecially in the hands of enthusiast pilots - the dangers surrounding them have grown considerably. It’s perhaps unsurprising that in resp onse to an increasing number of ‘near misses’ with other aircraft , the government has announced it intends to tighten the rules surrounding the use of drones. Following a public consultation run by the Department of Transp ort between 21 December last year and 15 March this year, two main regulations are set to come into play. The fi rst is that anyone fl ying a drone weighing 250g or above will need to be regist ered. The regist ration - which is likely to have a fee att ached to it - will apply whether they’re an enthusiast or a commercial pilot. Although the details are st ill undecided, early indications are that pilots will most likely only have to regist er once, no matt er how many drones exceeding the minimum weight they fl y. This is of particular benefi t to commercial operators with multiple drones. The second change will come in the form of ‘mandatory competency test ing… for all leisure users.’ For now, it appears this will only apply to hobbyist s, as the consultation recognised that ‘commercial users already have required st andards to meet.’ However, the 65- page report does warn that ‘in future there might be a need for new st andards for commercial pilots too, above those already in place.’ As part of these new regulations, embedded elect ronic identifi cation options are being explored, as is tracking technology, ‘so that enforcement act ion against irresp onsible drone use can be improved.’ By extension, the government is also considering how it can ‘tighten rules around where users can fl y certain classes of drones’ and ‘increase penalties when the law is broken.’ You can fi nd out more about the new regulations and download the full consultation document at the Department of Transp ort website (gov.uk/government/organisations/ department-for-transp ort). You can also brush up on the Civil Aviation Authority’s Dronecode at dronesafe.uk/drone-code.
(26 September, 2017)

On 22 July, Jason Bould and his wife, Tracy, set themselves a very specifi c photographic challenge: to take 73 landscape photographs in 73 days in 73 locations around the Peak District… using the excellent book Peak District Through The Lens by James Grant as a guide. The reason behind their impressive mission wasn’t to augment their portfolios or raise their social media profi les, but to raise money for a number of charities that helped them following the death of their daughter, Emily, shortly after she was born in February this year. As Jason and Tracy both work full time, the logistics of reaching each location for a sunrise or sunset shoot are immense, as are the potential diffi culties they face when they arrive. After 26 days, the couple had already driven more than 1,100 miles and hiked over 60 miles; ‘we aren’t hikers/walkers, we aren’t particularly fi t and we are fi nding it diffi cult,’ said Jason. And that doesn’t even begin to take into account the notoriously fi ckle Peak District weather. Thankfully, the pair are not alone in their eff orts: they have been joined (or will be joined) by a number of photographers and organisations, including Thomas Heaton (landscape photographer and vlogger), Adam Karnacz (aka First Man Photography; landscape photographer and vlogger), Michael Cummins (the offi cial Visit Britain photographer), Tony Worobiec (landscape photographer and author), James Grant (the author of the guide book the couple is using), BBC Radio Stoke, BBC Midlands Today and Simon Cunningham (their consultant at the hospital, a keen landscape photographer and now good friend). Jason admits that ‘it’s been a heart-warming experience seeing how the photography community has got behind us’. At the end of their physical and emotional journey, which fi nishes on 2 October, the couple will exhibit and sell a selection of prints, with all proceeds going to their chosen charities. They’ll also be donating prints to Royal Stoke Hospital to display in its Forget Me Not rooms, where parents stay after their baby has passed away. To fi nd out more about Jason and Tracy’s journey, see their shots so far and donate to their cause visit 73in73.com.
(26 September, 2017)

As digital imaging technology continues to make advances into previously unexplored territory, Caltech (the California Institute of Technology) has announced that its engineers have developed a single thin layer of integrated silicon photonics that emulates the lens and sensor of a digital camera, or to put it simply, a lens-less camera that is eff ectively little more than a layer of silicon. The magic lies in the time delay (or phase shift) that can be applied to any one of its large array of light receivers, enabling the camera to selectively look in diff erent directions and focus on diff erent things. The project’s team leader, Ali Hajimiri, claims that the array can ‘mimic a regular lens, but can switch from a fi sheye to a telephoto lens instantaneously - with just a simple adjustment in the way the array receives light.’ He goes on to explain how ‘the ability to control all the optical properties of a camera electronically using a paper-thin layer of low-cost silicon photonics without any mechanical movement, lenses, or mirrors, opens a new world of imagers that could look like wallpaper, blinds, or even wearable fabric.’ Whether this project will translate into real-world technology and we’ll fi nd ourselves one day using paperthin, lens-less cameras remains to be seen, but it’s unlikely to happen any time soon - at the moment, the ultra-lowresolution images the device produces confi rm proof of concept, but little else. Visit caltech.edu to read more about this potentially revolutionary technology.
(26 September, 2017)