photogs

Jordan Matter: Dancers among Us

Apr 10

New York city native Jordan Matter happens to be a great admirer of Henri Cartier-Bresson, and for a photographer who holds spontaneity dear to him, Jordan has more than enough reasons to smile about, in his photographic project, “Dancers among Us”. Over a period of three years (2009-11) Jordan teamed up with dancers of various dance companies like the Paul Taylor Dance Company, Jody Oberfelder Dance Projects, Elisa Monte Dance and others, to come up with images of spontaneous dance expressions in public locations across different cities in the USA. The striking poses of the dancers in each image are in stark contrast to the surroundings – humans, and the built environment. If you are having a bad (or good) day, this might just make you smile, or dance. Take a look.

Steve Schapiro: Photographing stars and everything else

Dec 16

Barbara Streisand. 1969

My first encounter with American photographer Steve Schapiro was via his portraiture work of the talented Barbara Streisand. Iconic portraiture that captured the spirit of a generation. And over the years, having seen a fair amount of his work while tracing his photographic lineage to two huge personal ‘heros’ of mine – Henri Cartier Bresson and W. Eugene Smith, it is clear to see that Schapiro is one of a rare breed of ‘photojournalists’ with an uncanny knack for capturing ‘the decisive moment’. Like Eugene Smith before him, Schapiro does wrap his photographer role around his activitist self, and not many do that any more. Here is a glimpse of some of his ‘celebritygraphs’ and a few ‘activitigraphs’.

Tim Mantoani: Photographing the Photograph and the Photographer

Nov 01

Bob Gruen: John Lennon, penthouse apartment, New York.

Over a period of 5 years, Brooks Institute alumnus, San Diego (USA) based Tim Mantoani photographed iconic photographs in the hands of their equally known (well, almost) photographers. Shot on the rare and huge Polaroid 20×24-inch format, covering about 150 photographers, this project is fairly unique, with a strong archival framework. The published book also contains a little hand written ‘story’ about the picture at the bottom of each photograph. If you have ever wondered “who took that picture?”, Mantoani has a massive Polaroid answer for you. Take a look.

National Geographic Photo Contest 2012: Entries

Sep 28

Danielle Lefrancois: Moraine Lake, Banff National Park, Canada

Last year the National Geographic Photo Contest saw more than 20,000 entries from over 130 countries. This year there are three categories, like before: People, Places, and Nature. Amateurs as well as professionals are sending in their entries for 2012. Take a look at some of them.