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These Historical Figures Lived Long Enough to be Painted and Photographed

A side-by-side comparison of a painted portrait and a sepia-toned photograph of the same military officer in decorated uniform with medals and shoulder epaulettes.

Looking at paintings of historical figures, it can be difficult to know whether that's what they really looked like, or whether the painter was being interpretive -- perhaps pressured by the subject.

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A Photographer Spent 18 Months Documenting an LA Psychiatric Hospital in the 1970s

Black-and-white photo showing a man in a hospital gown tied to a chair, looking distressed, and another close-up of a man pinching his nose, appearing stressed or emotional.

In 1979, photographer Merrick Morton (@merrickmortonphoto) received a California state grant to document the Volunteer Program at a psychiatric hospital in Los Angeles, a project that led him to return again and again over the next year and a half.

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Photo Competition That Gets Up Close and Personal With Wildlife Announces Shortlist

Close-up of a green tree frog peeking through a hole beside a close-up of an insect with iridescent wings perched on the textured, scaly face of a reptile, near its eye.

The shortlist for Close-up Photographer of the Year 7 (2025) has been revealed after the 22 judges assessed 12,557 photographs across 11 categories during 20 hours of Zoom calls.

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The Camera Trick Behind an Iconic 1937 Film Visual Effect

A split-screen image shows the same elderly woman. On the left, she smiles cheerfully with tidy hair and clean face; on the right, she appears distressed, with messy hair and a dark, dirty face, both in black and white.

Sh! The Octopus may not be remembered as a great film of the 1930s like King Kong or The Awful Truth, in fact it was named as one of the greatest bad movies of all time. But there is one scene, involving some very clever camera work, that continues to get talked about today.

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