Author: marceleverts

Large format view

marceleverts

Dutch photographer Frank van der Salm documents the control of landscape, the lack of space, the infrastructural issues and the characteristics of the pressure on time and space in contemporary urban metropolises around the world. As he puts it on his website.

The large format photographs gives us a different look into the architectural urban worlds many people find themselves in now a days. The lack of people, the repetition of forms and shapes really brings about an abstract sense of the cityscapes from around the world. We seem to live our lives in a copy of a copy of a copy. Research estimates that in the year 2050, 70% of mankind will be living in cities. The works of Frank van der Salm show the efficiency in the usage of that seemingly limited space we all want to be in.

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Dogs of 9/11

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We all remember where we were on that tragic day in September 2001. To help out in the gaping wound that was ground zero, men’s best friend assisted in the search for bodies and hopefully a recovery, a miracle. What had become of these animals? Are they still among us?

Dutch photographer Charlotte Dumas wondered about these dogs and visited 15 of them. She doesn’t take the typical rescue dog portrait. The photo we always see in newspapers. A dog in front of a fire truck. No, instead Charlotte manages to come very close. And takes a personal portrait.  The posing dogs seem to look at us with a feel of experience. And somehow you can feel the tragic they share.

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Encounters of the tribal kind

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Twitter, Facebook, tablets and smartphones. Just a couple of our twenty-first centuries’ perks that make our lives a bit more easy and fun.  These manmade inventions are examples that we as westerners are moving away from nature. Step by step.

But some of our fellow worldly residents stay closer to nature. They understand mother earth as no other. Small tribes in the jungles of Africa and South America still stay true to their heritage. Joey Lawrence traveled to these tribes and captured them beautifully. By using our modern techniques (medium format camera and strobes) we get a look into their distant world. As distant as our world is to them.

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Top 10 Photography blogs

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Photography is everywhere. Especially on the internet. To create a bit more structure of this vast medium, I will post a Top 10 list every now and then. I will kick off with the Top 10 Photography Blogs. Places I like to visit on the web.

#1  500 Photographers by Pieter Wisse
Pieter Wisse simply posts active image-makers until he reaches 500 photographers. The type of photography doesn’t matter. What does matter is if it is worth looking at. And so far, I can only agree with the choices he has made.

#2 Camerabag.tv
 “To celebrate image-makers and to highlight the beauty and style of the camera” A showcase of different photographers who show us why and how they work. Every photographer has a showcase of photos and is introduced by an inspiring video.

#3 Foam
Foam is a wonderful place in the center of Amsterdam. It just breaths photography. This museum has also a nice website and a blog. Please give it a go and get inspired.  I know I did.

#4 The New Yorker – Photo Booth
The New Yorker’s photo department blog. Different editors showcase interesting photographers and their projects. Among them James Pomerantz. A photo student. See #5.

#5 A Photo Student
 James Pomerantz blogs about photography. He also links to movies, writings and songs about photography. Goes to show that photography is a cross media medium.

#6 Fieldeye
Hans Aarsman, Dutch photographer/writer, is an expert in analyzing photographs. He has a keen eye for little details. On the blog Fieldeye he shares his views with three other contributors. They see things for that they are. On this blog they share their views with us.

#7 I Love That Photo
An online photography magazine. They try to show the differences or similarities between individual photographers and photography in general. With interviews and a blog they cover the subject of photography.

#8 PhotoQ
A Dutch photography news site. News, discussions, exhibitions, portfolios and even a bulletin board for those who want to share, sell or ask other photo enthusiasts about anything. It’s unfortunate for those who don’t understand Dutch, but since I visit this website a lot, I didn’t want to leave it out of this Top 10 list.

#9 Jeff Curto Photo History
Professor of Photography Jeff Curto at College of DuPage in Glen Ellyn, Illinois, records his lectures of his History of Photography class. He posts these lectures as a podcast on this blog. An educational and nice way to learn more about the history of photography.

#10 Solar Photography
Part of Solar Initiative. Some interesting photographers showcase their projects.

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Visual Poetry

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Spanish photographer Chema Madoz is a true visual poet. He is able to melt ordinary objects together into something very unique. He teaches us something about looking. He does this as no other.

The minimalistic way of presenting us this surreal reality is just marvelous. By only showing what is needed, and by doing so in black and white, he plays with our visual senses.

 

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You and I

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We are all individuals. We all seem unique in our own special way. Yet we all share our uniqueness with other individuals. Whether it is our behavior or the way we are expressing ourselves.

Danish photographer Peter Funch shows us our uniqueness in his series Babel Tales. By shooting commonalities over a period of time and editing them into a single frame. Funch gives us a surreal look into our day-to-day lives. And with it the similarities we share with other individuals. Showing us we aren’t that different after all.

But we are different. At least in a way. Dutch photographer Ari Versluis and dutch profiler Ellie Uyttenbroek are focussing on the social groups we dress ourselves into. With their series Exactitudes (a contraction of exact and attitude) they give an overview on how different people dress in a simular way. And by doing so, you become part of a certain social group.

The way you behave or express might not be a conscious decision. But the mentioned artists do show us a typical human trade. We are all social beings. And social means to collectively co-exist with like-minded ones. And if by doing so you have to dress a similar way, well why not.

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Hate it or Love it

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Just like 50 Cent and The Game once elegantly rapped: Hate it or Love it. I am talking about the works of Terry Richardson. He photographs with a style that can be described as raw. The technique he uses doesn’t make his photographs that special. He manages to ‘strip’ his subject to just that, the subject. With often not more then a white background. Your focus can only go where he wants you to go, to the subject. He makes them act crazy, act sexy or act both ways. It seems so simple, yet it is such a direct and graphically interesting way of shooting one can only applaud the success he has with it. Thumbs up!

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