In our new column, Friday Five, we highlight some of the latest photo news, images and features that you may have missed the first time. Here are some intriguing and important photo news items that caught our eye, as first featured on DIY Photography, PopPhoto, Petapixel, The British Journal of Photography and Digital Camera World.

Weekly Photo News Roundup for January 16-20, 2023

FB and IG told to Stop Censoring Female Nipples by Advisory Board
“Free the Nipple” is a campaign that initially began in 2012, after many photographers and artists complained about the “draconian policies” held by Facebook and Instagram when it came to images perceived to be female nipples. Now, according to a recent article in DIY Photography and other news outlets, the advisory board for Meta has informed Facebook and Instagram that they “need to reverse their policy of censorship of bare breasts on the platforms.”

As Alex Baker writes on diyphotography.net, “performance artist and activist Emma Shapiro explains in Feminist Zine exactly why it’s important to challenge these policies. Shapiro has found his Instagram accounts censored multiple times for nudity, even having the accounts shut down on occasion. Her work is completely non-sexual in nature but does include self-portraiture that happens to sometimes show her own nipples. It does not merely impact artists, but also health care activists, cancer survivors, breastfeeding specialists and advocates, and of course, both the LGBTQ community and women in general.” Hopefully Meta will overhaul it’s outdated policies but we will have to wait and see for now. Read Baker’s entire article here.

Polaroid’s New Limited-Edition is a Collaboration with The David Bowie Archive
As reported in PopPhoto, Polaroid, has just released a new limited-edition film for its i-Type cameras to honor the legendary David Bowie and it includes 10 new frames inspired by the iconic album artwork of Bowie’s albums. “Each pack of films includes eight frames, so unfortunately, you won’t see them all in one pack,” wrote Abby Ferguson on popphoto.com. “They are sold as single packs or as triple or five packs for an even better chance of getting all collectible frames. The film itself uses the same color formula as all other i-Type films, so if you’ve already used those, you’ll know what to expect. You’ll need a Polaroid camera that uses the proprietary i-Type instant film, such as the Polaroid Now or the Polaroid Now+.” Read the full article here.

Photographer Whose Metadata Was Deleted By Client Loses Lawsuit
In 2021, photographer Victor Elias filed a lawsuit against Shiji Group for distributing his photos and stripping out the embedded copyright management information (CMI) metadata from his images before using them on travel websites. As reported in Petapixel earlier this week, Elias’ case was dismissed by the district court because “the photographer had not shown that Shiji knew, or had reasonable grounds to know, that its actions would induce, enable, facilitate, or conceal a copyright infringement .” Elias also reportedly fell short of demonstrating that Shiji was aware that searching for CMI embedded in metadata was a method used by copyright holders like photographers to find infringements on the internet. What does this mean for photographers in terms of legal protections of CMI metadata in the future? Read the full article on petapixel.com.

Inside the New Center for British Photography
On 26 January, the Center for British Photography will open in central London and includes three floors of exhibition space, a library, a print sales room and a shop, as reported by the British Journal of Photography. The space will be free to the public and host talks and events as well as exhibitions. According to BJP, this is a significant entry in the UK photography scene. Says BJP: “Though public facing, [this] is a private initiative; the brainchild of James Hyman and funded so far via the Hyman Foundation, the charity he set up with his wife, Claire, in 2020. Hyman believes photography from the UK is under-appreciated, especially within the UK, and says he has built the Center to change that. He will support and fund it for two years in the hope that others join him, and that eventually it becomes self-sustaining. The aim is that ultimately it will be independent enough for him to step away.” Read the full article here.

Canon has Designed a Trio of Exciting New Wide-Angle Lenses
According to Digital Camera World, recently filed patents have uncovered that Canon might be planning up to three new wide-angle RF-mount lenses. “The hardworking detectives at Canon Watch(opens in new tab) have discovered patent 2023005851, which discusses the optical formula for three separate lenses. As Canon has effectively ceased development of new EF lenses(opens in new tab), logic would dictate that these patents are for the RF mount,” writes Gareth Bevan for Digital Camera World. Read the full piece here.

What photo news has caught your eye? If you have photo news links you want us to consider revising, send them to: [email protected]