Job Posting

From Craigslist:

"I'm sure you all better things to do than to read a long job post on CL, so sweet and short...

I own a very distinguished and reputable company that covers weddings in San Antonio and surrounding areas, we've been in business for 6 years, so we're pretty established. I have a need for a freelance photographer, who has experience, equipment and works well under the guidelines of the company. It's ok if you have your own style, techniques, vision, etc. but it's also important to be able to listen. The better your work and people skills, the better the pay. I can pay anywhere between $35 - $50 per hour, most events are 5 and above. Let me know as much as you want about yourself. Needless to say it be less time consuming for all if you provide work for us to view online.

Happy Holidays! "

link to listing: http://sanantonio.craigslist.org/med/2128369278.html

Salina Ellis presents Ellen Kooi

This artist lives and works in the Netherlands. She started as a photographer in the theater, making posters for plays. She like to create a “fairy tale” atmosphere. Some of her images are based on Dutch folk tales.

She employs a great use of color, but not to the point that they overwhelm the image. She does do some digital manipulation. It was interesting to learn that she mounts her photographs on plexiglass. Her website (and others) and others offers little information other than her curriculum vitae.

Salina Ellis presents Todd Murphy

Sovereign Tree

The bodice is another symbol that I have wanted to explore in my own work. I read that he uses the photograph of a bodice and in a niche below it places branches, but in the image above it looks like an actual bodice. The treatment that Todd gives it is unexpected and spiritural.

He claims there is a zen to his work, which is easily identifiable. He uses both analog and digital methods to create his images, which are huge, as big as 5 x 10 feet. This appears to be a commercial series, originally to be installed on light boxes at the entry ways of a 20 floor tower.

I was fascinated at the wonderfully composed placement of the birds, then I read they are stuffed. Oh. He uses many photos to create one image, as many as 10.

Salina Ellis presents Holly Andres

Her Sparrow Lane series has received wide recognition. It is the narrative of young girls learning “forbidden knowledge”. She describes the series as an “elliptical narrative” that isn’t designed to be viewed in any order. The shedding of innocence has long been a topic I would like to explore and she has done well portraying it. Along with the many layers of texture and props, she duplicates one of the models and makes her a twin. She creates the entire space, even going so far as to creates the wallpaper on her computer, print it out on her home computer and pasting it together on the wall.

I did find one print titled “Nolan’s bedtime story” that shows a family living in their car. It is a 12 print series, but I was only able to find 3.

She is the youngest of 10 children and was born in Montana. Holly claims that she draws upon childhood experiences for her work, but also incorporates some fiction as well. She also works with film in her installations.

Salina Ellis presents Ma Liang

also known as Maleonn

The magic photographer. This artist is simply amazing in the depth and beauty of his work. I found his artist’s statement 3/16/2008 very comforting. In it he questions what use is art? I find myself asking this often and struggle with putting effort and so much of myself into what may be a useless act. Are the sacrifices worth it? He finds a simple answer in a glass marble. I don’t know that I can completely agree with his finding, but it is comforting to know that he too questions.

He is a Shanghai photographer who creates inventive theatrical sets using props, actors, and digital editing. The majority of his work is heavily detailed and intricate, but one series, White on White is extreme in its simplicity. Both styles are beautiful.

Born in 1972, he picked up his first camera at 20, and compared studying photography to studying physics, boring. He didn’t return to photography until 2004 when he got his first digital camera. He claims his work is about self identification and emotion.

Salina Ellis presents Mary Frey

I was drawn to this artist because of her work with nature. This series is called Imagining Fauna and it depicts animals separate from any environment. The detail she achieves is extremely striking. Each image is a close up of either a bird, or other animal (only 8 out of 20 are not birds). While intimate close ups, because they lack any environmental information, they retain mystery.

She uses a wet plate process “with 21st century technologies”. She begins with shots taken with a digital camera. She converts the files to a black and white transparency and exposes them in an enlarger onto black glass. This interests me because it is almost the reverse process of what one would think of when you mention merging analog and digital. Once on glass, the negative is backed with black to appear positive.

Brianna Cristiano submits angela bacon-kidwell

Angela Bacon-Kidwell has a dreamlike quality to her work some of them almost look like paintings. I love the fog and the mystery in her work. Her work is about her dreams and that is why it has the sleepy feel to them. i enjoy her themes for each photograph.here is her link http://www.angelabaconkidwell.com/

Brianna Cristiano submits jan von hollenben

I found Jan Von Hollenbens work to be very creative. I really liked the idea of changing the perspective and having everyone laying on the ground instead of up right. i also liked the scenes in each photo it is telling a different story. He is telling dreams through a childs eyes. I really like his concept and his compostions and the angles of the bikes . here is the link http://www.janvonholleben.com/?page_id=4

Brianna Cristiano submits Peter Feldstein

Peter Feldstein took photos of people in oxford, Iowa in 1985 and then visited the town 21 years later and a writer came with him to interview them about their lives. I am always interested in photography that deals with time and how people change and how things grow and people become different as they learn and as the years go by. I read some of the stories from these people and some are really sad and some are funny a lot of them i can relate to but this particular one with the old lady was really sad i felt bad for her but the hats made me laugh. And the guy about Ashton Kutcher was a funny old guy you could just hear his voice from what the writer wrote. here is the link:http://oxfordproject.com/gallery.html

Brianna Cristiano submits arno rafael minkkinen

Arno Rafael Minkkinen

I like the way he uses the camera and gives us the illusions you see above. His photography is about the relationship between humans and nature he incorporates himself into the landscapes. the black and white give the photographs a classic quality and also help blend himself into the landscapes. here is the link:http://arno-rafael-minkkinen.com/snow_and_ice.html

Brianna Cristiano submits Chema Madoz

Chema Madoz takes ordinary objects and makes it brilliant! he takes the obvious and points out the unseen. I love his play on forms and his humorous view of the everyday life. the way he composes the photographes is really beautifully done. I do wonder what this would look like in color but i think he is focusing more on the forms and shapes.his link: http://www.chemamadoz.com/ingles/gallery1.htm?

Brianna Cristiano Submits walter martin and paloma munoz

Walter Martin makes these little environments in snow globes and Paloma Munoz is the photographer. I like the tiny worlds Martin is making they tell stories and are comical. This spider one is my favorite. The size is what intrigued me to these photos. their inspirations for each of the globes are from literary references also pictoral chinese landscape paintings, art and historical references. These to me are about fighting loneliness and being so small in a large cold world. here is the site :http://www.martin-munoz.com/main.html

Brianna Cristiano submits Alex Maclean

Alex Maclean is a pilot and a photographer he takes his photos from the air. The reason I chose him is because I love the patterns his pictures have and I really like how it shows the world from afar. It shows how we moved from rural landscapes to ones that are so compact with houses and buildings it shows how the population is growing. There are so many interesting shapes and lines that are formed when you view different places from above. He was trained as an architect and you can see that in his work. Most of his photos are about line and shape and that reflects his training.

here is the link:http://www.alexmaclean.com/#/portfolio/playing/LS4050_29

Brianna Cristiano submits Bronwen hyde

Bronwen Hyde did a 365 day self portrait of her self. she took a photo every day of the year. I really liked this idea and it made me think of our self portrait project. I think it is very interesting how each day we are different than the next and in these photos she has a different personality in each. All of her photos are different than the next and i really like her devotion to self exploration. The link :http://www.bronwenhyde.com/

Brianna Cristiano Submits Fred Muram

Fred Muram did a series called kissing the ceiling in 2008 the pictures above are from that show. I find his work amusing because it is something we can all relate to. In his artist statement he says that he is trying to show something that can be observed by everyone and have an experience that they can relate to. He says we are all connected in more ways that we think but because we are such individuals we don't always see it. The reason i enjoy his work is because his pictures are fun and they are humorous and I am really inspired by his work. heres the website:http://fredmuram.com/pages/photographs.html

Brianna submits Aline Smithson

Aline smithson

she did a series of portraits of the photographers mother they were hand painted silver geleatin on warm toned paper. I was really drawn to her photography because of the humor that is involved in her work. i also really enjoy that she paints on her prints i think that is a really interesting choice and i have been wanted to try mixing photography with painting as well. she is pretty well known though i had never heard of her. yall can check out the site that has her portraits of a photographers mother here : http://www.tiltgallery.com/aline_smithson3.html

Call for Entry Opportunities

Hey everyone, I'm putting these up here just in case anyone is interested

Artist in Residence: Gates of the Arctic National Park 

Hit That Shutter 2011 Undergraduate Photo Survey 

Earth Through a Lens 

Just more opportunities to get your work out there! ^.^   Good luck, guys!
<3 Risa

Yvette Coronado submits Stacy Aerzou Mehrfar

There is a certain sense of quite in Stacy Arezou Mehrfar's work. Her website http://stacymehrfar.com displays her work well and includes artist statements for some of her series. The Manhattan series captures the NYC neighborhood in the stillness of night. These images showcase the melancholic beauty of the empty streets and feature space and light in an interesting way. In Mehrfar's Contained series she reveals the contradictions between two cultures, American and Jewish Iranian . This series is made from self portraits and Mehrfar is a first generation Jewish Iranian , who feels she has to maintain both her cultures. The setting is her parents' house and the grandiose is set against the tranquillity of the household. Mehrfar's photography are invitations to meditation, the viewer is immersed in the stillness of her work, which allows for thorough investigation.

Yvette Coronado Submits Zoe Strauss

I love the self made photographer and Zoe Strauss definitely fits that bill. Strauss is a self taught street photographer based in Philadelphia. The legend goes on her thirtieth birthday Strauss received a camera and began using her Philadelphia neighborhood as her primary subject. Her photos showcase her South Philly neighborhood's gritty character. Strauss has stated that her work is" a narrative about the beauty and difficulty of everyday life." Her work rings true to that statement as her portraits of the people in her neighborhood are intimate and sincere. Strauss is the director of the Philadelphia Public Art Project, which holds an art show under a local highway I-95 and there she sells photocopies of her work for just five dollars. Her website http://zoestrauss.com is a bit of a mess since she declares she has not updated it for four years, but her blog is current and can be accessed there.Strauss' work is intriguing, even on her DIY aesthetic alone, please look into this artist.

Yvette Coronado submits Stefan Ruiz

One of my favorite magazines was Colors. It began in 1990 and featured documentary photography, infused with fashion aesthetics and art, and reported on various social issues. Stefan Ruiz was creative director of Colors from 2003 until 2004. His photography is available to review on his website http://stefanruiz.com. The site is simple, yet well laid out for navigation. Ruiz's series Factory of Dreams is documentation of the Televisa Studios in Mexico City, Mexico. This studio produces many of the Mexican soap operas, or telenovelas, that symbolize the Cinderella story line. The photos feature a behind the scene glimpse of different telenovela productions, with the actors and stages. The series is an interesting blend of art and documentation, typical for Colors magazine. These photos seem like a narrative setups, as if we can see into a sleazy hotel room or into a orderly maid's quarters, but the hint of studio lighting above the scene allows the viewer to realize the stage set scenes. Visit his site to explore Ruiz's other series and projects, which also include a section devoted to his work for Colors.

Thomas Lopez submits Laurie Simmons

Laurie Simmons Creates these bizarre images using dolls and various props. Her work is very well done and has sort of a whimsical feel to it . Many of her photos I find funny and make me smile or laugh. The colors and the lighting are really pushed to make for a very interesting result. Many of the photos seem to have an almost psychological undertone to them. The clock and the birthday cake for instance seem to give me the impression of how as the years are going by from birthday to birthday that time is running out . The lighting on the photo with the doll in the bathroom is very well done as the parts of the fixtures glow while the girl is in a totally different tone of light.

http://www.lauriesimmons.net/