Looking forward

While yesterday was an ode to last year, today it to looking forwards. I discovered these amazing artists through the Humble online exhibition - curated by Nathaniel Ward. I am delighted to be part of this group and whilst I only show three artists, there are may more to discover.


Jessica Eaton


Gillian-Pears


Andy Tew

An ode to 2009

I took these images just before christmas while we were camping. At the moment I wish I had that time again. Its funny I hear from so many people how happy they are that last year is finally over. I think I must have been the only one who had so much fun last year (yes very empty pockets due to a slow studio, but plenty of time) so I feel kind of nostalgic about it. I had so much time and freedom to dream, create and start new projects, that I find it rather hard at the moment to keep all of that going while my design business is running at high speed again.

Personal memories

I always adore a good title and "Little wolf: let's make some memories" sums up this great work by Steven Beckly. He lives and works in Toronto, Canada, believes there is a beauty in everyday moments that normally go unnoticed, doesn't like chocolate, but loves Oreos and wishes he had a pet wolf.

Rebooting

The other day Patrick Millard got in touch to share some images from his work "Formatting Gaia - Stage II". This was a tricky one and to be honest I wasn't sure if I would show his work. While his selection stuck in my mind, it also made me feel a bit uncomfortable. Nothing wrong with feeling that way, at least the images got a straight response. I felt much more comfortable exchanging a few images and therefore altering the reading of the series for myself. I always feel kind of naughty when I catch myself exchanging submitted images, but we all "read" images/stories in a different way. This is my preferred selection form this body of work.

Still lifes of a different kind

How stunning are these "Bedroom still lifes" by Kelly Neal? Simple, playful and vibrant.

Exchange

Today I read Elizabeth Avedon blog and came across another couple of benefit sales. One is the Haiti Relief - Benefit Sale and another is the Wall Space Gallery. How often do you get a great print for $50 and help/donate at the same time?
Its ironic while I found these emerging artists getting funds together to help, over at A Photo Editor I came across this article on how much money commercial photographers make.

A little help can go a long way

This morning I was emailing backwards and forwards with another photographer and amongst other things we discussed Haiti. When disasters like this strike, I feel rather helpless and to try and benefit the survivors of Haiti, I would like to offer this print for sale. All proceeds will go directly to Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF).



Under the tree
Limited edition of 10
8" x 8" (on 11' x 14")
$50 (Please email me me and I will send you a paypal invoice)

Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières is an international medical humanitarian organization created by doctors and journalists in France in 1971. Today, MSF provides aid in nearly 60 countries to people whose survival is threatened by violence, neglect, or catastrophe, primarily due to armed conflict, epidemics, malnutrition, exclusion from health care, or natural disasters. MSF provides independent, impartial assistance to those most in need. MSF reserves the right to speak out to bring attention to neglected crises, to challenge inadequacies or abuse of the aid system, and to advocate for improved medical treatments and protocols. In 1999, MSF received the Nobel Peace Prize.

On remembering

What happens if one works very hard on a couple of commercial project, does not check the calendar entries and doesn't have time to check all the emails? Well I completely forgot to enter the Graphic Intersections V. 02. run by the Exposure Project. I really wanted to send in my submission, but completely overlooked it. It looks like such a fantastic project... now I am looking forwards to the game unfold over the year.

Ewa Zebrowski submitted these lovely images along with “Memory’s images, once they are fixed in words, are erased,” Polo said. “Perhaps I am afraid of losing Venice all at once, if I speak of it.” (Fragment of a conversation between Marco Polo and Kublai Khan from Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino). I have to say Calvino is one of my favourite writers - you just have to adore his style.

Quirky moments

A while ago I received these images by Chris Bentley. Through his series "Desert States" I feel I can have a glimpse into his memory.

Curious dream

Most days I wake up and feel very lucky. Not in terms of ohh today I will win Lotto, no more to the point of how fortunate I am doing what I love doing. So many people have to go to jobs they do not necessarily enjoy, but today for example, I went to the market (I simply adore going to the market getting fresh fruit and veggies), will go for a swim after this post and then to the studio. What more can I ask for? "Edge of silence" is a gorgeous series by Wu Fe from China.

Familiarity

When I saw Lajos Geenen photos I was taken back to Lisbon where I saw street workers from above and had this great idea on a project, I have not even started yet, but it is still waiting patiently in the wings. So the more I looked over his images, the more I found myself scanning the horizons for something familiar, a hint to tell me more about the location. Lajos is from Holland and is currently living & working in NY.

Not so commen women

I can not remember when and where I first saw these images "After the Women of Paradise Road" by Nathaniel Ward, but they certainly stuck. He says on his website: "After the Women of Paradise Road" examines commodified women in order to better understand the larger spectacle of mass-marketed, socially conditioned, and narrowly defined sexuality. Taken from the covers of adult periodicals distributed in magazine vending boxes that line Paradise Road in Las Vegas, the photographs reveal tropes of marketable desire that include the necessary anonymity of the sexual object, the disposability of desire, a set of clichéd sexual poses, expressions and gestures, and the sectioning of the human body into marketable parts. The weathering, sun bleaching, and amplified layers of separation between the viewer and the women who actually posed for the original photographs speaks to a desensitization to the beauty and value of the women, leading to greater psychological separation between attraction, sex, sexuality, and emotional intimacy."