Robin Hammond: Condemned Mental Patients of Africa

Images of war and conflict have helped sway the opinion of people towards acting for the benefit of the victimized groups. In today's world however, the prevalence of war photographs has become so commonplace that most viewers have become desensitized to these images. This is saddening since a lot suffering still happens even years after armed conflict has passed. In his series entitled "Condemned", Robin Hammond gives a different perspective as a he exposes the cruel treatment of mental patients of Africa.

The 2013 World Press Photo Winners

Two years ago, it was a haunting picture of an Afghan teenager who had had her ears and nose cut off. Last year it was a portrait of a Yemeni mother clutching her son in the style of La Pieta. This year, it's a dramatic burial march of two Palestinian toddlers. These are the 2013 World Press Photo Winners.

The National Geographic Photo Contest 2012 Winners

With the new year comes the chance to recap the best entries of the previous year. National Geographic, one the leading publications in photojournalism, continues to encourage the tradition of excellence in professionals and amateur photographers alike with its photography competitions. Here are National Geographic Photo Contest 2012 winners.

The Kodak Colorama: The Biggest Kodak Moments of All Time

In its heyday, the Eastman Kodak company dominated the North American photography so much that its signature phrase "Kodak Moment" became a popular tagline for any moment worth photographing. Sadly, with Kodak filing for bankruptcy and planning to sell of many of its divisions, those days are long gone. However, thanks to the company's passion for visual excellence, many of the best Kodak Moments are preserved in large format images. In the middle of the last century, Kodak presented its Kodak Colorama, touted as the biggest photographs of its generation and certainly some of the best Kodak Moments of all time.

JeongMee Yoon: Boys versus Girls, The Pink & Blue Project

"Blue is for boys and pink is for girls". That statement has been so subconsciously ingrained into the minds of practically everyone in the first world that it seems silly to challenge it. Indeed, the differences in gender with boys versus girls and blue versus pink has become an accepted fact that manufacturers nowadays will automatically assign blue products to guys and pink products to gals. Artist JeongMee Yoon wanted to document this phenomenon in children and, along the way, uncovered some surprising historical facts in her Pink & Blue Project.

The Original Construction Guys: Lunch Atop A Skyscraper

Brian Finke's portrait series of construction workers is the perfect glimpse into the trade as it continues to evolve in the 21st century, but when someone talks about "construction" one particular image almost always comes to mind. This picture depicts the nonchalance of a group of construction guys set against vitality of a growing urban landscape and has forever been associated with 20th century New York City. This is the 1932 photograph "Lunch atop a Skyscraper".

Brian Finke: Construction Guys

Photography has always been a wonderful way of revealing everything and nothing, from the majestic landscapes of Yosemite National Park to the hidden faces of plants and flowers. Sometimes it reveals the mystery of deep water creatures, other times it showcases something that's always been in every household. In this case, photographer Brian Finke shows something new in people that have always been part of the urban landscape in his project "Construction".

Tim Flach and the English Springer Spaniel

It's been a while since the last post featuring animal portraits, so while everyone else is enjoying their weekend, here's a picture of man's best friend hard at work. This outstanding action photo is just one of the images in the previously featured book "Dogs" by the talented Tim Flach.

The Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize Winners

Some of the today's best photographic portraits come from lesser known artists and photographers. In order to highlight these worthy portraitists, the National Portrait Gallery has partnered with Taylor Wessing to recognize the best images in this field. These are the Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize Winners. (WARNING: This post contains NUDITY).

The Lonely Planet Photo Mosaic Competition 2010 Winners

National Geographic isn't the only publication that boasts an active online fan base. Lonely Planet has also been encouraging its users to share their own photos on its website. A couple of years ago, it announced an online photo contest and received an impressive array of travelers' photos. Here are the winners of Lonely Planet's Photo Mosaic competition.

The National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest 2012 Winners

One of the most iconic organizations of photojournalism is National Geographic. The documentary institution has produced some of the best photographers of this generation, and continues to inspire newcomers to the medium. With the influx of new photography enthusiasts over the last few years thanks to more affordable camera equipment, National Geographic has opened up its website to amateur photojournalists with its Travelers Magazine and recognized the best of amateur photography. These images are the winners of the National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest 2012.

Jamel Shabazz: Old School Street Photography

Scott Schuman may be the most popular fashion street photographer today, but back in the day another more conspicuous artist was busy documenting the street fashion of Brooklyn. The old school street photography images that Jamel Shabazz took some 30 years ago resonate with the same kind of passion and energy found in today's digital images.

Scott Schuman: Light Catcher

Scot Schuman of The Sartorialist blog continues to inspire photographers and fashion enthusiasts all over the world with his simple yet powerful images of ordinary people with extraordinary fashion sense walking the streets of New York, Milan, London, and other metropolitan cities. Now the photographer cum "Light Catcher" will be releasing his new book, "Closer" on August 29 and is sure to entertain and inspire countless others for the very same reasons.

Sally Mann: The Beauty of Family

Every so often, a photographer will find himself embroiled in scandal because of the sensitivity of his chosen subject. Photographers like W. Eugene Smith and Lewis Hine experience some criticism for their photographs many decades ago, but these days it seems the most innocent subjects can be the most controversial. When portrait photographer Sally Mann began documenting the beauty of her own family, she found herself in the middle of a heated debate on what exactly passes for natural and indecent in the medium. (WARNING: This post contains NUDITY).

W. Eugene Smith: Unflinchingly Honest Photojournalism

Photojournalists can sometimes receive flack for taking visceral photos on assignment. Where is the line between decent, objective reporting and shockingly explicit imagery? Photojournalist W. Eugene Smith didn't seem to care much when he published his unflinchingly honest photojournalism in the pages of America's most popular magazines.

Tim Hetherington: The Face of War

When photography first developed into something portable, documenting the front lines became a reality and war photography became a reality. Nowadays, the world has become saturated with images of armed conflict, so much so that it's not uncommon to find people desensitized by the images. Still, war images have their place in photography, with the likes of Tim Hetherington showing the world the true face of war.

Diane Arbus: The Weird and the Wonderful

Looking through the images of Helmut Newton in the last post, one might think that most of the world is glitz and glamour, and everything easy on the eyes. Of course, that's far from the truth, and most photographers just take pictures that sell the most. Some other photographers, however, made it their mission to capture the weird and wonderful, insisting on recording the beauty of the person as the whole. Photographer Diane Arbus made a name for herself doing just that.

Walker Evans: Depression Era Portraits

With the likes of Dorothea Lange and Gordon Parks already featured here for their Depression era portraits and images, you would think that everything that needs to be said about that time has already been said. This blog would be remiss, however, if it did not feature the stark images of photojournalist Walker Evans.

Gordon Parks: Issues in Black and White

Most photographers stay true to their field of specialty; rarely do photojournalists successfully delve into studio portraiture without going back to their documentary background, and vice-versa. There are of course a few rare instances where a photographer can go beyond his field and be recognized internationally. Gordon Parks is one who jumped from one field to another, dealing with different issues in black-and-white and in color, all with seemingly little difficulty.

The Glory that was Kodachrome: Old Color Photographs from the Shorpy Archive

In today's digital age, there doesn't seem to be any limitations when it comes to color photography. It's become so easy to alter the color and look of your images with tools like Instagram, but over 50 years ago when commercial color photography was just in its infancy, some of the most beautiful images were made without any kind of special filters. That was the glory of Kodachrome, and now these old color photographs are easily viewable courtesy of Shorpy.com.