disposable comments

I wanted to post these because they go along with a new project brewing in my head. I don't have specifics yet. Only a deep curiosity with written words and how they affect images. I really like the ambiguous, bold, counter intuitive phrases of this series. The fact that they're written on disposable boxes and packing materials is interesting to me... I believe somewhere the artist said that the phrases are mainly poignant statements he hears/ thinks of. But the temporaryness of all thoughts and words and their apt to change gives meaning to the disposable materials.

Anyway, here's the series. I just like the juxtaposition of words and images in photographs. And I like the paradoxical nature of the words in this series as well as the challenging of cliches and the way we swallow the world.

I guess I just like the idea of saying things that are obviously true but everyone is afraid to say on stuff thats going to end up in the trash.

richard avedon, annie lebovitz, irving penn

Richard Avedon (May 15, 1923 – October 1, 2004) was an American photographer. Avedon capitalized on his early success in fashion photography and expanded into the realm of fine art.

Annie Leibovitz (born October 2, 1949) is an American portrait photographer whose style is marked by a close collaboration between the photographer and the subject.

Irving Penn (June 16, 1917 – October 7, 2009[1]) was an American photographer known for his portraiture and fashion photography.

Tim Walker has "more character in one dandruff flake than you have in that entire snow bank on your shoulder"

I just thought that quote from The Office was hilarious. I think I have a new favorite fashion photographer. And its funny, because I saw his work a long time ago in Vogue and I remember loving it to the point where I put some of it on my wall. And now I'm just finding out who the mystery photographer is and its very exciting to me. I would be EXTREMELY happy doing work like this. Its beautiful, whismsical and surreal. Perfect eye candy. Even my mom said, "if the world was your oyster, you'd be doing work like this." And his use of natrual elements, animals and nature is more proof that he's a man of my own heart.

Goes to show that fashion photography doesn't always have to be shallow, or "all icing and no cake". Tim Walker's work has so much thought and imagination behind it. Which equates to me as anything but shallow :-)

wonderful employment of felines

david lachapelle

violet and lime green, always a wonderful color scheme

beautifully surreal

the pink chair? awesome

I've been looking at a lot of fashion photography lately.

Some of David Lachapelle's work is a little too disturbing for me. I find I like a lot of his "pretty" stuff, vs. his kinky freaky sexy stuff. His colors are mind blowing though in all cases. I guess the fact that I don't care about celebrities has something to do with it.

I was also pleasantly surprised that he took the Return of Saturn album cover, something I always really loved. and probably deep seated inspiration for why I dyed my hair pink.

edible colors by eggleston

I decided to look up the infamous Eggleston today. I looked at his photography a long time ago and was fascinated by the fame of a guy who takes pictures of "random stuff". However, today I found a few very beautiful pictures by him that I'd like to share.

Though he's a master of composition and color arrangement, I also think the fact that he photographs so often has to do with his success. Carrying a camera around all the time and having a constant awareness of the world is obviously very helpful. I've been trying to do that more often with my digital camera. Yesterday I was buying medium format film for a craft assignment and the man at the camera store said, "It's so weird to see someone with a digital camera buying medium format film." Though that got on my nerves a little, I'm quite interested in trying medium format. Eggleston's photographs have such a film quality to them. I think if he took some of the pictures he took with a digital camera and they were totally crisp and digital looking they might resemble random tourist pictures in a Flickr photostream. Not that there were digital cameras back them, but you get the point. There's a rawness to them. Its the same beautiful rawness in minimalistic music and acoustic guitar.

What I'm getting at, is that there's a part of myself that feels that shooting film, learning studio lighting techniques and becoming technically committed to photography is crucial to being a succesful fine art photographer in today's world, or atleast taken serious. But there's a part of me that's married to habits of conveiniance. Leaving things to "luck", not giving film a chance because digital is just so much easier. What I'm getting at is that I'm in college, so I might as well broaden my horizons in whatever ways I can in photography and be a little more open minded about the technical things that scare me and give me nightmares. What this has to do with Eggleston is slight, but since he's such a classical dude in color photography, he's inspiring.

Here's a nice fishy.

you're so vain, i bet you think this photograph is about you

Reasons Rebekka Gudleifsdottir is amazing:

1. She's from Iceland

2. She's a self portraitist

3. She's gorgeous

4. She takes pictures with anchors


5. This photo is not photoshopped


6. i can relate:

"I've flirted with self-portraiture for several years. To begin with , this self-scrutiny was a means of healing a badly bruised self image. Over time, my self-portraits have evolved in several different directions. Spurred on by my love for the Icelandic landscape, an active imagination and stubborn do-it-yourself attitude, I work alone, preferably in uncomfortable conditions, often employing props I've made or found. I aim to create images which invoke the viewers curiosity, allowing their imagination free reign to create a narrative around the moment I've chosen to present. Some of these are sparked by emotional turmoil or personal experience, others are simply playful, surreal or disturbing images my minds eye has conjured up, and I feel a need to share with others. In addition to pursuing my artistic goals, I'm the mother of two boys, and design & knit sweaters for a living."

!! Well, minus the mother of two boys part


What i'm trying to say is (2008)

7. Also, her photographs have awesome names too!



An exercise in futility (2007)


Once in a blue moon (2008)


more to come..... maybe...

old world charm

more here

I've been looking at a lot of photography lately as a result of being snowed in. One photographer who caught my eye was Carolyn Drake. Her incredible views of the world are inspiring and make me want to do some of my own traveling with a camera. I'm especially interested in her series on the Ukraine. She tackles themes in her work such as spirituality, death and strength and unity through hard times.

"Carolyn Drake’s photos catch the late afternoon light that lingers in piercing clarity before the day goes dark. Her subjects, when not in a state of waiting repose, are seen caught between moments—documented in the midst of action. The photos shown here, part of an ongoing project titled Paradise Rivers, illustrate in light and form the uncertain futures of the former Soviet republics of Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan, independent nations since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. Drake has been photographing this part of Central Asia and its relationship to the land and water with a traveler’s curiosity and a keen eye that expresses how these countries are coping with vibrant histories, economic and ecological distress, and political uncertainty."