Photographer Alicia Rius is based in the Netherlands. Her series, From the Back Seat of My Car, is a testament to her vision of viewing abandoned objects as ‘hidden treasures’. She writes: ‘I did not plan this project. I never looked for these cars, and in fact, I think they found me. I wanted to immortalize their beauty and turn the tin in something romantic.’
Anne Hardy is a London-based photographer known for her large-scale photographic work of unusual interior spaces. She completed an Masters in Photography at the Royal College of Art in 2000, having graduated from Cheltenham School of Art in 1993 with a degree in painting. Hardy lives and works in London and is represented by Maureen Paley.
Hardy’s images appear to be photographs of existing places but they are quite the opposite. Working in her studio, Hardy builds each of her sets entirely from scratch; a labour-intensive process of constructing an empty room, then developing its interior down to the most minute detail. The interiors combined together with found objects transform the spaces into unusual, almost dreamlike, environments which can be unnerving with their themes of abandonment and desolation.
Bill Sallans is a native Texan who grew up around Houston on the Gulf Coast. After studying photography in Southern California at the Brooks Institute, he moved to Austin where he works as an editorial photographer. Sallans’ latest series, simply known as ‘Falcon Portraits’, is a comment on the interconnectivity of man and nature. Sallans writes:
‘I am concerned with conservation. It has been my experience that hunters and sportsmen can be some of the most passionate stewards of the land. Falconry started as a way to supplement a limited diet, creating a mutually beneficial relationship between falconer and falcon. I think that relationship between man and nature is still at the core of falconry today.’
Photo by Ryan Halliwill
Zhenjie Dong is a Chinese artist and photographer who is exploring ways to express her social and political concerns through photography. A graduate from the Communication University of China with a BFA in English Language and Literature, she is currently pursuing her MFA in photography at Savannah College of Art and Design. Of her series ‘QR’ Dong writes:
China is a country that has a long history and a rich cultural heritage. Contemporary China, however, faces many problems, including political corruption, social injustice, wealth segregation and web censorship. While the major government controlled media is still celebrating the happy life of Chinese people under the rule of the government, people ridicule authority and reveal the reality they see through the Internet.
This series intends to address the social issues that China faces but which are currently being covered up by the Chinese government. First, I intend to seduce the viewers with beautiful images in a traditional Chinese aesthetic. Once the viewer is enthralled and desires to learn more, I reveal the dark and corrupted side of the reality in China by directing the viewer to a QR code, which encodes website links that can be read by QR readers and camera phones.
Photo by Thomas Brown
Paccarik Orue is a San Francisco-based contemporary photographer and a recent graduate of The Academy of Art in San Francisco. In this series, Vicious Waste, Orue captivates our senses while raising questions about society and consumerism. He writes:
“After watching Edward Burtynsky’s documentary, ‘Manufactured Landscapes’, I found myself questioning what really happens with the waste where I live in San Francisco. When I visited the local recycling facility I found that most of the recyclable materials collected are being shipped to China instead of being recycled locally. Vicious Waste is a visual exploration of these materials after they’ve been bundled up for shipment.’
Cecilia Paredes was born in Lima, Peru, and currently lives and works between San Jose, Costa Rica and Philadelphia. Her artistic career began as a painter but her creative concepts evolved, revealing themselves first in three-dimensional objects, then through photography. This works is a series of self portraits where Paredes paints her own body to blend in with the background.
via My Modern Met
Photo by Noemie Goudal
Kevin Tachman is an award-winning documentary photographer who has garnered wide acclaim for his work in the worlds of fashion, entertainment, and music. His photos have appeared in print and online publications such as Vogue, NYTimes.com, Marie Claire Russia, The Daily Beast, Elle Decor, and The Wall Street Journal. Tachman’s specialty is capturing essential moments that express excitement, beauty, and drama. Shot in a naturalistic style, his photos make you feel like you’re there, whether it’s at Fashion Week, during a live performance, in the thick of a celebrity-filled after party, or on the set of a photo shoot.
I first became acquainted with your work when I judged an APA contest in 2009 in which you won first prize. Back then you were shooting a little bit of everything: documentary, music and fashion. Can you talk a little about the last couple of years with regards to your transition into shooting mainly fashion and art events?
‘Fashion became a bigger focus after I toured with Scissor Sisters in 2010 and started working more with Vogue and NY Times/T magazine to cover fashion weeks and events. I still enjoy shooting music and bands but at the moment fashion work has me busy.’
A lot of photographers, especially documentary photographers, are embarrassed to admit that they shoot events. Did you go through this thinking at all?
‘No, not really. In a way most things I shoot are events in the loosest terms. Luckily a lot of the events I get to shoot usually are visually interesting and have subjects or subject matter that I’m interested in.’
You’ve recently relaunched your excellent blog, BackstageAT, and I know you spent a lot of time working on the custom design. What were some of the key elements in the blog design that you thought were most important?
‘I think the large images set it apart. A lot of the outlets where my photos are seen don’t allow for the user to experience the images large and it’s sometimes frustrating. The goal has always been to have the site be a living portfolio that hopefully takes the viewer on a journey so they feel as though they were at the party themselves.’
What’s the response been like since you relaunched the blog?
‘The response has been overwhelmingly positive, and word of mouth has been great: traffic is much higher, and it has been fun seeing reactions to different site posts on Twitter and Facebook. I’m still mastering the art of social media and getting the word out. I’m launching my companion tumblr site soon. That is also (obviously) an important way of getting the work seen.’
You shoot many fashion weeks (NYC, Milan, Paris, etc.). Are you in the pit with the rest of the photographers?
‘There’s a bunch of us backstage/runway shooters from different outlets who usually have run of backstage, but being from The New York Times or Vogue definitely doesn’t hurt when they start kicking people out cause it gets too hectic.‘I sometimes have a bit more leeway by nature. Because I shoot mostly with available light, I’m less in the way of the action. I’ve also built up relationships with the PR folks and various gatekeepers and they know that I’m not going to abuse the access.’
What’s a typical day look like for you during fashion week?
‘A typical day can include three or more fashion shows, previews (shooting the looks before the runway show with the designer), lots of editing and transmitting and sometimes an event at night.’
What’s the trick in getting Madonna to smile in your direction?
‘There’s no trick to that, Madonna still smiles at whoever she wants. I was just there to get the shot.’
