Tom May

Tom May

Tom May is a freelance writer and editor specializing in art, photography, design and travel. He has been editor of Professional Photography magazine, associate editor at Creative Bloq, and deputy editor at net magazine. He has also worked for a wide range of mainstream titles including The Sun, Radio Times, NME, T3, Heat, Company and Bella.

Latest articles by Tom May

The world's first photograph by Joseph Niepce. Taken from a window of his Le Gras estate at Saint-Loup-de-Varennes, France.

France set to stage a year-long celebration to mark 200 years of photography in 2026

By Tom May published

News Major exhibitions and commissions will honor Nicéphore Niépce's invention and explore photography's evolution from 1826 to today.

News
A water strider skims across the bright blue, icy surface of a pond, with frozen plant leaves visible beneath the water.

Yes, this IS a photograph! How a double exposure turned a water strider into an award-worthy work of art

By Tom May published

NEWS Anirudh Kamakeri's creative use of this sophisticated technique earned him Special Mention from the Nature in Focus awards

NEWS
Two high-contrast portraits shown side-by-side: one of a man coated in dark grime and another of a shirtless man drenched in sweat, both set against a bright white background.

Richard Avedon's American West: what today's portrait photographers can still learn from this classic series

By Tom May published

This 1979 documentary project remains a masterclass in environmental portraiture and authentic storytelling.

Portrait Photography
A powerful silhouette of an elephant is illuminated by bright torchlight in a dark, misty night setting, with the reflection visible on a body of water in the foreground.

When Torchlight Meets Tusks: this hauntingly beautiful photo casts new light on the relationship between man and beast

By Tom May published

NEWS Ramprasad Dutta's incredible photograph earned Special Mention at this year's Nature in Focus awards

NEWS
A highly stylized, steampunk-themed promotional image for the 2026 MUSE Photography Awards featuring a woman in a purple corset and top hat standing behind a counter of antique cameras and glassware, with text reading "Call For Entries."

These are the best photography awards to enter in 2026, ranked by submission deadline

By Tom May published

You can't get recognition if you don't submit, right?

Awards and Competitions
Sebastiao Salgado attends the"Sebastiao Salgado Amazonia" Exhibition Preview at Maxxi Museum on July 21, 2021 in Rome, Italy.

In Memoriam: the brilliant photographers we sadly lost in 2025

By Tom May published

It's been a year of loss for the photographic community, from technical pioneers to Magnum legends.

Photography
From a behind-the-shoulder perspective of two judges, several young girls in frilly dresses hold numbered signs during a beauty pageant at an outdoor pool.

These are the pictures Martin Parr planned to show at the Pearly Gates

By Tom May published

A new exhibition reminds us how one photographer rewrote the rules of documentary photography.

Galleries and Exhibitions
Screenshot of AI actor Tilly Norwood from AI-generated YouTube video from Particle6 TV

How AI changed everything for photographers and videographers in 2025

By Tom May published

2025 IN REVIEW This was the year that the future arrived – on set, in the edit suite and in your camera bag

2025 IN REVIEW
A grid of ten various AI-generated images, including portraits, a landscape with a man in a yellow suit, a product shot, a hand holding a glowing orb, an orange car in a garden, a chair in a room, a goldfish in a bowl, a person wearing a coat of colorful flowers, and a scenic view through a circular window.

Adobe in 2025: The year that photography (and photographers) became raw material for brands

By Tom May published

2025 REVIEW While photographers were lured by AI features, Adobe quietly repositioned them as suppliers in a broader content economy

2025 REVIEW
A black and white photograph captures the highly textured, brain-like rock formations of White Pocket reflecting in a small, dark pool of water under a bright sky.

Why removing color made this photograph of a well-known desert landscape more powerful than ever

By Tom May published

NEWS Dave Drost's minimalist, monochrome approach transformed a familiar location into something extraordinary

NEWS
Closeup shot of the Leica 0-Series I No. 112

When Leicas sell for millions, you're not buying a camera – you're buying immortality!

By Tom May published

A rare prototype and a gift to the Pope earned €13.7m at auction in Leica's centenary year, proving collectors will pay anything for the right story.

Film Cameras
An unusual bottle tree with gnarled, arching branches is silhouetted against a dark, starry night sky showing the red glow of the Milky Way

A real tree, a real sky… but this amazing photo feels like it was taken on another planet!

By Tom May published

NEWS Benjamin Barakat’s award-winning astrophotograph reveals Socotra’s surreal bottle tree beneath a pristine Milky Way

NEWS
Hand putting SD card into a card reader attached to a laptop on a desk

The best memory card readers: copy images and video to your computer

By Ben Andrews last updated

Buying Guide These are the best memory card readers to supercharge your SD, CFexpress & CompactFlash memory card image transfers

Buying Guide
A stunning, low-angle photograph of several porcelain-white mushrooms growing on a dark, mossy log reflected in a pool of water, set against a misty, autumn forest floor covered in golden and brown leaves.

Mushrooms, mist and a 16mm gamble: here's what happened when photographer Albert Dross went ultra-wide and ultra-low with his camera

By Tom May published

NEWS An extreme low angle, a 16mm lens and meticulous focus stacking turned forest fungi into a glowing, otherworldly scene.

NEWS
A large spider is seen on a wet, dark brown rock, holding a small, metallic green and yellow fish in its fangs, with the fish's reflection visible in the water below.

This pin-sharp photo freezes the dramatic moment when a spider catches a fish

By Tom May published

NEWS A split-second decision and well-chosen gear combine to create a stunning wildlife moment

NEWS
A diptych displays two contrasting landscape photographs: on the left, a bulbous bottle tree under a starry, red-tinged night sky, and on the right, an aerial view of an iceberg meeting dark blue ocean water that swirls into a foamy spiral.

These 5 astonishing landscape photographs capture some of nature's most delicate and dramatic moments

By Tom May published

NEWS From Namibian dunes to Icelandic icebergs, the special category winners in the Landscape Photographer of the Year 2025 contest offer a lot for photographers to learn from.

NEWS
A split image showing two people in American Gothic style holding a "SOLD" sign on the left, and the same two people next to a pool in a mid-century modern scene on the right.

This award-winning example of commercial photography highlights the power of a brilliant concept

By Tom May published

NEWS Shot on a Nikon Z8, The Art of The Ideal Deal won big at the Tokyo International Foto Awards for its witty take on real estate

NEWS
A tranquil, misty morning scene shows a row of pink cherry blossom trees and evergreen trees reflected in a calm, dark body of water.

Shot with a Canon EOS R6 Mark II, this breathtaking panorama captures the profound stillness of Japan's countryside

By Tom May published

INSPIRATION Megumi Murakami's award-winning image blends together the mystical qualities of fog, dawn light and nature's perfect symmetry

INSPIRATION
A salp floats in the dark water, containing several smaller organisms inside it, including a small, yellow, black-spotted juvenile boxfish, a glowing orange jellyfish, and several crustaceans.

Captured on an Indonesian night dive with a Nikon D800E, this remarkable image reveals a tiny universe of undersea life

By Tom May published

NEWS Massimo Giorgetta's award-winning macro shot shows a transparent salp sheltering an array of microscopic creatures

NEWS
A dramatic, low-light photograph of the red and white wooden structures of the Byōdō-in Temple in Uji, Japan, reflected clearly in the dark water of a pond, with a single white koi fish near the bottom left corner.

Taken with a 61MP resolution specialist camera, this dark and moody vision of a Japanese temple transforms a postcard favorite into fine art​

By Tom May published

Rintaro Ukon used a combination of ultra‑wide precision, 61MP detail and meticulous grading to make one of Japan’s most photographed temples feel strangely new.​

Fine Art Photography
A boy in a red beanie, gray hoodie, and jeans climbs over the curved roof of a brightly graffitied structure at a bus stop during a dusky sunset

This photo series documenting children's dangerous school journeys is a worthy awards winner

By Tom May published

News Laura Pannack's project has been recognised by an inaugural award honoring photojournalist Tom Stoddart

News
A person sitting in an office chair is using two specialized control panels to edit video across a three-monitor setup, flanked by studio monitor speakers and with a large screen showing a close-up of a man above.

32K video editing is now a thing... but what on earth does that mean in reality?

By Tom May published

Opinion DaVinci Resolve now supports 32K editing. But I'm wondering if that actually makes sense, or whether it's all just a weird dream.

Opinion
A slightly worn, sepia-toned image of a smiling, bespectacled man with the text "George Shaw: Birmingham's Photographic Pioneer," partially obscuring a blurred, tall clock tower in the background.

Why is Birmingham's first photographer finally getting the recognition he deserves after 180 years?

By Tom May published

This Victorian chemist's experiments in silver plating prefigured today's obsession with sensor technology and exposure times

Galleries and Exhibitions
iPhone 16e on graduated bg

After a decade spent using Android, the new 'cheap iPhone' might finally tempt me over to Apple

By Tom May published

opinion The rumoured iPhone 17e could bridge the gap between budget Android and iOS polish... without the flagship price.

opinion
A printed Christmas card featuring a photo of a smiling couple in winter hats is displayed on a white table next to lit candles, with a blurred Christmas tree in the background.

This is the REAL reason British families keep photographing the same Christmas scenes every year (and what pros can learn from it)

By Tom May published

NEWS Here's an interesting statistic that I think every family photographer should know about

NEWS
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Archives

Other versions of this page are available with specific content for the following regions: