Vision Slightly Blurred

The crash that killed Kobe Bryant, his 13-year old daughter Gianna, and seven others aboard a helicopter shocked millions around the world. Near the Staples Center in California where Bryant played for 20 years as a member of the Los Angeles Lakers, make-shift memorials appeared. And online, fans posted messages of grief and condolences on social media.

Unsurprisingly, images of Bryant were widely shared as if a way to collectively remember him through the most accessible and visceral medium available to us – photography. And photographers who had the opportunity to shoot Bryant during their careers expressed a connection for having done so. Even in the most public of settings, there is something intimate about taking someone’s photo.
In this episode of Vision Slightly Blurred, Sarah and Allen share some of their favorite images that they've seen on social media in the wake of Bryant's death, and talk about the role of photography in creating a collective memory.

Like the senior school photo, the prom photo is a rite of passage for most American teens. The traditional posed couple's photo has given way to trends like professional pre-prom photo, and the niche has been tackled by esteemed photographers Aristede Economopoulos, Gillian Laub, Mary Ellen Mark.
In this episode of Vision Slightly Blurred, Sarah and Allen delve into the world of prom, and even share some of their own prom photos.

Many photographers have abandoned neutral documentary photography in favor of advocating for environmental causes that are important to them. And with massive social media followings, photographers like Paul Nicklen, Ami Vitale and many others are helping to shine a spotlight on issues big and small, and using photography as a primary storytelling device.
On this Earth Day, we celebrate the photographers who are advocating for clean water, endangered species, and a healthy planet.

Apple recently announced a new set of features aimed at combatting Child Sexual Abuse Materials (CSAM), which include the ability to scan a user's phone and iMessages. Since the announcement, the company has repeatedly clarified the safeguards that are in place, but privacy advocates have bemoaned the potential for abuse and "mission creep."
The exchange of CSAM imagery through Electronic Service Providers (ESPs) like Facebook, Instagram, Dropbox, Google Drive, etc has reached epidemic-like proportions, and a New York Times report on the issue illustrated how confounding and disturbing the problem has become.
In this episode of Vision Slightly Blurred, Sarah and Allen discuss the implication for photographers, and react to the various arguments made by privacy advocates as well as abuse experts.

If given the chance to go to space, most photographers would probably gear up. But Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa visited the International Space Station with his iPhone, and still got some stunning images and footage in the process. The best camera is the one you have with you?
Also in this episode, photojournalist David Butow chronicles the Trump presidency from election to insurrection in his book "Brink," Mary Berridge captures portraits of autism in "Visible Spectrum," Getty Images gets ready to go public (again), Instagram suspends the @metaverse account of artist Thea-Mai Baumann, and Cook and Jenshel capture a gorgeous photo of the Bryant Park Ice Rink in the New Yorker.