We have evolved into a society that can decode the complex images that are a fluid part of our lives. Photobooks have responded to this by moving beyond being containers of recorded information to become immersive experiences of the artist’s narrative and concept. When text becomes a structural decision, one that considers the frequency and View the rest of Book Talk: Text as Structure in the Photobook on LENSCRATCH.

Natalie Collette Wood’s recent work Nesting is a multi-faceted commentary on how humans interact with the natural botanical environment that exists on the fringes of urban life. This large-scale installation includes outsized two-dimensional botanical images, a three dimensional sculptural arrangement of furniture and other objects covered in moss, and botanical nests suspended from the ceiling. View the rest of Botanical Photography: The Basics and Moving Beyond the Basics: Natalie Colette Wood on LENSCRATCH.

Jennifer Latour’s Bound Species project is an arresting series of otherworldly minimalist floral assemblages. Each floral stem contains multiple species of floral blooms, each a different shape and color. Made entirely by hand, they are sculptures that both delight and confound the viewer. I found myself seduced by the playful weirdness of these inter-species blooms, View the rest of Botanical Photography: The Basics and Moving Beyond the Basics: Jennifer Latour on LENSCRATCH.

Oriana Poindexter is an Italian-American photographic artist and marine scientist whose academic background spans photography, fisheries, and marine conservation. She dives, photographs, and collects specimens to create photo-based works that document the ocean’s shifting ecosystems. Her process, rooted in both traditional and alternative photographic techniques, results in light-formed records that engage viewers in contemplating the View the rest of Botanical Photography: The Basics and Moving Beyond the Basics: Oriana Poindexter: Cascadia Coast Exposures on LENSCRATCH.

Carol Bouyoucos is a photographic artist who has fully embraced digital photographic processes, using her vast archive of imagery to create reimagined botanical assemblages and mythological landscapes. They are at once both futuristic and historical. Carol draws inspiration from the untamed landscape of a nature preserve near her home in in New York state and View the rest of Botanical Photography: The Basics and Moving Beyond the Basics: Carol Bouyoucos on LENSCRATCH.

This week artist Emily Hamilton Laux celebrates artists working with botanicals, but we begin today with Laux’s work and feature two projects and an artist’s book. Laux states: The vast practice of botanical photography is more than 175 years old, dating back to photographic pioneer Anna Atkins, the mid-19th century British botanist and artist who utilized View the rest of Botanical Photography: The Basics and Moving Beyond the Basics: Emily Laux on LENSCRATCH.

Step Work, a photographic series by Brynne Quinlan, is an ongoing project that started eighteen years ago, that reads like a glimpse into the diary of an unknown author. Her images are a collection of lost-and-found minutiae from a strange and unforgiving world. Centered around the journey of her own sobriety and of the men View the rest of Brynne Quinlan in Conversation with Douglas Breault on LENSCRATCH.

Richard Provencio, produces his art under the moniker richard richard richards. Something that has impressed me since I was first introduced to his work several years ago, when I heard him give a presentation about his practice, is how an anti-aesthetic is at work in his imagery. For example, the title of his publication, ric View the rest of Richard Provencio: The Delivery of Magic on LENSCRATCH.

Photography Educator is a monthly series on Lenscratch that highlights outstanding photography teachers who inspire students of all ages. Each month, the series celebrates an educator’s insights, strategies, and excellence in fostering creativity and resilience. For September, it gives me great pleasure to feature the work of educator and artist Hillary McCullough. Hillary brings a sensitivity and curiosity View the rest of Photography Educator: Hillary McCullough on LENSCRATCH.

I remember the day I first spent time with Ángel Miguel by Isabel Moreno Cortez. There was something about this book that made me pause—to slow down, to look again. I found myself almost suspended within the book—quietly witnessing the traces of three generations, and the tender ways memory can move through a family, even View the rest of Isabel Moreno Cortez: Ángel Miguel on LENSCRATCH.

Soomin Ham is a Washington DC area photographer and multimedia artist whose latest work is a visual meditation on belonging, on finding one’s way. I first became aware of her poetic, dreamlike work a few years ago, when I saw her “Portraits and Windows” project, which used reconstructed compositions where past and present coexist, and View the rest of Soomin Ham: In Gray on LENSCRATCH.

I’m not not exactly sure of the year when I first was introduced to Jo Ann Chaus and her amazing photographs, but it was in San Diego at the Medium Photo Festival. I was immediately wowed by her work and over the years I have nudged her towards a book. Needless to say, I am View the rest of Jo Ann Chaus: Unspoken on LENSCRATCH.

There is something both beautiful and unsettling about seeing the invisible. Linda Alterwitz‘s new monograph, Injection Site, published by MW Editions, transforms the body’s hidden response to the COVID-19 vaccine into strange and unexpectedly beautiful portraits. What began with a simple question about a friend’s lingering pain grew into a three-year project involving 130 people, View the rest of Linda Alterwitz: Injection Site on LENSCRATCH.

When I first spent time with Looking Inside: Women with Life Sentences by Sara Bennett, designed by Teun van der Heijden and published by Kehrer Verlag, I got full-body chills. There was something about moving through these photographs and and reading the stories of women behind bars that felt both intimate and devastating. I found View the rest of Sara Bennett: Looking Inside: Women with Life Sentences on LENSCRATCH.

To Redecorate a Dream… JW Toftness’ work lives in a highly technological space where the natural world resists and resurfaces. To Redecorate a Dream struck me as a reminder that, despite the now widely held belief that anything digital lives in a separate, ethereal world, the effects of this technology push themselves back into our View the rest of Overshoot #14 – JW Toftness on LENSCRATCH.

ABOUT THE CALLANAN EXCELLENCE IN TEACHING AWARD: Established in 1998, the annual Callanan Excellence in Teaching Award honors a high school, college, or postgraduate teacher’s dedication and commitment to their students and the photographic field. Educators in all areas of photographic teaching are eligible, including but not limited to fine art, documentary, history and criticism. EDUCATORS View the rest of The 2026 Center Awards: Callanan Excellence in Teaching Award: Andrew Patteson on LENSCRATCH.

Congratulations to Peter Teh for being selected for CENTER’s Me&Eve Grant recognizing his project, Neither Beginning nor End. The Me&Eve Grant provides financial support to a woman, female-identified, non-binary, transgender, gender non-conforming, or two-spirited photographer, 40 years of age and over. This grant is made possible by Review Santa Fe alumna, Dorie Hagler, whose project View the rest of The 2026 CENTER Awards: The Me and Eve Award: Peter Teh on LENSCRATCH.

Congratulations to Vollodymyr Voznyy for being selected for CENTER’s Environmental Award recognizing his project, Horizons. The CENTER Awards recognize outstanding images, singular or part of a series. The Environmental Award recognizes work focusing on the state of the environment. Topics may include, but are not limited to, conservation, biodiversity, ecology, climate change or other issues concerning View the rest of The 2026 Center Awards: ENVIRONMENTAL AWARD: Vollodymyr Voznyy on LENSCRATCH.

Congratulations to Anna Mia Davidson for being selected for CENTER’s Socially Engaged Award recognizing her project, American Muslim. The Socially Engaged Award recognizes work addressing social issues. All projects exploring social topics or themes are eligible.The Grant includes Review Santa Fe participation, a Group Exhibition at CENTER, Publication in LENSCRATCH, Professional Development Seminars access, Inclusion in the printed Program Guide, View the rest of The 2026 CENTER Awards: THE SOCIALLY ENGAGED AWARD: Anna Mia Davidson on LENSCRATCH.

Congratulations to Ville Varumo, for being selected for CENTER’s Personal Award recognizing her project, The Garden. The CENTER Awards recognize outstanding images, singular or part of a series. The Personal Award recognizes work engaging in the exploration and expression of the power of self-representation and/or underrepresented experiences. The Award includes a Group Exhibition at CENTER, Review Santa View the rest of The 2026 Center Awards: Personal Award: Ville Varumo on LENSCRATCH.

Congratulations to Leonard Suryajaya for being selected for CENTER’s Project Development Grant recognizing his project, Parting Gift. The Project Development Grant provides financial support to fine art, documentary, or photojournalistic works in progress. Assisting a photographer to help complete their project, the grant provides platforms for professional development in the work’s final stages. The Grant includes a $5,000 cash award,Winners View the rest of The 2026 Center Awards: The Project Development Grant: Leonard Suryajaya on LENSCRATCH.

Congratulations to Marcus DeSieno for being selected for CENTER’s Project Launch Grant recognizing his project, Geography of Disappearance: Migrant Deaths on the US/Mexico Border. The Project Launch Grant supports a complete or nearly completed documentary or fine art series. The grant provides financial support and platforms for professional development opportunities for one photographer. The Grant includes View the rest of The 2026 Center Awards: Project Launch Grant: Marcus DeSieno on LENSCRATCH.

In celebration of its 50th Anniversary, the Photographic Resource Center (PRC) launched a six- month mentorship program pairing four early-career photographers with four established artists for sustained one-on-one mentorship, critical feedback, and professional development. The 2026 Mentorship Fellows are alina balseiro, Jaypix Belmer, Libby O’Neill, and Nick Ortoleva, who were paired with mentors Jess T. View the rest of PRC’s 50th Anniversary Mentorship Program: Nick Ortoleva and Tommy Kha on LENSCRATCH.

In celebration of its 50th Anniversary, the Photographic Resource Center (PRC) launched a six- month mentorship program pairing four early-career photographers with four established artists for sustained one-on-one mentorship, critical feedback, and professional development. The 2026 Mentorship Fellows are alina balseiro, Jaypix Belmer, Libby O’Neill, and Nick Ortoleva, who were paired with mentors Jess T. View the rest of PRC’s 50th Anniversary Mentorship Program: Libby O’Neill and Jillian Guyette on LENSCRATCH.

In celebration of its 50th Anniversary, the Photographic Resource Center (PRC) launched a six- month mentorship program pairing four early-career photographers with four established artists for sustained one-on-one mentorship, critical feedback, and professional development. The 2026 Mentorship Fellows are alina balseiro, Jaypix Belmer, Libby O’Neill, and Nick Ortoleva, who were paired with mentors Jess T. View the rest of PRC’s 50th Anniversary Mentorship Program: Jaypix Belmer and Rashod Taylor on LENSCRATCH.

In celebration of its 50th Anniversary, the Photographic Resource Center (PRC) launched a six- month mentorship program pairing four early-career photographers with four established artists for sustained one-on-one mentorship, critical feedback, and professional development. The 2026 Mentorship Fellows are alina balseiro, Jaypix Belmer, Libby O’Neill, and Nick Ortoleva, who were paired with mentors Jess T. View the rest of PRC’s 50th Anniversary Mentorship Program: alina balseiro and Jess T. Dugan on LENSCRATCH.

Today we celebrate and learn more about Catherine LeComte-Lecce, Executive Director of the Photographic Resource Center (PRC) in Cambridge, MA. She is also the co-founder and manager of the Burlington Micro Gallery, a mobile exhibition space dedicated to expanding access to the arts. LeComte-Lecce has established a number of exciting new initiatives at PRC, including View the rest of Catherine LeComte Lecce: Artist, Educator, and Executive Director of the Photographic Resource Center on LENSCRATCH.

In Margaret Stratton’s WildFire Prophecies, decades of photographing the American West become a record of a landscape transformed by fire. Drawing on the artist’s experience as a former Forest Service firefighter, the work moves beyond the spectacle of wildfire to confront its aftermath: charred forests, scarred trees, and the eerie silence of places that once was full View the rest of Margaret Stratton: WildFire Prophecies on LENSCRATCH.

Pasadena Photography Arts is thrilled to announce that the 2026 PPA Photo Award has been granted to Roland Hartley for his project, “Mezcal: Ancestral Fire.” This year’s PPA Photo Award was an open call for “Excellence in Contemporary Photography” accepting projects from emerging photographers around the United States. This award is dedicated to projects that View the rest of 2026 PPA Photo Award Winner: Roland Hartley on LENSCRATCH.

Landscape photography is often considered as a way to consider the vista in front of the lens, but landscapes are rarely neutral. They are mapped and measured, developed and transformed, into resources long before we encounter them through a camera. In addition, the land holds invisible histories that the camera can’t always witness. Shawn Bush View the rest of Shawn Bush: Angle of Draw on LENSCRATCH.

In 2017, I first wrote about Caleb Stein‘s project, Down By the Hudson on Lenscratch: “When I look at the photographs taken by Caleb Stein it’s hard to wrap my mind around the idea that he is just at the beginning of his photography career. And if I can predict correctly, it’s a career that will undoubtedly lead View the rest of Caleb Stein: Down By The Hudson on LENSCRATCH.

Bridget Conn is a photographic artist who explores the potential of photography as a chemical and physical medium through cameraless experimental processes. Dealing with themes of societal struggles, awe and wonder, challenges in communication, digitized vs. physical encounters, and the importance of making and admitting mistakes, Conn investigates the boundaries of photography with prints, wall View the rest of PHOTOGRAPHERS ON PHOTOGRAPHERS: DAWN ROE IN CONVERSATION WITH BRIDGET CONN on LENSCRATCH.

Maria Finitzo , photographic artist, filmmaker, and writer, reignites photographs made in 1993 on Ellesmere Island in the Canadian High Arctic. The images from her project Ice & Light, remained unseen for three decades before being rediscovered. What began as an encounter with the monumental scale and beauty of glacial ice has taken on new meaning as the View the rest of Maria Finitzo: Ice & Light on LENSCRATCH.

I first became aware of Billie Mandle’s practice of seeing deeply through her project Reconciliation, a ten-year series photographing shafts of light falling into confessional spaces–quiet, intimate places that, as she writes, “hold the memory of past presences.” Mandle’s photographs ask us to slow down and consider what remains when people are no longer there: traces View the rest of Billie Mandle: Asunder on LENSCRATCH.

Today Is Yesterday and Tomorrow by Lynne Breitfeller is an intimate exploration of love, caregiving, aging, and loss. The work reflects Breitfeller’s experience caring for her parents, both living with dementia, as illness and aging gradually transformed their lives and her role within the family. As their primary caregiver, Breitfeller witnessed the loss of independence and View the rest of Lynne Breitfeller: Today is Yesterday and Tomorrow on LENSCRATCH.

Each installment of In Focus: The MFA Review highlights a different MFA program for photographic artists, offering readers a concise overview of its identity, curriculum, faculty, student experience, financial support, and post-graduation outcomes. It also serves as a showcase of the creative work produced by faculty, students, and alumni. Rather than functioning as rankings or endorsements, these View the rest of In Focus: The MFA Review: University of South Florida on LENSCRATCH.

Each installment of In Focus: The MFA Review highlights a different MFA program for photographic artists, offering readers a concise overview of its identity, curriculum, faculty, student experience, financial support, and post-graduation outcomes. It also serves as a showcase of the creative work produced by faculty, students, and alumni. Rather than functioning as rankings or endorsements, these View the rest of In Focus: The MFA Review: Iowa State University on LENSCRATCH.

Each installment of In Focus: The MFA Review highlights a different MFA program for photographic artists, offering readers a concise overview of its identity, curriculum, faculty, student experience, financial support, and post-graduation outcomes. It also serves as a showcase of the creative work produced by faculty, students, and alumni. Rather than functioning as rankings or endorsements, these View the rest of In Focus: The MFA Review: University of Houston on LENSCRATCH.

Each installment of In Focus: The MFA Review highlights a different MFA program for photographic artists, offering readers a concise overview of its identity, curriculum, faculty, student experience, financial support, and post-graduation outcomes. It also serves as a showcase of the creative work produced by faculty, students, and alumni. Rather than functioning as rankings or endorsements, these View the rest of In Focus: The MFA Review: East Carolina University on LENSCRATCH.

Thomas Werner is the author of The Business of Fine Art Photography, Routledge, New York; The Fashion Image, Bloomsbury Publishing, London; and Twenty One Summers, co-authored with former Microsoft Search and AI team leader Derrick Connell. In addition, he is an editor at large for IRK magazine, a Paris-based print publication and website, and board View the rest of Thomas Werner: Creative Compass on LENSCRATCH.

Every August we ask the previous Top 25 Lenscratch Student Prize Winners to interview a hero or a mentor, offering an opportunity for conversation and connection. Today Christian Lee and Jamel Shabazz are in dialogue. Thank you to both of the artists. We all have our heroes, and I had the privilege to dialogue with mine: Mr.Jamel View the rest of Photographers on Photographers: Christian Lee in Conversation with Jamel Shabazz on LENSCRATCH.

Every August we ask the previous Top 25 Lenscratch Student Prize Winners to interview a hero or a mentor, offering an opportunity for conversation and connection. Today Misael Hernandez and Cole Barash are in dialogue. Thank you to both of the artists. I was introduced to Cole Barash’s work in the last year of my MFA View the rest of Photographers on Photographers: Misael Hernandez in Conversation with Cole Barash on LENSCRATCH.

Archives, fieldwork, teaching, directing a new MFA program, piloting a climate-conscious coalition across the UC system, directing Unseen California, contributing to a festival for Earth Day at UCSC, Karolina Karlic‘s practice and ecological engagement have long been a deep source of inspiration. In her ongoing Rubberlands series, the artist’s delicate, patient, and humanistic photographic practice View the rest of Overshoot #13 – Karolina Karlic on LENSCRATCH.

Every August we ask the previous Top 25 Lenscratch Student Prize Winners to interview a hero or a mentor, offering an opportunity for conversation and connection. Today Joshua Mokry and Dionne Lee are in dialogue. Thank you to both of the artists. I first met Dionne Lee while I was in graduate school, when she participated in View the rest of Photographers on Photographers: Joshua Mokry in Conversation with Dionne Lee on LENSCRATCH.

Every August we ask the previous Top 25 Lenscratch Student Prize Winners to interview a hero or a mentor, offering an opportunity for conversation and connection. Today Hannah Schneider and Marie Gayesk are in dialogue. Thank you to both of the artists. I first met Marie Gayeski at my first critique for our Experimental and Documentary View the rest of Photographers on Photographers: Hannah Schneider in Conversation with Marie Gayeski on LENSCRATCH.

Every August we ask the previous Top 25 Lenscratch Student Prize Winners to interview a hero or a mentor, offering an opportunity for conversation and connection. Today Anastasia Sierra and Ana Casa Broda are in dialogue. Thank you to both of the artists. I can’t remember where I first saw the work of Ana Casas Broda, but View the rest of Photographers On Photographers: Anastasia Sierra in Conversation with Ana Casas Broda on LENSCRATCH.

Every August we ask the previous Top 25 Lenscratch Student Prize Winners to interview a hero or a mentor, offering an opportunity for conversation and connection. Today Quincey Spagnoletti and Rachelle Anayansi Mozman Solano are in dialogue. Thank you to both of the artists. The figure of the mother serves as a powerful throughline in View the rest of Photographers on Photographers: Quincey Spagnoletti in Conversation with Rachelle Anayansi Mozman Solano on LENSCRATCH.

Every August we ask the previous Top 25 Lenscratch Student Prize Winners to interview a hero or a mentor, offering an opportunity for conversation and connection. Today Jordan Tovin and Kevin Cook are in dialogue. Thank you to both of the artists. I first came across Kevin Cook’s work while researching photographers whose practices are rooted View the rest of Photographers on Photographers: Jordan Tovin in Conversation with Kevin Cooke on LENSCRATCH.

Photography Educator is a monthly series on Lenscratch that highlights outstanding photography teachers who inspire students of all ages. Each month, the series celebrates an educator’s insights, strategies, and excellence in fostering creativity and resilience. Every month on Lenscratch, I look forward to featuring a dedicated photography educator and their students. For August, it gives me great pleasure View the rest of Photography Educator: Lorena Molina on LENSCRATCH.

When the Covid-19 pandemic triggered a wave of anti-Asian actions, San Francisco-based photographer Michael Jang hit the streets. He covered boarded up buildings with images from his 1973 series, The Jangs, as well as with hand crafted posters and graphics. The head-spinning results can be seen in his recently published photobook JANG. His images have a View the rest of Michael Jang: JANG on LENSCRATCH.