Yes, Metallica!

Photo source: Metallica

Metallica: a band from formed in LA displaced to San Fran.
Born: 1991.

That’s over 30 years now of kick-ass, loud, in your face metal. There is no denying that they catapulted the genre of metal into existence. Before them, we’re left thinking about bands like ACDC, Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath, Mötorhead, Deep Purple (if I may)… I’m by no means exhausting this list, but the fact remains that there was nobody before with the same rhythmic intensity that Metallica had, and now continues to have in spite the ruthless critics. Granted ACDC was epic beyond proportions, but they lacked something deeper that Metallica has. Continue Reading →

Alexandra Valenti is Up In Smoke

This article started off about fashion in smoke, then quickly turned to a profile of Alexandra Valenti after I looked at her photographs, where I found her smoke work.

Simply beautiful.

There are some artists you look at their work and you see a distance, a disconnect between personality and style. Then, there are other artists who integrate every essence of their body into what they capture with the lens. As an outside viewer, I almost get the feeling that I have just read Alexandra’s secret pages of a notebook she’s tirelessly drawn flowers, hearts, vines, and birds all over.

Oh, and she does it with some amazing style.

Photo source: Alexandra Valenti | http://alexandravalenti.com/

Continue Reading →

Sacha Federowsky

Sacha Federowsky is a dreamer, typical French I guess… He sees things in memories and distal artifacts that capture you in a moment of peace. This is evident in his Les Fleurs Sont D’Excellentes Auditrices series where he explores the idea of transplanted flowers.

What seems to be a very effective way of displaying images, Sacha uses the 50/50 approach to his images, typically two different images, that both leave the viewer understanding, and then reaching for the edge of reason. This is a beautiful thing and it takes a lot of personal introspective glances to be able to understand and portray that which Sacha seems to do effortlessly.

His bio talks of his obsession with the series, any series: creating a series of photographs. One observes this by browsing his webpage and seeing how he organizes it. Whenever I browse an artists work as such, I always feel like they approach life with a certain tenderness that not many other people can understand, as it’s raw, until it’s displayed as a project.

I like this, I think it all makes sense.

Photo credit: Sacha Federowsky, www.sachafedor.eu | Stockholm Tva Renaissances

 

Photo credit: Sacha Federowsky, www.sachafedor.eu

 

Photo credit: Sacha Federowsky, www.sachafedor.eu | Dread & Ecstasy

 

Photo credit: Sacha Federowsky, www.sachafedor.eu | Dread & Ecstasy

 

Photo credit: Sacha Federowsky, www.sachafedor.eu | Dread & Ecstasy

 

Photo credit: Sacha Federowsky, www.sachafedor.eu | Pagan Transylvania

 

Photo credit: Sacha Federowsky, www.sachafedor.eu | Les Fleurs Sont D'Excellentes Auditrices

 

Photo credit: Sacha Federowsky, www.sachafedor.eu | Pagan Transylvania

 

Photo credit: Sacha Federowsky, www.sachafedor.eu

 

Photo credit: Sacha Federowsky, www.sachafedor.eu | Dread & Ecstasy

 

500 Photographers

Every so often you come across a website that makes your jaw drop. Then, you see a link at the bottom that refers you to their reference. You go to that website, and find another link that refers you to their reference. In the world of internet, where everybody feels the need to write another article about something they’ve read online, this is just the way it goes.

My chain went like this: Visual New’s Outsiders: Beautiful Portraits of the Overlooked.

Where I saw this photograph (among many others) taken by Pierre Gonnord.

Photo Credit: Pierre Gonnord

Following links, I landed at a nearly identical article, clearly copied almost word for word by Visual News, at Sweet Sensation also on Pierre Gonnord.

Photo Credit: Pierre Gonnord

The links did not stop here, though the copying did.

From here, the viewer is directed towards a website called 500 Photographers.

On this website, obviously, is a display (still counting) of 500 photographers the author deems amazing. I have to say that I agree wholeheartedly.

The latest (#455) is Neil Krug with some photographs from his Pulp Art Book.

Photo Credit: Neil Krug

The next photographer, #454, is Manabu Yamanaka with some images from a mixture of his series’, this one taken from his Jyoudo series.

Photo Credit: Manabu Yamanaka

#453 is Deborah Luster, who has done a few series of very authentic American tragedies, this one taken from her One Big Self series on 3 American prisons surrounding New Orleans.

Photo Credit: Deborah Luster

#452 is a photographer from Brazil named Julio Bittencourt who has captured some very ‘behind the scenes’ insight into a world pushing the boundaries of squatter towns and drug dealers. This photograph is from his Citizen X series.

Photo Credit: Julio Bittencourt

In showing these photographs, I hope to illuminate the quality of work that each of the photographers do, and also the beautiful nature of the website 500 Photographers, and how well they’ve captured the essence of inspiring photography.

I nearly forgot the whole reason why I made it to that page in the first place was to find the source of the images of Pierre Gonnord!

How do you enjoy the images? Are they too raw?

Artist Review: Ashley Joncas

Ashley Joncas is an artist, photographer, editor, fashionista, model, blogger, and overall, badass creative soul. We like Ashley.

Ashley is 20 years old, and I enjoy the web she spins on her blog, her words are mesmerizing.

What I find is the best how her images are frequently washed out a bit, and almost always in black and white, or very damn close to it. Her style is very alley cat style, meow meow foxy with Ramones bangs. It’s a good dig.

Photo Credit: Ashley Joncas

 

Photo Credit: Ashley Joncas

 

Photo Credit: Ashley Joncas

 

Photo Credit: Ashley Joncas

 

Photo Credit: Ashley Joncas

 

Photo Credit: Ashley Joncas

 

For more of her style, more of her photographs, more of her, head over to her blog: Purely Couture and More. (ps. it’s a good idea to do that).

 

 

MAFFASHION: Big Style, Doing It Right

We’ve recently been introduced to a fashion blogger that goes by Maffashion. She is, to say the least, driving us wild here with fashion sense and an instant desire to copy her wardrobe bit by bit. Specifically, her choice in accessories are out of this world.

Photo Credits: Łukasz Plewa / Maffashion

Photo Credits: Łukasz Plewa / Maffashion

Photo Credits: Łukasz Plewa / Maffashion

Photo Credits: Łukasz Plewa / Maffashion

Photo Credits: Łukasz Plewa / Maffashion

Photo Credits: Łukasz Plewa / Maffashion

Obviously she’s a BlackMilk Clothing fan, like the rest of us.

Book Review: Weegee’s New York

Weegee’s New York is a collection of photographs from 1935-1960 that should not be casually browsed on a Sunday afternoon. It is a serious and raw outlook on a city from the after dark like scenes and core fundamentalist photojournalism that one would expect from a tabloid and press photographer. Continue Reading →

Book Review: Stray Dog by Daido Moriyama

Stray Dog is not a novel. Stray Dog is a book explaining, and showcasing what post war contemporary photography was like in Japan, through the lens of Daido Moriyama. To make it more interesting, it’s a book published by San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Continue Reading →