Exploding Street Style Fashion Photography

March 18, 2013 marceleverts Leave a comment

The art of Fashion needs to be covered. And photography is perhaps the perfect way to capture and share those new styles and trends in fashion. And with social media and fashion blogs on the internet it’s easy to reach a large crowd fast. The editors and photographers of these blogs swarm around the fashionable people attracted by Fashion Weeks held around the world. Chasing them, photographing them and in a way consuming their fashion styles to be shared among their hundreds or thousands, perhaps millions followers.

The short documentary created by Garage Magazine is called Take My Picture that explores this explosion in Street Fashion Photography.

When we set out to make this short, our intention simply was to observe the phenomenon of fashion bloggers and street style stars. As we started to review the footage, two salient trends became apparent: fashion editors frustrated by the ensuing commotion outside of shows, and the rise of “peacocking” street style stars as a result of the proliferation of blogs. This film examines these themes from both perspectives. – GARAGE MAGAZINE

Skateboarding with Fireworks by Dave Lehl

February 6, 2013February 6, 2013 marceleverts Leave a comment

Getting too old for fireworks? Nonsense! Dave Lehl’s photographs proofs that fireworks are more then just a loud bang and some annoying smoke. Photography, so it seems, are a wonderful way to use these celebratory noise makers. Check out the behind the scenes video of a shoot he did using fireworks and smoke bombs.

Dave Lehl’s website: davelehl.com

A Slice Of Day

November 21, 2012February 4, 2013 marceleverts 2 Comments

Henri Cartier-Bresson said; “To me, photography is the simultaneous recognition, in a fraction of a second, of the significance of an event.” And this goes also for the black and white photographs by Dutch photographer Job Jonathan Schlingemann. He too tries to find the significance of an event. That moment of the day in which something special happens. What that is? Who knows. All he tries to capture is the emotion that clarifies that intersection of time, light and scene into one single photograph. To quote Job Jonathan Schlingemann:

In my work I am looking for subtle moments of beauty in everyday life. Ordinary occurrences that by play of light and manner of perception for ta brief time create something extra-ordinary. A photograph works for me if subject, light and surroundings merge in perfect harmony to form one whole and triggering one single emotion.

The combination of the black and white, the long shadows and those wonderful compositions does make for an intriguing series. He manages to show us the ordinary in an extraordinary way. I truly feel what he is set out to do. Capturing the beauty in everyday life.

Job Jonathan Schlingemann’s website: www.splinter.tv

The Contrast in Being

November 19, 2012February 4, 2013 marceleverts 1 Comment

The following series reminded me of a line from the song Empire State of Mind by Jay-Z: “…concrete jungle where dreams are made of…”. But this concrete jungle seems to overtake and isolate it’s creator. Let alone its dreams. The human beings stuck in between the dream and the reality. This wonderful photo series shot by Dutch photographer Job Jonathan Schlingemann gives us a glimpse into this contradicting world. A world between beautiful geometrical shapes of the sky scraping buildings and the tiny, seemingly insignificant but nonetheless driven, people who walk among them. The artist is fascinated by the contrasts he sees:

I am fascinated by this business districts with all its concrete and geometric shapes and in between those huge buildings, the human being. This human being seems driven by a purpose; his function in this world. He seems isolated. The contrast between those two sometimes seems almost poetic.

The photographs are beautifully lit. The photographer really knows how to find that perfect moment to share his fascination. The light and the colors are just marvelous.

Job Jonathan Schlingemann’s website: www.splinter.tv

The World is Black and White

November 14, 2012February 4, 2013 marceleverts 4 Comments

One way to approach photography could be using the Zone-System invented by Ansel Adams. When using this system one makes sure that the intended dynamic range is well-lit in your photograph. By using initially 10 steps from black to white the contrast of the image will look natural and all intended will be visible. A famous photograph of Adams was that of a small town shot by night, lit only by the moon.

Of course Ansel Adams’ work is wonderful and unique in its kind but it leaves not much to the imagination. But by blacking out areas in a photo, you can create a story and a tension that can only be filled in by the viewer. And that is exactly what Gabrielle Croppi did in his series Metaphysics of an Urban Landscape. In a way Gabrielle uses a 3 zone system. Using only black, gray and white he composes images with a high contrast. Images which are very open for interpretation. His high contrast photographs makes the usual suspects when it comes to recognizable landmarks into something that could have come straight out of a Hollywood film. Scenes loaded with drama. Scenes that reminds me of the works by the great American painter Edward Hopper.

Gabriel Croppi’s website: www.gabrielecroppi.com

A Culture of Sitting and Waiting

October 31, 2012February 4, 2013 marceleverts 1 Comment

Many of us are daily commuters. From home to work or from home to school. By trains, subway or car. If you take the same route everyday for a couple of years you probably start recognizing some faces. Jonathan Castillo photographed people in their cars during a commute. The series’ called Car Culture. It makes for a pretty interesting series. By using available light and a strobe the subject is lit beautifully. Those faces staring away in the distance, being bored while waiting for the traffic light to turn green. An interesting way of street photography to capture those lost hours of our lives behind another car.

Jonathan Castillo’s website: www.jonmichealphoto.com

Sunday Vid – Joel Meyerowitz

April 29, 2012 marceleverts Leave a comment

Joel Meyerowitz and his Street Photography.

You and I

March 20, 2012February 4, 2013 marceleverts Leave a comment

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.

Quirky Street-life Captured

March 16, 2012February 4, 2013 marceleverts 1 Comment

An elderly man poking his finger in a lady’s nose? A man irrigating plants or is he spraying another man during his lunch? This is what Matt Stuart makes us see to what at first seems like an ordinary street scene. He has a keen eye for those quirky little day to day coincidences. And all that I can do is smile. A smile I also get from looking at photographs of Magnum photographer Elliott Erwitt.