Looking back on 2016, the editors at Don’t Take Pictures are honored to have worked with so many wonderful photographers in issue #6 and issue #7 of our printed magazine, as well as in our numerous articles and columns online. We published one new photographer every day on our homepage, introduced new columns “From the Collection” and “Weekend Reading,” and added a resources section for Exhibition Listings and Artist Opportunities. Our editors have recapped the most popular articles from this past year, and we look forward to what 2017 has in store.

Rule Breakers: Haley Jane Samuelson

In our monthly Rule Breakers column, industry veterans share their pet peeves on themes in contemporary photography. In this series they present their “rule” along with five photographs that break it, in an effort to show that great work is always the exception to the rule. 2016's most popular rule breaker featured Haley Jane Samuelson and was written by ClampArt Director Brian Clamp.

"I never want to see another picture of an artist and her lover in bed—à la Nan Goldin and the cover image from The Ballad of Sexual Dependency (Aperture, 1985). Goldin’s influence on younger generations of artists has been immense, and her diaristic approach to photography is often imitated. Nonetheless, Haley Jane Samuelson’s images tell the story of her life with her artist-husband, Michael, in an intimate, compelling, and truly original fashion. And it is the story (casually written passages which read like journal entries and bittersweet recollections) paired with the tender and atmospheric photographs themselves that jointly supply the power for the new series titled Year of the Beast." — Brian Clamp

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Some Assembly Required: Kwanghun Hyun

Some Assembly Required is a monthly series that focuses on those who take the making of photographs a step or two further, creating their own photographic tools. 2016's most popular article featured Kwanghun Hyun's camera made from a watch movement.

"He calls these cameras the Heartbeat series—a reference to the pulsing of the balance in the watch mechanism. The small brass box is comprised of plates, rings, and knobs that Hyun machined himself." — Kat Kiernan

Bookmarks: Jukhee Kwon

Bookmarks is Elizabeth Harris' monthly column featuring works of art realized the form of a book. This year's most popular post featured Jukhee Kwon's cut book sculptures.

"Tumbling down like water, Jukhee Kwon’s cut books resonate with the appearance of movement despite their stillness. For years, Kwon has experimented with hand-cutting the pages of books into long continuous strips of paper. Drawing inspiration from natural and architectural structures in her everyday surroundings, Kwon’s interest in form has led her to create work that seemingly transforms the delicate medium of paper into configurations that give the illusion of weight and density." — Elizabeth Harris

Glass & Tin Exhibition

Don't Take Pictures publishes online quarterly exhibitions. Glass & Tin was our most popular exhibition of 2016 and was published online from May 26 to August 23, 2016.

"Photographs made with collodion have a magical quality, rendering a highly detailed, yet often imprecise image. Widely used in the 19th century, this historical process is currently experiencing a revival—today’s wet collodion photographers embrace their inner alchemist to give this old method a new twist. For this exhibition, Don’t Take Pictures presents photographs made in this century, using the process from another."

View the exhibition

Photo of the Day: Ed Freeman

"Abandoned House, Niland, California" by Ed Freeman was our most popular Photo of the Day in 2016.

View the Photo of the Day archive

Favorite Articles

All in a Day's Work
We interviewed photographers Eliot Dudik and Jared Ragland about their book-making experiment One Day Projects. With only 24 hours to conceive of, photograph, edit, sequence, print, and bind a thematic book—in editions, no less—the duo push the boundaries of artistic collaboration, bookmaking, and their own sanity.
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Preserving Afghanistan's Photographic History
"For over a century, Afghani photographers have used a homemade, all-in-one camera and darkroom to document the people and places in their country...Now, faster, easier, and cheaper digital methods are supplanting this photographic tradition. If a photographer’s role is to record time, events, and memories for future generations to discover and learn from, what happens when their own stories are left undocumented and not preserved—what important knowledge and history will be forgotten?"
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Art Vending Machines in 2016: The Enduring Appeal of the Art-o-Mat
What kind of art can a person expect for under $10? Great art, apparently. No bigger than a pack of cigarettes, original works of art are available around the country for $10 or less when purchased from an Art-o-mat, vintage cigarette vending machines repurposed for a healthier habit—art collecting.
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Lost but Not Forgotten: The Rescued Film Project
“Every image in The Rescued Film Project at some point, was special for someone.” Developing found rolls of film, The Rescued Film Project's online archive presents lost (but not forgotten) snapshots from around the globe.
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