A few weeks ago I came across a heart-breaking documentary photo project by a man named Chris Jordan. The project is titled ‘Midway’ and documents the stomach contents of albatross, who are dying due to consuming a diet of human trash. Also worth mentioning is his series titled: ‘Intolerable Beauty – Portraits of American Mass Consumption’.
Photographer: Chris Jordan
November 23rd, 2009Monochromatic
November 17th, 2009I’ve always been a firm believer that one does not need to go to school to be a photographer (I personally studied science throughout high school and college). That being said, I do try and take every opportunity presented to me to participate in workshops. I am currently involved in a 10-week workshop taught by a fantastic photographer, Ken Merfeld. Although Ken is a master at wet plate collodion, this workshop is about both working in series (which he does using the wet plate technique), as well as getting us out of our photographic “boxes”. To facilitate this he gives weekly assignments…my first attempt at pet portraiture was one of these assignments. Last week’s assignment was to shoot two portraits using the concepts of “white on white” and “black on black”. As a reference for the low key image, he asked us to research a photographer by the name of Roy DeCarava. This man (who recently passed away) was a master at shooting “black on black” without losing detail.
Here’s what I came up with:
Red
November 12th, 2009I’d like to introduce the world to Red – a very cute (and surprisingly patient) dog and the subject of my first attempt at pet portraiture.
Into The Wild
November 5th, 2009Being constantly surrounded by valet parking, perfectly landscaped gardens, trees that never lose their leaves, and freeways with their uncanny resemblance to parking lots, it’s easy to forget that nature (and seasons) still exists. A photographer friend and I recently made a day trip up to Big Bear Lake in the San Bernadino Forest to location scout for a test shoot we were planning. Once you drive into SB National Forest, it’s like being in another state (or in my case, it’s like being back in Ontario). We were surrounded by actual trees (instead of the palms I see every day) whose leaves accurately reflected the fact that the season was indeed autumn. But the best part was the air…it was clean, and you could smell the trees.
W25 magazine
November 3rd, 2009A couple months ago I discovered W25 magazine, an independent photography publication created by artists. I am continually inspired with every fashion and beauty editorial they publish.
On Saturday I was pleasantly surprised to find out that an excerpt from a beauty editorial I shot was going to be included in the November issue (issue #14). These images are from my first real series utilizing food…it was definitely this series that led me to continue incorporating food into my photographs. I highly recommend checking out this magazine (which is available online in both flash and non-flash) to see some stunning work. I’ll leave you with an image from the series that didn’t make it into my submission…
Welcome!
November 2nd, 2009I’ve always thought that November was a fantastic month to start new things.
With that being said, welcome to my photography world. This is where I’ll talk about inspiration, different processes I’m trying (both modern and historical), new projects and assignments, as well as the ever popular topic – lighting. So stay tuned! Until next time, I’ll leave you with an image I shot in September of Dan, a security guard who works in South Central.
