And if a day goes by without my doing something related to photography, it’s as though I’ve neglected something essential to my existence, as though I had forgotten to wake up. I know that the accident of my being a photographer has made my life possible.
Considered one of the greatest photographers of the 20th century, Richard Avedon is known worldwide for his provocative fashion photography and minimalist portraits of some of the most important figures of our time. In a career spanning over sixty years, he was capable of constant stylistic reinvention while also demonstrating a vision that surpassed the narrow confines of fashion photography.
Images of the destruction caused by Hurricane Sandy have always been quite prevalent in the minds of many since the natural disaster destroyed lots of property back in November. In what is an extremely controversial move, fashion label Brooklyn Industries has chosen to do a photoshoot advertising their latest products on location of the ruins. The recent lookbook was just launched after the company published a blog post on their Tumblr entitled, “Rockaway Revisited.” The post talks about and emphasizes how Brooklyn and Queens came together to help those in need–and does the very smart thing in creative marketing content creations: not mentioning the products.
According to Swagger New York though, there are complaints from the locals. According to them, they quote a resident stating, “‘I am from Rockaway and the pictures are just reminding everyone of the s**t they went through and continue to go through. Thumbs down to Brooklyn Industries.’”
The CEO of the company has tried to fix relations, but we really wonder what was going through the creative director’s head. Sure, shooting in abandoned locations and ruins is hip and usually helps to provide for really cool images. But the area is still trying to recover: and this is evident from the recent Kickstarter to save the Mermaid Day Parade.
All images in this piece are copyright of Danny Santos. Used with permission.
Chances are that you’ve seen the work of Danny Santos II–specifically you might be more familiar with his street photography. Danny is a person who I would call one of the most inspirational photographers of our time–as bold a statement as that is, consider his background. He’s super friendly, shoots all the time, documents people even in the rain, and was able to translate his skills into wedding, fashion, and advertising work. Danny did all this through social media spread and by creating genuine work as opposed to knowing people in high places–which is another way of working your way up the creative ladder.
We were thrilled to head that Danny is a fan of the Phoblographer, so we reached out to talk to him about his work, finding paying clients, his gear and more.
Steve McCurry is an influencer and inspiration to many of us: and recently we learned that he inspires Scott Schuman–a man that is an inspiration to me personally. In the video, the two talk about finding the light–and observing natural light to create the best images. Steve has also shown off nearly every single one of the photos from his last roll of Kodachrome, though both myself and photographer Bill Wadman are wondering why not everything was shown.
In the photo community, Steve is far more famous than Scott. However, Scott’s domain is the fashion world. He left his day job as an Editor to take care of his child and so also started the Sartorialist–one of the best fashion blogs currently out there. In terms of street photography, street portraiture, and an overall business model–Scott has been a huge inspiration to me since leaving my own day job.
This is only Part 1 of the video series, and Part 2 is yet to come.
Katie Thompson is a fashion and portrait photographer that works between Chicago and New York, and is someone that understands the importance of good light in an image. In this series, she wanted to explore the ideas of self-perception and body-image, topics which has said she finds fascinating. By using strategically placed mirrors she was able to create the distorted image of her model, which she said she found to still be beautiful, but carried the darker undertone of the topic she was exploring.
This work isn’t new to Katie though, most of her portfolio has a fantasy-like feel behind it that makes it more unique than other photographers’.
If you’d like to see more of Katie’s work, visit her site, find her on Flickr, and connect with her on Facebook.
There’s a new KickStarter rearing its fashionably stud covered head for photograpers, and its called the CamCuff. It’s essentially two parts: a snazzy new leather cuff that can match your 1968 Black Leather Bomber Jacket that you managed to get out of Beacon’s Closet, and a strap that attaches to your camera. This was designed for people who prefer wrist straps and don’t like having to wrap their camera strap around this wrist a couple of times over and over again (which has been a preferred method for me until I started playing with more wrist straps.) But when not in use, it can double as a fashionable accessory for a night out or in case you want to end up on the Sartorialist.
We’re not sure if this is the same Wanderlust that has developed the pinwide, but if they are then they’re already very experienced in the photo world.
Head on over to the Kickstarter page and check out the video of them dropping weights and stress testing this thing.
