National park ranger quits, tours visitor centers to fight censorship

 Via SFGATE

July 31, 2026

Earlier this month, Melissa Dalley began striking up conversations with strangers about history. At the  Craig Thomas Discovery and Visitor Center in Grand Teton National Park, she called their attention to where a sign detailing a massacre of Native Americans once stood, and told them it was quietly removed this winter. Then she passed out flyers containing the missing information.

If Dalley seemed like a park ranger, it's because she used to be. But these days, she instead travels around to parks like Yellowstone, Grand Teton and Glacier as a visitor on a mission: She's committed to fighting censorship across the National Park Service by talking about what the Donald Trump administration has omitted.  -full article here

Preserving National Park stories before they’re lost

Our 433+ national parks are public land for all people and should reflect the fullness and complexity of the American experience – not a narrowed, partisan, or distorted version of it.

Eugene Tapahe: ART HEALS The Jingle Dress Project and Standing Rock Movement

 SPECIAL INDIAN MARKET EXHIBIT

Eugene Tapahe: ART HEALS

The Jingle Dress Project and Standing Rock Movement

Monroe Gallery of Photography is honored to announce a new exhibit and special reception on Thursday, August 13 from 5-7 pm during the renowned Santa Fe Indian Market weekend, the world’s largest and most prestigious Indigenous art market, now in its 104rd year.

Diné (Navajo) artist Eugene Tapahe will present an artist talk on the 10th anniversary of the Standing Rock movement for the opening of his new exhibition featuring photographs from the 2016 Standing Rock movement and his photography series titled Art Heals: The Jingle Dress Project. The exhibition continues through November 1, 2026. 

The unity and resilience of native ceremony, traditional storytelling, and the healing power of the jingle dress have connected these two historical events. Tapahe will share his insights and the dream which brought healing through his art.

Jingle Dress Dance, Standing Rock Camp (Highway 1806), ND, Native land of the Dakȟóta and Lakȟótiyapi people, 2016

Tapahe documented the strength, unity, inspiration, resilience, and hope of the Indigenous-led movement that began in April 2016 to block the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline on the Standing Rock reservation in North Dakota He remembers the grace and courage of Jingle Dress dancers healing the trauma inflicted on the water protectors from  police and private security forces by water cannons, LRAD sound cannons, rubber bullets, pepper spray, mace, tear gas canisters and bean bag blasts. 

When asked “Why did you go to the Oceti Sakawin camp?”, Tapahe says “It was my responsibly to be there, to help our people, our ancestors, our water, and our land. It felt as if our ancestors were physically standing with us in unity around the sacred fire – singing and dancing with us. The spiritual awakening will be with me always as I continue my creative journey to photograph and document the beauty of Mother Earth and our people.”

Years later, Art Heals: The Jingle Dress Project originated from a dream Tapahe had during the COVID-19 pandemic, inspiring him to unite the land and people through the healing power of the Ojibwe jingle dress dance. 

Nizhoni (Beautiful), Monument Valley, Arizona, 2020

Since then, Tapahe has traveled thousands of miles documenting family members and friends dancing the healing honor dance in National Parks and Monuments, honoring the places where their ancestors once lived. Tapahe describes the images as “incredibly powerful and spiritual. Looking at them, I still can't believe I took these photographs. I believe this project is larger than myself, and I hope that when people view them, they feel the same way – that we are all blessed to be in the presence of such beauty.” 

The images have raised awareness of many Native American issues, such as land acknowledgment, women’s rights, and, most importantly, the epidemic of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW).  

During the project, Tapahe discovered one overarching metaphor. “I put my hand on one of the jingles and I shook it. That one jingle didn’t make any sound,” he said. “But together, they have the power to heal. As human beings, if we are able to unite ourselves and our prayers and make a beautiful sound as the jingle dress does, we could be powerful.” 

View the exhibition here

“Historians are appalled...The Smithsonian has been known for trying to present a consensus version of history.”

 Via The New York Times

July 24, 2026

Trump Orders Warnings Placed at ‘Inaccurate’ Smithsonian History Museum

President Trump on Friday ordered warning signs and exhibits installed outside the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History to alert the public that the museum does not, in his view, accurately reflect American history.

The order went so far as to suggest that the signage inform potential museum visitors of locations where American history is better presented. The administration did not explain where the public would be redirected.

Representative Melanie Stansbury, Democrat of New Mexico, was among those who objected to Mr. Trump’s effort.

“This executive order is a clear political overreach, driven by an ideological agenda to rewrite American history. Our Smithsonian institutions do not belong to the president, but the American people, and so does our national story.”

But Dr. Redman, the historian, said that many observers have been dismayed by the aggressiveness of the White House efforts to take control of the Smithsonian and its 21 museums.

“Historians are appalled,” Dr. Redman said. “The Smithsonian has been known for trying to present a consensus version of history.”

Full article

Visit The Smithsonian Website

NINA BERMAN “HOW TO PHOTOGRAPH CENSORSHIP? DOCUMENTING THE U.S. AUTHORITARIAN PROJECT”

 Via The Fotografie Forum Frankfurt (FFF) 

In her lecture Nina Berman will speak about her life and work in the United States and reflect on how to continue a documentary practice under increasingly authoritarian conditions.

As a professor at Columbia University, where pro-Palestine demonstrations sparked an international movement and were followed by government and institutional crackdowns, Berman has been both a witness to, and directly affected by, the imposition of a punitive censorship regime that is still in formation.

Within this context, she asks how one can photograph the erosion of free speech and academic freedom, especially when censorship can be self-imposed as a means of self-preservation, or enforced through opaque bureaucratic mechanisms that remain largely invisible to the public.

As a tentative response to these questions, Berman will present The Complaint, an ongoing project based on experiences at Columbia University which includes Nina’s photographs, original texts and institutional documents that seek to historicize and narrate one crucial aspect of the current American authoritarian project – the destruction of free speech.

Friday, July 24, 2026, 6 pm

Location: Fotografie Forum Frankfurt

The lecture will be held in English.

Nina Berman is a documentary photographer, filmmaker, journalist and educator. Her work explores American politics, militarism, environmental issues and post violence trauma.  She is the author of Purple Hearts – Back from Iraq, (Trolley, 2004) portraits and interviews with wounded American veterans, Homeland, (Trolley, 2008) an examination of the militarization of American life post September 11, and An autobiography of Miss Wish (Kehrer, 2017) a story told with a survivor of sexual violence which was shortlisted for both the Aperture and Arles book prizes. Additional fellowships, awards and grants include: the Guggenheim Fellowship in Photography, the New York Foundation for the Arts, the World Press Photo Foundation, the Open Society Foundation, the Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University, the MIT Knight Science Journalism Fellowship and the Aftermath Project. She started her photographic career in 1988 as an independent photographer working on assignment for the world’s major magazines including Time, Newsweek, Life, the New York Times Magazine, New York Magazine, German Geo, and the Sunday Times Magazine. She covered a range of issues, from women under siege during war in Bosnia and Afghanistan, to domestic issues of criminal justice, reproductive rights, and political process. Her photography and film work has been exhibited at more than 100 international venues and is in several noted public collections including the Smithsonian and the  Bibliothèque nationale de France. She has participated in and given workshops around the world for young photographers and was a member of NOOR images from 2009–2021. She is currently a professor at Columbia University and lives in her hometown of New York City.

Nina's photography is featured in the current exhibition "America The Beautiful" through August 9, 2026

Shooting War - Shall we close our eyes?

 Via The Globe and Mail

As the war in Ukraine unfolds in real time, The Globe and Mail presents Shooting War, a documentary featuring nine of the world’s top conflict photographers reflecting on careers spent on the front lines, and the physical and psychological scars they live with now.

Conflict photojournalists capture the brutality of war and its devastating impact. By putting themselves on the front lines they face incredible danger as well as risking their emotional and psychological health. In “Shooting War,” nine internationally renowned photojournalists talk about the most memorable stories they covered, how they have come to terms with what they’ve witnessed and how the concept of moral injury can apply to journalists.

The nine photojournalists interviewed in the film are Ron Haviv, Carol Guzy, Goran Tomasevic, Corinne Dufka, David Guttenfelder, Santiago Lyon, Joao Silva, Laurence Geai and Tim Page, with more than 200 photos and archival news clips to illustrate the news they have covered.

More about the film. 

Ron Haviv: Photojournalism: Witness + Vision

 Via AIPAD

July16, 2026

During The 2026 Photography Show Presented by AIPAD, Photographers Giles Clarke, Ron Haviv and Shelby Lee Adams joined moderator Rick Smolan for a conversation on the evolving role of photojournalism and documentary practice today. Reflecting on the power and responsibility of the image, the panel considered how personal vision, ethics and context shape the stories photographers tell—and how those stories resonate in an age of constant visual exchange.

David Butow: 250 Years USA. A Country in Contradiction

 Via laif

David Butow

January 6, 2021, Washington, DC. Supporters of President Trump battle law enforcement on the West steps of The Capitol during the attack on the day of Joe Biden’s election certification by Congress.

2026 brings two dates that are hard to ignore: 250 years USA. And Donald Trump turns 80 – in the middle of his second term.

What do these anniversaries mean? What do they say about the state of this country? We asked selected photographers from our partner agency Redux.

In the second part of our series, photojournalist David Butow talks about his work and his perspective on the USA.

David, is there a photo you have taken that you feel best represents the United States — either at this moment or at another point in time?

You can’t sum up a country of 350 million people in one photograph, but I’ll choose one that speaks to our politics right now. On January 6, 2021, I was at the U.S. Capitol when a mob of thousands of Trump supporters broke through police lines and into the Capitol to try to disrupt the certification of Joe Biden as the next president. It was Americans fighting against each other over one of the most important things the government does.

And this fight was set up by the sitting president who had engaged in lies to rile up his supporters and help him stay in power. That was the first time that had happened in 250 years. I think, and hope, it will be most significant event in U.S. history that I’ll ever see. Trump left the White House couple of weeks later with his tail behind his legs but of course now he’s president again. This dynamic speaks to widespread distrust in our government and other institutions.

Given the flood of synthetic images, disinformation, and fake news across the internet, how do you view the role and importance of photojournalism and the media?

"The media" is now such a broad term. It can mean big organizations like the New York Times and CNN, or it can be one person with a YouTube channel and millions of followers. I heard a commentator say recently that when it comes to information, much of the public is both cynical and gullible at the same time. That’s a bad combination!

People not only believe stuff that’s fake, they will not believe things that are real. The hope I have is that there will always be some news organizations that will have high standards for truth, for rooting out fakery in images and information and that those standards will be known to their audience who will subscribe and support them.

In other words, that there will always be a place to turn when you need some reality. I fear that traditional, solid media outlets will continue to be a smaller and smaller portion of how people get their information. That’s already happening. However, I am buoyed by the fact that thirty years after easy desktop computer Photoshop-style image manipulation, the wire services and most big, good newspapers and magazines have maintained fairly tight ethnical standards when it comes to the making and content of images.

What do you think Americans can be proud of?

Despite all the problems facing the U.S., there are still things about this country that work very well. While there is a lot of tribal and closed-minded thinking, those ideas often get outsized attention in the current media environment. In reality, I think most Americans are quite progressive when it comes to things like gay rights, ethnic diversity, and religious freedoms. We have the Americans with Disabilities Act which helps to make public spaces easier for people in wheelchairs.

I’ll give you couple of other recent examples. There was a small group of Buddhist monks that recently did a "walk for peace" through the deep South, a Trumpy part of the country known as the »Bible Belt.« Thousands of people came out to cheer them on and they had the support of the local governments and police.

Today, I’m seeing news coverage of long lines at airports because of budget disagreements within the Federal Government. Despite our differences and political conflicts, people are calm and not getting into fights. Most Americans are pretty chill and tolerant. Also, when it comes to technological and scientific advancement, obviously, that’s one of our strengths.

What is "typically American" about you?

[…] My mother’s side of the family came to America from England in the 1700’s before there even was a U.S.A. They were Protestant Christians. My father’s parents were immigrants from Russia and Latvia in the early 20th century and they were fleeing persecutions against Jews and were part of the massive wave of immigration at that time as the U.S. was modernizing rapidly and there was economic opportunity and religious freedom. I was born in New York City, grew up in Texas and now live in California. So I feel very lucky to have all this diversity in my background and experience. -full article here

Thank you for your time, David.

David Butow's photographs are featured in the exhibition "America The Beautiful" through August 9, 2026 

Alfred Eisenstaedt is the focus of a dual exhibition in Abano Terme and Venice

 Via Finestre sull'Arte

July 13, 2026

Alfred Eisenstaedt, Ballerinas standing on a windowsill at George Balanchine’s School of American Ballet (New York City, 1937) © Alfred Eisenstaedt / The LIFE Picture Collection 

"An exhibition dedicated to one of the great figures of 20th-century photography brings together two cultural institutions in the Veneto region through a complementary exhibition that traces the life and work of Alfred Eisenstaedt (Tczew, 1898 – Oak Bluffs, 1995). Through September 20, 2026, the Villa Bassi Rathgeb Museum in Abano Terme is hosting the exhibition *Alfred Eisenstaedt: Photography Was in the Air*, while the story continues through November 22 at the Naval History Museum in Venice with a second exhibition dedicated to the photographer’s years in Europe.

The initiative, curated by Monica Poggi and produced by CAMERA – Italian Center for Photography, is organized by the Municipality of Abano Terme and D’Uva, the operator of MUNAV – the Naval History Museum of Venice. The project was conceived with the aim of fostering dialogue between institutions and the local community through the work of an artist who made a decisive contribution to defining the language of contemporary photojournalism. The exhibition’s title draws on Eisenstaedt’s own reflections on post-World War I Germany and evokes the atmosphere of transformation, cultural openness, and creative energy that shaped his formative years—an atmosphere the organizers aim to bring to life through this dual exhibition itinerary.

Considered one of the most important photographers of the 20th century, Alfred Eisenstaedt is best known for being one of the leading visual contributors to Life magazine and the creator of one of the most famous images in the history of photography, the famous “V-J Day in Times Square,” the photograph taken on August 14, 1945, during the celebrations marking the end of World War II, which captures a sailor kissing a nurse in the heart of New York."

  ---Full article with photos here

Times Journalists Subpoenaed as Trump Escalates Pressure on Media

 Via The New York Times

July 11, 2026

Times Journalists Subpoenaed as Trump Escalates Pressure on Media

The Justice Department is seeking to compel testimony from reporters who wrote about the new Air Force One. The Times called the move a “brazen act.”

“The appearance of federal law enforcement agents on the doorstep of news reporters should shock the conscience of any American who believes in the Constitution and the press freedom it protects,” said David McCraw, The Times’s top newsroom lawyer, in a statement on Friday evening. ---click for full article

Santa Fe named favorite American city by 'Travel + Leisure' readers for second straight year

 Via The Santa Fe New Mexican

July 7, 2026

Travel + Leisure readers have selected Santa Fe as their favorite American city for the second year in a row.

The announcement was made Tuesday morning on NBC-TV's Today show.

Santa Fe Mayor Michael Garcia issued a statement crediting nearly everyone for their part in keeping Santa Fe on top.

“The recognition belongs to our residents, our artists, our small businesses, our hospitality workers and everyone who helps make The City Different such a special place,” he said.