13 h. ago ‘Geometric lines, strong colours and shadows created a striking image’: Anne Rayner’s best phone picture

A sci-fi playscape at an exhibition in Gateshead had the photographer’s granddaughter entrancedAnne Rayner was enjoying a day out with her husband, Bob, and two-year-old granddaughter Phoebe when she took this photo. The three of them had headed into Newcastle city centre to find some fun, while Rayner’s daughter-in-law was caring for Phoebe’s siblings, six-month-old twin boys, at home.Walking along the quayside and crossing the Gateshead Millennium Bridge, they pointed out landmarks to Phoebe as they went: the Tyne Bridge, the Glasshouse International Centre for Music. They arrived, eventually, at the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art, where Harold Offeh’s exhibition The Mothership Collective 2.0 was showing (it’s on until 18 January). Continue reading...

Events

3 d. ago Bill Hader's 'extreme sadness' as he breaks cover after tense chat with Nick Reiner at party just hours before grisly murders

The comedian looked tense while pacing back and forth during a phone call in Los Angeles, as he was pictured for the first time since his tense chat with Rob Reiner's son Nick Reiner.

Events

6 d. ago Let Donald Trump see inside my phone? I’d rather be deported | Emma Beddington

The potential demand that visitors to the US hand over their social media records, or even their phones, opens up a world of embarrassmentAs someone with a child in the US, this new Trump threat to scrutinise tourists’ social media is concerning. Providing my user name would be OK – the authorities would get sick of scrolling through chicken pics before they found anything critical of their Glorious Leader – but what if I have to hand over my phone at the border, as has happened to some travellers already? I would rather get deported.There’s nothing criminal or egregiously immoral on there; I don’t foment revolution or indulge in Trump trolling, tempting as that would be. But my phone does not paint a flattering picture of me. Does anyone’s? Those shiny black rectangles have become contemporary confessionals, and we would like to believe they abide by the same kind of confidentiality rules. Continue reading...

Politics

7 d. ago ‘My photos are warm and full of imagination – that’s something AI could never achieve’: Yuan Li’s best phone picture

This spectacular image taken in Sakrisøy, Norway, triggered accusations that it was simply too good to be trueYuan Li splits his time between two careers: in the winter, he works as a ski instructor; in summer, a photographer. When he took this image, Beijing-based Li was visiting Norway and Iceland with friends, on a trip focused on sightseeing and photographing the aurora borealis. He captured this picture while exploring Sakrisøy, a small island in Lofoten, Norway. In the foreground sits this distinctive yellow homestay; in the background, Olstinden mountain.“It had snowed heavily all day,” Li recalls. “As I was setting up to capture this scene, the snow stopped and the sun came out, which made the perfect environment for taking photos.” Continue reading...

Events

1 week ago As Scotland's saltire is used to protest against migrants like me, we need a new 'grand old flag'

A simple piece of coloured cloth can inspire strong emotions. It’s time to harness that power to celebrate the common goodness of all humankind, writes Joe Goldblatt

Events

2 w. ago ‘I climbed a building to get this shot of Egyptian fishermen with sardines’: Ahmad Mansour’s best phone picture

How the photographer captured this split image of sardine fishermen taken from aboveFreelance photographer Ahmad Mansour was visiting Al Max, a fishing neighbourhood in Alexandria, Egypt, when he took this image on his mobile phone. Mansour was there with friends, documenting the area and the fishermen who resided there.“The sun was bright and it was very loud; the water was running strongly and the men were shouting,” Mansour says. “I climbed a small building to reach this vantage point above the men with the sardines. I love the top view angle; I’d been inspired by another image that was split that way and it suited the colours to balance them like this, too.” Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago The rise of deepfake pornography in schools: ‘One girl was so horrified she vomited’

The use of ‘nudify’ apps is becoming more and more prevalent, with hundreds of teachers having seen images created by pupils, often of their peers. The fallout is huge – and growing fast‘It worries me that it’s so normalised. He obviously wasn’t hiding it. He didn’t feel this was something he shouldn’t be doing. It was in the open and people saw it. That’s what was quite shocking.”A headteacher is describing how a teenage boy, sitting on a bus on his way home from school, casually pulled out his phone, selected a picture from social media of a girl at a neighbouring school and used a “nudifying” app to doctor her image. Continue reading...

Politics

3 w. ago Now ditch the rest of it! Labour under pressure to scrap Angela Rayner's  workers' rights revolution after dropping 'job killing' plan to let staff sue their boss from day one

In a humiliating U-turn, the government last night announced it was dropping Ms Rayner's plan to give people the right to sue their employer for unfair dismissal on their first day in the job.

Events

4 w. ago ‘The flowing red saree on the bank of the Ganges was incredibly striking’: Divyanshu Verma’s best phone picture

The Indian photographer captured a quiet moment at the popular Maha Kumbh Mela religious festival in PrayagrajDivyanshu Verma regards the north Indian city of Prayagraj as deeply special: not only is it home, it is also where he began his journey into street photography. This image was taken in the Sangam area during the huge Hindu purification festival Maha Kumbh Mela – maha meaning great because this was the 12th in a row of the ritual that takes place once every 12 years.“It’s a massive spiritual gathering and the energy is entirely unique,” Verma says. “The place was incredibly crowded with people who had travelled from far and wide, all drawn by faith, but there was a strange sense of calm within the chaos. I wandered through the crowds with my phone, observing rituals and soaking up the powerful atmosphere.” Continue reading...

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