Bradley Secker

Istanbul

Photojournalist in Istanbul. Brit. Rep by @PanosPictures / @InsideNatGeo Explorer / @PulitzerCenter grantee / covering news, features, portraits ++

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Articles

Pikachu, f*ck you

2 months ago | bradleysecker.substack.com | Bradley Secker

Hi, so unfortunately I’ve been in hospital for a while, hence the lack of new post…see photo evidence below… OK, so that’s a big fat LIE, a fake, a load of shite, bullshit, bollocks, choose your preferred term. Although, from the look of A.I. ‘me’ in that ‘photo’, I could well have been in hospital for sudden aging syndrome, or under-eye bag reduction, but my macho A.I. arms look pretty hot, it’s true.
Galatasaray gegen Fenerbahçe: Das Istanbul-Derby ist in der Türkei das Spiel der Spiele

Feb 23, 2025 | spiegel.de | Florian Haupt |Bradley Secker

Wordle Wortsuche Paarsuche Das tägliche Quiz Kreuzworträtsel Solitär Sudoku Mahjong Bubble-Shooter Jackpot Snake Exchange 2048 Doppel Rushtower Sudoken Street Wortblitz Fibonacci Gumblast Wimmelbild Skiracer Trivial Pursuit Serviceangebote von SPIEGEL-Partnern adidas Gutscheine Foot Locker Gutscheine asos Gutscheine Nike Gutscheine Alle Magazine des SPIEGEL DER SPIEGEL SPIEGEL SPEZIAL SPIEGEL GESCHICHTE SPIEGEL COACHING Dein SPIEGEL SPIEGEL CHRONIK S-Magazin SPIEGEL BESTSELLER SPIEGEL WISSEN...
For the love of photo-collage

Feb 14, 2025 | bradleysecker.substack.com | Bradley Secker

Oi oiThis post brings a little more love, and a little less negative energy. I want to highlight the medium of photo-collage, of which I’m a big fan, and have sometimes dabbled into - see above for an early attempt. Now, there are many types and styles of collage, but I’m more interested in the vaguely photojournalistic, the ones that say something political, or have news value to them, or use some elements of it.
The value of it all

Jan 29, 2025 | bradleysecker.substack.com | Bradley Secker

Welcome back. You, my darling readers, aren’t all photographers, I am fully aware. So, thanks for your interest in the medium, and in my Substack! :) Hopefully by fact that you’re reading this, you see some value in photojournalism, and visual storytelling. This post is about how we might consider value when it comes to photojournalism, and scattered with what can be considered valuable images from the past century.
FOMO and freelancer mental health

Jan 10, 2025 | bradleysecker.substack.com | Bradley Secker

Who dares, wins…? Hi hi, and happy 2025, or as some hip stuff on Instagram have been saying, twenty twenty THRIVE. Let’s see about that. After a whirlwind few weeks filled with big news from Syria, as well as the festive down time, I think it’s the time to talk about mental health for photojournalists (and all media workers in general). In particular freelancers, which make up the majority of our ranks. Let’s use that new year optimism whilst it lasts, hoping for a better 12 months ahead.
All eyes on Syria...again

Dec 7, 2024 | bradleysecker.substack.com | Bradley Secker

Bit of a different post this time, since I’ve been glued to the news about Syria for the past week or so, when more territorial changes have happened, than at any other point since early 2011. A street scene filled with political posters at fruit stalls, in the Damascus suburb of Saida Zainab, where a lot of Iraqi refugees lived, and also home to the Shia shrine, that gives the area its name. 2010.
Chaos or boredom

Nov 15, 2024 | bradleysecker.substack.com | Bradley Secker

Hi!I’ve always been fascinated by the links between boredom and creativity, as well as boredom and a multitude of other things, and the state of the brain dubbed the Default State Network. Working in the media industry, means living a constant flux between the extremely chaotic, frantic times, when there’s barely enough time to charge camera batteries (or your physical sleep ones), and then the longer stretches of much lower activity, and inevitably boredom.
The global journalism family

Nov 12, 2024 | bradleysecker.substack.com | Bradley Secker

Let’s face it, ‘the media’ doesn’t have the best rep, and never really has. We’re a load of pushy bastards from all walks of life, motivated by doing a job we feel is important (and sometimes a sense of entitled self importance), by wanting to make a little change, or have a little influence about what’s going on in the world, or to simply be there to witness it. Some of us can also be arrogant, entitled arseholes. We’re all in this industry, this ‘career’ together though.
Captions vs interpretations

Nov 2, 2024 | bradleysecker.substack.com | Bradley Secker

I attended an online discussion about Turkish Republican era photographic history last week, put on by the lovely British Institute at Ankara (BIAA), and it got me pondering on how the way we look at photos changes, as the distance between when they were shot and when they’re being viewed lengthens. Being able to play with ambiguity in photography is perhaps part of the fun. Without it, things like irony, comedy, tongue-in-cheek messages, and the shock or surprise factors might all be lost.
Do you trust us?

Oct 14, 2024 | bradleysecker.substack.com | Bradley Secker

Hellooo! Hope all is well. Is that a real photo, or is it an A.I. image? (follow link for a quiz to test yourself)Surely it was posed or set up!? Why is this story being published, not something else? The questions and critique are endless when it comes to visual storytelling and visual journalism in 2024.