1- Amanda Schweizer submits Haruhiko Kawaguchi

   Haruhiko Kawaguchi's series "Fresh Love" is one of the most extreme methods I've seen to get an unusual series of photographs.  He "vacuum packs" couples he meets in bars and captures the moment on camera.

   These images are not Photoshopped, as the video posted below the images on the website proves. (Click the following link to check it out)
http://www.featureshoot.com/2012/08/flesh-love-photographs-of-vacuum-wrapped-tokyo-couples/
   At first glance, you wonder how long these poor people breathe during a photo shoot.  I kept looking for air tubes into their mouths, but they are apparently not necessary.  The video shows it only takes about ten to twenty seconds to photograph the couple once they are situated and vacuum packed.
   The upside to this method is that it is unique, extreme, and completely unexpected, which makes them entertaining.  Some major drawbacks include the physical risks to the subjects.  How safe is it to "vacuum pack" a human, even if it is just for a few seconds?  If they leave the vacuum attached to the sack a little to long, what damage is risked to to lungs?  Though I seriously wonder about the physical risks, I applaud Kawaguchi for his innovative creativity and for having the guts to pull it off!

Scott Cochran reviews Mark Tucker

When I first saw Mark Tuckers wet plate portraits I was simply blown away. This was a few years ago before I knew of many other people doing this process and I just loved that he was using such an ancient form of photography. His use of lighting is awesome and well just look at the pictures. He is producing some incredible photos, err, objects, with this process. No editions, no negatives, one of one originals.

Melissa Tristan- Sarah Moon

Sarah Moon was born in 1940 in England.  Her work consists of drawing, lithography, to photography.  She started off as a model who then went into fashion photography.  Her photography work was mainly done in the darkroom where she masters in technique within her photographs.  Moon's style in fashion photographs were dreamy and fantasy like to where she provokes them in a deep emotional way.  Her models sometimes may not always be recognizable with such movement and texture with the softness of the scene.

Such photographs seem more gothic with darkness in the haunting creations of a fantasy. One being the the second photographed displayed above. It shows great structure of a beautiful figure of a female with the internal x-ray aspect of a sort of mannequin view.  This seems to how how perfection is never what it seems. Although Moon created this in such a settled way as opposed to a very dark haunted feel of some others she has done before.

Sarah Moon also has done fashion photography with famous french brands, which includes Chanel, Dior, and many others.  Some argued that she is not a contemporary artist because most of her work are too pretty.  In my opinion Sarah Moon has a way of creating beauty in many ways by putting a romantic feel along with the a sort of pain that lies beneath the surface of the images itself that mourn the decline for beauty in photography for beauty's sake. Her photography lies between many genres which she is undefined which this is what makes her such a successful photographer.

http://anthonylukephotography.blogspot.com/2012/03/photographer-profile-sarah-moon.html

Scott Cochran reviews Alex Prager

I first fell in love with Alex Prager's work in 2009 when I came across "Kimberly" (the first image) as the featured shot to promote Photo L.A. I was fixated on her retro-Americana vibe that somehow felt timeless and went along with my retro interests. 

The LA native who takes cues from fashion photography and the cinematic conventions of movie directors such as David Lynch and Alfred Hitchcock is a force to be reckoned with. The 33 year old has put out two books ('The Book of Disquiet, The Seven Deadly Sins' in 2005 and 'Polyester' in 2007), debuted her first film entitled 'Despair' (2010) starring actress Bryce Dallas Howard, has been featured in many exhibitions including 'New Photography 2010' at the Museum of Modern Art and the cherry on top - she's done some awesome spreads for W Mag, worked on Bottega Veneta's "The Art of Collaboration" AND shot the 1960s-inspired Missoni for Target campaign. She has also had numerous shows mostly in New York and L.A. So yes she is a little commercial but I feel that much of her work could easily be right at home in major galleries alone

Amanda Santos, Teri Havens

Teri Havens, a master at darkroom development and printing, was born in 1967 and raised in Lubbock, Texas. Studied photography at the University of Texas, and serving as an intern at Magnum photo agency in New York, Teri honed her printing techniques in darkrooms improvised in kitchens and motel rooms across the country. In 1999 she established an independent studio and darkroom specializing in documentary and fine art portraiture using traditional and alternative printmaking methods. 

Leonard, Slab City 2007 
palladium print

From her series "The Last Free Place" she documents the inhabitants and landscape of Slab city, a community in Southern California, which constructs her narrative through mystery and enigma. Her use of available light gives a natural glow and going towards the the traditional black and white she manages to hone you in not just to look at the image, but to see what is actually there. What you would normally think as a misfit, uninteresting, human outcast - she captures the beauty and underlying character of the subject. I can see in her work that she does not show them as " exotic or other worldly"  just to grab our attention. We see them and question how did they come to exist like this, and therefore, we question ourselves how did we come to exist?

Paul, Slab City 2007
palladium print

http://www.terihavens.com/gallery.html

http://www.petrinearcher.com/letter-london-terry-o’neill-award-show-hotshoe-gallery

Dave, Slab City 2007
palladium print

David Finell reviews David du Chemin

            David du Chemin is A freelance humanitarian and world photographer operating from Vancouver Canada.  His slogan is “Gear is good.  Vision is better.”  He is also a photographic instructor and author.  In 2009 he released his first book “Within the Frame”   It is a unique book that tries to help the reader balance their inner vision  with the inner geek.  I was introduced to David thru Creative Live.  It is truly amazing what David has done with his photography.  He started out as a juggler and performer then changed to photographer.  He strives to use his work for the betterment of others.  He is a self-proclaimed do-gooder and consistently tries to use his photographic skills to improve the world around us making us more aware of the wonders of the earth and its inhabitants.

            I would describe much of David’s work to be in the National Geographic style.  His images of people from around the globe are astounding.  They capture a person’s spirit in each fold of the skin and every wrinkle emblazoned on his canvas.  His scenery images are serene showing nature at its finest without the scarring of man’s influence.  It is becoming harder and harder to find areas unspoiled by man’s presence, but David seeks them out to share these dying spaces with the rest of us for our appreciation.  Man is stripping away nature.  It is believed that nearly 25% of north American inhabitants have never seen the milky way due to light pollution.  David Helps bring these dwindling experiences to people for their enjoyment and also to better make them aware of how we are affecting the planet and others around us.

David is a great photographer and person.  Check out his work.

David Finell reviews Rick Sammon

            Rick Sammon is an Photographer that specializes in not specializing.  He is also a prolific Photographic author and instructor.  He has been hosted on Creative Live as a guest instructor and is a member of the Scott Kelby group.

            I was introduced to Rick’s photography thru one of his books, Rick Sammon’s complete Guide to Digital Photography.  The imagery in his book was very reminiscent of the images commonly found in National Geographic.  I was particularly impressed with his images of the slot canyons in Arizona.  I later attended an on-line weekend seminar taught by Rick through Creative live.  Wow!! What a neat guy. 

Rick is well versed in nearly all styles of photography and is currently unleashing his formidable talent on the HDR spectrum.  I know that many photographers cringe when these letters rear their heads, But HDR is an exciting newer style that will be here with us for a while.  It is common for photographers to specialize in a specific type of photography.  You have wedding and event photographers, product photographers, fine art photographers that further segregate themselves into narrower sub categories and the list goes on.  Rick does it all and to make it even more interesting he is a master at all.  His body of work spans nearly if not all continents and styles.  His photographic talents are consistently superb, and he is a really nice person and outstanding instructor.  I think anyone can appreciate some aspects of some of his photography and I also think anyone can learn something from Rick.  Check out his work or a book and you will see what I mean.