Amy Powell’s Family Album
“As a teenager, I photographed my parents discussing their divorce, the dirty kitchen, and my mom waving away the car as it was being taken by the repo man. To me, that’s what my real life was. I long to see things, taken by insiders, that are unabashed. Beautifully unabashed.”
Lauren Greenfield Commercial About Skier Heidi Kloser
Photographer and filmmaker Lauren Greenfield made this short commercial from green light to broadcast in just a few days. It is the human story of an athlete injured just before the start of the Olympic games in which she was to compete. Greenfield continues to show she can tell meaningful stories in different formats, even commercial ones.
A Kiss Is Just a Kiss, Unless It’s an Ad for a Clothing Company
A clear look at the video that went viral and the backlash that followed it. Irregardless of it all, the video was fascinating to watch and well-crafted. This wired, social world longs for connection even if it is fleeting, even if we are pushed just over the edge of our regular lives.
Room with a View
Joe McNally selfies are the best. Ahead of the cultural trend, he took his in October 2001 from the very top of the Empire State Building. Beat that.
National Geographic’s Women of Vision Exhibit
A spotlight on several of the women who have contributed exceptional photography to the pages of National Geographic. No doubt you’ll recognize several of the images on display. I certainly did.
14 Female Photographers You Should Know Now
A starting point for looking at some of the best photographers working today. The range of styles and subject matter are linked by the quality of their craft.
Jo Ann Callis’ Color Work
A part of the movement that forced color photography to be taken seriously, this photographer was inspired by Paul Outerbridge and shows the same instinct for personal expression.
Ruven Afandor Photographs Paul Taylor’s “Cloven Kingdom”
Dance photography in black & white that becomes almost abstract yet remains figurative. And there is a wonderful sense of confrontation that must come from the choreography and performance of the piece.
Dreaming of the Pacific, part 2
Steve Lippmann shows light through the ocean waves. The power and rhythm and repetition and variety and constancy of the ocean creates a life long fascination with it.
Instagram Knows More About Photography Than You
“The emergence of data mining in photography is certainly going to change a lot of what we held as golden rules for maybe too long. It will not replace genuine talent, obviously, but certainly help some create better- as in more effective – images. What social media photography is teaching us is to start breaking down the walls of convention and accepted wisdom.”
How SVA Lectures in iTunes U Inspired a Photographer in Kenya
The graduate program in Digital Photography at the School of Visual Arts, regularly invites professionals in the field to give a guest lecture to the students. These lectures are filmed and shared for the rest of us to enjoy and learn from, too. The breadth and depth of the guests involved is staggering and addictive, even for those far from New York.
Spectacular Celebrity Portraits by Victoria Will
It’s nice to see Victoria’s photography getting showcased more and more. Her body of work has been building for years. She is a star finding her voice in a tough field.
Mark Seliger’s Portrait Studio at the Oscars
Even behind the scenes, those celebrities involved seemed to be having fun. Seliger’s simple portrait studio provided a canvas for them to express a range of emotions for his camera and us.
Creating the Photograph: Jenna Martin’s “Purple Cabbage Dress”
Another making of video from photo-illustrator Jenna Martin. This time she is building a dress made of leaves from a purple cabbage. Her results and these short videos continue to impress.
Tim Berners-Lee by Nadav Kander
The creator of the World Wide Web is photographed for Wired by one of the best portrait artists working. The stuff of vision.
Interview with Fashion Retoucher Nick Leadlay
An interview with a photographer that fell into retouching as a profession. Career paths are rarely straightforward in creative fields. Often one thing leads to another.
Fascinating Video Explore’s Wes Anderson’s Masterful Use of Symmetry
By the same guy that did the video of Stanley Kubrick and 1-point perspective. This and other videos like it are really teaching about the effectiveness of composition. There is more to life than the Rule of Thirds.
American Public Libraries Great and Small
The great institution of the American public library has a bumpy relationship with communities that fund and benefit from it. But the libraries are everywhere, expressing the variety of the American character with these familiar buildings.
A Unique Look at New York Architecture
“I’m drawn to the majestic details and materials of classical historical buildings, many of which are hidden from view, tucked behind new architecture. In these instances, a mere sliver of old, of history, is there to be photographed, leaving me to recreate the rest of the building to make it whole again.”
