Navajo community, Juneteenth celebrations, student photography, and more.

June 17th, 2021

Welcome the latest issue of Snapshots, where we recap news and highlights from the photography community.

A Navajo Native American used his photographic talent to give back to his community.

Photographer Mylo Fowler grew up on an Arizona Navajo reservation in a tiny 600 square-foot home with a 30 square-mile “backyard.” His family highly valued that giant backyard for their food, warmth and security. Mylo never envisioned leaving the reservation until a spiritual leader advised him of the great impact he could make after leaving the land he loved.

His photography journey came full circle when he was able to sell prints of his work to buy drinking water for Navajo families. His story is now the subject of an upcoming film.

Antique photographs record elegant Juneteenth celebrations.

While the American Civil War raged on, the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863 was not enacted across many southern states until years later. Juneteenth, or June 19, 1865, is a celebration of the day the proclamation was finally read aloud in Galveston, Texas, declaring freedom for 250,000 enslaved people.

Every year since, the anniversary was celebrated with events in many Texas communities. The early photographs of these celebrations that survived over time depict elegantly dressed groups and elaborately decorated carriages and settings.

Compelling methods drove innovative young student photography projects during the pandemic.

Photography teachers got creative over the past year. Besides the challenges of teaching remotely, they came up with new ways to help students process their emotions as they learned photographic skills. A high school teacher in Ohio had students list questions to ask themselves as the basis for their photography. In Detroit, leaders of the Remote Ally Project mentored students to help process their Covid emotions through their photos. The results are impressive.

Photographing textures to “feel” with the eyes.

Textures are multi-sensory experiences – you see it, you touch it. Sometimes, when you see it visually, you can practically feel it without touching. How you light a texture is key to revealing, emphasizing, or even hiding how the surface is interpreted by the viewer. Textures are crucial to almost every genre of photography, from still life to portraits to landscapes. Explore the many aspects of lighting textures with both artificial and natural sources.

The biodiversity of Earth is captured in the 2021 BigPicture Natural World Photography Competition.

From a big British Columbia bear titled “Boss” to tiny Ecuadorian hummingbirds. From the skies to the depths of the oceans. This year’s winners and finalists in the photography contest sponsored by the California Academy of Sciences recently appeared on bioGraphic, an online magazine focused on science and sustainability. Take a look at this beautiful glimpse of nature in its many forms.