Girls in Brooklyn, 1974 Photo by Danny Lyon/The U.S. National Archives

• A Q&A with freelance photographer Cary Conover about shooting for the New York Times, how the city has changed, and why he’s picking up and moving to Kansas to become a high school photojournalism teacher. [Street Reverb Magazine]

• With her work being displayed in London’s National Portrait Gallery, Mary McCartney (daughter of Paul) talks about her new photography book, a retrospective called From Where I Stand. Real talent or major connections? You decide. [The Guardian]

• Paul Hedlund lives on the streets of Seattle, selling copies of the newspaper “Real Change” and his own photography. “I get great compliments, but I need customers! It’s hard to sell art on the sidewalk.” [Crosscut]

• Another award for photographer Darcy Padilla – she won the W. Eugene Smith Grant for Humanistic Photography on Wednesday for her 17-year-long documentation of the AIDs-afflicted mother and addict Julie Baird. [Lens]

• James Franco to star as Robert Mapplethorpe in future biopic? [Showbiz 411]