Grab Bag

Via Tumblr

via Flickr

Another piece by Ellen Kooi.

Wayne Levin underwater images.

Ellen Kooi

A photographer I've been looking at a lot for inspiration is Ellen Kooi. Her work is very surreal and maintains a very dreamy look. She works with mostly set-up situations, which is not what I like to do, but I think that through looking at this work I've been gaining a better understanding of elements I want to include in my own work. For my final, I want to really focus on making real situations and tangible elements more dreamlike; using something you could ordinarily see, but in a way you ordinarily wouldn't see it. I think Kooi's work is very successful in creating this new reality; the colors and light diffusion are really beautiful and add a lot to the images.

Tierney Gearon

I found Tierney Gearon's book Daddy, Where are You? in the library and was instantly in love with her work. Documenting her mother's battle with mental illness, Gearon captured some really beautiful images. The portraits in particular were really fascinating to me, they all have this really interesting take on human relationships, especially within a family. The images are so wonderfully composed and have a really great use of color and light.

Kipp Wettstein

Kipp Wettstein is a photographer who's work doesn't necessarily pertain to this class, but has a hobby that absolutely does. Growing frustrated with the weight of his view camera, Wettstein desired something more portable, so he designed a lightweight large format camera made of carbon fiber and aluminum. Wettstein on his cameras, from his website:


These camera are really beautiful and portable, with the bodies alone weighing around 4 pounds. He uses quality parts and designed the camera himself. It's really great that someone is doing this, making large formats for a more portable and fast-moving world. With at least six months to wait and (I am assuming) a couple thousand dollars, everyone can easily shoot in large format without any permanent spinal damage!

Brad Carlile

Brad Carlile is a photographer a lot of people have been referring to lately. I've looked at his work before, but this weekend I walked by Hearst Tower, which is heavily advertising the competitors in the Hearst 8x10 Photography Biennial. Carlile's work definitely stands out among others. His use of mixed light as a subject is phenomenal. It's really interesting to me that he photographs such mundane spaces like living rooms and hotel rooms. Carlile's work is not so much about the physical subject, but rather using the colors of light to create a beautiful image. His work is really fascinating, almost unreal, and he is the first to ensure that his viewers are aware of the lack of digital manipulation in these images.

MOMA and related thoughts

Yesterday, I went to MoMA to see the Tim Burton exhibit that's currently showing. It's a really cool and pretty interactive experience, although it was annoyingly crowded, which was expected. There was a lot of really cool stuff, ranging from Burton's childhood journals to sketchbooks to costumes and models from his films. It really is a magical experience and insane to be able to see how much really goes on in that man's head. If you haven't seen it, I strongly urge you go. It's a little pricey unless you're a member, but definitely worth it.
Anyway, after the Burton exhibit, I stopped into the Edward Steichen gallery at MoMa and was really impressed. The work was so widely ranged and really inspiring. They have a lot of early work, from Nadar, Negre, etc. which was really fascinating to see in person, especially after learning about the artists so much in Lenticular Vision. There was a ton of work, mostly older stuff, but there was some newer work and some really cool photo/mixed media pieces.
I'm a really big fan of museums, especially when I get the opportunity to wander around by myself to take notes and think about what it takes to get to that point. This visit was my first to Moma, but definitely won't be the last. There's a Henri Cartier Bresson exhibit opening this spring, which I am most definitely going to check out. Field trip maybe? ;)

Jeff Seltzer

Jeff Seltzer's work is really wonderful for it's simplicity. He uses photography in one of the simplest ways, which is finding the design and beauty in the average, everyday sort of subject matter. His work really utilizes punctuation of color and patterns. He works out of Los Angeles and photographs everyday scenes, restaurants, schools, shopping centers, etc. His use of color and asymmetrical compositions are both very aesthetically appealing and well done.

Steph Goralnick

Steph Goralnick is a designer and photographer from New York. When looking at her work, I was initially drawn to her work in portraiture, but she has really awesome coverage of events and concerts as well. Goralnicks work has a lot of variety, but she utilizes light and the colors of lights in a really beautiful way. All of her work is really interestingly treated and really fascinating to look at.

for my information

Tape Art


3d projection on buildings

Tomasz Pluta

I've seen this image all over the internet for the past couple weeks. I eventually found a source with credit (Feaverish) and a lot of the photographer's other work. As far as I can really tell, all Pluta has as far as a website goes is a Flickr. Other pieces of Pluta's I really enjoyed are the ones below.

Pluta shoots really simple, beautiful portraits using medium format film. He uses pretty models in pretty places, which puts him halfway there. I like the muted quality to his work, the palette he uses creates a half vintage-half dreamworld effect.

Jonathan Leder

Jonathan Leder's work is definitely not for everyone. There's a lot of boobs and a lot of sex. I like work that has the power to make people uncomfortable and I think Leder's definitely has that appeal, without being blatantly pornographic. His style maintains a fashionable side, so they aren't necessarily raunchy, but maintain a classy edge, even with dealing with questionable subject matter. Leder also has a blog with test shots, outtakes, etc.

James Pomerantz

While browsing through Gabriela Herman's blog, I read a post where she mentioned James Pomerantz's blog. Pomerantz is currently an MFA student at SVA and creates some really fantastic stuff.
This image is from his series agua sagrada. As soon as I went to his website, these images appeared and my jaw literally dropped. The way the light plays in these images is astounding. The shapes and captured moments are so beautiful, even from such a long distance.
This image is from Pomerantz's series The Balance of War: Abkhazia, in which he documents the aftermath of war and the destruction it creates. This idea is something that I find really fascinating, and I really love war and wartime photography, though I know it is NOT for me. This body of work contains some really touching imagery, showing how a nation can literally be torn apart by war.

His website and blog are both really great, and are linked above.

Gabriela Herman

I've been having a lot of trouble lately finding photography that I enjoy to look at. It's all really been seemingly the same and a lot of stuff I've been finding just isn't my style. However, I definitely feel differently about Gabriela Herman.These images are from her series, Endless Summer. They are beautiful color images and they're really fun to look at. I was initially really drawn to these because of the subject matter, it's something both real and familiar to me. The color in her work is treated really well and very naturally. Her portraits and black and white pieces are also really beautiful, she handles light in a really amazing way.

John Rosenthal

John Rosenthal is a photographer I happened to StumbleUpon. His site labels him as a "black and white photographer" but he is certainly not limited to that. His series of the Ninth Ward in New Orleans is touching and the images are so well cared for. His use of color is so honest and touching in these images. Through the generally muted tones of destroyed homes and schools, there's still color, there's still life. I love photos like these, of places destroyed and/or forgotten. They contain such important pieces of the past, even if this is how they will be remembered. He also writes, and has a really nice piece about his experience photographing the Ninth Ward.
Rosenthal's black and white work is also really beautiful, reminiscent of Bresson and Frank, really classic, honest work.

Eric Meola

Eric Meola
His website doesn't enable image saving, but it's not that hard to click on the link if you want to look at it. Meola uses color beautifully in his work, along with shapes and patterns. He also has really nice photojournalism work with lovely portraits.

Angelo on the Roof, 1979 David Lebe
I found this photo on Tumblr and it's really striking to me. Drawing and painting with light in photos is something I really like doing and I think is a really effective use of the medium. The way different light sources work together is really cool and creates a really interesting effect.

Naoko Ito
Really cool 3-D artist, I particularly like this piece, it's very surreal, yet clearly very tangible.

Polaroid a Day

Super intense tutorial on the inner workings of a Digital Camera.

Katie West via therealkatiewest

I've been following Katie on tumblr for a while and her work never fails to impress me. As a self-portrait photographer, she puts herself in a vulnerable place; that vulnerability is something that enhances, without necessarily dominating, the feelings her work conveys. She also posts a lot of "journal-like" entries about work that inspires her work and writes about a lot of other photographers, full of great links and images.

Snowball Fight Times Square via Doug Kim.

Really fun images, full of cool lighting.

The Ones We Love

This project is a really neat collection of photographers. It's such a simple theme, and even when shown as a mass, the separate stories flow together well.

really really awesome.

Jaqueline Vanek

Another image by Vanek, from her Dreams series. On first glance, I was automatically drawn to the color, and the balance of it. The contrasting red is almost terrifying next to the blue. The strangeness of the image overall is also very fascinating, nearly sublime. I really like the imagery and symbolism of clocks, and the use of it as a cohesive theme in this body.