Virginia Beach-based photographer Rich-Joseph Facun took photos for an article about an old bakery in Norfolk that turned into an art space.

If walls could talk I am certain much of our personal and national history could be revealed and the need for history books might cease to exist. Well, maybe that’s too much of a stretch but you get the picture.

Out of Decay: a Norfolk Art Scene Rises, looks at the history of the brick and mortar at the once thriving Daylight Bakery built in 1923. In its heyday the little Norfolk plant was producing bread for dozens of neighborhood markets throughout Hampton Roads. However, by 1963, with suburban sprawl, growing pains and a union dispute, the little bakery closed their doors.

Continue reading and see more photos on Rich-Joseph’s blog.

Baltimore and NYC based photographer Jonathan Hanson took portraits of the staff of the McLain Wiesand furniture store.

I recently photographed custom furniture craftsmen, Mclain and Wiesand, creating portraits of their diverse staff at their Baltimore based studio.  The studio space and furniture they create is truly inspiring to see and to be around so I had a lot to draw from.

Their work is rooted in 18th and 19th century, crafting original pieces through original designs.  Each member of their staff is a skilled craftsman in their field whether its building, creating and applying stains and paints, murals, sculpture or mixed media.

Continue reading and see more photos on Jonathan’s blog.

Charlotte, NC-based photographer Jamey Price shares photos of the Bojangles Southern 500 NASCAR race in Darlington SC.

NASCAR fans are absolutely rabid for any amount of interaction they can get with their heroes & their villains on the banked tarmac ovals. These motorsport gladiators travel from one sleepy town to the next, week in and week out for much of the year, all for the sake of entertaining the common man.

NASCAR puts on a show. Of that there is no doubt. But it’s easy to forget that there are people behind the visor and behind the sponsor decals.

Continue reading and see more photos on Jamey’s blog.

Hector Guerrero is based in Guadalajara and Mexico City . He works for Agence France Presse. He has been a fellow by the Inter-American press society and State Council for culture and the arts in Mexico, where he worked under the tutelage of Maria Mann. His photographs have been exhibited in more 30 exhibitions across Mexico. Is part of Pedro Meyer Foundation and Image Center in Mexico City. In the last two years in collaboration with renowned  photographers to participated in over 15 festivals dedicated to photography in different cities of Mexico.

I am a documentary photographer, currently working on a project about environmental impact in my country and giving coverage to the Mexican drug war. This is my basic equipment that I always carry with me.

I love the Hasselblad camera for the optics, and the Fuji X10 camera allows me to be discreet and unnoticed. I do video in confined spaces with the GoPro. I use a headlamp when there is low light conditions because I do not use flash, and I’m prepared for wet or dry weather.

Gear list:

- Domke F-5XC large shoulder bag
- The Hasselblad XPan II
- Fujifilm X10
- GoPro Hero2
- GoPro Hero3
- Newswear pouch for flash
- Newswear pouch for telephoto
- Eye-Fi X2 Memory Card
- Storm Jacket for rain
- Domke wrap
- Fujicolor Proplus II color negative film
- Lens Pen
- Battery pack and protective case for iphone
- Handmade notebook
- Petzl headlamp
- GU Energy Gel
- Dry pouch

More than 70,000 people have been killed in rising drug-related violence in Mexico since December 2006, when President Felipe Calderon deployed soldiers and federal police to take on organized crime. These images come from patrols with the Mexican army that were destroying laboratories of synthetic drugs and marijuana plantations.
In the image: Mexican soldier burns marijuana plants found in Hostotipaquillo, Jalisco State, Mexico on October 06, 2012 in the border area between the Mexican states of Jalisco and Nayarit. Members of the Mexican military conducted an operation in the area where so far they have destroyed 290 hectares of marijuana plantations and burned more than 350 tons of plants.

Mexican soldiers cross in front of the flames caused by a gas pipeline explosion in Zapotlanejo, 30 km from Guadalajara city, Jalisco State, Mexico on October 19, 2012. The fire took more than 18 hours to extinguish.

A fireman fights a massive fire at “La Primavera” forest in Guadalajara, Mexico, on April 22, 2012. More than 200 firefighters were sent to the site where the fire had been burning uncontrolled for more than 7 days and had consumed over 13,000 hectares.

FotoVisura is known as a self-publishing platform where art and documentary photographers can share and promote their work through images, video, audio, and text. The site also acts as a search engine for editors and curators who can browse the public archive for work. You’ve likely heard of Visura Magazine’s Your View and Visura Spotlight, as well as The FotoVisura Grant that recognizes outstanding personal projects worldwide.

This summer, FotoVisura is hosting a unique 3-day intensive workshop in Stowe, Vermont that features an impressive list of guest editors. The workshop includes editing, sequencing, design layout, and final presentation. Photographers will be paired with a guest editor in one-on-one and group sessions to help consult photographers on their goals – whether it’s a photo essay, portfolio, multimedia, book or exhibition.

The guest editor list covers a range of publications and industries, and spots are filling up fast. The editors include:

• Elizabeth Cheng Krist: Senior Photo Editor, National Geographic Magazine
• Sam Barzilay: Creative Director, United Photo Industries
• Angelika Hala: Photo Editor, Stern Magazine
• James Estrin: Co-Editor, New York Times Lens Blog
• Whitney Johnson: Director of Photography, The New Yorker
• Denise Wolff: Senior Photobook Editor, Aperture
• Emily Keegin: Deputy Photo Editor of Bloomberg Businessweek Magazine
• William A. Ewing: Directorial of Curatorial Projects for Thames & Hudson
• Graham Letorney: Co-Founder, Web Producer, FotoVisura, Inc.

Every editor hosts a different weekend, so check out the schedule to match your availability with your favorite editor. Accommodations, food, and transportation are included in the ticket price.

For more information, visit www.fotovisura.com/features/workshops.

Yishai Shapir is a visual storyteller and photographer who is passionate about learning and sharing his knowledge about photography, video, computer hardware and software. He fell in love with photography twenty-two years ago when his son was born and started his career in special effects, founding a 3D animation & hardware company in Los Angeles called Motion Media. Yishai applied his vast technical knowledge and fascination with photography into inventing the innovative SpinLight 360® Modular System.

The Full White Dome vs. The Clear Dome

The main differences between the white dome and the clear dome (without bounce cards) are:

• The white dome will produce softer light than the clear dome.
• The white dome will block about 1-1.25 stops of the flash power.
• The clear dome will block about .25 stop of the flash power.
• The clear dome is more efficient than the white dome, requiring less flash power, which is beneficial when you need faster recycling speed.
• The white dome will attenuate the light from the center to the edges faster compared to the clear dome (see image below).
• The clear dome will evenly illuminate a larger area.

TIP: When shooting a large group where you need to spread the light as evenly and as widely as possible, we recommend using the clear dome, either with or without the white card, while tilting the flash slightly forward, not in the absolute straight-up position.

When you use the flash head in the upright position with the SpinLight 360® and just a white bounce card (no modifier), most of the flash light will go straight up.  One of the advantages of the white and clear domes is that they spread the light as soon as it comes out of the flash tube onto the surface of the card, forcing more light to bounce against the card, which results in more light bouncing forward toward the subject.

The image below was shot during the late afternoon, with a white card and the clear dome while the flash was in the upright position, at -1 flash compensation to enhance the skin tone and texture.  This resulted in a beautiful image that looked naturally lit.

The Half Dome

The half-dome modifier is opaque so no direct flash will hit the subject.  Aiming the opening of the half-dome toward the card will force the light to hit the card, as well as the ceiling, and bounce the light forward toward the subject. We recommend using the half-dome outside or when you are in a location with no place to bounce.

Another creative use of the half-dome is to rotate the opening of the half-dome toward the subject and use it as a gradual filter.  Using it this way will allow light to hit the subject directly from the dome opening, and block the light from the remaining area, creating a vignette in the location where the opaque part of the dome sits.  For instance, the half-dome was situated with the opening on top and the opaque part on the bottom, resulting in the vignette on the bottom as shown in the photo below.

The Snoot

When using the snoot it’s important to understand the light pattern that comes out and hits the subject.  The shape of the light coming out of the snoot resembles more of a capsule shape than a circular one.  The orientation of the flash towards the subject will dictate the shape’s direction as demonstrated in the images below.

This image was shot with the snoot and the flash opening pointed horizontally towards the subject.  As you can see in the image below, the light shape is horizontally elongated.  Another creative use of the snoot is to use it for accent lighting, strip lighting or side lighting for a portrait, mimicking a long narrow light source.

The Grids

As you see in the image below the differences between the Black and White Grids are that the white grid has softer, feathered edges, while the black grid has harder edges, and the white grid loses about 1 stop of light compared to the black grid.

Here are some examples of photos shot with white and black grids. The first image was taken with the white grid.  As you can see, the light attenuates from the center to the edges gradually.

This image was shot with the black grid at the same setting as the previous image, without compensating for the additional stop of power.  As you can see in the image below, it’s overexposed by 1 stop.

This image was shot with the black grid.  As you can see, the light attenuates more harshly towards the edges, creating more of a distinctive vignette.

We recommend using the grids for a hairlight or if you want to call attention to the center of your image.

TIP: Keep in mind that all of the modifiers can be used with a gel at the same time.

TIP: Compensating the flash power depends on your flash manufacturer, and can range from -3 stops underexposed to +3 stops overexposed.  When the flash is “correctly” exposed according to the camera metering, especially in ETTL or a like mode, it does not necessarily mean you will get the desired result.  You must experiment, both under- and overexposing your flash power.  You will be surprised by the differences, especially when bouncing the flash.

Girls varsity basketball team member Linnae Harper poses outside Whitney M. Young Magnet High School in Chicago. Harper, a 5 foot 7 inch senior who plays the point guard position, is set to attend the University of Kentucky in the fall.

East Chicago based photographer, lighting designer, and filmmaker Guy Rhodes shot portraits of members of the USA Today All-USA High School Basketball Team.

When I received my requests to shoot portraits of members of the USA Today All-USA High School Basketball Team, I was given little more than each player’s contact information and a deadline date. With everything up to me (including scheduling the shoots themselves) and no specific look to follow, the creative wheels in my brain started turning on how I could make each portrait unique and polished without necessitating a grip truck in the process.

See more photos on Guy’s blog.

Linnae was as cooperative as photo subjects come. Here, she’s positioned atop an apple box and my strobe case to get her above the tree line and lamp posts that cluttered my view of the Sears Tower. While I couldn’t totally eliminate these distractions, having Linnae higher up helped me out quite a bit with cleaning up my background. I also set up my shot in the shadow of an overhead bridge that connects two of the Whitney Young school buildings, allowing me to control the light to a greater degree using my strobes.

On a previous outing to Whitney Young, I photographed varsity basketball team member Jahlil Okafor. Okafor, a 6 foot 10 inch junior who plays the center position, is poised to become one of the top basketball recruits for college teams in the country. The gym at Whitney Young is rather architecturally bland, so I used a ladder to incorporate the most graphically interesting thing (the floor) as my background. This image was lit with three Vivitar 285HV flashes: One in a softbox up front as my key, a back light off the subject’s left shoulder, and a unit gelled orange off the subject’s right side pointing at the floor.

After researching Simeon Career Academy’s gym prior to my shoot with varsity basketball standout Jabari Parker (and finding the same typicality that I encountered at Whitney Young), I decided to take Parker to an outdoor basketball court just across the street from the school. I hoped the light and gritty textures would give me some more interesting visual elements in my frame.

Honolulu-based photographer Elyse Butler Mallams shares photos of the MAMo 2012 Wearable Arts Fashion Show.

Behind the scenes of the catwalk at the MAMo 2012 Wearable Arts Fashion Show for Maoli Arts Month at the Hawaii Theatre photographed for Hana Hou! Magazine.

See more photos on Elyse’s blog.

C.S. Muncy is a freelance photojournalist based out of New York City with a client list that includes The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Newsday, The New York Daily News and The Village Voice. As a freelancer, he’s covered such subjects as the BP Oil Spill, the fight for same-sex civil rights, the takeover of the state capitol in Madison, Wisconsin and Occupy Wall Street. A graduate of the Defense Information School, he enlisted in the United States Air Force in 2002 and is currently a photographer with the New York Air National Guard.

The simulator was roughly the same size and shape as a small commuter jet, with two rows of seats in the cabin and a full set of controls for the throttle, batteries and lights inside the cockpit. Despite the generous seats, though, the environment is hardly first class. The bare-metal walls were covered in soot, and the hard steel seats lined the windowless interior. As part of a traveling training system provided by Kellogg Community College, the “Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting (ARFF)” mobile trainer is designed to burn, letting military and civilian firefighters practice in a controlled environment for a variety of scenarios, including fuel spills, engine fires, interior cabin fires and passenger rescue.

It’s a bit unnerving when activated. Tanks of propane spring to life, and can easily burn exposed skin if you get too close. Then there are the screams. Running on a loop, there’s a recording of passengers screaming and crying while the fire’s active and until you remove the rescue dummies from the cabin. The dummies themselves are a little unnerving; the same size and weight as grown adults, along with an infant sized dummy. Firefighters training in the simulator have to pull all the victims free before their session ends.

In preparation, I had been loaned an Air Force firefighter suit, looking to all the world like a walking baked potato. This included a pair of knee-high rubber boots, heavy, foil-covered pants and jacket, a protective cloth balaclava, helmet, air-tank and mask and gloves. While shooting inside the aircraft, you had to more or less paw and scratch at your camera if you needed to change any settings, as the gloves were far too thick for any kind of detailed adjustments. Likewise, while shooting with the mask on you had to occasionally guesstimate your shot, as the plastic faceplate prevents you from accurately seeing through the viewfinder. Not that it really mattered inside; the smoke was so thick that it was all but impossible to see more than a few inches in front of you.

Shooting outside wasn’t necessarily any easier. With four teams of firefighters working their hoses from different angles, you were going to get wet. Not just wet, you were going to get blasted with water. It was incredibly difficult keeping my lens clear of spots, and my D3 had to be constantly patted dry. Thank god for weather sealing.

Covering this was a great learning experience; I was able to follow the various teams up to and inside the aircraft. I was also allowed to shoot from inside the simulator as it burned in an attempt to shoot the firefighters entering. And while there’s a huge difference between shooting a burning building and aircraft, I believe that what I learned here will help me immeasurably when covering fires in the city.

Check out what C.S. Muncy packed to cover this firefighter training here.

Instagram of Declan Murphy of the Hot Rods posing for a portrait in the dugout during their game against the Mud Hens at Boyle Park in Mill Valley, CA on May 10, 2013. (Photo by Brad Mangin)

San Francisco Bay Area sports photographer Brad Mangin shot pictures of the Mill Valley Little League Hot Rods.

Last week I had an amazing opportunity to shoot pictures of baseball players giving it their all as they played an intense game of ball under glorious late-afternoon sunshine in the beautiful San Francisco Bay Area. Was I shooting the San Francisco Giants at AT&T Park? Nope. Was I shooting the Oakland A’s at the Oakland Coliseum? Nope. I was shooting the Mill Valley Little League Hot Rods, managed by my good friend and NEVER. SAY. DIE. book partner Brian Murphy, in action against the dreaded Mud Hens at Boyle Park in Mill Valley, California.

Continue reading and see more photos on Brad’s blog.

Members of the Mill Valley Little League Hot Rods get ready in the dugout before their game against the Mud Hens at Boyle Park in Mill Valley, CA on May 10, 2013. (Photo by Brad Mangin)

A member of the Mill Valley Little League Hot Rods bats during their game against the Mud Hens at Boyle Park in Mill Valley, CA on May 10, 2013. (Photo by Brad Mangin

11-year-old Brad Mangin pitches for the Centerville American Little League Orioles at John G. Mattos Elementary School in Fremont, CA in June of 1976. (Photo by Dino Vournas/Fremont Argus)