Salina Ellis presents Brooke Shaden

Another Brooke for my collection (both my husband and my bff since fourth grade are named Brooke). Brooke Shaden works in digital photography creating fictive worlds with models and props. I found her on flickr while looking for tableau. She has done some levitation photography and recently hosted a couple of workshops. She just had a show in September of her recent series Ophelia which is beautiful, but I like some of her earlier work more. In that series she re-examines the heroine Ophelia through a filter of her experiences. There are 10 images in that series.

I watched an interview she did on youtube and was impressed to learn that she has been doing photography for about a year. She has a love of storytelling and began in film, but moved on to photography after graduating film school in 2008. She works in photoshop and attempts to add a painterly feel to her images. She shoots on location and underwater. The majority of her work is somber but she recently added a red riding hood piece to her flickr stream that I love.

http://downtownlalife.tripod.com/id569.html Interview with Brooke

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0WPK_-IhOnM Video interview

Ashley presents Sarah Moon

I have never really been into fashion photography but a few years ago I was introduced the work of French photographer Sarah Moon. Most of her work is done through the use of transfers especially her color work which is done using a pigment transfer technique. In most of her images you will notice that the faces of the models are either blurred out or covered by hands, it is said that the reason for this stems back to things that happened to her during her childhood, however she doesn't really talk about it so that is really all just speculation.

Her black and white work (above) has the feeling of a 1920's silent movie. There is really very little white and the images are scratched and look very industrial then you have the female figure that is soft and beautiful to contrast with the quality of the image. There is also a quietness to all of her work, I read somewhere that she tries to make photographs where nothing happens but she said that "In order to eliminate, there has to be something to begin with. For nothing to happen, something has to happen first."

Then there are her color images (below), I am absolutely blown away by these images. She uses a pigment transfer technique that gives the images there soft quality. The color in these is absolutely amazing though, the two color palate is what I find most interesting and she is able to translate the image off of that.

Andrea Couture submits Tom Hunter

Life and Death in Hackney is a series of work by Tom Hunter. Like in my last post, Hunter uses figures in landscape. Unlike Frances Kearney, Hunter uses mostly adults in his work to represent scenes of death. Most of these scenes take place in overgrown fields, wastelands, or graveyards. The landscapes and color choices he uses bring a sense of mystery and dream-like quality to his work. I really enjoy most of the pieces in this body of work but some of the photographs look a little like snapshots with the lighting choices he made. But I will let that slide because I feel that he has some really nice photographs mixed in with the not so great photos.

Andrea Couture submits Frances Kearney

Yes, Frances Kearney is a photographer using children in her work, but I think she does a good job placing them in her photos without being cheesy. The photos from above are from her series Maps and Mazes (the first two photographs) and Fishing for Trout (the last image). In Maps and Mazes Kearney deals with the tension between anxiety and security that is addressed through our relationship with nature. The landscapes create a place of threat and sanctuary. Within the landscapes Kearney uses young girls that are both vulnerable and empowered by their surroundings. In Kearney's series Fishing for Trout she uses young girls interacting with the landscape and participating in childhood rituals. Many of the girls are interacting without being burdened by the worries that adults normally place on children. In a review of this work written by Sarah Kent she said, "As viewers, this gives us the chance, deliciously, to indulge our longing for beauty and desire for meaning" (that's for you Libby).

I really enjoy Kearney's work because I feel that she merges the landscape and figure well and her compositions are very pleasing to the eye. I feel that using the children in her work was a good choice because I think they help her concept. It has also given me a little inspiration for my final project.

To check out more of Kearney's work here is her website:

http://www.franceskearney.com/index.html

Ashley presents Justin Kerr

I was in the darkroom talking to Larry a couple weeks ago and Larry told me about this photographer Justin Kerr. There is actually nothing spectacular about his photos but he created this way of photographing vases that is really amazing. He photographs Mayan vases all in one shot and to do this he put the vase on a turntable and some how attached the motor of that to the camera so that the film and the vase move at the same speed. This allows for the image in the vase to be all one flat, non pieced together image. He has named the process rollout photography.

These are just a few of the images, the ones I liked the best, you can check out more of them at www.mayavase.com. There is also a video of how exactly the process works on the site.

Brian Chiu submits Arno Rafael Minkkinen

Arno Rafael Minkkinen, as this photo illustrates, juxtaposes the human body with the landscape in surprising ways. He "directs scenes in which his body — or a portion of it — appears as an integral part of the landscape — such as an outcropping or rock formation." The dramatic use of dark lines and the symmetrical geometry force the viewer to trace spaces between the boards to the subjects open mouth.


In the above photo, he integrates a human subject with a piece of household furniture. The appearance is not only startling and somewhat unsettling, it is also playful in nature.

Yvette Coronado submits Jen Davis

Jen Davis series of Self Portraits (2003) are brutally honest and engaging. Davis focuses on the ideals of beauty, identity, and body image. In Fantasy No 1 (left) she reveals her fantasies of intimacy and love. Davis is the only figure lit, as her lover is hidden behind her. As she looks out into the room, she does not seem content or happy, it is as if she awaiting some unforeseen disaster. It is great example of how Davis understands her insecurities, self perception, and how other might see her.Her Portraits are not straight documentary, but also has a strong narrative element to them as well.

This is the first series of her Self Portraits and one can see the strong themes of isolation in the work. There is also a deep tension created for the viewer and the subject.In Untitled No 22, Davis does not look at the viewer, but allows herself to be studied and judged . Her lighting is dramatic, showcasing dark colors and stark flesh tones. I commend Davis on her frank portrayals. Her website does a great job showcasing her work and please check it out

http://www.jendavisphoto.com/