The Documentary Photography Special V
A photographer probes truth and lies in modern Turkey
The Parallel State — After being injured in a deadly attack in Libya, British photographer Guy Martin wasn’t sure if he’d ever shoot again. Then he recalibrated his identity. Slowing down, he started documenting the faux-reality of Turkish soap operas and the surreal political events they mirrored on the streets.
Written by: Guy Martin, as told to Andrea Kurland
Eight 'rules' of photography that are worth breaking
Rip it up and start again — The real stories of our time aren’t always plain to see. They’re shaped by invisible forces, unfold behind closed doors, and are conveniently erased from collective memory. But in an era of fake news and manipulated truths, we need these stories more than ever. The only way to tell them is to take a few risks, break all the rules and pioneer a new way of seeing the world.
Written by: Lewis Bush
Capturing the nuances of life on the US-Mexico border
The Backs Of Men — Growing up on the US-Mexico border, Dominic Bracco II knows people who walk a fine line between right and wrong. He’s seen good folks do bad things. To capture that nuance, he put down his camera, picked up a pen and scripted the space in-between.
Written by: Dominic Bracco II
The photojournalist who braved prison and a hunger strike
The other side — French photographer Mathias Depardon was arrested in Turkey while on assignment for National Geographic, accused of being a spy. He spent the next 30 days locked inside a room. But what came next was even harder.
Written by: Mathias Depardon, as told to Andrea Kurland
A photographer finds moments of beauty and optimism, even in the darkest places
Beyond here is nothing — Growing up without a fixed place to call home, Laura El-Tantawy struggled with a fractured identity. Then she found liberation in the form of a camera, developing an impressionistic eye that helped her reconnect with her native Egypt.
Written by: Laura El-Tantawy, as told to Cian Traynor
Gregory Crewdson spends years crafting photos on a cinematic scale
Staged truths — Gregory Crewdson is not the kind of photographer who carries a camera. Instead he uses Hollywood-sized productions to create perfect moments that feel both inexplicably personal and profoundly cathartic.
Written by: Gregory Crewdson, as told to Cian Traynor
A photographer's 8,000-mile journey from Cuba to the US
The long route to another life — Photojournalist Lisette Poole spent 51 days documenting two Cuban women's migration to the US. She travelled illegally through 11 countries, via smugglers and roadless jungles, using a point-and-shoot camera when it was too dangerous for the real deal. This isn’t a story she simply observed: it’s an experience she survived.
Written by: Lisette Poole
The lawyer leading a double life as a street photographer
powercorruptionandlikes — By day, Ryan Staley works in the buttoned-down world of corporate law. But his free time is spent on the streets of LA, focusing his untrained eye on an ‘alternate reality’ that only he can see.
Written by: Ryan Staley, as told to Cian Traynor
How Zanele Muholi used photography to confront her trauma
Hail the Dark Lioness — The South African photographer places herself centre stage in Hail the Dark Lioness, drawing on experiences of homophobia and hate crimes that impact her own community.
Written by: Zanele Muholi, as told to Alex King
The photographer tackling an entire history of misogyny
‘We have a problem’ — Spanish photographer Laia Abril is on a mission to map the systems that control women’s lives. It’s a challenge that sees her traversing time and space, going back through history and around the world, to remind us that there are consequences to every action.
Written by: Laia Abril, as told to Andrea Kurland
Cristina de Middel is a perfect photographer for the post-truth era
Facts... re-imagined — People thought she was crazy to quit her job at a newspaper to document things that don’t exist. But Spanish photographer Cristina de Middel was on a fantastical mission. Straddling the art world and photojournalism, she explores real stories that are hard to believe - and debunks credible ones that are misleading.
Written by: Cristina de Middel, as told to Andrea Kurland
The hidden African history captured by one maverick photographer
SJ 'Kitty' Moodley — When sociologist Steven Dubin discovered a collection of studio portraits from apartheid South Africa, it brought to light an unknown photographer who empowered others to resist.
Written by: Steven Dubin, as told to Cian Traynor